Memories
26
Friday, May 12th, 1989
The dawn peered through the window, leaving rays of sunlight painted on James's face as he hung off the side of the double bed. The curtains rustling echoed in the bedroom, and James's eyes shot open. His vision was blurry, and he let out a slight cough. His slung arm felt stiff and creaky as the white sling had been creased in the bed. He turned to see a blurry figure at the side of the bed.
"James?" Lieutenant Tomilson said. "Good morning!"
"No," groaned James as he rolled back over and buried his head in the pillow. "It's Friday… Can I stay in bed, please, just for a little bit?"
Lieutenant Tomilson nodded back at him and walked over to the window. He let out an ear-piercingly loud whistle, and a green squawkabilly flapped over, chirping away. Lieutenant Tomilson quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and scribbled something on it before handing it to the squawkabilly.
"Captain Clarence Bourbabel, please," he said.
"Captain Clarence Bourbabel," the squawkabilly repeated before flying off.
James peered up at him before muttering, "What was that about?"
"Oh, well, I was sending a message to Captain Bourbabel. He told me to keep an eye on you last night after you passed out in my bed," he said as he stretched. "I really hate sleeping on that sofa, but you needed the bed more. We will sort you out a proper bed soon if Tak agrees. Anyway, Captain Bourbabel said, if you are too tired today, you can sleep in, and on top of that, I get the day off." Lieutenant Tomilson opened one of the wooden drawers and pulled out a white shirt with a small graphic of a Magikarp on it saying "I'll fuck you up!" in Colrat on it.
James let out a half-awake giggle at the angry-looking magikarp. His stomach grumbled, and James stopped and rolled over to stare at the ceiling. Friday is a fast day…
Lieutenant Tomilson turned to see James's mood plummet once again. He slowly sat down on the bed and carefully placed his hand on James's forehead. The kid has a little bit of a fever, which is not surprising given everything. Lieutenant Tomilson tucked the blanket under James's arms and made sure not to knock James's broken bone accidentally. Lieutenant Tomilson took off his army jacket, white shirt and blue tie and changed into the magikarp shirt.
James glanced down and pulled on the sheets as he sunk into the mattress. He raised his hand and touched his head where the Lord had stabbed him with a needle and stitched his wound. The leavanny thread had tightened in his sleep, and the deep cut mainly had healed over. All he could feel were the small bumps where the thread was.
The door knocked, and James turned to the bedroom door. Lieutenant Tomilson quickly shouted out that he was coming and let out a small smile before walking downstairs and opening the door. James could hear the muttering of voices downstairs and tried to roll over to ignore them. The door closed, and James could hear footsteps coming up the stairs.
"… too early," James said, snuggling further under the blanket. "Bed warm, not going school, fuck off." James grabbed his pillow and hurled it at Young Lord Kek. To his surprise, Young Lord Kek let the pillow hit him in the face, knock off his blue Lord's hat and mess up his combed ginger hair.
"James! We do not throw things at a Lord!" Lieutenant Tomilson shouted, scowling.
"Don't give a shit." James's arm tingled, and his eyes drooped further as he rolled over, pillow-less. He could now hear the sound of Lieutenant Tomilson's dragapult snuffling and snoring under the bed, which made him groan even louder. James jumped out of the bed and looked around. "Where are my clothes?" He scowled as Lieutenant Tomilson paused.
"Er…" Lieutenant Tomilson said, a little dumbfounded.
"I figured you'd have forgotten to collect the kid's clothes, so I went to the store… and asked them about clothes for a medium-sized 16-year-old." Young Lord Kek raised a finger, grabbed his tauros leather satchel, and rolled it around to his front and opened it up. He pulled out a scrunched-up red polo shirt, brown shorts, and a pack of underwear and handed them over to James. "They gave me these." He looked at James and said in Colrat, "I think these will fit. They are probably a bit big; you are a small 16-year-old."
"I am 14!" James shouted, scrunching up his face.
"Well, that's going to be why they are a little big," Young Lord Kek replied, rubbing the back of his head and messing up the rest of his ginger hair.
James's voice softened as he looked at the shirt and said, "Thank you… um… sir… please don't look…" James was surprised when the two immediately stepped out of the room, and he pulled it over his head and let it hang down while he put the shorts on.
"Cohnen, you didn't have to," Lieutenant Tomilson said. "And I'm sorry for the kid's manners. He doesn't really conform. I guess that's what I get for wanting to take care of the kid. "
"You are my best friend. It's just like when we were younger. I used to have to help you, even though I was three years younger. Besides, the kid looks very tired. I am sure him forgetting to address me by my title is because of that." The two stepped back into the room, and Young Lord Kek sat down on the bed, tapped it and looked up at James. "James, isn't it?"
"Uhuh." James glanced at him for a moment, slowly edged over to the bed, and climbed onto the duvet. He crossed his legs, picked up his two poké balls and placed them on the bed.
"It sounds like you and the soldier… accidentally found an old prophecy chamber last night. Damn, that's teeter mad. Those things are so well buried. To find one with an alakazam in, wow. I guess giratina was smiling on you, huh?" Young Lord Kek paused and then said in Elkrat to Lieutenant Tomilson, "We need to seal it off." Young Lord Kek smiled as Lieutenant Tomilson nodded in agreement. "There are a lot of Lords out today," Young Lord Kek said in Colrat. "Try to keep out of trouble."
James went over to the window and stared out onto the street. There are a lot of Lords in town today. That's just great. James let out a loud sigh as he saw Lord Orag talking to some Lords he had never seen before. His stomach sickened, and he felt an anger creeping through him.
James felt Lieutenant Tomilson place his hand on his shoulder and whisper into his ear, "Hey, I'm going to go down to the hospital and check in on Sutton. Let's get you back into bed. Later, I am going to meet with the Lords to discuss my fostering you and see if things work out anyway. Sound good, Jamie? Cohnen, would you mind babysitting?"
James scrunched up his face and scowled before shouting, "I am not a baby!"
"Well, you aren't feeling well, right?" Young Lord Kek said as he patted James on the head. To his surprise, James nodded and leaned against Lieutenant Tomilson's shoulder. He glanced over at Lieutenant Tomilson, pulling back the duvet for James to climb back under.
Lieutenant Tomilson wrapped his arm around James and let him bury his head into his shoulder. "Let's get you all warmed up. Take care of him, Cohnen."
Young Lord Kek moved in front of Lieutenant Tomilson and tucked James in. "Let me know if you need anything to eat or drink, okay?"
"It's Friday… fasting day…" James muttered as he curled up.
Young Lord Kek nodded, understanding, and pushed the hair out of his face. "I see. Well, would you like me to read you a story?"
"I'm 14. I don't need stories." James scowled at him for a moment before his expression softened. "Okay, maybe one story, but it has to have lots of pokémon battles in, and none of that Elktan is the best crap."
Young Lord Kek nodded and walked over to the bookshelf, picked up a thin book and opened it before pushing his ginger hair back. "Alright, let's start."
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Sergeant Sutton lay on his back under the covers of the hospital bed. The blood that had been running down his ears due to the burst eardrums had been wiped clean, but the bruises on his arms and legs still ached. The chansey egg tablets they had given him had taken the edge off, but he still felt helpless. He opened his eyes to see Kitiku sitting beside his bed.
"Oh… Kitiku… hey! When did you…" Sergeant Sutton said, noticing Kitiku playing with his hands. "Sorry if I startled you. Er… hold on… is this right?" Sergeant Sutton lifted his bruised hands and attempted to sign, "I am sorry if I scared you."
Kitiku shook his head and signed back, "No. I am sorry I scared you."
"Ah, well… I was close. Myamix is hard. I wonder why they called it that, sign language, I mean." Sergeant Sutton looked around the room and then back at Kitiku. Damn, there are a lot of Lords around right now. What's going on? "Hey Kitiku, why are there so many Lords around?"
Kitiku shrugged and looked back up at Sergeant Sutton, eventually signing, "I don't know. They were around last night, too, after what happened." Kitiku looked at Sergeant Sutton and then looked back down at the floor. "I am just glad you are okay," he signed, took a deep breath and said, "M-my p-parents were f-fighting with Lieutenant T-Tomilson… about J-James…"
"Oh…" Sergeant Sutton saw Kitiku's eyes starting to well up.
"M-my…d-…" he stopped and signed, "Lieutenant Tomilson said some mean things and got mad about my daddy's past, and the Lords turned my room upside down because of the thing with James in the crypt… all my stuff got messed up and…"
"I am sorry, Kitiku," Sergeant Sutton whispered. "I know things are really tough for you right now. Why don't we play a game? I am not very good at smart people's games, but I can try. Would you like that?"
The door swung open, and two large Lords stepped inside. One had his hand on his sword, and the other was gripping hold of a mightyena on a leash. The mightyena flashed its teeth as it snarled. They both stared at Kitiku, who desperately tried to scramble onto his feet to give a half bow.
"We have some questions for you, Sergeant, surrounding the events of yesterday. Also, him." The blond-haired one pointed at Kitiku. "Neither of us speaks Colrat. Lord David will be in in a moment to take the kid away."
Kitiku felt the back of his shirt being grabbed, pulled off his feet, and dropped his crutches onto the floor. The wood hitting the ground echoed in the nearly silent room. Kitiku's heart started to race and ache from how fast it was going. His throat seized up, and his tongue felt like sandpaper rubbing on the top of his mouth. The Lord tossed him back into a heavy, gripping sensation around his stomach. He peered down to see eight thick blue fingers touching him, and two blue hands grabbed his arms. It's a machamp…. It's a machamp… it's going to kill me! I want my mum! It won't let go! It is going to throw me! I want my mummy! With his unbroken leg, Kitiku kicked out and started to cry as he was taken into the small doctor's office next door. He felt his ears ring, and he desperately squirmed, to no avail, as the powerful fighting-type pokémon intensified her grip.
"I am Lord David. You will answer my questions correctly, quickly, and to the point. What is your name?" Lord David asked as he entered the room, not even glancing at Kitiku.
That's a Lord. He is going to kill me. I want my mum! I want to go and be with my mummy! Machamp is going to kill me! I need my mum!" Kitiku's thoughts clouded his mind, and he opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. His tears poured down the side of his cheeks as the machamp tightened her grip.
"Not going to say anything?" Lord David shot Kitiku a look. "I don't care how sad, scared or hurt you are. You are a rule breaker. You are fortunate Captain Bourbabel has forbidden us from executing you." The Lord shook his head before muttering in Elkrat under his breath, "Jumped up punk. Who the fuck does he think he is telling us Lords what to do?" He pulled out a small vial to inject Kitiku with Muk poison and held it over him like a threat.
"Start talking, brat. What is your name? Why were you out after curfew? Who were you with? I know you are working for the Colran army, so if you tell me what you know, I'll take it easy on you. I'll give you the antidote, and the pain will stop." Lord David pulled Kitiku forward.
"Lord David, what do you think you are doing?" Lord Ikur shouted as he entered the room. "Kitiku, are you okay?"
Kitiku squirmed desperately, with fear in his eyes. The machamp let go, and Kitiku fell onto the floor.
"That child is 13!" Lord Ikur grabbed Lord David's shirt and shook him. "How dare you use truth serum on a 13-year-old child!"
"Kid didn't want to talk," Lord David choked out. "So I…"
"Kitiku uses Myamix to communicate! What is wrong with you? This isn't the reign of Ellio Piscar!" Lord Ikur let go of Lord David and sat Kitiku up. "Kitiku, are you okay?" He looked into the trembling boy's eyes, which were about to burst into tears.
"No, it is not." A figure stepped into the room.
"Captain Bourbabel, Lord Piscar…" Lord Ikur said, taken aback. To his surprise, Captain Bourbabel knelt next to Kitiku and placed his hand on his head. "This idiot ga-"
"I am aware, Aaron. I overheard you shouting. Give the child an antidote if he needs it, and tuck him into one of the hospital beds. Make sure he heals up." Lord Piscar turned to face Lord David. His green eyes narrowed, and his green hair flopped. "Inform the child's parents." Lord Piscar turned back to Clarence, and they walked out of the building together.
"I didn't expect you to come here. I assume Mylious isn't with you?" Clarence asked.
"You know Mylious… he is working as always. Grab Lord Interrogator Spitz for me. It is time."
"You know I do not approve of this." Clarence looked over at the Elkran ruler and scowled.
"He is the enemy," Lord Piscar said.
"As was I," Clarence retorted. "You spared me."
"That was different. You were his puppet and had no choice…" Lord Piscar trailed off and looked down the corridor toward the cells.