Green's Free Use Journey

Celadon City - Part 5

The underground path was a long and dark journey that took hours to traverse on foot. Although with Jackson, the journey was days to Leah. An eternity of non-stop questions. Who was she? What was her rank? What team did she use? Why? Where was she from? Who does she work under? What’s her favourite food? No matter how many answers she gave him, it was never enough. There was always another. The only relief she got from the interrogation was the few seconds it took Jackson to scribble down her answer into a pocket-sized notepad. As Leah mindlessly fed him answers, she focused on the lights above.

“Row 100, Row 101, Row 102,” She counted in her head.

The tunnel had 150 rows. While a trivial fact, she was glad she remembered it. Each row was a step closer away from this nightmare. Suddenly, one of Jackson’s questions snapped her back into focus.

“You look like Abby, are you guys sisters?” He asked.

“Abby? I don’t know an Abby,” Leah said.

“Huh, weird.”

Jackson flipped through his notepad and held it up to her. The kid had somehow managed to draw a near life-like portrait of Abby.

“See, you guys have the same face just different hair and-”

“I’m not her sister!” Leah snapped.

Jackson flinched and pulled back his notepad.

“Okay sorry…”

“I don’t have a sister, just a brother. One brother,” Leah said.

“Older or younger?”

“Younger, by a minute.”

“Oh, twins, cool,” Jackson scribbled in his notepad, “What’s he look like?”

“Like me. Same face, same eyes, same hair. Just taller but only a little,” Leah began but cut herself off.

She would have kept going, if it weren’t for the smile she felt forming on her face.

“Why am I telling him the truth?” Leah thought.

Jackson’s questions stopped. He went quiet as he drew with his stubby pencil. No longer was he scribbling, his pencil moved methodically across the page. Each stroke looked to be made with intent. The tunnel fell quiet. Only their echoing footsteps, the humming of the lights and the scratching on Jackson’s pencil filled the air. Leah looked back to the rows of lights. She’d lost count but no matter, the light of the end of the tunnel was coming into view. Just a white dot for now but it was quickly growing.

“Is this right?” Jackson asked and held up his notepad.

Leah glanced at the drawing.

“Close enough.”

It was perfect.

A shrill buzz interrupted their quiet. The ringing of a transceiver Tiberius had given her.

“What’s that?” Jackson asked, sounding alarmed.

“Just this,” Leah pulled the device from her jacket pocket, “probably an update from HQ.”

Leah held it so that the screen faced away from Jackson. Three words blinked on the screen.

“Attack is underway.”

“New intel says the guys chasing your friends have back up, there’ll be goons hanging around the exit of the underground path,” Leah told Jackson.

“No problem! We’ll show ‘em!” Jackson thrust his belt forward, showing off his pokéballs and badges.

“That’s the spirit!” Leah said.