Chapter 21

My head throbbed. I rolled over onto my side and curled up into a ball, where I pressed my hands to my forehead. When I used my knees to press my hands harder against my skull, it felt better. What didn't feel good was the cold metal floor beneath me. Well, it didn't feel good against my body, against my head, oh it was glorious. Almost like an ice pack. It didn't smell that good, though. Smelt like hand sanitizer and rubber gloves.

Oh, Arceus. Now I remembered what happened. Giving up my sword, being kidnapped, and watching as Lady Venus set fire to the train that Duking, Silva, and Wes. It came back to me right away, but my body was too heavy to react to it. It took a while, some head pressing, rearranging of thoughts, and a few drunken blinks to snap to it.

I was lying on a bed frame. There was no mattress, no sheets, not even a pillow. It was like whoever set me there had intentionally made it so I wasn't comfortable. Congrats, I wasn't. Thankfully they still left me in my clothes. Most films I'd seen where people get kidnapped, they change into some other clothes. In my case, they left them on the foot of the bed. A purple dress will laces down the left side and a flower crocheted at the bottom. They also left a pair of matching heels at the bottom. Even underwear, socks, and a bra.

The room was empty. It looked like a hospital room, but without the machines. there were outlets, a television, some seats to sit in, but the single most important feature about it was the window. I ran over to it and swung it open, ready to jump out. Thank Arceus I stopped to look, or else I would've fallen five stories to my death. This building stood alone in the middle of godforsaken nowhere. The desert was wide, windy, and empty. Even Mt. Battle was nowhere to be found.

"Dammit," I hissed, slamming the window shut and looking around. There was a door, but further inspection noted that it was locked from the outside. The outside. That meant this place was more a prison then it was a hospital. I have to admit, however, that they weren't completely cruel. Another door lead to a bathroom, equipped with a shower, bath, and even toothbrushes and combs. What, was I at a hotel for criminals?

"You're awake then." I spun around. A man had just entered my room and shut the door behind him. He was maybe six feet tall, his giant boots giving him another three inches. His sunglasses obscured his eyes. His black hair had been greased back except for one stray lock that stood out at an angle from his forehead, bending several different directions before coming down over his right eye. If it wasn't for the lab coat, I might been able to tell if he was muscular or perhaps scrawny, but it had been padded so much it was impossible to tell. He bent down on his knees to meet my eyes. "You're the famous Rui I've been told about. I'm Dr. Ein. You can call me Ein."

"How about you stand tall and talk to me like a normal human before I break those glasses in half?" He paused, expressionless, before adjusting himself as I had instructed.

"There's no need for hostility. You're here as a guest."

"A prisoner," I corrected.

"In a way, yes. But most prisoners don't get these luxuries." He gestured to the bathroom.

"Then show me the way out."

"You are free to roam the campus when you are properly dressed." I narrowed my eyes at him. There was some sort of trick to what he was saying, wasn't there? Was something just waiting out the door to attack me? "It looks as if you don't believe me. What I meant to say is you are free to roam all around this building until testing is over."

"Testing."

"Yes. I'm going to need to figure out how you got those powers of yours before you return to your friends." That wasn't it. He wouldn't force me here unless there was something else he had to do. Something that wasn't just 'testing.' Maybe the tests were painful.

"Where are we?" I asked. On the wall to the bathroom, a map of the Orre region had been posted. He took a pen out of his front pocket and marked a small dot southeast of the Outskirt Sand, almost off the borders of Orre altogether. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"It's the truth," he promised. "What's the point in lying to you now?" He had a point. Even if I escaped, it would be too far to walk any direction from here. I had seen it myself. We were in the middle of nowhere.

"So you're telling me that I can roam this entire building," I started, "but you won't let me out until your testing is done."

"That's the truth." He crossed his heart with his right hand. Yeah, I'm sure it's the truth. Not. There was more to this than he was saying. I was still a prisoner. They kept me far from civilization against my will. But then again, what would fighting him accomplish? If I played nice and stuck to the rules, I might be confined to this room forever. I just had to do some snooping around.

"Fine." I turned my back on him, grabbed my clothes from the bed, and threw them on the sink to the bathroom.

"Good, good. Testing starts this afternoon at two. I expect you to be at the testing room by then."

"You expect me to find it on my own?" I snapped.

"No," he said, looking almost hurt. He held out his wrist. There was a watch on it that had the drawing of a raikou behind the hands. "This is one of my favorite items. Whenever I get lost, it gives me instructions to where I need to go. Like a GPS for walking. I want you to have it until you've got the layout of this place down." I stared at him. A way to keep track of me, more like it. Whatever, if I really needed to be unseen, I'd drop it.

He unsnapped it front his wrist and set it on my clothes. "Another thing. If you fail to show up for testing, I'll have to keep taking away your luxuries. The first thing to go is usually the bathroom. Then the bed. Then the-"

"I don't even have a bed," I pointed out.

"Oh, my. Did they forget to give you that? I'll get them on it right away." He put a meaty hand on the top of my head. It took everything I had in me not to punch him in the gut. "Take care, and be sure to be safe. Not everything in this building is meant to be played with." I wanted to ask him what he meant but he was already walking out of the room. He shut the door behind him, but after listening closely, it came to my attention that he left it unlocked. I checked it just to be sure. Yep, I was free.

The shower started up with a squeak of the handle but the water was instantly warm. The bottom of the shower had a mat placed on it to prevent slipping. Even though this place seemed to be full of adults, the mat was speckled with tiny colorful fish. The door was closed but the thought of being naked in a bizarre place with criminals walking around nearly turned the shower off. Common sense took over and I started undressing.

I hated it here.

Were the others okay?

And if they were, were they looking for me?

Wes stood from the bed, slipping on his jacket. Dark burn markings on his back rubbed against the course fabric that he winced at before slowing and positioning himself at an odd angle to fit the rest of it on. When it had been fitted snuggly, he picked up his goggles from the side table. "I said I'm fine!"

The nurse on the other side of the room had just shut the door behind her. "Sir, your injuries need time to heal-" Wes stood in front of her, toe to toe, and looked down at her. She gulped up at him. Though he was only a few inches taller, he looked angry enough to try and force his way through. "Sir, you have second degree burns. We have to treat them before you-"

Wes leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. The malevolent look in his eyes could turn ordinary people to stone. Tossing her hands in the air, the nurse stepped to the side. Wes opened the door and started outside. He looked left, determined that was not the way out, then right, where Duking's fist hit him in the temple and knocked him to the floor, unconscious.

"S-s-sir!" The nurse stammered, leaning down to the battered trainer and putting a hand to his forehead.

"He ain't going to die, ma'am," Duking assured. "Let me carry him back into his room." He dropped to a knee and picked up Wes as if he only weighed as much as a few grapes. Once comfortably secured, the bodybuilder walked over to his bed and dropped him on it. Wes had been knocked out so hard that he didn't make a noise to let Duking know the fall had hurt.

The nurse walked in, shaken. "I don't approve of your ways," she proclaimed.

"Hey, you know how bad his injuries are. It was either knock him out or let him leave here. Now tell me, can you fix him?"

"It's only burns." She walked over to Wes and started undoing his jacket to get a better look at the damage. "There's no need for a transplant. Just a few days of treatment and then he can leave."

"Few days, huh."

"If I may pry, how did you three get such burns?" Duking regardered her with an unreadable stare. Once the three of them had been trapped on the train, Duking had heard me yelling from behind. It took a second to guess what they were doing, and a fraction of a second for Duking to charge at the sealed door to the train, throwing them through before the train itself exploded into shrapnel. Had they still been on it, he doubted they would've gotten out with such mild injuries, let alone alive. It had been Duking who carried the others up to the surface using Espeon's psychic powers to reach the doorway, and it had been Duking who carried them out of the Under, up through the elevator and outside, where he had collapsed. From there he guessed that the people of Pyrite had called for help and carried them to the hospital.

It hadn't been easy. When busting down the door, Duking had sprained his shoulder, which was supporting his arm in a sling. He hadn't felt the pain until he had woken in the hospital; the adrenaline rush he experienced carrying his friends to the surface had numbed him to it. Even carrying Wes had seemed like an idle task with the current pain killers they had him on.

"We went where we weren't supposed to," he said simply.

"Well, I hope you won't do it again." She walked over to the door. "Return to your room. The doctor will be in soon to check on you."

"How soon? I'd like to check on Silva."

"The boys' injuries are the least threatening," the nurse explained. "He shall be better in the morning." Good, Duking thought. Silva was still young, he didn't want him riddled with scars or ugly deformities.

"Thank you." He stepped up to the door. Before exiting, he leaned down to her height. "If Wes wakes up again, don't hesitate to call." She looked like she was ready to turn him down. Then, after prolonged thought, she sighed and nodded.

"I will do that."

Rui Met Ein!

Ein Used Intimidate!

Rui Is Unaffected!

Wes Woke Up!

Wes Used Outrage!

Duking Used Chop!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!