Book Two: From Death

He Was The First

A/N: I have something massive planned coming up really soon. And honestly i've been teasing it since the second chapter. Left small hints and trails with branches and mazes. Its been a lot of work on my part. Its been getting harder to one-up myself with the darkness factor. And I have but a few more tricks left up my sleeve until the next book where things continue the linear progression.

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Issac

I sent out my chain in a wide arc, snaring it around the neck of a tweaker. I quickly gathered the length of chain by wrapping it around my fist, yanking the furious creature towards me. Its death was swift. Though I heard an angered roar running at me from further ahead. I quickly unhooked myself from my last victim. I recovered just in time, switching back to the sickle and my tanto. It was a large barbaric and I had no way of getting the others here soon enough to help as we were split. I threw my tanto ahead, having gotten pretty good at throwing it on this outing so far. It lodged itself into the chest of the barbaric, throwing it off just enough for me to leap back for some distance.

I threw out my chain in a wide arc once more, snaring it before hooking the sickle into a nearby tree. I then hopped onto the chain, knocking it off balance with the tension. Having it stunned, I grabbed my sickle, swinging with a mighty heave across the nape of its neck. The wound was shallow, yet deep enough to kill. I quickly uncoiled the end of my chain from around it, wrapping it around my fist just as a tweaker ran into sight. Using the chain as a gauntlet, I bashed its head into oblivion. And just like that I was done. Collecting myself I headed off further into the forest. As if something was trying to tease me, various trees had those slashes I was so anxious of. It took me back to yesterday when that deafening whistle had incapacitated people. Some people actually suffered some hearing loss. Others like me were hit by it so hard that we'd gotten dizzy.

Whatever that was wasn't something I wanted to have a run in against. It was likely something The Sleeping Owls were up to. Though as I walked a stench of death and decay wafted into my nose. And I discovered a campsite of sorts. An extinguished campfire. Smaller tents and a larger structure. And in addition to that some cages.

"What the hell." I exhaled, covering my nose.

I set to examining, seeing tents were torn into with a single clean slash. Blood and gore sprouting from them inside. So someone cut their way in, and killed them inside. This was the same for the two other tents. Though absent were the bodies. I walked over to the cage, seeing tire tracks leading down a trail adding to the confusion. Inside the cage was more blood, though much less.

But with this acrid stench, and absent bodies I wondered what had smelled so bad. I drew my pistol, venturing over to the large olive green tent. For some reason even in this cold there were flies buzzing around. I flung open the flap of fabric, light pouring in and illuminating four dead bodies that wore a singular slash across the torso. The wound was so deep that entrails were falling out. I nearly gagged at the sight, being taken to a memory I wanted to bury. But even more concerning I wondered what psychopath could be out here doing something like this?

Stepping further inside I was still cautious. The length of chain on my sickle caught my attention. There was something glowing red on the length of black chain. I captured the length of cold metal in my hand. Rubbing it there was a fine dust on it; the glow now on my finger tips. I quickly wiped it off onto my pants, looking to see more of the red glow in the gloom of this tent lingering around the bodies. Something trickled into my mind in the form of a question. Did I do this somehow. I brushed the thought aside, stepping out of the tent. To say even I was shaken was an understatement. I'd had my killing spree. And habitual kill strike. But this seemed cruel and there was some sense of enjoyment coming from this. Then just as I cleared the campsite I heard something that both chilled and angered me. My tune; turned against me once more. The fauna surrounding me bolted to life, fleeing. A stag I'd not noticed bolted passed me. Birds overhead flew away even. This was freakish in nature.