Joe barged into the Gym's reception area. His shoulder struck the glass door before it could move out of his way. The assistant rose from her desk, this time clearly on edge. Her eyes widened. She took a step back. Joe was now perceived as a threat. He reached the desk.
"Where is Jasmine going?" Joe wasted no time. "She might be in trouble."
The receptionist continued to stare at him. Not sure what to think. Why did he care? How did he know she was in danger? Valid questions.
Joe half expected her to reply with, "Do you think I'm an idiot?" That would be reasonable. Joe was an unknown. He looked like trouble. And unfortunately, he was a bit of an idiot. He didn't know how to get information through smart conversation. And people didn't accept gut feeling as a reason. People forgot their origins. Instinct kept their ancestors alive until this point.
The only thing he could think of doing was using his intimidating aura to his advantage.
"I don't think th-"
He cut her off. Didn't have time. Slammed his hands on the countertop. It caused the woman to step away. Her back hit the wall. He spoke in a deeper voice than normal. "Tell me. Now."
"T- The lighthouse…" She gasped. Immediately realised she made a mistake. The response was automatic. She didn't want to give Jasmine up, but she was scared. Fear had a way of making people talk.
Before she could say anything else, Joe turned. Walked fast. Tossed the backpack aside. It landed on a leather seat by a coffee machine. This was fine. He didn't care what people thought of him. All that mattered was Jasmine being safe. Joe hoped he was wrong. He wanted to arrive at the lighthouse and see Jasmine was fine. But deep down he knew that wasn't going to happen. So instead, he'd do everything in his power to help.
Once outside, Joe started running. The rain had gotten even worse. It felt like being poked with a thousand pins. But Joe kept moving. Kept his legs pumping. He reached the last place where he saw Jasmine. Looked for a sign. Found it on a corner. Lighthouse to his right, two miles away. He ran. Up and down a hill. Passed restaurants, clothing stores, and hair salons. Eyed another sign. One more mile. He only just noticed. There were no other people out. Of course. It was a storm. Another detail he'd picked up on subconsciously. Another reason his instincts were rattled. He was curious and paid attention, but his intelligence couldn't keep up.
Joe arrived at a cliff within the city. Beneath him, a port stretched as far as he could see. Massive metal warehouses lined up side by side. Steel containers filled with goods. Cranes twisted to move those containers. Joe looked left. Water detached from his hair and was immediately replaced. Just a road down to the port. He looked right. Bingo. He could see a white and blue tower on a perilous cliff edge. No light from the top. That felt wrong. Ship captains needed light to see where they were going.
Joe approached the lighthouse. This was an untouched corner of the city. A lot of grass. No homes. The only way forward was a path running along the cliff edge. A strong wind could be dangerous. Lethal. But this was the only path forward. Joe walked along stone, grass growing through cracks. He was halfway to the lighthouse. Watched where he was stepping. Had to be careful. He stopped. Something activated his instincts. He looked around. On the left side of the path. A chunk of dirt was missing. He had a really bad feeling. He inched closer. Looked over the side. Groaned. He found Jasmine. She was sitting on a ledge thirty feet down. A ledge that was sitting above a seventy-foot drop. She wasn't looking up. Tired of getting water in her eyes.
Joe stood up straight. Looked around. Groaned again, this time aimed at himself. Hopped a couple times to psyche himself up. Emergency services would take too long to arrive in this weather. Joe was here and he could act. He hopped over the side. Let gravity do its job. Surfed down a forty-five-degree angle. Put a hand to mud like he was a surfer. Hopped when he was close to the ledge. Landed with a hefty thud. Jasmine startled and looked at him. Her teeth chattered as she looked up at the giant looming over her.
Jasmine was sitting down. Held an ankle with a hand. Joe wasn't surprised. It was a rough ride. Doubly so for a stick figure like her.
"Y- You-"
"Yeah, yeah. The delivery guy. I'm just here to help." Joe practically had to shout. The storm was overpowering. He crouched down on one knee. Nodded at her leg. "How is it?"
Thunder spoke before Jasmine. Lightning illuminated her shivering figure. She jumped out of her skin. Looked out to the sea. That explained how she ended up here. Startled by the storm. She misstepped. Moved onto weak soil. Fell. Landed foot first. Twisted her ankle. The ledge was lucky. But being here in the first place was unlucky.
Joe wanted to comfort Jasmine and get her attention. Put a hand on her shoulder. But he held back. Didn't know how she'd react to being touched. He patiently waited for her to reply. It took a bit of time. Eventually she remembered she'd been asked a question.
"My leg… I twisted my ankle." She gained a bit of confidence or comfort from someone being in the same situation. Spoke a bit louder. Joe still mainly had to rely on reading her lips though. Joe couldn't imagine Jasmine raising her voice.
"Figures. How bad is it? Can you walk?"
Jasmine shook her head. He accepted this. Noticed her crying. It was subtle. The rain disguised her tears. Joe only caught it by the sporadic heaving of her shoulders.
"What about the rest of you? Did you hit your head? Any cuts bleeding too much?"
Jasmine shook her head again. A few minor cuts but nothing serious. Good. The last thing Joe needed was Jasmine fainting from blood loss. Then they'd be in serious trouble. Because Joe had a plan. Before he jumped down, he'd noticed thick roots protruding from the dirt. A large tree once called this land home. Those roots were instrumental. He was going to climb up. For this to work, he needed Jasmine to remain awake so she could cling to him. His hands would be too busy to hold her.
Then it hit him. Climb up. To the lighthouse. What for? Medicine for a Pokemon. Joe couldn't see the small box. He'd never known a sun dress to have pockets. So the medicine was at the bottom of the cliff. Probably in a million pieces, the treatment washed away. A problem for the future. For now they had to get back up to the path.
Joe wanted to just confirm one thing though. "I don't suppose you have a way out of this, do you?" The right Pokemon could easily save them.
She accidentally scowled at Joe. A nasty glare. She realised and corrected herself. That was no way to act towards someone that had come to help her. Now she gave Joe puppy dog eyes. He wasn't immune. Now he really wanted to help her.
"My Pokemon… They're at the Gym. I didn't need them."
Exactly what Joe expected. She didn't need help administering a drink. He just wanted to double-check. People could forget what they were capable of during a crisis. Jasmine was the opposite. One of the few benefits of anxiety. Her brain ran a mile a minute. The thought of how to get out of this mess had already crossed her mind.
Joe nodded. His plan was the last resort, but he had to go through with it. He spun on his knee since he was still crouched. Pointed at his back and shouted over his shoulder. "Well then, hop on."
Jasmine was reluctant. Very much so. She held out for a solid minute before finally grabbing his blue shirt. He felt all her weight hit his back in one go. He said hop on, but he didn't mean literally. Given the size difference there wasn't much of a choice though. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso. She could feel muscles rippling through Joe's shirt. The only other man she's interacted with was her father. She paid attention to the difference in build. Joe felt strong. It reassured her.
"Hold on tight, okay? I don't want you falling."
Jasmine obeyed. Tightened her grip around Joe's neck. Barely noticeable. He had no doubt she was still on edge. He wanted to help relieve some stress. Tried a joke.
Joe tapped her arms. "Not that tight." He acted as though she was strangling him. Laid it on thick. Stopped breathing and spoke through a strained voice.
"S- Sorry…" Jasmine shrank away. Joe couldn't see her over his shoulder. But he had the impression that she didn't pick up on his humour. Oh well. It was worth a shot.
"I get it, you're scared. But don't worry. I'll get you out of this mess and to your Pokemon in no time." He stood up straight. It wasn't empty platitudes. Joe had a strong desire to act like a man in front of Jasmine. He said he'd help and he would. It wasn't bravado. Joe was confident in one aspect of himself. His strength. He worked out. Picked up the hobby four years ago when he moved to Olivine.
Joe fought the rain to look up. Observed the cliff face. Globs of mud slid down everywhere he looked. Revealed new roots. Hid ones he'd spotted from above. When he was confident in a route, he acted. Grabbed a thick root. Pulled it. Not even a centimetre of give. This was going to be easy. He pulled while digging his feet into the mud. Started climbing. Grabbed a root. Pulled it. No give. Swung to it. Moved up.
After ten feet his hands were covered in mud. Sometimes he couldn't immediately spot a root to hang onto. He waited patiently for mud to slide. No rush. Joe couldn't feel Jasmine's weight. He was convinced she weighed less than the backpack of items he delivered earlier.
This was repeated for ten minutes. It was a marathon, not a sprint. The first five minutes were easy going, but the second half was testing Joe. Pushing him to the limit. It required serious effort. He'd heard of a difference between gym tough and real tough but hadn't paid it any mind. Now he regretted that decision. Once he got out of this mess, he was going to train to be genuinely strong. He'd hate to encounter a problem he couldn't solve.
Joe was close to the top after monkey branching between two dozen roots. He was breathing heavily. Just a few more. He used an arm to wipe his face. Rain reclaimed the real estate instantly. He gritted his teeth. Is this all he amounted to? He couldn't even help Jasmine out of this situation? Useless. A man didn't go back on his word. He was getting her out of this mess no matter what. He reached for another root. But he didn't check it. A costly mistake. The root dislodged. Joe tipped backwards. He thought Jasmine screamed, but he zoned it out. Zoned everything out. Turned to a root to his left. Had to leap for it. This was a bad idea, but he had seconds to act. Not every decision could be the best. He dug his feet into dirt, his powerful legs strained. He launched himself. Grabbed the root he wanted. It gave. He cursed. Then it stopped. It'd given an inch but had otherwise remained deep in the dirt. Joe let out a heavy sigh. Looked up. He was a single root from the path. He reached for it. Tested it. It was stable. He pulled himself up.
His hand reached up. Landed on solid ground. Felt cold and wet stone on his fingertips. Pulled the corner to lift himself up. Got an elbow on the path. Then his other hand. A knee. It was over. Joe succeeded. His entire body was on a flat surface. He'd climbed up thirty feet of cliff.
Joe remained kneeling, one hand on the ground. Panted heavily. He didn't like how hard that was. He was annoyed. But returned to the moment. He'd caught his breath. He wanted to rest some more, but he had a job to do. He promised. The lighthouse was just ahead. He went to stand but he felt Jasmine shift. Her legs stretched. Her grip around his neck loosened. She was about to disembark.
He stood tall. "What are you doing? You've got a bad leg, remember?" She froze. "Just direct me. I assume the Pokemon is in the lighthouse, but I don't know where." Joe spoke as he watched mud wash off his hands. Instead of being wet and dirty he was just wet.
Jasmine thought about it. Tightened her grip. She was secured to his back again. Peered over his shoulder. "A- Amphy is at the top…"
Joe's workout wasn't over yet. He supported Jasmine's legs with his tired arms. Standard piggyback. He made a statement. "Obviously. Where else would it be."