Glitched

16 - Binary Code

The inside was no better. The door creaked open on loose hinges to reveal a mildew-ridden sofa standing beneath the roof's hole which was severe enough to not keep out the rain. At the other end, by a blocked up fireplace, stood a wobbly table beneath a thick layer of dust. In the middle of the table was a vase, the only thing that actually remained in good condition. It crossed Pixel's mind to move it somewhere safer, but part of her didn't have the heart to disturb anything. Before they even entered, her senses were assaulted with the sharp scent of mould and dust.

Vector flopped onto the floor with his back against the wall and let out a long groan. He sat with his eyes closed and his head resting against the blackening wood, not so much as twitching when Switch collapsed down next to him with a hefty sigh.

Pixel gave the sofa a sorry glance before joining Vector's other side, but despite how tired she was she wouldn't close her eyes. She kept them fixed on the world outside, which fluttered in and out of her vision as the door creaked back and forth in the wind. She didn't know why she felt so nervous. Maybe it was because she was sitting in an abandoned hut, which she'd never done before in her life. However, they weren't exactly in any danger. No one was in the mountains, especially not at this hour.

She forced herself to close her eyes and huddled down against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. When she opened them again, light was pouring in through the door tinting everything it touched in a pale orange.

"Sunrise," she muttered, rubbing a paw over her eyes. She hadn't expected to actually sleep. She didn't even recall her dream.

The two boys were still sound asleep. A weak smile spread across her lips and she pushed herself up, her body aching from all the scrambling they'd done up the mountain. Her stomach growled and she glanced back to make sure she'd not woken her friends. Neither of them stirred. With a sigh of relief, she moved out onto the outcrop and had a look around. The dull grey of the mountain was dyed in an inky orange from the rising sun which reflected off the river as it gurgled around the rocks below her. The trees around it were heavy with berries. She did a quick calculation to see if her aching muscles would allow her a gentle climb and decided against it. Her stomach rumbled in protest and she gave it a sympathetic pat as she looked around. A small gasp escaped her when she spotted the tree growing beside the hut. All of them had been too tired to notice it the night before, their minds focused on getting some sleep, but there stood a cheri tree with enough low branches bearing its bright red fruit. She quickly gathered them up and stuffed them into her bag until it was fit to burst. What wouldn't fit she scooped into her arms and scurried back into the hut.

"Breakfast, boys! I found cheri berries!"

She fell to her knees and dropped the berries onto Switch's lap. He rubbed a hand across his eyes and yawned.

"How long have we been asleep?" he asked.

"I've no idea." She tugged her scarf from around her neck to use as a makeshift picnic mat. "I was too hungry to think about it."

Switch deposited the berries onto her scarf and helped himself to one. He took a bite out of it and nodded to Vector. "Should we wake him?"

Pixel stared at the meowstic as she considered this. His ears twitched a couple of times but her excited outburst hadn't woken him. She shrugged.

"Yeh, I think we should give him a little longer," said Switch over a mouthful of berry. "I don't want to get bitten."

She chuckled and tucked into the berries. They ate in silence for a while, watching the sunrise through the door. The light spread throughout the hut, cut off periodically as the door swung lazily on its weak hinges. It smacked against the wooden frame as a gust whipped in through a crack in the window, cutting off the sunlight and stirring up the dust on the floor. Switch cleared his throat and stood up.

"I don't know how much longer we're going to be here, but it's pretty musty. I'd rather prop the door open."

"You could use one of the chairs?" Pixel suggested.

Four dining chairs were positioned around the wobbly table. He grabbed one and lifted it, but there was a creak and a snap as it fell from his hand and clattered onto the floor. A heavy feeling of guilt spread through Pixel's chest as she stared open-mouthed at the chair's remains.

Switch wiped the splinters onto the leg of his jeans and grunted. "Wood rot."

"Urgh, would you cut it out with the noise?" Vector stretched and wiped a paw across his nose. He snorted and coughed as he strained to push himself up.

"Oops. We poked the sleeping beartic," said Switch.

Vector narrowed his eyes at him then beat the dust from his fur.

"Sleep well?" Switch asked flatly.

"Yeh. But my lungs feel like someone's attacked them with a cheese grater." He staggered across the room and wrenched the door open, and when he stepped outside, he stood on the edge of the outcrop and took in deep breaths.

Pixel followed after him and handed him a berry. "I picked breakfast."

He took it from her gratefully and sat down with his feet hanging over the edge.

"Are you still recovering from yesterday's attack?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I think I'm more sore from the climb."

"I meant your chest."

Before he could answer, Switch appeared beside her and draped her scarf over her head. "I think it's just allergies."

Pixel lifted her scarf from her face to look up at Vector. He paused to lick the berry juice from his paw then let it fall into his lap.

"Your friend's right," he said. "My mother had to keep the house immaculate. I never could tolerate dust or damp." He sighed and shook his head, his eyes locked on the trees below. "I wouldn't mind getting down to that river for a drink."

"We passed a spring yesterday," said Switch. "We could backtrack a bit. It's not far."

Vector gave him a dismissive grunt and pushed himself up. "I don't want to retrace my footsteps. I'm going to follow that river, see where it takes me." He pointed to the sky and Pixel followed his paw. A speck flowed smoothly up by the clouds. Too smoothly to be a flying pokemon. "You two could get back to your island. You'd be safer there than with me."

"That's Cyan Island?" Pixel gasped.

"Huh. So it is." Switch smiled. "Well, I guess it does move faster than we do."

"Are you sure it's not one of the other two?"

"Well, it's not pointy enough to be Magenta. And there's no water trailing off it, so it's not Luma. It has to be yours."

"I've never seen Magenta or Luma, so I wouldn't know." She watched the floating speck, warring with the desire to go back where it was safe. Where she could repair her head set, tell Leaf about Gear Village's hostility, about Vector's ability to erase the black cracks. She clenched her paws and braced herself to ask Switch to take her back, but Vector's vanishing form over the rocky mountainside abolished any such desires and she found herself trailing after him.

"We're staying on the ground then?" Switch asked as he followed after her.

Vector's ears flicked backwards, silently acknowledging their presence. He didn't slow for them to catch up, clearly reverting to his initial intention to go his separate way. After what they'd all been through, Pixel wasn't going to allow that.

If she left him, she'd have no idea if he was okay. No idea if the scientists at Central Meta Hospital had tracked him down and abducted him. No idea if any other towns, cities or villages had the same policy Gear Village had and the worst had happened.

Getting in touch with Leaf would have to wait.