Day 10 - 01:00
Hanging from a tree in a harness, Mello sighed as the sun made its final descent from the sky. "Hopefully, these work." Climbing back down from the tree Mello squinted his eyes as the treetops started to sway as the wind picked up. Shaking his head as he scaled down the massive tree, Mello sighed as his eyes landed on Caspian, who was standing with his arms folded staring at the mountains.
Caspian glanced over his shoulder as Mello's feet touched the ground. "Do you think Beyond's plan will work?"
Mello wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed as he detached from the tree. "Maybe? I don't know. I feel like the kids will start to notice after a while that their numbers are dwindling… also, how does one choose a couple kids to evacuate each day, they should all be evacuated, how do you choose which ones to leave in danger? There are too many variables that aren't in his favor. Hopefully, L will be able to talk him out of it."
Caspian nodded wordlessly as his eyes shifted back towards the mountains at the sound of more rocks falling from the sides. After a few minutes the blonde sighed. "It isn't worth the few that he would save. I've been listening to L research these things. Mostly myths and theories, but he said the key to deciphering what is plausible from the impossible is overlapping the details. From what he's deduced: they're hyper intelligent, incredibly fast and are fueled by hunger and bloodlust. Some articles say they have infrared vision and others say they have ultrasonic hearing. Most forums and articles about them say they're highly active in the winter… so, I'm drawing a blank as to why it'd be hunting now."
Mello stood next to Caspian, shifting his weight to one hip and lighting a cigarette. "Maybe, since it's so smart, it's storing food for the coming winter?"
"Mm. In Nootau's ramblings, he said something similar. He said he suspects it didn't kill him because it wanted to store him for later consumption." Caspian reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "I don't like dealing with unknown targets." Caspian lit his cigarette and sighed out through his nose. "All of the traps are set right?"
Mello nodded as he turned to walk back to the lodge. "Yeah. Beyond has a fucked up way of trapping things, I just hope nothing that isn't that thing gets snared."
Caspian shifted his eyes to the guillotine styled snare trap strung from the tree. "He does have a particular set of skills. When he and Light work together on something, it's quite deadly."
-x-
Aiden read the articles that L hand printed for him while highlighting some information, while L read on his computer.
Near wrote on a white board in different colored markers. "So. We know it's hyper intelligent. I'm assuming this thing is why the vehicles here are all trashed. Beyond said one of them was missing an entire engine. We can confirm from Light they have ultrasonic hearing. We've seen its speed and strength with our own eyes. What we need are weaknesses. Clearly shooting it isn't helping. However, it does seem to have an aversion to L's incendiary rounds."
The raven twirled a pen in his fingers while staring at the ceiling, leaning back in his chair. "Magnesium and silver nitrate."
Near blinked a couple of times at the odd combination. "Why silver nitrate?"
Beyond folded his fingers together and rested his nose on them from his seated position on his bed. "They aren't meant to kill… they're meant to maim, aren't they?"
L set his pen back onto his desk and leaned forward in his chair slouching as he clicked his mouse a few times. "Correct. They are not meant to kill, but very much can, if the target isn't properly armored."
Beyond smirked. "So, what doesn't immediately burn away gets cauterized, leaving disfiguring scars, assuming it didn't kill them." The ravened guard stood and stretched. "I like the way your brain works."
L typed into his computer. "Yes. However, it seems to only be a deterrent. It isn't killing it."
Near glanced up from staring down at the marker in his hands. "What about incineration?"
Light leaned over from his computer to stare at the platinum blonde guard. "And how do you propose we do that?"
Mello and Caspian returned to the upstairs where the meeting was being held. Matt put his hands behind his head. "Wait it out. Those two just set some nasty traps. Wait for it to get caught up, hopefully get decapitated, and then burn the body."
The blonde guards shared a look before Mello spoke up. "Have you guys discussed the evacuation of the children yet?"
L hummed in a monotone before speaking dully. "That won't be possible. If the creature is as smart as it seems, it will likely notice a decrease in 'food source' and become more aggressive. We have to make sure we can actually do some permanent damage to it before we attempt anything, especially on foot."
Light clicked through the camera feeds and through his drone feedback. "So, it seems, we're at a stand still until it makes another move."
40 Days Remaining
10 Counselors Surviving - 1 Recovering
75 Campers On Site - 1 Recovering
A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry for the super short chapter, but I've been feeling under the weather with some nasty throat junk happening and my medicine doesn't make it easy to think clearly. Just tolerate it this time, the next chapter will be much longer if all goes well with my recovery.