Page 15 of Searching Blind

There was silence except for the distant sound of rocks still tumbling down the unstable mountainside, and then Lucy responded, her voice taut. “We don’t know that. It could be from anywhere. It’s most likely animal blood. She probably found a dead deer or something while we were distracted with Maya.”

But Sawyer knew Zelda, and Zelda didn’t roam. She didn’t abandon her charge to go sniff out carrion. She didn’t leave his side unless commanded… or unless she saw a friend in need of help.

A friend like Pierce.

Sawyer lifted his head and squinted at the blurred shapes around him, trying to force them into focus. If Pierce was somewhere nearby, he wouldn’t be able to call for help. And if they walked away…

He couldn’t bear that thought. He’d already buried too many friends. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—leave Pierce alone and injured.

chapter

five

“We need to search the nearby area,” Sawyer said, his voice firm despite the worry gnawing at his insides.

Lucy took a moment before answering, her tone unreadable. “We need to get Maya and Joel to the tower.”

His hand tightened around Zelda’s harness. “I have to look.”

A silence hung between them, heavy as the mountain looming overhead.

Finally, Lucy sighed, her exhaustion evident even in that small sound. “We don’t even know Pierce is up here.”

“But we don’t know for sure he isn’t, and he could be injured. He can’t speak, so he wouldn’t be able to call for help.”

Lucy hesitated again before she muttered a low curse under her breath. “All right. Ten minutes. It’s all we can risk.”

Ten minutes was better than nothing.

Turning to Zelda, he smoothed his hand over her head and whispered commands in her ear. Her tail thumped the ground twice in response before she shot off in the direction from which she’d returned. Sawyer gripped his spare hiking pole tighter and followed her with a determination born of desperation.

“Everyone, wait here,” Lucy called to the group. “We’ll be back in ten minutes.”

They traced their path back to the fallen tree, Zelda leading the way with an uncanny sureness that Sawyer had learned to trust long ago. Every so often, she would stop and sniff at the ground, her body tensing before she picked up the trail again.

The mountain loomed ominously in Sawyer’s limited vision, its jagged silhouette like an insurmountable wall.

“Sawyer,” Lucy’s voice was low, gentle like she didn’t want to upset him. “We’re running out of time.”

“We have a few minutes left,” he countered, unwilling to abandon their search just yet. Two minutes were as good as two hours if it meant finding Pierce. His hand grazed the coarse bark of a pine as they moved through the underbrush.

A yelp pierced the stillness around them.

“Zelda!” Sawyer called out, fear creeping into his voice. “Zelda!”

The barks were more urgent now, a frantic symphony that echoed from the dense forest. Without thinking, Sawyer surged forward, putting all his trust in his remaining senses to guide him. He heard Lucy shout after him, but he was already gone, following the single-minded drive to find his dog and possibly his friend.

He stumbled and fell, hands sinking into a bed of damp leaves and slick mud. He wiped it off on his trousers and pushed himself back up, not caring about the grit that lodged itself underneath his nails or the twigs scraping against his already-blistered hands.

“Sawyer! Wait!” Lucy skidded to a halt next to him, gasping for breath. Her hand was warm on his arm, steadying him.

“Where is she?” he asked, his voice tight with worry. “Where’s my dog?”

Lucy didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he heard the rustle of leaves and the crack of twigs underfoot as she moved ahead. After what felt like an eternity, her voice floated back. “Here.”

Sawyer followed her voice until he bumped into her, reaching out tentatively to find Zelda’s form on the ground. He ran his hands along her fur, noting the steady rise and fall of her chest. She was fine. Then, his fingers brushed against something wet and warm - more blood, but this time it wasn’t just smeared on her coat. His heart clenched in his chest as he traced the source to a shallow cut on Zelda’s foreleg.

“She must have run into a sharp branch or something,” Lucy said gently, coming up behind him. “It’s not deep. She’ll be okay.”

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