Left Behind

Chapter 11: Kian's Return

Highlands, Scotland, Saturday

Kian MacDougal entered the house, dreading what he'd find. Everything seemed too quiet, which should be the case at 3:00 a.m. But, due to the cryptic telegram - COME HOME, SON. YOU'RE NEEDED ASAP! - he received a few days ago, he didn't know what to expect.

He'd been deeply entrenched in the Amazon jungles, excavating a newly found ruin. Thus, he was totally isolated from the outside world, except for an emergency radio a day away. As soon as he received the missive, after someone travelled a whole day from the main base in the jungle, he packed and left with the messenger right away. Sure enough, his mailbox in Manaus was full of communiqués from home - both phone messages and letters. All of them were as vague as the final telegram. The worst one was the last phone message from his father, sent the day after the telegram. "Come hame noo or you'll be tae late."

There were also two letters from Ginny with the last one postmarked more than a week ago. He was tempted to read those first but resisted the urge since he wanted to peruse them when he had enough time to enjoy them. His desire to be with her remained unabated. But, family emergency needed to be his priority right now.

So, he left Brazil as soon as he could, arrived in Edinburgh, rented a car, and drove home right away. Not once did he think of calling home first because of his fear of the unknown. Of course, he was unaware that his father purposely left out the details, playing on his guilt and conscientiousness. Needless to say, it worked well...too well, in fact. From the time he received his message he'd been going non-stop just to get home.

Thus, he hadn't shaved for more than a month, and he was extremely exhausted and hungry. The only sleep he had was on the plane - if one could call it that. So, when he entered the house, he dropped his luggage by the door and went directly to the kitchen to rummage for food. He made so much noise that he woke his parents up.

Good thing for him they had to pass by the foyer to get to the kitchen. Seeing his stuff carelessly strewn by the doorway informed them that their "prodigal son" was home. Claire looked questioningly at her husband, who dropped the golf club he was holding in relief. Liam gazed back sheepishly. She sighed, shaking her head.

They eagerly looked for him, knowing that he was most likely in the kitchen. Naturally, they found Kian devouring leftover unheated haggis and venison. Claire was appalled to see his bloodshot eyes and unkempt appearance. "Oh, Kian... Did you even heat your food?"

"Too hungry, Mum," Kian said, gratefully observing that his parents appeared in the pinnacle of health. "Where's Aidan?"

"Er...would you like some broth? I'll heat some for you," Claire inquired, trying to dodge his question.

"Sure, Mum." Kian smiled gratefully, too tired to decipher why Claire dodged his question. Of course, she didn't see the smile because of his facial overgrowth.

"Welcome hame, son!" Liam announced, hugging his son since he was really pleased to see him again. He last saw Kian two long years ago. This surprised his son because he was not known for being outwardly affectionate. "It's aboot time ye git hame. Sae mony things hae happened."

"Yes, honey, but he didn't need to rush like this. My goodness, our son appears like he hasn't slept, showered, and eaten for days." Claire reprimanded her husband gently. Turning to Kian, she continued as she gave him heated broth. "Why didn't you call for us to pick you up? You need to sleep as soon as you're done eating."

"Thanks Mum. I didn't call because I don't know what the emergency is. And, Da's missive said, 'COME HOME, SON. YOU'RE NEEDED ASAP!' So, I did. Where's my brother anyway?" Kian asked again.