Chapter 20: Pursued

RENA

She found us within a week. Almost no sooner did we unpack everything before she tracked us down again. Apparently she had her own news helicopter.

JAVERT

"Chastity Javert here. I'm here as an eyewitness to something that I cannot explain. Despite all logic, I encountered what appeared to be one mermaid, one fox girl, an elf, a girl with flowers and twigs in her hair, and a really really short girl. Just one week ago, I encountered them in what appeared to be an abandoned farm structure but saw them disappear into a nearby tree. Thanks to a tip from a certain source who will remain anonymous, I was able to confirm that she can only leave trees of the same species as she left. After help from a horticultural expert, I confirmed that this was a Chamaecyparis thyoides, or Atlantic White Cedar. I then rounded up all known locations where these were planted, and found that in 1974, a native of Virginia smuggled in several seeds and planted them, right here, in this spot. I will now interview the people living in this bungalow over here," I said, standing with the chopper open and the camera pointed at the house. I signaled for the camera person to turn off the recorder.

I again didn't get a chance to interview them, as they again fled through a tree that she had as a sapling. But since the horticulturist had given me a book titled All Trees of the Entire Known World, I was quickly able to discover that this tree only grew naturally near the Demilitarized Zone near the Korean borders.

RENA

Oh not again. I was about to snuggle up to Alicia and kiss her when we heard the whir of a helicopter. This time, it had only been a day.

JAVERT

Over the next month, I was able to ceaselessly track this group down before they could use another tree. Even when they did so, I was able to extrapolate from nearby trees odds of which one they would use next and find them anyway.

Midway through the process, my boss told me that they were looking for news stories, not a crusade. "Excuse me sir, but as I own this news chopper outright, I will pursue this story," I told him. He assured me that my job would not be waiting for me when I got back. I needed this story, even if I had to sell it to the tabloids. So I continued for week after week.

Finally they came out, and screamed at me, "All right! All right! I'll give you your damned interview. That's what you want, right?"

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