Chapter One: Knock Knock
For a moment, I thought I was imagining the sound. I was used to strange noises, my janitor's closet was located in the basement of an old hospital- it was a cold, empty room with one spastic light dangling from a chain planted into the ceiling. A million things could have made that sound. Pipes, a person depositing something into storage, anything. So I ignored it.
But it quickly became impossible to ignore. It was annoying as hell and I was on my break, had barely even bitten into my dinner- a cheese sandwich and a bag of partly stale chips. Whatever mess someone had made, Carlos (a forty something year old guy who also worked at this hospital) could handle it!
"Hey! I'm clocked out- Clean the shit yourself or grab Carlos!" I yelled at the door.
The banging became rapid now, and I realized it sounded like something sprinting. I heard the sound of storage cases, boxes, and cleaning carts squeaky wheels as they were pushed aside- and the additional reverberating crash as their immense weight slammed into the concrete basement floor. Was the person or Pokemon just knocking aside everything in its path!? The heavy thudding increased in pace and volume until it stopped. Right outside my closet.
Then it was dead silent.
My Trubbish, Grubby , opened her eyes- awoken by the loud commotion. She'd been deep asleep in a pile of dirty washing rags (Trubbish prefers to sleep in extra filthy spots). Sleepily, the tiny trash Pokemon stared at the door. Then she glanced at me and waddled closer. Hopped up on my chair where I was reading a magazine, got all cozy in my lap, and fell asleep again there.
Meanwhile, my breath was frozen in my chest as I noticed two shadows flickering in under my door. Feet. My heart was hammering as I held my partner Pokemon close. I was terrified for some reason.
Grubby abruptly jumped in my lap as the banging became full body slamming against the closet door. I clapped my hand right over Grubby's mouth and my own breath became frozen in my chest. A deep, panging fear began to thread through me as the strangest, deepest groan filled the air...
"Grauhhh...grrr," it was a bone-chilling growl of a moan that sent shivers down my spinal cord. Immediately my skin was coated in goose pimples and Grubby panicked in my lap.
Whatever was outside the door was pissed and it wanted inside. For ten minutes straight the person- though probably a Pokemon- rampaged. Thankfully, the door was bolt-locked shut and made of very sturdy wood. Arceus bless old reliable architecture.
And then I heard it. A loud, shrill scream of despair and fear. A woman? The thing outside the door immediately raced away. Fast as hell, the great thumping footsteps faded quickly. My own heart quieted down only minutes later.
I hugged Grubby. "What the hell was that?" I whispered to her, even though I knew she had no answers for me. And for a while...I just sat there with the magazine in my hands. I stared at the place where the shadow of those two feet had been...I only left when I felt a dull, throbbing pull in my bladder. I needed to piss...
Some people would probably feel guilty about not helping the screaming woman. Not me. There were hundreds of well off doctors in this place with Pokemon far stronger than Grubby. There was nothing I could do to help that lady. At least that was what I told myself as I dug around in my closet.
I knew there was some sports equipment around somewhere. I lived in here after all, my sad little cot in the corner was testament to that fact- sweat stained and with greasy sheets. Not my own filth of course, Grubby left smelly messes in her wake. Not her fault, she was a Trubbish, but that made it impossible to bring chicks home with me nonetheless. Not that I would even if Grubby didn't live up to her namesake.
I glanced into the fragment of a full body- mirror that dangled from the closet wall. I saw myself reflected there. Wasn't a handsome sight. Ginger hair, pale and almost sickly skin- and the sunken eyes of a former drug addict degenerate- as well my mint-green janitor uniform below them. I was coated in gang tattoos underneath. I'd been a member of Team Rocket years ago, and after that- Team Aqua. After that, I settled down and tried to make something of myself...and I ended up here. Now, I was a janitor with no other job options because of my criminal record. A former druggie, former scumbag criminal, and I lived in the basement of an old hospital- Yeah, I'd never get a girl- so fuck it right?
My distracted thoughts dissipated. I grinned and pulled open the specific box of mine I'd been looking for. I found a sturdy wooden bat inside and promptly pulled it free from whatever junk was inside. I'd been on a sports team seemingly a lifetime ago. Was a batter, and was pretty good at it too- my dad always thought I'd make it big if I took it seriously. Was a power hitter, had quite the sprint too- won my team a ton of games. Honestly, I doubted I'd be very adept at it now...
I tapped the familiar gold-tipped brown bat against my hand, felt the sturdy and hopefully deadly wood underneath my fingertips. Cool, if whatever was outside my door ran at me I'd hopefully be able to take its head off. Grubby certainly couldn't handle it, don't think she's ever battled in her life.
I sighed, hoping I was blowing this whole situation out of proportion and that I'd imagined the whole ordeal as I unbolted the door and trudged out of my room. I knew that was impossible or course, I hadn't swallowed any Gloom drool- or injected any Muk sludge- or done any of the other hundreds of drugs available to me. Not for months now. And while I had many issues I wasn't prone to exaggeration or schizophrenic episodes and hallucinations. What I'd witnessed had been real, and was probably dangerous.
No, I'd felt its anger- it was definitely dangerous. With a firm grip on the bat I headed for the bathroom upstairs- and Grubby hopped along after me reluctantly.
I should've just pissed in the closet.
That's what I thought to myself as I took the first few hesitant steps up the stairway. The air was freezing cold, which made my bladder beg for release even more. I grit my teeth to force the urge back and kept climbing. I glanced back to check on Grubby every few steps. I rounded the next flight and froze.
With a loud exhale and a gasp I fell backwards, panicked. I thought I was gonna die then and there, but Grubby rushed down the steps...and I fell against her squishy, plush form with an "oof" instead of slamming my head into the cement. Still hurt. My body ached and my heart was racing a mile a minute as I carefully crawled back up. I had to see it again. Couldn't be real.
Just couldn't be. But it was.
It was a Raticate- and its huge front teeth were burrowed into a fleshy, tattered chest- to which the remains of a janitor's uniform clung. Carlos! The dark-skinned man was being...eaten by his own Raticate?! What the fuck was going on?
My stomach threatened to unravel itself. The sounds...mushy and gushy...and the dark solitary form of the Raticate lit up by the stairway's electronic lights. It would stay in my mind forever.
It somehow hadn't noticed me yet, apparently enjoying its meal- but my luck ran out as the huge rat Pokemon turned beady eyes onto me. The first thing I noticed were its massive bulging eyes...bloodshot. The second thing, the big wet gash on the top of its head- and the giant teeth marks that surrounded the wound. Had something bitten the Raticate?
That's all I could notice before Raticate hissed raspily.
"Woah there Bucky," I whispered, putting my hands out cautiously and backing up. Grubby reached the top of the staircase and gasped at the sight before her.
"T-Trub!" She squeaked.
Raticate, once known as Bucky, grinned menacingly as it stared at me. Apparently completely disinterested in my partner. Specifically, the rat was staring at my hands. For a moment I thought it was staying away...then I noticed it's filthy, bulbous eyes sliding up and down my hands and body...
And a huge, sticky string of saliva dripped out of the rat's mouth.
It was just eyeing me up like a prime rib! Wasn't afraid of me at all, even with my bat in hand!
"I'm not dinner, fucker!" I yelled as Bucky leapt at me with a groaning shriek, its mouth snapping open. All I saw was that huge fang racing towards me. If I went for a full swing I'd definitely get bitten first, so I raised the bat up like a shield- slammed it forward with one quick motion.
A gross crunch filled the air as Bucky's front fang shattered, the white and bloody bits crumbling through the air. I thought I'd have to go for an actual swing, but much to my shock, Grubby moved first.
"TRUB TRUB!" She yelled as she raced forward and projected her body right into Raticate with a devastating Take down. My partner and the rat went clear over the railing of the stairs and shocking me further- Grubby managed to hit the rat with so much force that the normal-type Pokemons head cracked against the wall.
Like a smashed watermelon the Raticate's skull split clear open, and red mush splattered against the cement wall.
Grubby tumbled into the wall herself, but instead of hitting it with much force, her sticky bag-like body just...stuck there. I watched slack-jawed as the Raticate tumbled down two full flights of stairs...and was still at the bottom.
"Holy shit," I gasped as I stared at Grubby, still sticking to the wall. Her expression was horrified. "Okay give me a sec, don't look so terrified! I'm gonna run down and Ill catch you at the bott-"
"TRUB TRUB!" Grubby insisted and I realized she wasnt scared of falling or how to get down. She was scared for me, and her gaze was locked behind me.
I spun.
Carlos was standing up. That was funny, because I'm pretty sure you'd be dead if your heart and guts were spilling out of your chest like that...not to mention an entire arm was chewed off.
"Woah listen bud- back off!" I shoved the head of my bat into his chest, tried to push him away. Of course, he wasn't gonna listen. I knew that. I should just swing, but staring into that familiar face...I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Carlos was one of my only friendly coworkers. Basically my only friend. Everyone else treated us like the trash we cleaned up- like they were better than us because our job sucked more than theirs. We'd spent hours in each other's respective rooms downstairs, drinking, doing drugs...just chatting.
Carlos has a little daughter. Most of his checks went towards her child support.
But Carlos didn't care about that. I knew that as his fingers reached out with shocking quickness, and latched right into my hair. He was a skinny, weak guy- I easily threw him off with a pathetic whimper.
"Carlos, please stop!'
The other janitor rushed towards me again.
And this time I didn't hesitate. The raticate was fast. Compared to Bucky, my former coworker had nothing. With a sickening schlick my bat slammed right into the guy's skull. And much to my despair...it didn't do much.
I was gonna have to hit him again. And harder this time.
With a terrified wail I lifted the bat and slammed it into Carlos's head. Again and again. Again and again. Everything went red. Red, slippery moisture and bits of skull and brain splattered everywhere- all over the staircase and the walls.
"Fuck you Carlos! Fuck you! What were you even doing here!...why?"
"Trub?"
My red vision cleared as something nudged at my leg. I swung.
Grubby squealed and leapt out of the way, terrified. My bat landed right where she'd been, the red-stained wood slamming into the ground instead with a resounding thwack.
My eyes widened. I'd almost bashed my baby in!
I threw the bat aside and crouched, gathering my terrified partner in my arms. The sticky trash Pokemon murmured softly as I held her close. I took comfort in the sound of her beating heart. The last three things I'd met had tried attacking me and were very angry. Right now, it felt like Grubby was my only friend in this damn world...!
Somehow, my frayed panicked body began to relax.
And I quickly realized...
I'd pissed myself.
I dragged my dead friend down the stairs. Lifted a tossed over trash can and deposited his bloody mangled body inside. He was much harder to carry, but I put Bucky in there with him. And my urine- stained pants and underwear. Slapping the cover on the trash, I rolled the can into the corner.
Half-naked and freezing I grabbed a spare pair of pants from my room, then I went over to the only sink in the basement, turned it on, and with a clean rag washed the piss from my crotch. Washed the bat off too...watched the blood and bits trickle down the drain. I pulled my fresh pants on and tried to relax.
There were only four rooms down here in the basement of the Hoenn region's old and prestigious White Cross hospital. One was Carlos's, one was mine, one was the storage, and one was empty- vacant and waiting for whatever other sad sorry soul would land a janitorial job here.
I went into Carlos's room. He had a TV in there he let me use sometimes, the old kind with the antenna. We were both too poor for Poketchs, Pokedexes, or any other fancy tool like that...
I sat down on Carlos's bed and turned the tv on.
I'd never been able to figure out how to get this shoddy thing to work and minutes later I'd come no closer to solving that puzzle. With a frustrated scowl I walked away, went back into my room.
I planned to be quiet but I bolted the door shut anyways, grabbed my dinner and Grubby, and sat as far in the corner of my bed as I could. Figuring she was hungry, I fed Grubby bits and pieces.
We lay there together for a while, both still wide-eyed and disbelieving.
I glanced at my partner. "That take down of yours was something...I didn't know you had it in you."
"Trubby trub!" Grubby smiled happily, nuzzling her filthy body against me. I pat her on the head.
"You...saved my life I think," I whispered. I almost couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe any of this. The creature that slammed against the door, Bucky eating Carlos in the stairway...and then Carlos attacking me. "This isn't a nightmare is it, Grubby? What just happened...that was real?"
Slowly, Grubby nodded. Like she didn't want to believe it either. I shook my head in disbelief.
I sat there for a long time, with my head clutched in my hands, and Grubby in my lap.
I don't even remember falling asleep.
I woke up to something pulling on my shirt.
My eyes flickered open. Grubby was tugging on my arm and murmuring softly. When I heard her belly growl loudly I realised why.
She was hungry.
Honestly, I didn't want to leave this room. I wanted to stay here with the door bolted shut forever. I knew there was no food in here except what I'd eaten last night, but I desperately tore apart the place anyways. Grubby watched me, tummy rumbling, for minutes on end. I tore apart Carlos's room for good measure too...even checked the trash.
Nothing.
I stared at the doorway to the stairwell. And the panic set in.
"I-I can't..."
Images of Bucky eating Carlos, and Carlos's terrifying tattered body rushing towards me fluttered through my mind. Something was going on. A dead person attacked me, and a ravenous Pokemon attacked me, and something had tried to get into my closet!
Not to mention that scream...
Something was going on. Upstairs was dangerous. It's where the running thing went, it's where the scream was. And who knows what else happened while I was asleep, or that I hadn't heard because I wasn't paying attention while eating my dinner!
I glanced at Grubby. Her big innocent eyes were staring up at me. I swallowed hard and forced myself to relax a little. Forced some confidence into my tone as I said, "Alright let's get that tummy filled."
