The gunfire continued until nothing more could be heard. The anxiety-inducing silence boded no good. They had to check what was happening, and Carin quickly understood this.
She gathered about ten people who had armed themselves with assault rifles, ready to go out and verify if those in charge of the incineration were still okay.
However, before they left, Kodji decided to follow them.
"I'm coming with you!"
"No! You have to stay here; it's far too dangerous!"
"Oh! And it's not for you?"
One of the survivors agreed with the idea of Kodji following them after all, they couldn't know what was happening. However, Kodji and Carin had a bad feeling.
The gates opened to let them pass, but before going, Carin asked something of Yannick.
"We're going! Yannick, you stay here. If anything happens to us, you're the only one who can lead the camp."
Yannick was a bit annoyed not to be part of the operation, but despite that, he understood Carin's words, even if they left a bitter taste.
Elie and Marie had also just arrived through the crowd. She saw Kodji with a knife in hand and a serious look. She wanted to say something to him but didn't have the strength.
After the basic preparations, they headed towards the column of smoke, which continued to rise. The gate closed behind them. The guards in the turrets were even more alert, ready to fire at the slightest suspicious thing. And the small reconnaissance group disappeared into the forest.
The forest was dense and difficult to navigate, especially in off-trail areas, but it was necessary. They didn't know what awaited them, but whatever it was, it had managed to cause enormous damage.
Every step they took was meticulous, designed to make no noise. They were crouched, weapons at the ready, prepared to fire at the slightest opportunity. The tension was palpable, and every drop of sweat, every breath, could be heard.
As they got closer, they could better smell the odor of gasoline and burnt flesh. A slight wave of heat brushed against their skin, indicating they were very close.
Once on the scene, they could see pits filled with charred corpses likely those of the Biters and elsewhere, those that hadn't been burned yet. But that was something they were already used to seeing. What interested them was the car that had caught fire and what had happened to the driver and the person accompanying him.
While trying to move forward, the one at the head felt something under his feet, which almost made him slip and stumble. Looking down, he noticed it was...
"Intestines!!"
He felt like vomiting right then and there, but the person behind him tapped his shoulder.
"What's wrong?"
"There are organs spread on the ground!! Everywhere!"
Peering slightly, they indeed observed organs that had been dragged out of a body. But the most unsettling part was that they seemed far too fresh to be from a Biter. They could still see reddish blood covering them, which could only mean one thing: it came from one of the missing men.
"This can't be! What could cause something like this?"
"What do we do now, Carin?"
Everyone turned to their leader, who was already thinking about the situation.
But while she was thinking, Biters surrounded them. It seemed they had been attracted by the noise of the explosion and the gunfire.
To conserve their bullets, they all took their respective melee weapons and threw themselves at the Biters, crushing their heads with either a knife, a crowbar, a hammer, or a wrench. Anything could be useful as long as it was solid.
Fortunately, they managed to handle the situation; they were already used to it. In a few minutes, they were all on the ground with their skulls completely smashed.
But before they even had time to rest, something moved in front of them. It was there, in the bushes. One of them aimed his rifle, ready to shoot, when the thing in the bushes emerged.
He watched carefully through the scope but lowered his weapon. Then he ran in the direction he had originally aimed.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"It's Henry; he's still alive!"
"Come back! We don't know what attacked them!"
"We can't leave him like this!"
He was already gone and crouched down to check on his friend. He turned and made a hand signal to tell the others he was still alive. Everyone was relieved and let out a sigh. Henry, who was breathing with difficulty, tried to say something.
"Dan!!... You have to... cough! Cough!!"
He couldn't string two words together because he had been severely injured in the chest, had his left arm completely broken, and his face marked by bites so severe that his right eye had been punctured.
"Henry! Hey, buddy! Everything's going to be okay, alright?! You're going to survive!"
Henry grabbed the collar of his t-shirt to finish his sentence.
"You have to... Get away!!"
After finishing his sentence, a shadow passed over them so quickly they didn't even have time to react, and that shadow tore Henry from his arms and his arms with him.
It took him a moment to realize his situation. His eyes were wide open. Faced with the situation, he was left there on his knees, his arms ripped off by a force so violent and brutal that the blood couldn't help but gush out like water from a fountain.
With a look full of fear, he rolled on the ground, screaming with all his soul and all his voice, expressing the pain that overwhelmed him to the point of overheating his brain.
The others couldn't move a single step. The fear was too great to decide to do anything. What was that thing? How could it have done such a thing? Those were the only questions running through their minds at that moment.
Meanwhile, the other man continued to scream with all his soul, writhing in his blood and the dust, begging for help.
"Mercy!! Save me!!... It hurts!!"
His face conveyed only one idea:
"I want to live! I beg you!"
But that head didn't last long.
His head the next instant was torn off with a sharp jerk, letting the little blood he had left gush from his neck. Now, what lay there was nothing more than a lifeless body moving only due to post-mortem reflexes.
The scene was horrible. No one had the strength to move after that. But they had to do something. Otherwise, the thing in question would target them sooner or later and attack the camp at some point.
But they couldn't act hastily. Advancing for no reason would be suicide. So, what should they do?