We spent the rest of the day trying to get as far away from Banette Pass as we could. Suri was afraid they would keep following us, and she wanted to be rather safe than sorry. I wasn't going to complain. Those things had scared me half to death and I wanted to be nowhere near that part of the trail. By the time sunset came around, the pass was nothing more than a distant shadowy line pockmarking Reversal Mountain's dark tan face.
Suri decided to make camp at a spot where the trail was much wider than the rest. She claimed it was a good spot to set up as long as you didn't sleep too close to the cliff edge. Why anyone would even consider that was beyond me.
Flaris lit the campfire and a second later it became the only light on the mountain. While everyone ate whatever pre-packed food they had brought, I stared off into the distance, admiring the purples and blues that made up the dusk sky. Suri noticed my staring and made a comment.
"If you think tonight's view is nice, the peak's view will blow your socks off!" she said excitedly. "You'll be able to see to Castelia from there." I nodded and went back to watching the sky, wondering if I'd be able to see Aspertia from the peak tomorrow night.
The night passed with little issue as did the next day. The trail took a turn for the steep side and I swore I was climbing at an almost vertical incline most of the time. Suri's Venasaur would use its vines to carry us across small chasms or we'd use our Flying-types to scale ninety-degree cliffs. I was exhausted but I knew that every step I took brought us closer to Undella Town. It was only a matter of time until we did make it.
"Okay everyone, we have a little longer to go then we'll make camp!" Suri announced, her cheery tone never once fading. We all tiredly nodded and continued our trudge up the mountain.
There were no longer half-dead trees or vegetation of any kind by the time we reached the peak. Suri told us that we were making camp, and I flopped down on the ground, not caring how dirty my coat got. My chest heaved in an effort to draw breath, and I was feeling a little light-headed.
"Nate, get up," Rosa said, nudging me with her foot.
"Give... give me like... two more seconds and... I'll... I'll be fine," I gasped.
"The oxygen's thinner up here," Rosa said, pulling me up into a sitting position. "That's why Suri let us take so many breaks today. We aren't used to such high altitude."
"Good to know... Would've been nice to learn that before we climbed this over-sized hunk of rock."
"Stop whining and drink." Rosa playfully shoved a bottle of water into my hands. I smiled, accepting her offer. When we got to Undella Town, I'd have to give her that training I promised her months ago. I was briefly shocked at how long ago that was. It seemed like yesterday we were having our first battles against Hugh. So much had happened since then, it was crazy!
Rosa, Hugh and I watched the sun set from the cliff's edge. The palette of cool colors wrapped together into a gorgeous display of fading light. It was almost otherworldly. I could remember watching the sun set from Aspertia's lookout and it didn't look to different from the view now, maybe a bit clearer. Like Suri said, I could see the brightly lit spires of Castelia City off in the distance. Sadly, I couldn't see Aspertia, or Virbank for that matter.
"It's awesome, isn't it?" Hugh asked, his gaze not breaking from the sight.
"Yeah, it is," I replied.
"I agree completely," Rosa added. None of us said a thing after that. I was sure we collectively thought that conversation would spoil the beauty before us. We watched the sunset until the last rays of light had faded altogether, throwing the world into a sea of midnight-blue. Afterwards, we all settled in for the night. I slipped into my sleeping bag and pulled my hood over my head. The fire provided enough warmth against the winter cold and I found myself drifting off within a matter of minutes.
~*~*~*~
I had no idea what time it was when I woke up. It was still dark out, so what had disturbed me? I groggily sat up, wiping the sleep from my eyes and taking a look around the campsite. The fire had burned down to embers and everyone was still asleep. All except for one person. I noticed Hugh's new sleeping bag was empty, and panic momentarily gripped me. Did something happen to him? I then saw the dark outline of someone sitting on the cliff edge, facing away from the camp. It had to be Hugh.
I quietly left the warm embrace of my sleeping bag and walked over to where he was. He was sitting crisscrossed on the ground with a worn blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
"Got room for one more?" I whispered jokingly. Hugh looked startled but calmed down once he saw it was me.
"Sure, it's not like I'm saving seats," he replied. I took a seat beside him and let my legs dangle freely off the side of the cliff. For a while we didn't speak. We instead observed the starry night sky. It looked as if someone had purposefully spilled sugar onto a deep blue tablecloth and the tiny flakes had begun emitting their own light. Since I was curious why Hugh was awake in the first place, I was the one to break the silence.
"Couldn't sleep, huh?" I asked, turning to look at him.
"Mhm." He nodded, intently focused on a cluster of stars shaped sort of like a Leavanny. "You don't need to worry. It happens often."
"Oh, okay." I paused awkwardly, not sure what to say next. "Soooo... why can't you sleep?" I tried, hoping to get more of an answer this time. He didn't answer. "C'mon Hugh, you can tell me." When he didn't answer again, I playfully nudged him with my elbow. "What do I have to say that'll make you tell? How about, 'Friends always share secrets,' or something cheesy like that."
Hugh chuckled and looked to me, smiling slightly. "You're not wrong there."
"So will ya tell me? You've been acting weird ever since we escaped the Frigate and you won't tell anyone. You really shouldn't keep everything to yourself, you know?" I asked hopefully.
"Why shouldn't I?" he said, looking away. He was trying to end the conversation, that meant I was getting closer. I decided to drop the coaxing and go for the kill.
"It's about Pearls or the Triad, right? I saw how you reacted when Suri brought them up the day before. Just tell me what's going on, please?" I placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping that would get him to open up.
Hugh sighed and shook his head. "I can't get anything past ya, can I? You're like Rosa when you want to be, that's for sure."
"So tell me," I said.
"Okay, fine. I had a nightmare and couldn't fall back asleep. There, I told you."
I shook my head. "That's not good enough. You said earlier that you couldn't sleep often, and that means you're having nightmares regularly."
"Since when did you become so perceptive?"
"Stop changing the subject," I said with a seriousness I never knew I could express. My eyes narrowed and I stared at Hugh intently. "You need to tell me. It'll make you feel better."
At first, he didn't respond. He stared at the sky as if he would find his response there, then finally looked back to me. "Nearly every night since Pearls was stolen, I'd have dreams where I'd relive those few moments. Over and over, night after night. I could never do anything to alter the events, I'd be nothing more than a bystander. I eventually managed to learn to cope with them, as much as you could cope with something like that." He paused.
"See, was that so hard?"
"I'm not done yet," he said. "Lately, those dreams have changed. They're no longer about Lily or Pearls. Now, I'm in some place, usually the Frigate or the Driftveil cargo yard, and I'm alone except for one other person. The man with the Tangrowth, Kage. It's only him and me, no people, no Pokémon. The events would then play out the same. I would try to run or hide from him and he would chase me. No matter how fast I ran or how secluded a spot I would find to hide, he'd always find me. When he did, he'd try to kill me. Sometimes he used a knife or he'd use his bare hands, but he would go for my neck.
"Once I tried fighting back. You can probably imagine how that turned out. I only lasted for a second before he finished me off. I would never die in my dream. I'd feel the agony right up until I was going to lose consciousness and then I'd wake up, heart racing like I'd run a marathon. They're so realistic that it's hard to think of them being normal nightmares anymore. It's happening nearly every night now, and each time, I feel he's getting closer to killing me. I seem to feel the pain for a second longer or the blood rising in my throat would taste a little stronger. And... it scares me."
I stared at my friend, utterly speechless. He had to go through that almost every night, and he still managed to act like nothing was wrong. It was strange, I finally got him to tell, but now I had no idea where to go from there. I bit my lip, trying to think of something to say. Something, anything to comfort him or lighten the mood. I was good at that, so why couldn't I do it now?
"I hate being scared, Nate. It makes me feel sick and unsure of what's happening. But that's all I feel nowadays." Hugh's voice sounded choked. "I... I can't stand it!" He put his head down and I was shocked to hear him begin to sob. His shoulders shook and he covered his mouth in a poor attempt to stifle them. Hearing that snapped me out of my silence.
"Hugh, it's going to be okay!" I ignored our usual half-hug policy and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tighter than I ever had anyone else. "You'll be okay, really! We're all looking out for each other and none of us would let anything bad happen to the other. That's what best friends are for! We protect each other and help each other through anything life throws at us." The sentiment then broke me, and I felt tears sliding down my face, alarmingly warm on my chilled skin. "So stop keeping everything to yourself and let us help you!"
"You don't have to—"
"No! You're not gonna refuse this. Everyone is willing to, so let us help, please!" I cried, clenching my hands until I felt my nails cutting into my palms. I was surprised I hadn't woken anyone else with how loud I was getting.
Hugh kept trying to resist, but I wouldn't relent. I wasn't going to sit by and watch my friend suffer like this! And after what felt like hours of borderline begging, he finally said yes.
"Fine, I'll let you. I just didn't want to worry you and the others with my problems."
"Thank you." I released him and sat back, a smile breaking through all of the tears. I must have been more of a mess than him at this point. I didn't care though. This little mission, while a bit messy, had been a success and I was overjoyed to have that result.
"But you know... that little speech of yours was worse than those said in a bad sitcom," Hugh said, shaking his head.
"Hey, my house doesn't have cable," I replied with a grin.
Hugh tried to smile and wiped away his tears, no doubt embarrassed to have started crying in front of me. We both were, and it oddly made the situation a little better. "Nate, look at that," he said, pointing off into the distance.
I turned and looked at the sky. Right along the edge of the horizon, the sun was beginning to rise. The line of yellow streaked the night sky with bits of yellow and red, signaling the start of a new day. Its beauty matched that of the sunset, maybe even surpassed it. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep now, Suri would be waking the others up in less than an hour. While we waited for that to happen, Hugh and I watched the sun rise, a moment of blissful calm in the hurricane of turmoil were stranded in. Everything would be fine, it really would be.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The video used for this chapter was created by GlitchxCity and all credit goes to her for her amazing remix of "Unwavering Emotions."