Chapter 452

“FUCK!”

Luke was startled and instinctively drew his pistol from his belt.

The black face by the window also showed a look of horror and turned to run.

It would run, it was a live one.

People scare people to death, there are few people in this empty canyon, there is a human face next to the window silently, anyone would be startled.

Walker was also startled, someone close to the caravan himself actually did not realize: “I’ll keep this dog.”

If there is a dog, odds are it can hear movement.

Walker watched the car surveillance and Luke watched outside through the window opening.

A black man runs away in panic, he seems to be startled as well.

Luke checks his pistol, magazine, “I’ll get out of the car and take a look.”

Walker gripped his right hand on the grip of his revolver, “Be careful, I’ll cover you.”

“Don’t be too nervous, it’s probably just an ordinary tourist.” Luke opened the door, looked around and stepped out of the RV.

The black man who had been spying on the RV seemed to have run and hid behind a large rock.

“Hey, anybody? Come out and say hi.”

“I’m not a bad guy, please don’t shoot.” The black man peeked his head out from behind the boulder.

Luke beckoned the other man to come out from behind the rock, “What are you?”

“I’m a traveler in trouble, come to get help.”

“Then why don’t you knock on the door instead of sneaking around and looking in the windows?”

“I just wanted to see if there was anyone inside, and if there was, I would have knocked.”

Luke asked back, “And if there’s no one?”

“I’ll leave or wait around the RV until you guys get back, I know the rules and I’m not a bad guy.” The black man stepped out from behind the boulder, he was about Luke’s height and didn’t look very old, probably in his early twenties.

“What are you doing in Red Rock Canyon?”

“Traveling.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Two, my companion and I got separated by accident, and now I’m alone, I’m a good person, and I’m here just to ask for help.”

“Do you have a weapon?”

“Yes, I have a pistol for defense.”

“Is your companion armed?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Did you fire your gun last night?”

“No.”

In other words, he hadn’t been the one to drive off the wolves last night, and Luke put away his pistol; the other man was not much of a threat with only one man.

The black man walked over and offered to shake Luke’s hand, “Hi, how are you, my name is Armas Martin, I’m a traveler from New York State.”

“You’re from New York?”

“Yes, I know it’s a bit far, but it’s so beautiful here, it captivated me, it’s like a mother calling her child, can you understand that feeling?”

“Yes, I can.” Walker stepped out of the RV as well, “That’s why I came to Red Rock Canyon.”

Armas Martin said in a sincere tone, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have approached the RV without permission.”

“Yes, it was indeed rude and a dangerous behavior.

If it had been at night …… the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

Walker sized up Armas Martin, he had been in the judicial field for many years and was a good judge of character, in his experience the other man shouldn’t have been too much of a threat, inviting, “Come on, let’s have a cup of coffee.”

“Thanks.” Armas Martin walked over to the RV and gulped, sniffing hard, “Are you guys having breakfast?”

Walker said, “Yes, would you like some?”

“Great, I’ve been stuck in this hellhole all night and I’m tired and hungry.

God bless you, what a good man.” Armas Martin gave a grateful look.

Walker waved his hand, “You’re welcome, it’s just a meal.”

Luke asked, “Didn’t you store any food before you went into the canyon?”

“Yes, my friend and I drove two cars, the food was in the other car, and yesterday the two of us split up ……

agreed on a rendezvous point, but because my car broke down, there was no way to make it to the agreed upon spot, and things came to a head.

I’m really starving.”

Although Armas Martin didn’t seem to be in much danger, he was a stranger after all, and instead of inviting him into the caravan, the two Walkers moved the folding table outside, and the three of them had breakfast outside the caravan.

Armas Martin was starved, and just as he sat down at the table he picked up his coffee and drank it in one gulp, and picked up the milk on the side and dried it too, and picked up the bread and ate it in one big mouthful.

The other party’s eating indirectly recognized his own cooking skills, Walker smiled, “Young man, what kind of trouble are you in?”

“Yesterday afternoon, I had a problem with my car, I couldn’t walk to the rendezvous point, and I couldn’t reach my friend’s cell phone or walkie-talkie, so I had to wait for help where I was.

Last night, I heard coyotes, it was a rough night.”

“Did you hear gunshots last night?”

“Yes.”

Luke asked, “Were you surrounded by coyotes before the gunshots, or after?”

“After.” Armas Martin finished and asked back, “Did you guys fire the shots?”

“No. We’re looking for the shooter, too.” Luke guessed that the coyotes had been attracted by the smell of barbecued lamb chops around the RV, and then someone had used a shotgun to drive the wolves away, and that pack had run off to surround Armas Martin again.

The unlucky man was tantamount to indirectly helping Luke’s two men take a bullet.

Armas Martin said, “I felt that the gunshots sounded like they were coming from this direction, so I came over this morning to take my chances, and I didn’t expect to really meet you guys.

Thanks again for the breakfast.”

Walker asked, “What’s wrong with your car? Anything we can do to help?”

“Can I get some gasoline? My car is out of gas.”

“I’m sorry, we’d like to help you, but we’re a diesel car.”

“That’s too bad.” Armas Martin was obviously a little lost, “I’ll just have to think of something else, thanks anyway.”

Walker asked, “You didn’t refuel before entering the canyon?”

“Added and filled up the gas tank.

Yesterday afternoon I parked on the south side of the canyon and went for a trip inside the canyon. When I got back I found the cap on the tank open and the gasoline inside was gone, some asshole had actually stolen my gas.”

Walker asked, “Did you lose anything else in your car?”

“No, nothing else is missing.”

Walker said, “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a thief who didn’t steal anything from the car, just gasoline.”

“That’s right, I wondered about that too. Guessing I hadn’t met a pervert.” Armas Martin stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth in one bite, showing a contented look.

“Do you have any plans now?”

“I’ve got to find a way to get gasoline, can’t just push the car back.” Armas Martin turned his head to look at the two Luke’s, “When are you two planning on going back? Can you give me a ride?”

“We just came to the canyon for a few more days, we don’t plan on going back for a while.” Walker looked at Luke and said, “Don’t you have the contact information for the canyon warden, maybe he can help.”

“Let me look for it.” Luke returned to the RV and came out again with a business card in his hand.

“This is a guy we met in the rest area, he claims to be the canyon warden, his name is Carlos. If you need help, you can try to get in touch with him.”

“Thanks guys, this is just what I needed.” With a grateful look on his face, Armas Martin took out his cell phone and dialed the number on the business card; it didn’t work.

Armas Martin called again on his walkie-talkie, still no response.

Walker looked at the walkie-talkie in his hand, “That little guy of yours won’t work, better use our big guy.”

Walker took Armas Martin to the RV, turned on the walkie-talkie, adjusted the channel, and called on the RV’s walkie-talkie, “Hello, can you hear me?”

“Yes, this is Canyon Warden Carlos, what can I do for you?” A man’s voice came from across the room.

“Hi Administrator Carlos how are you, my name is Armas Martin and I’m visiting Red Rock Canyon. My car ran out of gas and now I can’t get out of Red Rock Canyon, can you help me?”

“The car won’t start anymore?”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything else wrong with it?”

“No, just out of gasoline.”

“What’s your location now?”

“I don’t know where this place is. My walkie talkie has too short a range and I’m talking on someone else’s walkie talkie.”

“I need to know where you are to help you, there are quite a few signs in the canyon so you can look around.”

Armas Martin thought for a moment and looked around, “I’m on the south bank of the canyon.

By the way, I remember, there’s a sign about a few hundred meters from my car that says D287.”

The intercom repeated, “D287?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I have your approximate location and I can deliver the gasoline.”

“Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, there’s a charge for this.”

“How much?”

“Five gallons, five hundred dollars.”

“Jesus Christ, that’s too expensive for you! It’s no different than a robbery!” Armas Martin complained.

“I’m a canyon warden, not a babysitter. If you think it’s expensive, you don’t have to.”

Armas Martin gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, “Can it be cheaper?”

“I have work this morning, so if you can wait, I’ll deliver it to you this afternoon and only charge you $400.”

“Are you sure you can make it this afternoon?”

“Not sure, not until I get my work organized.”

Armas Martin was completely out of temper, “Okay, five hundred dollars is five hundred dollars, when can you probably come over?”

“Within an hour.” After saying that, the other side of the intercom hung up.

Armas Martin was somewhat helpless, “This guy is practically a vampire.”

Luke said, “I don’t know him either, I just happened to run into him in the rest area.”

“It’s none of your business, thanks anyway.” Armas Martin stood up, “I’m going to go and wait for that vampire to bring the gasoline.”

Luke kindly warned, “Man, be careful traveling alone out there.”

“I will. I forgot to ask, what are you guys doing here?”

Luke said perfunctorily, “We’re also here to travel.”

“Have fun.” Armas Martin got out of the RV and walked off into the distance.

On the side, Walker asked, “Luke, what do you think?”

Luke shook his head, his mind was clueless even now.

Ever since the two came to the canyon various things kept happening.

First, they met Carlos, the canyon administrator, who advised the two not to enter the canyon on the grounds that tourists were missing.

At night, the caravan was attacked by wolves again, followed by the sound of shotguns.

Luke and the men take shifts on watch and find nothing out of the ordinary, but instead a peeping black guy pops up early in the morning and says his car’s gas has been stolen.

It’s creepy any way you look at it.

Then there was that canyon warden, Carlos, who replied that the gasoline would be here within the hour.

Yesterday, Luke had taken them over three hours to leave the rest area and drive here, and even if they’d stopped on the way, the drive would have been two hours.

That meant he wasn’t far from where he was.

Did he make up the gasoline theft? Stealing Amarth Martin’s gasoline just to sell it at a high price?

That’s not right either. Armas Martin didn’t have his contact information, and that business card was still provided by Luke.

If Armas Martin hadn’t met Walker and himself, there was no way for them to get in touch with each other.

Or maybe he was overthinking it and these were just accidents?

Luke and Walker simply packed up and drove the RV into the bottom of the canyon as they had planned last night.

The road inside the canyon was winding and rugged, and after driving for a while, the road in front of them narrowed and the RV encountered difficulties in passing.

Luke and the two parked the RV in a safe area and got out to hike to the bottom of the canyon.

The two men carried little; water, food, guns, and medical kits.

Walker also brought his sniper rifle.

The sniper rifle was a large caliber bullet, which was more effective against the beasts.

Luke’s Glock pistol shoots fast and has a lot of bullets, which is okay against people.

However, it is not suitable for use in the wild, the bullet caliber is too small, the power is small, it is difficult to kill the beast with a single blow, wounding the beast will only make it become more ferocious.

If the next wilderness adventure, Luke would consider carrying a revolver or shotgun.

“It’s so beautiful here!” Walker let out a burst of emotion, removed the camera he was carrying to take a picture, and handed it back to Luke who was beside him, “What do you think?”

“Nice shot.”

Walker laughed, “Compared to nature, we humans are too small. Come out and take a look around, all those troubles are nothing.

When your heart is big, your worries are small.”

Luke took out the treasure map to check, “According to the treasure map, there should be a balancing stone near here, as long as we find that balancing stone, it means we are not far from the treasure location.”

Walker looked around with his cell phone, “Man, don’t be so arbitrary, there are quite a few Balancing Stones in Red Rock Canyon, it can only be used as one of the markers.”

Walker took a few steps forward and realized that Luke wasn’t following, craning his head back, Luke was crouched down on the ground and seemed to be observing something, “Find anything?”

“I found tire marks, like from a motorcycle.”

Walker also walked over to check it out and frowned, “That’s not right, the tire marks don’t look like a motorcycle.”

Luke said, “It should be a partial three-wheeled motorcycle, the right side of the motorcycle with a bucket.”

“It’s a bit interesting, this kind of motorcycle is quite suitable for exploration and treasure hunting.”

Luke pointed to the tire marks, “The marks should be new.”

Walker laughed, “It seems that there are quite a few people who run to this canyon to travel.”

Luke stood up as well and continued on his way.

The two walked for another twenty minutes or so before they reached the bottom of the canyon, looking at the tall rock walls on either side for another view.

As the sun was getting higher, the two tried to find a shady spot to rest for a while, and managed to see a shade tree, only to find a rattlesnake under it.

In the spirit of first come, first served, the two men did not disturb the rattlesnake as it rested and continued on its way.

Walker peered around with his looking glass, “Hey, I think I’ve spotted the partial three-wheeled motorcycle, but I don’t see anyone.”

Luke was still quite interested in the motorcycle, “Let’s go over there and take a look.”

With Walker leading the way, the two found the black bias three-wheeled motorcycle, which was locked, and there was indeed no one to be seen around.

Luke first looked around, and then lowered his head to check the ground and said, “There should only be one person on the other side.”

“How do you know that?”

Luke pointed to the ground, “There is only one person’s shoe print, it should be a man.”

Walker walked over to the black, off-center three-wheeled motorcycle, which looked a little old and had quite a few scuff marks, but it didn’t affect its use.

He stood next to the bike and asked, “Isn’t that cool?”

“Want me to take a picture of you?”

“Never mind, you should ask the owner’s permission before taking a picture.” Walker waved his hand and whispered, “I think the owner of this partial three-wheeled motorcycle is also here on a treasure hunt.”

“Don’t worry about him, let’s just follow our own route to find it.”

As the two continued on their way, Luke vaguely felt that he heard a sound and gestured to Walker.

Walker picked up the binoculars to check, “There’s a man sitting on the ground in front of us, he seems to be injured.”

He handed the binoculars to Luke.

Luke also peered into the distance, the man looked like he had a foot injury and was carrying a shotgun, no one else was seen around.

Luke said, “Find a spot nearby with high ground and easy concealment and I’ll go over and take a look.”

“Be careful.”

The two of them split up, Walker went a little further and found a high ground where it was easy to hide, he lay down on the ground with his looking glass in his left hand and his sniper rifle on his right side.

Luke, on the other hand, walked towards the wounded man.

The voice was also getting clearer, “FUCK! It hurts like hell, what asshole did this?

If I knew who it was? You’re dead.”

Luke didn’t get too close and purposely made his voice early, “Hey man, need some help?”

The wounded man jerked his head up, an old white man with gray hair, and his first reaction was to raise his shotgun.

Luke opened his arms, “No need to be nervous, I’m visiting, I saw you were hurt and wanted to see if you needed help?”

Seeing that Luke was not holding a weapon, the old white man was also relieved and lowered his shotgun, “Sorry, I was a little too nervous.

You’d better stand still, some asshole set up a trap here and I don’t want you to be in my shoes.”

It was then that Luke saw that the old white man had a steel trap clamped on his foot, he was trying to break it with his hand but it wasn’t working very well.

“How did you get caught in the trap?”

The old white man gritted his teeth and said, “No, it’s not for trapping animals, it’s for catching people, someone purposely set a trap!”