37 Sheep Refused to Eat — Then a Farmer Discovered What Was Buried Under His Pasture
Chapter 5
The next morning, Eli woke before sunrise.
He stood at the kitchen window, staring toward the northern pasture.
The grass moved gently in the wind.
It looked harmless.
Beautiful, even.
But beneath it was an abandoned experiment that could contaminate an entire watershed.
He called the state environmental agency.
This time, he refused to speak to anyone except a senior investigator.
Within two hours, a woman named Karen Mitchell arrived.
She was a state environmental scientist.
She listened to everything.
Then she asked:
“Where did you get these records?”
“From underground.”
Karen looked toward Sarah.
“And you verified the documents?”
“Yes.”
Karen sighed.
“This project was closed in 1987.”
“Apparently not.”
Karen studied the map.
“This is worse than I expected.”
“How bad?”
“The roots have crossed your property boundary.”
Eli nodded.
“Harold said three miles.”
Karen looked at him.
“You met Harold Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
Karen’s expression changed.
“He was listed as deceased.”
Eli stared.
“What?”
Karen shook her head.
“I need to speak with him.”
They returned to the facility.
Harold was gone.
His belongings were gone too.
The chamber remained.
But the control panel was different.
The red light had turned green.
Sarah’s face went pale.
“Someone activated it.”
Karen examined the system.
“It’s pumping.”
“What?”
“Look.”
A series of pipes beneath the chamber were vibrating.
The roots were being fed water.
Someone was deliberately accelerating growth.
Karen immediately called for emergency containment.
But before the team could arrive, a helicopter appeared above the property.
Eli watched it circle.
“What the hell?”
It landed near the barn.
Three men stepped out.
Daniel Price was among them.
The same man who had offered three million dollars.
He walked toward Eli.
“You should have taken the money.”
Eli stared.
“You knew about the facility.”
Daniel smiled.
“We’ve known for years.”
Karen stepped forward.
“State environmental authority.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“This is private property.”
“Not anymore.”
She held up her credentials.
Daniel looked toward the excavation.
“You don’t understand what you’re standing on.”
“I understand enough.”
Daniel turned to Eli.
“You can still make this easy.”
“By selling?”
“By cooperating.”
“No.”
Daniel sighed.
“Your father made the same mistake.”
Eli stepped closer.
“What happened to him?”
Daniel smiled.
“He kept digging.”
Eli’s blood ran cold.
“You knew my father.”
“Yes.”
“What did you do to him?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying.”
Daniel looked toward the house.
“You should ask your mother.”
Eli froze.
“My mother?”
“She knew.”
Then Daniel walked away.
The helicopter lifted off.
Karen watched it disappear.
“Who is he?”
“A developer,” Eli said.
Karen shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at the sky.
“He’s something else.”
That evening, Eli called his mother.
She lived three states away.
He told her about the facility.
There was a long silence.
Then she began crying.
“I hoped you’d never find it.”
Eli closed his eyes.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Your father begged me not to.”
“Why?”
“He was afraid.”
“Of Daniel Price?”
“No.”
His mother hesitated.
“Of the people who owned the project.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Northstar Biotechnologies.”
Eli had heard the name.
A huge agricultural technology company.
Seeds.
Fertilizers.
Crop genetics.
Environmental products.
His mother continued.
“They promised your father they would destroy Meadowglass.”
“But they didn’t.”
“No.”
“What happened to Dad?”
She began crying harder.
“He disappeared for three days before he died.”
Eli felt his stomach twist.
“You said he died of a heart attack.”
“He did.”
“But before that?”
“He came home terrified.”
“What did he say?”
His mother took a breath.
“He told me someone had offered him money.”
“To do what?”
“To lie about the contamination.”
Eli stared at the pasture.
“And he refused.”
“Yes.”
Then his mother whispered:
“Two days later, he was dead.”
