"Where?!" Irene asked urgently.
"It's quite a distance," James said. "We have to foot it."
"Alright, let's go," Irene said urgently. "Take me there."
It was fine if it was far. She wanted to see if it was Isaac right away!
With the Dunesians leading the way, they strode through the pathless mountain and climbed up the mountain.
Along the way, Irene missed a large rock beneath her foot and slipped, bending her foot in an odd angle.
As she gasped in pain, Zachary asked from behind her, "Are you alright?'
"I'm fine," Irene said, shaking her head—she would not delay the others.
However, her ankles hurt, and she thought it might be a sprain.
The skies overhead were turning dark, but they trudged along with their flashlights.
The trek remained difficult as ever, and they would spot debris from the wreckage from time to time.
Irene tried her best not to look, so as to calm herself.
Soon, it was night, and their environment was much quieter and colder.
Even so, they were all sweating after walking for so long.
"We're here," James said, pointing to a spot ahead that was illuminated brightly.
Irene also spotted the body that was covered under a large piece of white cloth and dashed forward to pull it off.
The man was dead with a foot missing, his face thoroughly charred.
However, judging from his body's build and height, it was not Isaac.
Irene heaved a sigh of relief, though she tensed up at the same time as well.
If this man ended up like this, what about Isaac?
The thought scared her so much she stumbled a couple paces backward, and Zachary had to quickly catch her. "Irene?"
Irene dropped to a couch and rasped, "Let's keep looking."
"Everyone is," both James and Zachary said.
Vision was poor at night up on Darcy's Peak, and they had to rely on flashlights.
Both the Dunesians and volunteers from the Zidonian embassy stopped as midnight approached, but Irene refused.
She did not seem to tire, and she continued her search with a crazed fervor.
He rasped, "That's exactly why you should be pulling yourself together!"
Irene wiped the corner of her eyes just then, though she only made a mess.
Sniffling, she cried, "Do you think he's fine, Zachary?"
Zachary was well aware that there might be no miracles here, but he assured her regardless. "He's born lucky. He probably got off scott free."
As Irene pursed her lips, James's eyes were red as he sat nearby, and he was not doing any better than Irene.
He was a full-grown man, but he was almost falling apart too.
The two bodies that were found were just… horrible!
Bzzt—
His phone suddenly started to vibrate then, and he whipped it out to answer.
"Hello?" he rasped.
"James…"
The voice on the other end was very familiar.
"...Stan?!" James cried, springing to his feet when he realized that it was Stan!
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