Happy New Year to all of you who only read my novel on this blog. I’m telling you guys, this year is already filled with so much hope, anticipation and expectation. Hopefully your year has started off on the right foot. Are you all ready for the next chapter? I know I am. So, let’s dive into Chapter 26: Unexpected.
Unexpected
Adam ran behind Drew, stumbling as they raced through the woods. He still wasn’t quite sure what had happened. Drew had received a call on his cell phone. It had only lasted a few seconds before he hung up and told Adam they had to leave. The two had raced downstairs where Drew went straight for his bag, checked that what he wanted was inside, then led Adam out the back door. It had been so unexpected and sudden that Adam had not had a chance to ask any questions. Tripping over a tree root, the teen fell to the ground, crying out in pain. Drew stopped, turned to see Adam on the ground and rushed over.
“Are you okay?” Nodding, Adam tried to stand. Pain shot through his ankle and he went down again.
“Okay, maybe not.” Dropping his bag, Drew examined Adam for the cause of his pain. His jeans were ripped and there was a bit of blood coming from the scrape on his knee. Adam’s palms were scraped up from trying to brace his fall. Drew’s eyes then fell on Adam’s right ankle and he saw that it was sitting funny.
“Well, that’s going to slow us down. I’ll try to bind it but you’ll have to lean on me. Hopefully we got enough of a head start.” As Drew dug through his bag, Adam gave him a confused look.
“About that. Why did we have to run out of there so quickly? And why did we have to leave Valerie behind?” Drew found the first aid kit and pulled out a tensor bandage. As he started to wrap Adam’s ankle, he seemed hesitant to answer.
“You were in danger. That’s all I can say at the moment. There; that should help. Ready to go?”
*
Valerie watched as more vehicles pulled up. Other agents piled out of the vehicles, taking over the property in an effort to find out which way Drew and Adam had gone. Ignoring the agent that was trying to question her, she looked around till she found Mr. Vanderboon and walked over.
“Sir, let me help with the search. For all we know, Drew still trusts me. If I can convince him that I believe him, he should lead me straight to them. Then I can rescue Adam and get him away safely while you take Drew down.” Nearby agents turned to their boss to see what he would say. Frowning, he shook his head.
“No, Drew hasn’t gotten away with being a spy this long by being stupid. He knew he was made and ran away. Even though this turn of events is unexpected, it is not entirely surprising. Perhaps a bit more care could have been made on my end to not spook him.” Valerie sighed. She felt useless. The agent tried to question her again and she angrily turned on him.
“I told you I do not know where he took Adam. Now back off!” Storming off, she left the bewildered agent standing with his boss. Sighing, Wallace turned to the young man.
“Let her be. This is as much a shock to her as it is painful. She, Mick and Drew were close. This betrayal will take a while to overcome.”
*
Evening shadows began creeping in as the agents gathered at the back of the house. Wallace Vanderboon shook his head. It was getting too dark.
“Looks like we have a storm heading our way, so let’s make this quick. We have the trail, the dogs have the scent, and we have the man power. If that storm hits before we find them, Adam is as good as dead. Check your comms and your flashlights and let’s go.” Valerie sat up in one of the bedrooms, watching the group head out. She had tried to get in on the search party once more, but Wallace forbade her, placing two agents to watch her. On the nightstand nearby, her cell phone buzzed and she quickly grabbed it, hoping the two agents downstairs had not heard it. Glancing at the caller id, she answered it.
“Hello?”
*
Night had fallen and thunder rumbled in the distance as Drew and Adam reached the road. The trek had been slow and painful for the teenager, but he tried his best to keep silent about it. Drew let him sit with his back to a tree and he sighed with relief as he was able to prop his ankle up on Drew’s bag.
“Drew, what’s the plan? I don’t think I can walk any further on this ankle.” The young man ducked down beside him as a car slowly approached. Adam held his breath, fear gripping him unexpectedly. When Mick and Valerie had been around, Adam had felt safe. Now he was out here with just Drew, no idea what was going on, and with his ankle, no way to run away. The car continued on past them, eliciting a sigh of relief from both of them.
“Don’t worry Adam. You will only have to make it to the car that’s on its way to pick us up. Once we are safely away, we will get that ankle properly looked at. Hopefully we can stay put long enough for you to get enough rest. Would you like some water?” Adam nodded and Drew carefully pulled out a bottle of water from the bag, as well as a bottle of Tylenol. “Here, this should help with the pain.” Gratefully, Adam accepted the two pills and washed them down with half the bottle of water. Another car slowly approached. This time it stopped close by and one of the doors opened.
“Drew?” He recognised that voice. Drew jogged onto the path and held a quick conversation with occupants of the car before coming back to Adam with one of them. The man crouched in front of Adam and smiled at the shock on his face.
“Hey kiddo. Ready to get out of here?” Adam stared at him, blinking in surprise.
“Detective Richards?”
What an unexpected surprise
Well, who saw that coming? Be honest; how many of you were hoping that it was Mick? Not going to lie, I played with the idea. However, I figured that would be too obvious, so I changed it up a bit. After all, a chapter titled unexpected should have something unexpected, right? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the rest of your weekend. I shall see you Monday with a new blog, or tomorrow if you are following me on social media.
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