This one's not so much horror as much as a bit of a darker one shot than some of the fluffier ones.

Tw: Violence?

"Hello, it's nice to meet you!" I said, giving them a quick wave. "Welcome! I'm your Forest Helper during your stay here!"

"What's a Forest Helper?" The one in the back questioned, a scowl on his face. He was immediately elbowed by one with long hair, rolling his eyes in return.

"Anything you need while on your vacation, I'm here to help with!" I smiled brightly. "I'm also here to guide you to the cabin you'll be staying in!"

The long haired man in the front crossed his arms. "Thank you, ma'am."

"My name is Natalie! May I know your names?" I requested.

"I'm Hunter," the one in the front said, "in the back is Crosshair. Next to him is Wrecker, Tech is the one with the goggles, and Echo is the one scomp."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all! I hope you enjoy your stay with us!" I said, beaming at them. "And if you follow me, I'll lead you to the cabin you'll be staying in!"

"Why're ya smiling so much?" Wrecker questioned, staring at me in confusion.

"Because this forest is so much fun!" I exclaimed with a giggle,

Crosshair looked around skeptically. "It's dirt and trees." He kicked a pinecone with a scowl. "This place sucks."

"Crosshair, this was the only vacation we could afford," Hunter tiredly reprimanded, as if they'd had this argument many times before. "Cut and Suu are watching Omega for us, and we're not going to go back after we made Omega so excited to visit them. We'll stay here for the week that we booked, then we'll leave."

"You'll love your stay!" I cheerily said, face muscles growing strained from the constant smiling. "Just follow me to your cabin!"

"I for one am thrilled to be out in nature," Tech chimed in, making Crosshair glower at him. "It's not often we're outside, aside from when we run missions for Cid. This will give us a chance to relax."

"Why can't we relax on the ship, inside?" Crosshair groaned, whining a little.

"Don't fight in front of the nice lady!" Wrecker scolded, giving me an apologetic smile. "Sorry 'bout him."

"It's no problem at all!" I laughed merrily, waving a hand dismissively. "If I'm being honest, I don't love it here either."

Immediately after the words slipped past my lips, my eyes widened. What I had just uttered... was not good.

Echo snorted. "Even the employees don't like it here. I'm with Crosshair on this one. I say we go home."

"We're not leaving, so grow up!" Hunter snapped before rubbing at his temples with a heavy sigh. "Ma'am, I am so sorry. These idiots don't know what they're talking about. Please just show us to our cabin."

"Of course!" I pleasantly said and led them through the woods, holding my lantern up to illuminate the darkness. I stepped carefully over the roots of the trees that stuck out of the ground, casting glances over my shoulder occasionally to see if they were still following. "Please be careful and don't wander the forest, especially at night..."

"Does it get even darker than this at night?" Hunter questioned, holding a branch out of Echo's way. "It's already so dark, and the sun is in the middle of the sky."

I shook my head, shuddering at the thought of what happened here at night. "It does get dark in the night, but that's not the reason why you shouldn't go out in here. The wildlife here is not something you'd know how to handle. You wouldn't want to handle it either."

Tech perked with interest. "I would like to see it, perhaps even document it."

I blanched. "No! Are you not listening to me? You don't leave your cabin after the sun sets, got it?"

"Why would you make a vacation spot here if it's dangerous?" Crosshair swatted a bug away from his face. 

"This is your cabin," I said, ignoring him. I pointed at the wooden structure.

"I would classify this as a treehouse, not a cabin," Tech remarked, gazing up at it.

A wooden house was suspended in one of the tall trees, a retractable ladder swinging, even though there was no wind in such a dense forest.

"This is what we gave credits for?" Crosshair asked is disbelief as he stared at it.

"There are a few rules while you stay here," I said, making Wrecker groan. "Number one: when the sun goes down, be inside your shelter with the ladder up! Number two: while you enjoy the many activities our resort has to offer, please respect the other guests!"

"That means no wrestling in the river," Hunter said, shooting a pointed glare at Wrecker.

"Number three: have fun!" I finished with a giggle. "I'll be off now, but if you have any questions, inside is a comm to my direct channel!" I waved before skipping off.

"She's odd." I heard Hunter say as I hurried off. "She's too positive."

I rolled my eyes, the smile melting off my face once I was finally away from them. I returned to my home and hung my lantern on the wall. 

I was so busy thinking about what Hunter had said, I forgot to roll up my ladder.

I made myself dinner and ate it quickly before grabbing my knife and carving away at a chunk of wood on my table. I had taken to carving lately as a pastime, since there was no signal out here to watch holoshows with.

I was trying to make a butterfly, but it looked more like a rotten piece of fruit.

I was knocked to the floor suddenly, my work clattering to the floor. I tried to scramble away, but I was yanked back to my assailant.

"Let go!" I shrieked, glancing back. As soon as I saw them, I froze.

"You said something bad about the resort that painted it badly. Do you know that does for our reputation?"

"It slipped out, okay?" I slammed my foot into its face. The grip on me weakened and I pulled myself to my feet, finally staring down at it.

It had glazed over eyes that were a dull red and jagged teeth that sneered at me. It had yellow hair that hung limply in its face. 

This was my boss.

"This is strike one!" It hissed, grabbing my wrist. "When you reach three strikes... I'll have to let you go from your position. You need to draw in as many customers in as possible, for me to eat!"

I inhaled sharply as its nails dug into my skin. "I won't mess up, I promise."

"Strike two."

"What?" I exclaimed. "What did I do?"

"How could you possibly know the future?" It snarled, tightening its grip on my wrist. "Don't make promises you can't keep!"

It shoved me into the wall, and I fell to the ground. It disappeared from my field of vision as it leaped from the treehouse I called home, plummeting to the forest floor.

I'd have to be careful of what I said.

"This place is a mess," Crosshair grumbled, running a finger along the dusty tabletop. "Do you still wanna stay?"

"I believe this is blood," Tech announced, examining a smear on the wall.

"I don't know what this is," Echo said, wrinkling his nose at stains on one of the beds. "And I don't really want to find out."

"It's fine," Hunter said, mostly to himself. "We can still enjoy our vacation."

"The sun is settin', I'm pullin' the ladder up," Wrecker declared as he hoisted it up.

"What's in this forest that makes it so dangerous?" Crosshair demanded, a hint of panic to his words.

Tech peered out one of the cracks in the walls. "Unknown. It is most likely the wildlife, as Natalie said. Were you not listening to her?"

"I can handle a few spiders," Crosshair retorted. "And why would I listen to her? I didn't expect to have to listen to someone! It's a karking vacation for maker's sake!"

"Let's just get some sleep." Hunter shooed them all to the different bunks. "Actually... maybe we should sleep on the floor."

"My dream for a vacation," Echo grumbled and found an open spot beside on the the beds. He plopped himself down on the ground and scowled as he closed his eyes.

Wrecker settled next to him. "It'll be okay."

"This is a vacation!" Hunter huffed, upset at how they were acting. "At least pretend to enjoy yourself!"

"Look at this," Tech dryly said. "I'm going to sleep on the floor, when I have a bunk on my heated ship with blankets. How could I not have more fun?"

"Didn't know you knew sarcasm," Echo remarked, not bothering to open his eyes. "I myself know absolutely nothing about it."

"Surely you are kidding." Tech frowned. "You use sarcasm on a daily basis."

"Never mind." 

Crosshair rested his head on Hunter's shoulder, mumbling something about if he was going to sleep in a treehouse, he was going to make Hunter suffer. Hunter didn't complain, relieved Crosshair was starting to come to terms with their week long stay. It might've been uncomfortable, but it was well worth it if it meant Crosshair stopped whining.

"Good morning!" I cheerily said as they as slid down the ladder to join me on the ground"Did everyone sleep well?"

Crosshair opened his mouth, but was cut off as Hunter said, "We slept fine, thanks."

"Excellent!" I gushed. "Now, what activities do you want to do today?"

"What is there to do?" Echo asked. 

"We could take a hike? Or there's a wood carving lesson?" I suggested, throwing ideas out. "There's a greenhouse with local fauna if you wanted to see it? Or archery?"

"Archery," Crosshair immediately said, a glint of interest in his gaze.

"I wanna go with Crosshair!" Wrecker announced, clapping a disgruntled Crosshair on the back. 

"I'll take the carving lesson," Hunter decided. 

Echo frowned. "Nothing sounds like fun to me."

"You could just stay in the cabin and relax," I proposed.

Echo glanced up at the treehouse. "Maybe I will do that... I could take a nap."

"I would enjoy a tour of the greenhouse," Tech hopefully said. "Is there perhaps someone who could guide me in this endeavour?"

"I actually care for the greenhouse myself," I proudly said. "So I'll lead you through it. Hunter, someone named John will come to take you to the lesson, alright? Just stay here and he'll find you."

Hunter nodded and sat on a tree stump. Wrecker and Crosshair shuffled off to find the archery range, (hopefully) following my instructions on how to reach it.

"Come on, Tech." I began walking to the greenhouse. 

I heard Tech's hurried footsteps as he ran after me. I guided him to the greenhouse, where the building was overflowing with plants. I ran a finger along one of the pink flowers, telling Tech about that specific plant.

"Fascinating," Tech remarked. "So it only triggers a reaction when someone inhales it?"

"Yes." I nodded. "And only when the pollen is inhaled, not the scent of the actual flower."

"And what did you say it was called?" Tech questioned, taking notes on his datapad.

"Pink Sleep," I told him, dusting my hands off on my pants as I walked to the next one.

We continued our talk of the plants for maybe an hour, and he seemed impressed that I maintained it by myself. It was amusing how many questions he had, but I was happy to answer them.

"Natalie," John said, interrupting Tech and I. "The boss wants to see you." Hunter trailed behind him aimlessly, their lesson on wood carving no doubt finished if they had come all the way to the greenhouse.

I stiffened, faltering in my steps to the vine I was going to show Tech next. "Now?"

John nodded, giving me a pitying glance. "The boss is waiting for you at the... edge of the woods."

"Sorry, Tech," I apologetically said. "Looks like I have to go."

"That is quite alright." Tech smiled kindly, glancing to Hunter. "I think I'll go off with Hunter now to find our next activity."

I walked with wobbly legs to the edge of the forest, where my boss was waiting. I wondered what I could have done to need to be reprimanded for, nausea rising in me. I spotted it up ahead, chest rising and falling rapidly with its shallow breaths.

"Natalie," it hissed, digging its nails into a tree. "Do you know why I called you here?"

"No." I stood at a reasonable range away, body tensed, ready to spring away.

It sighed in disappointment. "I keep you here for a reason. I don't eat you, and this is the thanks I get?"

I remained silent.

"You reached your third strike earlier. You told a client about the Pink Sleep. You know I use that to make them more compliant when I eat them."

My eyes widened and I took a step back. "No! Please!"

It cackled. "I'd eat you myself, but I've tasted your blood before. Too sweet for my taste. I'll feed you to the Teriols."

A strangled sob ripped itself from my throat. "I'm begging you! I won't make another mistake!"

It's lips pulled back in a cruel smile. "John will fill your place nicely until I find someone else to be the Forest Helper."

I bolted, sprinting in the other direction in the hopes that I might manage to survive.

It was a futile effort, since it sprung forwards and pinned me to the dirt, letting out a snarl. "You dare run from me?"

"Please..." I whispered, a tear escaping my eye. "Please!"

My hands were roughly pulled behind me, rope being tied around them. I let out a scream before cloth was stuffed into my mouth, another fabric wrapping around my head to keep it in place. 

I was dragged into the woods.

"I wonder if they'll kill you before they rip the meat from your bones," it hissed into my ear before giggling hysterically. "Good luck."

It left me there as the sun began to set.

Part two will be the final of the Halloween stories for this year!