Chapter 25 - The Climb Begins
The climb toward North Ridge began shortly after sunrise.
Elias led the group without needing a compass.
Although twenty years had passed, every bend in the trail seemed familiar to him.
The forest gradually grew quieter.
Birdsong faded.
Even insects became strangely scarce.
Halfway up the ridge, one rescuer suddenly raised a hand.
"Fresh tire tracks."
Everyone stopped.
Heavy off-road tires had passed through the mud only hours earlier.
Someone had reached the ridge before them.
Elias crouched beside the tracks.
"They're carrying weight."
"How can you tell?"
"The tread is deeper on the return path."
The rescue team exchanged uneasy glances.
Someone had climbed the mountain...
Loaded something into a vehicle...
And driven away before sunrise.
The old ranger pointed ahead.
"There."
Barely visible through the trees stood the blackened remains of the abandoned fire lookout.
Only fragments of the wooden tower remained.
But beneath the collapsed floor...
A rusted steel hatch protruded from the earth.
Elias brushed away decades of leaves until an old government seal became visible.
The rescue team leader whispered,
"The underground storage room..."
Elias wrapped both hands around the heavy metal handle.
"It survived."
He pulled.
The hatch resisted for a moment before releasing with a deep metallic groan that echoed through the silent forest.
Cold air rushed upward from the darkness below.
Before anyone could switch on a flashlight...
A voice echoed from somewhere inside.
"I knew you'd come back, Captain Reed."
Every member of the rescue team froze.
The voice belonged to an old man.
May you like
And somehow...
He already knew Elias by name.
