Pokemon: Way of Life Chapter 29

Hi all,

I hope everyone is going to have a great Christmas. I will be posting a double chapter next Tuesday for my patrons to say thank you for your support. A bit late as a Christmas present, but I got my own celebrations with the family. Enjoy.

Chapter 29

‘I think it's time to switch to brawler mode. Attack from Lickitungs blindspot using your speed. 'Don't let its tongue get close to you.'

‘Okay!’

Max remained confident despite the rough tongue-lashing, glaring at Lickitung angrily. He moved into action, running rings around the Pokemon, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Lickitung tried to keep up with Max's speed by shifting its body with expert use of its footwork.

Finding an opportunity, Max swerved and jumped through the air with one arm raised — a superman punch! The attack landed with a brutal thumping sound, but Lickitung absorbed the impact and didn't move an inch.

Lickitung has taken 4 damage.

Lickitung - HP: 187/200

Max continued his hit-and-run tactics for the next two minutes, although it was slow progress whittling down the Pokemon's HP. Despite Max's efforts to break down the Lickitung, he still used up Aura, while the Lickitung merely defended, using up relatively little.

Max may be able to win if this continues, but it will be a tough battle. The question was, would the Lickitung be so passive taking hits like that throughout the entire fight? Eventually, her trainer would change the dynamic, as she probably had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Even though Lucas hoped Max's Static ability would come into play, simply attacking had a lower chance of inflicting paralysis when not utilising Aura. He estimated that it was a five per cent chance at best.

Thankfully, Max's Thunder Wave returned at that point after being disabled. Lucas waited for the perfect moment.

Lickitungs Special Defence has returned to normal.

Perfect.

‘Thunder Wave,’ Lucas ordered as Max turned and charged in for another attack.

The sudden change of strategy caught Lickitung by surprise and prevented him from dodging the attack from such close range.

Lickitung is paralysed.

Estimated Duration: 12 seconds.

A brief flicker of nervousness appeared on Eve’s face for the first time. Lickitung stood there, jerking uncontrollably with ribbons of electricity running through its body.

‘Charge into Thundershock.’ Lucas commanded urgently.

A yellow Aura surrounded Max, and sparks of electricity coiled around his body before Max executed

Thundershock, the three overcharged arcs of lightning converged on the helpless Lickitung.

Lickitung has taken 28 damage.

Lickitung - HP: 103/200

As the combo had taken up most of the paralysis duration, Lucas had to think quickly about his next Move.

‘Quick attack, now!’  Lucas commanded in the last second of Lickitung's stunned state, predicting that the Lickitung would execute another Protect.

He wasn’t disappointed; the shield was instantly cast and protected the Liclitung as it struggled to stand. However, Lucas was prepared for that.

‘Max, execute Faint Attack.’

At the last moment, Max disappeared in front of Lickitung. A copy of him was left behind to strike the shield, and both dissipated. Max reappeared behind Lickitung and hit with a shoulder charge to the back, sending the Lickitung sprawling across the stage with a cry.

Critical Hit!

Lickitung has taken 17 damage.

Lickitung - HP: 86/200

Lickitung has been paralysed.

Estimated Duration: 9 seconds.

Hardly believing his fortune, Lucas ordered Max to repeat the Charge-Thundershock combo. It was less effective whenever the Pokemon was inflicted with the same status effect multiple times.

Max repeated the combo, and the Lickitung was struck again, now looking slightly disheveled with scorch marks marring her body.

Lickitung has taken 26 damage.

Lickitung - HP: 60/200

Lucas didn’t try the same tactic as last time but ordered another Thunder Wave. This time, Lickitung rolled out of the way, avoiding the attack by inches. It got to its feet quickly. It glared at Max with hatred, its cute black eyes narrowing into slits — resembling a pink monster from another franchise. Should he suggest to Eve that her Lickitung should be named Buu?

Max closed the distance in a straight line, eager to finish the battle. Lucas didn’t stop him, although he felt Eve would pull one of her tricks out of her sleeve.

Lickitung activated a Move — a yellowish-brown Aura emanated from the Pokemon, indicating a Ground-Type Move.

Quickly, Lucas scanned the Move, and his eyes widened. No freaking way!

‘Faint Attack!’

As Lickitung rushed forward with heavy steps, Max used Faint Attack as an evasion tactic instead of an attack.

Max’s illusionary copy took the hit, dissipating into nothing, causing the Lickitung to stumble as the expected physical contact didn’t register.

Max appeared slightly to the side of Lickitung, a few metres away.

Faint Attack worked by transporting the user out of the direct path of an incoming attack and positioning it in an advantageous position to catch the Pokemon off guard. It left a silhouette behind to fool the opponent and receive the attack.

However, it only worked correctly when the opponent was attacking from a stationary position, and if it wasn’t, then Faint Attack was unpredictable. Max could have ended up anywhere in the vicinity of Lickitung, including right in the path of the attack. It was a gamble, but it worked out in the end.

Lickitung had used a Ground-Type Move called Bulldozer that lowered the target's speed by one stage if it struck the opponent. Since Max’s speed was the only advantage he had, it was a nasty Move in the circumstances.

Additionally, Max’s two most significant weaknesses were Ground-Type and Defence. It was fortunate that the Move had a Mastery level of less than ten per cent, as it took longer to actuate.

Lucas was struck by a disconcerting thought, however. Was it a coincidence that this girl just happened to have that Move in her arsenal? It was a massive weakness for Max, as if she had been analysing him and coming up with a strategy to defeat him. How was that possible, though? He had only been in the stadium for a few hours.

Did he know her from somewhere else? The silver-haired girl was beautiful enough and stood out from the crowd, so it was unlikely. Was he being paranoid?

The thoughts ran through his head in a matter of moments, but he didn’t have a spare second to devote his attention to the issue. He focused back on the battle.

Lucas ordered Max to activate Charge again while Lickitung reapplied Amnesia.

Lickitungs' Special Defence has been raised by one stage due to Amnesia. Time duration: One and a half minutes.

Once Stat-raising moves run out, they only have half their effect the next time they are used. Since Stats could be raised by a maximum of six stages, you could layer the effects on top of one another and reset the time duration. However, Lickitung had no time to reapply the Amnesia amid Max's relentless attacks, so it expired. Additionally, Stat-raising Moves were weak to any Moves or abilities that removed Stat bonuses.

Max moved in for another opportunity to strike with Thundershock. When he approached, Lickatung opened its mouth and shot out several golden rings, vibrating as they flew through the air with a sharp metallic sound.

It was Supersonic, Lucas realised. Max dodged to the side, but Lickatung followed him, with the rings still pouring out of her mouth. How long could the Pokemon hold the Move? Despite Max's best efforts, he couldn't prevent Supersonic from hitting him.

‘Max, are you okay?’

‘Why are my ears ringing?’

Relieved that Confusion hadn’t taken hold, he ordered Max to retreat as Licktung activated another BullDozer, rushing forward with tremendous momentum. Because Max was on the back foot, Lucas called him to escape to the side with Quick Attack, then combo into Thundershock.

Eve seemed determined to hit him with Bulldozer, but unfortunately for her, it didn’t work. Max was able to dodge and then get off a Thundershock.

Critical Hit!

Lickitung has taken 62 damage.

Lickitung has fainted.

Lickatung fell back in a dead faint. After such a challenging fight, the end was almost anti-climactic.

Lucas clenched his fists in happiness as he finally took the monster down. A roar of approval erupted from the stands, much louder than expected, and Lucas was surprised. When did it get so crowded?

“Lickitung is unable to fight. Elekid is the winner. Trainer from the blue side, retrieve your Pokemon and bring out your next.”

“I forfeit,” Eve raised her hand.

“What?” Lucas stared at the girl in confusion. What was her game? The crowd disliked that, and they booed, but she didn't seem bothered.

“Trainer from the blue side has forfeited. Please retrieve your Pokemon and shake hands to celebrate a great fight."

=====

Congratulations!

The player has won the trainer battle!

Lucas has earned 88 experience.

Title: Unstoppable has increased; +7% exp gain.

Maximus has earned 100% of the experience for his contribution, 83 exp earned.

Due to a tough physical battle, Maximus has increased his HP, Speed and Defence +1.

=====

Lucas patted Max on the head. “You had to work for that one, buddy. Great fight.”

‘Why did she give up? I wanted to fight some more.’ Maximus pouted

“Let's go find out,” Lucas stepped forward, and the two trainers met in the middle.

“Great fight,” Eve said politely, shaking his hand.

“What's your problem?” Lucas asked rudely.

“Excuse me?” Eve crossed her arm defensively.

“It felt like you had an effective game plan to take my Elekid down, then you just gave up halfway?”

“My other Pokemon didn’t stand a chance,” Eve said. “I didn’t see any point in continuing the battle.”

“What about your win record?”

“Means nothing to me,” Eve handed over the Pokedollars they had wagered on and recalled Lickatung into her Pokeball.

“How did you devise a strategy so effectively in such a short amount of time,” Lucas eyed her suspiciously. “You didn’t know we would fight in a match until shortly before it started.”

“That’s a secret,” Eve turned around and walked away. “Until we meet again. Tell Nora that I will come to visit soon.”

Eve left Lucas standing there gaping like an idiot before he was told to get off the stage. He shook off his sudden uneasiness and exited the arena. After retrieving his Pokemon, he sat down and called Nora on his phone.

“Hello?”

“Nora, it's Lucas. How are you?”

“I’m fine since the last time you called me,” Nora replied sarcastically. “Which was yesterday.”

“Charming. Look, I called you for a reason. I just battled a trainer, and she mentioned your name.”

“What’s her name?” Nora asked, her voice roughening.

“Eve.”

Lucas listened to the silence on the other line for a minute and wondered if she had left him hanging. “Nora?”

Eve used to be a protege of Dr Goldman, but when she discovered what he was really like, she became disillusioned. She disappeared one day, and I always thought my father had done something to her."

“She left?” Lucas asked. “Why didn’t she take you with her?”

“I was already under the collar's control,” Nora said. “It would have been futile to take me with her because my father would have tracked us down. I cannot judge her, just like I cannot blame Mew for leaving without saying goodbye. The Pokemon was highly traumatised by what my father put it through.”

He could imagine. That reminded him, though. Had he ever asked Nora if she knew of a place Mew would escape to after leaving the island?

“She must be resourceful if she managed to hide from your father,” Lucas mused. “How did she know about me, though? She must have been keeping an eye on you somehow.”

“I don’t know, but Eve must have come out of hiding recently when she heard my father was dead. I’m glad that she is okay.”

“Well, that was a letdown,” Lucas smirked. “I was expecting some huge new villain to come after me to avenge her master.”

“Funny,” Nora chuckled. “As if you need any more drama in your life.”

“Right,” Lucas said. “Before I forget, do you know of a place Mew would go after leaving the island?”

“Why do you need to know?”

She sounded suspicious. Come on, where was the trust?

Lucas looked around to make sure he was alone before lowering his voice.

“Because I have its DNA running through my veins, I may turn into a Pokemon if I don’t find a cure.”

“Oh,” Nora said. An incredibly awkward pause ensued. "There's not much I can tell you. My only recollection is that Mew initially arrived from the south when it first came to the island."

It was not much of a clue, but at least it was something. The Legendary Pokemon might have fled in that direction after escaping. It was worth investigating, so he would have to return to Cinnabar Island at some point. Good thing that he was looking to hire Maggie, as she could take him out on the ocean.

“So everything's okay with the construction? Do you need any more supplies?”

“Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you. Sonya got me my first Pokemon, a Heracross, so I’m making a lot of progress with the obstacle course with his help. It will be completed in another six weeks to my estimate. I am running short on a few things and need more daily necessities.”

"That's great news," Lucas enthused. "I should have thought of getting you a Pokemon, but I'm glad you have a companion."

Construction was the profession that utilised Pokemon the most since they were far stronger than humans. Since it relied on pure strength and not Aura, it was a safe application of Pokemons' capabilities.

“Regarding the supplies, I may have a solution,” Lucas continued. “I met someone here who runs a fishing tour business, but it's not going well for her. I wanted to hire Maggie full-time to ship supplies to you and help you construct the habitat in the downtime.”

“Another person on the island?” Nora asked warily. “What if she doesn’t like me?”

“I don’t think it would be an issue,” Lucas said firmly. “But I will simply fire her if she has a problem.”

“Okay.”

“Besides, you own half the island. You could always kick her out if she displeases you,” Lucas reminded her.

“That’s just a bit of paper,” Nora scoffed. “I only signed it because you were so bloody annoying. I only want a small piece of land for myself, so I can have some privacy.”

“We will discuss it later,” Lucas said. “I have to go, but I will let you know if Maggie is hired. Otherwise, I will charter another boat to bring you some supplies. Just send me a list of what you need.”

Lucas hung up and looked at his team, waiting patiently for him. “I’m hungry. Let’s go get the others and get something to eat.”

{0(((..)))0}

17th October

The next day, Lucas woke up with a list of tasks he needed to accomplish. For that reason, he would skip trainer battles today and resume tomorrow. Besides, his Pokemon needed a rest after working hard yesterday, and it was no good to overwork them. Today they can relax and have some fun.

That reminded him. He needed to get Dante to teach Duke how to read and write, even though the latter would be challenging with its lack of arms. Lucas amused himself by imagining Horsea with a pen sticking out of his tubular mouth and attempting to write something.

He was expecting the Pokemon to already be literate, considering he already had some knowledge of humans. However, Kingdra had kept the Pokemon sheltered, including Duke's training, which struck him as odd. In the wild, it was the survival of the fittest. There was no room to be pampered.

Last night, he had done some further research on Duke regarding how aquatic Pokemon without legs could move around on land. He had already witnessed Duke manipulating water to move around, albeit slowly.

He learned that the aquatic Pokemon could manipulate the water molecules in the air to propel themselves around as if they were flying. However, it costs them more Aura than a land-dwelling pokemon would use due to stamina consumption.

The aquatic Pokemon could train themselves to decrease the Aura requirements. Also, it could eliminate the speed detriment if the Pokemon mastered the water manipulation to the degree that it became almost instinctual.

It was another thing he needed to teach Duke. The Pokemon in his current state was not good enough to use in the upcoming tournament. However, he already had a solid chance of winning with his three established partners.

Lucas got up to prepare the meals for his Pokemon. He already had three of his Pokemon's meals sorted, but now he would have to experiment with Duke to find his favourite food and raise his bond quickly. The Pokemon liked the Pink Coral Mushroom, but by itself, it wasn’t enough to be considered a favourite. However, if he used it as the base, he was sure he could come up with something soon enough.

Lucas was finishing his breakfast with Faith and Jason an hour later. He soaked up the last scrambled egg on his plate with some bread. After finishing, a thought occurred to him, and he looked around the dining area.

“Have you seen Ron around?”

Jason dropped his fork on the plate and took out his phone. “I can’t believe that I forgot about Ron. What if something happened to him in the forest?”

Faith bit her lip. “Surely, if there were a problem, we would have heard of it by now?”

Jason held the phone to his ear and waited for Ron to answer. His expression eased as the teenager answered. Jason listened for a while before promising to call back and hung up the phone.

“Ron, that bastard has the most amazing luck out of anybody I know," Jason slapped the table.

“What happened?” Luke asked.

“While he was out looking for a Mankey, he came across an underground cave system when he fell through a concealed opening in the ground. Thankfully, the rest of the party was there to fish him out.”

“Are they going to explore it?” Lucas asked, interested.

“Tomorrow. He has been busy gathering his relatives. Since he discovered the place by accident,” Jason air-quoted. “The team he was with decided he was eligible for half of whatever valuables they discover.”

“He is even luckier than you,” Faith laughed, pointing her fork at Lucas.

Lucas sniffed. How dare Ron upstage him in front of Faith. He was adding all his AP to Luck from now on.

“He asked us if we wanted to join,” Jason said. ``We may find some valuable ores or even evolution stones.”

“Hell yes,” Lucas turned to Faith. “Are you interested?”

“Sure,’ Faith shrugged. “It will break up the monotony of training.”

“We have to make sure that we prepare for tomorrow, then." Lucas rose from his seat. "I have a few errands to run. Are you joining me?”

Since they didn't have anything better to do then, they decided to join him. They stepped outside with Pokemon trailing behind them.

‘Carry me, servant.’ Duke demanded.

‘You must learn to control your water manipulation better, or how else will you see the world if you rely on others to carry you all the time.’

‘But I’m royalty.’ Duke cried.

‘A royal pain in the ass.’ Dante agreed.

‘Burn.’ Imara snickered.

“Where are we headed first?” Faith grabbed his hand.

“The trainer bazaar is on today,” Lucas said. “I want to see if I can find some Technical Machines to shore up some of my team's weaknesses.”

The weekly bazaar was the place where trainers went to sell and exchange items between themselves. It was located in a local park nearby, so they made it over in no time. The stalls had already been set up and were attracting quite a crowd.

They stepped into the bustling activity of people buzzing around the various stalls like bees searching for pollen. Lucas searched carefully around for anyone selling TM's. Due to the proximity to the sea, there were plenty of people with Water Pokemon, so finding Rainy Day should be easy enough.

Eventually, they stopped next to a young boy about ten years of age sitting on a blanket with his wares laid out in front of him. The boy raised his head and grinned at them. “Hi, folks. Interested in some TM's? You won’t find a better deal around.”

“Aren’t you too young to be selling things here,” Faith kneeled and looked through the selection.

“I’m plenty old enough,” the boy puffed out his chest. “My name is Sam. Hey, pretty lady, why don’t you ditch these losers and go out with me?”

“Why, you little b—”

“Lucas,” Faith scolded. “He is just a kid.”

Jason snickered, and Lucas stepped on his foot. By accident, of course.

“So what are you selling?” Lucas asked, ignoring Jason glaring at him. “It better be legit, or I will call the police on you, little hustler. I have friends with the police.”

“My Mum is a policewoman,” Sam deadpanned. “I think I’m good.”

Lucas clicked his tongue. “I thought you looked familiar. Are you related to Officer Jenny?”

“She’s my Mum,” Sam nodded.

“Lucas, I found Rain Dance,” Faith said.

“Cool. Let's see what other stuff you have,” Lucas crouched next to Faith and began searching through them.

“So, why do you have so many TM's?” Jason asked, taking a quick look himself.

“My uncle makes them,” Sam said.

“How does one make TM's?” Lucas mused as he spotted a Calm Mind. Grinning, he placed it next to the Rain Dance. While he had to be careful of spending too much, he felt he could splurge a little.

“Hello again, Lucas. I hope my son is not causing you any trouble?”

Lucas looked up to see Officer Jenny standing there. “Hello, Officer. Besides trying to steal my girlfriend? He’s alright.”

Jenny shook her head and smiled. “I’m not looking forward to when he hits puberty.”

“Tell me about it,” Lucas sighed, pointing at Jason. “He can be unbearable sometimes as he goes through his maturing phase.”

“Hey,” Jason shook his fist at him. “I am fully mature and ready for some love.”

He was a little too loud, and everyone in the vicinity turned and stared at him.

Faith ducked her head. “God, he’s embarrassing.”

Jenny chuckled before turning to Lucas. “TM's are made from a Pokemon's crystallised knowledge. Do you know how the memory crystals are formed?”

Lucas nodded. “Once a Pokemon enters the third stage of growth, they can learn a Move called Memory Trace, which imprints the knowledge of a mastered Move onto a piece of mineral like quartz. They can only make one copy or risk losing the Move themselves and damaging their brain.”

It sounded like a less sophisticated version of the Superman Memory Crystal, a 5D optical data storage in his old world, where it was possible to store hundreds of terabytes of data into a small circular disk made out of fused quartz.

“That’s right,” Jenny sat next to her son and ruffled his hair. “Well, every crystal that is formed is unique, even among identical Moves. The Pokemon cannot imprint the Move onto a crystal with a high degree of precision, so the excess crystal has to be carefully cut away to reveal the memory crystal inside. It is a very technical skill that takes a lot of hand-eye coordination. Silph Co has created a precision tool that does the jobs for humans. It can still be done by hand, which they did in the old days, but it's a highly specialised skill and a dying art.”

Lucas hummed. It looked like it was right down his alley. He may have a use for his nifty little perk: Transform - Multi-Purpose Tool.

“After that, the Pokemon who wants to learn the skill has to absorb the knowledge inside the crystal. After that, it is worthless, which is why TM's are single-use only.”

That he already knew after teaching his Pokemon some Moves like Dante’s Grassy Knot and Imara’s Sunny Day.

“Interesting,” Lucas nodded. “So, can the crystals themselves be sold by trainers and the like? Is it much cheaper than buying the TM itself?”

“Most trainers sell them to Silp Co,” Jenny said. “But there is a market for them. There is a stall here that sells them. If you can create your own TMs, you could save anywhere from five to ten times the amount of Pokedollars it would cost to purchase them. Depending on where you buy the memory crystals from and their rarity.”

“Oh man, that's a lot of Pokedollars,” Jason bounced around. “Lucas, you must learn this difficult skill, so we can access cheap TMs.”

“Really? Why don’t you learn yourself, you lazy bum,” Lucas retorted before turning back to Jenny. “What about the little metal cases they come in?”

“They are merely there to protect the crystal,” Jenny shrugged. “And to label the different Moves, otherwise it would be hard to know which is which.”

“Thanks for the info,” Lucas returned his attention to the two TMs on the blanket. He didn’t find any others he was interested in currently. “How much for these two?”

“Eleven thousand Pokedollars,” Sam grinned.

Lucas's eyes narrowed as his Bartering Perk took effect. Various schemes and words came to mind, and he rapidly devised a plan to rip the boy off and leave him out of pocket.

“He can have them for half-price,” Jenny interrupted. “As a thank you for helping me out earlier.”

“Mum,” Sam protested, breaking Lucas out of the effect. He blinked, shaking his head at the unnerving feeling of becoming a shady merchant. That perk was something, alright.

“No argument,” Jenny said sternly. “Your uncle gave these to you for free, so it's not like you're losing out."

“Fine.” Sam glared at Lucas after spotting the shit-eating grin on the teenager's face.

That’s right, you little shit. That's what you get for trying to take his girl. Okay, maybe he was overacting a little bit.

Lucas brought the two TMs, leaving the pouting boy sitting there counting the Pokedollars. Before they left, Lucas asked about the current situation with the pirates.

“I can’t say anything about an ongoing operation,” Jenny said.

“Oh, well. I’m still worried about Giru. I told him to find a safe place and power down to save his battery, but it won’t last forever.”

“It won’t be too long,” Jenny promised.

They said goodbye and left. Lucas briefly searched for the memory crystals and looked through them, and he brought a bunch to try out later.

“Where to next?” Jason checked his phone as he received a text message.

“To see Maggie and try and convince her to work for me,” Lucas said determinedly.

Jaso stopped and stared at the text with an unsightly expression. It was the first time that he had seen Jason truly upset.

“What's the matter?” Lucas stopped.

“Sorry, I’m going to have to catch up with you,” Jason said. “I got to make a call home.”

“Is everyone okay?” Faith asked with concern.

“Yeah, no one’s hurt. I’ll tell you about it later,” Jason walked off with the phone pressed to his ear.

“I’ll wonder what that's about,” Lucas said.

“He will tell us when he is ready,” Faith smiled.”Nothing can keep him quiet for long.”

Ten minutes later, they approached Maggie’s store and found her sitting on the pier with a bottle of alcohol in her hand, watching Lapras frolicking in the water.

“Hi, Maggie,” Lucas called cheerfully.

The woman groaned and lowered the bottle as she was about to take another swig. “Why does this annoying kid suddenly plague my life?”

The Lapras came forward to greet them, and all the Pokemon climbed aboard her, and she happily took them for a ride through the water. Duke dived into the water and sprayed the other Pokemon with water, getting some petty revenge.

Faith sat down next to Maggie and pointed to Lapras. “I want my own Lapras one day, even though I mainly focus on Grass-Type Pokemon. She’s beautiful.”

“Coraline was my first partner,” Maggie said. ”She never judged me when I got caught up with the Sharpedo gang, although I knew she disapproved of them and refused to get involved with any violence. If it weren’t for her, I would not have the guts to leave the gang. She is my conscience, a voice that lets me know when I’m messing up.”

“A voice in the head, literally,” Lucas smirked. “There’s no escaping the noise, and my partners have no respect for my privacy, poking their noses into everything.”

‘Take that back!’ Maximus yelled.

‘I’m only teasing, buddy.’

“Why are you here?” Maggie impatiently asked when Lucas looked content to sit there and watch the Pokemon enjoying themselves.

“So, it seems like you are not going to be busy anytime soon,” Lucas said. “I would like to hire you and your boat.”

“Another fishing tour?” Maggie asked, confused.

“Nope,” Lucas said. “To deliver some supplies to Cinnabar Island. I’m the co-owner of the island, and I’m building a habitat there for my Pokemon.”

“It won’t be cheap,” Maggie said thoughtfully. “Going there and back will use up a fair bit of fuel. Besides, I can’t be away from this place for too long.”

“I wanted to hire you on a more permanent basis,” Lucas said. “When you are not ferrying supplies, you will be helping my partner with the construction.”

“What? What about my business here?” Maggie scowled.

“I’m sorry,” Lucas looked around with an exaggerated expression. “I didn’t notice all the clients breaking down the door for your services.”

Maggie clenched the bottle, looking like she wanted to brain the impudent teenager.

“You can try it on a trial basis,” Faith suggested, patting the woman's shoulder. “It may be nice to get a change of scenery."

“But I enjoy my fishing tours,” Maggie said sulkily.

“Well, I am the only customer you have got in months,” Lucas pointed out. “It would probably be just as long before you get another client. Besides, I have huge plans for the island so that you can resume your fishing tours eventually.”

Maggie groaned as the two teenagers tried to wear the woman down.

“Fine,” Maggie shouted eventually. “I’ll do it.”

Lucas kissed Faith in celebration. It was a successful hire.

So, what do you think? The next chapter will include a small section from Jason’s point of view. I’m going to do these occasionally for some characters to flesh them out a bit. Nothing major, however, as I’m not a big fan of multiple perspectives.