"Here," Kari said, pointing."This area, about eight miles northeast of the main trails.It's remote, the terrain is brutal, and according to Brightwater's notes, it has personal significance to him."
Maria studied the location."That's rough country.No established trails, exposed ridgelines, washes that turn into ovens in the afternoon heat."
"Exactly.That's where he'd take someone for 'transcendence.'"Kari looked at her watch.Almost two PM.Torres had been running for over eight hours.If he was still alive, he was in serious trouble."Get the search teams moving toward this area.But tell them to approach carefully.If Brightwater's with Torres, I don't want to spook him into doing something desperate."
As Maria coordinated with search and rescue, Kari made a decision that went against every protocol in the book.She couldn't wait for coordinated teams to slowly work their way through miles of desert.Torres didn't have that kind of time, and if Brightwater saw a large search operation approaching, he might kill Torres and disappear into the wilderness.
She needed to go in alone, use her knowledge of the desert and her understanding of Brightwater's beliefs to find them before it was too late.
"I'm going ahead," she told Maria."Give me a thirty-minute head start, then bring the teams in behind me."
"Kari, that's—"
"Not up for debate.I know this kind of terrain, and I understand what Brightwater thinks he's doing.If anyone can talk him down, it's me."She grabbed water bottles from her vehicle, checked her sidearm, and pulled on a hat to protect against the brutal afternoon sun."Thirty minutes.Then follow."
She didn't wait for Maria's response, just started moving toward the area Brightwater had marked as sacred ground.
The terrain was immediately challenging: loose rock, steep climbs, and exposure to the sun that felt like a physical assault.Kari settled into a pace she could sustain, conserving energy while covering ground as quickly as possible.
Her grandmother's voice echoed in her mind as she climbed:The desert teaches balance.It gives water and takes water.It offers shelter and demands respect.Those who push too hard, who demand rather than ask, they learn the desert's harshest lessons.
Brightwater had learned the desert's harshest lesson during his catastrophic collapse five years ago.But his damaged brain had interpreted that lesson backward, had turned a warning into a mission.Now he was teaching the same twisted lesson to others, believing he was elevating them when he was actually killing them.
Kari navigated by landmarks and instinct, heading toward the remote area Brightwater had marked.She watched for tracks, for any sign of passage, but the rocky terrain revealed little.Still, she pushed on, trusting her understanding of where Brightwater's beliefs would take him.
After forty minutes of brutal hiking, she found footprints—two sets, both running shoes, one set showing the irregular gait pattern she recognized from the crime scenes.Brightwater and Torres, the tracks fresh enough that they couldn't be more than an hour or two old.
She followed the prints into a narrow canyon where the walls trapped heat and reflected it back with suffocating intensity.Her shirt was soaked with sweat, her water already half-gone.She forced herself to drink anyway, knowing dehydration would make her useless to Torres if she found him.
The canyon opened into a wider basin surrounded by rust-colored cliffs.And there, in the center of that brutal amphitheater, Kari saw them.
Michael Torres lay on his side, positioned with the same careful arrangement Kari had seen at every other crime scene.But unlike the others, Torres was still breathing—shallow, labored breaths that suggested his body was on the edge of complete failure.
And standing over him, running shoes worn from miles of pursuit, was Thomas Brightwater.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Kari's hand went to her sidearm the moment she spotted them in the basin.She drew her weapon smoothly, keeping it aimed at Brightwater as she moved forward.
"Thomas Brightwater!Police!Step away from him and put your hands where I can see them!"
Brightwater turned at the sound of her voice, but instead of stepping back, he moved closer to Torres, dropping into a crouch beside the collapsed runner.His hand went to Torres's throat.
"Don't," Brightwater said calmly."If you pull that trigger, I'll crush his trachea.You might think I won't have time, but how sure are you?"
Kari stopped advancing, keeping her weapon trained on Brightwater but unable to take the shot.He was too close to Torres, positioned so that any bullet that hit him would risk hitting Torres too, or his falling body would crush the already-dying man.
"Move away from him," Kari ordered."Do it now."
"I can't do that."Brightwater's voice was eerily calm."Michael is at the threshold.The sacred moment when the body releases the spirit.I need to be here to guide him through it."
Kari considered the best way to get through to him."Medical help is on the way.Let me get him water, let me help him, and we can talk about whatever you think is happening."
"What I think is happening?"Brightwater's hand remained at Torres's throat—not pressing, just resting there, a constant reminder that he could end Torres's life in seconds if Kari tried anything."This is transcendence.This is the gift I was given five years ago, and now I'm sharing it."
Kari's mind raced through her options.She couldn't rush him in time, couldn't risk shooting, not while there were other options available.The best thing right now was to stall and wait for backup.
"Tell me about five years ago," she said, lowering her weapon."Tell me what happened during the Desert Sky 100."
