Journey of a Thousand Miles

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

―Margaret Mead

Oz is cold like a dead man, and every breath he takes is like there's ice shards in his lungs. He falls limp for a few seconds, then grips my wrist hard enough to bruise.

"T . . . Thanks for catching him, Sean," Stein says. He inhales shakily before trying and failing to raise his head, letting it fall into my shoulder. Oz weighs a little less than me, but he is nearly the same height. "Our boy can be a little ridiculous at times . . ."

"A little is a ridiculously gross understatement." Grabbing Oz around the waist, I hold him up until Blue's Machamp pulls away a section from the base of the car to create an opening, and everyone files out onto the rocky outlook. Oz slumps against my side for a moment, then he blinks and pushes away.

"Sorry." It's Grit this time, folding Oz's arms and looking disgruntled. "Oz pushed himself too far this time. Even we have no idea when he'll awaken."

"Then why are you still in his body?"

"That's the problem, genius." She tries and fails to sound angry; it comes out bitterer than anything. "He . . . Of course, we drain his vitality, but we also maintain his body by being here. After the stress we just created, if we leave, he will certainly die."

I didn't know how to react at first. My mind went blank, and it's been a long time since that happened. I rush forward and grab Oz's shoulders before I know what I want to do. Oz is unconscious anyway, it's not like I can give him the shaking I want and his Pokémon . . . god, if they weren't dead, I'd kill them over. I'm angry, angry and frustrated and sad and scared that Oz will die, and I want to do something to prevent it, but—

"This is stupid." I pull away from him and take a step back. "I spent so much of my life getting my hands on every bit of information I could, and it's absolutely useless now." I drop to the snow feeling drained beyond belief. "I don't know why I even care. I shouldn't care, I barely know him. And I won't get the chance to know him anytime soon because before I even met him, he's had numbered days, and it's because of you three." I'm not angry about that though, I don't have any energy left to be. Oz wanted his Pokémon to stay and that was his decision—a stupid one, but one nonetheless. "But why did he have to push himself now of all times? Stupid kid."

"He was goin' to die." Oz is crouched in front of me, but it's Pong that speaks, and in an atypical somber tone. "Regardless of this moment, he was gonna die. As long as we're inside him, as much as our energy drains his life force, it sustains him as well, kinda like drugs. It's when ya take us away that the effect on his vitality is visible, and it gets worse each time we leave. This time . . . was the home stretch. He knew if we left this time, he wouldn't have the energy to get up."

He shakes his head hard, then blinks at me, and it's Stein that continues. "If not outright killed him, the lack of energy would've put him in a catatonic state for who knows how long," he says, then looks away from me. Low grunts sound from over a hill as a Mamoswine comes, hauling a covered wagon behind it. Stein smiles slightly at the sight, then he looks me in the eyes. "On behalf of Oz and the others, in whatever time he has left, I want to thank you for being with him."

"Which I did just because of the Red problem."

"Maybe, but you made a friend out of him too, and you didn't need to." He gives me a smile that's so Oz-ish, and not just because it's his face. It really strikes me how long these three have been with him, and I understand a bit why Oz doesn't want to let go. "I think, at some point before he met you, he did want to die," he says passively, like he's talking about the weather. "When we did, he . . . broke. He shattered. He didn't want to lose us so much, I think he would've died so we could still be together. Even as his friends, we know that's a wrong thing to think."