Chapter #2
When I first awoke after passing out in the middle of the alley the previous night, I didn't bother to even open my eyes in fear of what I might see. I couldn't remember much of what had happened. All I could remember was seeing my father yelling at me and kicking me. It took a few seconds before I could remember all the details. It was then I realized where I was. My eyes snapped open and I lifted myself up quickly to see three girls and the male who said he'd help me the previous night.
"I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" The male asked as he sat down on a small stool beside the bed I laid on.
I felt tired, and I yawned. I looked at the three girls. They all appeared to be of different ages. The tallest one had long, flowing black hair and green eyes. She was wearing a white turtleneck top, an olive-green skirt and brown boots that went up to her knees. Beside her, was a girl a bit shorter than her. She had ocean-blue eyes, long flaming red hair and blond bangs. She wore a short red tank top and jean bell-bottom pants. She also had a tattoo going around her right bicept. The last girl seemed a lot younger than the other two. She had long purple hair in a ponytail and mint-green eyes. She wore a sleeveless top with a turtleneck, which was pink and a short dark purple skirt. She was wearing sneakers and long socks that went up to her knees. But that wasn't all They all had wings—they were Rukonians.
I looked back to the male and nodded, "Uh yeah I'm fine. Thanks. Who are you? Where am I?" I asked. The room I was in was lit only by a nearby lamp. It was pretty dark; there were no windows. There were a few chairs, a table and a few beds around the room. I counted three beds, not including the one I was on. My arm hurt, I quickly glanced at it, only to find several cuts on it, and some small peices of glass in some of the deeper gashes.
The black-haired girl stepped forward, "This man who saved your life is Mason. He protects us Rukonians. If it weren't for him, all of us would've ended up in the hands of the Anti-Rukonian groups. You should thank him." She explained as she sat down beside the bed.
I looked back to Mason and smiled, "Thanks Thanks a lot." It was then I realized Raichu and Eevee weren't there. I looked around franticly, fearing they were left behind the night before. "Where are my pokemon? Where's Raichu and Eevee?!" I asked.
Mason smiled and got up and walked out of the room. I figured Raichu and Eevee were okay and that Mason had just gone out to get them, so I calmed down a bit. I decided I'd get to know the three girls. I looked to them, all but the red-haired girl smiled at me. "Who are you?" I asked.
The black-haired girl replied to my question again, "I'm Victoria." She pointed over to the red-haired girl, "That's Andy and this is Carol." She explained as the purple haired girl sat down beside Victoria. "Like you, we're Rukonians. Mason helped us all out when we managed to escape from that Anti-Rukonian group building."
I nodded, "My name is Seadra, Seadra Reef". I explained. Victoria nodded. "Is Mason a Rukonian too?" I asked. It made sense for him to be one too. Why would a regular person want to help a bunch of Rukonians anyways? From the way things were, it seemed almost all regular people hated us. I felt it was really unfortunate though.
Andy looked over to me and shook her head. "No, he's not. And honestly, I don't know if I trust him. I think he's hiding something from us" She looked back to Victoria, "I don't understand why you think he's so great and all." She muttered.
Victoria sighed, "I'm sorry. But Andy doesn't think much of Mason, even though he saved her life. I think we should all respect and trust him. He's done so much for us."
I nodded and began to fiddle with my hair. I hopped Mason would get back with Raichu and Eevee soon. I was beginning to get worried about them. I closed my eyes and thought about the previous day. It scared me to think that I may never see my mother again. My father probably hated Rukonians enough to post pictures of any known ones on buildings so people will catch them. Again, I glanced over at the cuts and gashes on my arm with the tiny peices of broken glass in them. I remembered there being alot more glass in my arm the previous night from when I jumped through the building of the Anti-Rukonian group. I figured Mason and the three girls had removed them.
I then heard footsteps from behind. I spun around to find Mason there, smiling. He had Eevee curled up in his arms, sleeping, and Raichu beside him. When Raichu saw me, it ran over to me, shouting loudly. I smiled and spread my arms out and it jumped into my arms. I hugged it tightly, relieved it was okay. "Raichu!" I cried. I looked up at Mason as he walked over to me. He laid Eevee down beside me on the bed. It opened its eyes slightly and smiled at me. I stroked it's fur gingerly, "Are you okay, Eevee?" I asked. It nodded and Raichu hugged me again.
Mason sat down on a chair beside the lamp. I looked back to Victoria as she helped Carol brush some dirt off her wings. I began to wonder how I could get my wings to show. I had never done it before since I was just a baby. Perhaps Victoria, Carol or Andy could tell me. "Victoria?" I asked. I figured asking her would be best. She seemed to be the oldest of the three girls.
Victoria looked back at me and smiled warmly in a motherly way, "Yes, Seadra? What is it?"
"How do I spread my wings?" I asked nervously. I felt kinda stupid asking that question. The three girls probably all thought I knew how to already. I was probably the only Rukonian in the world who didn't know how to spread her wings.
Victoria walked over to me and sat down beside me on the bed. Raichu moved aside for her and in the process, tripped over Eevee. In a matter of seconds, the two pokemon were running around the room, chasing each other and laughing. "You have to concentrate at it. It's just like flexing muscles. Push out from your back. Try."
What she said didn't make the most sense in the world to me, but I gave it a shot. I closed my eyes and pushed my back out. At first, nothing happened. When I tried the second time, I suddenly felt a tearing pain in my back, which caused me to scream. My wings spread out from my back, ripping a huge hole on the back of my shirt. The pain was almost as bad as when I jumped through the glass window the previous night and slammed down into the Dumpster. Fortunately, the pain ceased soon after. I opened my eyes and looked behind me to see two white-feathered wings. They were absolutely beautiful. I spent a few moments just looking at them in awe.
Andy walked over to me and slapped my back. "Bit loud there, Seadra?" she asked, giving me an irritated look. I folded my wings back, which was just like moving an arm or leg, and looked down. I figured the other girls may have been used to the pain or it just didn't effect them as much.
I looked up as Carol sat down on Victoria's lap. "Don't mind Andy, Seadra. I could tell by your yell that you haven't spread your wings before, or in a long time. If you spread them frequently, it doesn't hurt. Victoria taught me that when I first met them." Carol spoke very softly and quietly. She seemed nervous talking to me.
"My mother told me that when I was born was the only time I ever spread my wings." I explained as I stroked the soft feathers on my wings. I was beginning to like being a Rukonian. Having wings seemed really cool. I guessed Victoria, Carol and Andy would have to teach me to fly. It was then I remembered how much people hated Rukonians and wanted them all destroyed. I sighed. "I guess 13 years worth of being tucked in like that made spreading them painful"
Andy paused, "13 years?! Holy smokes! When did you find out you're a Rukonian?!" She blurted out. I began to feel uneasy. It occurred to me that the rest of the girls had spread their wings a lot earlier than I just had when it came to age.
I nodded shyly, "Yeah. I'm 13. My mom told me I was a Rukonian when I was seven. I never spread them because my father hated Rukonians more than anything. He doesn't know my mother's one though. I don't know how, but when he found out I was one yesterday, my mother lied and told him I was adopted in order to save her own life and everyone from her side of the family It's been less than a day, but I miss my mother so much" My voice was beginning to shake and so were my hands. I wrapped my wings around myself as I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. Raichu and Eevee walked over to me and nuzzled my legs, trying to comfort me.
Mason looked back at me. I guess my crying got his attention. "Seadra," he started as he got up from his chair and walked over to me, "the reason I brought you here was because I wanted to help. And helping you is what I'm going to do. We're your new family. If you ever need help, just come to us." He extended his arms out, "This place is your new home. Here, you're safe from the dangers of the outside world where people will hunt you down like dogs."
Andy walked away and leaned back against one of the walls with her arms crossed. "Stupid people of Kanto and Johto. They're complete morons if you ask me. They want to get rid of us only because we have wings. That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard if you ask me." She muttered as she kicked a small stuffed Pikachu across the room.
Carol watched Andy as she kicked the Pikachu across the room. "Andy!" She cried as she ran over to where the Pikachu hit the wall and picked it up, "Don't do that! You know how important my Pikachu doll is!"
Andy shrugged and looked away, almost not caring. I felt bad for Carol, but I didn't say anything. Victoria walked over to her and gave her a comforting hug and put the Pikachu doll on one of the beds. "Andy" Victoria sighed, "You gotta start respecting Carol's stuff better than that. That Pikachu doll is only thing she has left from her dad." Hearing this, I figured it was Carol's father who was a Rukonian.
Carol sighed and sat down beside the bed Victoria put her Pikachu doll. She looked over to me and frowned, "My daddy was sent to an Anti-Rukonian group a few years ago They were looking for me but I managed to get away Victoria helped me" It was such a sad thing to hear. Carol was probably no older than 10 and she had no family. It seemed she and Victoria were very close from the way they acted around each other. They almost seemed like sisters.
"That's so sad" I frowned as Carol wiped a tear from her eye. I looked over to Victoria as she handed Carol her Pikachu doll. "Victoria, how did you and Andy end up here?" I asked. I wondered if asking such as question would be rude.
Victoria nodded, "Yeah. But Andy won't even tell us her story unfortunately. Mason and I have been friends since we were only five years old. When my parents were accused to being Rukonians when I was nine, I ran away and he helped me. It was his idea to help other Rukonians like you, Andy and Carol."
I found her story quite interesting. I noticed Carol and Victoria's stories were both pretty vague, but it made sense. I didn't want to go into much description with my own story very much either.
Later on that day, Victoria helped me remove the rest of the broken peices of glass from the cuts and gashes on my arm. It hurt like hell, but I survived through it. Unfortunately, removing them caused my arm to bleed alot, so I had to bandage it up. Victoria explained it would heal in a few days, so it was nothing to worry about.
I spent the entire day talking to Victoria, Carol and Andy. Carol and Andy didn't say much. Victoria explained that Carol was always shy and Andy didn't like new people very much. Mason was out for most of the day but he came back with McDonald's. After we ate, we spent more time talking. I found out Carol had a Lapras she got as a present before her father was taken away from her. It was kept in a pokeball and they would sometimes go out to the river and let it swim around. Meanwhile, Andy had a Ninetales and a Sandslash. I met Ninetales when I accidentally stepped on one of its tails while chasing after Eevee and Raichu. Andy explained that her Ninetales preferred to stay under her bed most of the time, but she kept her Sandslash in a pokeball. Victoria had a Sunflora; it was given to her by Mason when they were young.
Mason was kind enough to give me a couple pokeballs for Raichu and Eevee for me to use when necessary. I didn't feel like putting them in, so I let them meet the others' pokemon. They all seemed to get along well, which was a relief for me.
Since there was only 4 beds—Victoria, Carol, Andy and Mason all had one for themselves, I wondered if I would have to sleep on the floor. Fortunately, Mason was kind enough to let me use his bed. Each bed had a small table beside it where we could put our belongings. The bed was nice and soft, and Raichu and Eevee seemed to like it too. Mason explained that I could keep the bed, since he already had a couch in a smaller room. The place they stayed in had only two rooms. The one with the girls' beds, a few tables and lamp, and one with a black and white TV, a couch and another small table.
That night, as I laid in my new bed with Raichu and Eevee as the other girls slept, I could hear the faint voices coming from the TV in the other room. I figured Mason was still awake. I thought to myself about my new life that I would be stuck with for the rest of my life. I would be hiding from people in there, and whenever I went out, I would have to make sure I had my wings in and no one recognized me. The girls were going to teach me to fly the next day, and I was a bit worried about it.
I sighed and got up from my bed, making sure not to wake up Raichu and Eevee. I walked through the room as quietly as I could and when I got to the door to the second room, I made sure to be slow so it wouldn't squeak. I peered in through the door and saw Mason there, sitting on the couch with a blanket covering his legs and leaning against a pillow, watching TV.
He looked over to me and smiled. "Can't sleep, Seadra?" He asked as he moved to one side of the couch so I could sit down beside him. He patted the empty side of the couch.
I walked over to him and sat down on the couch with my hands folded together. "Mason" I started with a sigh, "When Carol first got here, what happened?" I asked. I wondered if it was any different then when I got there earlier that day.
"To be blunt, she was scared senseless. She didn't trust any of us and it took her over a month until she finally said anything. Victoria spent a lot of time with her, which is why she trusts her so much. They're like sisters, really. Poor Carol doesn't have anybody besides us. But then again, you're all like that." Mason sighed as he turned off the TV and looked over to me. "Andy was a lot different though. She would talk, but would never tell us what happened to her. We still don't know actually. She doesn't trust us very much—well, actually, she doesn't trust me. I know she likes Carol and cares about her, but she'll never admit it. That's her I guess. She's been with us for about a year now."
I nodded and decided I should get to bed. I didn't say anything; I just got up and began to walk out of the room. Mason didn't say anything either. When I got to my bed, I laid down on its soft mattress and pillow and looked up at the ceiling. I closed my eyes and sighed. So, this was going to be my life
