Chapter 13: Reaching the Relay Tower
The freezing mountain wind whipped through the dense pine forest as Clara and Mark scrambled up the steep rocky incline toward the ridge. Their breath plumed white in the freezing air, and their muscles burned with exhaustion, but the adrenaline of survival drove them upward through the rough terrain.
“We need to reach the state forest fire watchtower on top of the ridge,” Mark panted, holding a branch aside so Clara could squeeze past. “There’s an old copper emergency radio repeater up there linked directly to the state emergency services network. It operates on analog frequencies that cannot be jammed by digital broadband blockers.”
Clara nodded silently, clutching the encrypted hard drive tightly in her jacket pocket. Her legs ached from hours of running, but her focus remained absolute. They had survived the cabin siege, but they knew the corporate contractors would soon realize they had escaped through the root cellar and would comb the forest in search of their tracks.
After another agonizing twenty minutes of climbing through the jagged rocks and thick underbrush, they broke through the tree line onto the windy summit of the ridge. Standing proudly against the star-filled night sky was the skeletal steel frame of the old fire watchtower, its small glass cabin perched precariously thirty feet above the ground on iron stilts.
Mark rushed to the base of the metal staircase, checking the access ladder. “It’s unlocked. Climb up, quickly!”
They scrambled up the narrow metal steps, the wind howling around them as they gained elevation. Reaching the glass-enclosed cabin at the top, Mark pushed the door open and pulled Clara inside, slamming the metal latch shut behind them.
The interior was dusty and abandoned, filled with old topographic maps and emergency signaling equipment. In the center of the room sat a heavy, ruggedized analog radio transmitter connected to a massive copper antenna array mounted on the roof.
Mark dropped into the metal chair in front of the console, flicking the heavy toggle switches to activate the transmitter. Tubes warmed with a faint amber glow, and the built-in speaker emitted a soft, static hiss.
“Can you broadcast the encrypted archive over the analog carrier wave?” Clara asked anxiously, looking out the glass windows down toward the dark treeline below, where faint beams of tactical flashlights were beginning to pierce the darkness.
“I can modulate the digital data into audio tones and transmit the entire archive directly to the state emergency dispatch center in the valley,” Mark said, his hands moving expertly across the dials and knobs. “They are legally required by federal statute to record and archive all emergency broadcast transmissions onto public servers immediately. Once it hits their public log, it’s immortal.”
“Do it,” Clara urged firmly.
May you like
Mark lined up the transmission frequency, plugged the portable hard drive directly into the audio modulation port, and slammed his hand down on the red broadcast key.
***
