Chapter 2.

The team made their way deeper into the darkened forest. The coniferous forest only seemed to get in size the deeper they ventured.

The mere trail they followed slowly began to disappear, getting smaller in size and vaguer in colour. 

Una was still ahead of the group, with her hand on the holster of her belt, she wanted close access to her weapon. "We can't be too far away..." she said, glancing back at her 3 colleagues who followed her close.

Not long passed before a scent hit Valerie, it was strong, ammonic. It made her stomach swirl with slight sickness.

"Do you smell that?..." Luke was the first to comment about such. 

"Yes... We're getting closer..." Una replied.

'It doesn't smell promising...' Valerie thought to herself. It seemed the scent only grew stronger the further the group proceeded down the small trail. They were headed in the right direction.

The first drops of something - at first - unknown were noticed moments later. Tim and Una approached what they saw, kneeling before examining the drops. Making a subtle suggestion, they were soon to be proven correct that the red drops were blood.

Stepping aside, Una radioed the station, announcing their finding. "There's blood present on the trail. I repeat, there is blood present on the trail.".

"We've dispatched a unit to your location. They should be with you shortly," their station responded. "Meanwhile, report back if you find anything else.".

With that, Una turned back and approached her group. "Alright, we will proceed down the lane. Dispatch has sent a unit to our location, so we should get back up soon enough.".

"Should we wait for them?" Tim asked, looking at Una.

"We'll continue for a bit more before we turn and head back toward the parking to meet the backup unit.".

Tim nodded at Una's response and with that, they continued down the trail. They followed where the blood led the way. It wasn't long before the mere yellow rocks of the trail were replaced with nothing but mud. Clear footprints indented into the ground, where was once grass.

Valerie looked at the indentations on the ground, they seemed fresh. As if someone was here not too long ago. "The footprints seem fresh..." she let her thoughts out as words.

Backtracking a step or two, Una lowered herself closer to the ground. "Indeed so... the footprints are fresh...". With that, she looked up at Tim.

Clearing his throat, Tim averted his eyes from Una toward the rest of his colleagues. "Be careful everyone, the murderer could still be here.". Pausing for a moment, Tim looked back at Una. "Should we turn back?".

"We'll continue a little bit more and if we find nothing, we'll begin our way back.". However, just as Una finished talking, a crunch of a branch sounded. Immediately, Una as well as the rest of her enforcement pulled out their guns, pointing them at any threat.

"Hey!? Is anyone here?..." Tim began. "If so, we ask you to show yourself. Immediately.".

"We are armed and we will use our weapons if necessary," Una added. "So, if anyone is present, we ask you to cooperate with us and show yourself.".

Moments of silence passed, it was then that Una lowered her weapon. "It was probably an animal," she said. Placing her gun back into her holster, she cleared her throat and rubbed her sweaty palms off her trousers before proceeding to further follow the swirling trail of mud.

The group took a few more steps before speckles of colour began to show through the rustling leaves. The colours of the tents.

"I think this is it..." Una said, further approaching the yellow, blue and orange in the distance. "The camps..." she let out under her breath as she bent a few tree branches out of her way to help her see.

Behind her, the rest of her crew glanced at the site before walking toward the clearance. But it was Valerie who spent a second further, with her eyes on the crime scene. She felt as though something was off. Her gut told her so.

'It's a crime scene, of course I'm going to feel like this... Always feels like the first time.'. She mistook that sense for fear. 

 Shaking herself out of her short trance she ran, catching up to her comrades, although, they weren't much ahead of her anyway.

"Alright, it looks like we found our crime scene, I want everyone to split up and investigate the area, do not touch anything, do not alter than crime scene in any way and you know the rest. And also, don't wander too far away...". Una began. "Is that understood?".

"Yes, Captain," everyone obliged. 

With there being 4 people at the crime scene, each ventured in a cardinal direction. North, West, South and East.

Valerie was allocated the West side of the crime scene, heading into the shrubbery and trees of the forest. Just as Una had said, she dared not to seer too far into the dark woods.

Her eyes scanned left and right, looking for any more clues. Frequently, she looked back, remnants of the camp still in sight.

"Detective Simmons, do you copy?" she heard the familiar voice of her Una through the communication device that hung on the belt of her bottoms.

Picking it up, she placed it next to her lips before responding. "Copy.".

"Did you come across anything yet?".

"No, not just yet. Still looking," Valerie responded.

She continued walking before a mere buzz was heard. Stopping for a moment, Valerie thought she was hearing things. But the more she proceeded to walk ahead, the louder the buzzing seemed to become.

'What is that sound?...' she thought to herself.

And then, just barely, inaudible jibberish was heard. That was enough for Valerie to figure out that the sound came from an operating radio.

Her throat became dry as the churning returned to her stomach. She felt the fear numbing her limbs ever so slightly.

She proceeded to further wander toward the sound and it wasn't until she moved a few branches and walked through a few shrubs that she found what she feared the most. A dead body.

Almost instantly, she picked up her walkie-talkie. "This is Detective Simmons, do you copy?".

"Hopkins, copy.". Una's voice.

At first, Valerie couldn't find the words to sum up her findings, but taking in a deep breath and swallowing to moisten her dried throat, she spoke, "I found a dead body. West of the crime scene.".

"Roger," Una responded. "We're on our way. Do you know who it is by any chance?".

Valerie's eyes were met with the familiar colours of an officer's uniform, drenched in blood. "It's a fellow officer. I- I think it's Radley. Over.".

She was greeted by silence through the radio, but very soon, crunches were heard and behind her appeared Una, Luke and Tim. Immediately, they looked at the body.

"Shit..." Luke muttered under his breath.

They all looked at his face and turned to one side. The side that was in view was just as bloody as his outfit.

Putting on a pair of gloves, Una approached the bloodied corpse of their comrade. Gently, she turned his head to show the other side of his face. Once his face was turned Una let out a mere gasp, taking a few steps back. The rest of her group did the same.

Valerie swallowed hard. The corpse had half of his face bitten off, mealed up upon. His cheekbone was exposed along with his teeth.

"What the fuck..." Tim let out, he couldn't avert his eyes from the gruesome site. Flies already began their feast upon what was left of the exposed flesh. "Animal attack?..." was all Tim managed to mutter, alongside a release of a lungful of air.

"Whatever it was... it had no mercy..." Una spoke out next. Her stomach turned the more she looked at the mutilated corpse. But she knew she had to further investigate the body for any more clues.

Something caught her eye a moment later. Right by the open wound. Something white. "What is that?...".

With Valerie, Tim and Luke observing what she was about to do, they saw Una bend herself over back toward the corpse before extracting something from the open, bloodied tissue. It was a tooth. However, it wasn't Radley's tooth. Or it didn't seem so.

Making a mere grimace, she looked up a Tim who already had an evidence bag prepared for her. "We'll send it to the lab as soon as we're back.". Looking around himself, he placed the evidence in one of his pockets.

Another rustle of the leaves was heard close by, to which they all turned their attention to. Valerie's heart skipped a beat as she swallowed hard, looking around herself again.

Not one said a word about the sound, instead, Tim cleared his throat before beginning, "We should move on, there could be more clues around the crime scene.". And only then did he comment, "Who knows what could be lurking in the woods.".

"Should we stay together then?" Luke questioned.

"I think it'll be for the best, we don't want to lose another fellow friendly," Tim responded before looking Una's way. She gave him a look of approval.

With that, they all walked on, making sure they knew the way back to the dead body once the backup arrived.