Chapter 9

ABOVE MY HEAD

I have these dreams where I’m losing all my teeth

Where the walls begin to cave in and Bury me Beneath

And when I wake, there’s a part of me that wishes

That my nightmares would come true

If only just to give me peace.

- Polaris

I

Charlotte awoke finding herself walking through a dark and foreboding forest, where the feeble light of dawn struggled to penetrate the thick branches above. Ahead of her, she spotted Ava and Erin, walking in somber silence. Confusion and concern gnawed at her as she tried to make sense of their surroundings. Emerging before them stood a colossal dome-like structure, its front adorned in shades of pink while the sides bled into a deep red. Three ominous archways beckoned them inside, although the building appeared long abandoned, blanketed in ivy and caked with layers of dirt.

An overwhelming fear gripped Charlotte, causing her to halt her steps abruptly. "No! I don't want to go in there!" she cried out through sobs, desperately pleading with Ava and Erin to stop. However, her pleas received no answers as they continued their slow march. Charlotte stood frozen, her heart pounding. Suddenly, an unseen force seized hold of her, lifting her off the ground, leaving her suspended in mid-air. "No... I don't want to go in," she whimpered, tears streaming down her face as the force carried her forward into the darkened depths.

Within the building, the darkness engulfed her, leaving her with only a vague sense of a winding hallway. The doors behind her slammed shut, sealing off the outside world and silencing her cries.

II

Emily found herself chained to the unforgiving ground, her every movement restrained. The cold touch of the concrete floor offered no solace in her desperation. Her screams echoed through the void, growing louder with each passing moment. Yet, they fell on deaf ears as her mother, Heather, Seth, and Erin purposefully averted their gazes, intentionally abandoning her to the depths of isolation.

A Mightyena stood nearby, its muzzle stained with blood as it clutched Heather's necklace in its jaws. When her sister finally turned around, her visage was grotesque, one eye hanging from its socket and a cheek torn open, revealing teeth. Emily tugged with all her might, desperately yearning for escape, but the chains held steadfast, leaving her trapped in the darkness.

III

Glenn sat in the corner, shielding his eyes with only glimpses behind his crossed fingers. The men were constantly beating and raping his mother, her desperate screams for help piercing through his soul. He wanted so badly to get up and save her, but his legs wouldn't move, he was just so young; he felt paralyzed, powerless to intervene. Her screams echoed throughout the room, filling everything with horror and despair.

Finally, Glenn sunk into the floor, bringing the end to the events before him. His mother stood in front of him smiling. Then the men callously walked past him again, and his legs remained frozen, refusing to obey the desperate commands of his mind. The overwhelming sense of helplessness and horror engulfed him, leaving him feeling utterly broken and defeated inside the loop.

IV

Brian, not even 15 years old, stood between his father and his sister, determined to protect her at all costs. He summoned every ounce of strength and courage he had, shoving his father with all his might, trying to defend her from the relentless abuse. The sickening thud echoed through the room as his father's head collided with the wall, leaving a trail of blood dripping down the surface.

"Daddy!" Brian screamed, his voice filled with fear and anguish. He recoiled, his body trembling into a ball on the floor, feeling so small in the vastness of the ever expanding room.

As his tears mingled with the darkness, he turned his gaze towards Rachel. Her head lay detached from her shoulders on the floor in front of her naked body. Blood slowly oozed from her lifeless neck. The words escaped her lips,"Where were you?" she asked. Her voice seem to fill the black void

V

Sarah's lifeless corpse hung in the air. Blood dripped from her ankles, pooling beneath her. Her skin had turned pale, drained of any color it once held. Veins protruded and stretched across her body, twisting and contorting. Decay consumed her neck, spreading across the left side of her face and chest. Her mouth twisted in an unnatural shape, and her eyes, devoid of life, continued to stare into Seth's soul. Beside her, Erin stood, his tiny body devoid of vitality. His skin was as lifeless as his mother's, his eyes empty, and his mouth unhinged. Together, they began to chant, their voices growing louder and more haunting with each repetition.

"You can't save him," Sarah's voice echoed through the air.

"You can't save me," Erin's voice joined in, intertwining with his mother's.

The chant grew in intensity, louder and louder and louder, that threatened to shatter his sanity. The sound pounded in his ears, reverberating through his very being, until it felt as if his head would explode.

"No!" Seth screamed, his body jerking upright from the ground. The sun had long risen, casting its light upon the scene. Tears filled Emily's eyes. Brian consoled Glenn, who sobbed uncontrollably, repeating the words, "My girls, my girls."

Seth's gaze darted around, searching frantically for his son. He rushed to his tent, his heart pounding in his chest. But when he entered, he found the sleeping bag empty. Panic consumed him, and he tore the tent apart in a desperate search. "No, no, no!" Seth cried out, his voice trembling with fear and desperation. "Please, no, please."

Emily approached, placing a gentle hand on his back, trying to offer some comfort. Enraged and overwhelmed, Seth turned, pushing her forcefully to the ground. "Where is he?" he demanded in rage. Tears streamed down his face as he collapsed to his knees, his legs no longer able to support him. Emily embraced him, holding him tightly as he continued to sob, his voice choked with pain. "Where is he?" Seth repeated, his words a desperate plea for answers.

Vulpix finally regained consciousness, and upon witnessing the commotion, she swiftly made her way towards Seth. The expression on his face instantly told her what had happened. With a hunched posture, Vulpix growled menacingly at Seth.

In a momentary lapse, Vulpix disappeared from sight, only to reappear with a forceful collision of her head against Seth's chest. Standing atop him, she bared her teeth, and shot flames above him. However, what hurt more for Seth, even more than the physical impact, was the undeniable sense of failure he saw in Vulpix's eyes. Gradually, Vulpix lept to the ground, and made her way to the tent. Nestling herself on Erin's sleeping bag. Whimpering softly.

"Seth, I need to know what our plan is," Brian said, his tone cautious, uncertain of how Seth would respond.

"We're going to fucking find them. They have to be somewhere near that town," Seth replied firmly. The four of them swiftly gathered their belongings and retraced their steps back toward the deserted town.

"Did any of you have nightmares last night?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Glenn responded, his voice barely audible, still withdrawn.

"I did too," Brian confessed. "It was like reliving my darkest moments, but turned up. It was horrifying. It's no wonder why everyone abandoned this place. I don't even want to sleep again after experiencing that."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Emily nodded in understanding. She gently rubbed Seth's back and locked eyes with him, conveying her unwavering support. "We will find him, Seth."

He simply nodded, his expression seemingly blank, yet tears silently streamed down his face. "It's my fault. I don't know how, but I fell asleep," he admitted, his voice trembling. "All I remember is sitting by the fire and seeing this moving light."

Glenn's gaze bore into Seth's, a mixture of hatred and disbelief. Seth's face held an overwhelming sense of grief, causing Glenn to avert his eyes.

“Vulpix, do you remember that light?” She simply nodded to Seth and continued walking at a fast pace.

VI

Erin stood frozen in front of the ominous tree, its trunk bearing the carving of his mother's name and something else etched beneath it. His eyes scanned the word, not being able to read it. He knew what it meant though, a sinking feeling in his heart told him that his father now rested beneath this very tree.

"Daddy, please help me," Erin sobbed, his voice trembling with fear. "I don't want to be alone."

He pleaded desperately, repeating his plea over and over again, but the silence of the desolate surroundings only amplified his anguish. As he turned his gaze back to the tree, his heart skipped a beat. Two hollowed holes formed in the trunk, resembling eerie eyes staring back at him.

Fear gripped Erin's entire being, paralyzing him in place. Suddenly, with a bone-chilling rustle, two branches descended from above, slamming into the ground on either side of him. The branches twisted and contorted, taking on an uncanny resemblance to gnarled fingers reaching out from the depths of nightmare. The tree began to lift itself, the roots pulling out of the ground looking like sharp fangs.

"No, stop! No!" Erin screamed, his voice filled with terror, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The ground beneath him gave way, and he felt himself being pulled into a sinister abyss.

Frantically, he reached out for anything within his grasp, desperately fighting against the inevitable fate that awaited him. His screams echoed through the air, a desperate cry for salvation as he was swallowed by the monstrous maw of the tree, his fingers slipping away, inch by agonizing inch.

"I don't want to go under the tree! No! NO!" Erin's desperate cries reverberated in the darkness, his voice fading into a haunting silence.

Erin's eyes fluttered open, and he found himself in a dimly lit room. The low-hanging ceiling panels seemed worn and neglected. The windows only allow faint rays of light to seep through the partially drawn curtains. To his left, Ava lay motionless on the cold floor, fast asleep. Turning his gaze to the right, his heart sank as he saw Charlotte lying there, but something was crouched over her form.

The creature's upper body was a sickly yellow hue, while its lower half was a dark, ominous brown. Its bloated stomach rested heavily on top of Charlotte, and its eyes were rolled up, showing only the whites. With its short trunk attached to her nose, it appeared as though it were feasting on something unseen. Erin's terror erupted into screams for his father, mother, Emily, Vulpix—names that reverberated through the room.

As he looked around, he noticed dozens of other children, seemingly asleep, with several Drowzees hovering over a few of them. Their eyes, eerily synchronized, rolled back and locked onto Erin. In the doorway, yellow fingers tightened their grip, and a yellow-furred Hypno emerged, its once-white mane now stained with blood, giving it a ghastly appearance. Its eyes remained concealed in the shadows, while its teeth, splattered with crimson, glistened ominously. Holding a small circle on a string, it began to swing it back and forth, slowly getting closer towards Erin.

Fear gripped him, and he desperately wanted to flee, to leap through the window, to teleport away from this nightmare. But he couldn't tear his eyes away from the small, silver disc. The Hypno inched closer, its haunting smile scaring Erin to his core, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably. Closer it inched. The terror overwhelmed him to the point where he felt the warmth of urine seeping into his pants.

Closer and closer it came, almost within reach. "Daddy... please... help me..." Erin's plea trembled on his lips, descending into the suffocating darkness of another nightmare.

VII

The deserted streets of Gardenia Town were bathed in an eerie red light. The group's team of Pokémon emerged before their trainer. Primeape, Vulpix, Torterra, Ditto, Vaporeon, Lairon, Noibat, Flapple, Ceruledge, and Fraxure stood looking at their trainers, confused.

"I..." Seth's voice caught in his throat as he struggled to find the right words, desperately grappling with the hope that by not uttering them, his current reality would dissolve into mere illusion, and Erin would reappear, his infectious smile lighting up their lives once again. "I…"

Emily, sensing his pain, interjected, "Erin, Ava, and Charlotte have been taken. They may be somewhere in this city. Go!" In an instant, they all darted into different directions. Even Ditto, assuming the form of Flapple, took off in a seemingly random way.

Gardenia appeared just as abandoned as its initial impression suggested. After hours of tearing through vacant homes and local stores, there were no signs or clues as to the whereabouts of the missing children. The only evidence they found belonged to previous search parties, likely from the group they had encountered two days ago on Route seven. The town stood still, bathed in the waning light of dusk, with no indication of Erin's location.

"Erin!" Seth's desperate cry echoed through the empty streets, but there was no response. Only Sarah staring at him through a window. “Erin, say something!”

Brian turned the corner and approached him, "I'm sorry, Seth, I couldn't find anything."

Seth let out a whistle that carried throughout the silent town. "Let's try something else. Maybe we should search the surrounding woods or look for any other potential locations, like a house or something."

“Okay,” Brian said with hope barely evident in his voice.

The group of trainers found themselves surrounded by their Pokémon, tension filling the air. As the light began to fade, the town seemed to grow even more vast and desolate. "I think it's time for us to split up and search the woods," suggested Glenn. "There has to be some connection to this town." Seth nodded in agreement, his expression mirroring Glenn's.

"Let's each take a different direction and cover as..." Noibat suddenly started fluttering around, emitting distressed screeches. "What's wrong?" Seth asked. Noibat tugged at Seth's collar, trying to lead him in a specific direction.

"Fuck, it hears something." Emily exclaimed, her hand covering her mouth in disbelief.

They quickly returned most of their Pokémon to their Pokéballs and embarked on a frantic chase after Noibat. As they entered the dense forest situated north of the town, an eerie stillness settled over the surroundings. The darkness closed in around them, suffocating the fading daylight and leaving them reliant on their flashlights for visibility.

The woods took on a sinister character, as if they held horrors within their twisted branches. The gnarled trees loomed like skeletal sentinels, their contorted forms casting elongated shadows that seemed to dance and writhe with malevolence. The air grew heavy and oppressive, carrying an unsettling scent of decay and dampness.

With each step deeper into the forest, the underbrush became increasingly dense and tangled, like a labyrinth designed to ensnare and confuse. Thorned vines reached out from the darkness, snaking their way around their ankles and clawing at their exposed skin, drawing thin lines of blood.

Strange noises echoed through the blackened woods—a chorus of whispered voices carried on the wind, indistinguishable yet chilling to the core. Branches creaked and groaned as if in protest, as though the very trees themselves were watching and waiting.

Still, they pressed forward, their determination overshadowing the encroaching dread. Noibat's chirping and fluttering guided them through the oppressive darkness, their flashlights casting feeble beams that seemed to be swallowed by the unyielding night.

Gradually, one of the whispers, barely audible at first, grew stronger and more distinct. Seth strained to listen, his heart pounding in his chest. "No... I don't want to go in," the voice echoed through the dense forest. Emily's expression turned to worry, and Glenn's eyes widened in recognition. "Charlotte?" he questioned, his voice laced with concern.

As they pressed on, Charlotte's sobs and cries grew louder, reverberating through the abyss of the woods. The group picked up their pace, their feet pounding against the forest floor, driven by a mix of fear and desperation. The haunting plea, "No! I don't want to go in there!" echoed around them, intensifying their urgency.

Their frantic pursuit led them to a small clearing, where they hoped to find their kids. "Charlotte!" Glenn's voice cracked with emotion. "Where are you?"

VIII

Drowzee's eyes rolled back as it released its suction on Charlotte's nose. Her eyes snapped open, and a loud, unexpected yell erupted from her throat. It wasn't a cry of fear but a repetitive "Woo" that's purpose only seemed to be to make noise. She stumbled around, her movements aimless, while continuing to vocalize the strange utterance.

Her mind seemed disconnected, as if the lights of rationality had been extinguished. In her disoriented state, she tripped over a sleeping child, unable to break her fall with her hands. Her face collided with the hard tile floor, blood gushing from her broken nose. Yet, instead of screaming in pain, she persisted in emitting the loud "Woo" repeatedly, as if it were the only way to express herself.

Suddenly, Charlotte found herself suspended in the air once again. She offered no resistance, allowing the invisible force to carry her through the desolate hallways, her "Woo" continuing to resonate and reverberate. The sound echoed through the empty corridors, filling the air with an eerie vibration.

As they passed several doors, Charlotte was abruptly thrown to the ground inside a dark room. A yellow hand reached out, grabbing her arm and dragging her closer. One last "Woo," vibrated through the halls.

IX

Glenn, overwhelmed with despair, collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face. A tree stump floated in the air with a dark phantom-like body extending below it. The Phantump turned its gaze towards him, and in Charlotte's voice, it repeated the agonized plea, "No! I don't want to go in there!"

Confusion and grief engulfed Glenn, as he searched desperately for answers asking, “what the hell is this,” in the midst of this haunting encounter. Before anyone could offer an explanation, more Phantumps emerged from the depths of the forest, their ghostly forms swaying in the night breeze. The air grew thick with the cries of children, their voices blending together in a chorus of sorrow and despair.

The group found themselves surrounded by the spectral apparitions, the sound of children's cries enveloping them, consuming their senses. As one of the Phantumps passed by Seth, it carried the haunting echoes of Erin's voice, mingled with the words, "Daddy... please... help me..." repeating in an endless loop. The weight of Seth's became too much, and he crumbled to the forest floor, his body convulsing with sorrow. "Erin... Erin, where are you?" Seth's voice broke, his tears blending with the anguished cries that echoed through the woods.