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Lost Dreams
By: Pixi Powder
Pixi_powder@yahoo.com
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The sun was close to setting again. The pokemon in the forest were quieting down, though occasionally one would walk through the space under Misty. As quietly as she could, she stretched out her legs, trying to restore circulation to her toes. All day she had remained frozen in the tree. Barely moving, hardly breathing, and not bothering to eat anything. She just stayed focused on listening for the figure. Listening for her life.
She had only heard the gun cry out once more. It sounded farther away, though Misty couldn't be sure, and opted to stay where she was. She never saw the small boy run through, never heard him cry out for help, never knew if he was even still alive. She never saw the figure walk through again, never saw a face, never even knew if he was still out there. Out there stalking his prey.
Misty shivered. A cool breeze rustled through the leaves, making the branches sway and allowing Misty a chance to look past the cover of the tree. It looked like the trees ended eventually. But how far away could it be? She wasn't sure. Maybe if I climb a little higher I can see how far away the next town is. Her mind raced for a second, before coming upon a pessimistic thought. If there is a next town. Carefully Misty slung the backpack over her shoulder and reached upward for the nearest branch.
Climbing was much easier when everything was dry. Making good progress, she was able to reach the canopy within only 25 minutes. Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down. She blinked and her gaze shifted down for only a second. That was all it took though. The ground seemed to be a million miles away, though it was only 60 feet or so. Misty grabbed quickly for the tree trunk, trying to give it a rather large bear hug. Her eyes were shut so tightly that the fading light couldn't penetrate her eyelids.
"Damn it. This is the last time I ever do anything for my sisters. They're on their own from now on. I'm done. Never again. How did I get dragged into this. This is all crazy. I should just turn around and go," her quivering voice was rudely interrupted by a loud gunshot. It was close this time. Almost as close as last time. He was near. Very near.
"Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit." Misty mumbled as she continued to bear hug the tree. She peered down and tried to catch a glimpse of where the figure was. Any idea would help. All she saw was branches and leaves. She could only see small spaces of ground, and there was nothing there.
Slowly she shifted her gaze forward. Peering around the massive trunk, Misty's eyes quickly scanned for a town, or a house, or anything that might be helpful. She turned her head and gazed around the other side of the tree. A small town loomed ahead. It had to be at least a mile away, but at least it was a town. A deep sigh escaped Misty.
"What the hell did I get myself into?" She slowly loosened her grip on the tree and proceeded to sit down. She straddled the branch and locked her legs beneath it. The last thing she wanted was to fall 60 feet into the arms of a guy with a rifle.
Why me? What the hell did I ever do to deserve this? I couldn't have been that horrible to anyone. She paused to think about her words. Couldn't be that horrible. But I was.
~*~
"Sure, whatever. Go. I know you have to."
"Myst. I promise you I'll make this up. I promise you won't regret this. When I get back you and me can go anywhere. I'll tell the League that I'm under the weather. That I need a brake. Come on, look at me. You know I didn't plan it this way. You and me can go wherever you want and I'll make it all up to you. I just can't brake this. I have to go."
"Yeah. I guess. I mean it's not like you got to pick the day or anything right? It's not like they asked you when to do it. They just told you that's when you had to be there. No choice. Right." Misty looked away unhappily.
"Right, no choice." He looked away with uncertainty.
"You didn't have any choice right? I mean you didn't actually pick that day?" Misty looked back at him with laser eyes. Not only did she see him, she saw through him. And through the lie. "You picked that day? YOU PICKED OUR ANNIVERSARY TO GO AWAY TO DO BUSINESS? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WERE YOU EVEN BOTHERING TO THINK!!!"
"Misty, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it when they asked me. They just gave me a couple days to choose from and I picked that one. I wasn't paying attention to it. I swear I didn't mean to. Misty, look at me. Please. I'm sorry." He looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. He truly was sorry. But that didn't matter right now.
"How could you not realize it? I mean hello? Is your brain even working? Fine. Whatever. I don't care. Go away on your little business trip. I'd hate to have your life interfere with the League." Misty turned around and stalked up the stairs. She was outraged and slammed the door to the study with all her might. Grabbing a random book off the shelf she situated herself on the oversized leather couch.
An hour passed and finally the door opened. "I've got to get going. You know I'm sorry. I really am. I promise I'll make it up to you later. I love you Myst."
Misty only scoffed in return. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to him.
~*~
The phone jarred Misty out of her slumber. The video phone on the study desk was ringing noisily. Misty shook off her dream. It was something with a Dragonite chasing her. What a nightmare.
Misty yawned as she glanced at the clock. It was going on midnight. I must have dozed off. I can't believe I slept all day. She hit the answer button expecting to see his picture. It was like him to call when he arrived. Though he should have arrived at least two or three hours ago.
"Good evening Mistara." Lance's face appeared worried. "By any chance is Master."
Misty cut him off. "No. He's not here. He left about six hours ago." Then the realization hit her. "You mean he hasn't arrived yet?"
"No. We thought that maybe he had forgotten or was running late. He hasn't shown up and none of the towns he was supposed to stop in reported seeing him either." Lance tried to cover his fear in an official tone.
"Are you sure? I mean are you sure he didn't just decide to take another route or something?" All anger left Misty as anxiety replaced it.
"We haven't heard anything, but we're hoping it's just something like that. I'm sorry to make you worry. I'll keep you posted if we hear anything."
"Okay. Thanks Lance." Misty hung up the phone. Her body collapsed into the chair behind her. A million thoughts crossed her mind, none of which were good.
~*~
Tears rolled from the corners of Misty's eyes. Her world, her entire world, had just been shattered. The phone call came and she flipped on the TV.
"This is a special news bulletin. We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this footage, just taken in the League conference room."
Lance stepped up to the podium. He drew in a deep breath and the room grew deathly silent. "As you all know there has been an extensive search in all of Kanto and Johto to find the Pokemon Master. He disappeared en route to a meeting at Indigo Plateau. Many leads were collected, though none led to any information of help. It is with great sorrow that the League has come to this decision." He paused, taking a deep breath and preparing himself for the words that followed. "We regret to inform you that Pokemon Master Ash Ketchum has been declared officially dead."
~*~
A/N: Wow, what a cliff hanger. Hehe, aren't I mean? In case you didn't know, the last few sections were a flashback Misty was having. And that wasn't their wedding anniversary, they never got that far. It was more of their anniversary since they became a couple. I figured I'd answer those question now, just so you knew. One of my friends told me to answer some of the questions, so I did. It's not my fault that I created a few more in the process. Anyway, you know the drill. Please review and if you have any questions leave them in your post. I'll try and answer them next chapter. Oh, and just so you don't think I abandoned the story, I'm letting you know that I'm going to be out of town and the next chapter probably won't be posted until sometime early August. I swear it's not that far away...