Page 78 of The Merger
After we smothered the fire and set out of our shelter, I looked back up the mountain toward the plane. I contemplated going back to the plane to gather supplies, but we were out of food and the risk of losing a day going in the wrong direction was too great.
Sabrina looked in the same direction. “Are you thinking of going back to the plane? Don’t planes have a beacon or some kind of signal to let someone find us? You sent out a distress call, so they’re looking, right?”
I took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t want to destroy any hope she had that help was on its way. At least until I could figure out a way to make sure it actually was. But, I also didn’t want to lie to her.
“I tried. I never got a response. We need to come to terms with the possibility no one is looking for us.”
“But the beacon—“
“Sunshine, Captain McHenry planned this down to having a parachute ready. Don’t you think he probably disabled the black box?”
“I thought they were tamper proof,” she said.
I nodded. “They are, but they can’t work if they aren’t installed. Think about it. He planned for us to crash in the mountains. When someone inevitably came across the wreckage, they’d assume the box was lost in the crash.”
“Wow.” Her eyes blinked several times. “I think it just really sunk in that someone was trying to kill us.”
“I would have thought the pilot jumping from the plane as it raced toward the mountain would have covered that.”
She punched me, somewhat playfully, on the arm. “That’s called shock, you ass. Then you jumped up and handled things so confidently that I didn’t think about the details. Not that it matters at this moment. When we don’t check in from Denver, Colt and Jana will realize we’re missing and start looking for us.”
I grimaced. “Not in Idaho they won’t. I’m assuming that’s where we are at least. The entire flight plan he showed us could have been bullshit. If that’s the case we could be in the Rockies or the Cascades. But, if he at least showed us a legitimate flight plan, then I think we’re somewhere near Hailey, Idaho. Did we ever stop for fuel?”
She shook her head. “I dozed off a little bit too, but I woke when we first started to descend. I thought we were headed to refuel, but all I could see out of the windows were trees.”
“Let’s assume we really were headed toward Denver, then we should be in the northern Rocky Mountains. If we can make it into Hailey or Sun Valley we can rent a car and get home.”
Her eyebrow cocked up. “Rent a car? You’re serious about not flying again, aren’t you?”
I squeezed her hand. “That’s something for us to argue about later. First, we’ve got to get off the mountain.”
The terrain was uneven and filled with underbrush that managed to hide loose rocks. We were far from areas frequented by hikers, which meant there were no trails to help guide our way back to civilization. Our situation took a turn for the worse as we struggled our way down the mountain. Clouds gathered, cutting off most of the sunlight and making the air colder than it was when we first emerged from our shelter this morning.
Neither of us had coats, or anything warmer than sweatshirts. So, despite the fact we were tired and hungry, we kept moving. I could only hope we would feel warmer if we didn’t stop. If we were really lucky we’d find shelter and food before the sunset. Hopefully we’d have both before we worked up a sweat because if we did, staying active wouldn’t offer us any relief. It would be worse actually because it could cause us to get hypothermia.
After a few more hours trudging through the brush, we made it down to a thicker part of the forest. While it made the sunlight more anemic, we’d reached the part of the woods where we were more likely to find a hunting cabin, or maybe a hiker. Sabrina slowed down and tripped over some exposed roots.
I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her from falling. She was trembling, either from the chill in the air, or from hunger, but I knew we needed to find some way to get warm fast.
Bending down, I hoisted her onto my back. She struggled to get down, but I reached back and swatted her on the ass. “You’re out of steam, Sunshine. It’s okay to let me help you sometimes.”
She stopped trying to get down. “Okay, but only for a little while. Otherwise, we’ll both be too worn out to set up shelter, not to mention you’re the only one that knows how to set up a proper shelter.”
I hated to admit she was right. My stubborn streak matched hers though and thankfully paid off. A little farther down the hill we came across a cabin practically hidden in the trees.
Crouching down, I tapped her thigh. “Let’s see if anyone is home.”
The signs weren’t hopeful. No vehicle sat in the rocky driveway, and all the lights were off. It was clear no one was home, but if we were lucky there’d be some non-perishable food and a way to keep warm. Finding a way to call Colter might be too much to hope for, but we needed to check. To do that, we needed inside.
The cabin was a small A-frame structure made of rough-cut logs with dovetail joints. There was a chimney pipe on the left side of the roof, giving me hope there’d be a way to heat the home if the power was out.
While I was scoping out the structure, Sabrina went to try the door. Of course, with our luck, it was locked. I sighed. “I’ll go check the back. Maybe there’s a window we can climb through.”
I started off the front stoop, but she grabbed my arm. “There’s no landscaping or decorations, except for one potted plant,” she said pointing at a fake ficus.
She lifted the plastic pot and found a key nestled underneath. “See, just like I thought.”
I took it from her and left her by the front door so I could check it out. None of the switches worked, but there was a large fireplace. The cabin had an open concept design with a loft for a bedroom. Aside from some dust, there was nothing concerning inside.