My dreams, of course, are anything but sweet. The nightmare that faded away in town was back in full force. I relive that night again. I see myself exit the house and fix the water-heater. I see myself stop outside the door and eavesdrop with Eve. I see myself throw the ice at Hammond and peg him in the eye. I see Hammond call out his Electrode and demolish our house. In my dream, I fly back through the wall, just like last time. But this time, Hammond doesn't fly away on his pokémon. Instead he walks over to where I lay and starts talking. I can't hear anything but the ringing in my ears, but his meaning is clear. He's taunting me. The ringing clears with a pop and I catch the tail end of what he's saying. At this point he's simply angry.
"-s it?!" he yells, grabbing my coat and pulling me closer, "I know you have it!" I try to wiggle, slap and squirm my way free, but he refuses to let go.
"Your parents don't have it, so that just leaves you," He says with malice, "I am not going to stop hunting you until you give it up. I will personally make your life a living Hell! All this could have been avoided if you would have just listened to me when I came to your house. But no, you had to get wise and blind me!" He start to shake my by my coat front, getting angrier by the minute. I throw a punch to the left side of his face, that's covered in blood, and connect with a crack. He jerks back with a weirdly feminine yell. It surprises me, especially since I never thought a man like him could make such a girly noise. As Hammond turns and glares at me, I see his left eye underneath all the blood. It's milky white. He then simply gets to his feet and starts walking away.
"You are going to regret every decision you made this night," He says, "I'll make sure of that." He fades into the darkening landscape and I jolt back to the land of the waking. I blink the sleep out of my eyes and look around, to see what woke me up. I see Kasha holding her face and I get scared.
"Holy Reshiram! What happened?" I ask. She takes her hand off her face and looks at it, then wipes it in the snow with a quiet, "Damn." There is a small trail of blood running down the left side of her face. She just laughs at my panicked face.
"Remind me never to try and wake you up from your nightmares," she says, "Damn, girl! You got one nasty left-hook." I look down at my knuckles and see a few drops of blood on them. I just realize that they hurt.
"Kasha I am so sorry! I…I-," she cuts me off with a wave of her hand.
"It's okay Rin," she says, digging a rag out of her backpack, "you didn't know what you were doing. You were caught up in your nightmare." She wipes the blood off her face and sticks the rag back into her bag.
"That must've been one hell of a nightmare. You were screeching like a Misdreavus and tossing around all over your side of the campfire. When I tried to wake you up, ya slugged me like you were going for the championship title." Her eyes are full of concern, which just makes me feel worse. She could be a little more worried about herself! I slugged her for Arceus' sake! I think to myself.
"Just what were you dreaming about?" she asks. I stare into what's left of our dying fire and rub my knuckles. I shudder at the thought of that dream. Hammond vowed to make my life a living Hell. I know it was just a dream, but it felt so real. His anger, his threats. They felt insanely realistic.
"Rin?" Kasha says worriedly.
"I don't really want to talk about it," I reply softly.
"Okay," she says, "I'm right here if you ever need me." With that she returns to her sleeping bag and is asleep in a couple of minutes. I've known Kasha for one day, and she's already such a good friend. She's already worried about me. Why? I stare up at the stars overhead and try to see what constellations are out tonight, but I can't. It's too cloudy. I sigh and stare at the fire once more. I feel a soft, furry body lay down next to me and I look to see Shade lying next to me. When did he come out of his pokéball? I wonder. He stares at me with his ruby eyes and simply lays his head in my lap. I pet his head, carefully avoiding his scythe-like horn.
"So, Shade. Were you the Absol I saw that day in Eira?" I ask softly.
"Yes," he replies.
"What were you doing there anyway?"
"I was trying to warn you. Every Absol tries to warn people of disasters, but we hardly ever make it in time." He explains, sadly.
"So, you haven't told Kasha yet?"
"No. It's your secret. Besides, she can't speak to pokémon like you," he says with a small smile.
"So you knew my house was going to blow up?"
"No. I just knew something bad was going to happen."
"Can you ever tell what's going to happen?"
"No."
"I miss home."
"You aren't the first. Kasha misses the Islands too."
"You really care for her, don't you?"
"Yes. She's a good person."
"I know." I say with a small sigh, "I just wish there was an easy way to tell her all about myself, but I don't want her to be in danger. I don't know if telling her will keep her safe because she knows what's going on, or if it will just put her in more danger. I don't even know why I agreed to let her travel with me in the first place."
"The journey you both share is a lonely one. People need other people to stay sane. Those that do not have the comfort of friends, at least one of their own species, often have hearts of stone."
"I guess you're right. I just wish I knew what Hammond meant when he said, 'Zeta Project'. I wish I knew who my parents were. I wish I knew more about my life. My parents said they quit, that they didn't want to work for an evil man anymore. Just what the hell did they do before they moved to Eira and had me?!" I can feel tears running down my face.
"Sometimes, the things we feel we need to know, are the best things left buried. Your parents were probably wonderful people to raise a child like you, but everyone has skeletons in their closets. Some just rattle louder than others."
"I just can't shake this feeling of being watched. Of being hunted. I don't know what to do, Shade."
"Rin, don't give into despair. Go live your dreams. Kasha and I will be right beside you the whole time. If we end up finding things out about your parents along the way, then that is what happens. I suggest that you keep following your dreams, despite what happened that night in Eira."
"Thanks Shade." I reply quietly.
"Why don't you try and get some sleep?" he says, but I shake my head.
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep after that nightmare. I'll just stay up and watch the fire. I'll make sure it doesn't go out."
"Alright. But try and fall asleep sometime tonight. It's a long journey to Marn." He returns to Kasha's side and lies next to her. I look up to see the moon peeking through a hole in the clouds. I watch the clouds move through the night sky, sometimes revealing a few stars, but not enough to trace out the constellations. Sometime during the night I fall asleep again, thankfully not having any more nightmares. When I wake up in the morning, Kasha is already up and going, picking up our campsite. I get out of my sleeping bag and put it away. I put my hat back on, tucking in my bangs this time so no hair sticks out. I look at Kasha to see if she's ready to go, and notice the bruise on her face. Her hair covers most of it, but a small bit pokes through near her eyebrow. I didn't hit her in the eye-That's a relief-more like I got her on the side of her forehead. She looks at me with a smile on her face.
"Quit worrying about me Rin! I'm just fine!" she insists. I open my mouth to apologize once more but she cuts me off.
"If you're trying to apologize, then I don't want to hear one word." I shut my mouth and simply nod. "Come on, maybe we can make it to Marn before it gets too late." She readjusts her backpack and sets off to the south once again, me following on her heels. We spend most of the day talking about anything and everything. What music we prefer, what games we like, etc. As we head south, the climate starts to change. It gets warmer and the Evergreens aren't the only trees we see. Coniferous trees start to pop up along with more warm-climate berries and bushes. I take off my jacket and stuff it inside my bag. Kasha takes off her sweater and reveals a black t-shirt underneath, stuffing the sweater into her backpack as well. She stretches and turns her face up to the sun.
"Ah! It feels so nice to be in the warmer climate again," she takes a deep breath and lets it out, "There may still be snow on the ground, but it's finally getting warmer. I don't know how you lived in the north your whole life, Rin, but I know for a fact that I will not!" She and I laugh and continue on our way.
"I don't know how you breathe down here," I say, "The air is so thick! Nothing like the nice, clear air we have up north."
"Get used to it girly. Just wait until we get to the Islands," Kasha laughs, "You'll probably breathe like a fish!" I notice a vehicle speeding up the road towards us, kicking up dirt behind it. I point it out to Kasha and she studies it as well. As it gets closer, it reveals itself to be a man on a motorcycle. When it gets really close it stops next to us and the man jumps off. He wears the blue and green uniform of the Alamar Police Force.
"Hello ladies, hope your morning is pleasant," he says politely, if a little hurried.
"Good morning Officer," Kasha says and I stay silent, giving him a polite smile.
"Going south? To Marn?" He asks.
"Yes sir," Kasha answers.
"Listen, have you seen this girl in your travels? She went missing recently," He says as her pulls out a piece of paper, with my picture on it! Luckily it's a badly drawn sketch artists rendering. It shows me with my long hair and the outfit I was wearing the day I fled Eira. I pull down my hat as if shielding my eyes from the sun and lean in, like I'm studying it for future reference. Kasha looks at it as well. I can see her eyes widen slightly, but she remains calm.
"Can't say I have, sir. What happened?" She asks.
"All we know is that she used to live near Eira and her house was destroyed. We are currently looking for her so we can figure out what's happened. If you see her, call the Police Headquarters, or tell the nearest authority figure like an Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy. They'll repot it to us. Her name is Rin Amsel, if you run into her, try and persuade her to go to the nearest Police Station. Good day ladies." With that he jumps back onto his motorcycle and speeds north. I keep my eyes focused on my feet, a blush spreading across my face.
"Rin, I think you have a little explaining to do," I can hear the hurt in her voice, "You're lucky that Officer was in a hurry and not the sharpest tool in the shed."
All I can think of to say is, "Fuck." And I just talked to Shade about this. I think to myself as I start to explain my story to Kasha as we keep walking south.
Sorry this took so long guys! I had a little trouble getting enough time on my computer to get it all typed out. Sorry it's so short too, but it needs to end here, otherwise the next chapter will be even more out of place.