The forest was much the same, hallow, dark large pine trees swaying overhead, crisp air, shadows moving throughout as the gentle wind swayed the trees. The first pile of bones was under a young spruce tree, scull rolled off to one side. Near an out crop of boulders that was in the satellite imagery Edgwood had presented me. The tattered camouflage uniform scattered around them affirmed it was likely one of the men that had gone with Victor.

  A crude rope made from sapling bark hung over the pile of bones which in turn were mostly covered in pine needles and twigs. The next bone pile was not far off. The rope was still holding on to the shin bone. We found six piles in total. Scraps of military uniforms around each.

  Nothing that felt or looked like it could be Victor. We widened our search and found more bodies, in various stages of decomposition, as we worked our way down the mountain. There would likely be more if we searched the surrounding hills. Though there was one section left I had skipped.

  An hour or two more of walking and we were at the cave. I didn’t fade into blackness, but my whole frame was trembling slightly. I forced myself to bend down and feel for echoes. The old familiar call came back to me, caves are great places at preserving things. My cousin lay still. His echo a sweet bitterness I could never forget. But it wasn’t just his echo that call from the cave. Many more reverberated out of the cave’s mouth.

  “Down there in the back is where the Sinew hung us.”

  I crouched. Looking further up the mountain. Back towards the cabin and plane. How could such a terrible place be so quiet? I didn’t want to crawl down there.

  “Are we going in then?” Red squatted down next to me.

  I looked at her, holding eye contact for a long moment. Trying to formulate an excuse not to enter the cave. Nothing came.

  “Stay here. If I need to get out quick, I don’t want you behind me.” I clicked on the Maglite and shown it down the tunnel. Then began my long crawl. I drug myself through dry dirt following the tunnel as it veered to the right then opened up to where I could crouch. It didn’t take long, I was at the back of the cave, a large pile of bone and skinless decomposing meat was to my front left. Strands of bark hung over them from cracks in the cave wall. My cousin was somewhere in the bottom of that pile.

  To the center right were the remains of a small fire that had been restarted many times. Further back lay a large, deformed skeleton, it hadn’t been hung up but lay out on its stomach. I walked over to it and shone my light on the bones. They were large, gray, shaped with long ridges and odd thick sections. The skull was strangely elongated as well. I pulled my disposable camera from my jacket and snapped a few pictures of the skeleton then one of the pile.

  The skeleton was too big to be victors, too big to hang up on the crack over the pile of victims. Why didn’t the sinew hang the big man outside like the others? Strange behavior I didn’t like the idea that the Sinew could change up it’s M.O.

  Looking around the cave there was nothing else of note, so I made my way back out. “Victors body’s not in there.” I said exiting.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Are you sure,” she asked. Peering down the cave.

  “Just a pile of bones. If I had felt his echo in the pile I would have dug through it for you. But he’s not in there.”

  “Okay, were should we look next.”

  “We don’t,” I pointed to the brightening horizon, “I’m sure his body is somewhere on this mountain, but we should leave.”

  Amber looked at me. “You still think he’s dead?”

  “Of course.”

  Amber squinted slightly. “There's nowhere else we can look?”

  “Like I said his body is somewhere on this mountain, but it would take me a week to cover the entire thing. We don’t have a week; we should have left last night.”

  She didn’t say more but walked along side me on our way back to the plane.

  ***

  Red put us down on a landing strip in Maine, Gregory was there. Red tossed him the keys to the cock pit. “Where can I take you two?” He asked.

  “I have a ride,” Red said, she didn’t say more just walked towards the front of the hanger.

  “How was you trip?” Gregory asked. I was still watching Red go. Bringing my attention to him I forced a smile. “Better than it had a right to. Your boss has a job for me?”

  Gregory nodded. “It’s messy, very messy.”

  “Well, I will need to get my things from my house.”

  “This way then.” He pointed to where Red had disappeared behind a hanger.

  I followed Gregory to a Toyota in the parking lot. Red was standing on side of the road as a new big jacked up Dodge pulled in next to her. Smith the big doctor from Ned’s surgery room was in the driver’s seat. He was looking at me, face a sheet of granite. Getting out he opened the passenger door for Red, closing it he turned and started walking over to me and Gregory.

  “How about you get the car started I will be with you in a minute.” Handing Gregory my lap top bag I walked over to the big man.

  “I should kill you for what you did to that young woman, Loren.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know what you did.”

  “I pulled her out of a burning plane, after baby sitting her for a month, because Grace was MIA, am I missing something?”

  “You don’t remember injecting her with a syringe full of silver flakes?” His face was red.

  “No, sounds like it would be pretty affective.” I should have asked Red about who had jumped them before the plain crash.

  “Don’t play the fool with me, we all know you did it.” The man was brisling.

  “I take it she’s dead?”

  “She’s gone.” The big man was trembling anger starting to get the better of him. “I had better not see you again. Understand. If I do, I don’t think I’m going to be able to stop myself from taring your head off it’s shoulders.”

  “Is Rudy doing alright, Ned said Grace came back for him after I left for Utah.” I ignored his outburst.

  “The dogs fine.”

  “Good, tell Red,” I nodded at the truck, “I appreciate her help, I will hopefully not be seeing any of you for a long time.”

  “She has a name.” The man growled.

  “Who?”

  “Miss Amber. I know you know it.”

  “Why does it matter? If things go the way they should, you will get in that truck and I will never see either of you again.”

  He nodded turning, I forced myself not to look back at red in the passenger seat, instead jogged lightly over to where Gregory had pulled up and climbed in.

  “What needs killed?” I asked as we started pulling away.

  “There is something in the sewers outside of one of mister Hobbs favorite delis. It’s been snatching people down a man hole, bad for business.”

  “Picture’s?” I asked.

  He retrieved a thick envelope stuffed with cash and one picture of a large crustacean like claw pulling back through the grate on the side of what should have been a very busy street.

  “He could probably deal with this one on his own.” I stated.

  “Sometimes, when dealing with these things the government can’t help but get involved.” Gregory stated tactfully.

  “I see, I’ll need a dead pig. Mm, make it three. This won’t be hard. I flipped through the cash. Fifty thousand. “I’m raising my initial rates by 25% will that be a problem?”

  Gregory Smiled. “Not at all.” He pulled out another envelope. “For the new truck.”