At a fork in the road, there wasn't a town for miles around, yet, strangely enough, there was a playground.
A rust-covered swing, two rocking seesaws, and a battered slide stood there.
A gust of wind blew past.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
The swing swayed gently. On closer inspection, a transparent figure seemed to flash past.
"Hee hee hee hee hee..."
A child's voice and footsteps suddenly sounded, then abruptly vanished.
The wind stopped, and the swing and rocking seesaws grew still again.
A red-haired girl in a white dress hurried over.
"Where is this?"
The red-haired girl looked puzzled, her delicate brows knitting and her red eyes filled with confusion.
A fluffy, foxlike Pokémon suddenly popped out of her arms. It was Fennekin, one of the Kalos Region's signature Pokémon.
"Hm?"
Fennekin tilted her head up to look at her Trainer.
"It's all right. The map says we just need to go left."
The red-haired girl stroked Fennekin's long ears, then took the left fork.
Soon, a rather strange-looking mansion appeared before her.
"Could this be...?"
Something suddenly occurred to her, and she hurriedly took out her Pokédex to check.
"Scary House."
The red-haired girl's face went deathly pale.
She had gone left precisely to avoid it.
How could this happen?
Just as fear gripped the girl...
Faint footsteps suddenly sounded behind her.
Tap, tap, tap...
"Eek!"
Several classic horror scenes instantly flashed through the red-haired girl's mind, all of them involving someone turning around and getting killed.
Don't turn around!
Don't turn around!
"Fenn!"
The Fennekin in her arms suddenly cried out.
The red-haired girl's breath caught. She felt something lick her neck, cold as ice.
Just then...
Raindrops began falling from the sky.
Thump!
Fennekin jumped down behind the girl.
"Fennekin!"
The red-haired girl instinctively turned her head.