Chapter 9

It was mid-September now, and even though Fiona protested, Brock had drained their pool and put away all the summer toys until next year. The air was getting considerably colder, and Brock was greatful for that. He never did like the heat too much, unless he was at the beach or in a pool.

He had spent the late afternoon deflating floats, while Rose lounged out on a chair by the pool. Her eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses, but Misty knew she was enjoying the view. Watching Brock work on the pool in a flimsy white tank top against his glistening dark skin.

"What is that dreadful smell?" Rose asked, and Brock raked leaves away from the now empty pool. He refrained from saying something smart like "Your upper lip" or "Did you remember to wipe?" But he didn't.

"Smells like something died," he said, also taking note of the stench. He didn't want Fiona to play around back here and find a dead Raticate or something. He knew that they would never hear the end of her crying, and Brock would have to make up some story about it just sleeping.

He propped the rake against the house and began searching for the source of the smell. It seemed to grow stronger when he approached the back of the house. He peeked around the bushes and what he saw made his stomach churn. It wasn't a Raticate, or any kind of other Pokemon. It was a human being.

Her eye sockets were crawling with maggots, and her decayed skin stretched tightly over the bone, giving her hands a gray, skeletal look. Her mouth was open and filled with maggots, but she seemed to be staring straight at him, screaming for help. He covered his nose, tried to keep from throwing up from the sight and the smell.

"Oh Jesus," he coughed, and gagged and got away from there, instictively holding his hand back to protect Rose from seeing what he just saw. "Rose, get inside the house. Make sure Misty and Fiona don't come out here. You girls don't need to see this."

He ran inside, and grabbed his cell phone from the counter. Misty was just preparing dinner and Fiona was coloring at the table in her Hello Kitty coloring book. He tried to submerge himself in the sight of it all. So happy, peaceful, clean, and alive. The complete opposite of what he had just seen.

When the police picked up the phone, he spoke nervously. "Yes, sir, this is Brock Harrison," Misty looked at him questioningly, but he went into the next room. Fiona watched curiously as her mother followed him. Fiona got up to investigate, but Rose stopped her, grabbing her shoulders and plopping her back down in the seat.

Fiona didn't protest her grandmother, she just sat in the chair, picked up the green crayon she was using and continued to color.

"There is a dead body in my backyard," Brock swallowed nervously, his mouth suddenly dry, and his entire body was trembling. Misty was surprised to see that his normally tan skin had lost almost all of its color.

Detective Roger Stone was on the phone. "A human dead body?"

"Yes," Brock could hardly believe what he was saying. Misty huddled close to him, and looked back into the kitchen, where her mother and Fiona were.

"How did you discover this dead body?" The man asked.

"I was cleaning up the yard. My mother-in-law and I noticed a really bad smell, and when I went to investigate it..." he trailed off, not needing to finish the rest. "She looks to be female. Badly decomposed. Probably has been dead for a few weeks."

"How long has she been in the yard, Mr. Harrison? Do you remember any strange smells prior to today?" Detective Stone asked, and Brock felt fear rise within him.

"I don't know," Brock said. "My kid plays in the backyard all the time, and she never..." The incident when her and Holly had described the monster outside the gate. It was almost two weeks ago, but maybe it was this dead girl, but he would have seen it. Wouldn't he?

"I honestly don't know," he said.

"I'll be over with some of my guys in a few minutes," Stone replied. "Did you touch the corpse?"

"No, Sir," Brock said.

"Good," Stone said, matter-of-factly. "Just stay inside, don't touch anything near the corpse. We don't want to contaminate any evidence, if there is a crime here. We're dispatching."

"Alright," Brock said, and hung up, immediately pulling his wife into his arms.

"A dead body?" Misty asked, the question had been dying to come out the entire time he was on the phone, but she kept her voice low enough to where Fiona wouldn't hear it.

Brock was surprised at how fast the detective and his men showed up. He bought 3 other men with him and asked Brock to lead him out to the backyard. There by the bushes, they found the girl, covered in maggots with her mouth frozen in a scream.

Misty stayed by the pool area and Brock held her in his arms, he could feel her trembling with fear.

"Looks like the girl has just been dropped here," Stone said, examining the grass beneath the body. "This grass has no blood or anything on it."

One of the officers shouted. "Hey, look at this," One of them pulled a small piece of paper out from between her bony, rotted fingers, that were cracked clear down the middle.

Detective stone unfolded the piece of paper and read the words, scrawled out in a red ink. "It's almost time for our second battle. -Kimberly Roberts."

"Kimberly Roberts?" Brock asked, he remember that name. He remembered she had lost a match to him, and she had a crush on him, and she was kind of cute, too. "She came into my gym about 2 weeks ago for a match."

It was hard to imagine her as the dead girl that lay in his backyard now.

They filled out a police report, and removed the corpse from the backyard, took a few pictures and then roped off the area.

"We're going to be collecting DNA samples off the corpse," Detective Stone said. "If we get a match from anyone in the area, we will let you know. Mr. Harrison, I am deeply sorry this happened to you and frightened your family."

Brock was still in shock, and Misty was crying, holding onto him as tight as she could. The police left, and with it, their blue and red lights did as well. None of them felt like dinner, except for Fiona, who still had no idea why her family as acting so strange all the sudden, or why she couldn't play outside before dinner.

Misty was surprised to see Brock take a shower almost immediately after dinner, he usually waited until just before bedtime, and he usually invited her in. He scrubbed his skin until it was red, but still felt like he couldn't get the stench of rotting flesh off of him. The image was burned into his mind, and fear gripped him, but he couldn't let anyone see that. Especially Misty or Fiona.

When he was scared, they knew something was very wrong.

After washing up Fiona for the night and putting her to bed, Misty found Brock sitting up in bed on his laptop. His hair was still wet from his shower, and he looked up from this screen, smiling at her.

"Hey Babe," he said as she crawled into bed next to him. He was reading things on the internet about crimes in Pewter City, and every source he came to said that the city had a low crime rate, compared to the huge city of Celadon, or even the more seedy parts of Cerulean City. In fact, it was ranked number 2 in the best city in Kanto to raise your children, only losing out to Pallet Town.

"I'm scared, Brock," Misty said, looking at the bright screen of the laptop, leaning her head on his chest. He smelled of shampoo and men's body wash, and she loved the scent of him.

"Aw, Honey," he said, closing the laptop screen and placing it back in the bedside table. "Don't be scared. It's alright. I'm right here and nothing is going to happen to us."

She kissed him and was soon lost in the scent of his skin, the taste of his tongue and the warmness of his lips. He had always had a way of taking her worries or fears away just by kissing her, making love to her as he had their first time in the guest bedroom at Ash's house.

...

Eve Castillo couldn't sleep.

She had tried, but by 1:30 A.M., after laying there for two hours, she got up and went down to the kitchen to prepare some tea and maybe read a newspaper or watch television. She tried to discourage this from Holly.

As she took her first sip of warm tea, and opened up her romance novel to chapter 18, and began reading the scene where Jack McCoy is begging Piper Segal to come back to him after he had been caught with his ex-girlfriend in a coffee shop, she pictured the way Brock would look, begging for her love. It was a place inside her head she would never reveal, only to herself, and it was her own little secret.

Then, her mind drifted away from the page and back to the drawings she saw in Celadon last night. He had always had a special talent for making his subjects look so alive, like you could feel their emotions. But why had he drawn Misty so sad?

Had he really laid in that hospital bed for years and drawn nothing but pictures of her? And did he really come to Pewter City to...to do what? Try and get her back? Eve swallowed the warm tea. Kill her? The thought disturbed her.

She looked out her window to the city lights below. Cars passed by each other on the street, and she could even see the top of Pewter Gym from her window. She wondered, sadly, as she looked at the specks of light coming out of the buildings, what Brock was doing. She pictured him wrapped up in the sheets, passionately making love to Misty, just like the picture of the two models on the front of her book.

Her jealousy raged. It raged so high and so hot, that she found herself hoping her ex-fiance was in Pewter City, and she found herself hoping he was here to kill her. The thought no longer disturbed her, instead, it wrapped a warm blanket of comfort around her.

...

May 2006

Today was Misty's 16th birthday, and she hadn't announced the day or anything, but Brock surprised her with a cake and a present. Ash was just about to have his last battle on Cinnabar Island with Blaine, but for the day, they were relaxed on the beach.

There were tourists everywhere, but Misty hadn't minded it too much. Cerulean City also got a lot of tourists on it's beaches as well. She watched Brock and Ash playing volleyball against eachother, and she smiled, retreating back into that secret area in her mind, the area she told no one about and she allowed herself to indulge in Brock Harrison.

She had a crush on from the time she laid eyes on him when Ash had first challenged him at Pewter Gym. He just gave her butterflies, and a feeling she didn't quite understand yet. She had wanted to help Ash, but was secretly elated when he lost and had to go back and fight for the badge again.

"Dude!" Brock yelled out, diving for the ball. "That wasn't even in range!"

Ash laughed, kicking sand towards him. Then, Brock's eyes fell on her, and Misty felt her heart thump in her chest.

"Hey, C'mon. I need you on my team," he said, and Misty pulled down her sunglasses, squinting against the sun.

"I'm really no good at volleyball," Misty said, shyly. Why had she suddenly felt so shy in front of Brock? I mean, sure he was cute, but she was suddenly very self-concious about how she looked in front of him. Was her hair OK? Did she look Ok in her bikini?

"Bullshit," Brock said, grinning. "C'mon. Don't be such a scaredy cat."

"Wouldn't the teams be uneven?" Misty asked, looking over at Ash, who looked like he was ready for anything.

"He wants to a two on one match," Brock said, getting a competitive air about him. "He has something to prove."

Misty took her place behind Brock and served the ball, but it didn't quite make it over the net. Ash scoffed.

"That figures. You get a girl to play and she can't even serve," Ash rolled his eyes, and Brock waved him off.

"Ash, don't be such an asshole," he said, walking over to Misty. The sun shimmered off his bare torso and tight muscles. And he was coming over to her!

"Here, let me show you how to serve," Brock said, placing the ball in her hand. "Hold it like this, and then," he moved behind her, pressed his muscled torso against her back, steadying her stance with his hands on the small of her back.

"Bring your arm back," Brock said, his voice a smooth, soft whisper in her ear. His warm breath tickled her ear and she shivered at his touch. The scent of his cologne and body wash made her head fuzzy. His closeness made something unfamiliar rise up inside of her.

"L-like this?" She stammered.

"Yea, that's good," Brock said, his hands went back on her hips. "Keep a good stance, arm straight out, and just hit it over the net."

She nodded, feeling an ache between her thighs that she had never felt before. It stayed there long after he had went back over to his place. She served the ball correctly and Ash hit it back over. They played for another hour or so, before Brock finally grew tired and Ash decided it was time to eat.

Misty was almost certain her two male companions had forgotten about her birthday, but she should have known better. Brock had planned a dinner for her out on the beach, a long with a cake he got from the Cinnabar Bakery, with her name written in pink icing and an adorable Corsola and Horsea on the cake.

"Oh, you guys!" She exclaimed, smiling. "You didn't have to do all of this."

"You only turn 16 once," Brock said, sitting down beside her. "I made your favorite bowtie pasta and sauteed vegetables. And we have gifts."

"You guys got me gifts?" Misty asked, and Ash pulled out a gift bag.

"This is from me," Ash said, smiling. Not wanting to admit he had to get Brock to pick it out. He knew what she liked, what she wanted. Ash had no idea.

It was a short dress, that ended a few inches above the knee, in polka dot blue.

"Oh, Ash! This is so adorable!" She held it up to her. "Thank you!"

Brock reached into his backpocket and pulled out a long velvet box. "This is from me."

Misty opened it, and was shocked that Brock had bought her such a beautiful necklace. It had shimmer blue jewels in a heart shaped pendant.

"Oh my goodness, Brock..." she smiled up at him. "This is gorgeous! Where did you find this?"

"Down at the shops," Brock said, shrugging. "I wasn't sure if you would like it, but I know you like blue and I know you like jewelry."

"It's gorgeous!" She said. "Put it on!"

She turned around and she felt his fingers brush her skin as he clasped it in the back, and the pendant rested between her breasts. He thought this would probably be the only time he would be allowed to look at her breasts and use the necklace as an excuse.

"How does it look?"

"Their...I mean, it's perfect," he smiled, hoping she hadn't caught his mistake.

She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you."

"Hey, you're welcome!" He said, resisting the urge to let his hands explore her more. She had grown to be a beautiful young woman in just the short year that he knew her, and he knew in that moment, he loved her, and he always would.

"Are we ever going to eat?" Ash asked, and Brock reluctantly let Misty go.

"Yea, yea, we're going to eat," Brock said, rolling his eyes, turning away from them quickly to hide his arousal. He had to tell Misty how he felt, and he had to do it soon.

...

It was dark, so dark Misty couldn't see anything in front of her, but she felt Brock's arm around her. Something was pulling her from her sleep. A soft moaning sound, and her lips curled into a sleepy smile. Brock had been quite famous for waking up at 2 o'clock in the morning, kissing her neck until she woke up and making love to her before falling back asleep for the rest of the night.

She had even woken him up in the middle of the night for sex, and this was especially true when she was pregnant with Fiona. Her hormones had made her want it all the time, and Brock was certainly not objecting to it.

She was dreaming, but she knew she was dreaming, because she could control it. It was rare she found herself in that kind of control, so she relished in this dream. Brock had her laid out on the hood of his truck on a hot, summer afternoon. The garden hose had soaked her body and he was kissing her all over, lapping up the water as he went.

He was shirtless, in nothing but a pair of jeans and a thick black belt. He was sensual, and slow, and understood that she needed time before he could satisfy his burning desires with her. His moans of ecstacy became more intense as she reached out and pulled down his jeans, revealing his very hard arousal.

Brock smiled down at her as he watched kiss the tip of his firm erection. She closed her eyes and heard him moan again, brushing her hair back with his hand and enjoying the sensation of her warm lips and tongue.

"Misty, you're so beautiful," he whispered, breathlessly, as his moans of pleasure became faster. "Oh, yes! Oh, God, yes!"

She looked up at him, but what she saw made her freeze. It wasn't Brock's face she saw...this wasn't Brock. Suddenly, the world fell away, and she found herself being jerked awake by fear. The room was dark, but the bright red dot on their television at the foot of the bed cast shadows in the room, and as her senses came around, her heart slowed down, she head it.

Skin hitting skin, rapidly, and heavy breathing...moaning. The same moaning she heard in her dream.

Her eyes widened, and she saw a figure standing by the bed. Brock's heavy form lay next to her, her arm draped across her waist. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and the figure standing at the end of the bed was certainly not Brock. It was...a man.

A man was in the house. And he was...Oh God!

He was pleasuring himself right in front of her! She screamed when realization hit her, and accidently pushed Brock in the floor. Her scream was so loud it seemed to reverberate off the walls. Brock pushed himself off the floor and squinted against the light that Misty had turned on by their bed.

"Honey, what's the matter?" He asked, and Rose immediately came rushing in. It was only then that Brock realized he was still naked.

"What's going on?" Rose asked.

"There...there was a man..." Misty said, pulling the quilt around her. She had just realized she was also naked, having fallen asleep right after having sex.

"A man?" Brock looked around the room. "What man?"

"He was...standing...right..." she looked around, the room was empty. "He was right by the bed."

Brock slipped on the pair of boxers he discarded the night before, rubbed his eyes and looked around. "Honey, I don't see anyone."

Rose sighed. "Misty, honey, I think you just had a bad dream, considering what happened earlier tonight, I'm surprised we all haven't had nightmares."

Brock took her into her arms and rubbed the back of her head. "Babe, it's OK. It's alright. It was just a dream. That's all it was."

She cried into his chest and looked behind her, her eyes finally adjusting to the light in the room. "Brock, I know I saw someone. I was awake...I was dreaming..." she trailed off, looking over at her mother, then back at her husband. "I was dreaming about something, and then I woke up, and I saw him...he had his dick out and everything and he was...watching me sleep."

Brock tried to ignore the fact that Rose had seen him naked for the second time since she had been here, and knew he had to make his wife feel better. "Alright, I'll take a look around, OK? I'll check everywhere. Call the police, have them search the area." He directed at Rose, who immediately dialed the police's number on Brock's phone.

Meanwhile, Brock went over to their closet, opened it, moved the clothes around, even Misty's wedding dress, that had been his mother's, but nothing. He was quietly looking in Fiona's room by the time police had arrived. He had mostly done this for Misty's peace of mind.

The police searched the closets over again, the bathrooms, the kitchen, the living room, and the basement, which even creeped out some of the officers.

Misty had calmed down considerably by the time they finished the search and found nothing. Now, she was convinced it must have just been a dream.

"We didn't find anything," they said. "So we can't file a report, but what we can do is we can patrol the area for a couple days, make sure no one leaves or enters your home. Weren't you the same people who called earlier?"

Brock nodded. "Yes, we...found the body in our back yard. I think we're all just kind of shaken up by it." He knew he definitely was.

"Well, that's understandable," one of the officers said, then offered a smile at Misty. "Just calm down, Mrs. Harrison. Your home is safe."

Misty nodded, silently, and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face, trying to quell the anxiety inside of her.

After the police left, Rose returned to her room and Fiona had woken up when the police arrived. Naturally, she took this opportunity to seek comfort with them, and snuggled with Eevee in between them.

Neither of them objected, and Misty held her close, grateful she was safe.

As the three of them settled back in bed, Brock felt sleep overtake him again pretty quickly, but Misty was left awake. Fiona stirred beside her and as Misty's eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see Fiona looking right at her.

"Mommy?" She asked in a whisper, as not to wake her father back up.

"Yes, honey?" She asked, rubbing her back gently, soothingly.

"I told you I saw someone in the house..." Fiona whispered, and Misty felt a chill crawl up her spine. Her dream was too real. The sensations the sound, and the face. The face of the man who had replaced Brock's in her dream.

She knew that face too well, and it chilled her to her very core.

The face she had seen both in her dream and in the dark. She recognized that face. It had haunted her dreams for years now. The chin-length dark hair, the green eyes, the pudgy nose.

But how could she have seen him in her bedroom? He was dead. She had shot him dead in Delia Ketchum's kitchen five years ago. She watched him die. She watched him trying to kill Brock on the kitchen floor, she watched him shoot Gary Oak, nearly killing him, she watched him threaten Ash.

She watched him die.

But she knew the face she saw.

It was the face of Tracey Sketchit.

...

The next morning, Misty walked Fiona into the school building. Eve's classroom was buzzing with noise among the colorful carpet and tiny desks. The laughter of children filled the air, and last night's events seemed to be an entire world away right now.

"Here is your lunch, Fiona," she said, handing Fiona her Charmander lunch box and helping her put her coat away on the jacket rack at the front of the classroom. Unlike the most recent days at school, Fiona clung to Misty as she did on her first day of preschool.

"Mommy, I don't want you to leave," she said, looking up at her. Misty smiled at her warmly, and knelt down until she was eye level with her daughter.

"Honey, I have to go. You would much rather be here with Holly than at the grocery store with me, or at the Gym with daddy, wouldn't you?" Misty asked, and Fiona just shook her head.

"I'm scared that the man is going to find me," Fiona said, and Misty's expression softened and she pulled her in for a hug.

"Oh, honey, nothing happened last night. I just had a really bad dream. Just like sometimes you have bad dreams," she smiled and kissed her forehead, wishing she could believe her own story. "Now, go on and play. Draw a picture today and me and daddy will hang it on the fridge when you get home this afternoon."

"OK," Fiona said, reluctantly. She hugged her mother one more time and then parted from her, going straight towards Holly who was finger painting at one of the easels. Misty stood up and noticed Eve was watching her.

"I'm not really sure what's gotten into her," Misty said, smiling. "I thought she was alright with being at school during he day."

"Mrs. Harrison, can I talk to you for a moment? Maybe we can step across the hall to the library. I can get us a couple cups of coffee if you like." Eve said, motioning over to one of the student teachers in the next room to keep an eye on her class while she was gone. Misty agreed, and once the replacement teacher was in the room, she stepped out, closed the door and led Misty across the hall to the library. Eve walked into the lounge just off to the side and came back with two cups of coffee.

It was a small room, filled with typical books preschoolers would read. Green Eggs and Ham. The Cat in The Hat. Horton Hears a Hoo. It was empty, except for the librarian who sat at the desk and was reading a book that was clearly from the public library, rather than this one.

"Is everything alright with Fiona?" Misty asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Harrison," she said.

"Please call me, Misty," she smiled at her, and Eve smiled back, though her jealousy had skyrocketed. Misty was pretty and kind, and had been nothing but nice to her. She suddenly felt bad for wishing any ill-will against her.

"Misty, this is about something else...something outside of school," Eve looked around, unsure if the librarian was trying to listen in. She probably wasn't. She looked too wrapped up in her book, and probably figured she was just having a conversation with a parent whose child was misbehaved or not progressing like the others.

"Fiona is far above most of my students. She's already reading on her own, and can write her full name, so this isn't about her," Eve said, taking a sip of coffee. "This is about you, and...this is going to sound so bizarre, but I was once engaged. I was engaged to a man named Tracey Sketchit."

Misty's eyes widened. "Y-y-you knew Tracey?" She felt the room spin, the floor drop from under her.

"I was with him for about a year. We lived on Valencia Island about 5 years ago," Eve told her. "When I found out I was pregnant with Holly, he left me. I found out from some mutual friends that he was seeing someone else shortly after that."

Misty opened her mouth to say something, but found no words. It was her.

"Only recently did I find out that the woman he was seeing was you," Eve's eyes locked on Misty's.

"I-I don't know what to say, Eve," Misty said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know he had left you or that you were pregnant at the time."

"I know," Eve said, offering her the best smile she could manage. "You would have no way of knowing that. But I'm afraid that there is more to this story..."

Misty sipped her coffee. The bitter taste of it didn't even phase her as she waited for Eve to continue.

"I know about the attack, how he had forced himself on you in the Xanadu Nursery in Pallet Town because he was jealous of your feelings for Brock," Eve said, noting to herself that it was the same kind of jealousy she felt towards Misty about Brock's feelings for her.

Misty shuddered, her mind snapping back to those events.

"I also know that you shot and killed him that day, but the truth is," Eve paused for a moment. "You didn't kill anyone, Misty. You just shot him and he was pronounced dead, but there is a doctor Martin who has been rehabilitating Tracey from his injuries for the last five years in Celadon City, and just recently...Tracey had escaped the hospital in Celadon."

"He...he didn't die?" Misty asked, feeling a mixture of relief, knowing that all these years of carrying the burden around of taking someone's life was lifted, but also of fear, knowing that he was on the loose. Suddenly, last's nights events didn't seem so far away.

"He didn't die," Eve repeated. "Dr. Martin thinks he's in Pewter City and he's looking for you."

Misty's mouth felt like cotton had been crammed in it. "What?"

"Tracey drew hundreds if not thousands of pictures of you while he was in the hospital," Eve said. "He was in love with you. And he couldn't stand the fact that you didn't return his feelings, and that you were in love with Brock. He's believed to be very dangerous."

Misty's eyes flooded with tears, but she did not make a sound. "He was in my house last night." Her voice was barely audible, but Eve had heard her.

"He was...in your house?" She asked, and Misty nodded.

"I called the police and they looked around, but found nothing," she said, looking down at the light brown of her coffee. "I mean, they checked every square inch." Her mind went back to what Brock had discovered in the yard.

"Oh God, and the body...There was a dead body of a young girl in our backyard that Brock found last night. We reported that to the police as well," she was frozen with fear. "Do you think Tracey did that too?"

"Misty, you need to just stay calm...install an alarm system in your house and make sure no one is in the house before you lock your doors at night. The police in Pewter City have already been notified of his possible whereabouts," Eve said, trying to calm her down. She may not have liked Misty, because of her crush on Brock, but she sympathized with her. They were both mothers, and they both had daughters they were trying to protect.

As Misty left the school building, Pewter City had taken on a different kind of air. An eerie, gray, creepy vibe had seemed to blanket the city. To make matters worse, it had started to rain.