Welcome to the Lavender City Gym

Andrew was excited, as any self-respecting trainer would be, at the prospect of taking on the new Lavender City Gym. It had just opened the week before, and he had already seen people walking around with the newly issued badge-a horrible looking thing that looked like a grinning skull with blood seeping from the eye sockets. The Nightmare Badge they were calling it. Well, it couldn't be as bad as people made it out to be, what with the stories of Ghost Pokemon and an evil "Test of Courage" floating about. He'd get the gym finished and be on his way in no time.

Once he reached the gym-a large mansion looking complex built into the side of an even larger hill-he noticed a line. Well, that sucked, but after all, it was a new Gym. There was sure to be a line for several weeks. So with nothing else to do, he got in line and waited.

It took a good hour of waiting, surprisingly short for a gym, but he finally made it inside. The entrance hall was large and spacious, with a pair of ornate staircases leading up to a second floor. The stairs themselves were roped off with signs reading "Gym Leader and Staff only". Apparently the Gym Leader lived on the premises. Looking around the rest of the entrance hall, Andrew noticed that the interior seemed rather run down. The wallpaper was peeling, there were cobwebs here and there, and a multitude of dust caked the floor and various surfaces. The maroon rug was in need of repair or replacement, and the wood furnishings needed to be varnished and fixed up. All in all, the entrance hall to the Lavender City Gym looked like a haunted house, minus the ghosts and ghouls.

Gathered in the center of the hall were a good number of trainers, ranging from the young to the elderly, both male and female, all from various backgrounds. As Andrew joined them, a man dressed as a butler stepped out from one of the second floor rooms, approached the bannister overlooking the entrance hall, and addressed the crowd.

"If I may have your attention," he began, and the room became quiet, "The rules for the Lavender City Gym are as follows. First, you may only use one Pokemon of your choosing. There are no restrictions beyond that it must fit inside an average hallway. We do not need the gym destroyed because someone decided to bring a Wailord in here." This produced a few chuckles, but the butler continued. "You will each be given one of these," He held up what looked like a remote control with a single red button labeled "Panic". "In case you either choose to not continue or are unable to, simply press this button, and you will be evacuated from the premises. You will however be barred from attempting the Gym for 24 hours."

"To obtain a badge," he continued through various murmurs, "you simply need to make it to the back room where the Gym Leader waits. Upon reaching it, you may have the option to battle the Leader 1-on-1, but it is not required."

"Ha!" barked a girl around Andrew's age, "This'll be a cake walk!" The girl, a pretty brunette with her hair in a low ponytail, glanced over at Andrew and smiled. "Stick with me and we'll get this done in no time." She stuck out her hand to Andrew. "I'm Sarah."

"Andrew," he replied with a smile, shaking her hand.

"If there are no questions," continued the butler, then we shall begin. The pair of double doors that were situated between the stairs opened, and several maids and butlers stepped out holding trays for excess Pokeballs. The trainers put those that they were not using on the tray, and waited at the doorway. Andrew decided to go with his Vulpix for this challenge, and deposited the other five Pokeballs on a waiting tray. Once all the trainers were ready, the maids and butlers gave the lead butler a signal that all was ready.

"Begin!"

Almost as one, the trainers rushed inside. Once the last had crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut, and the hallway went pitch black. There was some uncomfortable murmuring at first and some annoyed yelling as people jostled each other.

And then the screaming began.

At first it was just one person, but then more and more of the trainers began screaming in sheer, bloody terror. Andrew almost shat himself from the suddenness of it. Still with the hallway pitch black, he fumbled for his Pokeball and let Vulpix out.

"Vulpix, give us some light! Now!"

The Pokemon complied, creating some will-o-whisps that generated a dull yet powerful light. The sight that greeted Andrew made his blood run cold.

Something was attacking the other trainers. All he could tell was that they seemed to be long, spindly, almost anamorphic black arms and hands that were coming from the very walls. He could smell iron in the air, and guessed that blood was being spilled. The screaming now was mixed with the sound of flesh and fabric being rent and the splashing of blood on the hardwood floor. The hand things were were grabbing those that had not been butchered and pulling them, apparently, into the walls, floor and ceiling, which had taken on the consistency of water whenever someone was pulled through, often times screaming for help.

Andrew was frozen in place, and then he heard a familiar voice scream his name. He whipped his head around, and there was Sarah struggling against one of the black claws that was threatening to pull her into a wall. "Andrew! Help me!" She was reaching out to him as the claw slowly pulled her back. He lunged towards her and clasped her hand and tried to keep her from being pulled into the wall, but the claw was too strong. "Please help me please please please..." whimpered Sarah as she was dragged slowly towards the wall, only two feet remaining before she was gone. Andrew shifted his weight and tried to keep her from going further, even going so far as to brace himself against a solid portion of wall.

"Please Andrew please help me please," whimpered Sarah as she was slowly pulled into the wall, her foot at first, then her leg, then up to her hips. "Please Andrew help me help me help me I don't want to die please." Tears were streaming down her face as she clung to Andrew's arm. Her waist went through the wall, then her chest, then shoulders. "Andrew please save me Andr-" And with that, the claw gave a yank, and Sarah was gone.

Breathing hard and doing his best not to panic, Andrew stared at the wall for a few good moments before something hit him. There wasn't any more screaming. He looked around the dimly lit hallway, and there wasn't a single person left standing. They either lay in unidentifiable, bloody chunks on the floor, or had been taken through the walls by those hands. "Screw this," he said, turning back the way he had come. It was only when he was scrambling for a doorknob that he realized the door he had come in from was now gone.

Now his options were clear. Either hit the panic button, finish the Gym, or die in the process. Since Andrew's pride wouldn't let him press the "Get out of Hell free" button, that left him with only two options. Either die, or finish the Gym.

"Let's go Vulpix," he said, his voice still shaky. The Pokemon nodded, and they continued down the hallway, unsure of what nightmares awaited them. Surely it couldn't be worse than what they had just seen, right?

Author's Notes: First time writing a horror story, here's hoping this one does well *Crosses fingers* I decided not to describe Andrew's appearance so you the reader can make him look however you like in your head.