Solo Ranger

Chapter 6: Footprint in the dark

The trail had led to something unexpected, bloodstains, broken foliage, and freshly turned soil in an area Mira rarely patrolled unless there was an emergency.

It was the outskirts of her range, far from the usual surveillance zones. Some of the cameras installed in that region had long gone silent battery drained, lines cut, or just plain neglected.

And it was here, in this blind spot, that the real horror had unfolded.

Mira crouched near the disturbed soil, brushing her fingers gently over the faint red stains that hadn’t quite washed away in the rain. Daine, now recovered from the fever, stood nearby, scanning the shadows.

Both were quiet processing. Then Mira spoke, her voice sharp but low, “No animal buries its kind. This was done by humans.”

They marked the location but had no digging tools on them. Caught between urgency and caution, they retreated, deciding to return at first light.

But by the time they came back with tools, the earth had been disturbed again dug out and whatever had been buried was now gone.

A sharp, pungent stench lingered a mix of blood, damp soil, and decomposition. “Someone took it,” Daine said, teeth clenched. “They knew we found it.”

Then they heard it. A faint rustle behind the ferns. Mira turned. Click.

A flash. The glint of a camera lens. Someone had been watching. Before either of them could react, the figure vanished into the woods.

They gave chase, navigating the dense vegetation and ducking low branches. Mira almost caught a glimpse of a hooded figure before she hit something hard. Pain shot through her skin as she tumbled to the ground. Daine landed beside her with a shout.

A thin, near invisible wire strung tightly between two trees had brought them down. The skin on Daine’s leg was cut. Blood seeped into his pant leg. A trap. A human trap.

"Poachers don't lay wire traps like this," Mira muttered, staring at the thin steel string. “This was to injure, not to catch animals. It was meant for us.”

It was becoming clear, this wasn’t random. This wasn’t poaching.

Someone had murdered a person in this forest, buried them, and now had seen two uniformed officers witnesses, investigating far too close. The killers had made a miscalculation.

They’d assumed the forest was unwatched, silent, free of scrutiny. They hadn’t counted on Daine and Mira being there.

Whoever these people were, they weren’t done. They had already killed once. Now, they needed to cover their tracks completely. Which meant Mira and Daine were next.