"Okay," the girl on the other end replied. "I'll be right over." Brock heard the click of the telephone, so he hung up. He ran outside and waited. He jumped in excitement as he saw the small girl with black curls come running out of her house. They lived next door, so it was pointless to call, but they both enjoyed feeling grown up. "What shall we play?" she asked, panting from the running. "Let's play pokémon! I'll be the greatest master of all time!" he shouted. "Yay! I'll be the greatest pokémon breeder of all time!"
They played until it was dark and time for both of them to go to bed.
"Bye! See you tomorrow!" yelled Maria.
"Bye!" responded Brock.
The next day was the same. This time, Maria called Brock. They played the same game as always, and again planned to see each other the next day. This continued the rest of the summer. Then it was the eve of Maria's birthday, so Brock planned to do something extra special for her.
Brock sat at a small table in his room, concentrating on a drawing. His mother came in to kiss him goodnight, and noticed he was still awake.
"Brock, what are doing still up? You have a big day tomorrow."
"I'm making something for Maria, Mommy."
"Oh, how sweet! I guess I'll let you stay up a little longer to finish your picture."
"Thanks Mommy!" Brock got and hugged his mom.
"I'll come in to check on you later."
"Okay, Mommy." Brock's mom left the room and shut the door. Brock sat down and continued drawing.
***
"Wake up, honey! You need to get ready for Maria's party!" Brock opened his eyes and sat up.
"Oh yeah!"
"I'll get breakfast ready." His mom left, and Brock quickly pulled on his clothes. All through breakfast, he could not sit still. All through the day, he could not sit still. Finally, it was time for the party.
Brock ran over to Maria's door with his present and rang the bell. His parents followed behind him. Maria's mom opened the door.
"Come on in! Maria's waiting for you!" she said, smiling warmly. Brock ran in to the living room where Maria and the rest of her family were. Brock felt uncomfortable being the only non-family member there, but everyone welcomed him and smiled.
Maria ran up to Brock and said, "Come on, let's play!" They went to the family room and Maria set up the video game system.
"Maria, I made something for you." Brock handed her the picture he drew last night. Maria took it and looked at it. It was of an onix, Maria's favorite pokémon.
"Thank you!" Maria said enthusiastically. "Come on, let's start now!"
After about an hour or so, the doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" Maria's father asked himself. "Excuse me," he said to the guests. He walked to the door and opened it. A couple of Team Rocket thugs stood there.
"The boss ain't happy with your work," the male of the pair said.
"We was told to exterminate ya. Follow us." The female motioned to a black van.
Maria's father refused to move. "No," he said.
"No? Well, then the rest of the family will have to go too." She mouthed something to the male, who then brought out a gun.
"Bye bye!" The male laughed maniacally. A shot echoed through the house.
"Run!" whispered Maria's father, as he fell onto the floor.
Maria's mother stood up. "They've come. I knew they eventually would. We need to save Maria and Brock!" The family ran to the family room, interrupting the children's game.
"What?" asked Maria.
"Your father's dead. We need to leave. NOW!' Maria and Brock stood up and they ran to the back door. Meanwhile, the thugs were shooting the other family members.
Brock and Maria ran out the back door and kept running to the river, where they had their hideout. Maria fell; Brock turned and stopped to help her up. The thugs and Brock's mom ran out of the house. The thugs aimed at Maria.
"RUN!!!!!!!" Brock's mother yelled. Brock did not stop to think. He turned and ran until he could run no more.
"Let him go. He's no problem," the male thug said to the other. Their job done, they left the house.
Brock sat, panting and trying to catch his breath. He was too young to understand what had happened. He had just acted on his instincts. After ten minutes, he decided he should return to the house and find out what happened to Maria and everyone else. Brock slowly walked back, thinking about Maria's father being dead. He decided the people with the R's on their shirts were not nice people. Brock tripped over something, which woke him out of his stupor. He looked down.
It was Maria! She had blood covering her new dress. In her hand was his picture of an onix. Tears ran down Brock's face. He continued walking to the house. Just outside the door was his mom. "No!" Brock shouted. His crying grew harder. He opened the door and walked inside. Blood was everywhere, and everyone seemed to be dead. Except for one. "Dad!" Brock ran over to his father.
"Son, call 9-1-1! Hurry!" Brock ran to the telephone and dialed. This was one time he did not want to be a grown up. Soon he and his father heard the sirens of the ambulance. The men ran into the house and put his dad on a stretcher.
"Son, is this your dad?" asked a paramedic. Brock nodded at the question. "How old are you?" Brock held up eight fingers. "Please, follow us and tell us what happened on the way to the hospital."
Brock lay in a bed at his Uncle and Aunt's house. His father had disappeared as soon as he was released from the hospital, so he and his siblings were staying with their relatives until he was old enough to take care of them. They always wondered why Brock now never opened his eyes. He was afraid that if he opened them, he would still see the blood from the massacre. His relatives were nice to him, though. They let Brock have a pokémon. He chose an onix, for Maria. "I'll be the greatest pokémon breeder in the world, just for Maria!" he whispered to the ceiling.