Hunted by Jerry B. Jenkins

Author:Jerry B. Jenkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
ISBN: 9781414363820
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2011-02-18T05:00:00+00:00

24

JUDD stared in disbelief. Lionel was gone—at least his body was gone. Judd turned away as Dr. Rose raced forward and knelt by the empty water bottles and blood.

“These are the kind of people you’re following,” Judd said with disgust. “They chopped off his arm so they could drag him away and cut off his head.”

Dr. Rose scanned the area. “I don’t think the GC did this.”

“How can you defend them?”

“I’m not defending. Look at the ground. The only footprints here are yours and your friend’s.”

“Then how—?”

“Either somebody got here before us, or—”

“Or what?”

“Or he did this himself.”

“That’s impossible. Nobody would be able to …” Judd stopped when he remembered Lionel’s pocketknife. The thought of Lionel cutting off his own arm to escape sickened him. He looked around for the backpack and the phone, but they were gone.

Dr. Rose followed some footprints and a trail of blood to the edge of the stream. “He’s still losing a lot of blood. See the trail? Looks like he walked over to the stream to clean the wound.”

“Is that bad?”

“Cleaning it’s the right thing, but this water could cause an infection. We need to find him—fast.”

Judd waded into the stream and searched for any footprints on the other side. “If there were dogs out here, he could have waded in to throw them off his trail.”

A sound broke over the trickling of water, and Judd recognized the thwock-thwock-thwock of a helicopter. He instinctively ducked, but Dr. Rose pointed east. “They’re over there.”

Dr. Rose stumbled out of the stream and climbed up the other side of the bank. Judd followed, jumping out of the way of a small water snake. As the chopper moved farther away, the sound grew faint.

The light was fading, and Judd figured they had only a few more minutes of daylight. With their eyes glued to the ground, the two moved by the stream, looking for any sign of Lionel.

Nothing.

Judd was about to turn around and go the other way, but something in the woods caught his eye. “Lionel?” Judd whispered.

It was the most wonderful and terrible sight Judd had ever seen. The young man who had been with him since the start of the Young Tribulation Force—Lionel Washington, the strong, resourceful, solid, and steady member— stumbled out from behind a rock, his right arm held up in a wave, his shirt covered with blood. Judd’s belt was still tightly wrapped around what was left of Lionel’s left arm.

Judd rushed to his friend and grabbed him as Lionel collapsed.

“I didn’t think you were coming back.”

“Sorry it took me so long,” Judd said through tears. “It’s okay. We’re here. This is Dr. Rose.”

Dr. Rose examined Lionel’s arm. “What did you do this with?”

“My pocketknife. A woman on the phone helped me. After I got away from the rock, I think I passed out. I don’t know for how long.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Judd whispered.

Dr. Rose ignored Judd’s question, pulled out a light, and flashed it in Lionel’s eyes. He asked Lionel a series of quick questions, then helped Judd carry him back across the stream.

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