"This bad boy can fit a petite girl like you with no problem at all. Trust me! I've been clambering these things a lot for the past few days. It's actually quite spacious on top of them. Especially if they're not trying to kill you."
Cassie hesitated.
"Well… okay. If you think it's for the best."
Sunny and Nephis helped the blind girl to climb on top of the Echo. Then, they used the golden rope to create makeshift reins for Cassie to hold onto.
After quickly retrieving soul shards from the dead scavengers, the Sleepers hastily left the passage, narrowly avoiding another battle.
***
With Cassie riding comfortably atop the scavenger, their overall speed dramatically increased. Sunny and Nephis were jogging in the front, hoping to recoup the time lost in the first half of the day and reach the high point with an hour or two to spare.
From time to time, they had to take detours to avoid fighting groups of carapace monsters. However, with a monster of their own by their side, the mood and mental state of the three Sleepers were much better.
For the first time since coming to this place, Sunny felt somewhat calm.
Of course, this calmness didn't last long.
At some point, he noticed that the wind had picked up a bit. Almost simultaneously, Cassie asked them to stop.
Nephis and Sunny looked at her with deep frowns. It seemed that they both had a bad premonition.
"What is it?"
The blind girl let go of the reins.
"Do you hear anything?"
They looked at each other, then shook their heads.
"No. Why?"
Cassie scowled.
"Help me get off this thing."
After they helped her, she stood motionless for a while, listening. Her scowl deepened. Then the blind girl cautiously kneeled and put her ear to the ground.
"What do you hear?"
Cassie licked her lips.
"It's murmuring."
Suddenly, a drop of water fell on Sunny's face. He raised his head and looked at the sky.
There, dark stormy clouds were gathering with unnatural speed. Pretty soon, they were bound to cover it completely.
Including the sun.
And when that happened…
His eyes widened.