Chapter Text
Alina stood in front of the tall trees, the town of Kribirsk at her back. Despite it being the middle of the day, the forest in front of her was dark as night. She hadn’t believed them when they’d told her about the Fold, the place that seemed to swallow people whole. Nobody had ever managed to cross it. Some locals had entered it and come back unscathed, not having seen anything out of the ordinary. And someday, they didn’t come out again, and took whatever secrets they had uncovered to their grave.
Part of her wanted to go in, to uncover the secrets of this dark, mysterious forest. The other part, the rational one, wanted to get as far from it as possible, wanted to run the short distance back to the streets, to the light. But she was here for a reason. She took a deep breath, and stepped forward into the darkness. A voice stopped her barely five steps later.
“Aren’t you a little young to die?” She frowned. She may be young, but it was as good an age to die as any other. What did this stranger care?
“Why?” And who was he? She could barely see his silhouette, a dark shape leaning against one of the trees.
“Because if you go any further, you won’t come out again.”
Her frown deepened.
“Is that a threat?”
He laughed, a deep, dark sound, like the forest around them.
“Believe me, darling,” he took a step closer, and she could tell that he was tall and wore dark clothing, but not what his face looked like. “If I were threatening you, you’d know it.”
“If you’re not threatening me, I will go on.”
The stranger took another step closer, and she was able make out pale skin and long dark hair.
“Are you really sure you want to do that?” His voice was surprisingly gentle.
“It’s no business of yours, but yes.”
“If I threaten you, will you turn around and leave?”
Alina tilted her head to the side. Why did he want her to leave?
“That depends.”
There was a flash of something on his shadowy face. His teeth? He was grinning.
“Alright. If you go any further, I will make sure you don’t come out again.” He had come even closer now, standing directly in front of her.
“And how will you do that?” She was actually curious. He touched her cheek briefly, light as a feather. His fingers were cold.
“I will drain you of your blood and leave you for dead in the dark. The wolves will take care of the rest.”
She nodded. Plausible, but somewhat cumbersome. Why drain her blood?
“I see. What would you do with the blood?”
His eyes narrowed. She could see his face now. It was nice, very handsome, very masculine but beautiful in a way she couldn’t remember ever having seen before. His hair was long, reached past his shoulders, disappeared in the darkness of his clothes.
“Why are you here?”
She could lie. She probably should.
“I’m investigating some disappearances in the area.” She had always been too honest.
“Shouldn’t you be doing that in town, then?”
“I have been there for weeks, that’s why I’m here now. Have you seen anything strange or unusual here lately?” Alina pulled out her notepad and pen, ready to jot down anything that might be of interest to her case.
He looked down at her with a pensive expression.
“If I tell you, will you turn around and leave?” She nodded vigorously. He sighed. “They experienced the same fate I’m trying to save you from. Exsanguination and wolves.” He forcefully grabbed her shoulders and steered her towards the light. Even through her t-shirt, she could feel the cold emanating from his fingers. “Now go.” She didn’t resist, but turned around again at the edge of the light.
“Why?” she asked, but only silence answered her. There was no one here. Shaking her head, she slowly walked back to Kribirsk.
Back in the small apartment she had rented, she sat down at her desk and went through her notes again. An average of 60 people disappeared each year from towns along the edge of the Fold. Why people even lived here was a mystery to her. Out of those 60, about 10 had been spirited away from Kribirsk and the surrounding area. In the last six months, it had been 43. All adults, of varying backgrounds and looks, no discernible pattern. In the five weeks since she’d gotten here, 9 people had disappeared. After the murders she had solved in Os Alta, the city had contacted her to ask for her help with the investigation, but there was nothing, no clues. No hair, no fingerprints, no cameras, barely a crime scene. A packet of flour knocked over in the kitchen where the housewife was last seen, a scratch on the car the firefighter had been driving in, found on the side of the road. A few drops of blood, always the victim’s. And a surprising amount of animals died or vanished. She thought of the stranger’s threat. A few of them had been found drained of blood. Most, humans and animals alike, just disappeared. No corpse to autopsy, no body to bury.
She wondered how much the man knew. Had it been a joke? Or had he told the truth, hoping she wouldn’t take him seriously? Or hoping she would, and be too scared to return? But they hadn’t finished their conversation. She would have to return. For now, she needed food. She went down to the diner at the end of the street, where she sat down at the bar.
“The usual?”
“Yes please, Zoya.”
The woman gave her order to the kitchen, then came over to where Alina was sitting. It was a quiet evening.
“Anything new?”
Alina hesitated for a second. She hadn’t learned anything new today, had she? She shook her head.
“How long are you going to stay? If you’re not making progress. They’re not going to pay you forever, are they?”
She took a sip of her lemonade. Zoya was leaning against the bar, observing her carefully.
“I’m getting paid for eight weeks. If I can’t produce any results by then, the contract is up. If I can find something worthwhile, I can stay.”
“Do you think you will? Find something, I mean.”
“Maybe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
Zoya scoffed.
“Easy for you to say. ‘Wait and see’, my arse. It’s not your friends and neighbours that are disappearing.” She set the glass she’d been drying down a little harder than necessary, walked over to collect her food and put it down in front of her. She walked away again without a second glance. Alina poked at her food. Zoya was right, of course. She needed results, needed a way to stop these crimes. Was the stranger in the forest a clue, or a distraction? She didn’t know. When she returned to her flat half an hour later, she hadn’t gotten any wiser. She was at a dead end, had been ever since she’d come here. She looked at her phone, at the text from her friend Genya back in Os Alta.
- not disappeared yet?
- no, sorry, I forgot my phone at home.
- are you excusing yourself for not having been kidnapped?
- or murdered, yes.
- well I’m glad. when will you be back?
- in three weeks, most likely.
- I’ll be counting the days!
Alina sighed. At least someone would be happy if she didn’t find anything. But it was decided. Tomorrow she would return to the forest.
The next day was just as sunny as the one before. Alina crept around the shadows underneath the first trees for almost an hour, waiting, hoping to see the stranger again. He did not appear. She didn’t dare go further into the forest. There were eyes watching her, she could feel them on the back of her neck. It was a strange feeling, like a cold prickling sensation. A tingle. Were they malicious, waiting for her to walk into the darkness, to make sure she didn’t come out again? Just like the stranger had said. But who or whatever it was didn’t show itself, and after an hour had passed, she returned to Kribirsk. Poured over her notes, researched more into the dark of the Fold. The edges of the forest seemed semi-safe, people survived going there maybe half the time. Trying to go in past some sort of invisible line was a death sentence. But how far was safe? Nothing had ever been recovered from those that had disappeared; and search parties that dared go in too far had vanished too. Wolves were the generally accepted explanation, but there were stories among locals of more… concerning nature. Supernatural creatures, preying on anyone who got too close to their home. Alina went to the local library to look more into these tales. Maybe there was a grain of truth to them, something that could help her unravel this mystery.
Some of the legends talked about creatures hiding from humans in the deep darkness of the Fold, killing to defend their home. Other talked of malicious monsters, killing for pleasure or feasting on human flesh, kidnapping their victims from the streets of the surrounding villages and cities to quench their thirst for human blood. Before, the victims that had disappeared had almost exclusively vanished from the immediate surroundings of the Fold, people who had gotten too close to the darkness. But it seemed like the something that lurked in the shadows had gotten hungrier, venturing out further, more frequently. Was that it? A dark creature, consuming human flesh? Or multiples. Maybe their numbers had increased. That could explain the rising numbers of casualties. She looked into the legends of strange, supernatural creatures living in forests.
Werewolves. Humans that transformed into wolves on full moon nights, hunting and killing for pleasure.
Leshy. A forest spirit, sometimes shapeshifting, leading travellers astray to protect the forest.
Fae. Kidnapping people that stepped into their circles.
Vampires. Ugly, swollen corpses that fed on the blood of their former family and neighbours.
Centaurs. Half-horse, half-humans protecting their territory.
Trolls. Large, brutal creatures wandering out at night, sometimes eating humans.
She sighed. There were many others, but none of them were quite murderous enough. Werewolves were too violent for those mysterious kidnappings, Fae didn’t explain the people disappearing outside the forest, Vampires would leave the dead bodies. Another dead end. She would return to the Fold the next day.
When she stepped out of the building shortly before noon, the sky was overcast. This time, she was prepared. If the stranger didn’t appear, she would go in. There must be something she could do to help the people here. Zoya had been short with her when she’d gone to dinner, and another person had vanished in the night. Alina carried pepper spray, several knives, a taser, enough water and food to last her for a long hike. Though she likely wouldn’t live long enough to need much of it. But what did it matter? She had never been particularly attached to her life, and if there was a chance that she could make a difference for the people here, she had to at least try. She slowly walked towards the Fold, thinking about her plan. Or lack thereof.
Wait at the edge for half an hour, and if nothing happened, go in. That was it, that was the plan. Not a very good one, but the only one she had. Alina hesitated at the sight of the dark trees, but then walked into the shadows. Five paces past the treeline, then she stopped, took off her backpack and sat down, leaned against one of the trees. They were large and old, majestic, if you looked past the strangely frightening aura. As if they were telling her to stay out, stay away. But she didn’t, couldn’t. After a few minutes, she noticed that the birds that had been whistling cheerfully had fallen silent. It was a warning sign, she knew, but she stayed nevertheless. Ignored the tingling on the back of her neck. Stayed for half an hour, then got up and dusted off her clothes, started walking into the darkness. She didn’t get far.