The canopy of the Viridian Forest was thick enough to choke the sky, but even the dense weave of ancient leaves couldn't hide the dying of the light. The ambient green glow that had illuminated their path for hours was bleeding away, replaced by deep, bruised purples and ominous greys.
Daisy Oak was dragging her feet. Her pristine white skirt was hemmed with mud, and a twig was tangled in her long brown hair. The fire in her eyes that had fueled her earlier rant had dimmed into a simmering, exhausted irritation.
"Kian," she huffed, wiping a sheen of sweat from her forehead. "How much further? You said the exit was just past the ridge. We passed a ridge twenty minutes ago."
Kian walked ahead, the Town Map unfolded in his hands. He frowned, rotating the parchment slightly. According to the ink lines, they should have hit the northern clearing by now. But the path they were on—a narrow, winding trail choked with ferns—didn't match the topography on the paper.
"It should be right here," Kian muttered, mostly to himself. "The map says the path straightens out after the weeping willow."
"Well, the map is an idiot," Daisy snapped, stepping over a rotting log. "Or maybe the reader is."
Kian ignored the jab. He stopped walking abruptly.
Daisy, too tired to react in time, nearly walked into his back. She caught herself, gripping his bicep to steady her balance. "Hey! Why did you st—"
Her voice died in her throat.
Kian was staring at a large, moss-covered boulder sitting to the left of the path. It was distinct because someone—probably a bored trainer years ago—had carved a crude smiley face into the stone.
Daisy stared at the rock. Her face went pale.
"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "No, no, no."
"We've been here," Kian said, his voice flat. "We passed this rock an hour ago. right after we beat that Hiker with the Geodude."
"That's impossible!" Daisy shrieked, the sound cracking with rising panic. She snatched the map from Kian's hands, nearly crumpling it in her grip. "We've been walking North! The sun was on our left! We followed the compass!"
She traced the lines on the paper with a trembling finger, turning the map around frantically. "This makes no sense! Unless... unless you led us in a giant circle!"
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and accusing. "What the hell are you doing with the map, Kian? Are you blind? Are you trying to get us killed?"
Kian snatched the map back, smoothing it out against his chest. He looked around the darkening woods. The trees seemed to be leaning closer, their branches interlocking like skeletal fingers.
"I followed the map perfectly, Daisy," Kian said, his tone serious. "I have a sense of direction. I didn't turn us around."
"Then explain the rock!" she yelled, pointing at the mossy smiley face that seemed to be mocking them.
"The forest," Kian said quietly. "You know the legends, Daisy. You're a researcher. They say the Viridian Forest isn't static. It shifts. The overgrown paths change to confuse travelers. It's a defense mechanism against invasive species... and humans."
Daisy opened her mouth to argue, to call it a superstition, but the words died on her lips. She looked around. The path behind them—the one they had just walked—seemed narrower than she remembered. The shadows were stretching, merging into pools of absolute blackness.
A low, vibrating hum began to rise from the underbrush. The nocturnal bugs were waking up.
"It's... it's evening," Daisy stammered, checking her watch. "It's almost 7:30. It's going to be pitch black in ten minutes."
"We're stuck," Kian stated, the brutal reality of it hanging in the air between them.
"We can't be stuck!" Daisy stepped back, backing away from the rock. "I am not sleeping in here! Do you hear that buzzing? Those are Beedrills! And... and Spinaraks come out at night!"
She grabbed Kian's shirt, bunching the fabric in her fists. The arrogance of the Oak heiress was gone, replaced by the primal fear of a city girl lost in the wild.
"Fix this, Kian! Find the path! Use your... your brain or whatever! Just get us out!"
Kian looked down at her. She was terrified. Her breathing was shallow, her chest heaving against him. In the fading light, she looked vulnerable, stripped of her social armor.
He placed his hands over hers, peeling them off his shirt, but holding them firmly. His grip was warm, grounding.
"We can't walk anymore, Daisy," he said, his voice calm and authoritative. "If we keep moving in the dark, we'll just wander off the path completely or walk into a nest. We're going in circles because we can't see the landmarks."
"So... so what?" Daisy whispered, her eyes wet. "We just... stay here?"
"We camp," Kian said. "We find a clearing, we set up a perimeter, and we wait for sunrise. It's the only safe option."
Daisy looked at the dark, oppressive trees surrounding them. She looked at the mud on her shoes. She looked at Kian.
"I..." She swallowed hard, realizing she had no choice. She was trapped in the woods with a man she barely knew, surrounded by monsters, with no way out.
"Okay," she breathed, her voice barely a squeak. "But if a bug touches me... I'm going to scream."
Kian smirked, a dark glint in his eyes that the shadows couldn't hide.
"Don't worry, Daisy. I won't let the bugs touch you."
He turned, leading her off the path into a slightly more open grove.
"I'll keep you safe."