Waking up Ekia felt confused as he saw the ground speed pass him, something was carrying him. Looking up he could barely make out that it was one of the creatures who they rode to the town on. Closer than before was the town, it looked so much worse the closer they got. ‘Guess there might not be much shelter there for us, how did the creature find me anyways?’ Ekia thought. The creature stopped at the entrance. Being placed down, Ekia struggled to stand, putting most of his weight against the creature. Once steady Ekia began to look around, there was no evidence at all that the tent was there. As the creature slowly began to move Ekia realized that there was no other option but to go into the town and find a hiding spot for the night. Stepping through the entrance, Ekia was amazed as the sight changed from an isolated, destroyed town to a lively one with everything looking like the previous town he had been in. all around them were different beings, more than he ever saw before. Feeling his chest tighten, Ekia held tightly onto the creature, scared that he might get crushed again. Seeing that there was no other choice, Ekia began to move, glad that people were keeping a distance because of the creature.

“Let’s find the others!” Ekia whispered, hoping that the creature was the only one to hear him.

As they walked down the street and the fear of getting crushed weakened, the place began to feel extremely welcoming and happy. There were many streets with different things including food that smelt tasty, hearing his stomach growl Ekia started to feel slightly unwell. Digging through the pack, he managed to find some coins. Taking a glance at a few of the stalls knowing that he needed to be careful since the food needed to last until they find the others. Smelling something extremely tasty, Ekia found himself moving to a stall that was crowded, waiting behind the people for his turn to buy food. Each step he took the stall became clearer, it was selling different types of bread. Finally reaching the front Ekia couldn’t see over the counter so he stood on his toes and dropped the coins onto the counter. Into view came the stall owner, it was a kind-looking old man.

“What kind of bread do you want, young man?” the man said in a cheerful voice.

“Anything!” Ekia replied back cheerfully.

When the old man disappeared out of view, there was a sound of rustling before the man reappeared. In his hands was a bag of bread and a small pouch.

“Here you go little fellow, enough for you and your pet to enjoy!” the old man stated as he handed them over.

“Thank you mister!” Ekia replied as he stored the pouch in his bag and held the bag.

Waving goodbye Ekia began to walk again, this time feeling lighter and the thought of his sore ankle being at the back of his mind. Looking for a place to eat and rest for a bit, they ended up stopping inside of an alleyway. Dropping to the ground Ekia opened the bag and pulled out a piece of bread, breaking it he handed the larger piece to the creature. Once the creature took its piece, Ekia looked at his one closely. It looked like a normal piece of bread but it smelt so much better than anything he smelt before. Taking a small bite, Ekia’s mouth was full of a delicious melting taste, finally something he could eat without feeling sick. Gobbling it up, Ekia licked his fingers before closing the bag, they needed to save the rest for later. Feeling something we drop on his head, Ekia looked up to see that someone was watering a pot plant on a window still. Getting up they headed out of the alleyway where they continued their search. As they walked Ekia couldn’t help but wonder what time it was, he had passed out near dusk so it might be getting close to sunrise. The town looked so bright with the lights despite the sky being so dark. Looking around there was no one who looked like his companions and the crowd of people were getting smaller.

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“Do you think we can find them?” Ekia silently asked, looking slightly hopefully at the creature.

When the creature shook its head, Ekia began to feel slightly discouraged that it might take ages to find them if at all. Starting to feel the tiredness grow, Ekia decided that it might be best to find a place near the entrance before sunrise so he could wait for the others to return.

“We should start heading back!” Ekia stated before turning around.

Looking at the distance they had to cross to reach the entrance, Ekia began to feel that something might be wrong, he felt a sense of dread. Slowly walking to the entrance Ekia kept his head down, sensing that something bad might happen if he looked at the people. Quickening his pace the entrance came into view. Making sure that the creature was right with him, they walked right through the entrance. Once outside they turned around to see that the town had returned to its damaged look. Walking a distance away, the sun began to rise and it admitted a warm, glowing light.

“Guess we will wait here for a while in case the others come back. We have enough food!” Ekia stated, deciding to be hopeful at least for a while.

Finding a nice spot to rest, Ekia sat down and began to wait. Pulling out the two books, they were both thick. Opening one of them, it seemed to be about cooking with pages covered in illustrations on the ingredients and how to cook. Closing it, he didn’t want to think about food or he would feel hunger and the food would run out much quicker. Opening the second book, it had a bunch of symbols with large amounts of text beneath them. Placing both of the books back into the bag, Ekia began to feel boredom set in since there wasn’t anything to do and the weather was starting to get much hotter as the day went on.

“Do you think we should leave and find shelter before the heat gets worse?” Ekia asked the creature.

In response the creature nudged Ekia. Getting up he allowed the creature to lead him somewhere. Taking one final look at the destroyed town, he felt that it was best to not go back inside of it. ‘The others should be able to find us’ Ekia though hopefully, not sure if he really believes it. Realizing that he had lost the coat somewhere, Ekia held tighter onto the bag and bread, not wanting to lose them as well. ‘Hope that the bread doesn’t dry up quickly in this weather’ Ekia thought. Looking at the creature walking beside him, Ekia was glad that he wasn’t alone.