Broken, yet still robust (Gwain Saga X OC) -ONGOING-

Chapter 2 : The Wounded

Kataklysm was rather confused. Why would there be footprints in the middle of the path ? What's more, they were heading deeper into the forest to the east. Why go that way, instead of heading for the Castle?

-Calme-toi Kat, prends les choses une étape à la fois. (-Calm down Kat, take it one step at a time.)

He inspected the footprint in question, or more precisely, the one that followed the first. It was tighter, more than a man's average foot. And the way the hole was made was not like the one of a normal shoe, but of a heel. Secondly, the ice that was formed around the footprint was clearly not natural : the ice only made a trace similar to the heel for about 5 inches long. And it was like that for all the traces.

From this information, the human could deduce that it was a woman wearing heels. But to go into the woods like that, they must be some sort of boots. And the way she runned... it's almost as if she was running from something, while being out of breath. However, that didn't explain the ice.

The ice felt cold, even at half a meter of distance. And the ice only being in proportion to the foot... it didn't make any sense. And from a climate standpoint, it should've melted, even at night. Which led to two points:

Firstly, that ice, no matter how it can stand at the end of summer, has been there since not so much time ago.

Secondly, it also meant that this person was probably not far away from here.

On one hand, he knew the logical thing to do would be to go to the castle. Maybe that was just his mind playing a trick after all ! But on the other hand, he couldn't let that mystery haunt him like that. Maybe she got mugged ? What if she needs help ? But then again, it might lead to something dangerous, and it could affect him when he wakes up from the coma.

-Grrrrr shflflll pffffff..., he said while looking around him.

What to do, what to do ? Then, as if to give himself some sense of morality, he said in an uncertain voice:

-Merde, j'y vais. Et si dans 3 minutes je ne trouve rien, tant pis, je retourne sur le chemin. (-Shit, I'm going in. And if in 3 minutes I don't find anything, too bad, I'm going back on the path.)

And so, he got forward. A part of him was screaming that it was not a good idea, that it's always like that when people end up missing, and that he should go back before regretting it. But the rest was determined. Kataklysm had a good heart, and it certainly wasn't in a coma that it would change!

After about a minute of walking, the foliage was so dense that he couldn't even see a meter in front of him. Fortunately, he remembered he had a flashlight in his backpack ! He looked into his backpack, and took out his torchlight. With a satisfying Click, a shaft of light came out of his truthful flashlight. Now, he could see the path of leaves being pushed left and right, the footprints and...

-Du sang ? (-Blood ?), as he frowned.

That only confirmed what Kataklysm feared. She did get injured. With closer inspection, the blood still flowed down the trunk. Which means he was not only getting closer, but also that he's up to date with this person's events faster than he'd hoped! His heart was beating louder, and it felt heavier. The ambiance of the dark gloomy forest was not helping either.

Suddenly, Kataklysm stopped. His light flickered a bit, and between two flickering (which is as short as a blinking of an eye), he saw a figure. but it disappeared as soon as the light stopped flickering. Kataklysm didn't have time to wonder if he'd been seeing things before he heard footsteps moving away!

-Non, non, attendez ! (-No, no, wait !)

The human then started to follow her. It wasn't easy, since his eyes couldn't adapt really well to the darkness with a flashlight in his hand. What's more, she was moving really quickly, and Kataklysm could've got to her sooner if it wasn't for that damned extra weight!