Trail, Chapter 4: What's Hidden Under the Stone
Chapter 4: What's Hidden Under the Stone
At 05: 17 a.m.
The first light of the day began to seep through the fog curtain.
The eastern sky changed from black to silver gray.
Dozens of meters high treetops stand lined up like giant black pillars.
Mist. Steam floats over the forest floor.
Some points are so thick that they can not be more than ten meters away. Some points just walk through the steam and wet the face. The ribbon tells the way to lift the water, hanging down.
The race route climbs along a narrow ridge.
On one side is a low cliff.
The other side is dense forest.
The floor is full of wooden roots that shone out of the soil.
Wet and slippery as with oil, traces of people running before, feet, slippery in a long way, until they need a hand.
The sound of runners' shoes hitting the rocks loudly in rhythm.
Building...
Building...
Building...
Before gradually getting away.
"Shit..!The fuck slipped, the chip disappeared!? "
My boy swears.
As the group of runners begins to disperse according to each person's speed,
The hunter slowed his pace. He didn't want to fall to the bottom. It was so high that he couldn't see the bottom.
Eyes were still looking at the spot where Krishna turned a moment ago.
As a hunter.
He trusts his own instincts rather than scientific explanations.
People who are tired of climbing.
Won't waste time looking deep at the forest for no reason
Especially those who are doing time
The huntsman stopped above, forming a large
The thorns from the ball are still fresh.
Pretend to bend down, tie the shoe rope
Gradually release the farting, full turbidity.
With the manners of the hunter
"Crush..." "What!?"
Let several runners run by.
Gray-haired old man who talked this morning.
Put your hands off your nose like a stink.
When no one cares
He therefore stepped off the main path.
Into the dense forest on the left.
Immediately.
Another world appears.
The sound of runners is almost gone.
Only the sound of the wind remains.
The sound of wild birds starting to wake up.
And the sound of water droplets from leaves.
The weather is clearly cooler.
The smell of moist soil is more intense.
Smell moss
Wild Mushroom Scent
And the smell of rotten wood that has been on the ground for years.
The servant walked quietly.
Like a shadow moving through a tree.
He doesn't need an orphan.
No need to hold the branches to shake.
Every step was carefully laid.
Until almost no sound
About fifty minutes passed...
No.
For the servant
Just five minutes.
But in the woods,
Five minutes is enough to get lost.
He found something wrong.
Large granite boulders.
About high in the chest
The top is covered with dark green moss.
Looks like an ordinary stone.
But what caught his eye
Is the dry leaves around
Some were moved.
Like someone opened and closed back
The servant knelt down.
Touch the ground with your finger.
The soil is still tight.
No new digging marks.
But there is a small press
As if someone had sat here
More than once.
He chased his eyes around.
Before stopping at the back of the rock.
There's a narrow channel.
Less than half a meter wide.
Hidden by vines and ferns.
If not observed
Probably never saw
The heart started beating harder.
The huntsman slowly broke the fern out.
Inside the rock channel.
There's a piece of stuff.
It's a dull green metal can.
Old doesn't look like a can of beer.
It's scratches everywhere.
About the size of a flask
The lid was wrapped with black waterproof tape.
The servant is still
The first feeling is not glad.
But a paranoia.
In the woods.
A well-hidden thing.
Often not something to touch.
He took it out carefully.
It weighs about a kilogram.
Not very heavy.
Not light.
When jog
No sound.
He slowly opened the lid.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
Until hearing the broken tape
The car...
Inside.
With Waterproof Plastic Bag
Little notebook
Replacement flashlight
Battery
And...
Map
The servant pulled out the map.
Cream Color Waterproof Paper
There are a lot of pencil lines draped all over the mountain.
Multi-point red circle
With directed numbers.
But what makes him frown
Is that it's not a stolen map.
At least not all of them.
It's just a partial copy.
Like someone is removing the information a little bit at a time
"Who is it?.."
The huntsman muttered.
The breath is getting heavier.
This is not evidence the unsub would have accidentally left behind.
But like a break.
Or the forward point.
For people who are doing something
Suddenly
The sound of broken branches grew louder.
Oh!
Not far from him.
The hunter is frozen.
All the senses wake up immediately.
The right hand automatically grabs the pocket knife at the waist.
Eyes turned to the cantor.
About twenty meters.
Behind the wild bamboo line
Something's moving.
Very fast.
At once
And then disappeared.
The servant immediately got up.
Run along
The bushes shook constantly.
Like someone is fleeing
He jumped over a falling piece of wood.
Low branches
Thick fern
But at that point,
Back to find no one
There was only silence.
And a white mist floating low above the ground.
Then
He bent down to look at the ground.
Footprints
It exists.
Fresh.
The soil hasn't returned yet.
But not trail running shoes.
Not the shoes of Krishna.
And not the shoes of a typical racer.
It's a leather ankle shoe.
The kind that people in popular cities wear
The servant stared at that mark.
One thought sailed in.
Immediately.
The person guarding this box...
Probably not in the race at all.
And maybe
The real villain.
Probably watching all the runners from the woods.
Without anyone knowing.
Far away.
The sound of speakers from the water service point is loud in the wind.
Shows that the groom has wasted a lot of time
If not returned to the route
He may not catch up with Krishna.
And the first field mission.
Could fail early in the morning.
He looked at the metal box in his hand.
Before keeping everything back in place.
Carefully.
And then start running back to the race path.
Without even knowing
On a big tree less than thirty meters away.
There's one camera lens.
Capturing him quietly
End of chapter 4. 🌫️🌲📦🏃♂️📷
