"Where'd Leuis go?" asked Captain Hahndo. Breadi, the soldier next to him in the bushes, shrugged. 'Goddammit�E the captain grumbled. They'd been sitting out in the bushes by the edge of the jungle for two hours. Needless to say, they were getting tired. It was hot and humid, there were bugs everywhere, and his four remaining men were growing impatient. Leuis had been sent into the forest as a scout about 20 minutes ago. The captain wasn't as worried as he had been two hours ago�ETwo hours ago they knew they were going to stake out the monster.
They say it is a man, but no one who's seen what it's done thinks so�EIt's a demon, a monster, or even the devil himself. That is why Captain Hahndo was waiting.
Three days ago, a camp was attacked, and almost everyone was killed, including his best friend since childhood, Rjino. Two days ago, the only one of Rjino's men still alive and in any condition to fight was sent to him. Rjino had always bragged about that one boy�Ehe was very skilled, and an obedient soldier. Now, under Captain Hahndo's command, the new soldier, Matiset, and his own four men had been sent as the best squadron, to hunt down and kill that monster. It had killed many over the years, and yet no one had been able to stop it�Ethat's what Hahndo expected to do.
"He's taking too long," one soldier said. "Maybe something happened to him�E#034; added another. "Maybe he tripped on a root and started crying!" returned the first soldier. They continued chattering as if nothing could go wrong. "Maybe he got eaten by a giraffe!" "A giraffe?! You dumbass!" "I'm hungry!" "Should we go find him?" The new soldier remained silent.
"The monster moves fast. It's probably gone by now�EIt was sighted here two days ago, after all. I don't think it'd stick around," Tano said. "Yes, that's true�Ebut it was covered in blood, so that would leave a trail," the captain replied. "I bet that's what Leuis is following!" said Breadi. "Then let's go�E#034;
The captain led the way through the jungle, following a faint path... there were no signs of blood�E'I know, he's probably goofing off somewhere and making me worry�EDamn that boy�EI swear when I find him�E the captain thought to himself. His soldiers were chattering again. "Ooh! A monkey!" "Look at that!" "You're not supposed to eat that, Breadi!" "I gotta pee�E#034; Matiset, who had been silent, gasped. "Uh�ECaptain�E#034; he said. "What is it? Did you find something?" "�Eeah�E#034; Matiset answered. Blood�EAt first, little drops, and then bigger drops. They followed the blood as the drops became splatters and smears. "I-It must be the m-m-monster�Eright?" Qere asked, stuttering. He ran to the end of the line when no one answered him. They continued on a little further, thinking 'Yes, the monster would have been this bloody! It's the monster's blood�E Then the captain unknowingly stepped over something that made the man behind him trip.
"Geez, what the hell was that?!" Breadi said. "It's probably just a root," replied Tano. "No, look, it's something else�E#034; Everyone took a closer look in the dim light of the jungle�E"Isn't that�Eisn't that Leuis's bow?" asked Qere. The bow in question was snapped in half, the bowstring was cut, there was blood all over it, and there were no arrows to be found. "Yes�Ethat's his bow�E#034; the captain confirmed. It grew perfectly quiet. Everyone drew their weapon and continued slowly in solemn silence. The path stopped, obstructed by a mass of vines and bushes�Ethat were covered in blood. Breadi began to cut through the shrubbery with his sword as the rest watched. He cleared an area where he could see what lie beyond it�Eand he froze. "C-c-captain�E#034; he stuttered, the way he makes fun of when it's Qere. He backed up so the captain could take a look, and everyone else crowded around trying to see. "Holy�Eshit�E#034; was all the captain could say.
The scent of blood, typically not identifiable to normal humans, hit them strongly... There was blood everywhere, not that anyone noticed�EThey were all too horrified by what was by the large tree to care�Eor, what was
on the large tree, to be more precise.
It was Leuis. You could barely tell because he covered in so much blood. He leaned on the side of the tree, held in place by three of, what we must assume to be, his
own arrows; one in his stomach, one through the joint connecting his lower and upper arm, and one below his collar bone. His head was severed and swung slightly, above his neck, held up by an arrow going into, and through, his skull where his eyes used to be. Blood ran down his pierced arm in streams and dripped off the tips of his fingers. Blood still trickled slowly from his gaping neck, and from his ears, his nose, and his mouth. One could see how very recently it was that blood had gushed from his eye sockets. Now, void of eyes, they seemed to be staring vacantly at the mess of his blood spilled everywhere. All the blood appeared to be wet�Eand was probably still
warm�E
Qere turned away and threw up. Tano fell to his knees and started crying and saying "oh my god, oh my god," over and over again�EHe and Leuis had been good friends. Breadi tried to be strong. He said "holy shit�E#034; and had to cover his mouth to keep from vomiting. Matiset had never seen something so horrible. He was in shock, and could do nothing but stare until everything became fuzzy and all he saw was a red blob while his mind tried to deal with the trauma. The captain stood frozen�Ehorrified, frightened, and guilty that he let this happen to one of his own men. He only prayed that he had died quickly�Ebut, knowing the monster, he probably didn't.
"I�EI think it says something on the tree�E#034; Breadi said after recovering himself enough to speak. The captain squinted his eyes�EIndeed, there was a message carved into the tree above Leuis's�Ehead�EIt was in a different language, one used exclusively by a tribe-village the monster had destroyed recently. He knew it from his youth, where his home village traded with that village�E"What does it say, captain?" asked Breadi. Hahndo shook his head. He didn't want to read it out loud where Tano could hear it. "What�Ewhat does it say?" Tano asked quietly, much to everyone's surprise. He was still on all fours staring at the ground. Qere sat with his knees pulled up to his chest shaking slightly, and facing away. The other three stood. After a moment of silence, the captain said, "No, you don't need to hear it right now, Tano, it's-" "What does it say?!" Tano demanded. "I want to know what it says! Tell me!!" Captain Hahndo sighed�E"It says �Sorry, you just missed me. Next time, bring more people to the party. I like making new �friends�E like this one here�E�EIt became silent�Eexcept for Tano�s quiet sobs and the sound of a occasional dripping of tears onto the foliage.
Suddenly, there was a snapping sound, and everyone turned to look at the tree�EThe arrow holding Leuis�s head broke and it landed with a sickening �thud�E It tumbled to the ground and rolled several feet until coming to a stop. Almost unnoticeable through the blood splatter of Leuis�s crushed skull was another message carved onto the tree. Everyone gasped. Qere threw up again, accompanied by Breadi. Matiset had to cover his mouth to keep from vomiting. Tano was sick, then collapsed in tears�ECaptain Hahndo had to turn away. Tano coughed a few times, and the muttered something to the captain. �What?�Ehe asked, not having heard him clearly. �I said read it,�ETano repeated. There was no point arguing with him. With a pause, the captain read: �Catch me if you can. With love, the monster��.
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