Inside the hut of the same middle-aged man who introduced himself as Caspian...
"So, that boy vanished four days ago from the village..." Zane sits on the chair, a lamp glowing near him, framing his cheek in a faint red hue.
After entering his hut, Caspian gives a brief recount of the situation, explaining how the boy named Leon fell into the river four days ago while fishing.
Nodding his head in agreement to Zane’s words, Caspian adds with a grim expression on his face, "That is right. But, it’s hard to believe it, even for us. Since he was a very good swimmer and couldn’t have just been swept away by the water flow like that."
A clinking sound comes from the side as Kael sets the empty cup down and starts preparing to move out.
"It’s obvious. He must have drowned due to an injury or some other reason. Anyhow, we should check the place he was last seen. It’s not good delaying the task."
"And take a rope before moving out."
Agreeing with his decision, all three of them leave the hut behind and start following Caspian toward the shore where Leon fell.
...
About ten minutes away from the village, they stop near the large oak tree whose branches hover over the fast-flowing river.
Seeing the fast and dangerous waves of water, their expressions sour slightly.
Zane crouches near the edge, dipping just his fingers into the water current and then glancing toward Kael and Bram.
"Are you sure that body has anything to do with the thing we are looking for? Since it looks quite easy for a motionless body to get into that state after falling into the river and then getting hit by the stones."
"Well, that’s the point." Bram lets out a huff, looking at the treeline as if something will come out at any moment from there. "The body has to be ’motionless’ for that to happen. Didn’t you see his crotch? Or the lack of it?"
Caspian’s hand clenches at his wording, but he remains silent.
...
After asking Caspian to go back to his village to prevent him from creating a disturbance during the investigation, they fall into the task of finding out the culprit.
Parting through the brushes and trees, Kael searches between the dense collection of trees, looking for any sign of rustling or footprints.
On the other side of the river, Bram moves around with his sword in his hands. His expression is serious, unlike his usual annoying self.
The most dangerous, however...
...has been given to Zane.
He checks the knot around his waist once again, ensuring that the rope is tied tight. Then, he walks over to the rock where the other end of the rope is tied and tightens it too.
Though, despite his dutiful expression, his feelings are anything but dutiful.
Fucking bastards!
He thinks while kicking the rock. His hands clench tight at his sides as he grits his teeth and stomps toward the edge again.
They took away the easy task! Bastards! What if some beast is hiding inside the river?
He instinctively reaches out to his crotch, the image from earlier appearing in his mind, almost making his eyes well up with tears.
Some time ago, while dividing the work between the three of them, Kael and Bram quickly took over the task of searching the land. But, taking advantage of the fact that Zane’s body is less fat than theirs, they gave him the rope and asked him to see if the river had anything ’strange’ inside it.
Getting outnumbered in the decision, he could do nothing but pray that the river was clean of any danger.
Taking one final deep breath, he dives into the water. The rope flutters near his waist as he first swims through the edges and then, bracing himself, decides to go deeper.
Hearing the sound of the splash, Kael and Bram stop in their tracks for a moment. Kael’s eyes glint dangerously for a moment, while Bram lets out a loud huff of laughter before leaning against the tree.
"Well, well... Almost every factor says that the real danger is most likely in the river. That idiot didn’t even think about the beasts before jumping in."
Zane has no way of hearing his words about the ’beasts’ under the water’s surface.
He moves cautiously under the water, brushing his hand through the stones for support. From time to time, he checks his waist to ensure both the rope and his sword are safe.
His lungs become heavy as the seconds pass by, but until now, he finds nothing inside.
After a moment, he swims toward the surface and takes a few deep breaths of air into his lungs before diving into the water again.
Time passes slowly.
Seconds. Then, minutes...
Both of them have ceased their search for a moment, their eyes trained on the river surface silently.
Bram bites his lips once and asks quietly, "What happened? It has been almost a minute now. Is he dead? Did something find him there?"
"Maybe." Kael isn’t quite certain himself. He just keeps examining the way the water is moving.
Unknown to them, the bush which Kael checked earlier seems to sway slightly, several paces behind them. Then, the bush next to it stirs too.
...
Deep inside the water, Zane struggles. But not against the beast.
He pulls on the rope, which has gotten stuck on a sharp, curved rock. The struggle grows, and his panic does too, as the pressure increases upon him.
Ugh... I will die...
He tries to open the knot at his waist too, but it’s too tight, and there’s not enough visibility or time to do anything about it here. He floats closer to the stone, and the rope finally loosens slightly there...
On land, the situation has changed completely. Bram grips his left shoulder tightly, blood continuing to drip onto the grass after trailing down his arm.
A piece of his flesh lies on the ground, only to disappear instantly as a mouth suddenly clamps over it, gulping it down in one go.
The figure shifts with flailing limbs and a hanging jaw. Its sharp, knife-like fingers and tilted feet move viciously as it lets out a loud, screeching sound toward them.
"A ghoul... Fuck." Kael stands poised with his sword pointed toward the creature, his eyes darting toward Bram and the ghoul as he yells.
"Be ready! It’s just one. We can finish it!"
Bram groans in pain but takes a step forward anyway toward it, his gaze flaring with rage as he mutters under his breath, "I know. I just want to tear its guts out right here."
The treeline goes silent as the ghoul lunges at them, its claw opening wide and moving toward Bram’s right shoulder, attempting to tear off the flesh there too.
But just at this moment, Kael’s blade slices against its wrist in a blur of a strike, efficiently ripping almost half of it away mid-air.
"Tug at the rope, Bram! Signal him!"
Bram straightens up immediately and moves toward the rock where the rope is tied. Bracing his strength, he starts pulling on the rope, the movement making his shoulder jerk from the pain.
"Ugh... It’s hurting too much."
The rope grinds against the stone edge, followed by abrupt ripples on the surface as a head snaps out from the water.
Zane’s chest heaves high, his lungs begging for oxygen as he feels completely drained for a moment. Then, the tug at his waist snaps him out of his dizziness.
When he turns his head toward them, the sight makes a chill run down his spine.
"What the..."
Instead of going toward them, he changes his direction completely. The panic makes his movements frantic as he swims toward the other side of the river.
Escape! Escape!
"BASTARD!" Bram’s throat burns as he pulls hard toward himself. From behind him, Kael barks out in annoyance while trying to hold the ghoul’s mouth away from his face.
"Pull him quickly, Bram! Do it!"
"I am fucking doing it already!"
He is doing his best, indeed. However, because Zane was already close to the other side when he appeared on the surface, it doesn’t take him long to grip the tree branch there.
Zane grips the tree branch desperately, which hangs just above the water. He resists every pull at his waist, even as his palms burn and hurt from the constant drag against the wood.
No way in hell I am going there. That thing will eat me alive!
The tension grows higher. Seeing the absurd scene happening behind him, Kael punches the ghoul’s face mercilessly, throwing the creature a few paces away and giving himself a moment of relief.
Turning around instantly, he also grabs the rope and pulls.
"Come here right now! I will kill you otherwise, I swear!"
When the force increases by double, Zane’s hands almost slip off the branch, but in a single motion, he yanks his legs out of the river and wraps them around the branch instead.
His body turns upside down, and his hands finally become free. Without wasting time, he starts untying the rope.
"NO! Stop that!"
Bram’s anger increases, and just as he prepares to pull again, Kael’s voice makes his heart thump faster in panic.
"Bram, look behind yourself!"
But it’s too late.
Before either of them can react, a wet sound like chewing echoes behind Bram. Even Zane freezes on the other side, his hands trembling on the rope.
"N...No."
Tears trail down his cheek as Bram looks down between his thighs.
A pair of milky white eyes stares up at him. Its mouth chews again, and blood slowly appears through the trousers, disappearing inside its lips.
His hands leave the rope and fall at his sides, loose and helpless.