bChapter /bb468 /b

    “Sir, this is the only spot safe enough tond right now. We can’t go any further in.”

    “Bring her down,” Cole replied without another word.

    No sooner had he finished checking the emergency pack and prepared to move out, another helicopter swooped in andnded exactly where his had touched down a moment ago.

    It was Max.

    Neither man looked surprised when their eyes met. It was as if they’d both expected this.

    “Together?” Cole asked first, his voice tight–so unlike his usual self.

    Max gave a single nod. “Let’s go.” That at least was true to form.

    They set off in silence, conserving their energy as they pressed toward their destination.

    Mountains surrounded them. Aftershocks had dislodged boulders and sent loose rock tumbling onto the already treacherous path. More than once, they had to detour around a fallen b or scramble over debris.

    No ione /icould say how long they trekked like that. Instead of reaching the summit, they ran into a group of rescue workers and firefighters making their own way up the mountain.

    After a quick exchange, they decided to join therger team.

    The climb was grueling. Aftershocks rattled the earth beneath their boots. They’d been moving since dawn, and by the time the sun began to dip behind the peaks, they finally saw a glimmer of hope ahead.

    A battered vige sprawled before them, devastation everywhere.

    Copsed houses, dazed crowds. The living clustered together, working side by side to clear the rubble.

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    b12:19 /b

    Most of the vigers left behind were elderly, women, and children. Not a single one paused to rest. In this sparsely popted stretch of

    mountains, everyone was doing their best to save themselves.

    When the rescue team appeared, the vigers‘ first reaction wasn’t relief, but stunned disbelief.

    “Look! The rescue team’s here!” someone cried out, drawing everyone’s

    attention.

    Heads popped up all around, and soon the crowd had surged around

    them.

    “Please, you have to help the children!” An old woman fell to her knees, her voice trembling with desperation.

    The team leader rushed to help her up. “Ma’am, please, don’t worry. Is your mayor here? Or someone else we can talk to?”

    “No–this morning the mayor and the children all went to school. The teachers too. The vige houses are all wooden, so everyone got out quickly, but the road up the mountain is blocked. I don’t know what happened at the school. That building’s made of concrete, and the quake hit just as sses started.”

    “Teachers!” Cole quickly pulled out his phone and turned the screen toward her. “Ma’am, have you seen this person?”

    “Alessia-” The woman’s face lit up with recognition. “She’s at the school too, with the other teachers, My granddaughter, Susannah Holt, is there as well. Please, I’m begging you, help them!”

    Cole’s heart plummeted. He gripped his phone so hard it was a wonder it didn’t shatter in his hand.

    Max’s face was grim.

    Both men looked so tense it was almost frightening.

    Everyone started talking at once, anxiously exining the situation. Once the leader had the whole picture, he left a team behind to help in the vige and led the rest of them up the mountain. No one wasted a

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    second.

    Cole and Max’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point, but they knew better than to get in anyone’s way. They stayed sharp and focused, doing whatever was needed, praying silently that they could move

    faster–just a little faster.

    An hour after Cole and Max began their climb, Ethan and the others finally arrived at the vige.

    As night fell, the teams pressed on toward the school. Everyone’s thoughts were with the missing children and teachers. Online, people all over the country watched and waited, united by the shock of disaster.

    No arguments, no chaos–just a single, heartfelt wish: Bring them home safe.