We recoiled in fear from the image, but I forced myself to move back to inspect the panorama more closely. It was definitely blood, but we saw no form or body of an animal near the dripping splash of liquid. There was no doubt in my mind about what had caused the likely death of some hapless creature, and a question I had held in my mind the past couple days was answered. Whatever was out in that forest was a killer, and we weren’t safe. Nick wondered aloud if we should go inspect the area, and Elizabeth and I both almost shouted in reply: “No!”
I composed myself, and explained that we needed to stay inside the station until Cayman came to retrieve us. We had several hours before that would happen, and I struggled to find things to say to them to alleviate their fears. So, in true scientific fashion, we began to hypothesize what had happened out there. Elizabeth began to make connections between what we had seen and the disappearances in the city, similar to what I had done with Jack the night before. I reminded her that it wasn’t wise to do that just yet, though I had an increasing sense that she might be right. But that only created more questions that we didn’t have answers to, and I wasn’t about to start adding more to the mix. We had to focus on the here and now, which was getting out of the forest safely and without incident. The hours dragged by, and we continued to look at the bloody scene outside the building, and to speculate. Finally, the time arrived for Cayman to pick us up, and I ushered my diminished team to the door.
We hadn’t heard the creature repeat its cry, so I took a bet that it was somewhat safe to rush out to the car and get in. I planned on urging Cayman to speed us out of the forest, and I’d explain to him what had happened. But as we stood at the door waiting to hear the soft whir of the engine signaling his arrival, the minutes ticked by and there was still no sign of him. I cracked the wooden door open a couple of inches and peered out. The car was there, but it had never left since this morning; it was parked at the same haphazard angle. My hackles rose, sensing a dangerous situation. I closed the door quickly and relayed what I had seen to my two team members. Nick pushed past me and looked out the door to see for himself.
“Cayman never left this morning but he’s not out there. Where is he?” A note of hysteria had entered his voice. Elizabeth was shaking her head, as if in denial of what was happening.
“We need to go out there and look around the car. He might be hurt or … in danger,” I managed to say, before the fear closed my throat again. All three of us looked at each other, and agreed on going outside together to look.
“But keep it quick. If you hear or see anything out of the ordinary, get back inside,” I cautioned, and we opened the door fully and ventured out. The air was fairly dripping with the promise of a torrential downpour, so we hurried to the car as faint sounds of thunder reached our ears. There was no sign of Cayman, and no sign he had been outside waiting for us the entire day. Nick had bravely walked over to the trail and, with a note of panic in his voice, called us over to stand beside him. We hurried over, mindful of the unseen threat surrounding us. There on the wet ground was the sign of a struggle, and several drops of blood. They continued on in a fanning pattern farther along the trail. My heart sank, and I quickly connected the dots. It hadn’t been an animal out there in the brush. It had been Cayman.
I looked at Nick and Elizabeth and saw the knowledge dawn on their faces. I ran back into the station and grabbed the first aid kit. It was rather large and cumbersome, but my fear had given me speed and strength. I rushed back out to where the others were waiting, calling to them to follow me into the forest. If Cayman was out there, hurt, we had to help him. I was proud to see them not hesitate in fear for their own lives, and we ran through the brush toward the segment of forest that had been displayed on our monitor. I had to slow my pace, as the others couldn’t keep up. But my enhanced abilities were no source of joy today; instead they were assisting me in a matter of life and death. Still, it only took us several minutes to reach the blood-soaked brush. Nick was swiveling his head to and fro, keeping an eye out for the creature. Elizabeth began searching frantically through the foliage, blood beginning to coat her arms and legs. There was far too much of it for Cayman to have survived.
But I didn’t verbalize my opinion. We kept our ears open for any unusual sounds, but the forest was still silent. It held its breath along with us. Nick suddenly popped up from behind a shrub, something brown in his hand. Elizabeth and I walked closer to inspect it, and the look on Nick’s face was despondent. He was holding a soft, moccasin-like shoe, shredded and covered in blood. It belonged to Cayman, and our worst fears were realized. The blood was definitely his; there was too much of it for any human to survive. He was dead. I set the medical kit down and, feeling dizzy, sat on it. Elizabeth looked ready to cry, and Nick’s carefully maintained veneer of professionalism was gone.
“We need to get out of here. Fast. That thing could be anywhere,” he said, his voice shaking with fear.
I nodded, not able to speak. I stood up unevenly, and we carefully and quietly made our way back to the station. Although we hurried, we were mindful of any noise we might be making. My head moved nonstop, surveying the forest as best I could. Where had the creature taken Cayman’s body? Whom would we notify? I thought it best to get back into the city and go to the Obedience Officers who had suddenly become so relevant in the past two days. I was terrified for the fates of Marilyn and Luke but kept my fears to myself. Around us, the forest began to come alive again, as if it knew the immediate threat had passed. It gave me a slight sense of comfort amid my adrenaline-fueled terror.
We quickly gathered our belongings from the station and eased into the car. Elizabeth was silently crying, and perspiration ran freely down Nick’s face. I caught my reflection in the tinted windows and saw my own face set into grim lines. We had no idea what we were facing, and the fear combined with the unknown was almost enough to make me call Jack. But I restrained myself, and focused on getting safely into the city.
Nick kept the car moving at a slow pace so as not to attract any unwanted attention from whatever might be stalking us, but once we got closer the train station he picked up speed. His hands were clenched around the steering wheel, and none of us spoke. I had my arm around Elizabeth in a gesture of comfort, and I found myself needing the contact as well.
We left the car where Cayman usually parked it, not knowing what else to do with it. We waited for the train, huddled together. Nick was whispering that the closest Obedience Officer’s station was several blocks from our train stop, and once we boarded the train he tried to reach both Marilyn and Luke again to no avail.
I stared out the window, knowing we had reached an end to our research, but were perhaps beginning something unimaginably awful. The bustle of the city was a jolt to my senses, and I wondered if the rush of people around us would notice our bedraggled and bloodied appearances. We had gotten off at our stop and made our way down to the walkway, and Nick led the way through the busy throngs to the proper building. I hadn’t seen one before, but it was clearly marked as the Obedience Officer’s station, with a blue symbol in the vague shape of a heart covering a shield positioned above it. I thought back to my life in Manhattan and recalled the harried police force that was always mingling in and around the mean streets. Somehow I longed for that authoritarian presence instead of this benign building that showed no signs of people in distress.
All was calm as we climbed the steps and walked inside. But even our ragtag group, covered in bloodstains, didn’t warrant a shocked response from the receptionist, which frightened me even more. She was quietly pleasant as she asked us to wait in seats situated against the wall. Nick took the initiative, and said he’d be the one to file the report. I was thankful, as I had no idea what to do here. Within several minutes, a man dressed in a common tunic set but with a badge on his chest entered the room through a sliding door. No one else was waiting along with us, and I wondered if anyone else had reported anything similar.
But the officer’s face was bland and unchanging at our appearance, and Nick followed him through the door. We didn’t see him for another twenty minutes. Elizabeth and I sat quietly, keeping our thoughts to ourselves. A combination of shock and fatigue had overtaken us both, and there were no words for what we had witnessed. When Nick reappeared, we both stood up, revived by our anticipation of what he would say.
His voice low, he said, “I explained everything, but they said, if there was no body, there’s no actual evidence. So they’ll list him as missing, which is the same response they gave me about Marilyn.”
The odd calmness of the whole situation here in the station was too much for me to ignore. “Nick, why aren’t they acting more concerned? We’re covered in blood. Cayman is … gone. We clearly came from some kind of crime scene. Why aren’t they doing their jobs?!” A sharp note of alarm had crept into my voice, and I struggled to subdue it.
He passed a hand over his mouth and sighed. “My only theory is that, because the O.O. are an extension of the Facility, someone there is telling them to stay out of all of this. To stay quiet, act normal. Someone high up in the Facility wants things to remain as they are for as long as possible.” Elizabeth shivered next to me. Nick continued in his hushed tones, “They said someone would go out there to inspect the site, but I highly doubt it. I was essentially dismissed. This is a dead end.”
He put his head in hands and scrubbed his face roughly. I felt his frustration, but couldn’t think of what else we could do. With Adam fired from the Facility, I had lost my contact there. But then I perked up, realizing I could call Eva.
I relayed this information to the others, and a little hope showed in their expressions. “She was so helpful when I was acclimating,” I said. “Maybe she can help us now.” That seemed like our best option at the moment.
Meanwhile, Cayman’s family would be notified, and I felt an incredible sadness at the thought. We left the station and agreed to contact one another if we found out anything new. I slowly walked back the way we had come, the others going in different directions. I hadn’t thought to ask where they lived, but I had no desire to find out now. I just wanted to go home and take a shower and wait for Jack. I had no idea how he would respond to what had happened out in the forest, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to write it off as an anomaly this time.
My head heavy, and my feet dragging, I arrived at my apartment building and made my way up to my floor. I passed no one on the way and didn’t stop to see if Adam was home. Instead, I swiped my ID card, went inside, and peeled my soiled clothing from my skin. Once in the shower, as I began scrubbing Cayman’s blood from my body, I stopped to watch the rivulets of red-tinged water swirl down the drain. I stood that way for a while.