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Chapter Three: When Boring Becomes Better than Exciting
The next day the same boring routine started again. Etan got ready for school while his mom and dad got ready to go to Niapach. He told Spearow and his parents good bye. He also told Spearow that he couldn’t wait to talk to him again and couldn’t wait until he could do some more “training” as well. Because of Etan’s over eagerness to get back from school before it even started, he decided to take the Soul Talker with him. The Soul Talker would help give him something to look forward to during the school day. He then left and waited at the bus stop until the school bus to Onolot arrived. After that Etan got on and waited for the half an hour ride to end like usual. Meanwhile, his parents had both left for work and this time didn’t put Spearow away because they knew he wouldn’t get into any trouble (although they still had some doubts about that decision). Arial arrived at Lightning Speed Inc. and got right to her work. Etan’s father went to Pokemon Paradise Inc. full of questions that he would want to ask Steve and Alan. This day seemed longer than usual to Etan because today he actually had something to look forward to. It was the change that he had been waiting for. The change was the ability and chance to talk to Spearow. Actually, it was the ability and chance to talk to all Pokemon! As Etan reflected some more on what a marvelous fact this was he hardly could believe it. It was just so amazing and something that he had always dreampt for. And it wasn’t only a marvelous thing to be marveled at. It was also a great tool that would, maybe one day, be able to help with the many problems facing the current times. I mean look at what it had already done! The Soul Talker allowed Etan’s family to get a hold of very important information. What if many other Pokemon had information of equal value? The information that other Pokemon had could lead to the end of all Pokemon crime groups in the near future. This was a very miraculous thought, because if you could say that human beings could trust Pokemon for providing information to actually help capture criminals, then you could also say that they had the ability to obtain true intelligence. What if there were Pokemon out there that were much smarter than the average Pokemon or even the average human being? If Etan could ask himself that question then he could also ask himself another. What if there were Pokemon out there that greatly surpassed even the smartest human being? He ended up realizing that the possibilities were almost endless, but still continued thinking about it for the rest of the school day. The ride on the school bus back to Yendis, like the rest of the day, seemed longer than usual. Etan was thinking about all of the things he would want to discuss with, not only Spearow, but now also his parents too. The bus finally arrived at Yendis and he started his short walk home. However, as he neared his house, he noticed that his mom’s car was missing and a stranger’s van was there instead. It was a simple black hover van. At first he didn’t know who’s van it was, but then as he examined it a little closer, he started to realize to whom it belonged to. It was Alan’s van, the one that he would use to transfer Pokemon to Pokemon Paradise Inc.. He had seen it many times before when Alan had come over to chat with Mick. He wondered what could be going on, and became a little panicked. After all, his mother should have been home by now and Alan should have been at the preserve. With the nervous feeling a thought flashed back into his mind. What if Steve and Alan were also part of this government group? No. He didn’t want to believe that quite yet. His parents gave both of them trust, so he thought he should as well. But…the thought wouldn’t fully leave him. He decided that what ever the situation was he needed to face it straight on and went inside to see what was going on. “Oh there you are Etan! I wasn’t sure when exactly you would be getting back. You’re probably wondering what’s going on. Well, don’t worry your parents wanted me to pick you up.” This all came at him as soon as he stepped inside the house. Etan replied, “Uhh…Well, I was wondering what was going on. Why isn’t my mom’s car here? I mean where is she?” “I assume that you know about what’s going on? The government issue thing? Yeah, I think your dad even said that you were the one who found some reasons to be suspicious of the government. Well, Steve and I both thought that it might be a good idea for you guys to go into hiding while this issue is publicly announced. You see we did find some video footage from the surveillance cameras that supported your theory. I don’t know what tipped you off, but your suspicions were right.” Etan began to wonder about some things that Alan had just said, but tried to act as normal as possible while replying, “Well, can I get my stuff really quickly? I can’t leave without some clothes and other important items.” “Yeah, go ahead, but try to make it fast. We want to get you guys to safety as soon as possible. I mean your parents are expecting you soon. On second thought let me help you.” “That’s not necessary, but thanks.” Alan pushed Etan forward a little as he said, “I insist. I want to get you into your parents hands as soon as possible.” There were a few things that didn’t seem right to Etan in that conversation. Alan said that he wasn’t sure exactly when Etan was going to be getting back from school. If Etan knew anything about his parents he certainly knew that they were very protective over him. One of them would have been sure to tell Alan the exact time Etan would get home. Also, Alan had mentioned that he wasn’t exactly sure how Etan had found out about the government conspiracy issue. His father wouldn’t have told Alan and Steve the details about his conversation with Arial at first, but if he had put enough trust in them to find a safe retreat for his family he would have certainly told them more by now. Etan knew he had to think quickly. He put on the Soul Talker that he had been carrying in his pocket around his neck. He knew that these concerns that he was having could in reality have no real meaning, but Etan wanted to continue being cautious because he had no idea in what to expect. He had put the amulet on in hopes that maybe Spearow would tell him something. He wouldn’t be able to talk to Spearow because of Alan who trailed behind him, but Spearow could still talk to him. While still watching Etan’s every move Alan asked, “What’s that that you just put around your neck?” Etan said cheerfully, “I know it looks a little silly, but it’s a good luck charm.” “Ahhh…I see. You kids with your silly little ideas. Nothing is going to bring me luck, unless I take what I want for myself. There is no such thing as a fate or a blessing.” Etan had never really liked Alan that much, but was used to those types of comments so shrugged it off. They were in Etan’s room by now, and Etan was almost done packing some stuff into his school backpack. He added some clothes and other essentials too. Alan wasn’t helping at all like he said he would. He actually got a bit in the way by staring at Etan’s every move and asking about some of the things that Etan was packing. Etan tried to ignore Alan as much as possible and packed things that he really would need for a long trip. After all he was preparing for a long trip whether Alan was corrupt or not. His plan was simple. If Spearow was to warn him of anything he would simply try to escape Alan’s grasp. If he made it he made it, and if he didn’t he didn’t. He would just have to try to wing it and then deal with the situation from there. And of course he would try to bring along his Spearow because right now that was the only family he had. On the other hand, if Spearow wasn’t aware of anything suspicious he would have to trust Alan for the time being. Etan addressed Alan, “Oh…I almost forgot. I need to grab some equipment that my mom will need from her lab and I can’t leave Spearow here alone…” Alan replied with a sigh, “Ok. Just try to hurry. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.” and then continued to follow Etan in his search for supplies. When Etan entered his mother’s lab it looked a little messier than usual although not a whole lot. He immediately looked at Spearow who apparently had been trapped in the lab in his cage. Alan said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I found your Spearow just wondering around, so I decided to put it away for you guys.” “Thanks.” That was another moment when Etan thought Alan wasn’t as much as a friend as his father had previously thought. Etan felt sure that one of his parents would have told Alan that Spearow was left out. Immediately after that the bird started squawking. However…to Etan’s ears it was more than just squawking. Etan tried to act like he wasn’t understanding what the bird was yelling about, but he heard everything Spearow had to say loud and clear. “Watch out Etan! Alan works for team Star! He kidnapped both of your parents and plans to take you too! He doesn’t want to take you with a fight if he doesn’t have to. He said that it would be much smarter if he played it safe and tricked you.” “Shut up stupid bird!” came from the already annoyed Alan. Spearow was starting to go on, but Etan tried to continue to act normal and told Spearow to settle down and be quite. “Sheesh…Thanks. That can get annoying once you’ve worked with that all of the time.” “Yeah, no problem. Spearow was probably just excited because of you. I mean, he gets excited with visitors sometimes. Ok, it looks like I have gathered everything that I need, but I really have to go to the bathroom. So, wait one more second and then we’ll leave.” Alan replied, “Well, so much for being quick about all of this. Hurry up Etan.” Etan left the lab after grabbing the Poke-Home and Reborn. Although Etan was also planning on grabbing the incomplete Cycle, it had been taking him too much time to find, so he stopped looking for it. He didn’t want to have to explain what the Cycle was to Alan anyway. He also had grabbed Spearow out of his cage. He took Spearow and his backpack into the bathroom leaving Alan waiting outside. This was actually part of his “winging it”. He had come up with the idea to leave the house through a window in the bathroom. The window was over a sink and was pretty high up the wall. He climbed over the sink to reach it, opened it up, threw his stuff out, let Spearow go through, and then jumped out himself. He knew he had to be quick or Alan would soon find him. He didn’t know exactly where to go. He couldn’t go to the police because he didn’t know if any of them were involved in Team Star. Anyway, the only proof that something was wrong so far was the fact that his parents didn’t come home, and an illegally owned Spearow talked to him. He didn’t think he would get much credibility with that story. He didn’t know who else to turn to. His father’s good friends had turned out to be evil men, so there were probably many more people involved in the team Star conspiracy. His first goal should have been to find a safe place and people that he knew could help. But with options running short and his strong longing to find his parents he decided that he wanted to head towards Niapach instead. “Spearow are you coming with me? I’m going to go to Niapach. Maybe I can find out where mom and dad are there.” He said this as he jumped onto his bike. “You can’t leave me here! Of course, I’m coming.” Spearow jumped on Etan’s shoulder and clung on. Etan couldn’t really believe what was going on. In fact this whole thing almost felt normal to him. His mind just refused to grasp the immenseness of this situation. He tore off as fast as he could. The trip to Niapach would actually take a while. It usually took his parents about a half an hour to reach this city by car. He wondered how long it would take him to reach it by bike. As he arrived to the main roads connecting town to town he imagined Alan’s surprise once he realized that Etan had vanished. His mind soon came to the thought that Alan would eventually start scouting the roads in search for him. Etan didn’t know what else to do though, so simply pressed on. He partly reasoned and partly tried to convince himself that if Alan did end up finding him it would be of no use. He hoped that Alan wouldn’t dare to kidnap him in the middle of a road that almost always had drivers on it. However, he wondered if this was more his own hope than reality. By nightfall, he knew that Alan would become bolder and wouldn’t hesitate to snatch him off of his bike. He had no plans. Etan was stuck “winging it”. “Etan where are we going to in Niapach? Will we get to sleep outside?” Spearow didn’t seem to mind the thought of being outside for the night, but to Etan that idea seemed like a completely terrifying thing. Etan didn’t want the dark to come. With the dark bad things might happen, and he didn’t have the faintest idea on where he could go for food, water, and shelter. “Ummm….well, I’m not exactly sure yet Spearow. Let’s hope that I will think of something before it gets too dark. You know Alan might try to kidnap us again if it’s dark and no one will notice the whole incident. That thought did bother Spearow and so they both became silent and were constantly looking for a black van that could come out of no where. They didn’t want it to come but felt it would have to come some time. With this expectation the van did come just like they had imagined it, but it was still day. Non-the-less Etan felt an almost uncontrollable quiver go through his body as it slowed down to their speed. The quiver was only partly from fear…the other part was from the hatred that had mysteriously built up in Etan towards Alan without Etan even thinking about it. The right window rolled down as Alan leaned out towards them while still keeping his left hand on the steering wheel. “Etan! What are you doing? I’m here for your own safety and you decide to sneak out on me?! What will your parents think?” For an instant Etan started to doubt Spearow. Before he could let that doubt grow it was squashed in an instant. Alan had pulled his van in front of Etan’s bike causing Etan to swerve off the road and fall off of his bike. At that same moment Etan realized that he hadn’t seen a car around for a while and was all alone with Alan out to get him. As Etan recovered from his fall he was pushed back down by Alan who must have had adrenaline pumping throughout his body. This was because in another blink of an eye he had Etan tied up and thrown into the back of the van with the crashed bicycle. Alan was very much too distracted with the whole kidnapping situation to see that Spearow had also managed to slip into the black van with Etan. The back doors of the van were slammed shut and the vehicle peeled off. Etan tried to open his eyes. It felt like he had them shut ever since he had fallen, but the dark prevailed. He heard his poor Spearow in a panic asking if Etan was all right. The best that Etan could do to comfort his poor little Spearow was a muffled grunt. He must have had a gag tied around his mouth. This all now seemed much like a dream. How could this happen? All that Etan knew was that the dark did come even without the end of the day. He soon slipped off into sleep. It may have been because the gag restricted his air flow, the excitement was too much, or maybe for the time being he was conquered by the dark.
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