About freaking time! That's you, that's what you're saying right now. I know. Well, finally got settled and sorted everything with the house and found time to sit down and FINISH THIS CHAPTER! Whoo! Long overdue and probably not as good as you're all hoping chapter!
Chapter 1:
The girl opened her pale green eyes, she darted them about the room; it was light outside, she knew that much at least, and the light coming through the small window on the wall opposite her on the bed showed a decently furnished room. The floor was a hardwood finish, it glistened where the small square of light hit it directly, and the walls were an off white. There were two dressers, one small one under the window, and a larger one that was right beside the bed. There were a few clothes littered about, but they looked as if they had been hastily cleaned away; they were all shoved into one of the corners of the room.
“Where…?” She started, sitting up, only to find that her entire right side burned with an unbelievable pain. It was then that she looked down and noticed the bandages wrapped around her torso. They were clean, but there was definitely some blood that had seeped out onto them. She groaned in pain as she forced herself to sit up again and look around the room, “How did I get here?” She asked no one in particular.
She felt something perch itself atop her head, for a second she was terrified; she had no idea what it was but it sent chills down her spine. Slowly she tilted her head to look up, and found that the creature was leaning down, so their eyes met right in the middle. The girl screamed, sending the bird fluttering across the room and onto the shoulder of a boy who came running into the room, “What happened!?” He shouted as he burst in. Now that the girl could see the creature more clearly, she recognized it as a Murkrow.
“Who are you?” The girl commanded, she put on as brave a face as she could despite the fact that she was completely lost.
“It’s all right, just calm down,” The boy said. He had dark brown hair that came down to about his eyebrows, it was somewhere between medium and short in length, though it was always changing depending on how often he could make it to the barber. He was dressed casually, in a black tee shirt with green designs on it that didn’t actually make a picture, just swirls, and dark wash jeans. He wasn’t currently wearing any shoes, but he had mismatching socks on his feet. “I’m Chad, and I’m so glad that you aren’t dead.” He said with a look of disbelief.
“Well, Chad, I would very much like to know… What do you mean ‘not dead’?” She asked, finally registering what the boy had just said.
“You’ve been unconscious for two days. The doctor said you’d be fine with some rest, but I was starting to worry you’d never wake up. But I’m really glad that you did, it’s not every day you find a girl on the beach with a bullet wound and nurse her back to health.” He chuckled excitedly, genuinely happy that the girl had recovered, “If you don’t mind me asking,” He added in quickly, “What’s your name?”
“Alice,” The girl replied, she was a bit stunned from trying to take in all the information she’d just gotten. “So wait, you found me on the beach?” Chad nodded in response, “Which one, Vermilion?” She asked, trying to get a good look out the window.
“Actually, this is Lilycove… in Hoenn.” Chad said sheepishly, “Honestly, I’m surprised you made it as long as you did. Oh, this is Omen, by the way. Sorry about earlier, he’s a bit of a joker.” He said scratching the back of his head. “Oh! Speaking of PokeMon let me go get your Eevee. I was just giving it a bath for you.”
Chad seemed really nervous, then again it wasn’t every day that he had a pretty girl in his room, let alone one who had been half dead for two days. It was probably enough to put anyone on edge. His spastic, nervous way of talking made Alice smile.
The boy returned in a moment carrying a small fox like creature, Alice smiled and took the small PokeMon into her arms. She was too weak to sit up and take Eevee herself, so Chad had to place it into her arms, “The poor thing didn’t want to leave your side even for a minute, it took quite a bit of convincing to get it to take a bath.” Chad said trying to avoid an awkward silence, “I had to tell him multiple times that you were going to be fine and that he should look his best when you woke up.” He smiled, as he called the Murkrow over to his shoulder. Once the crow PokeMon was perched on his shoulder, he turned to leave.
“Wait.” Alice said softly, petting the Eevee before setting it down beside her on the bed. “Thank you, Chad.” She smiled, “You’ve been very kind to me, taking care of me, dressing my wounds…”
“Actually, the doctor did that.” He said quickly, raising his hands in defense and laughing nervously, “I didn’t think that you’d… I mean, I figured that it would be better if… I just didn’t want…” He trailed off, nervously laughing again.
Alice smiled and shook her head, “I know what you mean. But still, you didn’t have to go to all the trouble, but you did.”
“Well, you were in trouble.” He said, taking on a more serious tone and expression, “I couldn’t just ignore someone who needed my help. What else could I do?” He leaned against the door frame, smiling again, “But you’re welcome regardless. Now you should get some more rest.” He said with a nod and he left, closing the door behind him.
Alice blushed slightly as she smiled, lying back all the way onto the pillow. Her Eevee lay beside her and she sighed, wincing in pain as she tried to reposition herself on the bed, “What happened?” She asked herself, it seemed like as if she had been asleep for a hundred years, at least that’s how it felt. She tried to recall the events that led up to her awakening in this place, but everything was a blur. “You’d think I’d remember something like being shot…” She started, covering her eyes with one hand; the one it hurt less to move.
“Rein!” She suddenly shouted, sitting straight up and then being assaulted by a terrible pain that forced her to fall back on the bed. She looked down at the bandages and noticed fresh blood seeping into them. She took deep breaths and tried to will the pain to stop, it only half worked, “Rein,” She repeated softly, “How did I get here?” She looked at the creature beside her, the Eevee’s eyes were wide with concern.
She grit her teeth from the burning pain in her side, “I wish I could remember.” She whispered as her eyelids began feeling heavy again, “I need to know that he’s safe.” She breathed. She was too exhausted to delve through her memories, to search for any answers, all she could do for the moment was listen to Chad’s advice and get some rest.
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Alice awoke to a soft tapping at her door, Chad stood on the other side not wanting to knock too loudly in case she was asleep; he didn’t realize that she was an incredibly light sleeper, even without the addition of injuries making her sleep restless and uneasy. Then, of course, he couldn’t possibly have known about the nightmares either. Terrible visions danced through Alice’s head of her brother, but she could never make out more than shadows; he looked like he was in trouble, though, and it killed her to be confined to bed.
“Sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you,” Chad said as Alice looked up at him from under the covers, “I can come back later, if you want, but I brought you some food. There’s some stew, bread, an apple, juice. You’re going to need to keep your strength up, so every food group is represented. I’ve even got ice cream for afterwards.” He smiled.
“Thank you, you didn’t have to go to all the trouble.” She sighed as she slowly pulled herself to a not-quite-sitting position.
Chad laughed, “It’s funny,” He said shaking his head, “You just woke up and you’re already telling me that I didn’t have to do something. I may have just met you, but I can tell you’re the ‘I can take care of myself’ type, aren’t you?” He smiled to show that he wasn’t being mean or disapproving; simply poking fun at her. She couldn’t help but smirk before becoming serious again.
“Not only myself,” She said sullenly, “And I can’t even do that right.” She winced as she indicated the wound on her side.
“Hey, I was just messing with you, no need to get all depressed. What’s wrong?” Chad asked sitting at the foot of the bed, he set the food down beside Alice so that she could pick at it whenever she felt up to it.
“I can’t remember what happened to me.” Chad thought that was the only problem, and opened his mouth to speak when Alice started up again, “I don’t know where Rein is, God know what’s going on. He could be dead!” She realized with a start, “What if whoever shot me killed him? Why can’t I remember what happened!?” She was holding her head in her hands, tears of frustration and worry streamed down her face.
“Alice, hey, come on.” Chad didn’t know what to say, it wasn’t exactly a common problem that every teenager went through and could be answered with a pre-recorded message. He did the best he could; luckily he could think on his feet. “Whatever happened to you was a traumatic experience. You were shot, and you floated your way all the way to Hoenn from Kanto across the ocean. Your body is probably just processing everything. I mean, let’s face it, if you had to deal with all that stuff on top of healing your wounds, you’d probably go insane. Literally.”
Alice shook her head; she lay back on the pillow behind her and stared out of the window. “I just want to know he’s okay.”
“Rein?” Chad asked, Alice nodded sadly. Chad looked around the room awkwardly, “Boyfriend?” He asked with a shrug. Alice started laughing, that was good at least, even if she was laughing at him.
“Little brother,” She corrected with a laugh, “You sounded so disappointed.” She laughed again.
“What? No.” He scoffed, “Just trying to get the facts straight.”
“Right.” Alice said shaking her head as she looked out the window again.
“Anyway, look, when you’re better; I’ll help you find him.” Chad nodded.
“You don’t-“
“Have to?” Chad finished for her, “There you go again. I know you don’t need my help, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t use it.”
“I guess that’s true. Thanks. You’re very kind, especially to someone you don’t even know.” She said quickly.
“You’re not just that,” He commented, “You’re someone in trouble. Someone who needs help.”
“I wish I knew how I got here.” She sighed.
“I was going to wait until you felt better, but I think this will cheer you up.” Chad walked out of the room and returned a few moments later with a wheel chair, “I think I can help you figure that part of what happened out.” He helped Alice into the chair, it took several minutes since she’d flinch whenever she moved in the slightest, Chad almost changed his mind about taking her, but she insisted that she would be fine.
“Where are we going?” She asked as Chad wheeled her out of the room, her Eevee trotting along right beside her and Chad’s Murkrow flapping up onto his shoulder.
“There’s an alcove by my house, it’s like our own private speck of beach. That’s where I found you.” He said casually, “There’s something there you need to see.”
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The wheelchair didn’t move easily through the sand, several times Alice heard Chad mutter in frustration as he shoved the wheels through the dunes. “Hold on a second, Chad,” She said softly, making Chad stop his shoving; he took the opportunity to catch his breath. “Please help me up.” It wasn’t so much a question, or a command. Just a simple request.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, you’re still really weak.” He said shaking his head.
“I think I’ll be all right, I just want to feel the sand.” A simple smile spread across her lips; the sad smile of someone who feels completely lost. Chad didn’t argue; he simply walked over and took her hands and helped her stand up. It was slow going, she was shaky on her feet and she exhaled sharply from pain several times. Alice wasn’t one who gave up easily, though.
After a few minutes of fighting with her pain, she was standing; though most of her weight was on Chad’s shoulders, causing Omen to move from his perch, unhappily. Everything was quiet around them, despite the fact that Lilycove was a large city; it seemed like this beach really was a private paradise. The waves lapped gently onto the beach, the sound was soothing and it helped clear Alice’s mind. The salty wind blew through her hair; and she noticed for the first time how disgusting she felt. She hadn’t showered in days, and the last body of water she had been in, as far as she knew, was the ocean. She chuckled to herself nervously.
“What’s up?” Chad asked.
Alice shook her head and laughed, “I need a shower.” The sad smile appeared again after the moment of embarrassment passed. She went back to her thoughts; the sand was soft, like pillows beneath her feet. It was so fine and inviting she was tempted to lie down and sleep again. It wouldn’t have been hard with the sound of the waves from the waterline not even fifty yards away. There was another sound, she could hear, and it seemed familiar to her. Like some sort of sad tune being hummed through the air; she was certain she’d heard it before.
Memories came flooding into her mind, memories of the ocean, the starry sky above her like a painted canvas, the worried look on her Eevee’s face, the raft beneath her. The acceptance of her death. “I thought I was going to die.” She whispered to herself as she tried to grasp the memories, “I accepted that it was my time to go.” Tears were starting to form in her eyes, “I… I can’t remember anything from before.” Frustrated, she semi-growled at herself for her inability.
“For what it’s worth,” Chad began, she looked up to see him looking off into the sea, her head had been buried in his chest, “You’re still alive,” He said, turning his head to look at her, “And that’s something to be happy about. One thing at a time, Alice.” She smiled and nodded, it was nice having someone to keep her from going insane. Even if it was someone she barely knew, something about him just seemed kind. “This is what I wanted to show you,” The young man broke her from her thoughts, she noticed that the sad song was louder now, and then she looked out at the waves.
Something was rising from the water and it was coming up onto the beach, whatever it was it was huge. She noticed the gray shell and blue scales, and recognized it as a Lapras. “What is this all about?” She asked as the ferry PokeMon stopped a few feet away from her.
“You’ve got me; it seems to have taken a liking to you. It’s been here every day. Waiting to see that you’re all right, I’d imagine.”
“But why?”
“Well, I’m guessing this is how you made it across the ocean from Kanto to Hoenn. This Lapras saved you; it’s really amazing when you think about it.” Chad helped Alice walk over to the PokeMon; Alice rested her hand on the creature’s neck and patted it gently.
The girl whispered with slight tears in her eyes, “Thank you. You saved my life.” The PokeMon moved in a way that suggested that it was pleased to see Alice all right. “How can I ever repay you?” She smiled, nearly falling, before Chad caught her weight.
“We can make this a regular thing, if you feel up to it. Every day we can come down to the beach and you can get out of the house.” He smiled and nodded to the Lapras, “We’ll be seeing you again tomorrow.” The Lapras seemed pleased with that and moved back toward the waves, humming its tune again.
“I wonder why it sounds so sad?” Alice questioned to herself as she watched the PokeMon disappear beneath the waves.
“I don’t know, but maybe you can find a way to help it.” Chad said as he helped her back up the beach, this time letting her walk with her weight resting on him and dragging the wheelchair behind him.
She looked back over her shoulder, “You think so?” He nodded, “I’d like that.” She concluded and looked up at the house.
“Well, I’m glad I could help you along your first day back amongst the living,” Chad joked to break the silence, he felt awkward when there was too long a pause in conversation.
Alice chuckled before adding, “Yes, you were a big help. Thank you for, well, everything.” She said with a slightly uncomfortable tone, “And you were right, I’ve never had anyone take care of me before. It was always just me and my brother, and I looked out for us. I never relied on anyone before.” Chad could tell that she was struggling to find the words to say, but he wanted to let her keep going. “Feel free to say, ‘no problem,’ and stop me.”
“No, no. Please, continue.” He smiled and she sighed.
“What I mean to say is, it’s nice to have someone to rely on. Someone to help me when I couldn’t do it alone.” She said quickly, unsure of herself.
“Well, m’lady,” Chad said with a joking tone of a knight, making his voice deep and suave, “I only live to serve the damsel in distress.”
“Can I ask you something, though?”
“Sure,” He said with a shrug.
“Why do you feel so comfortable around me? You brought me in, took care of me, and now we’ve only really known each other for one day, but you’re acting like my best friend.” She saw the look of worry on his face, “Not that it’s a bad thing!” She caught herself, “It’s actually really nice to have a friend as good as you. But,” And she stopped for a second, “Why?”
“You’re a good person. And while you were asleep and I was taking care of you, I saw that. You’re kind and caring, and I don’t know how I know, but I do. I feel comfortable around you because I know you need someone to be here for you. It can’t be easy waking up in a new region, especially since you can’t remember anything. I want you to know, I’m here, if you need anything. Everyone needs at least one friend in the world.”
“It’s really that simple? I’m a good person and you don’t want me to feel alone?”
Chad shrugged and smiled, letting out a slight laugh, “Pretty much. I’m not a very hard person to figure out, I see someone in trouble, and I help them.”
They arrived back at the house; Chad led Alice into her room and helped her crawl into bed. He scooped up her Eevee and placed it on the bed beside her, “I’ll see you later, get some rest.” He said as he shut the light off, Omen fluttering out the door before Chad closed it behind him.
Alice stared at the ceiling for a moment before her eyelids got heavy, as she closed her eyes her mind drifted back to Rein. It didn’t matter that she was still alive if he wasn’t; she would have failed to keep him safe. It would be all her fault. If only she could remember what had happened.
If only she knew the pain that Rein was feeling for her.
