Strange Happenings in the Woods - 2

Detective Channing hoped that they had just gone camping and not notified anyone, but he suspected that was not it. Simon and Annabelle Dane had been missing for four days. The file sat on the seat next to him as he drove; they appeared to be an ordinary couple.
Thanks to the magic of GPS when Anna’s mother had reported them missing they had been able to track Simon’s car using his Onstar. Deep in the heart of Mark Twain National Forest, an odd spot to leave your car Detective Channing thought cynically.
Detective Ryan Channing was a sturdy man, he’d begun to become rounder in the middle but he tried to stay in shape, 6 feet tall exactly, brown hair starting to grey. Channing was wondering why he’d been drawn to this assignment, a missing persons case with a car deep in the woods going to be a pain in the ass, but when this case came up during the morning briefing Channing jumped at it because he had a feeling. Sometimes Detective Channing knew things, things that it should be impossible for him to know. Not like a psychic thing, just a sense of the right places to go and which questions to ask, like a teleprompter in his head, Channing just had to say and do what this guiding feeling told him to do.
This talent of Channing’s had earned him more than a few commendations. He had a talent for showing up at the right time, this time though Channing knew in his gut that he was too late, but that there was something deeper here.
At the suggestion of his dashboard GPS’s digital voice, Channing pulled off the access road and onto the gravel side, he spotted Simon Dane’s car and rolled up to it slowly.
The trunk was open and nobody was around.
Channing got out of his car, making a slow sweep with his eyes looking carefully at the forest around him. Detective Channing was always cautions, but here he felt he had to be especially on his toes. Channing slowly approached the car, as he got closer, he saw that there where blood stains in the trunk’s carpet.
Channing looked around suddenly, he got the feeling he was being watched. He noticed that caught in a low branch at the forests edge was a piece of heavy plastic. Detective Channing walked over and bent down to investigate it, a breadcrumb trail of blood led off into the forest.
Channing walked back to Simon’s car and made a brief sweep of the interior, seeing nothing of any immediate importance he returned to his car and got on the radio.
“This is 5-1-Leo-5, I’ve found Simon Dane’s car, there is a blood trail leading off into the woods. I am going to follow it, have a forensics team get out here and look at the car. Over”
Static greeted Detective Channing, there was no response, and Ryan Channing felt eyes upon him again.
Again, he swept his surroundings with his eyes, again he saw nothing.
Channing thought to himself for a minute, drew his gun and walked into the forest following the path of blood.
With his gun taking point, Detective Channing ventured further and further into forest, following a trail of blood, disturbed earth and ripped plastic bits.
Dragging a body seemed so disrespectful to Channing, and an unceremonious burial in the woods was just sad.
The trail stopped abruptly in a small clearing, bloody plastic and ground marked the end of this treasure hunt.
No body though, this was disconcerting Channing thought. Channing made a slow circle of the clearing, broken branches lead back and slightly to the left of the way he had come.
Channing pushed a branch out the way with his gun and started following this new trail, of disturbed and broken branches. Hearing a noise Detective Channing spun quickly, his gun found no target; he steadied his breath and listened. Nothing out of the ordinary came to his attention; Channing turned back and continued along the trail.
This path was different from the other Channing noticed, more erratic, like a chase.
After a few odd twists and turns, Channing found himself in another clearing with not one but two blood stained spots on the ground. What was going on here, he thought to himself.
Detective Channing made a slow circle of this clearing with his eyes; he found no convenient paths leading off for him to follow. Something caught Channing’s eye, he walked over to it quickly and bent down, it looked like a jawbone from some odd creature, Channing picked it up and put it into a plastic bag he had in his pocket.
A rustling in the forest made Channing stand quickly, he breathed slowly and listened, making a slow, slow sweep with his eyes.
Channing knew then it was time to leave, he could feel it.
He began walking quickly back to his car, his excellent since of direction leading the way, he heard rustling behind him, Channing knew if he turned he would see nothing.
Now was not the time to look back anyway, Channing had to get to his car.
The edge of the woods was within sight, after a few more steps Channing could see the cars, there were footsteps behind him now and they were getting closer. Channing broke into a sprint; he could hear his chaser speed up to match him.
Channing cleared the edge of the wood and had his keys out of his pocket, deftly hitting the unlock and remote start on his keychain, he prepared his getaway.
Channing got in his car slamming the door closed behind him, from out of the woods a grey monster ran, it skid to a stop in front of him and leaped onto the hood of his car. It’s red eyes boring in to Channing’s, it looked like a giant demonic raccoon, hands with the parody of fingers.
It wore metal claws.
Channing stomped the accelerator and his car took off in an explosion of speed, the raccoon creature went flying over the roof.
“What the hell was that!?” Detective Channing screamed as he looked in the rearview mirror, watching the horrible thing get farther away.
Channing got on the radio again, “This is Detective Channing, 5-1-Leo-5, please respond, over.”
Static.
He tried again but received the same response. Channing changed the frequency and trying to find any one that worked; his efforts were met at every turn with silence and static.
As he cleared the boundaries of the park and got back on the freeway his radio gave a burst of noise, a chill ran down Detective Channing spine, he knew that was significant but he didn’t know why.
“Detective Channing come in this is Station 6, please reestablish contact, over.” The radio called out.
Acting with haste Channing picked up the mic and said, “It’s good to hear your voice again Captain, I found Simon’s car… and something else, something really weird”
“And what pray tell would that be?” Captain Jeffery Carter asked harshly.
“I don’t know I’ll,” Channing said softly, and after a pause, “We need to send a Crime scene unit to the location, but they need to be guarded,”
“Seriously Channing, what is going on here?” Captain Carter said barely restraining himself, you could see the vein in his forehead bulge even over the radio.
“I’ll tell you when I get back,” Channing said,
“And when will that be?”
“Soon”
“It better be Channing”
“Alright, alright, see you when I get there” Channing rushed to say before turning his radio off, he did not need that kind of stress right now.
Channing had to think. What the hell was going on in the woods, two murder sites, and what the fuck was that thing that had chased him.
The piece of jaw Channing had found seemed to match that of that monster’s; with any luck it would identify whatever that thing was.
Channing drove in silence, his mind a churning maelstrom of unanswered questing, his instincts where oddly quiet.
It was starting to get dark by the time he got back to the city, they won’t mind if I stop and get some dinner, he thought to himself as he pulled into the parking lot of a generic chain restaurant. The cheap coffee helped him think, and Detective Channing knew he needed anything that would give even the slightly edge in this mystery.