“That’s so like you to think that,” Aly said.

  In the thick, surrounding fog, Gary couldn’t see her but he could practically feel Aly’s eyes rolling. He chewed impatiently on his bottom lip.

  “You think you’re the messenger of truth, and Claire has been chosen as the representative for ideals, winner take the world. What a dork!” she laughed heavily.

  Releasing his lip, Gary grit his teeth. He snorted a consistently runny nose. That’s not exactly what I said! he thought irritably. This is why I can’t tell her about the monster and the connections and the dreams. The things Looker explained to me. The helicopter! This is exactly why I haven’t been able to confess this to my friends. Especially Aly!

  “What you did was absolutely conceited and stupid, even for you,” Aly went on. “June’s the one who talks to Pokemon, not you. Do you realize that Shaymin could very well be dead?”

  Gary sucked his teeth, ready to explode at her. He was annoyed enough by his nose running no matter how much snot he snorted and swallowed. He wanted to grab his nose and clear it into the grass so badly.

  “I mean, Reshiram sure showed you! You just thought you were gonna go full Tobias and capture a Mythical and a Legendary! Boy, stop!” She let out more laughter.

  Gary wasn’t as embarrassed as he thought he’d feel, but instead was only getting more pissed off, ready to shake Aly silent like a parent pissed off at their baby that won’t stop crying.

  “June, what did Reshiram tell him, anyway? ‘Dream on’? ‘What are you, stupid?’ She probably doesn’t like stupid gross boys like you and Zekrom.”

  Gary tried to see through the fog to find a large, blunt object, like a rock. Anything he could use to shut her up for good. Something to smash Aly’s skull in with. But he couldn’t see far.

  “And then she just flew off! I bet you thought she would offer you a chance to battle to earn her respect and let you capture her, right? You be watchin’ too much Pokemon anime.”

  “WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY?!” Gary was ready to jab his claws into her eyes, tighten his grip, and rip through the very bone of her skull!

  Aly gasped long and harshly.

  Gary looked around wildly, ready to lunge at her. If only I could see her! I’d do it! I’d kill her right here!

  “Gary!!” Another voice was heard.

  Gary recognized it and turned. June, he told himself, unable to see her. KILL HER!!

  “Hoooooooow dare you!!” Aly stomped over to Gary. “We may be friends but you don’t get to disrespect me like that!”

  NOW!! With her clouded figure in front of him now, Gary grasped her by the shoulders and squeezed, ready to lift her right off the ground and fling her through the woods.

  “Gary!” June called desperately.

  Aly grunted out loudly and with a hard twist, broke out of Gary’s grasp and slammed one finger to his chest.

  Gary blinked hard and then stumbled backwards. It wasn’t the finger that moved him, but the release from a kind of trance he realized he had been under when he was hit. Her? he thought frightfully. The monster? Did it happen now? Did I just - put my hands on Aly?

  “I don’t know who you think you are, but you are dealing with Miss Aly Say now, Buster!” Aly shoved Gary’s palms against his stomach, the boy groaning in pain and falling. She grabbed his jacket and hoisted him up to her face. “Just because you caught a Mythical you think you’re hot stuff, huh? Huh? Think you can just put your hands on a woman now? Huh? Huh? Is this the way you treat June, too?? Tell me, June! Has he ever put his hands on you?!”

  “Aly! Stop! You don’t understand!” June was moving towards them as best as she could.

  Gary wailed out helplessly as Aly shook him, shouting, “First Rob, now you! You boys are all alike!!”

  June suddenly gasped and said, “Eeeeww!”

  A cry was heard.

  “What was that?” June questioned.

  “June?” Aly released Gary, dropping the boy on his back with a grunt.

  Gary quickly sat up. “June? Hey!” He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and sniffled noisily, glad he couldn’t be seen in such a disgusting state as he stood back up.

  “Gary!” June called back.

  “Where are you, Gary? I’m not done with you!” Aly insisted.

  “Yyaaahh!!” Gary shouted as he stepped on something round and lost his balance, falling again. His right hand landed on something gushy and he inhaled sharply. “Oh! Groooooss!” He pulled his hand up and shook off a nasty substance. A strange sound made him scream and scramble backwards.

  “Gary?” Aly said.

  “Gary!” June repeated in unison.

  “I touched something gross!” He wiped his hand on the ground to try to get the rest off and then pressed his hands into the dirt to get himself to his feet. “Huh?” He leaped up and pulled his hand off of a round, hard object. “What’s that?” He picked up a ball, holding it up to his face. “Whoa! Cool! An Ultra Ball!”

  “Gary, are you okay? We need to all try to stick together! I can’t find you!” June was heard.

  “It’s so hard to see in this fog,” Aly complained. “You couldn’t tell your new Pokemon partner Reshiram to drop us off somewhere with better lighting?”

  Gary sucked his teeth, frowning as he put the ball in his pocket. “Oh, lay off already. I shoulda had her leave without you. It was brighter by the flames, right?” He shot at her.

  “Funny. You won’t be laughing when I find you again.”

  This made Gary stop and think. “I’m sorry, Aly,” he apologized. “I shouldn’t have put my hands on you. I went too far. I-” He didn’t know what else to say; how to explain himself.

  “Oh don’t be sorry now that I’m about to kick your butt. You really ought to know how to treat a lady. Save the roughhousing for Rob, you butt.”

  “I won’t forget you’re a lady next time,” Gary tried joking. “Sometimes I forget we have any girls in our group.”

  “What did you say?!” Aly raged.

  Gary grinned with some relief, but he still felt awkward. I can’t believe I grabbed her. Was it really because...?

  “Hm?”

  Gary couldn’t tell which girl had spoken.

  After a moment, “Hey. Did you say you found an Ultra Ball out here?” It was Aly. “I think I just found something, too. Some kind of red object. Looks like a broken shard of something. I bet there’s all kinds of junk out here that Trainers and people- Whoa!”

  “Aaaaaahhh! Hey! I’m sorry! Who’s there? Is that you U.L.T.R.A.?” a man called out.

  “Who’s th-?” Gary started, but Aly shrieked.

  “Oh my goodness who is that??” she screeched.

  “Who’s out there? Aly! Get over here!” June cried.

  There was a lot of commotion and movement and suddenly June screamed.

  “JUNE!” Gary moved towards her voice carefully but quickly, reaching out blindly as he tried to grab at the unclear shapes in the mist.

  “Yyyyaaaaah!!” June’s voice was heard.

  “My arm! Please! It hurrrrts!” the male voice came out again.

  “Get off of me!” June demanded.

  Gary finally bumped into something and in the next second, there was a female screaming, Gary screaming with her as he found himself flying through the air! He crashed into the dirt ground, someone pressing the right side of his face against twigs and grass and pebbles. Crap. I’ve been captured by some kind of martial arts expert, Gary was sure. I’m helpless on the ground, and there’s no point in fighting back. I’m at the mercy of a thief, probably. They’ll leave us all immobilized and then steal all our Pokemon and get away and there’s nothing we can do about it! “Please don’t steal our Pokemon!” he pleaded in vain.

  “Gary?”

  “June? June! Are you okay?!”

  “Gary! I’m so sorry! Did I hurt you??”

  Gary was being helped up into a sitting position by June! “June, look out! I got flipped by some karate guy!”

  “Oh, Gary. No,” June spoke softly. “That was me. I thought you were another attacker.”

  “Wait. You flipped me?? That was amazing!”

  “I trained with Lt. Surge, remember? I do know a thing or two about self-defense,” June giggled.

  “That was so coo-!” Gary tried going on.

  “Who are you people??” It was the male voice from earlier!

  “Who are you?” June let out defensively.

  “My name is Prof. Eep!” the voice answered. “I’m a scientist for Insect Town. I’m looking for my robot, U.L.T.R.A.”

  “Ultra?” Aly repeated.

  “Insect Town...?” Gary repeated cautiously.

  “Yes, U-L-T-R-A. An acronym for Unquantifiable Lingering Trubbish Removal Apparatus. And yes, Insect Town is where I work.”

  Gary was shuddering now. Definitely a town I’m not going to, he promised. He got to his feet, facing the direction of the voice that seemed to be coming from a shadowy figure.

  An odd noise was heard.

  “Ugh!” Aly groaned. “Ew yo what?? I just touched something nasty!” She then sniffed. “It doesn’t smell, though.”

  “Oh, no. That’s definitely what I think it is,” Prof. Eep said uneasily.

  Gary sniffed his hand, remembering he had touched something gross, too. It didn’t smell out of the ordinary.

  “What do you mean, sir?” June asked nervously.

  The shadowy guy came closer to Gary and became just a little bit more visible. He was a brown man that was about Gary’s height, but Gary couldn’t make out much more of him in the fog.

  “That was certainly the cry of an Alolan Grimer,” he answered. “They live in Insect Town, along with a bunch of other Bug-type Pokemon and insects in general. It’s kind of famous for that. We have a huge Trubbish issue and that’s why we had a bunch of Alolan Grimer and Alolan Muk transported over here. Alola did the same thing many years ago, bringing in Kantonian Muk and Grimer to fix a Trubbish and Garbodor problem. But this is creating an issue of people getting ill by being in contact with them, so I thought I’d resolve this issue once and for all by creating a machine that can get rid of trash all together! Only, by doing that we may disrupt the insect habitat there.”

  “Wait, wait, wait. None of this is making any sense,” Gary frowned. “First of all: ew?? Having bugs over there is a good thing? It must stink over there!”

  “Well, no. Believe it or not, Insect Town is very well kept, despite what the name may imply. It didn’t smell one bit until the Trubbish and Garbodor invaded. And thanks to the Alolan Grimer and Alolan Muk, it doesn’t again! That’s why they’re so convenient. For one, they don’t stink like their Kantonian counterparts do. But with limited amounts of Trubbish and Garbodor now, the Alolan Grimer and Alolan Muk are also starting to eat other things to survive, like furniture and tools and expensive equipment of mine!”

  “But what exactly is this U.L.T.R.A. thing going to do?” June sounded ready to start a fight if she didn’t like the answer.

  “The machine vacuums perceived garbage, like Trubbish and Grimer, bags them up, and we send them to Muky pond, where other Kantonian Muk and Grimer live. Not too far from here.”

  “But that’s just sending the Trubbish and Garbodor to their deaths!” June shouted, mortified.

  “Yeah! And that could negatively affect the environment there!” Aly added. “You can’t just bring over Pokemon to stop one problem, create a different problem, and just dump the new problem somewhere else!”

  “Eeehh...” Prof. Eep sounded nervous. “I realize that. I tried coming up with other ways to fix this, but to be completely honest, Muk and Grimer as Pokemon in general are a huge problem anywhere! The only other option is extermination, which is not an unheard of measure. I really wouldn’t dream of harming another Pokemon by my own hands, so I had hoped the Alolan Muk and Alolan Grimer would do it by natural means, but now we have both in the town and I am at my wits’ end! I don’t know what to do! I could lose all my funding if the U.L.T.R.A. Project is a failure! I almost lost my job and everything when the Alolan Muk and Grimer thing didn’t work out! I-! Huh?”

  Everyone heard the rumbling at the same time and turned to the wide, towering, ghostly silhouette of a monster! Four screams rang out.

  “Wait! U.L.T.R.A.?” Prof. Eep called. “U.L.T.R.A.! WAIT!”

  The behemoth was clouded in fog. With a roar like a motor turning on, several long, thick, shadowy appendages came out of it and reached out for the group! They were like vacuum hoses, sucking up whatever they could.

  “My red thing!” Aly was heard.

  “GET OFF OF ME!!” June was freaking out.

  One appendage got into Gary’s jeans pocket, emptying whatever was inside! “MY POKE BALLS!!” He grabbed at the arm but it had already left his pocket and was waving wildly in the air.

  Suddenly the roaring died out and all of the arms collapsed.

  “I SHUT IT DOWN!! DON’T WORRY!!” Prof. Eep assured everyone. “Even in this fog, I know this baby like the back of a neuron! All under control here! I can fix this! We are aaaaall good!”

  Out of nowhere, Gary started losing focus, barely hearing the man as he kept talking. He squinted in the translucent fog, seeing nothing. Man, why can’t he just shut up? he thought irritably. My head. I feel like... Gary got down to his knees and then sat. That’s better, he told himself. I think. No. I need to go down lower. Yeah, he breathed out silently, now on his side. That does it. Now I’m- No... I need to get lower somehow. Ugh. I almost feel like throwing- Uuuugh... His eyes shut tight, his mind swimming.

  “That’s your U.L.T.R.A. machine??” Aly asked. “Yo, what is up with that thing, yo? Huh? Huh? Huh? It totally attacked us all!”

  “I can totally fix this, guys,” Prof. Eep insisted. “Oh, damn it, did you kids lose some items?”

  “I want my red thingy back!” Aly whined.

  “Just gimme a sec, here!” the professor pleaded.

  Gary swallowed down what felt like stinging acid rising in his throat. I’m okay. I’m fine. No. That’s not the truth. I’m feeling sick. I need to get lower. Sink through the ground.

  “Um,” Aly let out lowly. “I’m feelin’ kinda woozyyyyyy...”

  Aly? Gary was unable to speak or move. He swallowed again, but this was a tremendous struggle. June? Where’s June? Is she okay? Why is she so quiet?

  Ugh... I feel like I’m gonna fall. Fall off the face of the entire planet. Gary gripped the grass beneath him. But I don’t have the strength to hang on, he knew. I can’t even fight back the urge to puke any longer. What’s going on? Gary... Gary!

  “Guys? Guys!” Prof. Eep was calling, but his voice sounded like it was rising into the skies, away from Gary.

  Gary wanted to reach out, or just say that he needed help, but this was impossible. At this point, for all he knew, he was going to die here. That’s crazy, but it feels so true, he admitted in a daze. I feel so sick. But something about that sounds familiar. Why? Something about this feeling makes sense. What did Eep say earlier? Something. Wait...

  He rolled onto his back and groaned out helplessly. June... was his last thought as the planet itself began to twirl and dance.

  *

  “All I know is, it’s crazy how we were in that hospital and don’t recall a single day there,” Aly mused. “We were so tired we just passed out in the woods! Thankfully we were with Prof. Eep and he got us to a hospital.”

  “I bet Gary’s main concern now is avoiding running into any bugs, right, Gary?” June giggled.

  “I sure am!” Gary agreed as they walked through the simple town called Insect Town. It smelled terrible, but the group hadn’t seen a single insect.

  Prof. Eep had gotten Gary, Aly and June to the town after the kids caved in to exhaustion, but after a couple of days of rest, the group was ready to move on with their journey.

  “Only issue is that smell. It’s worse than a bum!” Gary exclaimed.

  “Lucky for the residents they’ve gotten rid of the Trubbish and Garbodor, so the smell should be gone in a couple of days,” June mentioned.

  “Talk about good luck, huh?” Aly added. “As soon as we got here, the issue was all resolved!”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Yeah! Sometimes it feels like I’m arriving in the middle of a problem made just for me to solve. Like a TV show or a book or something. Nice to arrive with the issue fixed already for a change.” Gary cut his laugh short, something bugging him now. Wait, didn’t Prof. Eep say it doesn’t smell here thanks to the Alolan Grimer and Alolan Muk? And, how is the issue all cleared up already? In just a couple of days? Frowning, he opened his mouth and turned to the girls. “Say, wasn’t-?”

  “That’s just the life of a Pokemon Trainer in general,” Aly smiled at Gary. “You haven’t seen me on the news since you’ve been busy being such a big TV star yourself,” she teased, nudging him with her elbow, “but I actually had to save two armed robbers.”

  Gary was blushing at Aly’s playfulness but snapped out of it as he processed what she had said. “You did what?”

  “Long story short, these burglars broke into a house and assaulted the owner, but unfortunately for the robbers, the owner’s Pokemon, a lllooooovely pair of cat Pokemon called Meowstic, were there and attacked them with relentless Psychic energy and could easily have killed them! They were goners had I not happened to intervene and convinced them to let them go by the skin of their teeth. But then I found myself in trouble too because all that fuss led us into a garden that was being guarded by a Florges! They’re very protective of their flowers and started attacking us all! Let’s just say I think those guys will be finding law-abiding careers when they get out of jail!”

  Everyone was laughing at this.

  Even Shaymin.

  Gary blinked rapidly in confusion, yelling out and falling away from the Pokemon on his shoulder. “Huh?? What the-?”

  “And you were right about Shaymin all along,” Aly said quickly, snatching Shaymin out of the air. “Everything worked out just fine, huh?”

  Gary stared in shock at Shaymin, but then squinted and lowered his gaze to the ground. My head, he kept to himself, gritting his teeth against a sharp pain. “Ouch,” a whisper finally slipped out and his eyes shut tight.

  But Aly never stopped talking, speaking really quickly. “You saved the Shaymin you caught! He was fixed right up and now we’re about to get another Badge! What else can I say? I was wrong and you were right, Gary!”

  Gary’s eyes popped open. His head was throbbing less, but it was Aly’s last sentence that pulled his attention. “What did you just s-?” His words got cut off when he turned to her. “Aahh!”

  Aly’s head was melting into slime! The slime was dark green, with a line of yellow and a splash of bright blue. “I was wrong, Gary,” she spoke even faster and higher-pitched, like a recording on fast-forward. “You knew what you were doing all along!”

  Gary stumbled away from her, pointing.

  Aly’s head was completely gone, the goo atop her shoulders.

  June turned to Gary, confusion on her face. “Gary? What’s wrong?” Now June’s head was melting into the same slime!

  Gary screamed and turned around in circles, suddenly realizing something. “WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!” Somehow, he didn’t realize that the entire town was empty! In all this time that I’ve been here, I-? No. Wait. How long have I been here? I have no recollection of getting here, let alone getting out of any hospital, or traveling with Shaymin! He turned back to his company.

  Still in Aly’s arms, Shaymin was also melting into slime!

  Keeping his eyes on them, he walked backwards quickly and tripped.

  Gary was in a fetal position, covered in the dirt of the foggy woods, his body convulsing as he coughed up blood on the ground around him and on himself. His vision was completely blurry and his stomach was in agony, his right hand burning.

  Gasping hard, Gary found himself back with the headless Aly and June, Shaymin still melting away. What the fuck was that?? he panicked. The woods??

  Still headless, Aly somehow spoke, “Gary?” and the rest of her body, along with Shaymin, melted away completely!

  “Gary?” the headless June repeated, her body also melting away.

  Gary screamed as he got to his feet and turned to run. His scream turned into a high-pitched shriek as he turned right into someone who grabbed his shoulders, shaking him roughly.

  “Gary! What’s wrong?!” It was Prof. Eep! The man had curly, bouncy, very messy black hair. He wore a black T-shirt and blue jeans with sneakers that were a mix of bright colors. But his face was stern and lifeless, his lips a tight and thin straight line. His eyes were frightening for the fact they were so empty; fake. It was like a mannequin was holding him. And then his head melted into slime!

  “NOOOOOOO!!” Gary struggled.

  The man tightened his grip.

  “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Gary howled out.

  Gary was puking in his own lap, his jeans covered in a light-green mess of chunks and liquid. He fell on his back and his body cringed with pain, mostly in his abdomen. He kept his shaking, burning hand open, afraid to clench it. Breathing out weakly, his eyes widened on his dark surroundings including three women. Where am I? he mouthed quietly at them. He was connected by needles and tubes to a couple of machines that were beeping in a room that was rattling lightly.

  One of the women was a heavier and shorter, middle-aged Black woman. The other two were taller, petite, and much older White ladies. They all were nurses dressed in white.

  It’s an ambulance, Gary realized.

  “It’s gonna be okay, sweetie,” one of the White women spoke.

  Gary found her pretty attractive considering she was likely in her sixties. She looked the oldest of the three, the other White woman passing for her fifties while the remaining nurse could have been in her thirties. She had such a welcoming smile and a lot of love in her eyes. There was something to her. He couldn’t help but smile back.

  “I’m gonna take good care of you, okay honey?” The nurse that was wooing Gary put her soft hand against the side of his face.

  The Black woman walked to a stretcher where June lay, the remaining woman going to a stretcher where Aly was resting. The girls were sleeping or unconscious, hooked up to machines. Their faces were flushed purple.

  What happened to us? Why are we here? Why am I in so much pain? I can’t even breathe straight. Everything just hurts.

  The nurse Gary found to be pretty was rubbing his face. “I’m gonna help you with that pain, okay sweetie?” Before the boy could reply, the nurse started taking off his shirt!

  “Whoa!” He couldn’t even resist, completely embarrassed.

  “Keep your arms up for me, okay honey?”

  Gary kept his arms over his head as he looked over to the others in the room, everyone female, but only his nurse was staring at him, that alluring look in her eyes.

  The other nurses were now removing June’s and Aly’s shirts, and Gary looked away. I can’t! he told himself, mentally kicking himself at the same time. No. He looked at his nurse instead, thinking about what little bit of stomach he got to see from Aly and June. I don’t wanna look like a pervert.

  The nurse reached under the stretcher and pulled out a jar. Inside was a dark-green substance with a thick line of yellow in the middle and a little bright area of blue. She opened it and dunked her hands into it, making the goo ooze over the top. She came out of the jar with her hands dripping in it, and then reached out for Gary.

  “Hey!” he said loudly. “Wait a-!”

  Suddenly, the goo on her hands and in the jar was black! “What’s wrong? This is gonna help you with the pain.” She started rubbing the stuff on Gary’s ribs.

  Gary gasped against the cold and held his breath, trying to calm himself down. This is kinda crazy, he thought to himself, unable to hide his smile of delight. I can’t believe I’m in such a horrible-but-amazing position right now. I’m in pain, but this woman is rubbing my half-naked body!

  But, what was that green stuff I thought I saw? His smile was slowly fading. Is green goo any worse than black goo? Something about seeing it green freaked me out, but why? There’s something I’m forgetting. What is it?

  “You can feel free to curse me out when I inject you, because this will hurt, but I will completely understand,” the nurse mentioned while she continued rubbing him.

  “Huh?” he uttered nervously.

  “Just let it all out on me. I can take it, honey. Now, just keep your arms up.” The nurse then cleaned her hands off with a white rag, tossing it behind her when she was done. Her hands were still carrying some of the black glop as she reached down, returning with a huge syringe. The needle looked maybe three feet long and seemed a lot thicker than average!

  Gary choked out of shock. He could even see the lumen!

  “Your body is ready.” She held the needle up in the air, making a dark-green substance ooze from the top. But with a surprised blink and a start from Gary, there were only a couple of clear drops running down the needle shaft.

  Wait, what was that? Green again. Why? And where did she get that needle from? The floor? Gary didn’t like any of what was going on. Why is it so big? Just how bad is this gonna hurt??

  “Now get ready, sweetie. One, two, three.” The nurse swung wildly, like swinging a knife, stabbing him under the arm!

  “FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKK!!!!!” Gary wailed out madly.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, sweetie! I’m so sorry! Let it out, sweetie. I’m so sorry!” The nurse genuinely looked sad, as if she were ready to burst into tears. As if she were hurting the one and only person in the world she loved. Her palm was pushing the thumb rest, ejecting the clear contents of the barrel into Gary.

  “YOU FUCKINGGGGG BITCH!! AAAAAAAAAAHHH MOTHERFUCKERRRRRRR!!!” It couldn’t be overstated how much pain Gary was in.

  “I’m so sorry honey! I’m so sorry!”

  “HURRY THE FUCK UP!! PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!” Gary begged, his eyes shut tight. He couldn’t take it anymore. The screams from his friends forced his eyes open and he turned. What he saw made his eyes widen in disbelief.

  Aly and June were in their bras and jeans, sat up in the stretchers and wrestling with their nurses! Each girl had a nurse by the arms, keeping them from jabbing them with a needle!

  Gary’s heart went into overdrive, frightened at the fighting, but also surprised at the revealed, bouncing chests.

  What made things even more bizarre was when suddenly, everyone and everything seemed to be in a shade of dark green!

  “You whiny little brat!” the Black nurse snapped, freeing herself from June and then forcing one hand to June’s chest to slam her down. Her hand then slid to June’s neck and she started choking her!

  June grabbed the nurse’s hand and the nurse raised her other hand with the needle. June’s breasts bobbed in her red bra as she fought back.

  Aly’s breasts quivered in her light-blue bra as she kept her nurse’s hands distant.

  “Ssshh,” the nurse whispered. “Please, don’t make a fuss. You’re delirious from the poisoning you kids suffered.”

  “Then what the hell is in that needle??” Aly cried.

  Gary shut his eyes and shook his head before staring again. This made his headache worse, but the green he was seeing was gone. “June!”

  “There! All done!” Gary’s nurse sat him up and hugged him.

  Now Gary was seeing in green again, but this time was different. It was as if dark-green goo had been dumped all over everything and running down! “Huh? Hey!” He looked around, seeing Aly and June still struggling with the nurses, all in a thick, oozing, dark-green coating.

  And like magic, the gooey vision was gone! Gary leaned wearily against the nurse, feeling too weak to hold himself up. “June...” he mumbled. “Aly.”

  The nurse then gave him a big kiss on each cheek.

  Gary’s breath was snatched away, staring in awe at the woman.

  Gary was laying facedown in the dirt of the foggy woods, dying, his breathing pained and sporadic, his entire body a hump of aching meat, bones, and flesh. His stomach was on fire. Even his anus felt like a torch had been set to it. His body was trembling, the ground wavering as if trying to gently shake him off. He puked. His face lay in his own vomit, inhaling the sick aroma.

  Gary pulled away from the nurse, inhaling sharply. “Whaaa-?” he let out shakily.

  “Gary! Are you okay?” his cute nurse asked, concern on her face.

  “This isn’t real,” he finally came to understand. “We’re not really here.” He stared at the nurse. “You aren’t real.”

  “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? You seem a little stressed out. Don’t you feel better?”

  The nurse who had Aly released her, completely ignoring her now, and hurried over to Gary and his nurse. “Is he okay?”

  “LET GO OF HER!!” Aly jumped over to June’s side and was now fighting with the nurse choking her.

  “I don’t know. Maybe a little dance will help.” Gary’s nurse raised her hands and started wavering them over her head, intertwining her fingers, and her hips were next to start swaying. “Gary and the Pussycats,” she sang out.

  Gary was taken aback by her distracting joke.

  Even the nurse dealing with Aly and June looked over, squinting at the nurse in confusion.

  Gary shook his head and jumped off the stretcher, rushing at the distant nurse. He wrapped his arms around her neck. “We’re still in the woods!” he grunted. Wait, my energy is back! he realized. And the pain is gone. “We’re still dying in the woods! We never got out!”

  The nurse Gary was fighting easily shook him off to the ground and then shoved away Aly and released June. She loomed tall over Gary. Suddenly, her head started melting into dark-green goo!

  The side of the ambulance behind the nurse became distorted, turning into slowly melting goo.

  Aly and June began melting away next.

  The remaining nurses were also transforming into slime.

  Gary’s vision went black, and he leaned forward and puked in a dark, foggy forest. Even after he was done puking, he kept exhaling, without the strength to even inhale anymore. It felt like the blood running through his body had been replaced with acid. He was dying, and he knew he may never take in one last breath of air. His eyes rolled up in his head. He inhaled his last breath.

  And sat up in a white room. He was breathing hard under a light, white blanket in a bed, a tall machine sitting quietly beside him. A hospital? Gary looked around.

  Several feet away in the huge room was a second bed, freshly made, with no one on it. There was one huge window, the sun shining through it so brightly, nothing outside could be seen. Beside him was his backpack. He stared at it, unsure of what he should do, and lost on exactly what was going on.

  I’m in a hospital, he told himself, taking everything slowly. But, why? Because I was sick? In the woods, puking? That felt so real. Is that it? I was found in the woods, literally dying? And I had a series of hallucinations? And now I’m awake? Now I’m really awake. And I feel great now. No more pain... Letting out a breath of relief, he saw a white folder at his side. He opened it and saw several sheets of paper. Must be the paperwork for me, he thought, and flipped through it loosely, stopping somewhere in the middle to read:

  The patient is currently in good physical health, as assessed by a physical examination and satisfactory blood work. However, the patient struggles with diagnosed mental conditions including delusional disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and paranoia. Patient goes in and out of states of mania and depression. When under medication, he tends to fare better socially, but without it he experiences states of confusion regarding his identity, making false claims about his past-

  “Wait, what??” Gary kicked off his blanket and straightened up, not believing what he had just read. He read it all over out loud carefully, shaking his head slowly at first but then quicker as things got worse in the report. “States of confusion - to be considered highly dangerous to himself and others. Was previously believed he never harmed his Pokemon until - erratic behavior and violence towards his Tyranitar. Pokemon have all been confiscated - undergoing numerous psychological rehabilitation treatments. Clinical opinion of the doctors - the murder of his sister at the hands of the nefarious terrorist organization, Team Solace - causing the young boy to finally crack. Believing she was murdered by some kind of imaginary monster. The trauma and guilt has led him to blame himself for the murder in the form of believing he is the monster?”

  He couldn’t believe his eyes. “There’s no way! This can’t be! I’m...” The papers fell from his hands and he looked up. “I’m... crazy?” Gary’s voice squeaked. “Oh - oh my God...” he whispered. He grasped at his hair as tears began to well up in his eyes. My entire life - a lie? No. Something had to be real! Something!

  There was a knock on the door and Gary’s hands fell. “Huh?” was all he could say.

  The door opened slowly and a man poked his head in. His hair screamed for a comb. He entered the room, looking like a doctor with his white lab coat over his blue suit and black tie. “Gary, how are you? Do you remember me? It’s-”

  “The professor guy!” Gary remembered.

  He nodded with a smile. “That’s right, Prof. Eep. I’m glad you remember. Are you feeling okay? You have a couple of visitors. Do you feel okay to see them?”

  The door widened and none other than June and Aly walked in!

  Gary smiled seeing them. “June! Aly!” His smile went away and his mouth fell open. His face started burning as he looked at both of their chests.

  Aly was wearing a light-blue T-shirt, June in a red one.

  Gary couldn’t help but remember when they both were in their bras, their breasts jiggling during their fight with the nurses. But that was just a dream? Apparently? he questioned.

  “Well, that smile tells me everything I need to know. I’ll give you some privacy but I’ll be right outside if anything.” Prof. Eep closed the door behind him.

  June and Aly each sat in a chair at either side of him, concerned smiles on their faces.

  “How are you feeling, Gary?” June asked. Her lips pressed together, sympathy in her eyes as if she were gazing down at a wounded puppy.

  Aly put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. We’re here now, and we love you so much, Gary.” Her eyes were glued to his.

  Gary’s shoulders fell. They know. They know I’m out of my mind. I don’t even know what to say to them. Do I even really know them at all? How much of what I think I know is real? His mouth opened, but unable to find the words to say, he just shook his head.

  “Take it easy. There’s no need to worry about anything,” June said comfortingly. “Your Pokemon are doing well with Kiwi. Everything is under control and being taken care of, okay?”

  “Even Shaymin and Reshiram,” Aly added, giving Gary’s shoulder a shake. “Everyone is going to be just fine and you’ll see them all again someday. Don’t you worry. We’ll make sure of it.”

  Gary just stared at Aly.

  A shy smile crossed her lips as her face went red and she brushed aside her hair. She looked down, giggling adorably. “Gary, don’t stare. You’re embarrassing me.”

  Gary’s heart was beating hard now, for a few different reasons. But one reason stood out more than anything. He looked over to June.

  She was squinting in confusion at Aly, but the look went away the instant Gary saw it. She gently shook her head and smiled warmly at him. “Is there anything I can do to help? Would you like some water?”

  “How did we all get here?” he asked her intently.

  “Prof. Eep found us in the woods unconscious from an apparent poisoning,” Aly answered.

  Gary turned to her, and he jumped, seeing her through a dark-green lens now. He gripped his head as it started throbbing and looked back to June, who was also in dark-green. This again, he recalled. “This isn’t real,” he whispered to June.

  “Huh?” June frowned. “Gary, slow down.” She raised her hands slowly. “Easy. It’s okay.”

  “No, June. It’s not okay. None of this is. None of this is real.” He looked around briefly. “I think we’re still in the woods right now, dying from some kind of poisoning. You, me, and Aly.”

  “Gary. Hey,” Aly now spoke strongly. “Listen to me.” Her grip tightened on his shoulder.

  Gary shook her off of him, keeping his eyes on June. “June, I think we’re all hallucinating right now, together. But this,” he nudged his head at Aly, “is not our Aly.”

  June looked at Aly and squinted. “Gary. I-I think you’re under a lot of stress and just need some water and a breather, okay?”

  Gary shut his eyes with pain, lowering his head. When he looked back up, the dark-green coloring was gone and everything looked normal again.

  Aly stood up.

  “Listen to me, June! We never escaped. This is not real.” Gary looked at Aly, snickering a little. “You’re not real!”

  “I’m gonna get the doctor.” Aly moved to the door. “Doctor!”

  “I’ll prove it, June.” Gary reached into his backpack and pulled out his golden gun!

  June screamed, Aly shrieking with her when she saw the weapon.

  Gary hopped out of bed, pointing the gun at Aly.

  “Gary what are you doing?!” June screeched.

  He pushed down the safety and cocked it back.

  Aly ran.

  The door opened. “What’s wrong?” Prof. Eep stepped in and his mouth dropped. “WHAT THE FUCK?!”

  BANG!

  June covered her face, screaming as loud as she could. She started crying as she peeped through her fingers at what she assumed would be a bloody mess. Instead, her hands fell as she stared at Aly in disbelief.

  Slowly oozing from the bullet hole in Aly’s back wasn’t blood, but rather thick, dark-green gunk! She turned around, squinting in shock at Gary. “Really?? You absolute butt!” She slapped at her thighs.

  Suddenly, the room began spinning, wavering, melting like a dark-green candle.

  Aly and Prof. Eep quickly melted into dark-green glop.

  June swiftly melted into dark-green slime.

  Everything melted away, and there was nothing but darkness.

  *

  Gary was falling in a pitch-black space, unable to see even himself. He felt like he was wrapped in a black blanket, unable to move. Reshiram? Zekrom? Shaymin? Gary questioned. The monster? Was it all just a dream? Where am I now?

  Screaming in a distant, echoey voice, he struggled with all his might to reach out to someone. Anyone. Any thing.

  “HE’S ALIVE!!”

  “Get ‘em out! GET ‘EM OUTTA HERE!!”

  “GET HER UP!!”

  Voices? Gary tried to find the source. People! Gary’s eyes moved around, but his head was still. There was nothing to see. His body began quaking as the ground shook! An earthquake! he thought with fright, struggling to move. His body tightened in pain from the shaking. But, how? I’m not on solid ground. I’m falling? No. Floating? Floating through space? Then how can I feel the ground shaking?

  Gary was fighting hard now, his senses starting to come back to him slowly. He refused to lose touch with reality. He was so close! He could feel it. He could almost see it! Yes! He squinted into a light as his body continued to rock loosely and painfully.

  Above him were aliens! Aliens with human faces! No! Not aliens. Humans! They were human beings in hazmat suits!

  “It hurts...” Gary mumbled, his eyes closing again. “Dying.”

  “Just take it easy, Gary. We’ve got the situation under control. You can thank your friend Prof. Kiwi Tot. She was worried that you’d be out here and sent for emergency aid just in case. We’ll need to keep a closer eye on this area now, but that’s another story. We’re getting you the medical care you need.”

  “Professor - aha.” I’m still in the woods, Gary realized. This is it. I’m dead. He grunted with pain. This is how I die. Hallucinating in the woods about “Professor Kiwi Tot.” A smile came across his face and his head turned to the side.

  He opened his eyes slowly, and saw Aly across from him! Her eyes were open, staring back at him, giving his heart a sharp start. She’s being carried on a stretcher, Gary saw. That’s the quaking. Not an earthquake. I’m not floating nowhere. We’re being taken somewhere. To a hospital. With Aly covered in dirt, her hair a mess in her face, Gary thought to himself, She’s actually... “Ha,” he whispered, stopping his thoughts. I really must be in a dream. Just deliriously dying in the woods, thinking crazy thoughts. He looked away from her and to his other side, and his eyes widened.

  There was June, also on a stretcher, her eyes closed.

  June, he thought weakly, groaning out sorely from his entire body. Closing his eyes, he faced the sky again and felt himself being hoisted up and settled down roughly, making his pain worse. Moments later, he heard an engine rev up and the vehicle they were put into started moving.

  Gary didn’t need to open his eyes to know what was going on. He could feel what he needed to feel, hear what he needed to hear. He sensed what he needed to sense. That’s why he wasn’t surprised when he opened his eyes and turned to Aly again, seeing her hand reaching out for his. He weakly reached out to grab it, their eyes locked on each other’s.

  He looked away, to June, who still had her eyes closed. His other arm extended to her. He waited.

  June’s eyes stayed shut, but eventually, her hand shakily rose and reached out, falling into Gary’s.

  Gary waited, still staring at June’s face. Finally, June did open her eyes to him. He tried to smile at her weary face, unsure if he ever actually did. But as his burning hand tightened around her’s, he was sure of only one thing.

  This right here, was reality.

  Gary could have sworn a blue spark went off between June’s hand and his own.

  Before he blacked out.