Ash Ketchum: Battle of the Ampere

Ch. 20 Electrical Residue

  "Who was that firing?" Clemont asked.

  "It's just a machine," I said.

  "Raihan and his friends his set it up."

  "You found Raihan?"

  "He found me," I said.

  "And who is Iris?"

  "I'll tell you later."

   We had traveled nearly a mile from the road before the gunfire started to slow. I wondered if the army had discovered they were fighting robotic turrets instead of real people.

   Suddenly, Brock stopped walking. "This is really weird," he said, looking around.

  "What's weird?" I asked.

  "The trail's hard to follow, because Serena's residue only shows up occasionally on trees and bushes. I should see it on the ground."

  "Maybe someone's carrying her," Clemont said.

  "That could be," Brock said.

  "We should measure the depth of the footprints," Clemont said.

   Brock and Clemont both crouched down next to one of the footprints. "Could I get some light?" Clemont asked. Korrina lit up her hand and held it close. "Thanks," Clemont said. He ran his hand along an indentation in the rich soil. "Hmm," he said. "Interesting."

  "Are those Serena's?" I asked.

  "Not unless Serena has size eleven feet and is wearing boots," Clemont said.

  "One of these footprints is deeper than the other," Brock said.

  "I think Clemont's right. Someone's carrying her. That's why I'm only seeing her residue when she brushes up against something."

  "Can you tell if it's Calem carrying her?" Drew asked.

  "Why would Calem be carrying her?" Korrina asked.

  "Let's just keep going," I said.

   We hurried on through the thick jungle with Brock in front and Korrina lighting the way for the rest of us. After an hour Brock said, "We're gaining on them."

  "How can you tell?" I asked.

  "The residue is fresher."

    We crossed over a stream. The sun was peeking above the canopy and it was now light enough that we could see without Korrina's help.

  "Look," Brock said. He pointed to a grouping of footprints in the dirt. "It looks like they stopped here. Whoever was carrying Serena must have put her down. I can see residues everywhere." He pointed at the ground. "Now there are three prints. Serena must be walking on her own."

  "Whoever was carrying her must have gotten tired," I said. "Let's keep going."

   We increased our pace. About forty-five minutes later, Brock said, "I see them."

  "Is it Calem?" Drew asked.

  "Yes, Calem, Serena, and a Galactic guard. He's holding a gun on them."

  "How far ahead of us are they?"

  "Maybe a mile. Wait." He tuned his head a little. "There are trucks. It looks like he's meeting up with someone. There's a dirt road. . . . It looks like . . . six more Galactic guards."

  "Can we reach them before they meet up?" I asked.

  "No. They're just about there."

  "And they've got trucks?"