Capítulo 8: The Horrid Scene
Approaching the village under the watchful eye of the moon, Gunne's mouth curved upwards into a smile, his eyes glittering in anticipation.
Not only had they walked for hours without rest, but Gunne had experienced the frightening chase in the forest and the life-threatening battle against the onix.
At this point, all he wanted was a nice little break. Was that too much to ask?
And yet, even as he neared the village, everything remained quiet.
Not like a calming quiet... but like a deathly silence.
"Please, let this be a normal situation for once!" Gunne cursed under his breath.
"Ri-Rio!"
Riolu grabbed at his sleeve, holding it tightly between his paws in fright.
"Hm? Something up, Riolu?"
"Ar-Ar! Ar!" Riolu barked, clearly not having a good feeling about this place.
"I know, but we have no choice but to continue forward! Even if it ends up being a ghost town, we can surely find some clues as to where to go from there."
Gunne's body tensed up as he tried to stay brave, feeling that either something really bad had occurred here, or maybe that the villagers lived a nomadic life?
'No, it's definitely something bad that happened,' he thought to himself, immediately shutting down his obviously-wrong optimism.
Gunne inhaled a breath of cold air, composing himself before continuing forward.
"Riolu, keep your senses and let me know if you detect any auras. Zubat, Aron, stick close to us."
"Gra!" "Zu!" "Ar!"
The three responded in their respective growls, peering vigilantly at their surroundings.
Of the three, Riolu was naturally the best when it came to sensing others as well as Gunne's first pokémon, and so it had become the co-leader of their little group.
Zubat and Aron were both deputy co-leaders, or at the very least, that's how they saw things.
With their group organized, they entered the dim village.
A chilling breeze assaulted their bodies the moment they stepped foot into the village, sending a tingling sensation down their spines. The surrounding atmosphere and scenery painted a very dark picture, clouding any hope Gunne had left.
Several old wooden houses were lined up along deteriorating make-shift roads, their glass window panes shattered with plants wildly growing out from them while others grew all over the homes, covering their doors and walls with thick green vines.
The roads had long since fallen apart under the missing care of man; much of the old stone road was overgrown with dark green grass. Nature was clearly intent on reclaiming its territory.
"This place really gives me the creeps," Gunne said, looking at the abandoned homes in paranoia.
Gunne looked around for a brief moment, calling out, "Hey! Hello? Tch. IS THERE ANYBODY HERE?!"
Clicking his tongue, he raised his voice to the point of shouting. His voice echoed far our into the surroundings, but it didn't seem to reach the ears of a single soul.
"Well, it was worth a try," he thought, walking up to an old house at random.
Knock-knock-knock.
"A courtesy check before intruding is always a good idea," Gunne awkwardly chuckled, wiping a cold sweat from his brow.
He opened the door tentatively, grimacing as the door issued out a shrill screech that grinded against his eardrums like nails on a chalkboard.
A storm of dust kicked up as he entered, throwing Gunne into a coughing fit. Taking a look around, the dust particles were visible all throughout the room under the gentle radiance of the moon.
Closely examining the room, he took note of the dust-caked surroundings and old furniture that had rotted and crumbled under harsh conditions, all while his nose was assaulted by a dreadful musty scent.
Looking up at the walls, he realized—to no surprise—this musty scent came from an expansive infestation of black mold which smothered all throughout the interior of the home.
Aside from these putrid conditions, there was nothing noteworthy. Any and all papers that could possibly hold a hint of information had since ceased to exist.
A few steps further inside, Gunne felt the flooring beneath his feet soften on contact. Immediately, it caved in as if attempting to devour him whole.
In a panic, he used double team and just barely avoided danger as he took a step backwards. Riolu had also grabbed his arm, offering him extra support.
"Whoo, that was a close call. Thanks, Riolu."
"Rio!"
Gunne caught his breath before treading carefully onto the next room.
It appeared to be a bedroom.
Gunne reached his hand forward to open the door, watching as it simply fell backwards upon his touch with a heavy bang. The hinges were so far gone that the door was practically standing without any support this entire time, purely waiting for its last use.
Gunne thought this would just be another room, vague of anything of interest.
Instead, his body froze upon entry, aghast at the sight that lay just ahead.
The walls were covered in a dry red color... it was blood... Laying along the flooring beneath it was an aged knife; it was lodged inside a decrepit corpse that barely resembled a human.
"Wh-What the hell happened here?!"
Gunne stumbled backwards in shock, falling against the old wooden floorboards as he lowered his head to the floor. A wave of nausea stirred within his stomach, traveling up his esophagus until he could no longer hold himself, and he vomited a mouthful of bodily acids onto the floor.
With his breathing rough, he raised his head, forcefully removing his gaze from the ravaged remnants of the corpse.
"Let's get out of this place, I don't think there's anything for us here," he said dejectedly on his way out.
Riolu and the others nodded obediently, hoping to get away from this scene just as much as Gunne.
Just then, a sudden cry for help echoed out, barely reaching Gunne's ears, "He-Help me! Anyone, please!"
The voice sounded like a woman's, though it was too distant to know for sure.
"That's coming from outside?! It's a person, come on, let's move! Quick!"
Gunne stormed out of the room, not waiting around a moment longer. If this person was in danger, there was no time for hesitation!
His partners followed closely behind in fright, sensing the urgency in that cry while also feeling shaken up by the gruesome site they had just witnessed.
Arriving outside, Gunne looked left and right, straight and back, but everything felt off.
The village looked different.
No, it was just that there was a new addition to the village's appearance—a vast fog.
Gunne felt his vision had considerably shortened. He strained his eyes, trying to make out a single sign of a person.
"Something's wrong. This fog wasn't here just a few moments ago and it's really throwing my senses off. Hopefully the scream we heard is from a real person and not a trap to set us up."
"Rio!"
Riolu cried out. He abruptly yanked Gunne's sleeve, pointing off into the distance where Gunne saw a silhouette running in his direction.
The silhouette hurried in his position and Gunne realized it was a young lady in a police uniform. Her eyes were a beautiful amber and her hair a shade of teal.
"A police officer? But, what could she be running from?"
Gunne's mind wandered back to the sight of the corpse and the current situation was obvious... there was something grotesque going on and something malevolent existed within in this village.
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