Chapter Seven: Dreams

I was lying awake in bed, staring at the slanted dirty ceiling that was two meters away from my face. The ceiling was quite interesting, with dust and some cobwebs, and all little cracks that would make up pictures if you looked at them in a certain way.  But, back to the story. I was replaying what had happened today in my mind.

The Gyarados had suddenly appeared a wild one of course. Mr Cauchi and Mrs Holland, and Mr Pannuchio weren't worried at all. And, even though I didn't say it, but I did see Mr Cauchi lift his hand up, with the walkie-talkie in it, and cover up a cough. Thoughts flew through my mind. What if, Mr Cauchi wasn't coughing, but giving orders? Maybe that Gyarados wasn't wild after all. 

And when the Gyarados began to create the waves and choppy water, was that to exterminate us? Was it so that Year 6 of Poke Immaculate would perish, and they could make it look like an accident? Stop it Tara, I said to myself. You're tired and your imagination is going wild. Get to sleep. I did just that. And things got weirder.


I was spinning, in a cartoon whirl of blue, grey and white. I finally landed on the ground, but it was all misty and I couldn't see a thing.

"Tara," a deep clear voice boomed, echoing all around me.

"Who…Who said that?" I asked carefully, looking all around the mist. A dark shadow came walking out of the mist and to me. It was some kind of person, but I couldn't tell, as it was wearing a trench coat that reached down to the floor, a broad hat, and dark mirror lens sunglasses, like international spy's in movies. It laid its cold, clammy hand on my shoulder and lifted me up. "What…What do you want?"

"I am here," it said, it's voice still echoing. "To show you, what you have to do at this camp. Why things are the way they are. Where you will end up in ten years time if you don't do something."

"What…What are you talking about?" I asked, scared. The stranger merely laughed, and waved the other hand through the mist circling around us. The mist faded, and I saw a young girl, in kindergarten, running around a playground full of children. Her hair was long and in two long plats, and she wore glasses. A Charmander, young too, ran beside her, laughing like she did. My mind froze. That, the little girl, was I, and the Charmander was my Charmeleon! But, how could that be? I was seeing myself, six years ago, when I had just gotten Charmander. I ran (the girl, not year six me) and suddenly crashed into somebody, and fell over. Charmander was down too, and had knocked down a Squirtle with it.

"Hey!" the boy whom I had knocked over cried. "Why did you knock me over?" I knew that whiny voice, especially when he used it now. It was Robert!

"I'm sorry," I apologised. "It was a mistake."

"Wanna fight?" he asked (or squeaked compared to now).

"Go Charmander!" I cried.

"Squirtle!" Robert cried.

"Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!" I yelled, jumping up and down.

"Tackle!" Robert ordered. "Go!"

The pokémon ran at each other, and one scratched, one tackled. They both went flying back, unable to battle.

"It was a draw!" I cheered.

"What's your name?" Robert asked.

"I'm Tara Erif," I replied. "Who are you?"

"I'm Robert Retaw!" Robert cried back. We ran off together, our pokémon in their pokéballs.

"Remember that?" the strange person holding my shoulder, asked. I nodded. It had been so clear, so clear that it was scary. "Now…Remember this" It waved its arm again, and it turned misty, wiping out the image of the playground. When the mist faded once again, a new image was there. This time, it was year four. I stood there, a new haircut, waiting for Robert, Mathew and Dion by the big elm tree.

"Robert!" I called, as he ran up to me. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know," he replied. "They said they'd be here." We sat down and began to talk, but I wasn't paying attention. What was this all about? And why were Robert and I in all the flashbacks?

"What is this all about eh?" the stranger chuckled, creating mist again. "Why are you and Robert in all these flashbacks? Hee hee hee. Isn't it obvious? I don't hang around you because you hang around us. It's not just because you're cool…" He laughed again. "Let me show you something else…" The mist faded for one final time, and a whole lot of pictures swirled around the stranger and I. I saw me and Robert meeting, at Robert's birthday party, at my birthday party, when we went to the movies, when I slept over his house, us walking to and from school, the day when he became all depressed and moody, up to camp when he saved me. The stranger let go of me, and I fell. Fell through the floor down a bottomless pit. He suddenly reached down and grabbed my hand, and I hung there, holding him. With his other hand, the stranger whipped off the cover, to reveal…

*


"Robert!" I gasped, sitting up in my bunk. I looked around breathing deeply. Cindi, Chantelle, Stephanie and the Poogle Twins were all sleeping, and my pokéballs lay untouched on the top of the wardrobe. I lay down again, the dream playing through my mind. Was there really another reason why Robert hung around me? I was settling back off to sleep, when, a clattering pole outside the room crashed on the ground startling me. I hopped out of bed and onto the floor below and crept out of the cabin. The pole lay on the floor, burnt black. It wasn't my pokémon's fault, so what was it?

That's when I smelt the smoke and felt the heat…