She was looking at Erik and Mister Fox with curious eyes. Erik and Mister Fox looked at the woman with anxiety. Erik because he feared the militaries came here because they found the thaid and traced it back on him.

They hadn’t found the thaid yet, but he didn’t know. Mister Fox was anxious because he knew that something important happened or was bound to happen when the militaries were around.

“Yes, sir. Ask whatever you want,” the old man said.

“Did you see anything suspicious around here yesterday or this morning?” Sergeant Sinclair asked. Mister Fox immediately thought at what Erik had told him, he turned to look at the young man, but as he did, he saw Erik looking at him with pleading eye as if to ask him not to reveal anything to the militaries.

“No, ma’am.” The answer was immediate and short. “I’ve been working here since yesterday morning and didn’t see anything strange.” Although Erik didn’t want this matter to come out he lied.

“And you, young man?” Roma asked Erik, who was standing there with a frightened look even though, he was trying not to let his emotions transpire. “Did you see anything strange around these parts?”

Erik promptly replied to the officer. “No, ma’am. I saw nothing.” His heart was racing as if it was going to jump out of his chest. He could feel it inside his throat pounding like a hammer against the walls.

Mister Fox was already suspecting that this had to do with the thaid that Erik talked about, but he couldn’t be so sure.

“Why, did something bad happen?” The old man asked.

Roma had no reason to withhold information, so she told the truth.

“A thaid entered the barrier yesterday and came in this direction. If you see it, I suggest you avoid the creature at all costs.”

In the meantime, Roma’s team looked at their surroundings while the sergeant kept talking to the two men.

There were multiple traces left by the tree that Mister Fox dragged out of the main-gate earlier today. Small branches were scattered across the floor, dirt smeared their roots, and leaves were strewn everywhere.

Private Rennie noticed the tree that was moved from the front of the fence gate to a corner of the property.

Not only it was weird for the tree to be there, but there was also the fact that it had been completely eradicated. Its roots, in fact, were out in the open; it was like someone took the time to dig up the whole thing carefully. It was all due to Erik’s power, but he didn’t know that.

“We don’t know where the thaid is now, but we’re searching every inch of this area until we catch up to it,” Roma informed the two men.

The two nodded, knowing fully that the creature had already died at Erik’s hands. Mister Fox didn’t know what truly happened the previous day, but it was clear that Erik didn’t lie about the monster attacking him.

Private Rennie then asked, “Why is there a tree out here?”

“Oh, that? It’s because of this young boy here, Erik. He has a power that makes plants grow faster.”

“Oh?” Sergeant Sinclair said. “A pretty useful brain crystal power on a farm.” She looked at the young man, and then asked, “What is your name, boy?”

The question caught Erik off guard, “Uh, uh…er…My name is Erik Romano,” the young man answered.

Sergeant Sinclair smiled when she heard his response.

Sergeant Sinclair smiled when she heard his response.

“This doesn’t answer the question. I will ask again, why is there a tree here?” Private Rennie asked again.

Mister Fox tried to come up with a valid excuse, “We needed some wood for work we have to do on the farm, and I figured out it was more convenient to make a tree grow rather than buying the wood from a merchant…”

Private Rennie was still suspicious but didn’t say anything else after hearing the explanation. They both knew that the story sounded too contrived.

“I think I’ll leave you guys alone now,” Sergeant Sinclair announced her departure. “But please tell me immediately should you find any signs or traces of the thaid.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Both men agreed.

She turned around and walked back towards the road. Then she stopped briefly and glanced behind her before turning to go. Something was odd about the look in her eyes, but they didn’t get a chance to notice it.

Erik watched as the militaries disappeared down the path. Mister Fox looked at the young man who stood quietly next to him, not saying a word.

“Are you okay, kid?” Mister fox asked.

There was no reply. Erik continued to watch the soldiers going away without uttering a word.

“Erik…”

“Yes, I’m ok, Mister Fox.”

They shared a brief moment of awkwardness between them. Erik started walking slowly toward the door leading outside to check on the rest of the farm.

Understanding his situation, Mister Fox grabbed Erik by the shoulder and guided him into the house. “Come along, kid.”

It felt strange being in the house; the place was massive compared to the one he grew up in. The walls were covered with paintings, each depicting something different.

There was even a painting of an angel floating above a field of flowers. The furniture was new, and there were multiple pieces of technology here and there, including a very advanced maid robot waiting for orders inside the kitchen.

“These are beautiful,” Erik commented while looking at the paintings.

“Yeah, these aren’t mine, though,” Mister Fox admitted. He then turned to look at the robot and said, “Ada, please prepare a cup of tea for Erik.”

The young man was quite thirsty, so he accepted the offer. After a couple of minutes, the robot brought him a steaming cup of black tea.

“Thanks,” Erik told Ada, who replied simply, “You’re welcome.”

Mister Fox was thoughtful enough not to ask any more questions to the young man. After all, he had already explained what happened with the thaid to him; of course, Erik refrained from telling him anything regarding the biological supercomputer, so there was nothing more he could ask.

After waiting for Erik to calm down he said, “You can go for today; make sure to get enough rest. I need you to be in full force tomorrow.”

“All right, Mister Fox,” Erik said.

***

“Don’t you think there was something strange in those two?” Private Rennie said to Private Williams.

“What do you mean?”

“It was like they were hiding something,” Private Rennie replied.

“Do you think they saw the thaid?” Private William asked.

“I don’t know, but that tree there had me thinking that maybe something is going on in that farm.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Roma interjected. “What reason should they have to hide something about a thaid?” she added. 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘦𝑡

“That’s true…” Private Rennie responded. “But their explanation was a little bit weird. I had trouble trusting them.”

“You are talking about an old man and a kid no more than sixteen. Didn’t you see how the kid started trembling once he saw us? He was frightened.” Private Williams said.

“Yes, maybe because he really did hide something from us.” Private Rennie said.

“Enough with the chat,” Sergeant Roma said.

They arrived in front of Mister Fox’s wheat field and entered it. Multiple ears of wheat stretched out toward the sky, it was like a golden carpet spread across the land. The field was well cared for, and the wheat was unnaturally high.

“Do you think this is that kid’s work?” Private McBride said, referring to the unnaturally tall plants.

“Maybe,” Roma, the sergeant, said.

“What do you think his rank is, sir?” Private William said.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think it should be high. He is a kid, after all.”

The group went deeper inside the wheat field but didn’t find anything.

“It’s better we split up,” Sergeant Sinclair said. “We will be able to cover more ground.”

“Understood,” The privates replied in unison. As the group of five split up, they went in different directions, searching through the fields. They searched every nook and cranny until finally, Private McBride called the others on the communicator.

“Sir, I found the thaid.”

“Understood; stay there and don’t engage,” Sergeant Sinclair replied.

“Sir, it’s already dead.”

“Stay where you are, then,” the officer replied.

After some time, the other four members of the squad reached him.

“Where is it?” Sergeant Sinclair said.

“There,” Private McBride said while pointing at the creature. It was then that they saw the body; it was already starting to decompose. Its head was split open, its blood already dry on the ground.

“Well, at least it couldn’t do any damage.” Private Williams said.

“I won’t be so sure about that,” Sergeant Sinclair said. “Besides, there is another problem; how did it die?” she added.

“Probably a citizen. Most of them are retired soldiers, after all.” Private Rennie said.

“Yeah, but why they didn’t report it to us? A thaid roaming inside the forest shouldn’t be a small deal.” Private William said, looking at the body. Then, sergeant Sinclair crouched to look at the body better.

“Should we bring it back to the base?” Private Williams asked.

“There is no need to. It doesn’t matter who killed the creature; the only good thing is that it is dead,” Sergeant Sinclair replied.

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