The Boat That Rocked (Rocketshipping Fanfic)
Part Twenty-Six
Light shone warm pink on his eyelids and he raised a hand to cover his face. Too bright.
Then he froze. Too bright? That means… His eyes snapped open, body jerking forwards, something pulling him back with a sharp tug, his back suddenly forced against something hard.
His mind clearing, James looked over his shoulder and saw his hands tied with rope around a pipe. Glancing around he recognized the boiler room underneath the apartment block and grimaced when he realized that the pipe was seething hot.
The rope was slack and he took care to slip his hands free, letting out small hisses as his hands touched the heated pipe.
Standing, he glanced around again but the boiler room was empty. He stared down at himself and realized he was shaking. Ahh…I got away. The shadows didn't take me. The relief that rushed through him scared him and his shoulders shook as a cold chill trailed down his spine. Get your head together – where's Alphonse?
Taking a step forwards, James swayed, his hand shooting out against the wall to hold him up. Touching his head, he felt blood matted in his hair and he cursed. Alphonse hit me hard.
James waited for the feeling to pass and once the light-headedness had faded away, he started moving again.
The boiler room door was unlocked and he pushed it open. He was prepared for a sudden attack but none came and he dashed up the steps, taking two at a time. Reaching the street, he rushed around the block until he came to the front of the apartments but still there was no sign of the man. Nor of Meowth. Both had disappeared without a trace.
Impossible. The whole point of this charade was to get at me – why would he just leave me with a head wound tied so pathetically to a pipe with the door unlocked?
This wasn't the Alphonse that James knew.
The Alphonse he knew was ruthless, and while he enjoyed playing games, this wasn't his type. What's your plan, really?
James returned to his apartment, hoping that there was a clue left behind but once again found nothing. He dug deep in his pockets – nothing.
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
Rage and desperation rose in his throat, burning red in his chest, and he punched the apartment door, feeling incredibly satisfied by the cracks that formed in the painted wood, and feeling none of the pain as his knuckles wept crimson.
Where is he? Where is that goddamn bastard?
James locked the door behind him and spun on his heel, running down the stairs, his shirt rustling behind him as he ran down the street, gaze snapping left and right as he scanned the roads and alleyways.
A loud yowl suddenly called, the sound like a crack of lightning in the night, and James came to an abrupt stop. Something scurried behind him, something that sounded angry, something that sounded pained and feral.
Raising his chin, fists curled tight, James turned.
"How d'ya do, James…?" a weak voice laughed.
"M-Meowth?!" His eyes widened as he rushed forwards, hands wrapping around the small Pokémon's body. His fur was patched pale and red, one eye bruised half shut, the other dull and lifeless. One ear was torn, bleeding profusely, and there was a gash across the top of his head.
The cat hung limply in James' hold. "I'm glad ya okay…"
"Be quiet," James hushed him. "Save your energy, okay?"
"Alphonse…" the cat weakly shook his head as James began to interrupt. "Alphonse is headin' for the others…"
Jessie? "What do you mean?!"
"He…He doesn't wan…want you anymore…He…wants…he's…he's insane, James…Completely…insane." The single dull eye closed.
-#-
Jaime brushed her fingers through her hair, wincing as she tugged at knots that had formed. The night breeze swept her hair up, tangling the strands up again, flowing across her eyes.
She sighed, irritated, as she flicked her head to the side, attempting to clear her sight. Once she had, she searched the dark outside the crumbling building they had chosen.
There's nothing here. Unnerved, Jaime started to walk away from the building, carefully placing her feet on stable ground, gaze flitting side to side. There's no one here.
It was too quiet. It was even worse than the forest as now the wind didn't reach inside the buildings where the plants had called home, the leaves still, vines silently curling around pillars and moss crawling up the walls.
Jaime's foot slipped, sending a shooting pain up her leg as she hit the ground hard trying to save herself from falling. She sucked a sharp breath in, rubbing her calf with bloodied fingers. She could feel the dry caked blood lining the creases in her palm, crisscrossing the fine lines of her skin, leaving a pattern of dead broken earth.
Wiping her hands against her trousers did nothing to rid her of the sensation and she forced herself to ignore it.
However as she walked, her thumb kept rubbing against her palm in a continuous motion. With every step, her thumb moved against her hand, rolling the dirt and blood from her skin.
Then her thumb moved against something wet and she halted, looking up.
Is it raining?
She closed her eyes.
It sure feels like its raining.
She licked her lips, her tongue brushing against the strip Lisa had placed on her wound and she smiled. The taste of fresh iron hit the back of her tongue and she reached up with trembling fingers.
It's really pouring it down, isn't it?
Her fingertips trailed down the side of her face, sliding against something wet. I need to get under some shelter or I'll get soaked.
Her eyes tried to focus on the shadowy buildings before her, searching for the one she had just left. There. It's there. That's where they are. I need to tell them about the rain. I need to tell them to…
Wait…What do I need tell to them?
Jaime blinked. Maybe the rain is fogging up my vision – its night-time anyway. Of course I wouldn't be able to see properly.
She stepped forwards and her knees buckled from under her, her body lurching forwards and hitting the ground hard, her palms cutting and her skin scuffing against broken concrete and tarmac.
Jaime coughed, her chest tight, pain slamming against her as her sides heaved. I need to get up. I can't stay out here – I'll get ill staying out in the rain. Jaime pulled herself up, the muscles in her neck taunt as she dragged herself up onto her feet, stumbling forwards, coughing again.
Nearing the building, she reached out, collapsing against the doorway. Upstairs…they're upstairs.
Her body suddenly tensed, bolting up sharply, her face smashing against the wall. Her head shook, pain bouncing from one side of her skull to the other, pulsing deep, resonating throughout her body.
Why am I falling? Why can't I move? Hey...what…what's going on?
Jaime had slid down the wall, her forehead resting against the cool brick, her breathing growing haggard, her chest struggling with the amount of agony that struck her with every faltering movement of her lungs.
Something clicked behind her and she turned her head slowly, ever so slowly. In the world of darkness, a shadow loomed over her, something glinting swooping down.
Her hand instinctively moved to her belt but her fingers found nothing. Where's my knife?
Her eyes blinked and focused. Then blurred. Then cleared. Then strange tiny lights starting flickering, grey and white, colours she couldn't recognize in the haze, as if her eyes were shut tight, the flickering bordering black, the corners closing in.
Hey…
It's not raining, is it?
A/N
Hey guys - it's been a while I think since the last update but here we go! The next chapter!
Hope you guys are still enjoying the story.
Oh, and concerning the story's picture :: James and Jessie are not doing it. The picture features the three trapped in a small box.
I would love to hear your take on this chapter please - all your reviews are very well appreciated and I love reading what you guys think.
I also agree with the idea of Jaime getting a bittersweet ending - but just as I thought that, Jaime decided she would have her story go as above.
I won't promise anything. I won't even trust the ideas that pop into my head about this story, because when I write it, it ALWAYS changes.
Where will this story end up? No one knows.
No one.