Once they were about ten yards in the woods, the man pulled Devon behind the trunk of a pine. He pointed toward the path they had just been on and whispered, “Watch but be quiet.”
Devon gazed in that direction. The view was obscured by a tangle of limbs and trunks, but he was able to see a small section of the trail that was bathed in moonlight. He continued to watch, but as time went on, nothing came into view.
Sensing his confusion, the man whispered again. “Just wait.”
A minute later, Devon heard the distant sound of voices. As they drew near, he also heard what sounded like the squawk of a radio. Eventually, several dark figures passed through the section of trail Devon had just been on. It was hard to see much detail, but he could tell they were holding rifles. A search party. So they had discovered he was missing. Perhaps the men in white coats had gone down to his cell after all.
Several minutes after the men had passed, the man released Devon and said, “You were about to get caught, and I couldn’t risk you calling out.”
Devon turned to see a blond-haired man looking at him. He was young, probably late twenties or early thirties. He wore a puffy down coat but little else.
“Who are you?” Devon asked.
“My name is Luke. You?”
“Devon.” Devon paused for a moment. Everything was too bizarre to even process at this point. He had many questions but decided to start with the most obvious one. “What are you doing out here?”
“For the last few minutes? Following you.” Luke reached out and tugged at the sleeve of Devon’s robe. “Based on what you’re wearing, I think you and I came from the same place.”
“From the—”
Luke held a finger to his lips, which made Devon realize he had spoken too loudly.
“Follow me,” Luke whispered.
After Devon nodded that he understood, Luke led him farther back into the woods. On a darker night, it would’ve been nearly impossible to pick their way through the fallen limbs and underbrush, but on this night, there was enough moonlight to illuminate their path. Once they were about fifty yards back, Luke entered a clearing and took a seat on a large flat boulder. He motioned for Devon to do the same on another boulder a short distance away.
“As I was saying before,” Luke said, “I think we came from the same place.” He unzipped his down coat, revealing a white robe similar to the one Devon had on.
Devon’s eyes widened. “You’re from the…?” He didn’t even know what to call the place where he had been held.
Luke nodded. “I got away three nights ago.”
Three nights ago. It all made sense. Devon remembered hearing an alarm go off a few nights before. At the time, he’d thought it was a fire alarm, but now he knew it had been in response to Luke’s escape.
Devon nodded at his coat. “Where did you get that?”
“On my way out, I found a break room that’s used by the people who were holding us. I was able to get the coat, a knife, and a few snacks before slipping out.”
“You hit the jackpot.”
“Yes, but I almost got caught. Someone came in while I was there, and I barely had time to hide.”
Devon rubbed the sides of his arms. Now that he was sitting, the cool fall air was giving him a chill.
“Here, take the coat.”
Devon held up a hand. “I’m fine.”
“No, take it.” Luke pulled it off and held it out. “Warm yourself up. We’ll switch back and forth if we have to.”
Devon slid the coat on. The warmth was a welcome relief.
“We’ll need to get moving again soon. With you on the run, they’ll have the dogs out soon.”
“Dogs?”
Luke nodded. “They used them for the first twenty-four hours that I was out here. I’m actually surprised they haven’t—”
“Wait a minute.” Devon frowned. “If you got away three nights ago, then why are you still here?”
“Simple. Because they’ve cut off the one avenue of escape.”
“What do you mean the one avenue of escape?”
“That place is on a plateau. The north, west, and east sides of the plateau have natural barriers, steep rocky slopes that would require climbing equipment. Unfortunately, I spent the first night figuring all that out. So, consider yourself fortunate that you managed to pick the one way out of here.”
Devon’s brow furrowed. “But that still doesn’t answer my question. If this is the one way out, then why are you still here? I heard cars on a highway in the distance. Why not just go there and flag down a vehicle?”
“I’ve tried to get to the road several times. Unfortunately, they’ve set up a twenty-four-hour watch. Foot patrols and cars are there night and day. My plan is to lie low until they believe I slipped through.”
“No offense to you, but I think I’d take my chances.”
Luke shrugged. “Sometimes patience wins the day. Besides, I’ve come up with an alternate plan in case they leave those patrols in place.”
“Wait a minute,” Devon said. “You told me they had dogs. Why weren’t they able to find you?”
“I think the coat threw them off. On a couple of occasions, they got close, but I was able to walk down a stream and throw off the scent. I saw it in a movie one time.”
Now that they were in a clearing, Devon could see Luke more clearly. His hair was disheveled, and his face was smeared with dirt. It was obvious he had been through a lot since getting away. He was lucky to be alive.
“So why were you being held?” Devon asked after a long moment of silence.
“That’s the frustrating thing. They want something that I don’t have.”
That sounded familiar. “What do you mean, exactly?”
Luke averted his gaze for a moment. Clearly, he wasn’t comfortable answering the question.
“Look, we’re both on the run from these people,” Devon said. “We need to figure out what’s going on”
“Sorry, I just don’t know if I can trust you yet.”
“Trust me? We’re both on the run from the same people.”
After a moment’s reflection, Luke finally said, “It’s crazy… they’re looking for a man I knew years ago.”
Devon’s eyes narrowed. “What man?”
“He was my college professor at MIT. Then I worked with him after that.”
Devon’s chest tightened.
“I also worked with him later,” Luke continued, “but—”
“What’s his name?”
Luke stared at him again, seemingly surprised at the sharp tone in Devon’s voice.
“What’s his name?” Devon asked again. “It’s important you tell me.”
“His name is Dr. Noah Lind.”
“Good heavens,” Devon muttered. It had finally come together like the last pieces of a puzzle. He remembered his uncle speaking of a student who had followed him to Fischer Genetics.
Luke leaned forward. “You know him?”
Devon nodded. “He’s my uncle.”
The two stared at each other, apparently surprised at the bizarre turn their conversation had taken.
Luke was the first to speak. “They wanted to know where Dr. Lind is living.” He paused for a moment, then said, “I think they must want to hurt him or something.”
“You didn’t tell them where he was, did you?”
Luke looked at him. “That’s the thing, I don’t even know where he is. They kept telling me I was lying. They did all sorts of bad things to me…”
“So you really don’t know where he is?”
“No, I haven’t spoken to him since he left Fischer.” He held Devon’s gaze. “Do you know where he’s at?”
“Not exactly. I just know he lives in Tel Aviv.”