Page 27
“Olivia? Are you alright?”
I’ve never heard Dr. Cheng sound so rattled. “Yes, I am. The weather is getting pretty bad, though. I was just getting packed up to leave ahead of schedule.”
“That’s good. I was going to inform you the storm has been upgraded to an atmospheric river event. You need to return to town as quickly as possible.”
My stomach plummets to the floor. “Oh.”
“Oh?” His voice rises with that one word.
“Well, there’s a tree blocking my car, so I was going to hike out to a ranger hut and then—”
“Absolutely not,” Dr. Cheng interrupts me. “Olivia, you need to get out of the park now, and hiking would be far too dangerous in these conditions. There’s already flooding in some parts, and those trails will be incredibly unstable.”
“But—” I start to protest that I could at least make it to the ranger hut, making it easier for someone to come and get me, but he cuts me off again.
“No. I’m calling the local search and rescue. They can advise on the best course of action. For now, stay at the cabin and await my call.”
He ends our connection before I can say anything further.
A small part of me balks at having my choice on how to respond taken away, but the more practical side of me is grateful I don’t have to hike out in the storm. Especially if it is as bad as Dr. Cheng says.
An atmospheric river is not something I want to be caught in outside. Had I known it was going to get this bad, I would have rescheduled my trip. But the forecast I saw right before leaving two days ago showed heavy rain and wind, nothing more. Still, I know how quickly things can change.
There’s nothing for me to do now but wait for Dr. Cheng to call me back.
And worry.
Will anyone be able to reach me here? I have no idea how bad the road is in the park, to say nothing of the smaller forest service road that leads up to the cabin. If there’s one tree down here, there’s likely more elsewhere.
The call comes just a few minutes later.
“Alright, Mid-Island Ground Search and Rescue is sending in a team to get you safely out of there. They were already in the park, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer. Are you okay to wait?” Dr. Cheng says, his voice all business once again.
“Yes, of course. Thank you, Dr. Cheng.”
“We’ll debrief later this week. Take the next couple of days off, you weren’t scheduled to be in the lab anyway.”
“Will do.”
The call ends and I sink down onto the couch. Trip, who was curled up at the other end, immediately moves his wide head and rests it on my leg. The warmth from the stove and the comforting weight of Trip help me to relax. The decision on how to get out of this situation has been taken out of my hands, and now there’s nothing left to do but wait.
To my surprise, I’m not waiting nearly as long as I expected to. I use my puzzle to distract my mind, and perhaps only an hour passes before Trip lifts his head, his ears cocked toward the front of the cabin, and he lets out a single bark.
“Oh, thank god,” I breathe as I get up, filled with relief at the thought of getting out of here. But there’s no flash of headlights like I was expecting to see. Obviously, they can’t get past the log that’s blocked me from leaving. Still, their lights should shine brightly enough for me to see them, right?
Standing up, I move to the door and open it. Still no headlights, but two shapes are moving swiftly through the rain with small headlamps strapped over their hoods.
“Olivia!” A masculine voice shouts my name, and I squint to try and make out who it is. I’m assuming it’s the team from search and rescue, but the fact that they’re on foot has me hesitating for a minute.
The two individuals jog the rest of the way, their lights bouncing with each step. They close the distance quickly, coming right up to the small overhang at the door to the cabin. As soon as I can make out their faces, surprise floods me, followed quickly by relief.
“Griffin? Denver?”
14
FOXXY
I didn’t give any thought to how Olivia might react to Griff and me showing up. I was too focused on getting to her and making sure she was okay.
