Chapter 380

The rain intensified. With a small flashlight clenched between his teeth, Soren clung to the thick vines covering the cliff face, carefully finding his footing as he made his way down.

Visibility was getting worse. He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. He paused, swinging the beam of the flashlight. In the distance, the small, glinting object he’d spotted earlier flashed again.

Good. It hadn’t been washed away.

Soren let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He was closer now, but he still couldn’t make out what it was, only that it was likely metal.

After a brief rest, he put the flashlight back in his mouth and continued his descent.

He lost track of time before he finally reached a ledge near the object. It was still a few feet to his left, out of reach from the vine. Squinting through the rain, he finally found a stable-looking rock to use as a foothold. Gripping the vine with one hand, he strained, stretching his body out until his fingers brushed against the object. He managed to snatch it.

Returning to his position, he opened his palm. It was a small ring.

He recognized it instantly. It was the ring Finn had given Evangeline-her mother’s heirloom.

A wave of conflicting emotions washed over him, but he pushed them aside. This was confirmation. Evangeline had to be further down.

Soren pulled out his satellite phone to contact Glenn, but there was no signal. He tried the walkie-talkie next, but the only response was a crackle of static.

“Is anyone there?” he yelled upwards, his voice swallowed by the vast, empty valley, only an echo returning.

In his haste to find Evangeline, he hadn’t noticed that the rest of his team had already gone back. It was only now that he realized he was utterly alone, the cavernous space around him a pit of darkness, illuminated only by the weak beam of his flashlight.

Fear, cold and immediate, wrapped around him. Soren was afraid of the dark, and a chill ran down his spine.

His first instinct was to climb back up. But as he prepared to move, ke gave the vine a tentative tug. It was still taut, leading further down i into the abyss. He hadnt reached the bottom yet.

He could find more clues, maybe even Evangeline herself. But what if he found them, and they were… dead? He couldn’t possibly carry them back alone.

Soren froze, caught between going back for help and pressing forward alone.

The rain grew heavier. The image from his nightmare-of wild animals tearing at her flashed in his mind. He gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on the vine, and continued down.

*Evangeline, I owe you for this,* he thought, a mix of anger and grim determination fueling him.

Fighting his fear, Soren moved as carefully as he could, but the relentless storm blurred his vision He placed his foot on another rock, and then it happened-either he misstepped or the rain had loosened it from the cliff face. The rock gave way With a cry of alam, he lost his footing and plunged into the

darkness below.

At the bottom of the ravine, days had passed with no sign of rescue. Evangeline and

Finn had decided to try and find their way back on their own.

But on the day they were meant to leave, Finn’s hand wound became infected, and

he collapsed with a raging fever.

It hadn’t really been sudden. He’d probably been feverish for a while but hadn’t said anything, and

Evangeline exhausted and

terrified,

hadn’t noticed his deteriorating condition until he passed out.

She had no choice but to abandon their plan. She stayed by his side, tending to him

as best she could, waiting for the fever to break.