Chapter Twenty-Nine - The Long Walk
Morning came too early, with mixed expressions and anxious eyes. Rosa rested on one of the bar stools next to the kitchen counter, her fingers drumming impatiently against the granite as she waited for Curtis to finish saying goodbye to his grandmother. Grandma Gladys had turned out to be a cheerful old woman with lots to say and even more to give, and now Rosa's pack was full of extra provisions for the road. And though she grateful for the supplies, she still couldn't force herself to be happy about her new traveling companion.
She was stressed. There were no two ways about it. It had been ages since she'd even tried traveling with another person, and Hugh had abandoned ship (literally) as soon as they'd touched down in Castelia. If she was being honest, she didn't know how to have a travel companion. Was she supposed to slow down for him? Cause there was no way in heck that was happening. She didn't even know if he owned any Pokémon! Guardian of the universe or not, no way was she babysitting a grown adult.
"Rosa, are you ready to go?"
There was tromping from the staircase, followed by the scuff of shoes on tile as Curtis blew into the kitchen. His shoulder length hair was still wet from a shower, and there was smear of lipstick on his cheek, but his eyes were bright. Rosa's icy gaze followed him as he set his bag on the counter and leaned over her to snatch an apple from a nearby centerpiece. She said nothing.
"Ooh, still chip and cheerful this morning, huh? Does that mean you are ready to leave?"
She huffed and turned away, ready to give him the cold shoulder until he did the adult thing and changed his mind, but Curtis just walked around and sat down on the stool facing her. He bit into his apple noisily, chewed with an amused smile that boiled her blood, swallowed nonchalantly like he knew he was getting to her. Then he held the fruit to his lips to do the whole thing over again.
Rosa narrowed her gaze. Maybe she wouldn't mind if he was killed by Team Plasma.
He bit into the apple again, his eyes turning on her innocently as he did so, and Rosa sighed in defeat. Punk child. "Alright. That's enough. I get the point – no more silent treatment. I'll play nice, if you promise to do things my way. I'm not giving up my training schedule to cater to your cushier lifestyle, got it? And you've got lipstick on your cheek, dipstick."
Curtis smiled and pulled his apple away to scrub at the mark, but his first attempt missed the makeup, as did the second. When his third try smeared the lipstick into an unattractive rainbow across his face, Rosa rolled her eyes and leaned forward to smooth the pink away with her thumb.
"Thanks." He said, somewhat sheepishly.
"You're an idiot." She replied.
The rest of the apple went in the garbage can. "So," Curtis said, settling against the counter as he watched her. "What's the plan? Where are we going?"
Rosa cleared her throat and touched the strand of brunet hair by her ear. She hadn't been looking forward to telling him her half-baked plan, especially since she wasn't fully onboard with it. "Black City."
The teasing smile he'd worn since descending the staircase fell away. "Seriously?"
She nodded, though the movement was stiff. Black City was a sinful playground, run by selfish desire and corporate greed. Though she'd never been there herself, her mother described the place as sunless, merciless, and popular only for its gambling and black market goods. The city was forbidden to beginning trainers, though most were only too happy to travel a wide arch around it. It was the one place in Unova Rosa had vowed to skip.
But if her guess proved right, the trip would be more than worth it.
"I think there's something important there, but I have to go to know for sure."
"Do you think Hugh is there?"
"No."
"But you don't want to share more with the class?"
"Not really, no."
Curtis's eyebrows furrowed hesitantly, but then his expression cleared. "Okay."
Had she heard that right? "Okay?"
"Your journey, your way. Let's get going."
He grabbed his bag from the counter and she picked hers up from the floor, but before they could cross the room to the door, the living room table started to rattle. It was a small tremble at first, enough to shift the mug of tea Rosa had left there from the night before, and the breezy window curtains swayed a few paces behind. Then glass in the windows creaked. There was a shifting in the walls. And all at once, the house gave a great shutter.
Fear struck Rosa like a prick from a needle. Suddenly Curtis was there, his arm around her waist as he herded her into the nearest doorway. Pictures fell from the walls, shattering glass across the floor, the thud of books blaring as they spilled from neatly organized shelves. The shift of floor and ceiling caused the ceiling chandelier to swing wildly, and Rosa swore its delicate crystals chimed louder than church bells. Her mug slid from the table, spilling tea across the decorative rug.
Curtis's jaw was clenched as he braced himself against the door frame, but Rosa could see where his eyes were focused.
"Go!" She shouted. "Just be careful."
No further encouragement was needed. He was gone in an instant, up the quaking stairs after his grandmother, leaving Rosa to cling to the steady frame like a sailor lost at sea. She gasped as the house groaned again, but didn't lose her balance. The door frame remained steady, and thankfully, she did as well.
Then it was over. The shaking slowed, stalled, and then stopped completely, laughing at the mess it left behind.
Rosa stared at the wood her fingers clutched, chest heaving. Surely she was going crazy.
The damage to the living room couldn't be imagined, though. Prying her fingers from the frame, Rosa turned and felt her mouth fall open as she took in the room. What was gorgeous and modern just moments ago was now a mess of broken glass, splintered wood, and piles of books. The carpet was stained with tea and debris, and the television hanging over the mantel had cracked.
Messy, but repairable. At least the house was standing.
"Curtis?" Rosa called, her voice weak. "Gladys? Are you both alright?"
Trembling, she stepped over a broken picture frame and started towards the staircase. "Curtis?"
"Here. We're okay."
He appeared at the top of the stairs, his hand firmly gripped in his grandma's. Rosa's head fell into her hands.
Thank Arceus.
"Have you ever heard of an earthquake in Lacunosa town?"
Curtis's expression was grim. "No. Never."
After a morning and an afternoon spent putting Gladys's house back together, Rosa and Curtis left the storyteller, though they did so reluctantly. The broken pictures had been swept, the books replaced, the chandelier tightened, and the rug washed, but Rosa still felt horrible leaving the old woman to her house alone. Gladys had sat in her husband's chair most of the day, her wrinkled hands tight on the rests as she'd watched them work. She muttered a lot about a curse from the gods, but Rosa was too shaken to reassure her.
According to seismologists, Lacunosa was not on a fault line, and the epicenter's location didn't make sense.
For all they knew, it could be a curse from the gods.
The strength of the quake had felt devastating from the door frame, but the town was relatively unscathed. No buildings had toppled or set fire, the electricity worked, and the worst injury reported was a broken wrist. Neighbors visited each other's homes, looking for ways to aid the cleanup, but work for helping hands grew scarce before the sun could fall below the ocean waves.
A miracle, is what reporters called it. The Lacunosa miracle.
Rosa could hardly see it that way. As she and Curtis left the cobblestone pathways behind and returned to route 13's sandy beaches, she asked for the umpteenth time if leaving Gladys alone was okay, to which he responded that it would be.
"I just don't like how unexpected it was." She said again, kicking a small lump of sand as they walked. Night had long since fallen over the ocean's horizon, but Rosa knew she wouldn't sleep if they set up camp. Curtis hadn't protested when she'd insisted on continuing towards Undella Town. "What if another one hits, and she's there all alone?"
"You don't need to worry about that, she's famous in Lacunosa town. The townsfolk will check on her."
"That's your grandmother you're leaving behind. You don't feel the least bit guilty?"
"Gladys will be in far more danger with Team Plasma wandering about than if another earthquake hits. For now, my place is here."
Rosa looked away, shaking her head. She would see about that.
Night rolled on. Hours passed away in the moonlight, tense with sandy wind and fish-scented air. Their party remained silent as the moon crept across the sky, the only sound their steady breathing and uneven footsteps. Occasionally Rosa would glimpse back at Curtis and deliberately pick up her pace, but each time he widened his stride without comment.
Darkness faded to sunshine, and dawn took the stars into its embrace. Dedicated trainers and athletes started appearing on the beachfront, filling route 13 with cries of victory and unconscious Pokémon. A few of them paused to snare Rosa into a battle, but she waved them off with a disinterest hand.
"I've never known you to say no to a battle." Curtis said lightly after she sent yet another disappointed trainer packing. "The experience doesn't interest you?"
"They aren't worth my time." She replied, her trainer shoes flipping sand as they continued down the weathered path toward Undella Town. "Those trainers are looking for a workout, not a beating. It's no fun winning against under-leveled Pokémon."
"Not even to make yourself stronger?"
"Easy victories don't make you stronger. Only more cowardly."
At midday, after hours of nonstop travel, Rosa finally gave the okay for a meal. The gurgling in her stomach was too irritating to ignore, despite the stubborn part of her that wanted to keep going. Nothing had changed since yesterday, but knowing a fraction of Ghetsis's thoughts made her feel exposed. Like she was in more danger than before.
We don't know what he wants yet. Concentrate on that.
Curtis exhaled, his knees cracking as he sank into the sand like a worn rag-doll. A shiny layer of sweat gleamed against his tanned skin, and more dampened his hair. Rosa felt liquid dripping down her forehead as well, but she didn't immediately go for her bag. Instead, she watched Curtis fish for his sandwich with a satisfied smile.
He didn't complain. It was almost disappointing. Curtis smiled at her Pokémon as they devoured their meals, commented on Sven's colorful table manners, and offered Zaveid a bit of his hoagie to try and smooth the seal's annoyed glare, but otherwise he was quiet. And thirteen minutes later, when Rosa's returned her team to force them on, he followed.
The rest of the day passed slowly. By evening thunderclouds had crept over their heads, dyeing the sky a menacing shade of gray that drenched the atmosphere in gloom. An hour later, it started to rain. Gently at first, like a child watering flowers, but then it came in buckets. Thick, heavy drops of water soaked the small company, flushing Rosa's pale skin paler and sticking her hair to her forehead. She didn't look back at Curtis, but she could hear his teeth chattering.
She plowed on.
Night fell like a curtain, stealing the last of the visibility. Their pace had slowed to a crawl – a trudge, really – and the wind howled, energized from the rain. Every inch of Rosa's skin was kissed with cold, and her muscles cramped and throbbed, angry from lack of rest.
And it was then, twenty-seven hours into their hike, that she stopped walking.
A surprised grunt. A light brush against her back as Curtis nearly walked into her. Silence.
"Rosa?" He asked, his voice drowned in the rain.
Her fingers tightened into fists. "You're going to stay, aren't you Curtis? It doesn't matter how far I push us. Or how tired you get. You're just going to keep on following me."
"Well . . . yes. That was the plan, wasn't it? I dunno why you won't believe me."
Rosa stared hard into the distance, through the rain, to the lights of Undella town warming the horizon. They twinkled delicately, like shimmering stars leading travelers through the rain into their shelter. She suddenly felt that warmth. It forged through her veins like molten lava, soaking through her skin to drive out the chill. Curtis was so stupid. So exasperatingly, blindly stubborn.
She turned to face him, and a ridiculous smile stole the last of her reason. He was soaked to the skin and exhausted, but still there. Still waiting to hike on, all the way to Undella town, or further if she wanted too. He didn't know why they were going to the city of sin, or if danger waited for them there, but he was coming along anyway. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Like her.
Curtis's tired eyes narrowed when she beamed at him, and he took a half step back. "What? Why are you smiling like that?"
"Cause you're a pain." Rosa replied, still grinning. "An enormous thorn in my side. But I'm trusting you anyway."
Movement behind Curtis. Shadows in the distance, stomping through the rain like haggard soldiers. Their faces were blank, their movements robotic. The uneasy feeling she'd been fighting since lunch tugged at Rosa's stomach, and her smile vanished.
"And just in time too, because we've got visitors."
Curtis startled and whirled on his feet, but Rosa just stepped up next to him to face the pair of Plasma grunts. The man and woman were also drenched, but their pacing was steady as they walked up to them and stopped a few feet away.
"Rosa Whitley Mae of Aspertia City." The woman droned as she tilted her head up to meet Rosa's eyes. "We have been searching for you."
Hey guys. Sooo, I've been doing some thinking lately. Of course I want everyone to be able to enjoy this story to its completion, but I feel like this website makes it extremely difficult for me to get to know you all. The review system is weak at best compared to other sites, and this website likes to jumble the chapters when I post, so sometimes I don't know if you're even getting the correct content.
Anyways, what I'm getting at is I post this story on Wattpad as well, under the same username, and I'm thinking of ONLY posting there in the future. I like the system loads better, its easier to interact with readers, and I know what I post is what you get. But I don't want to do that if you guys aren't cool with it. Maybe you hate wattpad, or don't wanna sign up, but you seriously want to keep reading this story. So I'm giving you guys that choice. PM me with your thoughts, and let me know what you think. I won't go anywhere yet, but by the next chapter, I want to have made a decision. Thank you for your support, everyone!