Episode 5 - Mile High Wrestling (06/13/18)

Hendricks: Well, Hawkeye, see anything?

Malcom: Actually…

He then slowly walks towards one of the more intact cabins while staring intently at the ground. As Malcom gets closer to the cabin he takes off his red bag and carefully puts it on the ground. The whole time Hendricks follows behind with a look of doubt on his face. Malcom walks up the small steps leading to the porch of the cabin and studies parts of the wooden railing. He notices a few long slashes on some parts and makes a grunting noise. Malcom then turns his attention to the cabin door and tries to open it. It takes a few shoves from him but it finally flings open with his last attempt. Inside the cabin it’s dusty and cobwebs are practically everywhere.

Hendricks: Good job Malcom, you opened an abandoned cabin.

Malcom: Look.

Malcom points over to a corner of the room where there is a table on its side and a few chairs scattered around. Malcom walks over to the area and crouches down. In front of him there’s trash littered around. Serval trail mix bags and what appears to be the recent ash from a small fire.

Malcom: I think we just got one step closer, Hendricks.

Hendricks: All right, so we know that they probably ended up here recently but now what?

Malcom: I don’t think they both were here.

Hendricks: Again with this thinking they split up? Why the hell would they do that?

Malcom: Like I said at the campsite, I don’t think they did it on purpose. It’s clear something scared them and they wanted to get out as quickly as possible. My guess is they went for their truck but something stopped them from doing that. Maybe they saw whatever scared them over there so they took off into the woods thinking they could escape that way. Then later as they got closer to here something happened and they got split up. Maybe one of them tripped and the other didn’t realize it or since it was dark their paths simply split while they thought they were still right beside each other. All I know is that everything I see tells me only one of them were here.

Just as Malcom finishes talking the young park ranger he was talking to earlier walks in seeming to be out of breath. Malcom and Hendricks look at him slightly confused.

PR: Guys, I think you’re going to want to see this.

The three of them walks out of the cabin and walk over to one of the cabins that looks like it’s about to collapse on itself. Outside the cabin the members from this part of the search party are all standing around looking confused and a little horrified. Malcom and Hendricks step past them making their way to the door of the cabin. As they get closer Malcom and Hendricks notice that the walls and door are covered in long deep slashes. Once they enter the inside is littered with bones of various animals. Small bones from squirrels or raccoons all the way up to bones of deer are randomly scattered around with some in piles.

Hendricks: What the hell? It almost looks like…a nesting area. But…

Malcom: All right, we need to get out of here and check out that spring area.

Hendricks: What would do this?

Malcom: Hendricks! We need to go.