The moment Kai stepped beyond the village lights, the world changed.
Behind him remained warmth.
People.
Voices.
Life.
Ahead lay only darkness.
The trees swallowed the moonlight, leaving the forest draped in shadows.
Kai tightened his grip on the knuckleduster.
The metal felt cold against his skin.
For several moments he simply stood there, listening.
Nothing.
No insects.
No birds.
No rustling leaves.
Not even the wind.
The silence was wrong.
A forest should never be this quiet.
Yet here, it felt as though every living thing had fled.
Or died.
Kai pushed the thought aside and continued forward.
The beam of moonlight filtering through the canopy became his guide.
Roots twisted across the ground like snakes.
Branches clawed at his shoulders as he moved deeper into the woods.
Every shadow seemed to hide something.
Every creak made his heart beat faster.
But he kept moving.
Lily.
Ethan.
Those names repeated in his mind.
The image of the two children laughing near the well surfaced again.
He quickened his pace.
---
Minutes passed.
Then he found the first sign.
A small woven basket lay overturned beside a tree.
Herbs were scattered across the ground.
Kai crouched.
Fresh.
Very fresh.
The children had definitely come this way.
Nearby, he spotted footprints.
Two smaller sets.
Heading deeper into the forest.
And something else.
A third trail.
Long grooves carved into the soil.
As though something had dragged itself through the undergrowth.
Kai frowned.
The marks weren't made by paws.
Or feet.