Arafaf

 ~-:Chapter 14:-~                                        MARVIN     As the few remaining Rocket members went into the forest, Marvin loaded the wing fragment into his scanner.  While the machine calibrated, he looked around at the latest recruits, aimlessly wandering forward into the grasses.  No doubt several of them would return successfully, with the same old assortment of shrews, plants, and poisonous gas monsters.  But Marvin had always aimed a little bit higher.  Ever since he had survived his encounter with that monster, he had sworn to be the one to capture it.  The facility didn’t even have any knowledge that it existed. He h

~-:Chapter 13:-~     My eyes spring open and I snap to attention, alertness and adrenaline coursing through my body.  Then I take a deep breath and my heartbeat slows back down.  5:59 am.  I slap the clock when the time flips, cutting the alarm short at 6am.  Who would have thought that after a few weeks of routine, I would be able to predict and preemptively shut down an alarm this early? From a deep sleep no less? In the time since Tom told me the tale of his mentor, I have trained diligently.  I wake up at least 30 minutes before most other recruits, shower, and dress with time to spare.  I then spend the early morning running laps aroun

~-:Chapter 12:-~               TOM: 20 Years Ago     "Good morning, Jim."     Tom walked into the lab, his usual smile ever present on his face.  Jim kept his focus on his computer as the matrix of data flies across the screen.  Without shifting his gaze, Jim responded, "Good morning.  You're late."     "I know." Tom said.  He shook the bag in his hand and tossed it on Jim's desk.     "But I brought breakfast."     Jim looked up from his data for the first time in what he judged to be hours.  The smell of fresh bagels wafts over to him, and he snatches the bag.     "Onion bagel with cream cheese?" Jim asks.     "And mozzarell

~-:Chapter 11:-~     The medics roll Dr. Ferraioli into a wing of the hospital specifically for faculty, and as such, I'm not permitted to enter.  I try to argue my way in, that I found him and carried him half way across the outdoor property before anyone else even lifted a finger to help, but all that got me was a handshake and a congratulations.  "Why don't you go back to your classes?" they said.  "Why don't you go screw yourselves?" I thought.  Dr. Ferraioli leaned up in his stretcher as they wheeled him down the passageway.     "Don't worry!  I'm fine!  I'll see you in a few days so we can… chat." They turn a corner and he's g

~-:Chapter 10:-~          The last few days have been intense to say the least.  The transition from my old sedentary lifestyle to the current hustle and bustle wasn't easy.  After the fight with Tom, Scott and I were rushed to the infirmary.  The rest of the tour Scott had planned was put on hold while we recuperated.  I don't remember much from the infirmary, just snippets of memories of getting my temperature taken, having my blood drawn, and getting some sort of medication for the toxic spores.            I was told later that we were hit pretty hard by the attack.  We spent a couple of days fading in and out of consciousness, being f

~-:Chapter 9:-~               TOM     Tom watches with interest as the young trainer sets his creature against his own.  He had sent his plant-based monster straight toward the small blue beast in a rushing full throttle tackle, contrary to his usual methods, just to see how the beginning trainer would respond.  He hadn't given a verbal command to his beast, but the spry animal had deftly avoided the assault.  What the young trainer had accomplished however, was a less than graceful dive to one side as Tom's monster ran toward him. "Come on, now.  You can't expect to remain alive or stay uncaptured if you spend most of your time in the di

~-:Chapter 8:-~     Scott leads me down the hall of bedrooms, and I can hear a variety of noises.  Mostly pumping music, cheering, and the occasional clinking of glass bottles.  Obviously the Rockets who passed yesterday's trial are taking the opportunity to celebrate.     "Do they always party like this after an exam? Aren't there any classes they need to be at, or any work that needs to be done?" I ask Scott as we pass an obviously drunk chick being led out of a loud room by a pair of high-fiving guys.     "It isn't endorsed per-ce, but the admins turn a blind eye as long as they get enough booze or other substances," he responds.  

~-:Chapter 7:-~     No need to change, I slept in my uniform.  However, I now have a Pokémon to strap to my belt.  Marvin unlocks my cell.       "Whatap, Newb?" he says.  "How's it hanging?"     "Things are alright." I yawn at him.     "Good good.  Big day ahead of us today."     We take the same main tunnel, but hell if I can tell if the turns are the same or not.  Between stopping at the public restroom so I can drop a deuce and arriving at our destination, I ask Marvin how he knows which turns and tunnels to take, because as far as I can tell there are no distinguishing marks or features among them.  He says,     "When yo

~-:Chapter 6:-~     "Prepare for trouble."     I freeze on the path, eyes darting back and forth to find the source of the voice.  The back of the "Advanced Trail" arch is up ahead.  I should be home free.  Believing that I'm just hearing things, I head more deliberately down the path.       "And for your defiance, now you can make it double."     Landing in front of me, a girl in a black and white uniform falls from a tree branch and points a red-and-white orb at me.     "So, you're the L-17 huh? And here I thought it was just a set up to get me to work harder to get off this trail."     "I'm sorry? I don't know who you are."  Lo

~-:Chapter 5:-~      "Nobody told me I had to get up at 4am," I grumble to myself.  Cold water drips from my hair, down my face, off my nose, making me shiver.  Marvin just stands on the other side of the bars with an empty bucket under his arm now that it's water has been dumped.        "Quit whining and just get dressed, we're going to be late," he growls, looking distractedly down the hall.        At the foot of the bed lies a pile of clothes.  A uniform containing a black long-sleeve shirt with that infamous R on