Caught

Walking into a small wooden structure, Dawa was amazed to find the room—about 4m x 4m, furnished with a small table with some papers, a bag tossed in one corner, windows on two sides, and a few water bottles neatly placed by the wall.

He picked up a bottle, twisted off its lid, and asked, "Ayan, is this drinking water?"

"Yes," Ayan replied, watching as Dawa eagerly gulped down the whole bottle of water as if he found an oasis in the desert.

Gulp, gulp

Taking a deep breath after finishing it, Dawa spoke, "Why did you even make this treehouse so far from the village? It took me almost two hours just to get here and I didn't think to bring water. Why do you always do these weird things?"

Ayan replied in a somewhat embarrassed tone "I never really expected a visitor someday in my treehouse. I needed a good signal to use the internet, which was only available in these higher areas. This hill was the closest for me. So, I created a treehouse to spend my time here."

Dawa spoke in a jealous tone, "You even have those smartphones."

"Tell me, why did you come here?" Ayan asked, dodging the topic. "And why are you so tired just from these two hours of walking?"

Dawa explained in an excited tone, "This morning, the foreigners unexpectedly invited us to play several outdoor games with them. I was already tired before I came here. But, I wanted to meet you quickly so I came straight away."

Looking at Ayan's questioning face, he continued in a serious tone, "Because I found out that they already realized that the bridge was tampered with and the accident was planned."

"What!" Ayan was completely shocked upon hearing this. "How did they figure it out?"

Dawa shrugged nonchalantly, "I don't know how they found out. But, they know that I am one of the culprits which means they know at least two of us are involved."

Ayan hurriedly spoke, "Wait. How did this link to me?"

Dawa interjected, "You were such a smart boy. Can't you figure out that everyone in the village knows about your abilities? They'll easily find out about you when they ask the villagers."

Ayan calmed down and asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Dawa stared into his eyes and slowly spoke, "One way or the other they'll find out about you, so you better go to that blonde lady, apologize, and tell her that it was your doing—just the two of us are involved and no one else is involved. That way, we can prevent our friends from getting punished."

"But, I…." Just as Ayan spoke, Dawa cut him off, "Can't you do this much for our friends?"

Ayan sighed and agreed. "Fine. I'll go and take all the blame if that's what you guys want."

"Tomorrow morning, they'll be doing the rock climbing thing, so you can sneak in and meet with that lady separately," Dawa explained and generously declared. "Blame me as the mastermind if you want. I don't care."

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The adventurers were standing around a tall hill, listening intently as the leader expounded on the rock climbing procedure. These hills were lined with several ropes and ascenders, securely clipped to bolts embedded in the rocks. The first group, including Sonia, had already started climbing using these arrangements.

Sonia carefully gripped a big rock protruding into the hill, slowly lifting her head to survey the area above it. Suddenly, she noticed a man dressed in black hiding in a small alcove frantically waving and gesturing at her to stay silent.

"Ghost!" she shrieked, her voice echoing through the hills. Startled, her hand slipped and she started falling down the climbing rope screaming.

"Aaaahhhhh"

The sudden commotion drew everyone's attention towards her.

Luckily, Sonia was unscathed, the dynamic rope had absorbed the impact of the fall. Meanwhile, Ayan realizing his dire situation, jumped between the rocks using bare hand grips among the hills to reach the top and vanished.

The onlookers were shocked with open mouths as they watched him jump between the hills.

The military-like leader, unfazed by the chaos, calmly took off his hat, handed the equipment in his hand to Amelia, and spoke, "Amelia, you've already been through the introduction once. You explain it to them. I just remembered something urgent to handle."

"But, leader, I—"

Before Amelia could finish, the leader jumped and started running through the forest at a quick speed, leaving everyone in disbelief.

Ayan, now moving around the slopping terrain, rolled down the hill, leaped from one tree to another, and navigated the landscape like a fish in the water. After some distance, he rolled down a sloping hill into an outcrop of a rock using it like a kicker ramp, launching himself in the air in the direction of a thick and tall forest.

Catching a tree branch with the skills of a seasoned parkour expert, Ayan slowly descended the tree, avoiding the branches with practiced ease. But, he had actually overdid it this time and was feeling a bit dizzy as he leaned against a tree to catch his breath.

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind him, tasering him with an unknown weapon before he could react. Ayan collapsed, unconscious.

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After an unknown period of time, Ayan woke up, hazily looking around trying to make sense of his surroundings. His hands and legs were tied up to a tree with some ropes. He felt he could easily undo them if he exerted a bit more force a few times.

He noticed a fire burning, a few meters in front of him in the middle of the day. The military-like leader sat nearby, casually heating an instant noodle using the flames, getting ready to eat, seemingly indifferent to Ayan's presence. Despite being hungry, Ayan gulped down his saliva and stayed quiet for some time reflecting on his situation.

"Ahem!" Ayan pretended to clear his throat, hoping to capture the leader's attention. But, the leader continued eating his noodle, completely ignoring the boy.

Done with his meal, he finally turned to Ayan. "Now that I've finished my meal, it's time for some talk, kid," the leader spoke in a loud voice.

"First, I want you to understand that you're not the only one with strange abilities in this world. There are many such weirdoes, just that most of them are not in the known world."

Ayan's eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "Not in the 'known world'? Where are those people?"

With a glint of excitement, the leader spoke, "The world map that they teach you in schools isn't even 1% of the true world. This world is far, far bigger than what it seems."

"How can that be?" Ayan shook his head in disbelief. "Many satellites have been sent. People went outside the Earth on space missions—even to the moon. This would've been general knowledge if that was the case."

The leader told him in a serious tone, "What if there's a powerful organization, supported by most nations, controlling the information behind the scenes?"

Ayan recalled the mysterious disappearance on the internet. "What's the name of this organization?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and concern.

The leader slowly spoke, "International Ranger's Intercontinental Society, commonly known as IRIS"

"Rangers? Like forest rangers?" Ayan asked.

"Yes, but more like rangers of the forest outside the known world," the leader clarified.

In a serious tone, he asked "When or how did you start developing your abilities?"

Ayan became hesitant, stayed silent for a minute, but still replied, "I've had them as long as I can remember. I might have been naturally born with them."

"Well, that's strange," the leader raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Normally, when a child shows some strange abilities at an early age, they would be monitored by the organization and deemed as 'Indigo child'. They usually approach the child and their parents when the child becomes 7 years old, offering a choice—either to keep the powers and undergo seven years of specialized training or have them removed."

The leader's voice softened as if reminiscing something from his past. "Somehow, you've grown up undetected by the organization."

The leader was lost in thought for a minute. 'Still, with people traveling out of the village from time to time, someone would definitely speak about these strange abilities. I'm sure the organization won't even neglect some baseless rumors.'

"Maybe, it's because I'm in a remote part of the world and communication is very difficult here." Ayan voiced his thoughts lacking in confidence. "How do they remove these abilities?"

The leader mysteriously said, "Well, that's their secret. The children don't even remember what they've been through."

He suddenly asked, "Do you want to explore beyond the boundary of this known world?"

Ayan's eyes lit up. "I've always wanted to venture into the unknown terrain."

The leader nodded. "Then, there's something you need to understand about the organization—they're the only ones who know how to cross the boundary into the unknown world."

Ayan interjected, "You only mentioned they 'know how to cross'. Does that mean there are hidden pathways or some strange secret methods we have to use to go out?"

"And why do they have the monopoly on that knowledge?" Ayan questioned. "Many people cross borders illegally all the time. Surely, there must be some vagabond who accidentally stumbled upon these unknown lands."

"I can't say about the process as I haven't been outside. They have the support of all the powerful nations so they are the only official organization for these matters." The leader calmly explained, "The part of the world we live in is protected by a very powerful, invisible barrier. This barrier is very weird—the southern and northern barriers as well as the eastern and the western barriers are connected with each other. For example, if an airplane tries to pass through the eastern barrier, it will automatically reappear on the western barrier smoothly without any anomaly, as if the barrier isn't there at all. If you stood in front of the northern barrier, you wouldn't see the barrier or what lies beyond it. Instead, you'd see the same view you would if you were just outside the southern barrier, looking in."

"I heard that most of the barrier lies over the ocean so a person accidentally encountering the invisible barrier itself is incredibly rare."

Ayan asked with a determined expression, "How does one get permission from this organization to go outside?"

The leader replied in a serious tone, "The easiest way is to secure a contract with the organization and complete their specialized training. Otherwise, you'll have to pass the extremely difficult International Ranger's examination. The chances of passing the examination are about 1 in 10,000. Keep in mind, the people participating in it, all have special abilities."

"And most of them have attended the seven years of specialized training. So, it's even more difficult for someone like you to pass the examination," the leader continued.

Ayan's eyes narrowed as he probed further, "You mean, those who secure a contract and go through the training, don't need to go through the examination?"

The leader clarified, "Every few years, there'll be a limited expedition member spots available for the contracted members to travel into the unknown world. With the increasing competition, they may have to wait for a decade or more for their turn. So, they train continuously to quickly pass the examination to get a permit to travel to those strange lands sooner."

Looking at his bound self, Ayan sighed and asked, "What happens to people like me who missed the contract and the training?"

The leader shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not sure about that. When I attended the ranger's exam, there were some people who hadn't been through the contract or the training. So, I think it's possible for you to apply for the next examination."

Suddenly, the leader slapped his forehead. "Oh! I haven't introduced myself yet."

"My name's Jaxon Blade and I'm a contracted International Ranger. Now, that I've found out about you. I'll have to report you to the organization. They'll reach out and explain the details. I hope you won't spread info about the organization outside unless you want some trouble."

Jaxon stood up, pulled a card from his pocket, and slipped it into Ayan's trouser pocket. "If you ever feel like giving the Ranger's Examination, email me. I'll write a recommendation letter for you. That's the least I can do."

As the leader prepared to leave, Ayan hurriedly asked, "Wait! How did you knocked me out? I know that a normal taser cannot knock people down."

The leader turned back with a smirk, "That's just one of the few trinkets given by the organization."

With a nod, he added, "Farewell, kid. I'm sure we'll meet again someday."