Chapter 5 Blood in the Woods

Chapter 5: Blood in the Woods

Leah's POV

"You're not going to like what you find."

The words weighed heavily in the distance between us, a faint whisper in the clear morning air. Startled by the abrupt voice, I turned to see Margot standing there, her face pallid in the drab light of the morning dawn, her stance rigid. She looked as like she hadn't slept in days, and the concern in her eyes seemed like a warning as she gazed at me.

Unable to control my tongue, I blurted, "You said you were done with this town." "What keeps you here?"

She let out a weary sigh and shook her head. "I wanted you to stay out of it. However, isn't it too late now?

I didn't respond. Ethan's words, Margot's warning, and last night's attack on the woods all became entangled in my mind like a tangled knot that I was unable to unravel. Something old was present here, and it was related to what I could see and hear.

Margot went on, her voice just above a whisper, "Listen to me, Leah." "You're on the verge of something from which you won't recover. You must cease your digging.

"I can't. Margot, people are dying. They are being killed by something, and I must find out what it is.

She glanced anxiously over to the trees behind me. "You must seek beyond what your eyes can perceive if you want to comprehend. Sometimes the truth isn't what it seems.

The unsettling calm around us screamed more than anything one of us could say, even though I wanted to protest and demand more information.

Leah, just don't go into the woods. I'm telling you. It's risky.

I didn't have time to answer. The silence was broken by a harsh, frightened cry. The hairs on my arms sprang up as the sound ripped through the air, distant but unmistakable.

Without thinking, I turned toward the sound. "That's from the woods," I answered, already rushing toward the source.

Margot gripped my arm, her grasp strong. "Leah, no!"

"I have to leave," I stated firmly. Now the shouts became more desperate and louder. Someone-maybe more than one person-was in peril.

I wrenched my arm free and rushed for the trees. Margot was yelling something behind me, but I couldn't understand what she was saying. I continued.

The thick woods loomed ahead, their branches waving as if alive in the windless air. I dove into the undergrowth, my ears thumping with every step as I dashed more into the forest. My breath was coming quicker now, and every instinct told me I was going toward something that I may not escape.

But I was unable to stop. Not now. Not when someone's life was on the line.

I froze when I round a curve in the trail. My blood froze at what I saw.

There were deep gouges in the dirt, as if something heavy had dragged itself through the ground and tore it up. The earth was black and thick with a path of blood that seeped into the mud and leaves.

The body follows.

It was splayed on the ground, its torso hunched over as if it had been crushed, its limbs twisted at strange angles. The attire suggested that the guy was in his forties, but his face was unrecognizable-he was contorted in fear, his eyes wide open as if he had died in anguish. The air was already heavy with the stink of rotting.

With my pulse thumping in my throat, I took a step closer. I was unable to take my eyes off the wide gash in his chest, where the skin had been so severely torn as to be unrecognizable.

It wasn't a bear. or a wolf. This was a very other matter.

Taking another hesitant step nearer, I reached for the man's jacket's ripped fabric with my fingertips. I heard a twig break behind me at that same moment. My heart almost sprang out of my chest as my body froze and I spun around.

Nothing was there.

But there was no mistaking the sense. I wasn't alone myself.

I squatted down to the corpse, grabbed my phone, and took a big breath. Joe needed to know about this, so I had to phone him to warn him. However, a deep growl rumbled from the woods as soon as I opened the screen.

The sound wasn't that of an animal. It was a person. Or something posing as a human, anyhow. The hair stood on end on the back of my neck.

As the roar became closer and louder, I cautiously retreated while attempting to maintain my cool. It was large, whatever it was, and it didn't hesitate to show up.

My heart was pounding as I stood there looking over the forest line. Something held me in place even though my intellect begged me to go. Then I saw a guy approaching me slowly and purposefully through the fog.

I first believed it to be a guy, but the more I examined it, the more incorrect I felt. He walked too naturally, too fluidly. It appeared as if he wasn't quite human based on the way he moved and the way the shadows seemed to hold on to him.

And I felt like I could be pierced through me by his golden, burning gaze.

I tried to scream, but nothing came out of my lips. The air around me was thick with stress, and my throat had become dry.

The figure moved in closer, its outline becoming clearer as it emerged out of the shadows. Then I noticed it.

The claws.

White claws that shone in the dim sunlight protruded from the figure's hands. No guy was there. Something else was involved. Something hideous.

My inclinations to fight or flee clashed as my legs stopped under me. My body resisted moving, even though every part of me cried out to flee.

A few feet distant, the creature-if that's what it was-paused and fixed its gaze on me. It sent out a deep hiss that sounded like a snake warning. I realized then that this was more than simply an animal.

They were hunting.

"Leah." Its voice was more than simply a human one. It was recognizable, animalistic, and guttural.

Ethan.

My breath caught. "Ethan? What is-

He didn't respond. Instead, he took another step forward, his gaze unwavering, that same hungry, predatory gleam in his eyes.

The sound of loud, rapid running footsteps came from behind me before I could respond. I whirled around, hoping that someone, anybody, would come to my aid, and my pulse was pounding.