Leaving the Forest [1]

Caspian casually flipped through the pages until one of the photos caught his attention. His tattooed fingers trail over the picture that shows a living room where two white people with dark black hair, a man and a woman, are holding hands together.

They must be lovers or a couple who tried to comfort each other before their death. Or did the killer place their hands wrapped in each other's hands?

But the most disturbing part is that their necks are sliced neatly, and the heads are rolled to the side next to a chair, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. The grayish walls contain splattered dark blood like a fucking paintball on walls.

The two bodies have no head, which would frighten any average person under the circumstances.

This is not an immature work of someone, someone who is probably a professional killer. Caspian took another sip from the coffee cup and scanned his dark gaze over the photos to make sure he didn't miss anything important.

What caught his attention immediately was the shattered glass on the table where the unknown fluid was spilled on the table onto the dark purple rugs.

There was a small trail of purple dust at the bottom of the pearly, white glass. Unless it's not dust at all? What if it's wolfsbane?

Caspian's dark gaze revealed a depth of astuteness. He hummed lightly under his breath. Wolfsbane is an herb known to be an extremely toxic substance that harms mostly werewolves.

Caspian took out the photo of the family before the massacre had happened. Everyone in the family had died, except for Blair, who had somehow miraculously survived the attack.

Although she had received counseling and therapy, she hadn't spoken in three years until she was adopted by the Parker family. The Parkers are a wealthy, affluent family that has contributed large amounts of money to orphanages, homeless shelters, and hospitals in society for decades.

Caspian can sense a darker web underneath all of this. Something tells him if he digs a little deeper, he'll find something a little more. He looks at the previous photo of the headless body and observes the purple dust at the bottom of the pearly, white glass.

If it is a wolfsbane, that means this family are werewolves and someone wanted them dead. Maybe another rival of the family or one of the hunters. Most of the time, it's the hunters that use wolfsbane to weaken and capture werewolves.

Caspian was about to close the folder, but something about the desolate young girl in her early adolescence looked familiar to him.

His dark eyes widened before a flash of understanding dawned on him. His tattooed hand reached into his jeans pocket as he pulled out a small, black cell and dialed a number that beeps each time he pressed on the screen.

He placed the phone next to his ears before the phone ring ended up with a voicemail.

He cursed heavily underneath his breath. His knuckles clench the phone while dialing it again. "Answer your phone, little fucker."

—---{Back to the present}------

Sebastian didn't know how long they had been walking. It's just plain rocks, broken branches, and trees in his vision. His body felt completely drained, despite feeding on that deer. That amount of blood should satisfy his hunger and re-energize his body, but his stomach growls once again.

There is a deep, insatiable hunger within him that craves anything. A deer. Bear. Bobcat. Anything at all. Sebastian lifted his head and asked, hoping for any kind of distraction. "Hey. Why are you acting quiet?"

Atlas turned around, and the skin around his eyes tightened. Sebastian came closer to him and asked with a flicker of curiosity, "What is it? Why do you look worried?"

Atlas's lips parted slightly open. His eyes narrowed into a deep pondering look. "I'm not worried. I need to ask you something. Are you feeling lightheaded or dizzy? Are you feeling hungry?"

Sebastian tilted his head. Why is he asking all these unusually odd questions?

Although some of his words have flickered a deep part of him. He had started to feel a little bit lightheaded or weak in the knees. But he won't admit that. Although he had started to feel protective of Atlas, he doesn't fully trust him yet.

Sebastian hid his real feelings behind a carefully placed mask on his face, a contemptuous smirk across his face. "Who do you take me for? You better not be trying to jinx me now."

His jaws were set tightly before he rolled his eyes. "I was just asking. No need for suspicion."

He replied with a snort and turned around to walk ahead. He kicked one of the rocks at his feet before it rolled away into a puddle, which made a splashing sound. He asked lightly, "Do you know where we are going?"

Sebastian tilted his head. "I thought you didn't want my help."

Sebastian had a feeling he just rolled his eyes, despite not being able to see it. The way the silence follows afterwards before the words follow. "I never said that. You came up with that on your own."

Atlas turned around, and his eyes bored into him. "Do you hear that?"

Sebastian tilted his head and listened. It was nothing but silence. He didn't hear anything until an echo of screeching noise appeared ahead behind all of those dense trees covered in dark, glossy leaves, almost blocking the blue sky.

Sebastian hurried forward, an urgency in his steps, which showed his growing yearning to get out of here. Sebastian threw the shirt at Atlas and told him, "Put the shirt on."

Sebastian could hear the rustling sound of a shirt being tugged on his body before he followed behind him.

As Sebastian and Atlas pushed away thick, glossy leaves that grew on the trees that were about to slap them in the face. He heard a small yelp behind him.

Sebastian turned and grabbed Atlas's wrist before his ankle slipped in the mudslide. Atlas grabbed his hand in return, and his lips hissed out in pain.

Sebastian looked down at his wrist he was holding and realized it was bruised. The thin wrist had a large handprint. There was a fresh swelling that had shades of purple.

That must have been from the result of last night when he had to restrain him during his nightmare.

He grumbled to himself that he'll have to apply some ice on his wrist to reduce the swelling when they get home. If the swelling doesn't come down in a few days, he'll need to buy some medication to relieve the pain and swelling.

Sebastian felt a tiny tinge of regret for his harsh action from last night. He raised his neck to Atlas and said ruefully. "When we get back, I'll get you some ice for the swelling. Just bear it for now."

Atlas's eyes widened before he rumbled in response. "Ok."

Sebastian paused briefly to make sure he was ready to proceed on their journey. After making sure, he turned around and continued to navigate past the thick, glossy leaves that almost obscured his view.

He ensured that Atlas is still behind him by the sounds of his heavy breathing and the rustling movements.

After several minutes, Sebastian was able to see a large, red truck in the distance.

The wheels were stuck in the large pile of mud, where the wheels continued to turn over and over again, with the purpose of trying to get out.

The wheels that continued to spin caused the mud to splatter on the wheel, covering the black tires, and the wheels to be submerged farther into the mud.

Sebastian narrowed his dark gaze at the rusty truck. If the driver keeps going, there's a chance the tires won't be able to break free of the mire. He said to Atlas behind him, "Wait for me and don't move."

He didn't wait to listen to what Atlas had to say and strode toward the truck. He was careful to stay away from the area that could get mud on his pants and military boots.

He was already filthy already, but he doesn't want his clothes to be in any worse condition.

He waved his hands back and forth in order to catch the driver's attention. The truck had stopped rolling on its muddy tires, and the window rolled down, revealing the driver in the seat.

The driver was a man with a simple bowl haircut that stopped at his forehead. He had blue eyes like the sky, and he wore a pair of square glasses on top of his freckled nose.

The man looks to be in his early twenties, and he gave him a once-over. He half-smiled, a trace of confusion in his eyes. He started to talk in a deep voice. "Uhh. You look like you've been through hell."

Sebastian cocked his head and asked with a hint of a smirk, "Are you willing to take two passengers with you?"

The man said with a hint of suspicion. "Who is the second passenger?"

Sebastian raised his arms to wave over for Atlas to come forth. Atlas came near to his side, and he watched the man with a hint of caution in his eyes.

The driver with the freckles scanned him from head to toe before looking at Sebastian. "Why are you out in the forest? How do I know you're not serial killers on the run?"