The Burning Storm- Book 1- Evolution

Chapter 3

The doors to the front gate open and they march through with townsfolk getting on the wall to see them off. Those going on patrol are allowed to look back and wave goodbye. When stepping forward into Braknor Forest, their focus changes.

Braknor Forest is vast and goes all the way to the other side of the mountains. It is not difficult to track the steps of the children. After awhile the tracks fade and it is unclear on which way to go. Dag looks to Juni when it gets to that situation and moves up to assess.

"What do you think?" Dag asks.

"A lot of broken branches and leaves in different directions." Juni looks at one thing that stands out amongst the woods. A tree that has fallen. No doubt it has recently done so by the state of the wood. "That direction. A tree like that does not break naturally."

"It is a distraction," Dag comments while looking in a different direction pointing at similar damage that is done.

They continue following the unnatural placements in the woods with Juni leading and come to the peak of the mountain. They take a moment to rest after hiking for a moment. Dag takes out a map  squatting down next to her.

"Three miles in. Still no bodies."

"Whoever is doing this is smart. Definitely a well trained hunter and knows how to use his environment to cover his tracks. I suggest we keep moving east towards the falls of Suminari. There are some good hiding spots. We might be able to find the children there," Juni replies.

"Agreed but I don't want to be out here during the night. We go to Conian. Most likely make it by sunset depending on the direction we travel," Dag says to her. "Hopefully they won't try to scalp me."

"It is under my grandmother's banner. That should bring you some comfort."

"No not really."

The two continue moving until coming to a certain point where there is a stream. Dag notices a red tint flowing down. The two move down and check it out. Juni dips her finger in it to get a better examination and sees traces of blue within the red. It is quite obvious to her.

"Premderian blood," she says.

"One of the streams coming down from the Selia River. Most likely at the falls. The source can't be far if there is that much showing. Very fresh from the color."

The sight makes Juni move at a quicker pace than what they were going. He waves them to move out at the same pace. The closer they get the sound of water becomes louder. For some reason there is a foul stench that makes Juni turn away for a moment. Dag smells it too and makes his eye twitch.

Dag watches as Juni continues to sniff the air. She feels the direction of the wind blowing and where the stench is the strongest. When she finds it, Juni points to an inclined area where there are other streams that are larger. One of them shows blood.

Juni and Dag get some distance between one another. The two continue walking forward. There is a snapping of branches. A large tree branch falls and Dag has to run out of the way. The two look around to the trees as birds fly away. She draws her bow and pulls out an arrow and pulls it back, looking in all directions. Dag does the same with his rifle.

It is far too quiet. Absolute silence is troublesome. The two notice something off about the branch. There is a clean cut more than half the way down but at the bottom it is clear that it finally gave weigh. There is a rustling high up in the trees and more birds are seen and heard flying away. Juni doesn't take her eyes away so easily as she looks for something that isn't natural. Dag watches as her head stops when setting her sights on a certain direction.