Chapter 19: Tracking

Chapter 19: Tracking

The Black Woods were a strange place, unlike other forests Id been through in the past. The black trees were packed closely together in some areas, and further apart in others, and they lacked any truly distinguishing marks. Luckily, between my compass and the tracks I was following, I had a way to keep my bearings. The tracks were mostly uniform, and from the way they were spaced I could tell they were moving the dirtbikes slowly through the uneven terrain in order to avoid accidents. I felt it was foolish of them to take the bikes at all, but to the Horde leaving them behind had likely been something theyd found unconscionable. As I was following the trail I received a notification.

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in tracking! Like the brave Indian on the fertile grasses of the west following herds of buffalo, you carry on a proud tradition!

I still didnt know exactly what the hell a buffalo was, but hey progress was progress. I continued making my way through the woods and following the signs left by the patrol when I noticed something. A fresh set of footprints following behind the tracks of the Horde patrol. They werent human. There were two pairs of them that lined up with each other and left deep impressions in the ground which led me to believe that the creature walked on all fours and was massive. As I followed the sets of tracks, I noticed the large creature would break off in another direction, then return further down as the patrol got further and further in. I realized after a while that whenever the beasts footprints would return, one of the patrols sets of footprints would vanish. The beast was intelligent, whatever it was, and it was stalking the patrol to take it out one person at a time.

I followed the tracks into a clearing, and found the first few of the patrollers. The smell of blood was heavy in the air, several trees had been torn down, and there were four dead men on the ground. I noticed dozens of shells scattered all around, as well as what looked to be a broken piece of treated wood shaped like a pole. I examined the corpses. All of the men had been torn to shreds. I could see a mixture of bite and claw marks that went deep, too deep to survive. Aside from the red blood of the dead men, I could see a large pool of black blood in the clearings center, as well as torn off patches of black fur. I examined the spot closely, and noted that there were a number of tracks near the blood and it seemed to move in a specific direction, as if the creature had been dragged away when it had been killed.

I waited until its scent disappeared, and then began to slowly extricate myself from the tree I was hiding behind. I had more difficulty doing so than I expected, but I eventually managed to force myself to move. I had seen a lot of things, but that beast was beyond anything I couldve expected. I had a distinct feeling that it, and its species, were likely the reason that no one whod entered the black woods, ever returned.

That made the question of how in the radded wasteland of the world, had a group of people managed to survive living within the woods. A group that apparently had no guns to speak of, and was relying on primitive weapons as if they were a wild settlement. I shook my head to myself. Things never seem to become less complicated as they go on, only more. Still, Id found no womens bodies which meant that there was still a solid chance the Khans daughter was alive and among the group that had left the clearing.

I went back to the trail that had been left, and resumed my tracking. It was almost daylight out again, and I was hopeful that I could find the patrol, the strange group, and a safe place to lay my head without needing to be worried about a massive mutated bear tearing it off and eating it in one bite.

Just as the sun was starting to rise, I came out into the largest clearing Id been in so far. I found myself, for the second time that day, completely at a loss about what I was seeing. In front of me, made of massive stone blocks and guarded by rows of defensive wooden stakes, was a castle. Not a ruined building made to look like a castle, or some old amusement park done up like one, but an honest to god castle.

I ran a hand across my face. For the first time, I felt myself missing just being a courier.