Away on the Wind

Once Trevor climbed onto the bed with the child, Owl felt his shoulders sink, but the weight was still within what he could bear. He had taken Trevor gliding before, so he had a fair idea of how much Trevor weighed.

He kicked off the tree and immediately drifted toward Waterwood Town. He could hear the heartbeats and sobs of the survivors in town, so he quickly pinpointed a house and landed on its roof.

"There's a child downstairs, in the second room on the left on the second floor. There are two Waterbelly Snakes in the hallway. Be careful!" he warned Trevor.

Trevor settled the child and nodded. "Got it. Find an older child first next time."

These children were too young. With the bed on his back, Owl couldn't turn around to look after them. Once Trevor went inside to rescue someone, the children would be in danger. If they crawled to the edge of the bed, they could easily fall off.

"Right. I'll be more careful about who I pick next time!" Owl said with a nod.

Hearing alone couldn't actually tell him which children were older. Fortunately, he now had other abilities.

Two red threads immediately spread out in opposite directions, following the heartbeats he heard to search for older children.

One red thread pierced a wall and entered a room. Owl immediately saw what was inside: a little girl of about six curled up in a corner of the bed, staring at the doorway in terror as a Cockscomb Flame Snake slowly slithered into the room.

Neither Waterbelly Snakes nor Cockscomb Flame Snakes had humans in their diets. They weren't large enough to swallow a human.

The only reason they were attacking people indiscriminately now was that they had lost their homes and been forced