The cabin was made of wood and brick. Other than the fireplace, which was made of bricks, the rest of the cabin was made of wood. The walls were held together by a mortise and tenon structure. Although it looked crude, it was very sturdy and practical. The most important thing was that it had good thermal insulation. It was warm in the winter and cool in the summer, even though the summer in Redwood Forest was not hot.
The cabin isolated the mist from the outside, and the fireplace dispelled the cold. Through the small window, one could see the mist flowing like white lava.
The firewood crackled as it burned, and the kettle whistled. The low roar of the diesel generator outside the cabin could be heard clearly in the quiet forest.
Sometimes, one could hear unknown noises coming from outside the door. Although they knew that some small animals were creeping past, it was still difficult to suppress the crazy and scary delusions in their minds.
There was no running water, and they had to rely on their own electricity. There was also no WiFi. Living in a place like this for a day or two might be refreshing, but after a long time, the loneliness could kill people.
It was not hard to imagine that the person who lived here must have been a rugged, middle-aged white man in his 40s or 50s. He might have served in the military and participated in local wars. Maybe he had PTSD, so he lived in seclusion and did not want to interact with anyone.
A middle-aged woman who was used to living in the city and living alone here for more than ten days just to find her daughter. She really needed to borrow some courage from Liang Jingru. Perhaps only maternal love could drive her to overcome the fear in her heart and do this.
Mrs. Miller confirmed Zhang Zian's guess. The person who lived here was indeed a middle-aged man who always wore camouflage clothes. He spoke and behaved like someone who had been in the military, but she did not know more about him.
Mrs. Miller said that Megan had become very independent ever since she went to university. She made a lot of decisions on her own and only informed her family after she started. This included riding and walking through a series of Redwood Forest on the West Coast. When Mrs. Miller heard the news, Megan had already set off.
At that time, although Mrs. Miller was a little worried, she did not think too much of it. She and her daughter had driven through the West Coast road more than once, and knew that there were many tourists here. There were also some small towns in the forest. Her daughter was not purely hiking, so after a few words of advice, she did not try to persuade her. Mrs. Miller knew her daughter's personality. Once she decided to do something, she would definitely do it, and there was no point in trying to persuade her. However, Mrs. Miller requested that her daughter contact her every morning and evening and report her progress. Her daughter agreed.
At first, everything went smoothly. Megan tried her best to keep in touch every day. Even if she was interrupted for a day due to bad signal, she would report the situation the next day. Mrs. Miller slowly relaxed. Looking at the various photos of the trip that her daughter had posted on her social media account, she sincerely shared her daughter's happiness.
However, on the day that Megan arrived near Redwood Forest Park, Megan sent her a message in a hurry. In addition to reporting her location, she also mentioned that she had discovered something interesting. This wasn't the first time she had mentioned something interesting during her travels. Usually, she had seen some kind of surprising animal, such as a golden banana slug that was longer than a palm and as thick as a banana. When Mrs. Miller saw the picture that Megan sent, she almost threw up her breakfast … So, Mrs. Miller smiled and didn't take it to heart. However, the next day, Megan didn't send her any more messages. She also didn't receive any calls on the third day.
Mrs. Miller could not sit still and called the police. However, the local police's attitude was rather perfunctory. They told her to wait a little longer, saying that the signal in the forest was bad. It was common for campers' families to call the police only to find out that it was a false alarm two days later.
Mrs. Miller also hoped that this would be the case, but she was still very anxious. On the morning of the fourth day, Megan still did not contact her. She immediately drove from a central American city to Redwood Forest Park and personally appeared at the local police station to ask the police to take action.
On the fifth day, Megan, who was still missing, finally caught the attention of the police, and they began a search and rescue operation.
The search and rescue operation did not go smoothly. The main reason was that the forest was always covered in fog, and sometimes it would rain heavily. Coupled with the limited manpower of the police, even with the help of a helicopter and the volunteers of the local residents, more than a hundred people entered the forest without finding anything. However, there were a few people who suffered different degrees of bruises, sprains, and falls during the search and rescue operation. There was even one time when they mistook a teammate for a wild animal and accidentally shot him.
The search and rescue operation continued on and off for two weeks. The enthusiasm of the volunteers was wearing thin, and it was the same for the forest rangers. However, the results were pitiful. They only found some daily necessities that they could not confirm were left behind by Megan.
The police announced the end of the search and rescue operation because they believed that Megan had not been here. Megan's phone was last turned on dozens of miles away at the seaside.
The public's opinion changed. Megan's image changed from a healthy and cheerful outdoor sports enthusiast to a girl who ran away from home full of lies. It was also hinted that it was all because of her single-parent family environment.
Mrs. Miller could not explain why her daughter's phone signal appeared at the seaside, but she believed that her daughter would not lie to her. Megan must have encountered something dangerous in the forest.
Without the help of the police and volunteers, Mrs. Miller could only rely on herself to find her daughter. She did not want to leave until she found her daughter. Fortunately, an old soldier who lived in seclusion in the forest trusted her. He lent her his house and went into the forest with a rifle to help her find her daughter.
Zhang Zian was the second person she had met who was willing to help her after the search and rescue operation was over.
"Would you like a refill?"
After Mrs. Miller finished talking about what had happened, both her and Zhang Zian's cups were empty.
"Thank you! That old soldier … "Zhang Zian handed her the cup.
"His name is Mike. Although he does not like to talk, he is a good person." She stood and waited for the water to boil again.
"How many days has Mike been in the forest?" he asked.
Mrs. Miller thought for a moment. "Tomorrow is the fourth day."
Zhang Zian said tactfully, "Did he say … how many days will he be back?"
"He did not say, but he told me not to worry. He said that he is very familiar with the forest … To be honest, I am a little worried for him now, but he does not even have a phone …" Mrs. Miller sighed heavily. "He does not seem to have a family. In the eyes of the rangers, he is a troublemaker. No one cares about him."
After a moment of silence, both Zhang Zian and Mrs. Miller knew that perhaps it was time to consider the possibility that Mike had also disappeared.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
