"Gonez what'd you shoot?" Glen's second in command had randomly shot into the forest for seemingly no reason.
"Sorry Boss. I just thought I saw... a rat-sized mantis." Gonez wasn't sure of what exactly he saw himself.
"It's possible." Glen didn't shoot down the possibility much to Gonez's surprise. Glen took out his pack of cigarettes making sure to offer Gonez one.
"You believe me, Boss?" Gonez took a cigarette. The entire fight had taken a lot out of them, not to mention the aftermath.
"We fought a tree, a rodent-sized mantis is at least in the realm of believability." Glen lit their cigarettes before taking a puff. Relaxed on the ground, Glen didn't make a sound. Four of his men had died today and a couple had serious burns from the initial dynamite.
The roots of the tree still had to be excavated. They had to collect as many intact flowers as they could. They still had to retrieve the bodies of their comrades. They had to bring the injured to the hospital. In the end, they still had much to do. So, Glen put off his cigarette and got to work.
---
A day has passed since the flower tree has fallen. On the highest floor of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, a young man sat silently in an empty room. The distinct lack of furniture made the young man the sole focus of the room. The young man had blond hair and wore a stoic expression. His clothing was simple and loose. His eyes remained shut and he breathed rhythmically.
Knocks on the door announced the arrival of someone else. An older man looking to be in his thirties opened the door letting himself in. This man's eyes held a tinge of worry and his features were serious. The young man opened his eyes.
"Julius the mercenaries you had me hire have returned. They've brought back the materials you asked for." The older man spoke less like someone with authority and more like a servant.
The young man named Julius nodded and got up. Brushing past the other man, Julius gestured for him to follow. The two walked through the hallway and to the elevator. The few staff met along the way made sure to greet the older gentleman, but surprisingly didn't have the slightest clue who was the young man. An elevator opened and the older man clicked the lobby floor. The older man hesitated for a second before asking.
"Julius, I've been meaning to ask. Hiring the mercenaries was meaningless. I could've had my men retrieve the materials for us." It was a question he had been holding in for the longest time. Julius didn't answer at first as if questioning whether the question was worth his breath.
"Allies. We need allies, Dilan. You've built up a corporate empire in the time I was gone, but it's not enough. To deal with what's to come we need to secure more allies. Think of this as a way to filter our future allies." Julius spoke concisely, neither fast nor slow. A perfect tempo. By the time he was finished, they arrived at the lobby floor. The older man Dilan still couldn't grasp why they needed more allies but didn't question any further.
The two walked into the lobby, both of them having caught the attention of the staff. As one of the youngest CEOs of the most successful company that ran the luxury hotel chain they worked at, every staff member knew of Dilan's face. However, few knew of the young man walking ahead of Dilan. Each of Julius's steps was measured. His back was straight and his posture dignified. Julius's mere presence was regal, inciting the image of him being a figure of royalty. Despite being in simple clothing, no one couldn't get this image out of their heads. It was merely the way Julius carried himself, nothing more.
The group of mercenaries sitting by the back carrying dark expressions had noticed the unusual duo. The leader stepped forward to greet the two of them. Glen wasn't happy at having to wait for half an hour just to talk to his employer, but the man definitely didn't seem easy to reach. Glen couldn't help but return the favor in his own way. Glen reached out to shake Dilan's hand. As soon as the two hands met, Glen squeezed strongly. Discomfort colored his employer's face and Glen couldn't help it as a smile tugged at his lips.
Glen let go as Dilan quickly pulled his hand back in pain. They were now even for the wait, but Glen still wanted compensation for all they suffered through. Julius went in for a handshake and Glen thought nothing of it. Until a great pressure crushed his hand. Glen looked at the boy who was inflicting so much distress and didn't know how to feel. The young man's eyes were bored even a little amused. Glen tried squeezing back, but all that did was increase the pressure crushing his hand.
The moment a pop sounded, Julius let Glen's hand free. Glen stumbled backward and inspected his hand. Glen suspected his pinky finger had been dislocated in that confrontation. Glen's forehead dripped with sweat in the air-conditioned room, but he didn't even grunt from the pain. This young man wasn't normal. The young man looked like he hadn't even stepped out of high school. So, what he was doing in a meeting of such nature was a mystery.
"Did you get it?" Julius inquired, uncaring of the fact he out-competed a mercenary in a test of strength. Glen looked toward Dilan who remained silent and realized the young man was the one who actually ran the show.
"I had to use some of my connections, but we got most of it. We couldn't find that 'Mana core' you talked about though." Glen massaged his hand but otherwise kept a straight face when answering. Julius's face frowned upon hearing that the Mana core wasn't found. A fact Glen noticed and believed the boy already knew about the tree.
"Hey, answer some of my questions, will you? Why didn't you tell us about the tree?" It was a question clawing at Glen.
Everything could've been made much easier if they had intel on the enemy. Glen wouldn't back down without knowing the truth. Four of his men had died taking down that tree. If there wasn't a good reason why they were left in the dark then things were going to get ugly. Faking ignorance wasn't going to work since all the supplies they received indicated foreknowledge of the tree. Glen's crew backed him up flashing their weapons to make sure they got an honest answer. Julius however didn't even seem fazed by their firearms.
"To see if you were useful." Julius's blunt voice stunned everyone.
Even Dilan hadn't expected Julius to act brazenly in front of the mercenaries. Glen clenched his jaw like a vice as he stared down Julius. Their employer had cost him four good men just to see if they were competent. A fist went flying as Glen's knuckles slammed into Julius's face. Pain traversed through his hands and into his body. Glen felt like he had just punched a brick wall and not flesh.
"My turn." Julius's dampened voice sounded from under Glen's fist.
A fast strike slammed into Glen's diaphragm, the strength behind it left him breathless. Glen's knees crashed into the marble flooring as he tried in vain to breathe. The familiar sound of guns being drawn was heard behind Glen. His mercenaries were ready to have a shootout even in the public lobby. Luckily, Dilan had the forethought to clear the lobby of customers before the meeting.
"S-stop!" Glen's hoarse voice commanded as he tried to push air out of his lungs. Glen held one of his hands up to stop any of his crew from firing.
"Wise move. You understood what I meant, yes?" Julius leisurely asked the aged mercenary. Glen could see it, this young man was most definitely not as simple as he seemed.
"Yeah, sorry. My emotions got a bit out of control. There are more of those monsters out about, ay?" Glen finally figured out why this young man was so brazen.
If more of those tree monsters existed then their families weren't safe. They were only able to deal with it thanks to the dynamite and Molotovs. But if they had encountered the tree unprepared, it would've been a slaughter. Glen couldn't imagine one of his kids accidentally encountering that thing. This young man clearly had more intel about what was happening.
"Indeed," Julius replied almost as if he expected this outcome.
"Is it only trees?" Glen wanted to know. If it was more than just trees and included plants then parks became infinitely more dangerous.
"More than mere trees. Whatever lives can become like that or more. Birds, bugs, pets, even worms nothing will be safe." Julius spoke as if it were fact and the tree was not a one-off occurrence.
It was just as Glen feared, but being told that his suspicions were true was better than being mere suspicions. Glen needed to plan around these monsters. His family was no longer safe. His crew's families were no longer safe. This young man was a beacon of hope in this fog of mystery. Glen wouldn't miss this chance with an obvious way out.
"Do you have a solution to stop it all?" Glen asked.
"It cannot be stopped. Work for me though, and I'll pave a path for you to follow." Julius extended a hand outward. His hand meant more than just a handshake. It was a deal, a promise that Julius would help and guide. Whether it was a false alarm or not, Glen believed that dealing with a fraudster was nothing to him. And if what the young man said was true, this was a deal Glen was sure not to miss. Glen's hand took the deal and they shook on it.
"Here." Glen chucked a USB stick to Julius. "That should be where your 'Mana core' went." It contained the recording of Gonez's body cam suit.
"Excellent." Julius loved dealing with smarter individuals who could see ahead. Meeting the right people always happens to hasten his plans. That was always a good thing, after all his competition was fierce.
"What now?" Glen interrupted Julius's thoughts.
"Hmmm, I have a task for you in a week. Same pay, but this time you'll have information. After all, I can't have my allies dying." Glen grinned at Julius's comment. While some part of him disliked having to do risky business. Being able to have a chance to kill creatures like the tree was stuff from fairy tales. Glen and his crew left the hotel with mixed feelings of expectations and worries for the future.