Back to Today

This could have been as a result of what he was thinking.

'There are things that I need to inspect thoroughly. The lamp and the ancient room… but I don't think I am ready to inspect the others.'

The other things that Jean felt hard to inspect were; the mysterious spot in the middle of the forest, the lamp and the ominous tree. This was because, he was wary of the mysterious spot and the ominous tree, but as for the lamp, he didn't know where to start from, and considering that Natalie was yet to find out about the same from what she told him, he had a strong feeling that it won't be easy for him to dish out the information he wanted.

***

Back to today…

Jean could hear some voices from a distance. Since he didn't know where they were coming from, he was opted to confirm.

Slowly opening his eyes, he froze for a second.

'I can see!'

Jean exclaimed inwardly in bewilderment.

Remembering that the last time he tried opening his eyes he couldn't perceive anything, as his eyes were wrapped, he couldn't help but feel dreadful by the sudden turn of events.

At this moment, the first thing his sight caught was an oblong ceiling hanging a few meters above him. Currently, he was lying on his back. Shifting a little, he felt a soft touch under his back.

In the next second, his gaze darted to the sides. Noticing his surroundings, he was puzzled for a moment. He was unexpectedly lying in an exquisite bed. When he looked further to the sides, he noticed that the interiors of the chamber he was in was opulent with double circular windows on either side. The bed was situated next to the windows on his right leaving a walkway on his left. The windows were eerily tinted and he couldn't perceive what laid behind them.

The surroundings were illuminated by a few luxurious led lights of different colour, that were impaled at different angles and positions on the brown ceiling above him.

Lifting his head to study his hands, Jean couldn't believe what he saw and immediately sat upright and then blinked severally in astonishment. He then looked at his hands once more to confirm that he was not seeing things.

'Am I free?'

Jean questioned himself.

He was stunned to find out that his hands were not tied up, and with that thought in mind, his gaze shifted to his feet. When he noticed that his feet were not tied too, he almost let out a triumphant scream. But when he recalled that some voices were what woke him up, he froze and quickly scanned his surroundings.

Apart from him, he didn't notice any other person in the space he was in. it was a nine square meter space with a door to the front and another to the rear that were both closed.

'This looks like a plane…'

Judging from the interior of the chamber he was in; Jean was certain that he was in a plane. Although he had never been in any in his lifetime, but at least he got to know about them from his fellow students at school, in novels and also in movies.

'If this is a plane and I am in its bed, then this only implies one thing. This is… a private…. a private jet.'

This was indeed a private jet.

The moment he noticed this, he was elated for a moment, but suddenly, his heart sunk. He was happy that he was lucky to be in a private jet, but after the realisation of him being in the hands of kidnappers before he found himself here, dreaded him.

At this point, the voices he was hearing seemed to be originating from behind the door in front of him, that was directly along the walkway.

Slowly getting off the small bed, Jean tried calming himself and headed for the door. When he reached the door and was about to open it, he paused for a moment as a thought suddenly ignited in his mind.

'What if people on the other side are the kidnappers? No… what if they are good Samaritans that saved me from the hands of the kidnappers?'

For a moment, Jean felt undecisive. On one side, he was suspecting that the voices emerging from the other end of the door could be that of the kidnappers, but on the other side, he felt like the voices might be that of good Samaritans that might have saved him. What made him think that the voices might be that of the good Samaritans, was the fact that he woke up not tied up as he was initially.

In the next moment, he chose to open the door and confirm who were behind it. He inhaled deeply and tried calming himself before placing his hand on the knob of the door.

When he turned the knob, he was dazed almost immediately. The door he was trying to open was locked. That was when an alarm of danger rang in his head.

'Damnation.'

Without a second thought, he quickly turned around and headed for the second door. He was trying to find an escape route since he was certain he was not in good hands. And where could he escape to in a plane? Perhaps it is yet to take off.

The moment he turned the knob of the second door, he was surprised. Unlike the first door, this second door opened. Without further hesitations, he vigilantly peered behind the door and noticed that the door opened to a small room. This room contained a frosted glass cabin which was one and a half meters wide and two meters long, that was situated to the left and a sizable brown leather seat to the right of the walkway.

Since he couldn't have a clear view of the room from where he was standing, he slowly took a few steps and stepped inside. The moment he entered the room, his gaze focused on the glass cabin on his left. Since it had frosted glasses around it, he couldn't perceive what was inside.

 In the process of inspecting it, he happened to notice a glass door on the glass cabin. Pressing on a button on the door, the door slid to the right, revealing an exquisite shower behind it. Noticing this, Jean couldn't help but marvel at the sight in front of him.

'So, these planes can also accommodate a shower!'

Jean couldn't help but think in bewilderment.

Turning to his back, he crossed the walkway and approached the sizable seat that faced in the direction of the door he entered the room with. Looking closely, Jean noticed a small table in front of the seat, a window to its left and a mirror right before the table.

Feeling fascinated by what his sight had caught, he felt compelled to try out the seat. After a few moments of deliberation, Jean decided to try out the seat. The moment he sat in the seat, he felt rejuvenated. Its touch was fine and comforting despite its small size.

Lifting his head up a little, he saw himself in the mirror and almost flinched. His golden-brown hair was dishevelled, his face was pale and there were some dark circles under his eyes. This was the moment, Jean realised that he was tired and hungry. Though the hunger had faded away by some degrees, he still felt it.

With a sudden realization, Jean quickly rose from the seat and entered the walkway. He then directed his gaze beyond the room. In the process, he noticed an opening that led to another dark space behind it. Without a second thought, Jean vigilantly walked towards the opening.

'Could this be my escape route?'

Jean thought to himself as he slowly approached the opening.

The moment he arrived at the opening; he felt a little reluctant to enter the dark space behind it. But after staring at the dark space for a few moments, he noticed some lights dissipating from the sides, although in low amount.

This was the moment he was able to perceive some features of the dark space. He noticed that where he was standing, there was a door that was slid to the side. Ahead of him, the walkway extended a few meters before reaching the end, and on either side of the walkway, there were some cabinets with some of them open.

Peering closer at the open cabinets, he noticed some items in them. Due to the darkness around him, he couldn't discern what they were. A thought of wanting to confirm what they were contained in them struck him. But after contemplating on the matter, he was forced to throw the thought out of his head.

He had some important matters at hand.

'Why can't I see an opening that can lead me outside. I hope the plane is yet to take off.'

When he remembered that he was on his way to find an exit before he spotted the cabinets, he immediately shifted his gaze towards the end of the walk way. From what he could see from where he was standing, he was sure that he had reached at the end of the plane. And from the way it looked, he didn't need someone to tell him that it was at the back.

With that thought in mind, he took a step forward but immediately froze. That was the moment he heard the door behind him being opened.

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