𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙫𝙞𝙡ᵏˡᵃᵘˢ-ᵗʰᵉᵍʳᵉᵃᵗᵉᵛⁱˡ 'ᵗᵛᵈ-ˢᵉᵃˢᵒⁿ-ᵗʷᵒ'

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃

"ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪʟᴅ ᴡᴏᴏᴅs sᴡᴀʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀ ᴡʜᴏʟᴇ"

☘︎☘︎☘︎

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 and her determination wasn't going to keep up with her more. It was several hours till she decided to scavenge the woods. Till then, she was lurking around the woods for any sign of clue or any reliable information about what was exactly happening here. Hours of endlessly roaming , and she still can't find any way out of these set of trees surrounding her. Wherever she goes, she only saw trees, shrubs, some wild flowers, some rocks and a stream, a stream with flowing clean water. The only better thing she found was that stream, After drinking and washing her face, she was so tempted to jump in it. Sadly, that was not a option. She couldn't risk her clothes getting wet and catching hypothermia in this weather nor she was getting naked. Even if Elijah said the wolf wasn't here, if the wolf decided to came back to play fetch with her, it be hard with her being naked and nor was she comfortable enough to get out of her clothes with Elijah nearby. Besides that, she didn't found anything. No matter how much she has walked , it seems she always ends up in same place, feeling as if there was illusion making her go round and round in circles. She was expecting if she didn't find anything or anyone then maybe someone will find her. Maybe there will be local authorities here to investigate those dead bodies. If someone come across those torn apart limbs, they must have reported and then maybe someone will find her during investigation. Julian knew deep down her thoughts were in vain, she didn't knew how much she has ran far away from the campsite where she first woke up, she knew if anyone had found those dead bodies, they were would be sirens, signs of people securing the areas and investigators looking out for evidence or survivors. There was no sound of sirens or anything at all. Nobody was here. Those dead bodies were rotting and there was no one. She was close to give up, her body was now exhausted, the shocking amount of energy in her was now close draining every bit of.

Just as Julian was about to gave up, she saw stumble upon a peculiar sight. Three circles were carved on ground with tangent to each other. Which wasn't really peculiar, weird but not peculiar. Although the burnt edges around the circle and lingering smell of fire and ashes in air with something else she couldn't figure out were indicating it was circle slash rings of fire, were really peculiar. A big stone, flat and relatively thin, almost rectangular form, was situated from some distance to the burnt circles. She carefully climbs on the top of stage like slab to get a full view of area. On it's one side, three big rock were placed one upon another making seems like a tower for bonfire purposes. Remains of ashes on it and it was covered in small line darker, rust-coloured quality in almost black. It seems like someone has poured a color on it. She knew that color very well, it was the color she came across many times previously during her work as a journalist. Blood, dark almost black looking from far, dried blood. She had once been covered in it just as that part was covered. These was not a time for trip down memory lane, To be honest these seems like a ingredients for a ritual. A sacrificial ritual for that matter, considering there was little blood on slab, three burnt circles and a body- oh a body was also there, close to one of those circles. Besides getting reminded of some particular memories, Julian wasn't even surprise anymore. Not after already seeing those dead bodies at her first arrival. A little distressed but not surprised. She goes close to the body. Now it was not her first time seeing a dead body and she wasn't talking about those torn apart dead bodies. Working her job as a journalist, she had been presented at many times during when she have to saw them. Burnt in house fire, murdered and suicides. She just wasn't used to waking up alone surrounded by barely recognizable human limbs with a snarling wolf in an unfamiliar dark places. She got closer to the body, it was not dismembered or bitten or any injuries that will confirm it was an work of insatiable animal. It was actually in good shape without any physical injuries. Which means it rather died on her own, maybe to some internal sickness or a person killed it. And only person she has saw here was- she sudden got remind of his eyes when he told her to ran away. Julian swallowed a lump in her throat. Before making any assumptions, she would have to find the cause of death.
The smell of rotting flesh made her hesitated and nearly take steps back from the body. "Nope", she mentally told herself,"Come on Julian, you just have to getting close a little bit, yup you can do it". Building up new determination, she sat by the corpse. With a hand on her nose to block the smell of corpse, she take a close look at it. It was a young black female with curly black hair and opened oval shaped brown eyes . She tries to look at her face for any traces of poisoning or anything, when she realizes her neck was swelling, bruised and was in an unusual angle, almost twisted. Gulping, she touched the woman's neck and fuck. Her neck was like twisted piece of rubber. It was broken. She touched her neck bones, pressing under her throat to feel the broken bones. Julian feels like someone had electrocuted her, she retreat away from the body in terror. Broken necks shouldn't come to her as a shock, the way it was broken did come as a shock. You can't snap a neck of a healthy person like snapping a little twig under your feet. With fumbling fingers, she hold up her head and moves it to her left side. It takes immense strength to broke a bone with your bare hands. If you broke your neck while falling or tumbling down, at least some of your neck bones should still be intact nor it would be easy to move a broken neck unless you broke it in one swift motion with destroying every bone that come in the way. While her neck feels like a loose thread indicating it was broken in one swift motion. She rotate her neck left and right and it feels like rolling a jelly. Her hands got still, there was one person she met who could do such a thing, if he can swung a wolf then snapping a neck wouldn't be hard. She still wants to gave him benefit of doubt. She stumble back from the body until she was far far away from it and.... her back comes in contact with another soft figure. She warily turn back and retreats abruptly. Another one and this one was blonde and it has a empty hole in her chest where her heart should be beating.