Chapter 3: Stowaways
Cassie spent the next few days before the professor and Isaac would leave for their expedition feeling tremendously guilty. Partially because of the praise and proud smiles she'd been receiving from the professor lately. Hearing words like, "I'm so glad you are responsible and trustworthy girl," made her nervous and edgy. It was almost like he knew exactly what to say to make her so upset she'd be on the verge of chickening out. She knew she was going to betray his trust to the highest degree if he ever found out that she was planning against his will. She'd twirled her usually curly black hair into frizzy knots thinking about it.
Twikk was far from afraid of betraying the professor's trust. In fact, he hoped they would get caught. Once he'd caught word from Cassie that they weren't allowed on the mission, he'd raised his thorns up straight in anger.
"If Dad thinks he's leaving us behind to sit in a stupid hotel room for two weeks," he'd snarled, "he's mad! If he catches us stowing away – and I hope he does – he'll realize that he can't just leave us out of his life when things get dangerous."
"I don't think that's what he's intending to do, Twikk," Cassie sighed. "He just wants the best for us."
Twikk grabbed her face between his claws. "Hey, I can feel your guilt telling you what to say. You're thinking the same thing I am. We gotta prove it to them that we're capable. I know that's what you want to do, too!"
Cassie sat in silence, knowing that Twikk was right.
In order to talk over the plot without the risk of either the researchers overhearing (the professor and Isaac spent days at the desk in the hotel room talking of expedition plans) the pair had spent more time strolling the city, Twikk trying to calm Cassie's nerves, and Cassie repeating the plan endlessly so they wouldn't forget any of the little parts. They eventually spent most of their earnings on things Cassie claimed they needed if they were going to hide on the research ship in secret. So far, they'd accumulated two hoodies for possible cold weather, an old hand-held transistor radio to check for possible storm conditions, and various non perishable foodstuffs in case the research vessel's kitchen was not accessible to them. Cassie had hidden them under the bed so the professor wouldn't get suspicious about all the new purchases.
"Let's see…water! We'll need bottled fresh water! How could I forget that? Since we'll be stowing away in the cargo bay we probably won't be able to get to the ship's galley for food or water without being seen," she'd exclaimed passing by a grocery store front one day. Twikk, who had been sitting on her shoulders exasperated with his companion, rolled his eyes.
"Okay, tell me. If we can't get to the galley, then how do you expect us to get to the head?" he'd asked sarcastically.
Cassie thought hard for a moment. "What's the head?"
Twikk raised an eyebrow. "You know…"
The realization came to her and the gears started turning at this new problem. "Well, we could find some buckets and-"
That was where Twikk drew the line. "That's it, Cassie. You're making yourself sick with worry and there is no way I am relieving myself in a bucket for who knows how many days. Can't you just accept that we can't prepare for everything?"
"I'm sorry," she sighed as Twikk jumped off her shoulders. "I don't know what's coming over me."
Her Pokemon shrugged. "I've never known you to be the troublemaker. Because you know that's my job. Nobody can do my job better than me, but since you're trying so hard, I think I should give you some tips on how to bend the law and get away with it."
"You can't be serious-" Cassie began, but Twikk interrupted her.
"Take a walk with me and I'll teach you the art of rule breaking," he said marching off down the sidewalk waiting for Cassie to catch up. "Rule one. The only thing you will ever need on a forbidden cargo bay voyage to an uncharted island, is me." He waved pleasantly at a passing man who was now looking back over his shoulder in astonishment at having heard a Pokemon speak.
"Rule two. Tell yourself that what you're doing isn't as bad as it is made out to be, because – let's be honest – it's really not. It's just 'helping without an invitation!' That's to get through without the worry. Like those guys," he said motioning to three shady looking kids across the street smoking around a wall with a sign that said 'NO LOITERING' in huge red letters. "They look pretty calm to me."
Cassie just expected their calmness had something to do with whatever substance they were smoking because she wasn't feeling any better. Though it wasn't the kids who caught her eye, but the shop they were leaning against. She stopped walking to examine the shop's window. In it there were many cages, glass displays, and aquariums arranged in an appealing setup. In the cages were various, colorful species of bird Pokemon, some she didn't recognize. They must not have been native to Mantu. Other displays held young Pokemon. Cassie recognized a few. There were two small Amiroru biting at each other's long ears. In another she recognized a litter of Daodog puppies and their regal-looking mother, a Daolist whose tail was shining with a bright purple mist. In a smaller glass tank, she saw several eggs sitting under a red glowing heat lamp.
Mezmerized, she glanced up at the name of the shop; Benson and Jay's, The Shop for Trainers! She stepped closer to the edge of the sidewalk to try and get a better view of the various signs outside the store. It looked like they were having a sale on Pokeballs and anyone who bought more than fifty dollars worth of merchandise could get a free Pokemon egg. The slogan over the promotion's sign read 'What's inside is a surprise!'
Suddenly, Cassie felt a feeling of longing as she viewed the Pokemon in the shop's window. But she didn't want to be a trainer. She'd told herself and the professor that wasn't the path she wanted to take in life. Then she had felt so sure, but now…
Almost robotically, her hand moved to her jeans pocket where she kept her money.
"Hey, Cassie!" shouted Twikk tugging the sleeve of the arm she was about to stick into her pocket. "Do we have any money for ice cream? I found this parlor around the corner that has over 34 flavors." Cassie reluctantly tore her eyes away from the shop window.
"Uh?"
Twikk eyed her suspiciously. "What are you looking at?" he asked scanning the shops on the opposite side of the street.
"Erm, nothing," she said quickly taking a ten dollar bill out of her pocket and holding it out to Twikk. He was still giving her a suspicious look. "It's honestly nothing. I thought I saw one of the stoner kids picking his nose is all," she said with a smile. Twikk's ears shot up straight with mischevious excitement.
"No way!" he exclaimed leaping up on Cassie's shoulders to get a better view of the loitering rule breakers, hoping to see some serious gold-digging action.
"Yes way," Cassie said breathing a silent sigh of relief that he hadn't asked about her brief obsession with that shop window. It would probably break his heart if he thought she was thinking about replacing him with another Pokemon. "Let's go get that ice cream."
When had she become such a liar?
At last, Friday had arrived and Isaac was the first up that morning. Cassie usually slept rather lightly so she'd opened her eyes at the first sound of Isaac's cell phone's Static X ringtone. She decided not to get up yet as a quick glance at the clock revealed it was only five in the morning and she didn't want to disturb Twikk who was sprawled out on top of the sheets next to her.
Isaac groaned and caught the call on the last part of the screaming lyrics. "'lo?" he drawled sleepily sitting up in bed. He was silent and Cassie could faintly hear someone talking from the other line. "Uhuh," Isaac mumbled every so often. "Really? You have it?" he said in a much more excited voice. "Okay, we'll be ready. Thank you so much, Preston! Tell them we'll be at the marina at seven AM, sharp! Bye." She heard him flip his phone shut and just barely after he set it down on the nightstand he let out a loud whoop of excitement.
So much for me not trying to disturb anyone, Cassie thought amused as the rest of her roommates awoke with a start. Twikk jumped up so fast that Cassie was almost nailed in the face by one of his thorny ears.
The professor had turned on the light to find a half naked Isaac dancing around excitedly in nothing but his boxers. Before anyone could ask a question, Isaac gushed it all out in a jumbled up sentence.
The professor grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and frowned. "Shh, you could wake the dead with the racket you're making. And what did you just say?"
The young scientist stopped his joyful dance but stood smiling from ear to ear. "Preston from the satellite center just called. They have our coordinates."
"Oho!" exclaimed the professor leaping up from the bed and joining Isaac's dance wearing his lilac sleeping gown.
"Scientists are weird," muttered Twikk, flopping down on the pillow again.
Cassie was just as excited. "You said you'd be at the marina at seven. Does that mean you're leaving today?"
"Not exactly at seven," said Isaac hastily grabbing a grey t-shirt that was hanging off the bedpost. "Preston also said that once they knew it was an island and obtained the coordinates that they contacted the local news center. They want to interview me and the professor before we set off."
"Excellent," said Cassie forcing a smile on her face. Twikk had turned his face to her on the pillow and was mouthing the word 'perfect' and barely hiding a smile. Her heart fell as she realized why it was so perfect. They'd have plenty of time to hide themselves on board while the two giddy researchers were busy with their interview. Cassie had little reason to celebrate at the moment, but she tried to act as happy as she could as they talked back and forth about the expedition plans as if it were schoolyard gossip.
The next hour was pandemonium as the two men frantically searched for and gathered up their possessions and dressed themselves. Isaac was a nervous wreck about appearing on TV in front of the entire population of Thorset Island and ripped through his suitcase looking for something to wear. The professor tried to reassure him by saying, "Forget it! Just wear that gray t-shirt. Nobody's going to care what you look like on the research boat." Twikk snickered at the professor and his frenzied excitement. Isaac just glared, but threw on the shirt anyways.
Cassie had trouble trying to pack the same amount of things the professors had into her small traveling backpack. She'd managed to squeeze the two hoodies and three other pairs of clothes into it without anyone stopping to ask her why. Once the two men had dashed into the bathroom to shave was when she attempted to stuff the radio and food into the already crammed bag. Twikk kept watch at the edge of the bed, but when he glanced back he could see Cassie's efforts were hopeless.
"Here," he whispered temporarily leaving his post to throw the radio and several food items back under the bed. "That's all the food we'll need."
"What?" she hissed looking at the meager rations her Pokemon had left in their bag. "That's hardly enough for two days!"
"Trust me," Twikk hissed back. He performed a quick last check of the room to see if they missed anything useful as Cassie threw on a pair of jeans and one of the hoodies to make room in the bag for the few useful items Twikk had found laying around. A packet of matches, a pen and a pad of paper, and a few plastic cups.
"And this," he said tipping a small red and white ball into Cassie's hand.
"A Pokeball? Twikk, this is probably one of Isaac's Pokemon! He'll be a mess if he thinks he lost it!" Cassie hissed wildly.
Twikk shook his head. "It's empty. I checked. I don't know what you'd need it for, but pack it in case." To Cassie's surprise, it fit neatly inside the overstuffed bag. Just as she finished zipping it, the professor and Isaac burst back into the room and grabbed their bags.
"We have twenty minutes to get to the marina. You're coming with us?" the professor asked.
"Yeah, we wanted to be there to say goodbye," she lied. They had no time to question her honesty because before they knew it they'd headed down to the front desk to tell the receptionist briefly that they were leaving. The receptionist wasn't there. Instead her Smeargle sat with its black-inked brush tail in hand wearing the same style glasses as the large, ill-tempered woman who normally occupied the chair.
When the professor explained, flustered that they would be leaving the hotel for a few weeks, but Cassie and Twikk would be occupying the room during that time, the Smeargle merely lowered its glasses, then waved its hand dismissively while writing something down on a pad of paper.
It took only a moment to throw the suitcases in the trunk of the professor's white SUV and they were off almost before Isaac was in the door. He sat panting with the terror of nearly being dragged onto the main road with his legs dangling out of the car. Traffic was light that early in the morning. The sky outside was rapidly turning from a grey blue to bright yellows and pinks as the sun rose. The ocean glowed red as the sun reflected on its surface.
They made it to the marina in record time, mainly because of the professor's dangerous driving. Cassie and Isaac jumped out of the car, eager to be back on solid ground, while Twikk had dug his claws into the seat in terror and found himself stuck. Isaac grabbed the luggage out of the trunk as the professor stood near the seawall and searched the mass of docks and moored boats for their vessel. "I found it!" he called waving and pointing to and impressive sized boat moored near the wharf's office. The news crew appeared to be there already and was setting up their reporting equipment around the ship.
Cassie helped un-stick Twikk's claws from the seat and grabbed her backpack.
"So, now what?" Twikk asked flexing his claws.
Cassie stepped out of the car and began walking after the professor. "We survey our options I guess," she said. She was extremely nervous. Walking was difficult – her legs felt like jelly.
"Don't worry," Twikk reassured patting her hand. "I'll see what I can do. I'll go take a look at the ship and see if there's any place we can crawl on. All you have to do is go over to where the news crew is and when you get the chance, say goodbye to the professor and give him some story on why we both have to leave early. Got it?"
Cassie swallowed hard and nodded. She was getting good at lying lately. This should be a piece of cake.
The professor and Isaac were standing on either side of an attractive looking female reporter whose smile looked too bright to be natural. She could see sweat marks forming under Isaac's sleeves but he looked like he was grinning and talking perfectly natural. Cassie strolled casually onto the dock behind the reporters where she could survey the scene without getting in the way. Further down on the dock, there were other men and women who looked extremely scientific chatting among each other. Another man who was incredibly huge and unshaven wore a hat that indicated he was the captain. Just beyond where she was standing was a boy leaning against the railing who looked to be slightly older than her. His hair was blonde and messy. He wore a letter jacket and was chewing a toothpick between his front teeth. He was watching the interview with much interest.
"Hey, you look familiar," came a voice from next to her. Cassie nearly jumped out of her skin. One of the technical men for the news crew stood there looking shocked at Cassie's reaction. "Sorry," he apologized quickly. "You must be the professor's kid, so there's no way you could be related to the person you reminded me of."
"Oh, I'm adopted," she explained not expecting such a confrontation. "My real parents died a long time ago. The professor took me in when I was young."
The techie suddenly looked excited. "Then you must be related! You look exactly like a man I used to know. Bryan Hewett? The rookie Pokemon trainer who swept the floor with the regions gyms in under a month? You must have heard of him at least."
"Oh yeah." Cassie frowned. "That was my dad."
"Oh, I'm very sorry. It's too bad. About his death and all," he mumbled. "He was a really invincible guy. So I take it you want to follow your father's legacy? Gonna be a bigshot trainer and go for the top? Talent like that has got to be genetic."
Cassie felt her anger bubbling up at this man's cocky presumptions. "Yeah? What makes you assume?" she snapped. The boy who was leaning on the railing turned his head in their direction. "Just because he did what he did in his life doesn't mean I'm going to do the same. This is personal. You didn't really know my father and you certainly don't know me!" Cassie decided not to take the discussion any further and stormed off the pier to the calls of, "I'm sorry!" from the confused man. She was positive she'd caused enough commotion for the professor or someone to notice it looked like she was leaving. She prayed they wouldn't follow her and discover where she was really going.
Cassie stood on the seawall, looking at her reflection on the waves. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to decide what I want for myself, she thought. She remembered the day the Pokemon shop had caught her eye. Was that what it felt like when your destiny was calling to you? Did it try to suck you back in if it felt you were going in the wrong direction?
"Cassie! Cassie!" hissed a voice from above her. Twikk stood on the bow of the ship, waving wildly to get her attention. "I found a way in, but we have to move fast while everyone's distracted asking questions. Do you think you can climb up here?"
Cassie looked up. The bow of the ship was about three feet above her head. "If I stretch my arms out and you pull me up enough to get my feet on the eye hook just underneath, I think I can pull myself up."
"Fair enough," said Twikk, stretching his arms down to take Cassie's. He struggled to lift her up until she got to the point where she could climb up herself. Once up, she ducked down on the far side of the bow so the people on the dock couldn't see them. Twikk led the way as they crawled their way down to the back of the boat. One after the other, they slid onto the main deck where a long plank was set up from the dock to the boat. Just below that there was a hatch open on the ship.
"We go down there?" Cassie whispered. "Is it a long drop?"
"I don't expect so. Otherwise they wouldn't be throwing luggage in it as recklessly as they did." Twikk motioned toward the hole. "After you."
Cassie hung her legs over the edge for a moment, but found herself touching a suitcase. She easily lowered herself onto it and slid into the main cargo hold. It was big and not too crowded with luggage. As Twikk dropped down into the luggage compartment, he grinned. "Not too shabby. Look, we even get windows." Sure enough, there were small porthole style windows lining the walls of the hold. "I have no idea why suitcases would need to admire the view of the ocean, but it worked out okay for us. Everyone sleeps in under deck rooms more towards the bow of the ship."
Upon exploring the underbelly of the ship more, they found a ladder that folded down from the floor above them that must have been used to get the luggage out without the help of a winch. There were also several extra mattresses that were old and smelled kind of funny. As time passed only a few more small bags were thrown into the cargo bay and the hatch was eventually closed. Cassie's heart was pounding with nervous excitement. She nearly had a heart attack when she heard the ship's engines start. The boat lurched as they started to back slowly out of the marina.
"Well," Twikk said happily pulling two bottles of water from a small bucket next to him and tossing one to Cassie. "I propose a toast to both your evil plan gone right and my amazing ability to find what we need," he gloated indicating the bottles of water. They unscrewed the cap and took a sip.
"I admit, that went smoother than I thought," Cassie said. "Did the master of thieves find anything to calm my nerves and keep us occupied after we pulled this off?"
"Look in that Pokeball I made you bring," he said nonchalantly, leaning back on his mattress he had set up beside a floral printed suitcase.
Cassie unzipped her backpack and took out the Pokeball. She pressed the white button on the front and a jet of red light shot out of it, leaving a glowing red form on the floor of the cabin. Once the light had faded, Cassie stared stunned at what had come out of the Pokeball.
"A deck of cards?" she asked blankly. Sure enough, there sat Twikk's deck of cards, small and unimpressive on the floor.
"Up for some go fish?" he asked hopefully.
Cassie couldn't help but laugh. She was here and there was no turning back now. Why not make the most of it? Besides, if destiny hadn't wanted her to do this, it wouldn't have let her. Right?