On the night shifts, when the ward fell silent, she quietly recorded him. “Warn… vent… rising… evacuate…,” he mumbled, sound sliding in and out of sense. Her pen scratched across paper. Even half-conscious, his mind kept orbiting the same terrain—the earth itself—as though that part of him refused to fade.
The following evening, Helen searched the missing-persons archives out of instinct. It took time; the case was nearly two decades old. Finally, one record made her pause: Ward, Caleb. Geologist. Missing since 2008. Last contact: Marlin Ridge survey. Next of kin: Rachel Ward.