AN: If you haven't noticed, I've gotten a running thing in here: anytime
possible, I'll put in a song-guessing contest. So far, I have only given
away one cookie; that's to Hick Girl herself. That's about it. Somebody
guess it and the one from chapter 8 (revised)!
Chapter 12
Busted!
"Come on!"
Bob had tripped over a tree root and fallen. I grabbed his arm and told him to keep going. The moon was almost full, but it was still pretty dark.
We had everybody but Maya, because she refused to wake up. We had just left her there.
Finally, we reached the Ruins where the archaeologists had been. They had gone back to their own campsite for the night, so nobody was there.
Or so we thought.
I was searching around near where Marvette's father had said they had found the book, when I heard a scream.
"Hick Girl!"
I raced towards the sound. When I got there, it was just that Steve had snuck up behind her and scared her. She had turned and lassoed him and was actually laughing now, so I went back to investigating. I found a rock that probably had once been part of a wall or something and had not only our strange symbol, but a picture of an Unown.
Not just any Unown: an I.
Why did that I keep popping up? I left it out in my drawings. Maybe there was a connection.
Nah.
* * *
We finally gave up and went back to camp. I had kept the rock, pocketing it as my watch beeped two o'clock and as I called the others that it was time to head back.
We got back to find three unhappy teens: Bryan, Philip, and Stephanie. Oh, and Maya was there with them, half-asleep and in her pajamas.
"Uh oh." said Steve quietly.
"Where have y'all been?" asked Steph.
"We were worried sick!" said Phil, looking at Stewart.
"You could have been kidnapped, for all we knew!" said Bryan. "And that is a possibility, with your rep, Jim."
"I'm sorry, but we had to check out the Ruins!" I said.
"You aren't supposed to be over there anyway!" said Philip.
"Okay, okay. You got us. Now what?" asked Steve.
"Now, you sit out tomorrow's activities," said Bryan.
"But tomorrow's the hike!" protested Goliath.
"We haven't hiked enough today?" asked Courtney, who wasn't the most athletic of the group.
"I don't care," said Bryan. "You're staying here."
Carol pulled out her schedule as the counselors walked off. "It's okay anyway, because they were going to the Ruins at the end of the hike. We've already been there."
I almost laughed, but I didn't. I had become the leader of this group, but I had gotten us into trouble. I wasn't going to let that happen again.
* * *
I woke late the next morning. Since we weren't going, nobody had bothered to wake us up early for the hike. I sat up and stretched. Hearing laughing outside, I crawled out of my tent and found everybody sitting around talking. Philip had been left to watch us.
I pulled on some clothes and joined them.
"And then, from nowhere, a blue minivan charges by and smacks into Jessica, knocking her fifty feet away and into a gutter!" said Phil. He apparently was taking advantage of this story.
Almost offended by the mockery they were making of Jess' death, I interrupted. "Well, it wasn't exactly fifty feet, for one. And two, no, wait, that's it."
They laughed. "Have y'all noticed that the blue minivan pops out of nowhere at the most random times?" asked Hick Girl.
"See? You DO use a hick accent when you talk! I have a reason to call you Hick Girl, and I have proof, so no arguing," I said smugly.
Suddenly, there was a rumbling. Busting through the trees came a blue minivan with a blonde driver and a passenger that looked like.
"Rob?"
That's right. My surfer buddy was trapped in a car with his insane sister who should be stripped of her license!
"Follow that blonde!"
"Where'd that blonde come from?"
"WASN'T I JUST SAYING THIS?!?"
We chased after the van until it got out of sight.
"Guys, I think we're a little bit away from the site," said Philip, pointing backwards.
We looked, and noticed that we were up on a tall hill, overlooking the forest. The clearing that was our campsite was about a mile away.
"How did we get that far?" I asked.
"Wait, where's Courtney?" asked Carol.
There was no way that she could have run a mile with us.
* * *
"Courtney!"
"Hick Girl!"
"Courtney!"
We searched for fifteen minutes, then found her, flat on the ground, a large bump on her forehead. There were no trees near that she could have hit and fallen over and landed in the position she was in.
"Do you think she was attacked?" asked Isaac (always the optimistic one).
"I don't know, but we've gotta get back; the others will be back by now!" said Philip.
Goliath picked her up and still was able to run faster than any of us. We made it back in the middle of lunch. We found Mr. Burton and told him what happened.
"You expect me to believe that this student was attacked by somebody in the woods?" he asked harshly.
"Kinda," said Phil. "I didn't say we were sure, but she couldn't have landed where she was by hitting a tree!"
Burton just laughed in our face, then he stood up on a chair to take roll.
When he got to Maya, she didn't answer. She hadn't been with us to get in trouble, so she had gone on to the hike. Apparently she hadn't come back with them.
Suddenly my cell phone rang. "Hello?"
"Jim, it's Maya," she gasped. "Help me! I was with the group till I saw a strange door-looking wall thing. I broke off from the others and tried to open it. When I couldn't, some of my Pokemon opened it a little." I could hear a familiar chattering sound in the background.
"A huge swarm of Unown flew out of the opening and attacked me. Now, Flame and everything else is out cold, and I'm surrounded. I threw down a Smoke Ball to get time to call, but it's clearing away. No! Stay back! Get away!" Her voice got fainter, and there was a cracking noise, then static.
"She's in trouble," I said quietly to Philip. "Stay here and make sure no one follows me. I'm going to get her."
He started to stop me, but then realized that I knew what I was doing. I was the only one there that knew how to deal with rogue Pokemon.
I took off toward the Ruins, feeling my pockets to make sure all my 'Mon were there.
Chapter 12
Busted!
"Come on!"
Bob had tripped over a tree root and fallen. I grabbed his arm and told him to keep going. The moon was almost full, but it was still pretty dark.
We had everybody but Maya, because she refused to wake up. We had just left her there.
Finally, we reached the Ruins where the archaeologists had been. They had gone back to their own campsite for the night, so nobody was there.
Or so we thought.
I was searching around near where Marvette's father had said they had found the book, when I heard a scream.
"Hick Girl!"
I raced towards the sound. When I got there, it was just that Steve had snuck up behind her and scared her. She had turned and lassoed him and was actually laughing now, so I went back to investigating. I found a rock that probably had once been part of a wall or something and had not only our strange symbol, but a picture of an Unown.
Not just any Unown: an I.
Why did that I keep popping up? I left it out in my drawings. Maybe there was a connection.
Nah.
* * *
We finally gave up and went back to camp. I had kept the rock, pocketing it as my watch beeped two o'clock and as I called the others that it was time to head back.
We got back to find three unhappy teens: Bryan, Philip, and Stephanie. Oh, and Maya was there with them, half-asleep and in her pajamas.
"Uh oh." said Steve quietly.
"Where have y'all been?" asked Steph.
"We were worried sick!" said Phil, looking at Stewart.
"You could have been kidnapped, for all we knew!" said Bryan. "And that is a possibility, with your rep, Jim."
"I'm sorry, but we had to check out the Ruins!" I said.
"You aren't supposed to be over there anyway!" said Philip.
"Okay, okay. You got us. Now what?" asked Steve.
"Now, you sit out tomorrow's activities," said Bryan.
"But tomorrow's the hike!" protested Goliath.
"We haven't hiked enough today?" asked Courtney, who wasn't the most athletic of the group.
"I don't care," said Bryan. "You're staying here."
Carol pulled out her schedule as the counselors walked off. "It's okay anyway, because they were going to the Ruins at the end of the hike. We've already been there."
I almost laughed, but I didn't. I had become the leader of this group, but I had gotten us into trouble. I wasn't going to let that happen again.
* * *
I woke late the next morning. Since we weren't going, nobody had bothered to wake us up early for the hike. I sat up and stretched. Hearing laughing outside, I crawled out of my tent and found everybody sitting around talking. Philip had been left to watch us.
I pulled on some clothes and joined them.
"And then, from nowhere, a blue minivan charges by and smacks into Jessica, knocking her fifty feet away and into a gutter!" said Phil. He apparently was taking advantage of this story.
Almost offended by the mockery they were making of Jess' death, I interrupted. "Well, it wasn't exactly fifty feet, for one. And two, no, wait, that's it."
They laughed. "Have y'all noticed that the blue minivan pops out of nowhere at the most random times?" asked Hick Girl.
"See? You DO use a hick accent when you talk! I have a reason to call you Hick Girl, and I have proof, so no arguing," I said smugly.
Suddenly, there was a rumbling. Busting through the trees came a blue minivan with a blonde driver and a passenger that looked like.
"Rob?"
That's right. My surfer buddy was trapped in a car with his insane sister who should be stripped of her license!
"Follow that blonde!"
"Where'd that blonde come from?"
"WASN'T I JUST SAYING THIS?!?"
We chased after the van until it got out of sight.
"Guys, I think we're a little bit away from the site," said Philip, pointing backwards.
We looked, and noticed that we were up on a tall hill, overlooking the forest. The clearing that was our campsite was about a mile away.
"How did we get that far?" I asked.
"Wait, where's Courtney?" asked Carol.
There was no way that she could have run a mile with us.
* * *
"Courtney!"
"Hick Girl!"
"Courtney!"
We searched for fifteen minutes, then found her, flat on the ground, a large bump on her forehead. There were no trees near that she could have hit and fallen over and landed in the position she was in.
"Do you think she was attacked?" asked Isaac (always the optimistic one).
"I don't know, but we've gotta get back; the others will be back by now!" said Philip.
Goliath picked her up and still was able to run faster than any of us. We made it back in the middle of lunch. We found Mr. Burton and told him what happened.
"You expect me to believe that this student was attacked by somebody in the woods?" he asked harshly.
"Kinda," said Phil. "I didn't say we were sure, but she couldn't have landed where she was by hitting a tree!"
Burton just laughed in our face, then he stood up on a chair to take roll.
When he got to Maya, she didn't answer. She hadn't been with us to get in trouble, so she had gone on to the hike. Apparently she hadn't come back with them.
Suddenly my cell phone rang. "Hello?"
"Jim, it's Maya," she gasped. "Help me! I was with the group till I saw a strange door-looking wall thing. I broke off from the others and tried to open it. When I couldn't, some of my Pokemon opened it a little." I could hear a familiar chattering sound in the background.
"A huge swarm of Unown flew out of the opening and attacked me. Now, Flame and everything else is out cold, and I'm surrounded. I threw down a Smoke Ball to get time to call, but it's clearing away. No! Stay back! Get away!" Her voice got fainter, and there was a cracking noise, then static.
"She's in trouble," I said quietly to Philip. "Stay here and make sure no one follows me. I'm going to get her."
He started to stop me, but then realized that I knew what I was doing. I was the only one there that knew how to deal with rogue Pokemon.
I took off toward the Ruins, feeling my pockets to make sure all my 'Mon were there.