"I suggest you follow what she asks of you, young man."
Closing my eyes, I never thought Valentina would go this far. Was I really that much of a problem? Or does she have PTSD from whatever she's running away from?
I don't know what they did to my dad, but what I do know is that, like me, they really can't touch him for obvious reasons.
But I can't be too lenient either. On the off chance they decide to harm him regardless of the consequences, that won't be pretty.
I should probably go and see for myself what she's really capable of. There really isn't much risk for me either, as I am pretty sure her intent is not to bury me 6 feet under.
No, I'll make sure that she regrets going after me.
"I'll go, but on one condition," I replied to the old, genteel man. "I'd like to pick the location myself. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
The old man looked at me for a while before speaking again. "Yes, there shouldn't be a problem. As long as it's within the area and the situation can be handled today itself."
He then took out his phone to type something and told me, "It wasn't a trap. Aren't you a cautious one? I can start to see why the young miss was going this far just to apprehend you."
I did not reply and stood there. After waiting for some time, he asked again, "Where would you like to move-"
"Just opposite and the same distance deep from the original location. That should be fine, right?"
He looked at me and nodded. "Thank you."
Without turning back, I headed behind the school's boundary and straight for the forest.
Towering trees formed a dense canopy overhead, casting deep shadows upon the forest floor. Thick undergrowth obscured visibility, creating a labyrinth where one wrong turn could lead to getting lost indefinitely.
Due to the high wildlife activity and dense foliage, the forest wasn't suitable for scouting or camping, let alone designated as a national park.
Its secluded nature also made it a haven for criminal activities, with crimes often going undetected amidst the tangled wilderness.
So, I made sure not only to mark where I was going but also used my phone as a tracer, tracing wherever I went using the sensors built into the phone, as GPS wouldn't work deep into the forest.
Arriving at a suitable place where trees were now apart by several meters, which allowed the bright sun to shine its light into the forest, I checked my tie and patted a pocket in my blazer.
Then, I waited for her arrival.
I also made sure the internet here somehow worked, as I did not venture as deep into the forest.
* * *
[Young miss, he said he'll be waiting for you in the opposite direction to your current location...]
Turning off her specialized device created for contacting in case of emergencies between her kind, she decided to go around the forest.
Which might seem like a lot of distance to cover, but she could do it under 5 minutes.
Valentina stretched for a bit before letting out a sigh.
"Did I go too far?" She muttered to herself, as she, with a single jump, leaped 20 feet into the air and landed on a tree.
"Why did he change the location though? Did he think I was leading him into a trap?"
She thought out loud before sprinting and jumping from tree to tree, reaching Edward's location in under 5 minutes.
* * *
"There you are." I opened my eyes to see Valentina standing 100 feet away from me. I did not hear a single thing when she got here.
"What did you do to my dad?" I asked, knowing he was safe but did so anyway just to get the ball rolling.
"Don't worry; he and your sister both are in safe hands."
"Yeah right, safe hands."
"I promise no harm to them regardless of what happens here," Valentina replied, and she looked quite sincere too.
I 'faked' being relieved and exhaled. I did not really believe a word she said as the reason she wouldn't hurt him wasn't that she was 'righteous' but simply because she couldn't, due to her circumstances.
"If that's the case than why did you call me here?" I asked.
"Well, you might have figured it out too. I came here to ask you some questions and confirm somethings."
"What if I don't want to?"
"Don't worry, if that's the case, I'll make sure you do."
"Are you insinuating to use violence?"
Valentina looked at me for a brief moment before curtly replying with a shrug, "who knows? Maybe you don't have to find out if you cooperate."
She then pointed her sharp nails at her eyes and slowly removed the contact lenses that hid her bright red eyes, with a vertical slit like that of a snake.
She then rubbed both of her ears, pulling something out, that seemed to elongate her ears like that of which you see in movies, an elf.
She then looked straight at me with a serious expression.
'Is that her attempt to intimidate me?' I thought to myself as I took in her new appearance, which might be the 'real her.'
"Interesting," I muttered, then asked her, "what are you?"
"I don't think you get to ask the questions here now, do you?" Valentina sharply replied and looked at me a little angrily, probably expecting some sort of reaction from me.
"Aren't you worried that I'll expose you?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"That won't happen; I can disguise myself again. And no one would believe you anyway," Valentina replied with a smirk.
"I see."
"Let's start than, huuuuu." Taking a deep breath, Valentina began to 'interrogate' me.