5 Got away

Tony floated up to Grey, his arrival startling Grey with the speed at which he moved. "So, how's it going?"

Grey was momentarily taken aback by Tony's sudden appearance but quickly regained his composure, adjusting himself to face upright. "Oh, it's fine—air seems thin," Grey replied, his voice slightly strained.

"Yeah, been like that for the past hundred years," Tony nodded solemnly. "But we should really get out of here because that thing's going to kill us."

Grey glanced back at the colossal monster looming in the distance, its menacing presence sending shivers down his spine. "That thing is huge," he remarked, his eyes wide with awe and fear.

"Those pesky humans don't know when to stop, do they? Created something that once deployed can't be stopped—ha, thinking they can imitate the glory of mighty nature," Tony muttered with disdain.

"Imitate?" Grey asked, his curiosity piqued as Tony grabbed his hand and began pulling him away from the danger zone. He couldn't help but notice Bell flying towards them on her broom, her ginger hair swirling in the wind, giving her an electrifying appearance.

"Yeah, imitate. We call these Clankers," Tony explained as they dodged another beam of energy. "Why?" Grey pressed, eager to understand more about their precarious situation.

"You have a lot of questions, don't you?" Tony chuckled lightly, expertly maneuvering the disk through the air. "Took you long," he teased Bell as she joined them at their level. "Broom doesn't pick up speed fast enough, right?" he added with a mischievous grin, earning an annoyed look from her.

Ignoring Tony's comment, Bell addressed Grey sternly, "Don't look down."

Grey obeyed, peering down at the dizzying drop below before returning his gaze to Bell, who seemed exasperated by the entire situation.

"At least he's not afraid of heights like you were when you were young," Tony remarked playfully, prompting Bell to lean forward on her broom, speeding ahead.

"Don't mind her, she was just being thoughtful," Tony reassured Grey, who nodded in understanding.

The Clanker roared, and one by one, the ground where his attack landed was turned into ash and deep cracks in the land. Everything just kept turning barren, as if it wasn't already, unlike what Grey had seen when he woke up and came outside the hut. The world around him wasn't as green and blue... to be honest, he hadn't seen anything green or blue after the screen in the sky broke and Clanker appeared.

As they continued flying, the massive Clanker gradually faded from view. Despite its size and strength, it didn't seem to be gaining on them. After an hour or so, Tony remarked that it was now nightfall, though Grey noticed no change in the surroundings; it remained bright. The concept of day and night was still a bit confusing for him to grasp fully.

Throughout the journey, Grey pondered over his newfound understanding of words and concepts. While he instinctively knew the meanings of words like flying, eating, and danger, he realized that he hadn't actually experienced these things himself until recently. Just a few hours ago, he had been unaware of anything at all.

Finally, Tony spotted a fallen ruin in the distance—a fossil of what once must have been a house. It consisted of four walls but no roof, with only dirt and soil inside. Grey asked politely if the Clanker would come to this spot.

"Oh, it will, it sure will," Tony replied grimly, not sugarcoating the situation. "But it'll take it a day and a half to even reach this far. By then, we'll easily be out of here."

Grey felt a wave of relief wash over him, a familiar sensation that seemed to accompany every escape from danger. It was as though his instincts were telling him he would live to see another day.

Tony raised the walls by waving his hand,the ground lifted itself and filled every gap that the wall had while the dirt and soil levelled up and rocks removed themselves leaving only soft reddish soil, comfortable to sit on.

Bell landed immediately. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't like being in this house!?" she complained as soon as she landed. Simultaneously, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small blue stone cube with a beautiful leaf design on it.

Tony sighed. "You should learn to forget, girl. You'll live peacefully if you did."

Bell just clicked her tongue as her eyes followed where Grey was sitting, his clueless face jumping between both of them.

"Any injuries?" she questioned.

"Hm? Me?" Grey asked in return, gaining a nod and an exhausted look from Bell. "No, I don't think so... at least—oh, I think the coat you gave me is a bit torn," he pointed out, feeling a lump in his throat when he noticed the damage he had caused to the coat.

"Is it..." Bell stepped closer to Grey, her hand going again into her bag and pulling out a bundle of fabric tied by vines, placing it on his cross-legged lap. "Wear this," she said.

"Isn't that..." Tony's eyes widened slightly when she backed off.

Bell looked at Tony, her deep blue eyes holding something—a small quiver on her lower lip as she struggled to say what she wanted to say. "Didn't you say to learn to forget?... I did. I tried."

Tony stared at her for a moment before being forced to look away, saying, "We should get changed too. I don't think these skinny suits suit us wizards very much. Get it? Suit, suit," his strange joke earned a scoff from Bell and a chuckle from Grey.

"What did you understand from that weird lame joke?" asked Bell.

"Um, nothing..." Grey answered awkwardly.

"Then why laugh?" she questioned.

"I thought he'd be happy if I did," Grey replied, earning a questioning look from her and a smile following immediately.