Dillon Hunt And The Desert Oasis Resort by Chad Stewart (books suggested by bill gates txt) 📕

He and the rest of his family had a great breakfast. It almost made Dillon forget about all the troubling events that had happened to him since he got to the resort except for the fact that he couldn’t get it all out of his head.

It must have been noticeable on his face as Mom looked over and asked, “Are you okay honey? You look tired.”

“What … oh … I’m okay,” he stammered. “I just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

In truth he didn’t feel okay with the events he was caught up in. He didn’t know which way to go. He knew he couldn’t confide in anyone as no one would believe him. He also knew that there seemed to be powerful forces behind the disappearances of John Taylor Sebastian and now Tom Tom which was evidenced by the speed at which the information center was cleaned up after his encounter with the coyotes. And who was that mysterious man who was talking with Tom Tom? Dillon knew he probably hadn’t heard the last of him. The question he had, however, was what role he played in the disappearance of Tom Tom if any? It seemed weird that the mystery man would just leave and then come back to take the old man away when he had a perfectly good opportunity to do just that when it was just the two of them at the center. That man also didn’t have time to come back and abduct Tom Tom as Dillon was still there fighting the coyote when he disappeared. And the way he spoke about John seemed to suggest that he wanted to find him which indicated that there were probably two groups of people at play here.

If that was the case then who was the other group? And were they the ones who sent the coyotes? Where did they even get coyotes like that anyway? And were the coyotes meant for Tom Tom or for him? That last thought troubled him the most. The events seemed to suggest just that. The coyote in the center might have been meant for Tom Tom but not the ones in the desert. Those were definitely gunning for him! There’s no other reasonable explanation for it.

Finally Dillon decided that he would take it easy for a bit with his family, but not let his guard down. He determined to stay with at least one member from his family, if possible, and keep in plain view of others just in case the unknown assailants sent something else his way. He felt that this would be the safest course. Maybe some other piece of evidence would surface in the meantime?

As they were just finishing up their delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, fresh fruit, and the like Jordan stumbled their way. He looked rough!

“Tough night son?” Dad asked as he approached.

Jordan grumbled.

Gwen laughed.

“Well … when you’re done I think we’re all just going to lounge at the pool for a bit and then maybe head into town and check out that amusement park,” Mom stated. “You wanna come?”

Jordan nodded.

“Man of few words,” Dad said as he laughed and went in for some more bacon.

After breakfast Dillon headed back to his room in order to get his swim gear. He was still hesitant to walk there alone, but he figured he would be safe in the midst of a crowded resort. Besides, he knew Jordan would be along momentarily which calmed him a bit.

As the elevator door closed he heard the distinctive chime of his phone go off that indicated he was receiving a text. He pulled his phone out and looked at the screen. The blood drained from his face.

“We know what you’ve been up to,” the message said. Dillon felt his knees go weak. Then the phone rang and he felt the elevator suddenly stopped, but the door didn’t open. The phone rang and rang as he pushed the open door button. Nothing. All the phone said was, “Unknown Caller.”

He let it ring until his voicemail picked it up. Silence. He could feel his heart pound in his chest and could hear his breathing. He pushed the open door button again. Nothing. Then the phone rang again. “Unknown Caller,” it said again.

He slid the bar on the touch screen and put the phone to his ear. “Hullo,” he said, his voice barely audible.

“Hi Dillon,” came the reply. The voice was deep and unnatural. It was obviously being masked by a voice changing device. “We know that you’ve been looking into things that a boy your age shouldn’t concern himself with.”

Dillon was silent, not knowing how to respond.

“Why don’t you just enjoy your vacation with your family. I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” There was a long pause as Dillon was too scared to say anything. “And I’m sure you wouldn’t want anything to happen to them, would you?”

The elevator door suddenly opened and Dillon shrieked as a little girl about Gwen’s age ran into the elevator with her Dad startling him. The girl’s Dad actually flinched a little at Dillon’s outburst.

“You okay kid?” he asked as he carefully moved around Dillon.

Dillon nodded his head rapidly as he ran out into the hallway and toward his room. He burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

What is happening here! he screamed in his head. He took a few deep breaths in order to calm himself down. When he was able to think clearly again he replayed the conversation in his mind.

“Okay … okay …” he said aloud. “Obviously these people, whoever they are, don’t want me snooping around.” He paused, deep in thought. “Which is probably because there is something they don’t want me to find.” It was weird to him, but that line of reasoning seemed to calm him down more and actually intrigued him.

“But what about the veiled threat?” he voiced. Now he knew he was stuck. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially his family, but he had a strong desire to find out what these people were hiding.

Would they actually harm a twelve year old kid? he mused. “Well if the coyotes were any indication,” he said aloud as he started to pace, “then I guess the answer is yes.”

He flopped down on his bed. No, he realized. The risk was too much for him to keep going with this. The man on the phone only warned him to stop which implied that if he got out now then nothing bad would happen and he could enjoy the rest of his vacation.

He grabbed the watch from his pack and looked at it, rubbing his thumb over the initials ‘JTS.’ The one thing he couldn’t figure out is who was the one who made sure he would find this? That thought troubled him as it suggested that there was someone pushing him in this direction, but he knew now he couldn’t go where they wanted him to. He would have to give up the chase.

“Sorry John,” he said as he put the watch back. “I’m sure someone else is looking for you.”