From a distance, Emily observed Angel walking away from the group of people who had been trying to save the water tank. As Angel approached the injured eagle, Emily continued to watch. She watched her as she approached the eagle and tended to it. She was still watching when she saw a shadow slitehered on the ground and approached her from the back. When she saw what it was, at first, her body turned cold, and her phobia was acting out, but then a glint of defiance crossed her face, and a sly smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
Leoric was supporting the water tank while the chief engineer attempted to mend the broken side with a portable soldering machine. As he stood there, he happened to glance over at Emily, only to notice a crazed look on her face as she fixed her eyes on something. Following her gaze, his heart leaped into his throat as he spotted a cobra poised to strike at the oblivious Angel.
Leoric found himself in a precarious situation as he realized that his gun was not with him. He desperately scanned the distance between himself and Angel, knowing that it was too far for him to reach her in time.
"Angel!" He shouted.
Angel's senses tingled with warning even before Leoric's voice reached her ears. The avian, perched on its feet, suddenly took flight, beating its wings as it soared over Angel. When she turned to look, she witnessed the eagle's talon crushing the snake's head in a swift and deadly strike.
The moment the big bird flew into the sky with the wiggling snake, Leoric appeared beside her.
He scanned her from head to foot before saying in a harsh tone. "Everyone is helping to save the water tank. Why do you have to wander here and cause other people to worry?"
Angel pursed her lips. She thought Leoric came to her because he was worried about her, but she was wrong. But what could she expect?
"Angel, are you alright?" Dr. Reeves asked, arriving at her side in a worried voice.
"I am fine."
Dr. Reeves was standing on the opposite side of the water tank and had not witnessed the snake attacking Angel or the eagle swooping in with its sharp claws to snatch the snake.
"It is nothing," Angel replied softly. She did not want to make the issue more prominent and attract attention to herself.
"I thought that the eagle was seriously wounded," the doctor commented as he followed the eagle with his gaze.
"No," Angel explained, "From the look of it, the bullet only grazed its wing. Probably it fell down because it panicked and lost balance."
Leoric frowned, feeling puzzled. He was the one who shot the bird, and he knew that the wound on its wing was serious, if not fatal.
"What happened to your arm?" inquired Dr. Reeves, noticing the injury on her lower arm that resembled a scratch. "Did the eagle cause that? Although it appears to be healing already."
"Ah, this is from the other day. I accidentally scratched myself," Angel said, looking at Leoric indifferently.
"You should be careful, Angel. We are in a dire situation with a limited medicine supply. We cannot afford anyone to be sick or injured."
Leoric watched the exchanges between the two impatiently. "Let us head back," he said expressionlessly.
As Leoric turned around, a lurking dark shadow suddenly materialized on the ground. Reacting swiftly on pure instinct, he whirled back and, in one fluid movement, yanked Angel close, pushing her to the ground and shielding her with his own body.
Dr. Reeves was taken by surprise. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed. He spotted the eagle and momentarily feared that it would swoop down and snatch one of them. However, upon closer inspection, he didn't perceive the eagle as being aggressive.
The eagle landed at their side, looking docile.
Angel desperately tried to push Leoric off of her as she gasped for breath. The impact of being brought down to the ground had left her back aching, and she feared she might have sustained a serious injury if it hadn't been for the sand cushioning her fall. With Leoric's weight bearing down on her chest, each breath was a struggle.
"How ungrateful," Leoric muttered, then he stood up. He did not bother to help her up.
Dr. Reeves extended his hand, which Angel gratefully accepted, and she sat beside the big bird.
"Thank you for saving my life," Angel said softly, looking at the eagle.
The eagle inched closer to Angel. The way it walked was very funny. Angel giggled and she tried to stroke its feathers when it was near enough.
"The agle likes you." Dr. Reeves said, observing the avian with narrowed eyes.
"Do you think so?" Angel looked at the eagle straight at its big round eyes as if she was trying to communicate with it.
"Hmm," Dr. Reeves hummed. "It looked like it ate the snake."
"Did you eat the snake?" Angel asked and the eagle just stared back at her with its piercing eyes. Angel stood and the eagle reached up to her chest which show how big it was.
Dr. Reeves and Angel turned to head back to the vehicle as soon it would be dark. When they took a few steps, the eagle followed.
"Shooo...." Dr. Reeves tried to shoo the eagle away, but it just stood there.
They continued walking, and the eagle followed.
Angel turned around and approached the eagle. "You want to follow us?"
The eagle stepped closer.
"Okay, if that's the case, you must find your own food, as we don't have food for you."
The eagle tilted its head as if saying, 'I can take care of my food.'
"Go settle yourself over there." Angel pointed to where their vehicle was parked.
The eagle seemed to understand her. It flapped its wings and flew over the roof of V1, and perched itself there.
"Why do I feel that the eagle understood what you commanded?"
"Those warriors are using it as a mount. I assume it was trained," Angel replied, her gaze focused on the eagle.
"Everyone, come over here. I have urgent matters to discuss." The captain's booming voice reached Angel and Dr. Reeve's ears, and they hurried to where the group had congregated.
"I have bad news: we've lost a lot of our water, so we need to start rationing our water supply. You can no longer use water to bathe, and we should limit our water consumption. Despite traveling for days, we're still in the middle of the desert. We'll continue traveling at night at a slower speed. We'll also eat dry food to avoid using water for cooking and washing utensils. Do you have any questions?" the captain asked wearily.
Emily started sobbing. "Are we gonna die?"