All Alone (BEING EDITED)

Chapter 21: What now?

I continue racing through the forest, dodging trees and crashing through the undergrowth. A root suddenly appears and trips me. I scream in pain as my left arm collides with the ground. Tears stream down my face and I sit up, gently holding my arm. I back up so I'm laying against a tree and close my eyes for a few moments, breathing heavily.

A bright light appears and I open my eyes to see Chatot standing at my feet. His eyes widen in pure shock when he sees my arm and he quickly walks over to examine it. When he glances at me again, his eyes are full of worry and curiosity. I manage to explain the whole scenario to him while he looks over me for any other injuries. When I finish he starts to tremble in anger.

"How dare he do this to you! Your his daughter, yet he has no respect for you! Why, I oughta go back and give him a piece of my mind!" he growls angrily, pacing back and forth in front of me. I place my hand on his head to calm him down.

"That's not the only thing that happened." I say softly, remembering Paul's face and eyes when I saw him. A shiver runs up my spine at the thought of that look in his eyes that was a mixture between surprise, confusion, and sadness. I can't face him again. He'll know it's me and how am I supposed to explain this to him?

Chatot looks up at me curiously.

"What do you mean?" he asks gently. I explain seeing Paul in the forest and eavesdropping on his conversation. I silently cry when I tell him about seeing Paul after the fight with my father. He must hate me now. Either that or he thinks I'm some kind of mutant freak, which I am.

Chatot strokes my uninjured arm with the tip of his wing, trying to calm me down. It works and I stop crying momentarily. I start to cough and I lay back against the tree, looking up through leaves at the full moon floating above us. The whole forest is silent, as if the pokemon are sharing my grief and pain. Dark clouds slowly roll over the forest and I watch the moon slip behind them, leaving us in darkness.

Chatot sits silently next to me as the rain begins to falls. I lower my head, thinking about what to do next. Maybe I can go back to another region, but I have to wait for the next boat. If Giovanni managed to track me down here he will probably do it again. Maybe hiding out in a cave, but what about supplies? I will have to go into towns for those and my pokemon will become restless. I can continue on my journey, but Paul might find me and start questioning me. My story is so ridiculous that nobody will believe it, not even Paul.

Chatot seems to know what I'm thinking because he brings up the matter.

"What now?" I shake my head.

"I don't know. I don't know where to go or what to do. Everything leads to a dead end." I sigh in defeat. Chatot glances at me, then at my arm.

"Well, I know what we need to do now." he says. I lift my head in surprise.

"What?" I ask. He nods towards my arm. I notice his gesture and look at my arm. The pain hits me like a train when I remember the gash. I gasp and notice the blood still leaking out. I start to feel slightly light-headed. I nod silently and slowly get to my feet. I stumble through the forest with Chatot gliding next to me. The rain soaks my hair and stings my wound, but I continue on any ways.

Finally the lights of Petalburg City appear in the distance and a wave of relief washes over me. I walk towards the city, growing weaker every second. Chatot watches me carefully and sees me tripping over my own feet. He quickly thinks of a plan and flies off to the city's pokemon center.

The pain starts to cloud my eyes as the rain increases, pounding me in a relentless torrent. I fall to my knees. When I'm healed I will continue my journey. I will stop Team Magma's plan and I will beat the league. I won't quit no matter what.

I glance up through my soaked hair to see Chatot racing towards me with Nurse Joy in tow. They reach me and Nurse Joy helps me up. I slowly walk to the center with her supporting me. The bright light blinds me as we enter and stumble down a hallway. She sits me on a bed in one of the rooms and quickly takes out her kit, cleaning my wound, disinfecting it, and bandaging it before she hurries off to her desk.

I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Chatot lands next to me and pokes my right arm. I glance up and he gives me a small smile.

"How about letting the others out and explaining this to them, so they don't worry about you." he suggests. I smile back and sit up, grabbing my pokeballs. I let the others out and they all gather around me, firing questions at me.

"What happened?" Combusken asks, eyeing me carefully.

"Look at her arm!" Mightyena yelps quietly, staring in shock at my left arm.

"Who did this to you?" Kirlia asks, sitting next to me. I take a deep breath and explain the whole story to them, starting with seeing Paul in the forest to fleeing the clearing. Concern fills their eyes and they all crowd around me.

"I'm fine guys. Don't worry about me." I say soothingly. They all back away reluctantly. Nurse Joy pokes her head into the room and enters upon seeing me sitting up. She has a bowl of soup in her hands and a cool towel.

"I brought you some soup and a cold towel, since you're starting to get a slight fever." she explains, handing me the bowl and towel.

"Thanks." I say, sipping the soup carefully. She starts to leave the room.

"Wait!" I call out to her. She stops and turns around, giving me a warm smile.

"If a trainer with purple hair wearing a blue and black jacket comes in asking to see me, can you tell him you haven't seen me here?" I ask politely. She looks hesitant for a moment, but she must see how desperate I am because she nods her head.

I sigh in relief. I really don't want to confront Paul at the moment, seeing how weak I am right now. I place the half-empty bowl of soup on the table next to me and curl up under the sheets. Chatot hands me the towel, which I place on my forehead. Combusken quietly shuts the door and lies down on the couch. Chatot curls up on my pillow while Mightyena lies down on the floor with Kirlia leaning against her. I smile weakly before turning the lights off, engulfing the room in darkness.