Chapter 5 - The Wilderness of Northern OntarioThe impact with the gravel bank knocked the wind completely out of my lungs. I tumbled down a steep embankment, tearing my jeans, scraping my palms raw against jagged rocks, and finally slamming hard into the trunk of a massive spruce tree.
Groaning in agony, I lay there in the damp moss, staring up at the starry night sky as the red tail-lights of Train 109 vanished into the distance like a dying ember.
They had Professor Hayes.
I clutched the brass-bound journal tightly to my chest, my chest heaving as hot tears mixed with the dirt and sweat on my face. I was alone, freezing in the middle of nowhere, hunted by a billionaire's private army, and carrying a book that could supposedly crash global financial systems.
"Grandfather... what have you dragged me into?" I whispered into the quiet forest.
Slowly, I pushed myself up. My left ankle throbbed with a sharp, sickening pain every time I put weight on it, but I knew I couldn't stay here. If Khalid's team realized I escaped, they would send tracking drones or search dogs down the line within the hour.
Limping heavily, I stumbled through the dense pine woods, guided only by the faint silver glow of the moon filtering through the high canopy.
After walking for what felt like miles—my breathing turning into white puffs of mist in the sub-zero air—I saw a faint orange flicker through the trees ahead. A small, rusty hunting cabin, its windows dark except for a faint, flickering hearth light dancing across the frosted glass.
I dragged myself toward the wooden porch, my fingers numb and stiff, and banged weakly on the heavy oak door before my knees finally buckled beneath me.
The door creaked open.
A tall, broad-shouldered man with a thick grey beard and a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder looked down at me in astonishment.
May you like
"Well, now," a deep, gravelly voice rumbled. "Looks like the woods dropped a city girl right on my welcome mat."
Before I could answer, darkness rushed in, and I collapsed forward into the stranger's arms.
