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The Ninety-Mile Silence

adventure◐ Teen
5 contributors · 4 paragraphs deep

They walked all morning, keeping the radio on so the tone guided them. By noon the trees opened onto a wide, cold river, fast and gray. There was no bridge. The beacon kept calling from the far side.

They found a fallen log across the narrowest part of the river. Mara crossed first, arms out, heart pounding, and made it. Dell followed slower, then slipped, but he caught the log and dragged himself up the far bank, soaked and shaking but safe.

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On the far side the trees thinned and there it stood: a steel ranger tower, a small light blinking at the top. They ran the last stretch and pounded up the stairs. Inside the cabin, a working radio crackled under Mara's hands. A calm voice answered at once. "A chopper's been looking for that downed Cessna all day. Stay put. We've got you now." They had made it.

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Maris Vale
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