Lost Valley: The Hunted

by J. T. Cross

  LOST VALLEY

  A Serial Novel

  Part Two:

  The Hunted

  by

  J.T. Cross

  Books by J.T. Cross

  STANDALONE NOVELS

  Beneath the Deep

  LOST VALLEY SERIAL NOVEL

  The Discovery

  The Hunted

  The Escape

  Lost Valley: The Hunted

  Published by J.T. Cross

  Copyright © 2012 by J.T. Cross

  All rights reserved.

  E-book Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Dedication

  To Valerie for her patience while I worked on this book.

  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to J.R. Rain for the original story concept and characters presented in the Lost Valley. Thanks to Susanna Kubernus for her creative cover design and to Eve Paludan for her eye for detail and great insight as an editor.

  Lost Valley: A Serial Novel

  Part Two: The Hunted

  Author’s Note

  This book is Part 2 of the Lost Valley serial novel. The parts should be read in chronological order. For the best reader experience, please read Part 1 before reading Part 2.

  Previously…

  Luc’s ex-wife, Christie, and their two children were on a Northern Energies helicopter heading to a survey site at a remote location in the Alaskan wilderness. Her husband, Philip, and his associate, Dr. Jim Lackland, were also on the survey team. They had formed a partnership with Northern Energies to locate and develop a newly discovered ore that could provide a source of unlimited energy for mankind. The hope was that the profits from the discovery and eventual development would make everyone wealthy, including the Native Americans living in the Alaskan village of Manatuk.

  In an effort by Northern Energies to eliminate their partners, Victor Solanich, head of security for the corporation, planted an explosive device on the helicopter. When it was flying over an isolated section of the Alaskan wilderness, Victor remotely detonated the device.

  Chapter 1

  Victor released the red button on the detonator. He smiled with the realization that, at that moment, the helicopter was very likely spinning out of control and careening toward the ground. He handed back the microphone to Serena.

  “Try to contact them again,” he said.

  He knew if they didn’t answer, it was a pretty good sign that the explosive device had detonated as planned.

  Serena took the microphone and tried to contact the helicopter. “Mayday, Mayday, this is an emergency. Can anyone read me?”

  She repeated the call several more times. There was no response.

  “Take us back to Manatuk. I think we can call it a day,” Victor said with a self-satisfied look.

  “Did it blow up in the air?” she asked.

  “This was a rush job, Serena. I used what I had on hand from a previous job,” he said, feeling somewhat annoyed at her questioning. “I’m sure it was enough to disable the controls. I imagine they’re having quite a ride on their way down.”

  Serena closed her eyes for a moment and Victor thought she looked pained.

  “What’s wrong, Serena, feeling sorry for them?” he asked, the sound of disdain clearly evident in his voice.

  “No. It’s just a terrible way to go.”

  “Indeed,” he said, as he sat back in his seat and smiled.

  * * *

  Christie, still stunned by the concussion from the explosion, held on to the small conference table at the rear of the cabin as the out-of-control helicopter spun and weaved through the air. She fought to make sense of what was happening.

  Whatever had caused the explosion, it hadn’t been enough to totally destroy the helicopter, but it had been enough to throw it out of control. They were going down, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. She began mentally preparing herself for the crash that she knew was coming.

  She looked up at the kids. Both children had their heads down and covered with a pillow, just as the pilot had instructed.

  She wanted nothing more at that moment than to wrap her arms around them and tell them how much she loved them, to feel them in her arms just one more time. There wasn’t time for that.

  A little farther forward from the kids, Philip and Lackland were trying to get to their feet but kept falling each time the helicopter changed direction.

  She knew she had only seconds in which to do something that might help them, and then it came to her. She picked up the satellite phone.

  The satellite lock light flashed green. She dialed Luc’s number. It rang once, twice, then three times. “Please, please be home,” she whispered. The phone was answered.

  “Hi, I’m not home right now but you can leave a message.”

  Oh God, it was the answering machine. He wasn’t home, she thought. She was filled with desperation. She began to leave a message.

  “Luc, this is Christie. There was an explosion on the helicopter and we’re going to crash.” Her mind was racing. She took a deep breath. “We’re going down, into a valley, I think. I’m so sorry, Luc. I shouldn’t have taken the kids. Please forgive me, for everything.”

  There was a click and she heard Luc come on the line. “Christie, what’s going on?”

  The helicopter tilted forwards again, and she screamed. She could tell it was now in a nosedive and heading straight toward the ground.

  “We’re going to crash, Luc.”

  “What’s your location?”

  She looked up at the map display. There was a blinking message at the top of the screen that read:

  - - WARNING - -

  GPS Off-line

  Using Inertial Navigation

  Accuracy Is Reduced

  She didn’t completely understand what the message meant, but it didn’t look good. She read off the latitude and longitude numbers to Luc.

  “I’m not sure the location is accurate,” she yelled into the phone.

  She heard Luc’s voice. “I didn’t get all the numbers. You’re cutting out. Can you―” The shrill scream of digital garbage filled her ear as the satellite phone lost the connection.

  She looked up and stared out the front window. They were heading straight for the top of a mountain. She screamed as they hit the ground, and she felt herself slammed down into her seat. The phone was torn from her hand and then all hell broke loose.

  Horrendous banging and skidding sounds invaded the cabin. They had hit, but they were still alive, she thought, amazed. She lifted her head back up and once again looked out the front cockpit window. She saw they were skidding down a steep slope, heading straight for several large trees.

  Just before they reached the trees she braced herself against the table in front of her. Then they reached the trees and a series of explosive concussions occurred and shock waves raced through the cabin. The helicopter began to violently shake back and forth, while the engine above them began making a terrible whining sound. She was sure the helicopter would tear itself apart, but it didn’t.

  Directly ahead was another tree with a thick low-hanging branch that looked like it would hit them head on. She saw the pilot scoot down in his seat and duck.

  Panicked, she buried her face in her arms on the tabletop. She felt herself thrown forward and heard the crack of the branch breaking through the windshield.

  She lifted her head up and felt wind blowing against her face. She abruptly felt the seat thrust up beneath her as the helicopter was thrown upwards and was once again airborne. A weightless feeling lasted only seconds before they crashed back to earth and conti
nued their skid down the mountainside.

  Would the helicopter ever stop moving? she wondered. She didn’t know how much more the helicopter could take before it broke into pieces. Please, please, let it stop, she begged.

  She forced herself to look up again and saw they were sliding toward a small clearing that ended in a thick stand of trees. She braced herself and waited for the collision.

  She watched the trees approaching with a strange sense of detachment, as if in slow motion, and then they collided. She felt herself thrown forward with terrible force, her head hit the table, and everything went black...

  * * *

  In shock, Luc stared at the silent phone. He heard a loud click and a recorded voice came on the line: “If you would like to make a call please hang up and redial the number.”

  He stood holding the phone, staring at the tabletop as his mind refused to accept what he had just heard. He didn’t know what to do. Was this really happening? Was this some sort of a terrible prank? No, it couldn’t be. It was Christie’s voice and she would never joke that way. Something terrible had happened.

  He pressed the call history button on the phone and saw a list of all calls. He selected the most recent and pushed the talk button. The phone dialed the number. It gave two short rings then a recorded message began to play.

  “The number you are trying to reach is currently not accepting calls. Please leave a message at the tone.”

  Luc hung up the phone and went into the kitchen where the answering machine sat. He saw a light blinking red on the front and realized that it must be the first part of the message that Christie had been trying to leave.

  He pushed the play button and listened. He listened to her panicked voice. It was no joke, no prank. She was dead serious and scared to death.

  He picked up his personal phone book and looked up the number for the Manatuk airport. He quickly dialed the number. His call was routed directly to the Manatuk airport control tower.

  He explained the emergency and the man asked him to hold for a minute. His heart was racing so fast that he found it hard to breathe. This can’t be happening, he repeated over and over to himself. God, please don’t let this be happening.

  In his mind he kept replaying the picture of the kids climbing on the helicopter and waving at him with smiles on their faces. Then he remembered Philip, impatient to leave. He hated that man.

  The man at the airport came back on the line, “I’m sorry, sir. There was no flight plan filed for the Northern Energies helicopter.”

  Luc yelled at the man, “That doesn’t matter. I’m telling you that it crashed.”

  “We haven’t received any emergency communications concerning a helicopter crash.”

  “ My kids were on that helicopter, for God’s sake!”

  “Try to stay calm, sir.”

  Luc took a deep breath. “You have to believe me. It’s gone down somewhere about 100 miles north of Manatuk.”

  “Sir, I’ll check state emergency services to see if any alerts have been logged.”

  Once again, Luc waited.

  The man’s voice came back on the line. “Sir, I’m sorry. There have been no Mayday’s, and no emergency black box beacons have been picked up. If you would like to follow up with the FAA, here is their number—”

  “Never mind,” Luc yelled into the receiver. He hung up then dialed the 4-1-1 operator and asked her to connect him with the Northern Energies corporate offices in Seattle.

  The Northern Energies automated answering system answered the phone. He went through the menus until he was finally given an emergency option and a lady came on the line almost immediately.

  “You have reached the Northern Energies emergency center. Can I have your name and client number?”

  “My name is Luc Moon, and I’m not a client. I called to report an emergency situation to you.”

  “What is the nature of the emergency?” the lady asked calmly.

  “A Northern Energies helicopter has crashed about 100 miles north of the village of Manatuk in Alaska. I need to get in touch with Mr. Roland Valenkamp so he can get a search started.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Valenkamp is the CEO of Northern Energies. He’s not available for phone calls.”

  “This is an emergency, my two children were on that helicopter. I got a satellite call from their mother who was on the helicopter with them. She said the copter was out of control and going down.”

  There was silence for a moment. “Okay. Please hold the line, sir. I’ll see if I can get in touch with any of the staff.”

  Luc waited, his mind racing, thinking what his next step would be, but that depended on who came on the line next. Minute after minute went by until he was ready to scream. Then the music stopped and he heard a click.

  “Hello, this is Roland Valenkamp. Is that you, Mr. Moon?”

  “Yes. The helicopter that you let Philip, Jim Lackland, and Christie use crashed this afternoon.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes. I got a satellite call from Christie on the helicopter. She was terrified and yelling that the copter was going down, and they needed help.”

  “Mr. Moon. The helicopters we fly are sophisticated machines, and we have never had one go down. Our security department has not notified me of any crashes, but I’ll notify them about your call. They can try to contact the helicopter over our satellite communications link.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Valenkamp. I appreciate that. Will you call me when you get any information?” Luc asked.

  “Of course. What’s your number?”

  Luc gave him his phone number and Valenkamp hung up.

  Luc stared at the phone. He couldn’t get the sound of Christie’s screams out of his mind. The thought was almost too much to bear that everyone he loved most could be dead.

  Chapter 2

  Kate and Chuck sat at a corner table in McDonald’s in Fairbanks. They had almost finished eating an early dinner.

  Kate put down her hamburger and looked at Chuck. “This afternoon, when Luc was helping me clean my plane, it just seemed so right. You know, just the two of us. But I know a part of Luc still has feelings for Christie.”

  “I don’t think so. His eyes light up every time he sees you,” Chuck said.

  “Maybe you’re right. I just don’t like the fact that he went out to dinner with her. Is that wrong of me? Am I just being jealous?”

  “No. Everything’s going to work out. You just worry too much,” Chuck said, finishing the last bite of his second Big Mac.

  “I wouldn’t have believed it, if I hadn’t seen it,” Kate said.

  “Told you I could eat two of these and a large fries.”

  Kate’s cell phone rang, interrupting their conversation. She looked at the screen.

  “It’s Luc. I wonder what’s up. He should be having a nice cozy little evening with his kids and Christie right about now.” She pressed the answer button. “Hello.”

  “Kate!” His voice was tense and she could tell he was upset.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “There’s been an accident. The helicopter Christie and the kids were on has crashed somewhere in the eastern mountains.”

  “Oh God, Luc… No...”

  “She called me on the helicopter’s satellite phone screaming and scared to death. She said there had been an explosion and the helicopter was going down. It was horrible, Kate.”

  “Are you at your house?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’m packing. I have a rough idea of where to start looking, but that’s about it.”

  “Looking? Have you called the authorities?”

  “I tried. I didn’t get anywhere. Can you come over? I need someone to talk to. I’ve got to make some plans.”

  “Of course, I’m leaving the restaurant right now. Try and stay calm. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  She threw the phone in her purse and put on her jacket. “That was Luc. He thinks the helicopter his kids wer
e on crashed. I have to get over to his place right away.”

  “Crashed…” Chuck said with a stunned look. “If there’s anything I can do to help, have him call me.”

  “Thanks, Chuck. I will. I’ll see you later, I have to go.” She picked up her purse and hurried out of the restaurant.

  * * *

  Kate pushed her Ford Explorer hard and within ten minutes was at Luc’s house. She pulled into the driveway and saw him in the garage, pulling things off the shelves. She shut off the engine and rushed in.

  “Have you heard anything else since we talked?” she asked.

  “No, but come with me, I want you to hear Christie’s message on the answering machine.”

  With a grim look on his face, he led her out of the garage and into the house. They went into the kitchen where he pressed the play button on the machine.

  Kate listened to Christie’s frantic pleas for help with increasing discomfort. She felt her heart racing.

  “Her last request was for me to rescue her and the kids. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s that.”

  “Do you have any idea where the helicopter went down?” Kate asked.

  “She tried to give me the latitude and longitude readings but her voice was cutting in and out. I missed a few of the numbers.” Luc walked into the dining room, and she followed. He picked up a pad of paper and handed it to Kate.

  “You’re missing the seconds on the latitude,” she said, handing it back to him.

  “I know. It’s going to be impossible to pinpoint where she was located when she called me.”

  He went to his desk and pulled out a map of Alaska. He unfolded it and spread it across the dining room table. Running his fingers across the top and the sides of the map, he located the intersection of the coordinates. He drew a red X at the location then drew a vertical line through the X.