Page 204 of Silent Shadows

Each of us has our roles assigned, working as part of the whole. Jax’s drone buzzes faintly overhead like a mechanical insect against the dark, ready to pick up the thermal signals. Maya is staying near him as his spotter and running point on comms, monitoring all of the systems. We’re all wired in so we can communicate. Behind us somewhere, the 4Runner idles along a service path, staying parallel when terrain allows while maintaining some distance. Taylor is driving and Owen is her copilot, his red flashlight illuminating his maps. Daisy and I are on foot so we can get into the cave system safely with each other as a spotter.

Maya’s voice crackles through my radio.

“Thermal’s still weird.” Her tone stays clinical as if nothing is amiss. Which means something definitely is.

“What kind of weird?” I hear Owen ask.

Pause. Then: “Annoying-weird.”

We hear Jax ask behind her. “Professionally or spiritually?”

“Shut up and keep flying,” Maya chides.

“Copy.” He laughs it off.

Beside me, Daisy adjusts the strap of her pack. Headlamp around her neck. Hair pulled into a messy ponytail. Dust already streaked across one cheek. Beautiful in a way that feels uniquely her. She fits here.

Her hand brushes mine as the trail narrows. It’s an accident, but I grab her hand anyway as we continue deeper into the moonlit brush. Stars begin appearing one by one overhead, violent in their clarity. No city haze. No noise. Just sky.

I used to think this feeling was excitement. The electric anticipation before we wrap a case. Before closure. But this feels heavier. Like standing outside a church you aren’t sure you should be allowed to enter.

The cave system reveals itself slowly as we approach. There are multiple openings carved by water into sandstone fifty feet above the wash, hidden beneath overhangs and brush, jagged and black against moonlit rock.

Daisy lets out a low whistle as we stand at the foot of the sandstone shelf, looking up at the cave mouths.

“Cool, right?” I whisper.

“If by cool, you mean murdery vibes, then yes. I’m into it.”

I smile despite myself. Her shoulder brushes mine again. This time it’s deliberate.

Maya crackles through the radio.

“We’re still not picking up anything on thermals or movement tracking. You ready to check the caves?”

I glance toward the nearest opening. Absolute black. The kind that swallows shape. It’s a short hike up the shelf, tucked under a crooked overhang and hidden by scrub.

A shiver runs over me. Excitement. Fear. Respect. It’s hard to separate them anymore.

“We’re ready,” I say quietly into the radio.

Taylor’s voice comes next. “Owen and I are moving to the east ridge. We’ll keep visual of the cave mouth.”

“Drone overhead,” Jax adds. “Unless cave demons eat your heat signature.”

“Comforting,” Daisy mutters.

Maya sighs through static. “Just stay on comms, guys.”

I clip the radio back and glance at Daisy.

“You ready?”

Moonlight catches the edge of her face. Determination sitting quietly beneath nerves.

“No,” she says honestly. “But yes.”

The climb up isn’t difficult exactly—just awkward. It’s more of a scramble with loose rock, narrow footing, and a sharp drop back into the wash below.