Chapter 2:

I woke up the next morning and suddenly noticed two things: one, I had an incredible pain in my neck, and two, the Gym was about a mile closer than it was the day before.

Really, neither of those surprised me.

Why? Well, ever since the Saffron massacre, the abandoned old city had become steadily more haunted, probably because of all the bloodshed. Recently some more powerful Ghost Pokémon moved in and started moving buildings around, almost imperceptibly. I had seen this myself a few years back when we had first moved to Cerulean. I was out exploring north of the haunted city when I came upon a fairly high hill. I swear to God, I saw nearly the entire city's buildings up and moving, flying over, under, and around each other like a bunch of goddamn Pidgey in a windstorm.

Anyway, my neck was sore from sleeping on the hard ground, and the haunted Gym was way too close to comfort. I quickly got up, almost threw up again, gathered my stuff, and ran the hell out of there, moving my hair out of my eyes as I went. I only said it hadn't surprised me, really. It also scared the hell out of me. Anyway, I ran. The only problem was, the Gym had other plans. As soon as I had left the building (the ruins of the building, that is), it started rising off the ground and flying toward me. If you think that sounds a bit stupid, just remember that this particular Gym was home to the ghost of a powerful and, judging from the incident with the rescue workers, very hungry psychic.

And I was her next target.

Crap.

I had gone only about two hundred feet when I tripped over a large cinder block. The knees of my favorite jeans tore as I hit the ground, but that was the least of my worries.

Shit.

The Gym touched down in front of me. Actually, "touched down" is kind of an understatement. It was really more like a cataclysmic crash that knocked down several of the nearby crumbling structures. I was scared enough then. So it didn't help when the haunted building started talking.

...come to me...come...I must feed...

I think that "scared shitless" would be a good description of how I felt at that point.

...come...come to me...Gavin...

Dear God, it knew my name.

Then, much against my will, I got up, and started toward the Gym. I swear, I put all I had into making my legs obey my brain, but it was no use. I was possessed. All I could do was wait. I had just enough strength to close my eyes.

"Gavin!"

I fell to the ground, instantly released from the spirit's hold, and feeling extremely confused. I didn't know anyone in the area anymore, as I'd assumed that I was the only survivor of the Cerulean raid. Turns out I was wrong. I turned quickly and saw the gaunt face and lean form of Mario Feldman, a veteran trainer who, in the four or five years I had lived in Cerulean, I had rarely ever seen. He was a recluse, even in the extreme conditions of the seaside ghost town, so I was surprised. Actually, I was shocked. The first thought to come into my head (after I had regained partial control of my mind) was "How the hell did he survive?". I mean, he was a seasoned trainer, but he was old, not to mention the fact that he was severely scratched, horribly burnt, and bleeding heavily from is left wrist. Then it came to me. He used his Pokémon, of course. Then something else came to me. I wasn't sure that he had any Pokémon left with him.

If you're thinking that this is a hell of a lot of time to be sitting defenseless on the ground in front of a flying building inhabited by a murderous ghost, then you've never been possessed. I really couldn't do anything for a minute. By the time I got myself together again, Mario was already right next to me. I had no idea what he was doing, but he just screamed "RUN!" in my ear, almost deafening me, pulled me to my feet, and pushed me away. It was only then that it got through my fogged-up skull. But I just stared. I didn't actually believe he would do it. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around, and looked at me intently. Then I had one last revelation. He wasn't just bleeding. His entire left hand had been chopped off.

I almost threw up again.

He was still gazing at me oddly, as if an idea had just struck him, leaving him a bit dazed. He then reached into his pocket, and pulled out something small and round. He set it on the ground, and then turned to face the evil building and the malevolent spirit within.

...come to me...I must feed...I MUST FEED...

Without a word, he walked to the door, opened it, and walked calmly inside. I tried to call out to him, but I couldn't make a sound. Crap. I just stared blankly as the Gym slowly rose off the ground and drifted off toward its original foundations.

I really feel like I should have been a little more distressed at what just happened, but I was still extremely woozy. I started to wobble away, but I suddenly remembered the small object he had left on the ground. I bent down and picked it up. It was a PokéBall. I jammed it in my pocket, then set out for Vermilion. I thought that they might have built more ships small enough to dock in Sevii, and that's really the only place I wanted to go. I wanted to get away from Kanto as soon as possible.

After I had walked for about an hour, I fell down. It was only then that I realized I hadn't eaten anything I'd been able to keep down in more than a day. Add to that dehydration and a severe state of emotional distress, and I was not in very good shape.

Shit.

In my advanced state of...well, whatever I was in, I decided I would go ahead and take out Mario's Pokémon. Now, you have to realize that only nearing death, and with an extremely clouded head, would I ever even consider this. Don't get me wrong. I admire trainers, I really do. I've just never had any drive to be one, most likely because Pokémon had killed my parents. Even if I had nothing against the creatures at all, it would still feel wrong. It was Mario's Pokémon, after all, and it felt like I was invading his privacy. Still, it was my only choice. I had no idea what kind of Pokémon was in there, but I hoped it would be able to help me.

I called it out.

The Pokémon stretched out its wings as soon as I released it. It made small metallic clinking noises as it turned to face me.

A Skarmory. One of the rarest Pokémon in the world.

The creature looked at me murderously, and yet I knew in that moment that it was meant to be.

I must be crazy...

Before I had time to figure out what to do with the magnificent bird Pokémon, I passed out.

Cold.

NEXT TIME...

Boom.

Crap.