This Is Familiar

**Aileen POV**

My brother and I walked the paved path around the playground equipment. There was nothing odd along the first fifteen minutes of our search. Some elderly couples were creeping along slowly enjoying the nice day. Two joggers had almost ran into us. Hopefully they had more courtesy with the older people taking a stroll. Nothing noteworthy going on aside from a little rude behavior.

Both Trevor and I were fairly bored by the time we got to the bridge. We had a small stone kicking contest along our way. A river broke the park in half. The only way to the separate part of the park was the arched bridge. The bridge itself was marked off by caution, do not enter, tape and signs.

So this is where the attack happened, about time. Lena could have informed me to just go to the dang bridge.

We ducked under the caution tape. Small invisible spiders crawled under my skin filling me with anxiety. Something unwelcoming was coming. A betrayal? A death? Or maybe a strong member from Shiuku's team awaited us.

A strong hand engulfed mine. I turned to face my brother. A silent question was written on his face. Was I ready? My hand squeezed his before I let go. A silent answer to his unspoken question. By this point we were already several hours behind what Lena had wanted. We needed to get going before I ended up in trouble again, or considered lazy.

I marched forward in measured steps as I willed my body to steady itself and relax. Trevor had taken out a knife by the time we reached the end of the bridge. The end of the bridge led to a clearing. People liked to camp on this portion. Keep close to nature, but not to close like the DSS. I had been here several times with the Hemmer family. We would canoe near the river and then set up camp near here.

Today, there were two circular holes in the grass. Large enough for one or two people to fit in comfortably in. Both holes were right next to each other. No more than my arms length between the two of them. The grass around the indents were burned a few inches deep as well.

I raced forward the familiar marks. My legs slid me into one of the holes. Along with the burned grass were seemingly random splots of dried red; dried blood. I only noticed the blood near where the two holes reached for each other. As if someone or thing was on both sides were bleeding. Like both sides were still fighting after what caused the impact.

A glance up showed me odd bends in the branches of nearby trees. The trees to my right had its branches bent in the opposite direction of the holes. Almost as if they were scared to get close, so they tried to move away.

"Wind can't do that." Trevor came up behind me. He must have noticed me staring at them. "It's just like back then huh?"

I agreed with him. He knew once again what was going on through my mind. An image of a little girl in a frilly dress filled my thoughts. Her beautiful dress covered in mud from the downpour of rain. Sounds of the forest near night, but not quite there yet. Her calling out to her Father for help. The girl so lost and confused. Her soft face shouting to be heard over the freezing rain thumping down. So lonely, so cold, and oh so scared. Her voice goes hoarse from all the yelling. She claws at the mud still crying and apologizing over and over again. Thinking in her confused state that this was all some cruel punishment.

Tears threatened to fall stinging my eyes. I held them back by a bare thread. Warm arms wrapped around me. Trevor was there for me as he has been for years. He was there last time too; though a completely different attitude back then.

"I knew I had a bad feeling. Why, why from something so simple as bent trees and holes am I trapped in the past again." I could feel my eyes getting puffy. I could barely see Trevor at that point. My own mind was at war with the present and the past.

As cold waves of scared scattered memories over took me, a horrendous voice started singing a sweet song.

"In the cold of night, in the light of day, I will be there to protect you. I'll be there to defend you. I'll be there to give you strength. Just look to me when you most need me most. For I love you most. Let me in I will not boast. Let me in this harsh harsh world."

Random singers and stars never comforted me, no matter how angelic the voice. No, a person who knows they have 0 talent for songs; when they sing the feelings behind the lyrics mean so much more. Someone who has no concept of pitch, or key was amazing in my eyes. That person truly wanted to help you through whatever was causing you pain.

There would never be an audience for my dear brother. No one gather to hear him croak out lyrics like a dying frog. In this moment though, I could not be more thankful for him and the song. I only wished I could remember the rest of the lyrics. I was certain Trevor would make a goal out of how quickly he could memorize the rest of my little tune.

I shook off the memories and let my face give a false happy smile. "Let's keep looking around. I think these holes belong to people. They were most likely fighting before they landed here. Maybe their fighting continued elsewhere. Squad Leader Lena had mentioned strange attacks. If the people in question aren't from around here, well that would explain why no police report was made."

"I agree. I don't think there are any demons near here. If you feel up to it, we could split off. It may be beneficial to search separately and then regroup once we finish a designated area." Trevor pointed towards the trees off to the left. They had no abnormalities, but whoever made these holes could have ran that way.

I nodded, "I'll head north. There's a small boot like imprint from this hole heading straight ahead." I pointed to show him. "I doubt anyone went towards the bendy trees. They just look unnatural. Given a choice I would head north or west. If they went South, someone would have spotted them."
"If you see a demon just holler. I may not make it there fast enough, but there's a mother freaking river right there. I will send a dagger of water within seconds to be at your rescue." He wiggled his arm like a wave then stabbed his hand into his other palm. As if I wouldn't understand what water in motion looked like, or a dagger.

Two pine trees stood together just ahead of me. Off to the left just under the pine tree's shade was a body. Yes, the police had left it when leaving the task to the DSS. They had preserved the scene. A bit odd they would not cart off the body at least. Unless they didn't get this far before deciding to hand it off?

I crawled under the tree to be near the body. There were clear blade marks through the skin. Either a demon handy with a sword, or hopefully a knight had attacked the victim. The wielder knew how use the weapon. The slashes were meant to kill. They were not made with a clumsy hand.

The body was caked in blood. Whoever this used to be had their hair done in a thin ponytail. That could be male or female. The dead body could belong to this dimension, mine, or a random new one. I squinted trying to see what kind of clothing was underneath all the redish brown. The fabric felt light weight. There was no armor underneath. The body had on tight pants.

Nothing really stood out to tell me where the man may have lived. Besides I hadn't been in my dimension in about 6 years. Chances of me being able to perfectly know the fashions are low. Back home I hadn't even dressed myself. I certainly didn't pay attention to what they put me in. Just as long as I looked pretty and know how to smile for an audience.

I let out a hot breath of air ready to continue my search. There was nothing else I could determine from the body, but maybe someone at the DSS could clean him up and do a proper autopsy. At that point they may call me back down to ask questions. I was fairly certain they were from some other dimension. A gut feeling.

As I started to stand back up I heard my brother shout for me. "Aileen! Move your butt! I found something that may interest you." He was racing to me. His cheeks were slightly flushed. I spun around confused, but ready for whatever he found.

We both ran then. I trailed behind Trevor. He seemed a bit excited. So, we weren't sprinting over to another dead body. Wherever the mystery man went, he wasn't in the park any longer. Wonder how hard it would be for him to blend in, or if he had found help like I did.

"Okay Trevor, what was so important. I was about to call you over to check out the dead body I found." I said a bit irritated. So far I had seen nothing needing my attention over here.

Trevor led me back to where he was searching, but at the water's edge. All I could make out were some plants, logs, and sticks. He gave me an annoyed look and pointed to a grouping of sticks suffocating a plant reaching for breath.

With a roll of his eyes, he got down on his knees. There was a cloth partly drifting in the water, but snagged on a stubborn root stopping it's swim. "You think that belongs to our duo?" I asked.

He pulled the cloth free and set it in my hands. I was about to question him some more when I noticed a symbol on the cloth. A solid green tree with a black raven right under the leaves; claws sharp in front of the creature. The symbol for the kingdom of Lutz... this cloth was a banner from my home!