Page 59 of Luke

For the next twenty minutes, they didn't pass anyone going down, and she couldn't see anyone behind them. It was after four now, but thankfully they still had a few hours of daylight yet. She just hoped they could get to the top, find Kaitlyn, and return to the resort before dark.

The farther they walked, the more she wondered if Kaitlyn really would have done all this by herself. Had she really come this far? Wouldn't fear have forced her to turn around?

Or was it survivor guilt that drove her? She was alive and her parents weren't. She'd told Lizzie that she was supposed to be dead, too. Was this some sort of a suicidal hike? God, she hoped not!

Luke stopped as a heavy log blocked their path. To go around it, they'd have to get very near the edge of the trail and climb over some rather large boulders. One wrong step and they'd tumble over the edge of a sheer rock wall.

"I think if we go across there, we'll be okay," he said, pointing to a spot not far from the edge of the trail.

"She can't have gone past this point," she protested.

"According to the map Brad had in the pack, Last Chance Rock is another quarter mile down the trail. I don't think she'd stop before that."

"What if she's not even up here? What if she's back at the resort?"

"If she were, someone would have texted or called you."

She pulled out her phone. "I only have a weak signal."

"If you want to wait here, I can go ahead on my own."

She didn't think she'd feel any safer standing on this narrow path by herself than going with Luke. "No, I'll keep going."

He nodded approvingly. "Just follow in my footsteps."

They maneuvered around the log, and she breathed a sigh of relief as they made it back onto a wider trail.

Fifteen minutes later, their path was blocked by an enormous boulder standing well over ten feet tall and ten feet wide. Around the right side was a three-foot narrow opening. What was on the other side of that rock was impossible to see.

What she also couldn't see was any sign of Kaitlyn.

"Decision time," Luke said, his lips set in a grim line. "This is Last Chance Rock. We turn around, or we keep going, or I keep going. You have three choices."

"Brad said he did the trail beyond this point only once, and he had to use ropes and picks. We're not prepared for that, are we?"

"There's rope in the pack," he said.

She frowned. "But Kaitlyn doesn't have any of those items. She'd be terrified to go past that rock. I think she went somewhere else. I think she went back."

Did she really believe that or was terror blinding her?

"What do you want to do, Lizzie?" Luke asked. "It's your call."

She drew in a breath. She'd never forgive herself if she turned around and went back to the resort and Kaitlyn wasn't there.

"Let's go a little farther, at least through the opening," she decided. "Maybe it's not as bad as everyone says."

He nodded and moved quickly down the path. He slipped through first, then took her hand, as she made her way between the boulder and the cliff. On the other side, the hillside was rocky and very wet. She could hear the thunder of the distant falls and feel the misting spray on her face. This side of the boulder was also darker and filled with more shadows, the mountain blocking most of the afternoon sun.

In front of her, she saw nothing but terrifying desolation, and she couldn't imagine Kaitlyn on this path alone. But then she saw something on the ground, a shiny silver chain, and her heart stopped.

"Look," she said, pointing to the necklace. "I think that's Kaitlyn's."

Luke moved forward to grab the piece of jewelry. He brought it back to her, and she closed her fingers around the silver chain with the dove charm.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she said, "Kelly gave this to Kaitlyn on her twelfth birthday. She never takes it off. She has to be here somewhere." She paused and yelled out, "Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn!"

Luke added his voice, and then they waited.

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