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"Yeah, I'm here. A crazy old lady just almost shot Izzy because he looked like a hippy," Laura said. "Oh, and we caught a squonk. It didn't really want to talk, but it told me, 'people.' Any leads in the forest? Over." She let up the button on the radio to listen for a response.

While waiting for a response from Laura and Izzy, Mo reverted to his normal form. The falling tree had not hurt him in any way as he was in a metallic form at the time, and it had been approximately 10 minutes since his transformation, the usual length of time he could maintain a change. Could it really be an angry hidebehind that was terrorizing these parts? They had been described as relatively shy creatures, however there had been numerous reports of aggressive behavior displayed by hidebehinds in the past. In fact, it was believed that they could be related to the wendigos, and cases involving hidebehinds devouring lumberjacks in the past were documented. But what was the connection to the squonks?

"Jesus, are you okay?" She asked, forgetting his abilities. She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm thinking we should regroup before anything else crazy happens. Meet you at the truck?"
Laura was worried- a bit. She said to Izzy, "I want to get back and ask the little guy I caught this morning some more questions... and I think we should leave this lady to her business."
The agent reluctantly took the two shotgun shells and put them on a nearby shelf.
The old lady was looking at them both like they were crazy, but Laura got that a lot. She went out the back door in case any of the lumberjacks were out and about.
Laura saw something shift in the corner of her eye, but when she turned, there was no one there.

Laura relayed Mo's message to Izzy and started to slip along the ground as a liquid. A thousand times more sensitive, she was sure that nothing would sneak up on her. The vibrations in the air gave her a good three-dimensional idea of everything nearby. Also, as long as she was a liquid, no tree was going to hurt her.
She was a bit slower, but it was worth it.
Then, something from the direction of the trees. She stopped sliding and listened to the air movements. Yes, there had been something. What it was, she didn't want to know.

Scurrying after Laura, Izzy was getting himself prepared for whatever happened next hoping to reach the truck as soon as possible.

Mo gave her a stare that said 'are you serious?' but flicked the cigarette away as if to imply she had won the battle for now. "Clearly we are dealing with more than just the squonks. I think we have one or more angry Hidebehinds hangin' out round these parts. My mind has played tricks on me before, but i'm sure as hell I saw one right after that tree decided to topple over on me." he said as he hopped off the tailgate. "Thing I can't figure out why these things are runnin' amuck." Mo said as he tapped the top of the cage. "Distraction of some kind? I know the Hidebehinds ain't changin' folks into 'em. We got a bunch of pieces here, we just need to put the puzzle together. Come up with anything other than batty old grannies while you two were in town?"

Izzy scuffled into the truck and shuddered "I'm getting the creeps out there..it feels like something ominous is watching me"

"Ok, let's think. We know that both squonks, and hidebehinds have been seen in the area before, but they are both typically shy creatures who would not fit into the 'kidnapping people' category. I've narrowed it down to one of two possible scenarios: some new creature has come on the scene and is driving the creatures out of the woods into town. It would make sense that the townsfolk here would blame the squonks for the disappearin' people; they see weird monsters running around and assume they are the culprits." Mo stated as he rubbed his stubbled chin, his tell tale sign he was deep in thought.

"But that doesn't account for the missin' people. Which leaves us with option B, and this is where it can get deep. I'm afraid we are dealin' with a transformer of sorts. That makes the most sense to me. Think about it, you hardly ever hear about multiple squonk sightings in an area: not in their nature to be seen by regulars. These are people who have been changed by someone or somethin' supernatural. Maybe Yōkai? Somethin' else? Whatever it is, it's back in the woods, and I think it tried to take me out when I got too close. I say all three of us head back into the forest....we will start where I was almost flattened by that big ol' tree." Mo J had a knack for natural leadership that seemed to shine only under pressure, which was in contrast to his usual guarded, sometimes distant, and somewhat lackadaisical approach to life in general. "Whatch'all think?"