That first night, Lucas crawled beneath a fallen log for partial shelter. Every crack of a twig sounded like something watching. Tears slid silently down his cheeks, but exhaustion eventually pulled him into uneasy sleep. He did not know that by morning, search helicopters would already be cutting through the sky.
Back in town, when Ethan failed to return, park authorities launched a search operation. Rangers, volunteers, and K9 units fanned out across miles of rugged terrain. News stations broadcast Lucas’s smiling school photo, his missing poster circulating rapidly across social media.
Search coordinator Officer Claire Morgan stood before a large map dotted with markers. “The terrain is steep,” she explained to Ethan’s brother, who had arrived in shock. “If Lucas stayed put, we have a chance. But weather shifts are coming.”
Meanwhile, Lucas woke on the second day with stiff limbs and a dry mouth. He found a small stream trickling downhill and remembered another lesson. “Running water leads somewhere,” his father had once told him. Lucas cupped his hands and drank cautiously.
Hunger gnawed at him, but fear sharpened his senses. He avoided unfamiliar berries and instead rationed the granola bar he found in his jacket pocket, breaking it into tiny pieces as if stretching time itself.
Read more on the next page ⬇️⬇️⬇️
