FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Please do not read if you are under 18! The following contains mature content not suited for general audiences. You have been warned.

Flynn tries to find Jonah, who appears to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

TRIGGER WARNING! Contains: chronic disability, medical trauma, trauma, sexual abuse (discussed), parental abuse/neglect

Flynn, Jonah, etc. are characters made by me, based off of characters in the Pokémon universe owned by GameFreak and Nintendo. I do not claim rights to characters such as Flareon, Jolteon, etc.

By PseudonymousUmbreon. If you wish to use or reference my work and/or my characters, please contact me first.

*****

Plasmaphobia

Coevolution Ch.21

Two thousand dollars.

Flynn stared at the paper in their paw and rested their forehead on the steering wheel of Vicente's car.

Two thousand dollars, for a device to keep me from being bedridden the rest of my life.

For the first time in years, Flynn looked at the paper and wanted it to dissolve into flames, as if that would solve any of their problems or magically fix their legs. Even though the same disease had disabled their fire long before, Flynn willed the sparks to come to life and consume the pamphlet. Maybe the fire wouldn't stop there, maybe it would burn them too, and there wouldn't be any need to spend two grand on the ability to move.

Stubbornly, both paper and Flynn remained cold. They tossed the pamphlet against the back of the passenger seat and it fluttered to the cushion, title-side up. Finding a Wheelchair That's Right for You! it proclaimed, smiling up at the slick black cane that awkwardly stuck out from the leg space beyond.

Flynn pulled out of the parking lot. Two thousand dollars. On top of the twenty thousand in tuition at CCU, on top of the rent they were trying to pay Vicente, on top of food, new clothes, they didn't even have a car, they didn't even have a home…

Right on Juniper Street. They could drop out of college. Save the money to handle rent and focus on finding a full-time job. Not like any place would want to hire a cr—no, that's not a word they should use. But goddamnit, they sure felt like one.

Left on Kensbrooke Street. It was delusional, to even go to college to begin with. They'd been given a second chance at life when they'd gotten all that inheritance they hadn't even deserved. Just some kid off the street, and now they're going to confirm all the stereotypes by squandering all that money on two years of college and drop out? She didn't deserve that. Mel didn't deserve that.

Right on Hikeview Drive. She had been crazy enough herself to leave the store in their name. Flynn was never going to stick around, she knew that. So it was sold, and they took the money and ran off to college with nothing but Charlie and their leather jacket, and maybe, maybe they could have broken out of the horrible cycle.

Right on Kartakee Road. Funny thing about cycles. They always tend to repeat themselves in the worst of ways.

Flynn pulled over to the side of the road and shut the car off. In a daze, they grabbed their cane and hoisted themself out of the car, toward the familiar fading yellow siding and maple tree in the front yard. They hobbled down the cracked cobblestone walk breaking a neatly-kept lawn and made their way up the rickety front steps. The doorbell rang, just as it always did.

After a few moments, the door opened, and there she was. Stella Newelle, an Ampharos with a tired face, who saw Flynn and immediately gasped. “Flynn! What are you doing here? Where's Jonah?"

Flynn blinked. “I… was hoping you would know. I, um. Haven't seen him in a while, and just wanted to…"

There was a moment between them, Stella standing in the doorway, looking Flynn up and down but constantly darting her eyes over their shoulder, and Flynn on the steps, leaning heavily on their cane at a complete loss for what to say next.

“Well, come in. I made cookies," Stella said, stepping back and around the corner toward where the oven was. “Call it stress baking, I guess," her voice said from around the corner.

Flynn considered going back to the car, but at this point it was worth at least checking in with Jonah's mom. Besides—she had housed Flynn for an entire winter, they could at least say hello. They stepped inside and closed the door. Their cane scratched against the fake linoleum lining that covered the kitchen floor as they made their way to a seat at the island.

Stella was standing in front of the oven, staring out the window at the road. “I'm glad you're here, Flynn," she said.

Flynn waited for her to elaborate. She didn't. “When did you last hear from Jonah?" they asked, carefully.

Stella turned, and her eyes were misty and distant. “A month ago?" She flopped down in the chair around the corner of the island from Flynn and pulled a plastic container toward her. Opening it, she produced an oatmeal raisin cookie, then pushed the box over to Flynn while quietly munching on it.

“Thank you Mrs. Newelle," Flynn said, and pulled out a cookie. “What… what happened?"

“Oh, a lot of things. You know he dropped out after the trial. I wasn't very happy with him. I yelled. Tried to keep him from gathering his things. I wanted him to stay here, to finish school, get a degree—"

“He moved out?"

“Oh, Flynn, he didn't just move out. He cut us out. Not me, his dad, or either of his siblings have heard from him at all since then. Didn't tell us where he was going, didn't answer his texts, and none of the other family knows either—not even his Paps. You know how close he is to his Paps."

Flynn didn't. “So he's just… gone?"

Stella nodded. “Gone. Oh, Flynn—" she turned to look at Flynn with a serious expression, “one day you'll be a big strong man, and you'll have kids of your own, and you'll try to raise them right, but they never prepare you for what happens when they start being their own person. The mistakes they make. The mistakes you make."

Flynn waited for Stella to continue, but her eyes had become unfocused, drifting off toward something that existed nowhere. “What mistakes did you make?"

The Ampharos steered her gaze back on Flynn. “Having three," she said, tight-lipped.

Flynn swallowed. “Do you know where… Pops? Lives?"

Stella nodded.

“Have you gone there?"

Stella shook her head.

“…can I get an address?"

*****

Vicente's car was much too old for these kinds of roads. Feeling like it came out of the late 1900s, it shook and rattled and banged down the unpaved, horribly hilly dirt path. Flynn silently thanked the powers that be for keeping the sun out, because the image of these kinds of roads in the rain was probably going to keep them awake that night.

At long last, an unassuming farmhouse came into view, which the GPS indicated was the correct one. Flynn quintuple-checked the parking brake before they turned off the car—there was no recovering anything that rolled down this hill.

Front walk. Steps. Doorbell. But no sound. It must be broken? So Flynn knocked.

And waited.

They knocked again.

And waited. Waited, for what felt like just long enough that they wouldn't sound impatient, and—

The door opened.

“Hi Flynn," Jonah said, with a flat expression. “Can I help you?"

“Jonah? Who is that?" An elderly, masculine voice came from inside the house. Somewhere inside, a radio played experimental jazzy music.

“Just someone I know, Paps. You can go back to your nap," Jonah said. He stepped out the door, almost pushing Flynn down the steps, and closed the front door behind him.

“Nice to see you too," Flynn muttered.

“What are you doing here Flynn?! I came here to get away from you people," Jonah hissed, his quills bristling.

“Us people? What did I do?"

Jonah crossed his arms. “You and Val were my only friends before all of that went down. And you just left me to rot," he spat.

“You moved out of our dorm of your own accord," Flynn said, “and I wasn't even involved in the—everything."

“Well it obviously doesn't matter much," Jonah said, “given I'll just be the rapist-apologist transphobe who blew up the school forever. I know Grace and Val are still scared of me, and anyone who's friends with Jess has probably heard it all already."

Flynn looked away. “Grace and Val miss you too. And, are actually both really worried about you. Jess, she… well, she's a… difficult person."

“I'll say. Can hardly say anything around her without her taking offense to it," Jonah huffed.

Flynn looked Jonah in the eyes. “Jess is sensitive to the way she's treated, especially after Sylvia hatecrimed her. And she's also been pressuring Nate into having sex with her for about three years."

“Th—Nate? Three…" Jonah looked at the ground as if it was capable of explaining that to him. “And he didn't… say anything?"

“Look, Grace is a sex therapist, yeah? She says there's this thing that happens when people are abused, especially by those who are super manipulative, like Jess was to Nate or like Sylvia was to you. People will defend their abusers. Grace has actually been talking to the judge about it. The one who oversaw your case?"

“But… I don't understand, I thought you and Val and Grace were all mad at me 'cause of what I did at the trial…"

“Well, Val had to go talk to his pastor about it for a while, sure, but he doesn't hold anything against you. And like I said, Grace is still hung up on your case and wants Sylvia to get a harsher sentence. That's the main reason I'm here today, they wanted me to find you. Why did you think we were mad at you?"

Jonah went quiet. “The only person I talked to was Jess…"

“Jonah, you may have dropped out of school, but we can still fix this. Come back with me. Please."

Jonah shook his head. “I can't, Flynn. I don't… I don't trust myself anymore."

“Wouldn't it be better to be around people who do trust you?"

Jonah sighed. “I guess you're right…"

Flynn became suddenly aware that they had been standing for way too long. “I need—I need to sit down, Jonah, can I come inside please?"

“Oh, Arceus—yeah, come in," Jonah stammered, opening the door again for Flynn.

With much effort, Flynn pulled themselves up the stairs by their cane and hobbled to an armchair that was openly positioned behind the door. They collapsed into the cushions, their bones feeling like they were on fire.

Jonah came in after them. “Do you need anything? Some water, maybe a… an ice pack?" He looked at them with nothing but concern on his face.

Flynn smiled. “I'm just glad to have my friend back. Even if I am gonna lose my legs."

“What?!"

“Yeah, I, uh. Doctor told me this morning that I should expect to be needing a wheelchair in the next five or so years. It's two grand for a chair."

Jonah's eyes bugged out of his head. “Two thousand—how are you going to get that amount of money?!"

Flynn shrugged. “To be honest, I don't know. Might just… drop out of school."

“Would you two quit yer yappin' already?" the elderly voice barked. Flynn jumped, and noticed an old, tired Luxray lying on the couch in the living area, his head lying near a painfully retro radio. His eyes were open and milky white, staring at nothing. “What's an old man supposed to do to get any sleep 'round here?"

“Sorry Paps," Jonah apologized, and sat down in the other armchair. “This is Flynn. They…" He glanced at Flynn, who nodded. “He's my friend from school. Roommate, actually. He's a Flareon, with some off-color fur on his face and holding a black cane. He also has a leather jacket, white tee, ripped jeans, and combat boots."

Flynn was taken aback by the descriptive introduction, then realized with a start that the old man—Paps—was blind. “Uh, hello, Mr., um… Newelle?"

“Harding! Earl Harding, and don't you forget that young man." Paps—Earl—sat up on the couch. “Nice to meet ya, Flynn. Dressed up like I was back in the day, eheh."

Flynn glanced at Jonah, who wore an even more shocked expression. “That's… something I'll have to ask you about some other time, Paps. Look, I'm thinking of going, back to the city. That's why Flynn came here. To come get me."

Paps seemed to think about this for a while. “Well, if you're going, you promise me this, Jonah—you promise me that you're gonna be makin' decisions that are right for you, y'hear?"

Jonah nodded. “I will, Paps."

“Good." Paps leaned back into a lying position on the couch. “And pay your mom a visit too. I'm tired of lying to her to cover your ass. Ha!" With that, he fell asleep in about two seconds.

Jonah glanced at Flynn. “I never really unpacked anything from my car, so we can leave now if we want to."

“Only if you're ready, dude."

Jonah took a deep breath. “As ready as I can be."