Island Xion's Thirty-Seventh Chapter: A New Adventure
In the latest instalment of the DCI Nash series, book 6, our protagonist, DCI Silas Nash, finds himself on a mission that leads him to a remote cabin on Xion Island Zero.
Nash, having left the police station with a sense of dread, was in need of normalcy. He took a brief respite, taking as long as he dared to enjoy a takeaway fish and chips, before heading out on his mission.
As he led his immediate team and the negotiator, Mike, on foot, they were joined by men in bulletproof vests and helmets, sent to the rear of the area. The dense bush made for no easy escape, as there was no back door, so to speak.
The cabin, nestled between the dark trees, was sunken, with dusty windows and a door left ajar. A wisp of smoke curled from the makeshift chimney, indicating that whoever was inside was expecting visitors.
Nash's phone buzzed with a photo of a faded trailhead sign in Grizedale, the undercover officers having given him the coordinates of the old trail. He cross-checked these coordinates with online photographs of forestry routes and disused ranger cabins in Grizedale.
As they approached the cabin, Nash felt a foreboding sense of unease. The decorations looked wrong and absurdly cheerful, a stark contrast to the surrounding darkness. A voice in his head, a warning from Max, echoed in his mind about an empty chair at Christmas and death waiting.
The cabin, though ancient and derelict, had been reinforced by someone. Nash couldn't shake off the feeling that they were walking into a trap.
Despite this, they entered the cabin, where the light from a candle appeared in the window and flickered a welcome. A smell hit Nash, it was smoke, burning pine sap, and rusting metal with the taint of an accelerant.
As they moved with training and precision, Nash heard a voice in his head again, this time from Max, who had sent him the word DEATH. The mission was far from over, and Nash knew that the stakes were higher than ever.
