Tempers Flare and Secrets Are Kept

Kate's POV

We stayed there on the couch for the rest of the morning until we decided that we should go outside and be social. Keith whistled for Zeal while I went out to the stables to grab Rapidash. Once I saddled him up, I cantered back to the house where Keith hopped and we rode up Sekra Range. We got to a resting place about 10 minutes in and decided to let Rapidash drink from the small creek.

I leaned against the tree, thinking about what that voicemail Keith got. I was in deep thought until I heard a faint Staraptor and a Luxray cry from the sky. My eyes widened instantly as I jumped on Rapidash, "Keith, we got to go now."

He jumped on behind me, "Alley Cat, what's going on?"

I kept my eyes trained on the sky, "I don't know, but it's something bad."

I had Rapidash go full speed towards the house, we made it there in about 1 minute. I jumped off and sprinted into the house, not caring whether or not Keith was taking Rapidash back to the stables. I ran upstairs, pulled down the ladder to the attic in the hallway and climbed up there, and opened the hatch that led to the roof (Dad built so that I could easily see the Northern Lights when they appeared.)

Once in the roof, I looked in the sky for the Staraptor, "C'mon, dammit." I muttered.

After 2 minutes of searching, I found them again; I attempted to spot the driver of the Pokémon. I looked at their flight pattern and deduced that they were headed this way, but I still couldn't see the driver. Upon closer inspection, I saw a red cowboy hat and green hair. Immediately, I knew who they were.

They were closing in fast until they landed on the top of the house and I hurried them inside. We left the Pokémon in the attic and ran down to the living room where all the curtains and shutters were closed tighter than a drum.

"Sven…Wendy, not that I don't love seeing y'all, why are you here?"

Sven sat down on the leather couch with Wendy right beside him, "Rider, the Union was attacked. All of the workers were ordered to spread themselves out through Fiore, we were ordered to come here."

I took a deep breath and asked Wendy. "Where are the operators?"

"Fall City along with Erma and Hastings." I sighed in relief.

"Alright, so now what are y'all going to do?" Wendy, Sven and Keith all shrugged their shoulders.

Then Wendy spoke up, "All we know is that we need to stay hidden here, we can't have Team Malum knowing we're here."

I leaned against the wall, "Well I kind of got that. Wait, you said Malum broke into the Union right?"

Sven looked at me warily, "Yeah…we just told you that. You okay?"

I waved off his concern with my hand as I started pacing around the living room, "Yes…I think. Now, if Malum attacked the Union, then they could easily from the records, right?"

Sven's face paled, "That means that now they might know where the safe house is!"

I nodded as I was trying to fight off an oncoming blackout. Wendy came over to me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Kate, we don't know if they stole those records for sure, and if they did, then we'll do everything we can to keep them safe."

I took deep breaths and headed toward the door, "Alright. Well, while y'all are going to sit here thinking about what to do, I'm going to go bring Rapidash inside. There's no way in hell those bastards are getting to my horse."

With that, I slammed the door shut. I sprinted outside towards the stables, long one were my pitiful tears, instead there was an incurable rage that was freezing my heart. Once I got to the stables, I grabbed Rapidash's saddle and his reins and led him into the house. Along the way, I began to ponder; what does Malum want with me? It's not like I have valuable info on the Union, I was a Ranger, not a scientist. If they wanted to copy the styler, they could easily do so with an Area Ranger. So what do they want with me?

I walked back into the house, slightly calmer than I was when I left. I closed the door behind Rapidash and ordered him to go upstairs and into my room. I stared at the others in the kitchen and asked, "So have y'all figured out what Malum wants with me?"

Silence, I began to wonder if they were trying to hide it from me, "Because it's going to be pretty hard for me to figure out their motive if I don't know why I'm suddenly being protected."

Again silence, I decided to try a different approach, "Alright, I've been pretty lenient so far; I've let you come onto my property, move my family out of their home, and kept y'all well fed. Somebody better tell me what they want or y'all are out of here."

Keith and Sven shifted uncomfortably under my gaze and Wendy just sat down on the bar stool. Awkward silence filled the room for 3 minutes until Sven spoke up, "Kate, we don't know what Malum wants. All we know is that when they first hacked the computers, Hastings made protecting you and their family a top priority."

I leaned against the granite counter, "Why? What do I know? I'm just an ex Ranger, emphasis on the ex."

Sven shrugged his shoulders, "We don't know either, all we know is that we have orders to protect you and we'll make damn sure that's going to happen."

I stood up straight and crossed my arms over my chest, "Yeah, but y'all don't know why I need protecting or if I even do! For all y'all know, they could be after Dad or Jamie or someone else!"

"Or not! They could be after you, we don't know that!" Sven shouted.

"What so damn special about me that requires Malum's attention?! Huh? Nothing, I'm just an ex Ranger, a has-been. I don't know anything, so stop making me feel like I am!" I was beyond mad now.

Sven was getting pissed off too, "But what if you are and you just don't know it?! You could possibly know something that Malum wants!"

I scoffed, "Like what? The kind of coffee the Union uses? Face it, Sven, I'm not a Ranger so I'm not of any use to them!"

Sven was about to retaliate, but Wendy stepped in and separated us, "Guys, arguing is not going to help the situation. Kate, like it or not, we're here to protect you and help you. Now, how about we just take a nap or something and forget about this issue for now."

Wendy's voice was unnaturally stern as she practically ordered me to my room. I calmly walked up the steps and shut my door quietly as I entered my room. Rapidash got up from his little nap spot over by the window. I nuzzled his neck and mumbled, "What am I going to do? It feels like I'm losing it, my mind that is."

He didn't respond, but I could tell he was sympathetic towards me. I decided that a nap would help to ease my rage as I took out my hearing aid and set it on the nightstand. The world of silence lulled me to a gentle, uneventful slumber.

Keith's POV

I started to follow Kate after she closed the door, "I better go talk to her; maybe I can calm her down."

Sven grabbed my arm and pulled me back, "No, it's best to let her calm down by herself. In my experience, when she's that calm in walking away, it's best to leave her alone for a while."

Wendy piped up, "Besides, we need to talk. Should we tell her about her dad?"

Sven's eyes widened, "Hell no, at least, not yet. She's already an emotional wreck as is, I don't want to push her past the breaking point."

I nodded my head, "I agree, besides she hates us enough as is, let's let her live the dream that her family's safe for now."

"But she'll know something's up once Jamie comes back. We'll have to tell her dad's missing soon, regardless of emotional stress." Wendy stated.

I rebutted her, "But she already carries the weight of one dead parent, can she handle another and still take care of Jamie? I'm positive she'll break mentally."

Sven stopped us, "Guys, we don't know if Jake is dead yet. So we can't assume he is, we need to be happy for Kate." He looked mournfully to the stairs, "She's the most damaged of us all."

Wendy walked over to Sven, "Why don't you go rest upstairs for a bit, we'll handle the downstairs."

He nodded and walked tiredly up the staircase into the other guest room. Once we heard the door close shut, I turned to Wendy, "What did Sven mean by saying that Kate's the most damaged? It can't be that bad, right?"

She shrugged, "You ever see Kate cry, like full-on breaking-down sob?"

I shook my head, "I've seen her cry, sob sometimes, but never like she's breaking down."

She looked over at me, "That's why I'm scared to tell her that Jake's missing, I don't know what she'll do."

I sat down on the couch, "But I feel like I'm betraying her by keeping this a secret, Wen."

She started to walk up the stairs, "Trust me, you're helping her by not saying anything."

With that statement in the air, she walked up the stairs and into Sven's room. I stood up with means to check on Alley Cat, but I decided against it. She didn't need my confusing feelings on top with all the things she's dealing with.

A.N. Man, it feels like forever since I updated! Being sick SUCKS and having my dad's client's sons over doesn't help. I'm pulling an Elsa by locking myself in my room to prevent the need for them to see me. Enough about my life, what did y'all think of the chapter? Put all your comments in the magical place known as the Review Box! Hopefully, I'll update soon!