Writing The Darker Days (Chapter 2 is up!)

MegaGarchomp

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Hi, guys. This is my first fanfic so I really hope you guys like it. Chapters will probably come out weekly. Here we go! Enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

Many years ago...

36-year-old Oak stood at his window like a statue. Rain streamed down his window, but he watched it come down on New York City from the 13th floor of Rocket Incorporated like the king of a castle looking down on his domain and he found it calming. Outside, it came down in torrents, but in his office, through the thick glass, it sounded like a pleasant, light drizzle.

Hands behind his back, he watched the people on the sidewalks, almost completely covered by umbrellas, scurry for shelter like a child watches ants run around on an anthill. This was what he did when he needed to think. He would shut off the light in his office, stand at the window, look out at the world, and just think. Darkness helped, but he didn’t know why.

This peace was about to be abruptly interrupted. He set aside time to think and nobody ever accidentally barged into his office during this time. So when the light was turned back on, there was a change in his calm countenance. Annoyance made him stiffen.

“Sir?”

This was urgent. It had to be for such an interruption. He could hear it in the voice at the door.

“What is it?” asked Oak, not turning around but keeping his irritation in check.

“The Pokemon, sir…”

Dammit.

It was gone. The calm was gone. The storm suddenly seemed to get louder and more menacing. The second the word ‘Pokémon’ was uttered, a chill went down his spine. They were his greatest discovery, his life’s work, and the subjects of his latest research endeavor. Quiet time was over. Back to business.

“What about them?” Oak demanded, turning around. His face was grave.

“There’s been a…complication.” It was Alex, one of the men responsible for monitoring all the activity of his…incredibly extensive science experiment.

“Of what kind?” Oak noted the disarray of the man’s hair, his disheveled face.

Alex had one hand on the door frame, slightly bent over and was panting. The control room was on the Floor 3. He probably didn’t bother taking an elevator and just ran up 10 flights of stairs.

Oak waited for him to catch his breath, thoughts rushing through his head. Anything could have happened to those monsters; his monsters. His life’s work could be down the drain. His secret could be out. If anyone found out that he was keeping incredibly powerful creatures in a top-secret facility who knows what could happen.

Alex finally looked up. Oak could tell he was dreading saying what he was about to say, but he was in too much suspense to care about Alex’s comfort. “What is it?” he snapped.

Alex barely even whispered. “There’s been a breach.”

“What?” Oak couldn't hear him.

Alex gathered up his courage and said it firmly and loudly. “There’s been a breach. They found a way to get through The Wall and they’re headed for civilization.” He paused as Oak soaked every single word in, his face stricken and his heart pounding. “Our civilization.”

Oak was furious, trying to find his words. “That’s impossible. The Wall-”

“We don’t know how they got out either, sir. They’ve been trying to get over it, around it, and through it. I guess we let our guard down because we didn’t think they could. I mean it's made out of the most powerful materials in the world. Pokemon couldn't stand a chance.”

“NEVER underestimate Pokémon!!!” Oak shouted. He approached Alex, who tried in vain to retreat, grabbing him by the collar.

Oak never lost it. Ever. Sure there could be a bite in his tone sometimes, but it was never raised. And he never started to physically attack anyone either. He realized this and let go. He steadied his voice, but it was still fiery. “The facility is on lockdown, I assume?”

A shocked and slightly scared Alex nodded vigorously. “Oh yeah. Definitely. It’s just that we don’t know exactly what or how many got out.”

“How have the Pokémon been behaving since I last visited the facility?”

“Pretty pissed. Those guys don’t like being locked up as lab rats. We should probably assume they’re gonna be fairly hostile.”

Oak let out a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. “How long until they’ll get here?”

Alex sighed. “24 hours?”

Oak stood in silence.

“What do we do?” Alex asked. “Get the SWAT? The National Guard?”

Oak’s response surprised him. “No. They’ll get involved anyway and they won’t stand a chance.”

Alex nodded slowly. “Okay…so we just wait and twiddle our thumbs while all hell breaks loose?”

Oak gave him a look that made him hastily take it back. “I need to get to the facility and assess things."

“What about your kids?”

Oak stopped. He hadn’t thought about that yet. His two children who he loved more than life itself and who also had no idea what Pokémon were or that they were coming to probably wreak havoc on the world. Keeping his research a secret from them, from everybody, was hard but necessary. It didn't matter now anyway. Soon, it would become the worst kept secret the world had ever known.

Still, Oak would do everything in his power to ensure that nothing would happen to Riley and Jess and that they were properly cared for. He thought for a moment. Who would be properly suited for the task of watching them while he was away?

A name came to his mind and he’d made his decision: his coworker and best friend who knew just as much about Pokémon as he did and could protect his children from them if it came to that. He was certain it would.

“I’ll take care of that,” Oak said. “I’ll take the private jet down to the facility tonight. Hopefully, only a few Pokémon escaped; some of the less dangerous ones…”

Alex nodded and rushed off, probably back to the control room. There were several people looking at Oak in confusion in the hall. They’d probably heard his outburst.

He would give orders to everyone eventually but, first, his kids had to be taken care of. He walked back to his desk and pressed a button on his intercom. As the button glowed red, he spoke. “Sheryl, will you please call someone up to my office?”

“Who should I buzz, sir?”

Oak didn’t hesitate. “Giovanni.”

_________________________________________________________________________
Sorry that it's a little short. Feedback is greatly appreciated. :)
 
RE: The Darker Days (PG-13)

It seems plenty long enough word-count wise. WOW though. Very well written, I am jealous. Please continue this. I only found one grammar mistake in the whole thing, in the passage I quoted below. It's in bold.

"Oak never lost it. Ever. Sure there could be a bite in his tone sometimes, but it was never raised. And he never started to physically attacked anyone either. He realized this and let go. He steadied his voice, but it was still fiery. “The facility is on lockdown, I assume.”

And you also need a question mark at the end of that phrase. Keep up the good work!
 
RE: The Darker Days (PG-13)

Yes, this is written excellently and I applaud you for taking a previously benevolent character in Professor Oak and turning him into a seemingly mad scientist. Not only that, but you're keeping Giovanni in the mix as well.

My only suggestion is to keep on writing. While the characters are used very often, they are not in this context. I hope you continue this story and see it through to the end!
 
RE: The Darker Days (PG-13)

Thanks for the encouragement and critiques, guys :) I'll be on vacation from Saturday to Wednesday, so I won't get much time to write before I get back, but hopefully chapter 2 will be up by next weekend.
 
RE: The Darker Days (PG-13)

Alex finally looked up. Oak could tell he was dreading saying what he was about to say, but he was in too much suspense too care about Alex’s comfort. “What is it?” he snapped.

Now, I am a bit rusty on the uses of to and too, but I think that the way you are using too is wrong, too is used when you are basically saying also, such as, "I too like to swim.", and to is used when doing something. That is the only mistake I could fine, those two toos.

Other than that, so far, 4/5
 
RE: The Darker Days (PG-13)

Hey guys! :) Sorry this took so long, but it's here. Hope you guys like it. I've fixed everything that was pointed out in Chapter 1. Feedback is always really encouraging. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

17-year-old Riley honked the horn for what seemed like the hundredth time. He was sitting with his thumbs drumming on the steering wheel in impatience in the Great Oaks Elementary School’s parking lot, looking out through the falling room at his little sister who, despite his persistent honking, couldn’t seem to tear herself from her little group of smiling, laughing second graders. They stood under an awning, completely dry and content. If he had to get out to physically drag her, he wouldn’t be.

Of course he was picking her up. Mom? Dead, so unavailable. Dad? Busy, so unavailable. Riley gave up and sat back. Busy, so unavailable pretty much described Dad for him. Always working or on a business trip. What was he always doing? Riley had no idea other than that it had something to do with biology, animal behavior; science. It was science. That’s all he knew.

So, now, Riley was basically Dad. He picked up Jess, cooked meals, helped with her homework, got her to soccer, picked her up from that, and on top of that managed his own life.

Jess never got mad at Dad because she kind of just assumed the best in people and had never once questioned why Dad never had time for them. He would get home, say he had some work to finish, and then retreat to his office. His work was never finished, but she was cool with that; so content. Riley didn’t really know why.

He knew Dad loved them and didn’t mean to get caught up in whatever it was he was doing but Riley still resented him for it.

Okay, enough waiting.

Riley pulled his hood up and opened the car door. He jogged through the rain as quickly as he could and finally got to shelter where Jess and her friends were taking turns being adorable little comedians.

“Let’s go, Jess,” he said firmly.

She turned to him and looked at him with her big, adorable blue eyes and her blond
ponytail jumped up and down as she protested. “Just a few more minutes, Riley.”

“That’s not working. I’ve been waiting for 20 minutes.”

She let out a dramatic, exasperated sigh. “Fine.” She hoisted her backpack and bade her friends goodbye.

The two siblings hurried back to the car. Riley got in the front and Jess got in the back.
Jess talked the entire ride back home and Riley half-listened. There was talk about her day and a sleepover that was happening that night which she needed her chauffeur to escort her to of course and then a couple of times she asked Riley how his day was, to which he gave all the cliché one-word responses.

Dad had beaten them home, which was shocking, and when they entered the house, Riley saw a very familiar and half-packed object: a suitcase. Jess didn’t seem to notice it as she came in behind him, going straight upstairs. Riley slipped off his own backpack and set it down next to the door.

“Dad?” he called, peering around the corner into the living room.

He passed through there and into the kitchen. Piles of dishes were in the sink and the house was in its normal state of disarray. He exited the kitchen, rounding the corner and heading down the staircase that led down to Dad’s study.

Sure enough, there Dad was, piling folders and papers and a laptop into his briefcase.
He didn’t even notice Riley when he came down and Riley stood in the doorway, leaning on its frame for a minute watching him. Finally, he cleared his throat.

Oak was startled. His head shot up and he almost dropped the laptop. He tried to cover it up by giving a warm smile. “Oh. Hey, buddy. You’re probably wondering what I’m doing.” Then he went back to packing, looking around for something.

Riley shrugged. “Where’re you going?”

Obviously a little distracted, Oak answered. “Uh, just another branch of Rocket. But, don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He said it all too quickly, as if he were scared of something; maybe even hiding something. Riley could see those kind of emotions in even the slightest movements of the face, no matter how hidden. He decided to ignore it this time. “So…Dad?”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“What exactly do you do?”

Oak seemed surprised by that. He stopped again and looked up. Again, he looked just a little scared.

“Oh, you know. Biology, animal behavior, medicine. Boring stuff you probably wouldn’t care about.”

Riley shrugged. “What if I did?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know,” Riley said, feeling stupid for trying. “We’ve just never talked about what you do and I guess I just wanted to know.”

Inside, Oak felt like crying. He felt like getting up and walking over to his son and giving him a huge hug. But, he didn’t. He didn’t cry and he didn’t move. “Why so suddenly interested?”

Again, another shrug. “I don’t know. We just don’t talk that much and maybe you could…show me sometime or something. I guess what I’m saying is…I wanna come with you.”

“Why does he have to open up now?” Oak thought to himself.

He put on a smile and gave a forced a laugh. “You wouldn’t like it. Trust me. It’d be boring as hell. I promise.”

Riley started to say something, but the doorbell rang.

Oak looked over Riley’s shoulder as if their guest would be standing right behind them. “Ah, he’s here.”

Riley frowned. “Who?”

Oak ignored the question and moved past Riley, taking the stairs two at a time. Riley followed suit and by the time they got to the top of the stairs, Jess had already answered the door. Riley recognized the voice. It was a coworker of Dad’s. He and Dad hung out a lot. He came over sometimes. What was his name again?

Apparently Jess knew. “Giovanni!” she cried happily. “What’re you doing here?”

“Hey, Jess. How are you?” he replied, giving her a hug as Oak and Riley walked in. “I was in the neighborhood and I just thought I’d stop by to visit my old pal Mr. Oak.”

Riley made a face as he and Oak made it to the foyer. It was him alright. Short, chestnut-brown hair, chiseled face, sharp brown eyes, and wearing that orange suit he was always in whenever they saw him. He gave his dad a look that screamed ‘Why is he here?’ which the latter ignored.

Oak shook hands with Giovanni and bade him enter after reproaching Jess about opening the door for anyone without him. He ushered Giovanni into the living room and the kids followed behind them.

Giovanni started to sit down on one of the couches with Jess, but Oak gave him a ‘We need to talk’ look, followed by saying out loud, “I think we all need some hot chocolate. Who’s up for some?”

Jess’s hand shot up like she was in a game show and, if she didn’t react fast enough, someone else would steal the question. Giovanni nodded. Riley sat in an armchair adjacent to the fireplace and said nothing.

“Giovanni, could you help me make some? Riley and Jess, we’ll be right back.”

They retreated into the kitchen and Oak shut the door behind them.

Giovanni looked surprised when Oak actually started to make hot chocolate. “Now’s hardly the time.”

Oak shrugged as he retrieved four glass mugs from the cabinet. “Nothing like some good old- fashioned hot cocoa for the end of the world as we know it.” He was joking, but his tone didn’t sound like it. His tone said that he actually expected this to be his last drink.

Giovanni was leaned against the fridge, watching Oak make the drinks. “I don’t understand. They’re under such tight security.”

“Were under such tight security,” Oak corrected. “The Wall wasn’t enough to hold them. Some really powerful Pokémon must have breached it.”

Giovanni nodded. “And you really think this is a good idea?”

Oak looked at him, confused. “What idea?”

Giovanni stopped leaning against the fridge and approached him. “I’m talking about leaving your kids right after you find out the world’s about to be under attack.”

Oak’s eyes flashed. “I’m doing this for my children. You’re here for my children. You’ve been my best friend for 20 years. Look my in the eyes and tell me that I would do anything that wasn’t best for my kids.”

Giovanni fell silent and Oak continued to pour, mix, and stir. Finally, Giovanni spoke.
“How long until they make it here?”

“Not long enough,” Oak said. He took two mugs and gestured for Giovanni to take the other two.

“And how am I gonna tell Riley and Jess about all this?”

Oak sighed. “If my trip goes smoothly, you won’t have to. But, if it doesn’t, they’ll find out all by themselves. Just keep them safe and roll with the punches.”

With that, he opened the door and they were back to being good friends making hot chocolate for the kids.

The mugs were passed out and Oak finally spoke. “Riley? Jess? I’m going away on business tonight and Mr. Giovanni here is going to stay with you while I’m gone.”

Riley set down his mug on the coffee table. “Why? You always just leave me in charge. Not that it’s not nice to see you, Mr. Giovanni.”

Giovanni laughed. “No offense taken, Riley. Your father is just going on a rather special trip this time. But, he’ll be back by tomorrow night so I won’t be her any longer than I have to.”

But, as he spoke, Riley could see the same thing he’d seen his dad’s face before: fear. Whatever made this trip so special must’ve scared them. It was probably nothing, so he ignored it.

Then, later, as they watched Dad pull out of the driveway, he saw it in both their faces again; Dad’s as he took his last look at them and Giovanni’s as he waved goodbye with Jess. Even as he tried to sleep, Riley wondered.

What were they so afraid of?
 
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