Cleo yawned as she lay on the driver’s seat of a carriage with her head hanging off the edge. The road was the sky, and the sky was the ground. Her legs were sticking into the air while her butt rested against the seatback, and the tip of her tail was touching the carriage’s dashboard. “So bored,” Cleo said and yawned again. She maneuvered her tail towards the steering orb and made the carriage swerve a few times before she heard retching sounds. “Oops.”

She assumed a proper seating position just as Linda stepped out from within the carriage. “What kind of driving is that!?” the greedy angel yelled. Cleo smelled a trace of vomit mixed with Linda’s perfume.

“Um.” Cleo tilted her head at Linda and blinked twice. “Did I do something wrong? There were two dead angels on the road, and I didn’t want to get your wheels dirty.”

“Oh,” Linda said and furrowed her brow. “Dead anim—angels!? Bullshit!”

“It’s true!” Cleo said with a pout. It wasn’t. But still. “I swear I’m not lying.”

“Then go back and let me see,” Linda said as she reached for the dashboard. Cleo hissed at her and batted away her hand.

“That’s just wasting time,” Cleo said, her tail swishing. “You don’t want to waste time, right?”

Linda glowered at Cleo before letting out a sigh. How did the tiny lizard become the one to drive the carriage? Linda remembered falling asleep at the wheel after eating dinner, which happened to be prepared by Cleo, and waking up inside the carriage. She thought Owen or Carmella or even Gerome was the one driving and nearly had a heart attack when she found out that wasn’t the case. Then the carriage started to swerve, and the remnants of her dinner escaped through her mouth.

“What happened?” Owen asked as he approached the driver’s seat. His nose wrinkled at the sour smell. “Have we arrived at the checkpoint?” He poked his head out of the carriage and saw the red wall in the distance. His brow furrowed as his gaze landed on Linda.

“No.” Linda looked at Owen and snorted. She pointed at Cleo. “Who let the child drive?”

“I did,” Cleo said. “Ah!” Her eyes widened, and she made the carriage swerve towards the left before adjusting it back on track. Linda’s head crashed into the wall, and Owen fell on top of her.

“Goddammit!” Linda said as she pushed Owen off. “Don’t break my carriage, you stupid lizard!”

“There was a dead body!” Cleo said. The carriage ground to a halt before turning around. “Look!”

The trio turned their gaze onto the road. There were two angels lying on the ground: a woman and a child. Linda’s mouth fell open. “You were serious?” she asked as she looked at Cleo. Owen hopped off the carriage and walked towards the two bodies. Carmella and Gerome stuck their heads out of the carriage windows, their eyes still bleary.

Cleo climbed onto Linda’s back and propped her chin up on the angel’s shoulder. “Let’s go take a look,” she said, urging Linda to go forward with her tail. Linda’s brow furrowed, but she complied and followed after Owen.

Owen knelt beside the two bodies and placed his hand on the woman’s neck. There was a pulse. “She’s still alive,” he said before checking the child. He also had a pulse. “They’re both alive.” Owen was about to stand up, but the woman grabbed his wrist, causing him to flinch.

“W-water,” the woman said, her voice hoarse. Her lips cracked when she opened her mouth.

Owen exhaled as he pried her fingers off of his wrist. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll get you some.” He turned his gaze towards Cleo.

“What?” Cleo asked.

“Water?”

“So you’re going to take my water, then claim you saved them?” Cleo asked and snorted as she climbed off of Linda’s back. “Let me do it.” A bucket appeared in her hands, and she placed it next to the two angels lying on the road. “Listen up. My name’s Cleo the Magnificent, and I’m the one who saved you.”

“T-thank you, Cleo,” the woman said as she picked up the bucket and began to drink. Then she dipped her sleeve into the bucket and placed it into the child’s mouth, letting him take small sips.

“What happened to you two?” Linda asked after their thirst was slaked.

“Our carriage was attacked,” the woman said as her brow furrowed. Her body trembled, and she hugged herself, clutching her shoulders. “A guardian was evacuating us on his carriage. The rebels invaded Omnia, and began capturing and slaughtering everyone. We barely made it out with our lives and ran into the guardian. When we thought we were safe, a demon descended from the sky and killed him.” The angel’s eyes began to water. “The demon didn’t kill us, but neither I nor my child are greater angels—we weren’t able to drive the carriage, so we had to walk. It’s been two days, and we didn’t have any water or food. If you hadn’t found us….” The angel sniffled.

“Omnia was attacked?” Linda asked as her expression hardened. That was the town they were planning on going to before heading to the checkpoint.

“What’d the demon look like?” Cleo asked.

The angel trembled. “I didn’t get to see properly,” she said. “But he had tails that looked like snakes.”

Cleo’s eyes gleamed. “Did you see which way he went?” she asked.

The angel shook her head. “I was too busy praying to the Creator,” she said and bit her lower lip.

“At least it seems like your prayers were answered,” Linda said. “We’re planning on going to the first sector, but we can drop you off at the nearest town. Would you like to come with us?”

“Please,” the woman said as she bowed. The child looked at his mother before copying her actions.

Linda nodded. “No need for that,” she said. “Come.” She beckoned for them to follow and headed towards the carriage.

“Snakelike tails?” Cleo asked Owen when the three were out of earshot. “You think she’s talking about Palan?”

“It’s possible,” Owen said, his brow furrowing. He really didn’t like hearing Palan’s name. “If Linda was able to find out where Raea went, I’m sure Palan could figure out a way as well. Even if I don’t like him, I have to admit his interrogation techniques are … effective.”

“So we’re on the right track,” Cleo said and cheered as she trotted towards the carriage. “Cleo’s driving! Full speed ahead!”

Linda groaned.