True Love Waits novel Chapter 1434

"Oh! So who's this new kid?" Wesley asked, scratching his head. But the next moment, his mood darkened. "Do you just go around picking up stray kids? You can even walk into a forest, and come out with another kid. How do we know this kid isn't yours, Gifford? Maybe one born out of wedlock? Maybe you've been hiding the kid all this time..."

Gifford couldn't believe his ears when he heard what his dad said. "Come on, Dad. Boswell found the kid, not me. And the kid's not mine! What a crazy idea! I'm happily married, with a kid of my own!" How could he have a love child? That was impossible.

Wesley's words amused everyone. Boswell had no idea what a love child was. But he felt the need to explain. "Grandpa, we got this kid from Mommy Bear," he explained.

"Mommy Bear?" After Boswell's explanation, Wesley was even more confused.

"Yeah!" Boswell nodded.

"Apparently this kid was lost, and raised by a bear. No clue what happened to the parents. We're the first humans the bear saw, so it gave the kid to us," Gifford said to his father.

"Oh! How weird!"

Matthew handed the kid to Wesley. "Dad, you and Boswell go home and get some sleep. I'll have my men scour the forest for Damian. Don't worry, we'll find him!"

"Dad, I know where my brother was headed. I can go with you!" Boswell said to Matthew, wrapping his arms around Wesley's neck.

Stroking his little head, Matthew said, "No, we're good. You stay here with your grandpa. We'll take care of this. We'll find your brother, trust me." The child must be still in the forest. Sheffield and Joshua were still searching there with their people. With so many people looking for him, the child was as good as found.

Wesley left with the two children. Matthew advised Gifford to take a break. Maybe nap in the car for a bit. He'd been looking for the kids nonstop, and a power nap would work wonders. Matthew relieved the other crew that had been searching for his son, and took a fresh group of well-rested men with him.

Before Matthew could take a few steps inside the forest, he received a message from Sheffield. "I found Damian! The boy's hurt! Have the paramedics stand by!" the message said.

A while ago

In the forest, when night fell, Damian leaned against a big tree, his stomach rumbling.

He was very sleepy, but too jumpy to sleep. The forest looked very different at night. Branches that looked innocuous in daylight transformed to twisted, tentacle-like limbs in the darkness. The sound of night creatures was far from comforting, as well.

He managed to build a fire with a little good old fashioned ingenuity. He looked for dryer lint in his pocket, took some of the dry grass around him and added it to his fire pit, then he used his house key and a rock to create the sparks. He took some rocks from nearby and arranged them to surround the fire. But he had nothing to eat, so all he could do was stare at the fire and watch as it died down.

'No, I can't let the fire die, or I'll have more problems.'

Thinking of this, Damian stood up and began to look for some dry kindling to keep the fire going.

Fortunately, there were many branches close by, and he could ignite one of them so he could see better.

However, he didn't know what was hidden under the branch. Just as he was fumbling the branches, a little creature suddenly jumped up from underneath the branches and pounced on him.

"Ahhh!" Damian's little body was knocked down by the animal, and the black animal slashed his trousers and scratched his legs. The animal left several cuts in his legs. His dark blue trousers were soon painted red by the blood.

The little animal that hurt him left and vanished in the forest.

Damian sat there and waited for his wounds to stop hurting. After a while, he gritted his teeth, picked up the branches he gathered, and made his way back to the campfire.

A few minutes later, he heard a buzzing sound. He craned his neck, so he could listen more intently.

Damian opened one of his eyes, and some mechanical contrivance was flying more than ten meters overhead. When he took a closer look, he knew it was a drone.

The drone began to land. It circled around the campfire and finally focused its lens on Damian.

Damian flashed a smile at the drone and said gently, "Hi Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom."