A Night Of Terror

CHAPTER TWO

>>>>>TWO DAYS EARLIER<<<<<

"I'll be down in a minute, mum," I shouted back in response to her call.
Stuffing the right things in my bag had proved hectic for me as I had never engaged in this kind of travel before. I kept putting in things into the bag and then bringing them out again while mum prepared breakfast downstairs. I regretted not packing up the night before.

"Your food is surely gonna be cold when you do get down here."

I sighed. I then brought everything out of the bag and decided to travel light. I stuffed in a few clothes and a few other thing's I'll be needing, including my notepad. I swung the bag over my shoulder and headed downstairs.

"Good morning, mum," I greeted, joining her at the table.

"I can see you're all set," said mum. "Something else I also can see is excitement written all over your face."

"You can't begin to imagine how excited I am about this trip. I feel so alive."

"You really need to be careful out there, you know. You've never been there before."

"Thanks, mum, I sure will," I said, hungrily munching the potatoes and eggs in haste. "Two days maximum and I'm back with the specimen."

"What did you say the name is again?
"Oh, it's the Duidlac flower. Very rare, almost extinct. With this little amazing flower, it will be a new dawn in the world of medicine. With this little plant lies the cure to Cancer. You're right, mum, I'm really excited about this."

"I'm proud of you, Frank. I know your dad would be, too. He always loved science."

"Yeah."

"I just have a bad feeling about all this but I guess all I can do is pray for you, right?" Mum said with a sigh.

"There you go again, mum. You are worried about virtually everything," I laughed, finishing up my breakfast. "By the way, Danny's coming along with me. We'll just get there, search for the little plant, get it and head back home. What could ever go wrong?"

"Just concerned about you, son. You are totally leaving the continent in search of a rare plant in a place you've never been before. If only you knew someone there. You're all I got left, you know."

"Which is why I really want this, to make you and dad proud."
"That's alright, Frankie. Just let me get my keys let me ride you to the airport."

Danny was already waiting for us at the airport as we arrived. We booked our flight and I waved mum goodbye as we headed for Nicaragua.

As we flew past the clouds, Danny and I chatted for a while before he fell asleep. The excitement in me would not let me calm my nerves. I found my thoughts wandering to what got me here in the first place. A week before today, I had come across a historical book concerning the ancient natives of the Americas. Something that caught my attention was the little Duidlac flower that grew there at that time and how it was used by the natives. This little poisonous plant could fight off any abnormality in its system. What flashed into my mind that moment was how this would work in a cancerous system. It theoretically would dry up and kill the mutated abnormal cells and prevent them from spreading. It would be a revolution in medical science, all I needed was to find a way to make this lethal plant compatible with the human system as it was highly poisonous. I did more research and it came to my notice that this plant was an endangered specie and could only be found in the Niuwa forest beyond the Isabella mountains of Nicaragua. I knew I had to get it as soon as possible. Mum never wanted me to go but I incessantly pressed her until she agreed. She had never denied me anything ever since dad died.

The voice announcing our arrival woke me up from my sleep. It was almost midday of the following day. We got out of the plane and took a bus to the town. It was almost evening when we got to the hinterland and we hailed the first cab we saw and jumped into the back seat.

"Where?" asked the stout and cold-faced driver in a deep throaty voice.

I brought out the map of the terrain I had brought along with us and looked into it. Our destination was north of here. "Take us up North, please."
I studied the map as the taxi zoomed off, there appeared to be no human habitation around the mountains except for a motel.

"What do you think, Danny?" I asked, showing him the map.

"I think, he replied tiredly, "we should make a stop at this motel and carry out the search tomorrow. It's already getting dark and besides, I feel really exhausted after that long flight. All I need right now is a nice comfy bed to lie upon and I'll be fresh as dew by tomorrow."

"You're right my friend."
We rode on unto the outskirts of the town.

"Still going further?" asked the cabman.

"Yes," I replied. "Keep going."

"But there's nothing out there for you young fellas."

"Just keep going, will you?" I said impatiently.

For more than an hour we saw neither buildings nor persons until we came upon a little building with a 'Derio Motel' inscription.

"That must be it," said Danny. Just then, the driver stopped the car.

"But we haven't even asked you to stop," I said curiously. "It appears you knew exactly where we intended stopping.

"Chap must have heard us talking at the back," cut in Danny.

"Well, as a matter of fact this is as far as I can go," said the morose driver. I wouldn't go farther than this even if you paid me thrice the money. By the way, what ever could two young fellas like you be looking for in such deserted area?"

"And how in the world is that your business?" I replied, suddenly having a total dislike for the man more than I already did.

"Hey, take it easy man," Danny gave me a tap on the back as he gave the driver his fare. "If I may ask, why can't you go farther than this?"

The driver turned his head around and gave us a stern look. "Just be careful out here is all I can say. You can both get off now."

We got out of the car and watched him reverse and ride off.

"Hey, we mustn't kill the mood," said Danny. "Big day tomorrow. Lets check out the motel. Come on."

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