Intertwined

3. FIRST WARNING

-First Warning-

"How?" Alexander frowned in question and disgust. "How is this possible?"

He stood there completely paralyzed. He had dealt with corpses many times but this, he hadn't seen before. Among the leaves and dirt there was a head with lifeless eyes looking at them. His glassy, dark eyes were easily betraying the terror and agony he had lived until his head had been separated from the rest of his body. The skin had been brutally ripped, leaving some sinews dangling at the bottom of the cut.

There was still a piece of the spine attached with the head. Did that thing try to rip it off while holding his neck? The curly hair of the victim were stuck on the dried blood along three long clean cuts on the top of the head. They were so deep that they had divided the scalp revealing the brain. That's what the rodents have been feeding on.

The head suddenly slipped on the side, making the mouth open wide, releasing some flies from the inside. Anastasia fell on her knees and started vomiting a sticky amorphous substance. Alexander rushed to her side, wrapped his arms around her and felt her body trembling. When she was done he picked her up and moved her carefully towards the steps. He placed her down softly as he passed to her a silk handkerchief.

"Annia," he looked at her with caring eyes. "Should I take you home?"

"No," Anastasia mumbled while she run the silky piece of fabric across her lips. "Who could have done this?" She shook her head to send away the image flashing in front of her eyes.

"I don't know," he frowned.

"That's not a man's doing..." she said almost in a whisper.

Alexander looked at her confused. Her words came up on his mind. How is it possible that something with a tail did this? Even if it did, why would it make all this effort to hide the evidence? It is not possible that there was an animal attack in the middle of London.

"Nonsense," He muttered. "Nothing with a tail could have done this."

"I know what I saw, Alexander." Her delicate face hardened to her fiancé's doubt.

"Annia, it was too dark. How can you be so sure? Maybe it was a belt or some kind of fabric hanging."

"Do you doubt my vision when we are on a mission as well?" She raised her eyebrows as she leaned towards Alexander to come almost nose to nose with him.

"Of course not!" He backed down slowly. To be honest, he was just trying to process everything that he had heard and see.

"Then stop questioning me!"

"You are right," he nodded "I'm sorry, my love. Forgive me?"

"Forgiven. Now," she said while narrowing her eyes. "Tell me what you think; I know that something's on your mind."

Alexander sighed deeply while pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He stood still for a couple of seconds trying to figure out what he should reply to Anastasia. He started drifting away in a whirlwind of thoughts before his gaze went blank, absent. It was a puzzle that he had to solve as soon as possible.

"Alexander!" Anastasia said almost in a howl bringing him back to reality. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, my love. I am truly sorry for not responding you," he took her hands in his palms and kissed them softly. "But at the moment I cannot answer you what you are asking."

Anastasia took a deep breath as she tilted her head on the side to have a better look of Alexander. She bit her lower lip and frowned in disbelief. For a few seconds she remained still, analyzing Alexander. His face had betrayed him, she knew him all to well not to believe that he had nothing on his mind. She slowly removed her hands from his grip and crossed them across her chest firmly.