Chapter 11: Into the Woods

Elizabeth sprinted through the woods, trying to keep Elliot in sight through the canopies. He, in turn, was tracking the Gengar, who was hurriedly moving through the forest, fueled by what seemed like desperation. The other agents were following behind, though they were not as eager as she was. Each had a bag with equipment, since they had no idea what to expect from the box once they found it. Adams was worried it was radioactive, so they had Geiger counters and other detection devices, as well as protective gear.

Elliot turned abruptly to the left and Elizabeth lost him for a moment. She stopped where she stood and looked around. She heard the other agents following behind her. The bushes and trees rustled around her. Gengar was silent. Elliot roared in the distance, and she turned in his direction, breaking back into a sprint.

She hurried forward, seeing Elliot intermittently through the branches overhead. She wasn't sure if it was the best strategy, and she would be much happier in Kanto with Cara, but she knew they needed to find that box.

She ran through a Spinarak web, triggering a nearby Ariados to turn and lunge at her. She kicked at it, but the Ariados was too strong. A blast of fire flew over Elizabeth's should, toward the ground, slamming into the ground next to the Ariados. The Ariados, startled, disengaged and disappeared into the brush. Elizabeth turned and looked behind her. Rebecca was standing on a nearby branch, her chest out and mane glowing a dim red glow.

"Good job," Elizabeth said before hurrying forward.

Victor, Rebecca, and Isabella were with the agents, providing protection from the wild Pokémon in the forest. Isabella was blending in with the foliage and, even if she acted, would remain hidden for most of the mission. Elizabeth continued following after Elliot. She passed a few other Pokémon on the way, but none gave her and issue and most scattered when she came into view. On occasion, she heard Rebecca or Victor engaging with Pokémon behind her, but it was always few, far between, and distant. They were not trying to hurt the Pokémon, just redirect them.

She heard a series of screams before her and assumed that Gengar had come across a group of hikers or campers. As she continued forward she entered into a clearing and saw a small troop of children. Some of their chairs and equipment had been upended, no doubt due to Gengar's sudden appearance. As she ran through the camp, she apologized for the disruption, barely noticing any of them. She did notice that it was a troop of Roleo Scouts. They were probably working on their camping badges, but were certainly not expecting a Gengar to appear in the middle of the day.

As she continued passed the camp, she heard the children call out in awe. The Eevee had probably run through, impressing them. Though there were many mature Eevee in Roleo, very few of them were Glaceon. Elizabeth ran for a few minutes longer, keeping close on Gengar's tail.

She came into a clearing ad ran straight through Gengar, who was standing there looking dejected. She slid to a halt ad looked to him. "What's wrong?"

"Geng," Gengar said solemnly. He indicated the ground around him.

"Is this where it landed?" Elizabeth asked. Gengar nodded. The Eevee emerged from the brush into the clearing with curious looks. Elizabeth looked around angrily for a moment before shouting. "Then where the hell is it? Everyone, look for the box. It must be here somewhere."

They searched the clearing for a few minutes before the other naturalists arrived. "Sorry for the delay, we got caught up at that scout camp."

Elizabeth suddenly remembered what they saw in Gengar's memory. "The Scouts! There were campers on the mountain that night. Maybe they are the same ones? That was only two days ago."

Elizabeth raced back into the forest toward the scout camp. She emerged from the brush and one of the troop leaders approached her. He was tall and round and had a beard and long hair tied in an unkempt pony tail. "Excuse me ma'am, what's going on? Are you chasing that Gengar? Are we in danger?"

"No, no, sir, you are not in danger. How long have you been camping out here?" Elizabeth asked.

"We've been here all week. Now what's the meaning of this with you and you friends running through our camp?" the man asked.

"About two nights ago, a Skarmory flew over this mountain carrying a crate of some kind. It dropped it not far from your camp. Do you know what happened to?" Elizabeth asked. Elliot landed beside her, trying to look tough. She gestured to him to stand down and he relaxed his posture.

"Crate? We found it and put it with our trash. Over there," the man replied, indicating an area near a fallen tree. She moved over to the tree as the rest of the agents arrived. She saw the pieces lying there and directed the agents to pick it up.

"Is there something wrong with them?" the camper asked.

"No, we just need to figure out where it came from," Elizabeth assured him. "We'll be out of here soon. Did you see anything that night?"

"We heard something overhead, and we heard the crash, but it was dark. I went to check it out but all I found was the crate. Mostly intact. Didn't want to leave it there, was going to take it to throw it out when we left," the man replied.

"We'll have to take it from here. Thank you," Elizabeth said.

As the other agents gathered the pieces of the crate, Elizabeth returned to Elliot. He was stubborn like she was, though seemed glad that their task was done. She stroked his neck tenderly and he turned to nuzzle her. The Eevee came up to her, Rebecca rubbing up on her legs. It seemed that they had done what they came to do. The agents would have to survey the area for radiation or other issues from the event, but so far it seemed like there was nothing.

She looked around and noticed that the Gengar was not there. She walked back toward the clearing, wondering if he had left. She thought he had felt close to her, so she wasn't sure why he wasn't there now. "Gengar?" she said quietly. She didn't want to shout out, especially since the she didn't know the Gengar's name. "Where did you go?

Elizabeth felt alone. Even though the Eevee were with her, they were not really hers. They were always Cara's, and though they clearly loved her, they were not there because of her. She thought, even if just for a moment, that the Gengar was sticking around because it liked her. Now it seemed that it had just felt obligated.

Once all of the pieces of the crate were collected and the naturalists began heading back toward their trucks, she stood in the clearing alone. She sat in the quiet for only a moment before she heard Elliot overhead. He was laughing. She looked up and saw Elliot and Gengar laughing overhead. It seemed that the Gengar would be sticking around a little longer.

"Come on, you two, let's get back to headquarters," Elizabeth called up to them. They turned toward her and started making their way down to her.