Firewatch Ch 14

The lights are always on in DC. Out here, the night is black. Flores is an adult, and she’s never been afraid of the dark, but the intensity of the night away from the city takes her aback. She feels even tinier than usual as she and Flores climb out of the car in the campground parking lot. The Rav 4 is still here. Hailee Siegel is alive and presumably well, so the need to press local law enforcement has passed. Wilde spent the day at city hall, looking at old maps while Flores started her report and considered the dilemma of revealing Hailee’s location to her parents. Part of her wants to respect the girl’s right to live her own life, but if something happens to her and the family learns that her whereabouts were known to the FBI, that can get ugly.

They don’t have enough for a warrant or probable cause to search anything belonging to Hailee or her friends. If they don’t want to answer questions, Flores and Wilde will have no choice but to go home empty-handed. Flores doesn’t like these odds, but Wilde seems unbothered.

Flores speaks up as Wilde locks the car. “I have a friend who teaches courses on ritual killings at Quantico. She says there’s very little historical evidence tying supposed cattle mutilation to occult activity. We’ve formed the association, and it’s where our minds jump to, but there’s not much to back it up. What do these women want, and how does killing cows get them closer to it?”

“They want what we all want, Flores. To believe that there’s something out there that gives all of this meaning,” Wilde replies, attaching a flash to her camera. “Killing cows doesn’t help with that. They aren’t killing cows, Flores.”

“Then who is?”

“I’m guessing the same person who sent me that text. I wouldn’t have been able to justify coming out here without that set dressing. They made sure just enough boxes were checked that the FBI would make the trip.”

“You think this is a setup? Why?”

“There’s something here, Flores. Something important. Do you know how many people have disappeared in these woods?”

“It’s a national park, Wilde. Never hike alone. People do.”

“Yeah, well, they do it at about three times the national average here.”

“Great,” Flores mutters, following her up the path.

“Let’s be sneaky,” Wilde suggests, lowering her voice. They keep their lights pointed at the ground in front of them.

“Sounds like a good way to get shot.”

“I’m thin. You’re small.”

Flores grimaces but doesn’t argue. She doesn’t like Wilde’s approach to all of this, but she can’t deny that something isn’t lining up. What bothers her most is the way that Wilde’s face changed when Hailee’s father mentioned her interest in obsolete technology.

“This way,” Wilde whispers, leading her off the path.

“Whatever you’re doing, is it worth risking us getting lost?”

“Yes.”

Flores shakes her head. Unbelievable. “You really think you’re going to catch them doing a Satanic ritual?”

“God. I hope so.”