The Ordeal
Part One
By Chris Devlin
E-Mail: chris_devlin@hotmail.com
Website: www.pokeland.org.uk
Genre: Drama
The street lamps cast cone shaped beams of light down from their high vantage point. The night sky above was clear and the stars shone brightly, if somewhat hard to see through the artificial illumination from the lamps. Ash pushed through the door of the restaurant and emerged into the cool night air. "Where's Misty?" Brock asked as Ash walked up to him. "She's just fixing her hair in the bathroom. She said she'd meet us back at the hotel." Ash told him. Brock frowned at this. "I'm not so sure if that's a good idea. What if something happens to her?" Brock said, expressing his concern. "Oh Misty can take care of herself. Besides, she's got her Pokémon with her." Ash replied, dismissing Brocks unease. "Well, alright. I'm still not too happy with this." Brock conceded as he and Ash started towards the hotel.
"Ohh! Why won't you stay in place?" Misty fumed as she looked into the mirror of the restroom, trying to fix her hair. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a can of hair spray. She maneuvered the rogue part of her hair into position before spraying it generously. It sprung back into its previous position. "Ohhhh!!!" she said shaking her fists in anger. "I'll just have to put up with it." she told herself. Pressing the hair down as much as possible she turned and walked out of the restroom, through the restaurant and out into the fresh night air. As she emerged she looked around to see if Ash and Brock were still in sight. It took her little more than ten seconds to discover they had gone on ahead as she had told them to. "Oh well." she said to herself, wrapping her coat round her and heading off in the direction of the hotel they were staying in.
Ash glanced at his watch. The digital display showed "23:37". He was beginning to worry about Misty. They had left the restaurant almost an hour ago and she still hadn't returned. Sitting on his bed he looked over at the closed door. He was expecting her to just walk in at any second, tell him he was worrying about nothing and laugh at him for it. Still, at the back of his mind was the nagging doubt that she wasn't going to walk through the door. The ringing phone caught him off guard and he jumped before picking up the receiver. "Hello." Ash said into the phone. "Ash. It's Brock here. She hasn't came back yet has she?" Brock asked him, growing fear in his voice. Ash sighed because he knew he'd have to tell Brock to keep looking. "No. No she hasn't Brock. Keep looking. Find her. Please god find her." Ash told him as he felt himself beginning to break up. "Ok Ash. And don't worry. We will find her." he told the younger trainer in a calming voice. "Ok." Ash said blankly, trying to hold back the tears he felt were going to come. "See you later Ash." Brock said as he hung up. Ash stood up and walked over to the window. "Damn it Misty, where are you?!" Ash cried out as he looked over the rooftops.
Officer Jenny slowly drove her motorcycle through the city streets, looking for any sign of trouble. So far the night had been quiet, one case of somebody playing their stereo too loud, but otherwise nothing had happened. Now she was just cruising along, showing the public the police presence they needed. Turning the bike left she started into one of the darker areas of the city. Although there were relatively few people in this area at this time of night, she made a point of checking here every night. The area was comprised of row after row of dank, dismal, decrepit buildings, each separated by it's own little dark alleys. She slowed the bike right down and withdrew her flashlight, shining it down the first alley. Nothing.
The second. Nothing
The third. Nothing.
The fourth. Noth... Something
Parking the bike at the entry to the alley she radioed in her location and intentions before starting down the side street. As she walked the object she had noticed grew clearer. It was a girl.
For the tenth time in the past hour Ash looked at his watch. "01:08" By this time Brock had returned and they were both extremely worried. "Maybe we should phone the police?" Ash offered to Brock. He shook his head. "Let's give her some more time first." he told him. Ash stared at him incredulously. "More time!!?? Brock she's been missing for almost three hours. The restaurant is only a five minute walk away!" Ash shouted at him. Brock backed away. "Ash calm down." he told him. "I can't. Not while Misty is missing." the younger trainer replied as he broke down into tears. "Brock, I love her. I'm not sure if you'd understand that or not, but please try. You can't know how I feel about leaving her there. You were right, we should have waited for her. I'll never forgive myself if she is hurt." he said as he sobbed. Brock just nodded and handed Ash a tissue. It was as he blew his nose noisily that there came a knock at the door. Brock moved to open it as Ash remained on the bed, crying. As the door swung open, the figures of two Officer Jennys greeted Brock's eyes. The first one looked down at the notepad she was carrying. "Is this where Ash Ketchum is staying?" she asked as she read his name out. Brock nodded. "Yes, that's him on the bed." he told her. The first Jenny looked at the other and nodded. "Can we come in?" she asked. Brock looked at Ash, who nodded his answer. "Sure, come in." Brock told them, closing the door behind them as they entered.
"Mr Ketchum, you are friends with Misty Waterflower aren't you?" the Jenny asked him. Ash looked up sharply at her. "Yes, why? Has something happened to her?" he replied frantically, panic beginning to enter his mind. The Jenny closed her eyes before looking up at them. "I'm afraid, I have some bad news. Miss Waterflower was attacked and raped earlier this evening."
