#obviously i caught her and i named her Cera

[pokemontrainerkenn]

[fever-dream-journal]

Freedom?

I awoke in the same room as I always did, on the same bed as always. Alone, like always. The same rotting metal bed frame with an old mattress lay under me, the heat register next to it. The window was above the heat register. The light of the moon shone through my window on the lone desk in the corner of the room, highlighting some chipped paint on the walls. I think the desk was there to write letters to your loved ones then the managers would send them off. I never bothered. I’ve been here for 10 years. I’m 17. My parents obviously don’t care that much about me. I’m just glad Lorelei managed to make it in here with me. We’ve been able to grow up together, like she always promised. I don’t know how I got here though. The last thing I remember was I was in my bed after introducing Lorelei to my parents.

FLASHBACK START

I ran to my parents excitedly, Lorelei following close behind me. Just before we got to my parents, Lorelei had stopped me.

“Cera, I don’t think this is the best idea. Wh-what if your parents don’t like me?” I shook my head.

“That’s ridiculous! They’re going to love you! Come on, come on, come on!”

I grabbed her hand and dragged her to where my parents were in the kitchen. It looked like they were looking over some letters from the mail. They glanced up at me with curiosity.

“Mom. Dad. I want you to meet Lorelei! She’s my best friend and I met her in class. Well, not really in class, more like on the playground, but it doesn’t matter!” I turned to Lorelei. “Lorelei, these are my parents!”

I looked to my parents, who looked to each other, then back at me. My mom was the first to speak.

“Darling, you’re a little too old to be having imaginary friends.”

I felt my heart shatter. “Mother! What are you talking about? She’s right here! That’s not very nice.” I had let my head fall, looking to the ground. My father was the one who spoke next.

“Your mother and I are very busy. Go play imaginary upstairs. We don’t have the time right now.” “B-but Da-” I stopped as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked to see Lorelei was the source. “Let it go. There’s no use in trying..” I sighed, knowing she was right. “Alright. Let’s just go to my room. I can show you some of my favorite toys!” I started heading to the stairs, then noticed Lorelei still standing near my parents. “Are you coming?” I asked, trying not to sound rude. Manners are important as my parents always taught me.

“I’ll catch up with you, I just need to use the bathroom.”

It took her longer than a few minutes before she came back. She didn’t look concerned, but she did ask me a weird question.

“Do you know a place called Scalebor Park? I heard your parents talking about it, but I don’t know what it is.” I had never heard the name before, but it sounds fun. “No, but if there’s a park nearby I wanna go!” I laughed a little.

Lorelei smiled softly at me, as if she knew something. “Go to sleep for now, maybe we’ll go tomorrow, it’s getting late.”

END OF FLASHBACK

Lorelei never told me the truth about that night. I’ve always been curious. She’s very smart and knows more than I ever did. She’d help me study sometimes. I couldn’t take my curiosity anymore though.

“Lorelei… I know you heard something and didn’t tell me, 10 years ago, the night I introduced you to my parents.”

I watched Lorelei as she walked in from the corner of a room. A small crawl space. I’m pretty sure it’s a trap if anyone tries to escape.

“How long have you known this?” I can’t help but smile. She underestimates me sometimes.

“Well, I could tell something wasn’t right that night. You never get me to go to sleep so quickly, and you were kinda pale faced when you came up from the ‘washroom’. What really happened..? I need to know.”

Lorelei sighed. “I knew this day would come. That night, after you went to sleep, they called this place. This is Scalebor Park. This place takes phone calls and comes into the callers houses to get the patient. This is Scalebor Park Asylum. You’ve been in an asylum for 10 years.”

I stared blankly at Lorelei, not wanting to believe her. “Th-they put me here..?” I manage to choke out.

Lorelei speaks softly, trying to calm me down. “They say you have schizophrenia, your parents. That’s what they told the guards on their phone.”

I shake my head and grip at my hair, trying to get the thought out of my head. “N-No! I’M NOT! I'm NORMAL!”

Lorelei, as always, pulls me into a hug and rocks me slowly, letting me cry on her shoulder. “I-I don’t belong here Lorelei. Y-you know that! R-Right?”

She nods at me sympathetically.

“Of course I do Cercie. But it’s not like you can break out. No one has ever broken out of this place before. It’s nearly impossible. I’m sor-”

“It’s not impossible! Nothing is! Everything has to be possible or else it wouldn’t exist!” I shout at Lorelei. She takes a step back.

“Relax. Breathe. In through the nose, out the mouth. Hum a song.”

The usual tips. I take a deep breath in through the nose and out the mouth, like she told me, and after a few times, I feel relaxed.

“I’m sorry Lorelei.. But you know I don’t belong here.” I pause, thinking of something. “I got it! Once the guards come in to check on us, we ditch this place. We just need to be careful.” I point to the small crawl space. “That's where we go. We crawl through there to the end, then get to the window. Once at the window, we crawl out of it. Careful not to scratch yourself, or bleed. They caught someone two years back by a blood trail. We need to stick to the shadows. If any guards come, hide. Whether it’s under a truck or around a wall. Don’t get caught. Then, once we get to the gate, we need to keep going. We can’t stop. They probably have people patrolling through the closest town. Don’t let me stop. No matter what. I know I’m not in any condition for this, considering they don’t exactly feed us properly, or give us enough liquids. Tonight we get a small bottle of water for the upcoming week. If I can get out of here and tell someone how we’re treated, I should be safe!”

Lorelei looked at me as if I were crazy. She didn’t talk for a while.

“Are you sure? It’s extremely dangerous, you could get hurt.” She mumbles something, but I ignored it, thinking over the consequences of trying to escape.

“If we got caught, would they just bring us back here, or would they kill us?”

Lorelei shook her head.

“Let’s think on the positive side. You’re Cera Flaire! You can do anything!”

I felt my cheeks heat up a bit. “Th-thank you Lorelei. You’re truly amazing.”

I pull Lorelei into a hug, feeling her wrap her arms around me. Maybe when this whole situation is over, she and I can become closer.

“Alright Cera. Try not to be too excited about your plan. If the guards see any change in your attitude, they’ll know something's up.” I nod, knowing she’s right, as usual, and lay down in my bed, waiting for the guards to show up.

After what seemed like days, the guards came in and gave me my small bottle of water, then checked around the room to make sure I hadn’t tried to make an escape. I’m glad they never check under my bed. That’s where Lorelei hides whenever someone comes to check up on me. I’d go crazy if they found her and made her leave. I stared at the guards as they finished their search and left. It’s what I normally do.

I waited for them to be gone for a few minutes before quickly hopping out of my bed and getting Lorelei from under the bed. We smile and nod at each other, understanding the mission and dangers that lay ahead of us.

“It’s now or never,” I say, grabbing my small bag, tossing my water bottle in it. “If we get caught.” I shake my head, not wanting to think about that. I take a deep breath.

“Ready Lorelei?”

She nods. “I’m ready, Cera. Let’s just go before I change my mind.”

“You know just as much as I know that I don’t belong here. They think I’m crazy, but I’m not. I need to get out.” I quickly speak, not wanting to have to stay here anymore. The people who brought me here were called because they think I’m schizophrenic, but I know I’m not, and neither is Lorelei. She’s really sweet. Her long, curly dirty-blonde hair flows down onto her shoulders and frames her pale face perfectly. Her bright blue eyes help light up her face, next to her perfect smile.

“Cera?” Lorelei shook my shoulder, calling my name. I must have fallen into a daydream. I’m usually able to multi-task easily, but I guess not this time.

“Yeah, sorry,” I say, starting to head to the crawl space. “I got…” I’m not sure what to say. “Distracted.” I managed to say.

We head down the small crawl space, pack on my back and dirt and rocks digging their way into our hands and knees. I wish we could make the space larger so we didn’t have to crawl. We eventually got out of the canal and onto the streets. This is it. We’re going to break free. No one has ever fully broken out of this place before, from what I’ve heard. We go to take a step out from the corner when I see a guard doing his patrol. Shit! I quickly pull Lorelei down to the ground and put a hand over her mouth so she doesn’t scream. “Quiet.” I whisper as I remove my hand. “Why?” “Guard.” I barely let her finish her question.

The guard walked past us, not seeing us on the ground. I wait a moment before getting up and running around the corner, Lorelei following close behind. We run a couple blocks before I see another guard. I stop dead in my tracks, Lorelei presumably doing the same. I pull her to the ground and see a truck next to us. I roll under it, motioning for Lorelei to follow. Just like before, the guard walks by us, his heavy army-like boots stomp past our heads. Once I felt it was safe, I motioned Lorelei out from the truck and soon followed. We started jogging again. I won't lie, I was exhausted/ I hadn’t done this much running since gym class in elementary school. Before I was, you know. I was broken from my thoughts as an alarm went off. We must have set off a trap!

I turn to Lorelei and we both yell in unison. “RUN!”

We both start running for dear life, not wanting to be caught, or find out what happens when we get caught. The gates got closer into view and I could taste freedom. As we reached the gates, I saw my problem. They were closed.

I turn to Lorelei, then turn fully around. The guards were running towards us. As they got closer, everything started to fade to white. I blink my eyes rapidly, trying to clear my view. Everything just got more and more white. I close my eyes fully, not sure what else to do. As I slowly open them again, I’m in a room. All four walls are white. I'm even dressed in all white! There’s a white jacket on me though?

After a near panic attack, I calm myself down and look around.

Someone came into my room.

“Ahh, the medication kicked in.”