Eva moved the chairs back into her space as the crow grew larger. "Get on," Aaron called out as he mounted his beast, extending his hand to help her onto his beast.
Eva grabbed his hand, and he pulled her up. Ethan and Julian also got on — the back of the crowd was spacious enough to hold everyone without squeezing them uncomfortably together.
"Hold on tight!" Aaron warned as his beast took to the sky—the wind rushing past their face, their hair whipping wildly behind them as the crow flew at a steady speed toward their destination.
Eva was forced to close her eyes, her fingers clutching the crow’s feathers like an anchor; the sound of the wind drowned out every other noise.
"Are you alright?" Ethan whispered in her ear and pulled her closer into his arms. Eva humd in response with her eyes closed; ti passed as she got used to the breeze, and she cautiously opened her eyes.
"Wow..." Eva exclaid as her eyes fixed on the shimring water flowing past her; it sparkled like stars, with the wind creating ripples and tiny waves.
She leaned in closer, hoping to glide her hands across the water; it was as if Aaron could read her mind. Suddenly, they dipped, and Eva felt the cool water brush her palm, a childlike smile lighting her face.
She giggled happily, splashing water into the air. "Touch it! It’s so cold.’’ She called out to no one in particular, her hair whipping wildly in the wind as she replaced her hands with her legs.
Eva no longer feared heights; her bare toe skimd the water as they soared forward. Ethan and Julian watched with affectionate smiles in their eyes, delighted by her genuine happiness.
Suddenly, the water two ters from her rippled. Ethan swiftly pulled her legs out of the water, his gaze intensifying as he stared at it.
A large dolphin suddenly leapt out of the water with a splash. Eva’s eyes widened in amazent, sparkling with wonder as the water ahead rippled. Several dolphins of various sizes then flipped out of the water and dove back in.
They watched, captivated, as the school of dolphins swam by. They only looked away once the dolphins disappeared from sight.
"What animal was that?’’ Julian asked aloud, his tone filled with surprise and strong curiosity—everything he had seen so far was all new to him, and he couldn’t wait to experience more of this amazing surface.
"I don’t...know. At least it didn’t attack us," Ethan responded.
Eva, who knew what it was, didn’t say a word and looked at where they disappeared to, feeling reluctant and regretful—she didn’t have a cara to capture this scene.
She lay on her back facing the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of other sea creatures passing by, but she drifted off to sleep, lulled by the gentle wind.
"There’s dried land overhead!" Aaron called out in a relieved tone, pointing at the three islands that stood in a single file with a rocky bridge separating them, and they were all right in the middle of the ocean.
Eva was startled awake by the noise, and the sleep cleared from her eyes as the crow descended and landed on the sandy ground.
Julian’s eyes lit up, and an idea blossod in his mind as he looked at the ocean around him and the island, which seed small from above but was larger in reality.
"Which should explore the island first? Maybe my idea would be feasible after we have checked the danger level of this place," Julian suggested, not wanting to reveal the idea he had been thinking of, so they wouldn’t be disappointed later.
Eva slid down from the crow’s back with a lazy expression, her limbs feeling too tired to move.
"Tomorrow. Let’s camp here tonight," Eva refused, a yawn escaping her lips as she blinked away tears.
Ethan had a hint of what Julian was planning. "Let’s go together, while Eva and Aaron set up camp here." he suggested, and everyone nodded in agreent.
Eva released their beast from her space—the wolf and snake all rushed to their masters.
They mounted their beasts and rushed into the forest ahead. Wolfy’s paw prints were visible on the white sandy ground, with Julian’s snake leaving a trail behind.
Before long, their figures vanished into the cover of trees.
Eva looked away and lay casually on the sandy ground—her toes sinking comfortably into the soft sand.
Aaron scouted the area; his eyes landed on the shells and the red, sharp-clawed crabs moving along the water’s edge.
"Eva! Watch out, there seem to be so beasts crawling in the sand," Aaron warned as he kicked the crab back into the rippling water.
"Huh? Crawling beasts? (⊙_⊙?)" Eva asked, dazed and confused, until sothing stung her toe.
"Ow, ow, Ow!" Eva jumped up, shaking her left leg to free herself from the crab pincers gripping her big toe.
She hopped, trying to pull the crab away from her toe, but froze when she side-eyed a dense swarm of crawling crabs digging out of the sands, and so slipping out from the water.
Her spine prickled with tingling, goosebumps rose on her arms, and she backed away in fear, montarily forgetting the pain in her toes.
The crabs appeared to sense her and hurried toward her, and Eva dashed off, yelling for Aaron to help.
"Help! Stop chasing !" she yelled, tearing the crab off her toes—blood dripped from her swollen toe as she ran, with the crabs still chasing her.
Aaron watched the hilarious scene and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
She could easily defeat monsters stronger and larger than this, but this tiny creature frightened her so badly.
Having his fill of laughing his ass off, he cleared his throat in guilt and hurried forward to help her out.
The sun dipped below the horizon, and the air grew colder as the water’s shimring surfaces reflected a yellow glow.
On the shore, Eva was angrily poking the crabs she caught in a bucket. "Who told you to pursue ! I’m going to eat you to calm my anger. In your next life, run the other way when you see ."
Eva let out a wicked crackle as she watched the struggling crabs. Her mouth started to water at the thought of eating them for dinner.
Suddenly, her space shuddered, forcing the inhabitants out.
The crowd was montarily disoriented by the sudden change in the surrounding landscape before their gaze registered the trees and water rippling behind them.
’They were no longer in the desert.’ These thoughts raced through their minds as they started exploring their new surroundings.
Julian and Ethan returned to the shore—they could explore the island at night, fearing they might run into dangerous creatures, which could put them in a risky situation.
"How did it go? Were you able to finish the tour around the island?" Eva jogged over and asked.
"No, the island is much bigger than we thought. It will take days before we will be able to explore the whole area," Ethan responded with a hint of disappointnt.
"We didn’t encounter any dangerous beasts, that’s good news. Tomorrow we’ll continue," Julian chid from the side as he sat on the sandy ground.
Ethan climbed down from his beast, looked at the bucket, and saw a red pair of pincers moving.
Eva followed his gaze, ran back, and brought the bucket to them with an eager expression.
"This is our dinner for today. These guys are annoying; they kept bothering ... so I have to eat them."
Ethan and Julian looked at the bucket of wiggling creatures and wondered if it was edible.
....
In Oasis City, Grace told Leo the good news from Adrian about the surface while he drove the bus toward the hidden families’ secluded town.
Leo listened with a relieved smile, glad his wife’s decision wasn’t a failure and his children would be alright.
"Thank you for standing by ." Grace’s tone was filled with love and gratitude.
"I’m always here for you," Leo replied, his tone full of steadfast promise.
They traveled for hours until they arrived at the outskirts of the city.
Leo stopped the car in front of the wooden sign by the wall. He and Grace got out and moved forward. Leo flashed a token on the wall, a space tear appeared in the air, and they both passed through.
"These sights never get old. I wonder how you could leave here and decide to stay in the city with ," Grace muttered in wonder as she glanced at the town, which was lit up by luminous stones fitted into lanterns, illuminating the town brightly.
The area exuded a calm ambiance; wooden houses were dispersed throughout, and flower-lined pathways added color. A pink cherry tree was in blossom, its petals blanketing the ground.
It carried an ancient, rusty feel, with busy people walking around—each stronger than the last—and the air slled fresher than ever.
"I’ll pick you over this town any day. Co on, let’s find Dad; he might have a solution for the big move to surface." Leo pulled her ahead, unaffected by his surroundings.
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