Page 2400

((The Father's Day Special -- page 16 of 24))
This didn't seem like the time to inquire into their thoughts, Hector felt. There would be time for that later if and when they made it out of this mess.

As expected, the trembling in the ground grew more violent as the monsters were no doubt tunneling up towards the surface. Hector had to wonder if they had all shapeshifted again so as to dig more efficiently.

What was not expected, however, was how long the enemy was taking. The shaking kept increasing, threatening everyone's balance, but a full minute must have transpired, and the monsters still hadn't popped up yet.

What were they waiting for?

Abruptly, Hector sensed a heightening of the wind. When he looked up, he could already see clouds appearing in the night sky, blotting out the moon. These ones were much farther away than the ones in the cave had been, which would probably make them trickier to disperse from a distance, Hector figured.

He might have an easier time if he flew up there, but he had a feeling that they would just keep trying to come back. And he was still pretty new to flying, besides. He didn't think it would be very easy for him to keep going back and forth between the ground and the sky throughout the battle.

But someone else probably could.

"Roman, can you stop those clouds from gathering?" said Hector, pointing.

"Sure, but I feel like I'll be needed down here," he said.

Hector wondered if the man wasn't underestimating himself. From what he'd seen, Roman's speed and control over his flight had improved dramatically since the last time Hector had witnessed it. Maybe it wasn't quite on the level of someone like Dimas Sebolt, but it was still way better than what Hector was currently capable of.

There was no time to explain all of his thinking, though.

"You're fast enough to do both," Hector told him.

Roman just blinked at him.