Page 66 of Valor

A treacherous trail lay ahead of them and there was no way around it. “The only good thing is that we won’t be guessing. If this weren’t here, we’d have to do a lot more hiking, looking around for exactly what it is we’re hunting for,” Heather said.

George glanced back and forth between them as he extended his hiking pole. “That’s true, but there were no other cars in that lot behind us. If they’re squatting in my park, where are they parking? We drive through every night to make sure no cars are left. Camping isn’t allowed outside the restricted areas. It’s possible they’re there often, but not there right now. Which means they could be coming and surprise us.”

Molten acid churned in his empty stomach. He should’ve eaten when he’d had the chance, but sugar made him sleepy, and he was already tired from staying up all night. “Then let’s get in there and get out as fast as we can.” Hopefully, they wouldn’t be carrying a body with them.

Heather fell into step in front of him with George in the lead. He saw every time her foot slipped a little, heard every hitch in her breath when they had to descend or ascend. So far, everything around them was quiet.

George held up his hand for them to wait. “Rattler in the path,” he muttered. “Give it space.”

Heather held completely still a few feet behind George. Allen let them watch the snake while he kept vigil over everything else. They couldn’t have planned a distraction like that, but it was exactly the kind of thing he’d use to get the upper hand if he needed a distraction.

The snake coiled, rattling its tail, and lowering its head.

“Back up a step. I want to be out of strike range,” George whispered. “I’d rather it went on its way.”

Allen inched back, and so did Heather. Part of a rock above them crumbled, falling down between them and the snake. It hissed and lunged toward George. Heather screamed and dove off the trail, leaving him face-to-face with the serpent.

Allen backtracked a few paces as it slithered toward him. His heart pulsed in his ears and all he could see were those fangs hanging out of the dark slit of a mouth. The snake seemed to enjoy the game, winding closer to him.

“Allen, head up a little. It can get there, but it probably won’t. It sees you as a threat and you’re in its path,” George said, though he seemed far away now.

Allan braced himself to climb the fragile rock, feeling bits loosen under his gloves. Taking his eyes off the snake took every ounce of trust he had, but the ranger would know better. In Wall, they didn’t have snakes like they did around the Badlands. Even just outside of the area, in places like Norris, snakes were common.

“He’s gone.” Heather sighed quietly. The sound reassured him. She’d either been worried about him or that the snake would turn back on them. He couldn’t believe she could go from actively disliking him one day to caring for his safety the next. Her trust was a start.

George silently headed back along the trail, looking at his GPS every few minutes. “Odd,” he said. “I assumed this trail would take us to the coordinates. They are close, but not the same. Either this trail is from someone else, or they gave you misinformation.”

“Or they used a different, less accurate, way of reading it,” Allen said, recalling his search with Heather the night before had yielded different information.

“That’s possible too. What would you like to do? We can go to where they told you to or follow where this leads? We’re getting further away from that spot, so we need to decide right now which path we choose.”

Heather glanced back at him with her brow deeply furrowed. “I don’t know the answer. Do we have time to check both before we meet your friend this afternoon?” She gently moved the cuff of her coat away from her watch, careful not to rub against her skin. “We’ve got four hours, but it’ll take over an hour to get back to the ranger station and another hour to get back to Wall.”

Allen agreed. “And we’re not there yet. I’d say we have one shot. They gave us coordinates. Let’s assume they knew what they were talking about.” He hoped he was making the right choice or Heather might hold it against him. Seeing what was on that thumb drive was just as important as following the trail though.

George turned away from the beaten path and trekked up a slight incline. In the bright sun, the striations in the rock were harder to see, making everything around them a light beige color. Dust clung to his dark gloves and clothes. He felt gritty from head to foot, and dry like he needed to drink a gallon of water and swim in a lotion bath.

After about ten minutes, George directed them down into a low area. “That’s where the coordinates say you should go.” He pointed into a valley that resembled a cup. “There’s nothing down there.”

Allen stepped forward. “Let me check it out. Heather, stay here with George.”

Part of him wanted to be the one who stayed behind, not because he didn’t trust George, but because he didn’t want Heather out of his sight. He slowly chose his steps, trying not to slide down the steep decline.

At the bottom, there had been recent activity with lots of disturbance of the rock. There were small piles at the base, like someone had dug there. “Are there minerals here that would be worth something?” Allen glanced up at George for confirmation. Why else would someone be digging in the middle of a protected park?

“Other than agates, I don’t think so.” George glanced around the area. “See anything down there? Holes? Tunnels?”

Allen did a slow circle, taking his time to inspect everything in the small, enclosed area. “None that I can see. But there have been people here recently. There are gouges that look like someone used a pickax.”

He was convinced they’d given the wrong coordinates. Heather wouldn’t want to leave if she believed even a little that her father was here in the park. He wouldn’t want to if he were in her shoes. “We can try to go back to the path and see where it leads.”

George looked uneasy for the first time since they’d set out. Even the snake hadn’t really phased him. “We’ve been away from the path for over twenty minutes. Anyone who came in after us could’ve passed our position by now. While I was reasonably certain we’d be walking into an area with no one there, now, I’m not so sure.”

Heather looked at him, silently pleading for him to take her side when she hadn’t said anything aloud. How could he know her well enough already that he knew exactly what she wanted him to do? “Do you want us to go alone?”

George shook his head. “Not on my watch, but you need to understand the danger. If someone starts shooting, we have nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.”

Allen looked at Heather to make sure that’s what she wanted to do. He wouldn’t let her think for a second that he wasn’t doing everything he could to get her father back. When she dipped her chin slightly, he knew. This was the path they had to take.

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