SOUL

she finds a body

The crime scene was a mess of frozen earth, broken branches, and splatters of blood staining the snow like gruesome red ink. It was clear that something horrific had taken place here. Leo stood with his partner, Harris, surveying the aftermath. The biting wind cut through his coat, but the cold wasn't the reason for the chill that settled in his bones. There was something deeply wrong about this place.

Mary had come with them—despite Leo's initial hesitation. She wasn't officially involved, but she had insisted on tagging along. Ever since the accident, she had been finding ways to insert herself into his investigations, and today was no different. She stayed quiet, lingering on the edge of the scene, her gaze distant as if she was already seeing something no one else could.

"Jesus, this place is messed up," Harris muttered, rubbing his hands together. His breath fogged in the icy air as he scanned the area. "Whoever did this... they're not right in the head."

Leo was about to respond when he noticed Mary move. She had been standing a few feet away, watching them, but now her body stiffened, her attention drawn to something on the ground. Slowly, as if in a trance, she walked toward a broken, tarnished necklace half-buried in the snow. Without thinking, she knelt down and touched it, her fingers barely brushing the surface.

"Mary?" Leo called, but she didn't respond. Instead, her eyes glazed over, her entire body going rigid as if she had been frozen in place. Then, without a word, she stood and started walking.

Straight toward the forest.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Harris shouted, bewildered.

Leo felt the knot in his stomach tighten. "Mary!" he called again, louder this time. She didn't stop. Her pace quickened as she moved deeper into the woods, her footsteps eerily silent against the snow. He'd seen her do this before when they were kids, and it scared him to death.

"Leo, what the hell is she doing?" Harris growled, already annoyed.

Leo didn't answer. He couldn't. The look in her eyes, the way she seemed to be following something only she could see. It was like she was being pulled by some invisible force, drawn to something in the distance.

Harris jogged after her, frustration evident in every step. "You're going to freeze to death out here!"

But Mary kept walking, her eyes distant, unblinking, as if she were in a world far removed from theirs.

Leo broke into a jog, catching up to her and grabbing her arm. "Mary, stop!" His grip was firm but gentle, hoping to snap her out of whatever trance she was in.

At his touch, she halted, blinking rapidly as her glazed-over eyes shifted back to normal. She stared at him for a moment.

"I know where she is," Mary said, her voice soft but sure. She tugged her arm free, her eyes scanning the tree line ahead.

Harris scoffed, crossing his arms. "Are you serious? You just know where she is? "

Mary ignored him, her gaze still fixed on the distant forest. "She's waiting. She's cold. She needs us."

Leo frowned, the unsettled feeling in his stomach growing heavier. "How do you know that?"

Mary turned to him, her eyes distant again. "She told me."

Harris laughed, but it wasn't the sound of amusement—it was the laugh of a man who had seen too much, who didn't want to believe what was happening in front of him. "She told you? Come on, Leo, this is nuts."

But Leo wasn't laughing. He didn't know what to make of it, but he had learned a long time ago that when Mary said something like this, you listened. He didn't know how, and he didn't understand it, but she had been right too many times before.

"Mary, it's freezing out here," he said, trying to sound reasonable. "We've already searched the area. Let's head back, okay?"

But she shook her head, stepping deeper into the forest. "She's colder than us."

The hairs on the back of Leo's neck stood on end, and despite himself, he followed her. Harris muttered something under his breath but grudgingly trudged after them. The forest loomed dark and foreboding, the shadows between the trees stretching like fingers as the temperature dropped further. Their breaths came out in thick clouds of mist, but Mary pressed on, her pace steady, determined.

They walked for what felt like miles, the snow crunching beneath their boots, the cold biting harder with each step. Leo kept casting glances at Mary, trying to read her expression, but she was unreadable, her focus entirely on some unseen path ahead.

Finally, she stopped.

Leo came to a halt beside her, shining his flashlight around, trying to make sense of why she had brought them here. But then he saw her face. Mary's expression was pale, her eyes wide with something that looked like sorrow.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.

Leo frowned, confusion swirling in his chest. "Who are you talking to?"

Mary slowly turned her head, her gaze locked onto something behind them. Leo followed her line of sight, his breath catching in his throat when he saw it—the spirit of a woman, Marie Johnston standing in the distance, staring at Mary with hollow eyes. Her form was faint, barely visible through the mist and the cold, but she was there. Watching. Waiting.

Leo's mouth went dry. "What... what the hell is that?"

Mary didn't answer him. Instead, she turned to face him, her voice low and steady. "Look up, Leo."

His heart pounded as he slowly raised his flashlight, the beam of light cutting through the darkness and illuminating the scene above them.

The sight made his stomach lurch.

There, hanging from the branches of the trees, was the body of Marie Johnston. Or, rather, what remained of her. Her limbs had been severed, each one tied to a different branch, her torso hanging limply from the highest limb. Blood had frozen to her skin, forming grotesque icicles that dripped from the tips of her fingers and toes. Her head hung at an unnatural angle, her eyes wide open, staring down at them with an empty, lifeless gaze.

Leo cursed under his breath, the bile rising in his throat. "Jesus Christ."

Harris stumbled backward, his face pale as he took in the horrific scene. "What the... what the fuck?"

Leo immediately reached for his radio, his voice tight as he called for backup. "We need units at my location. Now. We've found the victim."

As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Mary, who was still staring up at the body, her expression unreadable. She didn't flinch, didn't look away, even as the wind howled through the trees, sending the victim's severed limbs swinging slightly from the branches.

Leo felt his heart hammering in his chest, the cold no longer just an external force, but something creeping deep inside of him. He didn't understand what had just happened. He didn't understand how Mary had led them here, or how she had known where the body would be.