[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-2603220ECDF1-646":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},646,88,"Chapter 88: The Orange Badge in the Dark","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The car crawled forward, moving through hundreds of yards of blind, rain-lashed darkness.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette Ellis didn't even notice her palms were slick with sweat. The roar of the downpour was deafening, forcing her to scream over the noise. \"It’s useless! Driving like this is just as dangerous!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The few hundred yards they had already covered were enough for Tessa Turner to snap out of her shell-shocked daze. She had grown up in Riverwood and knew these mountains like the back of her hand. In the past, landslides were a seasonal guarantee here, but the county had reinforced the slopes for the sake of tourism, and the roads had been stable for years. She had grown complacent, nearly forgetting the jagged reality of the terrain.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Living through it was a different breed of nightmare compared to reporting on it from a news desk. Tessa leaned out the window, her eyes squinting against the stinging deluge to track the road. Behind them, a massive section of the hillside had buckled, the ground soft and churning, threatening to drag more of the road down into the abyss.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She wiped the water from her face and shouted back, \"I’ll watch the road! You drive!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">There was nowhere on this mountain pass that felt solid. Neither of them knew if the next inch of pavement would hold their weight or turn into a grave.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">For the next mile, Violette drove as if she were drowning. Her clothes clung to her skin like a second layer of sodden lead. Tessa was no better off—between the freezing rain and the cold sweat of survival, she was shivering violently.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">When the flags at the industrial plant gates finally flickered into view through the gloom, Tessa collapsed into the passenger seat, gasping for air. \"Stop. We can’t go any further.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Without Tessa’s guidance, Violette couldn't read the road. She pulled over immediately. Peering out, she saw that the road here had reinforced railings, a small mercy near the water plant that made it safer than the stretch they’d just navigated. Still, it was hardly an ideal sanctuary.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She grabbed a stack of napkins and frantically blotted the water from her hair. \"Is this okay?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The moment she spoke, Violette realized her voice was shaking. She coughed hard, trying to steel herself, and tried again. \"Can we stay here?\" This time, the tremor was hidden, masked by sheer force of will.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I just can't keep going,\" Tessa muttered, a grimace of pain twisting her face as she patted her left leg.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette glanced down. The leg Tessa had been using to brace herself against the car door was visibly swollen and misshapen. Her pants were soaked through, dripping into a growing puddle on the passenger floorboard. For the last mile, Tessa had been half-hanging out the door to guide them, putting the entire weight of her upper body on that injured leg.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"When did you get hurt?\" Violette gasped.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Tessa touched the throbbing swelling and hissed. \"I twisted it when I scrambled back into the car.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette bit her lip, calculating. \"If it’s too bad, I can inch us forward. We aren't that far from the plant.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Don't risk it,\" Tessa said, waving a hand weakly. \"I remember a sharp turn right around here where a semi once took out the railing. I don't even know if they ever put it back up.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">They sat in silence. Violette handed Tessa some napkins, which the girl used to wipe her face with frantic, uneven swipes.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Just let me catch my breath,\" Tessa whispered. \"Then we’ll move.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">***\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">By nightfall, Emma Fox hadn't seen Violette return. She called Quinton Rogers, the show's producer, and they met in the hotel lobby. Quinton frowned, his brow furrowing deeper. \"Violette’s phone is off. No signal or dead battery, but it’s been long enough for them to have made the trip twice over.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I know,\" Emma said, her voice tight. \"How could they still be up there?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Quinton checked with the front desk, only to be told there had been no sign of them. He tried calling again. Dead air.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">As dinner hour approached, the lobby began to fill with guests. A group of young, athletic men walked past them, laughing.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Seriously? Who schedules outdoor practice in a storm like this?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Maybe the coach just wants to test our resolve. You’re always playing the pampered prince, maybe you need the grit.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You think I’m on Blake Pierce's level? I’ve got a long way to go before I reach that kind of intensity.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Under normal circumstances, Emma might have recognized the face that appeared in every shipping thread online. But tonight, with Violette missing, her nerves were frayed. She blamed herself for losing the recording equipment and looked up at Quinton, her voice trembling on the verge of tears. \"Quinton, do you think… do you think something happened to her?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"It’s probably just a dead battery,\" he said, though he didn't sound convinced.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Before he could finish, one of the calls he’d been chasing finally connected. It was the supervisor at the industrial plant.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I just found out,\" the supervisor said. \"A truck driver radioed in. A section of the road collapsed. We’re waiting for emergency repairs.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"A landslide?\" Quinton’s voice rose, cutting through the lobby’s chatter. \"Did you see our reporter? Violette Ellis! The anchor from the station! She’s still up there!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The group of young men who were about to exit froze.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">One of them turned, his expression darkening. \"Who?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Emma was still wearing her station badge, the vibrant orange logo catching the light. Blake Pierce’s eyes locked onto it instantly. He strode toward them, his presence commanding the space. \"Who are you talking about? Who is still on the mountain?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">***\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Violette had always believed she was one of fate’s favorites.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She’d had a passionate romance and a marriage that served its purpose perfectly—she had everything others envied. Her career had skyrocketed, landing her in the anchor’s chair faster than anyone else. Even her descent from the mountain had been swift, almost sudden.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But on the whole, luck had usually been on her side.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Which was why this series of blows—the storm, the landslide, and now a car that refused to turn over—felt like a cruel mockery. *See?* fate seemed to sneer. *Every gift comes with a hole waiting for you to fall into.*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Tessa’s leg was incapacitated, one of their phones was water-logged, and the other was dead. Violette had considered trekking to the plant for help, but in this deluge, staying in the car was the only logical choice.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Tessa was dead set against her leaving. In a way, if someone from the news station went missing on her watch, she would be the one answering for it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">They waited until nightfall. With no heat and no lights, the car was nothing more than a metal shell, a temporary shelter from the wind and rain.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Will anyone from the plant pass by tonight?\" Violette asked.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"They should,\" Tessa replied, her entire body shaking—whether from the cold or the pain, Violette couldn't tell. \"They usually have a shift change at nine.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What if they know about the landslide and stop the shift?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Then the rain should stop,\" Tessa said. \"If that happens, it’s only a twenty-minute walk up to the plant.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Their worst-case scenario was waiting for the rain to break so Violette could climb. Violette had draped her own waterproof jacket over Tessa, but the water seeping in through the window frames had already soaked the seats. Neither of them was dry.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">When they weren't speaking, the only sound in the cabin was the metallic *click-clack* of a cigarette lighter cap snapping shut.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">In the darkness, the flame flickered on and off. It was like a tiny beacon counting down the seconds, a singular pulse of light in the freezing void.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Violette,\" Tessa said, handing the lighter over. \"You warm your hands now.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The metal casing was searingly hot from the constant use. Violette held it against her palms for a moment before handing it back. \"I’m good. Take it back.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Your teeth are chattering,\" Tessa said, trying to find a bitter sliver of humor.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Yours are, too.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">For a fleeting second, Violette wondered: what if no one knew they were trapped here? What if a torrent of mud suddenly swept the car off the cliff?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">There were no answers.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She turned her head to look out the window. The mountains were a wall of black; there were no lights, and the visibility was worse than it had been at the peak of the storm. In the distance, the faint, pale geometry of the reinforced concrete slopes provided her with the only shred of security she had left.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Violette, do you see something?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What?\" Violette licked her dry lips. \"Now is not the time for ghost stories.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Tessa laughed, a hollow, rattling sound. \"I’m not in the mood for it, either.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She pointed toward the rearview mirror. \"I think I see a light. Like headlights.\"\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272920451]