WARNING: Contains blood and gore. All relevant text will be in bold for those who are triggered by this.
Gail's POV:
"WHAT?!" pretty much everyone screamed. The sound reverberated in my oversensitive ears, making me almost deaf. I caught sight of Xuli in the crowd, who looked like she was about to collapse and burst into tears.
The sight of my kid torn like this tugged at my heart-strings, attempting to squeeze out the water works which were slowly building up inside of me, but I thankfully managed to get myself under control and restrain the tears.
"Come," I beckoned to the others. The cadets started filing out of the G.O. Dome, wanting to find out what had become of Kyan.
While I was leading everyone to the scene of crime, I took a quick peek at the multitude behind me. Some of the cadets managed to keep straight faces, despite the sad and frightened look in their eyes. Others (especially the younger ones) had failed in doing so, and required help in walking.
We eventually reached the clearing in the forest where I had seen Kyan magically disappear.
Now you may be asking, You saw it?! What happened?
Well, I'll tell you.
~Flashback~
I'd finally finished giving Auden a good scolding (and a slap in the face), and I was wondering how Ubercorn was getting on with that paperwork. I sighed, assuming that he probably put it off and would come back to it next month or something.
So, I decided to head to his office and create some for him as a punishment. I know I know, he's like 20 years older than me, but that doesn't mean I don't get to teach him a lesson, does it?
I'd almost reached JetPad when I heard Ubercorn's voice through my earpiece:
"All cadets and Go Jetters report to the G.O. Dome in 10 minutes, I repeat, everyone to the Dome in 10 minutes!"
Welp, better do that later, I mused as I changed my direction and headed to the G.O. Dome, which wasn't very far at all.
But then, I heard a racket coming from the forest nearby. All the animals in there seemed to be screaming for someone to... leave...?
A panicking squirrel rushed out of the trees, trying to find something. After his gaze was set on me, he bounded up and chattered in fright "It's Kyan! There's evil magic in the forest, and he doesn't understand us!"
I gasped. The song thrush was right.
The squirrel swiftly made his way back into the forest, me following close behind. He headed towards a clearing in the center, but before we got there, there was a huge flash of bright light and an outburst of force that blew me back and I slammed right into a tree, which consequently toppled over.
Thankfully I hadn't broken anything. I darted into the clearing, and what did I find?
~End of flashback~
Everything as all saw it now.
The place reeked of rotting flesh and a failed barbecue. Blood was splattered everywhere except for a crater in the middle of the clearing, where a small fire burned in the centre. Trees had been uprooted and were leaning on their sides, their leaves burnt off.
All sorts of animals were sprawled out on the ground, some injured, some decapitated, some ablaze, and others with their heads sliced right open, blood pouring out onto the ground, brains displayed for everyone to see.
But worst of all, I wouldn't be able to apologise to the song thrush.
Why?
Because he was dead.
He had been torn in half, his digestive system spilling out in front of his corpse. Stomach acid was streaming out of him, quickly making his flesh deteriorate and revealing his severed lungs and literally broken heart.
One of his eyes lay a metre away and his beak had been forced open so much, his head had been destroyed. The bird seemed to be throwing up blood as it poured out of his mouth, staining the soil and turning it into a stinking mud.
He was lying there peacefully, feet near an inscription on the ground. It seemed to read "I. .u Sv /i.c", as the words seemed to have been trampled on, making interpretation almost impossible.
But I knew what had happened.
The Swift Slayer really was after us.
Lust for blood is the only guide,
To this creature, who lurks in its hide,
Pacing, waiting, preparing to strike
On innocent people and animals alike.
No one's POV:
Just then, a sound broke through the atmosphere. It was very quiet, but still there.
"Meow!"
Lars, being the animal lover he is, followed the mewing until he reached the cliff. He looked down and saw a young black kitten with piercing green eyes dangling precariously off the edge using only one paw. Its claws had dug into the earth, but they were doing nothing to stop it from slipping.
"Don't worry, I'll help you." Lars whispered gently to it as he held out his hand. The kitten just scratched him with its free paw and snarled before resuming being terrified. Lars quickly retracted his hand, wincing in pain.
The ground started to come loose as it clawed at the cliffside, trying its best to keep holding on, but would not accept any help that came to it.
Not from Foz.
Not from Gail.
Not from any of the cadets.
All of a sudden, the ground it was holding caved in.
The cat screeched in fear as it started plummeting toward its doom, the ocean crashing against the shore, hoping to taste a morsel of its prey.
Until its fall stopped.
It looked up and saw a net surrounding it, the Academy mentor gripping tightly to it. The kitten's eyes suddenly thinned into predatory slits as it scrambled out of the net, darted across the pole and clawed Ubercorn in the face.
"A "thank you" might have been nicer," he muttered, rubbing his cheek where the kit scratched him as he watched the fuzzy ball on four legs disappear into the gathering of cadets that had followed him.
Xuli wasn't paying any attention to anything whatsoever. She'd stayed behind at the wreck of a forest clearing, eyeing the scene with blurred eyesight.
She curled up into a ball, leaned against a fallen tree and started sobbing quietly, trying but failing to restrain her tears. Sure, it would be traumatising if she lost a fellow Go Jetter. But Kyan?
She didn't think life was worth living anymore. It was too much to take.
But then, Xuli felt something rising within her. Overwhelming the sadness and confusion. Taking over her completely.
She started getting a weird feeling in her stomach, but then it rose up through her, making her shake ferociously and breathe harder.
Then, she stopped. She did still feel sad, but there was something that drowned out any other feelings.
Xuli got up and stared hard at the inscription on the ground. Pawprints had been scattered across it, making it completely illegible, but she didn't care.
She felt anew with determination. Anger. Fury.
Xuli no longer trembled.
She no longer wept.
Her tear-stained eyes were wiped clean of sorrow.
"Watch out, whoever you are..." she growled quietly "...I'm coming for you..."
Finally! After what seemed like an age, I have finally finished the chapter! I'm not sure why this one took longer though - but I am quite satisfied with it, if I say so myself. Probably because I haven't posted a chapter for at least a week.
Welp, I hope you enjoyed, and see ya in the next one!
-You know who it is. I don't have to write my name all the time.