Chapter 9: Help!

Sheena felt a sharp stitch piercing her side as she ran flat out across the cobblestone sidewalks that curved this way and that through Ecruteak City. Her heart pounded in her chest, both from running and from fear. Around every corner and down every alley she could see the faces of Ren, Joana, Signalis, and Laila as they fell through the rotted floorboards in the Burned Tower. She had tried to reach them, but had been too far away to do anything other than grab Joana's Furret which had attempted to jump into the hole after its trainer.

The two had wrestled for several long moments before Sheena was able to convince the Furret to listen to her.

"You won't help her by going down there," she gasped, keeping a cautious grip on the Furret's thick fur. "You'll just risk getting hurt. We have to try to help from up here."

The Furret twitched its ears and flicked its tail in an agitated fashion. It turned to look at the hole then back at Sheena. It let out a high chirp and stretched its long body to peer over the edge of the splintered wood. Even this small amount of weight caused the wood to creak ominously, and Sheena pulled Furret further back, gazing anxiously around.

"It's not safe to stay here," she said, though she hesitated. How could she help the others if she couldn't get to the hole? If she had some rope, she could send it down to them and let them climb up, but there was no way to know how deep the hole was or how wide. The floor creaked again as she sat there and she made up her mind to get out of the building. Ignoring the small Pokemon's protests, Sheena scooped up the Furret and retreated, pushing her way through the loose board in the wall.

Furret wriggled out of the girl's grip and stood on its hind legs, sniffing the air and turning its ears this way and that, searching for something. It let out another chirp and looked up at Sheena.

"I'm going to find help," she said, turning towards the city.

Furret nodded and motioned for her to get going, then it turned and disappeared into the tall grass, streaking away in the opposite direction.

Sheena had no idea where Furret had gone, but she didn't stop to wonder about it. She had to find the police station and get them to send out a rescue team. She was sure Ren and the others were still alive, she was just sure, but they could be hurt. Even if they weren't, they were still trapped underneath the tower. How would she explain that without revealing that they'd trespassed? Well, that wasn't important at the moment. No matter what the punishment for trespassing, it wouldn't be as bad as being left wherever they were.

She hurtled around a corner and ran straight into something brown and tall. The boy grunted at the impact and stumbled. Sheena bounced backwards and lost her balance, tripping off the edge of the sidewalk and falling. The boy reached out and caught her, pulling her back into a standing position.

"Thanks," Sheena gasped, clutching her side and looking up at the boy. He was at least a foot taller than her and a few years older. He had brown hair and matching eyes, features that were complimented by the brown jacket he wore.

"In a hurry, are we?" asked the boy, smiling down at her.

"Are you late for something?" asked a female voice. Sheena looked around and saw a girl standing just behind the boy. She was about the same age as Sheena, blonde, and dressed in a black athletic outfit.

"I," Sheena began, slightly disoriented from the collision, "no, I mean yes, I'm in a hurry. But no I'm not late. My friends are…they fell, I don't know where, but the boards were rotted and Ren tried to walk on them, and now they're trapped! I don't know what to do!" A single hot tear escaped her eye and she brushed it away. Both the boy and the girl were staring at her in a bemused sort of way. Neither seemed to have understood what she was trying to say. "Can you tell me where the police station is?" she added quickly, deciding that she had already wasted too much time.

"Uh, yeah," said the blonde girl, looking concerned, "it's just down this street and to the left. Go down about, I don't know, two blocks, and it's right there. You can't miss it."

"Thank you!" Sheena shouted in reply, already running away in the direction the girl had indicated.

"Hey, wait," called the boy, but Sheena kept running.

She took the first left she came to and immediately saw the sign for the police a couple of blocks down. In another moment she had reached it and pulled on the door, but it didn't move. She pulled on it again, harder, but still it didn't move. She pressed her face against the glass, but all she could see inside was darkness. How could this be? Police stations did not close, they just did not. There were rules and laws and regulations. She herself had read a book detailing the requirements of an active police station.

"Hello?" she called, hoping someone would hear her. She banged on the glass, her face still pressed against it. "Is anyone in there?" There was no reply. She banged on the glass again, more forcefully this time. It shuddered slightly, but the room inside remained dark and silent. "I need help!" she yelled, tugging at the door handle and slamming her fist into the glass. "Please! My friends are-"

"There's no one in there," said a boy's voice from behind her. She spun around and saw the brown haired boy and blonde girl hurrying towards her. "Ecruteak is one of the most peaceful cities in Johto. The police are only on night duty four days out of the week. The Citizen's Watch takes over when they're not around."

"That can't be legal!" Sheena cried indignantly, "they can't leave the city unprotected! My friends are trapped under the Burned Tower and-"

"The Burned Tower?" interrupted the girl, sounding surprised, "what were they doing in there? It's fenced off."

"Does it matter?" asked Sheena, starting to feel irritated, "they were inside and now they're trapped."

"What do you mean trapped?" asked the boy in a gentle tone. "Do you mean they got locked inside?"

"No," said Sheena, forcing herself to remain calm, "they were inside exploring and the floor caved in. I couldn't get to them and I don't know if they're hurt or not."

"Oh," said the girl quickly, standing up a little taller and nodding, "well then, we have to do something. I'm a member of the Citizen's Watch. I'll help you rescue your friends." She looked up at the boy who nodded.

"Of course I'll help, too," he said, smiling.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" said Sheena, feeling an enormous wave of relief flow through her. She turned and ran back in the direction of the Burned Tower, the girl from the Citizen's Watch and the boy with brown hair running after her.

"I'm Lexie, by the way," said the girl, smiling at her as they ran, "Lexie Olivia."

"And I'm Mark Secritious," said the boy, turning to look back at them. His long legs allowed him to run faster than both girls.

"Sheena Johnson," said Sheena distractedly. This didn't seem like the right moment for introductions. Perhaps these two didn't understand how bad the situation really was.

They reached the Burned Tower in good time and climbed over the fence. Sheena showed Lexie and Mark where the loose board in the wall was, and they squeezed through, Mark with some difficulty.

The hole was easily spotted and the three of them stood around the edges of the room, trying to think of a way to get Ren, Signalis, and Joana out. It didn't seem possible. Every time one of them approached too close to the hole, the floor would creak ominously. At one point Lexie had to be pulled back by Mark to prevent her from falling in when a few more boards gave way.

"I think we're going to have to accept that there's no way to reach them through here," said Lexie, looking around the room for other options. "This structure is just too old and damaged. If the supports for this building are as badly damaged as the floor, then attaching a rope to any of them could cause the whole place to collapse. We'll have to think of something else."

Mark nodded, placing one hand on the younger girl's waist. "I agree, and I think we should get out of this place as soon as possible. No more close calls, please."

Lexia smiled up at him. "Don't worry about me," she said cheerfully, taking his hand and leading him towards the loose board that marked the exit.

Sheena felt a sense of foreboding but followed them outside. They walked in different directions, each looking around for anything that might be useful. Sheena felt her eyes drifting off in the direction Furret had run. Perhaps the small Pokemon had detected something she could not. She looked up, about to say that she thought they should follow Furret's path, but was cut off by a low rumble that seemed to come from under the ground.

"That's odd," said Mark, pausing and looking around at the tall grass and nearby trees. "It sounds like, like…" he trailed off.

The rumbling continued for several long minutes, then slowly faded away. Sheena swallowed, fighting the urge to start running around in circles like a crazy person. There was absolutely no proof the rumbling had been anything other than thunder or a truck on the nearby road. Seriously, what were the odds of a cave-in happening shortly after Ren and the others had fallen into some underground pit. It had be extremely unlikely, right?