I'm so sorry for the late update! I promise to try to update more frequently!
Amy47101 does not own pokemon or The Summoning.
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The Summoning
Seeking the Truth
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Bedtime at Lyle House was nine, with lights out and a strict no-talking rule coming into effect an hour later when the nurses retired for the night.
Each side of the upper level had a bedroom for its assigned nurse. Zoey always said that there was no door connecting the girls side to the guys side, but Marina insisted that there was one between the nurses room for quick access to the whole upper floor in an emergency.
Jade swore up and down that Mrs. Talbot was a quick and sound sleeper, she said to watch out for Ms. Van Curd. Apparently she was slightly restless when she was asleep. But she also said that she was usually out cold by midnight. I was nervous. An early break-in means getting caught, but to late and we don't get our information.
Jade insisted Marina and I went to sleep, that she usually stayed up late despite the bedtime. I asked her what she did during that time, and she just glared. So I swallowed my words, and got under the covers, watching as Jade held up her iPhone.
"Siri," she whispered slightly. "Play Small by Carrie Underwood." there was a pause. I looked over and saw Jade with Hope curled into her side, sleeping peacefully. Jade was rubbing the top of her head, staring blankly at the ceiling. Every once in a while she'd whisper for a new song.
Slowly, I fell asleep.
o.0.o.0.o
"Dawn." I snapped my eyes open to see Jade standing over me donned in a simple black cami and gray sweatpants. She looked wide awake. Marina was smiling, waving slightly as she hugged a bright pink sweatshirt around herself, shivering in her blue and white checkered shorts. She looked tired but alert. I sat up, pulling my hair out of my face. Marina looked towards the door. I nodded, getting out of bed and shivering, despite my warm pajamas.
At 2:30, the house was still and silent. Too still and silent. We left the doors cracked open so that we wouldn't have to risk the creaking hinges. That didn't stop the floorboards however. Every single one sounded like a gunshot in my ears as I winced, waiting for Miss Van Curd to pop around the corner and bust us. I glanced up at Jade.
She was standing patiently at the top of the stairs, arms crossed and glaring as Hope stood beside her.
"How did you manage to get here so quietly?" I whispered as Marina stepped on another creaky board. I inhaled sharply, and watched as she settled, then whispered a quick apology. Jade tilted her head at the noise.
"You tend to memorize the quietest path to and from certain rooms in the house." Jade answered. "Especially if you can only rely on your hearing to guide you."
"You were planning on doing this eventually, with or without us, weren't you?" Marina asked. Jade's lips curled into a smirk, then she turned to face the stairs.
"Perhaps." I watched with squinted eyes as she took careful steps down the stairs, completely quiet. I attempted to follow her lead, but a few of the stairs creaked eerily despite my carefulness.
As we got to the bottom, Marina passed a small object to Jade, then turned and stood in the living room. I knew the object was a bobby pin. Apparently, Jade had a small knack for picking locks. The plan was that Marina, who frequently sleepwalked due to her 'condition', was going to act sleepwalking, wandering around the living room. If the nurses woke up, Jade was going to state that she woke to Marina walking around, and thus woke me, and we went to investigate.
Hope steered the two of us down the hall past the kitchen, to Dr. Charon's office at the west end, near the boys stairs. Esmeralda had already given Jade a mental picture of the lock, and, from my eyesight, it seemed like a simple lock you could pick with a coin.
"This is ridiculous." Jade muttered, sticking the bobby pin in. "I could probably pick this with my fingernail if I hadn't bitten them down." I held back the comment that the habit was disgusting, but asked a different question instead.
"What's the bobby pin for, then?" I whispered as Jade flicked open the lock with the bobby pin. She slowly eased open the door, stepping in.
"The file cabinet." Jade stated as I followed her. She walked across the room, towards the beige-painted cabinet, and ran her fingers over the lock. "Average lock. Slightly harder than the door." she stuck the bobby pin in and jiggled it around a bit. Much to my surprise, it clicked open easily in less than five minutes.
"Where did you learn that?"
"That's none of your concern." Jade stated, pulling open the cabinet. I reached inside and flicked through the few files in there, quickly pulling out Paul's. I continued looking for Jimmy's, frowning as I couldn't find his name. "We need to hurry."
"I know! But there's nothing here for Jimmy!" I said in a loudish whisper. Jade widened her eyes at this, then scowled.
"We don't have time for Jimmy, our real problem is Paul." she muttered. "Just grab his." I nodded, ignoring the curiosity to take a peek.
Standing up, I walked to the printer/copier. I slid the pages under it and started it up, wincing at the noise it made. Was it always that loud? Regardless, it ended quickly, spitting out two papers. I folded them up and shoved them in the band of my pants, tucking the originals back in the file, then placing it back in the cabinet where it was. Jade gently slid it shut and clicked the lock back into place. Doing one more once over to make sure everything was the way it was before, I nodded, shutting the door behind me as I locked the handle on the other side.
"Did you get them?" Marina asked hurriedly. I nodded. She sighed in relief. "Good. I didn't hear anything-" Then there was an unmistakable creak. Someone was coming down the boys stairs.
"Crap." I hissed.
"I don't have Esmeralda." Jade whispered under her breath.
"We can't bolt for the stairs, we'll get caught." Marina whispered. The creaks stopped for a minute, then continued. I was panicking inside.
"The kitchen." I whispered, rushing towards the doors and hurrying to the pantry. Marina and Jade came in close after me as I flicked on the light. "Just hurry up and pick something." I stage-whispered, my voice shaking. Marina quickly caught on.
"I know I saw some Rice-Krispy Treats in here-" she muttered back, much more confident than me.
"The boys probably ate them." Jade whispered.
"The light, someone's coming!" I exclaimed quietly. Marina yanked the string to the light switch as I shut the door but a crack, instantly plunging us in darkness.
I continued to stare through the crack, watching in fascination as Paul came in. Strangely, he left the light off. The moonlight through the window poured over him. He stared at it for a moment, his back to me, and during that brief moment, even I had to admit that it was a beautiful sight to see. He looked majestic and mysterious, despite being dressed in a plain T-shirt and sweatpants. If it weren't for the fact that I had Jade and Marina hiding behind me, and the fact that he was Paul, I would've said he looked handsome.
But then he turned towards me.
That majestic mysteriousness that was just before me was gone the minute I saw his eyes. Instead of the usual small, onyx black pupils, there were large, red irises, black, cat-like pupils slicing through the middle. There was a moment of silence.
"Troublesome." he stated, then blinked. I blinked as well then rubbed my eyes. His eyes were back to normal, squinting as if looking through the darkness. Another hallucination? Or another one of Paul's 'problems'. "Ice Queen, Diva. I know you're in there as well." Marina laughed, falling completely into the character of being caught.
"Caught us red handed, you did." She smiled, bringing out a box of Rice Krispy treats. "Want one?"
"Hn." Paul answered, watching as Jade emerged from the closet. She narrowed her eyes.
"What're you doing down here, Mutt Face?" she demanded.
"How would you know my face looked like a mutts' if you can't see, Blondie?" Paul shot back.
"Don't toy with me, Mutt." Jade snarled, getting uncharacteristically angry.
I watched as Paul stiffened, posture straightening as Jade seemed to get into a fight-ready stance. I widened my eyes at this. This seemed all to similar to the confrontation in the basement, but completely out of character. Jade seemed cool and calculated, rarely getting angry, and if she did, she would use her words to get out of it. She looked ready to claw Paul's eyes out.
As far as I knew, they had no prior confrontations nor reasoning to attack each other. I have a feeling either he or her would not be here right now, and even if they did, I would've been told when we were discussing Paul's outbursts. While I was here, they showed no signs of hating each other. Both glared frequently, were cold and distant, and absolutely hated Ursula... I think they have more in common than they had differences!
He glared menacingly at Jade, teeth curling back into his own snarl. His eyes changed again. Marina had her back to them, getting juice boxes from the fridge, but I knew she could sense the tension as well. I watched as she turned, three juice boxes in hand, and smiled.
"No one's toying with you, Jade." Marina laughed airily. "I promise. We're going, Paul. Don't eat up all the sweets, okay?" Paul grunted in response, slightly relaxing his shoulders, snarl disappearing, eyes again normal. Jade seemed to calm down as well, let out a huff, then walked out of the kitchen. Marina followed, and I stepped forward, confused. Was this a hallucination? Or am I simply sleep-deprived?
Paul stood in my way. I glanced up at him. His eyes were normal. He grunted something, then stepped aside. I scurried around him, when I suddenly felt his hand clamp around my wrist. I inhaled sharply, turning to face him with my fists balled up. I could hear him breathing, and suddenly, the sheer size of him became a threat. I remembered the incident in the basement, the bruise still visible on my upper arm that he held.
My sleeve moved a bit, the bruise peeking out from under it. He cast a glance to it. I wonder if he felt remorseful. It's not like he had much of a chance to talk it out, with me avoiding him by helping Jade. Slowly, his iron grip loosened, and he held up the Rice-Krispy box.
"Forgot these." he stated. He had yet to release my wrist. I nodded.
"Y-Yeah. Sorry." I plucked three from the box. "Can you let go of me? Please?" he grunted, then dropped my wrist. I nearly dropped the food as he snatched two from the box in one hand, then grabbed another and stuck it in his mouth. Slowly, he moved and put the treats back. I swallowed as he came back out, the Rice-Krispy now in his hand. We both walked out the door, saying nothing, and went our separate ways.
I cast a small glance over my shoulder. Paul had paused for a moment, staring at Dr. Charon's office door.
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Jade and I lay in bed for about fifteen minutes with the lights out, long enough for Paul to either tell the nurses on us or just go back to bed. My fingers kept on curiously brushing the pages I stuck in my waistband, waiting and begging to be read.
Another five minutes passed.
Finally, Marina lightly pushed the door open, flashlight in hand.
"That was close." she sighed. "I hope to Arceus he won't tell the nurses."
"Please." Jade stated, standing. "He was getting a snack himself. He wouldn't dare tattle." So Paul had just happened to be getting a snack while we were breaking into Dr. Charon's office? I hated the thought of a coincidence, but Paul was always hungry, always sneaking snacks. Maybe this was routine thing for him. Wake up around 2:30 and eat something, then go back to bed. Surely the printer hadn't made enough noise for him to hear it all the way upstairs.
Jade sat on my left while Marina sat on my right. I pulled out the papers, smoothing them on my lap. Marina furrowed her brow.
"Only two? One page for the both of them?"
"No." I said. "Two for Paul. There was no file for Jimmy." Marina furrowed her brow.
"Strange." she said, flicking on the flashlight. "Do you think they keep it somewhere else?"
"I don't know." I sighed. "But I don't want to find out. Any longer and we would've gotten caught by Paul for sure."
"Whatever." Jade stated. "We wanted Paul anyways, right? Lets see what the Mutt is in here for." Marina began to read quietly.
"Paul Shingi, age seventeen, birth date, blah, blah blah," she sighed. "Boring crap we already know. Lets get to the good stuff." she beamed the light down, furrowing her brow. "Huh. He was brought to Lyle House by the children's service agency. No mention of a brother he's always talking about."
"What about parents?" Jade asked. Marina looked over it.
"Must not have gotten the 'Parents of the Year Award'. And his brother, if he exists, must not have been the best guardian, what with the child services involved." she paused. "Here's the diagnosis. Antisocial Personality Disorder." Jade snorted.
"Tell me something I don't know."
"Is that really an illness? Being rude?" I snickered. "What kind of meds do they give you for that?"
"What does it matter?" Jade asked. "They aren't really working." Marina grinned.
"Got that right. No wonder he's been here so long-"
The hall light clicked on. Jade dove for her bed and Marina dived into the closet, leaving the flashlight behind. I turned it off and got under the covers, trying to steady my breathing as the bathroom door closed. Marina eased out of the closet. I made the motion for her to take the flashlight, but she shook her head.
"Tell me what you find tomorrow." she whispered. With that, she scurried out the door, softly padding down the hallway as quickly as possible.
Whoever was in the bathroom took forever. By the time the toilet flushed, Jade had her back to me. She seemed to be sleeping, so I turned on the flashlight and read on by myself.
With each sentence, the ball of dread and fear grew in my stomach. Antisocial Personality Disorder has nothing to do with being rude. Instead, I read this:
People with Antisocial Personality Disorder characteristically act out their conflicts and ignore normal rules of social behavior. These individuals are impulsive, irresponsible, and callous. Typically, the Antisocial Personality has a history of legal difficulties, belligerent and irresponsible behavior, aggressive and even violent relationships. They show no respect for other people and feel no remorse about the effects of their behavior on others. These people ware at high risk for substance abuse, especially alcoholism, since it helps them to relieve tension, irritability and boredom.
Now I understood why he has yet to apologize to me for throwing me across the room, or anyone, for the matter. How could he apologize or even feel remorseful if he has no idea he was hurting people? What would make him stop? Realize?
I flipped to the next page, labeled 'background'.
Performing a standard background check on PS has proved difficult. No birth certificate or other identifying records could be found. It is most likely they exist, but the lack of concrete information on his early life makes a proper search impossible. PS insists his forename his Shinji and he was under guardianship of his older brother until he was put in foster care. We looked into this, we found no record of a mother or father, but found records of him, indeed, having an older brother named Reggie. His whereabouts are currently unknown, as he left for a journey on short notice. The activity on Reggies credit cards disappeared shortly after PS went into the foster care system. Up till now, no sights nor any activity on his trainer ID, credit cards, or PC systems have popped up.
According to PS and his foster brother, JK, Paul came to live under the care of JK's father when he was about ten. PS does not recall, or refuses to share, the details of his life before he turned eight, when it is believed his brother, eighteen at the time, took sole custody of him. He talks fondly of his older brother, but seems to get agitated when we ask about parents. With these facts, we believe that he grew up in a neglectful or abusive setting.
Jimmy's father, Christopher Kenta, appears to have taken de facto custody of PS, with no record of a formal adoption or foster arrangement. The boys were enrolled in school as 'Jimmy Gorūde' and 'Paul Ōru'. The reason behind the false names is unknown.
Looking at school records, it is believed that PS's behavioral issues began around seventh grade. Never outgoing or even cheerful, he became increasingly sullen and withdrawn. Said withdrawal is usually punctuated with bouts of misplaced anger, often accumulating to violent outbursts.
Violent outbursts. The bruises on my arm seemed to throb as I rubbed them, wincing.
No incidents have been properly documented, making a complete forensic study of the disorders progression impossible. PS seems to have fallen into a pattern of convincing certain teachers that he was a lost teen with insecurities and low self esteem, causing them to, quote, 'pity him'. This is how he avoided expulsion or other serious disciplinary action. Said teachers defended him. It is speculated that the teachers, and even a secretary that he befriended, may have something to do with the improper handling of the records of his behavior, though this is never proven. That is, until an altercation described by witnesses as 'a normal school yard fight'.
PS violently and uncontrollably attacked three youths in what officers suspected might have been a chemically fueled rage. An adrenaline surge may also explain the display of extraordinary strength reported by witnesses.
By the time authorities intercepted, one youth had suffered spinal fractures. Medical experts fear he may never walk again.
No one is sure of what caused the violent outburst, undoubtedly the most violent to happen yet, but witnesses told authorities that they recalled a girl running from the scene. She is apparently small in stature and has brown hair. It is speculated she is a student, but her relationship with PS is unknown and any traces of said girl has disappeared.
PS refused to speak of the incident, and the one of the three youths he attacked say that they were 'messing with another student' and PS 'completely overreacted'. Due to two loosing memories of the incident due to injuries and the third recalling nothing but 'a flash of purple and a cry of pain', they could not discern wether or not the mysterious girl was even in the fight or in the vicinity of it.
Eventually, with the girl never surfacing again and the teachers not recalling anyone like her in the school, it was resolved that she had no connection to PS or to the outburst.
At this, my mind went blank. All I could see was the floor whipping past me as he threw me across the laundry room. The iron grip on my wrist in the kitchen.
Extraordinary strength...
Violent outbursts...
May never walk again...
Arceus, they'd taken Zoey away for throwing pencils and shatter sunglasses, yet they kept Paul? A huge guy with a history of violent rages? With a disorder, to boot, that meant that he couldn't care who he hurt or how badly? Why wasn't I warned? Why wasn't he locked away?
I shoved the pages under my mattress. I didn't need to read the rest. I knew what it would say. That he was being medicated. That he was being rehabilitated. That he was cooperating and showing no signs of violence at Lyle House. That his condition was under control.
I rolled up my sleeve and shone the flashlight on my arm.
The finger marks had become a palm print.
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Hope you enjoy!
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^
