WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES Chapter Forty-Five

 WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES

Chapter Forty-Five

Three days have passed since Juvêncio and Torquato set up camp near the waterfall. If there was no sign of the girls, at least Jurupari didn't show his grace around the surroundings either. During these three days, the two companions spent fishing and collecting fruits that were close to the place... no hunting of any size... the reason was just one... not to attract the attention of the animals that, of course, were walking around there. ... in the evening of the third day, when the sun was already setting on the horizon, Juvêncio noticed three bodies floating in the river. He tried to throw himself into the water and rescue the bodies... they were the girls, unconscious.

With Torquato's help, he hoisted the girls to the riverbank. They were wet to the core, as they say... they were placed near the fire, to dry their clothes and keep warm.

Little by little the girls woke up. When questioned about what had happened, the best they could do was stammer that they had no idea what was happening.

While they were recovering, Juvêncio decided to have a barbecue with the rest of the beef jerky that was left. When the girls were ready, they sat next to the two boys and shared the meal.

After eating and resting a little, Juvêncio decided to ask the question that had been bothering him...exactly what had happened to them during the time they were missing? The girls looked at him, surprised... they had no idea what had happened...

Seeing that the girls didn't know what to say, he decided to leave the subject for later. Surely, when the time came they would manifest themselves... they must be under some enchantment, and it would certainly break at the right time.

After eating and resting a little more, it was time to go back to the city. They saddled their animals, checked that everything was correct and headed towards the city. The night was already closed, so to speak, and common sense recommended not going out into the field like that. But they moved on anyway.

No incidents occurred during the journey they took. After some time, they finally saw the city. Well, unless they woke up the owner of the guesthouse where they were staying, they would have to sleep in the stable... considering the late hour, they decided to opt for that solution...

As soon as the first rays of sun appeared on the horizon, Juvêncio and his group headed to the police station. Santana was shocked to see that group, which he already considered to be in the other world, appear in front of him. When Juvêncio and his gang arrived, Santana was a block away from the police station. With a look of astonishment he opened the door, allowing everyone to enter. He was curious, he wanted to know what had happened...

- I don't think I need to ask, right?

- About?...

- What happened to you... and how you came back... unharmed...

- Actually, it wasn't easy. We saw the Lagartão near the Mãe D'água mountain range...

- And he didn't catch you?

- Strange, isn't it? But no... he didn't find us...

- Funny... he's causing a hell of a lot of damage nearby...

- Has anyone died yet?

- You're kidding, aren't you? Whatever it is, it is causing carnage in the region...

- Is it that bad?

- The day with the fewest deaths, there are three, four...

- Is playing...

- I wish... on the first night alone, there were thirteen victims...

- And...?

- As always, no clue...

- But something must have...

- Look, the doctor is sure that the lizard is responsible for the deaths...

- But...?

- But he can't explain the lack of blood on the victims and at the sites of the attack... there should be spatter... but there is nothing.

Juvêncio remains thoughtful for a few moments. He looks at the girls, but is discouraged to see that they don't show any reaction... they are still in a state of stasis, and it seems that the real world is far from their thoughts...

It doesn't take long for news of new attacks to reach the police station. Juvêncio immediately decides to leave for one of the attack sites, together with his team. "Who knows", he thinks, "if the girls don't wake up at the scene of the events"...

After a half hour of riding, Juvêncio and his group arrive at their destination. At the scene, two bodies. Like the others, without a single drop of blood, neither on their bodies nor in their surroundings. This intrigues the Punisher. He decides to examine the bodies more closely. He notices that, next to the cut on the neck, there is a whitish substance, looking like beeswax... or sheep tallow. Well, it was a greasy substance....

Taking care not to destroy any evidence, Juvêncio began to examine the ground around the body... and the remains of that greasy material still remained on the ground... but with the heat of the sun, which was rising into the sky, they were little removed. little disappearing...

When Juvêncio decided to manipulate one of the bodies, Izabel signaled him not to move. Intrigued, he stopped in his tracks. From the cut on the victim's neck came something similar to a slug, but of gigantic dimensions. The strange animal blended into the ground and simply disappeared. Juvêncio was left without action. It was the first time he had seen such a being in his life. And, apparently, that animal's diet was... blood!

A leech? He couldn't believe it. Even because, although the size of the animal was disproportionate, it did not justify the total draining of the victims' blood fluids. Juvêncio was really upset about that. But, at least he had one more clue than he had when he arrived in town...

He decided to examine the other corpse. Anything. It was clean. No sign of the greasy substance he had found in the first. And when he went to examine the first victim a second time, he realized that there was no longer any sign of the substance on the cut. The mystery only increased... It was not possible that those worms (could they be worms?) were attached to the lizard... after all, if it was cold-blooded, the last thing it would let adhere to its scaly skin would be a gelatinous creature, like the that Juvêncio found there...

He decided to accompany the bodies to the morgue. He would ask the doctor to examine the corpses, looking for any evidence he could... if he could locate any trace of fat in the cuts, no matter how small, he would have something to work with...

A half hour later they were at the morgue doors. The doctor looked dejected. Also, he had been able to... for a week now he had been working exhaustively, trying to determine, without success, the real cause of the victims' death. Of course, the fact that his head was almost cut off was the main reason for his death, but he must have had something else that was escaping him. But now, with Juvêncio's discovery, perhaps he could have a clearer idea of what was going on...