Aziel and Jonas stumbled upon a chilling sign – a small pool of blood staining the forest floor. The crimson stain was stark against the earthy tones of fallen leaves and dirt.
Worse, a trail of smeared blood led away from the pool, a clear indication that someone, or something, had been dragged.
Jonas's normally calm face contorted with a mixture of alarm and raw fear. His gentle eyes widened, and his large hands clenched into fists.
Without a word, he broke into a run, his long legs covering ground quickly as he followed the gruesome drag marks. He moved with a surprising agility for a man of his size, his concern for Dr. Hana overriding any caution.
Aziel was left standing alone, the silence of the forest amplifying the sudden dread.
"Blackie, what do you make of this? Is this... is this Dr. Hana's blood?" Aziel asked.
The ring on his finger responded in its usual calm, "I can't say for certain, but considering the circumstances, and the fact that she is missing… the probability is high. It is very likely that this blood belongs to her.
Blackie then instructed, "Check the surroundings. Look closely. Is there anything else besides the blood? Any sign of a struggle, a dropped object, anything?"
Aziel's eyes darted around, scanning the immediate area.
He carefully examined the ground near the bloodstain, the surrounding bushes, and even the lower branches of nearby trees.
He found nothing.
No broken twigs, no upturned earth, no discarded items. Nothing that suggested a fight or a prolonged struggle.
The only clue was the chilling trail of blood.
"Nothing. Just the blood... and the drag marks," Aziel replied.
He decided his best course of action was to follow the trail. "I think, for now, I'm just going to follow the blood."
"Keep your eyes peeled, Aziel," Blackie cautioned. "The fact that there weren't any signs of a fight near the blood suggests it was likely a sneak attack. Whatever did this probably hit fast and quiet. Be ready for anything."
Aziel nodded.
He took a deep breath, and started to move, following the gruesome path of smeared blood that led deeper into the Elysian Forest.
His eyes were constantly moving, scanning the trees, the bushes, every shadow, every potential hiding place around him.
**********
Jonas followed the trail of blood, his heart pounding with each step.
The drag marks led him through a thicket of trees and across a small, gurgling stream, the water untainted by the crimson stain.
Finally, the trail stopped. Abruptly.
Jonas found himself standing at the edge of a steep cliff, looking down at the lower ground below.
It wasn't immensely high, perhaps 25 feet or so, but it was a sheer drop.
Jagged rocks protruded from the cliff face, while below, scattered rock debris and wild shrubs grew in its crevices.
The blood trail came to an abrupt end at the very edge of the cliff.
Jonas kneeled, his large hand hovering over the last trace of blood.
In his eyes, it was clear what had likely happened.
The victim, whoever they were, had been thrown, or had fallen, over the edge.
He looked down the cliff.
From what he could see, there were no further clues - no blood, no sign of impact, nothing to indicate what had happened below.
He needed a closer look, a different vantage point.
He had to get down there.
Jonas stood back from the edge, extending his hand downwards, towards the face of the cliff.
Less than a second later, the earth groaned and shifted.
Sections of the cliff face jutted out, forming a series of rough, staggered steps leading down into the ground below.
In his haste, he hadn't bothered with making the makeshift stairs neat. As long as they worked, it is good enough.
Jonas immediately stepped down, throwing his weight on it. Without hesitation, he descended quickly, his large frame moving down the makeshift steps with urgency.
Once at the bottom, he immediately began searching.
His eyes scanned the jumble of rocks and vegetation, looking for any sign, any clue, that might be connected to the blood trail above.
Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig, sent a jolt of anxiety through him.
His mind was a whirlwind of worry, a frantic monologue playing out in his head.
Please, please let it not be her.
He pushed the thoughts down, forcing himself to focus on the search, but the underlying fear remained, a cold knot in his stomach.
**********
Not long after Jonas descended, Aziel reached the edge of the same cliff.
Seeing the blood trail stop at the edge, he peered over, his eyes scanning the area below.
The ground at the bottom was a slightly open space, littered with large boulders of varying sizes, some half-buried in the earth, others lying exposed under the dappled sunlight filtering through the forest canopy.
He spotted Jonas moving among them, his large figure looking smaller from this height, carefully examining the ground and the rocks.
He circled one of the larger boulders, then moved towards another, his posture tense with worry.
It was clear Jonas was searching for more signs related to the blood trail.
Aziel watched, wondering if Jonas had found anything yet, any clue to where Dr. Hana might be, or even if the blood belonged to her. His gaze shifted from Jonas to the surrounding rocks, trying to see what Jonas might be looking for.
That's when he saw it.
One of the larger boulders, the one Jonas had just passed, seemed to… ripple.
Aziel squinted, thinking it was just a trick of the light, or something.
But then, thick, hairy knuckles burst from the stone's surface, followed by a massive, dark-furred hand and forearm, disproportionately large for the rock it emerged from.
"What in the..." Aziel muttered under his breath, eyes wide.
Was he seeing things? But no, the arm was definitely there. It looked disturbingly like the arm of a giant gorilla, powerful and brutish.
Before Aziel could even process the strangeness of an arm growing out of a rock, let alone shout a warning, the gorilla-like arm moved with startling speed.
It swung in a wide arc and struck the back of Jonas's head.
THWACK!
The sound was sickeningly dull, echoing slightly in the small clearing.
Jonas staggered, a low grunt escaping his lips. His large frame swayed, his hands instinctively flying to the point of impact.
He stumbled a few steps, turning slowly, trying to see what had hit him.
Blood began to seep between his fingers, staining his hair and the collar of his tunic a dark crimson.
His attempts to stay upright became weaker, his knees buckling.
Slowly, Jonas collapsed onto the rocky ground, first to his knees, then pitching forward onto his side, unconscious.
As Jonas lay unmoving, the boulder he had been near underwent a grotesque transformation. The rocky texture flowed and reshaped itself.
The single gorilla arm was joined by another, equally massive and hairy arm. The stone warped upwards, forming a segmented, chitinous body like that of a giant ant, supported by spindly, insectoid legs. Sprouting from the back of this ant-like torso were four delicate, iridescent wings that buzzed faintly, resembling those of a dragonfly. And perched atop the monstrous body, where a head should be, was a surprisingly human-like head, pale and hairless, with wide, unblinking eyes fixed on the fallen Jonas.
"Giggity… giggity… giggity…," the creature laughed, giving a really creepy smile.
From his vantage point on the cliff, Aziel stared, utterly bewildered. What in the world is that thing?