Helena spoke in a low whisper. "Guys, I don't like the smell. Everyone, put your guard up."
The party members nodded in solemn agreement and cautiously moved deeper into the forest. The air grew thick with the stench of blood and rotting flesh.
Suddenly, Angela's foot struck something hard on the ground. She looked down in horror—a woman's body, her lower half missing, only a tattered half of a blue dress left, soaked in dark, decaying blood. The sight was enough to bring tears to Angela's eyes.
Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, their hands trembling as they moved forward. Then more bodies appeared: men and women strewn grotesquely across the forest floor. Disembodied hands lay scattered nearby, heads rolled in different directions, half-eaten as if someone had done it for sport.
The party hesitated, dread filling their hearts. Suddenly, a noise rustled from beyond a bush. They moved silently to investigate.
What they saw chilled them to the bone. A massive, grey cat-like beast lurked there, its entire back covered with sharp spines. It had two faces, and a large bloodied mouth where half a man's head was caught. Without mercy, the beast's terrifying jaws crushed the head and swallowed it whole.
The whole party shuddered with fear.
Near the creature stood a man cloaked in black robes from head to toe. His voice was cold and cruel as he said, "Good work, Oval. Now we take all the kids hostage and gift them to our lord."
Jasmine barely whispered, "He's the cause of all this horror."
"How cruel," Durden growled. "He kidnapped children."
The robed man turned, saying, "Let's move on. I think it's going to rain." Dark clouds rolled overhead, thunder rumbling ominously.
Together, the man and the beast Oval stalked toward the place where the kidnapped children were held captive.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from behind—the sound of a child crying. The robed man spun around, eyes wide with fear. A group of people emerged from the bushes, nodding firmly as Reyand led them forward.
The robed man sneered, "Hiding and spying won't save you. You'll all be Oval's meal."
Oval stepped forward, saliva dripping from his bloody jaws. The child still cried on Durden's back.
"First, eat the kid. Then, the rest," the man commanded