shed thick branches together with climbing rope while Will seale

e just swim it

erek said without looking up. "We don't

andfather's map. The lake shimmered like liquid mercury. No

," Samir muttered, running a probe i

sn't co

Will stayed behind to document and keep watch from shore. The island sat barely forty feet from lan

ed-not from current, but like

d suddenly, scanning the wat

nseen but sharp, brushing ag

ke that, we t

stal and the box. The box itself was aged but intact-about the size of a shoebo

re it. My ha

ir said. "L

as alrea

o lights. J

simple brass, cracked glass, the needle twitchi

different east. Dee

h age. I opened it carefully. My grandfather's ha

something older than history. The valley is not lost-it is hidden. Guarded.

t line h

n my pack. The moment we touched the mainland, the raft

one spoke. We didn't need to.

e ridge. We had f

anted to show us