Chapter 35:
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Lance's voice bellowed , breaking the silence that followed the loud bone-rattling explosion, even as Gary landed painfully on the hard ground, sprawled on his back.
He was barely aware of random people shouting, yelling, children crying, and people coming over to help him and Lance and Drake get back to their feet, May and Dawn assisting them. Someone was calling the ambulance and the police. The physical pain he was feeling was intense, but that was nothing compared to pain that was now numbing his senses.
The raw shock of seeing her burst into flames just before his eyes left him rattled. He just stayed rooted to the spot he had fallen on, eyes wide and staring blankly towards the still burning debris of the cabin.
Misty is dead.
Gary didnt feel the blood trickling from the wounds on his head and back and arms. The searing pain of the gash on his forehead and the burns on his chest and hands lay forgotten as his mind processed only one pain – loss.
The shell that he wore around his neck, which she had gifted him only earlier that day, still felt cool against his skin, like a presence clinging to him.
No… Please – no…. he found himself wishing from his heart. his brain couldn't process anything, not even physical pain. Let it all be a nightmare… please let her be safe…
He had a vague realization of someone kneeling by his side, lifting his head up and wiping the blood from his face, and then calling for help, before darkness clouded his heart and he fell into the fathomless depths of sleep.
…
"Can you let me make a call?" Ash asked the kind old manager, in an urgent voice. "Please," he pleaded. "Its urgent!"
The woman studied his worried place for a moment. "Is something the matter, dear?" she asked kindly.
"Please! You gotta let me make one call!" Ash slapped the desk. "Please! Its damn urgent!"
The kind woman studied him for another moment. "I am afraid if I let you make a call, you'll be subject to disqualification," she warned. "But I'll do my best not to let anyone know you made a call."
Ash smiled in relief. "Thank you so much!"
"Hurry up, young man," she said. "The number?"
He rattled off Brock's number and waited while she made the call.
Ash had dosed off on his bed, the music still playing on the little device. And he had been dreaming, a very nice dream for a change. For the short time that he had been asleep, he had been living his memories again, where he was back on the island with her, with no one to disturb them and nothing to keep them away from each other.
And then a sudden sensation of something burning hot against his chest had jolted him from his sleep. Startled, he had torn open his shirt in distress, wanting to ease the pain at once. To his surprise, the aquamarine gem he'd worn around his neck had been the cause. He had been stunned to find the gem glowing white hot, looking ready to melt any moment.
The heat of the gem had lasted a minute and then it had gone, leaving behind an eerie chillness in the stone instead of its usual warmth. And then Ash had felt a sudden emptiness in his chest, where his heart should've been, as if his heart had been wrenched away without his knowledge. The complete absence of warmth and the feeling of having Misty beside him suddenly lost had made him worry. After all, he believed in the connection he shared with her, didn't he?
He just had to ensure Misty was okay. He didn't care if he sounded paranoid or even if he was disqualified from the League. At that moment, all he thought was about her. Just the thought of something happening to her was unbearable.
…
"What the heck was that!" Brock's head snapped towards the direction of the low explosion. Around him, others in the shop also were staring in the direction the sound had come from.
Lana tugged at his sleeve. "Maybe someone's celebrating?" she suggested.
"Its possible…" Shrugging the worrying thought like other tourists around him, he glanced at the skirt he was holding in his hand before handing it to her. "Try this out," he said in a cheerful voice. "I think this will suit you really well!"
"Okay!" she said feeling the fabric of the material with her fingers. "I'm not going to be able to wear minis very soon…" She smiled at him.
"That's why you should make the most of today and wear something like this now," Brock suggested winking at her. "But with or without minis, I'll always love you."
She blushed, kissed his cheek and started towards the closest changing room when Brock's cell phone vibrated.
"Hello," Brock answered the unknown caller.
"Brock!" Ash's urgent voice greeted him. "Are you there with Misty?"
Brock blinked, confused by Ash's surprise call and his urgent tone. "No – why-?"
"Brock – I want you to make sure Mist's alright!" Ash's voice cut through his sentence again. "Call her up, go meet her at her cabin, or whatever-"
"-Ash?" why is he sounding so frightened? Brock stood helplessly in confusion. "Is everything okay?"
There was a brief pause before Ash's voice yelled at him, sounding close to hysterical. "I WANT YOU TO CHECK ON HER RIGHT NOW!"
"Ash?" Brock mumbled, shocked by the fear in his best friend's voice. "What happen-" His words ended before they left his mouth.
The reason? Someone had just increased the volume of the television in the shop and the first two words knocked the life out of him.
"-WILLIAMS FEARED DEAD-" the reporter was saying, with the video footage playing on the screen.
Brock watched horror-struck as the footage showed a flash of red disappearing into one of the cabins a few moments before it exploded into a turmoil of flames. The footage was taken from a surveillance camera in that area.
"ARE YOU EVEN THERE WITH ME?" Brock heard Ash's voice snap at him from the other end. "BROCK!"
"Holy crap!" Brock swore under his breath. "I'm sorry." His eyes were glued to the television screen, his ears listening attentively.
"WHAT HAPPENED, BROCK!" Ash's voice sounded even more scared now. "TELL ME!"
Brock blinked back the first tears of shock. "I cant say," he choked out, "I don't know – watch the news-" he stopped, his attention now captured by the 'Live' video coverage of the area.
"WE ARE HERE WITH A LIVE COVERAGE ON THE SITE OF EXPLOSION," said a pretty looking reporter, with tousled hair and a smear of blood on her cheek and stains on her white T-shirt. "AS YOU CAN SEE, THE EXPLOSION OCCURRED IN ONE OF THE CABINS ALLOTED TO THE JUDGES OF THE LEAGUE-" the camera zoomed in on the burning ruins of the cabin, the firefighters doing their best to put out the fire, while paramedics rushed here and there, attending to the injured. "IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED THAT THE CABIN WAS ALLOTED TO MISTY WILLIAMS, GYM LEADER OF CERULEAN CITY AND THE FOURTH SENSATIONAL SISTER. AND FEW EYE WITNESSES HAVE CONFIRMED SEEING WILLIAMS ENTER THE CABIN A FEW MOMENTS BEFORE THE EXPLOSION. THE FIRE FIGHTER TEAMS DONT BELIEVE THERE IS ANY HOPE OF WILLIAMS SURVIVIING, CONSIDERING THE INTENSITY OF THE EXPLOSION, BUT THE TEAMS HAVE PROMISED TO TRY THEIR LEVEL BEST TO LOCATE HER IN THE CHARRED DEBRIS. EVEN AS I SPEAK, THE FIRST RESCUE SQUAD IS PREPARING TO DIG OUT THE-"
The reporter was cut off by a loud distraction behind her. the camera zoomed at the source at once and Brock audibly gasped. There on the screen was Lance, bloody and bruised, looking half dead with the wounds on his face and blood on his clothes, his hair mangled in dust and drying blood, arguing in a loud voice with one of the paramedics while two others were trying to hold him back.
Brock felt his knees go weak and he leaned heavily against the counter, the cell phone forgotten in his hand. No way! His mind screamed. No freaking way!
…
"Sir, you must stay down!" said one of the paramedics firmly, but still looking frightened under the bloodshot glare Lance was throwing at him. "Please Sir! You cannot go there!"
The two paramedics were doing their best to hold him behind, but Lance was fighting them off like a maniac, looking even scarier with his injuries.
"JUST SHUT UP!" Lance yelled, throwing a tantrum. "THAT'S MY SISTER FOR HEAVENS' SAKE! LET ME GO!" with unbelievable strength, he managed to wriggle past them and dashed off towards the smoking remains of the cabin.
The heat was still unbearable, the fire scorching his body, the burn wounds that he had already suffered during the explosion stinging again now. Lance hadn't let the paramedics treat his wounds or even give him first aid. He had fought them off right from the moment he had managed to push himself to his feet. His head was swaying, his was skin on fire, but he had refused all aid.
Don't you dare die on me, Misty! He prayed rushing towards the burning cabin. You cant die! MISTY!
His instinct taking over, Lance was about to leap into the burning debris, even as the fire team squad tried to put out the flames.
Lance jumped –
And fell back to the ground in a painful thud –
He looked up in confusion and pain, into Sabrina's worried, tear stained face. "Let me go!" he snapped at her, but felt the invisible knot around him tighten. "Just let me go, dammit!"
Sabrina shook her head and dragged him further away from the flames. "I'm sorry, Lance," she whispered in a sad, choked voice, as she waved to the paramedics. "But its too late. There's nothing you can do for her now."
Tears filled his eyes, and he thrashed wildly in despair, trying to break through the psychic barrier she had cast around him. "ARRRRRRGH! LET ME GO!"
Still crying silently, Sabrina put her arms around him and held him close to her, slowly freeing him from her psychic barrier. "I am really sorry!" she whispered. "I searched for any trace of her life source, Lance, but I found nothing there."
"No!"
"I'm sorry… but she's gone…" Sabrina said in a tone of finality. "You'll only hurt yourself if you go in there. Is no use throwing your life away to save someone who's already dead. Let the rescue team do its work, Lance."
"No…." Lance wept. "No…. NOOOOOO!"
…
"Wait here," one of the doctors told May, before hurrying into the emergency ward behind Gary's limp body.
May sighed, and leaned against the wall, sliding to the floor.
Oh god…
She put her head between her knees and cried.
Why did something like that happen to Misty? Why her? Oh God! Please let her be alive! Let the fire fighters rescue her! she prayed silently. Please let her have survived somehow or the other!
Her thoughts travelled back to the first and the last time she had had a discussion with Misty, and Misty had consoled her troubled mind. And Misty had seen her at that time, even though she had been ill.
'Welcome to the Cerulean Gym, May,' Misty had greeted her from the bed. 'I apologize for not having come down to greet you.'
'Its no problem at all,' May had replied with a smile. 'its really generous of you to be helping me out when you aren't feeling well. I'm sorry to disturb you like this.'
Misty had smiled and had waved her to sit on the chair beside the bed. 'You aren't disturbing me in any way,' she had said. 'Its always good to have company when you're sick.'
This had made May smile. 'Thanks, Misty.'
'Anything for friends.' Misty had grinned at her. 'So, what's bothering you? you sounded really troubled.'
May had found herself almost close to tears back then, but Misty's voice had been strangely reassuring and comforting. 'Its about Ash…' she had finally admitted. 'I wanted some advice about him…'
Misty had been faintly surprised, but had given her hand a warm squeeze. 'Don't worry,' she had said, 'I'll see what I can do to help.'
Her promise had given May the courage to admit to Misty that she had heard everything that had happened during the night Misty had fought with Ash after the homecoming party and what Delia had told her about Ash.
'I'm really sorry you had to hear all that,' Misty had apologized, tears in her own eyes. 'I never wanted for anyone to hear all that…'
'But that was true, wasn't it?' May had pressed.
Misty had nodded with a sad smile. 'Every word of it, but I made Ash seem like the bad guy, didn't I? It was wrong of me to lose control like that…gave you and Delia the wrong impression…'
May had been angry back then. 'That idiot!' she had cursed. 'I think I really should dump him!'
Misty had shaken her head very quickly. 'Don't make hasty decisions,' she had warned. 'You'll only repent it if you take the wrong decision now, May.' She had sighed. 'And in any case, that conversation was supposed to be private…'
'Then what do I do?' May had demanded. 'Wait for him to break my heart?'
'May… I can tell you almost everything about Ash,' Misty had said slowly. 'But that wouldn't help you understand anything about him. To understand him, you have to know him first…' she had given the younger girl's hand a weak squeeze. 'I know all this is confusing, but believe me, things will get clearer as time passes.'
May had given her a searching look.
'You think you love Ash,' Misty had patiently explained, 'but you're still a child, May. There's a lot in life you haven't seen, an awful lot you learn with age and time. What you know now is that you like Ash a lot – a lot more than other guys, any way – but you cant be sure its love.'
'But how do you know that you love Ash?' May had snapped, her eyes tearing again.
'I know I love Ash because all I've ever wanted is for him to be happy,' Misty had explained gently. 'I admit that first love is not really one's true love, but I've loved Ash ever since the moment I met him, like I'd known him in my soul since long before I'd met him. But there's a difference between our feelings for him, May. You love Ash, you see him probably as a man, as a special friend, as a boyfriend, as your future husband… in short, you love Ash in that way. But…' Misty had touched her heart, closing her eyes, as if listening to her heart beat inside. "But I have always loved Ash, and I've always loved him from a hundred different angles. I don't care whether I take him as a brother, as a friend, as a relative, as a man, or whatever, as long as I can see him happy in his life…'
May's eyes had widened in surprise.
'I've even confused my love for him at times with a motherly affection,' Misty had continued with a bright smile, 'or at times looking at him for comfort and protection like a daughter expecting from her father.' She had shaken her head as if in exasperation. 'So you see, my love for him doesn't end with the change in the relationship I have with him. I continue to love with all my heart even if its in a sisterly way… So I know I don't just like him, May, I know I love him.'
May had wiped her tears and had gazed into those electric eyes that held more honest and pureness than the holiest of the shrines she had ever visited.
'Tell me, May, are you capable of loving him in this way?' Misty had continued in a gentle but grim voice. 'I am not telling you all this in an attempt to make myself look better than you or something. I am telling you because I want you to watch out for yourself, so you don't end up making a mistake you'll regret later. When you can find someone whom you love in this way, you can safely be assured that he is the man for you.'
'But you're just making me more confused!' May had wailed.
Misty had pulled May closer to her. 'That's the point, isn't it?' she had explained patiently, like an older sister. 'You are too young to decide firmly on anything, May. Its too early for you to choose between what you want and what you need.'
'what I want and what I need?'
'Yes,' Misty had said with a quiet smile. 'Its not about who loves him more or who's the one he loves more, May. Its about how uncertain love is. You never know when you might meet the one destined for you. and it doesn't help matters knowing that you never know if the one you have just met is the one destined for you or not.'
May had nodded, understanding a little. 'I think I get the point.'
'Just ease up, May,' Misty had advised, that bright, warm smile, cheerful enough to light up the darkest of moods on her face. 'Relax and enjoy life.'
May had raised her eyebrows. 'Is that your advice for me or is it just a suggestion?'
This had made Misty grin wider. 'Life's too short to waste it worrying over trivial things,' she had said, a faraway look in her blue eyes. 'You have to remember that your life has been destined and fated long before you were even born. So just take life as it comes… don't waste the precious today worrying about tomorrow.' Misty had pushed herself to a sitting position by then. 'If you think Ash is the one for you now, go ahead and live life thinking about him. If you find someone else… if you find the one you need…the one destined for you, go ahead with him. You're lucky Ash has left the option open for you to move on anytime you want – it just shows he really cares for your happiness, May.'
'He cares for my happiness?' May had repeated almost sarcastically.
Misty had smiled in reply. 'You'll see his care when you touch his soul,' she had said. 'I'm sure you'll find true happiness, May, just give yourself a little time to grow up. And you'll find the man of your dreams when the time is right.'
May had nodded. 'I think I'll understand all this with time…'
'Good luck,' she had wished the younger girl. 'And I'm sorry you had to doubt Ash because of me.'
May had smiled back for that. 'That's really okay,' she had said. 'I've heard that something good comes out of every bad thing, and in this case, I think I understood a little bit of the real you.'
'The real me?' Misty had sounded surprised.
'Yeah, I used to be really jealous of you, Misty,' May had found herself finally admitting. 'I really was. Everyone liked you, all of Ash's friends knew you, you were great in your field and you were famous and beautiful… But what made me all the more jealous of you was how close you were with Ash. I was a lot more naive few days ago than I am now.' May had giggled and Misty had joined in. 'Seriously,' May had continued after a moment. 'I really used to hate it when anyone even spoke about you… and even more whenever Ash spoke about you. His voice would always be so tender and soft whenever he and Brock talked about you – and mind you it was very very often – I used to really feel left out and lonely…'
And then Misty had surprised her by grabbing May by her wrist and pulling her close to herself so Misty could hug her. 'Its alright…' Misty had whispered, her voice so reassuring that May had felt completely at peace. 'What you feel, felt, is only human.'
May had looked at her in surprise.
'Would it help if I told you that I too didn't like seeing your photograph on the newspaper with Ash?' Misty had said, but she had been smiling broadly then. 'I admit I was kinda jealous too.'
May had been even more surprised hearing this. 'are you serious?'
Misty had winked at her. 'I am human, arent I?' she had said simply. 'I used to be the only girl in Ash's life, and then you came by and he fell for you….' she had shrugged. 'But hey, that's called being human!'
May had smiled at her new friend's humor. 'Was Ash the only man in your life, Misty?"
Misty had hesitated for a moment.
'I want you to answer me truthfully,' May had urged.
Misty had sighed. 'Yes,' she had said, looking directly into the younger girl's eyes, with an honest frankness that May had never seen in anyone else's eyes. 'Ash has been the only man in my life. Brock and Tracy have been, they are friends, brothers…'
'And Gary?' May had asked her curiously.
Misty had hesitated again, but had answered without May urging her. 'He's… he's different,' she had said finally.
'Different?'
'yeah,' Misty had looked past her, as if lost in her memories. 'Different from all other men I know… all other friends I have… He's stirred new feelings in me, emotions I never thought I could feel for another man.'
Now May had given her older friend's hand a squeeze. 'are you like falling in love with him?' she had asked in a quiet voice.
'I don't know it myself,' Misty had replied. 'But I am taking things as they come…'
'Now I know why you could understand me.'
Misty had smiled at her friend. 'Like I said, life's short, and for some its even shorter… so I believe in making the most of today in the hope of having a memorable tomorrow.'
May had given her a hug. 'Thanks for all your help, Misty.'
'You're always welcome, May.'
'And…' May had hesitated. 'And I'm really sorry about what happened between you and Ash-'
'-its not your fault,' Misty had intervened. 'So quit feeling guilty for what happened between the two of us.'
'Friends?' May had asked.
'Friends forever,' Misty had promised, wrapping her pinky finger around May's, securing the promise.
And May had noticed Misty's eyes glistening in the dimly lit room. But she hadn't made anything of that back then, until now.
Misty's words kept coming back to May now.
life's short, and for some its even shorter…
Had Misty ever been warned of being hurt like this? Had she been expecting for something like this to happen to her? Had her famous sixth sense warned her of impending danger?
May now remembered how distanced Misty had looked when they had met earlier during the breakfast, like she was being eaten up by some unknown worry. It was the same faraway look Misty had had when May had been to see her. And she had, after all, always made it a point to emphasize how brief and uncertain human life was. Was it simply her belief or was it that she had known all along that something like this was coming?
"Misty…" May wept silently. "Please, be alive…"
…
"Tracy!" Dawn threw herself against him, leaping into his arms, weeping. "You-you saw-"
Tracy held her close to his chest, wrapping his arms snugly around her. "Shh… " he said patting her head and rubbing her back. "I know, I watched the news," he whispered quietly. "I know…"
Dawn's choked tears came pouring down her cheeks despite her efforts to control them, and he tried his best to comfort the young girl.
"She – M – Misty just-" Dawn wailed. "I – we – we saw her – and -"
"Its okay…" he said, rocking her back and forth, trying to calm her uncontrollable tears. "I know its difficult, I know you're scared… calm down, Dawn. Its okay… calm down…" Tracy was trying his best to calm her, but couldn't help much when his voice was cracking and tears were pouring down his face.
It took a while, but Tracy finally managed to calm down the worst of her sobs. When her loud wails had quieted down to silent sobs, Tracy had poured her a mug of hot chocolate from the coffee machine in the room allotted to him. Dawn had come directly to him, after leaving the explosion site, or so, it seemed.
While Dawn silently, sipped the hot chocolate, without any appetite, he dialed May's number.
"Tracy?" her weak, tired voice, still choked with tears greeted him from the other end of the call.
His heart wrenched even more and tears threatened to break out again. Wiping his red eyes, he tried to calm his voice before he spoke. "Are you okay?"
"Huh," was all she replied.
Tracy sighed deeply. "How are things there? Is Gary alright?"
May took a long moment before replying. "The doc said Gary should be fine," she said in a shaky voice.
"How badly was he injured?" asked Tracy, worried.
"They've treated his wounds," May's voice shook as she spoke and Tracy wondered if she was still in shock. "He got a few stitches, bruises and a sprain somewhere in his shoulder or something. The worst he got are burns-" her voice cracked and Tracy heard her cry on the other end.
Tracy crossed his fingers. "How bad are the burns, May?" he asked after a moment, trying not to hurry the girl. He knew she was just as scared as he was.
"Not bad enough to hurt him, but they scarred his skin really bad…" she started crying again.
Tracy didn't know whether to be relieved or to worry even more. "What about others? Lance? I saw him on the news."
He waited for several moments before he got a choked reply. "I don't know…"
Tracy found himself crying. "And Her?" Why am I refraining from taking her name? he wondered the moment he had voiced his question. "And Misty?" he forced himself to speak out the name, dread filling his heart. "Does anyone-"
"-no." May's voice cut him before he could complete his sentence. "There's no news…nothing…"
"I'll talk to Brock," He assured her. "I'll see if I can get him to come over and relieve you."
He heard her sniff on the other end. "What are you going to do?" she asked slowly.
"I'm going to go see Delia," he said, sighing. "I don't know how I am going to break this news to her."
He heard May sobbing on the other end again.
"Look, we're all in this together, alright?" he said making his voice as comforting as possible. "I know its tough on all of us, but its also possible that she's alive and buried in the debris somewhere. So you gotta stay strong for her, right, May?"
"Where's Max?" she asked after a pause.
"Max…" Tracy hugged Dawn with one hand when she walked up to him and leaned against his chest. "Sabrina had called, and Max offered to help."
"But is it safe to let him out like that?"
Tracy took a deep breath, blinking back the tears. "So far, it doesn't seem like it involved any explosives, so I don't think there's anything to fear. And Sabrina is there with Max, so he should be fine."
He heard sobbing on the other end again before the line abruptly went dead. Tracy wiped his tears, comforted Dawn again and coaxed her into returning to her room. After finally seeing her to her room, he called Brock.
"Tracy! Did you hear-" Brock started the moment he had answered.
But Tracy cut him off. "I know," he said hurriedly, not so much to finish with the call as to stop his tears from taking over again. "Look, May's in the hospital-"
"She's injured!" Brock gasped.
"No," Tracy said with a sigh. "She's alright… She's waiting with Gary-"
"-Gary?"
Tracy's voice cracked. "He's hurt."
"Oh God!" Brock sighed at the other end.
"Brock…"
"I am sending Lana back to the room," Brock told him. "And then I'm going to see if I can help around the cabins."
"I told May you'd be with her," said Tracy quietly. "She's rather shaken up."
"Understood…what about you?"
"Dawn and I are back at the hotel," Tracy explained. "Dawn's too shaken up so I told her to stay in her room… and I'm going to see Delia."
Brock swore. "Crap."
"Its going to be tough…"
Brock's voice choked. "Do you think…?" he left the question unvoiced.
Tracy hung up, finding it unbearable to consider the other possibility. Who the cabin belonged to was no mystery, and Misty had very much been inside her cabin when the tragedy had occurred. All he could do was hope against all hope that Misty was alive. It was only a matter of time before the news came out – whether good or bad. The Rescue Squad was already at the site and the live news showed them working on clearing up the debris.
Its only a matter of time before they find her… thought Tracy, locking the door behind him as he left his room.
….Or her body, a small voice in his mind added quietly.
He pushed the voice away, not wanting to give up hope before time.
…
Gary felt pain gnaw at his body as his mind slowly fluttered back to consciousness. The pain was too much, so he settled into lying down motionlessly till it faded. It was silent around him, and when he strained his ears, he heard the whirring of the air-conditioner.
What happened…?
He slowly pushed his eyes open and was somewhat surprised to find himself in darkness. His eyes adjusted to the gloom after a few minutes and Gary made out the figure of a girl sleeping, her head buried in her arms, leaning on his bed, rather close to his head.
Misty?
His heart leaped just thinking about her. But his eyes made out the short hair falling over the face of the girl.
May.
And then he remembered, all that had happened – Misty running into her cabin – the explosion –
The memory came back to him in an instant, making him go numb with dread, but charging him with enough will power to make him ignore the pain. He forced himself to sit up, but ended up upsetting the IVs.
May suddenly jerked awake, hearing the sound of the IV holder crashing against the floor, breaking the pin drop silence of the dark room.
"Gary? You're awake?" she asked in a relieved, almost happy voice.
Gary suddenly squinted when she turned the lights on.
"I'll go call the doctor," she said turning away from him at once, as if not wanting him to see her face.
"-no wait!" He stopped her. "MISTY! TELL ME ABOUT MISTY!"
May froze and then slowly turned. He waited with bated breath. And before he knew it, she was sobbing against his bandaged chest, holding him tight. Gary couldn't help, but hug her back.
"Just tell me, May," he coaxed her in a gentle voice, rubbing her back. "I wanna know…"
After long minutes of silent tears, May finally found the strength to talk.
Gary waited with bated breath for the news. The dread was already killing him.
"I'm sorry, Gary," she said quietly, exploding into tears again. "She – Misty – she's gone…"
Even though he had known the possibility, it was still a shock. A rude shock.
"No!" the cry was barely more than a whisper. "No way…"
May clung to him, crying again. But this time he didn't comfort her. Instead, he grabbed her shoulders.
"You gotta tell me everything May! Tell me what happened!" he urged in a choked voice. "Tell me how it happened!"
It took some time again for May to bring herself to speak, but Gary waited. Impatient though he was, he knew how to handle troubled girls.
"The rescue squad searched the whole area," she said in a choked voice. "But they didn't find her anywhere."
"So how can they-"
"she didn't leave the cabin," May explained. "The door and windows was still locked from within when it… happened. The only explanation they came up with is that the ex-explosion was powerful enough to have annihilated all trace of her…"
Both of them cringed at the mental image of their beloved friend caught up in the unfortunate explosion.
"What caused the explosion?" Gary asked quietly, letting his tears fall freely.
"It seems there was a gas leak, so when she turned on the water heater in her bathroom, everything instantly…" She shook her head, unable to continue. She threw her arms around him, almost crushing his bandaged body, but this time, she did it to offer him comfort. She knew that Gary was more deeply scarred by Misty's death than she was. "They're holding her funeral today," she choked out a whisper.
Misty had always been special for him, while she had become Misty's friend only a short while ago.
Gary swore. "Oh Mist…" His brain swum and he happily let darkness engulf his consciousness once again.
May continued sobbing, still clutching him against her chest.
To be continued…
Hi guys! Sorry for the very late update. Gomen nasai. I really meant to update sooner, but I was so caught up with studies that I didn't find time. my exams start from December first, so my next update will be after my exam, around mid December.
Please forgive me. I promise to update the very day my exams get over. Till then, please make do with this update.
I know I am being very mean, taking such a long time to update, but I cant help it…
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and I hope you'll stay tuned for the next update ^_^
Thanks a lot guys, for all those who review and read :D
Please do review if time permits. You should know by now how much I love your reviews ;)
Take care,
Lots of love (and apologies for the late update!)
Mist7