Mason
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
You hear it too?
He asked.
I didn't ask what it was.
I just nodded.
We didn't talk much as we packed.
We ate cold food because neither of us wanted to make a fire.
We took down the food hang and checked it.
Nothing was missing.
No obvious claw marks.
The rope looked normal.
And then we found Mason's satellite messenger.
It was still clipped to his shoulder strap, exactly where it should have been.
The problem was that the clip was open.
He stared at it, then unclipped it and looked closer.
The little plastic gate that locks the carabiner had been twisted, not broken, just rotated in a way that it wouldn't lock properly anymore.
Someone could have opened it with fingers, slipped it off, and put it back.
Someone could have done it in the dark, quietly, without stepping on the tent fabric while we slept a few feet away.
Mason's face went pale in a slow, controlled way.
He didn't panic.
He didn't swear.