Awakened Obsession

"… I hope you've learned a lot about Normal types and subtypes, and that you-…" the voice of the documentary presenter cut off as I began to rewind the video. 'Studying Normal Nature' is a documentary on Normal types, and every day I watch it over and over… why? To feed my obsession. The video reached it's beginning again, and I pressed play, strangely eager to watch what I had already seen countless times, instinctively pressing the fast-forwards button, then waiting exactly fifteen-and-a-half seconds before instinct caused my to press play again. I couldn't help but stare in wonder as the video had reached the short, minute-long period that I loved… the sole reason I even bought the entire thing.

"These marvellous beasts are called Lopunny…" that opening line, to me, was both a holy mantra and a revolting insult… who could call such a creature a 'beast'? Who could possibly label something so beautiful with such a mundane and derogatory term? But, as per usual, the video carried on, and I watched the incredible beings on screen going about their daily lives, admiring their every action, no matter how simple or meaningless. Such was my desire, my need, my obsession… with Lopunny kind.

Abruptly, my chain of thought was disturbed as my brother knocked on the door… I quickly turned the TV off and hid the video case before calmly saying "what is it?" He opened the door, closing it behind him… I could see he was a little suspicious, he knew full well of my obsession, but not that I watched the same documentary over and over again on an outdated VCR.

"Neil, you were the last one to borrow my craft-knife, where the hell is it?" he muttered with his usual contempt for things in general. He was right though, I had recently borrowed the knife in an attempt to cut my hair… to look more like those I loved so… but naturally, I was talked out of it by my mother.

"Mark, you know how I like to be called by my full name, please use it…" I said, giving him a casual glare… he snorted and carried on rooting about in my room. Apparently, 'Neiman' was a rubbish name by his reckoning, so he insisted on calling me 'Neil', along with the rest of my family, including my mother who originally chose the name 'Neiman' anyway, which to me smacks of hypocrisy. He found the item he was searching for, after knocking over my cherished pile of Lopunny-related scrap-books, and then left. I sighed as I cleared up after his mess, then turned off the mains switch for my TV. It was late morning and I had little to do, so as per usual I logged on to my computer and began to sift through my daily check-ups and notices.

However, something caught my eye… in my alerts panel for my own website, someone had left a message that said the following: "Understand your passion", and below it were the numbers "145, -097, 000… 23:00" I tried to trace the message, but all I could discover was that it was sent by someone called 'wish maker', but his account was already deleted. I had no idea who this person was or what they wanted, but curiosity forced me to investigate, and so I sent out an email to each and every one of my contacts to see if they knew anything. After finishing, I looked outside; it was a relatively cloudy day, and the air was as still as a mountain… I had to do something interesting or else I'd only slip back to watching the documentary for the thousandth time… I came downstairs with my mind set on an early lunch, hopefully I could conjure some idea for the day whilst I was eating. I looked inside the fridge, and found the components to my usual afternoon meal: microwave olive and cheese sandwich… most people rankled at my unusual taste… but then again, most people were too busy being freaked out by my Lopunny obsession to care. after finishing that, I still had no ideas, and so I returned to the PC upstairs, and was greeted with a big surprise.

Normally, my contacts reply at a rate that can only be described as sluggish, but since I had sent the chain email, all but one had responded! Most of them were clueless, however one of them; a good friend of mine named Josiah, had pointed out that "the numbers are the co-ordinates for the bridge south of town, and it's a time… eleven in the evening" a smile played across my lips… success! Now I knew what this message was about!… however as I got up out of the chair, I was assailed by a veritable wall of doubt. For instance, what if it was a joke? Perhaps it was something far more sinister?… but all the same, the words 'Understand your passion' seemed very appealing… perhaps it was someone who felt the same as me? I couldn't pass up this opportunity, that was for sure.

I sent an email to Josiah asking him if he'd like to come along with me to the location, and it took him mere moments to reply with a yes, although he seemed a little suspicious all the same. I walked slowly about my room, drumming my fingers on random surfaces… what if I had finally found somebody who was obsessed like I am? It was all a lot to think about, but I could only hope that this would end well. Just to make absolutely sure everything was as I thought, I checked over the emails and messages again… as I looked at the message from 'Wish Maker', I felt a shiver run down my spine, probably excitement, although I was also a little unnerved too. "Come on, nothing to be afraid of… Josiah is much bigger than you and you can run much faster!" I reassured myself, as I cracked open the case to one of my large collection of video games. Safe to say, I qualified as a 'nerd'; weedy frame, pallid complexion, interest in computers, very unsuccessful interactions with girls… but I wasn't as bad as some.

A few hours of game-play, dinner, and dog-walking later, it was nearly ten in the evening, and I was ready to begin the hunt for answers. I called up Josiah, trying to hide my excitement and anxiety behind a monotone voice. "Hey, J, it's time… ready to find out who Wish Maker is?"

"Are you sure about this? I mean, if you get kidnapped, I'm not gonna head up the inquiry" he said, in his deep, grating voice.

"Oh, I'm so charmed… anyhow, let's get this show on the road, shall we? I'll meet you outside the closed-down mart, and we'll head south from there"

"Yeah, whatever… don't expect too much though, it's probably a joke" he said, before hanging up. I donned my black leather trench-coat and my grey suede shoes… if this was going to be important, I'd best dress for the occasion. I headed down stairs, and ran directly into my mother… what was I going to say? I had to lie, otherwise my efforts would never get off the ground.

"Where are you going, Neil?" she asked, immediately suspicious…

I sighed, then said "so I'm not even allowed to go round Josiah's house now?" she immediately stood out the way… it was rather callous of me, using her own good nature to trick her, but I felt I should give her an emotional safety net in case something went wrong… "… we're going to go down to the south bridge, but I'm not sure if I can get a lift back… if I'm not back by one in the morning, can you come and pick me up?"

She sighed reluctantly and nodded "okay then, dear…" before heading into another room. As the feelings of guilt subsided, I headed out and down the street towards the old mart, nervously fumbling the lining of my coat's pocket. Josiah was far more plainly dressed than me, sporting a simple shirt and slacks, and wearing his trademark green cap which clashed horribly with his pale brown beard and long hair… he was a full three years older than me at 20.

"Are you ready?" I said, grinning… he rolled his eyes.

"WHAT did I say to you? I said yes! Let's get a move on already, I bet you five pounds this will be pointless!"

I patted his back as we began to walk south "okay then, you're on… shake on it" I pestered, holding out my hand… he merely pushed it away and kept on walking. "Hey, man, don't tell me the project is still bugging you"

He grumbled, kicking a can in his way "I got no ideas, no nothin'… only reason I'm coming here with you is that it might give me something good to write about" he looked at me intently "if you can give me something to write about, I'll double that bet" The bridge was now right in front of us… using a lesson I had learned from watching too many gangster movies, I predicted that 'Wish Maker' would likely be underneath the bridge, and so we headed around and down to the bank of the river. Surely enough, we were met by the silhouette of a woman wearing what was probably a suit and an office skirt. "I'm impressed, Neiman, I didn't think you turn up on the very same day I sent that message…" I folded my arms and attempted to look like I was in control of the scene.

"If you'd be so kind as to cut to the chase, 'Wish Maker', I'd like to know what you meant" I said…

She replied in a slightly humoured voice "well… where can I begin?… it's high time you took your obsession to the next level…" Josiah went to ask something, but I held my hand out to keep him silent whilst 'Wish Maker' carried on speaking. "I work for a group of people who are… very interested in achieving certain goals… and I'd like you to help us help you… understand?"

I knew she was trying to hide something, and there was a chance she was just plain crazy, but I still played along. "How do you know about me, and why do you care?" I said, trying to get a solid answer.

"Well, you make it clear enough to everyone that your obsessed, but we believe someone like you is exactly what we need in our next step, someone who would be more willing" immediately, I was hooked… a group of people somewhere want to do something important, and it involved me and Lopunny.

"Sounds good to me!… so, what exactly do you want me to do?" I asked, grinning… Josiah gave me a dark look that showed he clearly didn't think it was a good idea.

"It's difficult to explain straight off, so bare with me" she said, a hint of excitement building in her voice. Immediately, I began to have second thoughts… some thing was wrong, and considering we were under a bridge at near-enough midnight speaking to a suspicious woman, just about anything could go wrong.

I took a step back "you know… perhaps… perhaps you should come to my place tomorrow, and we can talk about this more?" She ignored me, taking a step closer… I hadn't realised it up until now, but she has slowly manoeuvred around so that the river was directly behind me, and I had no way to escape… something was definitely wrong!

"You poor deluded boy… now you've started questioning me, the fairytale has ended… we aren't choosing you because we think you can help us under your own effort… we chose you because of sheer irony, now it's high time you lived your stupid obsession!" she said in an almost feral tone, lunging forwards.

"No! no shit, I…" was all I managed to say before I felt a sharp, stinging pain in my thigh… she had just jabbed me with a hypodermic needle, and I could feel some foreign substance invade my body. I looked up, only to see her staring back at me with maniacal glee.

"Now, now the test begins!"