Mara Wrench's Arc

Chapter 2 of 8

Mara stepped out at dawn and felt the air bite. Snow dusted the higher trails already. If it kept falling, every boot print and broken branch would vanish. She grabbed her pack and ran for the door. The big cat trailed her up the path. Mara unfolded the drone from its case and sent it whirring into the gray sky. Its camera swept the slopes faster than her eyes ever could. She watched the small screen, breath fogging, scanning for color against the white. At the upper ridge, the old stone bell tower loomed through the flurries. She rang it twice. The sound rolled across the valley, warning any hiker still moving that a search was live. The cat sat beside her, ears forward. The drone pinged. Mara squinted at the feed. A weathered waypost stood half-buried in fresh snow, a faded red cloth flapping at its top. Carved initials matched a name on her board. She marked the coordinates with shaking fingers. She pushed down the slope before the snow could swallow the post. The cat bounded ahead, clearing a path. At the marker, she found a torn strap snagged in the wood. Someone had been here. Someone had gone further. Mara pocketed the strap and looked at the white wall of trees beyond. She had a direction now. But the snow was thickening, and whoever left this had walked into worse.