Hello, and happy October!
I've started a small 'tradition' on another site: writing spooky stories each Halloween! I've wanted to do this since 2015, but I never had the chance to do it then. I finally did it last year, but I never signed in on this site then, soooooo no story.
But now, I have decided to have this tradition here as well! Now you can read the stories I have for the month of October...! Well, story... I only have one right now /^^'
So you'll have to settle for this one until Halloween, after I've written down my story and posted it on my other site. So enjoy this story, and stay tuned for the newer one!
How do you imagine yourself to pass away? Alone in your sleep after living a long and eventful life? In your deathbed with friends and family there to watch your final moments pass away? Perhaps in some crazy blaze of fiery glory? Yeah, I didn't think very much of that last one either. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned… Don't they? Things certainly don't always go as planned in the town of Viannail. You know, the town you were born in? Oh don't give me that look. I know your town isn't the most known town in Kalos... Okay, so your town isn't even on the map, big deal, isn't that why you became a Trainer? …Hey keep your mouth to yourself!
... Anyhow, you know by experience how things can be in your town: people disappearing in the nearby forest, people mysteriously dying on moonless nights... You know because they were people that you knew at some point in time: the baker who gifted you specially made cookies every Friday, the teacher who gave you the extra Trainer lessons... Your half-a-year crush (in which you're very mad and devastated because you finally had the guts to say 'hi' to them)...
Even your best friend...
As the list of people dying became more and more personal, you grew wary and sad towards yourself, wondering why people you knew were passing away. After your best friend died, you become withdrawn and anti-social, keeping away from other people around you in this small town. You convinced yourself that you were somehow the reason of the deaths of your friends, and decided to stay away from everyone to keep from killing anyone else. How that was going to solve anything you have no idea, but you figured it was better than going around and end up indirectly killing other folks akin to how the Rattata spread the plague around.
You then plan to go off on your own, from sundown to the dead of night, sitting in the old and abandoned bell tower on the outskirts of town, wondering why these deaths happened. They didn't plan on dying that day... Or anytime soon for that matter. You dwell in your mind for hours, then go back home to your room, aiming to avoid your worried parents and their constant reminders and half-tried scolding. This routine goes on for days, and you figure tonight would be no different...
But you've forgotten; not everything goes as planned here in the town of Viannail.
You nest yourself on the top floor of the bell tower, submerging yourself in self-guilt and pity. After a couple of hours, you hear a small whispering voice somewhere behind you, but it doesn't register until the whispering turned into skittering. You open your eyes and lift your head, looking around at your surroundings. Who would be up here with you? You didn't see anyone outside as you came over here, so what human would be up here at this point and time?
"Who's there?" You ask aloud. Nothing. You wave it off this once, thinking it's your imagination. After a few moments of silence you hear skittering again, which makes you alert once again. You heard that loud and clear- now you know that something's in here with you. Somewhat frightened, you slowly get up on your feet, your fists balled up in preparation to defend yourself. The skittering gets louder on the other side of the room, which had plenty of places to hide- wooden boxes, some broken and some not, some random objects that were possibly used for storage, broken pieces of the stone bell that used to ring in the tower, and the actual bell itself, sitting in the middle of the floor with its cracked body, looking desolate and obsolete. With an opened hand, you grab a piece of broken wood that was on your side of the room, and throw it towards the general direction of the noises. Suddenly, a squeak sounded out, and a shadow busted out of the boxes. Startled, you quickly send out one of your Pokémon to give you some light. "Umbreon, use Flash!" You command. Your Pokémon comes out and immediately uses its rings to shine some light, which reveals the noisemaker to only be a Rattata.
Annoyed, you throw another piece of wood at the rodent, who squeaks again and dashes out of the room with panicked skitters. You call your Pokémon back in its ball, but before you can relax again, you hear a panicked... No, more of a terrified screech, coming from out the door. You stare at the doorway as you stay perfectly still, wondering what in the world is the Rattata doing? Soon enough, you hear a sort of humming sound along with the Rattata's sounds of struggle. What? The screeches become more and more strained as time passes on, soon to become weak and less intense as the humming stayed constant. Your heartbeat grows rapid and loud, as if it wanted to beat out of your chest as you listen to the sounds of the humming. What happened to the Rattata?
You start to move towards the doorway, but you hear the humming get closer to the doorway, seizing any chance of dashing out the way you came. The boxes were too small to hide in, and the window wasn't an option either: unless falling several stories was something worth risking. The only option left? The bell: it was big enough to hide a human, but how were you going to get inside? As you move around, you see a crack that might be able to let you though. Might? What choice do you have? With a burst of action, you quickly rush to the crack facing away from the doorway as quietly as you possibly could, panting in panic as you squeeze your way inside the bell's hollow space. Just as you hear the one humming to be inside the room, you were already well inside, cowering within the darkness that you hope will keep you concealed until the danger has passed. You strain to hear footsteps as you bury your face in your knees, and to your horror, you actually do; light footsteps casually waltz in the bell room, the being slowing their gait for only a small moment before taking a slow path around the room. You force yourself to quiet your panicky breaths as you listen, but as the steps get closer to the crack in the bell, you can't help but to feel your pulse beat harder within your chest; the humming being getting closer to your hiding spot. When it sounded as if they were right in front of you, you lift your head oh-ever-so slightly to see if the humming being was peeking inside the crack...
You thank the gods in your mind... They weren't looking inside. However, before whoever was out there went back the way they came, the answer to your anticipated question was almost shown to you as if high forces knew what you were asking for... In the form of a sudden thud on the wooden floor, your attention is drawn from the crack to the floor itself. What you see shocks you: the thud was caused by the Rattata- or rather, it's lifeless body, its eyes half shut with its final breaths. You cover your mouth as you try to silence your horrified gasp, your eyes unable to look away from the rodent's hazed eyes.
The being on the other side of the bell stopped humming for the first time since it's sudden arrival, being still for a moment before turning around, seemingly retreating back to whence it came. You don't dare move an inch until you hear the slow steps recede completely, and even afterwards you are too frozen in fear to move on your own accord. Your eyes can't help but stare at the body blocking your way, your mind slightly numb from what you are seeing. Finally, you shake your gaze away, and you gather your nerves in order to move yourself.
You stare at the Rattata as you try and figure out a way to move it, but there was nothing inside the bell with you to move it with. With a sigh, you realize that you have no other choice- to get out you had to move the dead Rattata yourself. At this thought you scrunch up your face with disgust while you move closer to the rodent, thinking in disbelief at how you had to do this small but unpleasant action. You breathe for a couple of moments before you extend your shaky hand, inching it closer and closer to the Rattata's head. 'This is ridiculous... I can't believe that I have to move a dead rat out of my way,' you think to yourself. But then again, you had to admit to yourself that you were thankful that there wasn't any blood. You use a couple of your fingers to grab at the small Pokémon's ear, scooting it back further away from the crack as you come out of the bell. Once the action was finished, you shudder a little as you wipe your hands, hoping that you would never have to do anything like that again.
The silence of the bell tower grabs your attention as you stand still - you begin to wonder: is it safe to leave? It certainly seemed too dangerous to stay in this tower... But what if whoever was in here was waiting for you once you got outside? The thought made you shiver in fear; you almost decided to stay here for the night, but then the possibility of the being coming back here came to mind, and the chances of you staying hidden were going to be much smaller if that happened. Being the type of person to know when to leave when things are bad, you decide to leave the tower and go home. With that in mind, you quickly, yet cautiously, leave the bell tower, hoping to get home without being any incidents.
You walk within the borders of your town and hear almost nothing; the only indication of activity was the very faint sounds coming from the late-night café club, 'The Noctowls' Café' or 'Café Les Noctowls', playing in the distance. Normally, you relished the silence and darkness, as they helped you hide from the bullies that liked to mess with you and the drunks that tended to stumble down the street when you walked home this late. Now, as you warily walk down the street you can't help but notice every little detail of your surroundings, fearing the darkness that you once relied on from the realization that you aren't the only one that might dwell in the darkness. You keep a vigilant eye on the alleyways that you pass by as you walk down the street, making sure that there was nothing in the dark passageways so nothing would surprise you. Paranoia and fear grab hold of your mind as you walk; rapidly thinking of the questions that were burning in your mind since your close encounter: who was humming in the bell tower? How did they not find you? Why did they kill the Rattata? Were they willing to take it a step further? Over and over these questions swirl in your head and make you even more nervous, for until whoever that was in the tower was caught, you, or anyone else, would never be safe.
Eventually, you shake your head and tell yourself to calm down, forcing yourself to think logically and realistically as you walked through town. After a short while, you've calmed down as much as you would allow yourself, and continued to travel through the darkened streets, though you still keep aware of your surroundings. You end up approaching the late-night café and sigh a bit in relief, because you've made the café as a halfway point on your path to your home. Not to mention that the lights and the music from within the building give you comfort as you linger by yourself. Once you feel confident enough to move on, you leave the safety of the building, stepping back into the darkness once more.
The starry night sky stares down at you as you walk closer towards your home. You know that you have a little more to go, and you speed up a little at the thought of it. Just as you turn a corner, you hear whispers in the air, making you pause and look around for the source of the voice.
Nothing. It's briefly quiet... Then another whisper becomes audible with the wind. You grow uneasy, and feel your heart beating a bit faster than before. You begin to walk again, but slower than the pace you were normally going, eyes darting between spaces of the buildings to see if you can find a figure or at least a shadow in the darkness. The whispers gradually grow louder as you walk, which eventually stops you in your tracks.
"Kaboo... Ka-kaboo-ka-aa..."
You hear as you frantically look around the street. This puzzles you - what kind of whispers are those? You shake your head as you begin to walk again, but before you even take two steps, you trip on something and fall on the ground- hard. You grunt as you feel a slight pain in your knees, lifting them to see that you've banged them from the fall. As you turn around, you see that you've tripped on what looked like a couple of bladed grass tied in a knot, surprisingly strong enough to make you trip on it… You quickly get up to hear raspy and echo-y laughs around you, making you put up your guard. Suddenly, the laughs stop, leaving you in the silence once more. You stand still for a moment before you tell yourself to go, and turn around...
Only to be met with a whispering floating pumpkin with beady eyes and a fanged mouth.
The first thing that comes out of your mouth is a scream, then you stumble backwards as you try and get as much distance from you and the entity as possible. Eventually, you fall down from stumbling on your legs, and you watch as the pumpkin floats closer to you, whispering loudly as it gets closer to your face.
"Kaboo... Pumpkaboo," It says to you.
You soon realize that this entity was nothing more than a Pokémon, and a Pumpkaboo at that… Something that you've seen once or twice on the road. While the Pumpkaboo didn't look too dangerous, you can sense that something wasn't right with this Pumpkaboo at the same time, which only worries you as the floating pumpkin stares with its beady eyes. You stare back, but only for a short moment before you slowly get back on your feet and try to back away again. Once you turned around, you hear a whooshing sound, which prompts you to turn around to see what the Pokémon was doing… Only to see it gone. You sigh as you turn back around, and to your surprise, you see the Pumpkaboo back in your face again, which makes you stumble away from it with a small gasp.
"Puuumpkaaaboooo," the Pokemon said once more.
Just after it said that, a humming sound began to fill the street: a light and gentle sound that would seem as if it was designed to calm someone, but you were only filled with dread. You knew this sound - it was the humming of the one who was in the bell tower with you earlier in the night.
Suddenly, the Pumpkaboo makes vines appear from behind it and wraps them around your arms and waist, its strength surprising you as you struggle to break free. You cry out as you strain to reach your belt, but the vines are too strong for you. Looking up in the distance you saw a bulky figure, but the moonlight was silhouetting them, so you couldn't see them correctly. But it didn't matter, the figure terrified you, and it wasn't helping that the Pumpkaboo behind you was chanting out as well.
"Pumpkaboo, Pumpkaboo, Pumpkaboo," the Pokémon kept saying over and over.
You whimper as you try to understand what was happening to you, but your whole brain is panicking too much to think, which only made the Pumpkaboo giggle a little as it tightened its grip. The figure in the distance took a few steps towards you and the Pokémon, then slowly melted into the shadows before your eyes. You gasp and frantically look around, and soon saw a shadow slither closer to you like a snake. Then, the shadow reconfigured itself into what it actually was: another Pokémon... Was it the evolution of the Pumpkaboo? It continues to hum as its yellow eyes stare at you, black wisps shadowy energy casually floating away from its body. You strain to keep your breath quiet but you can't, for you are too terrified to do anything else.
The Pokemon raises a hairy hand on your neck and keeps it there, seemingly feeling your pulse as it rapidly beats in your neck. It then slowly lifts the hand away and smiles, soon to embrace you with both its arms. The Pumpkaboo loosens up its vines and release you. You keep absolutely still in this process, as you still don't know what it wants; does this... Ghostly Pokémon just want a hug? With the feelings of being embraced, combined with the light humming, you feel warm and safe, as if you can be in its arms forever and be okay...
The ghost keeps hugging you as you close your eyes in comfort, harshly lowering your guard as it lowers its head down to your ear to say something.
"Gouurrrrrgeeisssst," it hisses in a near demonic tone of voice.
You immediately open your eyes in terror, but it is too late for you: the hand resting on your head slowly grows in length, soon to envelop your neck and face all while humming so peacefully. You struggle to get out of the hairy material, but it is no use, as you suddenly feel the hairy material growing on your arms. Before your eyes were covered up, the last thing you see is the two pumpkin Pokémon staring down at you with sadistic smiles; you then begin to hear a strange song from what seemed to be the Pumpkaboo singing it, which, after a few moments, made you realize something: you have heard that song some time ago… You didn't know who it was or where it came from at the time, but you did hear it. Right before all the deaths started to happen… You try to scream out loud just as you piece together what was happening to you, but you couldn't get a squeal out of your mouth. Your throat suddenly becomes tightened as you become strangulated, your vessel for air quickly being cut off by the humming ghost. As you start to get lightheaded, the humming voice starts to grow faded, spots flickering back in the darkness that surrounds you.
Soon, you feel yourself fading away, with nothing but a soft lullaby to put you to rest.
"Puuumpkaboooo... Pumpkaboooooo... Puuummpkaaabooooo..."
After everything was done, the larger pumpkin shaped Pokemon drags your lifeless body within the darkness of the alleyways, humming to itself as it slowly hobbles out to the moonless night. The Pokemon stares at the smaller Pumpkaboo for a moment before saying something in a happy fashion, then disappears into the shadows as the humming fades away in the wind. The Pumpkaboo smiles and merges into the shadows as well, soon to fade away from sight.
There was always something going on within the town of Viannail. Some of the events were good, and others bad. But no matter what, there was always one philosophy that stood true in one way or another: not everything goes as planned..