As the inertia took effect, one thought rang loud in Miles' mind. He was fortunate to have worn a seatbelt.

He was flung towards the back of the passenger side seat but was yanked to a guttering halt by the seat-belt. It still didn't save his face from slamming into the seat. The pain in his forehead and nose was immediate and startling, stunning him.

Miles fell back, crumpling awkwardly against the seat. There he lay for a few harrowing seconds, his mind struggling to comprehend what had happened while the scent of rank copper filled his nose and began seeping out, warming his pale skin and painting it with streams of blood.

Finally, Miles' thoughts managed to catch up to the current moment. They had... crashed? But why? There hadn't been any other cars around, at least any he could see. Where there had been so much noise moments before, there was none now. It was a deathly kind of quiet, one that would make someone break out in goosebumps.

After a minute Miles was able to unbuckle the seat-belt. He slumped forwards, a hand grasping at his aching forehead. His other hand lightly trailed across his upper lip, and he winced when he confirmed the existence of what he thought was there.

"Sir? Are you okay?" Miles called out. No answer, and he instantly grew concerned. He crawled up to the front seat, brushing aside shards of broken glass as he did so. Through the shattered windshield he could see the front end of the car thoroughly smashed against the tree. It was totaled. But looking to the driver's seat, Miles' heart dropped.

Mr. Wright lay with his head against the steering wheel. Glass dusted his shirt and graying navy hair. The airbag hadn't activated, which resulted him in smashing his forehead against the wheel. Blood dripped down the wheel, the sight and smell of which turned Miles' stomach.

"Oh shit, no..!" Miles choked, fumbling for the man's wrist like he'd seen people do on TV. Fortunately, there was still a pulse, and Miles sighed in relief at that. But with Mr. Wright unconscious, Miles would have to be the one to call for help. Mr. Wright wasn't wearing his Xtransceiver, so Miles searched the pile of papers that had been on the passenger side seat and were now all over the floor.

Faint pale illumination could be seen under a couple of papers, and Miles made a hopeful grab for what he was sure was the Xtransceiever. And he was right, it was the device... cracked and displaying a dreaded white screen of death. Miles' hope died in an instant. There was no getting in contact with anyone.

Fear and panic began to rise in Miles. Cursing to himself, he looked out of the car window and to the road to see if there was someone out there, perhaps another passing car. There was nobody there. But at the same time, there was something. Miles couldn't make it out too well due to the waning light. Curiosity sparked in him. He made his way to the backseat and began trying to open the door. It took some forcing, but it opened with a loud squeal of twisting metal.

The moment Miles got out of the car, a sudden rustle in the nearby bushes made him flinch. A flash of green and white dashed out to the thing on the road. The red and blue bouquets on its hands combined with the white petals on its head made it easily identifiable as a Roserade. Miles shuddered; he hated Grass-type Pokémon.

The Roserade seemed to stand there for a moment, staring down at the thing. It then collapsed to its knees, letting out a wail. Miles was utterly chilled by the sound. It was like a woman howling in anguish. But over what? Daring to inch a bit closer, he could finally see what the thing was.

It was small and green, looking like a pile of mashed plants. Unlike the Roserade, the pile was light green and yellow. And now he could pick up the scent of cut grass, except far stronger and wetter. It didn't take long for Miles to realize what the pile had once been. When he did, he was horrified.

Oh Arceus, what did we do? We just killed—He couldn't bear to think of the rest of it as bile surged up his throat. He gagged and clamped a hand to his mouth, just barely preventing himself from being sick. He couldn't believe that this was happening.

But the noise that had escaped him caught the attention of the Roserade. She stood up and turned, meeting Miles' gaze. He froze, staring at her. And she stared back. Even from where he was, Miles could feel the malice from Roserade's glare. She let out a violent hiss, and ethereal leaves sprung from her bouquets, pointed at Miles.

He only had a second to dive back into the car and shut the door before the leaves struck the metal and shattered the window. Sick terror filled Miles, compounding even more when the still-hissing Roserade began to approach the car.

Miles looked to the unconscious Mr. Wright. As much as Miles knew the caseworker didn't care about him, he still cared about the man who always tried to cheer him up. Even if he wasn't dead now, if that Roserade got to him, he would die.

Nobody would miss me anyways, Miles thought as he crawled to the opposite side door. This door opened easier, and he tumbled out onto the grass. He quickly stood up and faced the car. "Over here, you piece of Tauros-shit!" he yelled angrily. The moment he heard the responding hiss, he ran. The briefest relief filled him when he heard Roserade follow him, but it was replaced with terror again.

In no time at all they were deep in the forest. Miles slapped away any branches or leaves that impeded his progress as he blindly ran. Of course, all the noise kept the Roserade right behind him.

Leaves whizzed past Miles' head, and he stumbled to the side to avoid them, tripping in the process. He landed hard on his backside, the pain sharp and startling. He let out a curse, which received an angry shriek in return. Roserade was coming, and quickly.

Unable to think of anything else, Miles scooted backwards into a bush, burying himself among the leaves. He clamped a hand over his mouth again and tensed. As much as he knew he was unwanted, he didn't want to die.

A burst of green trailed by humming flashes of purple and green light flew past his bush, almost making him shout in surprise. A bite to the tongue stifled it, and he listened to Roserade run further away. Though the sounds faded, he didn't dare move. He waited a minute, two minutes, five, ten... Eventually, he became convinced that he was alone.

Miles let out a sigh of relief. The moment he did, something brushed against his arm. He cried out, and he chastised himself the moment he did. Through the leaves, he could see what seemed to be... a pink nose? A brown-furred face shoved further into the leaves, blinking at Miles with intrigued, beady, black eyes.

"Bun?" it asked.

Miles couldn't help but stare dumbly at the Buneary as it stared back. Worry squirmed in him as he waited for it to attack. But it didn't. "Uh, hey," he managed to mutter. It smiled and pulled its face from the bush. He didn't intend to follow it, but he wanted to get out of the bush as well.

It was nearly completely dark now. Shadows draped the ground and filled the gaps between the trees. But that wasn't too much of a problem since... Miles froze. Which way had he come from? He slowly turned in a circle, using the bush as a marker for where he was last facing. It didn't help at all, since the trees all looked the same no matter which way he looked.

He was lost.

The realization was startling, and it kicked his heart back into high gear. "Dammit!" he choked out through gritted teeth, fear rising in him again. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

"Eary?"

He jolted as something tugged at his jeans leg. He glanced down to see the Buneary looking up at him, concerned. The rabbit then pointed at Miles, then itself, and finally off into the distance. It then repeated the gestures, squeaking as it did.

"What, you want me to follow you?" Miles asked. Buneary nodded, smiling. Miles' lips pursed. He almost refused. Then again, what else was he going to do? It wasn't like he could get any more lost. With a nod to Buneary, it bounced a bit in happiness before scampering off. Miles chased after it, which was easy since it moved slow enough for him to follow.

The trees eventually opened up into a small clearing, which seemed to have been created when a rather large tree had fallen over. With a little cry, Buneary vanished into the log.

Like hell I'm goin' in there, Miles thought, scoffing. But the longer he stood out there, the more uneasy he became. Various Pokémon cries sounded around him, turned eerie in the darkness. A particularly loud hoot from a Noctowl made him jump, and he reluctantly crawled into the log.

The log's interior was lined with moss, seemingly hauled in by the Buneary itself. It was waiting for Miles, and though he couldn't see its face, he could hear it squeak happily. Miles could make out the dark shape of the Buneary as it sat on the moss. With little choice, Miles laid down on the moss.

Within minutes Buneary was asleep, which surprised Miles. It was a wild Pokémon, so why wasn't it more afraid of him? Then again, he wasn't the one that could control the elements or shatter rocks with ease, so it made a bit more sense.

When he was sure it was asleep, he took his eyes off it and rolled onto his back, staring at the wood inches above his face. He was still in shock over what had happened. But he hoped that Mr. Wright was okay. At least he knew he'd bought the man some time to be rescued. With that thought hanging in his mind, Miles eventually fell asleep as well.