THEY CHOSE THE WRONG PREY

CHAPTER 8 -LENA'S STILL MISSING

LENA'S STILL MISSING

The next morning felt different.

Not because anything had changed.

Because people had started noticing.

The moment Selene arrived on campus, she could feel it.

Students stood in small groups whispering.

Conversations lowered whenever professors walked by.

Nobody seemed to be laughing anymore.

Zoe was waiting outside the library.

"You've heard, right?"

Selene frowned.

"Heard what?"

Zoe hesitated.

For the first time since she'd met her, she looked genuinely nervous.

"I don't think anybody can find Lena."

The words settled heavily between them.

For several seconds, Selene didn't respond.

Across the courtyard, students continued whispering.

A campus security vehicle sat outside the administration building.

More security officers stood nearby talking among themselves.

This wasn't gossip anymore.

Something was wrong.

"Maybe she's just avoiding people."

Zoe shook her head.

"I talked to one of her journalism friends."

"And?"

"Nobody has seen her since yesterday."

A cold feeling settled in Selene's stomach.

Without meaning to, she thought about the photograph.

The forest.

The golden eyes.

The deleted post.

"What are they doing?"

Selene followed Zoe's gaze.

Several officers were gathered around the hood of a security vehicle.

A map had been spread across it.

Even from a distance, Selene could see a large circle drawn around the forest beyond campus.

The same forest from Lena's photograph.

"Come on."

Zoe grabbed her arm.

Selene immediately shook her head.

"No."

"Come on."

"We're not spying on security."

"We're absolutely spying on security."

Five minutes later, they were hiding behind a vending machine outside the administration building.

"You're a bad influence."

"I know."

Most of the officers' conversation was impossible to hear.

Then one of them raised his voice.

"We'll continue searching the northern trail."

Selene and Zoe exchanged a glance.

Another officer pointed at the map.

"No sign of her after this point."

The first officer nodded.

"Which doesn't make sense."

"No."

"It doesn't."

Selene felt her pulse quicken.

They were definitely talking about Lena.

A few moments later, another officer approached carrying a clear evidence bag.

The group immediately gathered around it.

"What is that?" Zoe whispered.

"I don't know."

Then the officer pulled the item from the bag.

Selene froze.

It was a jacket.

Black.

Torn.

Lena's journalism jacket.

The sleeve had been ripped almost completely off.

Zoe's face immediately paled.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is."

Selene couldn't.

Because she was thinking the exact same thing.

"There were tracks nearby," one of the officers said.

The others looked up.

"What kind?"

The officer hesitated.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then....

"We're not sure."

"The prints were too large."

Another officer frowned.

"Dog?"

The first man shook his head.

"Not any dog I've ever seen."

A chill ran through Selene.

At that exact moment, a radio crackled.

One of the officers answered it.

"What?"

Silence.

"You found what?"

The entire group immediately became alert.

The officer lowered the radio.

"We've got another lead."

Without another word, several of them headed toward the vehicles.

Moments later, they were gone.

Driving toward the forest.

"Okay."

Selene looked at Zoe.

"Okay what?"

"I officially don't like this anymore."

Neither did Selene.

Because this wasn't campus drama anymore.

It wasn't rumors.

It wasn't gossip.

Something had happened to Lena.

And judging by the expressions on those officers' faces, they knew it too.

As the vehicles disappeared down the road, Selene looked across campus.

Her eyes found Raven immediately.

Raven wasn't talking.

Wasn't even looking at the students gathered around her.

Raven remained motionless near the edge of the courtyard, her eyes fixed on the forest.

Selene couldn't stop looking at her.

There was something strange about the way Raven stared at the trees.

She was staring at the forest.

Watching.

Listening.

Waiting.

And somehow...

That frightened Selene more than anything else.