had tried to get down there to help him would’ve been to get yourself killed, too.”
Mark took a steadying breath and said softly, “We don’t know for sure that he’s dead.”
“But the odds are—”
“Yeah, I know what the odds are, but I’ve got a gut feeling that Phil isn’t dead. Look, I—I’m not sure what the hell I saw, okay, but it looked to me like someone picked him up and carried him off. And if that someone is helping him, maybe brought him down a different trail, if we go back up there we might find some tracks or something that’ll help us figure out where the hell he is.”
There was a brief silence at the other end of the line; then LaBrea said, “Tell you what. Why don’t you drive on out and talk to Gibbons. You know where the department station is, right?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. Maybe, if you’re feeling up to it, Gibbons can get a couple of guys to go up there with you.”
The thought of going back up on Agiochook so soon sent a chill through Mark. After the ordeal of getting off the mountain alone and fending off— whatever it was that had attacked him at his campfire—he wasn’t so sure he had the strength or desire to go hiking. But LaBrea’s suggestion sent a clear message that he didn’t have the time or the manpower right now to get things going himself.
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Mark said. “As soon as I get something to eat, I’ll drive over there. In the meantime, if you talk to Gibbons, fill him in on what’s happening.”
“No problem there,” LaBrea replied. “Right now I’m going to head home and grab a bit of shut-eye myself. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure thing. Thanks, Guy.”
With that, Mark hung up. He knew by the cold emptiness in his stomach that he should eat something, but he was too nerved up. His stomach felt like a clenched fist. He ran upstairs, took a quick shower, threw on some fresh clothes, and went out to his Jeep. Half an hour later, he was sitting in Gibbons’ office, trying his best to explain why, if it was already too late today, the Forestry Department had to have a search party organized and ready to go up Agiochook first thing in the morning.
Chapter Nine
The Search Begins
Before dawn the next day, Mark drove his Jeep out to the base of the Wheaton Trail to meet Wally Doyle and John Sykes, two rangers from the State Forestry Department who were going to climb Mount Agiochook with him. Due to the heavy overcast, there was no true dawn that morning; the sky simply lightened from black to battleship gray. Before the Forestry Department launched a massive—and expensive—wide-sweep search for the missing man, Gibbons had opted to send a few men up to spend a day or two searching the area around The Zipper. Then, if they came up empty-handed, a more detailed search party would head out.
Because the weather might turn bad, or some other unforeseen situation might arise, all three men were packing heavy clothing and enough food and equipment for five days and four nights. Also, Mark was carrying a medical kit and extra rations, in case they found Phil alive. Doyle and Sykes each carried small radios with which they could call for an evacuation helicopter, in case they did find Phil’s body. Although Mark tried to keep the thought at bay, finding Phil’s body was the most likely event.
The hike up the mountain was exhausting but uneventful. The sky remained cloudy, and a raw, knife-edge wind drove at them out of the north. Throughout the day and especially at night, when they camped just below the tree line at the base of the summit, Mark found himself wishing he had brought along a gun. There had never been any clear indication that they were being tracked or followed, but after thinking about the “creature” that had attacked Josh O’Connell’s cows and how close that was to where he had been attacked by some kind of creature, Mark almost expected another encounter like the one he’d had a few nights
Mark took a steadying breath and said softly, “We don’t know for sure that he’s dead.”
“But the odds are—”
“Yeah, I know what the odds are, but I’ve got a gut feeling that Phil isn’t dead. Look, I—I’m not sure what the hell I saw, okay, but it looked to me like someone picked him up and carried him off. And if that someone is helping him, maybe brought him down a different trail, if we go back up there we might find some tracks or something that’ll help us figure out where the hell he is.”
There was a brief silence at the other end of the line; then LaBrea said, “Tell you what. Why don’t you drive on out and talk to Gibbons. You know where the department station is, right?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. Maybe, if you’re feeling up to it, Gibbons can get a couple of guys to go up there with you.”
The thought of going back up on Agiochook so soon sent a chill through Mark. After the ordeal of getting off the mountain alone and fending off— whatever it was that had attacked him at his campfire—he wasn’t so sure he had the strength or desire to go hiking. But LaBrea’s suggestion sent a clear message that he didn’t have the time or the manpower right now to get things going himself.
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Mark said. “As soon as I get something to eat, I’ll drive over there. In the meantime, if you talk to Gibbons, fill him in on what’s happening.”
“No problem there,” LaBrea replied. “Right now I’m going to head home and grab a bit of shut-eye myself. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure thing. Thanks, Guy.”
With that, Mark hung up. He knew by the cold emptiness in his stomach that he should eat something, but he was too nerved up. His stomach felt like a clenched fist. He ran upstairs, took a quick shower, threw on some fresh clothes, and went out to his Jeep. Half an hour later, he was sitting in Gibbons’ office, trying his best to explain why, if it was already too late today, the Forestry Department had to have a search party organized and ready to go up Agiochook first thing in the morning.
Chapter Nine
The Search Begins
Before dawn the next day, Mark drove his Jeep out to the base of the Wheaton Trail to meet Wally Doyle and John Sykes, two rangers from the State Forestry Department who were going to climb Mount Agiochook with him. Due to the heavy overcast, there was no true dawn that morning; the sky simply lightened from black to battleship gray. Before the Forestry Department launched a massive—and expensive—wide-sweep search for the missing man, Gibbons had opted to send a few men up to spend a day or two searching the area around The Zipper. Then, if they came up empty-handed, a more detailed search party would head out.
Because the weather might turn bad, or some other unforeseen situation might arise, all three men were packing heavy clothing and enough food and equipment for five days and four nights. Also, Mark was carrying a medical kit and extra rations, in case they found Phil alive. Doyle and Sykes each carried small radios with which they could call for an evacuation helicopter, in case they did find Phil’s body. Although Mark tried to keep the thought at bay, finding Phil’s body was the most likely event.
The hike up the mountain was exhausting but uneventful. The sky remained cloudy, and a raw, knife-edge wind drove at them out of the north. Throughout the day and especially at night, when they camped just below the tree line at the base of the summit, Mark found himself wishing he had brought along a gun. There had never been any clear indication that they were being tracked or followed, but after thinking about the “creature” that had attacked Josh O’Connell’s cows and how close that was to where he had been attacked by some kind of creature, Mark almost expected another encounter like the one he’d had a few nights
Similar Books
