Jay Lee’s POV
The policemen raised their weapons and put their belongings in a safe place. They also asked Nick and me to take cover behind a large tree near to the house.
Stealthily, they walked towards the house in a certain formation. Nick and I peeked out from behind the tree. My heart was beating quite fast, and I kept praying that the twins were okay and that the kidnappers didn’t mistreat them.
Now and then I looked up at the window of the room on the second floor. The curtains were open, but the lights were not on. I noticed that all the lights in the house weren’t on either. Could the information from Kelly and Ethan be wrong? If there was life in the house, all or some lights in the house should have been on because the forest was dark. Without turning on the lights, it would be even darker inside the house.
I tried looking around the forest and I didn’t see any electricity poles or anything. Maybe the house was using candles as a light source or a device that could be used as a power source.
Moments later, I heard Tom’s voice calling me from inside the house. One of his personnel was trying to light a candle and a large battery box that could power the lights in the house. Soon, all the lights were on.
All the police personnel checked every room in the house more carefully. Tom asked me to wait in the living room until they finished checking.
A curious Nick walked into the kitchen and before long, he called out to me, “Sir. Come here.”
“Yes. Where are you?” I asked as I got up.
“I’m on the back porch. Come quickly,” he replied.
I rushed into the kitchen, looking for Nick, until I found him in a small room. All the belongings in that small room were neatly organized, and it looked like they had used this room a while ago. Could it be that the kidnappers had left the house after learning about our arrival? If that’s the case, then there’s a good chance that our information has been leaked. Could it be there’s someone within the police force who has betrayed us?
However, I didn’t want to jump to conclusions too quickly. Maybe they had indeed left this house a while ago. But to where? Did the twins go with them? Why was this search so difficult?
Then, Tom came up to us, “This house is empty. That’s strange. I’ll try to ask the sailor who came with us. You guys wait here with the rest of the police.”
“Ok,” Nick and I replied.
About thirty minutes later, Tom returned in a hurry. He asked us to pack up all our belongings and get out of the house. We hurriedly tidied up and carried everything out of the house and walked back to the beach.
To resolve my confusion, I approached Tom and asked, “Tom, what’s your plan? Why are we going back to the beach? Where are the twins and the kidnappers?”
Tom stopped walking and replied, “It’s likely that they’ve moved to the village beyond this forest. We’ll head there by boat. It’s quite a distance and I think we still have time to get there. Don’t worry, we’ll find the twins.”
“Ok, I trust you,” I replied. Tom smiled.
Long story short, we all got back on the boat and sailed towards the village behind this creepy forest. What a strange island. The forest looked vast and dark. How could there be a village behind it? In fact, I’d never even heard of this island before.
Jansen, Jessie. Please hold on!
The boat we boarded sailed quickly towards the village behind the forest. The sea breeze and waves beat against the boat, making it sway back and forth. All we could see was a vast and dark ocean. It was terrifying.
Moments later, I saw a small village with many lights on near to where our boat stopped. It was quite a beautiful village. Could the twins be there?
Along the beach, we saw many fishing boats anchored. It means there is an active life in this village and they are in touch with the outside world.
Tom asked some of his men to wait on the shore and took me, Nick, and some of his other men to see the village chief. We walked down the path in the middle of the rain-soaked village settlement.
Near to the village entrance, I saw a simple house with blue-painted walls. Tom invited us to rush to the house. It turned out that the village chief already knew about our arrival. He welcomed us at the entrance.
After introducing himself, the village head invited us into his house. He invited us to sit down and his wife served us food and drinks. Tom told him about the purpose of our visit to the island.
The village chief listened carefully. Before answering, he took a glass of tea and sipped the contents.
“Your children left this village this afternoon. They have probably reached Valdirra by now. They came with Rose. You are late. But, don’t worry, Rose is a resident of this village and she is a good girl. Your kids are in the right person,” he replied as he invited us to drink the tea.
It surprised me to hear that they were not on the island. We were too late. However, if what the village chief said was true, I was at peace. It meant they were in the right person.
“Nick, call Ken to pick up the twins at the dock and contact the rest of the police to secure the twins and Rose,” I pleaded with Nick.
Nick scrambled to his feet and did as I told him. Tom also contacted his coworkers in Valdirra and told them about the twins and asked them to detain Rose so that she could give us the information we wanted.
“Thank you for the information. We’re going back to Valdirra now,” Tom said as he led us out of the house.
“Please, not tonight. Come back tomorrow morning when the sun is just rising. It’s too dangerous to sail when the waves are so big. I’ll prepare a bed for you all,” the village chief pleaded.
Tom and I looked at each other as if we were of one mind. Then we nodded together.
“Alright, then we’ll stay here tonight. Sorry to trouble you,” Tom replied.
“That’s fine. Please enjoy the food and drinks we have provided,” the village chief said.
We ended up staying at the chief’s house that night and returned to Valdirra the next morning when the sun was just rising. I had also told Piper about the twins. I hoped the four of us would meet soon.