Deep in the Alaskan wood, gold miners are exposed to the elements and unforgiving wilderness. Though they expect the unexpected, an unknown danger lurks in the forest, hellbent on revenge and destruction. Ranger Alice Frost is assigned to investigat...
"So what else you got in there?" Alice nudges the bag on West's shoulder as she trails behind him, his head is bent down over the screen as he maneuvers over rocks and fallen trees.
"Oh you know, the usual stuff," He mumbles. "Hand grenades, smoke bombs, tranquilizer gun with fifty rounds, first aid kit, razor sharp machete, grappling hook with two hundred feet of rope," He cranks he neck to grin back at her, "Survival gear."
She laughs quietly as they approach the mouth of the cave. Alice's heart starts thudding in her chest, her body tingling with adrenaline at the memory of the cave she hardly escapes hours ago. West kneels on the ground and the drone comes down in front of him, humming in place. He grabs it gently and clicks it off, tucking it back in its tiny black case. Then he pulls out a large utility belt, covered in large pockets and velcro straps and hooks it around his waist, sliding the little drone into a poclet and securing it. The belt weighs him down, and he shifts under the burden, adjusting the gun slung across his back. Alice eyes the grenades and other weapons and shows him a toothy smile.
"I really need one of those, too." They chuckle in the dark, and before West zips up the bag and tosses it behind a mossy rock, he pulls out two headlamps and tosses Alice one.
"Thanks," she says, strapping it to her head and clicking it on. West does the same, and they exchange one more look at each other, nod in unison, and begin to creep into the cave.
~
This cave is much wetter, Alice notices. Water trickles from cracks in the wall beside them as they travel down a smooth earthy passage way. The floor is slick with mud and many times the two of them have to steady themselves, bracing their hands along the wall.
"I really fucking hate caves," Alice hisses as she scrapes her palm on a jagged rock sticking out of the solidified mud.
"Me too," West whispers back. "My buddies use to go caving all the time when we had time off from basic training, and I always stayed at camp. No way in hell I was going to end up in the plot of a horror movie." He shivers in the darkness and Alice snickers under her breath.
"So Officer Frost," He asks, his voice cutting through the soft squelching of their boots in the mud. "What does your husband think of you doing this job, up here all alone in the wilderness?"
"Don't have one," Alice answers simply, "for that very reason."
"I see," West nods, "I am the same way. Much easier to be single," He turns slightly to look at her, "flings and one night stands are my specialty." He winks at her, and continues down the muddy path. She smiles to herself, because she is the exact same way. She never understood that idea of changing her life's course for someone else, when they would hardly do the same. Why should she? Sex is great, but commitment and vulnerability were not her strong suit. West is right, much easier being single.
"Hey," she whispers, serious again. "Do you think that this cave connects to the other one?"
West is silent for a minute while he considers it, then answers, "Well yeah, it's possible. Cave systems run all through this area. Water running through the rocks for thousands of years," he slips on some mud and catches himself on the rocky wall before landing on his ass. Alice has to cover her mouth to quite a giggle, and he straightens up, embarrassed.
"It's slippery there, be careful," he says, and they continue on.
~
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