BLOOD TRAIL

Kazayn and his core team began to walk deeper into the wilderness-looking grounds to find Mataya while waiting for Ahmed's team and Abby's to arrive. He had not seen any sign of Mataya's presence until now. He scanned his surroundings carefully so that nothing would pass from his sight.

Not long after, there was the sound of many sedan cars arriving not far from where he was standing at this time. The team that Ahmed and Abby's lead has come where Kazayn reported the discovery of Mataya's necklace and Mataya's charred car.

"Keep going inside, my team and I are exploring this place deeper, but we still haven't found Mataya's presence."

"Yes, I will follow you into the grounds," Ahmed said in a curt and even tone.

"Okay, Capt. My team and I will come to follow you," said Abby as the team's division representative.

Then it didn't take long for them all to enter the yard to catch up with Kazayn and his core team searching for Mataya. Until finally, they all saw Kazayn and his core team not far from where they were all standing. They all immediately approached Kazayn and the core team.

They are also ready with their respective weapons. They were all equipped with bulletproof vests fitted to their bodies.

"Aren't there any signs that could give us another clue to finding Mataya, Zayn?" said Ahmed, asking for signs that might be another clue to finding Mataya.

Kazayn shook his head. "So far, I've only found her necklace and her charred car."

Ahmed exhaled heavily, his face looking very angry. Ahmed is already very frustrated that Mataya hasn't been found yet. He was apprehensive about his friend's current condition. When he lowered his head, Ahmed saw a lot of blood on the ground that looked faded from being trampled. "There's blood on the ground. Look at the ground around you!"

Kazayn and Abby, who heard Ahmed's words, immediately checked the ground carefully, as did the other agents.

"Gosh, I missed this because the focus was looking in all directions, but I didn't notice the ground I was stepping on," said Kazayn feeling stupid and careless for missing something in his observations.

"Hey, Capt, Mr. Ahmed, look at that!" Abby pointed to a lot of footprints followed by blood-splattered and looked fresh.

"This blood looks new and doesn't look like the fake blood. Maybe it's Mataya's blood, looks like we can try to follow the trail to find Mataya."

***

On the other hand, Benvolio was driving his supercar at full speed towards the location given by a foreign messenger via his smartphone a moment ago. Of course, he was followed by Pavlo, a trusted assistant, and the right hand also the brain of all Benvolio's plans.

Pavlo drove as fast as Benvolio---or even quicker to catch up with him---so as not to lose track of Benvolio's car from his sight.

Pavlo tried to contact Benvolio because he wanted to ask where Benvolio was going.

But in vain, Benvolio's focus is now only on that location, where he can get information about the monster lair and find out what happened to Mataya in a photo sent by a foreign messenger a few moments ago via his smartphone.

"Oh, come on, Ben, really," Pavlo grumbled.

The two of them continued to drive their vehicle until they entered a place that looked like both a yard and a wilderness at the same time. There wasn't a single resident living in that place---there might be, but neither Benvolio's nor Pavlo's eyes saw it.

"Shit! What was Benvolio thinking to want to come to a place like this alone? He is indeed a good fight, but he is still a human. His body will still be scattered if bullets rained down on him," Pavlo hissed, annoyed as he rubbed his already messed up face.

Pavlo has been patient enough to serve Benvolio. But Benvolio never seemed to think Pavlo existed. Benvolio always makes decisions arbitrarily without first discussing with Pavlo. Even though Pavlo also plays a vital role in each of his missions.

Not long after, Benvolio stopped his car right in front of a small hut in a yard that looked like a wilderness. He parked his supercar then followed by Pavlo, who also stopped and parked his car right behind Benvolio's supercar.

Benvolio got off his supercar, and he just realized that Pavlo's had been following him since first. "Why did you follow me here, Pav?! I didn't give you any instructions to follow me! Hurry back and take care of Callista!" Benvolio was annoyed to see Pavlo following him without any instructions from him.

"Callista asked me to follow you, and after all … I am your 'shadow,' Ben. I will always follow you wherever you go, even if you don't give me those instructions. Isn't that the function and duty of a true 'shadow'?" said Pavlo, sparking an argument with Benvolio.

-to be continued-