Second Chances

Chapter II - Not Quite Home

"Amber, listen," her mom spoke urgently as soon as the door shut behind Jason. Her face was unnervingly serious. "I need you to follow him."

          "What? No! Why would I do that?" Amber protested immediately.

          "Because I'm worried about him, sweetie."

          "His fur being messy isn't a reason to follow him, mom."

          "It's beyond that. Something isn't right. Please, just go see how he lives at home. I don't think just being messy could get him in that state."

          "Mom..."

          "Please. You don't have to stalk him, just follow him home. That's all."

          The truth was, Amber was curious herself about Jason. He was a strange Eevee, and her mom was right. Something was off about him.

          "...All right. Fine," she answered with a huff, even though she secretly agreed with her mother.

          "Thank you. Don't be gone too long, okay?"

          "Yeah, yeah."

          Amber warily cracked open the front door, just in case Jason was still nearby, but there was no sign of him. He couldn't have gone too far on those little legs, though. Especially with his scent lingering behind him.

          From the small front porch extended a cobblestone path, made of smooth stones of varying color; it extended straight for a while until it met the road, and Jason's trail followed it perfectly.

          As she trotted down the path, Amber let her mind wander. Jason seemed a little taken aback by the scarf, she remembered. Did he recognize it? Maybe... had he known Oliver? That was unlikely, but perhaps they had met like her and Jason did. Or maybe not.

          The sun was setting, so it wasn't bright enough to set Amber on edge. Even though she had an unusual coloration for a Leafeon, sunny weather still gave her way too much energy. Most Leafeons enjoyed the extra boost, even going so far as to replace coffee, but to Amber it just felt... artificial. Like her muscles wanted to move on their own, even if she was exhausted.

          The sudden texture of asphalt under her paw startled Amber out of her thoughts; she was about to walk into the road, with one of her paws already placed onto the dark, gritty surface. Not like there'd be any traffic, though; the only vehicles on the roads were school buses and public transportation, which ran on pre-set schedules. Cars and stuff like that went out of use a long time ago, since few could properly pilot them. In her Anthropology class, Amber learned how humans apparently drove them everywhere. But now that they were all gone, there wasn't really a need for that kind of mass transportation. Public transit was useful, of course, so the roads were still maintained.

          Here, Jason's scent veered off to the right, so Amber stepped back onto the cobble path and continued in that direction. His trail held steady, following the road for quite a while. Eventually, the bridge came into view. The bridge. Amber tended to avoid it when she could, but it seems that Jason was leading her across. There was no other way across the gorge.

          As she got closer, Amber saw someone on the bridge. Sitting near the edge, staring forwards at nothing. It was Jason. What was he doing?

          To avoid being seen, Amber sidestepped into the brush beside the path, keeping an eye on him. He was almost hard to see, but it was just barely bright enough to make him out from this distance.

          After waiting for what felt like an eternity, certainly long enough for the sun to fully set, Jason finally stood up and kept walking. Amber quickly stood and continued following him, but stopped for a split second when she was about to step foot on the bridge. Crossing it felt like an act of sacrilege. The bridge itself was built from beautiful white stone, like some sort of temple. It reflected light like a mirror, shining like the sun at midday. Humans built it, Amber had read, a long time ago, when the city was still new. The book even said that they had the help of "Pokémon" during construction. It took a while to find out what that term meant; apparently it was what humans would refer to creatures like Amber as. But the author was definitely using a euphemism. Everyone knew that human enslaved "Pokémon," using devices they called "Poké Balls." It was all a bit somber, but it was fact. No one can change history.