Roma observed Erik and Mister Fox with curious eyes. Erik returned her gaze anxiously while Mister Fox remained indifferent.
"Yes, sir," Mr. Fox said. "Ask whatever you want."
Roma nodded.
"Did you notice anything unusual in the area yesterday or this morning?" Sergeant Sinclair asked. "We have proof that a Thaid has entered the city and was headed north."
Of course, Mr. Fox knew nothing and hadn't seen a Thaid around, which was essentially what the woman in front of him saw.
"No, ma'am… I've been working here since yesterday morning and saw nothing strange."
Roma nodded. She then turned to look at Erik.
"And you, young man?"
Erik was sweating. He wasn't used to this kind of situation and didn't exactly know how to manage it. Yet Erik had a natural talent for acting after years of faking being OK in front of Uncle Benjamin.
"Did you see anything strange around these parts?"
"No, ma'am. I saw nothing."
His heart raced as if trying to escape his chest. The pounding reverberated in his throat, each beat hammering against its walls.
"Why," he said. "You think the Thaid is in this area?" The northern district was vast. The creature being here was as likely as it being on the other side of the planet.
The older man asked. Roma had no reason to withhold information, so she told the truth.
"The tracks lead here, but we are not exactly sure of what the creature is. Only that it could be around these parts."
She paused. "Sorry if I ask you this, but do you have cattle the creature might have devoured?"
"I have cattle," Mr. Fox said. "But none is missing, and that is also true for my neighbors. They would have told me otherwise. It is unlikely the Thaid is here." Then Mr. Fox paused. The city didn't say what kind of Thaid entered, and he was curious to know.
"May I ask you what kind of Thaid entered the city?" the older man asked.
Roma didn't have problems with that; after all, A Densoph wasn't anything excessively worrying, and the man in front of him had military tags on his neck.
"It is nothing worth nothing, and you would probably be able to kill it. It is a Densoph. I can't say more than this."
In the meantime, Roma's team looked at their surroundings.
There were multiple traces left by the trees Mister Fox dragged out of the main gate earlier. Small branches were scattered across the floor, dirt smeared their roots, and leaves were strewn everywhere. Luckily, there weren't blood traces since it rained heavily.
Private Rennie noticed the trees at the corner of the property.
Not only was it weird for the tree to be there, but there was also the fact that it had been completely eradicated. Its roots were out in the open, 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 it," Roma said.
Erik and Mr. Fox nodded.
The creature was dead, the young man knew. He was just hoping they wouldn't find it or, if they did, that they wouldn't link the missing brain crystal to him once they found the body.
"Why are there eradicated trees out here?" Private Rennie asked.
"Oh, that?" Mr. Fox said.
"It's because of this young boy here. He has a power that makes plants grow faster and has gotten a new neural link recently. He is still young, so he messed up a little."
"Oh?" Sergeant Sinclair said. "A pretty useful brain crystal power on a farm." She looked at Erik. "What is your name?"
"Erik Romano, sir," he said. Since things were turning out better than he thought, he calmed down a lot.
Roma smiled.
"This doesn't answer the question. I will ask again, Why are there trees here?"
"Is it weird for a tree to be on a farm?" Mister Fox asked. Despite Erik having made this thing without permission, it was still his farm, and whatever happened inside was his business.
Roma stopped Private Rennie from making more questions.
"I think I'll leave you guys alone now," Sergeant Sinclair said. "But please inform us immediately should you find any signs of the thaid."
"Yes, sir." Both men said.
She turned around and walked back towards the road. Then she paused and glanced behind her before turning to go.
Something was weird. The old man got strangely defensive when Private Rennie asked that question. However, she knew those kinds of guys well. They were old veterans, likely leaving the army after the ten years of mandatory service and leaving with a bad impression of officers and the military.
Even if weird, the old man's reply was not out of character.
Erik watched as the military disappeared in the wheat field.
***
"Don't you think there was something strange in those two?" Private Rennie said to Private Williams.
"What do you mean?"
"The trees there were too weird... Why place it there if they had to chop it down or something like that?"
"Haven't you heard what the old man said? The kid can grow them. He was likely messing up with his brain crystal power and ended up making a mess."
"Yes, but don't you find it weird that it happened basically the same day a Thaid enters the city, and in the same area where the creature should be?"
"You are overthinking," Private Williams said.
"Yeah, besides, it makes little sense," Roma interjected. "Do you think that if they killed the Thaid, they wouldn't have told us? Even if they did, it's not like they did something wrong."
"That's true…"
Multiple ears of wheat stretched out toward the sky and in front of them, 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 said.
"What do you think his rank is, sir?"
"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 found nothing. They moved farther from Mr. Fox's farm.
"We should split up," Sergeant Sinclair said. "We will be able to cover more ground."
"Understood," the privates said in unison.
The group of five dispersed, each one heading in a different direction to scour the fields. They searched every corner and crevice until Private McBride's voice crackled over the communicator, alerting the others.
"Sir, I found the thaid."
"Understand; stay there and don't engage," Sergeant Sinclair said.
"Sir, it's already dead."
"Stay where you are, then."
After some time, the other four members reached him.
"Where is it?" Sergeant Sinclair said.
"There." Pointed at the creature.
The body came into view, already beginning to decompose in the heat. Its head was split open, and dried blood stained the ground beneath it.
"Well, at least it couldn't do any damage." Private Williams said.
"I won't be so sure about that. Besides, there is another problem; how did it die?" Roma asked.
"Probably a citizen. Most of them are retired soldiers, after all."
"Yeah, but why they didn't report it to us? A thaid roaming inside the city shouldn't be a small deal regardless of its strength." Private William said, looking at the body. Roma 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; it is already good enough that it is dead. Just bring it to the crematory; we don't want it rotting here."