In the woods 3

Everyone came to a halt when they heard the howling of a wolf.

"This was all that remained. The council has chosen a wonderful location for the task, surrounded by an imposter and wild animals," Gilbert made a sarcastic remark.

Evelyn glanced at Felix, expecting a sarcastic remark but instead caught him grinning mysteriously. She knitted her brows, wondering what he was thinking, but brushed it aside and resumed her walk.

Gilbert led the way this time, his chest out, knowing that no one could attack him until they were all together and his precious life was safe.

'A few more hours and no one will be able to stop me from joining the council,' he thought. A greedy smile plastered on his face as he thought about the bonus the council provides to newcomers. 

The crunching of dry leaves in the path ahead snapped him out of his reverie. He stopped abruptly. A man showed up in front of him, suddenly. Fright built in him, looking at the fangs and blooded shirt.

"Imposter! Imposter! Imposter!" Gilbert screamed and ventured back. The man kept walking towards him with an amused smile. 

Evelyn recognised the man as the same pureblood vampire, who was standing behind her, back in the council. She couldn't believe he was the imposter. Well, the fact about the strength of pureblood vampires was well known to everyone. She took a defensive stance and glanced around, noticing Derek fleeing from the scene.

"Who is an imposter?" The man inquired. His fangs were still out, making Gilbert shiver like a dry leaf. He enjoyed the sight of the trembling man. 

"You!" Gilbert shouted, accusing him and taking a position behind Felix.

"Fool! Why do you think I'm the imposter?" The man retorted with a question.

"Why think when the blood on your shirt certifies your deeds," Felix said, pointing at the blood-soaked white shirt.

The man sighed in exhaustion. He looked at Felix and replied, "Can't a pureblood vampire feed his grumbling stomach?"

"Not with human blood," Evelyn stated.

"Well, why not? I would like to taste your sweet blood, my pretty lady," he said, smiling mischievously.

Evelyn looked at him with disgust. Her eyes were as cold as ice, enough to make a weak soul tremble.

"But I'm not in the mood," he admitted after a brief pause. "Who said it's human blood?" He questioned.

Evelyn was perplexed as she looked at him.

"I fed on the hare, and the blood is of the same," he explained.

"Do you think we'd believe you?" She responded with a question. Her voice was stern, and she looked at him with suspicious eyes.

"I don't care if you believe or not, but the truth is I am not the imposter," he said, shrugging his shoulders, unconcerned about the people's accusations against him.

Evelyn looked at his eyes and felt he was speaking the truth. She relaxed her body and gestured to Felix asking what to do.

Felix paused for a moment and nodded to himself. "Where have your teammates gone?" He enquired.

"I don't know. I was in group two. We planned to split up to make our work easier, and we agreed to meet near the river in the evening. However, I was the only one who made it there. Since then, I have been trying to figure out where they are," he informed them.

"When did you decide to split?" Evelyn inquired.

"As soon as we entered the forest. We decided to divide ourselves into two groups. The other group included Ana and Lennard. Will and I were in a group, moving in towards the forest's extreme right. I went to feed myself, but by the time I returned, Will had vanished," he informed them.

"Did you find any dead bodies while you were searching for them?" Felix asked. 

"None," he said. He looked bewildered by the question and asked, "Why would you ask that? Did you encounter any dead bodies?" 

Evelyn nodded and raised her two fingers. The vampire let out a sad sigh. 

"Well, I will continue my search in this direction then," he said and began to stroll. 

Evelyn would have been amused by looking at the unaffected face of the pureblood vampire by death, if she wasn't aware how their day began from drinking blood. 

"Excuse me, Mister," Evelyn called him, looking at him go alone. 

"Nichole, my lady," he turned around and introduced his name. 

"Well, I'd say you shouldn't go out on your own. You are welcome to join our group; we would be delighted to have you," she humbly stated. She didn't trust him, but it was better to be safe, and this way they could keep an eye on him in case he was an imposter.

"No, not at all. I can protect myself. I had been alone the entire time," Nichole responded and continued walking in the opposite direction as Evelyn's group. Who knew he was walking into a Lion den where the beast was hunting for his next prey.

"Are we going to keep an eye on his back all night or keep walking?" Evelyn heard Gilbert speaking. It was amusing to see how quickly he covered his cowardice with fake bravery.

"Wait for Derek. He might come back. He bolted after seeing Nichole, God only knows in which direction," Felix said as he looked around for him.

Gilbert snorted, "What a chicken." 

Evelyn gave him a disapproving look. It was because of him screaming imposter which made poor Derek run away in fright.

They had waited far too long, but there was no sign of him.

"I advise that we continue walking. It's not safe to stay in one place," Felix suggested.

"What about Derek?" Evelyn inquired, concerned about him.

"Nichole went in that direction. He might soon find him," Gilbert informed.

"Let's go that way as well," Evelyn suggested and turned to walk.

"No!"

Felix's sharp reaction startled her. She gave him a puzzled look.

"No, I mean. Why squander time going back? Just move ahead," Felix reasoned and continued walking without leaving any room for further discussions.

Evelyn felt strange about his behaviour. He began to pique her interest. Glancing back one last time in the opposite direction, she followed him quietly.

They soon came across two more candidates who appeared overly energetic and confident. Gilbert decided to join them as he thought he would be safer with a two-man group rather than a one-man group.

Felix's face had a devilish grin on it, which Evelyn noticed. Her suspicions grew stronger with each passing second. She noticed how he looked at the candidates who decided to go in opposite directions. He was obviously concealing something. 

She was curious about what was on the other side of the forest. They had also entered from that side but found nothing suspicious. Wondered what Felix was hiding? What was he thinking? And why did he forbid them from returning in that direction?

One after the other, questions popped into her head, none of which she could relate to. All she knew now was to beware of Felix as it was just him and her, alone.