After several minutes, more patrol cars arrived.
The forest was completely cordoned off.
Red and blue lights illuminated the trees.
There was blood.
Too much.
Burned pieces of skin. Scattered ashes. A section of earth sunken into a crater.
But there were no bodies.
Vivian and Madeleine were being treated by paramedics.
Madeleine had an arrow lodged in her thigh.
She was kept stable on a stretcher inside the ambulance.
The news crews arrived quickly. Too quickly.
Cameras. Microphones. Questions no one could answer.
Vivian was near the ambulance when she saw her mother running toward her.
"Mom… I'm scared," she whispered before breaking into tears.
Carolina hugged her tightly.
"I know, sweetheart… but I'm here now. You're safe."
Vivian was trembling.
Carolina felt it in her daughter's body and held her even tighter.
"It's over… whatever it was, it's over."
An explosion lit up the sky.
Fireworks.
Vivian lifted her head.
Above the trees, a figure formed from light appeared: a smiling clown giving a thumbs-up… surrounded by balloons.
She stared at it without blinking.
No one else seemed to react the way she did.
That night she had seen things she never imagined could exist.
Every time she remembered the forest… her body trembled again.
Carolina, not understanding what had truly happened, could only repeat:
"You're safe now."
---
The Crime Scene
The officers remained on alert.
Some of them also looked up at the clown-shaped fireworks in the sky.
It didn't seem accidental.
The county sheriff observed the forest with a furrowed brow.
The clown case and the disappearances of the girls were now inevitably connected.
According to Vivian's preliminary statement, the kidnappers — those "skinless" men — were responsible for the disappearances.
But they were dead.
Or so it seemed.
And without bodies, without living suspects… the case became even more complicated.
The sheriff remembered another file.
Ana.
Another county.
Another strange incident.
And in that one, the clown had appeared as well.
Since that figure began surfacing in reports, it had been linked to multiple deaths.
Some brutal.
Others… inexplicable.
He had to catch him.
Before he killed anyone else.
---
Somewhere Else
Ryan appeared in his bedroom.
He dropped onto his bed.
He sighed.
"Well… I eliminated the Skinless threat and the disappearances."
He stared at the ceiling.
"I'll figure out the rest later."
The phone rang.
He snapped his fingers and answered.
"Hello, Ryan. How are you, champ?"
His body tensed.
That voice.
"That clown… I watched your performance. I loved how you appeared. The show was magnificent. Act Two… The Grand Finale. Ten out of ten."
Ryan clenched his fist.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing. Just to congratulate you. You're improving. But you still have a long road ahead. Remember… a clown's smile can always brighten the day."
Laughter.
The call ended.
Ryan exhaled sharply.
"I need to calm down…"
He stood up and looked out the window.
He closed his eyes.
His determination grew.
"I'll test the sacrifice with those two Skinless… see what kind of power I can obtain."
He had only defeated a few supernatural entities.
Out of the thousands that probably existed.
That was merely a drop in the ocean.
He lay back down and closed his eyes.
---
Back in the Forest
The forensics team continued working.
They found:
A shoe belonging to one of the missing girls.
Fragments of clothing.
Fresh blood.
The abandoned warehouse Vivian had described.
The van used in the kidnappings.
The sheriff observed everything.
The forest was larger than expected.
Deeper.
Darker.
---
At the Station
Vivian was taken to give her official statement.
Her mother stayed by her side the entire time.
Vivian didn't understand why all of that had happened.
She only felt something strange:
Fear.
Relief.
And a kind of uncomfortable gratitude toward the clown.
He didn't kill her.
He only soaked her with water from that flower.
The nightmare seemed to be over.
---
In Another House
Ana was awake, watching the news.
"Kidnapping… clown…"
She fell silent.
Could it be the same clown who saved her?
Ana still had nightmares.
But she was alive.
And for now, that was enough.
She turned off the television.
And decided to move forward.