Shane’s joy was short-lived.
Alas, we missed them.
“Let’s continue our search. The forest floor is still damp from the rain. They must’ve left footprints behind. We can use those to find them,” Shane announced and left the cave, Silas following closely behind.
Soon enough, they came across two sets of footprints.
Judging by the sizes of the footprints, Shane was confident that they belonged to Sean and Natalie.
They seemed to be headed south down the mountains.
“Let’s go!” Shane led the way.
The rescue team hurried after him.
Natalie was clueless about Shane’s knowledge of their survival, let alone his search and rescue efforts.
She supported Sean the whole time as they walked. They did not know how much time had passed when they finally saw a house.
A small smile appeared on Natalie’s exhausted features.
Even Sean looked like a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Just a bit more,” he croaked.
Natalie glanced at him before walking forward, steeling her nerves and ignoring her exhaustion.
That’s our lifeline. Once we reach the house, I can finally contact Shane.
She used the last bit of her strength to hasten their arrival at the house. Ten minutes later, they were at the front door.
A middle-aged lady opened the door. Shocked at their disheveled appearance, the woman exclaimed, “You-”
Natalie mustered a weak smile on her face and fainted before saying anything to her.
“Oh dear,” the middle-aged lady uttered in shock as she stepped forward to lift Natalie.
Without Natalie’s support, Sean fell to the ground as well.
The lady helped them both into her house before asking, “What happened to the two of you?”
Dialing up the charm, Sean fabricated an explanation. “We were out hiking in the mountain, but we fell off the slope and lost our supplies. That’s how we ended up like this.”
“You poor things,” the lady exclaimed in pity at the sight of his splinted limbs.
Sean smiled and replied, “Ma’am, could you send me to the nearest town? I’ll give you three hundred thousand if you can arrange that.”
“Three hundred thousand?” Her eyes lit up at his offer.
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“Of course, I’ll ask my husband to send you in a moment,” she agreed excitedly.
Sean’s smile widened. “Thank you.”
“What about this young lady?” She pointed at Natalie, who was still unconscious. “Is she your wife?”
Wife?
Taken aback, Sean shook his head. “No.”
“She’s not? You seemed so close just now. I thought you were married,” she explained herself awkwardly.
Sean gazed tenderly at Natalie’s face. “Ma’am, please take care of her. I have to leave now. I won’t be able to stay with her. Someone will come for her soon.”
“Ok, I understand.”
They’re my golden tickets. I’ll take care of her like she’s royalty.
“Ma’am, please have someone send me to town. Once I’m there, I’ll wire the money to you,” Sean requested.
She nodded several times in agreement and called her husband over.
About an hour later, Sean arrived in town. After wiring the promised sum to the lady’s husband, he bought himself a new phone and called someone.
The line connected quickly. “Hello, who’s calling?”
“Silas, it’s me,” Sean said.
Sean could only call Silas since Shane’s phone was programmed to reject unknown numbers.
Thank God he answered.
Silas was stunned when he recognized Sean’s voice. “Mr. Sean!”
