Chapter 52: Hunter Academy
Alexandre's eyes snapped open.
He realized his jaw was clenched in a teeth-gritted smile. He was sweating profusely, his heart racing. Even though he could sprint for two hours without his heart rising above 100 BPM, his troubling dream had made him feel like he'd just exerted a superhuman effort. As the pilot announced the landing a few moments later, Alexandre's mind still raced.
Why'd he just had that dream? It was the first time since he'd become free that Alexandre had dreamt of his father and the events leading up to the Great Wave. Many questions flooded his mind, but one stood above all the others: Why now? Was it because his father had just been executed?
Ten minutes later, when Alexandre was deplaning with the other passengers, the questions still filled his mind. Nonetheless, Alexandre tried to distract himself by observing his surroundings. Unlike his first arrival at Hunter Island, very few people were at the airport, and most of them were military personnel. Only about a hundred passengers had even been present on the plane itself, in fact.
Then Alexandre noticed a detail which had evaded his notice on his first trip: There were an unusually high number of private jets on the airport, with three currently waiting to take off. This confirmed the general wisdom that all Hunters were incredibly wealthy.
Finally, it was Alexandre's turn in line. He presented his passport and the watch which showed his candidate number.
The US military controlled the customs post, and the soldier on duty closely examined the items he'd just received. Then he said, "Candidate 32,332, Alexandre HautVille, qualified candidate in the Hunter Exam. You may pass."
Alexandre collected his luggage and got onto the ferry that would take him back to the island containing Hunter's Paradise and the academy. He closed his eyes, feeling the cool sea breeze move across his face and ruffle his hair.
This was it, the beginning of a new life. Alexandre had left New York behind after nine years of planning, and now the moment had come for his crusade of vengeance to begin. Once he was a full Hunter, Alexandre would be able to gain access to all those who'd participated in the Genesis Project, no matter where they might be hiding.
He'd show them no mercy, just as they themselves had shown no mercy to the human lives they'd treated as mere guinea pigs.