Chapter 10 Havoc
Havoc
The mountain goes quiet once the sun drops.
Not silent.
Just different.
The wind moves through the trees like someone whispering.
Branches crack under boots.
Buddy pulls ahead, nose low to the ground, tail straight like an arrow.
The dog knows exactly what he’s doing.
Dylan walks beside me, gripping the leash with both hands.
Aspen stays close behind us.
I can hear her breathing.
Steady.
Controlled.
But she’s tired.
Too tired for this.
“You hike much?” I ask quietly.
“Not lately,” she admits.
“Stay on my left.”
“Why?”
“So if you fall, I can catch you.”
She doesn’t answer.
But a second later she moves exactly where I told her.
Smart woman.
Up ahead, Wolf’s voice crackles over the radio.
“Tracks confirmed. He definitely came this way. I found his other house shoe.”
Buddy barks once.
Sharp.
Excited.
Dylan lights up.
“He smells him!”
Aspen presses a hand to her mouth.
Hope.
Dangerous thing.
Buddy pulls again, dragging Dylan a few feet forward.
I steady the kid.
“Easy, Ranger.”
Dylan grins.
“You called him Ranger.”
I look down at the dog.
“That’s the name Saint gave him. We’ll stick with Buddy.”
Buddy wags like he knows what I just said.
We keep moving.
The trail gets steeper.
Rocks shift under our boots.
Branches scrape against jackets.
Aspen stumbles once.
I grab her arm automatically.
She freezes for a second.
Then whispers, “Thanks.”
Her hand is warm.
I don’t let go right away.
“Your husband,” I say quietly after a moment.
She stiffens.
“What about him?”
“He was a great rescuer.”
She chuckled.
“He told me once he could carry two guys at once during training.”
I almost laugh.
That’s exactly something Tank would do.
“He must’ve been a good man to you and Dylan,” I say.
Aspen’s voice gets quiet.
“He was the best man I ever knew.”
The mountain wind moves through the trees.
For a second I swear I can hear Tank’s voice somewhere in the past.
Laughing.
Calling someone an idiot.
Buddy suddenly barks again.
Loud.
Urgent.
Wolf’s voice crackles through the radio.
“I see him!”
Aspen gasps.
“Grandpa?”
“Hold position,” Wolf says.
But Buddy is already pulling hard toward the sound.
And Dylan is running with him.