No, you're not seeing things. It's a new chapter of The Light in the Darkness. This time around, I really do wish to apologize for being late with this. My first semester at college has been pretty stressful, and I haven't had a lot of time to write. I hope that you guys understand.
Now, as for the future of this story, I'm really trying to figure out how to do it. I have another idea for a story that I really want to do, but I'm still deciding on how to execute it. As well, I want to go back and edit this version of the story with some of the changes that I have made on other sites. The good news is that the next chapter or two of this story has already been layed a few times over, so it shouldn't take as long to write. Of course, I said that about this chapter as well, but...
Anyway, I'm sure you want to go ahead and read. All comments and suggestions are welcome.
Chapter 11: An Unwanted Surprise
I remember that day quite well. It was a particularly lazy Saturday afternoon around the apartment. Kirk was busy working on a case report, or something of the sort on his laptop in the kitchen. Amber was lying on the floor in the living area, chewing on a toy lazily. I could tell that she was really bored. Truthfully, so was I. It had been almost a week or so since we spent an extended time in the park, as the weather had grown almost unbearably hot and humid.
I decided to try and break up the monotonous lifestyle we had been living by doing something that I hadn't done in since I first met Amber at the Pokemon Center: start a casual conversation with her. Sure, we often talked to each other, but it was always Amber who approached me. It was almost never the other way around.
But every time that I tried to approach her, I would get cold feet. I knew that I wasn't going to get berated at or anything. It was tough to just try to find a way to start the conversation. I don't know how Amber did it so effortlessly. Whenever I tried to, I would suddenly forget what I wanted to talk about.
Speaking of which, it was a bit difficult to figure out what to talk about with her. I spent a lot of time wracking my brain, trying to come up with a subject that she might be interested in. The only subject that I could think of that might interest her was evolution. After all, she was an Eevee. Surely they would talk amongst their kind about what they wanted to evolve into. Plus, I was curious. It wasn't something that I knew a lot about, since Absol don't evolve.
I sighed, trying to calm down my nerves.
Come on, Soru. Just say something to her. I walked over and sat down next to her, trying to act as casual as possible.
"Hey."
Amber looked up. She almost did a double take when she recognized that I had approached her. "Oh, hi Soru," she said, trying to hide her surprise. "Is something wrong?"
"No," I replied. "I…just wanted to talk a little. I mean, there's nothing else to do."
She smiled. "Sure," she said kindly. "Well…what do you want to talk about?"
"I was wondering," I began, trying to keep myself from forgetting, "have you ever thought about evolution?"
She gave me an inquisitive look. "Evolution? What do you mean?"
"I mean, don't Eevees evolve into a number of Pokémon? I was wondering if you ever thought about what you might want to evolve into." I chuckled. "It's not like I'm ever going to get the chance to experience evolution myself."
Amber didn't reply right away. She looked down at her chew toy, contemplating it as if it was going to give her the answer. "I…well…" she muttered quietly. She brought her head back up. "I've never really thought it, honestly."
"Really?" I said, surprised. "Well…uh, okay. I thought that perhaps…" My voice dropped off. I had no idea what to say now that she had shot down the only subject that I could think of.
She looked back down. "It's not that important to me right now. I have other things that I'm worried about."
This remark intrigued me. "What do you mean?" I inquired. "It's not like someone's trying to hurt you." I paused when I noticed her uneasiness at what I said. "Right?"
It took a second for her to reply. "Right," she answered tersely, not bothering to look back up at me.
Something about her response seemed to suggest that she wasn't being honest with me. I considered trying to inquire further, but feared that trying to do so might create another rift between us. That was the last thing that I needed at this point.
Quietly, I got up and walked back over to my bed. I half-expected, half-hoped for Amber to say something to rekindle our conversation. However, she said nothing, and I sat back down on the cushion, disappointed at the results. It was so frustrating. I hadn't said anything wrong, yet she reacted really…strangely. Not like any Pokémon that I'd ever met would've reacted.
This wasn't the first time something she said or did peaked my interest. Her reaction to my question was the latest in a long line of strange behavior that I had noticed since she moved in. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy that I recall was finding her looking the newspaper. Now, I've looked at newspapers before, mainly out of curiosity, but have never been able to decipher those runes that humans use for communication. Amber, though, didn't seem confused at all. She seemed engrossed by what she was looking at. And it wasn't a one-time occurrence. I can remember it being at least a once weekly even, perhaps even more frequently.
Something she said was bugging me. She said that she had other things that she was worried about. What did she mean by that? What would she be worried about? I made a list of possible causes in my head.
Jet? No, that couldn't be. From what I could recall her telling me, she had never encountered Jet before the night I rescued her. Plus, with all the training that I had done with her, she was confident she could hold her own against him.
Lilith? Not her either. After Kirk and Michelle broke up, there had been no sign of Lilith. Not that she would even dare to show up around us again, especially after everything that occurred during her last visit.
Paco? I had to suppress a chuckle. That was an utterly ridiculous notion. Sure, Amber was by no means enamored by Paco, but she wasn't afraid of him; at least, not from what she had told me.
It had to be something, or someone, that I wasn't aware of, something that happened to her from before she moved in. But what kind of trouble could she have gotten into? Maybe this was why she was so reluctant to tell me anything about where she came from.
Of course, the only way to find out would be to ask her. However, two things kept me from doing so. One was to obviously not make Amber uncomfortable. But I also felt a sort of guilt, as I was still not completely open with her. It would've been very contradictory of me to inquire about her past without bringing up mine in some manner. I knew that it was only a matter of time before I would have to discuss it with Amber. Even so, I continued to hope that I wouldn't have to talk about it.
Perhaps that's why I hadn't had the courage to tell Amber how I felt about her. I didn't even have the courage to talk about myself.
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I cannot lie. I was caught completely off-guard when Soru approached me that afternoon. It was strange to have him approach me rather than the other way around. Yet I was also a bit honored that he approached me.
I felt a pang of guilt as I watched Soru walk away. I wish that I could've given him a straight answer to his question. I mean, how hard would it have been to lie? But I guess that was it. I was already lying to him a lot as it was, so I had to tell the truth every once in a while. And with that, I opened up a whole new can of worms.
Perhaps I should think about what I would evolve into, I considered. After all, the odds were that I wouldn't stay an Eevee forever. Sure, I wouldn't be a human, but it would certainly be different. Not to mention that I would have access to a whole new trough of abilities.
I tried to recall what I learned about Eevee evolution from my biology class. I remember learning that Eevee can evolve into one of seven different creatures, based upon different kinds of stimuli.
The first one that came to my mind was Vaporeon. It was a Water type and, from what I remember my teacher telling me, it was a powerful Pokémon. There were also a few neat tricks that only Vaporeon was capable of, such as dissolving into water. But being a Water type created a fundamental problem in that there wasn't much water around. Save for a small pond in the park, there weren't many bodies of water around. Being a Vaporeon in a city would've brought about many headaches for everybody.
Then there was Flareon. Should I evolve into one, I wouldn't have to go through a drastic change. After all, it didn't look much different from an Eevee, save for being slightly larger and having different fur color. And as an added bounce, I would never be cold. However, I was worried about having to learn about my new abilities in an apartment. To be perfectly frank, Kirk kept a very untidy apartment. It would only take one errant Ember coming in contact with some trash to set the whole apartment on ablaze.
Jolteon also came to mind. Out of all the evolutions, this was the one that I was most familiar with, as one of my friends had one. Being an Electric type, I would have very weaknesses, which would be beneficial for any number of reasons. But much Flareon, it would carry numerous risks as I was learning the ropes. Not to mention that, for whatever reason, I couldn't imagine myself as a Jolteon. Perhaps it was because my friend's Jolteon was a male.
I specifically remember that those three were all dependent upon special stones to evolve. While such items were fairly common, they weren't cheap. That's when I thought of something else. There were two forms that depended upon the location you were in to evolve. Leafeon and Glaceon, I believe. Supposedly, there was some form of radiation at these locations that would mutate DNA and cause the evolution. While I had difficulty understanding the exact science behind this, I did recall that these locations were far away from the city in somewhat remote locations. So even if I did decide that I wanted to evolve into one of those two, it would have been costly to go out and find these locations.
That only left two others…
However, before I could begin weighing out the pros and cons of the remaining evolutions, there was a knock at the door. At first, I thought it was Alex coming to visit. But when they knocked again, I noticed something. Whenever Alex came over, his knocking was much more frantic, as if he was coming to alert us that the building was on fire. This knocking, on the other hand, was much more contained, almost calculating in a way.
I tried to dismiss this notion.
Why the heck am I analyzing door knocking? I thought to myself.
Am I really that bored?
The knock came again, this time slightly louder than before. This was enough to arouse Kirk, muttering under his breath about having to get up from important work, from the kitchen to see who was there. I tried to pretend that I had no interest in what was going on, a technique that I had picked up from Soru. Not that I could be seen anyway, as my bed was out of view of the front door due to the loveseat
"May I help you?" asked Kirk. Obviously, whoever was at the door was not one of Kirk's normal acquaintances.
"I hope that I am not bothering you. You are Kirk Ashton, correct?"
My eyes perked up.
That voice…it can't be! Not here! With the utmost caution to not draw attention to myself, I peeked around the side of the loveseat, praying that I was just hearing things. However, my eyes seemed to convey the same, horrifying truth. Standing in the doorway was the last person that I ever wanted to see enter the only safe haven that I truly had.
Kyle.
I quickly hid myself from his view behind the loveseat, still in shock of the image of my brother standing there talking to Kirk. I was forced to gather what I could from their conversation. I had to pray that this was just a mere coincidence.
"What can I help you with?" I heard Kirk ask, shutting the door and trapping me in with that *******.
"I was wondering if you could possibly help me," said Kyle. "You see, a few months ago, I went out of town on a business trip. I was unable to take my little Abby with me."
"Abby?"
"My pet Eevee."
Kirk sighed. "I can see where this is going."
"I left Abby with a neighbor and she ran away. He was unable to find her. I haven't given up on finding her and—"
"Save the sob story," Kirk interrupted. "So you suspect that my Eevee could possibly be yours."
"Yes, but how did—?"
"I'm a lawyer." Kirk chuckled. "I hear these sorts of stories all the time."
"But you do believe me?" asked Kyle, sounding noticeably more surprised. I silently sat there praying, hoping that he didn't.
However, much to my dismay, Kirk laughed. "You seem like an honest person," he said. "Do you have a way of identifying Abby?"
"Y-Yes, there's this marking on her front. It's kinda hard to describe."
I began to panic. This wasn't the way this was going to end. No, not this way. Desperately, I tried to squeeze underneath the loveseat, in a last ditch effort to disappear. But I didn't get far before I felt two hands pulling at my midsection.
"Now where are you going?" a voice asked. The hands started to pull me up.
Instinctively, I twisted my head around and bit one of the hands, forcing whoever had grabbed me to drop me. I hoped that I had gotten my brother, trying to send him a message. Unfortunately, that wasn't who had grabbed me.
"Mana, what was that for?" Kirk scolded. Now I had done it. Before I could react again, I was lifted off the ground.
It was then that I got my first true look at my brother. He wore the same sunglasses that he wore when he first encountered me after my transformation. But there were a number of things different. His hair was shaved down to practically nothing, as if he was in the military, yet he was pale, as if he hadn't been in the sun for months. Instead of the white lab coat, he wore a dark blue sport jacket and pants, giving further credence to the idea that he had returned from a business trip.
"Amber?"
Soru was sitting at Kirk's feet. "Please, help me," I whispered, hoping that he would understand what a dire situation I was in, even though there was probably very little that he could do.
I was transferred from Kirk's arms to Kyle's. I was surprised by how thin and bony my brother's arms were, even with his sport jacket on. He was never one to work out, but there was almost no muscle on his limbs.
What has he done to himself? I wondered.
His fingers drew through my fur. "Now, look this way, sweetie," Kyle said in a sickeningly sweet tone. I refused to turn toward him. I didn't want to let him control me. But he would have his way. I felt his fingers under my chin, turning my face toward his.
I recognized the look in Kyle's eyes as he looked over me. It was that same look of perverse satisfaction that he had when he first saw me transformed. To him, seeing me in this form was like winning the lottery. Those cold eyes darted all over my body, as if he were looking for an imperfection in a diamond. All the while, his lips began to form a slight smile.
His pleasure of discover was only exceeded by my discomfort. I was frightened out of my mind. Having those icy blue eyes staring at me unnerved me to no end. I wanted to turn away, but it was like all the muscles in my body had been frozen. I couldn't move. In my head, I was begging for something to end this stare down.
"Well, is she the one you're looking for, or not?" Kirk inquired. It was easy to tell that he too was starting to feel a little uneasy about the situation.
This is it, I thought to myself.
He's going to take me away. I closed my eyes, waiting to hear those words that would seal my fate. Tears fell down my face.
Good-bye, Soru. I wish…
But what Kyle said next completely caught me off-guard. "I'm afraid that she isn't," he said tersely. He bent over and placed me on the floor. "She's lacking the mark that my little Abby had."
The next few minutes were a blur. I remember Kyle apologizing for taking up Kirk's time and him leaving. For a while, I stood there petrified, unable to move.
He…left me? This was very strange to me. There was no doubt in my mind that he really knew that I was his sister. Yet he decided to leave me behind. I probably should've been excited, but I wasn't in the mood to celebrate.
I stumbled back to my bed, almost like a toddler first learning to walk. I recall falling up against the loveseat a few times, before finally making back to my loveseat.
Kirk seemed to notice my struggle. "Are you feeling okay, Mana?" he asked, referring to me by my pet name. I tried to reassure that I was by nodding somewhat, although as he walked back into the kitchen, I did notice a look of concern on his face.
Once Kirk was out of sight, Soru walked over to me. "Amber, what's going on?" he inquired. "Who was that?"
I tried to downplay everything. "You know as much as I do," I said, trying to get him go away.
Soru wasn't going to be denied, though. "You asked me for help, Amber. What was all that about?"
I considered coming up with a lie of some sort, trying to throw Soru off the trail again. It had worked a few times before; perhaps I could pull it off again. But deep down, I knew that the more that I kept holding the truth back, the harder it was going to be to actually tell the truth.
I can't do this any longer. "Soru, I have something that I have to confess," I began, trying to figure out the best way to tell him.
"What is it, Amber?" he asked, sitting down attentively in front of me. "You can tell me anything you want to.
"What I'm about to tell you is really bizarre and, quite frankly, unbelievable. But it is all true." I took a deep breath. "I haven't always been the way you see me right now. I wasn't always an Eevee. A few months ago, I found myself tricked into being experimented on by this group of humans. What you see before you is the result of whatever they did to me."
"What are you trying to say?" he inquired, perhaps only further confused by me trying to no
This is it, I told myself. "Soru, the truth is that I am…that I was once…human."
Soru's eyes widened. He looked upon me with a mixture of awe and confusion. It looked he was going to try to say something, but only one word managed to pass through his lips.
"H…Human?"
