When the ball struck Mr. Mime's body with a dull thud, it opened and seemingly sucked Mr. Mime inside of it with a yellow flash before closing again. When it fell to the ground, the ball began to rock vigorously, and the button lit up with a red glow. My heart was pounding so hard, and I was breathing in gulps of air so quickly I thought I would faint. When the ball stopped shaking, I fell to my knees in front of it. I slowly reached for the ball, half expecting I would die upon touching it, but nothing happened. In my hands, it felt no different than when I thought it was a toy.
I heard someone behind me fall and thought it was one of the teens. Hector crawled over to me and hugged me. He sobbed into my back while I continued to stare at the Poké Ball. Perhaps it had been a dream. In any other circumstance, if someone told me that one day Pokémon would become real and that I could catch one, I'd be elated. As I sat there on my knees, though, Hector's crying gently shaking my body, I looked at what I was holding and knew there could be nothing I wanted more than to have never gone to that island. That a franchise geared toward children inspired such horror was beyond my grasp to comprehend.
To recover from the horror of what we'd just experienced, Hector and I went in search of food and water. We were both drained from the emotional and psychological attack of the monster now under my command, in theory. When the barrier disappeared, the others quickly dispersed, although I had a feeling they wouldn't get very far. I was overwhelmingly scared of getting left behind by the large group, but a part of me felt safer that it was just Hector and me at the moment. And Mr. Mime in its Poké Ball.
Trying to make our way toward the main entrance, we went to the next room over. Much smaller than the dining hall, it held the same aesthetic with similar colors accenting different parts of the room. More paintings hung on the walls—that room had a large piece depicting the Eevee evolutions playing together in a forest. We found a glass water dispenser with a spigot sitting on a small table in a corner of the room next to a tray of assorted desserts. We devoured everything and chugged down the water, one glass at a time. Then we collapsed on the ground and sat there to let everything settle in our stomachs. We couldn't stop staring at each, like if one of us looked away for even a second, the other would disappear. No words sprang from either of our lips. We were terrified.
Sitting in silence, I thought I heard shouting from somewhere else in the manor. Once Hector and I felt ready, we got up and proceeded to locate the source of the noise, in case someone was in trouble. Or more trouble was heading our way. Trying to remember how we'd gotten to the dining hall, we eventually found our way back to the entrance hall where the other surviving guests had collected. They were pounding on the large doors we'd entered through from outside, but, unsurprisingly, they were locked shut. The two other doors in the room, leading north and east, were also shut. A large round table sat in the middle of the room, and on top of it was an ornate display of crystals and rocks. Nothing else seemed notable about the room, except that it was round.
"Let us out!" the crowd screamed as people pounded furiously at the doors. From the looks of the group, there appeared to be around 60 or 70 of us left. I wondered if more had split off and were in other parts of the mansion. From the direction of the dining hall, there were a few other open doors I'd seen, but I was glad we joined with the large group. The men of the crowd were the ones punching at the doors while everyone else looked on at them from other places in the room. When people began to notice that Hector and I had walked in, the woman with the two kids pointed at me.
"You're the one…with the monster. You still have it, don't you?" she muttered shakily. Her children had their faces buried in her bosom and were crying quietly. Hector immediately went to calm the woman down so she wouldn't cause more panic. I stood and watched helplessly as he tried to reason with someone who clearly could not comprehend what was happening. Despite knowing I hadn't done anything to harm the woman, I felt guilty anyway. After a few minutes, she and her kids fled to the other side of the room, eyeing us wearily. Hector returned. He had his phone out and asked me to check mine, too.
"I didn't have any signal the last time I checked," I murmured and tried not to pay any attention to the woman, who was still staring at us like we'd just run her cat over with a truck. Instead of the usual bars where my signal strength usually displayed, there was a white X in the corner of my phone screen. Hector's phone showed two bars of signal, but when he tried dialing out anyone, the disconnect tone rang out before he silenced it. We looked at each other, not sure what to make of it.
"Fuck…," he muttered quietly and slid his phone back into his pocket. "Maybe we should see if we can get through the other doors then. For now, I'd rather not go back to that other room where…it came from," Hector said quietly. We approached the northern door, and I recognized the two men who had been hugging in the dining room. They were standing nearby. I made eye contact with them but didn't say anything as I tried to push the door open. It rattled quietly when I pressed against it, and I thought it would be possible to break through. I was afraid of what could be waiting on the other side, though, and withdrew.
"Thank you for saving us back there," the shorter of the two men eventually said to me. "I don't know how you did it or even understand how it's possible…but thank you." Tears began to well in his eyes, and all I could do was nod.
"We must be trapped in here," the other then said. "We've tried our phones, but no one can complete any calls, even though we have signal. The only thing that works is the damn League app," he said, gesturing to some people who were distracting themselves with their Pokémon holograms. "How can they do this to…" he trailed off and seemed close to losing his composure, but his partner shook his head.
"We'll find a way out somehow… Don't get too worked up right now; we'll need our energy." I remembered I had some snacks in my bag and thought to offer the couple some food, especially since Hector and I had just stuffed our faces full. Setting my bag on the ground, I knelt down to loosen it, but then something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. Underneath the table in the center of the room, there appeared to be a round object sitting there, and when I realized what it was, my heart almost froze. To maintain my composure, I dug out two boxed pastries I'd gotten at one of the dessert shops and offered them up. They were only slightly squished in their cardboard container.
The two men smiled gratefully and accepted the food. When I rose to my feet, I whispered to Hector to keep them occupied so I could check something out. He didn't say anything but began asking the couple about what they had done earlier in the day. Small talk wasn't a strength of his, but given the circumstances, I didn't expect anyone to be able to carry on with idle conversation. I walked casually to the table, fiddling with my phone. When I got closer, I pretended to trip and dropped my phone, which slid under the table beautifully. I got down on my knees to retrieve my phone and the Poké Ball laying hidden in the shadows. Discreetly, I pressed the button to shrink the ball, slipped it into my bag, and returned to Hector's side. The three of them had been laughing about something, which I found odd given the bloodbath that we'd witnessed not fifteen minutes before. People had often flirted with Hector in front of me when we dated, which he never seemed to mind. Around strangers, he was usually shy and could barely carry on a conversation. So despite his good looks, people would eventually interpret that as Hector's disinterest and leave him alone. Still, he enjoyed the attention and usually blushed at the harmless flirting. A small part of me wondered if that was what was going on with the two strangers, but surprised by my pseudo-jealousy, I ignored it. When I rejoined them, one of them had put a hand on Hector's arm, but, interestingly, Hector was not blushing.
"Oh, you're back," Hector said. "We were just introducing ourselves. I already told them your name 'cause they asked."
"I'm Robbie, and this is my boyfriend, Geo. And thank you for the pastries, as well. The sugar will keep us going for a little longer," the taller of the two men said and smiled. Robbie seemed like a typical pretty boy, so I understood why he seemed so confident—blonde hair slicked back, not one strand out of place. He had an even tan and brilliant white smile full of ruler-straight teeth, framed by killer dimples. Dressed in a plain white t-shirt, navy khakis, and black flip flops, his clothes were taut against his muscles. He was obviously handsome (which he was fully aware of), but something always turned me off about people who seemed too into how they looked, especially since he seemed to be going for the effortless-except-actually-very-intentional look. A faint scent of cologne lingered in the air around him, smelling vaguely expensive and pretentious. If I'd encountered him in ordinary life, we definitely would not have been friends.
Geo, on the other hand, was slightly shorter and less toned. He was sporting a black tank top with a big red "R" on it—a tribute to Team Rocket, no doubt—over khaki capris and brown loafers. His dark hair was beginning to recede, and his round face was warm and happy. The pair struck me as a little mismatched—Robbie seemed like the type of person who'd want an open relationship as an excuse to just fuck as many people as possible, and Geo seemed nice enough to go along with it because being with Robbie at the end of the day was a "prize" or something. If Laryn had been there, she would've agreed, and we could've been judgmental together. What a comfort that would have been in the evolving nightmare I found myself in. Geo smiled and also thanked me for the sweets.
"You're welcome, and it's nice to meet you, too, given the circ—" At that moment, a voice emanating from above filled the chamber. Everyone stopped clamoring to listen.
"My honored guests," a deep voice said, "I'm so glad you could stay for the festivities this evening. As Professor Oak mentioned earlier, my team has been toiling to bring you a sample of what is to come in the future of The League. Fortunately, there are still roles to fill in my plan, and that's why you are all here tonight. I know you must be frightened and angry about what you've seen so far, but I assure you, there is a way to survive. The way out is through the Indigo Room, and to get there safely, all you need to do is look to the rules of a game you all know so well. Scattered throughout the manor are more of our beloved Pokémon—" A number of people cried out upon hearing that, but the voice continued to speak. "…and to catch them, there are Poké Balls hidden throughout the estate. Some are easy to find, and others, you'll need to be clever to obtain. Are you as curious as I am to learn who the top Pokémon trainers among you are? I certainly am, and in fact, the first trainer to reach the Indigo Room and win the challenge there will be guaranteed to leave here. This concludes my message to you all, and I wish you the best of luck. Before we commence with the rest of the festivities, though, I will remind you of a piece of wisdom that is imparted to every young trainer before they embark on their journey, and that…is to never find yourself without a Pokémon in the tall grass…" The voice faded away, and the room was choked by silence as the group anticipated something to happen.
When someone gasped and pointed at something, we all turned toward the middle of the room to see a dark sludge dripping onto the crystal display sitting on the table. Looking up, there was a mass of black ooze hanging from the ceiling. Eventually, it descended with a sickening plop. The fall shattered the table. No one moved too suddenly, but people were slowly backing up against the walls. It seemed that some part of each of us, no matter how small, wanted to know what Pokémon it was. Like the laughing man had pointed out before he died, I used my phone to identify the slime before us as two long tendrils began to rise from the "body" of the creature.
"Muk, the sludge Pokémon. Its body is made of a powerful poison…," Dex recited as the creature's body began to define itself. A bubble surfaced in the sludge and popped, leaving behind what was to be the mouth. Inside, I could see glimpses of a black skeleton, which looked like the remains of a poor soul donned in a goopy hooded garment. Its arms raised up, covered in the sludge, and the monster unleashed an unearthly scream. A foul stench quickly spread throughout the room, and people began coughing violently. Some of the children fell to the ground, their families uselessly trying to shake them awake before they succumbed to the toxic breath, as well. Hector and I quickly covered our noses and mouths and tried to get farther away. I then noticed that the sludge was beginning to eat away at the pieces of the table and carpet beneath. Muk began using its poisonous appendages to drag itself along the ground and seemed to be going for one of the children that had passed out. Someone ran out in front of Muk and brandished their phone.
"Maybe we have to use our Pokémon to fight it!" the person said and summoned a Kadabra with their app. "Muk is a Poison-type so my Kadabra should be able to take it out quickly! Kadabra, use Psychic!" the person shouted as Kadabra became animated. Most people still had their glasses on and watched on with hope. Others used the distraction to scramble toward escape.
Kadabra's spoons bent in front of its face, glowing purple to indicate the psychic energy being channeled. A cloud of colors and light burst around Muk, and other onlookers gasped with glee as we all watched the attack unfold. Unfortunately, when the animation cleared away, Muk remained a heap of steaming poison on the ground. It then expelled a splash of its dark fluid at the trainer, passing right through Kadabra. The person screamed in pain and terror when the gunk coated their face. The screaming didn't last long as the acid ate right through their entire head, and the body collapsed to the ground with a heavy plop. Kadabra then disappeared. Cries of panic rose up again after the crowd witnessed another death, and everyone clawed at the walls and doors to escape.
With his free hand, Robbie grabbed my arm. Through his covered nose and mouth, he said, "You have to use it! Hurry!" My heart was straining not to pop in my chest like a tomato would in a microwave. I put my hand on Mr. Mime's Poké Ball and tried to decide if I could bear to see it again. Suddenly, two more figures fell from the ceiling. One appeared to be hovering just off the ground. It was purple and pink all over, like a bruise, and an odd pinkish mist was seeping out from a hole in its body that resembled a whale's spout. The other appeared to be a flying scorpion with a shiny black stinger and giant bat wings. All three monsters burst from the center, and everyone went into a frenzy.
Hector and I, along with Robbie and Geo, tackled through the northern door. We landed on the ground, but quickly got back on our feet. Immediately after that, though, a steel gate fell from the ceiling and blocked off the path back, and we could hear frantic banging from the other side. We hesitated a moment, but Robbie spurred us on.
"There's nothing we can do for them now. Let's get out of here before that Muk decides to melt through the gate and kill us, too!" We ran ahead without looking back. The sounds of screams began to fade as we ascended a staircase at the end of the hall. We passed many doors but decided that stopping to check the rooms wouldn't be a good idea at the moment. When we reached the top of the stairs, we huddled behind a couple tables on either side of the hallway before us. It didn't appear that anything or anyone had followed us. Attempting to quickly catch our breaths without making too much noise, we listened for any movement ahead of us.
When it was clear we were alone, the four of us stood up and looked down the hallway. It was another long corridor with an intricate rug snaking along the ground in the center. There were tables with picture frames and lamps sitting on them in measured increments along the walls but no doors like the level below. The lighting was warm, but the air felt so cold, I couldn't stop my body from shivering. On the right, the path diverted down another hall, presumably, while going forward led to another set of stairs going up. In the picture frames I could see, there were pictures of a young Gym Leader Sabrina and her parents, like on the TV show. I wondered if it meant we would encounter the doll that would throw a giant ball at us.
"I don't know if anyone else is thinking this, but we've clearly been trapped here on purpose so that someone can try to kill us!" Robbie shouted flung his arms in the air dramatically. "A bunch of sick fucks are probably watching us on hidden cameras to see what we do!" Geo shushed Robbie and tried to calm him down.
"Not so loud, babe…," Geo whispered as he tried to hold Robbie.
"I thought I told you not to call me that again," Robbie muttered and smacked Geo's hands away. "Anyway, I thought it was random that our phones wouldn't be working, but I'm guessing they're using a signal jammer. God, this is just like those horror movies." Hector and I exchanged glances.
"You're probably right about the jammer," Hector replied and took off his holo glasses to rub his eyes. He was about to put them back on again but then tossed them. "Won't be needing these anymore." The rest of us discarded our glasses, as well.
"Do you think the only way to get out is really to play their fucking evil game?" Geo asked. He crossed his arms and started to rub them gently, probably to calm himself down. Clearly, Robbie was going to offer him no support. Or accept any.
"To catch Pokémon and make it to the Indigo Room? How are we even supposed to find it? This place is massive," I said.
"And how are we supposed to catch anything without any Poké Balls?" Hector added. Robbie and Geo then looked at me.
"But you already have Mr. Mime. Where did you find that Poké Ball?" Robbie asked, suddenly approaching to stand inches from my face. His question almost sounded like an accusation. I took a step back and shrugged.
"I bought it from one of the gift shops earlier—I thought it was just a toy." Hector was looking at me with a slightly raised eyebrow. He knew I was lying, but, thankfully, it was enough to convince Robbie to back off.
"That's lucky," he sighed and turned around to curl into Geo's embrace.
"You don't think…the park is actually responsible for this, though…, do you?" Hector asked us. Silence.
"I guess we can't rule it out until we learn more information," I said after a few moments. Robbie sighed and let go of Geo.
"So, then what's our next move?" Robbie asked. Hector looked to me. He seemed determined to protect me, even though I was the one with the only means to protect anyone. He hadn't changed much since we split up—still reliable, still trying to save me.
"I think we need to find more Poké Balls. If what that announcement said is true, we should be able to find enough to catch any…anything else we run into. And if that fails…," Hector trailed off as I pulled Mr. Mime's Poké Ball out of my bag. Robbie nodded.
"Until we catch more Pokémon, let's please not split up. Geo and I are counting on your help," Robbie said and looked at us both. "I'm sorry to put this burden on you—I really am." I shook my head and forced a weak laugh.
"There's nothing to apologize for. This situation is… It's beyond anything I could even imagine, but we've got to do what it takes to survive, I guess." Nodding their heads in agreement, we then proceeded slowly down the hall, checking everything carefully in case there were hidden items. When we got to the other hallway, I peeked around the corner and could only see more tables and lamps.
"Should we keep looking on this floor or go up again?" Hector whispered.
"Well, this hallway looks clear. Maybe we should keep looking around—try some of the rooms?" Geo suggested. The rest of us agreed and pressed onward. Finding nothing among the tables, we continued to the end of the hall and found a set of doors. Testing the handles, Robbie eventually found one door that was unlocked. I decided to lead the group inside when everyone hesitated, my hand ready to release my own monster if necessary. The door had a classic creak as I slowly opened it, causing me to pause. From what I could see of the room, there was a large mirror hanging above a mantle and no movement. I burst into the room with the Poké Ball held out in front of me like a weapon and was relieved to find the place empty, aside from furniture.
"Looks like a bedroom," Hector mumbled as the rest filed in behind me. I signaled for Robbie to leave the door slightly open as we searched through the room.
"The guy said some Poké Balls would be difficult to get. That makes me think there are traps set up or something," Geo said aloud as he cautiously opened some dresser drawers. As we searched through the room, we discovered that every drawer and closet was empty. There was nothing under the bed or in the sheets. Even the pillows were ordinary. Over the bed hung a canopy, and there was nothing on top of that either. As we were about to leave the room, I noticed the picture hanging above the bed in the mirror. I turned to look at the painting and realized there was a message written on it backwards that simply read "buzz buzz." The others stopped to see what I was observing. I told them to look for the writing in the mirror. While it was somewhat difficult to see, there were letter shapes painted into the picture. It depicted a sleeping Vespiquen, surrounded by Combees in a grassy meadow filled with brightly colored flowers. The flowers were arranged in such a way to spell the words in the reflection. At the bottom of the painting, there appeared to be something oozing from behind it.
"What is that?" Geo muttered. Stepping up to the painting, there was a thin stream of golden liquid dripping down from behind the painting. We were afraid to touch it, but it seemed like a clue we couldn't ignore. Robbie and Hector stood on either side of the bed and attempted to lift the painting off its hooks. Geo and I helped them set it on the bed once they were able to lift it off the wall. Behind the painting, there was a small alcove carved into the wall, coated in what smelled like honey. There was a Poké Ball resting on the ground, glued to its spot by the honey, and above it appeared to be the recreation of the Vespiquen in the painting. Its flimsy, translucent wings were flapping slowly so it seemed to bounce in the air. Its bell-shaped body was striped black and yellow and appeared to be fuzzy, like a real bee's body. It didn't appear quite as big as it should've been to emulate a Vespiquen's body and looked more waspish than anything. Small bees seemed to be crawling all over the underside of the bell, and the thought of actual beehives inside its body made me want to vomit. The thorax was narrow and black and attached to the head, which was also fuzzy and round. Its face indicated it was asleep, but its jaw was open and leaking a clear fluid. The red gem on its forehead sparkled like a garnet, and its horns veered away from the body—a crown fit for a demon. Its long, black arms were folded across its body. They were segmented and hairy, and orange claws flared out at their tips.
The four of us froze in our positions, hunched over the painting on the bed—our necks craned uncomfortably to view the sleeping beast. Hector was closest to the Poké Ball, but he appeared unable to move. Sweat was sliding down the back of his neck, soaking into the collar of his t-shirt. I wanted to reach out, to tell him to breathe, but I dared not speak or move. Suddenly, Robbie began to slowly reach for the Poké Ball, which required him to climb onto the bed. I knew it was too risky because he could easily lose balance on the bed and wake the monster up, and we would be at risk because we were all so close. It then occurred to me that if I had to summon Mr. Mime, we were also at a type disadvantage, although I didn't know how faithful the creature's weaknesses would be to the games.
After a mere minute, Robbie finally got a hand on the Poké Ball. He strained lightly to pull the ball from its sticky seat but was eventually able to pull it away quietly. A bee fell on his hand before he was able to retreat, which caused him to freeze. Tightness gripped my lungs, and I collectively felt like the group stopped breathing. Was Robbie allergic to bee stings? Maybe he just didn't like insects. Eventually, the bee lazily lifted off and rejoined its brethren on the underside of Vesipquen's bell, and we all quietly exhaled.
As Robbie lifted his knee off the bed, the springs in the mattress thrummed from relaxing. Thankfully, it was not loud enough to stir the monster, but we took another moment to collect our wits. I quietly motioned to Robbie and Geo to leave the room first. In that moment, I wished I hadn't asked Robbie to partially close the door because it meant we'd risk the loud creak to get out. While they were tip-toeing away, I gently touched Hector's arm and squeezed lightly. I leaned in and whispered for him to go in front of me. He hesitated but eventually uprooted his feet and followed rigidly after Robbie and Geo. Once I was in tow, Robbie opened the door as slowly as possible but could not avoid the squeaking of the hinges. It cried out like a knife slicing through our anxiety and giving way to frenzied panic. At that moment, Vespiquen sprung to life and flew out from its small cave. Robbie threw the door open as Vespiquen ripped through the canopy of the bed and zoomed at us, the beating of it wings slapping so violently against the air that it sounded like a whip was cracking. All I saw were its million eyes, bulging from its head before I slammed the door, and Vespiquen rammed into it. I could hear it buzzing angrily on the other side of the door as it attempted to slash through. After a while, it seemed to realize it wouldn't be able to claw through the thick wood, and then I couldn't hear it anymore. The group released a collective sigh, followed by a small victory smile as Robbie wiped the honey off the Poké Ball onto the carpet.
"Is it all right if I hang onto it since you have Mr. Mime?" Robbie asked, probably out of courtesy since I didn't believe anyone would be able to pry it out of his hands anyway.
"Of course," I said after he'd already slid the ball into his jacket pocket. "And now, we should keep going." Part of me wanted to sneak back into the room while everyone went ahead so I could attempt to catch the Vespiquen, but after a second thought, it seemed like a better idea to keep my spare Poké Ball a secret, even from Hector. We took a different path in the hall and eventually entered what looked like someone's personal aquarium.
The walls became glass from floor to ceiling, keeping hundreds of gallons of water from flooding the level. Dim blue lights from behind the glass bled onto the dark carpet, and the display cases were foggy and crusted over with grime and milky particles that seemed to undulate in the water. The others, maybe instinctively, clung to me as we proceeded through the room. My eyes were focused on any areas that could have concealed another Poké Ball. It seemed like everyone else was more concerned with what might pop out of the water. The possibility that a ball might be inside the tank made me dread what could be hiding in the swampy fluid waiting for someone to attempt a retrieval.
Beyond the tanks that made up the wall, there didn't seem to be anything else in the long room. Oddly, the room was longer than it originally appeared because there were a few sharp turns that careened about, hiding other corridors lined with those dirty fish tanks. In one stretch of glass, there appeared to be a body in the water, covered in brown and green leafy appendages. Geo had pulled out his phone, which identified the body as Dragalge. The four of us froze, but Dragalge didn't appear to be active. Or even alive. We quickly continued on, leaving the body behind.
Soon, we came upon a set of stairs that led us downward, and the fish tanks continued to follow us as we descended. When we hit the bottom of the steps, the dim blue lights in the aquariums transitioned into a red hue, bathing us in a bloody aura. In the water, there appeared to be giant carps with yellow whiskers struggling to swim past each other. The beating of their fins against the glass as they tried to swim around made me fearful that the glass would break. I hesitated to step forward when the others did, and Hector immediately noticed.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" I shook my head and took a shaky step forward but didn't take my eyes off the tank. "Are you worried about the glass breaking?"
"I think we should be fine. I used to work in an aquarium and the glass has to be really thick," Geo said and stepped up the glass, knocking lightly against it. It startled the Magikarp in the water but only produced a dull thud. "Can't say I approve of the choice in lighting for an aquarium, but I think the glass is probably the least of our worries." I was still reluctant to continue, but it wouldn't have made much sense to turn back at that point.
We continued on in silence past the red tanks. My eyes continued to dart around everywhere, looking for anything that resembled a ball. Even if it was in the water. Eventually, the number of Magikarp decreased until the tanks we were passing were empty again. Once I realized that, the long corridor revealed another path behind a turn, and we then entered a large open chamber. Tanks didn't line the walls in that room—instead, there was water gushing from the ceiling to the left and right of us, pouring into a dark abyss, and the smell of chlorine saturating the air quickly invaded my nostrils and mouth. I was instantly reminded of the only attempt I'd made at swimming in a pool as a kid, which ended in disaster.
The water from the tanks created wall-to-wall curtains of green liquid, and I wondered if the room could flood by how quickly it was pouring in. One single bright light hung from the ceiling in the center of the chamber and illuminated a good portion of the room, but it was still impossible to see what lay waiting in the extremities of the chamber. The white flooring ahead had holes in it, as if excess splashing water was meant to pass through it, but it only stretched across the center of the room maybe six feet wide. It didn't look particularly thick or sturdy. On the other side of the room was a large open doorway, barely visible. The entire length of the room was maybe 50 feet.
"Well, obviously, we need to cross this bridge to get over there, but…," Robbie murmured.
"…Something is definitely off here," Hector finished. The loudness of the water made it hard to think. Looking at the material of the floor ahead of us, I guessed it was probably made out of some kind of plastic. It'd be slippery to walk on with the water splashing everywhere.
"Hey, look," Geo suddenly said and pointed at something to the right of us. On the wall, in the empty space between the bridge and the water, a steel ladder climbed up out of the darkness below. A feeling of dread twisted my chest and stomach into a single lump.
"Does that mean we can go down there?" Robbie asked aloud, seeming to be talking to himself as he stepped toward the ladder to examine it. He peered downward. "Yeah, looks like it goes down to somewhere."
"It's a bad idea. We should just try to get across, right?" Hector said and looked at me. The lump in my guts invaded my throat so I couldn't speak. I barely managed a nod. The smell of the water was making it difficult to breathe, and I was trying my best not to pass out or throw up.
"We'll have to be careful," Geo said, "but at least it looks like we can climb back up if we slip and fall. I'm guessing there's nothing but water down there, so it shouldn't hurt too badly if we go down." I couldn't force my body to move. Imagining the distance from the platform to the murky bottom below us, it could've been a hundred-foot drop. My two worst fears in one room—heights and drowning.
"Do you know how to swim?" Robbie asked us.
"I can, but…," Hector mumbled and looked at me.
"Let's just go," I suddenly managed to spit out. My legs were starting to shake so much, I wasn't sure if I would be able to stand for much longer if I didn't start moving. The others followed quickly. It was so embarrassing growing up in California and not knowing how to swim. My parents always said they would teach me but never did, and they couldn't afford to pay for swim lessons. When I turned 7, the other kids in my class started having pool parties. The first and last one I attended resulted in me almost drowning when the other kids peer pressured me into getting into the pool and then dragging me to the deep end after I'd gotten comfortable splashing around in the shallow part. I had blacked out a few moments after sinking below the surface and awoke crying and flailing in the arms of one of the parents. I went home right after and stopped getting invited to people's pool parties. Obviously, I avoided getting into pools and wading too deep at the beach, and life was fine, but I never that thought I'd regret not knowing how to even float as much as I did in that moment.
We stepped carefully across the strange plastic bridge as the water continued to pour in a rage. The path was a little slippery due to all the water sloshing onto it, but it wasn't as difficult to cross as I'd anticipated. My movements were stiff and wooden, but Hector was there to help me as much as he could while also maintaining his balance.
When we'd gotten just past halfway, Geo, behind us, almost fell, but Hector somehow managed to catch him in time. My heart rate jumped because Hector had to let go of me to do it. Robbie had continued forward a few more steps before pointing out to me that there was another ladder on the other side of the room by the exit. It appeared too far to reach from the bridge and seemed accessible only by going below the bridge. One the ladder extended above the bridge, it wrapped sideways along the wall so that the rungs switched to being vertical. In the middle of trying to figure out how someone was supposed to traverse that ladder, a loud crash above made me look up. Because Robbie and I were ahead of the others, a sudden downpour of water dumped from the ceiling and swept us off the side of the bridge. Robbie fell first and missed grabbing onto my ankle as I dangled by one hand. Hector was too late to catch me as I slipped and fell into the shadows. I knew I was screaming but couldn't hear myself as I plunged to what I thought would be my death.
The second I hit the water, I was already out of air from screaming. Something triggered lights to activate, though, and as I tumbled around underwater, I caught glimpses of the tank Robbie and I had landed in. Thankfully, the water was mostly clear, even though it burned my eyes to keep them open. Between panicked blinks, I saw in the center of the floor appeared to be a large drain with a grate over it—it must have been cycling the water out of the pool. There were other figures swiftly snaking around in the water, but a small round object at the bottom of the tank glinted in the bright lights as it slowly rolled toward the drain. It was little use being excited about finding another Poké Ball, though, because I already resigned myself to drowning. Paying attention to whatever else was moving in the water also seemed pointless as I hoped I'd be dead by them time one of them attacked me.
As I flailed and thrashed, my eyes prickling with pain from trying to examine my surroundings, something grabbed my arm and yanked me in one direction. Suddenly, I could breathe again. I coughed violently and blinked the water out of my eyes as fast as I could to see Robbie trying to pull me toward the ladder by the exit.
"Are you okay?!" he shouted while the waves in the tank slapped us around. I was still gasping for air and trying not to lose hold of Robbie, feeling like every second I was either slipping back underneath the surface or that something was pulling me down. At that moment, a blue and scaly creature briefly emerged from the water in front of us and then disappeared under the water. Guessing what I'd just seen, I would've preferred to die by drowning than face what already had us in its sights for its next meal. I tried to warn Robbie, but something grabbed my leg and dragged me back under the water before I could take another breath. Somehow managing to keep my eyes open, a long and slender fish was wrapped around my right leg. Its pale body felt muscular and hard coiled around my leg, and a flash of colorful scales fanned out at its tail, which flapped against my lower torso. Having lost my grip on Robbie's hand, the creature continued to pull me deeper into the tank. A trail of bright pink hair slithered in the water as it brought us closer to the bottom of the tank. I caught a short glimpse of the creature's head, and saw it was woman's severed head sewn to the long, pale sack of skin that was animated by some deranged science. The long pink hair flowed from the head to imitate the Beautiful Pokémon's appearance, but its behavior contradicted my knowledge of Milotic's demeanor.
Despite being underwater, my reflex was to open my mouth and release the rest of my air as I realized the creature had dragged me toward my death. Then, out of nowhere, a flash of blue zipped by beneath us and tore through my leg. I was certain it was the Gyarados I'd seen earlier, come to devour me, but whatever it was had disappeared somewhere else in the water. The attack felt like it broke my leg, and a burst of inky redness billowed out. Thankfully, it also caused the Milotic to detach and swim out of sight. Pain shot up from my leg through my body when I tried to kick with it and swim upward, which caused me to continue sinking to the bottom of the tank. Then I saw a flash of teeth. A wriggling sea dragon with its maw wide open spiraled toward me just as I touched the bottom of the tank by the drain. The suction wasn't very strong, but its pull was still inviting. The mesh grate sitting on top of it had sizeable holes in it but not big enough for a person to get pulled through. I wished I could've escaped through the grate, though, because Gyarados was as fearsome as I imagined it would be in real-life. I braced for a violent death as my hand wrapped around the Poké Ball hidden at the bottom of the makeshift Lake of Rage. With no air in my lungs and no strength left to swim, I pinched my nosed and kept my mouth shut to resist taking in any water as the panic of breathlessness fully gripped me. My chest was heaving violently as my lungs ostensibly pleaded for air, deflating as they thrashed against my ribcage.
Just before Gyarados was able to sink its teeth into my body, the blue flash from before rammed into Gyarados, causing it to narrowly miss me. The excitement motivated me to keep my eyes open for just a bit longer, but the edges of my vision had already begun to blur. Then I felt my body being pulled in what felt like multiple directions. I guessed it was the Pokémon fighting over who would get to feast on my flesh, and then darkness took over.
I was surprised when I regained consciousness and realized I was being pulled along in the water by Hector. He had dived in after me apparently. I forced the water from my lungs out as powerfully as I could, unsure how I hadn't drowned, but assumed I hadn't swallowed as much water as I thought I did. Also miraculously, my quarry from the bottom of the tank was still gripped in my hand, and, with great difficulty, I eventually managed to jam it into my back pocket. Behind us, a thrash of blue snakes tossed and turned in the water as Gyarados and the other mysterious Pokémon continued to fight.
Hector was struggling to keep us both afloat, but I was starting to regain some strength and was able to kick with my good leg. That was when I saw we were behind the waterfall and couldn't reach the ladder without going back under. I looked around for another ladder, and above us, there seemed to be a platform, but I had no idea how we'd be able to reach it. Hector pulled us along as more Pokémon started surfacing in the water. Blue and pink bloated bubbles appeared around us, and I could see thin tendrils waving in the water just beneath the surface. They didn't seem to advance toward us but did block our direct path to the ladder. Robbie was also still nowhere in sight.
"We'll have to go underwater again—hold your breath!" Hector shouted moments before bringing us underwater again. Fear returned as soon we dove under, so I couldn't move. If we survived, I would have Hector to thank. We dove down as far as we could to avoid getting pummeled by the waterfall and managed to clear it without incident. Still some distance away, I tried to observe the fight between the sea creatures, but they were too far to discern what was happening. Next, a brief flash of light appeared and then subsided. Eventually, we surfaced again, and Hector guided my hands to the ladder in front of us. "Come on! Climb! Hurry!" he shouted and kept looking back. I managed to pull myself up the first couple rungs and then couldn't help but look back out over the water. Robbie was behind us, seemingly struggling to ride on the back of the Gyarados. At first, I thought he was trying to wrangle it and control it—to prevent it from attacking us. Then I realized it was obeying him.
"I'm sorry to do this to you guys, but I have to take your Pokémon!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, over the roar of the cascading water. Hector was trying to push me up the ladder, but I couldn't move. Fear had found me again, and despite believing I was not one of those people who would freeze up in a scary situation, I was ashamed to discover I would die wrong.
Hector continued to plead with me as Robbie and his Gyarados closed in. The creature's jaw was wide open, poised to rip us to pieces. Then Hector suddenly disappeared underwater, causing me to snap out of my trance.
"Hector!" I screamed as I saw a flash of those beautifully colored scales disappear into the water. I managed to scurry up a few more rungs of the ladder just before Gyarados clamped down its jaws. Missing, it dove under and emerged about ten feet away, maneuvering to attack me again. Robbie was still clinging to the monster's back and stared at me with an evil grin. In the few seconds I had before needing to move again, I thought about calling out Mr. Mime to distract them, but then the blue flash from before came to my rescue again. A long, slender creature flew out of the water and speared Robbie's body from underneath the waves. Crimson clouds spread throughout the water like a brewing storm. Quickly, the red blood turned almost black.
From what I could make out of my savior, it looked like a creature similar to Milotic—a human skull affixed to a long sack of skin, except that creature had feathers and a long horn on its head that had pierced Robbie. There also appeared to have been jewel-like orbs attached to its tail. Gyarados flailed around the water for a bit before charging for me again. Apparently, it didn't need a command from its trainer to remember that it was trying to kill me. I crawled up a few more rungs of the ladder at the last moment before Gyarados tried to take another bite. It submerged after that and didn't reappear. I took the opportunity to hoist myself farther up the ladder and kept looking down for signs of Hector. When I was halfway up the ladder, Hector appeared at the base, causing me to cry with relief and almost losing my grip on the rungs. He appeared to be assisted by the very Milotic that had tried to kill him earlier, except that in a brilliant detonation of light, it disappeared into a Poké Ball Hector was holding before he started to climb the ladder. He shouted at me to keep climbing, so I scrambled as quickly as I could until Geo appeared and help pull me onto the bridge. I was sobbing uncontrollably until Hector managed to get back onto the bridge, as well, and held him for a few moments before we saw a dark figure slither up the waterfall. Geo screamed and pushed us out of the way when Gyarados leapt out of the waterfall. It bit onto Geo's arm and then pulled him off the bridge on the other side. We heard him scream until he hit the water. Terrified beyond recognition, I still wanted to go back down to try and save him, but Hector held me back from going toward the ladder.
"We can't save him! We can't save him!" I struggled and screamed, but I was drowned out by the roar of the relentless water pouring from the ceiling. We waited a long time, but nothing swam back up through the cascade or climbed up the ladder. Hector and I sat together on the bridge, clinging to each other while I tried to stifle back the sobs. I was cold, and so was he. Water dripped down our faces, and I couldn't tell if either of us were crying anymore. After a while, we managed to rise to our feet. Hector noticed my leg was bleeding. He'd left his bag on the bridge and went to retrieve it. He opened it to pull out his hoodie. He struggled at first but eventually tore off a strip from the bottom of the torso to tie around my wound. It was a large but shallow cut just above my knee, and I was relieved the wound was much less serious than I initially thought.
We took a couple steps, but the pain was still a little too much for me to walk on my own, so Hector took my arm over his shoulder. I looked back once more to make sure nothing else was coming for us and remembered the strange platform behind the waterfall. I looked through the water and could see something appearing to float on the wall, but it was too difficult to discern anything else because of the water. We started to hobble away before an inhuman cry caused us to turn around. Behind us on the bridge, the Pokémon that had saved me appeared to be waiting. Its pale skin was unevenly dyed—its underbelly had a small sliver of off-white coloring while the rest of its body was a bruised-looking light purple. It looked as though someone had tried painting its body and fallen asleep in the process. I then noticed the white feathers affixed to either side of the skull, and a blue gem on its neck directly beneath its head to match the ones adorning its tail. Dragonair looked at me expectantly. Still somewhat disoriented, I only then remembered the Poké Ball I retrieved and attempted to fish it from my back pocket.
"What is it? What are you looking for?" Hector asked as I struggled to dig the item from my wet shorts. Eventually, I pried it out and enlarged the ball. "You had another one?" he asked in amazement. With my free hand, I chucked it at Dragonair. It was my non-dominant hand, though, so the throw would have completely missed had Dragonair not dove to be in the ball's path. When the ball struck its head, it was pulled inside after transforming into white lightning. The capsule shook once before the light of the button disappeared. It sat in one of the small holes in the odd plastic bridge for a few minutes before Hector went to retrieve it for me. "You caught another one…," he said, almost as if that were a bad thing. I patted Mr. Mime's Poké Ball in my other pocket before I dropped Dragonair in there with it.
"Let's just hurry and get the fuck out of here."