Chapter Two
Ken
"Jane?"
She was just waking up, peering at me through half-lidded eyes. "Ken, what is it?"
"I - I've been selected for the Ark."
Realisation dawned on her face as she leapt up, gave me a kiss and enveloped me in an embrace. "Oh, that's so great!" she shouted gleefully. "You're gonna survive!"
I shook my head and looked at her. "No, I'm not," I replied. "Not without you."
She sagged a little, looking out to the rising sun as if this was what she had expected. "Ken, they won't let me on, you know that. You can make it with Pads; that'd be the best thing to do. She stared back at me, her expression intense. "Just go, for me."
I knew that expression; it was the same one she used when she needed to be in a commanding position, when she knew what I was about to do was stupid and she wanted to stop me. I didn't let her stop me this time though. "Jane, you've got to come along! If they don't let you on, I'll find a way to make them!"
But her expression did not waver and nor did her tone of voice or her resolution to ensure my safety. "If you try to make them let me on, they'll deem you a security risk and leave you behind. And I very much doubt you could smuggle me in."
She was right, again. I simply held the embrace for a while, desperately seeking an alternative. Painful thoughts clouded my mind and despair began to claw at my heart. "At least come to the spaceport," I whispered.
She sighed and conceded. "All right. To the spaceport."
I kissed her on the forehead and we pulled away from each other.
As I loaded the last suitcase into the car, Jane recalled our Growlithe, Pads, and got into the passenger seat. I took one last look at our street before I got in myself. One house had already been looted and the others had been fortified somewhat, with their tenants wielding weapons of some sort. I shook my head and climbed in beside Jane. Without a word, I started the car and set course for Viridian City.
Jack
Was I the only person actually happy about the prospect of going into space? It sure seemed like it. Emily looked like she was going to burst into tears every five minutes and Marle had simply refused to talk to anyone after getting her boarding pass. She had gone off with her two Pokemon to decide which of them would be going with her.
Having been so wrapped up in my only little world of space adventures, the whole reason we were here had passed me by and now, looking round at all the families and friends saying their final farewells, I felt a twinge of guilt for not really saying goodbye to my parents. I'd been brought up to believe things would resolve themselves, but now it was looking increasingly likely that we wouldn't be heading back to Earth any time soon.
The idea of being completely alone and homeless in the universe was one of the most distressing things that could happen to anybody. "Alone among the stars," I said, half to myself.
At one point, there was an announcement that "due to unforeseen circumstances" some new placements had become available on board the Ark. There was a sudden rush as the families, friends and hangers-on of those about to embark on the journey stampeded in the desperate hope of securing a place.
Max
I had no-one to say goodbye to; my parents couldn't bear to see me leave and hadn't come.
I remembered the day I got that fateful email. I was checking it, as I did every morning, when I found the message and nearly screamed with a mixture of joy that I was spared, sorrow that I had to leave my family and anger that they hadn't built a bigger Ark. I packed all my things and prepared to leave. I lived between Viridian and Pewter so it wasn't far.
"Goodbye, Max," I heard my dad say as I left the house. I couldn't turn back, knowing the tears in my eyes would only increase . . .
I finally found my cabin, threw my bags on the bed and left with Abra by my side. I went looking for some of the other people who had been chosen, but there was no-one else on board yet. I sighed and decided to look around the Ark.
Ken
Viridian had turned into a mess. Though it was probably the city best able to deal with a large population, the sheer number of people had stretched the city to breaking point. There were throngs of people filling the streets and smoke could be seen rising from the site of a riot in the suburbs.
Despite the manic crowds, we managed to get to the spaceport relatively quickly. "Weird set-up," Jane commented, staring at the converted Pokemon Centre. Huge barriers had been erected and countless security personnel patrolled the grounds.
We left the car in a small park near the Viridian City Gym. Though parking wasn't allowed, at least thirty cars had already crammed onto the grass. There was no harm in doing that now; it wasn't like we'd be paying parking fines any more.
When we got to the spaceport, a short man with a clip-board stopped me and told me to state my name and email address. I told him and he glanced down at his clip-board, running his finger over all the names on at least three pages. "Ah, come with me," he said at last, leading me in the direction of the Ark.
"But my girlfriend . . ."
I assure you that . . ." He checked the clip-board again. " . . . Jane O'Sullivan will be given a placing if one becomes available."
Emily
All I could think about as I looked around my cabin was the fact that I was about to journey into the unknown. I had already met some of the other passengers - those two kids I met in the spaceport were called Marle and Jack - and we were all a little scared at the thought of what we were about to undertake.
My Meowth was asleep on the bed and I was busy tacking up a poster of a Corsola I'd brought from home. It was one of my favourites, given to me by my older sister, and I hoped that keeping it would enable me to maintain some kind of link to what I was leaving behind. I wished my sister - her name was Rowena - could have come with me, but she hadn't been chosen. I couldn't help thinking about her and all the people who would be left behind on Earth. Their long-term chances of survival once the comet struck were virtually nil.
I tried to dismiss thoughts of Earth and decided I'd better make my way out onto the Command Deck, which was where we would be seated during take-off. Arriving, I took a seat next to Marle, with a young couple seated across the aisle. "All ready for take-off?" I asked with a nervous smile.
"Yeah." She smiled back in an effort to hide how nervous she was. I felt the same way, knowing we only had a few more moments left on our home planet.
A voice from the intercom cut through our thoughts. "Your attention please as we prepare for take-off. Please keep your seat-belts buckled and your Poke Balls secure as the Ark lifts off. Once we have left Earth's atmosphere, the artificial gravity will be activated and you may then roam freely.
This was it. We were about to leave. I checked Meowth's Poke Ball was safely in my pocket before strapping myself to my seat and bracing myself as the Ark began to move.
The young man sitting across from me turned round. "Hi," he said. "Just like the movies, eh?"
"I - I guess," I replied. "By the way, I'm Emily and this is Marle."
"Ken," he told me. "And that's my girlfriend, Jane. We're in Cabin N30."
"The same corridor as me," I remarked. "Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
There was a screen in the back of the seat in front of me and I flipped it on so I could watch our progress. We were already high enough to be able to see the world clearly, a world we were leaving behind.
As the Earth disappeared from view, I knew there was no going back.
Max
The thrill of going into space was unbelievable. But, in these conditions, I wanted to be alone for a while, so I sat near the back. There were people around me, but I just ignored them. I watched the screen on the seat in front of me until I couldn't bear it any longer and turned the screen off.
Marle
"Jane, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help back at check-in," I said.
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I could help you." She stroked my Espeon's Poke Ball tenderly. "I've always wanted an Espeon anyway," she finished with a grin.
I grinned back, confident that Espeon would be pleased with her new owner. In a way, I was glad I hadn't really had to make a choice between my two Pokemon; wherever the group went, Jane would be there with Espeon.
I'd met Jane and Ken in line on the way to the launch pad. The long wait had given us time to get to know each other and I almost couldn't believe it when I discovered they only had one Pokemon between the two of them. Espeon agreed with my decision, even though she seemed a little sore at first. I had to explain that I was keeping Ninetales because she had been my starter Pokemon, besides which she didn't take well to other humans.
I watched the monitor as Earth fell slowly away. The life I knew was left behind and all I had left was a tiny image on a computer screen.
Ken
"There it goes," I sighed, watching as the Earth continued to shrink in the monitor as the massive engines of the Ark propelled us away. Now, we were blasting past the moon's orbit as we accelerated into deeper space.
An announcement came over the PA, telling us to stay in our seats while final checks were completed. Some soft murmurs began following this announcement. Everyone was either excited, scared stiff or still thinking about family back home. And that suddenly made me realise that the Ark was my home now; everything we had left behind was firmly in the past. Some buildings might survive, but no-one would be left.
"What's taking them so long?" Jane asked.
"They have to make sure we're on the right course and all systems are running properly," I replied. "And, with a ship this big, there's got to be a ton of systems."
Jack
The flight into space had been everything kids like me are supposed to dream about, but this little voice at the back of my mind kept repeating: "It's all gone" over and over again
I guess the Ark could be compared to a plane, but I'd never been on a plane with so many people, let alone one that went into space. And there were no windows where I was sitting, which was a shame because window seats are the best to have on long voyages.
I was in Cabin N52. I knew I should have found it when I came on board, but I didn't have much luggage to drop off and I had figured it was more important to find out where the toilets were. This, of course, meant I had no idea where I supposed to be so I decided to tag along with a group of people heading for their cabins in the hope that they could shed some light on the matter.
Marle
A single tear had traced its way down my cheek as Earth faded from sight. I wiped it away and turned to more pressing matters.
I'd always dreamed of the stars. People said I was crazy, but I'd always believed there was no way we were alone in the Universe. There had to be other life out there, whether it was intelligent or not. Maybe, this would be my chance to prove some of my theories.
I shouldered the backpack that contained my clothes and Pokemon supplies and went to look for my room, N17. When I got there, I opened the door and tossed the bag onto the bed.
"Not much else to do," I thought. "Guess I'll go exploring and see what happens around this place."
Ken
The room wasn't bad, considering the rush it must have been constructed in. There was a bed, a personal storage unit, a wash unit, a work-station and computer terminal and a chair. They must have been building this before the comet even got close, maybe as a next-generation exploration vessel. Now, it was a lifeboat, holding what we hoped to salvage from our civilisation.
Just as I had finished loading my last shirt into the storage unit, the computer's screen came on. "To all passengers on the Ark, this is your Captain speaking."
Emily
We were all summoned to the Command Deck, where we found the Captain standing there, looking solemn. "I'm afraid it's happened," he told us grimly. "We've just received word that the comet has struck Mount Mortar." He switched on a nearby radio and messed about with it for a moment before he finally tuned in on what was obviously an EBS (Emergency Broadcast Station), one that only ever came on air when there was an international emergency.
A female voice was describing what had happened in a slightly hysterical tone. "According to early reports, Mount Mortar had been reduced to a crater! Of course, we can't know for sure exactly what happened, but it seems the comet exploded with a force of 100 megatons, enough to destroy a whole mountain. Local radio stations based in Ecruteak City and Mahogany Town have been off the air since moments after the comet hit and it is feared that both were completely destroyed in the blast . . ." She paused, clearly too shocked to go on and an awful hush fell among the people in the Ark as they thought of loved ones they'd had to leave behind. Then, she continued, clearly trying to sound professional in spite of everything. "I think we can safely say that this shows how fragile life is, how one little jolt can knock everything out of balance. Therefore, if you can still hear me, I urge you to pray for those who, even now, are travelling through space in a bid to preserve the human race. Our civilisation is over. They are the future."
I looked round at the others, at Marle, Jack, Ken, Jane and Max. The look in all their eyes was the same, a mixture of sorrow and determination.
I felt as if I was in a vaccuum with everything I used to love swept away. Most of my time was spent in my cabin, stroking my Meowth and mulling over the fact I would never see my family again.I tried to imagine what Pewter City, my hometown, would look like now that the comet had struck, but I simply couldn't picture it. Every time I tried, I would end up visualising a thriving city with shops and houses, as well as a Gym dedicated to Rock Type Pokemon.
One day - we kept thinking in terms of "day" and "night" even though such things did not exist in deep space - I was sitting on my bed reading a book that I'd brought from home, when there was a knock on the door. Leaving my book face-down on the bed, I went to answer the door.
It was Max. "Are you going to stay in your cabin all the time?" he asked me.
"Of course not," I said. "I just needed some time to think about everything that's happened, that's all."
He grabbed me by the arm. "Well, if you carry on thinking and stop doing, you'll end up rotting in there," he told me. "C'mon, Em, they're holding Pokemon battles in the Rec Room!"
I did a double take, wondering if I'd heard him correctly. How in the Universe did they plan to have battles onboard a spacecraft without damaging it? I had to see this for myself, so I called Meowth into her Poke Ball and followed Max to the Rec Room.
The Rec Room was the room set aside for passengers to spend their leisure time. There was a table-tennis table, a pool table and a darts board, in addition to a juke box, a shelf full of books and a games console. But, when I entered, the first thing I saw was that everyone's attention was focused on Marle and another girl as they prepared to battle their Pokemon.
Jack was acting as referee. "The next match will be Marle's Ninetales versus Bianca's Xatu!" he announced. "Begin!"
"Ninetales, Flamethrower!" Marle ordered.
In response, her Ninetales opened her mouth and prepared to send a jet of fire at the Xatu Bianca was using. Before it could hit home, Bianca hurriedly countered by calling on Xatu to use Fly to get out of range. Xatu flew up to the ceiling, but Ninetales couldn't hold back her Flamethrower and ended up breathing fire at the far wall. Luckily, the Ark was coated with a special fire-proof material so the wall was only scorched.
Ken
My guess had been right. The Ark had originally been conceived as an interplanetary research vessel with a crew of just twelve and enough onboard supplies to last them decades. However, with the sudden change in circumstances, things that weren't essential to survival (like labs, sample storage, drones and planetary rovers) had been removed or converted into something that would be required for the mission.
During one of my sessions in front of the computer, Jane walked in. "Ken, when are you going down to the Rec Room? she asked. "They're having Pokemon battles."
Pads perked up and glanced at us with interest. "No, Pads, not yet," I said. "Another year, I promise." Pads whined and flopped back onto the bed. He was still a pup, too young to battle, but I had been teaching him tricks which would hopefully give him an edge in his first battle. "I'll get down there," I went on. "I'm just checking out some public access files on the Ark's computer."
Jane rolled her eyes. "Schematics again?"
"No, check these out!" I told her.
I opened a video file, an image of Earth relayed from a military spy satellite. In the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, a bright streak came into view, momentarily whiting out the screen until the operator toned down the brightness. Then, the comet slammed into Mount Mortar, again whiting out the screen. When Earth became visible again, it looked totally different. A massive mushroom cloud had appeared, surrounded by a rapidly expanding shockwave. It would have looked like a nuclear explosion, except one could see entire cities getting swallowed up by the shockwave.
"Pretty rough, huh?"
"It's unbelievable," Jane replied, shaking her head. The words: End of Recording flashed up on the screen and I shut down the computer.
"Well, I think there's still people alive down there, but how long they'll stay alive . . ."
The room suddenly seemed to get very cold.
