Author's Note/Warning: This is an extreamly violent chapter of "Wings of Hope" and should not be read by anyone who can't stomach it. But then again, this is a very important chapter in the series and if you don't read it, you're screwed for the rest of the story. I'm sorry it ended up being this violent, but it really could've have been avoided. For an idea on how violent this really is, I'm rating it R. Seriously.


Chapter #11

Carol never told us anything else about her vision. But it seemed that she had somehow obtained not only her Lapras' ice attacks, but its psychic abilities as well. We concluded this when she started to finish our sentences for us exactly, know what others were thinking and be able to see quick flashes of future occurrences.

Most of the time, Carol only read someone's mind in a playful way, or if she was caught in another trance. Her trances would tell her exactly what was happening, what people where thinking and what was going to happen in the future. These trances came to her randomly and she had no control over them. Meanwhile, she had control of using her psychic abilities otherwise. Carol had promised Andy, Victoria, Mason and I that she would never deliberately read our minds when not asked or given permission to. She was well aware it was something very rude and she didn't want to take the risk of seeing anything bad—like the day my father turned on me and Andy's past. Even after so long, Andy still wouldn't tell us anything from her past. So, we stopped asking.

"Seadra," Carol started, "what do you think Mason is going to do about his money troubles?" she asked as she made a cute little necklace out of a bead set Victoria had gotten her for her birthday present. She was now 11 years old; her birthday was only a couple days ago. Mason was still having troubles with his money, but he was making a slight comeback.

I looked over to Carol; I was sitting on my bed with Raichu curled up into a small ball on my lap. I was brushing its fur coat to keep it clean. "I don't know," I replied as I put the brush down beside my bed. "But don't worry, he'll figure everything out." I smiled kindly to her as my Raichu perked its little ears.

A cute little smile formed on Carol's baby-face and she nodded.

I was a bit bored and I decided playing a game would be fun, "Hey, Carol," I started, "want to play Go Fish?" I asked. It was the only card game Carol knew how to play well, the others were still a bit too hard for her.

She shook her head, "No. Remember I'm a psychic?" She grinned as she put her beads down. I laughed, I completely forgot about it. She always liked to win games, but without even trying, she would end up knowing exactly what cards were in your hand, so she would always win.

I sighed and nodded as my Raichu rolled onto its back, begging for its stomach to be rubbed. "Sorry, I forgot." I said as I rubbed my pokemon's white belly. "Slipped my mind." I added as Raichu began to sway its powerful tail back and forth. It always did that when it was relaxed.

"Seadra," Carol started as she sat down beside me holding a small beaded bracelet in her hands, "here, this is for you." She smiled as she handed me the bracelet. The beads were different shades of blue with white splotches on them. The string she used was elastic so it fit around my wrist easily.

I looked at my wrist with the blue and white bracelet on it and smiled. I liked it a lot, and I thought it was very sweet of Carol to make it for me. I gave her a sisterly hug and thanked for the gift.

We spent the rest of the day making more bracelets and a few necklaces while talking about our lives before we met Mason. She explained to me that she and her father were very close, mainly because she never knew her mother, who died when she was born. She was only 7 years old when somehow, someone found out her father was a Rukonian and he was sent to one of the Anti-Rukonian groups. She was able to escape, but she lost her father. I explained to her about how my parents loved me more than anything, until my father found out what I was. I told Carol about my mother's lie about me being adopted as well. Carol listened carefully as I explained it all. It was then Carol mentioned to me that none of us knew how people found out we were Rukonians. That note made me wonder exactly why that was so,

I didn't make very many bracelets and necklaces, since it was Carol's bead set. For Andy, we made a necklace with red, orange and yellow beads. Some of them were clear while the others had fire-like designs on them. We both agreed they suited her hot personality. Our favorite one ended up being the one we made for Victoria. It had wooden beads with leaves painted on them along with a few other colors. It was very pretty and had the same style Victoria used for her clothing—mature and nature-like. Carol gave Andy her bracelet that day, but held onto the one for Victoria for later use.


Weeks had passed since Carol's 11th birthday and Mason was running out of money fast. I didn't know how much he had or how much he needed, which made me feel uneasy. He struggled to get every cent and Chris helped to provide some money. He moved in with us so our money would be shared.

I always wore the blue and white bracelet Carol made for me, as did Andy with her necklace. Carol held onto the necklace she made for Victoria, she wanted to save it for something special. To her, Victoria was like the sister she never had, making her very close to her.

I was completely losing track of time, I hadn't realized I had been with them for almost a year. My own birthday was coming up and Andy's would be in a couple months.

Mason was becoming more distant than ever. He rarely ever talked to us, even Chris. Andy spent most of her time watching TV while Carol and Victoria were learning more and more how to control their powers. Victoria's abilities to control plants allowed her to become more with one with nature—something she treasured. Chris and I spent a lot of our time playing different games like Checkers and King's Corner. It gave us something to do and allowed us to get to know each other better.

Mason spent most of his time out working. Chris had two jobs, but I didn't know what they were. I found it somewhat strange that they wouldn't tell me how they made money, but I never bothered them about it.

"Shit!" Mason cursed as he threw a few opened envelopes and papers onto the floor and slammed a fist onto the table. I spun around from my bed and looked over to him.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked as she walked into the room from the TV room. He was watching some anime with Carol, while I was playing cards with Victoria and Andy. "Mason?" Chris asked as he approached his friend.

Mason sat down on a chair and laid his forehead against his arms. He sighed as he looked back to the papers and envelopes on the floor. I knew they were our bills, and they were the reason he blew his fit. "Chris," Mason started, "I'm going broke I'm gonna lose everything" He choked, he sounded like he was holding back some tears of frustration.

Chris rubbed Mason's back in an attempt to comfort him. "Hey, Mason, chill out, will ya? Don't worry about this, we'll figure everything out." Mason only sighed again.


Later on that night, Mason and Chris went out, but never said where. All Mason said was he and Chris had to talk some things over. Andy made a joke about them dealing drugs to get money, in response; Victoria smacked her back with one of her powerful wings.

I yawned as I used my electric abilities on a glass of water. For fun, I gave it to Raichu as a drink. Of course, it got a good shock. It was funny, all the girls laughed. But Raichu wasn't so pleased with it. We were all bored and there was nothing to do, so I finally decided to start reading the book Andy gave me. It was titled "That Was Then, This is Now". I read less than half of it, but it was really good. I made sure to finish the book by the end of the week.

The two were gone for several hours and Victoria was beginning to worry. It was past 2am and Carol was in bed. Meanwhile, Andy, Victoria and I stayed up and waited for Mason to get back. I was about to go to bed when the door finally opened. I looked over to it as did Andy and Victoria.

"Mason!" Victoria shouted in anger and relief, "Where have you been?" She demanded in a whisper, she didn't want to wake Carol up. She was curled up in her bed with her little Pikachu doll, holding it close to herself.

Mason looked totally run-down. His gray sweatshirt was covered with dirt and some dried blood. I knew Victoria wasn't going to bother asking him about it. His jeans were all torn up, I guessed he got into a fight of some sort. He sighed and brushed his messy hair out of his golden eyes, "Get Carol up and let's go." He said.

I blinked—not understanding what was going on. I looked over to Andy as she went over to Carol's bed and gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. "Carol," she whispered as she lifted her covers off her, "get up and get changed, come on."

"Wha?" Carol murmured as she lifted herself up and Andy handed her some clothes to replace her pajamas. "What's going on?" She asked as she took the clothes Andy offereed her. Obviously she was confused. I was too, and I had a good feeling Andy and Victoria felt the same way. Mason wasn't explaining anything and wasn't telling us why he looked so run-down.

Mason replied, "Get changed, Carol." He said as he entered the room and began to stuff some of our stuff into a sports bag. He mainly packed our clothes, but also things like books, Carol's bead set, pictures, etc. He seemed to be in some sort of hurry, but I didn't know why. Carol got changed quickly on her bed and got up as the rest of us helped Mason pack up some of our things.

"Mason," I started, "what's going on? Where are we going?" I asked finally. None of the other girls were asking and I was really confused.

He looked over to me; there was an uneasy tenseness in his eyes. "I've got to get you guys out of here, they found us." He said quickly as he got us to run out the door. "The Kilinda Clan They know you guys are here Get out!" He quickly grabbed all our pokeballs and handed them to us hurriedly. We put them into the bag where they would be safe.

The Kilinda Clan had found us?! How?! I was shocked that they knew where we were—now we had to flee. I was scared and by the expressions on the other girls' faces, I knew they were too. Carol had her Pikachu plush held firmly in her arms and Victoria did her best to keep her calm.

We all ran down the dark halls of the building, once we got through the door, we were shocked to find a huge mob of angry people—it was the Kilinda Clan. I couldn't see my father anywhere, which was a relief. The Kilindas all held weapons in their hands. Some had chains, bottles, brass knuckles and even guns. The glares of hatred and anger in the eyes sent chills down my spine.

We all stood there for several moments—then the people all charged at us. In a panic, Andy, Victoria, Carol and I all spread out our wings in an attempt to fly away from them. It hardly hurt at all, probably because we were all so scared. Unfortunately, before we had the chance to get high enough into the air, the people had grabbed our feet and pulled us down onto the ground. One guy gripped onto my foot tightly and just yanked me down onto the hard concrete. It hurt like hell and I screamed out in pain as I felt a bone in one of my wings snap.

Once down, the angry anti-Rukonists began to stomp on our wings, which was just as painful as the kicks I got to my gut, which caused me to cough up blood. I could hear Andy, Carol and Victoria all screaming in terror as we were being brutally attacked. It was even worse than the incident that took place when we took Eevee to the pokemon center. Suddenly, I felt something cold run down my side. I didn't know what it was, but it hardly hurt, so I didn't think much of it.

I couldn't fight back, so I began to use my electric abilities to electrocute them. None of them expected this, so most of them ran away, scarred senseless. The other girls did the same thing—Carol froze one guy into a block of ice and Andy got a guy running around screaming as his shirt was in flames. Unfortunately though, Victoria didn't fight back. I didn't understand why, she just didn't. Fortunately though, our attacks got the crowd to back away slightly and form a circle around us.

I struggled to lift myself up as even more people began to crowd around us. We were surrounded by the Kilindas. I looked around, but I couldn't see Mason anywhere. I was scared he has hurt or was chased off. Our bag was lying between us and we were just waiting for our enemies to attack. Our wings were crippled, the feathers were all over the dark concrete we stood on and were stained with red blood. Andy had a broken bone sticking out through her wing; it was a horrible sight that made me want to vomit. Our once beautiful white wings were so badly injured; we couldn't even pull them back into our backs. I took the time to look down at myself--my clothes were stained with my own blood and there were several cuts along my arms and legs. It was then I was finally able to feel a pain in my side. I looked down to see the most gruesome thing I had ever seen. A huge, deep cut in my side, from my waist up to my ribs. I could see my own flesh and the white gleam of my ribs. I was bleeding heavily and it didn't seem to want to stop. I remembered being told once that when you get a deep cut from a knife, you can't feel it until a few moments later. I guessed when my wings were being stomped on, the Kilindas I wasn't paying attention to were using their knives. I was really scared and spat out more blood.

Then, a few of the Kilindas moved aside and let someone walk through—it was Mason! He had a grin on his face, one that scared me. "You Rukonians are so gullible!" He laughed as he held a pistol in one of his hands. "Did you really think I wanted to HELP you? Ha! You failed to get me the Orb of Mew and now you're responsible for me losing all my money" He said as his voice became taunting. He was using us the entire time He only wanted us so we could get him the Orb of Mew. Now that we didn't and he was running short of money, he was handing us over to the Kilinda Clan! He then looked at me with the most unforgiving glare, "Oh, Seadra," he grinned, "about your father It's too bad I had to tell him the news about you, eh? You could've been living peacefully at home if it weren't for me ya know"

I paused—it was him who told my father how I was a Rukonian?! It was HIM?! I growled from the back of my throat, and at the same time, held back tears. I felt like I was going to bawl like a baby. Andy walked over to me and hugged me close to her for comfort. I was beginning to get really dizzy from blood loss and shock. I knew the two never made a good combo.

Meanwhile, Mason laughed, "You all could've been happy if it weren't for me Such foolish people you are" He then looked back to the large group and nodded. With that, they all charged at us. We were all too emotionally hurt from what Mason had told us and too physically weak to even fight back as they tied our hands behind our backs and dragged us down the cold city streets to their headquarters.

I didn't have any strength left in me. I was hurting all over and I couldn't forgive myself for ever trusting Mason. I knew the other girls felt the same way. I was also filled with rage—not only had Mason destroyed my life, but Victoria, Andy and Carol's as well. Poor Carol, she was so young and innocent It was because of Mason her father was taken away from her

My eyes were filled with hot tears and they all crawled down my cheeks slowly. I closed them tightly as one of the Kilindas kicked me to show the people who were looking out their windows his status over me. They just wouldn't stop hurting us as they marched down the streets. Some people even threw stuff at us from their windows. The deep cut on my side wouldn't stop bleeding and I was losing blood fast. I could faintly hear Andy screaming for someone to help me along with the other girls. I couldn't even see my own wound now, so there was no way of me knowing exactly how serious it was.

Andy, Carol and I would've used our pokemon-abilities to fight off the Kilindas, but we were too weak. We had learned before that the only one of us who didn't need strength and energy to use our powers was Victoria. I prayed to myself that she would do something to fight off our enemy. I could hear Carol crying in pain—both emotional and physical. Andy was still cussing at the Kilindas beneath her breath. I finally built up enough strength to look over to Victoria. I gave her a look that asked her to help us. She knew what I wanted her to do and she knew it was our only chance to get out of there. Before she could respond, Carol let out a loud scream. She closed her eyes tightly and trashed her head from side to side. I knew what was happening—she was having another one of her vision.

"Shut up!" Mason shouted at Carol. I couldn't believe he had just said that. He always treated Carol the kindest of us all because he always seemed to like her. Now, he was treating her like you would treat dirt. He then aimed the gun he held in his hand straight at her. I choked.

"No!" I heard Andy scream, "Don't!"

I could hear the pistol make a click—it was ready to be fired any second now. Carol was still thrashing around, screaming loudly. She had no idea what was happening; she couldn't see it, for she was lost in a vision. I felt helpless.

But then, from the corner of my eye I saw Victoria use her ability to control plants to pull off the Kilindas who had her tied up. The branches of nearby trees extended out and grabbed onto the men, pulling them away from her. She also got razor-sharp leaves to strike them. Suddenly, Mason fired. "Stop!" Victoria screamed as she finally broke lose and made a leap towards Carol, knocking her down and blocking her from the gun shot. Mason missed Carol But he got Victoria instead right in the chest.

Everyone froze and even Carol stopped screaming. She was lying on her back with Victoria on top of her. She finally snapped out of her psychic trance, "Victoria?" She asked, "You can get off me." It was clear Carol had no idea what had just happened. When in her visionary trances, she can't tell what's going on around her at all. I held my breath, knowing what was coming up. Carol crawled out from under Victoria and looked down at her. She gasped at what she saw. There was a neat little hole right in Victoria's chest. The white material of her shirt was stained with blood and she wasn't moving, nor breathing. Victoria was dead.

There was a dead silence for a few moments, not even the Kilindas said anything. Carol was shaking and her eyes were filled with tears. "Victoria..." She choked, "No..." There was another silence, then she suddenly screamed out in agony. "VICTORIA!" She was Carol's big sister she never had, she made her feel wanted and important. She was the only one Carol truly felt comfortable with. Now, she was gone. And it was all because of Mason. Andy and I held back our tears as Carol clung onto Victoria's limp body and soaked her shirt with her tears. She continued to scream every now and then.

It was then I became extreamly dizzy. I looked down at the huge, deep cut on my side to find it was still bleeding. I could see some of the Kilindas had backed down after seeing Victoria's death and Carol's response to it. Some looked sick and were even vomiting. You would think their views of the clan had suddenly changed. I began to feel weaker than ever and I couldn't even think straight. I was losing alot of blood and I knew it. Finally, everything went black.