19 Chapter 19: Investigate

At midnight, the whole village was enshrouds of silent and serene atmosphere without any ruckus or noises that could be heard except for the surrounding pine trees that was being blown away by the cold wind.

But the silence of the cabin broke when a bizarre incidents were started happening while the atmosphere suddenly turn eerie.

The front door suddenly opens from the outside while a black obscured figure slowly enter the cabin. It let out a soft growl while its neck was making cracking noises whenever it was twisting its neck in odd angles.

This figure has a wet feet that leaving a trail while slowly walking with heavy steps towards the wooden staircase. It was making a creaking sound on the wooden floor every steps that it makes.

*Creak* *Stomp*

It went to the second floor of the cabin where it walks towards Ziv's room, then it reaches its long arm on the doorknob while attempting to open it.

*Clicked* *Clicked*

It continuously attempts to open the door that was tightly shut, but when he sleeps earlier, he ensures that the door was locked and he would be notified when someone tried to break into his room.

If these would be a normal day where Ziv wasn't in need of rest, he would notice the slight noise that the door makes but the fact that he was tired and his body was injured he didn't have a slight response.

The black figure tried to open the door for a while before it eventually gave up and stopped its action when it couldn't achieve any result. It walks away from the door while the sound of its footstep faded into the darkness.

The moment it leaves the whole cabin engulfs with deafening silence, while the master bedroom on the first floor slightly open while a pair of black eyes peek at the gap of the door looking at the direction of the black figure that was obscured by darkness.

"Why is this.. happening.." a light sob that came from a old woman who was looking at the obscured figure on the dark.

"There was nothing we can do to save her." Gereth who was seeing his wife sobbing clenches his teeth while he clasps his hands together before mumbling, "May the god be with us."

...

The next morning he woke up in the warm atmosphere of the room while basking in the soothing cold wind of winter.

He opened his eyes while absent mindedly looked at the ceiling of the room before he sat up on the bed as he was stretching his arms and yawning. While he leaned forward to stand up.

"Ho.. This was the greatest sleep that I've ever experienced in what? Almost a week now?"

When he looked around the room, he didn't notice any changes or abnormalities before he sighed in relief after knowing that.

"Come and catch me, Paul."

"Wait for me Sarah!"

As he stood up to leave the room to eat a breakfast downstairs there was a sharp voice that could be heard coming from outside.

He approached the window to find the voice that he heard just now. When he was looking around outside, there was a two kids that were happy playing tag in the snow a little boy and a little girl while their family was closely following behind them.

"Heh.. What a nice sight early in the morning."

"It's an enviable sight indeed."

When he was blankly staring at this scene for a while a tear slipped down his cheek as he closed his eyes before he deeply immerses himself to his past.

After standing there for a while and reorganizing his thoughts, he casually wiped the tear on his cheek while the look in his eyes turns indifferent as the doubts and uncertain thoughts in his mind vanished.

"Whatever it was there's no way I could escape my past." Ziv shrugged before he gets his gun on the bed while heading downstairs to eat some breakfast.

When he opens the door of his room there could be heard a laughter and chatter in the dining room while he constantly hears Reynold's loud voice.

*Creak* *Thud*

The people that were laughing at the table heard a footstep on the stairs as they looked over to see who it was.

"Wake up early stop being a sleepyhead Ziv!" Reynold immediately teases him the moment he saw him descending the stairs.

"There was no.. *hiccup* food for you.. *hiccup*." Malek, who was beside Reynold mumble in incomprehensible words while he started hiccuping every word that he spoke.

"Is he drunk?" Ziv looked at Malek drunk state and the bottle of alcohol on the table while looking at Reynold who was sheepishly blinking his eyes.

"You know.. Ah.. It's not that.. How's your body is it good?" Reynold tried redirecting the topic to other stuff as he laughs awkwardly.

"Hey! You! I'm not drunk, I'm still sober! I just sip a little bit of alcohol and trust me, I'm sober right now." Malek stood up before pointing finger at the deer trophy head while staggeringly walking towards it.

"It was okay, kid! There was nothing wrong with drinking this much alcohol early in the morning! Ah!" Gereth said with a red face as he laughed loudly while chugging a whole glass of beer.

Ziv helplessly sighed while looking at this as he seated in the empty to eat some breakfast that Fissha made for them.

Their breakfast was consist of sunny side egg, a strip of bacon, plain rice and a freshly ground hot coffee.

'It was delicious. Their generosity was something, okay.' Ziv silently thought while he quickly finished his breakfast to attend his other agenda.

"Thanks for the food, Mrs. Fissha."

After finished eating, he expresses his gratitude to Ms. Fissha before he kindly smiles at her when she was washing the dishes.

"I'm happy that you like it." Fissha smiled back in response.

"Mr. Gereth and Ms. Fissha I would like to go outside for a while to hunt a deer in the woods just to experience something new." Ziv stood up from his seat before he reminded them first without them leaving uninformed.

"Why do you need to hunt?" Fissha concernedly asked him while looking back and forth at Gereth who was drinking at the table.

"I got jealous with Mr. Gereth collection of head trophy and I think I want to also have one." Ziv explained with a smile without showing his other motives.

"You want me to call you a hunter in the village to join you?" Fissha stare at his face for a while before she suggested to give them some help.

"No, it was okay. It was just an inconvenience for them if we do that and Reynold was with me, so everything should be fine." Ziv immediately rejected her offer, especially he doesn't want them to know what they are going to do.

"Me!?" Reynold was surprised when he heard him mentioning his name.

"Yes. So, get your gun because we're going for a trip outside to hunt some deer." Ziv urged him when he saw Reynold hesitating to move from his spot.

"But we are here to rest, isn't?" Reynold gloomily said as he reluctantly walked towards his room before bringing his sniper rifle.

When seeing the sniper rifle on his shoulder, Ziv put check every 'necessity' they need for this trip while packing stuffing all of it in his bag.

"What about him?" Reynold asked while pointing at Malek that was sleeping at the table.

"Him?" Ziv stares at Malek before he thoughtfully said, "Just let him get drunk, we don't need him now."

As they finished preparing their items they bid their farewells to the people inside the cabin before they set off in the woods.

"Be careful out there. Come back when it was night." Fissha wave her hand as she reminded them while she was at the door of the cabin looking at their disappearing back.

While Fissha was waving her hand as they bid their farewells. Gereth stood up from his seat while approaching his wife at the door as he leave Malek on the table.

"If they didn't come back at night our daughter will be delighted with the food that we gave her." Gereth softly said at his wife.

"Hm."

While Fissha was uncomfortable with this feeling whenever they lure in some people in their cabin. But they need to do this to make their daughter live longer.

Malek, who was drunk grunted as his eyes open into a slit before it flashes a strange light and disappear when Gereth goes back to his seat.

"Look at this guy! He didn't last for 5 bottles of rum!" Gereth laughed loudly at Malek that was sleeping on the table.

...

After leaving the cabin they decided to go to the deeper parts of the woods as they search for some animal trail to make it convincing that they are tracking a deer.

"Why are we doing this?" Reynold curiously asked him while 'looking' for some spoor on the ground.

"It was just a hunch, but I feel that there was something wrong with that couple." Ziv responded at his question unhesitantly while also searching for the spoor on the ground.

"Why are you being cautious at all times?" Reynold asked him when he saw him acting like this again.

"You never know." Ziv replied at him coldly while staring at his eyes.

"Ah.. This makes me annoyed because you are more cautious than a soldier like me." Reynold scratches his head in annoyance.

"I think we are few kilometers away from that place." Ziv looked behind them in the direction of the village.

"So? What's your plan?" Reynold asked him in confusion.

"Let's start training here." Ziv dropped his bag before placed it far away from them.

"Really? That's your plan training in the middle of the woods while snowing and with your body isn't fully recovered yet." Reynold said in disbelief while hearing his absurd plan this time around.

Ziv replied at him with a sweeping kick while Reynold just raised his front feet before it swiftly kick his kneecap and stopped when it almost got in contact.

"That's destroyed your kneecap for sure if it makes a contact. You only used that when the enemy was in a defensive position." Reynold explained while Ziv continuously attack him.

He follows up an attack with spinning back kick towards Reynold face while it was blocked with one hand that protecting Reynold's face.

"Too much extra movement and the exertion of strength in every attack was mediocre." Reynold mocked him after blocking that kick.

"I'll show you how its done." Reynold quickly moves forward towards Ziv as he leans near his body while clenches his right fist that resulted on veins popping up in his arms.

While Ziv surprised at this action as he jumped backwards to keep distance on him when Reynold heavily stomped his left foot on the front that completed a attack stance that reaches him even he jumped backwards.

When Reynold releases his punch it heavily hits Ziv's chest that sent him flying for a few meters.

"You get my point right there? That's how you exert your strength efficiently or else you are wasting a lot of your energy."

"If you are doing some flashy or showy moves that just stupidly wasting the energy of your body. That was not an attack that's performance."

"You need to intimidate your opponent in a single motion of your attack while exploiting their weaknesses in the most effective way possible like I did." Reynold explained at him while he was standing up.

"Uh.. What if your opponent was long range?" Ziv cough a blood as he stood up on the ground.

"Chase the hell out of them. Don't give him a chance to attack just fiercely strike every awkward spot you can see in his attack while always put him on passive." Reynold thinks for a moment before replying at his question.

"What about adding your gun on your set of attack?" Ziv ponders while listening to his explanation.

"First, you need to think about how to draw your gun from your holster while in the middle of the attack. Second, what is the most convenient position you will shoot your gun while you were attacking close range. Third, with really good aim and balance you could do that."

When Reynold heard that ridiculous question he still explained at him the requirements for his question as he laughs after he answers it.

"You are too funny mate! You can't even exert your muscle and strength to the certain part of your body while here you are asking some ridiculous question."

"That's none of your business." Ziv replied at him with annoyed tone as he saw him mocking his question.

"Don't worry after training a lot you can also do it. But for now just recover from your injury, then we will do some intense training." Reynold shrugged while seeing the look on his face.

"Coming from a guy that couldn't hold back when training." Ziv mutters in irritation when he heard that.

"Anyways, what are we really supposed to do here?" Reynold curiously asked again while seeing him immerse on his thoughts.

"We are waiting for the night to come and before that comes we will train non-stop." Ziv looked at the bright sun in the sky while grinning maliciously.

"I don't know what we are going to do, but I don't like that grin on your face." Reynold got scared when he saw the grin on his face.

They set up a small tent on the flat ground in the woods before bringing all of their items and bags inside it while they continue training.

Reynold teaches him a set of simple attack, blocking and situational escapes.

They kept training for hours until it becomes night while the longest rest they could have was eating their food that they brought before they continue training again.

"It was night already. What now?" Reynold looked at the bright moon that was hang in the sky.

"Mr. Gereth told me yesterday night that there was running amok in this village and I want to find out what that thing was." Ziv finally explained his reasoning for this trip in the woods.

"That's it? No indepth sh*t involved?" Reynold asked in disbelief while looking at him.

"Nope."

"Oh lord have mercy!"