"Are we there yet? I think, I need some rest", I said, as I stopped for a moment.
"Alright, no problem", Hudson said, as he took out a water jug from his rucksack.
I sat on a log, and then, I took a look around. I had never been in the woods in my entire life. It was so serene. All I could hear was the chirping of the birds flying from tree to tree and I saw the pleasant sight of the shrubs and hedges surrounding the trees. Tranquility truly helped me calm my head.
"Have you been here before?" Clarisse asked me, as she sat beside me.
"No, I haven’t. You know, I want to stay here. This is the place that relieves me", I replied.
"I’m sorry but, we must go on. We can’t be here for too long."
"I know. I just want to clear my head."
"So, can you recall anything?"
"Not this time. I’m not 100% mentally-renewed."
"It’s okay. You’re building one right now."
Meanwhile, Hudson and his family were having a French conversation.
"Quel est votre plan?" Clara asked. (What is your plan?)
"Le plan ne change pas. Nous allons Flintmore et nous obtenons Jacob à l'hôpital", Hudson replied. (The plan is not changing. We are going to Flintmore and we get Jacob to a hospital.)
"Qu'allons-nous faire après cela?" Clara asked again. (What are we going to do after that?)
"Nous allons continuer la vie, dans une toute nouvelle façon", Hudson replied again. (We are going to continue life, in a brand new way.)
"Qu'en est-il de votre responsabilité? Je ne veux pas vous mettre en péril votre travail." (What about your responsibility? I do not want you to jeopardize your job.)
" Famille d'abord, avant toute autre chose." (Family's first, before anything else.)
Clara smiled after Hudson's words. After that, she took Hannah's hand and they both hugged Hudson tightly.
Suddenly, Clarisse interrupted.
"I apologize for breaking into your conversation. I just want to ask where this woods leads us."
"It leads us probably to the city", Hudson replied.
"Ahh! My head! I can also feel pain of my leg. It must be dislocated or something", I said, as I got up from my seat and I stumbled on the ground.
"Jacob, are you alright?!" Clarisse approached and asked me.
"We need to continue. We don’t have enough much time", Clara said.
"Come on. Here, let me help you", Hudson said, as he approached to crutch me along the way.
After 30 minutes of walking, we passed by a couple of men with rifles. They stopped us, by pointing their guns.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" a man asked us.
We just stared at each other, wondering why there was a group of armed men in a forest. It seems like they were just hunters.
"Identify yourselves!" another man asked.
"I’m Dr. Hudson Rhinebeck, French Virologist of the Halford Research Facility. This is my wife, Clara and my daughter, Hannah. This is Jacob Styles, former Rushford Police Officer and this is Clarisse Bradford, a concert singer", Hudson introduced ourselves.
When the men heard those words, they began whispering at each other. After a minute, they spoke.
"Did you just say that you’re a virologist from Halford Inc. in France?" a man asked Hudson.
"Yes."
"We want you to come with us right now."
"Where are you taking me?"
"No questions asked. You need to come with us."
"What’s with all about that? We want to know", Clara asked.
"Wait. You’re getting this all wrong. We just need to go to a nearest hospital at Flintmore. Jacob here needs medical attention. He needs to be checked up and treated", Clarisse said.
"Unfortunately, this is a restricted area. We got some orders not to let trespassers inside the city. Only Dr. Rhinebeck is being waited to comply with our invitation", the man said.
"What about my family?" Hudson asked.
"Your family comes, too."
"Hey. Do you know what you’re doing?" I whispered to Hudson.
"I can’t just leave my family out here", he replied.
"I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about what’s going on."
"Doctor, come with us. He needs you right away", the man interrupted.
"Who needs him?" Clara asked.
"We better have this conversation in private. This is not the right place and not the right time to talk about that. Besides, it’s only Dr. Hudson here who’s concerned with a proposal."
"Proposal? What do you mean?" I asked.
"We can’t tell you. Come on now, doctor. We’ve just called a chopper ready for our rendezvous."
After several minutes, a helicopter appeared above the skies. It was gradually descending to the open field of the forest.
"We don’t have time to waste doctor. Get in", the man said.
After that, Hudson stared at us and said.
" Voyage bien, mes amis. Commencer un nouveau début." (Travel well, my friends. Start a new beginning.)
Clarisse and I just nodded our heads. We stayed on our position, until the chopper ascended and disappeared at the skies.
"So long", I whispered.
"What do you think those men are going to do with them?" Clarisse asked me.
"I don’t have any idea. Come on, let’s walk on foot. I have a feeling that we’re getting nearer to the city."
"Are you still okay?" she asked me again.
"Yes, I am. Come on, I can still walk."
We continued to move forward for the rest of the day.
YOU ARE READING
Hunger
TerrorThis novel is about an unveiled secret of a controversy behind the founding of a super laboratory known as the Halford Industries, Inc. Head Researcher Richard Halford together with his adopted sons, Chris and Randall Arkline, tried to fulfill an am...
