Pokémon Mars

Chapter 37: Introductions

Jin knew he wouldn't sleep. He stayed at the lab, combing through the opals, but it was pointless. His eyes were too tired to focus even if life on Mars stared him in the face. It was only yesterday that he told his friends not to walk around alone, but he wandered out anyway, following the Town Map to the skate park. The clocks had been frozen for 13 minutes. Most lights were out. The streets were so silent that it was easy to imagine that not a single one of those buildings was inhabited. Jin didn't even hear vermin rummaging through garbage.

He passed a funeral home. He was sure it was just the atmosphere around such a morbid place, but he felt a creeping, spine-chilling sense of dread.

Eden was about to close his blind. Thalassa's blinds were closed, but even she saw the flash of red that crept around them. It wasn't as close or as visceral to them as it was to Jin. The eerie red light flooded the street. He was glad it was quiet. No-one was around to hear him scream. Without even thinking, he ran. His Charizard burst from its Poké Ball, grabbed him and took off. His Pokémon were as terrified as he was.

The light didn't chase them. When Jin glanced back as Charizard soared over the city, he saw that street still glowing red. It flickered and dimmed, but never moved. Then it was gone.

Once Charizard calmed down, it flew back to 8th Avenue without even asking its Trainer. Jin didn't complain. When the elevator doors didn't immediately open, he ran up the stairs and in to the shower, as if he was contaminated. Charizard hated water, but it followed him. Their footsteps must have sounded thunderous in that silent period. Eden knocked on the door.

'Jin? Open up. What happened?'

Decidueye let him in. He sat on the edge of the bed while he waited for his friend to return from the shower. His eyes widened when Charizard followed, blasting itself with the hairdryer in its hand.

'Dude... what the heck happened?'

'I... I think it's starting... the Mars madness...'

Nocturnal Damson saw that light, too. His senses were dulled enough to be unshaken by it, but he did take a photo and, for once, he didn't cackle like he usually did at things that weren't funny at all. He left the roof, pulled on a baggy hoodie and jogged out to that street.

'Jin, you're shaking. Sit down.'

Jin sat in silence for a few minutes while Eden made three cups of green tea: one for each of them and another for Charizard.

'Was it that red light?'

'You saw it...?'

'I definitely saw it. You're not going mad.'

'I'm not even gonna ask if it was fake... that was legit. I can't even explain why. But I know it was.'

'Where were you?'

'On the street... where it came from... it was... I know it sounds ridiculous, but... I walked past a funeral parlour and got that feeling... you know when a Shadow Pokémon's nearby? And you can just feel all their hatred?'

'I don't, but I can imagine.'

'It wasn't exactly like that... I don't think it was a Shadow Pokémon... but that's the only thing I can think of to compare it to. I thought I was just being superstitious 'cause I was passing the funeral place, but... then the red light came...'

'So it came from the funeral home...?'

'I... I think so... or somewhere nearby...'

Altair was still awake, shuffling his notes on Joshua's murder. He flew out to the street. Damson was already there, staring in to the dark windows of the funeral home.