“Do people normally hunt with shotguns around here?”

No. Cassandra did not think that anybody used to hunt with shotguns anywhere. It was impractical to an extreme degree. While the range of such a primitive weapon was higher than many citizens expected, it was still not optimal for most hunting styles. Most prey would both hear and see a hunter before they came close enough for the weapon to be an instant kill.

A good shooter could use a shotgun to kill, yes, but it would most likely not be an instant thing. Shots to the heart were the most practical way to kill, with the lungs coming in a close second. Sure, it would perhaps take upwards of a few minutes for the animal to be truly dead, but it would be much quicker than if a badly aimed shotgun shell was used.

Within twenty meters, there would just be a hole where the flesh once had been. But… animals knew the hunter was there long before that. The terrain made sure of that. This then begged the question of just how this deer had been executed so brutally with such a weapon.

“Just as many use leg-hold traps,” Cassandra answered overtly. Stuck to the front-left leg was what was commonly known as a bear-trap. While they might have been legal a century ago, there were few countries that even allowed them to be manufactured. The history of them was quite extreme, the traps being used in brutal underground warfare. The pictures of them had been brutal enough.

Seeing it in person was something else. Looking at the trap closely, it was obvious that it wasn't store-bought. Maybe the parts, yes, but the assembly itself? Definitely handmade. And more powerful than most. Giving it a tug, Cassandra was unable to put it back into its starting position. She could actually hardly move it at all. It remained in its position.

That explained the very broken bone. Even if the deer had gotten out of the trap, it wouldn't have gotten more than a few meters away. The leg itself had been destroyed to the point where the skin was barely hanging on. If Cassandra or Jules were to accidentally step on one of those… it wouldn't be pretty. The woman’s gear might take some of the impacts, but the force exerted might have been enough to just cut through it cleanly.

Cassandra wasn't too sure, honestly. She just saw enough to know that she would be sticking to the paths. Even if they were filled with snow, they would still offer some form of protection.

“Not too many then, I suppose,” Jules said. The automation went down on its knees to get to the same level as Cassandra. Neither needed to do it to get a good look at the corpse, but it helped mentally. “Any idea why they did it?”

“What do you mean?” Cassandra asked.

“I mean, it's clear that they didn't do it to get food. Nothing was really taken from that thing,” Jules stated, waving its hand while pointing it towards the very brutal animal carcass. “There has to be some reason for all that.”

Giving the corpse one more look, Cassandra had to wonder the same thing. Hunters hunted prey. That was something the town allowed every year, to make sure that the animal population did not grow too large. But, it was heavily restricted. Hunters were not allowed the use of anything but hunting rifles, they weren't allowed to leave the body, and they most certainly weren't allowed to do it in such a brutal manner.

The deer had not died a quick death. Wiping away some of the snow, just the upper layer, Cassandra was able to see clear imprints of deer hooves trying to move its body through muddy dirt. How long must it have taken to get all those imprints so deep? An hour? A day? The woman was no expert, but there was no chance of it having been done in any small amount of time. It was disgusting.

“Maybe they just needed something to do,” Cassandra suggested. She spared a glance to where the deer’s head was supposed to be. The back parts of the neck still hung onto the rest of the body. Only barely, though.

Bits of the head, skull, whatever anybody wanted to call it, had hit the trees behind, digging into the wood. Cassandra guessed it had been done from a lower angle right where they stood. The hunter had to have nearly lied down to get a good shot. Why? Was enjoyment really that important?

“That’s a plausible explanation, I suppose. Not the worst thing that’s happened in this place,” Jules said. “Should we get on with it? If you want, we could drive back into town with the corpse, and make sure that-”

“That’s not needed,” Cassandra said, getting up from her hunched over position. “The temperature keeps it cold. We’ll get it on the way back. There is still much we have to do today, and stopping just for that will get us nowhere.”

Noting down the coordinates, the two moved over to the car and drove further into the forest. The road was rough and poorly maintained, but it worked well enough. It wasn't like they hadn't taken the trip before. While it had been one of the other off-roads before, the end-point was the same as what it had been before.

Not that Cassandra had expected anything else. The river looked just as it had looked the last time she had been there. It raged on, bringing sound and wind to it. A few pieces of ice floated down, broken before they could be fully formed. She wondered if it would freeze over like it had last year.

“If I had opinions, I would have called the view beautiful,” Jules commented, as it got out of the car. They had parked relatively close to the water, and were able to see it all before they even stepped out. And while the sentiment might have been in a different manner, Cassandra did agree with the automation’s words.

If they hadn't been there to track a cult of potentially animal-abusing people, she might even have enjoyed it a bit more. But, work waited for nobody, and tracks never waited to be found. They would be erased within the day, and they had to find them all.

“You said the place was down a kilometre or so?” Cassandra asked. Looking at the map again, she was dismayed to find that the tracking software was not working with too much precision. It was only effective to a margin of ten meters or so. How utterly useless. If she needed to broadcast her location, that margin could have been the difference between life and death. Just… how could it have been this bad? Was there a problem due to the trees? The woman was not somebody truly equipped with the knowledge, but that just might have been it.

“Just about, yeah. Shouldn't be too far off, since we don't have to cross the river this time,” Jules said, looking around the terrain. The two headed down to the river, scanning the ground for anything resembling human tracks. While there were several larger birds, one deer, and what looked to be a smaller canine of some kind, nothing human came up. A shame, but not enough to be stressed about.

The trek to the needed part of the river was slow. They could have run for a minute to reach the place, yes, but they refrained from it. Cassandra needed to be sure about their search being thorough. Missing small details was a quirk that the woman absolutely refused to be involved with, no matter how much it would speed up their travel. They had the entire day and they would use the entire day. No rock would be unturned, and no ground would go unobserved.

But… there was nothing yet again. Bloodstains, snow trampled, feathers in heaps, but nothing that could have been blamed on humans. Cassandra had been there not that long ago and had already seen much of it back then. Nothing new had come around in the last while. Nothing alive. It felt like a still had been taken and left to sit, the organic flesh rotting in the meantime.

How had no animals found the dead prey? Just where were the animals? Had they been hunted to the point where they had fled? If so, there was a chance that the station was in more problems than they initially anticipated. A force big enough to hunt so many creatures… even if the winter had reduced the active number of creatures, they were still in very high numbers. It was getting closer to estimates of fifty well-equipped people. They couldn't take in so many numbers. They needed reinforcements for that.

‘Are things alright on your end? The interface is giving warnings about your increased pulse,’ Jules sent over, having switched to the police channel without being asked. A good thing all in all, since Cassandra didn't feel like talking verbally. She might just have shown off the more than minor amounts of stress she was experiencing. The automation’s interface was not the only one showing off warnings.

‘Strategy is known to cause such effects,’ Cassandra answered, not feeling like giving the real reason for her increased bodily functions. There was no real reason to, after all. Stating outright that one felt fear wasn't good for anything.

‘Just what kind of strategizing are you doing that would cause this kind of a reaction?’ Jules questioned. If the channel had the ability to showcase emotions in any larger capacity, Cassandra was sure there would have been some form of the automation sounding flabbergasted at her words.

‘The kind that I expect we will need. Have you noticed the animals we’ve passed?’

‘The dead ones? Most definitely. They smell bad for how old they’re supposed to be.’

‘That’s due to them normally having been eaten at this point, yet they have clearly been ignored to an extreme degree. The fur has been untouched, save for natural erosion. No teeth or claw marks at all. Do you know what this means?’

‘The animals are avoiding this part of the forest,’ Jules answered. Looking over, Cassandra could see the automation’s facial features growing sharper. Even it could see just how dire the situation was. ‘I’m guessing we’re not going for direct engagement anymore?’

That had been the plan at the start. If they saw anybody, they would be interacted with, and perhaps taken into custody if they were seen with weaponry of any real form. But… Cassandra was hardly thinking of a realistic opportunity anymore. The dangers attached weren't worth it. Recon was a more amenable approach.

‘We need to note down locations, and nothing more. Any chances at interaction need to be avoided fully. If there is any hint of any human, we retreat without looking back,’ Cassandra sent, her orders fully constructed. There was nothing good that could come from any other approach.

Reaching the location that Jules had mentioned so long before, Cassandra could in a way understand why the interaction had happened there. The water was without much power, allowing one to step far into it without being swept along by the current. It wasn't too deep either. If not for the extreme cold, it could have had many utilities.

Not that she cared too much about that, her attention on another matter entirely. Along the forest, a path was opened up for them. It wasn't any official trail, but it had clearly been well-travelled. Any foliage that had reached above the snow showed clear signs of having been trampled in the last hours. This was a place commonly used.

By who? Well… the two officers were going to figure out just that.