Page 66 of Protecting the Flame

“You do realize Hunter’s trapped, right?”

“What does that have to do with this?”

“Everything. You’d be drawing in wolves using human scent and blood as bait. Fine, they’re only Burke’s bloody clothes, but the wolves won’t differentiate. If we do this, someone has to be with Hunter all the time, which means that person gets the gun. But the fuselage isn’t that far away. All those wolves have to do is follow their noses.”

“You’ve been reading too much Jack London. Wolves don’t operate like that.”

“Mountain lions do.”

She hadn’t considered that. “Well, look, do you have a better idea? If we don’t bring the game to us, that means we have to go get it and if someone has to do that, that means that person will need a weapon, and we only have one. Since you don’t want to split up, that means we starve. If we stay, a wolf’s all we’ve got.”

“Unless a rescue team comes.”

“We’re still talking about that? Listen to me. Hunter would be a sitting duck, no matter what. How close are you guys to getting him out?” She got only the crackle of dead air and thought, Shit. “Are you serious, Will? You can’t?”

“I’m not done trying yet.”

That didn’t sound hopeful. “Did you ever see that James Franco movie?”

“The one about Ralston?” Another pause. “Yeah, and I heard him speak at a conference. That was a much different situation.”

“How? Hunter’s legs are already starting to rot. I could smell it. So it’s not different.”

“No, it is, actually, because of two things. First off, the bones Ralston had to break were in his forearm not his leg. The ulna and radius aren’t as thick; they’re easier to break. But you have to stand on your legs and walk around. By definition, those bones must be thicker and stronger. Second, the mechanics were on Ralston’s side. Because he was literally trapped between a rock and a hard place, it was as if his arm was in a vise. He was able to use torque to break it, but to do that, he had to be able to move the rest of his body. Hunter can’t do that at all. See what I’m saying? I would have to figure a way to break both his legs and then amputate, but I…Jesus, Emma, I’m not a surgeon. I used to push drugs to kill cancers, not cut them out.”

“You think Ralston was a surgeon?” It was brutal, but it wasn’t like they had a ton of options here. “He broke the bones, he put on a tourniquet, he cut off his arm, and he got out. We’re not talking neurosurgery, Will. We’re talking giving Hunter a fighting chance and getting the hell out of here. He wouldn’t be able to walk even if you could get him out, right? So we’re going to be carrying him out, no matter what. How much longer can Hunter last if we don’t get him out?”

“Another couple of days, maybe three. It’s the hypothermia that’s going to kill him before the sepsis can. I can warm him up a little but not enough. Even if we get him out now, I’m not sure he’ll make it. He needs antibiotics, debridement.” Will gave a bleak laugh. “The guy needs an entire trauma team. Where the hell are the planes, the rescue? I don’t get it, I don’t get it!”

“I’m telling you, that drone was weird. It might not be related to a rescue or even the crash at all. What if it was…I don’t know…some guy somewhere?”

“Who wouldn’t notify anyone?”

“If his drone is illegal, maybe he wouldn’t.” That hadn’t occurred to her either until this second.

“But how did it find us?”

“The ELT?” Then she thought, Uh-oh. “Will, if that’s true…”

“Yeah, I know. If that drone homed in on the transponder, why hasn’t anyone else?”

“So it could be a true, true unrelated. Yeah, we crashed. Yeah, there’s a drone.”

“And neither has anything to do with the other.” A pause. “If we could only get to the thing and see if it’s working.”

“But we need a—” She stopped talking.

“Emma?”

Oh, my God. “Hang on a second, Will.” She didn’t want to jinx anything by saying what she was thinking out loud. Following her flashlight, she made her way around to rear of the plane and fanned her light over the tail.

The antenna was as she’d found it days ago: a slim white stalk with a bulbous end protruding from the plane about a foot away from the tail and rudder assembly. Below the antenna and along the left hand side of this section was a panel one find might covering a wall safe but instead of a combination, the panel was secured via lock and key. It can’t be that simple. Dipping a hand into a pocket, she came out with the watch chain to which was attached that fob, the watch key… And you.

“Emma?”

“Hang on,” she said again. The steel key winked a dull silver. Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier? Maybe being half-starving and dealing with a guy in pieces had something to do with it. But I’m here now. She eyed the panel lock. There was no way to tell by looking. Sliding the key home, listening to the slight chatter of metal teeth against metal, she thought, You watch, it won’t work.

But the key turned.

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