𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚎? || 𝙰𝚜𝚑 𝙺𝚎𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚖

(9) ʜᴇʟᴘ ʜᴀs ᴅɪFFᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴇᴀɴɪɴɢs

"CASS!"

I saw Ash running behind me with Fletchling at his side. He soon caught up to me and we continued running as fast as we could behind the truck.

He ran a little faster than me and inched closer to the truck. I was starting to slow down and get tired again as he jumped into the back of the truck and held out a hand for me. I felt a small burst of energy surge through me as I jumped and grabbed Ash's hand. He pulled me onto the truck and helped me grab onto some bars on the back.

Fletchling stayed to the side of the truck, but Jessie and James must've noticed it flying next to the truck because soon after, Fletchling was thrown off its course by a bunch of sludge. Ash and I were trying to figure out how to open the back of the truck while we heard noises coming from the inside.

We found the handle for the door and Ash opened it up before jumping in. Our hands were still joined so he just pulled me inside right behind him.

We were met with the sight of Pikachu, Eevee, and Sylveon stuck in glass cases and Froakie trying to escape by using multiple moves on the truck walls and the cases. We ran to the cases and I fell to my knees to look at Eevee.

I could see the terror in her eyes as she placed her tiny paw on the glass. I shakily placed my hand on the opposite side of the glass and promised her that I would free her.

I stood up straight and circled the cases, looking for a keypad, lock, or something to unlock the cases and release the Pokemon. I couldn't find anything that would help me open the cases. I stepped back, right next to Ash, and pondered about how to open the cases.

"Any luck?" Ash asked me. I shook my head and cracked my knuckles.

"Guess we'll just have to resort to brute force on this one," I stated, staring down the traps. Ash counted down and he, Froakie, and I charged at the cases. The thick glass hurt my shoulder and I felt a throbbing pain afterward, which caused me to wince in pain whenever I touched it.

Ash suggested that I take it easy and not charge into the cases so hard anymore. He placed his hand on my shoulder and I sharply winced at his touch.

"Maybe you shouldn't hit into the cases anymore. You don't want it getting worse," Ash told me and I furrowed my brows. I shook my head and moved his hand from my shoulder, agitated by what he said. The sudden move, again, caused pain but I held in my sharp breath so I couldn't give him more reason to try and stop me.

"No, I'll be fine. I have to free Eevee," I said, standing up and walking over to the cases while gripping my throbbing arm. I decided to use my opposite shoulder, as to not make the other one fall off. I counted down from 3 in my head before slamming my side into Eevee's containment case. I was wobbling as I stood up straight and looked to see that I had created a tiny crack in the glass.

Tears of pain stung my eyes as a satisfied smile grew on my face. I felt weak... but I positioned myself, once again, to try and break the glass. My breath was heavy and my tears were filling up as the pain grew worse.

"1... 2... " I took in a deep breath.

"3!" I started my charge at the glass but I was stopped by a pair of hands grabbing my arms and a high pitched voice yelling for me to stop. The hands pulled me back

I fell to the ground, hanging my head low while I let some tears fall down my face. My shoulder was killing me and I was trying to catch my breath. I looked up to see Ash sitting on one knee with his hands on my arms and a concerned expression on his face.

I remembered hearing another voice earlier so I turned to search for the source of the voice. I saw Randall standing there, frightened and worried, staring at Ash and me on the floor. His eyes seemed to be drawn to my shoulder and the tears threatening to escape my eyes.