Chapter 15 - The Message in the Floor
Inside the cabin, Elias noticed several loose wooden floorboards beneath an old table.
He knelt without speaking.
Using the handle of his fishing knife, he carefully lifted one board after another.
Nothing.
Then another.
Still nothing.
Finally, beneath the fourth plank, his fingers touched a small metal box sealed with wax.
The initials J.M. were engraved into the lid.
The room fell completely silent.
Elias slowly opened it.
Inside lay a folded notebook, a tarnished sheriff's badge, and a cassette tape wrapped inside waterproof cloth.
The notebook's first page contained only one sentence.
If you're reading this, they never stopped. They only learned to hide better.
No one spoke.
The rescue team leader carefully picked up the cassette.
"We'll need equipment to hear this."
Elias nodded.
"But not here."
As he closed the metal box, the sound of a vehicle engine echoed faintly from somewhere beyond the trees.
It wasn't coming from the road.
It was coming from deep inside the forest—where no road was supposed to exist.
Elias slowly stood.
May you like
"They know we've found it."
And without another word, he tucked the notebook inside his jacket as everyone turned toward the mysterious sound growing louder between the trees.
