Thump… thump… thump… The continuous rhythm of thumping played in Ash's head as he slowly regained consciousness. Slices of dim light shone in the cracks between his upper and lower eyelids. The small amount of light was too much for him to handle at the moment, so he snapped his eyes back shut. He moaned in agony. His head anchored to the hard surface beneath him. Ash didn't bother trying to remember what happened last before he wound up wherever he was. He limited his focus on opening his eyes.
Again Ash made an effort to view his environment, and this time he was able to conceive blurry outlines. Soon the distorted shapes and figures melted to perceptible objects and surroundings. Ash found himself confined in a dark room, which would shake when the thumps in the rhythmic pattern arrived. It became quite obvious that he was in the back of trailer truck. It became even more obvious that he had been kidnapped. Though he was not the only one that had been snatched, for Misty and Brock lied unconscious beside him. Oddly, Ash was relieved to see them, despite the unfortunate situation he had been thrown into upon awakening.
A burning sensation wrapped around his ankles and wrists. He wriggled his limbs as limited as he could, and felt thick rope binding his hands and feet together. Misty and Brock were in the same condition, and until they woke up, Ash had to lie there hopeless and his mind empty of any ideas to get them out of this predicament.
He could barely hear this weak, trembling voice. "Aaa… Aaaasshhh?" it croaked.
The teenager opened his mouth to speak but the only sound that emanated from his throat was the lack of moisture crackling. He tried to develop some saliva in order to swallow and cure his thirst, but that didn't seem possible either.
"Aaash? Muh-Misty?" another voice murmured.
Ash panted before he was finally able to speak. "Brah-brah-Brock? M-Misty? You guys okay?"
He could hear in their voices they felt just as groggy and terrible as he did. "Where are we?" Misty squeaked.
Ash mustered enough strength to lift his head, in order to give it a break from pounding against the cold floor. "In a truck I think."
"Why are we tied up? What's going on?" Ash wasn't sure why Misty was so confused about the situation.
He cleared the stinging mucus from his throat before answering. "Isn't it obvious? We've been kidnapped."
It didn't take long for Misty to gain complete awareness and return to her old self. "Well, since you're so informed about the current situation, perhaps you'd like to explain to me why we've been kidnapped?"
Brock was able to prop himself up against the side of the truck. "It's probably because he ran over that guy."
"You ran someone over?" Misty yelped.
"Yep, a Hoenn general," Brock told her.
Misty shook with fury. "You are so lucky I'm tied up right now, Ash Ketchum. If I got my hands on you you'd be dead."
Ash didn't think much before he spoke. "You had your hands all over me last night and I'm still here."
The few minutes after Ash said that consisted of obnoxious bickering between a screaming redhead and an argumentative eighteen year old. Brock wished he could have plugged his ears or smacked either of them across the face in order to silence them, but he couldn't free himself from the knots. Suddenly, three bangs interrupted the quarreling twosome.
"Keep it down back there!" a voice from the driver's compartment demanded.
The trio sat with their backs against the interior of the tractor trailer. They were silent for a few minutes, mostly because they were terrified if they talked, whoever was driving would go back there and shoot them. Ash, Brock, and Misty also took the time to catch their breath and rest their eyes. Their heads were throbbing and oddly, Ash's tongue felt like it weighed ten pounds. It dangled out of his mouth as he tried to think of a solution.
"Put your tongue back in your mouth. You're not a Growlithe," Misty nagged. "Although, you're just as mangy."
Ash closed his eyes and rested the back of his head on the wall. "Do you ever shut up?"
Misty growled and clenched her teeth, restraining herself from yelling at him even more.
Brock brought their focus to the vital problem. "Well, we can't just sit here. Who knows where they're taking us. We have to figure a way out of here and fast."
"Neither of you have a pocket knife or anything we could use to cut these ropes?" Misty sounded surprised as well as disappointed.
"Well, you're a girl." Ash lowered his eyebrows at the redhead. "Can't you use your nails or something?"
She rolled her eyes. "I cannot believe I had sex with you."
"Likewise," he seethed.
Brock couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Wait… what? You two slept together?" He looked at Ash, his face reading pure shock. "Is that how you know her?"
"That's the problem," Misty interrupted. "He doesn't 'know' me at all!"
Brock just stared at her and blurted out, "Uh, gross?"
This time, Ash restored their concentration on the crucial circumstances. "Whatever, let's just forget it ever happened and figure a way out of this mess."
"Luckily I do keep a pocket knife with me, but it's in my pocket of course." Brock chuckled sheepishly.
Ash blearily glanced at Misty and gave a slight nod towards Brock. "Misty, be a doll and fetch the knife out of Brock's pocket."
Misty looked back at him in repulsion. "No way, I just met the guy today! Awkward much?"
Ash groaned in annoyance. "You're really going to make me crawl all the way over there to get the knife myself?"
"Stop whining and get over here so we can get these stupid ropes off us," Misty commanded.
The raven haired teen groaned once again before swinging his body onto the floor and slinking to the other side of the truck. After bruising his chin, ribs, and knees in order to slowly snake his way over, Ash made it to Brock's side. He managed to sit up again, amazingly without discovering the urge to vomit. Ash scooted as close as he could to Brock's hip and blindly searched for the lump in his pocket. Brock gave him a few instructions on how close he was, effectively avoiding the awkward possibility of an accidental groping session. The search was proven triumphant when Ash's fingers curled around a metal, oval shaped object.
"Got it!" Ash declared as he whipped it out of his friend's pants pocket.
He flipped out the blade and began sawing away at the ropes fastening his wrists together. It took a few moments to cut through each gathering of binds, but eventually the three were able to quietly and successfully free themselves. The relief of their limbs being liberated was like no other sensation any of them had ever experienced. All of the blood rushed back into their feet and hands, causing their appendages to sting and tingle with the excitement of normal blood flow being rejuvenated.
They wiggled their limbs a bit and shook them for a moment before attempting to get to their feet. The occasional bumps in the road were still shaking the truck, which made it difficult for the trio to remain stable at first. Using the inside wall of the truck, Ash and Brock managed to pick themselves off the floor. They had to lean on the wall for a while due to the fact that their legs were a bit overwhelmed with all of the weight they suddenly had to support again. Once Ash learned to maintain his balance, he offered Misty his hand and helped her up as well.
Now they were onto the next obstacle: getting out the back of this truck. Ash pushed on the two, large back doors but they were locked. This did not surprise him. Brock tried picking and then digging his knife in the crack between the two doors, hoping he would hit some sort of hinge or switch that would either unlock the trunk or simply break the lock. No luck.
"I bet if the three of us charge with all our might, we could bust down these doors," Brock proposed.
"Are you crazy?" Misty shrieked. "First of all, all of the racket will definitely get the driver's attention. What if he stops the truck and comes back here to kill us? Second of all, if we were to bust down these doors, we'd fall out and get hurt for sure."
Ash made his hand into a fist. "It's a risk we have to be willing to take."
Brock added, "And if we don't try escape, who knows where this guy is taking us. No doubt he's taking us somewhere to be charged for murder and then be put to death."
Misty pointed a finger at herself. "I didn't do anything wrong, thank you very much. I wouldn't even be in this situation if Ash hadn't run over some random guy on the street with your car."
"It wasn't some random guy, 'thank you very much'," he said mockingly. "That man burnt down my house when I was just a kid."
The redhead raised one of her slender eyebrows at the teenager. "So you ran him over?"
"Well, what would you have done?" he asked.
Misty paused for a moment and then answered, "Probably run him over."
Ash smiled at the young woman and she faintly returned the gesture. Then, a huge bump in the road nearly knocked them all off their feet. The truck was now crawling up a steady incline. Ash had to dig his heels into the floor in order to prevent his body from being propelled toward the back end of the trailer. They all finally agreed at attempting to barge out of the back of the truck. The road they were on was extremely rutted and rocky, so the noisiness the road and the engine were making together would certainly make it hard for the driver to hear all of the commotion the trio was about to create.
Ash, Brock, and Misty stood with their backs pressed up against the wall furthest from the doors. Misty bit her bottom lip in anticipation as she waited for Brock to count to three. Three! Ash was the first to release, then Brock and then Misty. They each rammed into the trunk doors about a second apart. The metal shook from the bodies crashing into it, but otherwise not much damage had been placed onto the exit.
Ash pinched the bridge of his nose. "C'mon guys, we have to hit it all at the same time or else this isn't going to work."
After two more tries the group achieved tackling the wall in sync and accurately each time. However, it would take more than those two tries to knock down this barrier. The next attempt caught the attention of the driver. He banged on the wall three times and told them to "settle down back there" in an especially intimidating tone. Their hearts began to race with the thought of someone finding their mutilated bodies in the back of some Hoenn trailer truck.
Misty eyes began to water. She fanned herself with her hands and shifted her weight to her toes. "I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can do this," she squeaked.
Ash placed one had on Misty's shoulder and the other on Brock's. "Everyone just remain calm. He hasn't threatened us yet or anything so let's just concentrate on busting down those doors."
Misty nodded before regaining some of her composure. Once again, Brock counted to three and they charged, and once again they were unsuccessful. After another attempt their shoulders began to throb and they panted in exhaustion. Each attempt that appeared ineffective only sucked the hope out of the triad of escapees. They no longer felt determined or motivated, but downcast and hopeless.
Misty dropped to her knees. "So this is how it all ends: in the back of a smelly, old truck with two random morons."
Ash rolled his eyes. "Oh, like we're so thrilled to die along side you."
"Guys, no one ever said we're going to die here. I won't allow it. Now get off your knees and let's try one more time." Brock pressed his back against the wall and waved, urging the two. Misty got to her feet and the two placed themselves next to the brown haired man. "This time we're going to go at it with all our strength. No more mercy!"
Ash nodded, his determination reinstated. "That son of a bitch is going down."
"Ready?" Brock asked, his eyes unmoving from the spot where he planned to hit with all his might. "One… two… THREE!"
Ash and Brock hollered like bold, spirited warriors charging toward their opponent and ready to slay them. The trio's tackle was perfectly synchronized. The lock on the other side of the door, trapping them inside, snapped in half. The doors immediately swung open. Their bodies flailed in the air for a moment. The truck continued ascending as the three fell towards the ground. It all happened in the blink of an eye. None of them had any time to brace themselves for impact or absorb any of their surroundings.
Ash belly flopped onto the dirt road and his body shuddered from the forceful collision. He then felt himself tumbling down a hill, his eyes shut tightly in fear. Rocks and dirt pierced his fragile skin. He was not able to stop himself from rolling since his arms were still quavering and shocked from the fall. So many thoughts ran through his head: how was he going to stop himself? If he couldn't, how would he stop? Would he roll off a cliff and his innards would lie splattered at the bottom? Where were Misty and Brock? Were they rolling down this steep hill too?
A level area of land allowed Ash's momentum to decrease. He finally came to a halt with his face buried in the dry, itchy grass. He didn't care how uncomfortable this was, he just wanted to lay there for all eternity. He took advantage of those few moments to catch his breath and let his heart rate slow down, all the while thinking about all he had suffered through the last couple of days. Happy birthday to him.
Ash lifted his head to see nothing but darkness surrounding him. It was hard to even see the prickly grass beneath him. The only light provided were the dazzling stars hanging above his head in the night sky. He rolled onto his back to get a better look. His previous wonders of Brock and Misty's whereabouts had escaped him. He was just happy to come out of this situation alive.
A sudden high-pitched scream scared the living daylights out of him. He whipped his arms and legs through the air before scrambling to his feet. The familiar feeling of his heart pounding against his ribcage returned. Someone near by was in danger, and judging by the shrillness of that scream it was Misty. And if she was in danger that meant there was something in close proximity that could potentially be a threat to Ash as well. He contemplated between fleeing and hurrying toward the cry in order to help her.
Why should I save her? Ash thought, she's a massive bitch. Misty shrieked a second time. Alright, alright, I'm coming.
Ash cautiously made his way to where he heard the frightened screams come from. His eyes became better adjusted to the lack of light, but not to the point where he could spot the sharp rock a couple feet ahead. Thump. Ash crashed to ground. He tried to stop himself with his hands, but the only thing that came out of that effort was ripped skin and bleeding palms. A third screech brought Ash back to his feet and he raced towards to damsel in distress.
"Misty?" Ash called out. "Misty, where are you?"
"I'm up here!" Her voice was trembling with pure terror.
Ash squinted his eyes to see Misty hanging from a tree branch, only bringing her about two feet off the ground.
"What's wrong? What happened? Is there something in the grass?" Ash asked, overcome with slight panic.
"No! It's right next to you!" She kicked her legs in frenzy. "Just get it away! Get it away!"
There, at his feet, sat a plump, wide-eyed Caterpie. The wiggling insect looked up at Misty anxiously. It purred in delight every time she spoke or even moved the slightest. Ash laughed boisterously and wondered what the little caterpillar even wanted with Misty.
"You can't be serious! You're afraid of an itty-bitty Caterpie?" Ash ridiculed.
"Bugs are disgusting! They're slimy and crawly and creepy and I just don't like them, okay!" Misty shouted, squirming in disgust and refusing to let go of the tree branch.
Ash bent down and smiled at the critter. "Look how cute he is! This must be the friendliest Caterpie in the whole world. I bet he just wants to be friends, Misty."
"I don't need another friend! What I need is for you to get that thing out of here!"
Caterpie hopped up in order to get closer to Misty. Her fourth scream was the loudest one yet. Ash covered his ears as the shrill noise resonated from her mouth. Misty swung her legs over the branch so the Caterpie wouldn't be tempted to latch on to her.
Misty began to dry cry. "This is the worst day of my life!"
Ash crossed his arms, pleased with the event taking place. "I don't know, Misty. I think this just made my day a little better."
"If I ever get down from here you're going to regret it," the redhead growled.
"Ash, Misty, where are you guys?" a voice asked.
The loud voice startled the Caterpie, and within a second he had dashed into the tall grass behind some trees. Brock emerged from a rather wooded area and at this point all three of them were well adjusted to seeing in the dark.
"I finally found you guys," Brock sighed. "…why is she up in a tree?"
"There was a giant, disgusting Caterpie attacking me!" Misty at last felt it was safe enough to let go.
Brock raised an eyebrow. "What is she talking about?"
Ash shrugged. "I have no idea."
Misty grabbed his collar and pulled him in close. "You saw it! You know what I'm talking about! You saw it basically rape me!"
"Whoa, Misty, we don't need to hear about what you do in your free time." Ash had to keep himself from bursting into laughter.
A few minutes of Misty shouting and shaking Ash by the collar went by. Every few sentences Ash managed to weasel in a small comment that only made her face closer to the color of her hair. Sometimes when Misty went off on these enraged tirades, Ash simply thought about how she was able to breathe when she was just spewing angry words every second.
"Well anyway, are you guys all right?" Brock asked once Misty finished.
"I rolled down a hill for about ten minutes," Ash told him. "But I'm fine."
"I'm okay besides a few scrapes and bruises… and that dumb Caterpie." Misty crossed her arms and pouted.
Ash bent over tiredly and let his arms dangle. "I'm exhausted. Where are we going to sleep?"
Brock looked in each direction with his hands on his hips. "I guess we could camp out here."
"Camp out? Here?" Misty shrieked. "You've got to be kidding! Not after that Caterpie molested me!"
"Then where do you suggest we go?" Brock glared at her in annoyance. "It's pitch dark out and we have no idea where we are. If you want to wander off and find another place to sleep, then by all means, be my guest."
The sound of different Pokemon cooing, hooting, chirping, snoring made it impossible for Ash to fall asleep. The hard, wet ground didn't help his cause either. Brock on the other hand, found this environment most desirable. He was always a bit more outdoorsy than Ash. So, with not much else to do, Ash lied in between Brock and Misty with his hands underneath his head, gazing up at the vast, twinkling galaxy.
The raven haired teen thought about all that had happened the last few days. On his birthday he went to the water show in Cerulean City. At the after party he got completely wasted and woke up hung over the next morning to discover he had slept with Misty the night before. Hoenn soldiers invaded Cerulean City that morning, Ash ran over the general who had burned down his house when he was little, and then a giant Charizard smashed Brock's car. Ash immediately blacked out. When he woke up he found himself in the back of a truck with Brock and Misty, and now, after they managed to escape, they were on some giant hill who knows where. Simply remembering all of that was exhausting.
Ash then thought about his mother, and how she was going to kill him when he got home. He'd been missing for two days and it was pretty much a guarantee that she called the police by now and sent a search party for him. The next thought to cross his mind was the fact that he was now wanted by the country of Hoenn. That couldn't be good.
"Can't sleep either?"
Misty's voice startled him, even though her whisper was so quiet he could barely hear her.
"Too much to think about."
Misty sighed. "I know what you mean. I can't stop thinking about Cerulean City. My home… my sisters… my friends… I hope they're all okay."
Ash considered telling her everything would turn out all right, but he knew that would be a lie. Taking into account what happened to his home town when Hoenn invaded, it was most likely that her house was burnt to the ground. And her sisters could be anywhere. They could've been killed, kidnapped, or absolutely safe for all he knew. But who was he to give her false hope? Then again, who was he to crush her spirits? He opted not to say anything.
She rolled onto her shoulder to face him. "What are you thinking about?"
Ash shrugged, not taking his eyes off the stars. "First I thought about everything that's happened. Then I thought about my mom and then I was just thinking about how I'm wanted by Hoenn soldiers now."
"That is too much to think about."
Ash felt Misty's eyes on him. He wasn't sure if she was watching him with concern, sympathy, or some other ulterior emotion, but he knew that her fixed stare was making him uncomfortable. Perhaps she completely forgot that they had sex the night before, but if they agreed to never mention it again he was pretty sure having a deep conversation wasn't protocol. Neither was looking at him endlessly. Ash turned onto his shoulder, facing away from the redheaded girl. She sighed after he muttered good night.
Ash's hip and shoulder dug into the solid ground. Lying on his back was superior in terms of comfortableness, but then again he'd have to risk Misty staring at him again. And that was far more uncomfortable than any cold, hard earth.
Misty's eyes shot open as soon as she felt a painful nudge in her side. She rolled over, her mouth watering with the taste and early morning satisfaction she was about to receive from giving Ash a piece of her mind. The slumbering teen had elbowed her hard in her stomach and he wasn't about to get away with it. The look on Ash's face immediately stopped her from spitting lividly at him. He looked disturbed and frightened. His eyebrows were low and quavering and his lips were subtly forming the shape of silent words. His muscles were tense and his limbs twitched in motions that appeared similar to running. His body was covered in sweat.
Every trace of rage temporarily vanished from Misty's spectrum of emotions and was replaced with concern. She bit her bottom lip, contemplating whether to wake him up or not. It was obvious Ash was having a terrible nightmare. What Misty didn't know, was that it was more than just a nightmare: it was his childhood.
Ash's heart pounded as hard as his feet were hitting the dirt road. Trying to remember how he got himself in this dangerous situation caused him to fall behind. The back of Gary's head and the others disappeared as they headed down a steep hill. Ash wanted nothing more than to drop everything he was lugging and collapse to the ground, seeing as his lungs were about to do such.
He did remember Gary somehow convincing him to steal some food and medicine from the Hoenn recovery center on the edge of town. A group of intimidating peers circled Ash and glared at him until he agreed. They figured due to his scrawny build and small size, he'd be a talented sprinter. Evidently not.
The next thing he knew it was well past midnight and Gary and his followers dragged Ash out of his bed by his ankles. The thirteen year old turned completely red in the face when they pulled him out from under his covers and he was wearing nothing but boxers. They didn't care. They pushed him outside and cautiously scurried to the recuperation building. Ash shivered and rubbed his goose-bump covered arms as the group of boys pressed their backs against the brick wall.
Gary received the signal that the coast was clear. They squeezed through a window and carried as much as they possibly could in their adolescent arms. Ash was still shaking, even more at this point due to nerves. He was shuddering so intensely that everything almost flew out of his clutches. But once the gang of young thieves slithered out the front door without being noticed, Ash had no choice but to stop shaking. Now he was running. Running the hardest and fastest he had ever run in his thirteen years of life.
Gary and his pals eventually made these nighttime robberies a habit. Ash became the key to breaking in. He could crawl through cramped areas and narrow passages, unlocking the door to the building from the inside, so the rest of the burlier teenagers could sneak in. But on this night things didn't play out as smoothly as they normally did. There he was. He appeared out of no where. It seemed as if he were skyscraper towering over them. The Hoenn soldier peered menacingly at them. He had no time to conjure whatever Pokemon he owned so instead he retrieved his rifle.
Ash found himself sprinting down the dirt road once again. The cold air quickly entering and exiting his mouth made his chest sting. Bang. Bang. The soldier fired two bullets at them. One of the shots struck the ground near Gary's feet. Gary's laugh, riddled with victory and adrenaline, echoed in the night sky. He and his friends laugh loudly and hollered like hooting Pidgey on ecstasy. Tears collected in the corners of Ash's eyes. The Hoenn soldier chased after them, and three more heard the ruckus and joined the pursuit. Is this really how it ends for me? Ash asked himself.
A cold sweat coated Ash's body. His fierce and swift arm swings and leg mechanics, combining to formulate his sprinting, gradually morphed into his limbs oddly twitching. His surroundings began to fade to darkness. He felt disturbed and frightened, not knowing where he was heading and what would be there when he arrived.
A face. The face of a woman to be specific. She hovered over him, glancing down at him in concern, her orange hair falling from behind her ears and into her face like silk. As his eyes opened wider and an uncontrolled moaned escaped from his throat, a devious smile stretched across her pale face.
"You were having a nightmare. About what exactly? How stupid you are and how no girl in the world would ever date you?" Misty derided.
Misty. The annoying nutcase was still there when he woke up. He couldn't believe it. Ash covered his face with his arms to rid the sight of Misty's face and the sun spilling around her and blinding him.
"She's still here." The statement was directed towards Brock.
Brock answered drowsily, "Maybe if we pretend she's not here she'll leave."
Ash was a bit surprised Brock hadn't tried to flirt with Misty at all. Ash had to admit she was extremely attractive, overlooking the fact that she had a big, fat, ugly mouth. Perhaps that's why Brock hadn't taken interest. Then Ash remembered it was more likely because he slept with her.
"It's about time you guys wake up. We have to figure out where we are and what we're gonna do," Misty nagged.
She got to her feet and dusted the dirt off herself. After stretching her arms up and twisting at her waist to crack her back, she attempted to kick Ash awake. He was still covering his face and attempting to ignore her, but when someone is jabbing your side with their shoe this early in the morning, it's pretty hard to ignore. Eventually, Misty annoyed Ash and Brock enough to the point where they picked themselves off the ground and started walking. The trio's goal was to find the nearest town or any form of transportation or communication. Ash's personal goal was to keep himself from strangling Misty throughout the day and Brock's goal was to restrain himself from killing both of them as their typical bickering ensued.
A/N: Okay so I wrote this chapter about a month ago, and back then I thought it was rather uneventful and slow. I still think it's a bit slow and might seem boring to a few people, but I decided I quite like this chapter. I feel like I'm really starting to allow the characters, especially Ash and Misty, to shine through the dialogue. Dialogue is always my favorite thing to write.
I don't have much else to say about this chapter. There are some parts I'm rather proud of, like Ash's line "You had your hands all over me last night and I'm still here" and the Caterpie scene.
Thanks so much for reading this far! And remember, constructive criticism is always read and appreciated :]