Ben's P.O.V.
"No sir, I haven't seen her all morning." I said to the principle. Turns out, Summer and I have been promoted to Top Rangers. It's unbelievable! This is possibly the greatest thing to ever happen to me. It's almost too great. Although, I'm kinda worried about Summer. I haven't seen her all morning. That goes for Kate, too.
The principle sighed. "Well, when you see, her could you pass on the news?" I nodded my head eagerly. "Excellent, you're dismissed." I thanked him and walked out the door. Maybe Summer is in town with Kate. I still have to talk to her about some things. I walked outside, about to make my way down the path when I saw Kate approaching me. Out of nowhere, Keith stood next to me.
Kate looks really angry. I wonder why. "You." She growled menacingly, pointing to me. Me, what? She stopped right in front of me. The next thing I knew, a loud clapping sound rung out and my cheek stung like a bitch. Keith restrained Kate, Holding her arms behind her back. "I'll fucking kill you!" She yelled.
"What the fuck was that for?!" I shouted back, holding my cheek.
Kate was seething. "It's your fault! It's all your fucking fault!" What's my fault? "Did you even stop to think about how Summer would feel? I bet you didn't!" What is she talking about!? "Last night, with all the courage she had left in herself, Summer went to find you. She wanted to tell you something important. But instead, she saw you and Molly. Making out." W-what? That isn't possible. Keith looked up to me, releasing Kate. How could she have seen? "Funny thing is, she was going to tell you that she loves you. But you don't deserve her." N-no.. This isn't happening. "She loves you, Ben. And you fucked her over. Now none of us will ever see her again." Her voice cracked.
"Where is she?" I demanded.
She shook her head. "You don't deserve to know. It's too late anyway. She is gone." Tears leaked from Kate's eyes. She pushed past me, walking to the building. Keith stared at me. A look of disgust plastered to his face. He shook his head, following after Kate. What have I done..? Summer.. I'm so sorry. I never meant to do this to you. But how?
"You promised!" I looked over to where the voice came from.
Jared.
Summer's P.O.V.
My arm dangled to the side. Dark is all around me. Where am I? "Shit, Aiden. Nice piece of flesh you got there." My eyes opened slightly. Aiden walked with a stern face. I closed them again, unable to keep them open.
"Damn, who the hell is she?"
"Yeah, Aiden. Whose girl did you steal now?" Chuckling could be heard, but it is so distant. I can't.. focus.. Everything went black again.
I opened my eyes in a panic. Sweat covered my forehead, while my breaths were quick and shallow. A deep pain in my ribs shot throughout my entire abdomen. I groaned loudly, feeling tears well in my eyes. A song in the background caught my attention. "When you try you best but you don't succeed. When you get want but not what you need. When you feel so tired but you can't sleep. Stuck in reverse. And the tears come streamin' down your face. When you lose something you can't replace. When you love someone but it goes to waste. Could it be worse?" I know this song.. I've heard it before.
"How are you feeling?" A voice asked quietly behind me. I turned my head, finding Aiden sitting in the chair next to my bed. He had dark circles under his eyes. How long have I been out?
Painfully, I pulled myself up to a sitting position. "Like I've been run over by a truck." My voice croaked.
Aiden chuckled softly. "Well, I'm sure Draven feels the same way. You power house kicked him in the face. The doc prescribed you some pain killers. I already gave you one though." Serves him right. "So, how'd you learn to shoot and throw like that?" He asked, turning slightly to look at me.
"Beginners luck." I stated. He doesn't need to know anything about me.
He chuckled. "You are too easy to read. Where did you learn?" Too easy to read? What, is he a mind reader or something? "I can look at a person's facial expression or bodily gestures and tell if they're lying, telling the truth, are sincere, or pretty much how they are feeling." I looked down at my hands. That's a pretty handy skill. "Right now, you are an emotional wreck. Some idiot guy break your heart?" His voice was soft. I turned my head to the window, trying to avoid his gaze. He got all of that, by one look at me?
The sky was dark, light just barely beginning to emerge from the horizon. "I taught myself." The subject of my love life doesn't need to be mentioned. As of yesterday, I'm dead to everyone I've ever known. Not that Ben would care, as long as he has Molly, right? "When I was going from one orphanage to the other, I had to keep myself occupied. So I made my own bow, my own arrows, and shot at trees for hours on end. Once I mastered that, I stole knives from the kitchen and began learning a throwing technique. I hit the mark every single time, without fail."
Aiden was quiet for a moment. "You're going to have to teach those things to the recruits."
"That's what I'm afraid of. They will take that knowledge and use it to do terrible things. That would make me no better than Grant." My voice was laced with venom.
"You still have to pass initiation. The next task he is going to have you do is difficult. The last person he had try it, was slaughtered." Aiden's voice cracked. Slaughtered? That's barbaric. "Ryder Hariston." I turned my head to look at him. He looked at the wall, his knuckles a ghostly white from gripping the handles of the chair. "My best friend. Ryder had a special bond with Pokemon. Much like you. Pokemon literally raised him. Four of us joined Team Explosion, and only I remain. Grant was in prison at the time. The vice leader thought it would be good to observe how the most menacing Pokemon here would react to some guy getting thrown into a cage with it. All grunts were forced to watch, including me, Aurora and Daisy. We had to stand there, and watch our best friend get murdered by an abused Pokemon. Later that day, Daisy.. she.." Tears welled in his eyes. "Ryder and Daisy.. they were meant for each other, ya know? I guess she couldn't stand it without him. And Aurora.. she was too fragile. Too sweet for this kind of world. Now I'm alone. These people here.. they are cold blooded killers. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. I hope they don't use that same Pokemon for your initiation."
I stared at him, a few tears falling down my cheeks. That is horrible. How could.. There are no words.. "Aiden..?" I said softly. He looked over to me, his grip loosening. "Why are you helping me?"
He sat there for a few seconds, staring at me intently. "You remind me of Aurora." Is that it? Am I really just a replacement for everyone? "That guy, I'm guessing another girl got into the picture. Someone who looked like you? And that's why you looking like Aurora is a bad thing, right?" How can he do that? "Take it as a compliment. Aurora was gorgeous. Whenever she was around, people were happy. Always lightening the mood, making people feel good about themselves. You are a lot like her." He said, standing up and setting himself on the side of the bed. He leaned in close to me. "You are, gorgeous. In your own way." He said softly.
My breath hitched. I looked into his eyes, then to his lips. "I guess you aren't that good at what you do." I stated. I'm not sweet or anything he described. A loud knock at the door was heard. He didn't move, his eyes bore to mine. "Are you going to get that?" I whispered.
"I intimidate you." W-what? "You're attracted to me and you don't want to be. It's because of that guy, isn't it? You love him and that other girl ruined it for you." That's impossible. How could he know any of that.
Aiden stood up, walking to the door. He pressed a button and it slide open. Felix walked in. "You aren't fucking around with my sister, are you?" He asked in a bored tone.
"Sorry, I don't kiss and tell." Aiden smirked.
Felix scoffed, turning to me. "You have five minutes to get ready and meet me outside. Your final test will be held down in the arena outside. Try and prepare yourself. This one won't be as simple as the other two." As simple? The second trial nearly killed me. Felix walked out of the room, leaving Aiden and me to ourselves.
My rib pounded as I pulled myself out of bed. At least I'm still in my uniform. Aiden handed me my boots, sitting back down in the chair. "Grant murdered my mother to get to me." He nodded slightly, looking at the floor. Why did I feel like I had to tell him? It isn't like it matters anymore. I stood up, walking to the door. "Aren't you coming to watch?"
He shifted uneasily. "I don't know if I can watch another person get slaughtered." He thinks I'm going to get killed? Talk about having no confidence. Maybe dying isn't such a bad thing. I can be rid of this horrible world.
Felix lead me through hallway after hallway, until we finally exited the building. A rather small, open arena stood before me. "You will enter the arena. Prepare yourself for whatever happens. You will face the most menacing Pokemon we have. It hasn't been fed in weeks. Try not to get eaten." Anger boiled through my veins. How could these people be so cruel? Imprisoning a Pokemon and starving it? People who do something like that deserve to die.
A crowd of grunts circled around the arena. Must be here for the show. Grant stood at the opened gate. I walked past him, restraining myself from scratching his eyes out. The air was cold, a chilling sprinkle of rain falling from the ground. I took on an over-sized Tyranitar. How bad could this be? "Summer, say hello to Tyrantrum." Grant chuckled softly. The ground began to split open, a platform rising from the rubble. I stopped breathing as a colossal dinosaur looking Pokemon rose to ground level. His piercing red eyes could petrify anything. My eyes wandered to it's abdomen, and sorrow instantly overtook my fear. It's ribs were protruding against it's skin. Felix wasn't kidding when they said he hasn't been fed.
Tyrantrum roared so ferociously, the hair on my arms stood on end. Yet, I'm not scared. He is. "I'm so sorry." I whispered. Tyrantrum charged me, yet I didn't move. Instead I dropped to my knees, sobs racking over my body. I cried. Cried for the Tyrantrum. Cried for Ryder and Daisy. I cried for Aiden. But I cried for me. Selfish right? It was quiet in that moment. I don't mind if Tyrantrum kills me. At least he will get a meal. I would die for a good cause. It reminds me so much of myself. Alone, scared, abused. At least he would benefit from it. I felt a nudge to my side. The tears stopped as I looked up to the Tyrantrum. He nudged me softly again, his eyes full of sadness. "I'm so sorry. You deserve so much more." My hand reached out, petting the side of his face. It could just be me hallucinating but.. I'm pretty sure Tyrantrum was 'purring'.
"Extraordinary." Grant's voice rung. Tyrantrum growled quietly. "Congratulations, Summer. You are now an official member of Team Explosion." And at that moment, I felt dead. This is the beginning of the end for me.
Grunts began herding Tyrantrum back towards the platform. I called out for the Pokemon, not wanting it to endure anymore pain. Strong arms latched onto my waist, pulling me out of the arena. I thrashed, wanting to help Tyrantrum. The gate closed, and I lost sight of the Pokemon. I pulled myself out of Aiden's grasp. "How did you do that?" He ordered.
My breathing was heavy. "Why did you pull me away? I could have help him-" Aiden's lips pressed to mine. After recovering from shock, I shoved him away. Why did he do that? No, no, no!
Before I could scream at him, Grant walked to me. "I have one last test for you." Too angry to protest, I followed him. He lead me back inside, followed by Felix and Aiden. After a few minutes, we came to a lab room. A giant machine sat in the middle. It was an arch, with a table in the middle. "If you would, please." Grant beckoned to the machine.
I looked to Aiden. He wouldn't look directly at me. He shifted his feet uneasily. "N-no." I stated. There is no way I'm getting on that machine not knowing what it does.
Grant sighed, snapping his fingers. All of a sudden, Felix and one of the scientists grabbed either of my arms, lifting me up and slamming me onto the cold table. My rib burned with pain. My struggle was futile. No matter how much I kicked and thrashed, they were able to restrain my arms and legs. The scientist smiled down at me. "This will probably hurt. We will try to make it fast." My heart pounded in my chest.
The machine powered on. A red horizontal beam appeared on my feet. Gradually, an intense burning sensation began to take over the areas that the beam crossed. As the red beam made it's way up my body, it felt like it was peeling my skin off as it went. Not being able to take it any longer, I let out an agonizing scream. Pain suffocated my entire being. The beam continued to make its way up the entire length of my body. Once it shut off, tears stained my red cheeks. My voice was hoarse and dry from screaming. Aiden unlatched my restraints, taking my limp body into his arms. He took us to a waiting room, setting me down softly in a chair. As we sat there, feeling began to make its way back into my body. Aiden turned to me. "I'm sorry about earlier. I don't know what came over me."
"Don't worry about it. It was kind of nice.. feeling something other than pain." I said quietly. It was nothing like the kiss Ben and I shared. Nothing will ever come that close. Before he could respond, Grant, Felix, and a scientist walked in. The scientist pulled something up on the screen. A black and white scan of my brain?
"This is an x-ray of you brain." The scientist said. He typed in something, another x-ray popping up. "And this is an x-ray of a normal girl your age's brain." I looked at the two pictures. my brain looked off. A large black, lumpy aura surrounded it. "There seems to be a growth attached to your brain. I think that is what allows you to communicate with Pokemon flawlessly. The question is, how did it develop. What where you exposed to?
Grant studied the x-ray, rubbing his chin slightly. "I never thought anything of it." He sighed, turning to me. "When you were still in your mother's womb, we went on a small trip. It was late at night and your mother and I were walking home from a movie. It all happened so fast.. We were attacked by these men. Probably in their twenties. Very strong and agile. Your mother put up a fight, and wouldn't surrender her money or jewelry. One of the guys restrained me while the other two pushed her to the ground, and kicked her multiple times in the stomach. She was eight months pregnant." Pain was evident in his voice. My poor mother.. Her entire adult life was full of abuse. "After the thugs ran away, I rushed her to a hospital but it was too late. You were dead." Time froze. That isn't possible. I was d-dead? No.. I'm right here. It isn't true. "Your mother and I were heartbroken. We stayed in the hospital for hours, just holding each other and crying. Then, out of absolute no where, a Celebi appeared right next to us. It went down to your mother, and touched her stomach. There was a bright light and then it was gone. Your mother felt a kick. The doctor checked for a pulse and you were alive again. It was a miracle."
The scientist snapped his fingers. "Celebi left an imprint on you. It then turned into a growth around your brain, which then allows you to communicate with Pokemon. Miraculous. Grant do you know of all the tests and experiments that need to take place? This is a living person able to flawlessly communicate and speak to these creatures-" I wouldn't hear the rest of it. I won't be used as an experiment for these people. This can't be what my life is supposed to be like.
I stormed out of the room, walking to my bedroom. I-I was dead and Celebi brought me back to life. How do you even begin to comprehend that as a person? This can't be real. I walked into my room, feeling myself begin to unravel. A song played in the background, bringing tears to my eyes. "Help. I have done it, again. I have been here many times before. Hurt myself again today and the worst part is there's no one else to blame. Be my friend. Hold me, wrap me up. Unfold me, I am small and needy. Warm me up and breathe me." Tears began to streak down my cheeks.
My hands trembled as I picked up a vase. With a frustrated cry, I threw it at the wall. Shattered glass rained to the ground. I punched the wall, screaming out. Fear or anger or some other negative emotion over took my body. I don't want to live. Someone knocked at my door. I crushed a vase in my hands, the broken glass cutting deep into my skin. The person pounded on the door. I can't go on like this. I just want it to be over. There is no point in living anymore. I've lost everything I could care about. Ben.. My heart ached. "Ben!" I cried out, picking up the pain killers on the stand next to my bed. I struggled with the cap.
The door burst open. Aiden ran in, grabbing at the bottle in my hands. I fought with him, trying to keep it away from him. "Summer stop!" He yelled, trying to take it from my hands.
"Give it back!" I screamed. The bottle flew out from my hands, sliding under my bed. "What did you do!" I cried and screamed. My knees buckled, dropping me to the floor. Sobs racked my body.
"Ouch. I have lost myself again. Lost myself and I am no where to be found. Yeah, I think that I might break. Lost myself again and I feel unsafe. Be my friend. Hold me, wrap me up. Unfold me, I am small and needy. Warm me up and breathe me."
Aiden dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around my small body. I leaned into his chest, letting my tears fall freely. Ben..
Alrighty. So kinda dark and sad but regardless, hope you all enjoyed. -A (P.S. Song credits to "Fix You" by Secondhand Serenade and "Breathe Me" by Sia).