"S-Shall we tell Mr. Monroe?" one of them asked.

Then, after a brief silence, the other guy whispered, "Let's wait awhile. We don't need to disturb Mr. Monroe more than we must, and Ms. Lanka won't get into problems."

They chatted briefly and agreed not to tell Lyon. They would attempt to find me first.

I then began looking for Mason, retracing my path as I journeyed onto the mountain.

After two hours of searching, I hadn't found Mason yet nor had I spotted even a single human being along the way.

My heart was getting heavier. Mason was so small and could still be injured. If those people reach...