Shadow of Sins

Chapter 5

We woke up to an early start. We are currently in the medieval city of Brașov. After finishing our breakfast  we set out to the Carpathian Mountains to conduct our research. From where we were stood, we could see the Bran castle in all its glory. It looked beautiful as well as mysterious. We were divided into two teams and me and Dee were both in Team A. We were still not directed as to what we were to look for, all we knew was that we will be told when we'll reach the intended destination.

We walked into the heart of the forest near the city and passed by the Bran Castle. Dr Ashton started up with his lecture about the history of the castle and the city, stating it as the oldest in the region and that it is currently being owned by a Multi-billionaire who was a descendant of the original owners of the Castle. Simply put it the castle never went out of the family. Most of the City of Brașov and other small nearby towns are also owned by this guy. Apparently his ancestors owned almost the whole of Transylvania. So his like a modern day king? wow!! amazing!! Dee sarcastically replied and rolled her eyes. I laughed and saw Ashton giving her a glare.

One of the other guys started asking Ashton about some current project they were working on and me and Dee started talking and reminiscing about the good old days. As we were walking deeper into the forest and away from civilization, I started having a creepy feeling of being watched. I looked around but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Still the feeling of unease and dread did not leave me. As we went deeper into the forest we heard a piercing bloodcurdling scream. We stood rooted to the spot struggling to comprehend if we heard it right. Was someone hurt? Did we really hear a scream? or was it some kind of animal? who else would be here in the wilderness as the nearest town is quite far away. We  then heard another scream filled with excruciating pain. We quickly got into action and tried to figure out where the screaming was coming from. I saw Ashton start running towards the left into some dense cluster of trees. I started running after him and I heard the others closely following behind, we neared a clearing and upon reaching the outline of the clearing, I heard Dee and one other female member let out a scream. I stood rooted and shocked at the sight before me. A body lay a few meters away from me. It looked like a woman's body torn to shreds. Only the top half of her body was visible with large pieces of flesh torn from her limbs and blood seeping everywhere, eyes lifeless staring into blank space and the other half of the body nowhere to be seen. My body was numb and I stood there completely paralyzed for a few seconds which though seemed like an eternity.

As I was standing there trying to come to terms with what was in front of me, I felt something warm drop on my right arm and this had me jolt out of my numbed state. I looked towards my right arm to see what it was and a deafening scream left my lips. Blood!! there was blood on my hand and on the ground. I felt something sticky run down my face and I looked up and let out another scream.  The other part of the victims body was on the branches above me. I felt someone pull me and hug me.  I heard Ashton's reassuring words telling me to calm down and that he got me. And I felt tears run down my face. He took me away from the nightmarish site before us.  Ashton made me sit with Dee and two other girls who looked scared out of their wits. As I sat down out of sight from the Gruesome scene; Dee grabbed my hand and started sobbing. I hugged and told her to relax as I realized that she might be remembering our own traumatic experience.

Ashton contacted the police as we had two guides with us and one of them went with another guy on our team to notify the police of the tragic event. The police with the paramedic team came though it took them a couple of hours to locate us through the dense forest. We were told to go back and the area was sealed off. Until the Police would finish their investigations, nobody is allowed to enter the forests.

We got back to our hotel and Dee insisted to share room with me until she feels better. I found her fast asleep on my bed when I got out of the shower. The paramedics gave her an injection to calm her down. I felt exhausted from the days traumatic experience and I fell asleep. But this time the nightmare was entirely different.