NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) Read Free Page A

and her sister over a three-year span from ages ten to thirteen years old. “Fucking aliens,” she said out loud.
    It was something that no little girl should have to experience. The long cold gray fingers clenched around her legs as she was lifted from her bed, and silently, effortlessly carried upside down through her window and into an odd shaped doorway. She could hear the sounds of crying, and sometimes screaming humans, men, women and children all around her.
    The brilliant flashing lights that seemed to shine right through her body burned like points of fire as she lay helpless on a transparent but solid glass table. It was all she could do to keep from sobbing as once again, in her tortured mind, she could hear the familiar screams of her sister from another chamber as the creatures worked over her with their unusual metal instruments.
    A knock on her office door brought her back before she could recall what came next in this horrible flashback. “Yes?” She stood to answer it, steadying herself against the desk.
    The girl opened the door and stuck her head in, “Professor Renner, sorry to bother you. I just wanted to let you know that I received an email a few minutes ago from someone regarding the online ad for videographer. Do you want me to schedule an appointment with her for tomorrow?”
    “Oh, most definitely. Tell her to come in early in the morning so we can confirm our final team before lunchtime. We are down to less than forty eight hours to departure and we need to know if we are good to go or if we will need someone to pull double duty with the camera.” She set the photo back in its corner instinctively turning the photo face down to hide it from inquisitive eyes.
    “Is eight o’clock okay then?” The assistant watched Macy flip the photo over and made a mental note to check it out later.
    “That would be lovely. Could you please close the door for me on the way out?” She sat down and spun her chair around to face the window so the tears that had begun to flow down her cheeks would not prompt any questions.
    “Sure, sorry I interrupted…” The assistant was irritated by her cold behavior, but closed the door without any further comment.
    “I’m not.” Macy mumbled to herself as she stared out the window, her mind relieved for the moment from the terror of her memories.

 
    Five
     
    The last thing Rajesh Pradeep wanted to explain to his parents was how his engineering studies had been put on hold while he immersed himself in a half year of paranormal investigative studies. He decided it was best to keep it to himself rather than suffer the consequences. Had his father known what he was doing, it could mean the end of the cash flow that he needed to maintain his lifestyle.
    He eyed the shelves in the sporting goods store trying to decide if there was anything he needed that was not on his list. Was there anything else that he might need on this trip to the wilderness? He had already invested a considerable amount in his tent, sleeping bag and mat, stainless steel dish and utensil set, flashlights, batteries, dehydrated food, canteen, and a box of condoms… just in case. Like he would really need them, but there were going to be women on the trip, and anything could happen. Secretly he wished that something would.
    He looked again at his list and everything had been checked off except one thing, a hatchet. He had added the hatchet to the list because he realized they would need to have a fire to cook, and at night for light and communal discussions, but even the thought of carrying a hatchet went against his anti-violence stance. Not that he expected violence, but this was America and he had seen more violence in the two years since he had been attending school here, than he had his entire life before he came.
    Still, he did want to eat and stay warm on this trip, and building a fire would be difficult without something to chop up the wood. There were various sizes and the one he chose