Holden

HOLDEN

The Fort burst with the energy of a collective nervous wreck.

Maidei and Zaid tag teamed monitoring the feeds to the cameras Zaid had set up all over Deadswitch Wilderness, trying to pinpoint locations of anyone in the woods, SAR or not. They sat at one end of the long table in the Hub while Tiffany stood at the other, a topographical map spread in front of her. The walkie perched on her hip spouted chatter from several fire watch towers. She pressed thumbtacks into the map, tracking the spread.

"If we had the drone, this would be so much easier," Zaid lamented. He still hadn't figured out a way to reactivate it remotely since it died flying over the research cabin. Wherever it had crash-landed, it was about to get a little crispy.

"Not something we need to worry about now," Maidei reminded Zaid, adjusting her wire-framed glasses as she shuffled through the feeds on her screen.

Angel sat near Tiffany, borrowing one of Zaid's laptops to build a database and dashboard for emergency response. She smashed the refresh button on an aerial image that refused to load. "This satellite internet is shit, Zaid."

Zaid still clenched his long, unruly hair in both fists, tugging. "Don't blame me, blame the billionaires. "

Angel only grunted, grabbing the mug passed to her. He busied himself brewing fresh coffee. After learning no one had eaten all day, he also whipped together pigs in a blanket from stale flour and cans of Vienna sausages lying around in the pantry. He fielded some of Angel's database questions as the food baked, and reviewed the spreadsheet for errors between loads of laundry. The bed linens needed to be washed in case any evacuees landed here for shelter.

As he laid out a few snack-filled plates, static burst from a second walkie lying on the table. "This is Frank. Anyone copy?"

Angel snatched up the walkie. "What's up, Frank? Umm... over."

"Chopper located Clyde and Diego on Agnes and evacuated them without issue. Both are fine—no smoke inhalation or anything—so they're being dropped off at a local assembly point. I'm picking them up now."

"That's good news," Tiffany said.

Frank continued. "The part of the team headed over to Lucille is in less danger, but their plan to hike north is out of the question. Diego and I will reconvene in the morning to figure out next steps. We'll need to reallocate people and resources to Warm Zones."

Hot Zone, Warm Zone... wished he'd taken two minutes to catch up on wildfire lingo.

Maidei seemed to understand, and held out her hand for the walkie, which Angel passed over. She tucked a few braids behind her ear before pressing the call button. "Frank, it's Maidei. How big of a Hot Zone are we talking about?"

"Around ten thousand acres. Only Cal Fire allowed between Dogstooth Lake and Agnes."

followed Tiffany's finger as she pointed to Dogstooth Lake west of Mount Agnes. "No one's allowed in this area except for firefighters," she said, as though sensing needed a blatant explanation .

"What about the research team?" asked, and caught Maidei's eyes, who frowned.

"What are the plans for the research team investigation?" Radio silence met Maidei's question, so she added, "Over."

Frank finally responded. "I... don't know yet. Rescuer safety needs to be taken into consideration. We'll know more tomorrow."

"Copy that," she muttered.

Apprehension filled and remained after everyone called it a night. Despite his exhaustion, his sleep was tumultuous. Fed up with 's tossing and turning, Francis left the bed around midnight to sleep on the floor.

Contentious conversation filtered into the attic at dawn, waking . He threw on clothes and hurried downstairs. Frank had arrived with Clyde and Diego, both thankfully unsinged.

Diego pressed his palms against the tabletop as he leaned forward. "Everything about our strategy needs to be reconsidered."

"The only thing the fire changes is that there should be more of an effort to find them!" Clyde paced by the windows, rubbing his eyes. "They are the only ones with a permit registered inside the Hot Zone. They're the highest priority."

"That isn't how it works," Diego said. "Highest priority goes to anyone in Warm Zones. Hikers, rangers, and anyone else surrounding the fire is at risk if the wind changes, and evacuating them won't kill my team."

Clyde dropped his hand, his eyes rimmed red. "What about my daughter ?"

Diego raised his voice. "We were there, Clyde. You saw as well as I did. That cabin hasn't been touched in years."

"You went to the cabin?" blurted.

Neither responded immediately as Clyde glowered at Diego with fists clenched, his demeanor completely different from the man who'd lent his boots.

"Yes," Diego said. "We consolidated gear and hiked through the night. Made it to the cabin a little after the fire started."

If was mathing right, they'd cleared over forty miles in two days. And Clyde had to be thirty years older than , who'd almost passed out at mile eighteen.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself . Only one person here had discovered Siena's audio files. That was his strength. Not scaling mountains.

"So Cam, Siena, the others... they could be in the Warm Zone, too."

"That's where my money is." Diego straightened up and crossed his arms, hesitantly watching Clyde, who'd stopped his pacing and now stared at . Desperation glinted in his eyes; he was looking to for hope.

Siena hadn't mentioned another location in her recordings, but that didn't mean another location didn't exist. "Clyde, do you know anything about your daughter's project?"

Clyde's throat bobbed as he swallowed. "I should have been paying closer attention to her career."

"I've been over this with Frank." Diego swept his hand over the Wolf Ridge portion of the map. "He called the school. No one knows of any other location or cabin in the woods they would have wanted to visit."

"No other glaciers?" asked.

"Not within hiking distance."

Tiffany entered the Hub, freshly showered and carrying her boots.

"Where are you going?" Diego's tone bordered on accusatory, prompting a raised eyebrow from Tiffany.

"Down to the station. Going to help Frank with supply runs." She sat, slipped her feet into her boots, and tied her laces. She was at ease here, in these hills. She'd been here with her father all those years ago, spending time in that little cabin near Glass Lake. Tiffany knew the woods. She was the one to ask.

"Tiffany," began, "are there any other places your dad would have wanted the team to visit? Anywhere else he spent time?"

A hint of suspicion passed over Tiffany's face, disappearing so quickly that must have imagined it.

She tied her second boot and sat up. "I don't know. He didn't really talk to me about the details of his work." She placed her hands on her knees and bit the corner of her bottom lip. "But Siena did, once. Not a place my dad visited, but somewhere she wanted to go."

Clyde swiveled toward her. "Where?"

"The High Sierra Conservationists' cabin—the group to which her mother belonged. Southeast of Mount Lucille, so a bit out of the way. You can't get there easily from Glass Lake Trailhead. They would have had to bushwhack through the valley." Tiffany shrugged. "But if there's no evidence the team hiked up Wolf Ridge, it wouldn't hurt to look if it's safe."

Diego nodded. "Our SAR team's north of there. Their original trajectory toward Mount Charlotte is no longer safe. I can send them south toward the conservationists' cabin." Clyde's shoulders sagged in relief, and Diego added, "There's no guarantee we'll find anything."

"But it's something," Clyde said. "I just don't want to stop looking. That's all I want."

Diego gave a small nod, as if to tell him good job . Tiffany was the one who'd mentioned the cabin. had done little but ask the right question, but maybe it was questions, not answers, they needed right now. Seeds of hope.

The solutions would come later.

Tiffany and Clyde left to hike down to the station, Tiffany to help Frank, and Clyde to call Teresa with updates. Diego took his walkie outside to relay the new orders to the SAR team, and ventured upstairs in hopes of a shower. Unfortunately for him, Angel was hogging the only clean bathroom. He waited in the hall for a few minutes as she sang some pop song at the top of her lungs .

Maidei's door stood open. Now was as good a time as any to tell her about the change in SAR plans.

She folded a pile of clothes on the bed as he entered, placing each garment in an open suitcase.

"You're leaving?" he asked.

She glanced up, and then wordlessly continued folding.

"Sorry." He didn't know why he was apologizing—it just felt like the right thing to do. She was here because of him, wasn't she?

No. She was here because this place haunted her. Deadswitch had taken a part of her she couldn't get back, not without answers.

"I came to convince Frank to believe you." Maidei folded the last shirt and laid it in the suitcase, then closed it. "And I did that. Huang—my husband—is more understanding than I deserve. And my son is going away to college. I need to be home."

He understood, but Maidei wasn't giving herself enough credit.

"I saw our friend again," he said.

She took a deep breath when she looked at him, her eyes cautious but patient.

"Up on the trail," said. "Right before I came back down. I thought... I mean, I could have been hallucinating."

"Your buck?" Maidei asked, and nodded.

Right before saw Siena in the drone footage, had told Maidei about a buck made of shadow that he'd seen at the ranger station. She'd told him about getting lost in the Deadswitch frontcountry for days as a shadow stalked her. They had meant to return to the conversation.

"You aren't only here for the research team," said. "And you aren't only here to help me."

Maidei jerked the zipper around her suitcase. "If this is your way of convincing me to stay, it won't work."

"No one believed you fifteen years ago. Your funding was stripped, even though you cared about what you found, didn't you? Those pines spread like a virus, and you told me—what was it? You found something that could change our fundamental understanding of biology."

"What Zaid and I found has nothing to do with what I saw when I was lost." Maidei spoke with rapid frustration. "And nothing to do with Dr. Siena Dupont's disappearance, nor the imaginary study you found on that drive. Even our shadows could be different things, or coincidental hallucinations."

"But what if it's all related?" If Tiffany hadn't entered the Hub this morning, wouldn't have thought to ask her about other locations in the woods. They wouldn't have learned about the conservationists' cabin. "You and Zaid have studied Deadswitch in a way no one else has. You may still know things that can help."

"And Zaid is staying. He pretty much lives here."

"Zaid didn't disappear in the woods like you did." Zaid also didn't seem to care about anything other than his own tech, though forwent mentioning that part.

"Correlation doesn't equal causation, . It's one of the first things you learn as a scientist."

"I'm not a scientist." It was a dumb retort, but to his surprise, a smile broke through Maidei's irritation.

"No, you aren't. If you were, you'd be far less likely to act on your conclusions so impulsively." It sounded like an insult, though her eyes were soft. "You can reach me by phone via the ranger station if you need me."

"You..." He drifted off, shaking his head. By her expression, nothing would convince her to stay, and that made him feel... sad? Hollow? The emotion was almost overwhelming, and he didn't understand it. Maidei had a family. All he knew of her was what he'd learned over the past few weeks, and yet he wanted her to stay. He wanted everyone to stay. Rooming with all these people in this ugly huge house, being part of a group... it felt right . Which was silly, and borderline childish. He was just lonely. He'd been lonely for a long time.

"Can you stay a few more days?" he asked. "Please? I won't ask you to stay longer than that. I just..." He didn't have a convincing argument to keep her here. Soon, he wouldn't have a reason to stay here either, especially if the fire spread and the rescue mission switched to recovery. There were no more leads, nothing he could do to help.

Except .

She watched him in silence, probably waiting for him to collect himself from an apparent brain fart.

"Think about it," he finally said. "Please."

She nodded. "Okay, . I'll think about it."

He smiled and then hurried from the room. He still had a question, not about Siena, but Avery Mathis. And sure, correlation didn't equal causation, but wasn't a scientist. He was the one searching where others were not.

He took the stairs by twos and sped out the front door. Dusty orange light filtered through the smoky atmosphere, somehow both subtle and overpowering. Diego stood in the clearing where Frank usually parked his Jeep, talking to the SAR team through a satellite phone. waited for him to finish, and when Diego noticed him, he didn't hide his annoyance.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I have a question about what you said the other night at camp." scratched the back of his head. If Diego was already annoyed just by 's presence, then this would really blow him away. "About The Mother."

"Really, kid?" Diego drawled. "That fire is zero percent contained, and this is what you want to waste my time with?"

ignored him. "You know of Avery Mathis? She disappeared with four other women seven years ago somewhere around Wolf Ridge."

"The famous one, yeah," Diego said. "What does this have to do with?—"

"Right before she disappeared, she was playing a video game set in a forest where a young girl is sacrificed to a harvest goddess called The Mother. "

Diego raised an eyebrow. "The Mother isn't a unique name for a goddess."

"Weird coincidence, though, right?"

"You trying to convince me The Mother is real or something? Seriously?" Diego snorted a laugh and strode past him. "Shouldn't have told you bedtime stories, kid. Now if you don't mind, I have people to rescue."

took a deep breath, the urge to let it go conflicting with the fact Diego was a complete and utter twat and didn't deserve for to just let it go. He spun. "This may be shocking to you, but I'm not an idiot."

Diego continued his exit, waving a dismissive hand.

pressed on. "I just wanted to know if there are any cult members left. Descendants or a modern branch, or whatever. It's a yes or no question, and I figured you'd know out of anyone. But go ahead. Go be important."

Diego slowed, casting a look over his shoulder. "What are you really asking?"

"The possibility of whether freaks living out in the woods have been—I don't know—taking part in human sacrifices, or something. Is it possible the researchers could have been kidnapped? That those women seven years ago were kidnapped?"

This caught his attention. Diego paused and turned back toward , wearing a look of alarm. He said nothing for a moment, his brow furrowed.

crossed his arms. "Don't let me keep you long. I know you're busy ."

Diego simpered, but then said, "The cult is long gone, but yeah, I suppose there could be inspired weirdos."

"They'd had to have learned something about the original cult. Spells, rituals..."

"I'm sure there's some garbage on the internet. But there is a closed exhibit at the visitor center. Was open until some locals complained about it being sacrilegious and disturbing. You know how rural people are. "

"Is it?" asked. "Disturbing, I mean."

"Depends how much of it you believe. You run along and find out. I'm sure Frank can get the nice lady at the front desk to give you a tour."

didn't give Diego the satisfaction of reacting, and the SAR lead disappeared down the trail to the station.

Even though two separate SAR teams failed to uncover anything at the cabin, Siena's audio files were proof the research team had made it to Agnes, but weren't there now. And with a wildfire raging, only one person would help him turn over every strange and culty stone.