Just a short horror story based on what I think the Pale Garden + The Creaking could be like :)

Credit to MarkPan on YouTube!
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Truthfully? Gem wasn't sure why she set foot in these woods.

(Well, she did know why. She needed Birch wood.)

She didn't realize how... off everything felt. She thought it was leftover stress from the moon incident at the end of season 8.

Mist swirled around her, obscuring her vision. It was daylight out. Why was the fog so thick?

She trudged forward, thankful for the unlit lantern she brought with her. A quick strike and a warm orange glow lit up the surrounding area.

Still not enough to chase off the fog.

Gem gripped her axe tighter, the shimmers of enchantments giving the blue material an otherworldly shine. The lantern clipped easily to her belt, and the hybrid continued on, although much, much slower.

Everything was blanketed in white, the fog giving the pale trees surrounding her an eerie presence. The colorless forest haunted her.

The trees shouldn't be like this... where were their markings? Why is the grass so... pale?

Gem could understand if the biome was close to a taiga/tundra or any other cold biome. Soft waves of summer heat streamed down, debunking that theory.

The mist shouldn't be here, it's far too warm... so why-?

Gem stiffened, her other hand shooting to clutch the axe tighter.

Okay... that was probably just a mob... not anything to be worried about. No hostile mobs can spawn in broad daylight.

Even so... it didn't look like something she'd ever seen before...

Like an uprooted tree... but moving like a spider...?

No... it was just the mist messing with her...

But...

The creeping dread building in her chest crescendo'd. She hadn't seen any mobs ever since stepping foot here.

In fact, the mobs weren't the only things missing. Even though she felt the soft, warm rays of the sun, there wasn't a breeze at all.

No wind in the leaves, no insects buzzing away, any birdsong that might've been there was silenced the second she came here.

That was the saying about the forest going quiet?

"...Time to go..." Gem turned on her heel, not caring anymore about any Birch wood she needed. She could buy some later!

Behind Gem, unknown to her, the mist moved in closer...
_

How was it dark already? She remembered checking the time before she left, and the clock read 10:37am! It didn't take her that long to get there, did it?

As for the forest, despite it getting darker, the various whites and grays didn't fade.

Oddly enough... they almost got... brighter?

And despite not seeing any mobs... Gem was definitely being followed...

By what, though?

The meer thought sent chills through the otherwise skilled and confident girl.

Her lantern died out not long ago, leaving her in the dim, glowing forest.

Should she try her communicator? Gem reached into her inventory, pulling out a small, phone-like device. The screen was decorated in tiny stickers, depicting a bowl of soup, an azalea bush, a wolf, and a wizard hat.

[ERROR: CANNOT CONNECT TO SERVER. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER!]

What.

[ERROR: CANNOT CONNECT TO SERVER. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER!]

No. No... why?! Gem's heart jumped, staring at the dimly glowing screen. Why wasn't it working?!

[ERROR: CANNOT CONNECT TO SERVER. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER!]

[ERROR: CANNOT CONNECT TO SERVER. PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER!]

Gem sunk again a tree, unable to fight off the growing terror anymore. Night was fallin, she had no clue where she was, and she couldn't even call for help!

How could th-

No! Do not finish that thought!

Gem hoisted herself up. Her chest felt tight, the mist itself almost squeezing the life out of her.

Something caught her attention. Gem must've been going crazy...

Because that structure definitely isn't in the world code.

A small arch, and beyond it?

Gem stepped closer.

Flowers... unlike anything she's ever seen. All dusted in white, just like the forest.

It looked like any other garden she's been to. But devoid of any and all color, save for shades of gray.

Okay... this was too weird for her.

Gem stepped back-

-And immediately made contact with the wall.

Wall? No... there was supposed to be that archway!

Had she gotten turned around?

The garden was the same. Still massive, still colorless. Still creepy as ever.

No. Nuh uh, no way was she doing this! Gem hooked her hands into the vines along the wall, proud of her climbing capabilities.

Gem glanced down for a second. Maybe it was to get her footing, but when she looked up, the top of the wall was just as far away as before.

What?

No, it couldn't have been that tall! It was only four or so blocks tall when she started! How was it now eight!?

Gem gritted her teeth. Okay... if that's how you wanna play...

Even as she gripped the vines, as she refused to tear her eyes away from the top, it stayed out of reach, far from the tips of her fingers.

And she slipped.

Gem shrieked as she tumbled, body connection with the hard ground. She coughed, blearily looking up.

A spike of panic shot through her. Something stood not thirty blocks away, its tall, gangly body unmoving.

Gem forced herself up, the axe her brought with her pointed at the... thing, in threat.

It didn't move. Not a flinch, not a creak, nothing. It just stayed there. Staring at her.

Or... she thought it was.

The... thing... it didn't have a face. Gem's head ached at just looking at it. Its long, branch-like limbs (arms??) stuck out like a scarecrow's, twig fingers curled and sharpened into points. Its body was pale, a crude mimicry of a Birch tree, but so, so wrong.

Gem held her axe tighter, hefting it over her shoulder.

It twitched, Gem grabbed for her communicator.
_

Gem's communicator was found at her base the next day by a worried Pearl. It wouldn't turn on, so Pearl brought it to Xisuma, in hopes it could clue them in on Gem's whereabouts.

When he finally get did it working, there was a message in the chat, already typed in.

[Geminitay]: Hel
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I needed to write this. I love writing horror, and it's been so long since I've done it!

I did take some creative liberties when making the Creaking, such as removing the face MarkPan gave it.

I just think it would be so much creepier if it didn't have a face-