Cassie walked with Dylan and Lexie back to the main road before she parted ways with them to head to the bus stop. The twins offered to wait with her since it was so late and she was alone, but she insisted on going by herself, saying that she traveled the city during the night all the time. With a final wave, they both watched Cassie walk the opposite way of their home before she turned on another street and disappeared from sight.
"Well...this was interesting..." Lexie commented as they began to head home. Neither had decided to put the glasses back on since they first wanted to talk about what happened at Washington Park. "What did you think about all of this?"
"I think..." Dylan started before looking down at his game. He watched his player walk down the same road he walked, seeing Pokemon appear out of the darkness but not bothering to make an encounter with them. "That this game has its pros...and some major cons..."
"Like leaving us vulnerable," Lexie suggested.
"And going out at night alone," Dylan added.
"Having more information than we offered."
"Eating food from people we don't know."
"...Mom would kill us if she found out we did this," Lexie commented as they turned back onto their street.
"I'd rather not think about that," Dylan grimaced and rubbed his arm for comfort. "She just bought a new knife set after all." Lexie giggled at her brothers comment before glancing down at her game. She clicked a few buttons and opened her trainers card, taking in the blackened spot set apart from the seven blank ones.
"So...what about the other gyms?" Lexie asked. They finally made it to the front of their door and Dylan took out the keys to unlock it. They both walked inside, shutting the door firmly before locking it. With a sigh, they sank onto the couch, not bothering to turn on any lights.
"I don't know..." The glow of the devices illuminated the room a bit as Dylan opened the map and scanned over the remaining seven gyms. "The next closest gym is next to Farmington River, right off the River trail. We'd have to catch a bus to Mechanic Street and walk the rest of the way there." He sighed and leaned his head back against the couch cushion. "I don't know if I want to travel that far at night...especially since that trail doesn't have many lights. We would practically be asking to get robbed or kidnapped."
Lexie hummed in agreement before she remembered what gym leader Mel had told her. She sat her device down and walked over to the box it all came in. Dylan watched as she squatted and opened it, shifting through it and muttering in annoyance.
"What are you looking for?" Dylan asked, walking over to look over his sisters shoulder.
"The manual," Lexie replied before standing with a frown. "Mel said that the times for the gyms are listed in the manual. If the gym at Farmington River is during the day, we should be good to go, right?"
"Well, yeah, but you forgot something," Dylan commented as his sister began to look around the living room, checking under the coffee table and magazines. "Mom is here during the day."
"I know, but maybe she'll-aha!" Lexie lifted the manual in triumph before flipping through the pages. "Maybe she'll be asleep during the gym times. We both know she takes her sleeping pills at 8am sharp."
"Yeah, but it would be a huge coincidence if the time of her sleep lined up with the gym, don't you think?" Dylan sat back on the couch and stared at the game, trying to think of a way for them continue playing without their mother finding out.
"...Or maybe...it doesn't have to be a coincidence at all..." Lexie muttered. She frowned at the page with the Farmington Gym displayed on it and sat next to Dylan so that he could also see. They both read about the gym leader, Charles, and the Pokemon and rewards there would be, but what really caught their attention...was the time the gym would be open.
8am to 12pm...
It gave them just enough time to make it there and back before their mother woke up.
"All right," Dylan leaned forward, rubbing his hands over his face. "We really need to decide right now, sis."
"Decide what?" Lexie closed the manual, already thinking about what her brother was about to say next.
"Whether we should continue with this game or not," he pointed to the device, his eyebrows lifted. "So far, whoever made this shit knew our address already, knew what the inside of our house looked like, knew what times to place these gyms, and probably knows the reasons why! Lexie," Dylan took a deep breath, staring intently at his sister. "For all we know...some crazy psycho could be watching our every move. How else would all of these 'coincidences' be happening?"
"I know, I feel the same way," Lexie and Dylan both stared at their devices, their characters swaying back and forth in place, waiting for a command. "I just...I just think that this game was just...meant for us to play it, you know?"
"I do know," Dylan sighed and ruffled his hair aggressively. "I'm so conflicted. I know we need to pack this up and just leave it be but...it's like it's drawing me in."
"So...what do you want to do?" Lexie watched as her brother thought hard about it all. He was practically burning a hole through the device as he clasped his hands together.
"If we keep a straight head...and stay cautious...and together...I think it'll be okay..." Dylan sighed and sat up, his heart racing in nervousness at what he was saying. "We just need to pay attention to our surroundings...we'll keep weapons on us at all times."
"Cell phones fully charged too," Lexie added to which Dylan nodded. "We should probably keep the use of the glasses and headphones to a minimum too."
"I agree," Dylan said as he saved his game and closed it. Lexie put down the manual and did the same with her device. "We should put them back in the box for now. Mom may check to see if they're still there when she gets back." Lexie handed her device to Dylan and he placed both back int he box, making sure they looked as if they were never disturbed. He also placed the glasses back and wrapped the headphones just like how they first arrived. Lexie took out her phone and took a photo of every gym page before she placed the manual back where she found it, covering up any evidence that she looked through it.
Dylan checked to make sure the doors and windows to the house were locked and curtains were drawn shut before both went upstairs. As soon as Lexie opened her bedroom door, the chime from her computer filled the silence. Out of curiosity, Dylan entered after her and stood behind her as she sat down and opened the notification.
It was a response to her post on Stumblr.
"I wasn't expecting a reply so soon," she muttered as she clicked the link to the comment. They both waited as the browser opened to the post and Lexie scrolled down to read the comment. It was from a user named Inedible Banana.
InediBLeBaNAnA: I also received one.
"That's all they said?" Dylan scoffed and Lexie pursed her lips at the blunt and somewhat useless response. She hummed as she pressed the reply button, her fingers poised above the keyboard.
"I guess I'll just ask if they know anymore information on it," Lexie typed in her question and clicked the reply button. "Maybe they'll have responded by the morning."
"Yeah, hopefully with a reply longer than 'Yes'," Dylan shook his head and was about to exit his sisters room before another chime broke the silence. They both turned back to the computer and Lexie refreshed the page, noticing that Inedible Banana had left a reply again.
InediBLeBaNAnA: The person who made it knows me.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lexie voiced in confusion.
"Let me see," Lex rolled from in front of the desk so that her brother could get at the keyboard. She read his sentence while he typed and nodded her head in approval as he asked for clarification. Before he hit respond, she fixed his mistakes, causing him to roll his eyes.
"No one is worried about grammar right now," he said as she clicked the reply button. She shrugged her shoulders in return, waiting on they person's response to Dylan's question. They waited a couple of minutes, Dylan browsing this social media and Lexie tapping away at the desk. Finally, the chime filled the room again. Lexie refreshed the page once more, both siblings taking in the response. However, they blinked in astonishment at the reply they got.
It wasn't from Inedible Banana.
It was from a moderator on Stumblr, saying that the post had to be disabled due to it breaking guidelines.
"How was it breaking guidelines?!" Lexie refreshed it again, not believing what had happened. "I was only asking about a freaking Pokemon game!"
"I fucking hate Stumblr, here, let me see the computer again." Lexie moved aside, huffing in disbelief as her brother copied and pasted her original post to Readit and Yawho answers instead. "There, hopefully that Banana person will find this and respond to one but I don't think they'll get to it tonight." Lexie sighed as Dylan closed out the browser and yawned.
"You're right," Lexie replied and she took off her jacket and tossed it aside. "Hopefully they'll find it sometime tomorrow."
"Yeah, until then," Dylan poked his sisters forehead and smiled. "Night. We've got an...interesting day tomorrow."
"That we do, goodnight." Dylan shut his sisters door and she changed into pajamas, climbing under the blankets and getting warm. In the other room, Dylan did the same, stripping and tossing his clothes in the corner of his room as he did with other worn outfits. They both sighed, staring up at the ceiling as their thoughts and questions swirled around in their heads.
What would the gym be like tomorrow?
Would their mom stick to her pill at 7am schedule?
What was the purpose of having them play this game?
Slowly, Lexie began to close her eyes, the adrenaline of the day finally draining from her body. Slowly, both siblings were taken into a deep sleep.
Almost an hour after they were dreaming, Lexie's computer screen lit up and a chime filled the room.
A/N
Question:
What decision would you have made? Would you have continued playing or stopped? Be honest!
I would have honestly kept playing. It's probably a stupid decision but my curiosity would have gotten the best of me. Though, I would also continue with more caution.
Until the next update!
