As Chris stepped inside the house, the air felt cool and refreshing after the heat outside.
The entryway was dimly lit, with a small table against the wall and a mirror hanging above it. To his left was a closed door, and he could hear the faint sound of a television coming from behind it. To his right he could see one closed door and an open doorway further down the corridor.
At the end of the entryway there was a narrow staircase leading up to the second floor. While Chris was standing there he could feel a musty scent of old wood and antique furniture filling the house, giving it a warm and cozy charm.
Finishing taking his shoes off they lead him to the open doorway where he got a whiff of something being baked in an oven, close to salivating from the smell he could feel his hunger pangs relentlessly start to attack his stomach again.
As if seeing him drooling, Theresa laughed as she spoke in a motherly tone: "Don't you worry Dear, there should be enough for us all, it shouldn't be long until its finished and you can join us for breakfast." This time in a more direct and authoritative way she moved her mouth to the still quite skeptical old man: "Now then George, why don't you show him to our house phone in the dining area while I cook up some eggs and bacon."
"Yes yes no need to worry, I'm not about to eat him or anything", George shrugged as he showed Chris through the kitchen and towards the door leading him to a large dining room. It was filled with antique furniture, the walls adorned with pictures of their children and grandchildren. A large mahogany table dominated the center of the room, surrounded by plush chairs with ornate carvings. A crystal chandelier hung above, casting a warm glow over the space.
Now standing in front the old phone, which clung to the wall at the end of the room, Chris was about to pick it up when he felt an intense gaze plastered to his face from behind. Turning his head he could see George still standing there in a somewhat hopeful and questioning look as if he wanted nothing more but to have a first row seat to whatever conversation he was about to have.
Figuring nothing was gonna happen with him staring the poor lad down, George sighed out loud and moved back towards the kitchen while saying: "What are you waiting on kid, get on with it. Wouldn't want the food to get cold would ya?"
Giving George a wry smile, Chris picked up the phone from the wall. Having received the address while taking off his shoes earlier, he began dialing down the organizations protocol number. "Code purple, code purple. Gorilla has been compromised, I repeat gorilla has been compromised with no known location as of now. Sparrow is currently staying south of Bristol, near Wells Road, about 6 kilometers out, with the address Chew Hill 104, I repeat Chew Hill 104. Safe and sound." Chris spoke in a calm and clear method so he there wouldn't be any misunderstanding.
Now feeling relieved about getting his message out, he could only wait for his father or other Creed personnel to arrive. As he finished his call he went looking around the room whilst waiting for the old couple to bring their breakfast.
Now stuffing himself with freshly baked bread with eggs bacon and a glass of orange juice he heard George speak to him: "So how did it go? You got a hold of your people?"
"Yup, they should be here some time today" Chris replied with a small smile as he finished gulping down the last of his drink.
"That's good to hear, now I have to ask.. When you said you feinted earlier, in the car, what did you mean? You see.. We had something similar happen to us in our sleep oddly enough. Do you mind explaining your experience?" George asked with a curious gaze. As if waiting to ask the very same question, Theresa's gaze also locked on to Chris.
"Hmm.. It's difficult to explain, but it felt like something prickling me at first, and then suddenly as if something invaded my body through my skin there came an intense pain and strangely enough it was also.." Letting his words trail off a bit, Chris tried to find the right words before answering again; " An euphoric feeling similar to my body gaining a massive energy boost, it felt dangerous, but yet exhilirating.." Realising he was getting lost in thought while talking, and fearing he might've overshared he quickly asked back while gesturing to the kitchen: "What about you? I noticed you've been up for a while considering the bread in the oven.. Did you experience this strange phenomena as well?".
"Well aren't you the observant one," Theresa spoke in a light and jokingly manner before turning a bit puzzled and concerned: "We both were abruptly awoken by this sudden painful feeling before we also feinted, we awoke a couple of hours after, I'd say an hour and a half before yourself showing up at our porch. However.. The strangest thing would be our appearance. Though we still look old, we looked even older just a couple of hours before. We are actually both 92 years old, but now we look like we did in our 70s.. Do you have any idea what this whole thing is about? We heard someone being interviewed on the news saying it was some type of airborne virus or a strange energy based weapon created by the government, what do you think?"
Surprisingly George had his mouth shut and seemed just as concerned and puzzled as his partner, it seemed whatever they had felt earlier this morning had spooked them somewhat.
"Well, I don't actually know anything myself. But I have a hunch that it isn't necessarily something dangerous, I haven't felt as vigorous or in such a good shape before in my life. But why don't we have a look at what their saying in the news?"
Agreeing to Chris' suggestion they quickly cleaned up after themselves, while the two old timers lead Chris back through the kitchen and to the door where he previously heard muffled sounds from the TV.
While walking with the old couple he gave himself a questioning thought 'Why did I talk so much?'. He was never a big talker, or so he thought. His daily life usually revolved around doing missions for his father and organization so he rarely interacted with anyone except from his old man.
Now, though slightly uncomfortable, he had warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach. Despite their short acquaintance he knew he liked being here. There was a certain ease, and comfort surrounding the place as if suggesting to be at peace and not worry too much.
'Reminds me of her,' Chris thought with a small upwards curve at the edge of his lips.