Chapter 24 The Graves (2/2)

”I missed you!” she grinned.

Rassa was frozen stiff before he cleared his throat, ”Ah, hey Falla, it's been a while. Have you been well?”

Falla stepped back, ”Of course! I hope you have been well too”.

Rassa nodded, a small smile appearing, though it seemed half-hearted. Nothing like the cheerful Rassa she remembered.

”Is something wrong?” asked Falla.

Rassa looked up at her, ”Well...not with me, but the town is a little nervous right now”.

Falla tilted her head in confusion, ”Oh? How come?”

”A monster appeared in the forest,” Jane cut in as she arrived, ”It drained the blood of two deer. Nothing left but the puncture marks for a pair of fangs”.

Falla's eyes widened in shock, ”Oh my gosh! Is everyone okay?”

”Well...it hasn't hurt anyone in the village...yet,” Jane said.

”The Hunters are trying to find its hide out in order to chase it away but they've been unsuccessful so far,” Rassa cut in, ”So, just be careful, we're not allowed to go into the forest without supervision”.

Falla nodded in acceptance, ”Fair enough. I hope everyone stays safe”.

There was a short silence then Rassa moved to walk away, ”Anyway, I should get back home. It was nice seeing you again, Falla. See you tomorrow, Jane”.

The two girls waved as he left, then Falla turned to Jane, ”What's wrong with him?”

Jane looked surprised, then shook her head, ”I don't know what you're talking about”.

”Oh please! We both know that's a load of cr*p,” Falla scoffed, her ladylike demeanour disappearing along with her love interest. Jane rolled her eyes, same old Falla.

”I don't know okay, he won't tell me,” Jane said, ”But it's gotta be something to do with that creature, he was fine before we discovered of it. Now he's...guarded”.

”You don't think he knows something, do you?” asked Falla.

Jane smirked, ”Don't be silly, he might be smart, but what would he know that we wouldn't?”

Falla frowned, ”Well there was that time when he suddenly turned pale and his eyes became overly sensitive to light, not to mention that mark on his back that practically everyone pretends not to see”.

Jane's smile faded, ”He would have spoken up if he knew something Falla. You know he cares for everyone here”.

”Maybe that's why he's not speaking up,” Falla reasoned.

Jane sighed, ”Look, Falla-”

Jane stopped, spotting movement from the edge of the forest out of the corner of her eyes as the hunters emerged all at once. The looks on their faces quite the opposite of victorious. She turned to listen as one lady stopped the Hunter Marcus and asked what was wrong. What had they found?

”Graves,” Marcus had replied, ”Countless graves”.