Emmett

Emmett lacked all desire to walk any further from the cabin than he had to. From the closest clearing, the sun-bleached roof peeked between the trees. Emmett glanced up from the phone's screen every couple of seconds to make sure he didn't lose sight of it. Even staying in line of sight was still too far away for his liking, especially given one of them had just disappeared in the woods and reemerged decades older.

He hated the idea of aging. His twenties and thirties had been a chaotic cycle of gain and loss. If he suddenly turned sixty today, he would be in the negative. If he was killed here, he would die on this mountain in the negative. His lack of legacy had haunted him ever since he stumbled upon the bones around the shrine. His mortality—something he'd never denied, but never expected to face so soon—lurked behind trees, hovering just above the ground like a mist.

Not knowing the source of the danger was the worst part.

Emmett extended the antenna and booted the phone. It locked onto GPS, and two signal bars blinked back at him, which wasn't worth getting his hopes up. Both Siena and Cam had called out, too. It hadn't gotten them anywhere.

Emmett could count the phone numbers he knew by heart on his hand. Nine-one-one had proven useless to them over and over, as had all the numbers listed on the back of the phone. He'd already tried his parents several times to no avail.

There was one more number he hadn't tried yet. He'd memorized the digits last year, when he'd made the call from lab landlines and other places in the maze of university offices with poor service. And he was supposed to check in halfway through the trip anyway, he just hated calling when he didn't need to. The residual guilt always left him sick.

Emmett dialed a double-zero, the country code, and the number. He held the phone to his ear and shut his eyes, blocking his view of the cabin.

The phone connected and rang.

"This is Cora for Mr. Belmont, how can I help you?"

Emmett's eyes popped open. "Cora?"

"Emmett? You aren't supposed to check in for another week."

"Cora, listen to me. I'm stranded on Mount Agnes. It's a long story but someone is really hurt. I need you to call 911 and get a helicopter out to us."

There was a long pause. He checked the screen of the phone to make sure the call was still connected.

"Cora?"

"I... I don't think I can do that. It isn't protocol."

Anger and panic flared in his chest. "What the hell do you mean, it isn't protocol?"

"All emergency plans must be set by the board for these types of things, and Mr. Belmont didn't approve one for this expedition."

"Well, that was fucking stupid, wasn't it?" Emmett said through gritted teeth. His jaw was clenched tight enough to crack a molar.

Cora's voice dropped. "You can't say stuff like that on this line!"

"Did you not just hear what I said? I'm stranded. Someone's hurt. This is the first time we've been able to reach anyone who can help!" Emmett took a breath, remembering the man this assistant worked for, and tried again. "We already have data, which will be lost if we don't get out of here."

"Alright, alright," said Cora. "Let's see... looks like his two o'clock ended early. I'll try putting you through, but no promises."

Emmett released his breath. "Thank you."

The line fell quiet. He checked the face of the phone again to make sure the connection didn't drop.

"Emmett," came a sultry, delighted voice. It wouldn't matter if you told him the apocalypse was nigh; Emmett's boss always sounded delighted.

"Hi, Brock." Belmont insisted Emmett call him by his first name, perhaps a way to establish trust. He was about to see how far that trust could get him.

"Cora relayed your predicament."

"The summarized version. Something is wrong with our phone, and I don't want to waste time explaining everything, but one of our team is injured, and we need to get airlifted out."

"Who is injured?"

Why does it matter?Emmett wanted to ask, but Belmont valued patience from his reports above all else. "Isaac Perez."

Belmont hummed. "I can imagine how dangerous this must feel."

"No offense, sir, but I don't think you can. There is something wrong with—"

He cut Emmett off. "You'd be surprised. Unfortunately, I need you to stay on the mountain."

Emmett stopped short in his pacing. "I'm sorry, what?"

"It is vital you stay on Agnes, for now. We will reevaluate after three more weeks. I understand that with an injured researcher, the morale of the team must be low. I hope I can trust you to keep them in high spirits and keep them put, Ms. Dupont specifically."

"Dr. Dupont," Emmett corrected.

"My apologies."

"Why?" Emmett's voice trembled. "Why do we need to stay? Our research is at a standstill. Everyone's life is at risk. This isn't worth some glacier data!"

"You're right. You are a smart man, Emmett. You've made a lot of sacrifices for COtwo Industries, even your relationship."

A metal bat to his stomach would have hurt less. He struggled for air like the wind had been knocked from him. "I would have done things differently if I knew—"

"I would not be asking you to continue the expedition if all I cared about was glacial carbon emissions."

Emmett's head swam. Glacial carbon emissions had always been the one reason COtwo was involved in this project. He'd even helped draft the paperwork and put forth the grueling amount of effort to convince Cam to take the grant.

"You need to convince Ms. Dupont to stay on the mountain. Know that I hate informing you your tenure at COtwo is at stake. More than that, I suppose, if you really can't escape Deadswitch Wilderness without my help. You are a valuable asset, Emmett. It would be a shame to lose you."

There was another pause, and Emmett thought the connection dropped before he added, "Consider your midpoint check-in complete. Do not call back."

Mr. Belmont hung up.