Chapter 51
Long hours passed, as if time had stopped within the cold walls of the cell.
Light began to dawn on the forest, and the sun cast its intense rays on everything. Then I heard noises coming from outside, the sound of approaching hooves, followed by the door opening and heavy footsteps stopping in front of the cell.
The stupid commander. He was back, accompanied by another soldier.
Kaya opened the cell door, and the commander stepped forward to enter, looking at me with a cold, expressionless gaze. "Did he say anything?" he asked, his voice sharp.
"Yes, sir," Kaya replied immediately, like an obedient soldier.
"Take him out," the commander ordered in a decisive tone.
I was taken out of the cell and pushed hard into another small room. The room was simple, containing only a wooden desk and two chairs. The commander sat on one of the chairs and motioned for me to sit on the other. I felt his piercing gaze penetrate me.
"Your name is Thayron, isn't it?" he asked, interlacing his fingers on the desk.
"Yes," I replied, trying to sound as calm as possible.
"What were you doing in the north?"
"I was hunting," I said, trying to hide the tension that was beginning to creep into my voice.
The commander laughed a short, joyless laugh. "You weren't hunting. There was a vehicle that crashed there," he said sharply, his piercing black eyes never leaving me.
"A vehicle? I don't know anything about a vehicle." I tried to sound completely ignorant.
"Stop lying. We saw the smoke and heard the explosions. You can't be just a few kilometers away from the crash site without seeing anything." His voice rose slightly, revealing his pent-up anger. "All I know is that I saw smoke and heard a series of explosions that made me change my hunting spot.
I didn't go near the area," I said with complete sincerity. After all, I was unconscious when the vehicle crashed, so technically I wasn't lying!
The commander looked at me with deep suspicion, then took a folded map out of his pocket and laid it on the table in front of me. "Show me where you saw the smoke."
I pointed to a spot on the map, near the course of a small river. "Here, the area near the river. I didn't get very close to them."
The commander looked at the map intently, then raised his head and looked directly at me. His gaze was cold, full of suspicion, and he didn't believe me.
A small smile appeared on his lips, a smile that held no warmth, only the promise of trouble. "Very well, Thayron. You will return to your cell. We will investigate and see if you are telling the truth."
I stood up suddenly, trying to protest. "What? I told you everything I know! I have nothing to hide!"
"Calm down," the commander said coldly, motioning to the soldier to take me away. "This is standard procedure. You're not going anywhere until we verify your identity and your story."
The words were a shock to me. I felt anger boiling in my veins. Being arrested by the man in the silver mask wasn't enough, and now here I was, locked up again, caught in a vicious circle. The soldier pushed me back into the cell with the old man.
"You're back quickly," said the old man, raising his head calmly, as if he had been expecting me.
"They're idiots!" I shouted, banging on the iron bars, desperate. "How can this moron be a commander?!"
The old man smiled wisely and said in a low voice, "Don't be fooled by appearances. The mind is more important than appearance. He may be an idiot, but he's not someone you can underestimate." There was a warning tone in his voice as if he could see something I couldn't.