Annabelle

Did you know that cats are supposed to be able to see the paranormal, even when we can't?
Well I didn't.
I didn't know that when my cat began hissing at the wretched game and ran away, it meant something. I didn't have any idea that was a sign.
You see, my cat was incredibly calm and intelligent. She was great with kids, and loved me dearly. That cat was my dear friend, who I told all of my secrets. She was like a dog, a protector to me. I won't forget that cat. She was the only other… Witness.
I haven't told anyone.
How could I? Wouldn't they all think I'm completely insane? AM I completely insane?
It all started with the stupid garage sale. The guy there was weird, I got really bad vibes the moment I saw him. He had dark darting eyes, and just that off sort of crazy look you see when a dog has been abused before and it's learned to fight back.
At the sale, there was no one there, and the guy kept watching me especially, which seriously gave me the creeps. I looked around for a bit, and most of it was junk. There was this one music box, that played this slow tune that seemed off somehow and gave me some serious willies. Most of the items were little girl's things, like dollies and toys... All of them were in disrepair in one way or another. In spite of that, I took particular interest in the basket of 'FREE GAMES' as the sign had said. I rummaged through them, most of them being crappy and not really worth my time.
That was until I came upon the game. It was this old, scratched up cartridge of Pokémon Blue. You see, I had two of the Red version, and I was really excited to see it there. I'd never played Blue version before, but I'd always wanted to. Unlike a lot of people, I'm a sucker for old games. I just love them.
As you can probably guess from here, this was absolutely not a normal game of oldies Pokémon like I was guessing.
First of all, when I got home, I tried to pop it into my see-through purple game boy that my sisters ex gave to me. It wouldn't accept the game! I thought the old creep had given me some faulty piece of shit. I though 'wow, thanks.' And tossed the game aside and popped in one of my two Red games. I played for a while, but I decided I'd give the Blue one another go.  It was just calling to me, and I was so curious as to how it differed from Red.
Well, once more I tried the cartridge, but it /still/ wouldn't take it. So I decided to try putting it into my friends Game Boy instead. She had let me barrow it so I could transfer Pokémon and such. It made a satisfying click as it slid into place, and I turned the game on. Finally, I could play my game.
My cat had been sitting on my lap, purring.
Her purring stopped, and she looked up at me, then at the game. Then her fur puffed out and she got up, leaping out of my lap. My beloved cat sat there, her ears flat against her skull as her piercing blue eyes watched me with unease. "Don't like Pokémon, huh?"  I asked in a chiding tone, trying to lower my own unease. I'd read plenty of creepy pastas before, so this was just a little unnerving. My cat never behaves like that.
Maybe it was because the game smelled like another cat? That's what I thought to assure myself.
The game turned on, with the usual intro and music, and I was soon forgetting about my cat, who still sat there watching me. I chose my characters name, my rivals, and soon I was off, playing the game intensely for several hours. I caught a Pikachu, and something compelled me to name it Annabelle. But I was too lazy to switch to lowercase, so it was an all caps 'ANNABELLE'. Soon enough, it was midnight.
Well, you see, I always trip myself out at night. I'm sure other people do it too, where you listen intently for things going on and you get freaked out by noises in your house and your heart starts beating really fast. At exactly one minute to midnight, I heard a voice, one saying "This is why I died". Clear as crystal. I clenched the game in my hands, unmoving.
My cat, which had been following me at a safe distance all day, perked her ears up, looking at the corner of my room and hissing. I looked there, hardly daring to breathe. I thought I saw something there, a face, about a foot from mine. But it was gone, and I thought I was freaking myself out.  With my parents already in bed, I knew I'd have to tough out the night. I got up and turned my lights on, as if that would protect me somehow.
That was when I looked back at my game.
I had been in those caves you go through before you get to Lavender town, where you have to use flash to see. I shuddered. As soon as it turned midnight, my game had frozen and it got those weird bars that the TV gets when it's losing signal, waving back and forth and making strange high pitched sounds. I could have sworn I turned off my game, and I crawled back over to my friends Game Boy. My heart leaped through my chest as it stopped and froze on a figure of a man.
I thought that maybe this was some creepy part of the game that no one really mentioned because it wasn't much of a big deal? I took a deep breath, thinking maybe that was it, except…
My cat. She was now arching her back, her fur standing on end, eyes directed straight at the figure on the screen. It was only a silhouette against a sort of smudgy grey. She began a low, growling moan. I stared at her "Oh god…" My voice surprised me. I thought maybe she had gotten rabies. Convinced that was it, I picked her up and put her out of my room, even though I hated to do it.  Somewhere in my mind I knew that wasn't the truth.
Then I was all alone with the game.
I pressed A, and a text box came up underneath the figure.
'This is daddy.'
I stared for a while, thinking I may have missed something really important, so I pressed it again, hoping further investigation would explain what was going on.
'I want him to die.'
Also, I was still pretending like nothing was going on and I was tripping myself out. I could hear hissing outside of my door that was suddenly silenced. Foolishly, I pretended that she wasn't there.
Once again I pressed A, this time the scenery changed. It made me jump with shock at the gruesome image in front of me. In the transition, the man had turned into a Raichu, one from the old games. You know, the weird one where it's like jumping in the air. Well, it was like that. Except, then he completed the jump, bringing his paw down onto the head of a young, apparently bleeding Pikachu. I didn't know the old games had such animation capabilities. The Pikachu was on my end, as if it was a battle sequence, but I could see tears on its red cheeks.
'This game was why…'
Why what?
I pressed A once more, and the game announced 'ANNABELLE is struggling helplessly?'
Question mark? Also, ANNABELLE had been my Pikachu while I was playing.
It became a battle sequence.
'Daddy' was level 70, and continuously used Volt tackle, but instead of actually doing the animation, he kept hitting Annabelle.
My Pikachu continued to struggle throughout the fight. It was making my mind numb with fear, 'Daddy' had this menacing dark look…Like the guy at the garage sale. Exactly.
When I thought that, I instantly got chills.
Annabelle was losing health quickly, and her sprite was covered in bruises and blood from her fathers relentless beating. I kept pressing A, my hands shaking violently now. At each attack, the screen got darker and darker.
Daddy used VOLT TACKLE!
ANNABELLE screamed!
When Annabelle screamed, it was a real, human scream. I dropped my friends Game Boy, looking up. My lights in my room flickered, momentarily revealing a human girl. She was standing there watching me with a sad expression.
The lights flicked back on and there was nothing there anymore. My body frozen in fear, I looked at the game, the screen now black. Then from the Game Boy came this slow, eerie music. It was music identical to the tune from the music box I had seen at the sale too…  I didn't pick up the device, instead I pressed my finger down on A. A chat box popped up.
ANNABELLE was killed!
The message caused me to shudder, fear pressing in my mind. I pressed A again.
Nothing happened, but a voice whispered in my ear, "He's coming for you now, too."
I turned my head quickly, but nothing was there.
It all made sense to me now. She had been murdered. By her abusive father. He had killed her over the game somehow.
I turned off the game, and stood up in my room, walking over and opening the door. My cat was dead on the floor at my feet.
I wanted to break down and cry, my poor cat… She was only trying to warn me. But instead, I had ignored her. I swallowed a lump and walked to my window. I wanted to know.
Outside of my window on the street below, the man from the garage sale was there. Just standing there. Uncannily still.
I hope that someday I won't wake up in the middle of the night with him on the street… watching me.