Kristina gets a call on her smartwatch, and it’s from Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith says over the smartwatch, “I’m sorry to call you Kristina, but I’ve been trying to reach Kyle.”
“Kyle was taken by Lynch and I’m not sure where they took him,” replies Kristina into her smartwatch.
Kaden gets back into the passenger seat of the SUV.
“Where are you now?” asks Dr. Smith over the smartwatch.
“Just outside the neighborhood,” answers Kristina into her smartwatch.
“Can you meet me?” asks Dr. Smith over the smartwatch.
“Yes we can meet. We are going to swing by the office really quick and then we can meet you,” answers Kristina into her smartwatch.
“Okay, great, come to my house. I have some big news to share with you,” replies Dr. Smith over the smartwatch.
CHAPTER 17
DAY 67
“It’s been two days since they took Kyle. It’s not a good sign that I’ve had no communication with him,” says Kristina to Dr. Smith as they stand in Dr. Smith’s kitchen.
“I know and I know you don’t want to leave him but my contact at the O2U facility should be getting back to me today or tomorrow about getting us in,” replies Dr. Smith to Kristina.
“You think they are just going to let us off the base?” asks Kristina to Dr. Smith.
“Yeah, I have access to get off the base. It’s something that was okayed for me to do,” answers Dr. Smith.
“Could Kyle have been taken to that O2U facility?” asks Kristina to Dr. Smith.
“It’s definitely possible that they took him there,” answers Dr. Smith.
“Can you call your contact and see?” asks Kristina to Dr. Smith.
“I don’t call him, he calls me,” answers Dr. Smith.
Dr. Smith can see that Kristina is worried about Kyle and she understands how Kristina is feeling and Dr. Smith says, “I think you should go get all of your belongings from your house and bring them back here. When my O2U contact gives us the green light for us to come there, we are leaving this base forever.”
Kristina thinks about leaving Fort Derrick without Kyle and she starts to get upset, but she doesn’t want to show weakness to Dr. Smith.
“I have to go to the lab and my office today and I’ll see what I can find out about that Lynch guy and who Kyle may have met with,” says Dr. Smith to Kristina.
“Okay, see what you can find out,” replies Kristina to Dr. Smith.
Kristina puts on a brave face to Dr. Smith, but inside she is nervous, scared, and worried about the fact that she may have to leave Fort Derrick without Kyle as well as the possibility that she may never see Kyle again.
“I’m going to get changed and head over to my office and the lab,” says Dr. Smith to Kristina.
“I’ll get Kaden and we’ll head back home and pack up our stuff and come back here,” replies Kristina to Dr. Smith.
Dr. Smith looks at Kristina and she wants to comfort her. “Kyle seems like a very capable guy, and if the higher ups wanted to meet with him, then I’m sure they wanted him to be part of something pretty big around here,” says Dr. Smith to Kristina and then Dr. Smith exits her kitchen.
Kristina looks down at her cup of coffee and she thinks about the last time she was in this house with Kyle and Dr. Smith, and then the previous time when she was here with Kyle, Commander Pine, Stan, Elias, Paxton, and Sheila.
“I just hope Kyle is still in Maryland,” says Kristina to herself and then Kristina goes upstairs, and she enters a bedroom that Kaden has been staying in.
“Come on K, get dressed we are going back to our house to get our stuff,” says Kristina to Kaden.
“Why? Are we leaving the base?” asks Kaden to Kristina.
“Not yet, but we have to be ready to leave with Dr. Smith when she says it’s time,” answers Kristina.
“But what about dad?” asks Kaden as he sits up in his bed.
“Still no word from him, and Dr. Smith doesn’t know anything,” answers Kristina.
Kaden, while sitting up in his bed, thinks about Kyle and what may be happening to him.
“But he could be in trouble,” says Kaden to Kristina.
“I know K, but there is nothing we can do,” replies Kristina.
Kaden doesn’t like hearing that there is nothing that can be done about Kyle.
“There has to be something we can do, something we can look into,” says Kaden.
Kristina replies, “Let’s get back home and we’ll go from there.”
Kaden doesn’t like the unmotivated and sad tone in Kristina’s voice and Kaden stands up and says, “I’m not giving up on dad and you shouldn’t either.”
Kristina looks at Kaden and replies, “I’m not giving up on him.”
“Well it doesn’t sound like you are trying to find him either,” responds Kaden.
Kristina doesn’t like the tone and condescending attitude that Kaden is showing.
“I’d choose my next words very carefully,” says Kristina to Kaden.
“Or what, what is going to happen to me?” asks Kaden with some attitude.
“Look, I don’t need you coming down on me now too. It’s hard enough that they took your father away from us, and we don’t need to be fighting each other as well,” says Kristina to Kaden.
Kaden hears Kristina’s statement, and he realizes that Kristina has been through a lot lately and he feels bad for giving Kristina some attitude.
“I’m sorry mom, I know you want dad back as much as I do,” says Kaden with a comforting tone.
“I wish we could just go see your father, but right now we are out of the loop,” replies Kristina to Kaden.
Kaden thinks about what he could do to try and find where Kyle went, and Kaden thinks about maybe hacking into the ACT server again to see what he could possibly find.
“I’ll be ready to go in a couple minutes, and I’ll meet you downstairs,” says Kaden to Kristina.
“Okay K,” replies Kristina and then Kristina hugs Kaden.
Kaden hugs Kristina and Kaden says, “We are going to find dad. I’ll figure something out.”
Kristina smiles and replies to Kaden, “Always the problem solver.”
Kristina breaks from her hug with Kaden and she exits Kaden’s room.
“I shouldn’t be gone for too long, but I’ll meet you and Kaden back here,” says Dr. Smith to Kristina.
“Okay, we are going straight home, and we’ll meet you back here later,” replies Kristina to Dr. Smith.
“Whenever we do leave for the O2U facility, you don’t have to bring that much with you as they have everything you could ever need or what already there,” says Dr. Smith to Kristina.
“Sounds like a great place,” replies Kristina to Dr. Smith.
“You got a key right?” asks Dr. Smith to Kristina.
“Yeah, you gave me one yesterday,” answers Kristina.
“Okay, just wanted to make sure,” replies Dr. Smith to Kristina.
Dr. Smith exits her house and Kristina waits for Kaden to come downstairs.
Kaden comes downstairs and he is holding his laptop in his right hand.
“You never told me how you got that screenshot of the guy who killed Emerson,” says Kristina to Kaden.
Kaden thinks about how he should answer Kristina and he decides to tell her the truth about him hacking into the ACT server and watching the videos from the cameras in the homes.
“Could you hack into the system again?” asks Kristina to Kaden.
“Yeah, I should be able to,” answers Kaden.
“Good, when we get home hack into the camera feeds and see if you can track the all-black sedan that took your father,” says Kristina.
“Are you sure?” asks Kaden to Kristina as they exit Dr. Smith’s house and Kristina closes the front door.
“We need to check all areas for information about where your father was taken,” answers Kristina as she locks Dr. Smith’s front door.
Kristin
a and Kaden get into their SUV and Kaden jokes, “You want me to drive this time?”
“Yeah right, you don’t have a license,” answers Kristina and then Kristina starts up her SUV and she drives away from Dr. Smith’s house.
Kristina parks her SUV in the driveway of the Sinclair’s house, and she looks at the front of the house, the front porch, and the walkway that leads to the front porch steps.
Kristina remembers Kyle being taken away by Lynch and the two armed soldiers and she starts to get upset.
“Are you okay mom?” asks Kaden as he sees that Kristina is staring at the front porch of their house from inside their SUV.
Kristina snaps out of her thoughts and answers Kaden, “Yeah, let’s get our stuff and get back to Dr. Smith’s house.”
Kaden and Kristina exit their SUV and enter their house.
Kaden runs up the stairs and Kristina cautiously looks around the living room before she closes the front door.
After letting out a deep breath of relief, Kristina walks into the kitchen and thinks about what she should take with her.
Kaden is upstairs and he starts packing up his belongings into his bags.
Kristina makes sure the handgun that she has tucked into the back of her black pants is covered by the bottom of her shirt and it is.
Kristina makes her way upstairs and she enters her bedroom. Kristina opens a dresser drawer, and she thinks about what to pack. “Should I pack only my stuff, or should I pack Kyle’s clothes as well?” asks Kristina to herself as she sees a drawer full of Kyle’s clothes.
Kaden finishes packing up his stuff into two duffel bags and he exits his room.
“Make sure you bring your pillows and stuff like that!” shouts Kristina as she hears Kaden exit his bedroom.
“Okay, I’m going to put my stuff into the car!” replies Kaden and then Kaden walks down the stairs with his bags and pillow.
Kaden sees that the front door is open, and he exits the front door and walks down the front porch steps and over to Kristina’s SUV.
Kristina puts a couple more items into her suitcase and she sees the power light on the flat screen television in her bedroom turn off.
The sound of the front door closing is heard as Kristina looks at the ACT camera light that is not working in the corner of Kristina’s bedroom.
Kristina hears someone walking up the stairs and she shouts, “Did we lose power K?”
No one answers Kristina as Kristina hears someone continuing to walk up the stairs.
“So glad we are leaving this place,” says Kristina as she exits her bedroom.
As Kristina exits her bedroom, she sees a person wearing all black clothes and a black ski mask over their face as they stand at the top of the stairs.
Kaden knocks on the locked front door as Kristina makes eye contact with the masked person that is standing about ten feet away from Kristina.
“I don’t know what you want, but I think you have the wrong house,” says Kristina to the masked person.
The masked person smirks and replies to Kristina with a somewhat deep voice, “No, I’m in the right house and you’re the exact person I want.”
Kristina recognizes the voice of the masked person, and she replies, “Stop right there.”
The masked person removes a hunting knife from its sheath that is attached on their belt.
“Come on mom, open the door!” shouts Kaden as he stands on the front porch and knocks on the locked front door.
The masked person steps towards Kristina with his hunting knife in his right hand and Kristina reaches behind her back and grabs her handgun and points it at the masked person.
The masked person sees the handgun, but they continue to step towards Kristina.
BANG!
Kristina fires a round from her handgun into the masked person’s chest and the masked person falls backwards onto the hardwood floor.
Kristina steps towards the masked person and she sees the masked person lying on their back near the top of the stairs and they are not moving.
Kristina bends down to remove the assailant’s black mask and the person grabs Kristina’s left hand.
Kristina moves her handgun, that is in her right hand, towards the masked assailant and the masked assailant smacks the handgun out of Kristina’s right hand and the handgun falls down the stairs.
The masked assailant quickly kicks Kristina in her diaphragm and Kristina falls backwards, but she is able to stay on her feet.
The masked assailant stands up and Kristina struggles to breathe after being kicked in her diaphragm.
Kristina puts her hands on her knees to try and take in a breath and the masked assailant comes behind Kristina and wraps his arms around her.
“Why are you doing this?” shouts Kristina to the masked assailant.
“Stop resisting and this will be over quickly!” shouts the masked assailant and then the masked assailant puts their left hand near Kristina’s mouth.
Kristina bites down on the masked assailant’s pale left hand and digs her teeth into the masked assailant’s index finger and the part of the hand between the thumb and index finger.
The masked assailant screams in pain and throws Kristina towards the stairs.
Kristina falls down the stairs and she hits her head on the hardwood floor near the closed front door.
The masked assailant looks down the stairs and they see that Kristina is lying on her left side and she’s not moving.
CRASH!
The glass panel near the lock of the Sinclair’s sliding glass door breaks and Kaden, from outside, unlocks the sliding glass door and opens it.
The masked assailant hears Kaden enter the house through the sliding glass door and they quickly open the front door and exit the house.
Kaden sees Kristina lying on her side near the front door and Kaden runs over to Kristina.
“Mom get up!” shouts Kaden to Kristina.
Kaden is freaking out and he tries to remember his CPR training. Kristina is unresponsive, but Kaden feels Kristina’s carotid artery pulse and he feels her breathing.
Kaden calls Dr. Smith over his smartwatch and he tells her that Kristina is unconscious, but she is breathing, and she has a pulse.
Dr. Smith sends EMT services to the Sinclair’s house and Kristina and Kaden are taken to the hospital that is at Fort Derrick.
Several hours go by and Kristina wakes up in a hospital bed. Kaden and Dr. Smith are in the hospital room and Kristina asks, “Where am I?”
Dr. Smith answers, “You are in the hospital. How are you feeling?”
“I feel like crap and my head is killing me,” answers Kristina.
Kaden is glad that Kristina is awake, and he smiles as he makes eye contact with Kristina.
“They ran some tests while you were out, and you have a concussion, but no bleeding of the brain or anything too serious,” says Dr. Smith to Kristina.
“Can they give me something for the pain?” asks Kristina to Dr. Smith.
“Yeah, I’ll go get your nurse,” answers Dr. Smith and then Dr. Smith exit’s Kristina’s private hospital room.
“What happened mom?” asks Kaden to Kristina.
Kristina looks up into the corner of the hospital room and she sees the working ACT camera.
“I’ll tell you later, but we really need to get out of here now,” answers Kristina.
“Okay, but I left my stuff in our car and your stuff should still be in the house,” replies Kaden to Kristina.
“How did I get here?” asks Kristina to Kaden.
“Dr. Smith got the EMT’s to pick you up and bring us here,” answers Kaden.
Dr. Smith comes in with some water and a small paper cup that has two pills in it.
Kristina takes the two pills, and she swallows some water.
“So when can I get out of here?” asks Kristina to Dr. Smith.
“Normally, in a couple of days, but since you know me, you can leave whenever you feel ready to go,” answers Dr. Smith.
Kristina moves to get up from her bed and she feels lightheaded and dizzy. Kristina sits at the edge of her hospital bed in her hospital gown.
“I think you should rest mom,” says Kaden to Kristina.
“We need to get out of here, I don’t feel safe in this place anymore,” replies Kristina.
“What happened Kristina?” asks Dr. Smith.
“I’ll tell you when we leave,” answers Kristina.
“I’ll get a wheelchair, so you don’t have to walk out of here,” says Dr. Smith and then Dr. Smith exits Kristina’s hospital room again.
Kristina asks Kaden, “Where are my clothes?”
Kaden grabs Kristina’s clothes off the chair that is next to Kristina’s hospital bed.
Kristina bends forward and starts to put on her pants, and she gets lightheaded again and Kaden stops Kristina from falling forward.
“Stop mom, I’ll help you put your pants on,” says Kaden.
“Thanks K, I’m sorry to be such a pain right now,” replies Kristina as she sits on the edge of her hospital bed with her hands supporting her head.
Kaden helps Kristina put on her pants and Kaden jokes, “Putting your pants on is as far as I go here.”
“That’s fine, I’ll wear the gown and slipper socks out,” replies Kristina.
Dr. Smith comes back into Kristina’s hospital room with a wheelchair and Dr. Smith asks, “You feeling okay to leave?”
“Yeah, I just want to get out of here,” answers Kristina.
Dr. Smith and Kaden help Kristina into the wheelchair and Dr. Smith grabs Kristina’s belongings as Kaden pushes Kristina in the wheelchair.
“You really shouldn’t be leaving this soon!” shouts the nurse, from the nursing station, to Kristina.
“How long have I been here?” asks Kristina to Kaden.
“About five hours,” answers Kaden.
Dr. Smith shouts to the nurse, “She’ll be under my care, thank you for helping!”
Kaden helps Kristina into the backseat of Dr. Smith’s SUV and Kaden asks, “What do I do with the wheelchair?”
“Just leave it and get in,” answers Kristina.
Kaden gets into the backseat of Dr. Smith’s SUV with Kristina and Dr. Smith exits the hospital parking lot.
In 100 Days | Book 2 Page 19