Chapter 2: A New Friend

The eevee raised its head and, spotting me, quickly stumbled to its feet and, with a startled “Vee!”, darted beneath my bed.

I was completely shocked; of course I knew what it was, everyone my age had grown up with the pokémon games, but no one in their right mind thought that they actually existed.

I must be seeing things. There’s no way an eevee is in my room. I bent down on my knees just to be certain. Peering under the bed, I spotted the shadowy figure huddled in the corner. Slowly reaching my hand out I beckoned, and was met with a fierce growl and bared teeth.

Nope, not imagining that. What to do, what to do... The poor thing was scared out of its mind; there had to be some way to calm it down. What does everyone always do to calm down a small, scared wild animal?

Food. Always food.

I hurried downstairs to the kitchen, fumbling around in the dark for the light switch, before throwing it on. Opening the fridge, I wondered what kind of food might pacify it. Berries, of course! Quickly nabbing some ripe strawberries and a small plate, I closed everything and headed back up the stairs.

“Come on out now, I’m not going to hurt you,” I cooed, placing a berry on the saucer and sliding it towards the crevice. I sat down cross-legged on the floor a good couple feet away and waited.

Movement; a small dark nose peeked out of the shadow, sniffing the sweet fragrance. With baited breath, I watched as the creature cautiously poked its head out of its sanctuary, revealing coffee-tinted fur, followed by a bushy beige collar.

“Veee...”

Pointy ears laid back, its narrowed brown eyes focused on me, sizing up the potential risk.

“I won’t hurt you, go ahead and have some food.” I tried my best to sit still, avoiding any sudden movements and smiled as warmly as possible. Seconds passed without either of us moving a muscle, just staring at each other.

Apparently satisfied, its eyes now darted to the ripe strawberry. Scampering out, it began gobbling up the small fruit, large bushy tail wagging energetically. A beady eye was still trained on me, no longer frightened but still a little bit wary. However, it seemed curiosity was starting to overcome its unease. I shifted my legs to a more comfy position, and its diamond ears perked up at the noise.

I wonder how an eevee even exists, let alone how it got into my house. I looked at the bare patch of carpet where eevee originally appeared and noticed for the first time a small electronic device that lay there. Reaching over, I cautiously picked it up.

It looked sort of like a stopwatch, with what could be a small display screen in the center. No visible buttons adorned the front or sides; the only break in the black casing were small silver letters etched below the screen, ODT. No clue what this thing is, although it probably had to do with little eevee over there, I pondered.

Within a minute the last remnants of the berry vanished, and eevee, licking its lips, was busy sniffing the air again.

“All right, you can have another one.” I offered the second strawberry in the palm of my hand. Eevee glanced at my welcoming face before accepting it, lying down in front of me to devour it.

Already so friendly, and we just met. I reached out slowly to pet it, and paused, waiting for a sign of approval, lest I quickly lose a finger. Eevee noticed my movement, and with a quick flick of its head, continued eating the fruit. Relieved, I slowly started petting it on the back, brushing my hands through the silky smooth fur.

“Now let’s see, are you a boy or girl?” I moved lower, and started tickling it on the stomach. Rolling over involuntarily, Eevee giggled a muffled “Vee-hee-hee!” and continued to squirm helplessly on the ground. I could see clearly now, as she lay on her back, bouncing the half-berry on her little pink forepaws, still nibbling.

A girl then. “What are you doing here, little one?” I muttered to myself, slowly scratching behind her ear as she crammed the last bit of food into her tiny jaws.

Now calm and fully inquisitive, she flipped over and started exploring the room, starting with the messy half. Heh, there were probably a lot of interesting scents around for her acute sense of smell.

“Well, I think you need a name. It doesn’t seem right to call you ‘Eevee’ all the time.”

She stopped and turned to look at me, clearly interested in my proposition. “Vee,” she agreed, before continuing to wander.

I sat there, pondering various names for a minute or two, as eevee cavorted her way around the bedroom, snaking around all the junk on the floor. As she attempted to reach the second shelf of the bookcase, I cleared my throat.

“Okay, how do you like the name ‘Mira’?” I posed. She paused, reflecting briefly on my suggestion, before nodding with a quick “Eevee!” and bounded into my lap.

I smiled, patting her on the head. “Mira it is, then.”

I quickly got ready for bed, as it was already pretty late. Something like this, I should definitely tell Kevin about, I thought. I picked up my cell phone for a second, before placing it back down on the desk. He’s probably asleep by now, and besides, I can tell him all about this tomorrow.

Carefully laying out some extra towels and blankets, I molded a small makeshift bed for Mira, who immediately dove right in to find the coziest spot. Yawning, she curled up into a small ball, melding with the blankets, looking absolutely adorable. Smiling, I tidied up, putting the strange ODT device on the desk next to the phone.

Reclining in bed, I whispered, “Good night, Mira,” before switching off the light.

- - -

I was jolted awake by a large crash echoing through the house. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the pile of linens I had prepared for Mira, but as my eyes scanned the room, she was nowhere to be found.

Jumping out of bed, I glided downstairs to the source of the cacophony. Stumbling into the kitchen, it at first appeared that a small tornado had torn through the room; pots and pans that had been lined up neatly to dry were scattered across the countertops, while boxes of cereal lay on the floor, contents spilling out. The fridge door was slightly ajar, light casting faint shadows in the broad daylight.

A blur of brown fluff attacked me from the side, and I was knocked back onto the stairs, only to find myself face to face with a grinning smile. Licking her blue-stained lips, Eevee jumped off me.

“I see you found breakfast.” I sighed. She trotted back to her small box of blueberries, wearing smug expression on her face. Closing the fridge door, I began clearing the excessive mess and preparing breakfast for myself.



Now satiated, I retrieved the mysterious device from my desk to examine it more carefully in the sunlight. I noticed now that a small green LED blinked periodically near the upper corner. Feeling around for any hidden buttons, my fingers brushed against a small indent on the front.

Suddenly, the device started glowing, before shooting out a bunch of glowing green holographic planes. Floating in midair above the device, they formed a sort of menu interface.

Woah, awesome! Holographic interface. The geeky part inside me was giddy with fascination, as I sat down on the floor and started poking at the floating buttons. I started navigating my way through the icons and menus, looking for some sort of help manual.

A sharp creak behind me; I turned around to see Mira leaping towards me from the top of the bookcase, crying a triumphant, “Eevee!”. As she sailed through the hologram, I caught her safely in my arms. Giggling, she gave my cheek a playful lick. I patted her softly on the head then turned my attention back to the device.

The floating interface had suddenly disappeared, to be replaced by a flashing red light on the front. The flashing began speeding up and a rumbling whine resonated from it, growing in intensity like a car engine reving up to speed.

Uh oh.

Suddenly, glimmering strands of blue light materialized around us, dancing in an intricate pattern. Before I could react, it rapidly solidified into a dense impenetrable web surrounding the two of us.

“Eee Vee!” Mira ducked her head into my arms, quivering in alarm. Hugging her close, I closed my eyes before being engulfed by a brilliant flash.