The weight of the realization triggered Vlad's instinct to take over. His body jolted, launching him upright.
It's human blood!
Vlad was familiar with the taste of blood. In the past, there were many instances where he'd thrown up blood.
He quickly grabbed his injured left arm.
It's not mine. Where is it coming from?
The darkness was absolute. Swallowing even the dim lighting from a few moments ago. Vlad, not being able to see anything, did not move, planting his feet firmly where he stood. His QC surely had some form of Night Vision that would allow him to see.
In regular circumstances, it would've automatically turned on. But for some reason, his QC was not working.
He tapped the QC multiple times but it did not show any signs of working. Just as frustration began to set in, the QC came back to life. The Spectra-Pad zapped in front of his right eye, illuminating his face.
Great! He thought, a smile forming on his lips.
He gave it a few seconds, but it didn't activate Night Vision. Vlad was left with a predicament. He had to command his QC to turn on Night Vision, but in doing so he ran the risk of attracting the attention of whatever hiding in the shadows, which had made light work of the human laying somewhere nearby.
Vlad paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. He turned in the direction from which a sliver of illumination came. Planning an escape route should things demand it.
After calculating the least amount of words he needed, Vlad said:
"Night Vision, on."
Just as he finished uttering those words, Vlad got in a position to sprint as fast as he could. But the shadows remained silent, there was no sign of danger.
Night Vision: [Active]
His QC turned from an ocean-like blue to a green tint. Vlad was able to see in the dark with his right eye. Not seeing anything hostile Vlad took one step forward.
His feet immediately touched something sickeningly mushy and wet. Vlad's features filled with horror as he lowered his gaze.
On the hard surface lay the lifeless body of a cadet with its lower half missing and blood gushing out.
Vlad put his hand up to his mouth expecting something to come out but nothing did.
He quickly scanned the rest of his surroundings, the place seemed to be a cave. He brought his attention to the ground, only to find a female cadet right next to the gruesome remains.
The girl lay prone facing away from him. Her hand still clutched onto a longsword, blood splattered on the pristine blade.
He quickly jumped over the remains of the cadet to get to her. Gently, he rolled her over, brushing aside her hair which covered her face.
Please be alive!
Vlad heaved a sigh of relief seeing the young girl breathing. He shook her slowly trying to make her conscious, but it didn't work. He couldn't just yell as loud as he could because he could attract some unwanted attention.
After scratching his brain, he came up with an outlandish idea once again. Blood. He'd use blood. He got a handful of blood from the corpse next to him and smeared it on her face, making it twitch.
He watched intently, a silent anticipation building inside him. After a few drops of the iron-rich red liquid touched her face, and his persistent nudging, her eyes started to flutter. Slowly, her eyes slid open, struggling to adjust to the darkness.
"Are you alright?" Vlad whispered, his voice barely audible to himself.
The girl bolted into a sitting position, clearly panicked by the vast darkness. The suddenness of her movements made Vlad recoil slightly. Strengthening her grip on the long sword she held in her hand, knuckles white right against the hilt.
The girl parted her lips to speak but Vlad's hand, softly yet firmly, stopped her attempt.
"Speak quietly. Alright?" He whispered.
The girl, still breathing rapidly, nodded in agreement.
Vlad glanced over to the girl's hand - still holding her blade - and removed his hand and took a step back giving her space. Choosing his next words carefully he said:
"Our instructor's name is Kaff. He was the one who told us the test would start in seven minutes."
He wasn't just saying random things to lighten up the mood and alleviate the tension. He was stating things that only they, as cadets, would know. In this lightless cave, the chances of the girl mistaking him for a Tyrant-class mutant or higher - those from category four and up, who possess abilities to imitate humans - were very high. So he had to convince her he was not some mutant playing with its catch before devouring her.
"Turn Night Vision on so you can see."
The girl's S-Pad turned green, her eyes fluttered adjusting to the enhanced visibility.
The girl kept eye contact with Vlad for a few seconds, but the drops of blood Vlad had smeared on her face dripped down past her cheek and made her break their eye link.
"What is this?" She inquired, wiping some off, her voice low and firm.
"Ah! Sorry, I had to compromise, just wipe it off."
The girl, oblivious, raised an eyebrow but complied with Vlad's words nonetheless.
With a nervous tone, he continued:
"And uh...you might not want to look to your left."
The girl's eyebrow shot up, this time not heeding his words at all.
"Why?" The girl asked, immediately twisting her head left.
Her eyes grew round at the sight of the cadet's body. The remains of it lay on the cold hard ground mere inches away from her.
Warned you. Vlad thought grimly.
The girl recoiled quickly and turned in the opposite direction, her features contorted trying to keep the rising nausea at bay.
"Hold it in," Vlad whispered, patting her back.
The girl let out a low moan, a sound of profound disgust. But in the end, she managed to keep her stomach in check.
Vlad sighed. He caught a flicker of movement in the periphery of his vision, a familiar shape on the other side of the narrow passage. Leaving the girl for a moment he cautiously went over to investigate, his senses on high alert.
Vlad's eyes registered a gruesome scene: two dead Vulturovs laying next to one another and a few scattered skeletons of their kin, some flesh still attached to them - leftovers of the previous feast.
Vlad gulped.
So that's why we're still alive.
Whatever monstrosity had gathered them there clearly had a feast hefty enough to leave two of its prey, miraculously, still breathing.
We need to get out of here before we become the next meal.
"You seriously used blood to wake me up?" The girl spoke from behind, her voice conveying a hint of anger.
"I had to do with what I had."
The girl remained silent, slowly closing the distance between them.
***
"Your hand is pretty hurt, are you okay?"
The girl's low whisper into his ear made Vlad flinch and drop to the ground from his squatted position.
Vlad stared at her face for a second before answering:
"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine. It's bleeding less now."
The girl titled her head and with a tone of concern said:
"You're not fine. If you don't get treated soon it'll become a bigger problem. It might get infected as well since your suit has been damaged as well."
Vlad stood up, turning his head left and right before saying:
"I'll figure something out. For now, we need to get out of here."
The girl remained silent.
"I saw a glimmer light coming from there, we should go check."
Though I don't know if it's safe.
"Okay, but where even are we? Where is this place?" The girl said, looking around the cavern.
"That, we'll be figuring out now."
***
Vlad and the girl slowly made their way in the direction he saw the sliver of light coming from. Slowly maneuvering the cave as silently as possible, they reached the entrance of the cave after a few minutes.
It was already nighttime. Even with the help of Night Vision it wasn't easy to see things. But they recognized where they were and the things they were surrounded by.
Fucking hell…
The cave was located on the side of an extremely high cliff. And in front of them were the things from which the place got its name.
Massive trees bending and twisting at random points of their trunks stretched as far as the eyes could see. The sheer density and number of trees so close to one another turning and bending created a labyrinth beneath them.
"We're in Bentree Forest...just what kind of luck is this?" The girl said, her voice exasperated.
"At least we're healthy enough to discern where we are," Vlad said, a sigh escaping his mouth.
"Yeah, on the bright side."
After that, he got lost in thought and didn't move for some moment before turning back around. Frustrated and concerned he said:
"Let's go back. We'll need to take everything useful we find in this place."
"What about the monster?" The girl said hesitantly, fear imminent in her tone.
"We'll just have to risk it. We need all the help we can get if we want to survive a single day in that Satan's Garden," Vlad said, continuing to march forward inside the cave.
The girl silently obliged and followed, knowing Vlad's words were the truth.
***
Once they returned to where they were previously inside the cave, without wasting a single second, they quickly got to work.
The fear of their captor returning made them move twice as fast.