Anonymous {2nd Place in Miscellaneous (PWA 2018)}

Chapter 13: A Closure

Silence.

It cocooned the two men in an impenetrable stare for what seemed like an eternity as their brains both processed what had just taken place.

It was at that moment that Shin felt his eyebrows raise abruptly while he rested his sight on the trembling man before him. The void of sound the shallowness of the awkwardness was naked and bare, sending chills up his spine that burned his neck. Vapid nothingness gnawed at his consciousness. It lingered in the air, thick and heavy, like a blanket.

An expression of nausea soon appeared in Terry's eyes, as if what he had just declared began to lay on his skin like poison. His breaths quickened, whetting painfully with each inhale until Shin thought he was going to faint.

And suddenly, before the next sentence hit the roof of Shin's dried mouth, Terry had bolted in the other direction, his gasps struggling to keep up with him as his legs carried him with giant strides-- larger than Shin had ever seen him run before. He watched as his friend disappeared from sight when the looming glass doors slammed behind him, his frantic footsteps no longer audible.

Shin made the attempt to chase after him, somehow grab him by the shoulder, but his feet refused to obey. They stood grounded, paralyzed by Anonymous', who had witnessed the entire scene with just as much emotion as his partner. The Pokémon gaped up at the man with knowing desperation, and Shin only responded with an astonished exhale, short and tense. He stood there, completely at a loss for words.

"Shocker," a plain voice emitted from behind them. Shin turned to face a stoic Wendy, seemingly unperturbed by the previous events that had taken place. She stepped forward, crossing her arms like a wise man.

Shin blinked, steadying himself. "You heard it?" he asked cautiously, earning an impassive grunt from the young woman.

"With Terry's volume? I'm sure half the planet heard it," She folded a loose strand of her hair back under the safety of her headband.

Shin remained as if he forgot how to breathe, unable to speak in full sentences. "I... don't..." he muttered haphazardly.

Wendy then made her way over to Anonymous' side, both him and her now across from the agitated man. "You know, Terry broke down when he came back from his first visit," she began out of the blue, immediately catching Shin's attention from his mental hurricane. "Told me he couldn't stomach the fact that--"

"What? That my arm is gone?"

"...That he didn't make it in time to save it." Wendy only averted her gaze from his. "Blamed himself for the whole thing."

Anonymous flashed the woman a nervous glance, worried about his partner's mortified reaction. Shin's mind swam with regrets, things he might have, or rather, should have said to Terry to prevent this dilemma. The mere thought of them set his soul on fire.

"Wendy, I..." His breaths hitched as he scrambled to find his next statement. "...You don't know how much I want to make things right again with him... What do I do anymore?" he asked blankly, letting the question drone out of his mouth like water. "Who do I go to now? I'm lost without him... Without him... I don't know." His eyes became pitless holes that drilled into the core of his heart; Something painful began to burn in within them.

Wendy suddenly stepped towards him, making herself look much taller despite her smaller figure. "Listen, I know what kind of person you are, Shin... Because you're me." Her eyes sharpened, yet gained the most vibrant color of cyan Shin had ever seen in her. They seemed to blaze behind her snowy irises. "You fight for what you believe is right because you were too weak back then to do anything. And instead of doing something about it, you waste your time complaining about it until the world ends. It hurts to look back, but can't you use that confidence for something other than proving yourself for once?"