Ash and Misty were still entranced in their slumber, embraced within each other's comfort and sharing the warmth of each other's bodies, as the sunlight slightly broke through the curtains. During the night, they wound up shifting around and ended up in a spooning position, with Ash facing the outside of his bed towards the window and with Misty wrapped around his back, her head nuzzled into his shoulder. It seemed to be the position that was most comfortable for both parties.
Misty had slept almost perfectly, regardless of the various shifting. For some interesting reason, her fears had been dulled from the protection of Ash by her side. Her plan of having Ash there for comfort worked perfectly, as she didn't have any sort of nightmares nor any sort of terror-based auras through her mind. Nothing could ruin her sort of mind state.
Suddenly a sharp rapping at the suite door woke Ash and Misty up from their deep slumber. "Ash! Misty! Can I come in!?" Brock shouted through the other side of the door, sounding a bit anxious. They both took a second to realize that they were spooning together. Quickly separating, they almost jumped out of the bed, wearing upon their faces a big red mark of embarrassment for almost being exposed by Brock. Ash looked over at Misty, straightening out his shirt, and she gave him a 'don't-tell-him' look of embarrassment, to which Ash agreed, nodding.
"You can come in, Brock!" Ash yelled back, combing through his hair, "The door is unlocked!" The door quickly opened up, revealing a panicking Brock, as he darted into the room, still in his red and black pajamas.
"Brock, what the heck is the matter?" Misty commented, noticing his panic-ness, as he started to block their door and pulling a chair up underneath the doorknob. "What's going on?"
"Haven't you guys heard the news?" he replied, looking at both of them with a confused glance.
"No, we've been asleep this whole time." Ash replied, scratching the back of his head, "Why? What's going on?"
"Oh you are not going to believe it when you see it.." Brock stated, walking over to turn on the television. Misty sat down in a chair that was in front of the television and Ash stood next to her. The television flickered slightly, displaying it's logo, and then snapping onto a local news station. It was just coming off from break when it started displaying red letters across the screen that said BREAKING NEWS. Ash and Misty watched in horror what they were being shown on the television.
On the screen, the helicopter camera was panning over a large section of a nearby highway, commonly traveled from Cerulean City, and on that highway section was a scattered group of people walking towards Celadon City... For some strange reason, all of the individuals seemed to have a limp in each of their step, as if they had all been attacked by someone... or rather something.. There were no cars on the road at all and there seemed to be this long trail of some sort of red substance following behind each person... Suddenly, Ash and Misty truly saw what these people were, as the camera zoomed into one of the person's faces...
It was an infected, it's face showing the signs of decaying and torn-off flesh, as it literally presented itself as if someone ripped its face apart. Blood was spilling from each of these flesh marks, oozing downwards towards the ground and occupying the crimson path that followed the infected. As it noticed the camera looking towards it, its eyes brightened up, it's blood-red pupils becoming dilated, and the veins of it's eyes popping out. The infected yelled at the camera and was about to start chasing it, but the camera soon back away from it's fascinated viewer and returned to a generic pan of the area.
Misty started to whimper at the images on the screen, "No no no, this can't be happening!" she cried softly, clasping her hands over his mouth, "Brock, how long have they been covering this on the news?"
"Since early this morning," Brock spoke, biting his lips in worry, "Some of the staff came by the rooms at like 4 in the morning, alerting us of what was going on.. I didn't believe it at first but as soon as I turned on the news..." he continued, fading towards the end. Ash stood there, next to Misty, still trying to take in what was going on.
"What did they tell us to do?" Ash asked Brock, placing his hands on Misty's chair.
"The hotel staff advised us to just stay in our rooms until they can move us to safety.. but in all honestly I think the rooms are the safest place to stay.." he replied, moving towards the door and taking a look through the peep-hole. "And from the look of it, I don't think anyone else is going to leave their rooms anytime soon."
"Have any infected come into the city yet?" Ash asked, looking out the window to the streets below. From the look of it, the streets were completely empty.. not a single individual occupied the sidewalks. Even the people that were protesting in front of the hotel were no longer in sight... such a ghastly sight to be seen of the once fruitful city.
"Not yet, that's what the news station was showing. They are going to be here soon, though, from the rate that they are going." Brock replied, looking at the television set. The station was continuing to show the infected crawling all over the highway. The camera zoomed out and started to show the local area surrounding Celadon City. Off in the distance of the shot, it became noticeable that there were houses and local forest areas emitting a dark, threatening cloud of smoke. Ash and Misty continued watching the screen. Misty noticed that there was a region of the screen that seemed to be smoke-free.
"Hey look at the route heading east!" Misty spoke out, pointing at the screen, "It looks like there isn't any smoke coming from there at all, which might indicate that it hasn't been infected yet." she continued, sounding hopeful.
"Say, I think that route leads towards Saffron City! If we head eastward, there might be a chance that we could be able to avoid the infected." Ash spoke, crossing his hands and looking towards the television.
"It could be our only chance." Misty replied, looking up at Ash.
Ash looked down at Misty, her piercing light-blue eyes looking in his hazelnut eyes. He thought for a moment, taking a deep breath, and looked over at Brock. "Well, I guess we have two choices," he spoke, "Option A, we stay here at the hotel and barricade ourselves in and just hold out. Perhaps getting weapons to defend ourselves with... Option B is that we could try to leave the city, head east towards Saffron City, trying to beat any of these infected back, and run towards safety.."
"Hold on," Brock spoke, "Just because Saffron City hasn't been infected yet, doesn't mean that its safe to be there." Ash and Misty looked at each other, feeling quite stupid; they didn't even known if that town was safe yet. "We would have to see if the city has any plans for evacuating civilians, before we start making any plans for leaving... I think the safest thing for us to do right now is just to stay here and wait for-" A knock at the door interrupted what Brock was saying. They looked at the door, fearing what was on the other side. Brock slowly walked over to the door, looking through the peep-hole. He sighed. "It's just one of the staff members outside." he whispered. Both Ash and Misty sighed, relieved that it wasn't one of the infected.
Brock moved the chair from underneath the doorknob and opened it, to revel a half-smiling-half-panicking hotel worker at the door. "Hello everyone," he spoke, a bit jittery in his voice, "I'm hoping that you've had a pleasant night sleep."
Ash and Misty looked at each other, awkwardly, and then back to the worker. "Eh yeah we slept well."
"Good. Now I want to keep you up to date with what the current situation is, with regards to your safety and well being." he spoke, sounding almost like someone on a public service announcement. Brock stepped back allowing the man to walk in the room. He closed the door behind him. "As of right now, a local police force has been assigned to protect this hotel at all costs, when the infected persons reach the city. Until that point in time, you may continue to proceed with your daily routine."
"Are we allowed to go out in the streets?" Ash questioned the worker, "When I looked outside earlier it looked like we weren't allowed to go out in the streets."
"Panic. A lot of the civilians are probably in hiding because of what is happening," the worker replied, "I assure you, though, you are allowed to be in the streets. However I strongly advice that whatever you choose to do, you come back to the hotel by 5 o' clock tonight. It is then that the infected will have probably arrived into the city." The worker finished his speech and headed towards the door.
"Hey," Ash called out. The worker turned around to face Ash. "Do you know..." Ash hesitated to ask for a second.. he continued, "Do you know.. how... did this..."
"Happen?" The worker finished off Ash's sentence. He nodded. The worker clasped his hands together, putting them up to his mouth, and then spoke. "Well.. in all honesty, sir, it all seems to be a haze to me.." he spoke. Misty could tell that he was trying to think through his responses. "I've been up since about 3 o' clock this morning with what... with what has been going on... everything that I've heard has just been a lot of jumble.. But from what I've been commonly hearing, this... infection was developed from some sort of strange mutation.. apparently it had developed from a simple flu virus.. into something more horrific and terrifying.. from what I hear the individual who is infected with this strange mutated disease basically is filled with massive rage and attempts to destroy anything it sees in it's path...
"Are you sure about his?" Brock asked, giving the worker a serious look on his face.
"From what I have heard.. yes, this is how the infection has been spreading... if you may or may not have heard the mad disease has been in the near existence for about five days now.." He replied.
"Five days!?" Ash retorted back.
"Yes, five days as of today. It was rumored that it initially broke out near Mount Moon. They believe that the disease wasn't actually deadly at first and that some people actually had the disease for weeks before hand without any major differences.. but suddenly it took a sharp turn, as the disease mutated into these... things. Suddenly an outbreak is sighted in one city, filled with chaos, and everyone becomes infected from the lack of protocol... then the disease moves on to a new source of living flesh..
"How did we not hear about it until just now?"
"Celadon City has been trying to keep this piece of information out of the news in the last few days, in fearing that announcing the infection spread would spook everyone away... They thought it would be better to hold back this piece of news to not cause chaos in the city, hopping that the infection would just.. die off after a few days. But when the people started hearing about the infection spreading to Cerulean city, panic continued from there. Surprisingly, the infected seemed to have avoided Saffron City, and have headed straight towards Celadon City instead... no one seems to know why as of yet.. They'll come in here and ravage anything in their path.. It would be wise to invest in some sort of protection.."
"What would be the best method to kill them?"
"Just like any other thing. A simple headshot will take care of anything in your way but for the infected, who's bodies act similar to the regular human body, just a few blasts to the torso and the upper shoulders should do the trick. Guns are always the recommended way of taking care of them. If not, then either a blunt or sharp weapon will do the trick." Ash, Misty, and Brock nodded, hearing his wise words of advice. The man started walking towards the door. "I'm sorry to leave, but I must inform the other people staying at the hotel about the current situation... if you need anything, feel free to call the main desk... take care." the worker spoke, tipping his hat to the trio, and then walking out the door.
Brock turned towards Ash and Misty, to which Misty had moved from the chair towards the edge of the bed. Ash walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders, making her slightly jump but smile to see it was Ash.. a smile that faded oh so quickly. The anxiety of the situation was starting to get to her mentality and spirituality.. To a degree that nothing around her could cheer her up.. no matter how hard they tried... nothing could exterminate this fearful aura..
"So what do we do now?" Brock commented, almost sounding like he was talking to himself.
"Well I suppose the only logical thing we could do now is go out and get the supplies that we need to stick it out," Ash spoke, rubbing Misty's shoulders to provide some sort of comfort any way he could. "I mean trying to run for Saffron and not knowing if it is safe yet or not would just be suicide... I think it would just be best for us to stay here.."
"I agree with Ash, that would be the best thing to do right now.." Brock agreed, "What do you think, Misty?" he asked, being cautious not to spook her any more..
She continued looking straight-wards, thinking in her mind and trying to enjoy Ash's comfort. Misty closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in, and opening her eyes. "It would wise for us to stay here for now.. I-I mean I don't know how this will be through-out the event, but for now we should stay put... Oh God, I can't believe that Cerulean City has been infected.. my sisters.. what if they've..." she exclaimed, fading towards the later part of the sentence, closing her eyes and putting her head in her arms.
"I'm sure that they are going to be okay, Misty. You're sisters would definitely be strong enough or at least smart enough to get out of that area.. or lock up and stay inside the gym" Ash replied.
"Oh God.. are we going to be okay? If that infection can wipe through an entire town like that... We're not going to last long.." Misty shuttered at such a horrid thought occurring to them.. to Brock.. to Ash...
Ash put his arms around Misty "Hey, don't worry, Misty! We're here to protect each other.. we'll be here for you! We'll protect you from any harm!"
"Promise?" she whispered quietly in her arms.
Ash pulled her in closer, putting his head on her right shoulder. "I promise. Both Brock and I will protect you from any harm.. isn't that right, Brock?" he questioned his older companion.
Brock walked up to Misty and placed a hand on Misty's shoulder, looking her in the eyes "I promise that you'll be safe, Misty." he spoke, trying to sound calm, even though underneath he felt panic growing. He knew that there wasn't much time to prepare and that they had to move. Misty felt some comfort in these words, but again the comfort did not last, making Misty become more unstable.. Brock stood up, looking at Ash. "Ash, we need to head out to and start gathering supplies, and quickly too, the day is going to fly by."
"Right." he replied, "Misty, do you want to come along with us or do you want to stay in the room?" Ash asked her, moving in front of the bed to face her. Misty looked up at him.
"I should probably stay here.. to make sure that everything is ready for your return.. and I might want to get some sleep, heh, before we get busy" she replied, slightly shaking in her voice.
"Alright, sounds like a good idea. We'll have our phones on our person so we'll be in contact throughout the afternoon." Ash spoke.
"Is there anything that you want for us to bring to you?" Brock asked, as he was jotting down some notes of what they needed to obtain. Misty thought for a moment, trying to keep her thoughts focused on what was at hand.. Nothing in particular could stand out in her mind.. just.. "Keep me safe.." she thought to herself.
"Just something to drink.. cause when the power goes out later, we'll need to have some sort of water supply to keep us hydrated... and some sort of weapon, it doesn't matter what it is" Misty stammered, keeping her eyes glued on the floor, still stuck in the state of shock that seemed so dominant.
"Okay. We'll make sure that we get you something" Brock replied, continuing to write down notes on his notepad. Misty started to daze off again, continuing her stare at the carpeted floor.. her thoughts were drifting into the realm of worry, thinking about her sisters.. if they were safe.. or they had been infected.. and on top of that, she began worrying about Ash and Brock.. if what they planned to do was safe or not.. Ash noticed her gazing off and put a hand on her shoulder.
"You don't need to worry, Misty, we're going to be just fine." Ash squatted down to her eye level. "Why don't you try to get some sleep, and Brock and I will be right back with the supplies needed, okay?" he assured Misty, to which she slightly nodded.
"Ash we need to get going, it's already noon.." Brock chimed in, looking at his watch. Ash continued looking at Misty, watching as her eyes were flickering from one direction to another, almost as if they were trying to find something.. Then her eyes locked onto his eyes, staring at his hazelnut coloured eyes. Ash stood up, to which Misty strangely got up with him as well, continuing to look in his eyes. He pulled Misty in for a tight hug, trying to give any last comfort before he departed. She swung her arms around him, tightly holding onto him.. almost like a lost child holding onto their parent before they went away.. Ash gave Misty one last little squeeze before he uncoiled his arms, noticing how Misty didn't want him to go.
"Don't worry, Misty, we'll be back before you know it!" Ash spoke to her, giving his usual smile-of-approval. Misty smiled, feeling comfort from his grin. Ash grabbed his jacket and headed towards the door, with Brock behind him. "Call us if you need anything, Mist!" Ash called from over his shoulder. They walked out of the room, and as Ash was closing the door he looked back at Misty, smiling, and closed the door behind him. Misty stood there looking at the closed door, seeing her closest friends leaving her in the room by herself.. stuck in a facial expression that was lost...
Author's note: Sorry for the long delay of the third chapter, i've been going back through the first chapters and making some revisions to the story, fixing personas and plot holes. Hopefully you guys will like the story! Chapter 3 should be up soon! :)