You May Not Rest Now, There Are Monsters Nearby

The trees loom over your ominously, casting long shadows that hide the creatures in the brush. A gust of cold wind blows through the air, whistling between the leaves and making you shiver. You hug your arms and rub your shoulders, trying to warm yourself up as you walk through the forest, **** to find a path of some sort. There were dozens of small campsites littered in the forest, and if you found one, you’d be fine. You can hear the rustling and chittering of the weedles and caterpies in the bushes, and you shudder with discomfort. Something about their eyes makes you uncomfortable, not to mention the fact that they eat humans. There’s a reason why everyone gets told to stay on the path otherwise, the Pokémon in the forest would eat them alive. Arceus, you wish your Bulbasaur hadn’t fainted. At least you wouldn’t be alone if she was conscious.

Why the fuck did everything have to look identical? That tree looks just like the one you saw ten minutes ago! You reach out and check to see if it has scratch marks on it, and to your dismay it does. Fuck! You’ve been walking in circles for god knows how long! You clutch your face and groan out loud, bemoaning your plight. Why didn’t you just stay on the fucking path?! And to make it worse, most of the bug types are crepuscular, meaning that they’re active at dawn and dusk, which is right now. You punch a small tree in frustration, feeling a tiny bit of satisfaction when it swings backward and drops a branch.

A twig snaps somewhere, and you flick your head to look in that direction, only to see nothing. There’s some more rustling before everything goes quiet. Not even the wind rattles the leaves of the trees. The bugs in the bushes go silent, and a foreboding sense of danger fills the back of your mind. Another twig cracks on the opposite side of the first, and you snap your head in that direction, only to see nothing again.

“Who’s there?” You say authoritatively, only to be answered by silence. “Show yourself!” You shout, and once again, only the wind answers your call. A figure dashes away in the corner of your vision, and you flick your head to see it, only for there to be nothing but bushes again. Shit, you should leave. You turn on the flashlight on your Pokédex and start jogging.

The forest is pin-drop silent as you jog nervously, even the bugs have gone silent in fear of what stalks you. Why the fuck did you go off-road? Even getting gangbanged sounds better than this unease that you feel. By now, the sun has set, and only your flashlight illuminates the forest on this moonless night. The pitiful light from your Pokédex flickers as it struggles to pierce the thick foliage, and you can barely see any further than 20 feet in front of you. Shadows dance in the corner of your eyes, each flickering apparition almost like a stalker in the night, ready to jump out and slash you. And the trees are no longer just mere obstacles but seem to exude malice as if they hate the intruder in their midst. You jump in fright as an owl hoots somewhere, your nerves on edge from earlier, and hug yourself with one arm as you keep going.

You reach a small clearing in the forest, and the area drops at least 5 degrees in temperature as you stand on the border between forest and grassland. Your heart races and your breath comes in short gasps as you anxiously flick your eyes back at the forest on the other side, breaking into a run as you try to cross the open ground. For some reason, you feel exposed here, as if you’re going to get attacked without the safety of the malicious forest. But luckily you make it across and you hunch down to catch your breath. You’re just being an idiot, the worst things in this forest are the bugs, and surely nothing is hunting you, and it’s all in your head.

Your Pokédex beeps, letting you know it’s on low battery, and you anxiously turn off the flashlight, removing your only source of illumination and shrouding yourself in darkness. Creatures stir in the shadows, and while you wait for your vision to adjust, you have no idea what is approaching you. You break out into a cold sweat as you strain your other senses to detect your surroundings. You hear the howl of the icy wind, smell the dirt and trees around you, and you sense no other signs of life. As if the area you’re in is a dead zone. Then it hits you. The stench of **** and decay makes you wrinkle your nose in disgust while your heart skips a beat. Something had died nearby, and if you don’t make it out, you’ll be next.

You confirm that you’re still heading North and pick up a stick that seems strong and sturdy, swishing it through the air to get a feel for your weapon. It would be next to useless against the string shot that both bug types would use, and useless against a swarm of rattatas as well, but it makes you feel better to be armed.

You feel so alone in the forest, so isolated with no one with you. You should have used the app to get a travelling buddy so that at least there would be someone with you. But nooo, you had to be the prideful trainer who doesn't need anyone else. Oh fuck, you’re going to die alone and no one would ever find out. Indy and Daisy would be heartbroken, mom probably wouldn’t care, and grandad would be so upset! You start to panic and crouch down, your breathing speeding up as thoughts of your **** run through your mind. How long would they search for you? When would they give up trying to find your body?

Calm the fuck down, getting scared won’t do you any favors! You’re a strong and smart 18-year-old, at the peak of physical fitness, with tons of wilderness experience. You aren’t going to get scared of the dark-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Something screams in the distance and you let out a squeal in terror. Fuck, fuck, fuck, it sounds like someone’s dying! Something starts crashing through the bushes and you break into a sprint, an instinctual fear driving you to run as fast and as far away as you can from whatever is chasing you. The dark trees blur past you, and branches slice into your bare limbs as you brute-**** your way past everything in your path. Oh god, you’re going to end up dead in Viridian forest! Why didn’t you just stay on the path and get gangbanged? You look back, only to see nothing, the all-encompassing darkness hiding everything from sight. You continue running through the forest until you no longer hear anything behind you, and stop underneath a large pine tree. Its canopy of needle-like leaves shields you from the moon, and you lean against it to catch your breath.

You pause to take in your surroundings, slowly spinning and anxiously peering into the shadowy trees to figure out if you’ve gotten far enough. Your heart pounds in your chest, and a pit of dread forms in your stomach as you once again feel crippling isolation. If you die here, no one would ever find your body. You’re breathing hard, not just from fear, but from exertion. The day had been filled with hiking, and then fucking, followed by your sprint, and you were tired. Not exhausted yet, but fatigued from all the activity. You pull out your Pokédex and confirm how far you are from the edge of the evil, bug-filled, spooky forest. Just another 600 meters and you’d be safe.

You steel yourself and get ready to leave your cover when a sound makes your blood go cold.

“Hehehehehe!” Giggles what sounds like a small child. You turn around slowly, horror rooting you in place as you face the source of the terrifying noise.