We woke up in the morning at 9:00. After crawling off the couch and taking a shower, we cooked breakfast. Michelle had her arms around me the whole time I was cooking, occasionally kissing my neck, but most of the time her head was resting on my shoulder.
After eating breakfast and then cleaning up, we did I bit more organizing and putting things away. Almost all of it had already been done the previous day, but there was still some stuff that needed to be moved or put somewhere.
We went outside after everything was put away and walked around in the woods for a while. We stopped and relaxed for a while at a crystal-clear lake in a clearing. Michelle and I laid side-by-side in the soft grass by the lake, talking about what had happened the past few days. Eventually the wedding and my proposal was mentioned and Michelle blushed. She thought my proposal was perfect.
We talked for a while later, then decided to go back to the cabin. As we were walking away, I had a dark feeling come over me, as if something powerfully evil was nearby. I tried to ignore the feeling, but it kept coming back. I eventually ignored it completely and it went away.
Little did we know that someone was watching us. A person in a white lab coat peeked out from his hiding place in a tree. He jumped down, an evil grin on his face, then crept away unnoticed.
Michelle and I got back to the cabin and went inside, then crawled into the bed for a quick nap. We spent the rest of the day outside, searching for more Pok�mon. As hard as we looked, we didn�t find any that we wanted to catch.
We left the cabin the next day and drove to the TR47 cabin where everybody else was living. They were glad we visited, because to them everything was different without Michelle and I around. We all played Go Fish for a while, then drove to a nearby city to waste time. There was a carnival in town, so we all went to it and spent the entire evening there until it closed.
I had managed to win a huge stuffed dog for Michelle at a game, and was now carrying it to the car for her. We got all of our stuff put in the trunk, then drove back to the TR47 cabin. After talking for a while longer while playing Go Fish, Michelle and I left.
It was 11:30 P.M. when we got back to our cabin. I pulled our stuff out of the trunk, then brought it all in inside. I put the stuffed dog in our bedroom, then changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed.
Michelle changed and slid in next to me a few minutes later, resting her head against me. I put my arms around her, and we both fell asleep a few minutes later.
I was the first to wake up, so I got out of bed and started to cook breakfast, trying not to wake Michelle. After I finished cooking, I got a plate of food for Michelle and brought it to her. She was awake now, but she didn�t get out of bed because she knew what I was doing. She ate breakfast in bed, then I took the dishes and place them in the sink.
�Thanks Luke, that was really sweet,� Michelle said. She then leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.
�It was nothing,� I replied, blushing a bit.
Michelle stretched and sat up. She looked a bit pale.
�Are you feeling okay? You look pale,� I said.
�Yeah, I�m fine,� Michelle replied. �I�m just a bit tired from yesterday.�
�You take it easy today,� I said. �You deserve to rest.�
Michelle smiled and kissed me again, then laid back down. I left the room and turned back as I was about to close the bedroom door. She was already drifting off.
A little while later Michelle woke up again. I went into the bedroom and sat down on top of the blanket next to her.
�I�m gonna be gone for a little while. I need to go to the store to buy some potions and things, but I won�t be gone for too long.�
�Okay,� Michelle said. �I�ll be right here waiting.�
I smiled and kissed her in the forehead, then stood up. I picked my car keys up off the desk, then shut the bedroom door behind me. The dark feeling I had in the woods came back to me, but I didn�t understand what it meant. I went outside and started up my car, then drove away.
I spent about an hour at the Pok� Mart, then another half hour buying some groceries. I had plenty of money for everything that I had bought, because I had transferred my entire bank account from Utah to a bank here.
As I put the groceries away, I was about to head to the pharmacy to pick up various medication for Michelle and I (normal stuff like aspirin, Band-Aids, etc.). Suddenly the feeling returned stronger than ever. All of a sudden a vision came to me of a person in a white lab coat, sneaking into our cabin.
�Michelle!� I yelled suddenly. I jumped into the car and started it up, excessively revving the engine as it started.
I shifted the car into gear and floored the gas pedal. I was driving at speeds in excess of 150 MPH all the way up to the cabin. I stopped the car and threw it into park, then jumped out with it still running. I ran to the cabin and burst through the door, which was wide open.
�Michelle?� I called. No answer. �Michelle!� I yelled again. Still no answer.
I started to get frantic now. I searched all over the cabin, but she wasn�t there. I sat down on the bed and cried, knowing that this was partially my fault. I hadn�t realized what the feelings meant until it was too late.
Right then I noticed a sheet of paper tacked to the wall. I jumped off the bed and tore the paper off the wall, then began reading it.
Luke-
If you ever want to see your wife again, you had better cooperate. You must bring Joey to me at the lake. You know where. If you cooperate, then we will make the trade. Your wife for Joey. Bring her here by midnight. I would hate to be forced to use violence on such a beautiful young woman. You know I will do it if you refuse to bring her.
~Tac~
I could no longer control my rage at that point. I tore the paper in half, then punched my fist into the wall. I grabbed the pieces of the note, then ran back to my car, which was still running. I drove to the TR47 cabin, speeding wildly the whole way.
I pulled up to the TR47 cabin a few minutes later and shut off the car. I ran up to the door and hurried inside. Everyone looked surprised at my sudden appearance.
�Tac has returned, and he�s taken Michelle hostage,� I said.
�WHAT???� everybody yelled simultaneously.
�It�s true,� I said. �I have the note he left nailed to the wall.�
I placed the two halves of the note on the table where everybody could see it, then everybody read what it had to say. They were all just as shocked as me, especially Joey. Tac had tried to kill her once, and he was out for revenge now.
�I have to go,� Joey said almost immediately.
�But you can�t,� I said. �He will kill you if you do.�
�You don�t know that,� Joey replied.
�Yes I do,� I said. �I know exactly where Tac is, and I had a vision of exactly what happened. He�s waiting for you, and the second you show up, BAM!�
�He won�t,� Joey said. �What about Michelle?�
�Don�t you get it Joey,� I asked, �Tac doesn�t care about Michelle. He�s only using her as bait to lure you to him. When you go to him to make the trade, he will just kill both of you.�
�I see your point,� Joey said.
�I don�t think you do,� I replied quietly. �Come here.�
Joey stepped up to me and I gently placed my hands on the side of her head. What happened next was only possible between two psychic Pok�mon. The both of us were instantly hurled into a vision of the entire event.
The vision started with Tac watching as I drove away. He made sure I was gone, then looked around the cabin for a while, making sure there was no sort of security system. The cabin was new, so Michelle and I hadn�t built one yet.
The scene changed, and it showed Tac picking the lock on the front door. Michelle had locked the front door as I left. Tac crept in silently, looking around as he snuck through the cabin.
He crept over to the bedroom door and put his ear to it. We could both tell that he was listening to see if anybody was in there. He smiled evilly, and I could tell that he knew Michelle was in there.
The vision changed as he opened the bedroom door silently and poked his head in. Michelle had been sleeping soundly. He pulled a small vial out of his lab coat and then a rag of some sort. He crept over to the bed while pouring the contents of the vial onto the rag.
Michelle stirred and woke up when Tac stepped up to the bed. She instantly went wide-eyed and started to scream, but Tac pressed the rag against her mouth and nose. Her body almost instantly went limp as the potion took effect. Tac backed away a few seconds later, checking to make sure she was still alive.
He put the rag in a garbage can and burned it, leaving no trace of it at all. He then picked up Michelle�s body and carried out the door, laughing like a mad scientist.
The vision changed again. It was much later now. Michelle was tied to a chair, staring angrily at Tac.
�What do you want with me?� she asked him.
�Oh, you�re of no concern to me,� Tac replied. �It�s Joey that I�m after. I tried to kill her once, but she ruined my plan. She won�t be so fortunate this time.�
�You won�t get away with this, Tac!� Michelle yelled as he started to walk away.
�Oh, but I will,� Tac replied. �That�s the beauty of it. If Joey so much as shows her face here, my machine will do the rest,� Tac said, gesturing to a large piece of equipment.
The machine appeared to be some sort of capturing device. There were odd looking Pok�balls in a contained, which must have been Tac�s own design of Master Ball. We normally wouldn�t have been worried about the Machine, but Tac demonstrated it for Michelle.
Tac switched the machine and told it to lock on a small Weedle that was snoozing at the base of a tree. He turned the machine on and it instantly came to life. A beam shot out and the Weedle was sucked into one of Tac�s Master Balls, trapping it. The Master Ball dropped into a separate chamber, and Joey and I watched carefully.
The chamber had a small device in it that looked like a gun of some sort. Our suspicions were confirmed moments later. The device glowed, and suddenly a beam of some sort shot out of it. The beam hit the Master Ball, which began to glow from the heat moments later, then it exploded. Joey and I both jumped back. I had already seen this vision, but it hadn�t been this detailed.
Michelle gasped in shock and horror as she watched the machine do its work. There was nothing left of the Master Ball that had been in the chamber moments earlier. The Master Ball had completely disintegrated.
The vision ended right then, and Joey and I found ourselves in the living room with the others again. I removed my hands from her face and stepped back.
�Now do you see what I mean?� I asked.
Joey didn�t respond, but only sat down on the couch in shock. I could tell that she was overwhelmed by fear from the vision. A few minutes later, Joey stood up again and took a deep breath.
�I don�t care what happens, but Michelle is my sister, and I�m going.�
�But Joey, what about the-�
Joey cut me off in mid sentence. �I don�t care. I�ll find out a way to fool the machine somehow, and I think I know how I�ll do it.�
Joey then explained the plan to me, and I became more and more interested as she talked. It was perfect. Now we had to figure out a way to carry out the plan perfectly. If anything went wrong, who knows what could happen.
Joey and I got ready at 11:00 P.M. We wanted to keep Tac waiting, but not for so long that he got angry and decided to use the machine on Michelle.
We got our stuff, then got into my car. We drove to the lake and got there a few minutes later. I parked the car and hopped out.
�Ready?� I asked Joey.
�Absolutely. Let�s do it.�
Joey changed her form right then. When she stopped glowing, she looked just like Jads. I pulled a Master Ball out of my pack, then tossed the pack into the car.
We walked around the lake, then found Tac waiting for us.
�Where is she?� he hissed.
�Right here,� I said, holding up the false Master Ball. The machine instantly came to life and the beam shot out, pulling the Master Ball right out of my hands. The Master Ball went into the chamber, and we watched as it exploded. I hung my head and tried to look as pathetic and miserable as possible.
Tac laughed wildly as the Master Ball exploded. The sky seemed to crackle with electricity as he laughed.
�What about Michelle?� I asked firmly.
�Ah yes, your little wife.�
Tac went over to the machine and flipped a switch, and suddenly the machine began to move towards Michelle.
�NO!� I yelled, leaping forward. I tackled Tac to the ground and pinned him to the ground.
�Now Joey!� I yelled.
Joey, who looked like Jads the entire time, changed her form back to her normal self, and I saw a look of rage fill Tac�s face. Joey pulled a dart gun out of her jacket and aimed it at Tac, then shot. The dart landed in Tac�s leg, and suddenly he began to change form. The dart contained a super-concentrated dose of what the doctor had given Michelle and I to make us turn into Anthro Pok�mon.
He changed form, and ended up as an Anthro Raichu, just like Michelle and I. I stood up and yanked him off the ground roughly. I stood behind him and held his arms behind his back as the machine continued to move.
�Please let this work,� I whispered to myself.
The machine stopped at Michelle, but then detected something stronger and began to move toward Tac and I. I was risking my life, because there was a chance that I could be pulled in with Tac.
The machine stopped at Tac and took aim. It powered up, and I closed my eyes tightly. Tac screamed, and the machine shot. I was suddenly overcome with a strong sensation, then was thrown back. I landed on the ground away from the machine, almost knocked unconscious by the machine�s power. The Master Ball containing Tac began to shake violently. A Master Ball like Tac�s was a guaranteed catch, but it seemed as if Tac was going to escape.
The ball suddenly emitted a small ping and moved into the chamber. We could still hear screaming as the device in the chamber powered up. The beam shot out, and the Master Ball began to glow. The ball suddenly exploded, but much more violently than the other two had. The machine couldn�t contain the blast, and was torn apart. The sky seemed to light up as the Master Ball containing Tac exploded.
As the Master Ball exploded, we all swore that we heard a voice yell, �YOU HAVEN�T HEARD THE LAST OF ME!�
Joey ran over to me to make sure I was okay. I had been weakened severely by the machine. I was holding Tac, and sure enough, the machine tried to draw in both of us, but I was thrown back. The machine had drained quite a bit of my power, and I was extremely weak now.
Joey ran over to Michelle and untied her, then Michelle ran to me and bent down by my side.
�I knew you�d come for me,� she said, wrapping her arms around my neck.
�Don�t touch!� I yelled. I hurt all over, and could barely move. Everything was hazy and out of focus.
Michelle and Joey helped me up onto my feet a few minutes later, but I fell right back down. They helped me up again, but this time they didn�t let go of me. They helped me back to my car and put me in the passenger�s seat. I looked at Joey, and I could tell that she was secretly happy. She now had an excuse to drive my Mustang.
I handed Joey the keys and Michelle hopped into the back seat. Joey put the key in the ignition and started the car, revving the engine as she did so.
I then shifted in my seat and turned to Joey. �Four words, Joey,� I said, �You wreck, you die.�
Joey gave me an innocent look, then shifted the car into gear. I was pushed back in my seat as Joey pushed on the gas pedal a bit excessively, but not any more than I ever did. We drove back to the TR47 cabin and arrived there in one piece. I wasn�t so sure about Michelle though. She looked a bit green from the ride.
Michelle and Joey got out of the car, then helped me out. I was still too weak to walk or even stand up, so they basically carried me inside. I was placed on the couch, then Michelle and Joey went to tell the others about my daring rescue. Over the next few weeks I took it easy at the TR47 cabin. I didn�t want to get up and go back to our cabin until I was strong enough.
When I had finally recovered completely, Michelle and I decided to drive back to our cabin. We were still pretty shaken up by the experience, but not as bad as when we first got back to the cabin after I rescued Michelle and killed Tac.
I reached into my pocket for the keys, but couldn�t find them. After a bit of searching, I realized that Joey had them. I looked around for a few minutes and found Joey in the garage, working on her motorcycle.
�Give me the keys, Joey,� I said.
�I have no idea what you�re talking about,� Joey replied.
�Yes you do, and we both know it. Give them back.�
Joey smiled, then went over to the work bench where her keys were. She picked the keys up and detached my keys from them, then tossed my keys to me. I examined them and chuckled.
�The car key,� I said, reaching out my hand.
Joey knew she was caught. She cursed, then pulled the key to my Mustang off her keychain and tossed it to me reluctantly. I attached the key to my keychain then walked out to the car, closing the door to the garage behind me.
I got into the car and started it up, then got Michelle. We both said goodbye to everybody, then drove back to our cabin.
Everything was just as we had left it. I went into the bedroom and noticed the dent in the wall where I punched it. I wasn�t the only one.
�What�s that?� Michelle asked, pointing to the dent.
I blushed and didn�t say anything.
�You need to keep calm when you�re angry.�
I finally spoke up. �What would you do if you were in my position? Sit and cry until it was too late?�
Michelle got the message. She smiled and kissed me on the cheek, then went to the bathroom to find a change of clothes. She came back out a few minutes later wearing her pajamas. I could tell that she was tired. She crawled into bed and started to drift off almost immediately. I changed into a pair of pajamas as well and crawled into bed next to her. I put my arms around her and began to fall asleep just as fast.
We both woke up a little while later. We went and got something to eat, then watched TV for a while. There was a storm gathering outside, so we decided not to go anywhere. I had parked the car in the garage, so it would be fine if it rained outside.
Eventually it began to rain hard. This wasn�t anything new. It was stormy there quite often. We kept watching TV, because we were used to the storms. Lightning started to crackle outside, followed by loud thunder. We still ignored it.
Suddenly a large flash of lightning lit up the cabin, followed almost immediately by a loud crash. My blood went cold, because I knew that the strike was way too close for comfort. Suddenly the TV went dead.
�What happened?� Michelle asked.
�I don�t know,� I said, �maybe the TV is just broken.�
Suddenly the lights all flickered for a moment, then everything went black.
�Or maybe not,� Michelle said.
�Well, that�s never a good thing,� I said.
I stumbled around in the darkness for a few minutes while Michelle waited patiently on the couch. I finally found my keys sitting on the desk next to the bed. I picked them up and pulled a tiny flashlight off the chain. It was my Mini-Mag.
I switched on the flashlight and looked around. I went to the kitchen and got some candles, then put them on the table. I thought for a moment, then got a funny idea.
I snuck into the living room and crept up behind the couch as quietly as possible. Michelle was mumbling to herself about the weather and was also why it was taking me so long.
�Luke, stop sneaking around,� Michelle said suddenly.
My cover was blown, so I stood behind the couch. I switched the flashlight on and put it up to my face, giving Michelle a scary look.
�You will join me in the underworld,� I said in a deep voice.
Suddenly a pillow flew out of nowhere and smacked me in the face, knocking me over. I could hear Michelle giggling in the darkness, and swore at myself for not seeing that one coming. I laid there for a moment, listening to the storm.
�Stop messing around,� Michelle said, sitting on me and pinning me to the floor.
�Fine,� I replied, �I�ll stop.� Michelle didn�t move. �Oh, so you want it rough, eh?� I asked. �So be it!�
I pushed Michelle and she rolled off me, then I stood up. Fortunately, we had a soft floor, because Michelle tackled me back to the floor right away. We could clearly see since there was a flashlight illuminating the room, along with the almost constant flashes of lightning. I threw her off again, then leapt forward to pin her down so that she didn�t tackle me again.
�Okay, okay. I give,� Michelle laughed.
�You promise?� I asked, starting to stand up.
�Maybe,� Michelle replied, standing up.
�Michelle,� I said, holding her back down.
�Fine, I promise,� she said, laughing.
I stood up, then grabbed Michelle�s hand and pulled her to her feet. She kissed me on the cheek, then I went into the kitchen to get the candles. I heard Michelle stumble and swear as she went back to the couch.
�Careful,� I called to her sarcastically.
Suddenly another pillow flew across the kitchen and knocked me over. Michelle was standing in the doorway, smiling. I got up on my feet again and threw the pillow back at her, then got the candles off the table. I put the candles in the living room, then got a box of matches to light them. The living room got brighter as I lit the candles, and eventually we decided there were enough lit. The living room could only get so bright with candles.
We sat down on the couch and looked around. The cabin felt different when the power was out. There wasn�t much of anything to do, so I pulled out my sketch pad. I didn�t plan on sketching anything since it was this dark in the room, so I looked through the sketches I had done already. I put the pad back away, then looked at Michelle.
It was starting to get cold in the cabin since the power was out, so I grabbed a blanket and brought it into the living room. I sat back down on the couch, then wrapped the blanket around both of us. We cuddled together to stay warm, then fell asleep a little while later.
I was the first to wake up the next day. The sun was shining as if there had never been a storm to start with. I opened the front door and looked outside, and was shocked. There was a blackened spot on the ground where a tree once stood. That would explain the thunder I heard that was so close.
I turned around and noticed an envelope stuck to the door with a tack. The call sign of only one person. Michelle heard me gasp and walked up behind me. She screamed when she saw what I was staring at. The envelope had �BEWARE� written on the front in what appeared to be blood. I knew right then what that meant. Tac was alive, and he was out for revenge . . .
So, that�s the end of Chapter IV. Pretty cool, huh? I�ll get started on Chapter V immediately, but expect to see it finished quickly. Chapter V may take me a bit longer since I have new things to work in. Unless you�re brain dead, you know what I�m gonna say next, so I�ll skip it. It�s that same as the final paragraph in all the other chapters previous to this one, so there. That�s it. Once again, this is Luke �Skywalker� Judd blasting off again!
�January 15, 2001