Haunted
By Kawaii Cherry Blossom

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters. Obviously they are owned by its creators.

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Drama/Romance
Type: AAMRN

Summary:
"You have to stay away from Saffron City or you're going to die!" Or so Misty is told. Will she believe the warning or ignore it? And what does this have to do with a terrible moment in her past that she keeps secret? AAMRN

Ages:
Ash – 18
Misty – 18

Author's Notes:
I thought it was time for a new fic! I've never written a mystery/suspense fic before so this should be fun! The first chapter is a bit short but it's just a sort of introduction for what's to come. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1
An Un-welcome Welcome

"Remind me again why we're in Lavender Town," a tall, teenage girl said as she shuddered, her blue-green eyes taking in her surroundings. "It gives me the creeps."
And it was creepy. Stone buildings, grey in colour, sat on the stone floor of the town. Most of the buildings looked old, as if they could collapse any second. Adding to the atmosphere was the sky, which from it's grey, low-hanging clouds, looked as if it were telling the world that a storm was coming in. But maybe it always looked that way. Somehow, it was hard to imagine the sun ever coming out in this place. Above them, a sign hung from two stone pillars that said 'Welcome to Lavender Town'. The sign creaked eerily as it swayed in the breeze.
Her male companion, of the same age, laughed. Glancing at her, he raised one eyebrow, his chocolate brown eyes sparkling mischievously.
"You're not scared, are you Misty?" he asked, and she glared at him.
"You're never going to grow up, are you Ash?" she asked.
"No," he replied simply, winking at her. She laughed when he did so, and as she turned her head forward, her long, orange locks trailed behind her in the breeze.
Ash's eyes sparkled, emanating pure excitement. It seemed like forever since he had traveled Kanto, when he first set off on his journey. Those were some of the best times of his life, when he, Misty and Brock had set off across the country, encountering all sorts of adventures. Of course, he had gone on to accomplish much on his other journeys, but it was always his first that brought back the most memories.

That was part of the reason why he wanted to re-live it. Over the past year, he'd taken a break from traveling to spend some time at home for a much needed rest. And he had rested, and enjoyed spending time with his mother and Professor Oak, and all of the other residents of Pallet Town. But inside him, there was a pull that he just couldn't ignore. He had to set off again, back on the road to encounter more adventures. But he didn't want to go alone. So he'd picked up the phone and called Misty, who'd accepted his offer to travel again. She too was growing bored of the gym leader life, and needed to get away for a while. It was Ash who then suggested that they travel Kanto again, to catch up with old friends and make new ones. He also wanted to collect some gym badges and enter the Indigo League Tournament at the end of the year.

And so, here they were, both now eighteen years of age, entering Lavender Town. Their past experience of this dreary place had left Misty quite unwilling to come, but Ash had insisted, as they hadn't got much time to look around when they were last there.
"Does anyone live here, because it looks pretty abandoned to me," Misty commented as she glanced around looking for any signs of life. But she was right, there didn't appear to be anyone anywhere.
"And there's no way I'm sleeping outside in this pl…" she began again, but was cut off.
"Hey, there's someone!" Ash pointed to his right, and sure enough, there sat a girl.
"I swear she wasn't there just a second ago," Misty said, following Ash as he took off towards her.
"Don't be silly," he replied, glancing back at her.

The girl, who looked to be about fifteen, sat on a large, grey rock that looked similar to all of the other rocks in the town. She sat with her arms gripping her legs, and her face buried in her knees, her long, jet-black hair falling around her face.
Ash looked back at Misty, concerned, before walking a few steps closer to her.
"Um…are you okay?" he asked softly, and was startled as her head whipped up and she crawled back further on the rock. Her eyes were a deep purple, and seemed to almost pierce through his own with a strong intensity. But most noticeable were the tears that streamed down her face as she stared at them fearfully.
"Don't be scared, it's okay," Ash said hurriedly, taking a step closer to her.
"I'm Ash," he said calmly, as he held out his hand. "And this is Misty," he added, glancing over his shoulder at her. Misty took a few steps forward.
The girl didn't take his hand, instead she kept her distance.
"I'm Selicia," she spoke, her voice small.
"Can we help you with anything?" Misty asked her kindly, though she was somewhat cautious.
Selicia shook her head, placing her hands on the rock as she stepped down from it.
"No, I'm fine," she said simply, though a quiver in her voice told them otherwise. "You can go."
At this, Misty looked to Ash, the same worried look planted on both of their faces.
"If you need anything, you can tell us," Misty said kindly, as she stepped forward and placed her hand over Selicia's. As she did, Misty gasped. Her hand was freezing cold, like ice.
Misty jumped back, and Selicia did the same, groaning before she suddenly stood still on the spot with her eyes closed.
"Her hand, it was as cold as ice," Misty told Ash, her eyes and voice full of fear.
"What?" Ash asked, suddenly feeling afraid as well.
"No, no…"
Ash and Misty turned suddenly. Selicia was kneeling on the ground, her head in her hands as she whimpered. Suddenly, she looked up, her eyes intense with dread and distress.
"You…you have to stay away…" she cried, her body shaking as she stood.
Ash put his arm in front of Misty as they backed away from the girl.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You have to stay away from Saffron City or you're going to die!" Selicia wailed, tears pouring down her face as she looked straight into Misty's eyes.
Misty paled in horror, her hands shaking as they took another step back.
"You'll drown…" she moaned, looking at Misty in desperation. "You have to believe me. You can't go there… He said…he's going to make you pay for what you did to…Marina…" she cried, the desperation in her voice sending chills up Misty's spine.
Misty gasped in shock, frozen to the spot.
"How do you know…" she began, but was cut off as Ash spoke.
"Misty, we're going," Ash said as he took her hand and pulled her away. She could hardly feel her legs moving as they ran, her surroundings drowned out by the voice in her head.
Marina…Make you pay… What you did to Marina…
And all she could see when she looked back were the helpless eyes of a young girl, their intensity fading as they got further away.

To be continued…