The boy was first to find them, cold and stark against the dawn. It had been a morning like many others, and he’d woken with the sun to start a brand new day. In Pan’s traditional ways, he was cheerful, humming as he went about his morning routine of carefully packing his treasures from deep within his treasure cave, brushing off the last remnants of sleep as he yawned. There is a chorus of birdsong just beyond the mouth of his cave – cheerful – as if unknowing of the very horrors which took place only hours before. Ignorant too of this event, Pan made his way toward the river, playing in the water as he went.
His scaled legs splashed in the cool water, and the boy knew to avoid pockets where the river grew rough and the current would steal him into the undertow. Still, he had much to discover about where the water cut through Delmuine, for it branched into many smaller streams, and he’d only begin to explore them all. Today, he’d made up his mind to follow one fork toward the west, and he made his way toward the place where he’d marked on his crude map, eager to discover what lay beyond his realm of understanding.
His adventure would be cut short though, for as the boy neared the fork, the water began to run red. The rusty taint of blood stung his nose as Pan’s eyes grew wide with confusion. Picking up the pace, the boy pushed toward the source, ignoring the instinct which warned him to run away and hide from what horrors lay beyond. He had to know… had to understand what happened. And, maybe someone needed his help.
As he peered around the treeline that covered him, he gasped again, seafoam green eyes falling upon the body of a stranger. Her belly is bloated against the sun, the stench of death rising from her corpse. Around them is a bloody scene – mutilated body parts strewn about like a child’s plaything. Something sinister had happened here, indeed.
Pan tried to find the words to call for help, but when his mouth parted, no sound escaped. He tries to run, but his feet seem caught in quicksand, too in shock to respond. For what seems like far too long, the boy simply stares at the scene, trying to gather the courage to respond.
And the boy waits to see if any would heed his call.
