Pokémon 1. Toa Village

"Danny, where are you? Mom, daddy, Danny, Liza?" A little girl around eight years old walked down an empty hall. Her baby blue dress swiftly dancing in the air as well as her chestnut hair, she carried in her small hands a lit candle which was her only means of light in that dark hallway. The floor was covered by an old rug that was almost close to the color of her hair, the walls decorated with old paintings of old relatives.

"Where did everyone go?" The little girl asked as her eyes became clouded by tears. She did not know where her family was nor did she like being left alone especially in that big mansion. She never did like it. And hearing from its previous owner several tales about it she became less and less comfortable in that house. The little girl kept walking down the hall hoping that anyone would jump out and her family's disappearance was nothing short of a joke.

At the very end of the hall there was an old wooden door which led to the attic. The little girl froze in fear since she always heard strange noises in the attic at night. A feeling of overwhelming fear engulfed her. Ghosts, goblins, demons, devils, she'd heard it all and she feared it all. So many stories, fairytales and legends involving these beings of a dark nature and every single one of them scared the little girl. With the rumors running amuck about the very mansion she was living in she lived in constant fear that she too would become the mansion's next masterpiece.

Putting all thoughts aside she crept up to the door and looked it at in both curiosity and wonder. Why would her entire family be up in the basement? She would expect Danny and Liza to do so in order to scare her so they could have a good time watching their youngest sister run to her room and hide under the bed.

Her small hand slowly stretched to grip the doorknob. Sweat forming in the middle of her palm and on her forehead. The noises. They were heard from behind this very door she was about to open. Her mind had broken in half. She so desperately wanted to find where her family was but she did not want to open that door.

Nevertheless her hand finally reached the doorknob and without a second thought turned it. To her surprise the door opened easily and a creaking sound emitted from it causing the young girl to take a few steps back.

Darkness.

The light from the candle could only light up a few mere inches from the young girl's feet. The rest was nothing more than a blanket of blackness. She stared into blackness as her heart began to pound in her chest. Every beat felt like it was an hour apart and her palms became slippery with her own sweat. Her breath now erratic and reeking of fear. Her entire body was trembling with horror and fear and just about every emotion known to man kind.

The small girl holds her candle out and sees some old wooden stairs leading up towards the attic. She swallows hard and gathers just enough courage to start walking up the stairs. Slowly step by step and heartbeat by heartbeat she disappears into the blackness of the attic and suddenly the old door shuts and a blood curling scream is heard through out the entire mansion.

__

"Bet you can't catch me!"

"Hey, no fair! You had a head start!" Max and Ash ran through the snow as both of them raced each other to see who would reach Toa Village first. Ash had begun to run and after he was a few inches ahead he challenged and baited Max into the race. Max of course could not resist and both began the race. Brock had mentioned earlier that they were only just a few feet from the village.

Max tried his best to reach Ash but as he tried to reach him he tripped on a tree root and fell flat on his face. Max quickly grabbed his knee and yelled out in pain. Ash heard him and thought he had been seriously hurt so he turned around and went to Max's aid. Brock and May saw Max on the floor and ran towards him as well.

When Ash was standing over Max he reached his hand to Max to help him up as he said, "Max, are you okay?"

A sudden smile splashed over Max's face as he grabbed Ash's hand and pulled as hard as he could; as a result Ash fell over and was on his face deep in the snow.

"Gotcha!"

Max took off as Brock and May stopped in front of Ash who was getting up as he spat out some snow. Ash looked back at Max who was all ready reaching the village and glared as he once again stood back up and ran. Brock and May looked at each other and shrugged as they kept walking in the same direction Ash and Max ran in.

Once in Toa Village Max and Ash stopped and leaned and rested their hands on their aching knees as they tried their best to catch their breath. Ash Rose up and looked around. The village was surely small but it was not a pleasant site. The roads were of dirt, in this case, snow, there were dead trees everywhere and the buildings were all deteriorated from the weather conditions they had to endure.

Ash looked around and groaned at the sight. After days in the woods he had hoped to come across a place where he felt comfortable. The people outside of their houses and stores had tired looks on their faces, some were shy-like but others did not look as feeble or friendly. Ahs took a step back but then looked at Max who was looking around and from the look on his face he was thinking the same thing Ash was thinking.

"Well, aren't you gonna walk on?" May had snuck up behind Ash and gently placed her hand on Ash's right shoulder causing him to jump up and turn around quickly since he had not heard when May and Brock reached the village.

"Well, this is it…Toa Village!" Brock said as he put away the map and looked around. His smile soon turned into a frown as he laid eyes upon the village that lay before them. He groaned as May also did when she saw a group of people looking strangely at them.

"Umm…well…let's get going and find a Pokémon Center." Max said unsurely. He would have preferred to keep walking than to stay in that village.

"There ain't no Pokémon Center 'round here."

The group of kids turned around as they saw an old man walking past them. The old man looked like he was 200 years old, saggy eyes looked like they had seen enough during their life time, his skin looked almost like they were hanging off his bones and his old tattered clothes were so filthy they looked like fungus had settled in some spots.

"There are no hotels, no pharmacy, no gyms, no contests, no police and no hospitals. Just us country folk. And a modest little bakery over yonder."

The old man lifted his trembling arm to point out to the small bakery in front of the group. The four kids looked at each other unsure of what to do. They would surely prefer the harsh winter conditions than stay in that little village of horror. Ash leaned to his side to where May was standing and said in a low whisper, "It's just like Children of the Corn only grown up---"

Max hit Ash in the stomach with his elbow for the crude comment. Despite the fact that the village looked somewhat disturbing Ash admitted to himself that he was hungry and surely everyone else was, not to mention that Brock said after breakfast that they needed to stock up on supply.

Ash and Brock being older looked at each other and Brock said, "We don't have any other choice. We _need_ supply."

"I know…I know…" Ash looked around and said in an unsure nature, "Let's just make this quick. I want out!"

Brock agreed and the kids set out to head on towards the bakery.

As they walked towards the bakery they noticed the line of old stores neatly placed next to each other. They were all worn down and looked like they would fall into a dozen pieces if something heavy leaned on them. The only edifice that looked decent was the bakery. Its pink paint had signs of harsh weather conditions and the small garden of flowers underneath the filthy front window proved to have given up a long time ago. Next to the window was the front door and As Ash gently pushed it open it made a terrible creaking sound.

Once in the bakery the only comfort they had was that it was warm inside. Inside was just as bad as outside. Some tiles on the floor were badly chipped; the wallpaper on the walls was torn and very old. Ash, Max and May looked around with wide eyes studying the building from within which in Ash's mind, looked far more welcoming from the outside.

"Well…get whatever you can get…" Ash stated as he walked away from the group and sat on a table followed by Max and Pikachu. May and Brock looked at each other and decided to head towards the counter.

Once at the counter Brock had the comfort of finding everything neatly put and very clean. The napkin box looked clean, the pastries and other edibles were locked in the usual crystal counter, and behind it was a wooden panel at the same height with a coffee machine and large grill right next to a screen door. May looked around at the pastries as she tried her best to decide which one she wanted.

Despite the place's questionable health code and conduct the pastries looked rather tasty and edible. Right next to Brock was a silver bell and seeing as how there was no one around he gently tapped it twice. No answer. Brock tapped it again and this time a woman's voice was heard from behind the screen door next to the grill.

"Coming dear." The voice gently answered. Seconds later an old woman walked through the screen door and in her hands was a tray full of brownies. The smell captivated Brock and May completely and away at the table Pikachu picked up the smell and ran towards the counter. It knew the smell was coming from behind the counter so it jumped up and landed on Brock's shoulder.

Brock smiled at Pikachu and it returned the smile. Its deep black eyes were then captured by the brownies the old woman had on the tray. She was humming a song and as soon as she looked up and saw Pikachu on Brock's shoulder she was completely captivated by its cuteness resulting in a blurt of comments.

"My, what a handsome looking Pikachu. Look at that fur coat, it is gorgeous!" The old woman said as she placed both wrinkled hands on her also wrinkled cheeks. Her eyes solidly placed on Pikachu. The little mouse's cheeks turned even redder as it placed one of its paws behind its head.

"Pi…pikachu!"

"What a lovely creature. Is it yours, young man?" The old lady turned to Brock obviously asking him the question.

"No ma'am. It belongs to my friend. He's right over there." Brock slightly turned and pointed to Ash who was laying his head on the table, obviously tired from all the walking they had been doing, had been hearing every word of the conversation between Brock and the old woman. He simply lifted his hand in a greeting gesture.

The old woman smiled as she turned to Pikachu and said, "I'll tell you what, you, my little bright friend can pick anything from here and you can have it."

"Pi?" Without a second thought Pikachu looked around and laid its eyes on one of the brownies the old woman had just brought out. It pointed at it and the old woman smiled as she understood Pikachu wanted one of them.

"When I was but a wee girl I had a very small Pikachu of my own." The old woman said as she took a napkin and placed a brownie on it and handed it to Pikachu who delightfully sank its small teeth into it.

"How sweet." May said as she smiled at Pikachu eating the brownie almost in hopes that the small Pokémon would give a thumps up or down on the brownie but by the look on its face May knew it was delicious.

"May I ask what became of it?" Brock inquired in a curious nature.

"An illness took her away from me…" The old woman's happiness seemed to perish and Brock leaned his head back regretting he had ever brought up sad memories. "But I know she's in a better place now. It's the good times you get to keep and the hope that your friend is better off." The happiness returned to the old woman's face once more and she smiled at the kids before her.

"Pi Pikachu pikapika!" Pikachu had just finished the brownie and it jumped on the old woman's shoulder and smiled as a thank you.

"So where are you kids headed to?" The old woman said as she reached for her cup of coffee that was placed a few inches from her. The kids had all picked out treats they wanted and gathered it in a big tray and the old woman had joined them for a snack as well and for the simple pleasure of having other people to talk to besides her daily neighbors.

"Trying to get to the next town—"

"Next contest—"

"And next gym!"

Brock's explanation was interrupted by May and then her explanation was interrupted by Ash's. The old woman smiled at the kids' enthusiasm. She took a gulp of her coffee and as she set it down she turned around as the old television behind her was turned up by an old man who had been watching the news.

They all listened in carefully but were devastated by the news they were hearing. According to the weather man a devastating snow storm was headed right for the area in which Toa Village was located in. It seemed the storm was one to last several hours and it had suggested that all people in the area remain indoors until further notice.

"Oh man!"

"Not again, it's the fourth time this month alone!"

People in the bakery were beginning to complain as they heard the news about the snow storm. Ash and the others groaned loudly as their plans to arrive at the next town soon had just been drastically changed. Brock then thought of something no one else had apparently thought of.

"Guys, we don't have anywhere to stay."

"That's right! What are we going to do?" May asked as she and Max looked at Ash and Brock who had been out on the road longer than they had been in. They had hopped they could think of something but both Ash and Brock had nothing in mind. They looked at each other uneasily but then their silent worries were soothed when the old woman spoke.

"Thorn Manor. There is an old mansion just up this path right here. It has water, plenty of rooms and a heater. It's fairly clean since travelers use it as a place to stay the night. You kids can stay there until the storm leaves."

Relived to have found a place to stay the kids smiled. "Hey, that's great! Thank you so much!" Brock said as he smiled.

"No problem. The original owners suddenly moved years ago. No one knows why but they just up and left and in a rush too. Guess some people can't keep still." The old woman got up from her seat and headed towards the counter. She looked around the drawers a bit and some minutes later she returned to the table and handed Brock a huge metal ring with four keys.

The keys seemed very, very old and they had a peculiar style to them as well. Brock gave it no other thought and put the keys in his pockets. Fearing the storm would be at their doorstep soon Ash suggested they get a move on so after gathering several supply they were headed out the door to head on over to the mansion.

Just as Ash stepped out the door the old woman remembered a small fact that they should have been told about the mansion so she rushed as fast as she could and grabbed Ash's arm as she placed a small box in his hands and said "Oh, before I forget. The lights don't work. One of the fuses burnt down just this past week so you'll need these candles."

"Hey, maybe we could try and fix it for you." Brock said as he smiled and Ash and Max both agreed.

"Oh, no, you don't have to."

"Hey, it's the least we could do." Ash said as he looked at the old woman. She smiled and thanked them for the kind gesture and watched as they headed for the old Thorn Manor.

According to the old woman the manor was just in the outskirts of the village, it was a thirty minute walk through the woods. The old woman had told them to follow a dirt path which would have been covered in snow except that the local people always kept it shoveled in case travelers needed a place to stay.

After a short walk Ash, Brock, May, Max and Pikachu came upon a huge old mansion. The mansion was not painted, all they saw on the surface was the raw cold cement but nonetheless it looked all right, it was part of the design. The front door which was made of metal had bolts adorning the edge of it. Ash looked around and saw a trail of bushes cuddling at the foot of the mansion. As he looked up he noticed there were three floors to the mansion and aligned perfectly under each other was a set of windows engulfed in filth.

Brock looked at the keys the old woman had given her and looked at the front door. All the keys were alike in every way so he grabbed the first one and tried to open the door. He inserted the key and to his surprise it fit in just fine. He turned the key to the left and heard as the locking system made a sound. Brock remained frozen for several seconds and with his other hand reached for the cold doorknob. To his surprise Brock had turned the doorknob and the door opened with an awful deep creaking sound which shook everyone in its presence.


	2. Thorn Manor's Secrets

Once the door swung open the group slowly walked in. The interior was just as intimidating as the outside. Dust had settled everywhere and to make things worse it was just as cold as inside as it was outside. Brock set his backpack down on the floor and looked around. Right in front of the door they were met with a giant and elegant set of stairs from which he could tell when in its prime was a very welcoming sight. To his side there was a wall with two doors, each about seven feet apart and two portraits in between.

To his other side he saw the same thing: two doors and two portraits in between the two. At the top of the stairs there was a huge painting of a man dressed in a fine brown suit. The details were faint due to the filth accumulated on its surface.

Their admiration for the manor was suddenly disrupted as Max slammed the front door accidentally and winced when he saw everyone jump and turn to look at him with annoyance dwelling in their faces.

"Sorry…" Max said in a low whisper as he retrieved his hands from the door and walked next to his sister. Max did not want to admit it but the place scared him. He was not the only one feeling that way for as the more Ash looked around the less he felt safe. Ash looked about curiously. At his feet lay an old beaten red rug that led up the stairs. Ash looked back at the others and saw they were headed to one of the doors to their left but Ash was more intrigued by the contents on the upper level; whatever they may be.

Ash walked up the stairs and as he placed his hand on the sidebar he saw as dust lifted from it freely letting him know it had been a very long time since the last person to walk up these stairs was there. _"Maybe I should wait for the others…"_ Ash thought to himself as he looked up at the majestic painting before him. In some way it frightened him. There was no explanation for it but he seemed rather disturbed by the entire manor.

"Ash!" Brock called. Ash turned around and saw his three friends standing close in a huddle as they stood in front of one of the old doors. "I think it'd be a good idea if we searched the place in a group."

"Hmm, yeah." Ash backed his eyes from the portrait and turned around to head towards his friends.

As soon as Ash joined the group Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder and held on tightly for it too was frightened. Even though it was clearly the middle of the day the curtains were covering the windows making it impossible to see so Brock had taken one of their flashlights and lead the group into the room behind the door.

Slowly his hand reached for the doorknob and as he slowly turned it the door easily opened. To their surprise the door opened to reveal the kitchen. Relieved to have only found an old dinning room the group of kids walked around looking at some of the old chairs and the huge table in the middle of the room.

The room was very spacious; it was big enough for at least fifty people. All decorations, paintings and other details in the room were decayed severely. The only item which looked to have been spared from much of the decay was the once beautiful oak table lazily sitting in the middle of the room. Brock, May and Max circled around the room in a curious manner, the one thing in their minds was an all too common question they were sure everyone who walked into the manor asked.

"I wonder how many people have passed by here." Max asked this while pulling back on of the chair and looking at the table.

"Lots, I'm sure many travelers go by here all the time." Brock was in part fascinated with the dinning room and the mystery it emitted. Brock found the entire manor a chest of secrets waiting to be unveiled, he was rather anxious to settle down and start exploring the manor. Brock gleefully stared at the old kitchen once more and walked out followed by May and Max never realizing Ash was nowhere in sight.

The portraits on the wall seemed rather hostile and angry, the painter never used soft toned colors nor were the stars of the portraits bothered with a smile or as much as even a grin. One portrait in particular grabbed Ash's full attention. Hidden at the end of the hallway like some dirty old secret was the portrait of a young boy, this portrait defied the pattern they all had. This boy in particular was smiling, the smile was not powerful and it seemed almost forced and fake. It was as if he were trying to cover a secret he feared would get out into the world. Ash gazed into it, deeply analyzing the smile; it was almost as captive as Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The boy's clothing was of the old days but high class. His brown tie and black suit were well ironed, his shoes sparkling with the room's light.

Ash kept looking at the portrait loosing touch with reality, it felt as though he just _had_ to uncover the secret behind his smile. Ash's vision began to blur except for his one focusing point which was of course the portrait. He kept staring without blinking, his breathing almost as faint as the color of the walls.

Suddenly a heavy hand fell on Ash's shoulder causing him to turn around quickly and come face to face with Brock. In that split second he felt his friend's hand fall heavily on his shoulder Ash could swear his heart had stopped and felt an extreme rush flow throughout his entire body.

Wide eyes stared back at Brock, eyes with a hint of shock searched his face, and he knew he had almost given Ash a heart attack. "Sorry. Hey, we're heading upstairs to put our sleeping bags in. You coming as well?"

Still shaky from the startle Ash collected himself and nodded. Brock watched as Ash feebly walked past him, Brock knew the place scared Ash. Brock had little brothers and sisters and he was confident that Ash's behavior was that of a frightened or at the least uncomfortable person. With a confident, big-brotherly smile he turned around and walked behind Ash and both walked upstairs.

The wooden floor creaked as May's feet lodged into the surface and the full weight of her body rested on the wood. The wood's decay was noticeable and being in the second floor made May worry about the fact that she might set foot on the wrong plank of wood and cause her plummet to the first floor. She softly shook her head to try and think straight; after all, she did not want to show off the fact that the house scared her. May looked around the empty hallway and even though it was covered in thick dust she was able to appreciate the fine details of the indentations on the border of the wall. The magnificent woodwork was more than enough to give an empty hallway a sense of style and elegance. The perfectly carved leaves and vines intertwined with one another in perfect harmony.

At the sight of a door May opened it and found it to be a bedroom. The accuracy that it looked like it had been a little girl's room amused May to the point where she giggled to herself. The room was quite clean, or as clean as they had seen so far. The wallpaper was cracked and was peeling in some of the corners especially at the upper right hand corner. The bed was a canopy made of oak and it had a transparent veil made of silk. At the foot of the bed was a very weathered and very old toy chest, the top had a hole in it and it looked beaten down.

May looked around and found no other furniture; it was just the bed and chest. The bed itself was abundant in dust so May figured it to be a good idea to place her sleeping bag over the mattress. The idea was brilliant and it proved to be for as soon as she placed her sleeping bag on the mattress the impact lifted a huge and thick cloud of dust. All in the area began to cough and wave their hands in front of their faces to clear the dust.

"Well, I for one will be using my sleeping bag as well." Max coughed out the words as some of the dust had been inhaled. The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

Right in that same hall all the rooms were where the guests would stay. Fortunately for all of them they all had a bed, they were dusty and some had a few stains but using May's idea of placing their sleeping bags over the mattress proved useful to avoid direct contact with the mattress. After they had all picked a room Brock had gone into the kitchen and started to prepare dinner. Of course, Brock never used any of the pots and pans from the house he merely used the stove which by the oddest coincidence still worked.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was out exploring the rest of the house, there were plenty of rooms they had not seen and other hallways they just had to look into. The size of the manor was bigger than they had anticipated but at least exploring the manor would cease the boredom of having to sit around and waiting for the snowstorm to cease. On the third floor Ash, Pikachu and Max were captivated by the rooms and its contents. It seemed that one of the people who used to live there was a painter. There was one room Ash and Pikachu had walked into that was full of canvases and portraits and half finished paintings of gardens and beautiful sceneries.

The room was completely painted in white but the floor was of oak wood that was deteriorating, the windows although far too filthy to look out of were made of an Italian style that was popular back in the early 80s. Ash and Pikachu looked around but there were only wooden stands and canvases, nothing much to look at. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and ran into the hallway to see the other rooms it so badly wanted to explore.

Ash smiled at the curiosity his Pokemon showed, he took one step forward but stopped as soon as he heard a creaking sound coming from inside the room he was in. The sound was that of an old door desperately needing some oil for the hinges. Ash turned around to look at the room and noticed there was a door at the very back of the room. The door slightly open, Ash kind of twisted his head; he wondered just how the door opened up by itself since all the windows were closed. He figured it must have been the rusty metal hinges that would move from time to time from all the rust they had gathered through out the years. Never really giving much thought to the matter Ash walked towards the door to see what was behind the door.

As he passed through several paintings he had not noticed several wires on the ground which to his misfortune had gotten tangled in his feet causing him to fall. The impact lifted some of the dust from the floor causing him to cough. Ash drew his fist in front of his mouth and coughed several times to clear his lungs. Slowly he got back up on his own two feet and looked at the door that was only a few feet in front of him. As he looked he saw something that he was absolutely sure had not been there before. Right behind the door he saw a shoulder; the skin had an almost blue tone to it, like that of a frozen body. Ash blinked twice and still saw the shoulder there, something was wrong, they were sure they were the only ones in the manor but now with this he wanted to make sure they were not intruding.

"Um…hello?"

No answer. No responses, or greetings, not even a gesture of some sort. The person hiding behind the door must have been shy so Ash tried to talk to the person again. "Excuse me but why are you hiding behind that door?"

Again silence, now Ash was starting to grow worried. He took one step forward and as soon as his foot met with the floor the door opened just about an inch and slowly a hand crept out from behind the door. The hand had the same tone of color as the shoulder that was already out but the hand was different. There were deep lacerations on the surface; the nails were uncontrollably long and jagged. Suddenly Ash saw something he only thought he would see in nightmares or in the movies. As the hand moved he could it completely and noticed that the thumb was not there. From the hole in the hand some blood spattered on the floor.

In a quick reflection Ash ran out of the room and shut the door loudly. He leaned on the door as he tried to catch his breath from both the running and the scare. His eyes were wide with fear, his breathing was uneven and deep and his heart seemed to be racing. Ash had no idea what could have been what he just saw or even if he really saw it, all he knew was that he had never felt this much fear before in his life.

As his breathing slowed down he exhaled and leaned his head on the door and slowly closed his eyes. The image was still fresh in his mind but he kept telling himself that he was only imagining it. As he tried to deny one reality he faced another that perhaps he really did see the shoulder and mutilated hand. A thought then kicked his mind, what if it's someone who was hurt and needed help? What if that someone needed desperate medical attention? This would have made Ash rush back into the room but he recalled the color of the skin and his first thought was that whoever that person was could have been dead. He wasn't oblivious to all facts of life; he knew what a cadaver looked like and knew that human flesh was prone to change its color once blood stopped flowing through the heart.

"Hey, Ash!" Max's voice hollered from the second floor, "dinner's ready come on down!" The announcement broke his chain of thoughts but he was glad, he was not about to give in to the fact that he might have just seen a corpse up and walking about. He sighed deeply and walked quickly downstairs, trying his best to forget whatever it was that he saw.

May and Brock released their Pokemon who at the sight of plates full of food next to the table ran over to eat especially May's Gnobe. The Pokemon enjoyed their meal and so did May and Max, as they ate they could not help but notice how Ash was not face first into the bowl as usual. They also noticed how he was unusually quiet and the look of concern that was so blatantly displayed upon his face. Max looked at Brock who said, "Ash, are you all right?"

Ash cleared his throat and said as he moved the soup with the spoon, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just not that hungry."

As soon as Max heard that last sentence he chocked on the soup and spit it back into the bowl as he looked at Ash in shock, up to that very date, he had never heard Ash say that before. Max was not the only one to have been shaken up by the words Ash so blatantly spurred from his mouth. May, who was still holding the soup full spoon in her hand that had just about the same distance between her mouth and the bowl, looked at Ash in shock. She blinked several times as she kept staring at him. Brock was not far behind; he looked at Ash with concern along with a hint of shock. Ash saw their reactions and wondered why it was such a big deal for him to say that he was not hungry.

"It's not like I just confessed to a murder, you know."

"But…you're always hungry…" Brock said in a half serious and half joking tone. Max laughed as he said, "Guess this old manor has had an effect on ya, right Ash?"

The shoulder and the hand were still clear in his mind; all along he had been debating with himself if what he saw was real or some kind of trick of the mind. He even considered the fact that he might have been under stress. Ash looked at the Pokemon as they ate happily and dismissed that thought quickly. As he stared into the bowl of soup he sighed deeply and rose up from the chair quickly and ran upstairs. Brock and the others remained seated as they watched Ash run upstairs, they looked at each other curiously and followed suit.

Ash was determined to end the confusion, he knew if he would face the very room he saw the shoulder in he might be able to sleep that night. Ash stomped through the hallway and headed straight for the room while Brock, May and Max tagged along behind him. Once he found the room he was in he walked straight to the closet, which to his surprise was closed. He opened the door and as it swung open it made a horrible creaking sound from lack of oil.

There was nothing inside. Part of him was relieved and part of him was concerned. The very image of the shoulder was disturbing, not to mention the fact that they were in a very old manor that could have been haunted. Ash shook his head and looked again but there was still nothing inside.

"Ash, what are you looking at?" May said as she took a step forward.

With his eyes fixed on the closet and his mind still debating Ash simply sighed and said, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

After dinner everyone agreed to get a good night's sleep since they were going to need it for the day just in case the storm would pass as they slept. To their surprise the storm had not even begun as of yet but they assumed it would go on as they slept.

Ash had picked the room that was all the way at the bottom of the hallway. Something had drawn him to it, he could not explain it but he was drawn to it in a weird way. Snug inside his sleeping bag Ash was not able to sleep at all. His mind was running at top speeds and nothing he did was able to quell its thirst for an explanation of what he saw earlier that night. Ash looked around and saw Pikachu asleep at the bottom of the bed, for a minute he envied the small mouse's peaceful rest. He turned around and faced the door which was closed and placed both hands under his head for comfort.

His eyes searched the darkness of the room and as he did he noticed the storm had started. He could hear the wind howling viciously and several objects that were outside that were being moved about by the strong winds. The tree branches that were close to the windows scratched them as they were moved by the fierce wind. Finally his eyes were beginning to close, he was much too tired and if the storm subdued over night they had a long way to go in order to get to the next town so this rest was much needed.

Right between sleep and awake Ash felt a tug at his feet. Thinking it was Pikachu Ash uncovered half of his body and swung his arm to the electric lantern that was on the night stand beside him. He turned it on and saw Pikachu asleep where he last saw it. Never giving much thought to it Ash looked at his Pokemon one last time and reached for the lantern. He switched it off and as soon as his head hit the pillow his eyes widened with horror.

With his back facing the window Ash was not able to see who or what was standing on the terrace behind him. The light from the outside poured through and into the room but Ash saw more than the light. A dark silhouette stood at the window, frozen, it merely stood there not making a move or sound. Ash felt as if his heart had skipped several beats, he was frozen stiff as he tried to see if the shape of the silhouette was familiar in any way. It was futile, the strange silhouette was not recognizable and that just made it worse for Ash.

He watched as it stood there, he did not move nor did the silhouette. Both were frozen like trees in midwinter as ice wrapped itself around them. Fear was swallowing Ash, he felt as his heart beat faster and faster, his breath accelerated and deepened with the very fear that engulfed him. Slowly he turned around to face whoever it was standing behind him.

In a swift action he faced the window but there was nothing behind him. Ash got up from the bed and waked towards the window but there was no one in the terrace. The confusion was irritating Ash but he was glad there was nothing else in the room besides him and Pikachu. Ash placed his hand on the glass and watched as the snow fell from the Heavens towards the Earth. For the first time in the last twenty four hours he was at peace.

Ash let out an exasperated sigh and closed his eyes for a few seconds. The need for some cold water suddenly overwhelmed him and so he decided to head downstairs to get a glass of water. He quietly walked across the room to avoid waking up Pikachu, at the door he slowly opened it and closed it just as slowly.

Once out in the hall he was struck with a powerful cold shiver, he felt as if the snow storm was actually inside the manor. Ash placed both arms around his body in order to warm up but it was futile. As he exhaled his breath had been frigid and he felt his skin freeze up. As he kept walking he heard a creaking sound behind him, Ash froze as his eyes widened, once again that same fear engulfed him but this time it felt worse. He began to slowly turn around to look behind him and see who or what was now behind him. Afraid of what he might see he braced himself but he was also sure that he would not be fully ready to face it. His eyes slowly walked across the hall and were soon placed upon what his back was facing.

Brock awoke at the first light of dawn. After getting cleaned up, which was a bit of a challenge seeing as how the manor was filthy, he quickly headed downstairs to start making breakfast before anyone else would wake up. As Brock walked down the stairs he had a smile plastered upon his face, a good night's sleep would have that effect on him the next day, his cheery disposition and the humming gave it away. Brock opened the kitchen door but was startled to find Ash sitting at the table.

Brock figured Ash just woke up early but as he walked near him he heard Ash breathing heavily and just staring into the table. Brock placed his right hand on Ash's shoulder but as his hand landed on his shoulder Ash gasped and looked at Brock. Brock saw Ash's tired eyes; he could tell he barely got any sleep, if any even. Brock pulled back a chair and sat down as he looked at his friend and said in a soft tone.

"What's wrong Ash?"

Ash simply looked at the table, his breathing had become heavier and faster. Brock was beginning to worry so he asked once more, "Ash, seriously, what is it?" Ash finally looked at Brock, he knew he was worried but he did not want to cause any trouble so he simply said, "Nothing, I just barely got any sleep last night, that's all."

Brock did not fully believe the excuse Ash gave him but he did look like he had not slept so it must have been that. Brock smiled as he told him he was going to make breakfast so Ash just remained sitting on the chair. The kitchen door had been left open and as soon as Brock walked past the open door Ash saw the silhouette standing on the doorway staring right at him.


	3. Blood on the Walls

Brock began to make breakfast and as always he was well prepared for it, he had all the ingredients he needed except for a smaller pot. If he was going to make a good omelet he needed the smaller pot so he slightly turned and said, "Hey Ash, could you hand me the smaller pot that's on the table?"

There was no response but Brock figured Ash just went for it without saying anything. Several seconds passed by and Brock was still without the pot so he turned completely and looked at Ash as he said, "Did you hear what I…" Brock's question slowly disintegrated into the air as he looked at Ash.

Ash was sitting on the chair frozen as if he was tied up, his face almost pale from what he conjured up to be fright. He saw his wide eyes and noticed how stiff he was. Brock set the kitchen ware down and walked towards Ash slowly. As he got closer he noticed how Ash was breathing heavily and deeply as if he were out of breath. Brock took two more steps forward but suddenly Ash stood up quickly pushing the chair back. His head turned to his right and slowly moved as if he were following something with his eyes. His breathing then increased in speed and depth, it was as if there was something else in the kitchen with them, something that seemed to terrorize Ash.

Soon Ash began to back up slowly. One foot behind the other and so on, Brock was worried but for a minute he thought Ash was just playing a rather disturbingly mean joke on him. The look of sheer terror on Ash's face was real and that worried Brock. He looked to where Ash seemed to be looking but there was nothing else in the kitchen.

Ash had kept his eyes glued on the silhouette as he slowly backed up. Even though they were passing by some windows and the light from the waking sun was pouring in he was not able to make out a single detail about this strange apparition. It was as if this strange silhouette was nothing more. All Ash could see were two blood shot bulging eyes that seemed to have been almost pulled out of their sockets.

In all his worry Ash had not noticed how Brock was looking at him strangely or the fact that he was mere inches from the old stove. Once Ash bumped into it he placed both hands on the stove and bent backwards trying to avoid getting close to this taunting phantom that caused him such torment.

Ash closed his eyes shut and braced himself for anything but going down as a coward was just not in his system, he could at least put up a defensive fight for his life. As his eyes remained closed he swung back his right arm as he tightened his fist and in a swift movement he swung his fist at the apparition.

Much to his surprise he felt as his fist hit something solid and to much more of his surprise he heard a loud groan accompanying the solid object he had just slammed his fist into with all his might.

Ash opened his eyes and saw that the silhouette was gone. It was nowhere to be found but he did notice how Brock laid on the wooden floor with his hand placed on the side of his face along with a look of shock and confusion. Suddenly Ash put it all together; he had punched Brock instead of the apparition. He stood there in about as much shock as Brock. Neither of the boys said anything to each other but the expressions on their faces did much talking for them. Finally Brock got up and leaned over to the old sink and spat out a bit of blood. Ash remained frozen as he tried to search for the best and appropriate words to say. He knew an apology was in order but he felt too embarrassed to even speak.

Brock on the other hand was worried about his now broken lip. He hurried to the hall and looked at his mouth in a mirror that was placed on the wall. As he searched his mouth he saw a small laceration on his lower lip, it was still bloody and it hurt a lot but over all he was still in shock from what had just happened. A few minutes later he broke the silence as he saw Ash walking up to him with his head hung.

"What is the matter with you? You know, ever since we got here you've been acting extremely strange. What is going on with you?"

"Nothing…" Ash said in a low tone, he sighed heavily and remained quiet. Both of them stood there silently as they heard May and Max running down the stairs. Both of them were laughing loudly but as soon as they saw Ash and Brock they also fell silent. The serious look on their faces was surely unsettling which made them wonder what had happened.

Ash looked up at May and Max and then back at Brock. Brock was not angry; he was merely concerned about his friend. One thing Ash did have to admit was to the fact that ever since they walked into the manor he had been acting strange, he even admitted it to himself but he tried very little to figure out why.

"I'll be around if you need me." Ash broke the uncomfortable silence and walked away from the group. Brock was not sure if Ash's walking around by himself was a good idea but he figured he needed a few minutes to himself so he did not follow him. May and Max looked at each other and then walked up to Brock.

"Brock, what's going on?" May inquired as she looked at Ash as he walked away.

"I'm not sure."

The manor proved to be big. There were hallways everywhere and in each hallway there was about twenty doors leading to some other room or part of the manor. It was like a giant maze with locked up secrets. Ash had been walking for fifteen minutes and all that time he kept trying to make sense out of what happened in the kitchen. He was sure he saw the silhouette; he knew he was not hallucinating or dreaming. He did see that silhouette; however he was still puzzled by the fact that Brock did not see it.

"_Maybe he can't see them…"_ Ash thought to himself. The way Brock behaved was solid proof that he was not seeing the silhouette. Then a sudden memory came crashing on him. Back in Kanto Ash remembered Maiden's Peak and what they thought was a ghost really turned out to be a Ghastly posing as a ghost. A crafty and wicked smile invaded Ash's face as he walked along the hallway thinking that the next time he saw anything strange he would pull out the PokeDex in order to identify the mischievous Pokémon. Ash even chuckled as he planned out his own prank.

As he walked past several doors Ash came to a stop when he saw one of the doors was open. He found this strange but nevertheless his curiosity had overwhelmed him and he walked inside. To his surprise he found the room to be an actual greenhouse. Ironically there was nothing green about it, all of the plants had died from lack of care and everything else in the greenhouse seemed to be either broken or heavily deteriorated.

A strange feeling overcame Ash and for no apparent reason he looked up and saw a metal walkway up high on the roof. Ash looked at Pikachu and it looked back at him. Something about the walkway called to him, Ash could not determine what it was but he felt a strong sense of attachment to the walkway. Slowly he began to walk towards the side of the greenhouse where there was a set of stairs that led to the walkway.

May and Max were sitting by one of the front windows and saw how tons of snow was pilling up on the door. Not only was the storm slowing them down but now the snow was burying them inside of the manor until the snow melted. Brock was still concerned about Ash. He couldn't forget his reaction or the look on his face; it was as if he had just seen a corpse walking around. Whatever was going on Brock was dead-set in finding out.

As Brock sat at the foot of the stairs his train of thought was soon side tracked by May as she said, "What of this storm lasts for a few days? And what if we're trapped by the snow?"

"We do have Torkoal. We could get it to melt the snow away." Brock replied with a confident smile.

"Great idea!" Max said, "But how do we get it outside?" His words with a bit of sarcasm completely annihilated Brock's confidence on his strategy. Brock smiled in an embarrassing way but soon their attention was snatched by Pikachu as it ran towards them.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu's muttering seemed urgent and worried so Brock, May and Max all looked at it with concern. Pikachu stopped in front of Brock and as it stood on its hind legs it pointed towards the side door from where it came from.

Obviously it wanted them to follow it so Brock, May and Max ran after it as Pikachu ran through the hallway. Once through the door it kept running without slowing down for the others or stopping anywhere near. After passing by several doors and entries to other hallways Pikachu finally ran into one of the doors that was wide open.

Inside they saw it was a greenhouse. There were several tables adorned with pots and some dirt. All the plants had died from lack of care and water so there were no living plants anywhere. In the middle of the greenhouse there was a small fountain made of a dark stone which had been deteriorated over the years. Pikachu immediately stopped in the middle of the greenhouse and pointed up with its small fingers.

Brock, May and Max looked up and saw Ash standing on a metal walkway facing the other side of the greenhouse. They were not sure but they could swear they saw something around Ash's neck. Unfortunately they figured out what it was too late. Ash had a noose around his neck, the other end of the noose had been tied up around one of the bars in the walkway and he had placed the noose itself around his own neck. At the sight of this they froze in fear, the fear was more condensed from the fact that they did not know what Ash was going to do. As time itself seemed to slow down Ash took a step forward and fell off the walkway.

As he fell May's screaming was all that was heard. Both Brock and Max were frozen in place with an expression of sheer horror on their faces. As Ash fell the rope tightened and Brock saw how Ash's neck did not brake. He used this opportunity to cut him loose. Brock looked at May who was covering her mouth with her hands as she continued to scream.

"May, get Bulbasaur to cut the rope!"

May reacted as soon as she heard Brock talk to her. She reached for her Pokéball and called out Bulbasaur, "Bulbasaur cut the rope with Razor Leaf!"

From the Pokéball a burst of energy flowed out and as soon as it materialized a small Bulbasaur cried out as it unleashed a wave of sharp leaves at the rope around Ash's neck. Ash had been struggling as his breath had been cut suddenly and the rope around his neck was painfully tightening. As the leaves passed by some of them managed to cut the rope and Ash fell from the walkway.

He landed hard on his back on the concrete floor and remained still as Brock, Pikachu, May, Bulbasaur and Max ran towards Ash to see if he was all right. Brock was the first one to reach Ash so he kneeled down next to Ash and removed the rope from his neck.

"Ash, are you all right? Ash!" Brock called out as he shook his friend to waken him up. Ash did not react but Brock noticed he was still breathing so that was of no concern. May and Max closed in to see for themselves what was going on.

Suddenly Ash opened his eyes and sat up quickly as he screamed at the tops of his lungs. Brock, May, Max, Pikachu and Bulbasaur all backed away, the sound of his screaming was heard all over the greenhouse and shook the rest of the group. As sudden as it began Ash abruptly stopped screaming, he remained sitting up for several seconds more and suddenly fell on his back.

The snowstorm had been going non-stop for an entire day now and it did not look as if it was going to diminish any time soon. The manor proved as a shelter but not a cozy one. The manor was no challenge for the weather nor was it enough to put a stop to the adamant cold winds of the storm. The wind's howl gave announcement of the cruel arrival of the chilly cold that rampaged through the manor from holes and cracks of the manor. Max grabbed two thick blankets and wrapped them around his body to keep as warm as possible. Pikachu thought it to be a grand idea so it shivered the cold off of its small body and ran towards Max. The small mouse stood in front of Max as it looked at the young boy. Max of course opened his arms and Pikachu jumped into his arms and cuddled on the blankets as the warmth brought back feeling into the small Pokémon's body.

The group had brought Ash into the room he picked to sleep in and kept a close eye on him. The group was awkwardly quiet but in their silence they were all sharing one simple yet complicated thought in mind that would explain all the events that had been occurring. Brock had thought of it but did not say anything in case of a panic amongst the group. Brock looked at Ash and sighed heavily, the sight of him hanging by a rope was all too disturbing. He had known Ash for several years now and he had come to think of Ash as the most stubborn and most determined person he had ever met. The thought of Ash actually considering suicide as a way out brought remorse into his very being.

At the door May sat down and kept to herself, she could still see Ash hanging by the rope and struggling for his life. The very thought of one of her friends committing suicide brought a tear to her eye but she wiped it away.

"How could he think doing that to himself was all right?" May said in a low tone as she kept looking at the floor with vacant eyes. Max and Pikachu both lowered their gaze and remained quiet as they thought about what May had just asked. Brock on the other hand had thought about that ever since he saw Ash up on the walkway ready to jump. He had no clear answers and he knew they would not know for sure until Ash would wake up.

He did however know that whatever problem Ash was facing he would assure him he was not to face it alone for he had his friends with them.

"Whatever happens do _not_ give him a hard time about what he tried to do. If he felt he had no other choice we should respect that but just try your best to calmly talk to him and make sure he's never alone." With that said May and Max both nodded in agreement and remained in place as they waited for Ash to wake up.

After two hours Ash suddenly opened his eyes widely and sat up quickly. He looked around and saw Brock, Pikachu, May and Max asleep in the room. He started breathing rapidly and loudly and frantically searched the room. There was nothing else in it besides Ash and his friends.

Ash got out of the sleeping bag and off the bed and stood in the middle of the room. His footsteps woke May up who jumped up when she saw Ash walking around the room at a fast pace.

"Hey Ash, how are you feeling? Are you okay?" May asked in a low tone.

Ash heard her and looked straight at her but he did not answer, he simply looked at her with wide eyes full of concern and fright. This also frightened May so she stood up and walked over to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and felt he was trembling; May removed her hand and backed away slowly.

"Ash, what's wrong? What are you looking for?" May kept a decent distance between her and Ash and as she placed her hands together she looked at him with worry as she said, "Ash, you can tell me. It's okay."

Once again Ash just looked at her without saying a single word. In his panic Ash was able to say in a low tone, "You can't see what I see…can't see…can't hear…" Ash walked over to the window and looked out at the terrace but the snowstorm prevented anyone from seeing anything.

May wondered what he was looking at so she walked over to the window and stood next to Ash to see if she could see anything.

"Ash what are you looking for? What did you mean by that?" May's concern was now growing ever more. Ash's panic was noticeable and May was beginning to panic as well, it was as if he was looking for something but did not know what exactly.

Ash backed away from the window and sighed deeply as he stood still in the middle of the room apparently waiting for something; it almost seemed as if he was listening for something. May could not wait any longer so she walked up to Ash and demanded to know what was going on.

"Ash, you're scaring me! What are you looking for!"

"Ssshhh!"

May backed up as soon as Ash had shushed her. She crossed her arms across her chest and waited to see what Ash was going to do now. Ash slowly took a few steps towards the door or the room and stood still. May's patience was now running on low so she stood in front of Ash and said, "What are you looking at?" Her angry expression soon shifted into one of concern when she saw Ash had tears in his eyes.

After a brief moment of silence Ash opened his mouth and said in a low tone, "Blood on the walls…" At that very second Ash took off and ran from the room. May did not waste any time either; she took off after Ash and followed him.

Ash ran all the way across the hallway and ran down the stairs; he came to a sudden stop at the bottom of the stairs and looked around frantically. His breathing was heavy and he felt as if his heart would burst out of his chest at any given time. Ash ignored all of that and as soon as May reached him he took off again but this time he ran into the kitchen and May followed suit.

Once in the kitchen Ash ran to the old pantry that was about as tall as the room itself and opened the wooden doors to reveal a set of old steps going down. Without giving it so much as a thought Ash ran down the steps and May did as well. At the very bottom Ash came face to face with a heavy iron door. He opened it and closed it behind him. May reached the bottom and tried to open the door but she was not able to, Ash had locked it or barricaded it from the inside.

"Ash, open the door! Come back here, please! Ash Ketchum do you hear me! Open this door right now!" May kept yelling as she hit the door with both of her fists but it was futile. Ash had locked himself in and he was not about to open the door.


	4. They Haunt me Till I'm Mad

As foolish as it was to lock himself in a room he had no idea even existed until he saw it while he was dreaming he still could not help but run towards the room. As he slept, Ash saw in his dreams as a small silhouette led him into the kitchen, into the pantry, down the stairs and into the room behind the door at the bottom. Of course as soon as he had walked into the room the dream was over and he had taken off.

Ash looked ahead and at the very end of what seemed like a tunnel he saw a very faint light, a light that seemed to have been emitted by a small group of candles. Ash was not sure what he would find but he had a rather comforting feeling when he looked at the light so he walked towards it.

The closer he got the more radiant the light became. As Ash was walking he could feel he was walking on dirt as his feet dragged across the floor, he placed his hands on the wall and felt they were stone. This strange tunnel seemed to differ from the manor's main design; it felt as if this was a place to hide in.

As soon as Ash reached the end of the tunnel he found a small room, the floor and walls were made of wood, there was a very old and worn down bed and next to it was a small wooden box with at least a dozen candles. The room and its contents were not what surprised Ash; it was the fact that the candles were all lit.

With the room vacant and no idea of what he was really doing there he sat down on the bed and looked straight at the wooden box. To his surprise, there was a small red box in the middle of the crowd of candles. Carefully Ash reached for the box and took it. As he held the box in his hands he examined it.

The color was faint but he was sure it used to be red, and there was a small, now fragile, lock on the front of the box which Ash was sure could break open with enough force. Ash held the box with one hand and with the other tried to pry the box open. As the amount of force he put into opening the box amounted the lock finally gave way and the box was now open. Ash gasped as he looked inside and saw what appeared to be a girl's diary. Hoping to find some sort of answer to what was happening he took the diary from the box and at the bottom of the box was an old picture. It was a family picture; the photograph itself was originally in black and white and it speared to have been taken in the front of the manor.

In the picture there was a man and a woman, who Ash assumed was the father and the mother. Right next to them was a young man and a girl and at the very end of the line was a small girl who seemed to be around six years old. Ash focused on the little girl, something about her seemed familiar but Ash had never seen her before. Setting the pictures aside Ash opened the diary and landed on the first page, the writing was that of a small girl; perhaps it belonged to the girl from the picture.

Ash then began to read the almost unintelligible writing which he read in a whisper.

"Our first night here and I already miss our home. Mum says this is our home now but I don't feel like I used to back at our other house. All day long I had a strange feeling about this place, it was scary. Mummy says that feeling will pass, but I don't think so not with…him watching me—"

Ash suddenly stopped as he heard a loud banging sound at the door, he figured it was Brock and the others so he continued to read from the diary. He turned the page and continued to read.

"I saw him today, as I was eating breakfast he watched me from the other end of the table. I can't see his face but I know it's a man and a mean one too. Just minutes before I joined mum and dad outside for a game of croquet he pushed me and I fell down the stairs. I told dad about what was happening and he laughed saying it was only my imagination. He doesn't believe me; none of them believe me…"

As Ash was about to turn the page an even louder bang made him jump and drop the diary. Ash turned his head slightly and looked behind him but he didn't see anything. Without realizing it Ash was beginning to breathe heavily and rapidly, he felt something was wrong but he couldn't seem to be able to pry himself from the little girl's diary. He bent over and picked up the diary and began to read from the page he slipped his fingers through when he picked it up.

"Danny's gone. Mum, Liza and dad have been searching all day long and he's still missing. I heard screams last night but I was so afraid it might have been them. My nanny won't come anywhere near me now, she says I tried to kill her but I don't ever remember trying to do such a terrible thing. I would never! Still…some times the old woman comes and tells me things about the ghosts, they're horrible and really mean but I'm scared of the old woman too. Her eyes are creepy but she's not mean like the man, he's done some really bad things now. He painted the walls red using our little Meowth, Fluffy. Fluffy cried as he did, I think she was really hurt but mummy and daddy took her away and said she was somewhere better now. I do hope so. Anywhere is better than this old manor."

Ash's eyes widened with fear as he saw the bottom of the page tainted with dried blood. It had been smudged meaning the blood came from the writer's hands. As he stared at it he saw something written in the bloody bottom of the page.

"Outside…outside…they hid and lied…"

Ash tried to decipher what that meant, he had a clear picture of the manor's front in his head and there was nothing special about it, not to mention the front door was buried under several feet of snow. Perhaps it meant outside as in the backyard. Ash closed the diary and as he stood he put it in his back pocket but before he could make another move he froze at the sudden sound of sudden but faint rasping breaths. Ash's heart accelerated and his breathing, although quite, was rapid and frightened. Slowly he turned his head to look behind him which deep inside he knew was going to be a very stupid thing to do.

"All right, this should do the trick!" Brock had gone upstairs to his room and searched his backpack for the keys the old woman in the bakery gave them. He took the key that was for the lower floor and walked quickly to open the door and get Ash out before something else would happen. May and Max stayed behind in case Ash would come out but so far he thought Ash was still down there.

As he walked down to the kitchen he thought of a million things he could have yelled at Ash after he got him out of that room. He was both angry and concerned but a part of him was also frightened. He did not know the history of the manor nor did he know if Ash was doing this at his own expense. Brock wasn't a firm believer in ghost or the paranormal but he never said any of it couldn't possibly happen.

For the moment he kept any and all possibilities open for an explanation. His main preoccupation was getting Ash out of the room he had locked himself in.

As soon as he got to the kitchen he rushed down the stairs and before he could even insert the key into the hole the door burst open and Ash ran out. At the top of the stairs May and Max moved out of his way but he stopped the minute he heard Brock's irritated voice.

"Wait a minute!"

Ash froze. The expression on his face was not easily identified; it was a mixture of anger, fear and sympathy. As he stared at the wall in front of him Brock walked up the stairs and grabbed Ash's left arm tightly as he turned him around so he could face him. Brock was angry, he had no idea why Ash was acting the way he was. At first he thought it was all some sort of sick joke due to the fact that they were in a strange abandoned manor and the concept of ghosts and goblins would make perfect for a few pranks but this was well over the level of a prank and Brock's patience was mere inches from evoking its retirement.

Brock and Ash stared at each other for a few minutes while May and Max looked at them. They were as confused as Brock but not angry, to them this was a joke that got out of hand and it needed to end before a fight broke off between them.

"What do you think you're doing?" Brock said in a low and angry whisper, "If this is a joke then it is a _really_ bad one and one I am ending right now!"

Ash did not respond he simply looked at his friend with an empty expression of carelessness. In the very depths of his mind Ash wanted nothing more than to be able to tell Brock exactly what was going on but he knew none of them would believe him. The subject of ghosts was one preserved for camp fires in the woods on dark nights or on Halloween and despite what many people think said subject was not credible in any way save for stories and s'mores around a large camp fire.

In his silence Ash simply debated whether it was a good idea to tell them what he saw, heard and found down there but logic and reason betrayed him. Even he was not sure if he really saw what he saw but deep inside he knew it was real, he merely looked for some sort of safe haven to avoid confronting reality as he experienced in the manor.

In all his soul searching for the brief moment Ash opened his mouth slightly to say something and Brock leaned in close to hear what he had to say.

"There was never a joke to begin with."

Brock loosened his grip on Ash's left arm allowing Ash to simply walk away from the kitchen. Brock stood there silently as he let out a sigh. Max walked next to Brock and saw Ash walking up the main stairs in a sordid manner. He looked like a phantom walking quietly up the stairs, a troubled specter from beyond the grave come back to share some sort of horrid news with who ever was willing to listen.

"Brock…" May's trembling voice caused Brock and Max to turn around and look at May. She was quivering as she pointed to Brock's arm and as soon as he placed his eyes on his hand he gasped as he saw blood on the hand he grabbed Ash's arm with.

The three of them took off after Ash but they did not need to wander far since at the top of the stairs Ash was sitting on the last step. His knees were close together and he wrapped his arms around them, the look on his face was sad like he had a problem and could not find an easy way to deal with it.

Brock walked up the stairs and grabbed Ash's left arm. To his horror he saw several deep lacerations on his forearm, all indicating the need for stitches. Nothing crossed his mind at the moment he did not care how he got those he only cared about stopping the bleeding. Brock saw Max and May wandering by with the corner of his eyes so he turned to May and said with a worried tone, "May, I need a clean piece of cloth and some water. Max, get me some bandages from my backpack."

Both siblings nodded and quickly went off to their assigned tasks as quick as possible. As Brock looked at the lacerations Ash simply looked at Brock. Suddenly Ash felt a sense of discomfort that was only associated when he saw the strange silhouette, the one responsible for the lacerations on his left arm. That horrifying chill that traveled down his spine was all too familiar and every time Ash felt it he felt a part of him die from terror. His eyes slowly traveled from his wounded arm and beyond Brock towards the front door. How he wished he hadn't done that.

In front of the door there was a small child holding a torn up plush toy. The small boy looked right at Ash as if he were the only one in the room. Ash let out a quite gasp as he saw the boy's face. Half of his face looked like it had been peeled off with a potato peeler; his left arm had deep lacerations like the ones on Ash's arm and the boy's right foot was missing.

Ash closed his eyes in hopes of making the apparition feel ignored so it would leave him alone. Ash had done that before but knew it did not work but in his blissful ignorance he was doing what he would do when he was little and was afraid of something he could not explain. He used to close his eyes and when he opened them whatever was scaring him left.

As Brock tended to the wounds he saw a small drop of transparent liquid land on his hand, Brock looked at it carefully and then looked up at Ash and saw a faint trail of tears from his eyes to his chin. Brock of course immediately became worried that he had accidentally hurt him.

"Hey, what happened?" Brock said in a brotherly tone.

Ash gave no answer, he simply opened his eyes and turned his eyes slightly to his right and immediately began to breathe rapidly. Brock was then struck with a memory not too far behind. He remembered when he found Ash in the kitchen early in the morning and he remembered the events that went on and he recalled that similar method of breathing, as if Ash was seeing something that frightened him to no end.

The small, gory apparition was sitting right beside Ash and staring right at him with its rotting eyes and rotting face. Ash immediately began to shiver in fear. Brock, who was still holding Ash's arm felt as he shivered; now he was very worried. There was no way Ash was faking any of this but he hadn't the slightest idea of what was happening to him.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Brock tone of voice carried a hint of worry and mixed in it a bit of fright.

As Ash looked at the apparition it looked at him as it began to weep. It later lifted its arm and pointed behind Ash as it actually spoke to him in a whisper.

"He's done something bad…"

Suddenly Ash could hear a faint creaking sound. Not of old wood when a person walked over it but lighter. Ash knew he would regret it but he could not help but slowly turn his head to look behind him. At the top of the stairs an old woman's body hung from a rope as the weight of the body made the rope creak as it swung sideways as if the wind was blowing at the body.

Ash let out a loud horrified gasp as he quickly stood up and began to walk down the stairs with his back facing the front door. His eyes were fixated on the strange apparition and as he looked at it the more he tried to tell himself that it was not really there.

"It's not there…it's not…there…not…" Ash was whispering but Brock could hear every word clearly. The look on Ash's eyes was almost maddening; the essence of a pure bred terror encrusted into his eyes made it seem like anything but fake. Brock was now convinced Ash was not faking these panic attacks but he did not know why he was having them. Either way, he was determined to find out exactly what was happening to Ash.

Brock slowly got up from the stairs as he slapped some of the dust off of him with one hand and with the other stretched it out towards Ash. Brock slowly and very carefully began to descend from the stairs towards his friend, always keeping a sharp eye on him and saying in a soft voice.

"Ash, what's not there? What is it?"

Ash stopped at the bottom of the stairs and as a faint trail of tears crept down his cheeks he then focused his attention on Brock who seemed very worried. After looking at him for several seconds Ash then drew his attention back up the stairs but to his ever lasting surprise both apparitions were gone. Ash's eyes widened as his lower jaw dropped and let out a small gasp.

"Ash you need to tell me what is going on." Brock said still in a low tone.

Ash heard him but did not reply. For the first time since they entered the manor he was filled with anger, anger that he was the only one affected by these beings, anger that they would not leave him be, anger that he did not know what was happening and why. Ash's eye brows lowered and his eye narrowed. He had the same look he had just when he was about to start a battle or when he was genially angry at something or someone.

Ash clinched his fists together hard enough to turn his fists red and as he did he bit down on his lower lip as he let out a frustrated sigh. Ash looked back at Brock with an angry look and sharply replied to the questions he had asked earlier.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Ash then turned around to walk away but before he took a single step Brock grabbed his arm and held him back but to his surprise Ash grabbed Brock's hand and tightened his grip and said in a low and very angry tone.

"Let go of my arm Brock."

Without a second thought Brock released Ash and watched as he walked away. In all honesty Brock was sort of relieved that Ash's attitude had changed but it was so strange how his attitude just simply went from terrified to angry in a matter of minutes. He let it go and went off on his own to do some much needed thinking.

Late at night while everyone was asleep on their beds Ash was still up. He sat on the bed as he faced the nightstand which had a lit candle. It was not much but it was enough to allow him to see in the dark in order to keep reading the diary he found in the kitchen. He continued on from the page he last read.

"This morning when I woke up I went downstairs and found everyone at the kitchen table having breakfast they were all strangely quiet. Danny was not there and Liza seemed strange herself. Usually she will eat anything in the morning but she was merely poking at her eggs and bacon and her juice seemed to be intact. Mum and daddy were strange as well; daddy was reading the newspaper but he seemed preoccupied with something else. Mummy was just sitting at the table looking out the window. Maybe she was looking out in case Danny would come back? Boy, is he going to be in trouble when he comes back. It's been a week now. Anyway, I sat at the table and Liza looked at me with a scared look. I looked at her and saw she had a black eye. I was going to ask her about it but she suddenly left without saying a word."

"Through out breakfast mum and daddy ignored me. It was as if I was not there to begin with. Things have been very strange indeed. I some times wonder if it has anything to do with me but I know it's them. They like to play games late at night—"

A loud knock at his door knocked Ash out of concentration. He settled the diary down on the nightstand and as he swung his body off the bed he walked over to the door and opened it. There was no one around.

Ash blinked hard twice and looked again but there was no one in sight but he knew he heard someone knock on his door. He walked away from his room and took five steps down the hallway; he felt something was not right.

As he stared into the empty abyss of the hallway he jumped when he heard a door slam shut. Ash turned around and saw the door of his room had been closed. Knowing Pikachu was in there he ran back and grabbed the doorknob and turned it in order to open the door but it was futile. The door was locked. Ash rattled the doorknob and slammed his body against the door in order to bust it open if he had to.

As he kept to said task for some reason he turned his gaze back down the hall but his eyes met with a massive and strong looking hand that tightly gripped his throat. The hand belonged to the strange silhouette that he first encountered when they first arrived at the manor. Ash was still not able to see its face but the structure let him know it was a masculine figure.

The silhouette then lifted Ash by the throat with a single arm, proving it was strong beyond words. Its hand closed more and more causing Ash's air supply to diminish little by little. The tight grip closed more and more to the point where Ash tried to breathe but he only managed to scratch his throat.

Ash's rasping and kicking seemed to amuse the creature. It tilted its head sideways like a child would when they saw something they had never before seen and were amused by it. Ash, in his despair, tried something. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an old rusty kitchen knife. Ash reached to the point that he felt he was in danger so before going up to his room he snuck into the kitchen and grabbed the first knife he found.

Ash swung it wildly at the silhouette but he was not doing anything to the creature. Knowing it was futile Ash just kept swinging and plunging the knife at the silhouette out of fear for his life. The silhouette then turned Ash around and just as Ash was about to plunge the knife at the creature again his hand passed right through the silhouette and he slammed his hand right into the window breaking the glass.

Ash managed to yell out in pain as he looked at his hand. Several shards of glass had pierced into his hand causing several trails of blood to fall down his hand. As Ash was being chocked he felt light headed and finally dropped the knife.

In her room May heard the loud noises and ran out of her room towards Brock's. When she opened the door she saw Max was all ready there and Brock was getting out of bed. Without saying a single word to each other they knew it was Ash who yelled but they didn't know for what reason it was. They hurried across the maze of halls towards Ash's room at the very end.

At the end of the hallway they saw Ash just standing in front of the broken window, the wind from outside swiftly flowed in and moved the old curtains around Ash. The light filtering in from the moon through the thin curtains also reflected on Ash in a creepy way. Brock, May and Max were also able to see the knife in his hands that was dripping in his blood. Brock noticed his injured hand and immediately concluded that the broken window was because of Ash.

Brock took a step forward but was held back by Max, who said, "No, you don't know what he's up."

"We've got to try something, Max."

Brock once again began to walk towards Ash, in his mind he had no idea what he was to say or do, he was at a loss of ideas and was not prepared in anyway for what was happening. He assumed he would figure it out as soon as he reached his friend.

The closer Brock got the clearer he could see the knife. His blood slowly slivered down Ash's fingers and onto the knife and finally dripped onto the wooden floor. Ash himself was merely standing still with his gaze fixated on the floor and his hair mostly covering his eyes. The sight frightened Brock to no end but he knew he had to do something.

As Brock took yet another step Ash suddenly lifted his gaze and stared at Brock right in the eyes. Ash had a maniacal look in his eyes and the smirk on his face was nothing short of devious. Brock froze while May ad Max held each other trying their best not to run away screaming.

"Ash…?"

Ash smirked widened and the look in his eyes became wilder and more maniacal. He gripped the knife tightly in his hands, despite the fact that he had an injured hand and looked at Brock who only managed to say, "Ash, is that you?"

Ash's smirk was beginning to draw as wicked and the wild look in his eyes shun like the blood on the floor when the moonlight hit it directly. After remaining quiet for a few seconds Ash finally spoke.

"Not really…"


End file.
