We tried to get more information from the men, but beyond a boy's wild tales of 'monsters' taking the couple, there wasn't much to go on. Things didn't look good for Heida and Roy, but we weren't going to leave without at least trying to find out what happened to them. We headed into the ruins, looking for any signs of struggle that might help us out. I was actually a bit surprised when we started finding signs of occupation all throughout the inner edges of the devastated town. Rubble had been cleared, and crude signs had been painted on walls. It was obvious that whoever took Chasity's kin, they weren't simply mindless beasts, and from the signs, they didn't take particularly kindly to strangers. The signs were drawings of skulls of animals and humans, and appeared to have been painted with blood.
Chasity led the way into the ruins, every line of her body tight with anger and fear for her kinfolk. I walked along behind her, trying to look in every direction at once, feeling a queer dread crawling up the back of my neck. Behind me, Tex and Doc carried on a quiet conversation.
"Look," said Doc in a near whisper. "Right there, see it?"
"See what?"
"Right there!" I could hear the exasperation in the boy's voice. "I'm nearly touching it."
"It's just a smudge, man. It doesn't mean anything." Tex's voice was a mix of irritation and superiority.
"It's not just a smudge," insisted Doc. "It's the same marking as on all the others."
"It's a damned cave painting, kid. Some primitive just splashed it all over."
"It's a signature," argued Doc. "We're dealing with someone who takes some sort of pride in this grisly display."
"Whatev-" Tex's dismissal cut off as a crazed howl echoed through the concrete and rust all around us. I could hear the sounds of weapons raised behind me, and Chasity was already kneeling, scanning ahead of us with her rifle. Before I could say a word, the howl came again, this time from a dozen, a score of sources.
Whatever they were, they had us surrounded.
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