Some hours later, Jean slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw, was a bright light coming from a born fire lit a few meters away from where he was lying.
The moment he noticed that he was glued to the ground, he felt a chill down his spine. And without any further delays, he shifted his gaze and looked at the heavy cloth that was covering his aching body.
'Where am I and who did this to me?'
Jean thought with a startled expression.
He didn't understand how he got to where he was lying and the person responsible for this.
With that thought in mind, he quickly scanned the surroundings out of curiosity. In the process, he discovered that, it was already dark outside and he was surrounded by grandiose trees.
This only implied one thing, he was in a forest.
'Which forest is this? Could it be the same forest I was struggling to get in it some hours ago? And if this is the forest, how comes I am in yet, the last time I checked I collapsed in the outside?'
A stream of questions ran through Jean's mind as he tried to figure out what exactly transpired after he passed out some hours ago.
Just at that moment, an ominous thought ignited in his mind.
'Could it be that the idiots managed to get me and now they have brought me here to complete their agenda?'
Jean thought as his eyes darted on the surrounding trees with caution.
During this moment, the heart was thumbing heavily in Jean's chest as if threatening to leap out through the mouth. It was becoming difficult for Jean to control his feelings. His thoughts were all over as he grew helpless with each passing moment.
Feeling the pressure upon him, Jean felt like running for his dear life. But the moment he tried shifting himself in order to rise up, he suddenly froze in place. This was due to the sudden sharp pain on his left foot, that reminded him about his current condition.
With a contorted face, Jean straggled and sat up. Although his body was still aching, the body aches had reduced by a noticeable margin. His body was also rejuvenated as Jean felt vigour through his aching muscles. This was one of the reasons he didn't find any problem in sitting up.
Just as he sat up, Jean quickly scanned the surroundings once again. This was the moment his sight caught something at a distance.
Roughly fifty meters away from where he was seated, a small house was lit up with some lamps right from the veranda to the inside.
'How strange! How could someone live in the middle of a forest? Could this be the territories that Rey told me while in the plane?'
Jean thought with a scowl.
He was finding it difficult to discard the thought of thinking that he was in the hands of the kidnappers. The moment he noticed the small house in the distance, he felt like the world could have just swallowed him.
The fact that he was yet to set his eyes on the person responsible for getting him in the forest, made him nervous with every passing minute.
Now that he had discovered the house, his nervousness had grown ten folds. He was now feeling the urge of fleeing away.
But where would he be fleeing to? Adding to the matter that his condition couldn't give him a chance to escape unnoticed, he felt helpless.
Just as he was still struggling with his thoughts, a stranger walked out of the house and stared in his direction.
Jean immediately felt a cold sweat running down his spine as his eyes widened in panic.
'This must be one of them.'
Jean thought with a complicated look.
According to his deduction, immediately he saw the stranger, he concluded that he was one of the kidnappers. But when he considered the dressing code of the guy, he was forced to reconsider his suspicions.
The stranger that was now standing at the veranda of the small house, was donning a leather jacket and a jean trouser. Despite him not that visible from where Jean was seated together with the darkness of the night; Jean was able to notice the difference in his dressing code and that of his former adversaries.
'Former only if he wasn't one of them.'
Just as his concentration was still directed at the stranger in the veranda, he noticed the guy returning in the house a few moments after staring at him.
Jean felt the beating rate of his heart increase in an instance.
'I hope he is not going to call the others, because I don't think if my aching body will give me a chance to escape them once again.'
At this point, Jean was praying that things should not go south any soon, because he wasn't physically ready for it.
Just at that moment, he decided to ignore his pain and try to escape before things worsen as he anticipated. In the next second, he threw the heavy fabric that was covering his aching body, and almost immediately, he shuddered.
A chilling cold suddenly assaulted his whole being, thus signalling him how important the fabric was to him. In an instance, Jean felt like picking the fabric and covering himself once again, but his consciousness couldn't allow him.
If he was going to escape from his foes, then he needed to make himself as light as possible. So, covering himself in the fabric, would deter his movements.
With a groan, Jean immediately started to struggle to get to his feet. One minute later, he rose and stood with a stagger on his feet. He then raised his head and gazed in the direction of the house, but suddenly flinched and fell on the ground with his butt.
Less than twenty meters from where he was, the stranger was coming in his direction while holding a container in one of his hands.
Since Jean wasn't paying attention to what was happening in the direction of the house, when he was struggling to get to his feet, he didn't notice the guy coming out of the house and heading in his direction.
So, him glancing in the direction and noticing the stranger mere meters from him, caught him by surprise. And as a result, it frightened him.
While on the ground, Jean quickly looked up in panic as he sucked in cold air, for the fear of the grave danger that he anticipated coming his way.
Now that the stranger would be getting to him in a few seconds time, Jean felt like his fate was sealed already.
The only defensive mechanism that was remaining in his arsenal, was to scream.
'As if that will do me any good. If this people were that bad, they could have already killed me already. They even covered me from cold. How could a vile individual be this caring?'
With that thought, Jean decided to leave the idea of screaming aside. Instead, he composed himself and let out a wry smile that was barely visible due to the darkness that was surrounding him.
"It is good that you are awake."
The stranger's voice echoed through the forest as he came into a halting stop next to Jean.
Just at that moment, Jean gently nodded as he let out a stifled grin.
Shifting his gaze to the side and looking at the fabric on the ground, the stranger lingered for a moment before turning to face Jean.
"Why did you discard that?"
The stranger said while pointing at the fabric that was on the ground and a few inches from Jean.
Following his gaze, Jean looked at the fabric and the back at the stranger and smiled gently. He then remained silent for a moment and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
When the stranger realised that Jean was finding it difficult to answer him, he added,
"How could I forget? You must be wondering how you got yourself here and who I am, isn't it?"
The moment Jean heard this question, he almost answered out loud, but immediately restrained himself and nodded silently.
'This is the question that I was longing to hear its answer. Did he just read my mind?'
Jean thought as he waited for the explanation from the stranger.
"Just before I answer your question, take this and drink because in your current condition, you really need it."
The stranger said while handing over the container in his hands to Jean.
Jean lingered for a moment and reluctantly took the container. When he checked inside, he saw a liquid inside, but since the light from the bonfire wasn't that much bright, he didn't discern what it was. He then slowly brought his nose closer to the container, and suddenly, an unknown scent assaulted his nose.
This sudden realisation confused him even more. He had expected to meet a familiar smell, but to his surprise, what his nose caught was beyond his expectations.
Just at that moment, Jean raised his head and stared at the stranger in front of him with a complicated look.
As if understanding his stare, the stranger grinned and sighed.
"I know you must be wondering what that is, but it is just medicine."
Pausing for a moment, the stranger's expression turned serious causing Jean to become more attentive.
"Try coughing and you will understand why you need it."
The stranger instructed in a neutral tone.
During this conversation, Jean was growing calm with each moment, because his senses were starting to tell him that the guy in front of him, was harmless.
Even if that was the case, he still chose to remain vigilant in every undertaking.
After lingering for a few moments, Jean decided to try what he had been instructed. Although he didn't understand why the stranger instructed him to cough, he opted to try and see what would happen.
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