Noah let Shane lead him through the forest while Avery kept an eye out for more Stymphalian birds. It was odd, having someone other than Avery for a guide. Shane wasn’t bad at the job, just… different.

While Avery would keep a constant hand on his arm, Shane only touched him if his course needed correcting. Noah didn’t know if this was because Shane was uncomfortable with prolonged contact or something else, but he didn’t mind it. Not having someone touching him while he walked made him feel freer and more independent. He would never tell Avery, but he thought he might prefer it when Shane guided him.

Avery took over again when they left the forest.

“Where are we?” Noah asked her, trying to ignore the prickling in his arm where her hand rested.

“Not sure. Another small town.”

“Is there a train station?”

“I don’t think so.” Shane mumbled. Then he inhaled sharply. “But I see a Greyhound station.”

They made their way to the bus station and Noah waited with Avery while Shane bought tickets. He wondered where Shane would get tickets to. Would they be able to make it to the next province? What province was their destination even in?

Noah was pulled from his wonderings by a sudden queasiness in his stomach. He grimaced and wrapped his arms around his middle. Then his head started to pound. He hunched over, trying to find a position that alleviated some of his discomfort.

“Noah?” Avery put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

“Doesn’t feel right.” He mumbled.

“What doesn’t? Your stomach?” She started rifling through a bag. Then she stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Shane had come back.

“His stomach hurts.” Avery answered. She put a hand on his arm. “Can you make it to the bus? You can try to sleep there.”

Noah nodded. He knew he had to try. They had to keep moving.

But the closer they got to the bus, the worse he felt. By the time they reached their seats, he thought his head was going to explode. The pain was right behind his eyes.

Noah collapsed in his seat as his world exploded.

In the next moment, the pain was gone. He gasped and sat up in his seat. Something was still wrong.

He could see.

Noah had never had a dream like this before. He was still on the bus, sitting where his actual body lay asleep. He looked around again, kind of excited. This might be a chance for him to see what Avery really looked like.

But Avery wasn’t there. Neither was Shane. The whole bus was empty.

The whole bus, except for the seat directly behind where Avery should have been sitting.

There was a man in that seat. Noah’s attention focused on him. He knew right away that the man was a monster. It was kind of obvious, since the man didn’t have a mouth.

“Astomi.” A voice whispered in the back of Noah’s head. “They feed off scent.”

The Astomi lunged forward.

“Avery!” Noah yelled, jerking awake.

He could hear Avery fighting against the Astomi’s hold. “Let go of me, creep!” She shouted at it.

Noah heard Shane draw his sword. “I’ll cut you an actual mouth if you don’t back off right now!”

Noah knew it was no use. He could guess the length of Shane’s sword from when Shane had protected him from the Stymphalian birds. There wasn’t enough room here for him to use it effectively without hurting Avery.

They feed off scent. Was that the key to saving Avery? Noah tried to think.

He guessed the Astomi would have a strong sense of smell. It didn’t have a mouth, which meant no sense of taste. Noah knew from experience that the absence of one sense meant the others were stronger.

His own sense of smell was stronger.

He sniffed the air, but felt foolish and useless. How was this going to help?

Beside him, Avery continued to struggle. She was yelling at him to run. Even she didn’t think he would be able to help.

Then it hit him.

A few rows ahead of him, he heard coughing. The sound was accompanied by a foul odor. Vomit. Someone traveling with a stomach bug might just save them.

Noah jumped out of his seat and stumbled up the aisle. He muttered an apology when he accidently hit the back of someone’s head instead of the back of their seat. He briefly wondered what people thought of him, a blind child moving without a guide. Did they think he was traveling alone?

He made it to where the smell was strongest. “I need your barf bag.” He announced.

“What?” The passenger probably thought he was crazy. The bag was not forthcoming.

Noah didn’t have time to convince them. Desperately, he stuck his hand out and started searching for the bag. The passenger protested, but Noah found what he was looking for.

“Avery! Shane!” He shouted a warning. Then he threw the barf bag, praying to his dad that he would hit his target.

Screams of surprise, outrage, and disgust filled the air. Through them, Noah heard someone coughing through their nose. He hoped that was the Astomi.

Footsteps sounded in the aisle and Noah sighed with relief. “Let’s go.” Avery said, grabbing his arm.