Looking for Kate

The sun was barely in view as you, Rachael, Terrence, Gloria, and their children were running down the path as fast as you could. You started to push yourself harder, running as fast as you can as you saw the church starting to come into view. You were running so fast, you nearly slammed your face into the door as you started to knock frantically.

“Hello?! Is anyone there?! Please open the door!” You cried out, continuing to knock before seeing the door swung open as a Kadabra opened up, staring at you angrily.

“What’s the matter with you?! Banging, and yelling at the door, you want to bring those afflicted down on us?!” The Kadabra stated, his brow furrowing.

“S-Sorry, I just had others with me.” You stated just as he saw Rachael and the others were approaching.

“Hmm, well you are lucky that the sun hadn’t completely faded…” he stated, just as he saw that there was just a bit of the sun visible through the tree line. “Come on everyone.” Hearing his words, you and everyone entered the church building.

As the realization that you all made it finally clicked into your brain, you let out a long sigh of relief, taking a seat on one of the benches. You then feel your body getting heavy as you slump back on your seat..

“We went through a lot to get here” A voice spoke out and you saw Rachael sitting next to you, which you nodded in agreement.

“Well, we’re all safe now, that’s what matters.” Terrence stated, just as a Medicham was approaching the group.

“Arceus blessed you all, arriving here before our curfew.” The psychic/fighting type, sporting a calm disposition stated, “While your urgency and fear is warranted, it puts not only you, but everyone here in danger from the afflicted outside.” She gently, but firmly lectured you.

“All is forgiven.” she stated as she looked over both you and Rachael. “My name is Valorie, and I’m watching over all in the church grounds. Are you four in a group together?”

“No, we were just working together in order to arrive here.” Terrence stated.

“I see. We were told to keep an eye out for a Raichu and Buneary by an earlier group, so we were expecting two more at least.” Valorie explained, which got your attention.

“A group?” You asked, stepping forward. “Did this group have a Pachirisu among them?!” You asked urgently.

“Ah, you must be her brother. She would be so pleased to see you and your friend are safe.”

“She sure will be! Can you tell me where she is?” you asked, eyes beaming in joy.

“I will tell you, but you look like you’re still shaken and worn out from your ordeal. How about you take the moment to rest? You all are safe here.” Valorie offered, motioning you to ease up.

You lose your smile, but you do nod in response.

“With this, our doors will remain closed until the sun rises up tomorrow. We’re currently preparing a meal for all currently here to enjoy. For now, be at ease.” she stated as she started to lead everyone to the churchyards.

She showed them the places that would be of interest before stating that she has important matters to deal with and for everyone to rest and relax. Just as you were about to ask something, she teleported away before you could get a word out.

You blink a few times as Terrence and Gloria look towards you and Rachael. “We appreciate you two’s help in getting us here. We won’t forget it.” Gloria stated, sounding grateful.

“Take care of yourselves. We hope you all stay safe in these trying times.” Terrence stated as he and his family headed off.

*Terrence and Gloria have left your party*

With just the two of you, you take a quick look around to see that there are some places around that catch your interest. “Rachael, you go on and join the others.”

“Huh? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to look for my sister. Better to let her mind be at ease.” You answered.

“Didn’t they tell you to rest first?” Rachael asked with a grin.

“I’ll rest once I see her. Don’t worry, once I see her, I’ll come back and join you all.” You spoke, patting her shoulder.

The Buneary looks at you for a moment before shrugging. “Alright, just be careful. We don’t know how secure this place is.”

“Exactly.” You replied with a nod before the two of them headed off in different directions.

After walking a few steps, you headed towards the fountain. You take a moment to stare into the clear water to see how dirty your face looked. You take a moment to dip your paws into the water, shuddering at how cool it felt.

You brought it towards your face and took a cautious sniff at it first. With no foul smell coming from it, you splashed it across your face wiping the dirt off and sighing from the sensation. With that done, you look around the area. You see the garden, the storage area, the main building and the resting area. While you clearly don’t see your sister there, you went to examine the garden.

There are various spots where there are buried seeds under the ground, a few of them have sprouted. It’s clear that they use the berries here to prepare meals and help heal pain from battles, and those are decently cared for. Although you noticed three other unused dirt patches where there could be more plants to grow.

‘Why would they leave these plots alone and bare?’ Before you could think on that more, you felt a presence approaching from behind and quickly snapped around.

“Eep!” the presence being a Girafarig jolted as she tried to calm herself from seeing your reaction. “It’s just me.”

“S-Sorry. It’s been a day.” you responded, easing yourself to relax.

“It’s alright. I noticed you looking at the garden, I wanted to let you know that dinner will be ready very soon in case you were hungry.” she explained.

“It’s not that. Have you seen a Pachirisu girl running around here?”

“I haven’t, but you look like you have also been through a lot. You really should rest yourself before you wear yourself out.” She said to you.

“I’m okay, thanks though.” You said, walking away from her.

Satisfying your curiosity of the garden, you started to search for your sister. You went towards the storage house. As you were nearing the door, a Malamar who was standing nearby, moved one of its tentacles to block your way.

“Only the head priestess has access to the storage house.” The Malamar said to you, with a masculine sounding voice.

“Have you seen a Pachirisu wandering around here?” You asked the Malamar.

“I have seen her running around. Don’t know where she went. But there’s no need to worry, everyone is safe here.” The Malamar stated. “You should take a rest while you still can.”

“Thank you for the concern.” You stated before leaving the area, unaware that the Malamar was watching you.

You look around once more, growing concern where Kate could be as you decide to enter the main building to find her. You checked every place where you were allowed to go, but no one knew where she was.

‘You think I or anyone would’ve seen someone like her in this place…’ You thought, worry building up within you. ‘Maybe she’s with the others?’ You thought, walking to exit the main building before bumping into someone. You backed away from the impact, rubbing your nose before you look and see a familiar face. A gasp came from the Gardevoir’s mouth as she saw you, her pink eyes wide in shock. “Y-You made it? You’re okay…” she said, sounding like she’s surprised.

“Melanie? It’s good to see you. Hey, have you-” Before you could finish your sentence, she suddenly vanished from your view.

You could do nothing but stare at where Melanie used to be before you thought about what the Gardevoir looked and just said. ‘Wait, why did she look so shocked to see that I’ve arrived? And why would she just teleport before I could even finish my question?’ As you thought about those questions, your face started to shift with a look of dread. ‘What’s going on?! Where’s my sister?!’ you thought, walking urgently towards the outside plaza.

You look around urgently, but also trying to hide your growing dread, but still your sister is nowhere to be found. The only places you haven’t checked were the storage area, the dormitory, and the crypt. You're sure that your friend and companions would’ve come to you with news about your sister, and considering that the male Meowstic was watching the area around him more frequently than the others, you decide to focus there.

There’s no way you’re going to be able to convince the feline Pokémon to let you inside, so you decide to discreetly look around the grounds to see if you can find a way to distract the watcher. As you were nearing one of the church's windows, you noticed a pillar next to it. You take a look and notice it to be quite wobbly. You look down and see something that’s keeping the pillar somewhat stable. You look around to see that no one’s watching, so you edged it to where the weight of it would shift in seconds.

With that done, you left the area, making sure that the Meowstic saw you. You sit down on a bench to make it look like you were resting. Moments later, you heard a crash coming from where you were before. The Meowstic jolted at the noise before quickly moving to investigate. You took a look and saw that the Malamar wasn’t watching the general direction. Just then, you heard words of complaint, “Unbelievable, who got this stupid-Damn thing smashed a window!”

Seeing this is your chance, you carefully walked to the entrance of the crypt and placed your paws on the handle and pulled. It was a bit heavy, but you managed to open it enough so you could slip yourself inside.

You close it so as to not raise suspicion. You turn around to examine the area. It was a bit dark and hard for you to see. You look at the door to make sure it was safe before you generated a bit of electricity. It wasn’t enough to illuminate the entire area, but it allowed a tiny distance to be viewable. As you went ahead, you noticed small placeholders for the coffins to be placed in. You noticed some had coffins already, but you decide not to think about it as you continue onward.

You noticed a door not too far from where you started as well as the tunnel continuing onward to the left, but you decided to check the door first. You saw the handle for it and grabbed it, allowing you to pull it and open it. What you saw next made your eyes widen in horror, you couldn’t believe what was hidden. You took a step back in response before suddenly your vision went dark.