The boy began to worry that he still couldn't see Dod. Making sure the princess could stand on her own before letting go, he withdrew his backpack, one of whose straps was about to give way.
The young boy then reached blindly for his flashlight. After a few seconds of searching, he found the metal object and shook it forwards and backwards.
The fantastic crystal inside the object began to glow, and Danaël shone his light ahead. The first thing he saw in front of him was the carcass of the cart.
The machine was still smoking, and every now and then, fantastic little jolts escaped from the electronic circuitry. Danaël reviewed the machine, scanning the beam of light from right to left, then up and down.
As he concentrated on the front of the vehicle, he noticed a dark mass. Danaël grunted as he rose to his feet and strode towards the vehicle.
He was now close enough to make out Dod Allentown's body in the gloom, lying on what remained of the cart's hood.
"Dod! No!" Danaël limped over to his friend.
The boy's inky blood* (to be worried in Ordinal language) was short-lived, however.
"So, this is what the afterworld is like? Are we dead? I think it's pretty lame."
Dod's voice contained a dose of sarcasm mixed with a certain melancholy that he could barely decipher. Danaël sighed, both reassured and slightly irritated by his friend, before helping him to his feet.
Of their little group of three, Dod seemed to be in the best of health. His clothes were almost completely intact, and he had only a few scratches on his face.