Chapter One: Birthday
The silence was the worst part. I could handle being alone, but I needed to hear something. Anything would work. I felt my lungs begin to contract as my breath escapes me. Suddenly as I feel my consciousness fading, I hear a strange noise. I jolt up in my bed, sweat pouring down my cheeks as I roll over and hit the snooze button on my alarm. Damn, I knew from the start that today was going to suck. Well, if I don't get up now, Mom will probably kill me.
I head downstairs to find Mom on the phone. "Hey Mom... Uh I'm up now..." She glances over at me and scowls, then continues to ramble on about how excited she is for me. Great. I grudgingly make my way over to the fridge to search for something to eat, opting for an apple over some weird green stuff that has been in here for over a week. I don't even wanna know what that is gonna "evolve" into.
I shut the fridge and take a bite out of the apple, promptly spitting it out as I hear my Mom mention something about us having food in the fridge that was going bad. I think its best not to take my chances, so I toss the apple in the trash. "You know, you could try and act like a Mom every once in a while. Who knows, maybe it will do you some good." She yells something about me not appreciating everything she does and returns to her phone call.
Several minutes later, my mother finally hangs up the phone. "Zelke! I just got off the phone with Miranda and guess what?" She is slightly more enthusiastic than normal, which is saying a lot. I shrug, "She and Roy are coming over to celebrate with us." Big surprise. I didn't dislike Roy, but seeing as he is like the only other person living in this town I gotta deal. "Aren't you excited? I mean it is your birthday after all."
"Don't remind me." A slight frown crosses my mother's face, "I realize that for some reason this is really important for you, but honestly it isn't that big of a deal." My reaction earns me another scowl as she throws her hands in the air and mutters something about me being ungrateful. "I'm not ungrateful, but it just seems like just another day to me." I know I will probably get a lecture later, but to be perfectly honest right now I'm not so concerned about that. I love my Mom, but I just wish she'd act more like a normal Mom sometimes.
I figure it's best to just ignore her, so I collapse onto the couch and shut my eyes. Of course, the second I try and relax I hear a loud knock on the door. My internal whining over, I slowly get up and walk the whole three feet to the door. "Oh? Hey Roy, Mom said you were coming over."
"Wow… Somebody is excited to see me. Although I find it hard to believe that you were expecting me seeing as you aren't even fully dressed yet." I knew I was forgetting something. Not that I can do much about that now. "Well, aren't you going to let me in?" I roll my eyes as Roy chuckles before walking inside and over to the couch, his mother right behind him. If I wasn't embarrassed before, I certainly am now. Miranda smiles as she heads off to find the woman that I'm told is my mom.
Roy lets out another chuckle as he slumps down onto the couch. "I'll be right back, I need to get dressed."
"Oh, wait before you go..." Before Roy can finish I am already halfway upstairs.
"Sorry I'll just be a second." I quickly head into my room and grab some clothes. Normally I would spend a few more minutes choosing what to wear, but if I don't hurry my mother would make sure the remainder of my birthday is spent in the morgue. After I am finished dressing, I head back downstairs to find Roy is no longer there. I look around the living room a bit before heading into the kitchen, "Mom, have you seen Roy? He was sitting on the couch a moment ago." She gave me some sort of motion and pointed to the front door.
It didn't take me too long before I realized that I probably knew where he was…the lake. After all we did spend a lot of time there, and that's usually where I go to get a break from my Mom. I quickly head for the lake, which isn't too far from my house, when I realize that maybe Roy left because I blew him off earlier. Dammit, I need to find him and apologize. A peal of thunder echoes across the sky, "He really does have perfect timing." I mutter as I quicken my pace.
I watch as the sky darkens around me, but all I can do now is keep moving. I know that Roy is probably alright. I just need to make sure he forgives me for ignoring him. It's not as if I intended to, the Roy I know is so…well he wouldn't get upset over something so small. Hell, I don't even know if he is actually upset or just needed some fresh air. Regardless, I want to make sure one way or another. I just have a bad feeling about today, and I'm pretty sure it's not because it's my birthday.
As I'm walking I can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched, but a quick look around yields nothing. Deciding its best to just ignore it for now, I finally manage to reach the entrance to the Lake. An icy breeze sends a shiver down my spine as I proceed to search the area around the lakefront. I'm not there for long before I hear footsteps coming closer, "It's about time Roy, I've been looking everywhere for…you." I freeze as I realize it's not Roy who is standing behind me, but a tall man with spiked bluish hair.
"Guess again, kid." The man's presence alone terrified me, and I found that my legs were frozen in place. "I have business here, so I suggest you leave…now." As much as I wanted to leave, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was all I could do to just remember to breathe, and even that was falling short. I watched as his face grew dark, I could tell that he was losing his patience. "Get rid of this kid for me."
"Of course sir…lights out kid." Before I have a chance to react I feel a sharp blow to the back of my head as I fall to the ground, light slowly fading until…nothing.
A jarring pain in my neck causes me to open my eyes, I notice the man from earlier but no sign of the woman I heard. Or at least who I assume was a woman. I didn't really see the person who knocked me out. I feel something brush up against my leg. I try my best not to alert them that I had woken up, and my heart wells up in my throat as I see Roy lying unconscious next to me. Damn, he must have stumbled upon these jerks and got ambushed just like me.
I've never been the kind of person who can handle intense situations under pressure, and right now I was feeling a bit unnerved. My breath comes and goes as I try to retain my composure, however I feel as if I am going to burst! We need to get the hell out of here, but what exactly are our options here? On the one hand we could try and make a break for it…damn that won't work. On the other hand we could pretend to be unconscious and wait for them to leave. Sounds better, but we have no idea how long they are going to be here.
"Boss, we managed… just… legendary… plan is…" I could barely understand anything these guys were saying, but after what happened... My pulse quickened as one of the men began making his way towards us. I have never been so terrified in my life. I let a sigh of relief escape my lips as he walked right past us without a glance, along with the remainder of the group. My eyelids grow heavy as my body starts to relax, and the last thing I feel as my consciousness fades is a raindrop. Happy Birthday.
The sun was beginning to set as I open my eyes to find that I have been propped up against a tree, and I could sense the rainfall even before I opened my eyes. I try and wrap my head around what happened earlier when I remember the reason I was up here in the first place…Roy. My attempt at getting up results in failure, as well as a new pain in my side. I knew today was going to be awful but this takes the cake. Wait…oh Arceus my Mom is going to kill me…I get to die on my birthday. In fact I may actually die twice, once Miranda finds out what happened to her son, she might kill me too.
After another attempt at standing fails, I slowly slump back up against the tree. If I didn't get out of here soon then who knows what would happen. As much as I'd love to run off home and sleep, I know that I can't leave without knowing what happened to Roy. I really don't think he would leave me here after what happened, but I can't be sure that he was even alive. For all I know he could have been in worse shape than I was, it's not as if I actually saw what happened.
This time I try using the tree for support as I make my way up off the ground, only to land face first in the dirt. That could've gone better. At least I managed to move a little, and I did actually stand…for all of three seconds. A groan escapes as I try and flip over, but with little luck. This is getting beyond ridiculous, and if I have to stay here all night I am gonna do it with my face forward. Just as I manage to roll over, I hear stifled laughter. "Oh so you're finally awake Zelke?"
"Huh? Roy is that you?" Roy grins as he walks over to me, stupid idiot had me worried and he is laughing. Oh…he must be laughing at… "I was worried sick about you, and you're laughing at me!" With a small chuckle Roy slowly heads over and helps me sit back up against the tree…great now I'm back where I started. "I didn't need your help." He shrugs as I fold my arms across my chest. "Where the hell were you?"
"Well, after you ran upstairs earlier, I got annoyed and went out back to cool off." So he was upset with me. "When I came back inside you weren't there, so long story short I came looking for you and wound up here." So all of this was because of me…if I hadn't…wait just a second this is my Mom's fault. If she had been clearer then I wouldn't have wound up here in the first place and all of this could have been avoided.
"I think I've had enough excitement for one day." Roy nods in agreement and offers out his hand to help me up. With a little luck, and a few tries, I finally manage to stand up. However, the only way I seem to be able to keep it that way, is by being supported by Roy's shoulder. "Thanks Roy, I didn't realize how exhausted I was."
"Don't worry about it. I've got your back…literally." Yeah… that's very funny Roy. "So enjoying your sixteenth birthday?" He didn't bother to hold back a laugh this time. This is going to be a long trip back home.
Lightning flickered across the sky as we arrived back in Twinleaf Town, both of us completely soaked. With Roy still supporting me, we sluggishly make our way through our dingy little town until we reached my house. After the day we've had it felt good to finally be home again. Roy releases his grip as we head inside. I slip off my waterlogged shoes and place my ruined hat on the table near the door. Thankfully my hair isn't too damp, but without my hat on, my bangs just stick to my forehead. Roy is no better off than I am, "We must look ridiculous."
Roy lets out a small snicker as we slump down onto the couch, at least all the excitement is done and over with now. Just as we are beginning to relax we hear the phone ring, "Hello? Oh Mom I… I know we should have told… You don't understand… I… Okay we'll see you when you get back." I knew she was going to be angry. "She really is an excellent mother isn't she? Not once does she sound concerned." Our laughter echoes throughout the empty house as I collapse back on the couch next to Roy.
"Well to be fair we did disappear without saying anything. Hopefully she will cool off before they get home." Roy doesn't sound too concerned, but his mom is a bit more lax than mine. I know my mother means well but she can be a bit overbearing sometimes. Not that I am in any position to complain.
The house feels unusually quiet, the only sound emanating from the rain outside. I don't like the rain... okay that isn't fair... I hate the rain. I know it's necessary, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. My body let out an involuntary shiver as I drew my legs onto the couch. "Is the power out or something? It's freezing in here." I glance down at my sodden clothing. "It feels like I just changed and now..."
"Zelke... I was thinking... about what happened earlier. Maybe if we had our own..."
"That's out of the question." I already knew where this was going, and I wasn't going to let him finish. "It doesn't matter to me if you want to get a Pokemon, but leave me out of it." I realize that I was being a bit harsh, but I have been over this many times with him.
"You know I don't want head out on my own. That's why..." He was right. I do know, and I also know that Roy really likes Pokemon. It wasn't that I didn't like them. I just... "Sorry. I won't bring it up again." Roy wasn't acting like his usual self. The Roy I know is very out there to say the least, and he would never give up this easily.
"Okay, we'll do it." I cracked. Maybe it was seeing my best friend this upset. "What's the worst that can happen?" I had a feeling I was going to regret those words.