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CIRCLES (UN)BROKEN

V.

SAMUEL

---

Sydney Braun was a peculiar man.

No one knows where he came from, or how he arrived in town. From what Sam had heard, the otter appeared around ten years ago, found by a couple who had been out for a picnic. They found Sydney wandering by the lake, alone, confused, and hurt. The otter didn't remember his full name or where he had come from, or how he arrived in Echo.

Sydney was eventually taken in by the Hendersons; a bear couple who ran an informal orphanage in town. The otter eventually took the last name Braun. Sam had overheard Sydney telling Anton the reason he picked the surname. Apparently the Hendersons were out of ideas of what to call him and decided to name him "Brown" after his brown fur, but Sydney thought it was too boring. The otter chanced upon the word "Braun" after leafing through a Saxon-English dictionary in the orphanage and thought that he liked how it was spelled, and decided to use it himself.

Growing up, Sydney was a hurricane of trouble, according to the townsfolk. There were many tales of the little menace that was Sydney. Nevertheless, the otter matured into a very skilled craftsman. In fact, he was one of the best construction workers in town, according to many, and a really fine looking one at that.

Unfortunately, Sydney's unapologetically brash nature never did mellow with age. The otter was the kind of man who wouldn't hesitate to clock you in the face if he was annoyed or worse, angered. Coupled with his tendency to swear like a sailor, the otter often got him into trouble. Madam Dora even had to ban him from the Hip for a whole month at one time after the otter got involved in too many bar fights.

However, Sam had found that Sydney would not purposefully insult or hurt anyone unless he was provoked, or if someone had hurt his friends. The otter was loyal and extremely stubborn to a fault to his closest friends, that is, Anton.

Sam didn't know how the two met, but Anton and Sydney seemed to be pretty close when Anton first came to work in the Hip. Consequently, Sydney began frequenting the saloon after Anton started working there, but he curiously never visited the Drawing Room, nor even booked himself for a visit to The Smoke Room--a term Madam Dora used to call his and Anton's services.

As such, Sam felt that he shouldn't be surprised when Sydney arrived at the Hip that afternoon. He and Anton were waiting for William on the saloon's porch when they saw Sydney coming. The otter immediately walked up to Anton, folding his arms over his chest and stared at the wolf with an expression of firm stubbornness.

"Oh for the love of..." Anton groaned. "Sydney, no."

"I'm coming with you and that's final," Sydney said stubbornly.

"I've already told you, Sydney, it's too dangerous," Anton gave the otter an exasperated look. "And the sheriff most likely won't let you come along with us."

Sydney gave a derisive snort. "I can handle myself, thank you very much. And I don't care what the sheriff says."

Anton took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. The wolf had this look that he wanted to argue but thought better of it. He really did not look better than he did yesterday, Sam thought. Anton still looked haggard and there were bags under his eyes.

Sam wasn't sure if he looked much better himself. At least their bandages looked clean this morning and didn't have any specks of blood.

"You're really determined to follow us huh?" Anton said to Sydney in a slightly defeated tone.

"'Course I do! Someone has to get your back in case things go south!" the otter said vehemently.

"Things won't go south," Anton said, rubbing his bandaged face.

"Riiiiight... says the one who gets himself messed up by a mangy mutt. No offense, Sam," Sydney added quickly, waving a burly arm.

"None taken," Sam said dryly.

He couldn't help but notice Sydney's muscles contracting under his fur, however. Perhaps he should ask Sydney if the construction firm had a position for half-day workers.

He could do with some extra money after all.

"Fine, fine tag along if you must. But don't blame me if the sheriff made you stay back," Anton said with a huge sigh, his lips pursing in annoyance.

Sydney flashed Anton a small, toothy grin. "I'd like to see him try."

Anton's frustrated expression slowly turned blank. The kind of blank where he was trying not to grin or laugh. Turning around, Sam immediately saw why. He had to bite back a chuckle.

"What? No smart quip this time around?" Sydney asked Anton. The wolf simply shrugged and kept his face painfully neutral.

The otter seemed to realize what was transpiring about a second later. He let out an embarrassed groan and ran his paws through his face. "The sheriff is right behind me isn't he?"

"That he is," William rumbled in amusement as he stepped into Sydney's field of view.

"Afternoon, William," Sam greeted.

The coyote returned the greeting with a nod and a warm smile. "Sam. Anton. You two feeling better?"

"A little, but I'll pull through," Sam replied.

"Better than yesterday," Anton added.

Sam cocked his head at the large canvas satchel William had slung over his shoulder.

"What's in there?" the cougar asked. It looked like William had stuffed several things in there. There were even half-a-dozen oil lanterns hanging from the flap.

"Things that we might need for whatever we find down in the mines," William answered, patting the satchel. He then turned to the sole otter on the saloon's porch. "So, what is this about wanting to see me try, Braun?"

Sydney didn't even hesitate. "I'm tagging along Anton and Sam to the mines."

"Tagging along--" William gave the otter one of his stern looks. "And pray tell why should I? I've already had enough men for the trip."

"Ever heard the saying, "the more the merrier", sheriff?" Sydney said with a toothy grin.

"Listen here. This is not a leisurely picnic trip--"

"I know that! Anton told me everything," Sydney interjected impatiently. "Look, I'm going whether you say I can or not."

Sam had to admit, Sydney's confidence was something to be admired. He really should had expected Anton to tell Sydney everything as well, but Sam did not like it. First William and Nik, and possibly Dr. Avery... and now Sydney.

Why not just tell the whole town at this point?

Sam shook the thoughts out of his head. He blinked in surprise when he saw that William and Sydney were now having an intense staring contest. He couldn't help but chuckle. It was almost comical, to see the town's sheriff having a staring contest with a construction worker who was a head and a half shorter than him.

It was clear that William and Sydney were clearly never going to back down, headstrong men they were.

Sadly, the staring contest didn't last more than a couple of minutes before William relented and averted his gaze with a frustrated huff. Sam had been rooting for the coyote so he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Look, fine, you can come with, but make yourself useful," said William with a grunt.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on being idle," Sydney replied, grinning like the bastard he is. "Now let's get this sunovabitch out so I can kick his head for good measure."

"Sydney..." Anton sighed. "Let it rest."

"Hell I will," the otter muttered through gritted teeth. He shook his head and turned to William. "So, when are we heading out?"

"Soon. We just have to wait for another person," William said, leaning on a nearby pillar.

"Another? Who else are we waiting for?" Anton's ears flicked upwards.

"That would be me," a cheerful voice piped up from behind Sam, making him jump a little.

Turning around, he saw that it was a male red fox, dressed in a neat striped shirt, waistcoat, and tie. A portable camera was hanging from his neck, and a sturdy looking black leather bag was slung over his shoulder.

"Ah, it's you," Sam managed to say.

Of course, William had picked Murdoch Byrnes for help. The fox was the town's only photographer after all. Sam had seen Murdoch helping William on cases where they would need some photographic evidence.

There was no doubt that William had told Murdoch with the details of the case. With Murdoch, there were now a total of five people who knew of Jack's murder in the mines.

Sam felt as if a pit had settled in his stomach.

"Yes, me," Byrnes gave him a strikingly handsome grin. "So, are we ready to head out then?" he turned to William.

The coyote nodded. "Yes. Nikolai will meet us on the road to the mines," he said before he grabbed the oil lanterns hanging from his satchel and gave it to everyone.

"One lantern per person," he said. "None for you Braun, but you can keep an eye on these two, make sure they're alright during the trip," he gestured to Sam and Anton.

Sydney nodded. "Sure thing."

"We're fine and we can walk ourselves," Sam insisted. William's response was to arch a skeptical eyebrow.

"I'd rather not have Dr. Avery going on a tirade on me for not looking after you, thank you very much," the coyote said flatly. "Everyone ready then? Let's go."

The five of them made a very odd pair, Sam had to admit. A sheriff leading a photographer, a construction worker, and two man whores out of town. He wasn't surprised to see that they were met by stares by the onlookers as they made their way through the streets.

Sam felt the stares on his back more than he liked. Their eyes were already judging.

Guilty. Murderer.

No. Stop that. No one knows.

Not yet anyway.

No one should know. It's only been three... four days.

A lot could happen in four days...

Sam tried to dispel the thoughts as they turned away from Main Street and towards the road that will take them out of town and to the mines. Their feet were soon crunching on dirt and gravel instead of pavement. The sun was bearing down hot on their backs now that they were out in the open.

Nik was already waiting for them by the signpost at the fork of the dirt road, the same one where Sam had gone to meet with Jack a couple of nights ago. The sight of the badger alleviated Sam's worries somewhat. Sam noticed that Nik was still in his work clothes. The badger was still even wearing his miner's lamp hat.

Sam regretted not bringing his hat along for this trip.

"How are you all?" Nik asked as they approached. He turned his head curiously to Sydney, and then to William. "He's coming with us then?"

Sydney shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, guess I am."

William sent the otter a look before he turned to the massive badger. "We need the extra hand way. These two wouldn't be able to carry the body."

Sam tried not to think about Jack. He felt sick.

"Makes sense," Nik nodded with a hum. "Come then. The mine is this way. Do you remember the path, Sam?"

"Yes... just keep going straight to Site C," Sam said.

The walk to the mines was spent in relative silence. The road was familiar and well worn, cutting through sagebrush, joshua trees, and cacti, as well as the occasional boulder and rock formations. However, Sam felt himself getting more and more nervous as they approached the mines.

The rocky hillside that was the Danicka Mines looked ominous in the afternoon light.

Nik had them stop a few yards away from the hill.

"Down there would be the entrance to Site C," the badger said, nodding down to the path where it continued straight to a large opening by the rock face. He turned to Sam. "Now where is this tunnel you mention?"

Sam had a good look around. Everything looked really different during the day.

"Through here, I think," he said, moving across one of the side paths that led to another side of the mines.

It took some time to find the cavern. In the late afternoon sun, the opening looked more like a huge, deep crack on the wall of the cliff. Murdoch was already taking a few pictures of the entrance while Nik inspected the opening.

"This is part of a natural cave system," Nik said, but Sam wasn't really listening. He was standing a few feet away from the opening, and he noticed that Anton was standing somewhat further still. The wolf's hackles were raised, and he looked like he was trying to calm himself down by taking discreet deep breaths.

Sam couldn't blame his friend. When he looked at the hole on the cliff face, he felt far more unnerved than he would've liked. It was as if something was waiting for them inside the cave.

It's just an opening into the earth, he told himself.

The air flowing out of the entrance doesn't feel like death's breath.

It's just a cave.

It's just a cave and nothing more.

"Sam, would you like to take the lead?"

Nik's voice broke him out from his reverie.

"Yeah, sure," he gave a nod that he hoped didn't show his nervousness.

Taking a deep breath, Sam stepped into the tunnel and shivered. The air was cold and oppressive in the cave. He could hear the others fall in behind him. The cougar jumped a little when he felt a hand on his shoulder and let out a huge breath when he saw that it was Anton.

"Could've warned me," he groused.

Anton looked apologetic. "Sorry, but the cave's not that huge... and it's giving me chills."

"You could say that again," came Sydney's voice, rubbing his arms. "Is it just me or is it fucking cold in here?"

"No, just you," William said from further back. "How deep does this go, Sam?"

"Pretty deep I guess. It gets narrower the further we go as well," Sam said as he continued to walk forward.

"Oh... how narrow does it get, Sam?" Nik asked, sounding just a little worried.

"I'm not sure, but..." Sam turned to look at the badger who came up at the very rear. "You might have to crawl."

"Huh, alright." Nik hummed. He didn't look like he was too bothered by that fact, oddly enough.

Soon enough, they reached the cavern where the tunnels branched. It got so dark there that William, Nik, Anton, and Sam had to turn on their lanterns. Nik switched on the light on his cap, which provided better illumination than their lanterns.

"Now where to...?" Sydney asked, raising his own lantern high as he peered through one of the tunnels.

Sam looked around, and for the first time, he felt at loss. He didn't remember which tunnel Jack led himself into.

"Sam?" William urged.

"I... I'm not..."

"Wait, shh," Anton shushed them.

Everyone turned to look at the wolf. Anton had closed his eyes, and his brows were furrowed. He began sniffing the air and started walking from one tunnel opening to another. He suddenly made a face as he passed through one of the smaller tunnels. Still sniffing, he leaned into the tunnel, and jerked back immediately.

Sam noticed how Anton's tail was stiff and on high alert. The wolf quickly covered his nose with his paw.

"Definitely that way. There's Jack's scent... and I'm not sorry to say that he's already rotting..." said Anton with a disgusted face, pointing down to the tunnel he had sniffed earlier.

As everyone turned to peer into the tunnel Anton had pointed out, Sam felt that sensation again. Like something was watching him intently from the shadows. The sensation felt stronger now.

"Better have your noses covered then, gentlemen," William said, pulling a kerchief from his pocket. "Things will be extremely unpleasant from here on."

"Noted," Murdoch said. The fox was already tying a kerchief around his muzzle.

Everyone else did the same, covering up their muzzles with their kerchiefs or whatever piece of extra clothing they had in hand.

Sydney and Murdoch went into the tunnel first, as they were the smallest of their group. Sam went in right after them, with Anton going in behind him. Sam's entire body protested as he stooped down to pass through the tunnel.

William and Nik, being the largest, went through last.

Sam had been worried that Nik would get stuck in the tunnel, but the large badger somehow made it through, even if he had been a pretty tight fit. Nik definitely didn't look all too happy with having to go on all fours and squeeze his way through, however.

"The tunnel twists around from this point," Anton said once everyone got their bearings. He was scrunching his nose under his kerchief.

Sam could smell the stench of rot faintly in the tunnel but it wasn't too bothersome. It seemed that it was true when Anton told him that he could smell a lot better than others, even compared to other wolves. However, judging from Sydney and Murdoch's expressions, the two of them seemed to be smelling the rot a bit more acutely than the others. Curious.

"Right then," William nodded, raising his lantern a bit higher to judge the height of the rocky ceiling. He turned to Sam. "Lead the way then, Sam."

Sam was about to take a step forward when Murdoch's paw suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. The fox's ears had shot up straight. "Wait, do you hear that?"

Everyone's ears perked as they tried to listen.

"Hear what?" Anton asked, his ears swiveled around.

Sam couldn't hear anything but silence and the slight ringing in his ears--

Oh...

"There it is again!" Murdoch's voice had dropped to a whisper. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, I did," Sydney replied, looking spooked. "Sounded like... singing."

William's face was unreadable, but his ears were swiveling.

"Little girls singing," Nik nodded, looking worried and confused.

"Like a lullaby," Anton added. He looked as unnerved as Sydney and his hackles were raised still.

"A very creepy lullaby," Sydney said, shuddering a little.

They all listened more, but the singing had stopped. Sam tried to hear more, but he couldn't hear anything but the wind echoing in the cave as well as everyone else's breathing.

Murdoch coughed. "Well! I wouldn't be surprised if there are idle youths haunting the less used passages down here..." he said with a lighthearted grin, which fell a bit flat.

"Little girls do not play and sing in mines or caverns," Nik said with a frown.

"Well I did when I was a little," Murdoch shot back with a little shrug. "But might we please get this over with?"

"Be my guest and walk ahead then," William said nonchalantly.

"No thank you, I have my equipment to look for," the fox raised his camera, and also a small case of things he had brought along with him.

William huffed but Sam forced himself to move down the tunnel.

The others quickly followed.

Just like Anton had said, the tunnel twisted and turned several times before they reached the cavern where Jack had tried to kill Sam. Everyone entered one by one, slowly illuminating the space with the lanterns on their paws, or in Nik's case, his miner's hat lamp.

It took Sam a full second to comprehend what he was seeing. He nearly dropped his lantern.

He heard Anton draw a sharp intake of breath.

"Good lord..." Murdoch voiced faintly.

Jack's dead eyes were staring at them. The mutt's head was lying on his side on the ground with a pool of rusty dried blood. His face was already bloated and his fur discolored, with maggots crawling from his open mouth, nostrils, and the bags of his eyes. The pickaxe was still lodged deep into his skull.

The rest of his body, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.

Jack's head had been severed from the neck down.

Sam felt dizzy. He didn't even realize he had slumped to the ground until he felt William and Nik's paws grabbing him and pulling him back up.

"Breathe, Sam. Breathe," William instructed. His voice was firm but gentle. "Don't look at it, if you can."

Sam felt like hurling from breathing in the mixture of the cave's earthy, gritty smell, the stench of Jack's rotting head, and the metallic smell of dried blood.

No one said anything for a full minute.

Sydney was the first to break the silence. "What do we do now?"

"You lot wait here while I search around the cave," William commanded sternly.

Sam didn't think he'd be able to move if he wanted to. The air felt heavier. The stench was overwhelming. He needed to get out.

He watched numbly as William circled around the cavern. The coyote bent down to look closer at the severed head and then studied the patch of dried blood surrounding it. Much to Sam's alarm, William went further into the cavern, which narrowed down to another tunnel.

"Adler, where are you going?" Anton called out.

"Following the trail! I won't be long!" William replied with a wave.

It took Sam a moment to realize what William was talking about. He didn't notice the trail of dried blood leading away from the large puddle around the severed head until now. The trail of rusty red marks winded around the cave until it went into the tunnel at the other end of the cavern.

Sam tried not to wonder what could have caused that.

The light of William's lantern grew dimmer and dimmer down the other tunnel until it disappeared. Sam could only stare apprehensively at the dark tunnel. It was as if William had been swallowed whole by the earth.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, Sam couldn't help but recall. There is evil alright. Here with them in this very cave.

He needed to get out.

He didn't know how long William had gone, but when the light of the coyote's lantern returned to the tunnel and Sam saw the coyote himself walking back to the cavern, he let out a breath he didn't know he had held.

William looked grim.

"What did you find, Sheriff?" Murdoch asked.

"I'll tell you later," said the coyote. "Now Sam, Anton, you said that there was a sack of rocks as well?"

Sam blinked. Oh right. "There was," he said with a nod.

"Can you show me where they are?" William asked.

Sam slowly made his way to the corner of the cavern where Jack had led him to. Anton followed silently behind him.

The sack was there, just as he had left it... and it had somehow been covered by a moss. Moss that writhed and moved.

Wait.

Sam quickly took a step back. "That's a tarantula nest," he hissed.

Behind him, Anton made a curious choked sound and took several steps back.

William bent down a little and brought his lantern closer to the cluster of beady eyes and hairy legs. He nodded as he slowly drew back. "Adult tarantulas, and they seemed to be building a nest. Keep your distance. We don't want them to make them feel agitated," he warned.

Sam turned to look at Anton, and saw that the wolf had put another distance between the spiders and himself. Anton's face was scrunched up, either in disgust or fear. Maybe both.

William then turned to Murdoch. "You can take photographs for the case file now."

"Sure thing. What would you like to be captured?" the fox asked.

"These rocks here first, and then the severed head next," William replied.

Murdoch grimaced at that, but his expression quickly cleared to one of those professional half smiles Sam had seen clerks and secretaries use when dealing with unpleasant matters.

"And I think we'd need a couple of photographs down the tunnel over there," William pointed to the tunnel he had investigated earlier. "Any ideas where that leads to, Nik?"

"What's down there?" Anton asked, his head tilted in confusion.

William held out a paw. "I'll tell you later," he said and turned to Nik with an expectant look.

Nik gave a shrug. "I'll have to see with my own eyes first. What did you find earlier?"

"The tunnel opens to a deep, dark hole," William replied. "But first thing's first. Pictures?"

"Already working on that, but I'll need better lighting than an oil lantern for anything clear down here." said Murdoch.

Sam watched with interest as the fox started pulling several things out from his leather bag: a small cylindrical canister, tweezers, and a packet of matches. Murdoch proceeded to unfold his camera before turning a knob on top of the device. Then, he pulled a spool of thin metal from the tip of the canister and set it down on the ground.

"Can you move back a little? Thank you," Murdoch said. "Oh, and you'll want to look away."

"Look away from what?" Sam asked just as Murdoch lit a match and set the strip on the canister on fire.

The cougar felt someone's paws cover his eyes.

"Oi! Get off-- Whoa!"

There was a blinding flash of light.

William hissed and cursed loudly.

Even with the paw on his eyes, Sam could still see the blinding white light flash through the gaps of the fingers. He heard William curse from the sudden bright light.

There were also a series of clicks and rolls from Murdoch's direction.

"Right, that should do it," the fox said with a satisfied nod just as the bright flash went out. There was a lot of smoke.

Sam turned to look as the paw was removed from his face, and quickly saw that it had been Anton. "Oh... thank you."

"Anytime," the wolf gave him a small grin. "Don't want you to go blind now, do we?" he chuckled.

Sam let out a weak grin in return.

William groaned to the side, his paws reaching out to the nearby cavern wall. "I'm seeing spots!"

"Magnesium takes a little time to burn, but once it starts it won't stop," Murdoch explained with an apologetic smile. "Anyway, I got the pictures. Three should be enough, I suppose?"

William blinked his eyes, squinting at Murdoch's direction. "Three should be enough. Ugh... a little more warning next time, Byrnes?"

Murdoch looked even more apologetic. "Of course. I'll be taking photographs of the... head next," he grimaced.

With that, the fox gathered his equipment and moved to the side where Jack's severed head was lying. Sam decided to stay a few feet back, standing where Anton was as he watched Murdoch work. He saw the fox pulling out a small tube from his satchel and poured the contents--some sort of powder--into the canister that produced the bright light from earlier. He measured it out and did a little fiddling with the canister before he got everything ready.

"Alright, everyone cover your eyes," Murdoch warned as he brought his camera to his eyes. Sam turned away just in time before the bright flash filled the cavern once again.

Like last time, there were sounds of several clicks and rolls before the blinding white light went out.

"Alright... so, where in the tunnel do you want me to take pictures of?" Murdoch turned to William.

"Further down," William jerked a thumb down the tunnel. "Nik, follow us please. I need your expertise."

"Of course," the badger gave William a nod and followed.

Anton took a step forward. "I'm coming too."

Sam shared a look with Sydney, who shrugged. "Eh, might as well."

William gave them all exasperated looks. "It's not going to fit all of us. I only need Nik and Byrnes down there."

"There's no way I'm staying another minute with that head looking at me like..." Anton shuddered. "I'm coming," he said stubbornly.

William gave a mighty sigh. "Alright fine, but keep quiet, alright, and careful with the blood trail."

"Can do," Sam nodded and gingerly stepped around the rusty stain on the rocky ground.

They followed William down through the tunnel. It curved around gently until it suddenly opened into a huge dark cavern. At least, that's what Sam thought it was, until William and Nik shone their lights around.

It was a massive crevice, reaching deep into the earth. When Sam looked up, he thought he could see tiny pinpricks of light coming from the very top. He couldn't see how far the bottom reached. It just plunged deep into the darkness. Not even Nik's light could reach that far down.

There's this heavy sense of unnerve whenever Sam looked into the depths. As if something was down there... waiting...

"I can feel the air moving," Sydney remarked.

"I think I know what this is," Nik spoke. "This is the natural airshaft we discovered months ago. Not sure how deep it is yet."

William made a grunting sort of noise. "Great. And just so happens the trail of blood ends here," he said as he brought his lantern close to the edge of the crevice.

Indeed, the rusty stain reached the edge of the tunnel where it dropped into the shaft.

"Right..." Murdoch cleared his throat. "So, where do you want me to take the pictures?"

Sam and the rest had to move back further into the tunnel as Murdoch needed some space to photograph the edge of the crevice. He repeated the steps he took earlier, and was done within the next minute. Then, they had to move back to the edge of the crevice when William told him to photograph the blood trail on the tunnel.

"Well, there's that," the fox said with a nod once he was done. "Can we head back now?"

"Yes, let's head back," William nodded.

The six of them began to walk back into the tunnel. Sam felt the air move around him, from the air shaft into the tunnel, just as he took a step forward.

"Samuel... Ayers..."

No one moved.

"Did... did someone just say my name?" Murdoch said nervously.

Sydney stared at him. "No...? I was sure someone said my name," Sydney said.

"I heard someone calling for me as well..." Nik said, looking around nervously. "You don't think..."

William shook his head firmly. "No. You all must be imagining things. We better head out."

Sam nodded vigorously, even though it hurt his head when he did so. "Agreed."

The cougar tried to ignore how the wind shifted again, and how he heard the whisper of his name in his ears. He also tried to ignore the sensation that once again, he was being watched from the darkness somewhere.

Very quickly, they were back in the cavern with Jack's severed head.

"Any idea what we're gonna do with that?" Sydney asked, jerking a thumb to the remains on the ground.

"We will wrap it and take it back to the station and have the doctor examine it," William said. He pulled out a large sack from his satchel and then turned to Sydney. "Mind helping me with this, Braun?"

"Eugh, why me? I hope you aren't asking me to grab that..." he shuddered but stepped forward nonetheless.

"No, I wouldn't want you to mess with what's left of the crime scene," William replied as he threw the sack to Sydney.

The otter glared. "And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Just stay quiet and open the bag please."

Sydney huffed. "Fine," he said and did as he was told.

Sam watched with a degree of morbid fascination as William took a large rag from his satchel and proceeded to wrap Jack's severed head with it, all without getting his paws dirty. The pickaxe was still sticking out however. The coyote then carefully lowered the wrapped head into the sack that Sydney was holding, and proceeded to tie it tightly.

"Now hold it this way and don't jostle it around," William instructed. "No, not like that!. Don't swing it around."

There was a look of utter revulsion on Sydney's face as he held the sack the way William told him to.

"Right, let's head out."

They all quickly made their way back out. No one said a thing as they crawled through the small opening of the tunnel and headed back to the entrance. Sam was only glad to leave the caverns.

The desert air had never smelled so sweet.

---

The sky was already dark by the time they arrived back in town. Lamplighters were already busy lighting the street lamps. Sam hadn't realized that they had been gone for so long. It certainly felt like they had only been gone for less than an hour.

His entire body was aching badly after all that crawling and walking in the dark tunnels.

William brought them all to his station, where he shuffled them into his office by the back. It was empty, save for a broad shouldered and athletic river otter shuffling papers by one of the many drawers.

"Sheriff, you're back!" the otter grinned broadly and stood up. "You've been gone for three hours and I was getting worried. And it looks like you brought an extra hand. Evening, Braun!"

Sydney returned the greeting with an awkward sort of smile. "Evening, Deputy Bronson."

"None of that, sport. Call me Todd," Bronson grinned broadly, putting both of his arms over the back of his head. "No need to be too formal around me, eh?"

Sydney opened his mouth to say something but was beaten by William.

"Wait a minute. What did you mean we've been gone for three hours?" he asked, staring at his deputy.

Bronson pulled out a pocket watch from his waistcoat and glanced at it. "Actually, you've been away for close to four hours. I had half a mind to assemble a search party and find ya!" he chuckled.

"Close to four hours? That can't be... We've only been gone for an hour at most!" William checked his wristwatch. He stared at it in surprise. "What..."

"Time flies when you're having fun I suppose," Murdoch quipped uneasily. "And looking at the time, I really should be heading back to the store, if you don't mind..."

William immediately gestured to Murdoch to wait. "Stay. We have a few things to discuss. But first..." the coyote went to Sydney and took the sack from him.

"Oh, thank fuck," The otter let out an audible breath of relief and he visibly relaxed.

"Bronson, take this to Dr. Avery and have him perform an autopsy," William said as he handed the sack to the older otter in the room. "Be careful with it. The murder weapon is still lodged inside."

Bronson gingerly accepted the sack while giving it a curious look. "Uh... this is mighty small for a body."

"That's because it's just the head."

The otter blinked and stared. "You mean like..." he made a motion of cutting his neck with his paw.

William nodded grimly.

"Hoowee..." Bronson gave a little shudder. "Where's the rest of 'im then, Sheriff?"

"That's the problem. We couldn't find it," William folded his burly arms and frowned.

Deputy Bronson grimaced at that. "Right then. I'll take it to the doctor. I'll be seeing you gentlemen later!" he added with a friendly sort of wave.

With that, the otter was off.

"Tell me your theories, sheriff," Anton spoke up. "Surely you have a few."

William shook his head and rubbed his scarred face and sighed. "I have nothing concrete, Anton. It's all infuriatingly complicated. Someone had gone and beheaded the body and... and... dumped it off down the air shaft for who knows what purpose!"

Sam and Anton exchanged worried looks.

"We didn't--" Anton started.

"Look, I'm not saying that you two beheaded the poor sod, and I doubt you both even have the strength, or the appropriate equipment," William said quickly, bringing his paws up. "The head was too neatly cut from the shoulder. Whatever the perpetrator used, it was sharp enough to cut through skin, muscle, and bone."

Sam felt he was going to be sick.

"Now the question is... who would do such a thing?" Murdoch asked.

"I have no idea at the moment," William admitted.

"So... we either have a deranged cultist or a deranged serial killer on the loose," Sydney spoke up.

Everyone turned to look at him.

The otter blinked. "What?"

William turned to look at the otter in the eyes and said, "Cultists?"

Sydney shrugged. "That's what I said. I'm sure you've seen a fair share of them this far out in the country, Sheriff."

"No. I don't," the coyote huffed. "Anyway, do we know how deep this shaft is?" he asked, turning to Nik.

"No, we don't," the badger replied. "The CSCG company had not put a proper measurement on the shaft, but what we know is that it opened up at the top of the hill and reached deep down under the earth. It even went deeper than Level 3--that's our deepest mining level so far."

"Ah," was all William said. He then turned to Anton. "Were you followed when you went after Sam?" he asked.

The wolf shook his head slowly. "I was alone, I'm sure... We didn't encounter anyone when we escaped the tunnels after... you know. I didn't smell anyone as well."

William hummed. "I see..."

Sam felt like he couldn't breathe. He didn't notice a lot of things that night, did he? He didn't realize that Anton had followed him until the moment Jack assaulted him. There was a huge possibility that someone else saw them and decided to follow.

Someone else might have seen him kill Jack.

"How soon can you develop the pictures, Byrnes?" William turned to Murdoch.

"I can have the pictures done in about three days," said the fox with an easygoing smile. "That is, if I'm allowed to prioritize that."

William nodded. "Might not be necessary, but I'll see what I can convince your pa to do."

Murdoch gave a small thankful nod. "Of course. So, can I go now or do you need to discuss another matter?"

"Mmm... ah, right," the coyote snapped his fingers. "I need you all to be my eyes and ears. Nik, I want you to keep your ears and eyes on the other miners. The body might turn up somewhere and it might cause an uproar."

Nik nodded grimly. "I shall do my best."

William then turned to Murdoch. "Byrnes, keep an ear out for any talk of unusual activities around the mines. I don't care how outlandish they might be. You too, Braun. You're closer to the other workers and see if you can find out anything."

"Consider it done," Murdoch nodded.

"Sure," Sydney looked uncomfortable. "But don't you have your men to do this to you?"

"I only have two other officers besides Deputy Bronson and myself, Braun. We're stretched thin over Echo," William folded his arms with a frown. "Besides, I'd like to keep this case under wraps. Involving others would risk the news getting out and we don't need the workers starting another riot."

For once, Sam agreed with the coyote. "He's right. Wouldn't want rumors to spread, would we?" he said grimly.

"Fine... fine..." Sydney nodded. He didn't look happy about it. "I'll talk to the others."

"Good. And as for you two," William turned his attention to Sam and Anton. "I know that the two of you have met a large number of men from all sorts of positions on a... nightly basis," he said, sounding a little awkward.

"Yes?" Sam prompted. He didn't like where this was going.

William shifted on his foot. "Ah... you know how folks get sloppy when they're... well..."

"Drunk and in bliss?" Anton suggested, arching an eyebrow.

William let out a bemused snort. "Yes, precisely. What I'm trying to say is that the two of you could easily draw out a confession from the folks."

The coyote looked at them meaningfully.

Sam did not like this. When he looked at Anton, the wolf didn't look too happy about it as well.

"I don't know if I can do this, Will," Sam said slowly.

"At least try, Sam," William implored. "Once you're back to work, use your skills to loosen your guests' tongues and inhibitions. We need the information on any possible unusual groups or individuals."

Sam groaned softly, partly in frustration. He felt Anton's arm on his shoulder. The wolf sent him an encouraging smile of sorts, even though his expression was tight.

"Alright. We can try," Sam eventually said through gritted teeth.

"Good man," William nodded and let out another sigh. "That's all I can think of for now. All of you are free to go."

"Well then, good evening to you all, gentlemen," Murdoch said in an oddly chirpy tone. "Hope we meet again soon!" said the fox with a little bow before he trotted off.

Nik nodded. "I'll see you all soon," he said and went to leave, but not without enveloping Sam in a tight bear hug. Sam couldn't help but lean into the hug a little.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Sam," said Nik gently. "Stay safe."

"You too, Nik," Sam replied, patting the badger's shoulder fondly. Nik smiled as he pulled away from the hug and then gave Anton and Sydney a parting nod as he left.

"Braun, would you mind accompanying them back to the Hip?" William said.

"Hmm? Ah, I don't mind," the otter shrugged. "I need to get a stiff drink either way. Let's go y'all."

"Good night, William," Sam said as they went to leave.

The coyote walked them out to the door. "Stay safe, Sam, Anton," he said, clapping both of their shoulders and giving it a squeeze.

Sam returned the gesture.

"What a day huh?" Sydney remarked with a sigh as they made their way from the Sheriff's office to the Hip.

"Tell me about it," Anton sighed tiredly, rubbing his bandaged neck and shoulders. "Now I see why the doctor insisted us on bed rest for the entire week."

"I need a good long sleep after this," Sam said.

Anton huffed a small laugh. "Agreed."

It didn't take them long to arrive at the Hip. Even before they entered, Sam could hear Benton's piano mixed with the loud, rowdy chatter from the main saloon, typical for a weekday evening. Sam caught Harlan's eye when they walked through the front doors. The hare gave him a barely perceptible nod before he went to a nearby waiter and whispered something. The waiter then quickly made his way up to the second floor.

Probably to inform Madam Dora that they had returned.

"Well I dunno about you, but I'm dying for a drink and some grub," Sydney said. "Wanna come with?"

Anton rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry Sydney, but we're not really allowed to eat and drink in the main saloon," he said.

"Eh? I've seen you drink with your... friends before," Sydney pointed out with a look.

"I only drink at the bar, and it's different when I'm drinking with a client," Anton said.

The otter gave a small huff. "I see then."

"And we'll scare the guests looking like this," Sam added, pointing to his bandaged face with a dry grin.

Sydney gave a snort and then shrugged. "Eh, I'll have to head back soon either way so I won't be staying long."

Anton nodded. "Alright then. See you soon, Sydney," he gave the otter a pat on the shoulder.

"You sure you don't want me to help you up the stairs?" Sydney chuckled.

"We're not that invalid," Sam snorted and rolled his eyes a little. "Good evening, Braun."

"You too, Ayers. See ya Anton," Sydney gave them a salute-like gesture with his fingers before he ambled away to the main saloon.

Sam followed Anton up the stairs to the third floor and then made a beeline to his room. He waved goodnight to his friend before he closed the door behind him. He stared in surprise at the bucket of hot, steaming water and soap on the floor next to his dresser.

Madam Dora probably had it prepared beforehand. Still, it was thoughtful of her.

He stripped out of his dirty clothes and cleaned up the best he could with the bucket of hot water and soap that had been prepared. He sighed. This day had been long and tiring. His entire body ached and the back of his head throbbed painfully. He felt like throwing himself to his bed and sleeping for the rest of the week.

The silence in his room felt oppressive.

Just as soon as he had finished cleaning up, one of the saloon waiters knocked on his door, bringing him dinner.

Sam pulled on clean trousers before he opened the door, and saw that the waiter was also bringing Anton his food. Deciding that he wasn't in the mood to eat alone, Sam had the waiter hand him Anton's food before sending him away. He then knocked on Anton's door.

"It's Sam," he said.

"Just a minute!" Anton hollered. He opened the door a moment later.

The wolf was shirtless, and was clad only in his trousers. Parts of his fur were still damp, evidently having just finished cleaning up as well.

"Ah, hey," Anton said. His green eyes immediately looked to the tray of food in Sam's arms. "Oh, that's our supper?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. And well, I was thinking if you want to eat in my room? Not really feeling like eating alone at the moment."

Anton gave him an understanding look. "Yeah, of course. I'm starving," he said and made his way into Sam's room without bothering to change.

Sam let Anton use his chair while he sat on his bed. The two of them ate in companionable silence. They were both given meatballs and potatoes for supper. Simple but filling, and most importantly, warm.

They put their tray out in the hallway after they finished.

"Quite a day huh?" Anton said with a tired sigh.

Sam gave a nod. "I didn't expect things to go this way..."

"Neither did I," Anton agreed with a nod. "Remind me never to go back in there again," he added.

Sam nodded in agreement. "There's just something about the caverns that's just..."

"Wrong. Something just feels wrong in there," Anton said grimly. "There's this feeling as if something was watching us the moment we stepped inside. And those voices..."

Sam let out a weak laugh. "Glad to know that I'm not going crazy."

Anton put his arm over Sam's shoulders. "You're not. That place is playing with our heads. Somehow."

"It does..." Sam sighed.

He tried not to think what had happened with Jack's body in there, or where the rest had gone to.

Anton suddenly let out a silent yawn, which prompted Sam to yawn as well.

He hadn't realized how tired he was until now.

"I think I'll head to bed," Sam said, suppressing another yawn.

"Me too. It's been hell of a day," Anton said, standing up. "Thanks for inviting me here, Sam."

"Yeah, it's no problem," Sam smiled at his friend.

Anton smiled and began walking to the door. "Good night then, Sam," he said.

For some inexplicable reason, Sam stood up and grabbed Anton's wrist before he could open the door. The wolf turned and gave him a questioning look.

"Can... can you stay with me, please?" Sam said with a degree of hesitation and embarrassment. "I can't stand being alone, not right now."

Anton blinked in surprise. "Oh."

"You don't have to do anything. I doubt I'd be able to do anything in this state," he chuckled dryly, gesturing to his bandages. "Just stay with me for the night. Please."

Anton smiled understandingly."I don't really mind."

"Thanks Anton."

"Don't mention it," the wolf chuckled. "Let me get comfortable."

Anton unbuttoned his pants and let them drop around his ankles. He wasn't wearing any underwear so Sam could see the wolf's entire naked glory. Nothing that he had never seen before, but the wolf's physique certainly impressed him when he first stripped naked in front of Sam. Anton was not as muscular as William, but the wolf had a really nice definition that made him look very desirable. His green eyes gleamed like gems in the lantern light.

Too bad most of his body was covered in bandages.

Sam dropped his trousers as well before kicking them off. He snuffed out the lantern before he climbed to the bed. Anton settled next to him. It's a good thing that the bed was set against the corner of the room as Sam had to lean against the wall to allow Anton to lie down next to him. They were both pretty large men after all.

He wrapped his arms around Anton's warm body, making himself comfortable. He didn't care if his junk was pressed against the wolf's buttocks, and Anton didn't seem to care either. In fact, the wolf snuggled even closer to Sam, but they did nothing more than that. They were both too tired to engage in any sort of hanky panky either way.

"Good night, Sam," Anton yawned, pressing his warm, broad back closer against the cougar's body.

Sam couldn't help but nuzzle into Anton's neck, careful not to press on the wolf's wounds. "Good night, Anton."

The wolf fell asleep quickly. Sam heard his soft snores less than five minutes later. The cougar himself soon fell asleep as well, listening to Anton's soft snores while hugging the strong, younger male's body under his arms.

And for once since the past three days, Sam didn't have any nightmares.