Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
(Chapter Four: Night in the Haunted Hotel)
Everyone in the first RV was on the edge of his or her seat. The near darkness inside was only broken by the frequent flashes of lightning, and the silence punctuated by rumbles of thunder. Rain beat down upon the roof and against the glass, making it difficult to see where they were. The passengers currently consisted of Ash, Sabrina, their two pokemon, the three adults, and Gary.
Pikachu's cheeks sparked in response to another electrical outburst, further frizzing the hair of the person's head he sat on. He hadn't thought of who it was when he grabbed on; but now Gary's hair seemed to be the best place to hold on.
"Ash..." The researcher-in-training began, using the brief moment of light to locate Ash. The black-haired trainer was oblivious to Gary's glare, though.
"What?" Ash asked. He grabbed the seat quickly as the vehicle swerved slightly on the slippery asphalt. Gary inhaled. "Get your stupid electric rat off of my head before I end up with an Afro." Sabrina shared her mental image of Gary and his new hairdo with her Kadabra, and both snickered during a loud crack of thunder. Gary felt her body shake with her amusement, since he sat next to her, and bristled. "Oh, shut up! It isn't that funny!"
"Don't call Pikachu a rat!" Ash yelled, knocking into Kadabra as the RV hydroplaned to a stop. The five in the back screamed in terror at the sudden jolt, which threw them from their seats and on top of Mr. Mime. They had ended up in awkward positions on the floor, and more than a few pokemon whimpered at having human bodies crushing them.
"What the heck happened?" Sabrina yelled from her position under both Gary and Ash, having been pinned under them both during the stop. Her mother looked back in their direction, not being able to see them in the dark of the storm. "We almost hit a downed tree. But the good news is that we stopped just in time."
The two guys were shoved off by a burst of telekinetic powers from the female, who then got off of the mime pokemon. During the small scuffle, Ash's foot stepped on his yellow mouse pokemon's tail. In response, Pikachu gave the whole group in back a large jolt, one that was possibly aided by the electricity of the current storm.
Now all the humans were the proud owners of Afros or frizzy hair. As well as spastic twitching every few seconds.
"There should be a hotel a little ways back;" Sabrina's dad mused. "We can stay there and then look for an alternative route tomorrow morning when the storm dies off."
Indeed, for the three recreational vehicles turned into the empty parking lot of the Diane Headrest hotel, an overlooked and spooky two-story hotel. Since no one seemed to want to stay there, nor did it seem that anyone had ever stayed, the general appearance of the place was sub par. Even the sign declaring the name added to the bleak atmosphere. Several of the letters in the neon sign had gone out, leaving the name to read...
"DIE HERE?" May read upon stepping out into the rain. Her brother, not wanting to get wet, pulled at her arm. "Come on May, we need to get out of the rain!"
The group of weary and sopping wet travelers stood in the lobby of the DIE HERE hotel. The room was cold and smelled musty and moldy, and the only light was from a single light bulb hanging above the check in desk. Cobwebs hung in the corners and Rattata chewed on the legs of the chairs. The chill was made worse by the fact that everyone was wet.
Professor Oak rang the small bell on the desk. As he waited for the manager or someone to sign them in, he turned back to the groups. "So, how many rooms should we rent? One for each family, or something else?"
"It seems kind of pointless to do it by families;" Gary spoke up, as he indicated Ash. "He only has his mom. Maybe we could have two rooms and have the adults in one room and the trainers in another."
"We are not putting girls with boys." Sabrina's dad added. It took a long time, and Ash, May and Max had to point out that they had stayed in the same rooms at pokemon centers, but the gym leaders parents finally agreed to divide up as Gary suggested. At that moment, the manager arrived.
He was a thin old man, bald with bluish tinged skin and a big nose. His hands, unnaturally bony like the rest of his body, shook as he pulled out a quill pen and a bottle of ink. "Welcome to the hotel. I am Mr. Tyme, the manager. How many rooms will you be needing this evening?"
"Just two." Oak said. "One for the adults and one for the young adults." Mr. Tyme turned and looked over at the young trainers. "Young ones..." He murmured as he wrote down the information in a large book. "Sign on the dotted line, please." He said to Oak. While the professor signed in, the old man leered at the young trainers in an odd way; almost fascinated by their appearance. "We haven't had young people in a long time."
Sabrina took the time to position herself behind Gary, so that if the old man did anything drastic, Gary would get it first.
The manager looked at the professor's signature. "Our janitor will lead you to your rooms." The psychic gym leader felt a hand on her shoulder, spinning around to find herself staring up into the cold eyes of a bald man.
The janitor had a shaved head, with a tattoo of a skull on the back of his head. He wore a blue jumpsuit with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. More tattoos decorated his arms, and he looked as if he had just escaped from a prison. Several of the younger people shivered as their imagination thought of horrific things he could do to them. The janitor merely grabbed the keys and began to lead them to the rooms.
(Later)
"We interrupt this 'Horror Movie Marathon' for a special news bulletin." Heads turned as the anchorman's voice cut through the thunder.
The young trainers were relaxing the best they could in a hotel with a thick coating of dust on everything. Pikachu and Kadabra had decided to watch the movies with their trainers and Max, while May settled on playing Solitaire. Gary was sitting in the corner typing on his handheld laptop, only giving an occasional glance to the TV. Max would cover his eyes every time something horrible took place onscreen. All had warm, comfortable clothing on as their wet clothes hung on whatever was available.
That was before the bulletin broke through the air.
"An escaped convict is still at large. Police have stated that he could be armed and dangerous. He is also known as the "Kanto Killer" by many, for the string of murders he committed within five years. If you see him, call--"
A large boom of thunder cracked and the power was knocked out, but not before the image of what seemed to be the janitor of their hotel. The occupants of the room exchanged worried glances amongst themselves. Max was the first to say anything. He dove under the covers, screaming. "The escaped convict is gonna get us!"
May's voice shook as she added to her brother's statement. "He does look like our janitor..." Ash nodded vigorously, shaking. "He probably cut the power so we don't know who to call for help. He's planning to murder us as we sleep so we don't rat him out."
Gary, seemingly unfazed by the turn of events, was still typing on his laptop. "It's probably all just a coincidence. The storm knocked the power out, and our janitor just happens to look similar to the cold-blooded killer on TV. I don't think we'll end up with our heads hanging over his fireplace."
Everyone was quiet, except for the occasional whimper from Max. "So, now what do we do?" Ash finally inquired. Sabrina pointed a flashlight at her face and turned it on. The eerie lighting made her look as sinister as she once was. "We tell ghost stories..." She whispered. Gary chose this moment to shut off his laptop. "You just peaked my interests."
May looked at her brother, catching sight of something in the mirror on the wall. She turned and went white. "Guys...I don't think we need to tell stories about ghosts..." Ash sighed exasperatedly. "Why not?"
Pointing at the corner May whispered, "Because there's a ghost in that corner!"
Everyone turned to find that, although there was no ghost, a candelabrum was floating in midair above the bedside table. "Sabrina, if this is your idea of a joke, knock it off right now." The floating piece of metal darted forward, almost hitting the psychic on the head. "Oh sure, why would I try and hit myself on the head with something that heavy?" Again and again, the floating object swooped at the occupants of the room, narrowly missing the heads of the young trainers. Books, pillows, and whatever else was in the room soon joined the candelabrum.
The trainers broke down the door and ran into the hallway, only stopping when they heard the youngest member cry out. "May! Help me!"
The blanket Max had been hiding on had lifted off the bed and had scooped up the boy, leading to an odd sense of 'Aladdin' gone wrong. The blanket flew him around as the other objects spun around him. "Get me out of here!"
"Kadabra, use Psychic to stop everything!" Sabrina ordered. Kadabra pointed at the chaos in the room with glowing red eyes. A small shockwave of psychic energy barreled towards the objects in the swirling mess. To everyone's shock and horror, the attack only passed through, scraping off a good portion of ceiling.
"What the...?" Ash gasped. "But...ghosts and...It was suppose to be able to work!" The blanket holding Max threw the young boy at Kadabra, knocking the psychic pokemon out. Sabrina was visibly shaken.
"Unless..." Gary muttered, reaching into Ash back pocket and pulling out his Pokedex.
"It's part Dark." Sabrina finished. The younger Oak pointed the Dex at the still-moving objects, and the machine jolted to life. "Sableye; A Dark and Ghost pokemon. It prefers to live in caves where it eats gemstones, but sometimes pulls pranks on unwary travelers."
As the psychic coyote regained consciousness, a loud cackling filled the air. A grinning form materialized out of thin air, the gemstones in its body glittering. The Sableye cackled again and pointed at the group, opening its mouth wide and making a loud roaring sound. The group screamed and ran down the hallway, chased close behind by the ghost pokemon.
(Team Rocket)
"This place is creepy, Jessie! Why do we have to stay here?" James whined from his position behind Jessie. The red-haired Rocket scoffed at him. "Don't be such a wuss! The storm is too bad to continue on, and even if it wasn't, we still need sleep."
The cat pokemon led the way, being the only member who had decent night vision to get through the dark. "Hotels always have lots of people, and that means tons to steal. Think about it: Pokemon, jewelry, cash, and most of all, all the soaps, towels, shampoos, and other freebies hotel rooms have."
Jessie smiled. "And if you be a good boy, I'll give you all the mints we find on the pillows in the rooms." James perked up. "So what are we waiting for, let's get to stealing!" The three team members continued onward in silence for a bit. "What do you think happened to the Twerps, anyway?"
"Probably miles away by now." Meowth answered.
A loud scream ripped throughout the hallway, and Team Rocket stopped in their tracks. They pressed themselves against the wall, just in time to see the twerps stampede by like they were running from death. They were all in warm pajamas, and were almost falling over one another to distance themselves from whatever or whoever was chasing them. "Wonder what got into them..." Jessie mused, as James looked back in the direction they had run from. He froze in fear and whimpered.
"Jessie, I think I know why..." The three Rockets nearly jumped out of their skin as a Sableye ran after the twerps. They barely breathed as it stopped at the end of the hallway and looked for the twerps; then, as it could no longer find them, decided to turn its head all the way around and grin at Team Rocket.
"Looks like Team Rocket's running off again!"
(Twerps)
The young trainers finally worked up enough courage to return to their room, with the purpose of grabbing their things and moving out into the RVs. That way, they would escape the clutches of the Sableye and the escaped criminal.
Meanwhile, the adults were lying awake in bed, spooked by the odd whistling and moaning, as well as the occasional scream that punctuated the darkened room. Several times Professor Oak felt a cold breeze blowing in his ear, and Mrs. Ketchum's curlers flew off her head into the air. May's parents kept feeling cold hands on their necks and arms. And no matter what they did, Sabrina's father couldn't stop the bed sheets from suddenly getting pulled right off the bed.
(Morning)
The morning sunlight peaked through the still-wet windows of the RV, waking up the sleeping occupants. May rolled over, stretched, and then yawned in her brother's face. "That was the greatest sleep I ever had!" Her brother, putting on his glasses, agreed. "I know. The rain was quite soothing."
In the Pika-RV, Gary remained under his covers, still sleeping peacefully.
Sabrina and Ash woke up to the sound of the RV roaring to life. They poked their heads out of the blankets and looked out from under their tangled hair. Their pokemon slept on top of the blankets, snoring gently as they shared body heat. "What's going on?" Ash's foggy mind managed to get out.
"We're leaving this place immediately!" Professor Oak told his grandson in the next RV. "Its haunted!" Gary merely closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. "Sure, Grandpa. Whatever you say."
Back at the hotel, watching the three RVs drive into the distance, was Mr. Tyme and the janitor. Ghost pokemon, ranging from Sableyes, Gastlys, Gengars, Shuppets, Duskulls and Haunters, floated around them laughing. The old man turned to the janitor.
"Son, I think your idea for a Haunted-themed Hotel is the best idea ever."
(To Be Continued...)
And here it is, the next chapter of this fic. Now the question remains: can I finish this thing before summer is over, or will it have to conclude next summer?
