North American Gunslinger Detective

Chapter 795 Breath of the Forest
James spoke quickly and anxiously. Jimmy rarely heard such urgency from him, so he quickly said, "Slow down, calm down, tell me, what's wrong with Mary?"

James took a deep breath and could hear the rapid breathing sound through the receiver. "Mary participated in a hiking activity of the club yesterday. After returning home in the evening, she started to feel strange. She didn't even eat dinner and went to bed.

She got up very late this morning. At first, she just felt a little tired, but at noon, she even called my name wrong. I took her to the hospital, but they didn't find anything wrong with her. She is still in the hospital.

I asked other people, and they said they were hiking in the suburbs west of Little Rock yesterday arranged by the club, and there were two other people who had the same symptoms as Mary today, and they went to the hospital for examination but no cause was found.

I suspected that it was the place they went to, but I didn't know they chose to go to the beach path... You told me about that place before, you must know something, Jimmy, tell me what's going on?"

Jimmy: "Is it the beach trail in the western suburbs? That famous hiking spot?"

James: "Yeah, I knew there was something wrong there, I had the impression, but I didn't know what it was."

Jimmy: "Go find Father Royte and ask him to help check on Mary."

James: “Are you sure?”

Jimmy: "Well, let him go and take a look first. Don't go to the beach to investigate in a big way. It's not safe there."

James: "Okay, I got it, thanks, Jimmy."

James hung up the phone after he finished speaking. It seemed that he was really anxious. Jimmy frowned and thought about this stupid thing. When he went to James' house before, he did mention it before that there were more and more supernatural cases, and asked them not to go to places like the suburbs. After retirement, they should just rest at home or go out for a trip. But now something happened, and it was in that unlucky place.

The first time he knew there was a problem at the beach was when Kag reminded him. There had been many disappearances there, but in an environment like the United States, the disappearances would not cause the authorities to close a famous tourist spot. Fortunately, the frequency of disappearances was very low, with only one occurring every few years, so it was not famous, and people who knew about it would naturally avoid the place.

Jimmy got up and left the study, going upstairs to the baby room, where Nia was sitting in front of the window holding Liam. Although it was already sunset, the sun was just right for basking in the room, not too hot, and just enough for the little guy to get some sun exposure.

Jimmy pulled up a chair next to him and sat next to Nia. He reached out and teased Liam, and whispered, "I need to go back to Little Rock. There seems to be something going on over there with James, and I want to go check it out."

Nia turned to look at Jimmy: "Is it urgent?"

Jimmy was still looking at Liam, teasing him with his fingers for him to grasp, "Well, Mary is in the hospital, and James was very nervous when he called me just now."

Nia: "Well, go ahead, don't worry about your family."

Jimmy glanced at his watch and said, "Remember to call your mother and ask her to come over to help you take care of the child. I'll go check out the air tickets and maybe stay there for a day or two."

Jimmy kissed Liam and Nia, then stood up and went back to the bedroom to get his suitcase.

Nia looked at Jimmy and was a little worried. Although Jimmy didn't show anything unusual, he hadn't looked at her and his expression was very serious. It was obvious that this matter was not ordinary. Mary was not hospitalized for an ordinary illness or injury.

However, Jimmy did not tell the truth to her, which basically meant that what happened over there was a supernatural event just like what she had experienced before, far exceeding the events she had ever encountered. Jimmy was doing this for her own good, but this situation really made Nia very frustrated. In this kind of thing, she was a complete outsider and could not participate in it at all.

Nia looked down at little Liam, picked him up and kissed his forehead. Jimmy had said before that people in the church had been keeping an eye on Liam because he might inherit Jimmy's outrageous physical fitness and abilities. Maybe little Liam would become an exorcist in the future.

Yes, Nia has long known that Jimmy's physical fitness is different from ordinary people. After all, they have been sleeping in the same bed for several years. Jimmy only needs a little rest time every day to support a day's work, and he is not in a state of fatigue. Obviously, his so-called sleep is strictly speaking a habit. Even if he wakes up, he will wait until dawn to get up.

Not only in spirit, Jimmy's fighting and combat abilities are also at a superhuman level. I first noticed Jimmy because of the video of him knocking down six people in a few seconds. So many years have passed, and Jimmy's performance is far beyond what it was then. It is obvious that he is stronger.

Maybe my previous thoughts were wrong. If little Liam inherits Jimmy's physical fitness in the future, then the attention from the church will be better for him. If he goes to school like ordinary people, he may soon incur hostility from his peers because he is so different from others.

On the way to JFK Airport, Jimmy called Ruiz in advance. Although skipping work was a daily routine for him, he still had to communicate in advance about leaving New York for a few days, so that Ruiz would not be unable to find him if something unexpected happened.

In addition to Ruiz, he also called Father Rodney to ask if there was a reliable exorcist priest in Little Rock. He also called James and said that he would arrive in Little Rock in the evening.

Fortunately, although it was already late, there were still domestic flights. Jimmy successfully registered his carry-on firearms and boarded the plane. He might encounter some troubles this time, so Jimmy had to make all preparations, including carrying the dagger he got from Father Rodney with him.

At the Little Rock Airport, Jimmy arrived at the exit with his suitcase, found a taxi and immediately rushed to the hospital where Mary was receiving treatment.

James sat in front of Mary's bed with a haggard look on his face, reaching out to hold Mary's hand, and Mary seemed to have fallen asleep.

Jimmy didn't speak loudly, but just stepped heavier. When James turned his head and saw him, he waved. The two of them came outside. Jimmy hugged James and asked softly, "How is Mary? What did Father Royte say?"

James: "There is no conclusion. Father Royte can only infer from their situation that they may have encountered an unknown supernatural event, which caused mental abnormality. He needs to go back and check."

Jimmy: "What about the doctors? What's their conclusion?"

James: "The doctor gave a special explanation. They thought that Mary and the others were probably suffering from mental problems and coma symptoms because of some special substances affecting their brain nerves. Now they have done a series of tests and are discussing the possible causes."

Jimmy: "Besides Mary and the other three, have other people experienced similar symptoms?"

James shook his head: "No, I contacted the club during the day and they provided a complete list. I have contacted all of them this afternoon."

Jimmy glanced at Mary and patted James: "I understand. I'll go find Father Royte and see if he has any clues."

James nodded. "Tomorrow, it's late now. Thank you, Jimmy, for coming so late."

Jimmy: "Tomorrow is fine, but James, you should go and rest. You look tired."

James shook his head, "I'll just wait here for Mary to wake up."

Jimmy patted his arm silently, and the two of them sat on the bench in the hospital and chatted in low voices for a while, then Jimmy got up and left. James would definitely be fine in the hospital, and it would be easier for Jimmy to handle. Little Rock was where he had lived for more than two years, so it was easy to find a suitable hotel.

However, before going to the hotel, he needs to go to James' house first. James's house has a car that Jimmy can use, so at least he doesn't have to go back and forth.

In the church, Jimmy and Father Royte finally met. After Jimmy told Father Royte why he came, Father Royte said with difficulty: "The Sylvan Syndrome is a special phenomenon that appeared in the early 20th century. If someone hadn't helped to investigate the previous files, I wouldn't have known about this disease, and it hasn't appeared for decades."

Father Royte motioned Jimmy to follow him, and the two left the church and came to Father Royte's house. He was an old bachelor with no wife or children, and had always lived alone. Just by looking at the decorations and items in the house, one could tell that a devout believer must live here. There were many crosses of all sizes and various religious oil paintings in the room, but Jimmy himself had poor taste and could not tell whether these things were real.

Father Royte took out two pieces of white paper from the room, the contents on which seemed to be photocopied from other books.

Wandering Forest Syndrome is diagnosed as a rare neurological disease characterized by an acute onset of symptoms that may include fatigue, drowsiness, confusion, and eventually coma.

The patients in the file were a hunter and his son who lived near a forest in North Carolina. They made a living by hunting and selling wild animal furs. Not long after the accident, they happened to meet other people in the forest and found them lying on the ground unconscious, so they sent them to the hospital.

It just so happened that their neighbor was from the church. While investigating their coma, they discovered something unusual in the forest and eventually successfully solved the incident. After that, they woke up from their coma.

Breath of the Forest, a disembodied misty monster that mainly appears in forests, mountains, and other places. According to legend, this monster will appear like mist when people are tired, secretly absorbing their souls, causing the victim to gradually lose vitality and memory, and finally fall into a deep coma from which they cannot wake up on their own.

This monster does not seem to directly harm the human body, but it is likely to cause people to fall into a coma and be unable to continue living. For a social environment like that at the beginning of the last century, this is enough to be fatal.

The file only introduced the situation of the monster and the patient, and did not record how they dealt with it at the time, which was a bit troublesome.

Jimmy finished reading the information and returned it to Father Royte. "This doesn't seem to be the source of Mary's symptoms. Although I haven't been in Little Rock in the past few years, I remember that the beach area should not be a forest."

Father Royte: "This is the closest possibility I can find to the current situation. This is not a medical case. Mary and the others may have encountered this kind of monster, or something similar."

Jimmy: "But the file doesn't say how they handled it, so what should we do now?"

Father Royte shook his head: "I have asked someone to investigate. I hope to get news as soon as possible. Now we can only pray."

Jimmy glanced at his watch. "Well, if you have any further news, please let me know as soon as possible. I'll go see James and Mary first."

After leaving Father Royte's house, Jimmy drove to the hospital. Father Royte did a bad job in this matter. He got the clue but did not inform James in time. Instead, he took Jimmy home to see the copy of the file after he came. Obviously, he did not want to get involved too deeply.

But it is understandable that his relationship with James is not good enough for him to find and destroy an unknown monster for him. After all, this is a very dangerous thing. However, this will probably break the relationship between James and Father Royte to some extent, if Jimmy told James the truth.

No matter what, Jimmy would not just sit there and do nothing. Even if Father Royte did not take action, he would try his best to investigate it. If possible, it would not be impossible to get rid of this monster at the same time.

Jimmy was not a big talker, and he didn't plan to say too much to James. He bought a map on the way and asked James to help mark the club's hiking route after arriving at the hospital. He soon rushed to the beach trail in the western suburbs and met Kag here.

Kag is about to retire and is gradually withdrawing from field patrols, but since Jimmy called him, he had to give him some face and come out. To ensure safety, he also notified Noah, and two police cars were parked outside the beach trail.

The three who hadn't seen each other for a long time hugged and greeted each other, and then Jimmy expressed his thoughts. The two of them didn't know about Mary's accident yet. After all, James had retired for several years, and they didn't keep in touch all the time, so this was not surprising. It was just that Jimmy's ability to rush from New York to Little Rock so quickly deepened their impression of the relationship between Jimmy and James, and it was obvious how much Jimmy cared about James and the others.

Jimmy didn't let them accompany him in, but asked Kag and the others to temporarily close the road. Although there was no clear reason, Jimmy suspected that there might be something here that would hurt ordinary people. After all, Mary was already lying in the hospital, which was a fact, so Kag and Noah agreed.

(End of this chapter)