There had always been an off-putting mood about the forests of this world, Wilson thought to himself as he walked. It was midday, and through the gaps in the trees the sky still threatened to rain. Shoes squelching from the mud he pushed his way through the pines, making sure the sharp branches didn't whack back into his face.

When the trees thinned he stopped to take a deep breath and exhaled, watching the breath from his lungs fog out into the air. It was getting colder, which meant winter wasn't too far away. The very thought filled him with dread. No winter was even easy, no matter how many he'd been through it.

Taking out his map with a sigh he glanced briefly at the large forest they were in. Far away was the grassland, filled with the tall grass and the strange, pleasant beasts covered in thick fur that he would need soon.

"Blasted, Bloody Trees!"

Wilson flinched at the voice behind him; he still wasn't quite comfortable to their newest member lack of stealth. Behind him was Woodie, thrashing violently in a mass of pine needles. He tore himself from a branch, throwing a handful of pine needles into the air with a loud huff.

"I'm going to chop down every. Last. One. Of you stinking trees if it's the last thing I do! No Lucy, you're not stopping me this time!"

"Please, show a little decorum would you…" Wilson grumbled, annoyed at how loud the man was speaking. Didn't that fool realize how dangerous this realm was already?

"Ah shut it Doc, if you had been torn to pieces too, you'd be saying the same thing!"

"I'm no Doctor, Woodie."

Wilson heard the wild man growl, pulling out the needles from his bread. "Well, sometimes you bloody act like one."

He whipped his head back, eyebrow raised. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Woodie chuckled, twirling the ax in his hands. "Have a guess, since you're so smart."

With a scowl, Wilson stuffed his map back into his pocket. The stupid fool! is he pushing my limits on purpose!? He usually could handle rude behavior, god, some of the other members of the group border lined insanity. But he had found his composure failing, his nerves twitching again.

Wilson took a deep breath. Calm down Wilson, you're okay. Woodie is merely…. matching your intelligence and persona to that of a doctor…

Wilson's eye twitched.

"C-come now Woodie, let's be off…"

Woodie snickered, guessing Wilson had got the insult in his comment, however, what Woodie didn't know is that Wilson was ready to smack the fool over the head. It was only his gentlemanly dignity that was holding him back.

They moved on through the dark forest and much to Wilson's irritation they were forced to stop now and again as Woodie became stuck, roaring insult after insult at the motionless pines. By the time the sun began to set they had barely made any distance, and with that Wilson finally had enough.

"That's it!" He snarled, whirling round to face Woodie. "IF you cannot keep up with my pace, then find your own way back to camp!"

Woodie stared at him in stunned silence, shocked that Wilson was truly angry with him. The man seemed lost for words, mouth trying to form some sort of reply. When Wilson scowl only deepened, Woodie snapped, spewing out his own fury.

"What the hell is your problem? It's not my fault that these trees keep grabbing at me!"

"Do you see me covered in scratches!? Stop thrashing around like a bull and actually avoid them!"

For a moment Wilson thought he had finally hit something in Woodie's brain; that he realized that if he had the brilliance to slow down he might evade the most troublesome sticks. However, the wild man suddenly bristled and raised his red ax high, storming off to the closest tree.

"Bah! I've had enough of this, Come on Lucy! Let's teach these pines a lesson."

"What on earth are you- "

Before Wilson could finish Woodie started madly chopping down a pine. In a series of almost inhuman speed the tree fell, smashing hard into the dirt. No sooner had he stopped he turned to another tree, grinning madly.

"Woodie stop! Are you insane! You can't- Oh fine! Continue that madness, I've had enough of you!"

Wilson turned and stormed off towards the valley, hoping he could make it before it became dark. If Woodie will not listen to me then he better get used to being alone; see who comes crying back when he's attacked by spiders!

Crack!

The familiar chilling sound froze Wilson to the core, stopping him in his tracks. Woodie stopped, his ax still embedded into the trunk of a large tree. It shuddered, another crack ringing out. Wilson glanced back to watch the tree shudder, every branch trembling as it awakened with a deep groan. The redhead looked at Wilson with confusion, not understanding why the stupid pine was moving. But the bearded man froze when he saw the other man. The look of pure terror on Wilson's face made every hair on Woodie's beard stand on end. Whatever was happening was bad. Really bad.

"Run… ".Wilson whispered, shifting back towards the tree line. Woodie wrenched Lucy out of the truck, backing off. But a growl made the man look up, only for his mouth to drop open as clawed hands extended out of the tree and a face…. an evil, a wicked face formed on its needles.

"RUN!" roared Wilson, turning and bolting into the trees, Woodie barely stepped back before one it's those clawed hand rushed at him, gorging the ground he had just stood. Wilson ran, panic running through his mind. The two of them couldn't stop it on their own, not with the gear they had. It would follow them, follow them ceaselessly till they weaken and could run no more. Of course, they could just run back to camp, Wilson thought; together they all might have a chance. But one look at the sky made Wilson scrap that plan.

For the night was approaching, and with it, an even bigger enemy would come.

Woodie suddenly was to Wilson's right, face plastered with shock. "What the bloody hell was That!?"

Wilson slowed to a brisk walk, much to Woodie's surprise. There was no point in running as fast as they could since though the thing moved slowly. It never tires. "I've… called them Treeguards. They appear when… well you chop down trees, it's feasible it became angry when you were axing all those pines, it's kin, down."

"WHAT!? There are freak'in monster trees here!?" Woodie stopped and grabbed Wilson collar, pulling him close in his shock.

"Woodie!" gasped Wilson as the Treeguard broke ground, lunging to attack. The two jumped away and rushed off, just avoiding it in time.

"What'll we do?" Woodie hissed through gritted teeth when they came back together. Wilson frowned, slowing again and looking back. "I'm not sure. If the others were here, we could stand ground, attack it fast and hard. Even the two of us could do it, however, the risk would still be too high. But…" Wilson looked at the sky "…. Night's coming, so confronting it would be suicidal. In the dark, we can't see it… and-"

"That thing will show up…"

"Yes."

Woodie swore rudely, "Then we'll outrun it! It's too slow and stupid to catch us!"

"You don't get it." Wilson scowled. "These things are hunters, it will track us down endlessly. No matter how far we run or where we go, this thing will follow us. Trust me, I know firsthand."

"Then we'll have – wait" Woodie paled "What do you mean "Know"?"

Wilson turned away from the groaning Treeguard to glance at the man. He didn't really like him; after all, it was him that got them into this nasty mess in the first place. Not only that, so far this man had treated his predicament in this place like it was some sort of strange vacation. It tore his nerves at how carefree this man treated their torment. But, Wilson thought sourly, he was now like them, like him. Trapped in a nightmarish world with no way out, no hope.

He was, annoyingly, "family" now.

"I have… awoken one of these before... it chased me, hunted me for months." Wilson couldn't quite help stop the dread that crept up into his voice. He could only remember those months in his early years here faintly, but how could he have forgotten them? The nights running in pitch darkness with nothing but a torch and a mad tree behind him in the gloom. "These things are strong, one good hit from it and you're down. We need to form a plan. And quickly."

Woodie huffed and leaned in closer. "But you got away! You wouldn't be here if it got ya! How did you shake it off before?"

Wilson bit his lip. In those months he had been half insane, barely able to remember his name. There had been a fire at one point; could it... No that wasn't it, the Treeguard still was there. Then it had to be something else…

"There… was a swamp at one point… I can't recall it well, but I ran through marshland and… lost it?"

In truth, he couldn't remember. There was something in the swampland that had stopped the Treeguard, and he had just wandered off. Next thing, the Treeguard was gone. Woodie didn't see Wilson's confused look and laughed. "Then that's where I need to go!"

Without warning Woodie suddenly pushed Wilson away from him, the sudden force causing him to trip over his feet. Wilson crash into the dirt, feeling his jaw jar at the impact. Furious he twisted back to the redhead, spitting out the grit that had got caught in his mouth. "W-what the devil are you- "

Looking up at him he watched as Woodie took out his ax again and turn towards the Treeguard. Over his shoulder, he spoke, a look on his face that Wilson had never seen before. "… I know you don't exactly like me. I'm not as stupid as you take me for… but," Woodie beamed wildly. "I'm the one that got us in this into this mess, so I'm the one that's gonna fix it!"

"Woodie Wait- "

"OI PINEHEAD! Are you looking for ME?!"

The Treeguard pushed itself gently through the trees, rumbling at the ax-wielding man. Its clawed hand began to slowly reach out to him, trying to snatch him before he could move.

"THAT's it, big fella, come on." Woodie backed off, smashing his ax into tree trunks as he went. Enraged at the violence against its kind the Treeguard screeched, and with speed it hasn't shown before lunged at Woodie, overlooking Wilson completely.

"I'll meet you back at camp, Doc!" Woodie yelled as he dashed off into the forest, leading the monster away.

"NO! The darkness its- "

"Forget about me! I can handle a night out camping! Worry about yourself!"

Wilson could barely make out the last of Woodie's words as the forest muffled them. As the sounds of the Treeguard gradually faded, Wilson was too shocked to move. Woodie's sudden act of heroism had utterly taken him off guard. In the days that he had known him he had always thought of Woodie as rash, but to casually risk his life? it was something that didn't even cross his mind. He just prayed that Woodie wouldn't get himself killed because of him.

"Night…" Wilson muttered, noticing how the light was waning. He pushed himself off the ground and took off his backpack, searching for the materials he would need to make a torch.

With the torch lit, Wilson watched the last of the light fade, till he was engulfed in darkness. For a moment Wilson panicked, the old fear creeping back into his mind, and for a second Wilson was back to his first night here. Alone, shivering in the dark as that thing hissing around him. He felt his legs begin to shake as the memory overwhelmed him. Fearfully he seized his side, reliving the agony that throbbed there that night and for an instant, he was paralyzed in fear. But the Woodie's brave act with the Treeguard snapped him back to reality. He removed his hand slowly, half expecting to find it dripping with blood. But thankfully nothing but the small pin-pricks wounds from the rose thorns were there. Shaking his head Wilson took a deep breath. He needed to make his way forward, to the grassland and make camp somewhere safe.

He moved slow, eyes trying to scan the darkness in front. The whispers were back, mocking, taunting him into madness. He found himself running faster, moving less carefully as he tried hard not to let them get to him. The torchlight was his safely, within it he was fine-

It hissed. That thing was right next to him, wanting his death. Wilson shivered, the old scars aching on his torso. He bolted forward, stepping over uneven ground-

-Only for his foot to touch nothing.

Wilson gasped as the giant crevice revealed itself in the torches' light. But he couldn't stop himself as he tumbled forward, his feet sinking into the air. He tried to twist around, hoping to grab the rim before he dropped. But he had been running too fast, his momentum propelling his descent. His fingers clawed at the loose edge, the dirt crumbling in his hands. Before he could even cry out he fell into the cave, torch snuffing out as he fell into darkness.