The group remained frozen around the crude cloth doll for several long moments.
The realization that they had been deceived settled over them like a heavy fog. Nobody spoke. Every possibility they had considered over the past few minutes had been completely overturned. There had never been a dead child. There had never been a corpse to bury. Someone had carefully constructed a trap, knowing exactly how a group of decent people would react upon finding what appeared to be an innocent child abandoned in the middle of nowhere.
They had been the real target all along.
The silence was finally broken by Leonid.
"…Guys."
His voice was calm, but there was enough seriousness in it to immediately draw everyone's attention.
"I don't know if any of you have noticed…"
He slowly looked toward the edge of the road.
"…our horses are gone."
"Huh?"
Several heads turned at once.
Liam's gaze swept toward the trees where they had tied the horses only minutes ago.
Nothing.
