Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sophie drove the car. On the road where the speed limit was 90 miles per hour, she took a curve at 130 km/h. Before us, there was a long queue of vehicles moving slowly. She decided to overcome them all. 

I closed my eyes while Mom and Dad were laughing and shouting "Yahoo!" loudly. The sound of the siren of the police calmed them down. Sophie parked on the roadside.

"Careful!" Hugo said, hiding his fear badly. "The police will try to dominate you. Do not fall into the trap." Looking at the sky, I noticed that the helicopter had disappeared. Surprising. They were gangsters, they would not appreciate the police presence.

With a blond mustache and a kind face, the agent looked at us before talking to my mother.

"According to this, you would born in 1961. That would mean that you are 40 years old. Are you this old, miss?"

"Forty years old?" Sophie said, making an effort to remember. "Uh ... Yes, I think that's right."

"You look less than half the age of the woman pictured on your license. How do you explain that?"

"Uh ... Well, I've changed a lot since this photo. Uh ... I anti-aged! ... My husband, for that matter. Look at him. He was forty years old, but he`s now, what? Seventeen years old?" 

"Did you just get married?... Are you on your honeymoon, by any chance?"

"Not at all," said Sophie. "We've been married ... how long already?"

"Sixteen years, I think," said Hugo. 

"Um ... If I calculate correctly, you wore diapers before the ceremony... And the children behind you, are you going to tell me their yours?" Mom hesitated, then replied slowly. 

"The boy, perhaps., But not the girl, I'm sure." After a deep breath, the officer turned to me.

"Who is this young man and the girl?" What could I say? While I was racking my brains to invent a lie, sweat ran down my forehead. 

"Do not be afraid to talk to me. I'm here to protect you." 

"You're wrong!" I said, sharply. "They really are my father and my mother and they are honest, I swear!"

"Get out of the car!" he ordered. "Hands behind your head!"

"Oh no!" complained Hugo. "It's not possible; I'm dreaming!" Sophie unfastened her seatbelt very slowly. Then, with extraordinary audacity, she pushed the car door hard, hitting the policeman. The officer fell on his back.

Before he had time to react, Mom turned the ignition key and the car started in a cloud of dust. I saw the police get up, take his gun and run to his vehicle. A little later, a siren sound was behind us. The officer was trying to pursue us. 

"Do you realize what you've done?" said Hugo, in an angry voice.

"But you told me not to get dominated!" Sophie shouted.

"Slow down and pull over. Afterwards, let me drive."

"It's too late. He's going to shoot us! I don't want to get killed!" 

"Stop the car on the side!" ordered my father, reaching to turn the wheel.

"Never!"

"How stubborn you are!?"

"Drop it, You'll cause an accident!"

The car zigzagged, plunged into the ditch, then headed to the forest.

Behind us, the patrol car was quickly approaching in the tall grass. Suddenly, the police officer's car was crushed against a barrier. While Sophie cast a glance in the mirror, she ran at full speed into a tree. She had no time to brake before the collision.

"Leave us in peace! Can't you see that my girlfriend is traumatized?" Hugo's face was now that of a child. No trace of a beard. His features became almost feminine. At the same time, I noticed that the sound of the helicopter was gone.

"If the police finds us, we'll never get to Percé!" I insisted. 

"Percé? Why would we go to Percé?" Hugo rolled down his pants after doing the same thing with his shirt sleeves.

"They have forgotten everything," said Jo. "Marc-Andre, I've had enough! We are in trouble and it's their fault! They deserve to be stopped by the police!" Suddenly, a man and a woman dressed in a black suits appeared. They approached us, running quickly. Sophie was grabbed by the woman while the man had Hugo in his arms. My parents were trapped. I grabbed my father by his legs, while Jo bit the woman on her arm.  Suddenly, a white caravan appeared on the road. Immediately, the man and woman dropped my parents and disappeared into the forest. The caravan stopped at the roadside. Henri-François  of Estrogon descended.                

"Who are these people in black?" he shouted, coming towards us. "Why did they brutalize you?" He had not yet recognized us.  

"I do not know," I said. 

"Marc-André! Jo! You are here! Tell me what happened!" Luce, who had heard our names, got out of her side of the caravan and approached her father. 

"You're no longer in the car?" asked the father. "Where are the young man and the girl who claimed to be your parents?" Obviously, he did not recognize Sophie and Hugo. Suddenly, I had a great idea.

"Those teens were bandits. They tried stealing Jo and I and our two friends! The people dressed in black were their accomplices, but thank you, sir, we are now free!" 

"They are kidnappers of children? This is terrible!"  Calm and silent, Luce examined me carefully. 

"If you don't take us with you, sir, they will come back for us again!" I screamed with a terrified air.

"Come up with us!" the man said, worried. "I will lead you to the police station."

"Absolutely not! They have allies even among police officers! Rather, we should go to Percé, because that is where we live. Our parents must be worried to death!"

"One moment, Dad," Luce ordered. Convinced she would destroy my scenario, I held my breath. "Marc-André is hiding information. However, as they were assaulted, I agree for them to be taken along with us. But I recommend to be careful of them 

"This is not a girl," my friend whispered. "This is a computer on legs." I heard the distant sound of a siren. 

"Stay with them, my pearl," Henri-François of Estragon decided. "If you notice something weird, call me.  As I got into the caravan, Jo said:  "Great, your little number. But I hope you realize that our problems will multiply! To get out, we will have work to do!"

"License and registration certificate, please." By reading the documents, he frowned.

The officer looked at my mother.

This time, the agent's mustache trembled. His blue eyes took an icy tone. 

Suddenly, I understood. This brave police officer thought my parents were criminals. Car thieves or worse.

But the agent misunderstood my message. He looked at us for a few seconds, visibly angry.

"You're going to kill us!" Hugo yelled.

________________________________________________________________________

The shock was brutal, but nobody was injured. The car, however, couldn't be driven anymore. I went to see the patrol car. The policeman was unconscious, but he lived. Apart from a cut on his forehead, he did not seem hurt. Sophie made ​​us run to the edge of the road. In the shade of a large rock, she sat on the floor, and Hugo looked on for consolation. In the distance, we heard the sound of the approaching helicopter.

"It will come here as soon as possible!" I shouted. "The officer surely issued an alert while he was pursuing us!"