V'zul felt the warmth of the sun touch his face. He opened his eyes and looked up at the leaves that blocked the blue sky. He looked at the tree across from him and saw Avalon sitting; he was asleep with his legs crossed. V'zul felt the throbbing pain in his arm and looked down. His arm lay limp, and the sling was ruined from the night's attack.

He slowly stood and approached Avalon. He tapped his shoulder and said, "Wake up."

Avalon's eyes sprung open. He darted his gaze and looked up at V'zul. "Did we die?"

V'zul grabbed his arm and sat next to him, "Probably not," he said, "How long were we asleep?"

"Long enough," Avalon popped his neck.

V'zul looked at the grass beneath him and let out a sigh of relief. "What happened last night. Was that even real?"

"Well," Avalon responded, "we're in the park forest. So yeah, I'm sure it was all real."

He rubbed his arm and stared into the forest depths.

"We gotta move," Avalon said as he jumped to his feet, "your wife is out there somewhere. I know for a fact she isn't dead."

"No," V'zul replied, "she can't be." He looked around and raised a brow. "Where's Partner?"

"Who?"

"The ghoulish fella."

Avalon snapped his fingers and nodded. "He's probably looking for your wife too."

V'zul slowly nodded and held his arm out. "Help me out?"

Avalon grabbed his forearm and pulled him to his feet. They walked through the forest and stopped at the woodland edge. V'zul noticed a trail of purple blood stained on the grass. He tapped Avalon's arm and pointed. "That's her!" he said, "It has to be!"

They followed the trail and came across a worn tent. Avalon poked his head through the entrance and saw an older man sleeping on his back. He quietly withdrew and said, "There's a guy in there."

"He probably knows something," V'zul replied. He approached the tent and tapped his leg. The man flinched and quickly turned around with a wide-eyed stare.

"Ah, shit," he sighed, "Look, I know I shouldn't be out here camping. But come on, man, I got nowhere else to go."

"I'm not an officer," V'zul assured him, "I just need to ask you a question."

"Oh yeah?" he sat up, "what's that?"

"Have you seen a woman last night? She's tall, purple, and wears black clothing."

The man widened his eyes and looked over his shoulder to check if his money was still there. "So, she was real," he mumbled. "I know who you're talking about."

"Oh, thank God," V'zul said with relief.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Why do you want to know?"

She's my wife," he said.

"Well," the man pursed his lips and nodded, "that explains her runnin' off. Probably was lookin' for you. Now, I don't know where she is now. I helped her out, and she bolted through this here forest."

"So, she's in the forest?"

"Maybe, she ran through it. Don't know if she's still there or not.

"Thank you for your time, sir. Sorry to disturb you," he withdrew and looked at Avalon. "She's in the forest somewhere."

Avalon nodded. "Go ask him if he can take us to the last known location."

"I hear ya!" he shouted while exiting the tent. "Aw, shit," he looked at V'zul, "you said you weren't a cop!"

"He's a priest," Avalon replied, "I'm the only cop here. And no, you're not in any trouble. We just need a ride."

He and Avalon locked eyes. The man turned and gestured to follow. When the back door opened, they saw dried blood on the seat. Avalon ignored it and stepped into the back while V'zul sat shotgun.

"Oh yeah," V'zul said. "We never asked for your name."

"Jake," he said while turning on the engine.

They drove through the dirt trail and arrived at the graveyard. Jake led them to the hole he dug and pointed in the direction she ran.

"You took a body?" Avalon said, annoyed.

"She needed one," Jake explained, "to re-attach some missing body parts."

Avalon nodded and patted his back. "You're off the hook."

"She went that way?" V'zul pointed in the direction she ran.

"Yeah, that's right. Can I go back home now? I don't know what kind of weird shit you guys are doing, but I'm not interested in finding out."

"You can go," Avalon said.

"Great." He sped-walked to his truck and vanished into the forest.

"Too bad we can't help him," V'zul said.

"Eh, he's better off not being around us."

They walked back into the forest and searched. After half an hour of searching, they found her on the ground. V'zul knelt next to her and tapped her cheek. "Wake up, honey. Come on, wake up."

A groan escaped from her. She looked behind her and saw her husband's face looking down at her. "V'zul… you're alive?"

Without a word, he embraced her with his one working arm. "I'm so glad you're alive," he said with a soft tone.

"I don't die that easily," she laughed. "Not while I still need to protect your ass."

Avalon crossed his arms and smiled. He looked at V'zul's fractured arm and slightly cringed. "Yo!" he shouted. "What are we gonna do about your arm?"

Katie looked at his arm and realized how damaged it was.

"Don't worry about it," V'zul said. "We need to get out of here. My condition can be fixed another time."

"My guy," Avalon said. "I don't even know if we're getting out of here. These guys are all over the place."

"Not right now," Katie hissed, "we just need to sit and think for a moment. Come up with a plan."

"If they didn't have demons, I'd just try for a police escort."

Katie sat up and gently pulled V'zul down. She placed his head on her lap and rubbed the side of his face. Avalon sat in front of them and crossed his legs.

"Alright," V'zul said, "let's see what we can come up with."

"Honestly, "Avalon said." I have an idea, although you both may disagree with it."

"And that is?" Katie asked.

"We don't try to escape."

V'zul widened his eyes and shook his head.

"How about we take them on? Try to dismantle them."

"That's… a bad idea," V'zul said.

"Well, I don't think we're gonna get out of here. I mean, these guys have eyes and ears everywhere. And they know he's still alive."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Katie exclaimed, "You want the three of us to fight an organization of killers?"

"It's just an idea. Unless you guys can somehow sneak out. And," Avalon added, "considering what happened at the strip club. There's no way the police won't investigate this."

"Maybe," she said. "But I doubt much will be done. The police in this city aren't that great."

"I'll throw in my two cents," V'zul said, "If we can't get out. Then we will have no choice."

"What?" Katie gasped, "we can't fight that!"

"I know you're worried about me, honey. But we need to think beyond my safety."

She stared at him and turned her head away.

"Katie," he sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "We will get out of this alive. I promise."

Her only response was leaning into him. He felt her muscles tense and slightly shaking. V'zul kissed the back of her head and closed his eyes while resting against a tree,

God, V'zul thought, If you're listening right now. Please, grant us guidance.