Dark Mountain by Jeff Carson

Author:Jeff Carson [Carson, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
Publisher: Calibre
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

6:04 p.m.

Wolf’s head hit the Explorer’s ceiling as he barreled through another pothole.

He’d made the drive up and over Williams Pass in record time, passing every vehicle he came upon without hesitation. The descent past the Cold Lake turnoff and into the Ashland Valley was where he could really open up the engine, and where he’d clocked himself going over a hundred and twenty miles per hour with the windshield lights twirling and siren screaming.

That stretch of relatively flat, straight road had been short-lived, however, because the location he had to find was up a county road that shot west off Highway 734.

County Road 997 was a 17.3 mile stretch of road that burrowed its way into steep mountains, gaining a lot of altitude in its short distance. What started as flat dirt climbed to rocky switchbacks, and now he was in dense forest and had seen smoother ground in bombing ranges.

More than a few miles an hour would risk catastrophic vehicle damage. Over and again, he had to creep to a complete stop to pass over some of the rocks without tearing a hole in something vital on the bottom of the SUV.

According to his Garmin GPS, he only had two miles to go, but he swore he could’ve walked faster, and after another few minutes at crawling speed he was prepared to pull over and do just that. But the road mercifully smoothed for the last mile and he glided further up the valley at just under ten miles per hour.

Finally, he came to the end of the line—a small clearing where the road stopped and a narrow trail up into the trees began. A brown sign, pitted by a shotgun blast, said Dark Mountain Lake—4.7 miles.

He parked and got out into air that felt thin, even to a Colorado native who’d lived in the Rockies all his life. A chill burrowed into his jacket. The lead-colored sky darkened by the second and a low rumble of thunder came from up a steep-walled valley that lay in front of him.

Wasting no time, he zipped up his jacket and tightened his boot laces for the hike. He put on his backpack, which contained his emergency dry clothing, the Garmin GPS, and Fabian’s fetid gear for good measure.

He shouldered the M4, put a hand on his Glock, pocketed his multitool, and locked his SUV, hoping he would see it again.

With a hard exhale, he marched past the sign into the dripping forest.

Right. Left. Right. Left.

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