Chapter 59 Heading To The Farm

This feeling of the flight was something that I had a hard time ever seeing myself get bored of. The ability to soar up to any height and weave around the trees was unlike anything that I had ever experienced in my life.

"This is really amazing! I can't believe that you turned the city into a forest; it's almost like something out of a fairy tale. On top of it all, we are actually living inside the trees!" Marley exclaimed, looking up at me, and I nodded.

"All of this is more than amazing. I am the one that is doing it all, but I can hardly believe it myself," I said with a smile, flapping my wings to bring us higher.

I brought us up to about seventy feet in the air before I leveled off. At this height, I was clear of all the smaller Great Trees, making it easy to cruise straight as we headed out to the outside edge of the city.

"Where are we going? I thought that we weren't going to see my parents yet?" Marley asked, and I shrugged.

"I wasn't, but they are outside of my reach right now, and I would feel a lot better if we checked on them," I explained, and Marley nodded.

"Thank you. I am sure that they are fine, but you know they aren't going to want to leave, and neither will Katie's parents. We both have animals on the farms that they won't abandon. You know how they are," Marley explained, and I nodded.

"I am actually counting on that. Once we make it to the city's outer edge, we will be dropping down to the ground. I need to create a root that stretches over the distance to your parents, and I will make a great Tree there. That will serve as an outpost for me to watch for things coming. I plan to train some people to start watching possible Villains," I explained as I slowly started to lower us.

I probably should have gotten on training people sooner, but now it would be even easier than before. I could tell what people would be good at for the most part, but I would still have to talk to them.

There was never any point in trying to get someone to do a job that they didn't want to, even if they were good at it. I always was a firm believer in this myself and only ever really did what I wanted.

Soon the two of us sat down on the ground beside one of the Great Trees that was still growing slowly to make the outer barrier of the city. These trees were growing much slower than the rest, so I didn't hit my limit too fast.

I needed to be able to have some flexibility for things like what I was going to do now. These outposts were crucial, but that wasn't the only reason that we were coming out this way.

I could feel something getting closer to us, coming from that direction. I was almost positive that I was a Villain, but the feeling of uneasiness wasn't very strong.

"Are you alright? You seem really distracted right now. You have just been standing here since we landed," Marley asked me, and I blinked.

"Sorry. I haven't been candid, but it was mostly because I didn't want to worry you. I think someone is coming just like the last guy that wrecked the city, but a lot stronger," I explained as the grass pushed up under my feet and started moving me forward.

"Are you going to be able to stop them?" Marley asked, and I nodded.

"I think it should be fine, but I don't know anything about this person, so I need to be prepared," I explained as we picked up speed, cutting through open fields.

"How far away are they from us?" Marley asked, but that was my biggest problem right now.

"Not really sure, and that is what has me so concerned. I just know that something in this direction is making me uneasy, but I have no idea how long it will take for them to get here. The worst part is that the feeling doesn't gradually get stronger," I said, trying to see if I could get a better sense of things.

"What do you mean? If they are getting closer, shouldn't the feeling keep getting stronger?" Marley asked me, and I nodded.

"You would think that, but I get stronger and then weaker in strange spurts. It's almost like they can't decide what to do," I explained.

My efforts of trying to get a better lock on my target were useless. The feeling was lessening now even as I headed towards it at the speed of a car cruising on the highway.

"Hmm, maybe the person the AI is trying to control is fighting it? Is that possible?" Marley asked as grass pushed us up over a ditch, tearing through the road like it was paper.

"That is a good question, but I am not sure. I am sure that if someone was strong-willed enough, they would be able to do something like that. Being forced to kill other people would be very hard for some people to bear. Still, I am sure that the AI made a point to infect people that they had studied to make sure they would be fit," I explained.

"Well, maybe they aren't as good of a judge of character as they think? What if they were running off just electronic information about people? Think of how many people wear masks online?" Marley replied, and I nodded.

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"That is very true, and I never thought about it that way. If that is the case, then the AI might have their work cut out for them. That also means that tomorrow Anya is going to have to come with me to get my AI out of my head. Katie said she has plans for me, but I need to figure out how to separate us, so I can do the same to the Villains," I said, and Marley nodded.