The Nightmare

Zira Dakota

Zira the Charmeleon quietly walked through the corridors of Sevastopol, a deteriorating space station in the middle of nowhere. Her toenails tapped and scraped against the metal deck plates, but there wasn't much she could do about it. She clutched her motion tracker in her right hand, always keeping it at ready. It was one of the only things keeping her alive at the moment. As Zira wandered aimlessly around the enormous station, she tried to remember how she'd gotten herself into this situation.

Zira had fallen asleep in her hammock at Team Dakota's cabin on the Pokémon world. When she woke up, she found herself lying on the cold floor of Sevastopol. Much of the station's population had been decimated, victims of a hostile alien creature--no, a monster--that was picking everyone off one by one, Humans and Pokémon alike. Zira had actually seen this alien drop down out of a vent onto a group of three Humans. Despite being armed with revolvers, the Humans didn't stand a chance. That was when Zira had picked up the motion tracker, her trusty companion throughout this nightmare. It's green display and the tones from its speaker alerted Zira to anything that might pose a threat to her.

The alien was something straight out of a nightmare. It had a slender, but powerful, black body with four tube-like structures on its back and a long, thin tail with ridges all the way down with a spear-like tip. The alien stood over two meters tall on a pair of long, digitigrade legs, enabling it to run at tremendous speeds for a bipedal being. Both hands had sharp nails on all six digits, two of which were thumbs. Its smooth, elongated, seemingly eyeless head was filled with sharp teeth and housed perhaps the alien's most terrifying feature: an inner mouth that can extend with such force that it can puncture a skull. It was the alien's preferred method of killing.

There was one thing working in Zira's favor. The alien was afraid of fire, and she was a fire-type Pokémon. Still, she would prefer not to attract the alien's attention. The alien thus far had demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to its environment and the tactics its prey used against it. The less of the alien's attention that she attracted, the better.

Suddenly, the motion tracker began to beep, prompting Zira to glance at the screen. Something was approaching from a connecting corridor, and it was about to round the corner. Zira quickly dove behind a floor cleaner to her right and switched off the motion tracker. While it was a great companion, the noise it generated could attract unwanted attention.

To Zira's relief, rather than the alien, a Feraligatr rounded the corner. He appeared to be shell-shocked, but unharmed. Zira debated whether or not she should reveal her presence to him. After all, many of the survivors on Sevastopol were hostile to anyone outside of their groups. Even the surviving Seegson Security personnel were seen looting and killing people. On the other hand, perhaps one of her fellow Pokémon would be more trustworthy. After mulling it over, Zira decided to speak to the Feraligatr.

"Psst. Hey," Zira said in a hushed voice, standing up but remaining behind the floor cleaner.

The Feraligatr immediately assumed a battle stance. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Zira held up her hands, the motion tracker still in the right. "Hey, take it easy. I only want to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about," the Feraligatr said.

"But we can help each other," Zira said.

The Feraligatr stepped toward her, a mixture of fear and anger etched on his face. Pointing a finger at her, he said, "Listen to me, you little bitch. You stay right there. Don't try to follow me, or I'll kill you."

As the Feraligatr walked away, Zira could only shake her head in disappointment.

What an asshole, Zira thought.

With the Feraligatr now a distance down the corridor, Zira switched her motion tracker back on and turned to walk the opposite direction. She only made it a few steps when she heard the Feraligatr sneeze loudly. Immediately afterward, Zira heard a shriek emanate from the vents above.

"Oh shit," Zira whispered. The alien heard the sneeze, no doubt. Zira looked at the motion tracker before she even heard it beep. There was another contact approaching fast, and Zira could hear movement in the ventilation shaft above. She hid behind the floor sweeper just in case the alien dropped down from the nearby vent. Fortunately for her, the alien passed over it. Instead, it headed further down the shaft, toward another vent near the unsuspecting Feraligatr. Zira considered warning the Feraligatr, but that would alert the alien to her own presence. And so, Arceus help her, she kept quiet.

The alien dropped out of a vent just behind the Feraligatr, who spun around to face it. The alien slashed the Feraligatr just under his ribs, shrieking as it did so. The Feraligatr cried out in pain as he doubled over. The alien grabbed the Feraligatr and threw him against the wall, causing the Feraligatr to fall to the ground. As the Feraligatr struggled to get back up, the alien grabbed his head and forced its inner jaws through the Feraligatr's skull. The Feraligatr went limp and collapsed to the floor, having become the latest victim of the savage alien.

Zira remained crouched by the floor sweeper, too horrified to move. She kept her eyes on the alien, waiting to see what it would do next. She hoped it would jump back into the vent and go away, but it just stood there, gazing down the corridor.

I've got to get out of here, Zira thought. She slowly stood up and backpedaled toward the next corridor. However, she tripped over a toolbox, yelping as she landed on her rear.

The alien snapped its head toward Zira. Letting out another shriek, it ran toward her at a speed that she couldn't possibly match or exceed. As the alien closed in on her, Zira, still sitting on the floor, let out a flamethrower. The alien screeched as it recoiled from the flames, then it hopped into the nearby vent.

Zira wasted no time getting back onto her feet. She ran into the next corridor and dove into an office, crawling under one of the desks within. Zira looked at the motion tracker. The alien was headed back toward her. Zira switched off the tracker and waited to see what it would do.

To Zira's horror, the alien hopped out of a vent just outside the door. Zira could hear its breathing as it stepped into the office. She hoped that it wouldn't notice the light emanating from her tail's flame or the sound of her breathing. The alien remained in the office for several more seconds before moving on. Zira breathed a sigh of relief as she switched her motion tracker back on. She remained where she was for several minutes until she was quite certain that the alien was no longer in the area.

I have to find some way off this station, Zira thought. She crawled out from under the desk and stood up. There was a computer on the desk that was still powered on, so Zira decided to do some poking around on the workstation to see what she could discover. The currently-logged-on user had left their email open, so Zira started with that first, eventually moving on to other parts of Sevastopol's network accessible to her.

Nearly an hour of browsing later, Zira found what may be a way off the station. She found a reference in the communications logs to a ship called the Torrens that had apparently just arrived. The medical facility on Sevastopol was equipped with short-range ambulance shuttles that she could use to get to the ship. And so, she finally had a plan: get to medical, grab a shuttle, and get to the ship.

Easier said than done, Zira thought. The San Cristobal medical facility was located in one of the other towers, which meant she would first have to get to a transit station and take a transit car to the SciMed Tower. She also still had the alien and androids to contend with, as well as a lot of hostile and frightened survivors. She was also running under the assumption that the ambulance shuttles were even still there. They could've already been taken, or they could be malfunctioning just like everything else on the station. Still, it was the best chance she had of getting off the station alive. Zira checked her motion tracker again, making sure there were no hostiles nearby, and then left the office.

Zira walked briskly through the corridors, moving as quickly as she could without generating too much noise. According to a map she'd seen earlier, the transit station was two levels below her. An elevator not far from her would take her all the way there. Zira passed by several dead bodies along the way, including one that appeared to have been strangled, likely by one of the androids. A shiver ran down Zira's spine. The androids were slow, but they could take a beating, and unlike the alien, they weren't afraid of fire.

Upon finding the elevator, Zira took it two levels down. Just before the doors opened, a single blip appeared on the motion tracker not far from her. It remained for a moment and then vanished. The contact was on the other side of a wall that stood in the center of the transit station, so she could only speculate as to what it might me. She remained in the lift, waiting to see if the contact would reappear.

"You always know a Working Joe," a masculine, distinctly robotic voice said, eliminating any doubt what the contact was: a Seegson synthetic.

Crap, Zira thought. She was hoping not to deal with another android. In addition to the threat they posed, they were just plain creepy to look at. The fake, rubbery skin. The blank facial expressions. The glowing eyes. No wonder Seegson's android sales were tanking. Who would want one of thing things around them, especially if they were capable of murder?

Zira exited the elevator and tip-toed to the end of the wall. The transit line to the SciMed Tower was right in front of her, but she would have to call the transit car. It would take a few minutes for the transit car to arrive and the noise generated by the call button and the arriving car was sure to attract the attention of the android. Zira peaked around the wall. The android was currently facing away from her. She considering creating a distraction of some sort, but that was likely to also alert the alien. On the other hand, combat with the android was going to alert the alien anyway. It would make no difference.

Maybe I'll get lucky and the android won't turn around, Zira thought. She carefully walked over to the call button and pressed it. The panel immediately started beeping.

"This could require my attention," the android said, turning around. Upon seeing Zira, it began to walk toward her, it's eyes glowing orange, indicating its hostile intentions. "You shouldn't be here."

So much for being lucky, Zira thought as she unleashed a stream of fire at the android.

"You are becoming hysterical," the android said, continuing its approach as it continued to burn.

Zira let loose another flamethrower. This time, the android halted its approach and convulsed, uttering something that Zira couldn't make out before collapsing to the ground.

Zira was in a panic. The alien most definitely heard the fighting. As her motion tracker started beeping, Zira faced the transit line and screamed, "Come on! Come on!"

The sound of the alien dropping down out of the vent behind her made Zira's already racing heart jump. Zira spun around, unleashing another flamethrower before she was even facing the alien. The alien jumped back and hissed at her. It stood still for a moment and then slowly walked toward Zira, who responded with another flamethrower, causing the alien to jump back again.

Behind her, Zira could hear the transit car approaching. She just had to hold the alien off for a bit longer. Deciding to make herself a bigger threat to the alien, Zira rushed forward and launched another flamethrower. The alien shrieked as it hopped back. It then rushed past Zira, knocking her over, and then jumped into the vent above.

Zira quickly got back onto her feet just as the transit car doors opened. She ran inside, hoping that the doors would close before the alien dropped out of the vent again. After a couple of minutes, the doors finally closed, and the transit car began to move away from the station. Zira breathed a sigh of relief. She wearily walked over to one of the bench seats and sat down. For a short while, she was safe, giving her a chance to collect her thoughts and her wits for what lay ahead.

Several minutes later, the transit car arrived at the SciMed Tower. Zira checked her motion tracker before she dared leave the car. With nothing showing up on the tracker, she peeked her head out of the car, surveying her surroundings. After all, just because nothing was showing up on the tracker didn't mean that there wasn't danger lurking nearby. The area appeared to be clear of hostiles, giving Zira the confidence to leave the transit car.

Zira quickly--but quietly--made her way up a nearby stairway, continuing straight ahead after reaching the top. A sign beside a door directly ahead reading San Cristobal Medical filled Zira with hope. She might actually make it off of the station alive. She continued through the door, cautiously walking toward the elevator directly ahead. She checked her motion tracker once more, not wanting to let her guard down, but there were no contacts. She appeared to be in the clear. Her excitement was palpable as she entered the elevator. Escaping from this nightmare was finally within her reach. She quickly activated the controls, sending the elevator on it's way to San Cristobal.

Seconds passed, and then the doors opened. Zira's excitement just moments ago was immediately tempered by the fact that the reception area looked like a war zone. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, and the contents of the room all showed signs of an explosion and a massive fire. Water covered the floor, no doubt from the fire suppression system, and every step chilled Zira's fire-type feet to the bone. Zira wasn't sure why someone would want to blow up a hospital. Perhaps it was a trap for the alien. If that was the case, then it was a rather spectacular failure.

Zira breathed a sigh of relief as she left the scorched and soaked entrance. The ambulance shuttles weren't much further. Zira walked toward the main corridor that surrounded the operation rooms, but upon reaching the intersection, a beep from her motion tracker stopped her dead in her tracks. Glancing at the display, Zira could see a single contact moving toward her at a high rate of speed. There didn't appear to be anything in the corridor, but Zira could hear movement in the ventilation shaft above.

Oh shit, Zira thought. Had it really followed her?

No. There was no way the alien could've covered that much ground in such a short amount of time. The only logical explanation was that there was more than one alien on the station. The realization filled Zira with dread. Then something rather worrying showed up on the tracker's display. Just at the edge of the tracker's range were three blips to the right and several more to the left.

"Ah fuck," Zira whispered. They probably weren't aliens, but they could be looters, in which case they couldn't be trusted. She had to proceed quickly, but carefully, especially with the alien in the area. Maybe she could sneak around them somehow. Zira took the path to her right and quickly turned left around the curve, constantly shifting her eyes between the motion tracker and what lay ahead of her. She had to get out of sight of the contacts behind her, or her situation would worsen considerably.

It occurred to Zira that she'd just made a terrible mistake. She just trapped herself between two sets of potential hostiles. If she'd just hidden and waited, perhaps in the room she just passed in the corridor she'd just left, the group currently behind her would've passed by and she could've taken the long way around. Now she had no choice but to press on and hope for the best.

Zira's heart beat furiously in her chest as she stepped up to a door leading into a room. The contacts within were at least 10 meters away, but there was the danger that they might see the door open and then Zira would lose her element of surprise. It was going to be a difficult enough task to sneak past whoever was inside, especially with her tail's flame broadcasting her location. Zira took in a deep breath as she reached for the door's activation panel, hoping that luck was on her side.

The three contacts in the room were two men armed with revolvers and a Marowak. Zira quickly rushed to her left and hid behind a crate, remaining there for a moment before crawling underneath a surgical bed.

"Hey, was that door always open?" one of the men asked.

Oh shit, Zira thought, using the distraction to crawl underneath another bed.

"No, it wasn't," the other man said. When the other group of Humans walked in, he asked, "Did any of you open this door?"

"No," a woman said as she walked into the room. "It was already open when... wait. What's that flame over there?"

"Fuck," Zira muttered as she scrambled to her feet and ran toward the other door. The Humans started shooting at her and the Marowak unleashed a stone edge attack, forcing her to dodge to the left for cover behind a sturdy crate. A bullet struck her motion tracker, destroying it and injuring her hand. Zira screamed as she dropped the ruined tracker, her loyal companion to the end. As she crouched behind the crate, clutching her injured hand, the Humans and the Marowak ceased fire as they waited for her to reveal herself.

Zira couldn't think of a way out of this mess. If she stayed where she was, she was dead. She could run, but she'd never make it to the door. Fighting seemed to be her only option, but she was severely outnumbered. Her situation looked rather grim.

An alien's shriek suddenly filled the room, followed by one of the men screaming. The other Humans and the Marowak turned their attention to the alien, giving Zira a chance to escape. Before she could do so, however, the door near her opened and a second alien ran into the room. The new arrival ran past her and began to attack the others, starting with the Marowak. Zira wasn't going to stick around for the bloodbath. She jumped to her feet and sprinted out the door, leaving the screams behind.

Zira ran down the hallway as fast as she could, past the generator room and down the final stretch of hallway leading to the room where the ambulance shuttles were docked. When she entered the shuttle area, Zira's heart sank. The doors leading to the shuttles were locked.

"No..." Zira said. She could hear no more screams or gunfire coming from down the hallway, meaning that all the Humans and Pokémon were dead. They would come after her next. The aliens were the perfect predators. They would have a general idea of where to look for her.

Desperate to get off of the station, Zira faced one of the shuttle doors and launched a fireball at it. Upon impact, the sound of the blast reverberated throughout the room and the corridors. Off in the distance, Zira could hear the aliens scream. If they didn't know she was in here before, they definitely knew now.

When the smoke cleared, Zira could see that the door wasn't even dented. Her flamethrower, even when reconfigured into a fireball, just didn't pack enough of a punch to blast through the door.

It was unfair! To be so close to escaping from this nightmare only to be stopped by a locked door. The shuttle that was to be her salvation was just a few meters away and she couldn't even get to it. It was truly unfair! As she heard the heavy footsteps of the aliens running down the corridor, Zira resigned herself to her fate. But she wasn't going to make it easy for them. She was going to go down fighting.

When the aliens burst into the room, Zira immediately unleashed a flamethrower at them. One of the aliens jumped back, dodging the attack, while the other ran around the perimeter of the room to come at her from the other side. Zira now had to track two targets. As the aliens moved in on her again, Zira fired off another flamethrower in a sweeping motion. She did this again and again. The room was beginning to fill with smoke from the repeated flamethrowers, obscuring her vision, and her throat was starting to ache from the abuse she was subjecting it to. She couldn't keep this up for long.

The alien to Zira's right lunged at her. She responded by unleashing a stream of fire directed at the alien, which it dodged. The other alien used the distraction to pounce on Zira, knocking her down to the ground. The aliens quickly restrained Zira, holding her down on her side. Zira couldn't move any of her limbs, nor could she even open her mouth. She was completely helpless. Out of the corner of her eye, Zira could see one of the aliens position its mouth by the side of her head.

Zira knew what was about to happen. She desperately struggled to free herself as the alien opened its mouth, revealing the inner set of jaws that these aliens often used to terminate their prey. Zira tried to scream, but with her mouth held closed, she couldn't even do that. The last thing Zira saw was the alien's inner jaw springing toward her head.

---

Zira awoke suddenly in her hammock, not quite screaming, but close to it. Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest and her breathing was equally rapid. Her tail's flame was burning so intensely that Zira could've sworn that she saw a bit of blue in it. Zira frantically looked around the cabin. Her teammates, Cyril the Grovyle and Lance the Golduck, were still sound asleep in their hammocks. Zira was surprised that she didn't wake them. She lay back in her sweat-soaked hammock, covering her face with her hands as she tried to calm down.

"Shit," Zira said quietly. It was all just a bad dream, an extremely vivid and frightening one. Zira tried to focus on the rain hitting the roof. Her heart eventually slowed and her tail's flame returned to its usual self. With the hope that she would not have another nightmare, Zira eventually drifted back to sleep.