"Did you say that we have to fight those goons?" I demanded.
"Yes," Andy said. "We saw that Pichu can fight. He's really tough. And the guy that I got Meowth from said Meowth is extremely tough." He let Meowth out of his Pokeball and told him our plan. We were going to have to attack the guards from behind and get one of them to tell us why we were kidnapped, then use it to our advantage, get to Mr. Pokemon's house and then call the police.
"Pichu, if you see someone walking towards us, you use Thundershock," I said. "Unless it's me, Andy or Meowth. But you stay really close on me. Stay on my shoulder so you don't get lost. It's dark in these halls."
"We have to whisper," Andy said. The room we were in had both doors locked. Andy reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "Meowth and I jumped a guard from behind and got this key. It opens pretty much any door. Here, get a weapon ready in case our Pokemon can't do the job." He reached into some cupboards in the room. A lot of them were empty and some had cups in them. I looked into the ones on the other side of the room. A lot of pills stood there. I opened another one and saw a foot-long steel pipe. "Found one," Andy whispered.
"So did I," I said.
Andy was holding a chain. I showed him my pipe. "Ready?" he asked.
I nodded. Andy unlocked one of the doors. "Pichu, go out and see if it's safe," I whispered.
Pichu nodded and then slowly went outside the partly opened door. After about five seconds, he came back in and nodded. He then jumped onto my shoulder again. I grabbed the steel pipe and closed all the cupboards. Andy shoved Meowth's Pokeball in his pocket and wrapped the chain around his wrist. Andy walked out first. I followed him with Pichu on my shoulder and Meowth behind me.
We walked into the hall. "Should we split up and use my walkie-talkie's to tell each other when we found a way out?" I asked. "Or when one of us is in trouble."
Andy nodded. I handed him a walkie-talkie. We both put them in our pockets. "Be careful," we told each other in unison. I wrapped Andy in a tight hug. Andy patted me on the shoulder. Even in the dark, I saw him motion for Meowth to stay beside him. I watched until they vanished into the shadows and then I turned and started walking the other way. The dark hallway was quiet and spooky.
The dark hallways twisted and turned throughout the building. A lump was left in my throat as I looked forward, Andy and Meowth now gone through the shadows. I had a feeling something bad would happen ...
I tried to be as quiet as I could. I turned one corner and looked around. No guards.
"If we find a way out, we need to contact Andy ... if we make it out of here."
I put my finger to my lips. Pichu saw it and nodded to show that he understood. I looked around the next corner and frowned. Pichu did the same. The hall was brightly lit and two guards were standing there, talking. There was no way we'd be able to get through without them noticing us. I backed into the hall again and opened a door. That door was also brightly lit with lights as three guards sat around a table drinking beers and telling jokes. I then looked above me and saw an air vent. I looked up at Pichu who was now on my shoulder.
"Pichu," it whispered nodding.
"Okay," I whispered back. I stuck the steel pipe into a hole in the wall. I then used it to put my foot up. I stood on the pipe in the wall and then slowly pulled off the door protecting the air vent. I then slowly let it fall to the floor. It barely made a sound. Pichu jumped in. I climbed into the opening after it, Pichu pulling my hand to help me up.
I wriggled my legs up. I heard guards coming around the corner.
"Hurry!" I mouthed to Pichu. Pichu understood me in the dark and pulled harder, while I pushed up harder. I was finally in. I reached down and pulled the pipe out of the hole in the wall and then ducked my body back in. Pichu and I slowly crawled backwards.
Below my I heard the guard pass. The footsteps faded away in the distance. I breathed a sigh of relief. In the vent there was barely enough room for me to stand up. I hit my head if I tried to stand on my tip-toes. I walked as quietly as possible, Pichu standing right in front of me, using a Flash attack. Suddenly, the walkie talkie in my pocket buzzed. It shook violently in my pocket. I pulled it out.
"Andy?"
"Yes," he muttered. "They have me! They have me locked in a closet with rope around my feet. Please come and get me!"
"Okay! Did you happen to see what room you were in?" I whispered.
"I glanced before I went in," he replied. "Room B-19. It unlocks from the outside, but not from inside. Knock twice on the door so I know it's you and then I'll give you a password."
"Yeah?"
"The password is string," he said. "String. Remember that. But be careful. If you see a guard coming, save yourself and run!"
"Okay," I said. "But when I give you the password, you knock back on the door silently, three times so I know it's you, okay?"
"Yes," he said. "Be careful. I tried using my chain on them, but it didn't even hurt!"
"Wow..." I whispered. "I'll be extra careful. Over and out. Ha ... always wanted to say that. Seeya in about five minutes."
Pichu crawled in front of me still. I looked down to make sure I didn't pass the closet Andy was in. Finally I made it into the B section. I patted Pichu on the head. Then I looked down. There was a guard walking around in a circle. I rose up my foot and stomped down on the air vent door. It fell down on top of the guard, cracking him in the head. He fell hard to the ground. I jumped out of the air vent, landing on my knees, right on top of the guard's back. Pichu then jumped onto his head. I knocked on the door twice and whispered "string."
After about 10 seconds I heard someone knock on the door three times. I smiled and opened it. Andy was standing there. He smiled and hugged me. I hugged him back, then took the rope from his legs. "Look out!" he yelled.
I turned and saw a guard rush towards me. He had a gun in his hand. He fired it. Andy, Meowth and I ducked. The bullet hit the door, leaving a hole in it. Pichu then used a Thunderbolt. The guard fell to the ground. I ran to where the gun had dropped and so did another guard. We both grabbed it. He pulled one end and I pulled the other.
"Let ... go!" I screamed.
"YOU!" the guard yelled right back. He was tall and slender with muscular arms and fuzzy brown hair. He had a white mustache that hang over his mouth and a huge scar on his forehead.
I knew that eventually he probably would attack me, but if he got his hands on the gun we would all be dead.
I reached up my foot and kicked the gun. A bullet fire and hit a light, sending sparks flying. I then picked up my pipe and spun around. I caught the guard in the side of the head. He staggered backwards and nearly collapsed.
To my horror, I saw that he was holding the rifle in his hands. He put his finger on the trigger. He prepared to fire a bullet, but a dark figure jumped on top of him.
I saw it was Andy. He had pulled the ropes from his feet and was now punching the guard in the face. I screamed as an icy cold hand reached over my face and pulled me to the ground.
I squirmed around, desperate to get free. I couldn't breath. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Andy hitting someone in the face and knocking him to the ground. The rest was black.
I still had my eyes closed even though I wasn't knocked out anymore. I heard some whispering. I opened one eye and moved my head around, to make sure the coast was clear. There was no one in the room with me. I was in a small room with bookshelves on all the walls. I was tied to a steel table. Ropes around my ankles and around my waist. I had handcuffs on, but my hands had been placed under my back, making it impossible to move. Tape was over my mouth, so I couldn't say anything. I sat up and wriggled around. It was impossible to get my arms over my head.
I turned to my right. On the ground was Pichu in a cage. "Pii!" it chirped.
I gave it a small nod, signaling that I knew we had to find a way out, get Andy and then get to Mr. Pokemon's house to call the police. That was our plan. But now I didn't know how that would be accomplished.
Suddenly, a blue blanket was thrown over me. It felt like it weighed 30 pounds. A light shined over my face. I tried to break free once more, but I was slapped hard in the face.
"Experiment 342 is complete," a female voice said. She ran her fingers through my hair. I grunted and flinched.
The woman came into view. She smiled. "Don't fight it sweetie. It's your own fault that you're here. We'll simply hafta erase this from your memory." She ripped the tape from my mouth.
"Ow! What are you doing with me? I didn't do anything! Someone threw me in a hole so I followed some guys, hoping to find a way out."
The woman pretended she didn't hear me. She was at a sink, washing her hands. "My name is Florida. You have seen Experiment 342. You know what it is and we simply cannot let you go now."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "I didn't wanna be here! I didn't see anything. I don't know anything about Experiment 324."
"342," Florida corrected, now putting rubber gloves on her hands. "And I think you do know. That's not good for ACXX."
"Listen, I was just doing a favor for my mentor. I didn't wanna be here. Listen to me! I just wanted to go to Mr. Pokemon's house, get a nice sleep and then go back to Professor Oak with the parcel he ordered. I don't know what the ACXX is. I was only here for about 15 minutes and then someone knocked me out when they kidnapped my friend. Let me go. I swear I won't tell anyone. Even if I don't know what I'm not supposed to be telling them."
Florida finally paid attention to me. She had put on a labcoat. "Close your eyes," she said.
"No way you psycho!"
"Fine. You go ahead and be that way." The light was now so close to my face, that I could barely open my eyes anyway. I gasped as I felt something pierce my skin.
"Get off me!" I cried.
Florida pulled out the needle. But I heard her scream and then fall to the ground.
"What? Who's there?" I couldn't see anything with the light in my face. I felt the ropes loosen from my legs and then the light rose up from above my face. The handcuffs unclicked. I sat up and pulled the ropes off of my waist and then turned to whoever had saved me. He was over at Pichu's cage, opening it with a key.
He turned around and I saw he had gray hair, blue eyes and tan skin. He smiled. "Hello," he said. "I'm so sorry about what happened. I've found your friend, Andy. He's waiting outside, standing guard. But we have to get out of here quickly. I was captured by these people also. Luckily I had my Wartortle and Lickitung with me. We wiped them out. Come."
He let Pichu out of the cage. My voice was caught in my throat. I didn't know what to say. "Uh ... th-thank you," I sputtered. "Do you have a name?"
He gave me another warm smile. "Pokemon," he said. "Walter Pokemon."
Walter? Walter Pokemon, was he Mr. Pokemon? "Um ... are you Mr. Pokemon?" I asked.
"Only if you're nasty," he said with a chuckle. "I will answer all of your questions as soon as we get out of here."
Florida had returned to her feet. "I can take her," I insisted. Without even thinking, I leapt on top of Florida. She fell hard to the ground. She screamed and threw slaps and punches at me. I tasted blood on my lips. This sick woman had lied about some experiment and then tried to cut open my brain or something. I was going to give her a little taste of what she intended to do to me.
I kicked her hard in the shins. She gasped in pain. I punched her hard in the face. She fell backwards over a chair. Her head thudded as it hit the ground. "Stop!" she cried, raising up her hands to protect herself. I grabbed her wrist and put a handcuff on it. I took the other side of the handcuff and locked it around a pole. I grabbed the key and hurled it hard into the wall. I heard a crack as it fell behind a book case.
"No!" she cried. She tried to move from the pole, but she was stuck. Mr. Pokemon had pulled me away and opened the door. I wasn't finished. I hit Florida in the face with one more hard punch. She slumped to the floor, with blood trickling from her nose. I then took the light and shone it right into her face. She winced at the bright light. Andy, Mr. Pokemon and Meowth all had to pull me back from Florida.
"She tried to cut open my head!" I insisted. "That's what her plan was."
Mr. Pokemon slapped a hand over my mouth. "Please keep quiet," he whispered. "I just saw some guards walk by seconds ago."
Andy took a tissue from his pocket and handed it to me. "Half your face is covered in blood," he said. "Now keep quiet ... we need to get out of here as soon as we can. I think that these people are Team Rocket in disguise. There's this closet down the hall. They have like, 40 Pokemon in cages there. We need to get to the police, NOW."
Mr. Pokemon, Andy, Pichu, Meowth and I walked as quietly down the halls and through rooms as we could. Finally, we reached the dirt pit where we had fallen into. "This is where some guy threw us into the hole," I said. "How are we supposed to get up there?"
Mr. Pokemon looked around. "That ladder. Andy, please set it up."
Andy picked up a huge ladder. Pichu jumped on top of my head. Meowth, Andy, Mr. Pokemon and I climbed to the top of the ladder. He then turned to me. "I am going to give you a boost," he said. "You put your hand into that hole over there and try to climb up. Then I'll hoist Meowth up to you. Meowth will use its claws to climb to the top of the hole. There is a long rope on my porch and right next to the hole, is a horshew pole. Tie the rope to that and throw it down."
I nodded. He put his two hands together.
I placed my foot in his cupped hands. I hoisted myself up and grasped the hole. I then pulled myself u higher and put my foot in the hole. I looked down and nodded.
Mr. Pokemon held Meowth up to me. I reached down and pulled it up with my hand. He climbed over my shoulder and drove his claws into the wall. He did the same with his other hands, clawing into the wall, and climbing slowly to the top. I looked down and gulped. I was about 10 feet above the ladder, and at least 25 or 26 feet above the ground. If I fell, I'd probably break most of the bones in my body.
My face was drenched in sweat. I realized I was holding my breath. I looked down and saw Andy and Mr. Pokemon muttering to each other on the ladder.
"Meowth!" Meowth called down the hole. I looked up. Meowth had a rope in his hand.
"Good, Meowth!" Andy whispered. "Tie one end to the horshew pole and throw the other end down!" I saw Meowth vanish out of sight for about 20 seconds.
Suddenly, a rush of voices echoed through the hall. "Hurry!" Mr. Pokemon was now yelling. A rope went tumbling down the hole. It fell past me and down to Andy and Mr. Pokemon. Mr. Pokemon tied the pole to the top of the ladder.
"I see them!" a Rocket cried. In the dark, I could see a muscular man standing in the room now.
"Laura, Andy, you two start climbing up!" Mr. Pokemon ordered.
I did not want to argue. Pichu jumped off of my head and onto the rope. It was almost like a tightrope, except we used our hands instead of our feet. It reminded me of monkey bars. I wrapped my legs around first and then pulled myself up the rope with my hands.
Pichu edged in front of me. Andy was only a few feet below me. The Rockets were close enough to reach the ladder now. I was near the hole. I felt the rope begin to shake. I paused for a second and looked down. One of the Rockets were climbing up the ladder. I looked up again. Pichu had already climbed out of the hole. I reached up my hand and grasped a handful of grass. Pichu and Meowth both grabbed one of my hands and pulled me up.
Andy was next. I grabbed one hand, while Pichu and Meowth grabbed the other one. All four of us went crashing hard to the ground.
"Where's Mr. Pokemon?" Andy asked, spitting grass out of his mouth.
I wiped hair out of my eyes and peered over the hole. It was pitch black, and I couldn't see a thing.
"I think the Rockets might have caught up to him," I said quietly. Andy looked at me, and his eyes widened. "What?" I asked. Then I realized Andy wasn't looking at me. He was looking over my shoulder.
I turned and saw a huge man. He was wearing a black suit with a pink R on it. Scars decorated his face. He had no bottom lip and was missing an ear. One of his eyes was completely black and he didn't open it. He was bald and his nose was black and blue. He reached down and grabbed me by the neck. With his other hand, he grabbed Andy. Pichu and Meowth both jumped at him, but the man rose up his knee and sent both Pokemon sprawling to the ground.
He came near the hole. I knew that he intended to throw us back in. I rose up my hand and punched him in the face. To my horror, his face completely fell off. I looked down at the chunk of skin in my hands then back up at him. He had a metallic face. "Experiment 342!" I gasped.
He was now holding us both over the pit. All he had to do was let go and we'd go falling 40 feet, probably to our death.
"CHHHHHAAAAAARRR!" a huge voice roared. A huge orange dragon burst out of the hole. A Charizard!
My face was turning blue. E342 was holding me tightly by the neck. Mr. Pokemon was amazingly, on top of Charizard.
"Flamethrower!" he cried.
Charizard sent a HUGE rush of fire right at E342. The android turned at the last second. He was thrown back with amazing strength. Andy and I landed on the grass with a thud. E342 was suspended in midair. Sparks flew from all around him. His head shook violently, and then he fell hard on the ground. He got to his feet. Now his hands had came off, revealing steel hands with extremely sharp metal claws.
"Shock Wave!" I commanded to Pichu.
"Charizard, Fire Blast!" Mr. Pokemon yelled.
"Meowth, Pay Day!" Andy ordered.
The 3 attacks combined and knocked E342 backwards with amazing force. His head thudded against the ground and then he fell into the pit. Charizard then shook a tree. The tree snapped at the bottom, only leaving a stump. Charizard walked over to the pit and shoved the tree inside. It plugged up the hole.
Mr. Pokemon had called the police. Andy and I couldn't sleep at all. "Professor Elm wanted us to get something from you," I said to Mr. Pokemon. "That's why we came here in the first place, sir."
Mr. Pokemon smiled. He reached into a box and pulled something up. It looked like a black box. It was metallic. "I think Elm would want you to be there by today. So I am going to have Charizard fly you there. It knows the way. Charizard knows the way back here. He'll drop you off."
"Thank you," Andy and I said in unison.
We grabbed our backpacks and walked out the door. Mr. Pokemon sent out Charizard. Pichu fell asleep in my backpack and Meowth was in Andy's Pokeball. We climbed onto Charizard. I held the box in my hands. Charizard flew off towards New Bark Town.
TO BE CONTINUED