Chapter Three

Ben

As I lay on my bed, I wondered if I had had a nervous breakdown or something. Anyway, I was fast getting fed up with this dumb Project Alpha and I figured it was time to quit moping and take action for once. I rolled off the bed and pulled off my pillowcase to use as a bag. I put the food we had been given for the week into it and reached into my pocket to check Chinchou and Larvitar were still there.

I wondered where I would go once I had run away. Stan would probably have a ball when he found out I had left and, for some reason, that troubled me. I stopped to reconsider on my way out. Did I really want to run away and make myself seem like more of an idiot than I already was? I just didn't know any more.


Marle

I instantly plummeted from relief that the others had stopped before they found my last name in the computer to terror. If my vision was correct, who knew what these people were capable of? There was no way this would ever be a fair fight. Nevertheless, I was bound and determined to do whatever I had to do to fight these people.

I stared at Alpha Division with a defiant gleam in my eyes and flipped up the collar of my leather jacket. "Bring it on!"


Stan

I locked eyes with my brother and threw the Poke Ball at the floor. Nidoking appeared in a blaze of light.

I wouldn't risk my Growlithe. Although I didn't admit it, he was the thing I cared for most in the whole world. I had raised him from a baby; he was the son of an Arcanine that belonged to an old man we mugged. The man had a heart attack and his Arcanine pined to death. I took the defenceless baby and hid it in my arms.

Tyler's Charizard blazed hell fire at my Nidoking. I was losing.

I snapped. I shouted out an angry command and Nidoking's tail whipped forward.


Melissa

Luckily for us, someone came and told Alpha Division to "break it up" and leave us alone.

I still needed to know the reason I had been selected; I'd glimpsed my profile, but there hadn't been time to read it before we got interrupted. Nonetheless, one sentence stuck in my mind:

Melissa is the top athlete in Celadon City.

I thought about this and, the more I did so, the more it made sense. Clearly, if Marle's vision of a world ravaged by Plague was going to come true, they would want to make sure that anyone who was exceptional in any way survived. And something which happened just a few weeks after the computer incident confirmed those suspicions. A woman who worked for Project Alpha came into the cabin. "Melissa Edwards?" she asked.

Reluctantly, I abandoned the game of cards I was playing with Marle and moved towards the door. "What is it?" I asked, puzzled as to why a member of staff would come into our quarters.

"You're wanted in Head Office."

I arrived at Head Office to find Dole sitting at his desk, looking solemn. "Hello, Melissa," he said, staring into my face. "I think I'd better tell you why I called you in here."

"Why?" I asked in reply.

"As I understand it, one of the other members of your Division is a Timeseer," Dole explained. "And it seems she's been having visions of a Plague coming to the world. Well, I think I'd better inform you that what she saw was something we of Project Alpha have known about for years: rogue states planning to use biological weapons to destroy our civilisation. And, only two days ago, a deadly virus was released over Kanto . . ." I gasped, too shocked to speak, and forced myself to listen as Dole continued. "We knew there was little time so we selected people with special abilities that would help them survive in a changed world. Then, we evacuated them to a place of safety, far away from the nearest populated area where there was less chance of them becoming infected. You and the other Project members are those people."

I looked at him in surprise. "But why?!" I demanded, rising in my seat. "Why did you lie to us?! You said we'd only be here for a year!"

"As to that," Dole said, "I regret having to lie, but it seemed the right thing to do under the circumstances. You see, if we'd let on that there was going to be a Plague, we would have been swamped by people trying to join the Project and we just don't have the facilities to cope with such large numbers."

I returned to my cabin in a state of shock and took out the photo of me, my mum and the Pidgey which evolved into my Pidgeotto that I'd brought from home. I was ten when that picture was taken and Pidgey was my only Pokemon; I didn't have Sunflora then. I stroked the frame gently, scarcely able to believe that it was the last link I had to my mum. "Why?" I said out loud. Even now, I still don't know the answer.

Most of the people on Project Alpha still didn't know about the Plague and thought they would be going home in a few months' time. But the other members of Gamma Division and I knew different. We knew we had all been selected because we had special skills that needed to be preserved. I also knew that we had to learn to co-operate if we were to stand any chance of surviving. Staring out at the compound, I wondered what would become of us now that the Plague Marle had warned me about had come. Would we have to rebuild society? And what would the society we built be like?

It was kind of like being on one of those "reality" TV shows, only this wasn't a game. This was for real.


Ben

I was in the doghouse. My earlier doubts about running away had only served to give the others time to finish whatever it was they had been doing with the military guys - and they weren't in the best of moods when they got back. Stan and Leon both agreed that they didn't have time to put up with my childish behaviour, so (after relieving me of the food I'd been planning to swipe) they locked me in the cabin and went out to have a look round.

They probably hadn't told the others about locking me away, but, if they had, the others probably would have agreed. Stan kept treating me like a mental patient and Leon . . . Well, Leon was just himself. He didn't want to lock me up, but, as he said, "it had to be done". I had achieved nothing, except managing to completely screw up the relationship between us. I doubted life could get any worse.

A few weeks later, Leon and Stan were talking and, as usual, I had been banished to the farthest corner of the cabin where I couldn't hear what was going on. I idly rolled my Poke Balls on the floor while watching the animated discussion.

At one point, Leon gestured towards me while talking. Stan rolled his eyes and shrugged. Then, they got up and looked at me. "Well? Come on then, Mr Mentally Unsound!" Stan said in exasperation

I got up. "Where are we going?" I asked.

Stan glared at the ceiling and sighed. "Geez! He can't even eavesdrop properly!" was what I thought I heard him say under his breath.

"Meeting with the rest of the Division," Leon told me. "Bring your Pokemon." He turned and walked out the door.

I looked blankly at Stan and he grinned at me. "Let's just say it might get ugly," he said.


Melissa

Soon, everyone knew that Leon was planning to have a Pokemon battle with Ben. Even though I wasn't a Timeseer like Marle, I had serious misgivings; surely no good could come out of this. When I next saw Leon, I tried to talk him into calling the whole thing off. But Leon just laughed at me and said Ben had to be "put in his place".

I stalked off in disgust. "Boys!" I muttered under my breath as I headed back to the cabin I shared with Marle and Monica. Marle was out - she was one of a group of people working in the fields, where we were planting a crop - but Monica was sitting on her bed, reading a magazine she had brought from home. We had been allowed to bring magazines but not newspapers.

Monica looked up when she saw me. "Hi," she said, before turning back to the article she had just been reading. There was something different about her and, looking closely, I saw what it was. Round her neck, she wore a gold pendant shaped like a Seadra with tiny jewels for eyes. "That's pretty," I said. "Where did you get it?"

"My pendant?" she replied. "My gran left it to me in her will. Seadra was favourite Pokemon and that's why she had that made."

"You've never talked much about your family," I went on.

Monica looked at me. "Mainly because they never wanted much to do with me," she explained. "You see, I was the fourth daughter my parents had and they were hoping for a son. So, although they tolerated me when I was little, we didn't . . . get along. As soon as I was old enough, I ran away from home. I said I was going on a Pokemon journey. Well, I was in a way. But I never went back home again."

I was stunned. It was understandable that Marle's parents had been afraid of their daughter's gifts, but the way Monica's parents pushed her aside just because she wasn't the son they had hoped for was beyond belief. I decided it would be safer to change the subject. "Listen," I said urgently. "Leon's gonna have a Pokemon battle with Ben! We must stop it!"


Ben

Stan practically dragged me outside and pushed me towards Leon. "Let's see you handle this!" he snarled in my ear.

It's amazing how word gets around about little things like this and we were soon standing in the centre of a large crowd of onlookers. The other Divisions had turned out in force to shout words of encouragement or abuse to us.

Since I didn't look like I was going to make a move any time soon, Leon took the lead and sent out a Scizor. How in the world would I beat that with the Pokemon I had? As I glanced nervously round at the increasingly impatient crowd, I noticed some of the suits and military guys had joined them and were watching the two of us expectantly.

"Ben, I'm waiting!" Leon called from the other side of the makeshift ring. I had no choice. I had to send something out to face his lethal Bug. I decided to let fate decide as I pulled one of my Poke Balls at random. "Um . . . Go, whoever!" I called. It was Larvitar and I suddenly felt very queasy indeed.


Monica

I sighed. Why did I even trust her? Either I was becoming soft, or this whole Project Alpha thing was affecting my head. I wished I could somehow run away, even if I died trying.

Hurry up!" yelled Melissa. I nodded and followed her.

Both combatants glared at each other and you could feel something uncomfortable and annoying, kind of like hatred, in the air. "He doesn't stand a chance," I whispered as Ben's Larvitar walked towards Leon's Scizor. "Is he crazy? He's going to kill the poor little thing!"

I ran towards Leon while Melissa ran to Ben, both of us determined to stop the battle. "What are you doing!" I shouted. "Stop it!"

Leon just grinned. "Let the battle begin!" he ordered.

"Didn't you hear me! Stop, damn it!"

"Scizor, you know what to do!" Leon said as if I wasn't there. I had to stop him. Without even thinking, I punched him in the middle. "Why did you do that?!" yelled Leon, holding his stomach in pain.

"Don't you know you might kill that Larvitar?!"

"So what?" Leon said, turning his gaze to the battle. "Attack, Scizor!"

"Enough!" I yelled as I tried to punch him again. But, this time, Leon stopped me.

"I warn you, don't mess with me," he said as he let go of my hand.

I rubbed my hand and thought of something for a moment. I gazed at that poor Larvitar who was getting beaten up by Leon's Scizor. No matter how annoying Ben might be, his Larvitar didn't deserve to suffer like this. "Battle me, Leon!" I said with a huge grin on my face.

"What?!"

Battle me, damn it!" I said as I glared at him. "Battle me!"


Melissa

Monica and Leon glared at each other, neither of them willing to back down. "Admit it," Monica said gloatingly. "You're afraid to battle me because you know you'll lose. You read my file, remember?"

"I'm not afraid, Monica," Leon said. "I just can't battle a girl."

"What did you say?!"

Leon shrugged. "I said, I can't battle a girl," he repeated. That was a big mistake.

Monica swung at him with her fist and knocked him sprawling. "That's for being a sexist jerk!" she said, glaring at Leon as he lay prone on the ground.

"Please, hear me out," Leon begged. "I can't battle a girl because . . ."

But it turned out that we would never know why Leon couldn't bring himself to battle female opponents because, at that moment, there was an announcement over the speakers that had been set up all over the compound. "Project Members to the Assembly Area! Repeat! Project Members to the Assembly Area!"

We all looked at each other in surprise, wondering what this could be about. I had a pretty good idea, as did the rest of Gamma Division, but everyone else was completely in the dark.

"Hey! What's going on?" asked one of the girls in the crowd.

"Probably just testing the speakers," a boy suggested. But the announcer's next words soon told him otherwise.

"This is not a test! All Project Members to the Assembly Area immediately!"

We headed for the Assembly Area, arriving to find Dole and his staff standing on the platform in front of us. "What's going on?" asked a girl named Katie Fletcher, who had been placed in Epsilon Division.

"I don't know any more than you do," I replied.

Dole stepped up to his mike and began to address the crowd. "Members of Project Alpha," he said, "I have called you all together for a serious reason. Several weeks ago, each of you received a letter telling you to prepare to take part in a year-long project . . ."

"We know all that!" Katie, who had a Pikachu perched on her shoulder, cut in.

Dole ignored the interruption and continued. "I have to inform you now that this was simply a cover story. The real reason each of you was selected was because you possess special talents, talents that would prove useful for rebuilding civilisation in the event of disaster. I have to tell you now that, even as I speak, a Plague is spreading in the outside world. We of Project Alpha knew of this eventuality and that is why we brought you here, to protect you from infection."

There was mush shocked muttering at this and it took Dole several minutes before he could make himself heard again. "To ensure that no-one brings the Plague into the Location, certain precautions will be taken. We predict that it could take up to three years for the worst of the plague to pass. Until then, you must all stay within the Location and not attempt to leave for any reason."

I returned to the cabin in a daze. Even though I'd known about the Plague, I'd tried to push it to the back of my mind. But now it was official: our civilisation had fallen.