I was but a child. So young and full of curiosity and a wide-eyed taste for life. The time came when I was to be sent to the Ranch. It was for my own good. Or so I was told. All I knew was that I was going to learn. I had no idea what was in store for me.
I walked through those maroon double doors into the vast building. I encountered long hallways coated with countless rooms. I was led to my assigned room. There, I was joined with dozens of others my own age. The leaders called us "Stallions". The others seemed to be normal children from my first observations. They laughed and skipped and ran as would any young one. But over time, I began to see a change in certain peers.
Many continued to actively play. But there were select few whom reflected a transformation. They went from the monkey bars and slides to huddling together around the picnic tables and sitting in circles under the trees, isolating themselves from the rest. Why did they remove themselves from the pack? What were they doing?
Curiosity festered within me. Though I feared the danger that could be awaiting anyone that boldly dared venture to the small coves. I fought the urge that summoned me. Nevertheless, it got the better of me and I surrendered. I just had to know.
What I found was more terrifying and grotesque than my darkest and most daunting nightmares could have produced. As I approached them, I could not help but notice their eyes. Their pupils were dilated, they seemed entranced. It was as looking into an empty and endless abyss. Did they even know I was there? Could they see me? What was it that made them this way?? I got closer and I discovered the terror that had these young and naïve souls under their spell.
Ferocious beasts. I saw dragons and snakes and horses that seemed to produce flames. The power these beats had over their victims was horrifying. Their victims were not only hypnotized, but they became physically ill.
Curiosity festered within me. Though I feared the danger that could be awaiting anyone that boldly dared venture to the small coves. I fought the urge that summoned me. Nevertheless, it got the better of me and I surrendered. I just had to know.
What I found was more terrifying and grotesque than my darkest and most daunting nightmares could have produced. As I approached them, I could not help but notice their eyes. Their pupils were dilated, they seemed entranced. It was as looking into an empty and endless abyss. Did they even know I was there? Could they see me? What was it that made them this way?? I got closer and I discovered the terror that had these young and naïve souls under their spell.
Ferocious beasts. I saw dragons and snakes and horses that seemed to produce flames. The power these beats had over their victims was horrifying. Their victims were not only hypnotized, but they became physically ill.
The sneezing... oh the violent sneezing. It seized their entire bodies in a raging convulsion. It still echoes in my head...
"PikaCHU!!"
I had never felt such unadulterated terror. I cursed myself for defying my intuition which had no other motive than to protect me. I felt frozen. But I could not stay there. They would surely see me if I let a single minute pass by. I had to leave before they had the chance to bind me as they did the others. I subtly backed away as to not be seen, with each step not seeming to get me any further away.
Then I was caught under their radar. My peers were under their control. They were minions of the beasts and they were commanded to attack. I could sense that they thirsted for my blood and my soul. They sought that I should join them. They lurched after me and I felt every fiber within me going in different directions. I felt my flesh burn under their grip and I cried out in anguish. I struggled to loosen their grip but it only made them hold me tighter as the pain intensified. Just as I felt I could not take anymore, I heard loud whistles.
As they rang in my ears, the entranced stallions immediately loosened their grip and fled. The whistles were the signal to call us back inside. It must have been what brought my peers out of their trance. What struck me was that they ran off as though nothing had happened. I don't think they knew what had happened. I weakly gathered myself and stumbled back to the room. It was astonishing what I saw. My peers eyes. The life was back in them.
But inevitably, once we were let outside again, they were once again summoned by the beasts. I was a bigger target now. But I did not dare to even go near them again.
I could not let them take me hostage, too. I would not and could not give in to the Pokémon. Little did I know that the monsters would spread like wildfire. They were not confined to those grounds. They hid in backpacks, in binders, they even made their way into homes. Nowhere was completely safe.
Then I was caught under their radar. My peers were under their control. They were minions of the beasts and they were commanded to attack. I could sense that they thirsted for my blood and my soul. They sought that I should join them. They lurched after me and I felt every fiber within me going in different directions. I felt my flesh burn under their grip and I cried out in anguish. I struggled to loosen their grip but it only made them hold me tighter as the pain intensified. Just as I felt I could not take anymore, I heard loud whistles.
As they rang in my ears, the entranced stallions immediately loosened their grip and fled. The whistles were the signal to call us back inside. It must have been what brought my peers out of their trance. What struck me was that they ran off as though nothing had happened. I don't think they knew what had happened. I weakly gathered myself and stumbled back to the room. It was astonishing what I saw. My peers eyes. The life was back in them.
But inevitably, once we were let outside again, they were once again summoned by the beasts. I was a bigger target now. But I did not dare to even go near them again.
I could not let them take me hostage, too. I would not and could not give in to the Pokémon. Little did I know that the monsters would spread like wildfire. They were not confined to those grounds. They hid in backpacks, in binders, they even made their way into homes. Nowhere was completely safe.
Time pressed on and I worried about those that had been taken hostage by the ravage beasts. I felt sorrow for those who did not escape. Finally, beacons of light peaked through and they broke those bonds. I had hoped that those beasts would never return....
But alas, those wretched fiends crawled out of the abyss and threw their grimy claws and talons around the throat of another un-expectant soul.
I barely escaped them with my life. Now, they went after someone close to me. They lured in my innocent nephew. He innocently stumbled upon two ancient artifacts and he was bewitched. There was nothing I could do. Before I knew it, those VHS tapes brought them into the house. They were far more bone chilling than my repressed memories would allow me to recall. They savagely soared through the air, targeting their victims. they're crept out of the water onto shores and they chanted their hexes in a haunting and synchronous manner. It was then I realized, they still live on, all around us.
And I continue to live in fear.
