Chapter Eight: You're Out Real Quick
Carla's hand immediately flew to the pokéballs in her pocket. Her hand landed on one; it was Rakel's. She put a finger on the release button but didn't press it.
"What just happened?" Bruno asked. "What just happened?"
Carla kept her voice calm. "I think we just had a power cut."
"Oh, great."
Shrieks and cries were still floating on the air, then suddenly most of them went quiet.
"It's OK," Tally said. Her voice was trembling slightly. "There's a backup supply of energy; I think I read about it somewhere. It should go on soon."
Carla's eyes had now fully adjusted to the darkness. She wasn't sure why she was so uneasy, but they were standing by themselves in the middle of a dark street at night. They were exposed.
She noticed a shop doorway close by. "Come on. Let's sit over there." She walked towards it and set her back to the door before pressing the button on Rakel's capsule. The Misdreavus materialised next to her; immediately, the jewels around her neck started to glow dimly.
"Why do we have to sit back here?" asked Bruno as he lowered himself down to sit next to Carla. "We can just go back to our rooms, you know."
"No, we can't." That was Tally and she was whispering. "The doors won't respond to the card keys - and they can't open from the inside either. Everything's electronic in Mauville City."
The trainer room doors weren't opened manually, but by pushing a button from the room itself. If there was no power, the doors would remain firmly locked.
"But that means everyone inside the rooms are locked in!" Now Bruno was whispering as well. There was a brief flash of blue and then Hazel's bulk was filling the shop doorway as well. "What about the Centre?"
"I guess they're trapped inside there as well..." Carla's voice trailed off as the implications hit her. If the power in the Centre wasn't working, the medical equipment wouldn't be either. But Wattson must have prepared for something like this. He wasn't an idiot.
"It shouldn't take this long to fix the power," she said. "Or for the backup supply to come on."
"It's supposed to go on automatically," Tally told her. All three trainers were whispering; their voices were like an Ekans softly slithering over grass.
"So why hasn't it?"
"I don't know. I just know it should have."
A chill swept over Carla. She fumbled in her bag until she found her phone. Pulling it out, she checked the screen.
The signal symbol was blank.
"Do you have signal?" Her whisper sounded far too loud. "Please tell me you've got signal."
Tally took out her phone and looked at it. "No, I don't."
"What's up?" Bruno asked. Hazel shuffled a little closer to him.
Carla stared out into the shadows of Mauville. "Mauville is where TrainNet is based. If Tally and I don't have signal, nobody linked to the network has a signal. Which means they can't call for help if they're in trouble."
"Oh. That's...that's not good."
"What about the doors that lead in and out of Mauville? Are they locked too?"
Before Carla could answer Tally's question, she saw a blaze of colour out of the corner of her left eye. She turned to see that Rakel's necklace was glowing a brilliant scarlet.
"Why is she doing that?" Tally asked in a hushed voice.
"She's feeding on someone's fear. But..."
Carla didn't remember Rakel's necklace glowing that brightly when she first met Tally, and it had only been glimmering faintly when she'd released her a few minutes ago. If it was that colour now, someone nearby must be absolutely terrified.
She crept out of the doorway, looking both ways. Rakel floated beside her.
"Shut up!" a voice hissed.
It came from the left, near the entrance to the street. Carla headed in that direction, heart pounding, hoping against hope she wasn't making a mistake.
"Please...please..."
"I said shut up. Hands behind your back."
A tall, black figure loomed over a smaller one, crowding it against the wall.
Shock and anger flooded Carla's body. "Mean Look."
The taller figure turned and was immediately frozen in Rakel's glare. The smaller one started fumbling at the man's jacket, trying to find something. There was a rush of air as something swooped over Carla's head; Hazel's wings flapped twice and the next moment the man was lying on the floor.
Carla ran up to the smaller figure. "Are you OK?"
With a sob, the girl scooped a pokéball out of the man's pocket and pressed it to her chest. "Thank you."
"Um, maybe we should..." Although Bruno was half-immersed in shadow, Carla could see something dangling from his left hand. It was a pair of cuffs. "He dropped these."
Yes, maybe they should.
Carla grabbed the man's wrists and held them behind his back while Bruno secured them. She looked up at Rakel and nodded, certain the Misdreavus could see her.
"Are you all right?" Tally asked the girl. "What happened?"
"He just grabbed me. I thought I'd got away, I didn't know he was there."
"Well, we can hide together before he wakes up..." Bruno began.
"Wait. Wait." Carla touched the girl's shoulder, alarm curdling her stomach. "What did you get away from?"
"The others." The girl looked around frantically.
"There's more of them?"
"Yes, they've got everybody trapped in the Food Court. Didn't you know?"
Carla stared at her. There were others. There was a whole group of them, and Mauville was under lockdown. They'd shut down the entire city on purpose.
"What about the cops?" Bruno demanded. "Aren't they doing anything?"
"They can't. Someone said that's been taken care of."
The implications sank into Carla's heart like a stone.
Footsteps snapped her out of her fear. They were definitely coming in the direction of the small group.
"Let's go!" Tally whispered, darting to the side and into another shop doorway. The others followed her, flattening themselves against the door just as two shadowy forms walked down the street.
One of them stumbled over the sleeping man with a startled yelp; he landed heavily on the floor, as did something bulky and heavy. His partner cursed and went to help him up - and froze when he saw two prone figures.
Carla saw their chance. There was no time to think. "Get them."
Rakel darted out and hovered over the standing man, her eyes glowing red again. The man who'd tripped scrabbled to his feet, but he was too slow. He went as still as a statue when Rakel turned her gaze to him as well.
Next moment, they had joined their companion in sleep. Hazel landed in front of them and ruffled her wings smugly.
"Rakel, is anyone else coming?" Carla asked.
The Misdreavus flew to the edge of the street and looked around. She glanced back and shook her head.
Carla hurried over and knelt next to the unconscious figures. Hypnosis had a different effect on humans than it did on pokémon; the three men would be out for at least half an hour. She touched the bag lying beside them and felt several hard, round objects inside.
"What's going on?" Tally whispered. "Who's doing this?"
Carla had a very good idea as to who it was. "Team Scythe."
"What? But how do you know?"
"What's in the bags?" Bruno asked.
"Pokéballs. Lots of them." So where were all the trainers? Were they still in the Food Court?
She picked up a bag in each hand, wincing as her shoulders strained; they were a lot heavier than they looked. Bruno quickly took one from her. "Come on. We can't stay here."
"But there's nowhere we can go!"
Carla couldn't keep thinking of her as the girl. "What's your name?"
"Maia."
Carla looked down at the three sleeping men. At some point, they were going to wake up - or worse, someone would want to know why they hadn't shown up with the stolen pokéballs and come looking for them.
"Are all those trainers still in the Food Court?"
"I...I don't know. They might be."
A cold thought crept inside Carla's mind. Did the doors open electronically? If they did, nobody could get in or out - and that included Team Scythe. They weren't stupid. They were bound to have at least one pokémon that knew Teleport.
Her eye fell on the bags. If all the pokémon inside were released at the same time, it might cause a lot of confusion. And if the trainers were still at the Food Court...
"I have an idea," Carla whispered. "Rakel, keep checking if anyone's coming."
She started creeping along the street, keeping to the walls as much as she could.
"Carla, what are you doing?" Bruno asked behind her.
"I don't know." She reached up and touched her blue pendant.
Latias, be with us tonight.
She could sense the others behind her as she moved. Her eyes darted from one shadow to another, expecting someone to emerge from the darkness. Rakel's necklace deepened and deepened in colour as they neared the Food Court; Carla wasn't sure if the Misdreavus was reacting to other people's fear or to hers.
They must have been closer to the Food Court than she'd remembered, because a dim glow could be seen around the corner. It could only have come from an Electric-type.
Carla stopped. Above her, Rakel paused and looked down.
There were bound to be other Scythe members guarding the trainers - if they hadn't moved them. And there was no way of telling which capsule had been stolen from which trainer, unless the pokémon inside were all released at the same time.
Which would cause a lot of confusion.
Slowly, heart pounding in her throat, she lowered the bag to the floor and unzipped it as quietly as she could.
"Are we going to create a diversion?" Tally whispered.
Carla nodded, glad the other girl knew what she intended. Her face felt cold and exposed, so she pulled her hood up and took her scarf out of her pocket, tying it around the lower half of her face. It wouldn't do to be recognised by Scythe afterwards, even if they were in the dark.
She took three capsules out of the bag and enlargened them. One was almost uncomfortably warm and the other two tingled sharply against her fingers; it was as if they knew they were in the hands of someone other than their rightful trainer.
Carla raised them to her lips and whispered: "Go find your trainers." Then she hurled them into the light.
A Rapidash, Electrike and Magnemite appeared at the edge of the gloom. There was a brief moment of silence, followed by a "What the..." and then a joyful shriek of "BLAZE!"
The Rapidash reared on his hind legs and screamed.
More capsules whizzed past Carla's head, releasing more pokémon. Soon the small street was crowded. Trainers in the Food Court were calling out to their pokémon frantically. Carla saw a Beautifly, a Sableye and a Nidoking rush forward and fully into the light, closely followed by others.
She grinned. It was working.
Then there was the sound of crashing, followed by screams of alarm. Cold fear shot through Carla and she rushed into the open. An Ampharos was struggling to hold its own against the Nidoking; the Rapidash - Blaze - stood protectively in front of a group of trainers, stamping his foot menacingly on the floor, swinging his head around at any possible attackers.
Figures dressed in dark clothing were struggling to hold off other pokémon, including the Sableye and Electrike.
"Hey!" Someone grabbed her arm. "Do you know what's going on? Where did they all come from? We all thought they'd..."
She couldn't see his face, but his eyes widened as he realised she wasn't with them. Then they narrowed into sharp blue slits and his grip on her arm tightened. She tried to pull free, but a purple and scarlet blur darted through the man and he collapsed, panting and shivering. Something dropped from his hand and clattered to the ground.
Carla looked up at Rakel in amazement. "Thanks!"
Rakel grinned.
Quickly, Carla picked up the object the man had dropped and slipped it into her pocket. If he'd been going to use it on her, it could be useful to have. It was narrow and dark, with two prongs at the end. It looked like a taser.
Yes. She could use this.
Nearby, Hazel was working her Hypnosis on the black-clad figures. She was doing well, but it was obvious she was tiring. Just as Carla was frantically trying to figure out something to do, she saw a Dustox fluttering above the combatants, a silver powder drifting from its wings.
Sleep Powder.
Carla was about to order Rakel to attack the Dustox, but then she noticed it wasn't just pokémon being targeted. The Scythe grunts were as well. She looked around wildly for the trainer.
"Hey. Hey!"
Her gaze whipped to the circle of trainers.
"Are you with us?" someone asked.
"Yes."
The boy looked up. "It's OK, Blaze, he's with us."
Blaze snorted. He glared warningly at Carla, but allowed her to rush up to the group of trainers and kneel in front of them. His trainer shuffled around so his bound hands were displayed.
Carla put down the bag and fumbled with the cuffs, squinting. The light from Blaze's flames helped her see a bit clearer - there was a tiny plastic ridge sticking out. Hoping her instincts were right, Carla pressed it and suppressed a yelp when the trainer eased the cuffs apart. As soon as his hands were free, he turned to the trainer sitting next to him.
"Hold it right there."
Everything went still. Carla hardly dared breathe. She turned around to see a dark figure holding Tally by her hair. He held a taser dangerously close to her throat.
Bruno. Maia. Where were they?
"Now," he said quietly, "we're gonna leave, and we're taking the bags. If any of you follow us, we'll..."
"You'll what, dude?" Blaze's trainer demanded, taking a step forward. "You're surrounded. Your buddies aren't getting up any time soon."
Carla glanced towards the man Rakel had floated through, but he lay quiet and still. The Sleep Powder must have affected him as well.
"And who are you?" Tally's captor forced her to move forward, his eyes fixed on Carla. "You're not one of us. Why don't you..."
Rakel screamed right into his ear. He dropped the taser and Tally yanked herself free, stumbling forward. He recovered quickly and tried to grab her again, but froze when Rakel hovered in front of him and Blaze stepped towards him, head lowered. His eyes darted between the two of them.
A roar of rage pierced the shadows. Carla looked in the direction the noise had come from, then back at the Scythe man, heart hammering. What was that? What could have made that sound?
It was only then that she noticed not every pokémon she and the others had released was here in the Food Court. The capsules in the bags couldn't all have come from these trainers - there were too few of them. Where had the others come from?
You told them to find their trainers.
"I need help!" The Scythe man had a hand pressed to one ear. "They're fighting back; I need help over here!"
Even more shouts were echoing in the distance - sharper ones. The man's eyes flickered in alarm.
Those shouts were human. There was a loud bellow that could only have come from Wattson.
Carla grinned. Help was coming - and it wasn't there for Team Scythe.
She couldn't see the lower half of the man's face, but she knew he was snarling.
"Blaze, use Flamethrower!" the Rapidash trainer yelled. Blaze shot a jet of fire towards the man, who swerved aside. The attack hit the Nidoking right in the chest; he stumbled backwards, bellowing in outrage. Immediately, the man saw his chance and raced back towards the street, dodging a swipe from the Nidoking's claws.
Then he skidded to a halt and darted towards another, smaller figure and snatched something from its hands.
"HEY!" Carla shouted and raced after him. She had just reached the end of the street and was about to turn the corner after him when Rakel swooped in front of her like a vengeful spirit and stayed there, hovering in mid-air, her eyes and jewels dimly glowing.
The outrage inside Carla slowly drained away, leaving behind cold sense. She couldn't do this. She was alone; all she had was Zoe, Tess, Rakel and a taser. If there were other members of Team Scythe lurking in the shadows, she would not stand a chance.
The voices were getting closer. Carla was still wearing her scarf - if someone in Team Scythe thought she was with them, what if the police did too?
She took her hood down and tried to untie her scarf, but her fingers were shaking too badly. Growling with frustration, she pulled the entire thing over her head and shoved it back in her pocket. She and Rakel needed to get away from here quickly. Where were the others?
Get out of the street before the power comes on.
Carla took out Rakel's empty pokéball. "You did great, Rakel. Return."
Lights came on in the nearby buildings. Instinctively, Carla flattened herself against the wall. Almost immediately afterwards, doors slid open and people were rushing into the street, towards the Food Court. Carla seized her chance and joined them, hoping she hadn't been seen. As they moved, light flickered on dimly overhead.
A flood of people was pouring into the Court from all directions. Carla spotted dark blue police uniforms among the civilians. She looked around frantically until her eyes fell on Bruno and Tally.
"Everyone stay calm!" someone was shouting in the distance.
Carla squeezed her way through the thickening crowd until she was standing next to her friends.
"Did you get him?" Bruno asked. The hope in his eyes faded when he saw the look on Carla's face.
Suddenly there was a loud bellow of "ENOUGH!", causing everyone to go silent. Wattson stood on a table, glowering at the crowd.
"All trainers are to go back to their rooms immediately," he commanded. "If your pokémon has been stolen, gather round these tables here."
"What happened?" a girl shouted. "Was that Team Scythe?"
Her voice was joined by several others. Wattson clapped his hands twice and the shouts died down.
"One of them grabbed a bag and ran down there!" someone in the crowd yelled. "You gotta get after them!"
"He just snatched it." Bruno mumbled, his voice heavy with self-blame. He was staring at the ground. "I froze, and that guy just grabbed it out of my hands."
Carla shook her head. "It's not your fault."
She knew she would never forgive herself for letting the man go.
You might have noticed that Rakel has had more focus than the other members of Carla's team. Well…there's a reason for that.
This chapter's title comes from 'Tough' by Kellie Pickler.