“There’s a Thunderbird trail near here?”
“Not so much trail as a general course, but yes, we had a route that connected Lake Olympus with the top of Mount Olympus, which would intersect with the Lost Goat Trail not far from the area where you surveyed last November.” He nodded again toward the topographic map that hung on the wall. “Come. I’ll show you.”
She and George left the SEALs to their strategizing session and crossed the dark room to the framed map he’d indicated.
George ran a finger across a section of closely drawn contour lines, indicating a steep slope. “This section is going to give you the most trouble without a trail. Over here”—his finger traced a small adjacent area—“might as well be a cliff, and the ground is too exposed. You’d be visible from a distance. This area to the north is your best bet. The ground is supersaturated. You’ll have to watch out for areas where downed trees have caused water to collect. Some parts of the hillside could be more bog than ground, but you won’t know until your foot sinks deep, because ferns will hide the water.”
She closed her eyes and tried to envision the area he’d indicated, but she couldn’t. She’d never explored that area. For the first time, she recognized her words about knowing the forest might be nothing more than bravado.
But still, even if it was bluster, she was the team’s best bet. They couldn’t spare SEALs for this, and none of them had ever visited that part of the forest either.
“Okay. Thanks. This helps a lot.”
Xavier approached from behind and offered George a thick black marker. “Draw our route, and I’ll take a picture with my phone.”
Lieutenant Flyte joined them, and George talked them through the route again as he marked the glass that covered the topo map. Audrey felt better with Xavier being part of the discussion of the route.
They could do this.
They would do this.
By tomorrow evening, she’d be safely in her Port Angeles home.
She’d call her parents and tell them she was pregnant and that she loved them and missed them. She’d tell her mother she wanted to see her more.
She’d even call her ex-boyfriend and…well, she didn’t know, really, but try to find some peace with the way they broke up. He’d dumped her the day she got the park archaeologist job, because he knew the permanent position meant she would never leave the peninsula.
It had been a blow on the day she’d achieved a goal she’d held since she was eleven years old, robbing the moment of all the joy it deserved.
He’d meant the world to her once upon a time, but now she realized that no, she’d never loved him more than her park, and she could see how that must have hurt him to come in second place to a…place.
Much like it had gutted her that Xavier prioritized his job over hers, and they weren’t even in love like she and Kevin had been.
But now she knew why Xavier had prioritized his job, and he’d been right. She did understand. It had never been about his job or her job at all.
It had been about preventing a massacre of epic proportions.
He hadn’t been able to tell her the truth, the reason it mattered so much. She didn’t feel the need to judge him for his decisions now that they at least made sense. He’d done, if not the right thing, then the only possible thing.
She stared at the map, mentally planning each step she would take, climbing over logs and burrowing through branches draped with moss, wading through tall ferns.
In the flatter areas, the ferns had been tamped down by snowfall, but the steeper hillsides hadn’t collected snow, and the green fronds remained perky. In the summer, they grew so high, one could take cover from the rain under the thick overlapping plants.
The edges of her vision darkened as she focused on the black line George had drawn on the map, and the men’s conversation around her faded into meaningless chatter. Like birds.
A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. So odd. She’d been warm since she entered the lodge and had even removed her damp coat before she accosted George with a hug.
But now chills settled in and her vision continued to narrow. She wobbled on her feet and made an incoherent noise as she realized she was about to faint.
Strong arms gripped her, and the buzzing voices took shape again. Xavier. Asking if she was okay.
Supporting her.
She shook her head, causing her vision to swim. Like mixing paint, the dim light of the room transformed everything to swirling shades of gray.
She could not lose consciousness. She forced herself to take a deep breath. She had to shake off the dizzy spell that had wrapped around her without warning.
“I’m…I’m fine. Just. I just. I…need to eat. I think.”