Arvin bent down and lifted the white box. The footprint nearby was half-dried, pressed deep into the dirt, still leading toward the forested mountain ahead.
"You ready, Chessie?"
Chessie scratched her head, then gave a heavy sigh.
"Yes, sir!"
Arvin stood, studying the footprint one last time before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a pen, oily and grayish-black, almost foglike in the light.
"Cause," he muttered, and the footprint at his feet began to glow faintly.
"Effect," he continued, and a corresponding set of prints ahead shimmered into view.
The mark beneath him gave off a dim, mistlike glow. Then, with a sudden gust of wind, another print flared to life farther ahead. Then another, and another. Soon a trail of dark glows stretched into the forested mountain.
Chessie's mouth fell open. She jumped in excitement.
"Wow! That's so cool!"
Arvin simply pointed forward.
"Let's go."
Together they followed the trail into the woods.
Two hours later, in the heart of the forest, they stopped to catch their breath.
"So why are we even out here this early, boss?" Chessie complained. "We barely rested a few hours. Not even a full day."
Arvin's tone sharpened.
"I was fooled. When I said we had five days, I didn't consider that the killer might be a Stacker, or already healed. The people of Koburn aren't exactly the healthiest, so I assumed it would slow him down. That was my mistake. After I got home, I thought it over again. I felt a heavy aura of death closing in. Looking at these footprints now, his stride is longer, faster. Much farther than I first believed."
He sighed and rubbed his face.
"This little mistake may have cost us the whole case. By now he could already be in Gita. I was off by five whole days."
Chessie patted his back with a reassuring grin.
"It's alright. Even if you miscalculated, we'll catch him!"
Arvin shook his head.
"But how? Unless he trained under Stackers like you, or was blessed and boosted, he shouldn't be able to move this quickly. If that's the case, then he's been given help. But I can't let that thought hold me back right now."
He turned toward Chessie.
"If we run, we can still make it to Gita in a few hours."
Chessie raised a thumb.
"Alright, boss!"
They broke into a steady sprint. Silence stretched between them until Arvin finally spoke.
"So, Chessie… have you ever considered becoming a Stacker yourself? Your whole family has at least one stack. And your father trained and blessed you under the goddess Eta."
Chessie touched her chin thoughtfully.
"Hm. Honestly? I don't want to. My willpower and mentality aren't strong enough to handle that burden every day. Besides, I'm already stronger than most humans, I was blessed by my heavenly goddess Eta. But if the time comes and I need to use an artifact, I will."
Arvin gave her a sideways glance.
"Chessie… that was deep. At least you're always strong on the inside."
She smiled at his words, but then Arvin froze mid-stride. Chessie stopped instantly. He held a finger to his lips, signaling silence. She nodded.
Arvin tilted his head, hand cupping his ear. His lips moved without sound. Chessie read them clearly.
Do you hear that?
From the distance came a faint, horrific noise.
Crunch!
Swish! Swish!
The sound of bones crunching carried through the trees, followed by the wet shuffle of flesh being torn and moved.
Arvin's ears caught another layer beneath it, faint but sickening. A whimper. A broken, grief-stricken voice.
"O-O-I-S-0—Im… sorry? Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! YRROS!"
Chessie's eyes widened as she glanced at Arvin. He silently pointed toward her pocket.
Her hand trembled slightly as she reached in and pulled out a small vial. The glass gleamed faintly, the liquid inside a deep red streaked with orange light.
Arvin snatched it, popped the lid, then drew his revolver from his hip. With a practiced flick he spun the cylinder, letting it click into place as the vial began to hiss. Orange smoke seeped out, filling the air with a hot, metallic tang.
The liquid inside bubbled furiously. Arvin poured it into the cylinder, coating each chamber until the rounds sizzled with heat.
Then he raised his voice.
"Hey!"
The crunching stopped. The broken voice went silent.
The forest was still dim, dawn still four hours away. Arvin shifted slightly to the left. Through the dark, ten yards ahead, a figure rose.
It was horribly tall, its limbs stretched too far. One arm jutted with exposed bone, the other twisted and jagged. Its ribs pushed out from its sunken torso, skin clinging like paper to rot. Its body was dark blue, smeared with blood that dripped from its fingers.
The head made Arvin's stomach turn. A deer skull, rotting and warped. Where its mouth should have been was a second maw, jagged teeth gnashing, crawling with maggots.
Beside it lay another creature of the same shape, half-devoured. A bear's head sat discarded in the dirt.
A chill gripped Arvin's spine, the kind that sinks deep and does not let go. His voice shook, but his words came steady enough.
"Chessie. Run. Now. To the right, as far as you can."
She hesitated, but before she could respond, the creature lunged. Its speed was unreal, covering six yards in seconds, closing the distance in a blur.
Arvin clenched his jaw, lifted his revolver, and whispered a desperate invocation.
"Bisrus, God of Fire… I use your holy liquid of flame to bless my bullets."
BANG!
The revolver roared. Fire spiraled from the barrel, wrapping the bullet in a twisting vortex of heat. It tore through the air, almost a small fireball, screaming toward the monstrous figure.