One day, we received a report that a group of hikers had gone missing in the forest. John and I were sent to search for them. Within a few hours, we found all four hikers safe and unharmed.
But while we were heading back to the station, about fifty steps off the dirt trail, we spotted a dead deer lying in the woods.
John stopped to examine the body. As forest rangers, that was our job.
I assumed it was the work of a fox.
But John crouched down and studied the carcass carefully.
"No… something's wrong," he muttered.
"What do you mean wrong?" I asked.
"This isn't a fox. Foxes rip open their prey from the stomach. But this one… its abdomen hasn't been opened that way."
"Maybe wolves?" I suggested.
"Wolves don't usually come this far into this area… but maybe."
I shook my head. "No. Look at these marks."
I bent down and pointed toward the ground.
"These aren't wolf tracks. These are much bigger. Heavier. Deeper."
John stared at me for a moment, then said casually, "Whatever it was… it's the forest. Predators hunt."
"So should we log this in the report?" I asked.
He didn't answer. He just stood up and started walking back—faster than before.
I followed without saying another word.
That night, during dinner at the station, I brought it up.
We always ate together.
"You know what happened today?" I said while eating. "John and I found a deer in the forest. It was torn apart in a really strange way. We should probably be more careful during patrol."
William, the oldest ranger, froze mid-bite.
"What do you mean… strange?" he asked, staring directly into my eyes.
"I don't know," I said. "It was hard to tell what killed it."
Sarah immediately replied, "Probably a pack of foxes. They tear up their prey badly."
John quickly added, "Yeah. Most likely a fox."
Henry, our chief, cut in firmly. "I'll log it in the book. Nothing else happened, right?"
"No," I replied.
The topic changed.
But I noticed something.
William didn't finish his dinner. He quietly got up and left.
For the next few months, everything seemed normal.
But slowly, I began to notice something strange.
There were certain topics that, the moment they were mentioned… everyone would go silent.
The winter of 1989.
The missing persons cases from 1990.
Certain specific areas of the forest.
No one ever discussed them.