"Is that a match?" I asked Valentina, who was acting rather suspicious today. I caught her glancing at me multiple times throughout the day, as if she had something she wanted to ask me.
"Y-Yes, maybe a one-on-one basketball match?" Valentina replied, staring intently at me. I too stared at her and wondered if she had switched places with Thomas and was now the one after me.
I was not sure where she was going with this, but I knew for a fact that she wanted to ask me something.
She likely wants to 'ask' me about my past and who I am affiliated with. She likely sees me as a threat of some sort, due to the fact I know she's not human and, well, frankly put, I wasn't taken aback.
Though I know she's not human, I don't know what she is either. She is the first 'creature' I met that has human-level intellect.
I was taught to be extra cautious of them when near them and not to run for my life immediately, as they wouldn't attack on sight and hate attention.
Back to her request, a one-on-one basketball match between a 5'11" male and a 5'6" female will only grab the attention of others and for the wrong reasons.
If she really wants to dig up my past, she has to either find those who I was affiliated with, which is impossible since all of them are dead.
Or she can simply interrogate me, which is what I believe what she's trying to do. I, of course, wouldn't let her lure me somewhere else because I am pretty sure that's her intent by disguising a simple match.
"You cannot be serious. Anyway, the answer is no, so I'll be off now," I replied. If she asked why, I'll reason with her with what I mentioned before. A 5'11" against a 5'6" wouldn't really be a match.
Of course, unless she wishes to use her true strength and wishes to expose herself, so be it.
I swiftly exited the classroom, recalling the words of my 'teacher' on these beings.
Their goal is to slowly take over the system in place. In other words, achieve totalitarianism in a country.
To do this, they disguise themselves living, eating, and working with humans. The 'authorities', of course, are aware of this fact but kept it a secret from the general public.
Which makes sense, as there will be chaos if people were to find out there are some creatures that are not human living with them.
If they are caught they'll be mercilessly hunted down, of course, there are some exceptions, sometimes they get aid from the higher-ups in turn for their cooperation and power.
So, Valentina is most likely the one that is being hunted, and she cannot cause a scene here. Even if this town is not as big or grand as other cities, she will not go scot-free.
That's the reason why I am able to 'relax' around her and Thomas as they really pose no threat to me or the school for that matter.
Walking out of the school entrance, I pulled out my phone to check the time—3:16 pm.
'Hmm, he's uncharacteristically late today. Or maybe some work came up?' I thought to myself, but for some reason, I had a bad gut feeling and can't help but link it with Valentina.
I pulled out my phone again and opened up GPS. I tracked my father's car location using a GPS tracker I planted in his car, which he has no knowledge of.
I looked at his location which was around 8 km away from the school, in a highway very close to the forest surrounding this whole area.
'Did something happen?'
'Did he crash his car?'
I shook my head to those possibilities as I'll likely be notified from his phone if it were to detect a crash.
Without beating around the bush, I decided to head towards his location to find out what happened. I checked my phone for any missed calls or messages but there were none.
As I was headed towards my father's location, I suddenly felt someone behind me grab my arm and forcefully turned me to his direction.
'Great another one of them. Just how many are there?' I thought to myself as I looked at an old genteel man, who had neat, brushed gray hair with sunglasses. He wore a fancy butler's uniform that suited him.
I could tell his eyes from behind his dark sunglasses were glowing with a faint of red.
I looked at him, waiting for a response as to why he stopped me.
"I am afraid your dad will not make it here." He spoke monotonously, pausing a little, observing how I am reacting, he added, "if you want to see him again, please head here."
He then showed me a small paper map filled with markings that led me deep into the forest right behind the school.
"Young miss, Valentina, is expecting to meet you there. She promises no harm to your father or you if you cooperate with her." Pausing he looked straight into my eyes and continued,
"I suggest you follow what she asks of you, young man."