Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Placing The Pieces ❯ Turns ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Part Five
"Turns"       It was one of those mornings that felt like a whole day. Graying clouds blotting the air above so no single speck of blue was visible, Sky shivered slightly in the increasing coldness as she walked down the alley. The rough gusts of winds pushed at her with force, but she continued on. The only worry Sky had was the possibility that Jason may have chosen elsewhere to rest because of the clear signs of an oncoming storm. But her worries vanished at the sight of his familiar figure slouching against the same wall he always seemed to occupy.

      As Sky approached, Jason looked up at her with disgruntled surprise. "What are you doing here?"

      Having no desire to sit on the freezing cement, Sky remained standing but rubbed her arms slightly, trying to build up some heat. "Visiting you, of course." She glanced up the sky that was surely threatening rain. "Are you alright staying out here in the cold? It's probably gonna storm soon."

      Jason jerked his head away from her direction. "I'm fine!" he snapped, sounding annoyed. "And I don't just hang out here all day, I know other places I can take shelter in if it starts raining or anything. You'd be surprised at what you can get used to."

      At Jason's words, Sky's thoughts drifted on Darien. "Well, I sure hope there's still things out there you can never get used to," she murmured. Almost forgetting the bitter chill, Sky grew silent as lost she herself in her own mind.

      "Hey, if you're finished, will you leave already?"

      Sky jumped slightly. "No, I'm not finished. I've just... been thinking," she replied, smiling slightly. "I had to do the job interview for this new police officer. His name's Darien. He intrigues me for some reason."

      Jason smirked. "What could possibly be so intriguing about a person you've just met?"

      "I don't know for sure, but he's so calm. It's like there's nothing he needs to be concerned about, nothing that he'd have to put effort into," Sky tried explaining. She paused for a moment, then continued. "He sees right through me, but he's like a shaded window. I can't see him."

      "And what the hell are all these guesses supposed to mean?"

      Hearing this, Sky had a strong urge to laugh. Not at Jason, but at herself. It was true - all of these comments were just guesses.

      "Listen to yourself," Sky replied, passing with just a grin. "You just talk without thinking first. You don't keep it inside of yourself. I suspect Darien is hearing me like I'm hearing you, except I'm not saying everything."

      "Is that good or bad?" Jason asked.

      "You're reckless with blurted words. Bad."

      "I was talking about Darien!" he replied angrily.

      This time Sky did laugh. "I'm not sure," she admitted, considering the question. "Depends on what he finds."

      I'm open. *****************************************************

 &n bsp;    Several hours later into the day as twilight was emerging, James was closing the car door behind him as he sat down at the wheel. Pulling his car out of the driveway, he drew his gaze to the darkening sky, and then began to drive on. The roads seemed strangely lonely, even regarding wild pokemon. Large groups of Pidgeys and Spearows quickly flew away to take shelter within the large shady trees that were heavily rustling in the strong gusts of wind. An occasional drop of rain splattered onto the car windows here and there.

      He was driving towards Sky's house. To start over. The drive would be long, probably around forty-five minutes - Sky lived fairly far away from James's own house so she could be closer to the police station she worked at. But James didn't care because he knew there was no other way. Sky's work hours were unpredictable, often differing by day, but he knew she should come home around the time he'd be arriving. Since she doesn't have to drive down to my house to visit me, James thought, his heart sinking.

      As James drove down a straight barren highway, he began to grow unsure of himself. What would he say to Sky once he met her? He had an excuse to visit Sky since he had found her lost cellphone previously, but he would still seem like a random stranger arriving upon her doorstep. What would she think of that?

      These worries clashed with his determination, but these feelings were the only things keeping James company as he drove on. After what seemed like a long period of time, he finally arrived at Sky's house. By the time he had reached this destination, the rain was now steadily rushing down from the sky. Pulling into the driveway with his windshield wipers rhythmically moving back and forth, James stared up at the sight before him in the darkness. None of the lights in her house were on.

      She's not here yet, James let the obvious conclusion tell him. And yet he felt himself open the car door to the bitterly cold rain riding on the strong rushing wind and stepped out, shutting it behind him, leaving car still running. As he walked up to the front door, the rain only seemed to intensify in strength. He reached out to ring the doorbell and then stood there waiting, brown hair plastered to the sides of his wary scarred face, already dripping wet. But as his clothes began to grow heavier as they quickly soaked up the rushing water from above, he knew it was no use. Sky must still be at work.

      James did not feel disappointed yet. He knew there was a large possibility this might happen. Seemingly oblivious to the wild weather throwing itself upon him, his walk back towards the car was slow. After he pulled the door open and sat inside, James turned the ignition off and leaned his head back, wet and shivering, the steady drone of rain pounding down on the car echoing in his ears.

      He didn't care how long it took. He would wait for her to come home. *****************************************************

       Sky stood frowning at the darkness and violent weather rushing outside the window she was gazing through. I hope Jason's doing okay, she thought. As for herself, if she didn't start heading home immediately, the outside conditions might become too dangerous to drive through. Just as she sighed and turned around to start heading down the hallway, the same male police officer that had rushed towards Sky yesterday came towards her again, his expression serious.

      "I need to show you something. Come with me," he ordered.

      Sky obeyed and followed the officer, both of them walking side-by-side at a brisk pace. "What is it?" Sky asked.

      "Today we received an electronic message from Crescent with word about the kidnapping of the gym leader. Trying to bargain with us for information about the mayor," the officer explained, gritting his teeth.

      "But she knows more about him than we do! Is this a ransom?"

      "Actually, no. The bargain was that if we gave Crescent some information, they'd stop their forceful interrogation of her."

      "'Forceful interrogation'... what exactly are they doing to her?" Sky asked, not sure if she really wanted to hear the answer.

      The officer's expression grew darker as he remained silent, continuing to lead Sky through the hallways and into the main office. "We received some photos electronically too, as proof. And no, even though we've been working all day, we haven't been able to trace the message." He sighed and showed Sky to the computer. "This is what Crescent means by 'forceful interrogation'."

      Sky leaned down towards the bright screen to stare at the photos attached with the electronic message. Her insides seemed to twist unpleasantly as she scrolled through six pictures. They were not of the gym leader, but of the gym leader's pokemon. Three of them were locked within small cages, looking distressed but otherwise healthy. The other three were sprawled on the surface of their cages, dead. Their deaths showed clear signs of being slow and painful. Their ruffled fur was full of deep gashes, stained with dried blood. Each of the cages was scarred with various bloody paw prints or claw prints depending on the pokemon. The photos could not have been taken very long after they were tortured.

      The sight was sickening. Sky pulled her horrified gaze away from the screen. "Destroy the gym leader mentally first, huh?" Sky muttered darkly. She could not even imagine how horrible it must've been for the gym leader to witness her own pokemon being brutally killed, assuming that's what Crescent had occur.

      "Looks like that's what they're doing," the officer agreed. "Do you want me to e-mail all of this to you?"

      "Yeah," replied Sky.

      She then left the main office, heading towards the direction of the other private offices. Sky wanted to show the photos to Darien to see what he thought of all this. Her footsteps echoing through the bare empty hallways, she arrived upon the door that she knew led to Darien's office and knocked first before she made to turn the handle. It was locked. Just as Sky began to wonder if Darien had gone home already, he appeared at the end of the hallway and stepped towards her, expressionless as ever.

      Sky was relieved to see him. "Have you heard about the message?" she asked immediately.

      "Yes, but I don't know many details about it," Darien replied.

      "Here, then let me show you. I've asked for it to be e-mailed to me." Sky gestured for Darien to follow. She quickly led him down the hallways and towards her own office, both of them walking in silence.

      After stepping inside her quiet office, Sky led Darien over towards her computer and opened up the e-mail with a few clicks. She then stepped back and let Darien lean down to observe the photos, watching his face carefully. As his eyes flickered from one photo to the next, Darien's expression still remained smoothly obscured.

      "What do you think of it?" Sky asked.

      "I think it's strongly inhumane. But probably effective."

      "Yeah. Well, I'd hope it's not effective," Sky replied. Both of them began to slowly walk outside the office. "Our gym leader has a strong personality. She's a good person that knows when and when not to say things."

      "So then she has good morals?" Darien seemed to be leading the way more than Sky as they arrived upon the hallway Sky had stood in previously, one of the few within the building that had windows revealing the outside world around them. "Then what morals would she be fighting for with her endurance? The sake of her pokemon, or the sake of the people in this city? Both surely have meaning for her."

      Sky bit her lip as she gazed out at the treetops leaning over in the strong blustering wind, rain pounding down on the windows. There was a rumble of thunder from somewhere in the distance. "Of course they do. It's true that she's faced with a very hard decision."

      "And it seems like we haven't been able to help her," Darien noted, also turning to gaze out the window.

      "Yeah." Sky furrowed her brow. "But, speaking of morals... what in the world could drive somebody to do something so cruel, to apparently not even care about their inhumane behavior?"

      "Well, what is it that drives you to act so reckless?" Darien spoke smoothly. "You realize it but you don't seem to do much to prevent it."

      When Sky glanced over at him, Darien's gaze was now turned towards her, his startlingly bright blue eyes boring into her own. "But that.. I mean, that's not affecting anybody else, just myself!" Sky spoke hurriedly. She found she didn't like being compared to Crescent.

      Darien did not let go of the topic. "And so Crescent is acting to make sure he's protected, while you're acting to hurt yourself more. How ill-moraled a person's intentions are can be interpreted differently."

      Sky lowered her head. "People's intentions... I never said they could really be either good or bad."

      Darien continued to speak smoothly and calmly. "Then think of those photos of the pokemon. Bloody, dead. Is that what makes Crescent the bad guy?"

      She raised her head to stare into his eyes again, willing them to understand her. "I don't divide people into 'good guys' and 'bad guys', good or evil. It all just depends on what they want, why they want it, their intentions, their own definition of what's good."

      Darien remained silent for a moment, his expression finally changing into an interested one. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "So then what would you call Crescent and other criminals?"

      "They're simply what we're going up against. So, I guess I would just call them... the enemy," Sky answered slowly.

      A blinding flash of lighting struck across the sky outside the window, briefly lighting up the hallway for a moment, Sky and Darien's figures sending scattered shadows across the ground. Another rumble of thunder sounded, lower and louder this time. As the two stood facing each other, Sky had a sudden strange desire to touch Darien's hair, smooth and black. Just to run her fingers through it.

      Darien tilted his head slightly. "There are things I wouldn't change about myself either. For example, my mind cannot be changed. It will always head in the same direction, never turning, never straying far." He narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly through tight lips. Two more jagged lines of lightning flashed, illuminating him, standing tall and staring down at - yet through - Sky.

      Sky gazed up at him, slightly breathless at his first revealing of his own flaws. Neither of them said anything more, and so Darien turned around to walk in the opposite direction.

      "Wait!" Sky finally choked out. She glanced briefly out the window again. "Are you heading home now? It's probably really dangerous to drive the roads in this weather. I'm just going to stay here overnight."

      Darien continued walking but turned to look over his shoulder at her as he did. "Yes, I'm heading out. I can't stay here overnight; there are other places I would rather be. Oh, and..." He turned his head back forwards and away from Sky. "...I don't think you have much say in telling other people to watch out for danger when you can't watch out for it either." *****************************************************

 &nb sp;    A few hours had passed, but James still remained awake and alert, patiently waiting, keeping his eye on the rearview mirror for the familiar sight of Sky's car emerging through the darkness. But as the sound of the rain pounding on the ceiling of the car grew almost deafening and thunder and lightning began to emerge, time slowly seeping by as the storm intensified, the sight he was waiting for never appeared.

      James glanced at the clock. It was very late - almost midnight. Sky always arrived home from work at least by now. But as a particularly strong rush of wind shook the car slightly, James remembered the option of staying overnight at the police station, an oppurtunity that could be taken advantage of during nights like this when bad weather threatened the roads.

      The realization struck him like a knife - Sky wasn't coming home tonight.

      Defeated, he turned the car's key and the ignition rumbled on again. It was time to head back towards his own home. There was no use staying any longer. James pulled out of the driveway and began the long drive down the highway. The road seemed to go on almost endlessly this time. James was forced to drive slowly, as he could hardly see the area in front of him through the heavy walls of rain and rapid flashing lightning illuminating the sky.

      As James drove, his thoughts wandered. Despite forgetting him and being freed of her guilt, apparently Sky hadn't yet quit her job. Why? What was keeping her there? At least she had somewhere to go. James felt like he had nowhere. He almost dreaded stepping back inside his house with the dissatisfaction of knowing he had failed. He wished Sky were there to greet him, to welcome him home and into her arms.

      But then he remembered the last nights he had spent with Sky, and her unhappiness. How had he felt, staring into that sullen face of hers across the table? James remembered the lack of longing for her. He remembered only wishing for her to feel better and to be freed. Well, that's what's happened, hasn't it? James reminded himself. He imagined her giving him one of her quick kisses on the cheek as she rushed out the door. Is that what she had wanted at all? Is that what he had wanted at all?

      ...'Bye!'...

      The highway was turning and branching off into different streets. James stared up at the green signs above informing drivers of the directions they were heading in, but the all the white letters upon them looked blurry and smudged through the window. Feeling light-headed, James quickly took a turn down another road, finding himself unable to concentrate on his driving. Thunder rumbled overhead as the passing colors became more blurry. Through the rain, James was eventually able to notice his surroundings appeared very unfamiliar. He had taken a wrong turn, and was now thoroughly lost.

      That was when James noticed his own hands tightly gripping the steering wheel before him appeared blurry too. He was faintly aware of the wetness slowly rolling down his cheeks. I'm tired of this, James thought, mentally letting it all out. I'm tired of this!

      Wheels screeching, he suddenly pulled over on the side of the road and stopped. Closing his eyes against the blinding light of large amounts of lightning, James rested his head down against the surface of the steering wheel and silently let the tears stream down his face.

      James was not exactly sure what he was grieving for. He only knew that he had given up, let go, and that sometimes even the wrong decisions were right, and vice versa.

      It was only after a long time did James start up the car again and continue driving, attempting to remove himself from the unfamiliar surroundings through the weather and his grief and tears. Time now seemed non-existent, and he could not remember clearly where he was heading, but eventually James found himself on the driveway of Clara's mansion instead of his own home. There were still lights on. He did not know what had led him there but he did not care. Stumbling out of the car and into the driving rain, he trudged up to her doorstep and rang the doorbell.

      The door opened almost immediately, Clara emerging, staring up at James with an expression of shock and surprise. "James! What's wrong?! Come inside, you're soaking wet!"

      Thankful that Clara had not asked him what he was doing there, James stepped inside to the quietness and warmth of Clara's home as she shut the door behind him. "I tried to go visit Sky. I drove to her house," he explained softly. James was finding it hard to speak.

      "So how'd it go?" Clara asked fearfully. Her gaze seemed to be locked onto James's face, never looking away. He vaguely wondered what he looked like, standing there before her dripping in rain and his own tears.

      "She wasn't home, and I waited, but she never came. She must be staying overnight at the police station because of the bad weather." James closed his eyes. "She's still doing her job."

      "What are you going to do?"

      There was a pause.

      "Nothing."

      And then he erupted into soft sobs, still standing there with his eyes shut tightly. James felt Clara step up closer and wrap her arms around him, pressing herself against him in a tight hug.

      "I'm sorry," she whispered. And for the first time since he had met her, James heard deep sadness soaking in Clara's voice. She truly meant it.

      And so he wrapped his own arms around her, returning the embrace. He did not care that he had only just met her, just as he did not care that it was Clara that had erased Sky's memory. As they stood there hugging in silence except for the muffled sounds of thunder outside and James's quiet sobs, he had a better idea of what he was grieving for. He was not shedding tears for Sky, nor himself. He was shedding tears for what used to be.. and the feelings he had lost forever.