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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 walked the bank for an hour and found an old canoe chained to a stump, half full of leaves. The chain was rusted thin. "Someone used to come here," Dell said, working the lock. "Someone who knew the tower."

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They paddled the leaky canoe across, bailing with their hands, and reached the far shore just as the sun dropped. The beacon tower stood right above them on the ridge. They scrambled up, and at the top Mara aimed their flare gun straight up and fired. The red light hung over the whole valley. Far off, an engine droned, then turned toward the glow. "They see us," Dell breathed.

HK
Hana Kim
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