Jenn was
this close to peeing herself.
She had always been a little uncomfortable in her mother's house--it had been like this since she was about ten--but this level of sheer terror in itself was rare for her, never mind feeling it when coming into the house. Furthermore, all the signs pointed to the place being completely benign: the flat was very normal, with clean hardwood floors, expensive leather furniture, a television set, a few tasteful pieces of art, and some photos. It was a two-bedroom apartment, but Jenn hadn't the heart to cross the living room, forget going all the way to the hallway to her bedroom. Ever since she'd left the pokemon center gang with their bizarre, harebrained plot, she knew this day was just going to get worse. It had.
She was living in the same space as a very, very,
very large and
exceedingly dangerous predator. These were not the 'sharp' predator-vibes she got from Ruya or Travis; this was far worse than any minor ill-ease. This creature, whatever it was, was monstrous, huge, claws and jaws and teeth the size of her head and beady eyes of death.
She was petrified, clutching the wall, the door cool against her back. She had broken out in a sweat, her breath coming out in rapid pants. Her trembling hands fumbled with the inhaler, dropped it. She didn't want to go get it. Her vision swam; her knees were shaking worse than the rest of her, her legs threatening to collapse under her at any moment. After a minute, they did, and she fell, clutching her suitcase with a panicked wail.
Get out get out get out get out now quickly before it comes it'll come it'll come it'll EAT YOU
Her mind was on overdrive: the prey animal currently residing in her was sending her very, very clear signals that this was the lair of an Apex Predator--a creature on the very top of the food chain. It may not have been home at that moment, but it would return soon, her mind told her, and then dinner would be had. Needless to say, she had the recurring image of herself as the main course.
Bringing her inhaler to her mouth, she took a few gulps of air, feeling her mind clear. After a few frantic moments, the crisis seemed to pass. She was still hyper-sensitive, but at least she could move. Quivering, she carefully tiptoed her way around the flat, desperately trying to make as little noise as possible. She brought hr suitcase into her room, shutting the door behind her with a sigh of relief. This room didn't smell of the beast as much, and opening the window helped a great deal. Outside, it was about 3 PM, so the sun was setting. Despite the cold, she leaned against the sill, looking out onto the street. The apartment was on the fourth floor, so leaping out the window wasn't an option. Still; anywhere was better than in
there.
Suddenly, that harebrained scheme didn't seem so unfeasible...
*****
About an hour later, Officer Jenny barged into the apartment. To say she
walked in would not have been doing justice to her entrance; no, rather, she stepped loudly, walked quickly and powerfully, head up, shoulders back, tall and proud and regal. The heels of her work boots thundered against the wood floor, but none of the downstairs neighbours would have had the absence of mind to complain. The door was yanked open, letting a gust fly.
Jenny took up more space than was physically possible--her presence was so magnanimous as to take up the entire living area.
She found her daughter (
scrumptious, delicious, easy prey, yummy morsel, good meat and GOOD MEW WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH HER), in a horrified heap on her bed, hidden under her blanket. It was all the policewoman could do not to rip the blanket off right then and there. Jenny didn't know what was wrong with her; she'd been in a particularly...
hungry mood all day at work--she found herself looking at her coworkers like they were pork chops, imagining herself tearing them apart--and it was particularly bizarre considering she was usually even-tempered. Even odder was her daughter's behaviour: Jenn was a wimp, yes, but not at this level, and definitely not of her own mother.
The moment was very awkward.
"Mom," came a thin, tear-warped voice, "p-please get out."
It went without saying; both understood. This wasn't going to work out.
"Maybe you should, erm. Consider going to Pewter? Things have calmed down there," Jenny proposed, making an effort to keep her voice soft, soothing. A whimper was the only reply she got.
"I'm--I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, alright, darling?"
Another whimper, more urgent than the first. Jenny took the hint and left.
It took half an hour--it was 4:45--before Jennifer got the courage to peek out from under the covers. Her mind was made up.
She had to GET OUT. NOW.
She hurried to the bathroom (before she really did do something drastic), and afterwards began packing. Her mind was reeling with the shock and the fear; under the pressure, she worked efficiently, using the most economy of movement and energy, blind panic keeping reason at bay. All she knew was the overpowering urge to run away, mixed with the logical human rationale that dictated that she had to pack some clothes, warm clothes, good boots, her cap (her hair was still a static mess), money and other necessities.
She appeared in the kitchen, shaking like a leaf. Pack on her shoulder (it was light, she was sure she'd forgotten something, she was so awful at this), she faced her mother, quashing her fear with a solid mantra:
'she's your mother, she won't eat you. She's your mother, she won't eat you. She's your mother...'
She swallowed thickly. Had to act fast before her Reptilian complex kicked in.
"I'm going to Viridian with some friends," she chocked out quickly. "I'm safe with them," and that was more important than anything else at this point, alone she was nothing nothing nothing. "I'll have my um, my 'nav on me, you can call. Don't--don't tell Daddy, okay?"
The last sentence was spoken with pure human pleading, and Jenny, looking up from her stir-fry, gave her daughter a heartbroken look.
"I can't keep you, can I?"
Too dangerous.
"Bye, mom. I, I love you."
"Take care. Keep me posted. If you don't call every day, I will send every police officer in the Kanto region after you."
With that, she watched her daughter walk out. She felt oddly proud.
"I knew she had it in her," she mumbled, popping a green pepper into her mouth.
*****
It wasn't until Jenn had arrived at the Pokemon center that the gravity of the situation came to her: she was
leaving, with a bunch of
strangers, to an
unknown destination, with
no travel experience
whatsoever, and
no useful skills.
"S-s-sorry I'm l-late."
Jenn was
this close to peeing herself.
((Well, it would seem I was wrong about fanfic-length posts. Sorry, I'm long-winded. *sheepish* I took some liberties with Jenn's mom, since Random said that all humans were undergoing the same changes we were. I just thought that a particularly horrible set of circumstances would be what it took to get Jenn out of the house. It's hard to be a Mareep when your mom's an Aerodactyl...))
