They heard a shot, then shouts. Dinara momentarily stopped, but Alexei pulled her onward:
"We can't go back! Ermek knows what he's doing!"
They ran up the slope, stumbling over stones and roots. Behind them came new voices and the beam of a flashlight sweeping through the trees. They were being pursued.
"This way!" Dinara pulled Alexei off the path, into dense shrubbery.
They squeezed through thick branches and found themselves in a small clearing hidden from the path. They crouched, listening. The steps and voices of their pursuers drew closer. A flashlight beam glided dangerously close to their hiding place.
"They couldn't have gone far!" said one voice in Russian with an accent. "Check the bushes!"
Dinara pressed against Alexei; he could feel her breath and rapid heartbeat. The medallion on his neck suddenly felt heavy and hot, as if heated by an internal fire.
The flashlight beam slid across the bushes behind which they were hiding, paused for a moment, and… continued moving. The pursuers passed them by.
"They probably ran further up the path," said another voice. "Let's go there!"
The footsteps moved away. Alexei and Dinara looked at each other in the half-darkness, not believing their luck.
"How did they not see us?" whispered Alexei.
"I don't know," Dinara whispered back. "But we need to move. They'll soon realize we're not on the path and come back."
They emerged from the bushes and continued on their way, now more slowly and cautiously, moving parallel to the path but staying in the undergrowth. The forest grew denser, and the slope steeper. Finally, they reached a rocky outcrop that provided a view of the lake and the reserve.
"Look," Dinara whispered, pointing down.
Three black jeeps stood by Ermek's house. Flashlight beams darted between the trees—the pursuers continued to search for them.
"We need to keep moving," said Alexei. "Where is this hunting shelter Ermek mentioned?"
"If I understand correctly, it should be higher up the slope, in the rocks," Dinara looked around. "There are several grottos carved by wind and rain in the sandstone. Ermek uses them to observe wildlife."
They continued climbing. The forest gradually thinned, giving way to rocky scree and low shrubs. After half an hour, they reached a rock belt—vertical sandstone walls about ten meters high.
"Now we need to go along the rocks," said Dinara. "The grotto should be somewhere around here."
They moved slowly along the base of the cliffs, carefully examining each crack and depression. The moon illuminated the stones, casting peculiar shadows that sometimes took the form of cave entrances, misleading them.
Finally, Dinara stopped before a small opening, almost completely hidden by shrubs.
"I think it's here," she parted the branches and peered inside. "Yes, definitely. Help me move the brush aside."
Together they cleared the entrance and went in. It was a small grotto, spacious enough to accommodate several people. In the back stood a simple wooden bench, and on a stone ledge serving as a shelf lay canned food, matches, and a kerosene lamp.
"There are even supplies," Alexei said with relief. "Your uncle is well-prepared."
"Ermek is always ready for the unexpected," Dinara lit the lamp, and a soft light illuminated the interior of the grotto. "He says that in the mountains, you need to be prepared for anything—from encountering a snow leopard to a sudden blizzard."
