Having to trudge his way through a knee-deep, creepy purple mist wasn’t how Adrian thought his day was gonna go. Luckily, the only time it could do any damage to humans was during the initial blast when it was first formed. The forest had seen the brunt of that one. The once lush plant life had been tainted, and become the same purple colour as the mist. If the tree’s leaves weren’t already on the ground, they were surely only a few seconds from falling to join the blanket of them that was laid out on the ground.

The mist also had a subtle, but uncomfortable moist feeling to it. Like a slimy condensation. Despite that, he didn’t complain. All he wanted to worry about was keeping an eye out for the nest’s core, and destroying it so they could actually see what they were doing. Isabelle and Alex were right by his side, and doing the same.

The area that the mist covered could best be described as a ‘highly efficient, self-sustaining womb’. Only rogue spirits on the brink of death were known to create them. The mere act of using their core to create a nest was one that would killed them, so it made sense to use as a final attack if all else failed, but even then the chances were relatively slim. It was a relatively new phenomenon with the earliest citation of one forming being only twelve years prior. Being a 'womb', other rogues could form from it at ridiculous speeds, but at the moment, there didn’t seem to be many around.

“Yo, how do we know which way the core is again?” Adrian asked.

“We just need to move where the mist is more concentrated,” Isabelle said, shaking some of the leaves out of her hair, “We can barely see anything, but getting there will still be the easy part. Actually getting rid of the core itself...”

The sound of something slicing through the air interrupted their conversation. Alex had taken his sword out of its sheath the second they entered, and was practising swinging it around in different ways as they walked.

“You got a handle on that thing yet?” Adrian asked.

“It feels natural to hold, but I need to test it on something tangible… Something like that.” He pointed past Adrian where a section of the mist was beginning to swirl up into a mini tornado. It was close, and inching towards them, but not enough to be a threat just yet.

Adrian was eager to let loose, but before he could even activate amplification, Alex had already sped past him, much to his annoyance. “It was closer to me, you know?” Alex scoffed and kept his eyes in front of him, not bothering to humour the remark.

The tornado didn't grow in size, but it continued to howl louder and louder as it inched closer, picking up twigs and leaves from the surrounding area in its spin.

Adrian watched Alex closely as a chain, surrounded by flowing water, wrapped itself around his wrist and the sword’s handle, binding them together. As it began to fade from vision, a torrent of water erupted from the blade and completely enveloped it. Its force was so great that Alex had to strain a little bit in order to keep himself from wobbling around too much. He tussled with the sword before gaining back control and getting into a tall, wide stance, pulling it back in anticipation. And as soon as the tornado was within range, he swung. A powerful stream shot out from the back of the blade, propelling it forwards with even more speed. Adrian and Isabelle were forced to dodge so they weren't hit too.

“Yo, you wanna work on your aim a little?”

“Work on not standing directly behind me a little, damn.”

“W-well you got better at spirit links at the very least,” Isabelle said, “In a really short time too.”

Better than me? Adrian thought, Can’t have that.

“I practised, didn't I? Anyways, come look at this. Use your sixth sense.” Alex pointed to the ground in front of him where his victim, a tiny, half-formed rogue spirit was disintegrating into the air. It hadn’t taken any distinguishable shape yet. Just a lump of fleshy substance with parts of it that vaguely resembled a head and a pair of stubby legs.

Using his sixth sense, Adrian saw a small trail of spirit energy being let off by the rogue, quickly moving towards their left in a weirdly orderly fashion. Usually, it would all dissipate into the air at random. Realising what was going on, the three of them instantly started following the trail through the maze of dead trees. Adrian kissed his teeth and kept his sixth sense on, not wanting to lose sight of it. “Crap, I forgot. In a nest, the spirit energy all goes back to strengthen the core.”

“It’s better not to fight anything before we get rid of it then,” Isabelle said, “But there’s gonna be loads of rogues by the core especially… S-should we turn back?"

Nobody said a word in response. Adrian pondered the possibility of needing to turn back for a second, but couldn’t get the image of the dishevelled Winchester family out of his head. He’d get other opportunities to help with the case, of course, but this opportunity was right in the palm of his hands. However insurmountable the wall would end up being, he decided pretty quickly that...

"We have to at least see what we're up against first, right?"

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that," said Isabelle with a nervous chuckle.

Keeping track of a spirit energy source so small and fast was difficult. It frequently faded in and out of view, making it even more tiring for Adrian’s eyes. It would have been the only significant source of spirit energy, besides the mist, however. That at least made it stand out more. It should have been the only other source, that is. There was another one that, personally to him, took precedence. A familiar sensation of death made him stop in his tracks, and look to where it was emanating from. It was in the same direction they were already walking, but slightly to the right.

“What’s your problem, man?” Alex called, “Are we not walking-”

Adrian pointed to the new trail of spirit energy without a word, and started slowly walking over to it, irritating memories of the week prior flooding his mind as he did. “That shapeshifting bastard," he hissed, "There’s no way I’d forget.”

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Isabelle rushed to his side and inspected the trail for herself. “I-it’s the rogue from last week,” she said quietly, “was it trying to lure people in? If I had to guess… This was probably here even before we fought it on the first day.”

“So it’s not here right now,” Alex said loudly so Adrian would hear, “And even if it were, we weren’t gonna fight it. Revenge can wait, man, we have stuff to do already.”

“That’s not it," he snapped back. A partial lie. Revenge was something Adrian wanted of course, but his mind was still on the mission at hand. “That humanoid we fought had something to do with the disappearances. It was in the pictures Mr. Harrows showed us, and everything.”

“...And?”

“We might be able to find Kaya or, even her friends if we follow the trail, duh."

Adrian turned to Isabelle for some back up in making his case. He didn’t like the way she struggled to maintain eye contact with him. Her mouth was slightly ajar, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It gave him the faintest sense that she was pitying him somehow. “...W-we would be able to ask but… Adrian, do you think that they’re…” She looked back at him briefly, before turning back to Alex.

“Do I think they’re what?” he asked, frustrated. It was frustration born from understanding. Understanding, but refusing from the bottom of his heart to accept what the deepest depths of his mind were already beginning to put together. “...I’m going.”

He clenched his fists and stormed off in the trail’s direction.

“Cool it!” Called Alex, following him.

“I know what I'm doing! Trust me!” His mind was running a mile a minute, rationalising his actions.

If they got caught in the blast when the nest formed, they’re gonna be injured, but it shouldn't be anything too crazy. We’re still pretty far out from the core, I think… Shit, but what if they were close to the blast, crawled this way, and THEN ran into the humanoid?

“A-Adrian!” Isabelle called, “You’re going in too deep!” He recklessly picked up his speed, stumbling over some stones in the ground as he did.

I can worry about their injuries after I save them. If I find them now, we can get them out, and won't have to stress about them when we come back in to deal with the nest. Yeah. That's the best way to do it. All I gotta do is save them. Just gotta save them. Just gotta… What the hell is that?

The purple colour of the mist was much deeper now. Using his eyes without sixth sense was out of the question until they adjusted, so he was relying heavily on his other senses too. He first heard the rustling of leaves in front of him, and as he got closer, two new sources of spirit energy came into view. He halted abruptly and squinted his eyes. Two distorted, wolf-like silhouettes barely became more visible, still mostly obscured by the thickening mist. The rustling of the leaves stopped for a second, then they turned to him, snarling and frothing at the mouth, their yellow eyes glowing through the mist like headlights.

“You’re gonna have to move,” said Adrian, amplifying his fists. One of the rogues bared its ugly fangs and lunged at him. He met it in kind with a swift right hook while it was in mid air. A small shockwave was created thanks to the force of his impact, and the rogue went flying off to the side. The splat of its head making contact with a tree let him know it was dealt with, but while he was still reeling his fist back, the other one had already leaped at him, and managed to get its saliva dripping jaw around his leg. He amplified it immediately, thinking the rogue would back off due to the flames, but it relentlessly held on even as he grunted in pain and tried to shake it off.

“Turn this way!” screamed Isabelle from behind him.

Adrian did as he was told and watched as a bolt of electricity whizzed right through the rogue’s body. Its flesh began to rapidly contract and expand before finally exploding, scattering purple blood and guts everywhere.

There didn't seem to be any other rogues around so Adrian calmed himself down, shaking his leg and wiping away some of the blood. There were teeth shaped marks where the rogue had bit him, but they were only a small problem when he touched them directly. He could still stand just fine.

“This is why you don't run off on your own,” Said Alex, rubbing his eyes in annoyance, “Can you still fight?”

“If I can stand then I can fight,” Adrian said nonchalantly, “It’s not a big deal.”

He promptly turned back to where the rogues had been rummaging. Coupled with the leaves they scattered around were heaps of soil, all circled around a ditch in the ground. A putrid smell radiating from it forced the trio to all pinch their noses. It was foul and pungent, but also had a hint of sickening sweetness to it; a mass of opposing aromas that made Adrian's head spin. Still, he took a step towards it.

“W-wait,” Isabelle said quietly.

There were a wave of thoughts going through Adrian’s head at the time. All of them, just as loud as each other, even before he peered into the ditch. Perhaps he already had a general idea of the horror he was going to see. Even if that was the case, nothing, not even his most depraved and darkest imaginations could have prepared him for that stomach churning sight.

Legs, arms, torsos and heads were crammed together in that tight ditch. None of them connected to each other the way they should have been, all of them stained black with dry blood. Useless as it was, he searched for signs of life within those cold, colourless eyes, but their gaze was empty; staring right through him. They weren’t all too visible because of the mist, but none of the basketball kits they were wearing were blue; he could tell that much. That alone confirmed them to be Charlie and Ali.

His lips had gone dry, and his face numb from the shock, but he wouldn't have called the way he was feeling as 'surprised'. A part of him expected that it’d turn out this way, he just didn’t want to accept it. That same part of him was now fighting with itself.

If it was dad, he would have been able to stop this from happening.

You weren't even a spirit hunter when they were killed. Why are you trying to blame yourself?

I wonder if things would have been different if I was here earlier?

You're talking crazy. That's a stupid hypothetical. Stop being irrational.

“...We knew,” Alex said. His voice was just barely softer than it usually was, “You knew. C’mon, I know you’re not actually stupid, man. the chances of finding them alive were slim from the start.”

“B-but even if you think you know...” Isabelle had started speaking, but her sentence petered off into a staggered sigh as she reached the end of her sentence.

He looked up and saw that neither of his friends took a step toward him. Their voices were muffled, and in the background of the countless incongruous thoughts running amok in his own head. He then looked back at the ditch, as if to confirm that what he was looking at was real.

His stunned condition was doing him no good. That’s why he foolishly disregarded the fact that they were standing within a nest, and stayed still, taking time that he didn’t have in order to fully readjust himself.

It was a pessimistic way of thinking, but If he likened this experience to any of his other setbacks, getting through it became much easier. He breathed in and out rapidly, forcing himself to stay calm, and somehow finding a temporary serenity within that gross pessimistic mindset. Knowing that he was capable of such a thing was almost as sickening as the sight in front of him, but he still truly desired to continue with the mission. As dubious as he found it to be, simply pushing on was the correct choice, right?

It had to be. If it wasn't then he wouldn't know how to feel about himself anymore.

He took a step back, and the second he turned around, the consequence of his lapse in his emotional judgement had already swept him off his feet. His vision became blurry and flipped on its side in an instant. Isabelle and Alex’s worried faces were only visible for a split second before the tornado swallowed him whole.