Chapter 4: A Caring Heart
Jamie was watching for Rachel, who had gone into town to get food and stuff while he stayed at the house with the two Digimon, who had nearly recovered from their injuries. Guilmon then grunted a little in pain and the boy helped him get more comfortable. "Thank you, Jamie," he said.
"You're welcome," he said and saw Angemon lean his head back on the hard arm of the couch and got a pillow for him. "How about this?" He asked gently.
The white Digimon actually smiled a little, lifting his head up so that the boy could place the pillow behind his head. "Ah, that's much better," Angemon sighed in relief. "Thank you."
Rachel suddenly came rushing in, slamming the door behind her, breathing hard as her backpack slid from her shoulders. Jamie quickly caught it. "What happened?" He asked.
She looked at him. "We've got trouble," she said. "I had just finished getting to food when some girl in town pointed me out and said I was a Digimon sympathizer. Well, that sparked a fire that's coming this way fast."
Jamie looked stunned. "You mean…?"
Rachel nodded. "The adults who remember the Digimon-human war are coming to take Angemon and Guilmon away," she said. "The girl that pointed me out said she should have made sure Angemon was done for."
The girl then looked at the angel Digimon, who looked hurt and angry. "Angemon, is she…the one that abandoned you?" She asked.
He nodded. "The same," he said.
Rachel ran over to him. "I'm not letting her near you," she promised firmly. He seemed surprised at that.
Jamie looked out the window. "They're coming," he said.
"Everything ready?" She asked.
He nodded. "Okay, if they don't listen to me, then take Guilmon and Angemon and go there," she said.
"You got it," said Jamie. "You're coming too, right?"
She nodded before heading out to speak with the group of adults. "You're trespassing here!" She said. "Leave before I call the police!"
"Turn over the Digimon, girl! They're dangerous!" One adult said.
Rachel stood her ground. "No, they're not!" She said firmly. "Their former trainers were dangerous!"
The same girl who had pointed Rachel out and another girl came forward. "We did the right thing by getting away from them," said the first girl. "They were trying to hurt us. Restart the Digimon-human war."
Rachel glared at them. "That's something I highly doubt," she said. "They were your best friends and you abandoned them."
"They hurt us by hurting our families!" Said the second girl. "They need to be dealt with!"
"By 'dealt with', you mean seeking vengeance on two Digimon who had nothing to do with that war!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Every Digimon had something to do with that war!" The first girl said. "Even if some didn't fight in it!"
Something about that statement waved a red flag for Rachel. "And Angemon and Guilmon didn't fight in it, did they?" She asked. "They tried to protect you, didn't they?!"
The girls sputtered for a moment before they regained their composure. "No! They didn't!" The second girl said.
Something in her statement didn't ring right and Rachel sensed it: desperation. "My cousin and I will not become the cowards you did and are!" She said sternly. "You'll never hurt Angemon or Guilmon again!"
With that, she went back inside and barricaded the door, quickly moving to the back part of the house and under the stairs, where a fire escape had been built and concealed long ago. She now opened the door and closed it behind her as she went in and down the stairs where the tunnel led to the shed outside and she escaped, running down a path only she and Jamie knew about.
Jamie had succeeded in getting the Digimon to the cave that he and his cousin had found and made into a refuge long ago and they waited for Rachel to come.
Thankfully, it wasn't a long wait and Rachel was soon inside the cave with them, breathing hard. "Didn't go so well, huh?" Jamie asked.
"Not as I hoped," Rachel admitted. "But something the first girl said struck a wrong chord. She said all Digimon had something to do with the Digimon-human war, even if some didn't fight in it."
She then turned to the two Digimon. "You two didn't fight in that war, did you?" She asked non-accusingly. "You tried to protect your trainers, didn't you?"
The two had pained looks on their faces. "Yes," said Angemon. "But…we were unable to save their families."
"Our trainers not only saw their loved ones get hurt, but saw a few of their relatives perish," said Guilmon, looking away. "They blamed us for that."
"And abandoned you out of not only grief, but anger," said Rachel.
"We tried to help them, but they rejected us, said hurtful things, and even hurt us physically with other Digimon they had found. The Fusion Digimon."
"Who they didn't blame for the war?" Jamie asked in shock.
The two Digimon nodded. "As a result, we lost faith in humans and vowed to never trust them again," said Angemon. "But, despite that, you two insisted upon helping us."
"Because we never leave someone injured when we can help them," said Rachel as she went up to Angemon and rested a hand on his arm. "And I promise we'll never abandon you two. We'll keep you safe."
He looked at her. "For once, Rachel, I believe your words," he said. "Because your actions have backed them up."
"And they always will," she promised.
"Same goes for me," said Jamie. Guilmon gently placed a clawed hand on his shoulder.
"You both have caring hearts," the dinosaur Digimon said. "But…what do we do from here?"
"You two rest," said Rachel. "Jamie, what do you say we brush up on our history a bit?"
The boy instantly saw what his cousin had in mind. "I'd normally say no, but given the circumstances, I'm for it," he said.
She nodded and they headed over to another section of the cave they had been working on slowly.
The library section.
So, the two former trainers return to try and have their former Digimon hunted down and the townspeople who remember the awful war are for it. But what did Rachel mean by brushing up on history a bit? Stay tuned to find out!
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GoldGuardian2418
