Page 29 of Rangers Mountain Rescue

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11

Aspen

My heart is pounding so hard I can barely breathe.

“Harold!” someone calls from the trees.

Wolf.

Dylan is ahead of us now.

Buddy dragging him down the slope like a furry rescue missile.

“Dylan, wait!” I shout.

But Havoc is already moving.

Fast.

Effortless.

He catches Dylan in three long strides.

“Easy,” he says calmly. “We don’t rush downhill in the dark.”

I hear movement ahead.

Then a weak voice.

“…Joseph?”

My stomach twists.

That’s Grandpa.

I run forward before anyone can stop me.

“Grandpa!”

He’s sitting against a fallen log halfway down the slope.

Thin.

Shivering.

Looking confused.

Buddy reaches him first, whining and licking his hands.

“There you are!” Dylan cries.

Grandpa blinks slowly.

“…Tank?”

The name hits me like lightning.

Havoc freezes beside me.

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