By five a.m., the sky to the east was purple and red. Cole zoomed out the GPS screen to look at how far he’d travelled through the night. It gave him hope he was almost done. As the stars faded and the eastern horizon turned orange, Cole could make out the tree line to his west. He cross-referenced his GPS again and knew he was within a few miles of the river bank.
With the morning light, Cole’s fatigue faded. To the east was daylight. Above him hung all the shades of a Caribbean morning that he loved so much. The water reflected the first glimmers of sunlight, and Cole could see the rolling waves and mist marking the reefline ahead. Salt spray rose up from the swells and was carried by the morning land breeze. Cole throttled back as he hit the waypoint and he turned off the GPS. It had b
