The devil's after both of us

Míngzé pulled his pillow over his head, trying to block out the noise. It started with something downstairs, which was fine. He could ignore that sound well enough. It went sideways when Dai also joined the horrible noise. For a small pokémon, it was very loud.

Maybe he had to go really badly. It was still a pup after all. With some effort he left his bed, pulled on some sweatpants, and his slippers. Míngzé muttered something unrecognizable as he made his way to the door, only taking the cane with him out of habit.

The moment he opened the door, Dai ran away. “Fuck, come back here,” he hissed quietly, not wanting to wake his neighbors. The small houndour did not listen and was making his way down the stairs. As quickly as he could, he went to the staircase, hoping he could catch up with Dai on the stairs.

Descending the stairs was more like falling down the stairs for the small thing. A floor below him Míngzé could hear it’s high pitched bark echoïng through the hallway. “Dai!” Míngzé now said louder to make him shut up. It did not work. A growl got mixed in with the barking, but it was not impressive at all.

There was another pokémon on this floor, the one that was making all this noise. Míngzé could already imagine all the angry residents, furious that some pokémon ruined their night sleep. He could not blame them, but he hoped they all stayed inside their apartment. As soon as he got Dai’s attention, he would return home.

“Dai, here, now,” he tried his best to sound serious and for a moment it worked. The barking stopped for a moment and he could hear the houndour’s nails hit the ground. “Good,” Míngzé said relieved. He went through his knees to pick him up, but that is when the door opened.

It was difficult to hear anything over the loud barking that engulfed him. Dai turned around immediately and made his way back to the now open door. The sound made him grimace. “Dai!” But it did not work. The barking continued and Míngzé had no other choice but to go and get the pokémon himself.

After only a few steps, he came to the realization that he knew where he was going and whose voice he’d barely heard above the barking. Goosebumps appeared on his arms, and not only because it was cold and he was only wearing the shirt he slept in. “Sāng— Arceus sorry if he caused you trouble,” he sighed deeply. Dai was now hiding behind his legs but did not stop growling, although it was a lot quieter.  

While they did not leave on bad terms last time, he couldn’t help but feel like he was trespassing once again. It was one thing to send text to one another. They were just words, lacking everything else that came with a conversation. With how abruptly Sāng left last time, Míngzé couldn’t be certain he was welcome here.

Míngzé went through his knees, picking up Dai who did not struggle and let himself be picked up. He was careful of the way he held him, not wanting their claws to touch the delicate skin of his arm. Before a new wave of barking could erupt, he shushed the pup loudly, which did the trick. The pokémon never stopped gazing at the two.

A growl sounded once again when Sāng started talking. Dai immediately started growling in response but Míngzé gave his ear a soft tap which immediately made him quiet down again. Míngzé did not need his eyes to know that this was not Sāng’s Mawile. With a raised eyebrow he watched how things unfolded.

Everytime someone mentioned the pup, he felt a wave of relief, knowing it was really there. “Sounds like they are a handful,” Míngzé said with a hint of uncertainty, yet he forced the corner of his mouth in a smile. He looked down at the pokémon, but the dim hallway light was not enough to help him figure out what it was. It did not seem like those two were on good terms, which made him wonder why the pokémon was even here. “We could hear them from inside my apartment. Dai did not trust it,” he said by way of an explanation why he was here.

A thoughtful frown came to his forehead. Maybe— “Is she yours?” There was a small flicker of hope that got fueled. He’d asked Sāng before if pokémon just appeared out of nowhere here, but during that time he had not been in the right state of mind and he never got a true answer. But right now, it did not seem like this pokémon was here because they somehow bonded.

Míngzé snorted a breath through his nose, for a moment forgetting the nerves he had. “Sorry,” he apologized knowing that Sāng might not see the amusement in this. With a small smile still on his lips he shook his head. The man did not seem very pleased with the creature's presence.

The other continued explaining that he had hoped that ignoring her would get rid of her. A frown came to his forehead as he looked down at the pokémon. That explained why she had been making such a scene just now. Softly he hummed.

It became even stranger when the other continued. “That’s strange,” Míngzé remarked. “Maybe she’s lost or something?” Not thinking about the fact that this was an unknown pokémon they knew nothing about, he carefully went through his knees. Maybe it was the instability as they got lower to the floor, or maybe it was because they were closer to the pokémon, but Dai started moving again in his arm. The pup was turning and twisting in all directions, but Míngzé did not let go.

All Míngzé wanted was to know more about this strange pokémon of Sāng. “Where did you— oh come on Dai, behave,” Míngzé sighed. The pup started whining and finally did it. A few curse words escaped his mouth as it happened. Dai jumped out of his arms, the momentum nearly making him tumble forward. Luckily he was fast enough to place a hand on the ground to keep that from happening.

Míngzé had a smile on his face for a bit. It was amusing how such a small creature could cause so much trouble. So far she’d only been loud. Very loud. The smile dropped from his face however as Sāng continued. “She must really like you.” Why else would she go through all that trouble just to follow one guy. In the meanwhile Míngzé had gone through his knees, before losing his balance because of Dai.

As he was making a fool of himself, Sāng could not help but make one of his comments. By now they did not come as a surprise and Míngzé rolled his eyes. It did help to break the ice a bit. “I'm beginning to believe you're lacking the attention you need,” Míngzé remarked with a hint of amusement as he shook his head. He highly doubted that was the case. Dai had made his way towards the stairs again, not wanting to be too close to Sāng’s new pokémon. “You should try that app, you know the one with other people who need attention.” He was talking about Tinder of course.

With some reluctance he raised his left hand, unlike with Sāng, his bandage did not cover his hand but stopped at his wrist, only barely visible under his long sleeved shirt. “A hand, please?” He could do it himself, but a little bit of help would be useful.

Míngzé grimaced as he could imagine the pain that came with the bite. No, what he imagined probably did not even come close. “That’s a fitting nickname,” he said as he took in a sharp breath. Now he understood the other’s feelings toward the pokémon a bit better. Míngzé wanted to ask the other about his hand, but swallowed his words before they could leave his mouth.

Míngzé cocked an eyebrow as he looked at the other with amusement. “And what makes you think I am in need of your guidance?” While he was certain the other got a bit more— action in his life, that meant nothing. No, he was good in that department.

“Can’t miss out on the latest fashion trends,” Míngzé tried to joke in response, but the right tone never infused his voice. He wanted to keep it at that, because why would he share more. Then again, a while ago Sāng had also opened up just a bit. Not that it ended very well. “Burns, woke up with them a week or so ago.” Míngzé tried to shrug it off, as if it was no big deal. He tugged at his sleeve, covering more of his hand. “You remember the picture I sent you? It happened on the same day.” Normally one could think one very wild party was the cause of this, but that was not really his style.

Bit by bit Míngzé understood why Sāng did not like her. “Way to show you’re grateful,” Míngzé said sarcastically, his eyes dropping to where the pokemon was. It made sense that Sāng did not want this one near him if it acted like this. Yet, dumping it outside his door, hoping it would go away was maybe not the best plan of action.

Míngzé looked away and cleared his throat when he was reminded of the fact that he was once again here, unannounced. This time however, it was not his fault. “Don’t flatter yourself.” If only it were Sāng haunting his dreams. “I’d gladly change my dreams for dreams about—” Just in time, Míngzé bit back his words, realizing how it would sound. “No, no,” he said with a raised finger, ready for whatever Sāng would come up with.

Attempt at nudes. Míngzé was rolling his eyes before he even realized it. “I told you— that was not— nevermind.” Míngzé shook his head momentarily. If he said anything else, he just knew Sāng would find a way to make it sound even worse. “Exactly what it sounds like. I went to bed perfectly fine, woke up and there they were. As if I was the star in some Freddy Krueger(*) movie.” Míngzé gestured at his arm. While it was understandable that someone like Mindo would not believe him, there might be a chance the one who got cursed by a grandma would.

Míngzé took a deep breath and looked at Sāng. “Something really fucked up is happening.” Not just to him, but to others too. Sāng was proof of that.



[ * wetende dat Wap niet veel films kijkt: horrorfilm waarin de mensen in hun dromen worden aangevallen en de wonden ook hebben als ze wakker worden, of dood zijn als ze in de droom werden vermoord ]

Some color broke through on his cheeks, which was caused by shame of his own poor choice of words and what Sāng said. “Of course you would,” he sighed. He would welcome every dream over the ones he currently had. “Although I prefer to get at least a little bit of sleep,” he said jokingly, holding up his thumb and index finger to show ‘a little’. Meaning that Sāng haunting his dreams would be so scary that he would not be able to sleep.

Yet it was better than whatever was haunting him now. Míngzé had to strain his own thoughts in an attempt to remember. The lingering memories were always present, but making sense of them were at times difficult. There had been voices and remembering the sound of them and what they said brought a lump in his throat. While they had been voices, had someone really been there?

“I don’t really know,” he answered with a troubled smile. Something had certainly been there, the question was what it was exactly. Slowly he shook his head. “If you are asking if there was a— you know, then no, she was not.” Míngzé could still clearly remember what Sāng had told him about the grandma, but he was almost certain she had nothing to do with this. “Only a whole lot of,” he had to cut himself off to take a deep breath. “A whole lot of water and fire and some voices,” he continued in one fast sentence.

It was hopeless. No matter what he said or how he meant it, Sāng would find a way to twist his words and make him feel slightly uncomfortable because of it. “Tempting but I fear I’ll have to pass.” Míngzé hated how he could not keep his cheeks from slightly heating up, although it was less from when he first met this shameless man.

A nightmare straight out of a horror flick. That sounded about right so he hummed in agreement. All of this simply was not normal, although Míngzé had a faint idea what might be going on. “Both the stars in our own little horror movie, how lucky we are,” he tried his attempt at a joke. There was even a smile on his lips but it did not reach his eyes at all.

Míngzé raised a questioning eyebrow as he looked at Sāng. It came a bit as a surprise. He had expected the other to say his goodbyes and then go back to bed. Which is not what happened. He blinked a few times before making his decision. “Eh— sure, why not,” he answered with a small smile. Now that he was awake anyway, he knew it would be a struggle to fall asleep again. Might as well spent part of the night doing something else than twisting and turning in bed.

He took a step back before leaning forward a bit. The pup immediately knew what to do and pressed himself in his hands so that it was easier for Míngzé to pick him up. He’d already grown quite a bit since he first got him, but he still weighs nearly nothing. “Lead the way,” he told Sāng with a nod and a hand gesture as he took a step back so that Sāng could pass.

Even without being able to see the expression on the other’s face, he knew Sāng was having too much fun. “I don’t doubt that for a second,” Míngzé said as he shook his head and rubbed his eyes. No matter that it sounded like music to his ears to have a good night sleep without bad dreams, his answer would remain the same.

“Sure,” Míngzé said with a nod before Sāng disappeared inside his apartment again. While he waited he gently petted the pup in his arms who was now slowly falling asleep once again. Before he could fully doze off, Sāng appeared again and Dai’s eyes flew open once more.

As he followed, he really had no idea where Sāng was taking him, but he was not bothered. But that was short-lived. “The roof?” Surely that was not actually where they were going? He followed Sāng and sadly enough, that was exactly where they ended up.

Míngzé did not move an inch once the doors opened and he was greeted by the cold wind. He immediately noticed the difference and he did not get his legs to move. “Are you sure this is safe?” he asked with a worried look in his eyes. No, this was not safe. There was a reason people were not allowed up here. Don’t walk off the edge. Easier said than done, Míngzé did not even know where the roof ended. “Only because you asked so nicely.” Even his voice betrayed that he did not feel safe. Very slowly he took one step outside as he held onto the doorframe.