Ragdoll Chapter 7

“Hello, friend. It is truly an honor to see you alive and well after all this time. You do not know us, but we want you to know us. We want to know you better.

Mr. X wanted you dead. We want you back.

We need you.

Do you still believe in us?”

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Even though I was wide awake, I felt as if I was constantly pulled into some strange trance every few minutes. It was almost as if I was trying to force words into my own head, words that only I myself wanted to hear.

I opened my eyes again and saw the nurse in charge of me with a cross look on her face.

“You spent the evening at a BAR?!” Nurse Nobi scolded me as she stood in my doorway. “That’s an obvious entry in the list of things NOT to do when you’re recovering from a comatose state!”

“Whatever.” I replied, sitting in the chair next to my hospital bed, “I never cared about my recovery anyway. Put me to sleep, like a dog.”

“Not while I’m your nurse!” She piped as she walked to the other side of the room and opened the blinds of my hospital window, “Tomorrow you need sunlight, and lots of it- your leaves are so dead and grey that I can’t believe you can still move!

Even though the sky was still dark, I flinched to the nonexistent sunlight anyway. Just then the phone next to my bed began to ring. Nurse Nobi picked up the phone after figuring out I wasn’t interested.

“New Detroit Hospital- Room 112.” She began, “Yes, he’s here, just being stubborn.”

She then faced me.

“It’s the Director.” She spoke as she handed me the phone,

“Hello again, Young Lad.” I heard the Blaziken speak, “I’m not supposed to be talking to those not involved with my work right now, so I’m calling using a Public Phone.”

“You sound very busy.” I replied, “I’m not that important, so you’d be better off not worrying about-”

“I’ll get right to the point then!” He blurted, trying to keep himself from losing his patience, “I’ll be at my office starting at 10AM tomorrow. Do you think you can meet me there at that time?”

I began to sigh.

“Why do you care about me so much?” I asked him,

“That’s obvious.” He said, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I think you can still be saved, rehabilitated. Though, hearing your story so far, I’m not about to force you to stay in my City.”

How do I respond to that?

“10AM? Sure.” I replied.

“Good!” Strant replied, “Let’s continue then. For now, have a good evening.”

He then quickly hung up the phone. I gave it back to Nurse Nobi and she placed it on the receiver.

“Tomorrow, bright and early?” She replied, “I sure wish I could be there with you to hear more.”

“After all that I’ve been through, I’m surprised that you’re still taking care of me.” I said,

“Well, taking care of Pokemon is my job,” she replied, “And again, most of my other patients are still humans, slowly transforming into Pokemon… And acting ballistic.”

She then faced me.

“You are without a doubt the calmest patient I’ve ever had to work with. To be honest, being around you is… Relaxing. At least for me.”

“Which is why you lost your temper when I told you I went to a bar.” I replied.

“What respected Nurse WOULDN’T be a little cross after hearing their critical patient was drinking alcohol!?” She said to me.

“I’m only 19,” I said, “I was only there for 5 minutes, and I don't like the taste of beer anyway.”

Nobi then placed a hand on her forehead and sighed.

“Wanna know the reason why I’m with you a lot? The REAL reason?”

I looked up at her.

“Please follow me.”

She began to walk out of the room and signalled for me. We walked down the hallway and stepped into an elevator. Nobi pushed the button and the elevator began to rise. Once the elevator stopped, I began to hear what sounded like… Panicking?

“Cover those ears.” She suddenly commanded as she clenched the feelers dangling from her ears.

The doors flung open, and chaos surely began.

“W-what’s happening?! Where am I?!”

“Mommy! Mommy where are you?!”

“WAAAUGH! There are wings attached to my back! I look like a bug! HELLLLLLP!”

Even though I was unphased by the noise, the image that was thrust into my only retina was more than a little unsettling.

Nurse Nobi signalled me to follow her and we walked down the large room, I already knew what was happening, but why was everything so out of hand?

Oh wait, I don’t care.

“Nurse Clarabel! We need you over here NOW!”

“Where is the Aron child?! He needs his medication!”

“We have a Pokemon with gills over here! Someone connect him to a water tank!”

Just as I thought it couldn’t get any worse in here, I felt a tugging sensation from my rear. I turned my head to face my ass and a 4-year-old boy with a Tyrouge’s head began pulling on my tail.

“Help! I can’t find my parents!”

He tugged on my tail a little more, ripping a huge chunk of it off.

Even more panicked, the boy flung the piece of my tail aside and ran away in absolute fear, perhaps thinking that I was going to attack him now.

I turned back around and continued to follow the nurse.

We entered a hallway with vending machines and the like.

“And THAT is why I prefer YOUR medical case.” She said as she handed me another can of soda.

“That seemed… a little out of proportion…” I replied, opening the can.

“Somebody else finally noticed.” She said, “The pressure in here is skyrocketing, And because of this city’s laws, the chaos may never die down.”

“Laws?” I asked.

Nobi faced away from me.

“Until a Pokeuman is 100% transformed, and all traces of a human are gone from the individual, that Pokeuman is not allowed to leave the top floor of the New Detroit Hospital. Doing so will result in a large fine and refusal of any more aid from the hospital.”

I took a small sip of my can of Coke.

“It takes two weeks at best for a human to fully transform into a pokemon… The average time is a month. I think the rest can be explained.”

“Tragic.” I said. “Who knew Strant had it in him.”

“Not the Director.”

I turned to face the Audino in intrigue.

“Not the Director?” I asked, “Isn’t he the one in charge here?”

“For the most part… No.” She replied, buying a snack for herself. “Hasn't it crossed your mind yet why the Director has taken a shine to your case?”

“Nope.” I replied, taking another sip. “He Never bothered me.”

“Of course it doesn’t, you’re a zombie extinctionist.” She sarcastically replied, “but being serious here, I think there’s a reason why the Director wants to help you.”

I closed my eyes and sighed.

“I just wish that you people would all leave me alone.” I replied. “How’s that for an answer?”

“Wow, you’re cold. And here I thought ‘aggressive’ could only used in a physical sense.”

“For the sake of the argument, I’ll bite.” I said,  “Why does he want to help me so much? Will it help his public image?”

Nurse Nobi shook her head.

“Strant’s in charge, but he’s the Headmaster, or in this Case, Director. He wasn’t voted in.”

I looked at the Audino in the eyes while sipping more of my pop.

“Good to hear, but why am I so important to him?” I continued to blurt out, “I’m just a rotting lump of meat… or I suppose salad. What is the connection between transforming Pokemon trapped in a crisis, a Blaziken who ‘controls’ a Pokeuman Base, and an Extinctionist who needs to stop existing?”

Nurse Nobi walked over to the end of the hall and shut a door, quieting up the pandemonium that was taking place outside. She then walked back up to me and stood very close to my face.

“Political Pokemon Power.” She said to me quietly.

I took a step back to throw out the can I was drinking and then returned to my original position to in front of the now super-serious Audino.

“You did NOT hear this from anyone.” She demanded.

I blinked.

The Nurse looked both ways before beginning to monologue, clearly worried that someone would be listening in.

“According to rumors, Director Strant is quietly being overthrown from power.” She continued, “A few years ago a new Pokeuman has wormed his way through the government ranks and well, a lot of people think he plans to take over, and with no real way to remove a Director from office, this Pokeuman has made our base a LIVING HELL to try and remove Strant from being the head honcho. The result? Well, we have to walk through that room again to take you back to your Hospital Room anyway.”

“That still doesn’t explain what this has to do with me.” I replied.

“It has everything to do with you.” She replied, “Because you’re an extinctionist; I’m pretty sure the last extinctionist in Michigan and the same extinctionist that became the only victim in the Public Human Shaming Incident. Get it now?”

“No.”

“Ok, what part are you not getting?” She asked as she placed her hand on her forehead a second time.

“For one thing, I’m way too weak and exhausted to have to sit through a whole plot lore.” I replied. “I’ll just absorb everything that you said up ‘till now, pretend like I get it, and let some unexpected plot twist in the future fill up all the remaining holes so I can finally off myself and end the story of my life.”

“Plot twist? How’s this for a plot twist?” She began, “You’re seven chapters in within your ‘story of your life’ and you have yet to actually battle, despite being a Pokeuman and/or Pokextinctionist. I think I can explain the horrible conditions of New Detroit without boring your hypothetical audience.”

“Well, then let’s finish this conversation another time. I’m tired right now and I have to get up early tomorrow.” I replied, beginning to walk back over to the door leading to the newly-transformed Pokeumans. “Goodnight, Nurse.”

Nurse Nobi just stood there.

“How do you manage to do that?” She replied, “How do you manage to be so cold, yet so relaxing… yet so… awkward?”

I stopped, and actually began to think about that question.

While I was temporarily distracted, Nobi walked over to me and grabbed my paw, pinning me from leaving.

“Who are you?” She sternly whispered, “Why do I get the feeling that you hating yourself is because of more than just torture?”

…

I looked her in the eyes. I clearly wasn’t going anywhere until I explained myself.

“...When I was a human, I clinically wasn’t able to understand other’s emotions.” I barely spoke, “One of my friends would cry or freak out… and I wouldn’t know how to react or respond to them.”

Nobi grew intrigued.

“After transforming into a Pokemon, because I couldn’t understand how others felt around me… I tried to create a new identity by turning off any compassion I had for others… it backfired, turning me into a self-absorbed prick deserving of death.”

Nobi looked at me in sympathy, and subconsciously let go of my hand. I turned towards the door again.

“I don’t deserve to live.” I replied, turning back around towards the door.

“Why don’t you see a therapist?” Nurse Nobi asked me, “Like the Director said, you can surely be rehabilitated.”

Rather than answering, I held my paw up to signalise a wave goodbye and walked back to my hospital room to finally get some sleep.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GTlTt…  (open in a new tab)

The heat from the sun that warmed up my backside combined with the fresh chill of the lake’s shore eventually opened my eyes once more.

God must REALLY not want me in Hell.

I slowly got up from lying on my stomach and sat up sitting on my legs, with my hands covering up my face. After sitting in this position for a few minutes, my hands fell to the ground and I saw my face, reflected vividly in the water thanks to the sun being high in the sky. My… human face.

Man, I looked like a wreck. It’s been feeling like a year since I’ve done anything with my hygiene. My hair, normally thick and curly like a furfrou’s fur, has lost it’s shine and strength as it now hung down over my eyes, and without a haircut, it grew all the way down to past my neck. My eye… the only one I had left… was black, just like how my eyes were before I was kidnapped and transformed into a monster. The only problem now, is that the whites of my eye were also black.

Look at me now… a human again. Heh, maybe… just maybe...

I slowly got up off my knees and held out my left arm in front of me. My pointer finger was gone, but my thumb and four other fingers, though dirty, were still attached and working.  I curled my fingers into a fist, and then stretched out my fingers into a star pattern. Yep, no Pokemon claws or hands anywhere. Not even a strand of green fur. I was human.

I put my arm down and looked out into the sea. Lake Erie was huge, and the fog that covered the water out there… it was peaceful.

I looked down at the lower half of my body. I may not have been wearing pants, but the gauze that covered my body tightly wrapped my waist down, so it was a good substitute.

I finally turned around to the opposite view of the Lake. I could see it- the Metro city of Detroit in the Distance. It wasn’t too far away, if I started to trek now- I could make it by the time night falls. I may not have any shoes, and I may have been a slave all this time… but I could feel it. Today is a new day;  I refuse to be a guinea pig any longer.

I reached the end of the beach and began to walk up a flight of stone stairs to the road above. I still hurt in places, but compared to the events of my past, I knew I could handle it.

I reached the end of the staircase, to what looked like a parking lot… with only one vehicle in sight. It was a black sports car, that looked like it was just bought. Nearby the driver-side door was a middle-aged man with glasses in a white coat… NOT a labcoat, more like... a doctor’s outfit. The man was standing in front of a concrete fence,staring out into Lake Erie. Once I finally stepped into the  Parking Lot area, the man heard my footsteps and turned his head in my direction.

“Ah, and I thought I was alone here on this beach. Good Afternoon, young man.” The man said. After he said that he turned back out to face the lake.

“H-hi.” I said lightly, but not in a shy tone. “Y-you here for the view? The lake does look nice today, with the fog and all.”

“Yes, I can see why some folks would favor this beach over the Rouge River.” The man continued without turning to face me again, “But I’m not here for sightseeing, I’m actually getting ready to leave here, myself.”

I had to be honest… It felt really liberating to have the strength to speak in full sentences again. I might as well excersize my vocals.

“Something happen on this beach?” I asked, walking up to him but keeping a safe distance away. I stood a few feet away as I leaned forward and began to lean on the concrete and look out into Erie as well. Once the man realised I stopped moving, he faced me again.

“Huh, a dirty young man wearing only enough wraps to pass as clothing.” He replied, “I came to this beach because witnesses apparently reported seeing a human corpse washed up on the shore… I didn’t find a body, but I thought it was just a false alarm. Are you just homeless, or should I rush you to the hospital?”

I turned to face him.

“Yeah… I’m ok, as surprising as that is. Are you with the Crime People?”

The man walked over to the rear side of his car and opened the back seat door. He then pulled out a briefcase and walked over to me.

“Spare clothes, in case I got covered in sand while investigating the beach.” He replied as he handed me the small briefcase, “You need them more than I.”

I accepted the case and opened it on the ground. Just a pair of jeans and a second white coat. I’ll take it.

“As you put those on, I’d like to take your blood pressure.” He continued, “If you were passed out on the shoreline, it might have something to do with your heart. We can start there.

I quickly slipped on the coat and nodded in acceptance. “Are you a doctor?” I asked.

“I’m qualified as one, yes.” He replied as he pulled out a cloth connected to a gauge and a pump. He wrapped the cloth around my arm and started pumping.

“I should tell you right now, I’m a medic for an independant company,” He began as he pumped, “so because I couldn’t find something… bizarre on this beach as my company thought there’d be, I’m afraid I can’t help you after this point, I’ll be taking my leave.”

That was all I wanted/needed to hear.

“Define “Bizarre.” I said.

“er-” The medic replied, “Something on this beach… that people normally wouldn’t see, uh. Something… WAY less common than a dead body.”

He finished pumping and took off the cloth from my body.

“No abnormalities here. You seem to be ok for now.”

“Wouldn’t it be safe to say that finding me in the first place is pretty bizarre?” I replied to him.

“No,” he replied, “You’re a hum- er, person on this beach. What’s so bizarre about a person hurting himself in the water? That’s actually more common than you think.”

I hope I wasn’t the only person that caught that, right?

“Well, you did lose your clothes, but that happens all the time at beaches since people usually wear trunks in the water.

“This is a little unrelated, but do you have a stethoscope?” I asked.

“Naturally.”

“Could you please check my heart, just so I know I’m fine for a long walk back home?”

“Aright, but after that I really must get going.” He replied as he went back over to his car and began rummaging through his belongings.

I jumped onto the concrete fence and sat up for what I was preparing to be a show. If my eye and finger don’t grow back, then that means my heart is-

“Ah! Here it is.” He said, finally pulling himself out from his car. “Alright, breathe deeply for me.”

He placed the scope on my chest and I did as told. I could feel my chest rise as I did.

“You’re not breathing deep enough, you have to breathe deeper.” He said.

I breathed as deep as I could, and the Medic realised this.

“Damn thing, must be a kink in the wires somewhere.”

I nabbed the heart piece out of his hand and gently tapped the inside with the earpieces still in his ear.

“Ok, Ok, I can hear that.” The Medic replied, “What are you trying to tell me? I’m standing in front of you.”

I sighed. I guess he wasn’t falling for it anymore.

“I was unconscious on the beach… Because of an illness.” I said, “You said you were a Medic for a *cough* company, so I figured you MIGHT be able to diagnose my illness… maybe.”

The medic pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Illness? And what was your plan to get me to diagnose this illness?”

“To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get this far..” I replied.

“Are you being serious?” He grunted.

“Uh, one other thing,” I asked, “Where do you work?”

“That’s classified, I’m afraid.” He replied.

“Can I make a guess?” I asked.

“Sigh. Very well.” He replied, “Although the odds that you know the company I’m involved in are slim to-”

“It’s not really a company.” I replied. “More like a cult.”

“Cult? I recommend some real sleep.” The Medic replied, “The company I’m hired with  is without a doubt, a business.”

“Genocide is not a business.” I replied.

The Medic’s eyes widened.

“Ok, How?” He asked.

“Not a coincidence.” I yawned, “Why else would you be on this empty beach? A dead body on the beach with strange circumstances? Please.”

The Medic adjusted his glasses a second time.

“This is rather unfortunate.” He continued, “How much do you think you know?”

“See my eye socket?” I asked,

“Hardly noticeable.” He said in a sarcastic tone.

“It’s gone.”

“Where is it?”

“THEY have it.”

“I see.” He finished. “I’m starting to think you planted yourself on this beach just for a conversation like this.”

“Maybe I did,” I replied, “Look, this is getting me nowhere, can you PLEASE examine me and help me get rid of this condition?”

“Describe the condition, please.”

“I can’t die and I’m slowly mutating.”

“Balderdash. If you’re going to lie, then at least try to sound accurate.”

I began to feel lightheaded. I sucked it up and kept going.

“Ok, so I need you to pay attention for this part…” I began, “My tongue has been feeling a bit… Weird lately. I think it’s infected. Could you take a quick peek? I can’t exactly look at my own tongue…”

“And you think that this infection could be a part of your illness?” He replied. “That sounds reasonable, but not from a ‘mutation.’ Anyways, might as well take a look. Open your mouth and say ‘Ah.’”

I opened up my mouth wide for the Medic and stuck out a long black tongue.

(Cut music)

And then I stuck out another long black tongue pointing sideways, and then another long black tongue pointing to the sky.

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I sprang up from my hospital bed in a cold sweat. THAT was weird.

I glanced over at the clock on the wall. “2:30, huh?”

I got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom for some water. Turning on the lights, I looked in the mirror. The face of a Leafeon with gray leaves and a covered eye stared back at me.

I slowly began to open my mouth, and began pulling out my tongue even slower.

Long… Grey… Slimy… And split into three separate sections. It was like… A separate organism, like some sort of lamprey...

In pure disgust, I slowly placed my paw on the mirror and quickly (and quite surprisingly) ripped it open, busting the lock right off and opening the hidden cabinet. Within, the cabinet behind the mirror read: “Emergency Medical Supplies; Employees Only.” After slowly pulling out the large scalpel, I grabbed all of my ‘tongues’ and pulled them together, making them look like one piece.

Well, here goes nothing... and by that I mean here goes literally everything.

With one blow, I sliced all of the creepy tentacles right out of my mouth and threw them onto the floor. Green Chlorophyll started spraying out of my mouth like a broken faucet as an overwhelming pain began to arise.

I leaned over the sink to keep my chlorophyll from staining the floor. Eventually the bleeding stopped and I began to feel lightheaded. I stumbled backwards and fell sitting up on the floor with those three… Worms… Laying beside me. I picked them up, threw them in the toilet and flushed.

A few minutes later of vomiting all of my chlorophyll into the toilet, I no longer had the energy to sit up and fell backwards, hitting my head on the wall and knocking myself unconscious.