Hard Rain
The ground sparkled with orange, the setting sun reflecting off puddles as an onslaught of rain pelted the ground endlessly. The smell of wet asphalt rose with the night. Tyco took refuge from the rain underneath an overturned cardboard box in a shadowy alley, staring at the ground as drops of rain made tiny craters in the puddles just outside his shelter. It was cold; the Raichu shivering and wrapped in his blue scarf to preserve what little warmth he could feel. He had a mind to turn the box in order to shield himself from the bitter wind, but he would not. Feeling frozen and stranded, he knew he had to eat again soon. The provisions he'd pilfered from trainers in the woods were disappearing quickly, mostly due to the numerous Rattata poaching his goods while he was unaware.
The ground rumbled. A clap of thunder boomed and startled Tyco's sensitive ears. Now, he had a problem. Thunder meant lightning, and lightning had a tendency to go after Tyco's highly conductive tail. It was another risk. A small one, perhaps, but still another hurdle he had to jump. Still, the time was ripe for a heist. Thunderstorms made visibility poor, which helped the little thief maintain the element of stealth.
Wrapping his scarf around his neck again, he stepped out from under the protection of the box, turning it upside down to hide his food from the rats, and snuck off out of the alley. An aura of static crackled about him as raindrops fell on his cheeks. He would have to get indoors or risk being heard by a human. He kept low, examining the street signs. Though he could not read, he could tell what sort of establishment it was by the pictures on the signs, and the various items displayed in the windows.
A door creaked, and a bell sounded. A middle-aged woman emerged from a door and fumbled with her keys. Tyco watched from cover of shade. She appeared to be locking the door. The owner of a store, perhaps? He heard a click, and the woman drew an umbrella, shivering and bundling herself up in her coat. She looked around for a moment at the flooded streets, perhaps devising a way to cross without wetting her feet. Tyco grew anxious as the woman took her time. His stomach rumbled. Seconds seemed like minutes, hours. Finally she tucked her keys in her pocket and walked off somewhere that didn't concern him.
As soon as the woman left his line of sight, Tyco hurried to the locked door. He had saved a hairpin he had taken from a trainer in the woods and drew it, beginning to pick the lock. The doorknob was old and gave way with little effort, the door making a loud creaking sound as it inched open. Tyco made sure to only open it as wide as he needed to slip inside, and made sure that he wasn't followed, surveying the watery streets once more before closing the door behind him.
His eyes widened. Ovens, shelves lined with flour and sugar. Behind the counter lied pastries and loaves, enough to keep Tyco fed for weeks! A bakery! The Raichu rubbed his paws together as he thought of the feast he'd have within the coming days, and unwrapped his scarf to fill it with goodies. He hopped behind the counter and began to fill his scarf with everything he could fit in it, thinking to himself that he'd probably have to make more than a single trip.
He made his way towards the door, a huge cache of food in tow, laughing to himself and praising his luck. The thunder cracked and boomed, as if laughing along with him. The bell rung as the door swung open once more, Tyco's face lit with a radiant smile, chuckling to himself as if he'd just won the lottery. The lightning in the sky matched the radiance in Tyco's smile tenfold, and the thunder continued to wholeheartedly agree.
Another crack, another boom; Tyco collapsed, his chest hitting the cold hard ground with painful force, knocking the wind out of him. The food rolled out of his bundled scarf and into the flooded street, the coursing current of the storm drain carrying it away to the sewers. The edges of his vision darkened and closed until there was nothing left.
The comfort of a plush sofa was the first thing he became aware to when he awoke. I must be dead, he thought. I'm dead, and now I'm in Heaven. His vision came into focus. He saw a lit fireplace, a coffee table in front of him. The whole place was pleasantly warm. Shelves with books lined the walls, a soft, green carpet covered the floors. He found himself wrapped in a blanket. He wanted to move but he could not. A lovely smell filled the air, which he traced to a cup, filled with some sort of beverage that sat neatly on a tray on the coffee table. Tyco's ear flicked. A noise; tapping of shoe on tile. Turning his head, he saw a woman enter the room. She seemed familiar but in his state he could not recognize her. He wanted to run away, to escape, but his body would not move.
"Are you okay, little one?" came her sweet voice. Tyco felt warmth on his lips and a rich flavor fill his mouth; the woman helping him to drink from the cup that was on the table; hot cocoa. "I found you face down out in the rain and brought you here. You've only been asleep a couple of hours. Just rest a while longer..."
Tyco's vision cleared up and he was able to move again, but only slightly. His muscles ached terribly. He could not run.
"Stay here and rest. I'll fix you something to eat." The woman got up and walked away, leaving the cup of cocoa in Tyco's paws. He reluctantly sipped more as he scanned the area he was in for details. On the mantle above the fireplace sat some old pictures. A young girl stood next to an equally young man in front of a door, and a large window. They were smiling and holding hands. The picture had lost much of its color, denoting its age. He continued to sip the cocoa without thinking. It warmed his hearth deeply and comforted him.
The woman returned from the kitchen carrying a small plate. She took a seat next to Tyco and placed it on his lap. The heat from the plate radiated onto the Raichu's face as he looked down, his eyes greeted with a pair of warm, fresh baked bread rolls. He took one and nibbled from it. The woman watched and smiled.
"Feel free to leave when you're rested and ready, little one. I don't mean to keep you here too long." Tyco looked up at the woman's face, her smile sincere as her hair was blonde. "Enjoy those rolls. They're the last two that I have, what with the shop being robbed again, likely by thugs, the way the lock was forced. I really ought to replace that door, but I just can't. Kevin installed it himself, and it's all I've got to remember him by anymore, besides that old picture." She nodded to the faded photograph Tyco had seen earlier. The tired Raichu stared inquisitively, listening to her ramble. "But you've probably got no idea what I'm talking about. Never mind me."
The woman rose again and made for the stairs. "Stay as long as you like, and leave when you're ready, little one." Her footsteps grew fainter as she ascended the staircase. A door opened, and shut, and she was gone.
Tyco slipped out from under the blanket and made for the kitchen with his scarf in tow. He still needed food for the road. He approached the refrigerator and pulled it open with both arms... the door swinging wide, light turning on to reveal more goodies than he could keep track of.
He reached in to swipe a sealed package of lunchmeat, but something stopped him. He wasn't sure what. There was no one around. No guard dogs, no cameras, nothing. His paw rested on top of the package, but he did not grip it. His chest felt empty. Taking his paw away from the package, he closed the refrigerator door, and returned to the sofa by the fireplace.
There he sat, finishing the bread and cocoa the kind old woman had generously fixed for him, and gazing at the faded photograph of the man and the woman holding hands. When he was finished he set the tray down neatly on the coffee table, just as the woman had left it, and made sure he hadn't left any bread crumbs on the floor. He removed his scarf and folded it carefully. Then, as if laying an old friend to rest, he placed it on the table next to the tray, the scarf tattered and stained from its rough past.
Tyco looked out the window, a ray of light shone in. The thunderstorm was over. He opened the front door, and left.