“What’s that?” Tanya Sue asked after receiving the okay from Alex Pearson.


    “Stay back. Lay low.” Alex Pearson raised his left hand as he crouched towards the direction from which the smell came: “It’s probably a dead animal, but I’ve gotta be sure. If anything is wrong, run.”


    The two young women lowered their bodies and watched Alex Pearson crawl uphill with bated breaths. Up ahead scattered many bushes and small, slender trees, none of which looked friendly or safe under the dim moonlight. They paid a price to be here - a hefty one for their financial situation, but still not that high a number they were expecting, which meant he could have some ulterior motive and thus they had very little trust in him. Right now, the only thing they could do was focus on the figure of the man - so he would not be out of their sight for even one moment.


    The smell grew more intense as Alex Pearson climbed, and even slightly burning to his nostrils and eyes. At first he was worried that it would be a human dead body, but now it was more likely to be that of a skunk. In just a few steps, he would reach the top of the small hill in front of him, and he still did not have eyes on the source of the smell.


    After a short moment of hesitation, he poked his head over the hilltop, just in time to see a ball of black and white fur curled up by a rock. A skunk, it would appear.


    Just to be safe, he waved at the two young women, signalling them to stay put, while he looked around for signs of the patrol team before going downhill.


    It was indeed the body of a skunk, dead from unknown reasons. No other bodies were around, and no signs of danger or concern. He went back to the hilltop, and signaled the young women to come over.


    “It’s just a skunk.” He explained to the two young women with a lowered voice: “Cover your nose and be careful. The smell’s pretty bad.”


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    The two young women followed Alex Pearson’s lead with hands over their faces and tears in their eyes. It took a while before they were able to escape the pungence.


    The path downhill was only slightly easier than the way up. The slope was not steep, but the terrain was rough. More potentially poisonous plants and bushes were on their path, and they had to zig zag their way to avoid them.


    “Stay close.” Alex Pearson whispered as he lowered his speed. The night was getting darker, as more clouds gathered in the sky, obscuring the moon more and more.


    Another wave of horrible smell hit them before they reached flat land. Only this time, the source of it was somewhat easy to see - a rotten carcass of a wolf, or a coyote, covered in maggots.


    “Ring” “Ring” The two young women rang their bells.


    Alex Pearson groaned, he checked around before ringing his bell, asking with a suppressed voice: “What?”


    “I’m hearing voices.” Eve Kim held her friend close, while looking around.


    “Me too!” Tanya Sue’s voice was high pitched and a little too loud, she realized this and covered her mouth.


    The hairs on Alex Pearson’s back stood up again, the wetness on his back came back on his mind. He walked closer to the two young women and tried his best to whisper his question: “What’d you hear?”


    “Crying - at least three voices, all crying.” Tanya Su frowned and shook her head.


    “For me it’s - grunts, heavy breathing, and - and - uh - what’s that noise - ” Eve Kim scratched her face and then her forehead: “ - basically - the kind of noise when there’s - uh - there’s phlegm in your nose and throat - ”


    Alex Pearson thought for a brief moment before pulling out a small piece of teardrop-shaped semi-transparent glass and putting it over his left eye and ordering Tanya Su: “Okay, look up, at my eyes.”


    “Can I?” Eve Kim raised her hand.


    “... fine.” Alex Pearson groaned and turned to Eve Kim: “Focus on my eyes.”


    The young woman’s pupils were slightly dilated. And upon close inspection, there was a light orange aura hidden inside of each of her eyes. In the sight behind the piece of semi-transparent glass, the auras scattered, into pieces of arch-shaped rainbows with incomplete spectrums of colors.


    “Dammit.” Alex Pearson couldn’t help but curse.


    “What?”


    “You had a bagua mirror in your place, right?” Alex Pearson sighed.


    “Yeah - and?” Eve Kim’s frown grew deeper.


    “Either you put it in an incorrect position, or you’ve got a well crafted but unfinished one.” Alex Pearson turned around and gestured both young women to keep up with him: “We’ll figure something out when we’re out.”


    “Than - thanks.”