Chapter 273:Clues.
Larry eventually turned away.
"We’re moving."
Silver nodded. He turned to Ravenna.
"Well?"
She looked at him.
"I think it’s the place."
"You sound convinced."
"I’m not."
Ravenna smiled.
"But?"
"But everything matches, almost."
She nodded.
"What are you going to do?"
"Find it."
"Tonight?"
Silver shook his head.
"No." He glanced toward the setting sun. "We’d be stupid to go looking for an unknown cave at night. With the beast tide and being near the red zone, I don’t think even Larry would want to do that."
Ravenna smiled.
"Good answer... you might not have noticed but yiu tend to make impulsive decisions once in a while, though I can’t complain about it. They always come back more beneficial to us."
Silver laughed.
"I would prefer you calling it an informed decision instead of that."
They climbed back into their vehicle and the convoy moved again.
The terrain became rougher as they approached the mountains. The road narrowed.
Larry’s group became more alert. Several of them exited their vehicles during difficult sections to clear fallen rocks and debris.
Silver helped whenever possible but nobody thanked him. He didn’t care since he was more interested in the terrain. Every turn brought another possible landmark.
None of them matched his memories, then Silver saw something. He slowed the vehicle.
Ravenna noticed.
"What?"
Silver stared through the windshield. Far ahead, several beasts were moving across a rocky slope; a group of small quadrupeds, two reptilian creatures, a pair of large birds, and something resembling a wolf. They were moving in the same direction.
Silver’s eyes narrowed.
"That’s strange."
Ravenna looked.
"They’re heading toward the same place."
Silver nodded.
He watched them disappear behind the ridge. His pulse quickened.
"Maybe." Silver smiled faintly. "Maybe we’re getting close."
He accelerated slightly.
The convoy continued deeper into the valley. None of the other members noticed the significance of the animals. To them, it was simply another strange sight in a dangerous place.
But Silver couldn’t ignore it.
The original story had described unusual gatherings of beasts before Dillain’s group found the Awakening Stone. At the time, it had sounded like nothing more than atmosphere.
Now Silver wondered if those gatherings had been a clue. Perhaps the beasts hadn’t been randomly gathering bit had been reacting to something beneath the earth.
And if that was true, then the multicolored Awakening Stone might not be the only thing waiting inside that cave.
Silver looked toward the darkening mountains. For the first time since entering Death Row Valley, he felt genuine anticipation. Something between fear and anticipation.
He didn’t know what they were going to find. But he was beginning to believe that the cave wasn’t merely a location from the story.
It might be a doorway to something the original story had never explained.
By the time the convoy finally came to a stop, the sun had almost completely disappeared behind the western mountains. The last traces of orange and red light remained along the horizon, painting the upper edges of the rocky valley in a dim glow before slowly fading into darkness.
The temperature had already begun to drop, and the wind that moved between the rocks carried the dry scent of grass, dust, and distant beasts. After hours of traveling through the valley, everyone was ready to stop.
Even Larry’s, who had spent most of the day handling the beasts that crossed their path, looked eager to get out of their vehicles and rest.
Larry stepped out of the lead vehicle and looked around the clearing they had chosen. It wasn’t particularly large, but it was surrounded on three sides by rocks, giving them a natural defensive position.
The fourth side opened toward the road they had traveled along, which meant anyone approaching would have to cross a considerable distance before reaching the vehicles. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough for one night.
"We’ll camp here," Larry announced through the communication system. "Everyone gets their usual positions. Keep the vehicles close together and don’t wander off after dark."
Silver heard several acknowledgements from the other vehicles. He turned off the engine and sat quietly for a moment.
Ravenna looked out through the windshield.
"Looks like we’re stopping here for the night."
"Yeah." Silver glanced at the darkening sky. "This is actually good for us."
Ravenna looked at him.
"You’ve been staring at those mountains for the last hour."
Silver smiled.
"Curiousty won’t let me rest."
She laughed softly.
"Let’s stop talking about this, it’s making my stomach hurt."
Silver opened the door.
"Okay, sorry I got too excited... we’ll figure it out tomorrow."
They climbed out of the vehicle together. Antony’s vehicle stopped a short distance behind them, and he immediately emerged while stretching his arms.
"Finally."
Silver looked at him.
"Tired?"
"No." Antony yawned. "Just bored out of my life."
Ravenna smiled.
"Those aren’t mutually exclusive."
"They should be."
Silver ignored them and began helping unload their supplies.
The other contractors had already started setting up their own section of the camp. They kept their distance from Silver’s group, just as they had throughout most of the journey. Nobody directly told them to stay away, but the separation was obvious.
Silver didn’t mind.
He and Ravenna had become accustomed to it. There was their camp, there was Antony’s, and there was the main group. Only Larry regularly moved between them.
As Silver placed the final supply container beside their tent, Larry walked over.
"You three settled?"
"Almost."
Larry looked toward the mountains.
"Since you’re curious, we should be able to pass around the outskirts tomorrow."
Silver didn’t bother pretending otherwise.
"Thank you."
Larry sighed.
"No worries, but we won’t stop."
"Just getting a glimpse is more than enough."
"Sure, I can do that." Larry looked toward the eastern side of the valley. "As long as it’s not much of a danger for the team."
Silver nodded.
"I appreciate that."
Larry’s tone became more serious.
"Don’t even think of sneaking out right now."
Silver understood. He wasn’t going to argue.
"I’m not planning to go there tonight."