The Misdreavus Menace

Chapter Five — Ghost Tunnel

"Trav, is... isn't this... far enough?" stammered Matt.

"What are you worried about?" Matt could detect a smirk in Trav's voice. "There's nothing here but us."

Travis suddenly stopped. Matt bumped into him.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry, I didn't see you stop."

"There's nothing here," Travis repeated, quietly this time, an uncertainty coming over him.

"Why did you stop?" inquired Matt worriedly, sensing the uncertainty in Travis's tone.

"There should be Diglett in here."

"You've been here before?"

"No," replied Travis, "but that's what everyone says. This cave's supposed to go all the way to Vermilion City. It's where Pokémon trainers come to catch Diglett."

"It's night time. Maybe they're asleep."

Matt shone his flashlight on the ground around them. Sure enough, there were plenty of holes, furrows and dug up piles of rubble. But not a single Diglett was to be seen anywhere.

"Let's just go a little bit further," suggested Travis cautiously.

"Can't we just wait here? How many more minutes are left, anyway?"

"Shine your light ahead," ordered Travis, ignoring Matthew's request. Matt complied.

There was a twist in the tunnel up ahead. Trav walked towards it. Not wanting to be left alone, Matt caught up with him, stumbling a few times over the rough terrain.

They followed the tunnel as it winded to the right.

"Did you say something?" asked Travis.

"No, I thought you did," said Matt.

"Ssh!"

...don't know...land next...

"I can hear something... but I can't," whispered Matt, confused.

...allies...solve...

"I think I can hear it inside my mind," whispered Travis in reply. "Let's go further."

"Let's get out of here," whispered Matthew urgently.

"No, I want to figure this out."

As they moved on, the thoughts entering their minds became clearer.

...group missile...need our help...have machines...

"Switch off the light. Tread quietly," ordered Travis.

Matthew uneasily did what he was told. The minute they were plunged into darkness he started trembling.

...group missile...they help us...we help them...

"Wh...what are those v...voices inside my head?"

"Ssh! Come on!"

They inched forward gingerly, feeling their way around the bend until the point where the telepathic sensation was strong enough to be perceived intelligibly.

We must distribute machines in caves. They put lookouts in all likely places. They send message to us when they see transport machine land. Their machines tell us where go. Group missile helps us. We take over, we conquer, we prevail!

"Ah!" gasped Matt aloud, more at the intensity of hateful feeling that accompanied the last few thoughts than at the words that formed in his mind themselves.

At the sound of his voice, the thoughts stopped. Then they blared again, more menacing than before.

Who is here?

Spies! Find them!

Matt switched his flashlight back on and swung it around. What the boys saw caught their breath away. Before them was a group of floating, misshapen phantoms. Their forms were composed of wisps and strands of ethereal darkness. Their eyes were expressionless yet terrifying.

Kill them!

No! Can't do on this world.

Others come look for them.

They maybe not heard much. Read their minds.

Terrified, Matthew and Travis turned to run out the way they came. Matt swung the flashlight ahead of them. Out of thin air, one of the ghouls appeared in their path, and they both screamed in fright. Suddenly, they could feel their minds being violated, searched, sifted for memories of what they had witnessed. They could feel tendrils of mental pressure pull out one memory after another. They tried to resist but they were rewarded with pain. Matt screamed again and had to yield. Travis held out several moments longer, but he too succumbed to the invasion and shouted in terror.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, John, Phil and Drag heard the screams and waited gleefully to enjoy the look of horror in the boys' faces as they came running out. After a minute, their faces fell. After two, no-one had still emerged. The three boys looked at each other. They certainly had no intention of causing them any genuine harm, but then they had absolutely no intention of going in after them.

"Stay here," said John finally, sounding serious. "I'll go get Dad."

He ran up to the road, then turned along it and dashed back towards town.

They not know anything important.

They are not threat. Let go them.

After the last few agonizing minutes, the boys were relieved to "hear" that.

Wait! Hynotize them.

"Oh no," uttered Matt, "First we get sung to sleep by Clefairy, now we get hyp-...Aaah!" Matt screamed again as his mind was violated once more.

What you know of Clefairy?

When you see them?

What they doing?

"I... I don't know anything," said Matt. But he realized that they didn't care about his answers. The questions were being asked to prize the memories into his consciousness.

About fifteen minutes later, outside the cave, Phil and Drag heard a car stop on the road and two doors open and shut.

"John?" queried Philip nervously.

John and his father ran up to them.

"Where are the boys?" asked John's father, a tall, strong man with an authoratitive face, much like that of his older son.

"Dad, they went in the cave," answered Philip, partly relieved now that help was here. "I heard them screaming, but they're still not out."

"How long ago did they go in?"

The boys looked thoughtfully at each other.

"Hold on," said John, who had remembered his watch. "They were supposed to be back out ten minutes ago. So it's twenty minutes."

"But I only heard them stop screaming about five minutes ago, Mr Brown," added Drag.

Mr Brown took out a Poké ball and released a Charmander.

"John, Phil, come with me. Andrew, please stay here and call the police for help if we're not out in ten minutes." He took out his mobile phone from a pocket and handed it to Drag.

"Flash!" he commanded his Pokémon as it led the way into the cave. Its tail flame lit up brighter, bright enough to allow the insides of the cave to be seen clearly. Mr Brown followed the Charmander, then John, then Philip at the rear.

They followed the tunnel as it curved slightly to the left, then sloped gently down for a few metres, so that the entrance was soon hidden from view.

"Hmmm... something's odd," said the boys' father. "I know it's been years since I came through here, but something's different."

"Dad, there's ghosts in here," both boys said simultaneously.

"You mean Haunter and..."

"No, They're real ghosts," interrupted Phil. "We saw them in here a week ago."

Their father looked doubtful.

"Drag saw them too," pleaded John. "Go back and ask him if you don't believe us."

"They were scary, but they didn't hurt us or nothing. They just scared us out."

"Maybe those guys got stuck in a Dugtrio hole or something," suggested John.

As they reached the twist that Matthew and Travis had passed earlier, Mr Brown stopped.

"That's it. That's what's different."

"What?" asked the two sons in unison.

"There are no Diglett in here," said Mr Brown, his voice echoing through the cave. "This place used to be full of them. Brock told me he caught one in here just a few months ago."

They pressed on around the bend.

"Char!" uttered the Charmander, who up to that point had been leading the way quietly. It pointed with one of its front paws, and ran ahead. The others followed. There, lying motionless on the floor of the cave were the two young boys.

Phil froze. "They're not...?" He couldn't manage to express his fears in words.

John bravely followed his father up to the still bodies. Mr Brown bent down and examined both of them carefully, then gently placed a hand on one boy's face, then the other.

"They're unconscious. I'll try and wake Travis."

He gently shook the boy a few times, trying to rouse him. Travis made a rough sound, moved his head without opening his eyes, then fell back into unconsciousness.

"OK, Matthew's lighter, you two carry him out. I'll follow behind with Travis. We're going to have to take them to hospital."