Another Soul Had Been Claimed

Zack's father walked fast on the sidewalk, hoping to find an opened store so he could buy a gift for his son's birthday. He just finished his overtime shift at the local factory, and just gets his wage check. Only a hundred bucks. When they said in the news that the recession hit harder than expected, they were damn right! Zack's father didn't really know what to buy for his now 11 years old boy. He needed another baseball glove, but the only ones he found were out of reach for his budget. He eventually stumbled upon the video games store. He stopped to read an ad about the brand news Pokémon's adventures: White and Black. Zack loves the Pokémon's show that get on the T.V., and his father knew that it would absolutely love a game. As he entered the store, he headed at the counter and asked the clerk for a Pokémon game, either the Black or the White one. With a sigh, the clerk told him that they not only sold out all of the Black and White copies of the games, but also all the Pokémon games they had in stock, and the next shipment would only arrive in four months. Disappointed and dishearten, Zack's father exit slowly the store, as the sun begin to disappear in the horizon.Thinking of which lame excuse he could use to calm Zack, he stumbled across a square flat box. His eyes grow as he recognized the game on this box: A copy of Pokémon Black! He couldn't believe it; it was too good to be true. He took the box, opened it and saw the Black cartridge game in its place. Running back at home in time for dinner, he carefully wrapped the box into paper and added red and yellow ribbons on it.

After a wonderful dinner with what they could have came the birthday cake… well cupcake. But Zack was really happy. He received many gifts from his friends at school: Many pens, some fancies stickers, a football ball…. But, Zack knew the best was yet to come. After the desert, it was time to open the presents from his family. He gets a great T-shirt from his mother, and his grandparents gave him some money. It was the turn of his father's present. He recognized the shape of the present, so he opened it up with a lot of excitement. As his eyes read the title of the game, he jumped everywhere in the small house, and thanked many times his father for the best gift he couldn't receive. He immediately ran into his room, took his Nintendo DS and crammed the cartridge into it. He couldn't get over his excitement as he saw the title screen and began to play. He started his adventure right away and though of how much jealous his classmates would be tomorrow, because he's the first one who got the game already.

As he played, the time passed by. His mother, before she get to work, scold him a little for being up so late. After brushing his teeth and giving a kiss to his mom, he get in his room, hide under his bedclothes and continue to play quietly. He won't be in shape for school tomorrow, but the heck with it. It was his birthday after all, wasn't it? So, he continued playing his game. Meanwhile, his father goes to bed, because he had to wake up early to drive Zack to school and then go to his work.

Hours passed fast for little Zack who continue playing and collecting Pokémon. He had fives of them when he heard the clock in the hallway indicate midnight. "Wow! Midnight already?" though our little Zack, "Maybe I should rest for now…" But, before he could choose the save option, he saw a poke-ball on the ground, on the road he was walking. As he gets it, the screen indicated that he just had a Haunter! Surprised and happy and the same time, Zack checked his new Pokémon he got. When he checked its stats, he was shocked by what he saw: First, his Haunter was level INFINITE! How could something like that happen? Second, he had 100 EXP., but it wasn't written EXP. It was written SLS. Searching the meaning of this, Zack also find out that his "SLS" bar was filled, like if the bar was always filled. Other than that, he looked like a normal Haunter. Switching to his moves, Zack had to rub his eyes to believe it. His Haunter got only one move with infinite PP! There wasn't any description of what the move do, but it leave a bad impression in Zack's mind. His only move was SOUL DEVORER, a dark type move. Zack even didn't know if it really exist a move like that. A little disturbed by his new Pokémon, Zack decided to test him. Wandering in the tall grass, he eventually found a wild Pokémon. It was a low-levelled Rattata. Zack let go his first Pokémon, then switched to Haunter. The box text showing up at that moment shocked him again: "Rattata is too afraid to move" How could that happen? Zack shrugged and choose to use the SOUL DEVORER move. The text box told him the normal "Haunter used SOUL DEVORER!" thing. Then, the screen faded to black. For a second, Zack was scared at the idea that all his data was lost, but the screen reappeared after a short time, with only the back sprite of Haunter on the screen. The text box then said: "Another soul had been claimed!" Beginning to be really scared, Zack witnessed then something he though it was impossible: The "SLS" meter get BACKWARD! After the combat, Zack hurried and get onto Haunter' stats. His "SLS" was now of 99. Zack began to seriously wonder if it was a real Black game or if it was a hacked game, as he read about on the internet. He decided to continue anyway.

An hour passed, but it seemed too fast for Zack. His Haunter's "SLS" meter was going down very fast, it was now by 35. Zack found out that "SLS" mean Souls. Also, he found out that every time he used him, the enemy Pokémon was unable to move, because they were all too afraid of him, even in a Pokémon battle! He also spotted that, more his Haunter collected souls, more his sprite became creepy. His eyes were swallowed through his eye-sockets, turning into two white pixels. His teeth seem to become sharper, as his claws too. His color seems also to get darker, near total black, and his smile seems wicker than ever. But that's not it. As he checked his others Pokémons' stats, their sprite seemed to be…. scared by something. They were all sharing the same expression, more or less, an expression of total fear and distress. Zack decided to get his Haunter into a PC, so he could stop to witness this non-sense. He dropped it into a box and returned to the game. As he encounters an opponent, he tried to use another Pokémon. But, at his biggest surprise, the Haunter'sprite gets into place and threw the Poké-ball back! After the combat, that was too much for Zack to take. He saved his game and turned his game off. Well, tried, but the button didn't work anymore. Zack was really scared now, and covered with hot sweats. Even if he wanted to quit the game and throw it away in the sewers, he couldn't stop playing it now! HE MUST CONTINUE!

Later, Zack checked his Pokémons' stats. Haunter now looks creepier than ever. He was now completely black, with two burning pixels for his eyes. It also seemed that some foul gazes get out from his mouth… But the worst of him, his souls meter: HE WAS NEEDED ONLY ONE NOW!!!! What would happen when the meter will be completely empty? Zack didn't want to know, and closed the menu. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a trainer challenged Zack to a Pokémon fight. The trainer throws a little Pikachu to fight. Zach didn't had the chance to throw hi first Pokémon that his Haunter was already on the battlefield, and used his deadly move. Zack passed quickly over the text; he didn't want to read anymore "Another soul had been claimed!" message. After the fight, an evolution screen showed up, with the Haunter sprite on it. A message box appeared to announce that Haunter was evolving! "That's not possible, Zack screamed, Haunters only evolve when they are traded!!!!!" Some light masked Haunter, and the evolution tone started. But, the Haunter form didn't change into a Gengar, despite it was his next evolution. It didn't change at all! The music suddenly stopped, and both screens turned black. Scared, Zack carefully pressed a button, then another. No reaction. He was begun to de-stress when suddenly a high pitched scream came up from the DS speakers, along with snow in both screens. Terrified, Zack tried anything to stop it, but it continued. Worse, the snow in both screens took the form of a pair of eyes in the top screen and a screaming mouth on the lower one. Zack finally threw the DS on the wall, causing it to break. The scream stopped instantly. Sobbing a little, Zack get closer, to take look of the mess he did. Seeing that no more thing happens, he turned around and prepared to get into bed when, suddenly, a tar-like hand grabbed him by his foot. Zack started screaming, hoping his father would come and save him from this… THING! Despite the hand being liquid, the young boy felt huge solid claws lacerate his ankle. As Zack crawled to get away, calling his father to rescue him, the tar-like hand solidified itself in a huge, sharpened claw. More tar flew from the DS, and soon, a humongous ball of tar was floating in the airs. It turned rapidly into a head, with empty eyes-sockets and a devilish sick smile in its face. As Zack get to the door, the creature grabbed him by his T-shirt, and spoken: "There's no one to hear you, master, said the creature with a dual ton voice. Only you and meeeEEEEEAAAA!" As the creature was about to bite his head off, Zack woke up, panting from his terrible nightmare he just get. Searching for his DS, he fined it smashed on the wall, broken. As he though of his crazy nightmare he got, he sense something running down from his nose. He went to the bathroom to clean up, but as soon as he saw himself in the mirror, he stopped: it was blood, his own blood which was running from he's nose. He though that it must be the stress, so he cleaned up. But as soon as he finished, something tickled him in his ears. He checked, it was blood too. Trying to find a logical answer, he looked at the mirror. A single blood tear was running through his cheek and dropped into the sink. With a shaking hand, he cleaned all the blood on his face and the sink. But when he looked in the mirror again, it wasn't his reflection anymore. It was the tar creature, smiling wickedly to Zack as his hands grabbed him again from the mirror. The creature got closer to Zack, enough so he could smell his breath, a mix of rot, trashes and death. At this moment, Zack recognized the creature: it was his Haunter! As it understand what Zack though, it grinned even more, and violently bite him.

Zack woke up again, in his bed. He started to cry as he went to his parent's bedroom. He screamed in tears while entering the room, cursing his father for his poisoned gift. But as he saw an empty bed, Zack ran around the house, searching in every room for his father. There was no one here, except himself. As Zack became aware of that fact, all the walls were covered in tar, and the demoniac Haunter emerged from them. It said: "You will live this scene again, and again, and again for eternity, master, unless…" Zack interrupt him quickly: "Please, I'll do whatever you want, but MAKE IT STOP!" "With the most delectable pleasure" the monster said and, taking the poor terrified child at his "eyes" level, he added: "Witness into my eyes,master, the last thing you'll ever see: OBLIVION!"

Later that night, Zack's mom returned from her night shift. She opened the door, and was instantly shocked: the house was all upside down! Furnitures were shredded aparts, and there were broken pieces of them everywhere. She thought that some thieves had broken in and immediately thought of her family. As she ran trough the kitchen, she saw the body of her husband lying on the crouch, fatally wounded in the stomach. She ran at him, but it was too late. Fearing the worst, she called out loud her son's name while running through his room, but it was empty. She was hysterical now. She saw the phone on the living room table, and she ran to it to call the police. As she was about to take the phone, a drop of liquid dropped on her hand. She stopped her movement, examinating the liquid: it was blood. Another one dripped from the ceiling. She slowly lifts her head to see the origin of those drips. When she saw it, she screamed.

Sergeant Patowski and Lieutenant Balding were not occupied. They were based in the little restaurant in the middle of town. As they were on the night shift, they had drunk a lot of coffee to prevent them to sleep at work. It was their job to ensure the security of the citizens after all, even at night. Suddenly, they got a call. Apparently, someone heard a woman scream and many breaking noises in a small house in the suburbs. As they drove to the house, agent Balding suggested that it was maybe a poor fellow that slept over a horror movie, causing many laughs in the car. As they arrived, they were laughing a little by inside. They knocked at the door, no answers. They knocked louder, still no answers. The young sergeant pointed out at this moment that no sounds either were coming from the house. Fearing the worst, they broke down the front door, and analysed the situation. As they get deeper into the house, they saw two bodies: one male for sure, but the other one was too damaged to determinate the gender. Seeking for enemies that could still hiding, they opened each door. As they get to the end of the corridor, only one door faced them. They open it up and they instantly felt all the food they had eaten trying to return from where it came by. As they struggled to keep their food in them and their lamps into their hands, they lighted the scene.

There was a child body, hanging at the end of a rope. The child's eyes had been removed form their eye-sockets. His mouth had been butchered to look like a twisted smile. His hands also get lacerated, and were now looking like claws. The old Lieutenant swore between his teeth, and asked to the sergeant what kind of sick person would do something like that to a child.On the boy's chest was taped a note. As the policemen tried to take it, they walked into liquid, a big amount of liquid. They looked down, and saw a mix of blood and tar making a huge pool of the stuff under the kid's feet. And then, they heard it.

Plic!

The faint sound of a drop.

Plic!

They looked at the boy's corpse, but there are no origins on the boy's front.

Plic!

As they walked around the boy, they saw where the blood was coming from.

Plic!

The entire boy's back was a muscle and bones mess; torn up inside out, like if something had burst from his back and splashed everything with blood and tar. And it looked like something had worn it like some clothes!

Plic!

That was too much for both policemen, who ran out of the room, vomiting everything they could and wanting to unsee what they just saw. As they tried to not barf to call reinforcement and failed, the note on the boy's chest come off it and floated in the airs, before falling into the red and black pool. Before it gets completely soaked in blood and tar, the note had five words on it, written in blood.

"ANOTHER SOUL HAD BEEN CLAIMED!"

-H