Chapter Two

“This is Madison May – an operative from the Missing Individuals Department. As I am recording this, it is now Sunday the 13th of October early morning. Right now, I am driving down the road that will take me to Grimlow Thicket – which is roughly 47,000 acres. Thankfully, it's not raining cats and dogs, and Mr Sun is really doing his job today.

“Before I left the town, I had a really nice breakfast at the B & B; hash browns, eggs, bacon, pancakes and a glass of orange juice. I should be watching myself, but the company has fully funded my fake trip. Besides, after this is over, I might actually go back to my diet.

“The people of Sunny Gem Resort were actually pretty sad to see me go. They practically begged me to come back, after I was finished with my errand. I decided to follow through on my promise. Incidentally, it wasn't a lie; I really want to stay there again.

“I lied to everyone in town and told them I was driving to the next town. Incidentally, the next town is actually three hours away, and I am hoping that they buy my lie. The bureau suggested that I shouldn’t be too trusting of the locals around here. We cannot ignore the probability that the townspeople are secretly involved in the disappearances.

“The previous statement may seem harsh, but there was actually a case where the locals were involved. And they wanted to appease some psycho who ran their city. We managed to rescue at least fifteen women and seventeen guys from a huge compound.

“I can’t stop thinking about the man I mentioned before; the one at the rest stop. At the time, I was advised by the workers to ignore him as he has gone senile. And yet, deep in my mind, the bells are ringing, and my heart is pounding. Was I supposed to listen to him?

“I hope Ryan, Morgan, Kirsten, Demi and Aidan are still alive. I’ve this theory that they came to the same conclusions I have, and tried to put a stop to this pagan cult. If there really is a pagan cult out there committing atrocities, we need to stop them ASAP.

“I’ve made sure to bring my stun-gun with me, in case I encounter any hostiles. I hope that my self-defence training has paid off, as well as my stealth training.

“Right now, I am wearing my leather jacket, a pair of charcoal jeans, my black boots and a T-shirt with a skull on it. I don’t wish to risk exposure in this case. If there’s a so called pagan cult, and they know I’m from the department, they will be even more hostile to me.

“This two hour drive is excruciating. It would be better if I had some actual company with me, instead of the radio station bleating 80s hits. To be fair, the Director did warn me that they were reluctant to send any more agents to this Grimlow Thicket. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was the last. I contacted someone I trusted just in case. End of report.”

#

“This is Madison May – an operative from the Missing Individuals Department. The two hours flew by, and I’ve finally arrived in the parking lot for Grimlow Thicket.

“Not surprisingly, my car is not the only one in the parking lot, there are a dozen more. I suspect that some of those cars are owned by innocent civilians. I've already spotted the undercover version of the corporate van, which confirms my suspicions.

“I’ve left my car and made sure to grab my bag of supplies from the boot. Upon closer inspection, one of the cars seems to be a van belonging to an amateur film crew. I think they really wanted to film these supposed pagan rituals and put the video online.

“It's strange to be in a parking lot alone and talk like there's an imaginary listener. But these audio logs are corporate policy, when an agent goes out into the field. There were no vehicles on the road driving here, which could be a bad omen.

“My car is locked up and I have my backpack and provisions. I am heading up the steps and now I am crossing the threshold of the Grimlow Thicket.

“I can see many warnings that state the forest is closed and forbids anyone from walking in. I have to turn off my earpiece to recharge it. End of report.”

#

“This is Madison May – an operative from the Missing Individuals Department. My wireless earpiece is full of life and ready for recording. Grimlow Thicket is a truly incredible spectacle. The tree leaves are bathed in such a wonderful orange glow.

“I brought with me many red flag markers, so that I can track where I explored. I contacted my colleague Eliza to ask for help if I am not texting every half hour. We need as much manpower as possible to find the missing people.

“I noticed that the forest trail curves in such a strange way – like the forest is guiding me somewhere. I know this may seem weird, but I wonder if the forest is alive. My heart is racing with that sheer thought. I have to remain rational. Lives are in jeopardy.

“I can see what looks like a big tent; I'm going to look into that. The tent itself appears to have been recently inhabited by a number of campers. The food in the cooker is barely a week old. I can see photos of a couple of the missing civilians; two men and a woman.

“There are diary entries saying that they are looking for an urban legend involving an ancient monster? I don’t see any camera equipment, so I’m guessing these are not the film crew. If I had to guess, this belongs to a group of some random University students.

“On closer inspection, I found a map that will help me. On the map, there is a place which has been encircled and which seems to be a sort of cave. The cave is appropriately referred to as Grimlow Cave, and is renowned for being sacred. From the campers' notes, the monster they are looking for resides in this enormous and mysterious cave.

“I am assuming my colleagues found this lead too, but for some reason they didn’t take the map – most likely to preserve the crime scene. Instead, I have taken a picture of the map with my phone. I can leave the physical map here if anybody needs to find me. End of report.”

#

“This is Madison May – an operative from the Missing Individuals Department. Braving through Grimlow Thicket is pretty spooky. This forest feels haunted. None of the trees have tried molesting me, so I’ve got that going for me. I apologise to anyone who will eventually listen to this message. Whenever I feel scared I have to make jokes.

“Oh, I'm finally at the mysterious cave. Fortunately, I have a flashlight with me to light up the path. There are some graphic carvings of the tentacles molesting men and women. I hope the story about the monster living here isn't true. My heart just keeps racing.

“Before I enter the cave, I am going to sign off for a bit so I can recharge my earpiece. I know I charged it earlier, but I have to document as much as possible. In addition, I really need to eat some of my food, and I need to drink some of my water.

“I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of nervous. A large part of me doesn't want to enter that cave. I got a terrible hunch there's something waiting for me. My woman’s intuition is practically begging me to head back. I hope Eliza comes through for me. End of report.”