Chapter 1: Old Friends.

One cool and calm November morning, I was cleaning my room, as my mother demanded it be clean before she got home. I thought I would tackle a large pile in the corner of the room. The first thing I pulled off of the pile was some old socks that were way too small and a baseball cap. After pulling off some more items I came across my very old Sableye plushie that would comfort me in the pitch-black darkness of night. My mother got it for me because I was a very nervous child and I often saw things in the dark that I could never really make out. Seeing the old plushie brought tears of joy to my eyes. I carefully set the plushie on my pillow where it seemed to belong.

I turned back around to the pile and that's when I saw my Game boy with Pokémon Emerald inside it. I quickly picked it up, lay on my bed, and turned it on. I was so happy to hear the little ping when turning it on, for I had not heard it in a long time. The title screen pulled up and I studied my saved game, and noticed that I had 7 gym badges. "Oh great," I thought. "Maybe I haven't stopped the fighting between Kyogre and Groudon!" I selected the save file, and waited longer than I expected. "It's obvious that I haven't played the game in a while, maybe it's just taking its time to load because it hasn't loaded in a while, or-or-or." I quickly stopped talking. It wasn't anything new; when I got too excited I would stutter one word. I have had to take almost 2 of speech therapy for my stutter, and I am very self-conscious of it. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I looked back down at the screen.

I noticed I had last saved at Sky Pillar, which left me very confused. I was expecting to be near the Cave of Origin. "Okay, I'll just wake up Ra-Rayquaza." I located the stairs and ran towards them. I saw the screen flash black, and a wild Sableye appeared. I made a sound like a mix of a giggle and a cough. I ogled it up, down and sideways. I saw the shine coming from his eyes, brilliant clear diamonds. I saw that I haven't even been kind enough to capture my protector. I selected bag and threw a Luxury Ball. One. Two. Three. "YES!" I realized I had screamed out loud, and felt a bit embarrassed. "It digs branching holes in caves using its sharp claws in search of food-raw gems. A Sableye lurks in darkness and is seen only rarely." The last line of the entry really stuck with me. "A Sableye lurks in the darkness..."

A sound I trained myself to listen for was the slamming of my mother's car door.

"Michael Frederick Olsen, that room better be clean!" My mother exclaimed.

"Mom, please! I have been wor-working all day long. It's a bi-big mess, you said so yourself. Remember? 'Mike, I don't even kn-know the color of the carpet.' You said so yourself! I'm sorry Mom. Please don't be m-mad at me." I pleaded.

"Michael. You're ten now. It's time to stop making excuses. Tomorrow, but I mean it. Or that's it." She said forgivingly.

"Yes Mam." I am terrified of my mother. I would remember back to when she was really angry, it always seemed that a shadow had gone inside my mother. My mother was always harsh, terrifying, and merciless when she yelled at me. It got so bad that at one point my father couldn't take it. He had to leave; my mother was just too dark. My father was always like a shining light. I would always tell my father that he was Pidgeot, sweet, yet powerful and mother was Fearrow, fierce.

After eating dinner I was instructed to go straight to bed, but first I had to turn off all the lights. This was sort of a form of punishment to my mother. She knows I'm terrified of the dark. Something about the fact that you never know what's in the dark. There could be anything. It was not unusual for my brain to make up images that lurk in the darkness, silhouettes of demons my brain has only made up. I've been paranoid my as long as I could remember. I've been put on too many pills to count. I did take them today, so turning out the lights shouldn't be that bad. I switched the light off in the computer room, then the living room, the hallway, and eventually I got to my room. I cracked the door, put on my PJ's, and turned off the light. As I lied on my bed, I tried to sleep, ignoring the shadow staring to me.