Chapter 13 - The Light at the End
The drainage tunnel was narrow, cold, and descended at a steep incline. The cool draft carrying the scent of pine was stronger now, rushing against their faces like a welcome tide of life.
Frank stumbled with every step, his vision narrowing into a dark tunnel, his strength entirely spent. The knife wound in his shoulder was a blinding fire, but he refused to drop Lily. He held the little girl tight against his chest, his thumb rubbing her back in a steady, reassuring rhythm.
"Just... a little further..." Frank muttered, his voice barely a breath now.
Martha ran beside him, supporting his elbow, keeping him upright through sheer force of will. "We're there, Frank! Look!"
Fifty yards ahead, the dark stone walls of the shaft gave way to a brilliant, blinding archway of white daylight.
They burst out of the drainage tunnel into the blinding glare of the afternoon sun.
They were standing in a deep, pine-forested ravine three miles west of Highway 84. The roaring dust storm above had been blocked by the towering granite peaks of the Black Ridge mountains, leaving the ravine quiet, cool, and washed in the clean, golden light of late afternoon.
Before them lay the rusted iron tracks of an abandoned logging railway, stretching out through the trees toward the open valley floor below.
Frank staggered two steps out of the tunnel mouth before his knees finally gave out completely. He collapsed onto the damp bed of pine needles, gently setting Lily down beside him as he rolled onto his back.
The sky above was a brilliant, cloudless blue.
"Mr. Frank!" Lily cried out, dropping to her knees beside him, her small hands clutching his face. "Mr. Frank, please wake up!"
Frank opened his eyes slowly, looking up at the sky, then at the little girl weeping over him. He reached up with a weak, trembling hand, tapping his own vest pocket.
"The... the drive..." Frank whispered, his breath raspy.
Martha knelt down, reaching into his vest. She pulled out the military-grade flash drive.
"Vance was lying," Frank managed a faint, bloody smile. "He... he didn't know... I made a physical backup... on an encrypted server in Carson City. The key... is on that drive."
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Martha looked at the piece of metal in her hand, then at Frank, tears spilling down her dust-caked cheeks. "You brilliant, stubborn bastard."
"Get her... to the state troopers in Carson," Frank breathed, his eyes drifting shut as the darkness finally pulled him under. "Tell 'em... Frank sent you."
