Farther in the woods

Jeff was sure this was just another case of nature attacking humans. He was convinced it's just a normal animal attack. Even though he is still confused as to why a dog would attack a person except when ordered to do so. There aren't wild dogs in Borno. Just the local stray dogs who are too scared to even look into your eyes.
He left the coroner and went to sit with some other detectives who were under his command. They were also his friends.

"Ted! What's your bet? By the end of this case, we might discover that it's a man who used his dog to attack that boy. Or let's say some sort of psychotic killer" Jason said, hitting the younger detective. Ted was not so much different from Jason in ambition. They both want to become great detectives and they are diligent. You would have to respect both of them for their dexterity. But when it comes to appearance, they differ in so many ways. Not everyone would see Jason and consider him a very handsome man.

"So it's your expectations of a psychopath in Nigeria eh? I already told you times without number. Nigerians are too busy avoiding discomfort." Ted replied

"That doesn't mean we can't have Psychopaths!" Jason said.

"We might have Psychopaths. It only depends on your definition." The third detective said. She was the only female around.

"Exactly. We might have someone hungry for money. These so-called ritualists, what are they?" Jason said, bringing out his pack of cigarettes. The one who fell earlier had probably been stepped on.

"They are extremists!" Ted argued.

"Same thing. Just different words" Jason replied inhaling.

"They aren't man"

"Jason! Where is the cigarette you lit when you got here?" the third detective, Mary asked him

"It's finished" Jason replied. He was resting on the car's bonnet. He knew what was coming for him after the question. He readied himself to move.

"And the one you took when you were with the Coroner," she asked.

"Now hold on! Are you counting how many cigarettes he's had already?" Ted asked her, looking at Jeff.

"Well, unfortunately, Ted. I went on a date and I got myself a new mother" Jason said.

"Hold on. You guys are dating?"

"I will never date him," Mary replied, frowning. She made gestures to Jason to drop the cigarettes. He replied by raising his hands in pleading.

"Are you sure?" Ted asked.

"Well, it's.."

"Detective Berly! Detective!!" The three officers heard Berly's name come from the woods. It was the Coroner's voice. It came with a sense of urgency. Other officers around, looked at Jason and he wondered what it was.

"Detective Berly! I need back up!" The voice came more shrill than earlier. Before Berly could move, he saw other officers rushing towards the scene.

"That must be the coroner. Hurry up, man!" Ted said, already running towards where they expected the Coroner to be.

Jason began running towards where he left the coroner. He and other officers had their hands on their gun's hilt. Jason arrived where he left the Coroner but he couldn't find him. He looked at other officers and quickly, they formed a tight circle backing each other.
"Dr. Eric?" Jason called. Scared of whatever might have happened to the coroner. But not of what did it.

"Dr. Eric!" An officer screamed. The shout affected Jason. If under normal conditions, he would have probably complained.

"Detective!" The voice came once again but from farther. Jason sprung into action and began running towards where he felt the sound come from. He could see the detective's coat far before him.

But it wasn't only the detective that he could see. He could see the terrain around him. The trees around him. How everything had changed like they had been a clash between some unknown large creature. To put it in a more realistic sense, it felt like there had been a tractor nearby, except there were no tracks.

Getting closer to the Coroner, he saw trees that looked like they were torn out from the middle. The wood looks more different from where he had been.
Some places look burnt like someone had put them on fire.

"Holy Shit. Damn! Did a world war happen here?" Jason remarked.

"Call the ambulance! Call the goddamn ambulance!!" The coroner cried out facing what was before him. The rustling of fallen woods. The snapping of dried branches being stepped upon by hurrying feet and thoughts of what happened here didn't allow any of the approaching officers to hear the order of the Coroner.

Every single paw and shoe print the coroner studied, that led him to discover what made him call for the help of the officers had been compromised by the approaching officers. They stepped on some. They have drawn larger strides covering some.

"Get the ambulance!" He called out to them once more. He bent down and Jason's eyes went down with the coroner.

"Oh! Fuck! What is that?" Jason screamed out

"10:48 dispatch...." One of the other officers called returning to the car they parked outside.

"Holy hell! What on God's green earth is this?" Mary exclaimed, returning her gun to her duty belt.

Jason couldn't believe his sight. Right from where he stood, he could see a man lying on the floor. He is badly injured but not dead.
He moved closer to the man. He knelt before the man.
"Jason!" Mary called

"What?" Jason asked not in a friendly tone. He sounded just like he was barking orders. Mary raised her brows.

"Can you just talk?" Jason asked.

"Please cover him up. He is naked" Mary said, shying away.

"Oh!" Jason chuckled. He smiled at Mary and she ignored him.

"Is he dead?" Ted asked

"I don't think he is. He looks like he is breathing" Jason replied.

"What is this Coroner?" Jason inquired

"I have no idea but as you can see, he isn't dead" the coroner replied

"How did you find him?" Ted asked

"Just after you left, I checked some other things around the young boy's corpse, and by the time the day got bright, I could see their footprint clearer. I followed it in expectations of knowing where it leads to and this is what I see." He said.

"He has slashes all around him. It was like a beast attacked him. Or wait?" Ted said, realizing what seems to be adding up.

" You see, where we found that boy, I think he ran there." The coroner began. "You could see how different the trees look while coming right? I think the real deal happened here. That boy was probably trying to escape"

Jason wondered what monstrosity has been let loose in Borno. As much as he hates to do this, he would have to call the media and order no one to come close to Allison Baker's way, or the whole of Allen district.

He doesn't know what had happened to this man lying here. Could this man and that boy be related? They got hunted by some wild predator? But what would be the explanation of the massive destruction and nearly burnt trees he saw while coming. The scene seems too complicated to make a verdict. Everything he has in his mind is not just possible.

Just about time, the ambulance arrived.
EMTs hurried towards the injured man and carried him away. They began treating him and gave him first aid treatment while transporting him to the hospital.

Jason turned back. He headed outside.
"Detective Berly! Where are you going?" The coroner asked. Ted and Mary and two other officers looked at him.

Everyone around had sweat beads on their forehead. They were all at alert, but for some reason, they suppressed the feeling of insecurity they got being in the woods. Jason is the highest-ranking officer around. Despite being dressed in his usual blue shirt and black trousers, the sweat he got from running there was mistaken for that of fear.

"I need to call the lieutenant." He said, shrugged, and left.

"Did they think I would chicken out?" he thought to himself. He went back to his car and picked his phone from his car. He dialed the Lieutenant's number. It didn't go through.

"Just when you need this man is when you don't have access to him." He thought. He tried it one more time.

"Hello! This is Lieutenant Gideon Jackson. I am not available at the moment, leave a message" the automated voice of the lieutenant said.

"Nice! Don't even have time for his official line" he thought to himself. His only option was to call Detective Doyin

"Never! I am not calling Doyin. Nothing is ever going to make me call him" he said aloud.

He rested on his car. He tried thinking of what to make of what he saw. And how best he can pass this information to Detective Doyin.

"Officer!" He called one of the officers staying at the police line. People had already started gathering but he couldn't see any media personnel yet. The day had only just broken, the people here were those who wondered what the police were doing around.

"Well, I am sorry I am about to stress you. I need you to call Detective Doyin, with my line. Tell him I am busy, that's why I couldn't call him. Please tell him you just sent something to his mail on my recommendation." He said.

"Alright, Sir!" The officer said.

Jason handed his phone to the officer. Immediately, he went back to where he left the coroner and others.

"Thank God you are here, Jason" Mary exclaimed
"Come. Come check these paws and claws marks out"
Jason looked around and knelt beside the deepest paw print close to him. But the prints were nothing like that of an animal he knew. Even though he does not know much. It has a human-like structure but with fangs that drew sharp deep lines.

The paw print appeared larger than a normal human print. Jason's feet are 10 inches long, but it's nothing compared to that of the prints around him.
Also, all around him are fallen trees. The trees that fell due to the scuffle that might have happened here have large slashes on them. He tried putting his fingers in the slash and they were larger than his fingers. He also confirmed that most of the trees broke rather than being uprooted. It was like they were hit with such a force that it tore them apart. Some of them had marks of being burnt. He bent down to study where the man had been carried and he saw how deep the ground had become.

"I don't even know what to make of these. Dr. Eric!." Jason called

"Yes?"

"What animal do you think did this?" Jason asked

"Right now, I can't say. I think we will do more research in the lab." The Coroner said standing up. "As of now, I need to go see the forensics," the coroner said and stood up.
"If my guess should be true, what we have in Allen is worse than mere monstrosity"

"And what is it?" Jason asked the coroner.

"By tomorrow, you can come to check the lab. You will know by then" the Coroner said and dust his clothes.

"Well, I don't know what kind of beasts or humans have come to Allen, but we are about to find out." He said and left the woods.