Oh The Places You'll Go

I walked down the street, tugging on my pants. They were so baggy and I felt awkward in them, but at the same time, they were extremely comfortable.

As I walked down the street, I could see a young couple, probably in their early twenties. As I walked closer, I could hear them fighting.

"You never take care of Gabe!" The woman said, poking the mans chest. I tried not to pay attention.

"Stop telling me how to raise my son!" He shouted at her. I bit my lip, keeping my head down.

"Maybe if you would watch him!" She glowered at him. "And don't raise your voice in front of him!"

"He's not even here!" He said, throwing his hands in the air. "Wait, he's not here! Gabe!" He started calling, looking around. The woman hurried to the street corner to look, but came back.

"I can't find him!" She exclaimed. "Why weren't you watching him!"

"Cause you were yelling at me to pay attention to you." The man said then sighed, pushing his hair back. "Excuse me miss," He walked over to me. I looked up, stopping in my tracks. "have you seen my son? He's only two, about this tall, has brown hair and has eyes like mine." He said. I studied his eyes, but shook my head.

"No I haven't... When did you last see him?" I asked, my eyes flickering to the woman.

"Like two minutes ago, he was right here." He said, looking around again. "He couldn't have gotten far." He said to the woman. I crossed the street and looked around, looking down the street and alley.

"No, he would've still been in sight." I said, getting suspicious.

"Oh my gosh, we've lost our son." The woman started sobbing. I ran back over to her, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, I'm going to help you find him. What's his name?" I asked. She sniffled and looked at me.

"His name is Gabriel, but everyone calls him Gabe." She said. I nodded and stood back. I grabbed a pokéball, and tossed it up. Their curious eyes watched the flash of light.

"Tom, we need to look for a little boy, come on." I said, jumping on his back. "Look around this area. If you find him, let me know." I said, handing them a walkie talkie. "And I'll let you know if I find him."

"Thank you so much." The man said. I smiled gently and nodded as Tom took off. He flew up high enough so we could clear any obstacles like houses, trees or stop lights, but low enough that we could still see a boy.

I held onto his feathers. "We're looking for a little boy with brown hair." I said, closing my eyes for a minute to remember the man's face. I hooked my walkie talkie onto my jeans and leaned into Tom as he flew faster.

I watched each side of the road, also scanning the alleyways. "Gabe!" I called repeatedly.

It was hard to find a kid, cause for all we know, he could be inside. "Or a place that's obvious." I said to myself. "Tom! Let's go back, but look down the alley." I said. He cooed and turned us around, flying back. I scanned the area as we passed.

"Wait!" I said, causing him to stop. "There's a boy down there." I said, grabbing my talkie. "What is your son wearing?"

"He's wearing tan pants and an orange sweater. He might have sunglasses on the top of his head." I could hear the man say. I looked at the boy.

"Thanks." I put in back on my pants and watched the boy. He was wearing what we wanted. But something about this seemed risky. Really risky.

"Oh Lyra!" A voice called from below. I looked down, squinting a little. "I see you've found the boy. Come on, have him walk towards you." The man smirked. I motioned for Tom to fly down a little, which he did.

"That's right, do it." He smirked. I glared.

"What do you want Yancy?" I growled. Yancy was one of the men we were after, and had been trying to catch for weeks. He had lured kids and animals away from people in hopes of luring us to them so he could steal our pokémon.

"You know what I want darling." He smirked, looking from me to the boy. I followed his gaze to see the boy crying, standing still. "Be careful though, if he doesn't follow a strict path, he might blow up." He said, giggling a little.

"In your dreams. Tom! Fly high!" I ordered. Tom screeched and flew up high as I instructed. I held on tight. "Now stop. When I jump, catch my feet." I said. He nodded.

I took a deep breath, and jumped off Tom's back. And on command, he grabbed my feet with his. "Now fly down, we're gonna grab him." I said. Tom nodded and flew down. "You just need to swoop!" I said over the wind.

I opened my arms a little as we got closer. "Gabe!" I shouted, so he had heard me. He did, and turned around, still crying. And just as he did, we swooped down, my arms catching his so I could pick him up. I held him to me, curling up so his legs didn't hang.

"Tom, let's go back to the parents." I said, holding the boy tightly with one arm. I grabbed my phone with the other and called my boss. He picked up instantly. "The alley on 14th street, 2nd avenue East in Garrison, Texas." I said then hung up. I put my phone back just as we flew down to the family.

Tom hovered while I got back on the ground, then stood beside me. The man and woman looked over.

"Gabe!" The woman said, running over. He looked over happily.

"Mommy!" He said. I smiled and set him down, watching him as he ran into his parents arms. They hugged for a minute before speaking.

"Thank you so much." The man said, walking over. He shook my hand, which I shook back. He pulled his wallet out.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm happy to help." I smiled politely, nudging his wallet down a bit. His smile just grew.

"Thank you so much, and you too." He stroked Tom's feathers a little, making him coo. I laughed.

"You're welcome. Make sure to keep an eye on him from now on." I smiled, backing up a bit. I kissed Tom's wing, and recalled him.

"We will." The family promised. I smiled and waved to the boy, then walked back down the street like nothing had happened.