[Desolate Divine]
03-21-2015, 11:28 AM
Fear.exe
I awoke to an empty campsite. Had I been travelling alone, this would not have been a problem, but the fact that I recall falling asleep with at least five other people in their sleeping bags scattered around the campsite proves something isn’t right. They were all gone. All of Team Emerald. And it wasn’t just them. Any evidence of them being here was gone. The earth looked settled and untouched, and there was no litter around. To the outsider looking in, I slept here by myself.
I packed up my sleeping bag, and scoured the campsite looking for a note of some sort. At first I thought that they might have gone back to Fortree to get supplies, but that isn’t a big job. They wouldn’t have gone without me.
I began going through my contacts, calling Lucian and Brettles, only to find a disconnected line. Something was definitely wrong. There was no reasonable explanation for them leaving the way they did. Unless they were taken against their will. But why leave me?
I began walking back towards Fortree, making calls on my Pokenav to the others, trying to get into contact with no luck. All of their Pokenavs had been disconnected.
I spent an hour at the Pokemon Center, describing the rest of the team to strangers, and asking if they had seen them, to which I had little luck. The next hour was spent doing the same at the Pokemart, until I was escorted out by security. Harassing customers, my ***!
I considered asking Phoebe about the others. She saw them when we passed through yesterday, though not much was said. In the end I decided to leave her out of this. I didn’t want her to worry.
I made my way to the last stop of my trip in Fortree. The gym. We had all passed through here yesterday and got the Feather Badge. I waited out the front for Winona to come out on her break, since chances are she is taking challengers. That and I needed a bit of time to get my head around what was happening.
Just before midday, the Gym doors opened, and Winona walked out. After a second she noticed me.
“Didn’t you already beat me yesterday?” Winona said to me, looking slightly confused. I nodded.
“I did. I need to ask you something though.” I replied, “I came through here with at least five other people. I woke up this morning, and they were all gone, with nothing to say they were ever there. I was wondering if you saw them come through Fortree again since. I am starting to worry.”
Winona looked at me confused. Something was up.
“I think you should see a doctor.” Winona said sounding a little concerned, “Have you hit your head recently?”
“I’m fine.” I said, “Anyway, have you seen them?”
“I really think you aren’t.” Winona said, “You came through here alone yesterday. Nobody was with you.”
I was shocked. This wasn’t right at all.
“That’s bull crap!” I said loudly, “The five of us came in here and challenged your gym. We all won a badge each.”
“You were the only person to beat me yesterday. It was actually quite a good battle.” Winona replied, “But I assure you, I only battled you. You were the only one who came yesterday.”
“Stop lying!” I shouted, “I don’t know what you stand to gain by not just telling me the truth!”
“I am telling you the truth!” Winona said, starting to get irritated, “Anyway, you are wasting my break. If you don’t leave now, I will have your badge revoked and call the police.”
I snapped. I pressed the button on Gwaine’s Pokeball that was clipped to my belt, and shoved Winona into the Gym wall, holding my forearm to her neck to keep her from moving.
“Gwaine, look into her mind and find out what I need to know!” I said to the Gallade, who nodded. His eyes began to glow. I turned to Winona and started to yell.
“Now tell me! Have you seen my friends, and don’t start this ‘you were alone’ bull ****!”
“I am not lying!” Winona yelled out, starting to cry.
“Jacob, I can see her memories. She isn’t lying.” Gwaine said to me telepathically, “She genuinely believes that you were alone.”
I had flashes of Winona’s memories. I saw myself battling her, however behind me where Team Emerald was sitting was empty. She had forgotten they were there.
I let go of Winona, as she fell to the ground, spluttering for air.
“You are insane!” Winona yelled at me.
“Come on Gwaine, it is time to leave.” I said, as I walked away from the sobbing gym leader.
We ran from the gym to the outskirts of the city, seeing as Winona would probably call the police for what I did. When we were out of the city, I finally had a chance to talk to Gwaine.
“How can she remember me and not them?” I asked Gwaine.
“Powerful enough psychic types can wipe parts of people memories.” Gwaine responded, “If you take too much, it leaves holes in the memories, and people guess that something isn’t right. But all that was taken away from her was a few strangers that she saw once.”
I made my way to a tree and sat against it with my head in my hands. I had never been in a situation like this, and never thought I would be. I had absolutely no idea where to go next.
“What should we do?” Gwaine asked me.
I was silent for a minute.
“I… I don’t know.” I said, “I can’t think of any reason why they would take them and not me, unless it was personal.”
I stopped talking for a second, and thought for a bit.
“Do you think someone is using them to try and hurt me?” I said, “I mean think about it. I have nothing but the people I care about and my Pokemon. Take them away and all I am left with is the memory of them. That’s all I have left of Scope. But take it one step further and take away the very fact they existed. That is the worst way for someone to hurt me. They are taking the people I care about, and removing them from everyone’s minds but my own.”
The next thought hit me like a brick wall.
“Gwaine, they have already taken Team Emerald. The only people left to take are Phoebe and my family.” I explained.
“So who will you try and save?” Gwaine asked me.
This was a tough question. Phoebe was so much closer, but mum, Noah and my siblings are the obvious choice. Not many people knew about Phoebe.
“I will go to Mauville.” I said to Gwaine. He had been looking in my head and knew why I said that, “Besides, if I am not too late, Laura will be able to help me.”
After those words were said, I put Gwaine back in his Pokeball and called out Mushu. I climbed onto the Charizard’s back. He pushed himself off the ground, flapped his huge wings, and took off, towards Mauville.
With the tailwind working for us, Mushu landed in Mauville City a matter of hours later, and I made my way to the house where my family lived. However it was not as I remembered it. Far from it.
The usually clean and neat house was trashed. The weatherboard walls were filthy with dust and graffiti. The windows were broken, and the garden was overrun. I opened the door with my key, but nobody was there. Nothing was there. The rooms were bare. There was rubbish and holes in the wall from what I assume would have been kids breaking in. No furniture. No appliances. Even the oven had been torn from its frame in the kitchen, and the taps removed from the basin in the bathroom. It looked like it had been abandoned for years. But that was impossible. I only left a matter of weeks ago.
I left the house, and walked to the neighbours’ front door, letting Gwaine out of his Pokeball.
“Read his mind and tell me if he lies.” I said to the psychic type, before knocking vigorously on the door.
After a minute, it was opened by a middle-aged man I remembered as Ian. Back when Laura and I were battling in the backyard, a stray stone from Skillet’s Rock Slide broke one of his windows. He made Magnus look like a Jigglypuff when he was p*ssed off.
“Ian, where did my family go?” I said to him, jumping straight to the point. He looked at me confused and annoyed.
“Who are you and how do you know my name?” he said to me coldly. I was surprised the brute could forget me.
“I am Elizabeth’s son from next door!” I said, “I asked you a question. Where are they? I came home and the house was empty.”
“Next door?” Ian said, starting to sound confused, “Nobody has lived next door for years.”
“He thinks he is telling the truth.” Gwaine said to me telepathically, “Just like Winona.”
“Are you sure?” I said to Ian, “I lived there for months! Remember, my Lairon broke your window?”
“Is this some kind of joke?” Ian replied, “Cut the crap. Nobody has lived there for years, and we have never met. Now stop wasting my time.”
The door was slammed in my face, and I lost it. I yelled and put my foot through the bottom of it. When I realised what I had done, I knew I had no other choice but to run.
I turned to face Gwaine, but saw he wasn’t there. The space he stood in moments ago was empty.
“Gwaine?” I said, the panic starting to set in, “Gwaine?!”
Things weren’t making sense. Gwaine was gone. My best friend.
“You little bastard!” I heard Ian yell from the other side of the door. If I didn’t run now, I would get bashed.
I sprinted away from the door, towards the centre of Mauville, which seemed to be always busy. The perfect place to hide. I found a park bench and sat down, head in my hands. Whatever was happening wasn’t normal. Everyone didn’t just disappear. They never existed. For the first time in a long while, I was alone in the world. And I had no idea of how to fix it.
Then it hit me. A curse, which might double as a blessing. The rock. I grabbed an old tshirt, and used it to cover my hand as I pulled the rock out of my bag. There was nothing overly strange about it other than its colour, but I knew that this rock had been nothing but trouble since I found it. It was time to see if it could be useful.
I focused my mind on the people missing. Team Emerald. My family. Gwaine. Everyone who now supposedly never existed. I blocked out every single sound from outside, and made my thoughts completely fixed on them. Then I touched the stone.
The breath was knocked out of me as everything I saw around me melted away, and I was standing somewhere else. This place wasn’t like the other visions I had, where Deoxys killed everyone. This was different. The main difference is the fact that I was in a city, with people everywhere.
I looked at the street sign next to me, and noticed it was the same as the ones I grew up seeing in Lilycove City. I must be back home.
I looked around, but all the buildings seemed blurry. Some had signs that were unreadable. Then I saw it. The one building that was clear. The further away from it I looked the blurrier everything became. The harbour.
There was a digital sign stuck to the front wall next to the main door.
Next ship to Orre, Leaves at 7:47pm.
I knew I didn’t have much time before I’d leave, so I looked around for any sign of the date. First thing I found was a newspaper. It was today.
Suddenly, with the blink of an eye, it disappeared, and I was in Mauville again. It was 3pm, so I had just less than five hours to get to Lilycove City. I grabbed Mushu’s Pokeball, and pressed the button to let the Charizard out.
But he didn’t emerge. The Pokeball opened, and it was empty.
“Oh no.” I whispered as I started to realise what was happening. I pressed the buttons on all my other Pokeballs, but had the same result. I kept myself from entering a panic attack by telling myself that they could have been sent to the PC by a Transfer System Glitch. I ran to a Pokemon Center and attempted to log into one of the computers there.
Error; user ID does not exist.
To find my Pokemon and everyone else who was taken, whose existence seemed to disappear altogether, I had to get to Lilycove by 7:47. But without my flyer, I didn’t stand a chance. It would take a miracle for me to get there. Or incredible stupidity. I began to walk to the nearest carpark. I had a plan, one that would wind me up in a lot of trouble if I got caught.
I looked around the carpark and took note of what cars were the most common. White Holden Commodores. I found one where there wasn’t any people nearby and no security cameras. When I found one, I grabbed my knife from my bag, and used it to twist the screws on the license plates, stealing both of them. Once I had them, I left the car, making my way to the other end of the car park, waiting for the next commodore to come in.
After twenty minutes, someone left their car, locking it behind them. Their white Commodore.
The middle aged woman walked from the car towards the entrance of a nearby shopping centre. I had done some low things in my time, but this would be the world record.
I pulled my hood up, and tied my scarf around my face, leaving only my eyes open. I needed all the time I could get. When I finally had the nerve to do it, I ran to the woman.
She didn’t see me coming, and for probably the next two seconds after I snatched her purse, she didn’t realise what was going on. I kept running towards the car, looking through the purse for the keys as she started screaming. Finally I found the keys, pulling them out and throwing the bag behind me, the contents of it flying all over the car park. I used the remote to unlock the car, before jumping in and starting it up. I drove out of the space and floored it out of the car park, watching as the woman ran behind me in my mirror, eventually giving up.
I didn’t have too long until the cops would respond to her call, so when I thought it was somewhat safe, I pulled over, and replaced the plates on the car I stole with the plates I stole earlier. They were for the same type of car, so they shouldn’t give me away.
I got my learners permit when I was nearly finished with school, and learnt the basics of driving then. In the five months of living in Mauville, Noah decided to help me get my license. Not sure if it was some bonding thing he wanted to do, but I appreciated the gesture, especially when I got it towards the end of my time there. Though I would never say this to him, but as much as I hate my mum for walking out, I am glad it was with him. She could have gotten with much worse. That being said, if I got caught in this stolen car, chances are my license would be gone, and would be the least of my worries.
I drove along the Northern Freeway, trying to drive at an inconspicuous speed, and trying to draw as little attention to myself as possible. When I saw the exit to Fortree City, I contemplated seeing if Phoebe was okay but decided against it. If they were able to take my Pokemon from right under my nose, chances are they took Phoebe as well, whoever they are.
As I drove along the freeway, the sun started to go down, and I contemplated who it was that had been taking my friends. The fact that they were targeting everyone close to me meant it was personal. Blake? No, he was too stupid to pull something like this off, and didn’t have access to powerful enough Psychic Pokemon to do the memory wipes. Frank? Maybe, but this isn’t his style. He is arrogant, and would want to take credit for this.
Finally I made it to the end of the freeway. Lilycove City. It was 7:32 when I entered the metropolitan area of the city. I followed the signs, arriving at the harbour at 7:40. I had seven minutes to get on that boat.
I entered the harbour and saw the boat was a small cargo vessel. No bigger than a fishing boat.
The dock was level with the deck of the boat. When I was sure nobody was watching, I climbed onto the safety barrier, and jumped from there to the deck of the boat. So far I hadn’t been seen. So far, so good.
There was no room to hide anyone on the main deck, and I knew if I stayed out in the open, I would be seen. I made my way to the central cabin and after looking for a second through the keyhole to make sure it was empty, I opened the door and walked in.
The main room was empty, and aside from a few crates, nothing seemed out of place. This seemed like an ordinary boat. There was a trapdoor in the centre that lead to the hull. There was nowhere else they could be.
I tried to open the trapdoor but it was barricaded from the other side. It was made of wood that had been there for a long time, and had rotted over that time. With two hard stomps, the wood shattered, and I climbed through the new hole.
The hull was dark and barely lit. I could just see the outline of large crates. I pulled out my phone and turned on the screen to read the logo on them. It was a Pokeball. They must be exporting Pokeballs to the Orre region.
I started to look around, and saw at the end of the hull, and outline of a person. Suddenly they turned and ran.
“Hey! Get back here!” I yelled, “What the hell is going on?! Why is everyone disappearing?!”
I followed the person, getting closer and closer. No matter how many times they would zig-zag or run around corners, I would still catch up to them. Finally I ran and dived, grabbing them and tackling them to the ground. They rolled over and I sat on them. I pulled out my phone to light up their face. However I was shocked at who it was.
“Phoebe?” I said, “What is going on?”
I got off her and let her stand.
“Just leave Jacob.” Phoebe said coldly, “Go.”
This wasn’t right. Phoebe was one of the most kind-hearted people I knew. She was my only friend from school. The only person who actually gave a damn about me, even though everyone thought I was the mental case.
“What is going on?” I said, starting to panic, “Have they brainwashed you?”
I took a step towards her, but she took two steps back.
“Don’t you get it?” Phoebe asked starting to raise her voice, “You are a poison to everyone around you. Nobody took us. We left because we wanted to.”
“What are you saying?” I asked quietly. My hands were starting to shake.
“You always believed that nobody wanted to be around you because they thought you were insane.” Phoebe yelled, “Well I believed you at first, until we became friends. The truth is that you drive everyone who you care about away! Even your Pokemon wanted to leave you!”
“That… That’s not true.” I stuttered. I didn’t want to believe it, but found myself believing it. All of a sudden it seemed like the most likely explanation.
“Why do you think nobody had any memory of them?” Phoebe asked, “Your sister had her Espeon back. Team Emerald had numerous psychics. They all left you. And it is nobody’s fault but your own. They could be anywhere by now, hiding from you. And you will never find them.”
I remembered the others. Had they really all hated me? Had they really all wanted to leave me, and when given the chance to do so, chose to? Brettles? He and I have been good friends since day one. And he left me. Rain? Even though we had our differences when meeting, I thought we were friends. Mum? She left me once. But again?
“Phoebe, please, don’t go.” I begged, starting to cry, “You are the only one I have left. Please don’t leave me alone.”
Phoebe looked at me with a mixture of pity and disgust. Finally, she spoke.
“I’m not leaving. You are.” She said, pulling out a flick knife from her jacket pocket. “Leave now or die.”
I needed to be strong. Now more than ever is when I need my friends, my family and my team to have my back. But now they don’t, and I need to be strong without them.
“No.” I said, “No to everything. You are a liar.”
Phoebe advanced towards me.
“You say that they left, that I drove them away, but you are a liar!” I shouted, as Phoebe got closer to me, “They wouldn’t do that!”
“It is possible, but I know that they didn’t abandon me. I know they would never do that!” I yelled. Phoebe raised the knife, and I closed my eyes preparing to die. “They would never do that I trust them, and have all the faith in the world in them! They would never abandon me! Not now and not ever!”
When I didn’t feel a stabbing pain in my chest I opened my eyes and looked town. The knife was millimetres away from my heart, however Phoebe’s wrist was being held in the air. It was shaking, as if an invisible hand was holding it there.
I looked behind me to see Gwaine. The Gallade’s eyes were glowing. After a few seconds Phoebe dropped the knife.
“I am leaving.” I said, “I know the others wouldn’t leave me, and will find them. I have faith in them. And I have faith in you, that this isn’t the real you.”
I made my way back to the ladder and climbed into the main cabin. As I left the harbour, I saw some figures in the distance. As they got closer I recognised them. My friends. My family. My team. Even Phoebe stood with them. I was right. That wasn’t here in the hull.
As they got closer, the world around me started to unravel, until we all were seemingly standing on thin air. Everything was white. Then, when I finally reached them, it all went black.
I opened my eyes and gasped for air, as I awoke for what felt like the first time in hours.
“Where am I?”
Authors note: The hardest part about writing this story was making the plot believable and avoiding continuity errors. However in the writing process, I discovered that in a scenario such as this, where what the character sees and hears isn’t real, it is possible to use these continuity errors for the plot. However due to this being judged I feel the need to explain them.
Fear.exe (my name for the computer that created this scenario) has a primary and secondary objective. Its primary objective is to use the victims fear against it. It’s secondary objective is to justify the means used to fulfil the first objective. However sometimes it is not always possible. Sometimes it does the impossible to scare the victim, and cannot explain itself. This is when it starts to glitch. It creates holes in the reality, which is invisible until the victim begins to question it. These holes allow for elements of the victims mind to make their way into the reality.
In this, Jacob was in too much of a distressed state to notice that circumstances weren’t adding up, which created holes in the reality. These weren’t noticeable and when Jacob denied the reality, the holes in it allowed his subconscious to fight back, by sending Gwaine. By continuing to deny and question it, it brought everyone he had been searching for to him, and the reality disintegrated. When there was nothing left, he woke up.
I awoke to an empty campsite. Had I been travelling alone, this would not have been a problem, but the fact that I recall falling asleep with at least five other people in their sleeping bags scattered around the campsite proves something isn’t right. They were all gone. All of Team Emerald. And it wasn’t just them. Any evidence of them being here was gone. The earth looked settled and untouched, and there was no litter around. To the outsider looking in, I slept here by myself.
I packed up my sleeping bag, and scoured the campsite looking for a note of some sort. At first I thought that they might have gone back to Fortree to get supplies, but that isn’t a big job. They wouldn’t have gone without me.
I began going through my contacts, calling Lucian and Brettles, only to find a disconnected line. Something was definitely wrong. There was no reasonable explanation for them leaving the way they did. Unless they were taken against their will. But why leave me?
I began walking back towards Fortree, making calls on my Pokenav to the others, trying to get into contact with no luck. All of their Pokenavs had been disconnected.
I spent an hour at the Pokemon Center, describing the rest of the team to strangers, and asking if they had seen them, to which I had little luck. The next hour was spent doing the same at the Pokemart, until I was escorted out by security. Harassing customers, my ***!
I considered asking Phoebe about the others. She saw them when we passed through yesterday, though not much was said. In the end I decided to leave her out of this. I didn’t want her to worry.
I made my way to the last stop of my trip in Fortree. The gym. We had all passed through here yesterday and got the Feather Badge. I waited out the front for Winona to come out on her break, since chances are she is taking challengers. That and I needed a bit of time to get my head around what was happening.
Just before midday, the Gym doors opened, and Winona walked out. After a second she noticed me.
“Didn’t you already beat me yesterday?” Winona said to me, looking slightly confused. I nodded.
“I did. I need to ask you something though.” I replied, “I came through here with at least five other people. I woke up this morning, and they were all gone, with nothing to say they were ever there. I was wondering if you saw them come through Fortree again since. I am starting to worry.”
Winona looked at me confused. Something was up.
“I think you should see a doctor.” Winona said sounding a little concerned, “Have you hit your head recently?”
“I’m fine.” I said, “Anyway, have you seen them?”
“I really think you aren’t.” Winona said, “You came through here alone yesterday. Nobody was with you.”
I was shocked. This wasn’t right at all.
“That’s bull crap!” I said loudly, “The five of us came in here and challenged your gym. We all won a badge each.”
“You were the only person to beat me yesterday. It was actually quite a good battle.” Winona replied, “But I assure you, I only battled you. You were the only one who came yesterday.”
“Stop lying!” I shouted, “I don’t know what you stand to gain by not just telling me the truth!”
“I am telling you the truth!” Winona said, starting to get irritated, “Anyway, you are wasting my break. If you don’t leave now, I will have your badge revoked and call the police.”
I snapped. I pressed the button on Gwaine’s Pokeball that was clipped to my belt, and shoved Winona into the Gym wall, holding my forearm to her neck to keep her from moving.
“Gwaine, look into her mind and find out what I need to know!” I said to the Gallade, who nodded. His eyes began to glow. I turned to Winona and started to yell.
“Now tell me! Have you seen my friends, and don’t start this ‘you were alone’ bull ****!”
“I am not lying!” Winona yelled out, starting to cry.
“Jacob, I can see her memories. She isn’t lying.” Gwaine said to me telepathically, “She genuinely believes that you were alone.”
I had flashes of Winona’s memories. I saw myself battling her, however behind me where Team Emerald was sitting was empty. She had forgotten they were there.
I let go of Winona, as she fell to the ground, spluttering for air.
“You are insane!” Winona yelled at me.
“Come on Gwaine, it is time to leave.” I said, as I walked away from the sobbing gym leader.
We ran from the gym to the outskirts of the city, seeing as Winona would probably call the police for what I did. When we were out of the city, I finally had a chance to talk to Gwaine.
“How can she remember me and not them?” I asked Gwaine.
“Powerful enough psychic types can wipe parts of people memories.” Gwaine responded, “If you take too much, it leaves holes in the memories, and people guess that something isn’t right. But all that was taken away from her was a few strangers that she saw once.”
I made my way to a tree and sat against it with my head in my hands. I had never been in a situation like this, and never thought I would be. I had absolutely no idea where to go next.
“What should we do?” Gwaine asked me.
I was silent for a minute.
“I… I don’t know.” I said, “I can’t think of any reason why they would take them and not me, unless it was personal.”
I stopped talking for a second, and thought for a bit.
“Do you think someone is using them to try and hurt me?” I said, “I mean think about it. I have nothing but the people I care about and my Pokemon. Take them away and all I am left with is the memory of them. That’s all I have left of Scope. But take it one step further and take away the very fact they existed. That is the worst way for someone to hurt me. They are taking the people I care about, and removing them from everyone’s minds but my own.”
The next thought hit me like a brick wall.
“Gwaine, they have already taken Team Emerald. The only people left to take are Phoebe and my family.” I explained.
“So who will you try and save?” Gwaine asked me.
This was a tough question. Phoebe was so much closer, but mum, Noah and my siblings are the obvious choice. Not many people knew about Phoebe.
“I will go to Mauville.” I said to Gwaine. He had been looking in my head and knew why I said that, “Besides, if I am not too late, Laura will be able to help me.”
After those words were said, I put Gwaine back in his Pokeball and called out Mushu. I climbed onto the Charizard’s back. He pushed himself off the ground, flapped his huge wings, and took off, towards Mauville.
With the tailwind working for us, Mushu landed in Mauville City a matter of hours later, and I made my way to the house where my family lived. However it was not as I remembered it. Far from it.
The usually clean and neat house was trashed. The weatherboard walls were filthy with dust and graffiti. The windows were broken, and the garden was overrun. I opened the door with my key, but nobody was there. Nothing was there. The rooms were bare. There was rubbish and holes in the wall from what I assume would have been kids breaking in. No furniture. No appliances. Even the oven had been torn from its frame in the kitchen, and the taps removed from the basin in the bathroom. It looked like it had been abandoned for years. But that was impossible. I only left a matter of weeks ago.
I left the house, and walked to the neighbours’ front door, letting Gwaine out of his Pokeball.
“Read his mind and tell me if he lies.” I said to the psychic type, before knocking vigorously on the door.
After a minute, it was opened by a middle-aged man I remembered as Ian. Back when Laura and I were battling in the backyard, a stray stone from Skillet’s Rock Slide broke one of his windows. He made Magnus look like a Jigglypuff when he was p*ssed off.
“Ian, where did my family go?” I said to him, jumping straight to the point. He looked at me confused and annoyed.
“Who are you and how do you know my name?” he said to me coldly. I was surprised the brute could forget me.
“I am Elizabeth’s son from next door!” I said, “I asked you a question. Where are they? I came home and the house was empty.”
“Next door?” Ian said, starting to sound confused, “Nobody has lived next door for years.”
“He thinks he is telling the truth.” Gwaine said to me telepathically, “Just like Winona.”
“Are you sure?” I said to Ian, “I lived there for months! Remember, my Lairon broke your window?”
“Is this some kind of joke?” Ian replied, “Cut the crap. Nobody has lived there for years, and we have never met. Now stop wasting my time.”
The door was slammed in my face, and I lost it. I yelled and put my foot through the bottom of it. When I realised what I had done, I knew I had no other choice but to run.
I turned to face Gwaine, but saw he wasn’t there. The space he stood in moments ago was empty.
“Gwaine?” I said, the panic starting to set in, “Gwaine?!”
Things weren’t making sense. Gwaine was gone. My best friend.
“You little bastard!” I heard Ian yell from the other side of the door. If I didn’t run now, I would get bashed.
I sprinted away from the door, towards the centre of Mauville, which seemed to be always busy. The perfect place to hide. I found a park bench and sat down, head in my hands. Whatever was happening wasn’t normal. Everyone didn’t just disappear. They never existed. For the first time in a long while, I was alone in the world. And I had no idea of how to fix it.
Then it hit me. A curse, which might double as a blessing. The rock. I grabbed an old tshirt, and used it to cover my hand as I pulled the rock out of my bag. There was nothing overly strange about it other than its colour, but I knew that this rock had been nothing but trouble since I found it. It was time to see if it could be useful.
I focused my mind on the people missing. Team Emerald. My family. Gwaine. Everyone who now supposedly never existed. I blocked out every single sound from outside, and made my thoughts completely fixed on them. Then I touched the stone.
The breath was knocked out of me as everything I saw around me melted away, and I was standing somewhere else. This place wasn’t like the other visions I had, where Deoxys killed everyone. This was different. The main difference is the fact that I was in a city, with people everywhere.
I looked at the street sign next to me, and noticed it was the same as the ones I grew up seeing in Lilycove City. I must be back home.
I looked around, but all the buildings seemed blurry. Some had signs that were unreadable. Then I saw it. The one building that was clear. The further away from it I looked the blurrier everything became. The harbour.
There was a digital sign stuck to the front wall next to the main door.
Next ship to Orre, Leaves at 7:47pm.
I knew I didn’t have much time before I’d leave, so I looked around for any sign of the date. First thing I found was a newspaper. It was today.
Suddenly, with the blink of an eye, it disappeared, and I was in Mauville again. It was 3pm, so I had just less than five hours to get to Lilycove City. I grabbed Mushu’s Pokeball, and pressed the button to let the Charizard out.
But he didn’t emerge. The Pokeball opened, and it was empty.
“Oh no.” I whispered as I started to realise what was happening. I pressed the buttons on all my other Pokeballs, but had the same result. I kept myself from entering a panic attack by telling myself that they could have been sent to the PC by a Transfer System Glitch. I ran to a Pokemon Center and attempted to log into one of the computers there.
Error; user ID does not exist.
To find my Pokemon and everyone else who was taken, whose existence seemed to disappear altogether, I had to get to Lilycove by 7:47. But without my flyer, I didn’t stand a chance. It would take a miracle for me to get there. Or incredible stupidity. I began to walk to the nearest carpark. I had a plan, one that would wind me up in a lot of trouble if I got caught.
I looked around the carpark and took note of what cars were the most common. White Holden Commodores. I found one where there wasn’t any people nearby and no security cameras. When I found one, I grabbed my knife from my bag, and used it to twist the screws on the license plates, stealing both of them. Once I had them, I left the car, making my way to the other end of the car park, waiting for the next commodore to come in.
After twenty minutes, someone left their car, locking it behind them. Their white Commodore.
The middle aged woman walked from the car towards the entrance of a nearby shopping centre. I had done some low things in my time, but this would be the world record.
I pulled my hood up, and tied my scarf around my face, leaving only my eyes open. I needed all the time I could get. When I finally had the nerve to do it, I ran to the woman.
She didn’t see me coming, and for probably the next two seconds after I snatched her purse, she didn’t realise what was going on. I kept running towards the car, looking through the purse for the keys as she started screaming. Finally I found the keys, pulling them out and throwing the bag behind me, the contents of it flying all over the car park. I used the remote to unlock the car, before jumping in and starting it up. I drove out of the space and floored it out of the car park, watching as the woman ran behind me in my mirror, eventually giving up.
I didn’t have too long until the cops would respond to her call, so when I thought it was somewhat safe, I pulled over, and replaced the plates on the car I stole with the plates I stole earlier. They were for the same type of car, so they shouldn’t give me away.
I got my learners permit when I was nearly finished with school, and learnt the basics of driving then. In the five months of living in Mauville, Noah decided to help me get my license. Not sure if it was some bonding thing he wanted to do, but I appreciated the gesture, especially when I got it towards the end of my time there. Though I would never say this to him, but as much as I hate my mum for walking out, I am glad it was with him. She could have gotten with much worse. That being said, if I got caught in this stolen car, chances are my license would be gone, and would be the least of my worries.
I drove along the Northern Freeway, trying to drive at an inconspicuous speed, and trying to draw as little attention to myself as possible. When I saw the exit to Fortree City, I contemplated seeing if Phoebe was okay but decided against it. If they were able to take my Pokemon from right under my nose, chances are they took Phoebe as well, whoever they are.
As I drove along the freeway, the sun started to go down, and I contemplated who it was that had been taking my friends. The fact that they were targeting everyone close to me meant it was personal. Blake? No, he was too stupid to pull something like this off, and didn’t have access to powerful enough Psychic Pokemon to do the memory wipes. Frank? Maybe, but this isn’t his style. He is arrogant, and would want to take credit for this.
Finally I made it to the end of the freeway. Lilycove City. It was 7:32 when I entered the metropolitan area of the city. I followed the signs, arriving at the harbour at 7:40. I had seven minutes to get on that boat.
I entered the harbour and saw the boat was a small cargo vessel. No bigger than a fishing boat.
The dock was level with the deck of the boat. When I was sure nobody was watching, I climbed onto the safety barrier, and jumped from there to the deck of the boat. So far I hadn’t been seen. So far, so good.
There was no room to hide anyone on the main deck, and I knew if I stayed out in the open, I would be seen. I made my way to the central cabin and after looking for a second through the keyhole to make sure it was empty, I opened the door and walked in.
The main room was empty, and aside from a few crates, nothing seemed out of place. This seemed like an ordinary boat. There was a trapdoor in the centre that lead to the hull. There was nowhere else they could be.
I tried to open the trapdoor but it was barricaded from the other side. It was made of wood that had been there for a long time, and had rotted over that time. With two hard stomps, the wood shattered, and I climbed through the new hole.
The hull was dark and barely lit. I could just see the outline of large crates. I pulled out my phone and turned on the screen to read the logo on them. It was a Pokeball. They must be exporting Pokeballs to the Orre region.
I started to look around, and saw at the end of the hull, and outline of a person. Suddenly they turned and ran.
“Hey! Get back here!” I yelled, “What the hell is going on?! Why is everyone disappearing?!”
I followed the person, getting closer and closer. No matter how many times they would zig-zag or run around corners, I would still catch up to them. Finally I ran and dived, grabbing them and tackling them to the ground. They rolled over and I sat on them. I pulled out my phone to light up their face. However I was shocked at who it was.
“Phoebe?” I said, “What is going on?”
I got off her and let her stand.
“Just leave Jacob.” Phoebe said coldly, “Go.”
This wasn’t right. Phoebe was one of the most kind-hearted people I knew. She was my only friend from school. The only person who actually gave a damn about me, even though everyone thought I was the mental case.
“What is going on?” I said, starting to panic, “Have they brainwashed you?”
I took a step towards her, but she took two steps back.
“Don’t you get it?” Phoebe asked starting to raise her voice, “You are a poison to everyone around you. Nobody took us. We left because we wanted to.”
“What are you saying?” I asked quietly. My hands were starting to shake.
“You always believed that nobody wanted to be around you because they thought you were insane.” Phoebe yelled, “Well I believed you at first, until we became friends. The truth is that you drive everyone who you care about away! Even your Pokemon wanted to leave you!”
“That… That’s not true.” I stuttered. I didn’t want to believe it, but found myself believing it. All of a sudden it seemed like the most likely explanation.
“Why do you think nobody had any memory of them?” Phoebe asked, “Your sister had her Espeon back. Team Emerald had numerous psychics. They all left you. And it is nobody’s fault but your own. They could be anywhere by now, hiding from you. And you will never find them.”
I remembered the others. Had they really all hated me? Had they really all wanted to leave me, and when given the chance to do so, chose to? Brettles? He and I have been good friends since day one. And he left me. Rain? Even though we had our differences when meeting, I thought we were friends. Mum? She left me once. But again?
“Phoebe, please, don’t go.” I begged, starting to cry, “You are the only one I have left. Please don’t leave me alone.”
Phoebe looked at me with a mixture of pity and disgust. Finally, she spoke.
“I’m not leaving. You are.” She said, pulling out a flick knife from her jacket pocket. “Leave now or die.”
I needed to be strong. Now more than ever is when I need my friends, my family and my team to have my back. But now they don’t, and I need to be strong without them.
“No.” I said, “No to everything. You are a liar.”
Phoebe advanced towards me.
“You say that they left, that I drove them away, but you are a liar!” I shouted, as Phoebe got closer to me, “They wouldn’t do that!”
“It is possible, but I know that they didn’t abandon me. I know they would never do that!” I yelled. Phoebe raised the knife, and I closed my eyes preparing to die. “They would never do that I trust them, and have all the faith in the world in them! They would never abandon me! Not now and not ever!”
When I didn’t feel a stabbing pain in my chest I opened my eyes and looked town. The knife was millimetres away from my heart, however Phoebe’s wrist was being held in the air. It was shaking, as if an invisible hand was holding it there.
I looked behind me to see Gwaine. The Gallade’s eyes were glowing. After a few seconds Phoebe dropped the knife.
“I am leaving.” I said, “I know the others wouldn’t leave me, and will find them. I have faith in them. And I have faith in you, that this isn’t the real you.”
I made my way back to the ladder and climbed into the main cabin. As I left the harbour, I saw some figures in the distance. As they got closer I recognised them. My friends. My family. My team. Even Phoebe stood with them. I was right. That wasn’t here in the hull.
As they got closer, the world around me started to unravel, until we all were seemingly standing on thin air. Everything was white. Then, when I finally reached them, it all went black.
I opened my eyes and gasped for air, as I awoke for what felt like the first time in hours.
“Where am I?”
Authors note: The hardest part about writing this story was making the plot believable and avoiding continuity errors. However in the writing process, I discovered that in a scenario such as this, where what the character sees and hears isn’t real, it is possible to use these continuity errors for the plot. However due to this being judged I feel the need to explain them.
Fear.exe (my name for the computer that created this scenario) has a primary and secondary objective. Its primary objective is to use the victims fear against it. It’s secondary objective is to justify the means used to fulfil the first objective. However sometimes it is not always possible. Sometimes it does the impossible to scare the victim, and cannot explain itself. This is when it starts to glitch. It creates holes in the reality, which is invisible until the victim begins to question it. These holes allow for elements of the victims mind to make their way into the reality.
In this, Jacob was in too much of a distressed state to notice that circumstances weren’t adding up, which created holes in the reality. These weren’t noticeable and when Jacob denied the reality, the holes in it allowed his subconscious to fight back, by sending Gwaine. By continuing to deny and question it, it brought everyone he had been searching for to him, and the reality disintegrated. When there was nothing left, he woke up.