CHAPTER 160: THE STRANGE WOOD

Andrew was stuck driving three "young adults" who acted more like sulky teenagers. The air in the car felt so stiff and awkward that he ended up cracking the window just to breathe.

"What are you doing? It’s cold!" Matthew immediately complained, folding his arms.

"Bianca gave us a car with a heater. Use it like a sane person."

"Try being professional for once, Matthew," Andrew muttered, pushing his messy hair back in frustration and closing the window. "We need your cooperation on this mission."

"I could investigate this place alone. All of you would just get yourselves killed," Matthew shot back, smug as ever.

Dylan, trapped beside him, leaned away so hard he was practically glued to the door.

"Yeah? Keep talking like that and this village will become your funeral."

Matthew didn’t miss a beat. "What did the loser say? Remember our bet?"

Dylan froze. The bet. Whoever lost had to obey the winner for three days.

Matthew leaned in, voice dripping with arrogance. "I want silence from you. If you make even one noise with that annoying mouth of yours, I’m punching you."

Dylan’s jaw locked. He wanted to argue—god, he wanted to—but the bet had already started. He clenched his fists and stared out the window like a prisoner contemplating life choices.

"Good slave," Matthew said, victorious. "At least it’ll be quiet."

He reclined, flipping his book open like nothing happened.

Andrew pretended not to witness the entire circus. His gaze shifted to Maria in the passenger seat.

She didn’t look at him once. Not today, not yesterday, not since Bianca forced her onto this mission.

Whenever she needed something, she spoke to the boys instead and they relayed the message to him like ridiculous interpreters.

’So this is what it feels like raising a teenage girl... with two immature boys as backup dancers,’ Andrew thought bitterly.

Funny how Seamus—a literal disaster magnet—was easier to deal with. Maybe because the kid never leaned on his father. Another problem to solve, but at least Seamus didn’t give Andrew migraines like them.

His phone buzzed in his mind. Seamus’s message from last night:

"Do you know any doctors from Caduceus who know about resurrecting a vampire?"

Andrew’s grip tightened on the wheel. He knew exactly why. Viviane. He knew the boy wasn’t thinking straight, and something in his gut whispered this would end badly.

When he focused on the road again, the path ahead was blocked. The entrance to Oprichin Village—normally just a truck-wide split through the woods—was sealed off with stacked logs and a warning written in what looked disturbingly like blood. The letters dripped slightly, as if they hadn’t fully dried.

He slowed to a stop.

"Alright. From here on, we walk," Andrew said, shutting off the engine.

"No fighting. Stay alert. We don’t know if they’ve set traps or guards. And watch for bears."

Two synchronized eye-rolls greeted him. Wonderful.

"Don’t mess this up," he repeated, firmer. The boys got out without a word.

"Teenagers," he muttered, dragging a hand down his face.

Maria stepped out next, giving him a quick frown before closing the door with a soft thud.

She didn’t say anything, but her posture made it clear she wanted to be anywhere but here. She clutched her coat tighter, not from the cold, but because something in the forest already unnerved her.

Andrew slumped in his seat for a moment, defeated. "This is a disaster."

The cold air outside punched them in the face immediately, a wall of frost that settled in their lungs.

Even the inside of the forest looked different now; darker, heavier, like the trees themselves were listening.

He carried a backpack, and so did the rest, as they probably would stay in this place for a couple of days.

Luckily, nothing happened in the forest at first. Just trees, frost, and the occasional trap set for big animals, mostly bears or even wolves. The world felt muted, the snow muffling every sound except their footsteps and their uneven breaths.

Still, Andrew slowed down when he noticed strange symbols carved into the bark. An upside-down tree, drawn with sharp strokes that made his spine crawl.

"Damn, what kind of thing is sealed inside that statue?" he muttered.

He touched the mark and pulled his hand back when he saw red smearing across his fingers. It was fresh blood. Warm, even.

"Careful, moron," Matthew said from behind, pointing at a thin white rope half-buried under the snow. "That’s a trip line. Either a trap or a warning system."

Dylan stepped back without a word, choosing silence over another argument for once. He glanced around nervously, shoulders hunched like he expected something to leap out at him.

"But still, this forest is too quiet," Matthew continued.

The boy was right, not even a sound of snow could be heard anymore the deeper they were into the wood.

"We’re in the North. Not many animals survive out here," Andrew said, picking up his pace. The bad feeling settling in his gut wasn’t getting any better.

"I was born here," Matthew replied. "I know the kind of weird things this region gets, but they can usually be explained. Like hypothermia, isolation, and natural events." He hesitated.

"This one, though..." A shiver ran up his arms.

A sudden rustle in the bushes cut him off. All of them spun toward the noise and saw a shadow dart between the trees, thin limbs trailing behind like strips of cloth fluttering in the wind.

"What the hell..." Andrew glanced at Maria. "What do you see?"

"Ropes. Red ropes everywhere," she whispered. Her voice trembled as she stepped closer to him.

"And that thing moving... It’s not human, but it’s not a vampire either. I don’t know what it is."

"Is it part of some blood dominion?" Matthew asked, trying—and failing—to sound calm.

Dylan, pale and shaking, tugged Andrew’s jacket and clung to him.

Maria shook her head. "I’m not sure. This place is full of Sanguine Particles. They’re like spores drifting through the air."

Everyone except Maria immediately covered their mouths, despite already wearing protective masks.

"That explains the dreams..." Dylan muttered, already forgetting the bet. "Maybe these are dream spores. Like what Seamus did to my friends and me."

"We don’t know that yet. Also, you can’t talk dude," Matthew said, to which Dylan answered with a middle finger.

"Maria, can you track where those red ropes lead? Could be a vampire with a dominion."

"I’ll try... but I don’t think the rope has an end." She swallowed hard.

They followed her deeper into the woods. Soon, corpses came into view, bodies hanging from branches, suspended by red ropes.

Some bodies were fresh. Some looked dried out, almost mummified. The wind made them sway lightly, like grotesque ornaments.

Maria stopped abruptly as a massive tree appeared before them, dozens of bodies swaying from its branches.

"Fucking hell..." Andrew murmured, lowering his hand from his mouth.

"This is called the Suicide Tree."

A voice behind them made all four whirl around with weapons raised. An old man stood there, smiling calmly as if nothing was wrong.

"Are you heading to the Oprichin village?" he asked.

Andrew looked at Maria. She leaned close and whispered, "He’s human..." Her confusion was obvious.

He nodded slightly. "Who are you?"

"I’m the village chief. Mika." The old man bowed his head. "We rarely get visitors. Come, follow me."

Andrew hesitated but fell in step behind him. Mika walked barefoot through the snow, dressed in thin cloth without a coat. Yet he showed no signs of a cold.

The way he moved made the snow shift strangely around him, like the ground didn’t dare cling to him.

"What’s that Suicide Tree?" Andrew finally asked.

Mika turned his head slightly. "This village is remote. Because the conflict lines are near, we’re poor. Aid rarely reaches us." He sighed softly.

"Some people... they lose hope. They believe dying under the oldest tree in the forest brings them closer to the deity. A faster path to the afterlife and reincarnation."

"Huh. Sounds like those Eastern traditions about sacred trees," Dylan said, voice small.

Mika didn’t respond.

They eventually broke out of the tree line and saw the village ahead. Smoke rose gently from chimneys—signs of life—but no one walked outside.

Not a single villager in sight. The silence was too thick, like everyone was holding their breath.

A large factory stood at the center, probably for processing coal.

"People work during the day," Mika said with that same empty smile. "That’s why you don’t see anyone."

"Right... um, our car died. We need fuel, if you have any?" Andrew asked, forcing a casual tone.

"Unfortunately, we do not."

"It’s fine. It’s almost evening anyway. Could we stay the night?"

Mika nodded. "Helping travelers is part of our belief. Follow me."

He led them to a clean house on the village outskirts, with two rooms, more than enough for their group. The interior smelled faintly of herbs and smoke. Blankets were neatly folded, almost too neat.

Before leaving, he paused at the door.

"Do not leave at night. Bears and wolves wander around. Everything closes at six, and no one goes outside after that."

The group nodded politely.

And, of course, absolutely none of them planned to obey that rule.