Bad Masters
Chapter 2
A squeak.
Wes's eyes opened to the golden sunlight shining in his bedroom window. The birds chirped blissfully, bearing comfort to Wes's still unsteady nerves. He rubbed his eyes and checked his watch. 9:24am. He was late for work. Groaning, he curled up under the sheets, exhaling heavily. Then falling silent.
Another, more desperate squeak.
Wes sharply leant up in his bed and lifted his chin, listening carefully. He frowned, but his sleepy, drowsy looking eyes hid his concern in the matter. He listened as tiny tapping of footsteps quickly paced his room. Then they stopped. Then they started again. Wes lifted his sheets so he could see his floor… and remembered there was a new mouth to feed in the household.
He guessed the eevee had always been dependant on people. After that ordeal yesterday… he couldn't grasp why that eevee was so trusting of a big, scary human like him. But as it patiently waited at his side as he poured tuna into a bowl, Wes wondered if maybe it could differentiate between good people and bad people. He knew some pokemon were smart, but were they smart enough for that?
"Here ya go."
He lay the bowl down at the eevee's side and it looked up expectantly. It's big beady eyes were like pits absorbing every emotion on Wes's face. It was reading him carefully, perhaps young and curious of Wes's generosity and kindness. It then looked down at its bowl, sniffed it a little, swaying its head to scan the scent as its nose made its whiskers twitch. Then it looked back at him.
"What?" Wes looked at the bowl. "What's wrong with it? Aww… c'mon, Eve, what is it?" He whined. "Are you vegetarian?" He said as the eevee limped away to be nosy, "… fine…" Then he stopped eating to think about what he'd said. He spun around "Hey, Eve"
The pokemon lifted its ears and faced Wes, but when nothing happened, it resumed raiding a snack cupboard, chewing on the packet for a chocolate bar, which burst and started melting into its mouth, prompting it to chew more. It seemed to enjoy it.
"So you shall be called Eve!" Wes exclaimed in a put-on voice.
Throughout the day Wes had had to be careful of his appearances outside. He had to get dog shampoo as he thought she might have an allergic reaction to human shampoo (couldn't find any 'eevee shampoo' and doubted it existed) and some lettuce and carrots to see if she would eat that, which she did. But she still preferred the chocolate. She seemed obedient enough while he was away… apart from a little accident she had on the carpet, so Wes decided it would be better to go out and get a litter tray for her, too.
That night Wes trusted he could leave Eve alone in his apartment. She watched from a pile of sheets as he exited the front door quietly. She seemed quite sleepy, so all she would need would be a bowl of water and a snack if she got hungry, which lay at her side. Wes felt a little uneasy about leaving her alone, but he reminded himself he wouldn't be out for long.
He held a cheque in his pocket which he had to pay a bill with. As he exited the block the wind ruffled his jacket and there still seemed to be a chill in the air. It was twilight, still overcast giving the sky an eerie dark blue. The street lamps glared their pure white light as he tried to look up, but he decided just to continue on as fast as he could. The town would be safer at least. Twenty minutes. That's all it would take.
Inside the Post Office was warm and the ceiling strip lighting and library-style quiet talking brought a calmness to Wes's nerves. He walked to the back of the queue and noticed in front of him a girl. She could only see the back of her head; her long gleaming blond hair, her slightly tilted black cap, the way she swayed as she switched stance out of boredom… then he looked down. A short, black mini-skirt, black leather high-heel boots, smooth slim legs…
Wes began to pick out every detail about her. Her bangles jangled as she flicked her hair and for a brief moment he noticed her deep brown eyes against a light blue mild eye shadow. Then she leant forward to talk to a friend. Her voice was higher pitched than she'd expected with a slight rasp, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. It was intriguing, but he didn't want to make out he was listening in. He stepped forward just a step.
"Okay! Everyone, on the floor!" She yelled almost in Wes's ear.
Wes fell down out of surprise. He grit his teeth in panic as the partners held their guns to the people on the floor. The male backed up to one of the receptionists while the girl Wes had his eye on held her gun directly at him. She looked up. Then back at him as he knelt on the floor, not daring to move.
"You."
Wes looked up, holding his hand up as if it could shield him from an oncoming bullet. He whimpered, quietly, wincing at any movement if she was going to pull the trigger any moment.
"C'mon, Siren, let's go." The man rushed past. He seemed empty-handed.
Siren nodded at him then returned to Wes. "You're coming with us." Wes stared at her, "Get up!" Wes nearly jumped three feet in the air, hands held high, but head low. His actions were hesitant and hasty as he stumbled over the belt for the queue. She pressed the gun against the back of his head, which quickened him.
"C'mon, hurry!" She yelled to the man.
Wes was confused. Time began to slow down for him. Each step he took, he could hear the rubber scrape the ground as if it was in slow motion. Perhaps he tried to avert his attention from the situation. In any case, he suddenly became unaware of where he was or what he was doing. He watched as the lights from traffic illuminate the ground for a brief moment… but then they were just lights. He didn't think why or where they came and went, they were just there. Then he walked into a dark place.
There was a slam from behind as everything went black. A slight rumble from beneath his feet… and it continued. The surface of the ground swayed, throwing him off balance. He fell and clobbered his head on the wall.
Then he lost all consciousness.
