Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
I shook my head and glanced back out at the darkening sky. Water droplets were beginning to fall. “I’ll call him and check the cabin again. If he’s nearby, I’m sure he’ll head back now that the rain is coming.”
Trace frowned and pulled out his phone to check the weather report again. “Let me know what you find out. They’re predicting snow at elevation. Possible we get flurries here, too.”
I nodded and jogged back to the cabin, Chickie hot on my heels and happy to stretch her legs after I’d had to leave her behind for the helo drill.
The fact Chickie had been in the cabin when I’d arrived led me to believe Tommy was back from his hike. He most likely would have taken her with him if he was going for a long walk in the woods, if only because he was a sucker for her big puppy eyes.
The cabin was still empty. His boots and hydration pack were gone. I quickly dialed his number, knowing cell reception wasn’t great on the hill behind campus. The ring trilled from somewhere in the room, sending a slither of dread down my spine.
Sure enough, his phone was in the pants pocket of the pair slung across his bed. I pulled it out and stared at the screen. There were multiple missed calls and texts, indicating he hadn’t checked it for several hours.
“Fuck.”
I glanced outside. The rain wasn’t heavy, but it was steady and cold. The wind blew through the trees, turning leaves silver in the odd light.
“Fuck,” I said again. My rational brain tried its best to remind me that Tommy was experienced in wilderness survival. He knew all the rules about watching the weather and taking shelter when necessary.
But my rational brain wasn’t the one in charge of my body.
I raced through my supplies, hauling out warm, dry layers as well as rain gear, extra socks, and the few remaining packs of trail mix in the box on the little table in our room. After shoving several more things in my pack and filling up an extra water bottle, I took off for the office to grab a radio before heading out.
Trace looked up at me in surprise as he caught me striding into the building, dripping water from my rain gear onto the wood floors. “You find him?”
I shook my head. “I need to find Robyn to see what direction he took. He’s not back yet, and he doesn’t have a phone.”
Trace’s eyebrows winged up. “Doesn’t have his phone? Did he take his beacon?”
I shrugged. “He took his hydration pack, and I think he keeps the beacon in there along with basic med and survival gear. I’m sure he wouldn’t have gone off alone without taking any precautions.”
“Well he didn’t fucking tell anyone he was going, and that alone is grounds for fucking dismissal. He knows better than that.” I could tell his anger masked concern.
“I’ll find him,” I said, “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He knows how to take care of himself.”
Trace met my eyes. “If you really believed that, you wouldn’t be getting ready to go off half-cocked.”
“I’m not. I’ll take plenty of gear, including my beacon and a radio. You know as well as I do he could be hurt. I’d rather find him now than after the sun goes down and he has to spend a night in freezing temps without proper equipment.”
He reluctantly nodded. “Keep us updated. If I have to send a SAR team out for my SAR director, there’ll be hell to pay, do you understand me?”
When I found Robyn, she was wringing her hands. “I think Tommy might be stuck on the mountain. He told me he was going for a long walk, but I never saw him come back, and now he’s not answering his phone.”
I didn’t bother asking why she hadn’t said anything to anyone. “Did you see which trail he took?”
She explained where she’d seen him, next to one of four trailheads scattered across the back and side of SERA’s compound. I thanked her and made my way out, calling to Chickie, who didn’t need any encouragement to follow.
I strapped Chickie’s raincoat on her and we hiked for twenty minutes in the wind and cold rain before my radio crackled.
“Base to Blake. You copy?”
I reached for the handset on my pack strap. “Blake here. Go ahead.”
“Storm’s coming in faster than expected. We’re getting gusts over 40 down here already—any sign of him?”
Unfortunately, even the best tracker would have trouble differentiating any sign of Tommy this close to the trailhead on a popular route. Hundreds of hikers had most likely already been up this trail in the past month or so, but no one was still out to give me any idea of whether or not he’d been spotted. I didn’t expect to see any signs of him until I got a little farther along the trail, past the meadow that featured the popular lookout point this trail was known for.