Deeper than a Flesh Wound
16
Friday, May 5th, 1989
A tall building reaching up to the stars to praise the gods, but the gods are nothing more than falsehoods depicting an excuse for our actions. Raab pushed his hands against the wooden door. Our gods, their god, it is all the same crap. He walked across the marble floor and past the town's religious leader. Raab turned around to see James behind him. He pulled his bag around and opened it. He yanked an ice pick out of it and held it against his chest. False hopes and dreams will die. With a quick swing, he raised the pick above his head and swung at the darkrai statue. A stone clunk broke the silence, and the statue chipped. The marble shattered onto the floor.
"Oi!" Sergeant Sutton shouted. "Stop right there!"
"What now?" James looked to Raab.
"Whatcha think? We run, right?" Raab dropped the bag and charged towards Sergeant Sutton.
"Into him?" James ran behind him. His legs turned to jelly, and he staggered backwards. He raised his arms to his ears. "Raab?"
It's all fuzzy. Raab's legs swayed from side to side. He looked up at Sergeant Sutton. You. "You want to kill me!" He lunged at him, going for his throat. "Get back! Keep away from me!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. "I said get back!" He looked to James; the knife in his hand shook with his grip. "Sir, do we kill him? Never mind. He is evil!" He jolted the knife up and sliced across Sergeant Sutton's cheek.
"Raab?" James stepped back and fell onto his back. "S-Sutton?" What's wrong with him?
Sergeant Sutton reached for his poké ball, jumped backwards and kicked Raab in the shin. "Vesx!" He backed away once more, circling himself back around until he was nearly standing in front of James.
However, Raab lunged forward once more at Sergeant Sutton. "Die! Just die! It is all your fault. It is all your fault, all I can see…" He slashed at Sergeant Sutton's stomach. His eyes stared at him like the dagger in his hand. However, the blade shook in his hand as James grabbed hold of it.
"Vesx thunder punch!" Sergeant Sutton pushed Raab back, and he staggered. The electabuzz swung his fist at Raab, but Raab pivoted on his back foot and grabbed James, holding him in front of his chest.
"I'm just like you! You Lords don't understand! You are all evil! The sooner you all die, the better. The people should rule themselves. Fuck Elktan! Fuck Colran! Damn Kilgor!" Raab stepped backwards again, scowling. His eyes darted from side to side and locked briefly onto the electabuzz.
Sergeant Sutton wiped the blood from the cut and pointed at Raab. His electabuzz rushed Raab but suddenly changed direction, sliding along the floor and into the marble on the floor. It flew just above the floor and hit Raab's shin. He dropped the knife and grabbed his leg. Quickly, Sergeant Sutton darted forward and grabbed Raab's wrists. Taking the handcuffs from his belt, he clipped Raab's hands inside them and took a deep breath.
Unbuttoning his jacket, Sergeant Sutton placed it over Raab's shoulders and walked over to James. The sound of the Lords' and soldiers' footsteps running into the hall made him turn to the door briefly before taking James's hands. He turned his left hand over and saw the deep indent from the knife carved across.
Shivering, James looked at Sergeant Sutton. "It doesn't hurt badly." He pushed against Sergeant Sutton, and blood was wiped along his shirt.
"What were you two thinking?!" Captain Bourbabel's voice echoed through the room. "We have a known mass murderer on the loose, a potentially very dangerous Colran Lord – Lord Interrogator Markus Spitz is supposedly in the area, and a Colran lady is on the loose with an electrode of a level strength around seventy, and you two decide to go out after curfew without permission or even so much as a note!" He scowled as he glared at them both. "You two are irresponsible. You are old enough to know better, and Hanson Rei attacked you not long ago. What would I have done if you had been hurt or killed?"
James started down at his hand. "Sorry. I just…" He stared at Captain Bourbabel. "You lost. How could you lose? I lost to you… and you lost to her. What does that make me?"
"What were you idiots thinking?" Lord Ikur shouted. He walked over to James and glanced at his injury. "Stupid boy. At least the bleeding is starting to stop. It will scar, but it's not as bad as I thought." He got up from the floor and walked to Raab with a quieter voice. "Look at me. It isn't real. Whatever you are thinking, it isn't real. You are in Fehahra. You are with a doctor." He lifted Raab onto his feet. "Get him back to the school and take him to a quiet room, give him some water, something to eat, and keep him in reality. You, what is his name?"
"You? I have a name." James crossed his arms. "His name is Raab, er… Finnis. Lord Ikur I am really sorry…"
With a sigh, Lord Ikur looked to Captain Bourbabel. "That doesn't matter right now. Your friend is having a post-traumatic stress attack caused by something or another, and I need to pull up his medical history. In the meantime, please get him somewhere warm, safe and quiet."
The lampent light flickered outside, and a soft purple light beamed onto the street. Raab stared down at his hands. And back up at Sergeant Sutton, but breathed a deep breath of relief. Sergeant Sutton wrapped an arm around Raab's shoulder and nodded.
"Come, James." Captain Bourbabel beckoned, and like a lost shinx, James walked over to him, staring at his hand. "It looks sore. James, I can't believe how reckless you were, but it's done. Let's talk about classes. Have you thought about what you want to take?"
A little blood splattered from the cut onto the cobblestones. I thought he said it was stopped. James continued his stare downwards. "I saw you throw up."
Captain Bourbabel sighed. "Yes, I overdid it. You see, I am psychic, but using my abilities can put a strain on my body. Throwing the Lady off of me without any other actions was jarring." Captain Bourbabel stopped and looked down at James. "You want to be able to fight, huh?"
"I guess. I sort of want to take battle skills: advanced, physical training, a free period, a free period, another free period, pilot's basics, art, and a free period. Since I am stuck here doing this crap." James jabbed Captain Bourbabel in the arm.
"You need to pick something for Core D; you can't not, and I think it would be good to take one other thing too. Do that, and I won't throw you in jail for tonight's little stunt. Make sure one of those is Elkrat. And as you don't have a flying type, pilot's basics isn't happening." Captain Bourbabel smirked at him. He took off his jumper and handed it to James.
"I don't know. I don't want to do any of those. I guess I can do a work-study and star studies, and fine, I'll take stupid Elkrat too."
The school building appeared again, and the gate was locked tight. The stone brick walls were cut into the building walls. Something which made Captain Bourbabel feel a sense of déjà vu. He leaned forward and stuck his key into the lock.
"Come on. It is getting very late. The feast will start in an hour or two, and I am sure you are starving. Also, Lieutenant Tomilson was looking for you." Captain Bourbabel stepped onto the battlefield. "Let's see what you can do." He reached his hand out and pulled it back to his left shoulder. Quickly, he flicked the latch on the poké ball and tossed the ball forward. It hit the ground and snapped up back to his hand. Not many civilians have a magnet ring for a callback. In the field, a skorupi appeared, rattling his tail and looking at Captain Bourbabel with its big blue eyes.
"I… I never noticed how dumb you throw." James smirked. "Okta, let's go!"
"At least I can throw. You don't have that option." Captain Bourbabel rested his hands behind his back, and the skorupi raised its two-pronged tail, rattling the bone stingers on the tips. With a hiss, the skorupi scurried forward, launching himself at the onix, opening his jaw to chomp down on the rocky body of the larger pokémon. As the tiny jaw came crashing down, the onix swung around her tail, hardening it with an iron coating. The jaw locked onto the metal tail, preventing the toxins from entering her body.
"Good job, Okta!" James jumped up and punched the air. "Follow it through!" She whipped her tail forward with the skorupi locked on, flinging him towards the edge of the marked field. However, he rolled over onto his little legs and skidded back, side-stepping into a hiss once more. He is panting. He must be hurt from the landing, James thought. "I guess I am just plain and simply stronger than you!"
"A type advantage does not a victor make." Captain Bourbabel remained poised. Type advantages have limitations. I have always encouraged my children to learn what their pokémon can and cannot do. Alas, a child, like James, merely sees types at face value. His nose twitched, and his eyes focused on the battle. "Do it, use x-scissor!" The words had barely left Captain Bourbabel's lips when the skorupi extended the sharp claws on his legs. His onix exposed her joint a moment ago, pushing skorupi away. The sharp claws slashed across the tip of one of the boulders of her body, and she let an almighty screech.
"Okta! Alright, that's it, counter it with an iron tail!" James stabbed his finger into the air. His onix swung her iron-coated tail at the skorupi on her body. She screeched again, wiggling around, trying to find the skorupi.
However, the skorupi bounced off her and back down onto the field. He rattled his tail once more. His purple body flickered black as he shuddered with anticipation, showing his battle armour under his rickety exoskeleton.
"Okta! Stop!" James called out over her screeching.
Kill him, James. You know you want to. Give us blood and his soul.
James's eyes began to glow a murky brown. "No!" He dropped to the floor, holding his head. "I won't. I am not a murderer. I am not. I want to beat him, not kill him."
"James, are you okay?" Captain Bourbabel ran over. "What's wrong?" He raised the poké ball, and the skorupi returned to him.
"I am okay… I think I just want to go back to the Bryson's now. I mean home."
"I know, James. I won't tell, but… you need to guard that secret with your life." Captain Bourbabel sat down and crossed his legs. "You are a good kid, I know that, but if someone like Lord Captain Jackson or Lord Elite Piscar were to find out, you will die."
"Hey there! I am here. Sorry, I'm late. I've only been back in town for an hour. I am just glad you got my chatot mail." Lieutenant Tomilson walked over. His brown hair was messed up. "Sorry, I was dealing with some personal affairs. Hey James. I'll take you home." He picked James up by the arm. "Sorry for being late, Captain." He raised a hand and waved. The gate closed behind them.
"Alright… so what were those personal thingies?" James puffed, raised his poké ball, and returned his onix to him. He quickly walked closer to Lieutenant Tomilson, allowing the sense of calm to wash over him.
The Lieutenant smiled at him. "Oh, don't worry. I heard there was an absolute ton of action here today. Sorry, I missed it all. I heard the Captain got his arse handed to him."
"Yeah, some Lady was beating him up until he used his psychic powers. I think I'm psychic, too." James looked to the stars as they escaped the blanket of the clouds overhead.
"Oh really?" Lieutenant Tomilson chuckled. "How come?"
"Don't laugh but… I've been hearing voices. They keep telling me to kill people. That's not normal, is it?" James stopped walking along the cobbles. His fingers were shaking.
"No. Even in our society, where psychics do indeed exist, that is certainly not healthy. Why don't we see Lord Ikur? On second thoughts, he will probably kill you and me for bothering him on his day off. You know he works very hard."
"You and him, the Captain, I mean, you are always really nice to me. I don't get it. You are Elktan." James slammed his trainers into a stone, and it skipped along the cobbles and into a bucket.
"Elkran - one day, you'll get it right. Is that surprising?" Lieutenant Tomilson stuck his hands into his pockets.
James nodded. "And you said you got into trouble a lot like me." He walked again down the path, eyeing the Bryson's home.
"Yes. I made a friend in Kirot Akalt who was just like me. Cohnen was younger than me, but he and I used to get into all sorts. At least when I wasn't sick. I used to get sick a lot as a teenager. It didn't help he and I didn't get to see each other as much as we'd like – after all, he got recruited to the Guard." Lieutenant Tomilson knocked on Bryson's door. "Anyway, behave and sleep well." He raised his hand and waved, walking away down the street. He brushed his hair out of his face.
If the electric stone user is here, it is true. Kapora and Madison are indeed making their move. Lieutenant Tomilson leaned over the rope bridge and stared into the river's writhing current below. If it is true about the Captain, then we know something more. Dark, fighting, dragon, fairy, normal, rock, steel and water are all in possession of Lord Piscar – possession isn't quite right, Antonio – the possessors of the stones are under the influence of Lord Elite Piscar. Oh, and psychic. The electric stone is under the influence of Lord Elite Madison. The rest of the stones, well… they will appear again. I have a hunch about a few of them… Time to investigate some more.
"Incaresta!" Sergeant Sutton called. "I am glad you managed to get the troublemaker home. Let me tell you about the incident up at the holy building earlier."
"Oh? I take it. Drinks are on me then," Lieutenant Tomilson replied.
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