Chapter 14: Leech
"You did what?" Dawn repeated, staring at me as if I'd just told her I'd traveled back in time, gone to Mars to invent a new flavor of pudding, and almost died in the process all this afternoon.
"I had fun." I said again, "Is that really so hard to believe?"
"Yes." Her eyebrows pulled down before she relaxed her face and smiled, "Wow, you and Demi's competitions do sound like they were a blast. I wish I'd been there to watch."
"Me too." I kissed her forehead and pulled her close to me. When I opened my eyes, I saw Piplup glaring at me from the couch, his flippers crossed. He didn't seem to believe that I'd actually had fun. I gave him a curt nod as I said quietly, "You'll have to come see her sometime. I'm not sure how often I'll spend time with her while we're stuck here, but my Pokemon had an enjoyable time and I'm sure yours would too. Piplup hasn't exactly gotten any exercise lately, has he? Every time I see him he's lying down."
Dawn laughed, but Piplup scowled and slid into the pillow he was on to get more comfortable, "Piplup's just been having a vacation is all. That's a great plan. Maybe I could practice Contest moves with Demi."
"I'm sure she'd would like that."
Dawn pulled away, letting her hand trace down the side of my arm.
"What was that?" I let my nose press against her temple as I held in a chuckle.
"What?"
"That exhale through your nose, like you were scoffing."
"I wasn't scoffing." She grinned.
"What?"
"You're just so... different right now." Dawn said cheerfully, "I can tell you're happy and that makes me happy."
"Good." I let my fingertips meet hers, barely touching them. I took a breath, deciding to voice my thoughts before I could think through it, "I've been having nightmares and it's nice to not think about them for once."
"Demi does seem like the kind of kid who can keep nightmares away."
"She's a distraction." I said, frowning, "And I do realize I'll need to talk about things eventually..."
"No one's pushing you right now." Dawn put a hand on my cheek.
"Maybe not." I studied her beautiful blue eyes, so full of sincerity, "But maybe I need to be pushing myself."
That night, I hardly slept. Memories, not even my own, flooded my dreams, turning them into horrors. When I finally fell back asleep, my peaceful REM cycles would turn into nightmares- Drawing Turtwig would lead to being beaten up. Walking through a forest ended up as running for my life from a colony of Mankey. A Johto League Champion battle would lead to screaming as physical pain jolted me awake.
What's wrong with me? I wondered, shaking in the early hours of the morning. I had just had a perfectly fine day and had hoped it would lead to a normal sleep pattern. Yet this was the worst night since arriving in this town.
After what felt like hours of lying awake in fear, I ended up dozing off once again to wake up to Dawn being out of the room, a note lying next to my bed.
I went off to train. I'll see you tonight. Tomorrow we should spend the day together if you don't have plans. Love, Dawn.
I ran my fingers across the paper before placing my head back on the pillow, wishing I could somehow find rest. My eyes felt dry, like wind had been blowing at them after a full day of flying. My body shook a little from its weakened state. All I wanted to do was lie in bed-
"Paul?" Nurse Joy poked her head into our room. I stood up quickly as I noticed her grim expression, knowing she wouldn't bother me if it wasn't important.
We rushed down the halls, our footsteps echoing against the tile. I pushed the door to Salamence's room open, instantly met by a grumbling moan.
Salamence's head drooped, his mouth touching the ground. He was in an awkward position, his neck almost strangled by the harness considering he wasn't supporting his own weight. Salamence didn't move despite how uncomfortable the position must have been. At closer inspection, I could tell he was shaking.
"He has calcium and vitamin D3 deficiencies." Nurse Joy explained, "Plus being in this room, away from the sun, isn't good for Dragon types. He needs to go outside."
"What can you do for him?" I put a hand on his head. He shut his eyes tighter. My fists clenched.
"I'm going to have to give him some injections. Right now he's refusing to eat since he's in so much pain, which doesn't help his strength level." Nurse Joy said.
I nodded, "Is there any way to allow him to go outside?"
"Yes, though we need to wait until he's in a more stable condition and see how he reacts to this." Nurse Joy rifled through a drawer, pulling out two needles that were easily meant for larger Pokemon. She walked over to Salamence, injecting him twice. He didn't even seem to notice, which made me realize how much pain he must be in to not notice two large needles going through his hard scales.
"This should help in an hour or so, but I'm sure he might be sleeping or eating before he's ready to go outside."
"Thank you." I said, bowing slightly.
Nurse Joy nodded once and walked out the door.
I sat down by Salamence's head, rubbing it gently, "I really am sorry, you know."
He rumbled once before his breathing slowed and his body relaxed. I felt as if Nurse Joy also may have given him some morphine, but perhaps he was just tired. I sat by my Dragon for a long time, not really thinking of anything in particular as I listened to his steady breathing.
Small footsteps woke me. The door shut. I looked up groggily to see Demi staring at me wide eyed, "Is he ok?"
I looked at Salamence, who was still asleep, "Yeah. He'll be fine."
"Oh, good." Demi rushed over, petting his neck gently, then kissed it, "I can tell he's dreaming peacefully and feeling much better than earlier."
"How did you know he wasn't feeling well?"
"I just had a feeling." Demi stated, "So that's why I'm here. I knew you wouldn't come to the church today, so I decided to come to you."
Demi sat her petite body down next to mine and leaned against the wall before fidgeting anxiously and sitting up straight, her eyes shining as she stared at me expectantly.
"What?" I asked gruffly, getting uncomfortable.
"I don't know. What would you like to talk about?" Demi asked.
I watched her blink a few more times, not sure how eyes could possibly get that wide, "Nothing."
"That doesn't sound like much fun to talk about."
"I don't want to talk." I stared at Salamence's sleeping form.
"Oh. Why?"
She was so full of questions, "I don't enjoy talking as much as you do."
"But what about yesterday?" Demi asked.
I refrained from rubbing my face in agitation.
"We had fun yesterday. Together." Demi whispered.
"That was yesterday." I murmured back, "I've been awake most the night, or stuck in nightmares, including this one right now where my Pokemon is hurt."
"He'll be ok." She paused, "And so will you, if you just opened up."
"Yesterday was fun, but yesterday wasn't life." I answered bluntly.
"Really? Because I remember living yesterday."
I slammed one of my hands down on the tile. I didn't sense her flinch.
"I've had nightmares too. Used to be every night. About my parents-"
I stood up and walked towards the door, opening it and stepping outside. Unfortunately Demi followed me, whispering, "Good idea! We would've woken Salamence up if we stayed in there."
Unbelievable. This was why I didn't like kids. They demanded attention, were oblivious in nature, and had an inability to help themselves or take hints. I could feel not only my energy, but my patience draining away as if she was using Leech Life.
With that thought, I stiffly followed Demi out of the room and out to the lobby. She skipped there, sitting down on a vacant couch, patting right next to her and beaming at me as I sat down roughly, my jaw locked.
"So how are you doing, Paul?" Demi asked.
"Fine."
"You're not good at lying. Plus it's wrong to lie, you know."
"I didn't ask you."
"So I guess we can pretend Salamence is the only problem right now. That's fine." Demi looked up thoughtfully, "How can we help him?"
"Once he wakes up, I need to take him outside, which won't be the easiest feat." I explained.
"Ok, we can make that happen." Demi nodded.
"I don't need your help." I said shortly.
"You don't have a Psychic type with you."
"I can figure something out without your help."
"Oh, look!" Demi pointed, "What a cute Vibrava."
Within seconds, Demi had hurried across the lobby, making a Beedrill line for a young Trainer and his Vibrava, which looked badly injured. He was just handing his Vibrava to Nurse Joy, who sprinted back to the more urgent care section, cradling the Dragon type delicately.
The boy bit his lip and stood frozen. I stood up warily, watching Demi begin approaching in a more subtle fashion. She gently touched his arm. He looked up, startled, and tried to mask his worry.
"Hi. My name's Demi."
"Aaron." The boy turned away, a bit flustered. I was sure he was eleven years old, tops.
"What happened to your Vibrava?" Demi asked, her voice gentle.
"We were trapped for a while because of all the rock slides." Aaron took a deep, shaky breath, "Vibrava was hit by one. I don't know if he'll..."
Aaron cut off abruptly and looked down.
"Hey, it'll be alright."
"I don't know..."
"Would you like me to pray for him?" Demi got a bit closer and made eye contact.
His hesitant eyes met hers, "You'd really do that?"
"Of course."
"That sounds really nice." Aaron let out a pent-up breath.
"Alright. I will out loud now if you don't mind."
Aaron nodded, looking a bit embarrassed about the whole thing. I had no idea what he believed to know what was going through his mind. Of course, it occurred to me that Demi did. I frowned, yet again remembering how privacy was such an issue around her.
Demi got a bit closer and bowed her head, closing her eyes. Aaron quickly, yet bashfully, mimicked her. Demi's voice was too soft for me to catch what she said, though she prayed for a full two minutes. When she finished, she opened her eyes and smiled at Aaron, who lifted his head and smiled back at her, blinking a few times and nodding.
"Thanks. I feel a lot better now." Aaron said, taking a deep breath and letting it out.
"No problem." Demi beamed, "I'm going to go back with my friend, but if you want to join us, you can."
Aaron glanced over at me, ducking his head back to look to Demi in fear, "That's ok. I'm really tired and I'm just going to wait until Vibrava is all better."
"That's the spirit. Well, we'll be here if you need us." Demi waved good bye and came to stand by me again. She was smiling cheerfully.
"Did you read his mind?" I asked quietly, glancing at Aaron.
"Well, I knew he was upset, but I didn't know anything else. When someone is that upset or emotional in any way, I can sense it without even trying to. I can't help it." Demi watched her hands as she played with her fingers, "But if you ask me, our emotions scream for help all the time, even if we're not asking for help openly. Our hearts don't really hold things back like we do."
"So you don't know what he thinks about you asking him to pray suddenly?" I asked suspiciously.
"Nope."
"Or if he's Christian?"
"Nope." Demi hesitated, then whispered, "But if I had to guess, he wasn't raised Christian, but I think he'll know God pretty soon."
I frowned, "And what makes you so sure?"
"Just a feeling."
Just a feeling. She said that a lot. I winced as I got a déjà vu.
"So if you weren't trying to convert him, then why did you even bother going to talk to him?"
Demi scrunched up her nose and looked at me, "That's not what it's about. It's about loving people and just being there for him. He's my brother in Christ and I'm not going to force him to believe anything. No one can force anyone to do anything. They have their own free will."
That was interesting. Christians were infamous for forcing their views upon others. Or, rather, some of them. Demi didn't seem like that at all.
"May I read your thoughts?" She asked gently.
"Oh, so you want permission now?" I asked, wondering how to shut my thoughts down so she couldn't gain access.
"I asked for permission yesterday, remember? Plus you have a lot of questions and I feel like it'd be easier for me to answer them if I just look into them. If you focus on the questions and that's it, I won't be able to read anything else." Demi said politely.
I sighed. I didn't want her in my head today, "No, I refuse. But you can answer one question."
"What is it?"
"Is your brother like you?" I was curious to know if he was just as annoying and weird.
Demi opened her mouth in confusion before laughing.
"Well?"
"He's very different from me." She said, smiling, "But if you meant if he treats people the same way, with love, then yes. He's the same as me, if not better."
I absorbed that information, but didn't particularly believe her.
"Would you like to meet him?"
"No."
"Well, you are going to sometime."
"You don't know that."
Demi smiled.
"What?" I asked, irritated.
"Nothing." Demi said, "So, what would you like to do till Salamence wakes up?"
The conversation turned into an argument, or rather, me arguing with a very stubborn little girl who didn't lose her cool despite my insistence of her leaving me alone until Salamence was awake. We ended up settling to both go to the Pokemon Center library, where I picked up a book and settled into a chair to read.
Demi seemed interested in reading before spying a table that held a stack of clean paper and pencils. She quickly sat down, making a lot of noise as she did, and began drawing. I peered over my book occasionally, wanting to ask what she was drawing, but decided that starting up a conversation with her would be similar to being blasted by a Blastoise's Hydro Pump.
After an hour or so, my stomach began alerting me of its displeasure, causing me to realize I hadn't eaten anything yet. I put my book down neatly on the table and walked over to Demi, who was immersed in her drawing, one of many. Sheets were scattered all over the table, a few of them sprawled on the floor. Her lip was curled in concentration as she drew a Fletchling. It wasn't very well done, but much better than the average nine year old. I didn't really expect anything less from her.
Demi noticed I was watching her and looked up, "Hi."
"You've been busy." I commented, beginning to look through the papers on her table. Most of the drawings were of small Pokemon that most people considered cute. I spotted all of her Pokemon drawn among the pages, all cheerful.
"Yeah. Wanna see my favorite?" Demi searched through the papers and handed the one she was looking for to me.
A Swablu was flying happily, wings outstretched. It was one of her better drawings. It reminded me of Dawn, so I smiled.
"Oh, you must like it."
"Yeah."
"You can keep it."
I was a bit shocked by her willingness to give me her favorite drawing. I'd always protected mine ferociously as a child, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. It's a gift."
I wanted to ask what was in it for her, but I refrained and instead took the drawing as she held it out for me, "Thank you."
"You're welcome!" Demi said cheerfully, "So, ready for lunch?"
"Read my thoughts?" I asked, annoyed.
Demi grinned, "Your stomach is louder than your thoughts."
She began laughing at my surprise before I masked my face, "Let's go, kid."
Hey Readers!
So, I absolutely love Demi. Can't say that enough. And her and Paul together are hilarious to me. They're great. I say that as if I'm not writing the story... I'm not being boastful, I promise. I just love both of them :P Really, I don't take any credit for them being who they are anyway.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I love writing this story so much.
Pokemon Question of the Day: Which Pokemon do you like drawing most? Or, if you don't draw, which one would you want to be really good at drawing?
Have a great day! God bless.
-Flips