As the days passed, the travelers generally followed the river. One day they found a fast-moving stream. “I’m sure this feeds into the river,” Golsho told Jal one day. “Let’s go along it. Maybe we can find a way across. That way we could possibly get away from the risars.”

“That would be great,” Jal agreed.

They continued north as the stream snaked back and forth.

“This might be it!” Jal said to the Luminary and Golsho one day. “Do you think we could get across here?”

“If we built rafts, we would go downstream,” Golsho responded. “It would help if we had long poles to control the rafts somewhat.”

Everyone put down their packs and used the simple spell that secured their belongings. Pari told them she wasn’t feeling well and sat down near the collection of backpacks. “I’ll keep watch and let you know if I see anything.”

Jal and the other leaders wondered if it were a good idea, concerned that she wasn’t feeling well enough to protect herself. The expedition broke apart into groups of two, searching for saplings big enough for rafts or long enough to use as poles. They brought the trees to the place where Pari was sitting and went off to search for more. On her fourth trip to the building site, Lallo thought she and Morti should stop and see if Pari was feeling better.

“Where is she?” Morti asked.

“Maybe she went into the bushes to pee?” Lallo suggested. They began to search the area around the building site, calling for Pari at intervals.

Morti flipped on her communication device. “Did Pari team up with any of you?”

She was answered by a series of “nos,”. “She’s missing from the building spot. As you return, please look around for her.”

It wasn’t long before the groups stood together, wondering where ParI had gone. “I’ll walk along the stream this way,” Jal said. “Verle, you’re with me. Luk, would you and Tomau go upstream?”

Nearly an hour later, the communicators beeped. “We’ve found her. We’re bringing her back.”

It was another hour before Luk and Tomau returned to the building site. Luk was bare-chested. His shirt hung over Pari’s head. They laid her on the ground and Luk went to retrieve a shirt. Everyone was stunned.

“What happened?” Luminary Dev demanded.

“We found her upstream. Her head is missing. We looked around the area but couldn’t find it.” Several people had tears in their eyes and others began to weep. “She was so gentle and sweet,” Elodi said softly. “She wouldn’t hurt a fly if she didn’t have to. Did you find her wand?”

“We haven’t looked in her belt yet,” Tomau said.

Jal swallowed hard. “I’m not going to ask any of you to deal with this. I’m going to look over her body and pack to see if I can figure out what happened. The rest of you need to take a break. Move the packs away from here and let me take care of this.”

“I’ll help you,” Luke offered. “I found her.”

“No!” Jal nearly shouted. “I said I’ll take care of her. It’s my fault something happened to her. I shouldn’t have let her stay here by herself. Go on!” Jal urged them. It carefully lifted the shirt off Pari's body.

“How can I assist you?” The Luminary stood at Jal’s side.

“Look for a dark spot that looks like it could be blood.”

“Here! I found it.”

“Would you please get a video record please?” Jal asked. “Make a video record of the area. See if there are any sort of animal tracks.”

Jal unbuttoned Pari's shirt and looked at her neck, then her chest and waist. It rebuttoned the shirt and rolled up her sleeves. The fingernails had grey wisps in them. Jal went to its backpack and removed some small plastic containers. Carefully, Jal put some soft material in a container. Jal looked at her other hand and took more grey material. “It looks like fur.” Pari's boots were dusty and dirty. Jal noticed that the heel and ankle were covered with mud. “Why just the heel?”

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Jal opened Pari's belt pack. It lay the items in a row on the ground. “What’s missing?” it puzzled. Jal found Elodi. “Do you know what Pari carried in her belt pack?”

“I think so.”

“Please come and help me.” Back at the body, Jal and Elodi studied the objects from the belt. “Is there anything missing? Besides her wand?”

“Yes, I think so. She always carried something for female hygiene. This bag is her underclothes.”

“I know this is gross, but would you check those for me. Is there blood on them?”

“There is.”

“She was between reproductive cycles,” Jal said.

“I didn’t pay attention.”

“Okay, thanks, Elodi. You can go now.”

“Jal?” Jal looked at her. “You’re not going to return her body to her family like this, are you?”

“I don’t know.” She rejoined the others.

Jal made a video record of the body, the containers of grey material, her boots, and the marks on her neck. It turned to Pari's backpack. Carefully laying things out in a row, Jal studied them. Her wand was not there. She had made a video record of her finds. Jal laid it aside. It had been packed away and clearly, she was not using it at the time. Jal put everything back in the pack and closed it.

“Luminary Dev and Dr. Gyasi, would you join me please?” They followed him to Pari's body. 'This is what I’ve discovered. “Whatever killed her snapped her head off right below her chin, leaving the neck intact. The neck appears to be shredded. Her spine is twisted. Her body feels cool, so she has been dead since the last time she was seen. She had grey material underneath her fingernails. Her wand is missing. I believe she went into the bushes to attend to herself, and was between her reproductive cycles. The smell of blood may have attracted an animal.”

Luminary Dev handed Jal an electronic pad. “Here is what I recorded, Jal. There’s a pool of blood and a trail of it through the trees. It ended a short distance from where her body was found. There are a variety of indentations and partial footprints in the mud on either side of the blood.”

“She was dragged by her shirt,” Jal said. “She tried to fight off whatever it was and lost her wand in the process. “I found grey hair or fuzz underneath her fingernails. It snapped off her head and left her neck with two indentations between each ear.”

“Its mouth must be huge if it covered her head and bit it off,” Dr. Gyasi was surprised. “I had hoped we would be away from any big animals.”

“Apparently, we’re not. Now, what should we do with her body? I really don’t want to return it to her family.”

“Let me check the records.” Dr. Gyasi stared into space. “She had no family members or close friends on her application. Her wishes were that she be cremated near where she died and that her belongings be shared by the other people in the group.”

“That’s unusual. No friends?” Jal asked.

“I believe she left her family on Iragos against her parents’ wishes. She was very interested in science and spent a lot of time in the laboratory.”

“We’ll need a big fire to cremate her,” Jal said.

“The others are gathering wood for a big fire. They want to keep it going all night.”

***

Jal blinked rapidly. Sage Elvan looked at it and asked if it was okay. “I’ll be okay. I need to do this.” Jal turned away for a moment, then faced the group. “This is what I believe happened: Pari went into the bushes to relieve herself. I’m guessing that a large animal smelled her blood. She was seized by the collar of her shirt and dragged. She tried to fight off whatever it was and lost her wand in the process. “This animal is big. It snapped off her head, leaving her neck and the rest of her body. Her neck was shredded.”

After swallowing hard, Jal stood. “Pari Pibul was a quiet, unassuming person, consumed with the study of biology. She was confident of what she was doing and was enjoying this journey. Her wishes were that she be cremated, and that her personal effects be shared by the group members. Elodi will take charge of that. I know it will make things complicated, but I don’t want Maya in a tent by herself. Who is willing to make room for her in their tent?”

Andi Bandro raised her hand. “I will, if Luminary Dev agrees.”

“We can do that,” the Luminary said.

“Listen to me!” Jal said firmly. “No one is going alone anywhere! If you have to use the toilet, take at least one other person with you, preferably two. If you go to pick up wood for the fire, cook, or take care of any other task, have someone with you. You don’t have to be with your tentmate constantly but try make certain that you’re not leaving anyone alone. It is imperative that you do this, if you want to continue the expedition.”

Jal took a breath. “If anyone is too frightened to continue on, come and talk to me. I won’t try to stop you, and we’ll make arrangements to get you home safely.” The people around the fire looked at one another and were silent. “After we have a meal, we’ll build the fire up so it is very hot. Not only will it be a cremation for Pari but I hope it will keep any animals away.”

The group was quiet that night as they assembled a meal and watched the trees for animals.

“Nine people are gone,” Sage Elvan said to Jal. “Each death is hard. I’m here if you need to talk.”

“I’m just glad that those children are no longer in danger. I’m guessing that tomorrow someone will say they’ve had enough.”