Jenny’s grip on the reins tightened as they neared the cave. Ember moved cautiously now, her scaled feet stepping lightly on the uneven ground as if sensing something off. Reed, sitting behind Jenny, had his hand ready near his weapon, his sharp eyes scanning the cliffs.
“Too quiet,” Reed muttered, his voice low.
Jenny nodded, her expression tense. The entrance to the cave loomed ahead, but it was different this time. No flickering firelight spilling out. No distant sounds of laughter or guttural conversation. No movement at all.
“It’s dead,” Jenny said, her tone uncertain. “Quiet as a grave.”
“Maybe they saw us coming,” Reed offered, though even he didn’t sound convinced. “Or maybe they’ve moved.”
Jenny pulled Ember to a stop near the entrance. Reed slipped off first, his boots crunching softly against the rocky ground. He motioned for her to follow, but she hesitated.
“Stay close,” he said, his voice steady but firm.
Jenny climbed down, landing awkwardly but steadying herself quickly. She felt the familiar twinge of frustration as her left hand grabbed at her knife. With Ember left to wait outside, they moved toward the cave’s dark maw.
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The familiar stench hit them first—the smell of blood, rot, and death. It made Jenny’s stomach churn, but she pressed forward, keeping close to Reed as they entered. The flickering light from Reed’s torch illuminated the carnage, and Jenny sucked in a sharp breath.
The sight was worse than anything she’d imagined. The floor was littered with bodies—or what was left of them. Limbs scattered, torsos twisted and torn open, heads lying at unnatural angles. Some were so mangled they were barely recognizable as human.
“Gods...” Jenny whispered, covering her nose with her arm.
Reed crouched near the nearest body, his sharp eyes narrowing. “This isn’t fresh. A day, maybe two.” He ran a finger along a jagged cut in one corpse’s side. “Some of these are clean—cuts from a blade. But these...” He gestured to another body, its chest torn open as if by massive claws. “Teeth. Big ones.”
Jenny’s throat tightened as she scanned the carnage. “A monster?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Do you think it was some kind of monster?”
Reed didn’t answer immediately, his gaze shifting from one body to the next. He stood slowly, his expression unreadable. “Maybe. But some of this... it feels deliberate. Controlled.” His words hung heavy in the air.
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Jenny’s attention was drawn to a body nearby—a torso, split cleanly in half. Her breath caught as she noticed the familiar fabric of a jacket tangled around its remains. Her field jacket. The one they’d stripped from her when they’d tried to carve her apart.
“Reed,” she said, moving toward it before he could stop her. She knelt awkwardly, grabbing at the jacket with her left hand and tugging. It didn’t come free.
“Jenny—don’t—” Reed started, but she ignored him.
Even in her one-armed state, she was determined. Gritting her teeth, she yanked harder, half-lifting the upper torso still tangled in the fabric. She dragged the jacket, body and all, toward the entrance where Reed was standing.
“Really?” Reed asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced down at the mangled corpse. “That important?”
Jenny glared at him. “It’s mine.”
Reed let out a low whistle but didn’t argue. While she worked at freeing the jacket, his eyes caught something further into the cave. A pile of valuables—bags, weapons, jewelry, and clothes, all stripped from victims who hadn’t been as lucky as Jenny. His eyes lit up when he spotted her backpack and rifle, resting near the top of the heap.
“Jackpot,” Reed muttered, moving toward the pile. He picked up the rifle and slung it over his shoulder before digging through the rest. Among the tattered remains, he found a dagger with an ornate handle—polished silver, its edge gleaming even in the dim light. He turned it over in his hand, admiring its weight and balance.
“Whoever this belonged to won’t miss it,” he said under his breath, sliding it into his belt.
Jenny finally freed her jacket and shrugged it over her shoulders, grimacing as it sat unevenly over her frame. “Find anything else?” she asked, dragging the backpack and rifle closer.
Reed nodded, still scanning the cave. “Yeah, a whole lot of questions. Like what the hell happened here.”
Jenny nodded grimly. “On one hand, we don’t have to fight. On the other...” She glanced at the torn bodies. “I don’t want to meet whatever did this.”
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Their conversation was cut short by a deep, guttural sound from the back of the cave. It was low at first, almost like a rumble, but it grew louder, accompanied by a wet, squelching noise that sent chills down Jenny’s spine.
“Reed...” she said, her voice tight.
“I hear it,” Reed replied, his hand going to his weapon as he turned toward the sound.
From the shadows emerged a nightmare. It wasn’t an animal, nor was it a dragon or any recognizable creature. It was a mass of flesh, limbs, and heads grotesquely fused together. Arms jutted from its sides at unnatural angles, hands clawing the air as it dragged itself forward on mismatched legs. Its head—or what passed for a head—was a massive, circular maw lined with jagged, uneven teeth. The mouths of other faces were visible along its body, twisted into silent screams.
Jenny’s breath caught as she instinctively stepped back. “What the hell is that?”
Reed didn’t answer, his eyes locked on the abomination as it lumbered closer. The beast let out a bone-rattling roar, its twisted limbs shifting and scraping against the cave floor as it moved. Whatever the cannibals had been doing here, it hadn’t just been eating.
“Run?” Jenny asked, her voice shaking.
“Not yet,” Reed muttered, his grip tightening on his weapon. “Let’s see what it can do.”
The beast roared again, its maw splitting wide as it charged.