"Do we really need to sleep in this creepy forest?"

Hayley stifled a groan as she unclipped her tent from her backpack. "Well, we haven't made it all the way through yet—" thanks to somebody who had to keep stopping for a break every fifteen minutes—"so yeah."

"Can't we just keep going?" Miriam persisted. "I want to get back to a real city."

"It's going to get dark soon," Hayley said. "We won't be able to see where we're going. Besides, it's another day of walking between the forest and Rustboro anyway."

Miriam moaned and slumped against a tree, sinking to the ground. "This sucks. I can't sleep here. I can feel things looking at me."

"Then go in your tent. They won't be able to see you there."

Miriam curled her lip and scoffed, glaring daggers at Hayley from her spot on the ground. "If we get murdered out here, it's your fault."

Hayley wanted to bang her head against a tree. Better yet, she wanted to grab Miriam by the shoulders and shake her. Her stomach was still twisted in knots from her altercation several hours ago with Barrett, and Miriam's constant complaining was only drawing it tighter. Miriam hated walking, hated camping, hated the outdoors, and wouldn't even look at her Pokémon, so why was she here? What could she possibly be getting out of this, besides the joy of making Hayley's life miserable?

Regardless, they were staying here tonight. They set up camp—or more accurately, Hayley set up camp yet again while Miriam sat back and leered at her. When it was done, Miriam retreated inside her tent, disappearing with the tug of a zipper. Then, and only then, Hayley finally settled onto the ground, hung her head, and let out her pent-up frustration in a long, hissing sigh.

She was trying. Really trying. But… Arceus, it was so hard. It wasn't supposed to be going like this; she wasn't supposed to be stuck in a forest with two partners who hated her. She was supposed to be having fun.

Suddenly wistful, Hayley pulled her phone out of the side pocket of her backpack and switched it on. Since leaving Petalburg, she'd had it turned off to conserve the battery, but now she needed something to take her mind off things. The screen lit up, and almost immediately a barrage of notifications flew in, making the phone buzz and chime in her hand for a solid minute as each fought for her attention. She scrolled through them all in turn: a few were from her mother—"Hope you're doing okay. Thinking about you," and that sort of thing—but most had come from Connie. Pictures, texts, and even a few videos that Hayley couldn't download with the poor reception of the forest. Updates from her car ride towards Verdanturf, shots of landmarks along the way, a picture of the town's sign ("Welcome to Verdanturf—The windswept highlands with the sweet fragrance of grass—New coordinator registrations open now!") and the Pokémon center they'd settled into. After that, it was all about Marcie. It seemed like Connie had made good on her intentions and was teaching the Ralts how to dance, judging by the pictures of the Pokémon performing shaky pliés and leg lifts. Hayley couldn't help but smile at the sight of the nervous Ralts working through the positions, her head tilted far back so she could observe Connie's example with her wide eyes. Between Connie's direction and the natural grace of the Ralts line, she'd be an accomplished ballerina in no time.

When she'd gotten through all her messages, Hayley looked up again to see that the shadows were growing longer and darker, and that the sky was glowing a deep, dusky blue. Even though they were in a small clearing, Hayley didn't want to risk building a fire, so they'd be out of light soon; she ought to get to sleep before that. But first, dinner. She pulled a protein bar from the jumbled depths of her backpack and bit down on it—

A prickle ran down her neck. It was the uncomfortable feeling of eyes on the back of her head. Hayley jumped straight up and glanced to and fro, peering into the trees. But no one was there. No one that she could see…

A bush behind her rustled, and she spun around, grabbing Barrett's Pokéball from her belt. She glared at the spot the sound had come from, but there was no further flash of movement, no gleam of staring eyes. She sat back down and let out a long breath. Miriam's paranoia was getting to her. Of course they weren't alone out here; there were scores of Wurmple and Zigzagoon lurking in the trees, and they'd probably taken an interest in her dinner. Nothing to worry about. She'd never had problems sleeping in the woods before, and she wasn't about to start now.

Superstitions or no, sleep didn't come easily to her that night. Her stress had finally overridden her exhaustion, and her mind raced as the minutes ticked by. Outside, the trees rustled and creaked in the breeze, louder than she'd ever remembered them being. It felt like she'd only just managed to shut her eyes when someone was roughly shaking her awake.

"Wake up." Hayley sat up slowly and blinked, rubbing her eyes. Miriam was in her tent, disheveled and wide-eyed, a flashlight casting odd shadows on her face.

Hayley stifled a yawn. "What is it?"

"The trees. The trees are moving."

Hayley stared at her dumbly for a moment, trying to put together why she'd been woken up for this. "It's just the wind," she said, unable to keep the flat irritation out of her voice. It was the middle of the night, and they had a long walk tomorrow, and she'd just gotten to sleep.

"No." Miriam grabbed her wrist and pulled, gesturing outside the tent flap. "Come look."

Hayley pulled her hand free from Miriam, then grudgingly groped for her flashlight and boots. Then she stumbled out of the tent opening, another long yawn popping her jaw.

Outside, a soft rain was falling. It was impenetrably dark aside from the beam of her flashlight. Droplets of water glittered as she swung it in a wide arc, examining her surroundings. Left, right, and—

She jumped as the beam landed on something right in front of her. Thick and brown, the rough texture of bark nearly scraping against her nose—she was face-to-face with a huge oak tree. That was weird; why had she set her tent up facing so close to a tree?

The gears in her mind began churning to life with confused creaks and groans. No… No, that wasn't right. They'd made camp in a relatively clear area—that hadn't been there before.

"What…?" She reached out to touch the trunk, wondering if this was some kind of trick, only to yank her hand back when several thick white strings zipped down from the branches above. Aiming her flashlight upward, she saw the glint of beady black eyes and telltale splashes of scarlet and yellow. Wurmple. A small group was watching her from the branches, which danced back and forth in the breeze. True to what Miriam had said, the boughs were moving almost as if they were alive, bucking and swaying with the breeze. She stared for a moment, transfixed; she'd never seen trees move like this before. Maybe it was something to do with the forest; maybe the way the trees grew around here affected the way they moved. Or maybe it was just an odd pattern of wind. Just the wind…

Something was wrong with that thought. What was it? Her mind clicked jerkily along. It was just the wind, just the wind. But, no, that couldn't be right. Because… Because…

There was no wind, she realized, as her stomach dropped to her knees. The air around her was deathly still.

In the light of the flashlight, each branch twisted and writhed as if it were a living thing, moving independently of the canopy around it. Wood bent and creaked, and verdant green leaves rustled like scales on a snake. They seemed to take notice of the flashlight's beam as she held it in place, bending around it and reaching down like flowers towards the sun. Towards the light—

No. Towards her.

"I told you there was something wrong with this forest," Miriam hissed as Hayley stepped back against her tent. Hayley shook her head, still trying to grasp what was going on. Moving her flashlight onto the other trees that circled them, she saw that the entire canopy was moving unnaturally, dancing like someone in the sky was puppeting each individual branch on a string. And it wasn't just the one tree that had closed in on them. The previously spacious clearing had tightened into a claustrophobic hollow, dozens of trees ringing their tents and shutting them in. When Hayley let the light linger for a few moments on a distant trunk, she swore she saw it shudder and bend. Then, inch by inch, its thick roots began pulling out from underneath the ground, splaying across the dirt like enormous feet. Once they were completely exposed, it lurched suddenly forward, churning up the soil as the roots dragged its massive body forth.

"Did you piss off Celebi or something?" Miriam muttered.

"What?"

"Never mind." Miriam drew in closer, her back nearly against Hayley's. "We have to get out of here."

"Yeah." Hayley swallowed. Even as they stood there, the trees nearest to them had begun trembling again, trunks bending forward to snake their roots and branches closer and closer. The advance was slow, almost imperceptible, but the intention was clear—they were going to trap them here.

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"We need to go."

Hayley darted back into her tent and grabbed her backpack, slinging it onto her back. She fastened her Pokéball belt around her waist, pulling it an extra notch so it wouldn't slip off her pajama shorts. The bright red of the solitary Pokéball stood out in the darkness. She brushed her fingers against it, feeling its inner warmth permeate the cold metal exterior. Barrett was injured, and angry with her, and there was no way he could fight off an entire forest… But right now, he was her best shot at getting out of this alive.

Hayley was ready and back outside in under a minute. Miriam took longer to emerge, probably stuck picking up everything she'd scattered around her tent floor. Hayley kept her flashlight trained on the encroaching trees, legs tensed and ready to bolt at the first sign of aggression. They were becoming more active now, their roots wriggling up and down in the dirt like huge earthworms, trunks bucking and swaying. When something grabbed her arm, Hayley yelped and nearly clubbed it with her flashlight before realizing it was just Miriam, finally packed and ready to go. "Come on," Miriam hissed, tugging Hayley forward as though she had been the one keeping them here. Miriam's jaw was set tight, but in the stark glare of the flashlight, her eyes were wide and darting.

Hayley furrowed her brow at the treeline. The gaps between the trees were shrinking by the minute as the trunks huddled closer and closer. They still looked wide enough to slip through, but if they waited any longer, they'd be trapped for good. "Count of three," she muttered, hunching forward and ducking her head. "One, two…" She swayed on the balls of her feet. She was no linebacker, but she'd have to push through. "Don't stop for anything. Three!"

They both bolted at once. The boughs of the trees bent down as they approached, branches reaching out like bony fingers to grasp them, but Hayley covered her head with her arms and ran blindly through. Bark scraped against her shoulder and arms, tearing at her shirt and scratching her skin. Something prickly tightened around her leg, snagging her mid-stride and sending her sprawling into the damp earth. She yelped and kicked at it clumsily, wincing as the action drove thorns into her bare skin but not letting up until she felt its grip loosen. With a desperate tug, she pulled herself free and scrambled to her feet—just in time for something to whizz forward and smack her in the nose. She swatted belatedly at the attacker, but something else dove into her arm, pinching and tearing flesh before vanishing again. Hayley jumped to the side and glanced over to see a pair of Taillow bobbing several meters from her, their tiny wings beating furiously to stay aloft.

Why were they attacking her? She wasn't… The thought was interrupted by a series of high-pitched yaps cutting through the air from the other direction. Poochyena. An entire pack, by the sound of it. She ducked as the pair of Taillow zoomed towards her again, crossing over her head in an elegant figure eight.

It wasn't just the trees, she realized. It was the forest. The entire forest was against her.

Once again, she ran. Her legs moved up and down like pistons, boots kicking up clods of mud behind her as she ran further past the swaying trees. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she ducked and wove around reaching branches and leapt over crawling vines, her heart pounding louder and harder to match with her footsteps. The rain was falling harder now, thick droplets filtering through the tree boughs and splattering against her face. It was dark, so dark; her flashlight was useless, a bobbing point of light in the great expanse of black. Creatures leapt from the darkness to ambush her, Taillow dive-bombing her from the branches and Zigzagoon scurrying underfoot. The yapping of the Poochyena horde behind her grew louder, their barks interspersed with snarls and howls. Time was lost to her; Hayley didn't know how long or how far she'd gone, only that her thighs burned and each breath stabbed like a knife in her chest, when she came to the sick realization that she'd forgotten about Miriam.

Shit. She dug her heels into the muddy ground and skidded to a stop, swinging her flashlight in a wide arc around her. A Taillow took the opportunity to dive in towards her; she smacked it out of the air with a lucky hit from her flashlight. She barely had time to feel bad about it before a thick silk string shot out of one of the trees beside her, wrapping around the same arm she'd swung. She tugged and clawed at it with her other hand, but the substance held fast and wouldn't give under her fingernails. Something zipped past her face from behind her, and she whirled around to see another pair of Wurmple perched in the waving branches, their yellow stingers raised high in the air. Another high-pitched howl tore out of the darkness, and the hairs on Hayley's arms stood at attention. It was close—so close—

They were here.

The barking drowned out the creaking of trees as the undergrowth ahead of her parted. The Poochyena's dark grey fur hid them well in the shadows; she could only count them by the glint of their fangs and their angry red eyes. Several of them swarmed around her, cutting off her escape, while the others bounded in to attack. The first one lunged with a hungry snarl, sinking its teeth into the ankle of her boot. She yelped and kicked it off, knocking it flat on its back. Another Poochyena lunged in to take its place, jumped at her leg, and sank its teeth in just below her knee. She screamed and kicked at it with her other leg, knocking it away, but its jaws held fast and tore her skin away with it. She flinched as pain lanced through her leg, tears stinging at her eyes and disappearing into the streaks of rain. Her free hand grasped at the Pokéball at her waist. Barrett—he could help her. But it was raining, and there were so many Poochyena, and only one of him… And more than that, Hayley's mind filled with the memory of his glare, so indignant and full of hate. She couldn't stand the thought that it might be the last thing she saw before they both got torn apart.

One of the Poochyena slammed into the back of her leg, buckling her knee and almost dropping her to the ground. The howls rose to a fever pitch as the others grabbed at her shoelaces and rammed against her calves, trying to bring her down. She kicked and stomped wherever she could, but whenever one fell away, two more replaced it. She clawed again at the Wurmple's string holding her in place, but it had hardened like a plaster cast around her wrist, and the tree it was anchored to pulled back as she tried to tug it away. There was a way out of this; there had to be. There had to be something she could do. Her free hand dropped to her belt again, and she clutched the Pokéball tight, but after a moment her arm once again fell limp at her side. No, there was nothing. This was it. This—

White light exploded at her feet, highlighting the scene in sharp relief and sending both her and the Poochyena reeling back. A high metallic bellow rose from the spot. Hayley glanced down, blinking the ghosts of the light out of her eyes. It was an Aron, its blue eyes gleaming from underneath a scuffed, mud-spattered shell. It lifted its head and called again, freezing the Poochyena who'd begun creeping back. It turned briefly to look at her; it was hard to tell in the dark, but Hayley thought she saw a smooth patch on its faceplate where steel had sloughed away and reformed. It caught her eye, and in that moment, she realized—

"Hayley!" Her whole body sagged with relief. She'd never been so glad in her life to hear Howie's high, nasally voice. She turned her head and saw him standing in a small opening behind her, holding out a lantern that bathed the area in welcoming light. His jacket was muddy and torn and his glasses were crooked and spattered with rain, but his eyes were hard and his voice was steady as he called out again. "Hang on, we've got this! Mona, take them down!"

The Aron shouted a response and lunged forward, ramming her faceplate into a Poochyena's ribs. The dogs stood slightly taller than her, but she had a good hundred pounds on them, and her hit was strong enough to send her target sprawling. The rest of the Poochyena huddled closer, growling uncertainly at the sight of their new opponent, but a sharp bark from their apparent leader put them back in order again. Ramona, unperturbed, clomped backwards a few steps and lowered her head for a charge. A few Poochyena lunged as she approached, but her momentum knocked them away. She bashed straight into the chest of one of the rougher-looking ones, landing the blow with a solid crack. It yelped and tumbled backwards, collapsing on the ground. At the sight, a few more of the Poochyena backed away, growling warily. The others lunged forward, lashing out with tooth and claw, but their attacks slid harmlessly off Ramona's sturdy metal carapace, and a rough headbutt from her knocked one clean away. One by one they fell away from her, injury and their natural cowardice sending them scampering back into the shadows as they realized they couldn't win. The ones that stayed fell from nasty blows as she slammed into them, using her body weight as a natural weapon. Eventually, all that remained was one brave straggler, who stood glaring at Ramona with unsteady eyes. Ramona stared him down and gave a metallic warning bark that put the dogs' to shame. The Poochyena's fleeting courage failed, and he turned tail and ran, joining the rest of his pack in the undergrowth.

Hayley let out a sigh, her legs turning weak as the panic and adrenaline left her. Howie crossed over to her and offered her a utility knife, which she took gladly. She flushed a bit as she remembered her own knife, packed safely away deep in one of the pockets of her bag. A fat lot of good that had done her. After a few moments of sawing at the silk string, it frayed and snapped, releasing her arm.

"We need to keep moving," Howie said, recalling his Aron in a glow of red light. "If we stay in one spot too long, the trees'll move in and get us." He paused for a moment, visibly thinking over what he'd just said. "It sounds stupid, but—"

"I know." Hayley yanked the remnants of the string shot off her wrist and took a few experimental steps, wincing as her new wound stung and burned with each flex of her calf. It was either blood running down the back of her leg, or rain; she couldn't tell, and she was afraid to check. She swallowed. "Howie, I lost Miriam."

He swung around again towards her, lifting his lantern higher to illuminate his face. Hayley squinted in the sudden glare. "You did? Where?"

"I don't know. It was…" Her mind was racing again. Now that the fear of imminent death was gone, everything that she'd pushed to the back of her mind was bubbling up to the surface. Her legs burned and shook with the exertion of sprinting, and her breath was sore in her chest; the rain was coming down harder than ever, leaving her skin numb and white. "We were running," she said at last. "And I just… lost her."

Howie cursed, something rare enough that Hayley actually flinched. "Where did you come from?"

"Over… there." Hayley lifted her hand to point, but it fell again as her eyes met a solid wall of trees. When had they moved? She'd only looked away for a moment.

Silence passed between them as each of them took it in, and then Howie spoke again. "I can't find Gavin either." Hayley's stomach kicked as she realized the shy boy was nowhere to be seen. They were alone. "We were trying to stay together, but then I turned around and he was gone… Do you think they're trying to separate us?"

"Who's 'they'?" Hayley whispered, her mouth dry despite the rain pouring down around her. Howie shook his head.

"I don't know. But I guess we can't go back that way now, so let's… let's just keep moving where we can. Maybe… We might find them again along the way."

His words rang hollow in her ears, but what else could they do? Hayley took a feeble step towards the tree wall, only for the trunks to shudder and lean closer together, their boughs reaching down like grasping talons. "All right," she said, her voice so quiet that it was almost lost in the creaking of wood. Howie grabbed her arm pointedly and began jogging off into the darkness. Hayley followed him reluctantly, her steps slow and heavy against the muddy ground.