Stray

The body behind him was getting hotter, to the point of abnormality. The woods ahead seemed endless and the crisp birdsong began to make him feel restless. Nemo took a deep breath and mechanically moved his legs.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of a way. He even tried asking for help from the grey parrot, but the annoying bird was not only useless, but it also kept making countless inaudible noises, prattling as if ‘demonic healing magic’ was an incredible blessing.

It was a good thing he didn’t encounter any monsters, so Nemo forced himself to cheer up and move on.

“Bah,” the gray parrot suddenly yelled, “your luck is here.”

Nemo subconsciously glanced around, seeing nothing special, until a dog’s barking could be heard. He hurriedly hid behind a tree with Oliver on his back and held his breath. As the sound got closer, he could hear the wooden wheels of a carriage crushing dead branches, and faint sound of laughter coming from it. It didn’t sound like their pursuers but more like a caravan.

He poked out his head a little and saw two carriages not far away heading in the same direction as them. It seemed to be a small caravan with a small number of people. The coachman’s clothes were the popular style of the Garland people.

Nemo didn’t know if their story had spread from Roadside Town, but he was out of options. Being too cautious, would cause Oliver to die on his back even if he didn’t die from the wolfhound.

“Help!” He chased in the direction of the caravan, yelling with all his strength. “Please help me!”

The caravan pathfinder dogs discovered him first. They were well-trained so they stopped him by barking frantically at him. The carriage slowed down slowly and two people jumped out of the carriage. Nemo ran forward stumbling with Oliver on his back. His heart was beating wildly, as if it would jump out of his throat at any second.