A/N: Hello there! What's this? An author's note at the beginning? Well yeah, this time I decided to put it first thing because I felt like if I put it at the end it detracted from the dramatic tone of the final scene, and I also really wanted the last line to resonate with the reader. Don't skip ahead now and go read it because that'll detract from it as well.
You may have noticed that I changed the title from "32K" to "Soldier". Anybody who has a problem with the new title should've participated in the poll. All the chapters have titles now as well.
On with the story!
"Pathetic" Ash heard Gary mutter. Ash had just woken up from another nightmare that reflected another horrid memory from his past. Ash never had dreams, he only had nightmares. Each and every one of them made him relive an event that the war scarred him with. He shook his head as he tried to eliminate the image of a group of Hoenn soldiers and their Pokemon brutally harassing some local livestock almost to the point of death.
The two of them were standing guard on the town line. Ash had managed to fall asleep standing up, but the balmy night air and harmonious cricketing of bugs and cooing of bird Pokemon made it easy to slip into slumber. They stood in a clear area with woods and darkness surrounding them. Up above the treetops the lofty and enormous cycling bridge pierced the night sky with its steel supports. The gentle purr of cars and city life could be heard in the distance behind them.
Pikachu stood alert at Ash's side because he knew his partner had been feeling drowsy since that morning. Gary's Wartortle was withdrawing into its shell over and over. Ash saw it slump in disappointment when Gary didn't notice its obvious attempt at impressing its partner.
Gary spat in disgust. "Falling asleep on the job, Ashy boy? And you call yourself a soldier."
Ash was too tired to come up with a witty reply. He just rolled his eyes and could not believe he and Gary got stuck together for duty the second time that week. The men in charge of the schedule knew Ash and Gary could barely stand to be in the same room, yet they found it appropriate to put them together time and again.
"I haven't been sleeping that well lately," Ash admitted. He was so tired he couldn't stop himself before he realized he was just about to initiate a conversation with Gary.
Gary fixed his grip on his long barreled gun. Ash was armed as well. "What are you? A girl? Suck it up. Once we hit the battlefields the likelihood of us getting any sleep is slim to none."
"You think we'll see action some day?" Ash asked, trying to hide the hopefulness in his voice.
"That's what we signed up for isn't it? Kanto needs every man they can get their hands on. But for some reason they have our unit stationed here. Probably to protect the base and they might not quite trust us yet to just go out and fight. Our troop doesn't have much experience."
"Well you got to admit that's kind of a good thing. Like at least Kanto has our back. In Hoenn they don't fucking care as long as you're holding a gun and shooting something." A bitter taste resided on Ash's tongue as he spoke about Hoenn soldiers and their knack for shooting things. He was still mourning over the loss of his dear friend Richie.
"They don't want you to miss either." The two shared a soft chuckle.
Standing guard was always an extremely tedious task each soldier was assigned to do. Ash didn't purposely use this time to catch up on his sleep, but it's not as if he needed to be awake anyway. Nothing ever happened. The most eventful thing to happen to Ash while he was on duty was this one time when Gary kicked his shin for no reason.
Tonight would change all of that. Ash first smelled it in the air. Smoke. The incredibly distinguishable odor came along on a gentle breeze and then hung in the air. This wasn't just any normal smoke—it was strong and musty. It made Ash cough when he took in a larger breath than he should have. He then looked up at the sky. The navy blue dome with speckles of gleaming white was being overtaken by plumes of thick, black smoke. Gary too noticed seconds later.
Ash's mind first flashed back to the raid he witnessed in his hometown when he was just a child. He then recalled the invasion of Cerulean City and when he and Misty noticed the same smoke overwhelming the sky. Each time it was a sign that Hoenn was about to invade. They had to assume the worst so they both sent their Pokemon to deliver a message to their general warning him of the possible invasion. They asked him to send back up as well.
After journeying through the small amount of wooded area between the bridge and where they had been standing guard, Ash and Gary arrived at the south end of Cycling Road.
"There." Gary pointed to an unfamiliar ship tearing across the sea.
It didn't look that intimidating, but Ash tightened his grip on his gun anyway. Minutes later the rest of their troop emerged from the woods, along with Pikachu and Wartortle. Almost all of them had their Pokemon with them so Ash felt a bit more secure and comfortable now that they had some backup.
Ash had no idea how long it took for the foreign ship to reach the shore. His thoughts and heart were racing. He lost track of time for all he could do was think the worst possible scenarios. It could've taken the ship an hour to get there but it felt like ten to him. A few moments passed where nothing happened. The ship sat still and silent on the shore. The troop stood in three straight rows with their guns and Pokemon ready. They looked down on the ship from a rather cliffy area where the bridge began, so whoever was on that ship would have to climb up to them. Or perhaps they'd just start hurtling bombs at them from down below.
Ash began to shake when some slight banging could be heard coming from the boat. His throat dried up as a walkway lowered from the ship and onto the ground. His palms and forehead began to sweat as he spotted two men making their way down. He looked over at Gary, whose face was turning a pale green, when the two men were getting closer.
They were just feet away. The men prepared themselves as much as they could. They tightened their grips on their guns. They planted their feet into the earth. Ash even heard a man fling some of his spit on the ground.
"Let me do the talking," Gary said through his teeth to the others.
The men stopped. They looked pretty normal. One was tall and muscular and the other was average height and scrawny. Their clothes weren't anything outrageous. Just garments two men of the sea would sport; perhaps merchants. But their boat seemed rather slender and innovative to be a big, old supply ship.
Gary stepped forward. "State your purpose."
The tall one spoke. His voice was very low and smooth, making him sound older than he appeared. "We're the captains of a supply ship. We were sent to Fuchsia to drop off some artillery for the base."
"Who sent you?" Gary asked, raising the hostility and coldness in his tone.
"Yamo Coastal Trading Services," the tall one answered.
Ash chimed in. "Why would Yamo ship artillery? I thought they specialized in the trading of minerals and elements?"
"Yamo recently started investing in weaponry. They knew it would be good business with the war going on and everything." That time the smaller one talked.
"You never mentioned where you came from," Gary pointed out.
"Just a short trip from Celadon. Following Cycling Road, you see." The two men glanced at each other and smirked for a fraction of a second.
Ash and Gary then flashed each other looks of doubt. Ash then said, "I don't recall Fuchsia or the base expecting any shipments tonight."
"And this late of an hour is rather strange to be exchanging goods, don't you think?" Gary raised a brow at the "merchants".
"We just ran into technical difficulties with our ship before embarking yesterday morning, so our trip was unfortunately delayed."
Gary paused a moment, still grimacing at the seemingly untrustworthy foreigners. "Ash, a moment please?"
The request surprised Ash to say the least. He and Gary stepped to the side and stood close as they discussed what they should do about these sketchy men.
"We can't trust 'em," Ash whispered first.
Gary rolled his eyes. "Well, no shit. I say we get the general out here so he can talk to them. Maybe he can scare them off without starting something. I just don't want to piss these guys off so once we turn our backs they start throwing some bombs or something."
Ash glared at Gary. "Oh, so that's what you've been doing? Because interrogating them and shooting them death glares won't piss them off." Ash's sarcasm made Gary wanted to knee him in the groin, but now was not the time for one of their little spats.
Ash and Gary returned to the group of men. "I think my troop would feel more secure if we had our general come down here and discuss the matter at hand," said Gary.
The two men looked at each other. "That won't be necessary. It's obvious you're not ready for the shipment."
As the men turned and started heading back to their ship, the troop quietly celebrated their evasion of a possible confrontation or battle, but Ash didn't join in on the merriment. He was busy replaying that man's final words over and over in his head. They didn't sound right. "It's obvious you're not ready…." Ash felt a twisting pang in his stomach as the small frigate set across the sea.
Gary punched Ash in shoulder in a celebratory manner. "See? We can handle this stuff on our own. That was easy."
"Yeah, a little too easy…" Ash muttered.
The boat was almost out of sight when a loud horn blared. The troop's revelry was interrupted by the thunderous and booming siren which shook the earth beneath them. The group of young men immediately stopped carousing and watched the boat disappear on the dark horizon.
"That can't be good," said one of the soldiers dryly.
"GET DOWN! GET DOWN!" Ash screamed.
All the soldiers hit the ground as a blinking red projectile flew towards them at inconceivable speed. The bomb hit one of the cliffs below them and exploded on contact. The earth quaked and the trees trembled, disturbing all the slumbering Pokemon. Many bird Pokemon were seen overhead fleeing from the nests they were sleeping soundly in just seconds earlier. The sound of the explosion was booming—almost deafening. Pikachu whimpered as it clenched its long ears which ached.
Ash found himself immediately take a leadership role. "Gary, I want you and all the others with water type Pokemon to go down to shore and see if they can swim out and somehow stop that frigate." He pointed to three other soldiers. "I want you three to stay here in case something happens. Everyone else come with me. We're going to warn the city and tell the general."
They all stood around looking at each other in slight disbelief of Ash's sudden leadership, but more in anxiety and fear of the battle that would most likely ensue.
"Go!" he yelled.
In one swift movement each of the soldiers hopped to their feet and darted through the forest to tend to the duty Ash had assigned them. The teen took a second to look back at their attacker, and his jaw dropped. There was no longer just a small frigate disappearing on the horizon, there was an entire fleet of battleships heading towards them.
While the frigate took ages to hit the shore just hours earlier, everything else happened so fast. General Oak, a man with graying hair slicked up and a build similar to Ash's but of course weathered by age, was notified by Ash and his fellow troop members of the bombing and the oncoming fleet. The general immediately called some other troops stationed around the area to come in for backup. He then pointed to several other soldiers, giving them orders such as to unlock the artillery room, ready the tanks, direct citizens out of the city, notify the police and fire departments, open up the town bomb shelter, and watch for when the backup troops arrive. When he dismissed them Ash was the only one left standing in the area.
They were in the center of town. Houses with picket fences surrounded them with taller buildings and skyscrapers just beyond them. Fuchsia City was always an interesting mix of urban and rural. The city even had a prized zoo, which was now evacuating all the rare and trained Pokemon it housed. The town warning system could be heard echoing in the night sky, waking up all the citizens since it was well past midnight.
The sirens didn't help Ash's already twisting stomach. He watched his renowned general stare at the ground and rub the slight stubble on his chin. Oak was the most sensible and wise man Ash had ever met. Over the last year of being under his command and stationed in Fuchsia he had grown to be mentor-type figure for the upcoming soldier. So when Ash saw his always calm, cool, and collected general look as worried as he did, that didn't help the sickening feeling in his stomach either.
"It was only a matter of time…" He finally heard Oak murmur.
Ash was afraid to speak.
"We should've been prepared. Almost every other city in Kanto has been invaded. It was only a matter of time…"
Ash tried comforting the elderly man. "It was a surprise to everyone, sir."
Oak raised his chin high in the air at the sound of another bomb exploding. "How do you think they're doing?"
"There were a lot of ships, sir."
The two men turned and looked for the frantic voice that was screaming.
"They're here! They're here!"
It was one of Ash's fellow soldiers. The other troops from around the area arrived. Oak took Ash to go greet them at the east entrance to the city. That was another thing that happened fast. They got there in what seemed seconds. Oak looked relieved when he saw at least three hundred soldiers piling into the streets and that number was steadily increasing.
It was like a relentless river of people. The tide was taking Ash with it and he was practically getting trampled by the flow of troops. Ash felt a tug on his collar and was suddenly hoisted off his feet. Oak had pulled him out of the rapid movement and onto a bench that was bolted into the sidewalk.
"Thank you, sir."
Oak seemed to be looking for someone as he replied, "Can't be losing you this early on, Mr. Ketchum."
The highly ranked officer beamed once he spotted the person he had been searching for. A huge, tan, muscular man stuck out of the crowd and Ash immediately recognized him as Lieutenant Surge, the man that had trained Ash and his troop in boot camp. When Surge arrived at their side, after easily making it through the compact gathering, he didn't even have to hop on the bench to avoid being shoved or knocked down. He was too gargantuan to even budge the slightest and he had this distinguishable presence that everyone knew he was a man of authority.
"Don't worry, more are on the way." Was the first thing Surge said to the general.
Oak shook his hand, which was five times smaller than Surge's. "It's wonderful to see you again, Surge, although I wish the reason for our reuniting wasn't under these circumstances."
"We'll whoop some major ass, sir. Don't you worry."
Ash got wrapped up in his own thoughts of how different Lieutenant Surge was compared to General Oak to notice that Surge had gotten all the soldiers attention by shouting thunderously, and then handed their attention over to Oak, who was now giving instruction and an inspirational speech. As Oak said words such as bravery, strength, loyalty, liberty, and skill, Ash hoped he had all of those qualities in order to perform his duty as a soldier.
"We must protect our city, our people, and our country," Oak declared. All the men threw their fists in the air and cheered.
"Our people…" echoed in Ash's head. The image of a beautiful redhead flashed in his mind. Misty. A sudden panic came over him. He looked around frantically, searching for an opening in the large assembly of soldiers. He had to go find her. He had to make sure she was safe. He knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else until he knew Misty was all right.
He heard Oak's voice call after him as he made his way through the crowd. But once again everything was happening so fast. He didn't think to stop. He didn't think of how disregarding Oak's call could get him in trouble later on. He could only think to find the redheaded girl.
A hand on his shoulder stopped him just as he was about to escape from the mass of people. Ash planned to wiggle free of the mysterious person's grip and continue on his mission until that same hand pulled him into a fierce hug.
"You son-of-a-bitch," the person chuckled.
It was Brock. Once Ash recognized his voice he squeezed his dear friend tightly. They hadn't seen or heard from each other in over a year. When they finally parted from their embrace, Ash couldn't even think of what to say. His face read pure shock and happiness. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Not only was it Brock but it was Brock in a military uniform.
"What are you doing here, you crazy bastard?" Ash asked. He couldn't help but laugh and let some tears of joy roll down his cheeks.
Brock gestured to his uniform. "Isn't it obvious? I joined the army."
Ash gave him a doubtful look. "You're kidding me."
Brock smiled. "Yeah, I'm kidding. I actually got drafted not too long after you enlisted."
Ash punched him on the shoulder. "That would explain why you never answered my letters."
"Yep. I would've written to you but I had no idea where you were."
He placed a hand on the tan man's shoulder. "Well, we're both here now about to have the fight of our lives. It's destiny, man."
"And where do you think you're going?" Brock asked, referring to the fact that moments earlier Ash had been making his way out of the crowd.
"I have to find Misty."
"The redhead chick? Dude, you're still in it with her? Damn." Brock shook his head, slightly impressed.
"I haven't talked to her in a while but I know she's in the city and I have to make sure she's okay." Ash started stepping away from his best friend.
He shrugged. "All right, man. You go do what you gotta do."
Ash didn't realize how impossible it was going to be to find Misty. Everywhere he went there were people being evacuated and long lines, huge gatherings, and shoving and pushing. People were running around hysterically, women and children were already crying even though Hoenn hadn't even landed on shore yet. Every once in a while Ash could hear soldiers discussing the battle that was occurring out at sea and on the shore.
He'd hear good things like one of Kanto's ships sunk one of theirs, but then he'd overhear horrible things like one of Kanto's ships erupted into flames. He just hoped everyone he knew was okay and fighting with all their might. He then thought of Gary, who was one of the first men sent out to go fight at sea. Regardless of their mutual hate for one another, Ash hoped his rival was still alive.
Before he knew it he was standing in front of Misty's apartment. He knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. No answer. He then feared the possibility of her fiancé answering the door. Whatever, he was in uniform. He could just claim he was sent to help them evacuate. After the third session of knocking and no answer, he suspected they had already left. But for some reason that wasn't good enough for him. What if by the time the Hoes made it to the city, Misty hadn't escaped yet and she got killed? Ash would never be able to forgive himself.
Ash kicked the door open. He searched the house, calling her name. Still no answer. Next he checked the bomb shelter, the main evacuation route, and the Pokemon Center. No luck. He just hoped she made it out safely because he got suddenly roped into the next counter attack.
Ash was still amazed with how fast time and everything was moving. He was looking for Misty one second and the next he was at the west entrance to the city, where the road turned into the bridge. There were hundreds of Kanto soldiers and hundreds of Pokemon launching bombs and attacks from the shore. Dozens of tanks were lined up. Battleships were being launched as well. So much was going on. Pikachu was at his side. Pretty soon they were being assaulted from the air. Pretty soon the fleet of Hoenn ships landed. Pretty soon this all turned into a battle on land. Pretty soon Kanto had them retreating. Pretty soon they thought they had won it all.
Many men and Pokemon were scattered all over the place, all of them lifeless and still. Blood stained the earth and smoke still occupied the sky. The battle had gone well into morning, but there was no way of telling when one looked up.
Even though there were many causalities and loses, Ash had never heard such a joyous and relieved celebration. Strangers hugged strangers and every soldier shouted in victory. High fives were given to all of those around you and every Pokemon in the area got a well deserved scratch, pat, or rub.
"We've done it, men! We've done it!" Ash whirled around to see Oak standing on a fallen tree. He had never seen someone so proud.
While the celebration continued, as did Ash getting hugged and tapped by numerous strange men, the young soldier was preoccupied watching the Hoenn ships either sink, burn, or retreat. He tried to feel happy, but there was a strange sensation in his stomach that thwarted his revelry. He couldn't quite believe that after a couple of hours the Hoes had already given up. That just didn't seem quite like them.
Then he saw it. He waited for someone else to notice, but they were all too busy chanting "Kanto number one". The voices faded and all Ash could hear was the rumbling. The bridge began to tremble under the ferocious turning of thick tires. Slowly the chanting stopped as one by one, almost like a domino effect, the soldiers within the area realized the fight wasn't over. About fifty large tanks were heading toward them, crossing the Cycling Road bridge. Each made of dark metal with spikes and intimidating mechanisms pointing every which way. There were a couple different types of tanks, each one designed to most likely utilize different weapons and launch them in different ways.
Ash looked back at his general. Oak looked solemn, almost blank, but there was just enough tenseness in his face to show the graveness of the situation was settling in. Ash was surprised it took so long for Oak, Surge, Gary, or any other soldier for that matter to take action. They all stood around and he sensed an air of hopelessness.
Ash ran up to his general. "Sir, what do you suggest we do?"
The grey haired man took in a large breath before answering, "We stand and fight."
Gary approached them. "We did it before we can do it again, sir."
"May I suggest something different?" Ash's voice squeaked. His nerves kicked as he took a leap giving his military official advice. "We blow up the bridge."
Gary raised a brow at him. "What."
"Think of all the lives we could save and all the fighting we could avoid," said Ash.
Oak rubbed his chin. "It's a valid strategy… but that bridge is a beloved monument not only to the city but the entire country. It's important for transportation and tourism as well."
Ash stomped his foot on the ground. "And they're taking advantage of it! They think we won't sacrifice some dumb monument and they're right, but they don't have to be right, sir."
Oak stared long and hard into Ash's eyes, contemplating perhaps the biggest decision of his military career. There would be many people mad at him for destroying a monument that has been there for centuries, but it was the right choice. That long gaze was a search for trust. Oak already trusted and respected Ash, but he had to be sure he could trust him with this decision more than anything.
The firing of missiles brought Oak back to the reality of the situation. He had to finalize his decision. Time was moving too fast. Time was running out.
"Blow it up," he said somberly.
The troops piled up dynamite toward the south end of the bridge, while water type Pokemon swam out and planted some further out. Some bird Pokemon also flew their partners further out so they could plant some stashes of explosives as well. After a couple of minutes everything was set. They just had to wait for all of the tanks to reach a certain point so they'd know they get them all in the blast.
Oak told everyone to run back to the city and take the tanks and their Pokemon with them so it would look like they were retreating to the Hoes. Really he just wanted them out of range so they wouldn't get hurt. Ash, Brock, Gary, and Surge stuck by the elderly man's side as he pushed the button on his little remote. Immediately the structure was engulfed in flames. The explosion nearly knocked them all off their feet and Ash even saw a few tanks be flung through the air.
As flames continued to swallow the bridge the group of army men stood there and watched it crumble. Ash knew the burning structure represented victory, but he knew it was a significant loss for them all as well. That bridge meant something to them all. But in the end, victory means something so much more.
Ash knocked gently on the large, wooden door that stood before him.
"Come in," a voice said.
He turned the knob with care and stepped into the room. There was his general, Samuel Oak, behind his desk and packing some things off a book shelf into one of the many cardboard boxes scattered around his office. About a fourth of his belongings were collected in these boxes, so the room looked a tad more spacious than the last time Ash had visited. Maps of the world and the country that were once hanging on the walls were rolled up and in a pile on his couch. Despite the general's obvious consolidation his desk was still littered with papers and even more papers were spilling out of the file cabinet in the back right corner.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" It was a fact, but Ash stated it more as a question.
Oak looked up from the plaque he was placing into the box sitting on his desk. "Oh Mr. Ketchum, there you are. Good to see you. How you been?"
"I'm doing all right. How are you, sir?" he asked politely.
"I'm all right myself. I see you have a few scrapes and bruises."
Ash touched the scratch on his cheek and looked down at his battered up arms, all of which he received from the invasion that happened three days earlier.
"Are you going somewhere, sir?"
Oak stopped packing as he explained, "That's actually why I asked to see you, Ash. I have some incredible news. You may interpret it as good news or you may interpret it as bad news." Ash nodded. "I've been promoted."
Ash said with enthusiasm, "That's great, sir! Why would that be bad news?"
"Because I've been asked to lead the rebel movement going on in Cerulean City. All the troops under my command will follow me there. I know we've been stationed in Fuchsia for a whole year and you've probably made a life here, so moving might not be easy."
Ash immediately thought of the prospect of Misty being back in Cerulean. "I won't mind it."
Oak slid the box over on his desk and took a seat, gesturing his arm out offering Ash to take a seat as well. "Good to hear. And the reason I asked you here today is because I want you to be my right hand man."
Ash's eyes practically popped out of his head. "Seriously?"
"Your help and efforts during the invasion impressed me immensely. You've always been a talented soldier, Ash. It's time your talents got recognized."
"Gary's gonna be so pissed," Ash muttered, a slight smirk appearing on his face.
"My grandson isn't as levelheaded as you are."
Ash laughed softly. "All my life I don't think anyone has ever described me as 'levelheaded'."
"The army can change you more than you think." Oak leaned forward on his desk. "So tell me Ash, is this really what you want to be doing?"
"More than anything, sir. I want to win this war for my mother."
"That's awfully ambitious, but ambitious is good. I'll need that too when we move to Cerulean." Oak got up and started packing more things in the box on his desk.
"When do we leave?" Ash asked.
"In a week. There's word that Hoenn plans on taking the lighthouse and once they do, that means they'll have full control of Cerulean City. The lighthouse is incredibly beneficial because it can be used to watch for invaders. The lighthouse is also an extremely important monument to those who still live in Cerulean City, so we can sympathize with that, don't you think?" Ash bowed his head. "I didn't say that to make you feel bad. Did I not tell you that decision of yours won us that battle? You saved lives, Ash."
"Not enough though. We still lost thirty-two of our men and forty-four Pokemon. How do you do it, sir? How do you deal with all the death? I mean you were the boss of these guys for a whole year. They were my friends. We did duty together. I knew half of them since my first day at boot camp and now they're gone," Ash said miserably.
Oak sighed. "You know, there's honestly no trick to it. It doesn't get any easier. If anything it gets harder."
Ash sighed too.
"I've been in the army for thirty-six years and if there's one thing I've learned it's that life is short and precious. And unfortunately you either live in this country or die for it, and living in it isn't exactly the safest thing either. So this is only the beginning of many tragedies you'll have to experience."
Ash looked even more downcast, thinking of the conversation he had with his mother after Richie died. "My mother said the same thing."
Oak walked over and slapped Ash on the back, plastering on a toothy grin. "Try not to get too down. You just got promoted, remember? Be happy! Go celebrate with your friends."
Ash smiled up at his general. "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity."
Ash hopped to his feet and gave Oak a firm handshake. They said good-bye for the night and Ash headed home where he planned on getting a good night's sleep. But "planned" was the key word.
Before going up to his room Ash was stopped in the hall by one of his fellow troop members.
"Hey Ash, some girl came by earlier and wanted me to give you this."
Ash instantly perked up a little and snatched the white envelope from his hands.
"Did she say anything else?" Ash couldn't take his eyes off the scripted writing that read his name on the front.
He shrugged. "That was it. She just told me to give it to you as soon as possible."
"Thanks, Tracey."
Ash ran up the three flights of stairs it took to get to his floor. He darted down the hall, running so fast it was nearly impossible for him to open the thoroughly sealed envelope. He stopped in front of his door and tore the paper impatiently. He flipped over the rectangular piece of cardstock that was about twice the size of a normal index card. It was covered in fancy letters but Ash was so filled with adrenaline that his eyes couldn't concentrate on absorbing the words. He took a deep breath and finally managed to read it.
The card fell to the ground. Ash's face turned pale as his bottom lip began to tremble. His arms fell to his sides and shoulders slouched significantly. As tears began to collect in the corners of his eyes he began to sway back and forth, finding that he was losing the strength to remain standing. Ash turned and fell back against his door before sliding down to the floor. He brought his knees close to his chest and bit his bottom lip, hoping that it would help prevent the tears from falling down his cheeks.
"She's still going through with it."