Origin Story: Part 1 - Haunted by the Truth

CH16: Swift Withdrawal

A deep grumble left your breath as you, once again, woke up in the middle of the night, your own anxiety and worries keeping you from getting any good sleep. You slowly shifted out of your bed, trying not to wake up Spirit, though you knew he was already awake, and you slipped on a warm coat and a pair of shoes to keep your feet warm. You grabbed your keys as you opened your door, letting the eevee walk out before you, before closing and locking the door behind you. You sighed, closing your eyes for a moment as you stood in the dimly lit hallway, glaring at your door in irritation, before barely giving Spirit a glance as you made your way down the long narrow hallway.

You couldn't wait to finally reach another port town. It's been ages since you've seen land. You're beginning to think you should have just walk about the town when you had first landed, but then again you were scared, at the time, and your own fears would have probably caused you to not board the ship after you left.

You had this feeling that something was wrong. Something just wasn't right around here, and you couldn't put your finger on it.

First off, you could tell that this Team Rocket seemed to have people who weren't fully dedicated to the group. In fact, you've heard various people whispering to each other, seemingly behind your back, about you. A girl with blue eyes and black hair, and sometimes more specifically then that. Now, it's a girl with brown hair... which is creepy, in your honest opinion.

You haven't been confronted, like when that grunt Josh showed up with one of his accomplices, to kidnap you, for no real reason, but you've been put on edge ever since. It also seems that Marko is seemingly too close, with Rickie casually, but still, looking and watching from a distance.

And even so... it feels like this Team Rocket wants to keep you around, for some reason. The only thing that hasn't kept you from stealing a stolen water pokemon and fleeing is what Lt. Surge told you. That someone, some guy, is waiting for you... who wants to see you... who may know you in some way.

But probably doesn't. Your grandfather probably just feels obligated to take you in, whoever he is.

That's the thing. How can you trust someone you don't even know? Your mother never spoke about him, only speaking about the one or two times they had met in the past, while your father refused to talk about his parents. His mother... your grandmother was a woman he never knew. He did clearly state that she died giving birth to him, but his father... Why did he despise him so much? Should you despise him as well?

You don't like to jump to conclusions, but your head is spinning and you couldn't help but worry.

Monsters are around every corner, and if you're not careful you'll be swallowed up along with them. You'll be their next victim, or worse. You'll end up like those monsters you fear... somehow...

You don't know why you had such a dream, about being chased and turning into one of them, but you have this nagging feeling that if you see this relative of yours, you'll end up just like the monsters you fear. The real question is, what do you fear? What is it that you are afraid of becoming?

As you walked into the nearby break room, you were surprised to notice that there was someone seated at the couch, a laptop on his lap, with his smooth dark brown hair a tad messy and bedridden, as if he couldn't sleep as well and came to the break room for the nice lighting and calming atmosphere. As the man's head turned to glance at you, you wondered if you should leave, but he smirked, a grin you haven't seen in a long while, before looking back to his laptop. "Couldn't sleep, kid?"

"Nightmares," you responded casually, Spirit walking over to the man as you walked into the kitchen area, grabbing a cup of water before walking to the couch, sitting down beside him and sighing deeply to yourself. "... Why are you up, Rickie? You should be asleep."