Chapter 2: Introductions and Explanations
Nick was relieved when a town loomed ahead of them. He and the older boy had slowed their pace at long last, though Annie made no move to walk on her own. She was still firmly clinging to Nick's back. Nick didn't care much. He was just happy to see civilization.
"It's not what you think," the older boy suddenly said.
"Huh?" Nick looked at him. "What do you mean?"
The older brunette gave no reply. Nick soon found out what he meant when they reached the town entrance.
It was empty. There was nobody around, not even a rabbit or a desert lizard. Nothing alive inhabited the town. It was abandoned.
"Are we all alone here?" Nick asked, suddenly afraid.
"In this town, yes. In this world, no," the older boy replied.
"This…world? Where are we?!" Nick demanded.
The older boy entered a tavern. Nick reluctantly followed him in. The three of them hid behind the bar, taking refuge where the bartender would stand. Annie climbed into Nick's lap, not wanting to sit on the dusty floor.
"I'm Charlie," the older boy said. "Who are you?"
"I'm Nick," Nick replied. "This is my little sister, Annie."
"Welcome to Mactabilis," Charlie welcomed dully, dropping the metal bird on the floor. He sat beside it, taking out his knife.
"Macta-what?" Nick tried to repeat.
"This world doesn't have a true name, or one that I know of, so I've just taken to calling it Mactabilis," Charlie explained. "It's Latin for deadly or lethal. It's a perfect name for this place."
"What is that thing?" Nick indicated the metal bird. "I've never seen a Pokemon like that before."
"It's a Skarmory," Charlie replied. "They're nasty bastards. As you can tell, their feathers are made of metal. They're Steel-types, making them extremely weak to fire."
"Like that flare," Nick guessed.
"Correct," Charlie nodded. "I tend to call them screaming metal death birds, personally. Noisy buzzards…"
"What are you going to do to it?" Nick asked.
"Take its feathers, tail, beak, and talons," Charlie replied. "They make good weapons. Then I'll skin it and take the meat. It's tough but it's better than starving. You take what you can get out here."
"And that roaring? You said it was a…Sweeper? What's that?" Nick questioned.
"Sweepers are hybrids of humans and Pokemon," Charlie explained. "The Creator, the one who made Mactabilis, created them to be the janitors of this world. They eliminate dead bodies and things that don't belong…like us."
"Scary," Annie whimpered.
"So, they're out to kill us?" Nick asked.
"Not exactly," Charlie admitted, plucking a few metal feathers off of the Skarmory corpse and dropping them into his backpack. "They usually leave us alone unless we anger or provoke them. As long as we stay out of their way, they don't bug us. Only if there are too many of us around do they kill without reason."
"So we're not the only ones here?!" Nick cried.
"Nope," Charlie replied. "Plenty of kids are brought here."
"Brought here?" Nick repeated.
"Yeah," Charlie nodded, cutting the Skarmory's tail off. "The Creator made this world in order to test the survival skills of mankind. I don't know why, but it's always kids that are brought here. Maybe it's because we're thought of as better survivors or something. Either way, the amount of kids in this world is strictly controlled. If there are too many kids, they'll rebel and such. The Creator likes to be in control, so our numbers are controlled to stop us from doing anything…unexpected."
"Is there a way out of here?" Nick asked.
"Not that I know of," Charlie replied.
"Is there any way to get home?!" Nick demanded.
"…Maybe," Charlie shrugged.
"Maybe? What do yo—"
"Look at that window," the older boy said, indicating a window. "See that light?"
Nick stood up, carrying Annie in his arms as he walked to the window. He squinted, just barely making out a tiny pillar of bluish-white light in the distance. Charlie soon joined him.
"What is it?" Nick asked, looking at the older boy.
"A staircase to the next level," Charlie replied.
"Next…level? Like in a video game?" Nick questioned.
"Kind of," Charlie shrugged. "Each level is basically a huge field revolving around a certain environment. Each environment has its own wild Pokemon and Sweepers. Each level also has a staircase leading to the next level. I've only ever been up to Level 5. Level 1, this place, is a desert. Everyone that The Creator brings here wakes up on this level. Level 2 is a jungle. It's a goddamn maze, I swear. Level 3 is a swamp. I fucking hate that place. Level 4 is a frozen tundra. I froze my ass off getting through there. Level 5 is a volcano. The heat was too much, so I came back here to Level 1."
"How many levels are there?" Nick asked.
Charlie shrugged. "Who knows?"
"Did you ever find an exit?" Nick questioned. "Is there a way home or not?"
"Like I said before, maybe," Charlie replied. "I don't know how many levels there are here. Maybe there's an exit at the top level…if there is a top level. Maybe it keeps going on and on until you die of exhaustion searching for an exit that just plain out doesn't exist."
"That's…depressing," Nick stated.
Annie sniffled. "I want to go home!" she whined. "I want to see mom and dad again!"
"Whining and crying will get you nowhere here, kid," Charlie informed, his eyes never leaving the pillar of light in the distance.
"Just how long have you been here, Charlie?" Nick asked, curious.
"Too long," the brunette replied. "Way too long…"
Charlie didn't answer anymore of Nick's questions. He pulled open a trap door on the floor and headed into it. He returned a few minutes later with three cans of Spaghetti Os and a can opener. Then he led Nick and Annie into a back room, where a small pit of ash and burnt wood was. Tossing a ball of tinder into the embers, Charlie turned it into a small but strong fire.
He ripped off the paper labels, tossing them into the fire. Then he began to open the cans with the can opener, stopping two-thirds of the way around. He placed them on a slab of smooth rock near the fire, waiting for them to cook.
"How do you know how to do that?" Nick asked. "I've seen people do that on TV and stuff. It actually works?"
"So far, it has," Charlie replied.
"How did you learn how to do this?" Nick questioned.
"An old friend showed me when I first came here," Charlie said. He lowered his head, frowning. "Without her, none of us would've survived out here."
"You weren't alone when you came here?" Nick asked.
"No," the brunette muttered.
Charlie didn't say anymore on the subject, stirring the Spaghetti Os with a fork to keep them from burning along the bottoms of the cans. Nick fell silent, watching the flames dance. Annie, still in his lap, leaned back against his chest and closed her eyes.
A few more minutes passed before Charlie announced that the Spaghetti Os were done. He pulled out three forks and three pairs of red-orange gloves, handing two forks and two pairs of gloves to Nick. Annie snapped back awake, initially afraid before realizing she was safe. Nick and Annie pulled on the gloves and picked up their cans. They didn't feel any pain from the heated cans.
"What are these?" Nick asked. "Weirdest kitchen gloves I've ever seen…"
"Charmeleon skin gloves," Charlie said, taking a bite of his Spaghetti Os. "Took me forever to find one on Level 5. It was worth it to not burn my hands while cooking anymore, though."
Nick stared at the gloves in sudden disgust before taking a bite of his Spaghetti Os. He gasped, burning his tongue a little. After blowing on it, he tried it again and smiled.
"It tastes good!" he complimented.
"Thanks," Charlie shrugged, not really paying attention.
"Mmmm! Uh-oh~! Spaghetti O~s!" Annie sang.
Nick struggled not to laugh. When he noticed the lack of reaction in Charlie, he was baffled. Charlie was messing with the tail of the Skarmory he had killed, turning it this way and that. Nick didn't get it. What was so interesting about a piece of weirdly-shaped metal?
"You guys are new, aren't you?" Charlie suddenly asked.
"New?" Nick repeated, confused.
"You don't know the Pokemon on this level. You don't know where you are. You don't know how to protect yourself here." Charlie held up a finger for each thing he said. "The list goes on and on."
"What does all of that mean? What does it matter?" Nick demanded.
"If I hadn't shown up when I had, you'd both be dead right now," Charlie replied coldly. "Most new ones die immediately unless they've had to go through situations similar to what Mactabilis has us go through. You're two of a lucky few that are found by more experienced kids, like me, and are saved rather than killed."
"You mean some kids…kill other kids?" Nick squeaked.
"It's the best way of ensuring the Sweepers don't do the job for us," Charlie answered, slurping up a few mouthfuls of Spaghetti Os.
"You mean there are murderers here?!" Nick cried.
"It's the most common path to take here," Charlie shrugged. "They're not so much murderers as they are protectors. It's cruel but necessary."
"How is it necessary?!" Nick shouted.
"Would you rather the Sweepers constantly had to kill us older kids, leaving you new kids with nobody to protect them?!" Charlie shot back. "If some of us didn't keep the numbers of kids in check, that's what would happen. I might've not been here to save you then. You'd both be dead now."
"But we're not dead," Annie piped up. "You aren't dead either. We're all still alive."
"That's exactly why we're still alive," Charlie sighed, slurping up the last of his Spaghetti Os. "You'll understand once you're here for a while. You're not home anymore, kids. Mactabilis has its own rules. You best learn them…and fast."
"You're not going to leave us, are you?" Annie asked, suddenly scared. "You'll stay, right?"
"Yeah," Nick nodded. "Are you going to stay…or will you abandon us anyway?"
Charlie couldn't help but let out a sharp laugh. "Paranoid already, huh?" he chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll stay. I know how to stick around when I've made a choice. I saved you and I'll stick with you until I die…or you die, whichever comes first."
"Thanks," Nick replied dryly, frowning.
"Whatever," Charlie said, leaning back against a wall. "Finish your food and get some sleep. We'll set out in the morning."
"Set out? To where?" Nick asked, suddenly wary.
"You want to find an exit, right?" Charlie asked. "The only way to do that is to head through the other levels. We're headed for the staircase."
Nick smiled, hope shining in his eyes. We might be able to go home after all, he realized.
Charlie cut into his happy thoughts. "Don't get your hopes up," he warned. "There might not even be an exit. Even if there is, it won't be easy to find. You might want to get used to living here permanently, just in case."
Nick frowned but nodded, understanding. Annie nodded as well, lost but realizing this was an important discussion between her big brother and Charlie. Charlie smirked before tossing his empty Spaghetti Os can at a metal trash bin. It bounced off the rim and fell in.
"Score," Charlie said with a smirk.
Nick and Annie laughed.