14.5
[6:22 PM. Route 7. Between Celadon and Saffron. The next day.]
Molly stopped for a moment to catch her breath.
Miles took a water bottle from his pack and tossed it to his companion. "Not too much farther now. You can almost see Saffron from here."
Molly took a swig of the bottle then offered it to Miles who declined. "I'm good."
They had been travelling since mid morning after spending the night in Celadon. Miles studied the woman; she was definitely tougher than she looked. She had spirit.
"Looks like rain," Miles said gesturing at the clouds.
"Think we can make it?"
Miles nodded. "If we keep moving, it shouldn't be a problem."
Molly stretched out in the half-sunn of the partial overcast. "So, why Saffron? Why not Vermillion, try and catch up with your friends?"
Miles shook his head. "We sent everyone we found there, it's gonna be a madhouse over there, and I'm no refugee."
"But your friends?"
"They didn't make it."
She flinched. "What? How do you know?"
"Those two couldn't stand up to that woman. If she's as cold as I think she is, she tore them to pieces. They bought us time to get out, and that's what matters."
Miles set out to move on, but Molly stood, challenging him with her stare. The man exhaled. "Are you coming or not?"
"You don't believe in them? You don't think they could win?"
"Molly, listen to me—Harley's just some waitress from Kalos working her way around the world, and Garth's a doctor, a good doctor, mind you, but not a battler, not a ranger."
"And you're just a firefighter."
"A firefighter who made it out alive. The last firefighter out of Vermillion. I'll take my chances out here."
"How can you even say that? Your friends might have made it out, or worse, they didn't, and you won't even think to check? After they gave you that chance?"
Miles turned to face Molly, and it was now that she saw how large he really was. "Do you think I want them to be dead? We nearly bit the dust twice, and you want to go back there? I know a suicide mission when I see one. You want to go, be my guest. I'm heading for Saffron."
He turned and walked away. "If those psycho's are still running around, you'd have been better off in that elevator. I'm gonna teach you a life lesson, free of charge: don't look back. You never want to see what you left behind."
As she watched him go, she felt her confidence slip. Something about him disturbed her, but she couldn't help but trust him. Maybe this was how he dealt with this nightmare; maybe he was just a jerk after sleeping on cold pavement then walking for hours. Maybe he just needed someone to remind him that the world still existed, that it hadn't all fallen apart around his ears. She ran up beside him.
"You're right, I'm sorry." She said. Miles didn't respond; he simply kept walking. "But you didn't have to be an ass about it. I'm not gonna ditch you. I figure we got better odds sticking together."
"You're learning," he said. "I wasn't always a firefighter. I was a Ranger not too long ago, badge and everything."
"Why did you stop?"
"I didn't stop, Molly, I was released."
"Why?"
"I looked back, endangered the mission. It's like I said: you don't want to see what you left behind."
She did not press further. As the sun was devoured by the clouds while it began to dip under the horizon, Molly saw a figure seated at a rock by the roadside. The man turned his head to face the two as they approached. His clothes were torn and garish and his face was burned. Molly tugged at Miles's shirt and pointed at the man.
"Should we stop?"
"It's my job to help anyone especially after this crisis." He scouted around, surveying the empty fields on either side of the road. "But that doesn't mean I'm not hesitant."
But you couldn't bother to help your friends?
They approached the man and he waved weakly. Molly got down and offered him some water from the pack. Eagerly, he grabbed it from her and began to drink. "Thank you kindly, strangers."
"You come out from Celadon?"
The man nodded. "Sure did. And all I got to show for it is this." He pointed to his burnt face. The man looked to be pretty young, younger than Miles, at least. He had a child like face underneath messy hair.
"Where are you headed?" Miles asked.
The man shrugged. "Me and Noivern just got out as quick as we could and started walking. Saw a sign a ways back that said we we're heading to Saffron. Sounded good to me, and Noivern here isn't complaining."
"We're heading to Saffron, too. Why don't you join us? It's gonna rain soon, and that ankle doesn't look too good." Miles pointed at the man's ankle. It was swollen and discolored.
"Took a tumble down a flight off stairs."
Miles helped the man to his feet. He brushed him off and the man bowed low to them both. "What's your name, friend?"
The man checked his belt for his pokemon. "You can call me Vi."