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Sylvie Deering

June 2025

Wednesday — 10:49 am

T he four-wheeler jolted and bucked over the uneven terrain, its engine growling against the challenge. Sylvie gripped the small side handles tighter, trying to steady herself on the back of the vehicle as Theo expertly navigated the path. The cool day became even colder as they climbed higher, exacerbated by the harsh wind against her face. While she had a thicker jacket in the SUV, she never considered bringing a scarf, not that she had even packed one.

“Are you doing okay back there?” Theo called out over his shoulder, concern evident in his voice. Towering trees surrounded them, their foliage thickening with each passing minute. Their surroundings hinted at the possible challenges they might face ahead. “Do you need me to stop?”

“No,” Sylvie replied before cutting off a groan of frustration when her tailbone took the brunt of another hard bump. She had given up straightening her glasses a while back. “Keep going.”

Theo had tucked Mekhi's crude map, sketched on a napkin, into his pocket. They had managed to follow the rough path without interruption, though she wasn’t sure Theo had heard her initial response. He suddenly began to slow down. She peered around him and realized they had come upon the fallen tree that Mekhi had warned them about.

It presented itself more as a large wall of foliage than as a mere obstacle. So many years had passed since it had fallen that leaves and vines completely covered the trunk. It was a testament to nature's ability to reclaim its domain from any intruders.

“Looks like Mekhi wasn't joking about this trail being unused for decades,” Theo said after bringing the four-wheeler to a stop. He let the engine idle before finally shutting it down. Pulling out the napkin, he studied the drawing. “He said if we cut to the left, we should be able to make our way around it.”

Unfortunately, there was nothing but dense undergrowth to the left.

Sylvie dismounted the four-wheeler, using Theo’s back as leverage. Standing next to the off-road vehicle, she surveyed the surrounding area.

“I’ll look for a way around to the right.” Sylvie took a moment to stretch her back muscles while Theo swung his leg over the seat. The slight wince he gave suggested he wasn’t doing too well with the rough terrain, either. “You double-check the so-called trail that Mekhi mentioned would be to the left.”

“Truthfully, there probably was a way around this mess years ago. Mekhi did say that he hasn’t been up here in a while.”

Sylvie figured Theo was probably right about that assumption. She couldn’t help but wonder if his limp had something to do with the decision to stop hunting.

She headed east from their location, noticing right away the stillness of the forest. Even the rustling leaves and the sound of her footsteps seemed muffled. She couldn’t find a clear path, but there was enough space between the trees for them to possibly ride through on the four-wheeler. Twenty minutes of exploration later, she made her way back to the rendezvous point.

As she waited for Theo to return from his own search, she tried to figure out what had been bothering her about the statements in Lusa Kalluk’s case file. Sylvie glanced at the thick, overgrown tree trunk. The sight of such an obstacle finally reminded her of a specific detail that hadn’t been given a full explanation.

The officer had noted that the main road to Whittier had been blocked off from Blackpeak, which led him to assume that Lusa and her abductor had likely still been in the immediate area. Clearly, the search had not yielded any results. Not even the families' pleas on local and national television had produced a solid lead.

What kind of accident had taken place to force the police to shut down the only accessible road in or out of the area?

Sylvie reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulling out her phone. Unfortunately, she was met with the stark reality that there was no cell service this far away from town.

“Any luck?” Theo called out after he returned from his search.

“Yes, but it certainly isn’t a straight path. What about you?”

"A few more trees were knocked down, blocking a significant portion of the woods at least thirty yards in. They were likely loosened years ago when this giant fell,” Theo said, gesturing toward the fallen tree. "In any case, we’re not getting through on that side.”

“Not to get off track here,” Sylvie said, catching Theo’s smirk at her pun. With everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, it was nice to experience some levity. “I know you read over Lusa Kalluk’s missing persons file, but did anything odd stick out to you?”

“Not really. There wasn’t much there.” Theo carefully folded the napkin and tucked it securely into his pocket. “Lusa was out at a local bar in Blackpeak on a Friday night, excused herself to use the restroom, and was never seen again. No one at the bar witnessed anything unusual.”

“The main road to Whittier was shut down that night for hours. The officer was convinced Lusa and her abductor couldn’t have gone far from the bar, but the reason for the road closure was never noted in the file.”

“You’re thinking it was some kind of diversion?”

“Maybe,” Sylvie murmured, recalling the details of the report. “If Brook’s right, this entire trip is a diversion. Unfortunately, I have no cell service up here, so I have no way to reach Bit to check it out.”

“We’ll touch base with him as soon as we return to Silverton.” Theo focused on the area that she had just canvassed. “How certain are you that we can get this ATV through that mess?”

“Ninety-nine percent sure.” Sylvie tucked her cell phone into her back pocket and pointed to the left. “There's probably enough space between the trees for us to get to the other side, but it's going to be rough terrain. I think we’ll be fine.”

Sylvie waited until Theo had mounted the four-wheeler before settling in behind him.Her tailbone was already protesting the position.

“Our backs might not be,” Sylvie muttered as she attempted to make herself somewhat comfortable. “We should still be able to make good time once we hit the other side.”

“Alright,” Theo muttered before starting the engine. “Let's give it a try.”

Theo quickly turned the handles in the direction Sylvie had explored, deftly navigating the uneven landscape. They drove forward and upward for a while, and there was a brief moment when she doubted they would make it to the other side of the dirt path.

At one point, they even had to dismount and manually guide the four-wheeler through a dense, wooded area. She breathed a sigh of relief when they finally merged onto the main trail. Although it wasn't completely smooth, considering how many years had passed, it was better than the uneven terrain of the forest.

After another forty-five minutes on the ATV, they finally reached the spot marked with an X on Mekhi's map. He had accurately pinpointed the location, and he was somewhat right about the cabin's condition. Although the exterior wood was weathered and gray, it still stood firm despite years of neglect.

Moss had gradually taken over the sides of the structure, as if attempting to consume the wooden planks. Thick vines had also made persistent efforts to join in the feast. The solitary window to the left of the battered door had shattered at some point, leaving only a jagged corner piece clinging to the frame. A strip of fabric hung from the sharpest edge.

Just a few yards from the cabin stood an old outhouse that leaned noticeably. Its decaying door hung from rusted hinges, offering glimpses into the dark, musty interior. The wood was gray and splintered, while the ground surrounding it was uneven and overrun with weeds.

Theo gradually brought the four-wheeler to a stop. After he cut the engine, Sylvie’s ears continued to ring in protest from the sudden silence. She didn’t waste any time dismounting, using the side handle as leverage.

Every muscle in her body was now stiff from the long ride.

Theo followed suit and immediately reached for the strap that had secured a backpack to the back of the ATV. She continued to stretch her legs while giving her hearing time to return to normal.

“Odd.”

“What’s that?” Theo asked as he unzipped the backpack. He pulled out a water bottle and handed it to her. “Take a drink. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but we’re at a higher altitude. The air is drier and thinner, which makes it easier to get dehydrated.”

As Sylvie drank the water, she couldn’t help but wish it were a cup of hot tea. The second layer of clothing hadn’t prevented the cold wind from seeping into the fabric. While the temperature had dropped significantly compared to the lower elevation, she figured their situation could be a lot worse.

“Do you hear that?” Sylvie asked quietly as she capped the bottle.

“No.” Theo took the water bottle and stored it back into the main part of the pack. He then retrieved two flashlights that they had purchased at the convenience store. “I don’t hear anything. Why?”

While Theo scanned their surroundings, Sylvie continued to listen intently to the silence surrounding them. The stillness was unnerving as normal sounds of forest life were conspicuously absent.

“Exactly. There’s no sound at all,” Sylvie murmured with unease. “Nothing. No birds, no insects, no rustling in the underbrush by the wildlife.”

“The sound of the engine likely startled them.”

Theo had given her the most logical explanation, and she decided to keep her remaining thoughts to herself. Brook had frequently raised the question of nature versus nurture. She was convinced that Jacob had been born evil, but Sylvie wasn’t certain that such questions truly mattered in the end.

Animals had a natural instinct to steer clear of danger.

The suffocating stillness surrounding them suggested that evil had taken root in the area, causing the wildlife to avoid it at all costs. Sylvie couldn’t help but wonder if they should do the same.