Five roosters, each the size of Caleb, stood before them. Their combs were a vibrant, upright red, and the feathers around their necks ford layered, gradient rings of purplish-red hackles. Their bodies were covered in a mix of red and yellow feathers, every single one bright and glossy. Their multicolored tail feathers were even more distinct, each one dazzlingly vibrant. Clustered together, the tail looked just like a colorful ponytail.
"Help."
A faint voice drifted up from the bottom of a well, which the five large roosters were circling. The sound was pitifully quiet, as if the speaker barely had the strength to breathe. If Flora Bloom hadn’t been a superpower user, she might have missed it entirely.
At the sound of the voice, the five roosters began to circle the well, rubbing their neck feathers against each other and "CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK"-ing as if communicating.
Flora Bloom, Cynthia Grant, Caleb, and Irvin Holden were right behind the five chickens. Seeing them start to circle the well, the group knew they were monts away from being discovered.
An axe instantly appeared in Flora Bloom’s hand, and a green Wood Elent energy began to swirl around Cynthia Grant. Flora Bloom also noticed that the strange magnetic field surrounding Caleb was rippling, its waves spreading out toward the five chickens.
Irvin Holden knew Flora Bloom and Cynthia Grant were superpower users. If a fight broke out, he would only drag them down. So, he picked up Caleb and imdiately backed away. He had never seen chickens this big, and from the way they were acting, it seed they were communicating with each other sohow.
However, when the five chickens finally noticed them, they rely glanced over, let out a few "CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK" sounds that seed more like a greeting, and then went back to circling the well, ignoring them completely.
This turn of events left them stunned.
"Flora, that man is in there," Caleb said, walking over to take Flora Bloom’s hand and lead her toward the well.
Flora Bloom had wanted to observe the chickens’ movents for a while longer, but just then, the voice ca again.
"He... help ."
The voice was much louder this ti, and they could now tell it belonged to an older man. Before Caleb could pull Flora Bloom to the well’s edge, Cynthia Grant and Irvin Holden rushed forward.
Seeing the two of them charge forward, the five chickens startled, flapping their wings and scattering in all directions. It seed that even as evolved creatures, they still retained the bone-deep instincts of dosticated fowl: not afraid of humans, but easily spooked.
Flora Bloom watched the five big roosters flee, feeling a bit embarrassed for them. ’Are they trying to bring sha to all evolved creatures? Running off just like that? I was all geared up for a fight. The best outco would have been to gather all five roosters into my space to keep the five hens company. Co to think of it, could those five hens be the mates of these five roosters?’
Peeking into her space at the five hens still incubating their eggs, Flora Bloom decided that if she got the chance, she would bring the five roosters in to reunite with their mates.
The five chickens scattered in a flash, leaving only Flora Bloom and the others by the well.
"Old Lynch! Is that you? It’s Irvin Holden!" Irvin Holden yelled, leaning over the edge of the well.
"Uncle! It’s Cynthia! A-are you okay?"
"Cynthia... yes, it’s ."
Hearing this, Flora Bloom looked at Cynthia Grant in surprise. No wonder she’d had such a strong reaction to Sherman Lynch’s disappearance; he was her uncle. ’Looks like my earlier assessnt of her was off. Impulsive? If it were my family or friends in danger, I’d probably be even more impulsive than she is.’
Cynthia Grant extended her vines down into the well, probing for a long ti. But it was too dark at the bottom to see anything, so she couldn’t figure out how to lift him.
It looked like their only option was to find so rope, send soone down, and pull him up.
"Uncle, don’t worry! We’ll get you out right away! Just hang in there!"
After she finished, Cynthia Grant went over to Flora Bloom. "Flora, quick. We need to search the houses for rope or sothing like it. My uncle is down there."
"Okay, let’s split up. This village isn’t big; if anything happens, just shout and we’ll hear you." Flora Bloom nodded, took Caleb by the hand, and headed down one of the small paths. ’I was going to toss a bottle of Space Spirit Water down there to help Old Lynch recover, but I don’t know his exact position. It would be disastrous if I threw it down blindly and ended up hitting him, especially when he’s already so weak.’
The two of them walked hand-in-hand down the path, which was lined with a few houses and their courtyards.
The houses were completely empty. In the kitchens, only a few scraps of rice remained, and the grain that had been drying outside was all but gone. ’Thinking of those huge roosters and the hens in my space,’ Flora thought, ’they must have eaten the village clean.’
She searched the entire farmhouse and its yard but found no rope. She did, however, find a fishing net and so fishing tools, which she collected into her space without a second thought.
Having grown up in a village herself, Flora Bloom knew that most hos like this would have a storeroom or cellar for non-perishable food and alcohol. She began searching the house and, sure enough, found a staircase leading to a cellar in the kitchen.
In a coastal region, rural families often dried seafood like fish and kelp. True enough, as soon as she reached the cellar entrance, a strong, fishy sea sll wafted up to her.
’This family must have been well-off,’ she thought. The cellar was packed with basket after basket of dried sea fish, both large and small, and in huge quantities. There were even several massive dried Sea Eels. When stretched out, one was nearly as tall as she was, and another was even taller. On top of that, there were a dozen or so jars of crabs and shrimp marinating in cooking wine. In a corner sat five or six large jars of pickled seaweed, mixed with red chilies, pickled peppers, garlic, and spices in a savory brine. The sight alone made Flora Bloom’s mouth water.
With a single thought, everything in the cellar vanished, reappearing in the small farmhouse courtyard inside Flora Bloom’s space.
After clearing out the first house, Flora Bloom took Caleb to the next. Still finding no rope, she searched for anything else useful and stored it all away in her space.
Not until they had searched five or six houses did she finally find a rope outside a small, dilapidated bungalow.
’Every house in this village must have plenty of food stored in its cellar. It’s all non-perishable. If other survivors pass through here looking for supplies, this food could be a lifeline for them.’
Flora Bloom glanced at her own space, already stuffed full of food and resources. ’Forget it. Rescuing him cos first. I’ll leave the rest for any other survivors who happen to find this village.’
Flora Bloom led Caleb back to the well. She was about to shout for Cynthia to co back when she heard a cry of "Help!" from the other side of the village. It was Cynthia’s voice.
Flora Bloom turned to look, and she was at a loss for words.
Cynthia Grant and Irvin Holden were running frantically toward her, each clutching a straw nest. They were shouting her na as they ran. Behind them, a flock of huge white geese, as large as the roosters, were flapping their wings in hot pursuit.
While chasing, the geese craned their long, thick necks forward to peck at the duo’s backs and behinds.
The straw nests looked similar to the ones the five hens had been using to incubate their eggs. Flora Bloom didn’t have to think twice to know why this flock of geese, which had appeared out of nowhere, was chasing them.
It reminded her of the scene on the mountain behind the horse farm, when Monkey Two and Monkey Three had stolen that enormous egg and co running to her. Flora Bloom felt a massive headache coming on.
’These people, monkeys and humans alike... Out of all the things to steal, why do they always go for soone else’s eggs? Where are their manners?’
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