Crestfallen

43: Camp Gone Wrong.

*****

“Is that a dead body over there?” Haibara asked, her finger pointed at something in the distance.

Conan squinted his eyes to see more clearly. “Maybe?”

“It is. I can see it right from here. There is puddle of blood there.”

Conan looked at her before he jogged a distance and approached the body lying on the ground. He felt for a pulse. There was none. “He’s dead.”

“Obviously. I just told you that.” She commented nonchalantly. She walked to his side. “Well, this is a nice change of scenery.” She said.

“There’s a dead man on your feet.” Conan pointed out.

Haibara rolled her eyes. “Of course, I was being sarcastic.” She snickered. “And whose fault it is that we even end up in here? And with a murder case? Again? You corpse-magnet!” she blurted.

Conan looked at her. “It’s not my fault, someone’s dead in here.” He commented.

“Kudo-kun, the criminal might still be here.” She looked at him sharply, and then added, “If we die here, I swear I’m going to spend the rest of my afterlife reminding you that this was all your fault.”

True enough, she had thoughts of dying but she did not want the detective to die too. No way.

Conan smirked at her expression. She looked pissed. “That’s cool. I wouldn’t mind having company while being a ghost. At least I am not alone in the afterlife.” He answered as if her comments did not affect him. Instead, he crouched down to observe the dead man on their feet.

The man was on his late 30’s. He was wearing a leather coat, gloves, and black overalls paired with leather boots. It was as if he just came back from a hunt. There was a bag on his side, but it was empty. The contents were probably taken by the culprit. There was a gunshot wound on his leg, and rope marks on his neck.

“What do you think?” Haibara asked afterwards.

“He’s a hunter, judging from his clothes. He must have run from here to hide but was shot in the leg, but he did not die from the shot nor the blood loss. He died from oxygen deprivation due to choking. The bluish color of his lips indicated so.”

The scientist nodded in agreement. “Any plans?”

“We must call the police.” He answered as he fished out his phone from his pocket. “Shit.” He cursed after he unlocked the phone. “There’s no reception here.”

Haibara thought for a moment. “Use the badge to call the kids, then tell them to call the police.”

He nodded. But before he could call, it rang. He answered it immediately.

“Conan-kun?” Mitsuhiko’s voice called from the other side. He was whispering.

“Yes, Mitsuhiko?” he answered. “Look… I need –”

“Conan-kun, I think we’re in trouble.” Mitsuhiko quickly interjected, cutting off the detective.

“What? Why?” he asked cautiously.

“We met two persons earlier, and now they’re leading us to the deep part of the woods. They’re suspicious. And the man got a hunting gun, and I’m scared but Genta and Ayumi seems oblivious of the danger!” he shouted in a whisper.

Conan’s face darkened. “Where are you? Any signs?”

“Just trees.” He whispered again. “Wait…they’re l-leading us to a cave, Conan! Oh gods, they’re going to kill us. Save us, Conan—” He whispered before the other line ended abruptly.

“Mitsuhiko? Hey! Mitsuhiko!” Conan called but the line was dead already. “Damn!”

“You hear that, Hai?” he turned at her. “Looks like they just met our culprit.”

Haibara nodded grimly. “And looks like they are going this way.” She said as she gestured the detective to look at where they had come from. From there, a speck of light broke out in the darkness. “Let’s hide.” She said as she dragged the detective to a nearby boulder.

*****

Conan tried hard to hold his breath. They are behind a giant boulder just a meter away from the body. They can now hear voices of people nearby. It will just be a few minutes now before they can arrive at the crime scene. He instinctively reached out for Haibara’s hand and gripped it protectively. If they are not in a near-death situation, Haibara might have smacked his head off because he was causing her to have a heart attack. The distance between them was practically nothing.

Haibara’s mind snapped back to reality and her suspicion was confirmed when she heard Ayumi shrieked.

“There’s a bleeding man here!” she cried as she ran to Genta and Mitsuhiko’s side.

Just then, the man behind them let out a laugh. Mitsuhiko nervously looked at him.

“He's dead. You killed this man.” He stated accusingly.

Oda did not agree. But he did not disagree either. He shrugged his shoulder cockily. “It’s not really in my plan to kill kids, but who cares? It’s your fault for winding up here, brats.” He growled as he grab the gun on his shoulder.

The kids huddled together as Ayumi stifled a cry.

“I don’t care if you are crying in panic, just do it quietly, girl.” Oda threatened as he looked at the three. “You will all end up dead anyway. Right, hon?” he said and turned to Hayazawa. The woman did not move. She just nodded. It was as if she was about to cry too.

Oda noticed it. “Don’t worry, dear. Once I killed these kids, nobody will know what we’ve done.” He said as he cocked the gun and aimed it at the three.

“Goodbye, mates.” He said as he pulled the trigger.

“NO!!!!!!!!!!!!”

*****

A/N: A cliffhanger, yes.

I'm not really good at writing cases. You noticed how rare cases are in my fanfics? Hahahaha. 'Cause I have absolutely no idea how to write a good one. Sorry, not sorry though. Hahahahaha.