up that for about fifteen minutes and then turn around and come back. Don’t step out of the groove, though. You’ll get lost.”
He looked scared but, to his credit, just took the jacket and set out.
They watched him for a moment and then began gathering sticks and leaves, piling them next to the tangle of bushes and vines growing along the base of the cliff. When they had a reasonable supply, Smith began constructing a small lean-to—less than a meter high and barely wide enough to accommodate the three of them. With the frame finished, he covered the outside with dirt and leaves, then crisscrossed it with the vines growing around it. Randi weaved together a makeshift hatch out of the same materials while he finished up by stuffing the interior with grass and moss.
“What do you think?” Smith said, standing and dusting himself off.
“I’d probably walk by it. Particularly once it gets completely dark.”
They heard Kyong’s stumbling footfalls coming from above and Smith jogged over to help the exhausted Korean down a steep section of rock.
“You made it,” he said, throwing the man’s arm over his shoulders and half carrying him to the open side of the lean-to. “Now’s the reward. A good night’s sleep.”
“In there?”
“Yup. Just wiggle in feetfirst. You’ll be fine.”
He looked skeptical, but did as he was told, struggling to worm his way into the tight space through all the debris stuffed into it.
“Will this be warm enough?” he asked as Smith squeezed in next to him. “It can snow here this time of year.”
“It’s not as good as a nice down sleeping bag—”
“Or a room at the Four Seasons,” Randi chimed in.
“But we’ll survive.”
It was a tight fit, which was the plan, and once Randi pulled the cover she’d made closed, it started warming up noticeably. Smith closed his eyes, forcing his mind to shut off. They had too few options to bother going over. What he needed now was some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be harder. A lot harder.
* * *
SMITH’S EYES CAME OPEN and for a moment he was confused where he was. It didn’t take long for the sticks and leaves jabbing at his face to remind him, though. Why was it that he couldn’t occasionally wake up in his own bed to find that the day before had been nothing but a particularly ugly nightmare? Like normal people.
He wasn’t sure why he’d awoken—probably the cold or the rock in the small of his back—but there was no sunlight filtering through to him so he closed his eyes again. Before he could drift off, though, a quiet crunching and the snap of a twig brought him fully alert.
The wind? Maybe an animal?
Again, his luck just wasn’t that good. Quiet Korean voices became audible and he felt Kyong shift next to him.
Smith grabbed the man’s wrist, giving it a reassuring squeeze as the voices closed in. The Korean started to tremble with fear as the men outside stopped only a few paces away. Smith increased the pressure on Kyong’s wrist and assumed that Randi was doing the same from the other side. If they stayed cool, they might get out of this.
The men didn’t pause for long, moving away again after less than a minute to follow the trail Kyong had left leading up the gully. Smith calculated that it would take them about ten minutes to get to where it dead-ended, maybe a minute of confusion, and then another five to double-time it back. The three of them would make a break for it as soon as the men were safely out of earshot.
Again, though, his luck wasn’t that good. Whoever the tracker was had real talent. The sound of them had barely faded when they turned and began running back in the direction of the clearing. Kyong tensed again, this time completely locking up in terror. It was impossible not to be sympathetic after what had happened to his family. Men like the ones approaching had taken everything from him.
Soon, the voices were all around. Smith couldn’t understand them, but Kyong could and he began to fidget. A flashlight came on outside and swept over them.
Don’t do it…
But Kyong had finally reached his limit. He jerked upright, bursting from the delicate lean-to and bolting in the wrong direction. Surprised shouts rose up as the Korean ran straight into the cliff, bounced off, and fell backward over a log.
Randi didn’t even have time to reach for her weapon before no less