Story Notes:
This story is set on EARTH. our earth, you and me earth. you get the idea.Pokemon copyrighted to nintendo, blah blah blahdy blah blah
Chapter 5
Warm morning light filtered through the old glass window, old glass twisting and distorting it. The light fell upon the two people occupying the double bed, turning the white sheets a soft gold, as if bullion was sown into them. The figures in the bed looked almost as two lovers would do, though this was not intended, gently holding one another. Shadows danced on the cover as melody stirred, her eyes slowly fluttering open, coaxed by the intruding light. She slowly recognised her surroundings, an old drawer, and a bed with white linen sheets. The place was becoming more familiar, she no longer woke with a small panic, wondering why she was not waking to the running water of a creek and rustling of the grass. She was thankful for that. As she shifted, she noticed the extra weight on the bed, looking over she realised that Michael was asleep next to her. She then noticed that she was softly holding onto his arm, and that he was holding her close with his other arm, whether or not this was intentional she didn't know. She didn't know what to do; this was strange to her, not uncomfortable though, as she felt the warmth of their closeness. She blushed slightly as she slowly got up, trying not to wake him.
She exited the room and walked to the adjourning bathroom. Though the house was old, it had a shower fitted, looking slightly out of place with the wood panel walls and aged iron windows. She removed her dress and stepped into the shower, not many people knew that her species could remove their dress as it looked like it was a part of their bodies; of course, it wasn't common practise in the presence of someone else. Really, not even her own species knew how it came to being when they evolved from a Kirlia, it was just there. Melody let the hot water run over her, enjoying the heat. She rarely ever washed with heated water back home, she and the rest of her group bathed in the creek by the cave, expect in the rare case that they migrated to a mountain hot spring during a hard winter or when there was nothing left to forage. Her mind wandered back to Michael as she washed, she remembered last night perfectly well, it was when that scientist had told her the chances of getting back home. And when Michael had promised to care for her if she never did back home, she wondered what she thought of her, strange as she wasn't even her species. She had heard of Human Pokémon relationships in her world, in rather...graphic detail, but it was all from Swellows and Tailows who liked to tell tall tales just to watch their reactions, and she never paid them any heed. But now she was rethinking her views on it all. She did feel something for Michael, but she couldn't figure out if it was love or nervousness. And what would he think of that, humans were the only sentient species in this world, he might be disgusted by the idea. Then where would their relationship go? Knowing that she loved him but he didn't return the feeling. She would ask him eventually, but put the thoughts away for now as she stepped from the shower. Drying herself with a spare towel, she replaced the dress and exited the room. But turning into the hall, she bumped into Michael; both gave a flustered hello as they awkwardly moved from each other's path. She sighed as Michael entered the bathroom, moving down to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast.
After Michael had finished his shower, he came down to the living room where Will was waiting. He was currently preparing some machines that looked like they belonged in a hospital, all hooked up to a laptop sitting on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Rather than using a chair, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, typing away on the little machine. Melody was sitting behind him, curiously examining the monitor. Will turned his head and grinned.
"Michael, good to see you're up. I hope you don't mind me turning your living room into a small laboratory" he said getting up. He picked up a few sheets of papers from a small printer he had on and thrust them in Michaels face. "You have to see these! They're readings from the field this morning"
Michael looked over them but didn't really understand any of the charts or spreadsheets he had placed around the page. Thankfully, Will took the courtesy to explain.
"The tachyon levels have grown, only slightly, but they're still increasing" He said "The crack is growing! Eventually it'll settle down, but for now the chances of a wormhole reopening are getting better"
Michael nodded slightly, it was still unlikely but they had more of a chance now. Will sat back down and continued analyzing data. Michael noticed the canvas he had laying by the wall, that painting he had put off nearly a week ago, maybe now was a good time to finish it. Walked down the corridor and opened the closet containing his various art supplies. Grabbing the same paints and palette he used before and loading them into a satchel, he walked back and picked the painting up, he turned to Melody before heading for the door.
"I'm going out to finish this painting, you can come with me if you want" Michael said, melody smiled and followed him "Don't blow the place up will"
Will just laughed at this as they exited the house. They made their way down the dirt path behind the house, heading for the creek, the subject of the painting. Not much was said along the way, both retaining their thoughts about each other. It was a case of what the South Americans would call 'mamihlapinatapai', or in English "looking at each other hoping that either will offer to say or do something which both desire but are unwilling to say or do". A mouthful, to be sure.
They reached their destination in a few minutes and Michael set up his easel on the bank, he set up the paints on the palette and began to paint. Melody watched as the brush danced over the canvas, accentuating colours and defining edges. She never knew the world could be captured as such, a single moment in time, painted onto a canvas as if it were nothing at all. It was contained so simply yet held so much meaning. Michael added dabs of colour here and large swaths there, constantly looking over the canvas to try capture the scene as accurately as possible. Within the hour, Michael had finished the painting and, in small black lettering, wrote his name in the bottom right corner. Even during the walk back, they said nothing to each other, odd with how much they'd been talking recently. Soon as they walked back melody noticed a faint purple glow in the forest, exaggerated by the morning light. She stopped to look at it for a while; Michael noticed this and turned to see what was wrong.
"What is that?" Melody asked. Michael turned to see the faint purple glow.
"I don't know, I've never noticed it before" Michael said "want to go take a look?"
Melody nodded and began walking towards the mysterious light. As they came closer, she noticed a faint scent in the air. Sweet and sharp, reminding her of the smell of Rawst berries. The glow dimmed as they came closer, the objects defining themselves in the light filtering through the trees. An explosion of purple appeared between the trees, small flowers on tall stems grew all over, giving off that sweet smell.
"I didn't know lavender grew around here" Michael said, taking in the vividness of the field before him. "This would make a great painting"
"Yes...do you think...I could try painting it?" Melody asked, hesitantly. Michael was surprised
"Sure, what got you interested in painting?" He asked as he set the easel down, removing a large piece of paper from his satchel and setting it on the easel.
"You just made it look so expressive" She said "I want to be able to...catch a moment on paper like that"
Michael smiled, he loaded the palette with the colours she would need and handed it to her, she mimicked his grip on it. The paintbrush was harder for her to hold, it kept slipping from her hand, and she began to grow frustrated.
"Here" Michael said as he reached out and gripped her hand, slipping the paintbrush into place. "Hold it firmly, now drag it slowly across the paper" he guided her hand with his own as a streak of violet made its way across the paper. She slowly began to paint as his grip loosened. Michael sat himself down, leaning against a tree trunk; he was fascinated by how quickly she learned. She could have used her psychic powers to control the brush, but didn't, she had allowed him to guide her instead. As he sat there, more and more of the paper was filled by deep purples and greens of the surrounding landscape. It looked like she was painting with nature itself. He didn't know how long it had been when she put the brush down, but the sun was already falling from the sky. She looked at the paper, admiring her work. Michael admired it too, amazed by the detail she had put into it, as it was her first time painting.
"This is great" he said "I can put this in the bedroom, right above the bed". Melody didn't say anything, instead let out a noticeable sigh. She was sad, Michael couldn't imagine why, she had just painted something great. But beneath that sadness he felt loneliness, a longing.
"What's wrong?" he asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. She half flinched at this, turning her head away.
"Michael" she began "have you ever loved anyone?"
Michael was taken aback by this, a bit sudden to ask. He waited a second before answering
"I thought I was once, but it didn't work out" He said "She wasn't happy with who I was, she asked to much and I couldn't provide, she told me on the final date we had. After all we had been through and all those promises I kept, she left because she found someone else. After that I gave up on women, the idea of love all seemed like an illusion". He never really told anyone of his life, but Melody he could now trust.
"But...could you love someone else?" she asked
"Maybe, but the human race is cruel with love" Michael said "it's just another means for them to exploit to get what they want. Wars have been started over it, but nothing came out. People have been broken thanks to it, some even taking their lives because of it."
Melody's heart sank deeper as he said that, tears welled up at the sides of her eyes. He voice was breaking as she said the next words.
"Could you love someone who wasn't human?"She asked "someone who wanted nothing more than someone to care for them?"
As they hit him, Michael knew the implications of these words. He turned Melody around and gently placed a hand on her cheek, her tears ran down her face as he did so.
"Melody" He said, voice quiet "What are you trying to tell me?" even his voice was beginning to falter. She shakily breathed a few breaths before saying it
"I think I love you" she said, not breaking eye contact. Michael stood still for a moment; he could feel her emotions going crazy. There was sadness, regret, shame, longing. But somewhere down there, beneath all the sadness and dismay, he felt love. It was strange to actually feel someone's love, rather than just experience yourself. But it was there, and it was strong; like a blanket of protection around a confused heart. She slowly collapsed as she cried softly; she knew he could never accept. "I'm sorry" she cried, running away, out of the field. Michael was still standing in half shock, it was now or never for him to act. He ran after melody and quickly grabbed her, pulling her close, trying to stifle his own tears.
"Don't leave!" He cried. She looked back, hurt in her eyes
"We're not even the same species" She said, sobs obscuring the words slightly "how can you love me back?"
"Melody, I regret so much in my life already, all those wasted years and choices I could have made. I'll never be able to go back" He whispered "But I know if I let you leave like this, I'll regret it more than anything I've ever done. Please Melody; you're the one person I actually felt I could really love without condition. That one person who could make me smile a real smile after all these years of masks and loneliness, I want it all to stop."
Melody turned to Michael, a smile on her face; she didn't think it was possible. Michael held her tight as they felt their minds open up, the link was complete, he felt her and now she felt him. It was being connected on the deepest level possible. Michael held her as she fell to the ground, simply happy to be in his arms. There they sat for an hour in relief they could actually admit it to each other now. Michael placed a soft kiss on her forehead as he pulled her up, holding her close to him as he carried her back to the house, a place where they could both now truly call home.
About the same time, on a small Australian farm across the world, it was near midnight. Everyone was asleep and the cattle were sitting quietly in their sheds. Only the occasional cicada chirp broke the silence. However, as the folks down under slumbered, small sparks were appearing near one of the old cattle sheds. The sparks weren't noticeable at first, but they grew. And as they grew, the cattle became aware of their presence. The sparks became arcs of lightning and the wind picked up around the area, the cows started to shift and bang against the shed walls, crying out in terror as this strange event came to its crescendo. The shed was rattled and hay was thrown everywhere as a shockwave was sent out from the centre of it all. A small creature lay on the hay streaked ground very aware and alert of its surroundings, three small red spots on its back. All this noise quickly woke the farm owner from his sleep. The old Australian rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he saw the light emanating from the cattle shed, he hopped out of his bed and drew closer to the window, she could see the hay being thrown around from here.
"What the bloody hell?" He muttered, soon after he said this, the wind had calmed down and the lightning was gone. He pulled on his gumboots and grabbed his gun from the rack in the closet.
"Bloody kids" He mumbled as he quickly shuffled down the stairs of the farmhouse, crashing through the door and jogging over to the shed. The cows were going crazy, something was in there. He raised his shotgun and called out
"Alright yeh wankers, come on out or I'll shoot yeh legs off and drag you out" He yelled, though what happened next he really didn't expect. A large tongue of flame erupted from one of the openings in the sheet metal wall of the cowshed, he jumped back. Did they have a freaking flame thrower in there? But enough was enough, they were torching his livestock! He threw the door of the shed opened and fired several shells into the centre of the flames. He heard yell of pain, but the cows incessant mooing drowned most of it out. Grabbed a bucket and put out the remaining flames with water from the drinking trough, trying to calm the cows as he did do. The cows did eventually calm down as he extinguished the last flames, but two of them were dead, cooked alive by the looks of it. There were no kids around though, if there were, he doubted they would have gotten past him. He looked around and spotted a small body by one of the dead cows, it looked like a small cat, or a large guinea pig. Half of it was blow away, from his shots he guessed, but he still didn't know what it was. A critter like that couldn't have done this, could it? The cows just mooed in response.
Michael and Melody slept well that night. They curled up together in bed, entwined in each other's arms; there was nothing that spoilt their moment. Will had asked no questions when Michael had brought her back in, simply the idea of this whole situation was crazy enough already, anything could happen now. He simply continued working through the night, he had managed to get a small blood sample from melody before she went to bed, and he spent the rest of his time analyzing it before falling asleep on the couch amongst his papers. As dawn broke, Michael opened his eyes, shielding them from the incoming light. He laid his head down on the pillow, giving melody a quick kiss on the top of her head as she opened her eyes. Ruby red met a warm hazel, the grey edges still present around them, but it no longer barred her from him. She snuggled closer to him, feeling the warmth and hearing the heartbeat in his chest, pleased to be so close to him. However, they eventually got up; the day had to start sometime. Michael having a shower after melody, but after he exited the bathroom, he heard will yell for him.
"Michael! Get down here!" he yelled, Michael hurried down the stairs to the living room. The professor was watching something on his computer. He turned to Michael
"Look it this!" he said, beckoning Michael over. Michael walked over and looked at the monitor; it was on the BBC website, playing a news video. One female reporter was standing by a man in a stained singlet and short faded khaki pants.
"We are here in the state of Queensland, Australia, where a rather strange turn of events has occurred. The owner of this farm, Liam Gabry, claims that two of his livestock were somehow incinerated before his eyes in an unknown event." She had the standard nasally British accent all the BBC reporters seemed to have. The man next to her spoke into the microphone he was holding near him. "It was near midnight, and I wake up to see all this electricity flyin' near my sheds." he said, pointing to the old sheet metal shed behind him. "So I grabbed my gun and rushed out there. Thought it'd jus' be a bunch of vandal kids causin' trouble. But when I yelled at em', something shot a bunch o' flames through the shed. I was rather shocked, ay? So I run in there and fire off a few shots in the direction off that lil bugger. But there weren't no kids there, hay was all over the place and the cattle were goin' crazy, but no kids. I did find something a might odd, there a this oversized hamster thing near one of the dead cows, I think it was what I shot, but I dunno' if it could have done somethin' like that"
The shot cut to the dead body of what he had rather accurately described as a oversized hamster. Black, blood matted fur covered its back with three small patches of raised red skin showing. It had a small echidna like snout on the front of its face. Michael couldn't tell what it really was.
"That's a Cyndaquil" Melody said quietly, Michael didn't know what to say.
"Wildlife officials are examining the body and have yet to make an announcement, the owner of the farm will not be charged for animal cruelty. This is Cyncia Roberts, BBC World News"
The video ended as the three sat speechless, another Pokémon had appeared, but halfway across the world this time. Will broke the silence as he tended to do
"The dimensions must be getting closer since another wormhole opened up." He said, rubbing his eyes "Less energy is needed for a wormhole to open, so another weak spot cracked open"
"What do you think they'll say about it?" Michael asked
"Probably announce another species of vermin or something being found in Australia" He said, going back to his research "But if they do find something on that creature, something they can search further on, then we may be under threat of discovery"
Michael paced for a minute before asking another question
"What do we do now?" He said, confusion in his voice
"Wait and see, we haven't got much else to do. The quantum world is random and chaotic, if something else happens then it'll be all over the news and we may be able to trace a pattern of locations or something " he said, tiredly "But for now, mum's the word on all this dimensional research nonsense."
Michael nodded as he gazed out the window into space. Melody drifted to his side and took his hand, squeezing gently. The world was going to change soon; he thought to himself, he could feel something big brewing on the horizon, and he could only hope that he and Melody would be able to pull through it.
She exited the room and walked to the adjourning bathroom. Though the house was old, it had a shower fitted, looking slightly out of place with the wood panel walls and aged iron windows. She removed her dress and stepped into the shower, not many people knew that her species could remove their dress as it looked like it was a part of their bodies; of course, it wasn't common practise in the presence of someone else. Really, not even her own species knew how it came to being when they evolved from a Kirlia, it was just there. Melody let the hot water run over her, enjoying the heat. She rarely ever washed with heated water back home, she and the rest of her group bathed in the creek by the cave, expect in the rare case that they migrated to a mountain hot spring during a hard winter or when there was nothing left to forage. Her mind wandered back to Michael as she washed, she remembered last night perfectly well, it was when that scientist had told her the chances of getting back home. And when Michael had promised to care for her if she never did back home, she wondered what she thought of her, strange as she wasn't even her species. She had heard of Human Pokémon relationships in her world, in rather...graphic detail, but it was all from Swellows and Tailows who liked to tell tall tales just to watch their reactions, and she never paid them any heed. But now she was rethinking her views on it all. She did feel something for Michael, but she couldn't figure out if it was love or nervousness. And what would he think of that, humans were the only sentient species in this world, he might be disgusted by the idea. Then where would their relationship go? Knowing that she loved him but he didn't return the feeling. She would ask him eventually, but put the thoughts away for now as she stepped from the shower. Drying herself with a spare towel, she replaced the dress and exited the room. But turning into the hall, she bumped into Michael; both gave a flustered hello as they awkwardly moved from each other's path. She sighed as Michael entered the bathroom, moving down to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast.
After Michael had finished his shower, he came down to the living room where Will was waiting. He was currently preparing some machines that looked like they belonged in a hospital, all hooked up to a laptop sitting on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Rather than using a chair, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, typing away on the little machine. Melody was sitting behind him, curiously examining the monitor. Will turned his head and grinned.
"Michael, good to see you're up. I hope you don't mind me turning your living room into a small laboratory" he said getting up. He picked up a few sheets of papers from a small printer he had on and thrust them in Michaels face. "You have to see these! They're readings from the field this morning"
Michael looked over them but didn't really understand any of the charts or spreadsheets he had placed around the page. Thankfully, Will took the courtesy to explain.
"The tachyon levels have grown, only slightly, but they're still increasing" He said "The crack is growing! Eventually it'll settle down, but for now the chances of a wormhole reopening are getting better"
Michael nodded slightly, it was still unlikely but they had more of a chance now. Will sat back down and continued analyzing data. Michael noticed the canvas he had laying by the wall, that painting he had put off nearly a week ago, maybe now was a good time to finish it. Walked down the corridor and opened the closet containing his various art supplies. Grabbing the same paints and palette he used before and loading them into a satchel, he walked back and picked the painting up, he turned to Melody before heading for the door.
"I'm going out to finish this painting, you can come with me if you want" Michael said, melody smiled and followed him "Don't blow the place up will"
Will just laughed at this as they exited the house. They made their way down the dirt path behind the house, heading for the creek, the subject of the painting. Not much was said along the way, both retaining their thoughts about each other. It was a case of what the South Americans would call 'mamihlapinatapai', or in English "looking at each other hoping that either will offer to say or do something which both desire but are unwilling to say or do". A mouthful, to be sure.
They reached their destination in a few minutes and Michael set up his easel on the bank, he set up the paints on the palette and began to paint. Melody watched as the brush danced over the canvas, accentuating colours and defining edges. She never knew the world could be captured as such, a single moment in time, painted onto a canvas as if it were nothing at all. It was contained so simply yet held so much meaning. Michael added dabs of colour here and large swaths there, constantly looking over the canvas to try capture the scene as accurately as possible. Within the hour, Michael had finished the painting and, in small black lettering, wrote his name in the bottom right corner. Even during the walk back, they said nothing to each other, odd with how much they'd been talking recently. Soon as they walked back melody noticed a faint purple glow in the forest, exaggerated by the morning light. She stopped to look at it for a while; Michael noticed this and turned to see what was wrong.
"What is that?" Melody asked. Michael turned to see the faint purple glow.
"I don't know, I've never noticed it before" Michael said "want to go take a look?"
Melody nodded and began walking towards the mysterious light. As they came closer, she noticed a faint scent in the air. Sweet and sharp, reminding her of the smell of Rawst berries. The glow dimmed as they came closer, the objects defining themselves in the light filtering through the trees. An explosion of purple appeared between the trees, small flowers on tall stems grew all over, giving off that sweet smell.
"I didn't know lavender grew around here" Michael said, taking in the vividness of the field before him. "This would make a great painting"
"Yes...do you think...I could try painting it?" Melody asked, hesitantly. Michael was surprised
"Sure, what got you interested in painting?" He asked as he set the easel down, removing a large piece of paper from his satchel and setting it on the easel.
"You just made it look so expressive" She said "I want to be able to...catch a moment on paper like that"
Michael smiled, he loaded the palette with the colours she would need and handed it to her, she mimicked his grip on it. The paintbrush was harder for her to hold, it kept slipping from her hand, and she began to grow frustrated.
"Here" Michael said as he reached out and gripped her hand, slipping the paintbrush into place. "Hold it firmly, now drag it slowly across the paper" he guided her hand with his own as a streak of violet made its way across the paper. She slowly began to paint as his grip loosened. Michael sat himself down, leaning against a tree trunk; he was fascinated by how quickly she learned. She could have used her psychic powers to control the brush, but didn't, she had allowed him to guide her instead. As he sat there, more and more of the paper was filled by deep purples and greens of the surrounding landscape. It looked like she was painting with nature itself. He didn't know how long it had been when she put the brush down, but the sun was already falling from the sky. She looked at the paper, admiring her work. Michael admired it too, amazed by the detail she had put into it, as it was her first time painting.
"This is great" he said "I can put this in the bedroom, right above the bed". Melody didn't say anything, instead let out a noticeable sigh. She was sad, Michael couldn't imagine why, she had just painted something great. But beneath that sadness he felt loneliness, a longing.
"What's wrong?" he asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. She half flinched at this, turning her head away.
"Michael" she began "have you ever loved anyone?"
Michael was taken aback by this, a bit sudden to ask. He waited a second before answering
"I thought I was once, but it didn't work out" He said "She wasn't happy with who I was, she asked to much and I couldn't provide, she told me on the final date we had. After all we had been through and all those promises I kept, she left because she found someone else. After that I gave up on women, the idea of love all seemed like an illusion". He never really told anyone of his life, but Melody he could now trust.
"But...could you love someone else?" she asked
"Maybe, but the human race is cruel with love" Michael said "it's just another means for them to exploit to get what they want. Wars have been started over it, but nothing came out. People have been broken thanks to it, some even taking their lives because of it."
Melody's heart sank deeper as he said that, tears welled up at the sides of her eyes. He voice was breaking as she said the next words.
"Could you love someone who wasn't human?"She asked "someone who wanted nothing more than someone to care for them?"
As they hit him, Michael knew the implications of these words. He turned Melody around and gently placed a hand on her cheek, her tears ran down her face as he did so.
"Melody" He said, voice quiet "What are you trying to tell me?" even his voice was beginning to falter. She shakily breathed a few breaths before saying it
"I think I love you" she said, not breaking eye contact. Michael stood still for a moment; he could feel her emotions going crazy. There was sadness, regret, shame, longing. But somewhere down there, beneath all the sadness and dismay, he felt love. It was strange to actually feel someone's love, rather than just experience yourself. But it was there, and it was strong; like a blanket of protection around a confused heart. She slowly collapsed as she cried softly; she knew he could never accept. "I'm sorry" she cried, running away, out of the field. Michael was still standing in half shock, it was now or never for him to act. He ran after melody and quickly grabbed her, pulling her close, trying to stifle his own tears.
"Don't leave!" He cried. She looked back, hurt in her eyes
"We're not even the same species" She said, sobs obscuring the words slightly "how can you love me back?"
"Melody, I regret so much in my life already, all those wasted years and choices I could have made. I'll never be able to go back" He whispered "But I know if I let you leave like this, I'll regret it more than anything I've ever done. Please Melody; you're the one person I actually felt I could really love without condition. That one person who could make me smile a real smile after all these years of masks and loneliness, I want it all to stop."
Melody turned to Michael, a smile on her face; she didn't think it was possible. Michael held her tight as they felt their minds open up, the link was complete, he felt her and now she felt him. It was being connected on the deepest level possible. Michael held her as she fell to the ground, simply happy to be in his arms. There they sat for an hour in relief they could actually admit it to each other now. Michael placed a soft kiss on her forehead as he pulled her up, holding her close to him as he carried her back to the house, a place where they could both now truly call home.
About the same time, on a small Australian farm across the world, it was near midnight. Everyone was asleep and the cattle were sitting quietly in their sheds. Only the occasional cicada chirp broke the silence. However, as the folks down under slumbered, small sparks were appearing near one of the old cattle sheds. The sparks weren't noticeable at first, but they grew. And as they grew, the cattle became aware of their presence. The sparks became arcs of lightning and the wind picked up around the area, the cows started to shift and bang against the shed walls, crying out in terror as this strange event came to its crescendo. The shed was rattled and hay was thrown everywhere as a shockwave was sent out from the centre of it all. A small creature lay on the hay streaked ground very aware and alert of its surroundings, three small red spots on its back. All this noise quickly woke the farm owner from his sleep. The old Australian rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he saw the light emanating from the cattle shed, he hopped out of his bed and drew closer to the window, she could see the hay being thrown around from here.
"What the bloody hell?" He muttered, soon after he said this, the wind had calmed down and the lightning was gone. He pulled on his gumboots and grabbed his gun from the rack in the closet.
"Bloody kids" He mumbled as he quickly shuffled down the stairs of the farmhouse, crashing through the door and jogging over to the shed. The cows were going crazy, something was in there. He raised his shotgun and called out
"Alright yeh wankers, come on out or I'll shoot yeh legs off and drag you out" He yelled, though what happened next he really didn't expect. A large tongue of flame erupted from one of the openings in the sheet metal wall of the cowshed, he jumped back. Did they have a freaking flame thrower in there? But enough was enough, they were torching his livestock! He threw the door of the shed opened and fired several shells into the centre of the flames. He heard yell of pain, but the cows incessant mooing drowned most of it out. Grabbed a bucket and put out the remaining flames with water from the drinking trough, trying to calm the cows as he did do. The cows did eventually calm down as he extinguished the last flames, but two of them were dead, cooked alive by the looks of it. There were no kids around though, if there were, he doubted they would have gotten past him. He looked around and spotted a small body by one of the dead cows, it looked like a small cat, or a large guinea pig. Half of it was blow away, from his shots he guessed, but he still didn't know what it was. A critter like that couldn't have done this, could it? The cows just mooed in response.
Michael and Melody slept well that night. They curled up together in bed, entwined in each other's arms; there was nothing that spoilt their moment. Will had asked no questions when Michael had brought her back in, simply the idea of this whole situation was crazy enough already, anything could happen now. He simply continued working through the night, he had managed to get a small blood sample from melody before she went to bed, and he spent the rest of his time analyzing it before falling asleep on the couch amongst his papers. As dawn broke, Michael opened his eyes, shielding them from the incoming light. He laid his head down on the pillow, giving melody a quick kiss on the top of her head as she opened her eyes. Ruby red met a warm hazel, the grey edges still present around them, but it no longer barred her from him. She snuggled closer to him, feeling the warmth and hearing the heartbeat in his chest, pleased to be so close to him. However, they eventually got up; the day had to start sometime. Michael having a shower after melody, but after he exited the bathroom, he heard will yell for him.
"Michael! Get down here!" he yelled, Michael hurried down the stairs to the living room. The professor was watching something on his computer. He turned to Michael
"Look it this!" he said, beckoning Michael over. Michael walked over and looked at the monitor; it was on the BBC website, playing a news video. One female reporter was standing by a man in a stained singlet and short faded khaki pants.
"We are here in the state of Queensland, Australia, where a rather strange turn of events has occurred. The owner of this farm, Liam Gabry, claims that two of his livestock were somehow incinerated before his eyes in an unknown event." She had the standard nasally British accent all the BBC reporters seemed to have. The man next to her spoke into the microphone he was holding near him. "It was near midnight, and I wake up to see all this electricity flyin' near my sheds." he said, pointing to the old sheet metal shed behind him. "So I grabbed my gun and rushed out there. Thought it'd jus' be a bunch of vandal kids causin' trouble. But when I yelled at em', something shot a bunch o' flames through the shed. I was rather shocked, ay? So I run in there and fire off a few shots in the direction off that lil bugger. But there weren't no kids there, hay was all over the place and the cattle were goin' crazy, but no kids. I did find something a might odd, there a this oversized hamster thing near one of the dead cows, I think it was what I shot, but I dunno' if it could have done somethin' like that"
The shot cut to the dead body of what he had rather accurately described as a oversized hamster. Black, blood matted fur covered its back with three small patches of raised red skin showing. It had a small echidna like snout on the front of its face. Michael couldn't tell what it really was.
"That's a Cyndaquil" Melody said quietly, Michael didn't know what to say.
"Wildlife officials are examining the body and have yet to make an announcement, the owner of the farm will not be charged for animal cruelty. This is Cyncia Roberts, BBC World News"
The video ended as the three sat speechless, another Pokémon had appeared, but halfway across the world this time. Will broke the silence as he tended to do
"The dimensions must be getting closer since another wormhole opened up." He said, rubbing his eyes "Less energy is needed for a wormhole to open, so another weak spot cracked open"
"What do you think they'll say about it?" Michael asked
"Probably announce another species of vermin or something being found in Australia" He said, going back to his research "But if they do find something on that creature, something they can search further on, then we may be under threat of discovery"
Michael paced for a minute before asking another question
"What do we do now?" He said, confusion in his voice
"Wait and see, we haven't got much else to do. The quantum world is random and chaotic, if something else happens then it'll be all over the news and we may be able to trace a pattern of locations or something " he said, tiredly "But for now, mum's the word on all this dimensional research nonsense."
Michael nodded as he gazed out the window into space. Melody drifted to his side and took his hand, squeezing gently. The world was going to change soon; he thought to himself, he could feel something big brewing on the horizon, and he could only hope that he and Melody would be able to pull through it.