We were grinding leaves inside the hut. Barl and I—Barl, a quiet goblin with fingers thick as old roots. We didn’t speak. The sound of stone crushing root was the only thing filling the air.

But that morning… something was wrong with the air.

It smelled like silence. And the wind didn’t move.

My slime on the back of my neck tensed up. Sticky. Restless. It vibrated so much my shoulders tingled.

Barl looked at me once. Then kept going. Calm. Like the adults. Like nothing could ever break them.

Then… the screams. High. Sharp. From the children.

I dropped the stone and ran.

Outside, the world was no longer ours.

The sky had a black wound. A crack hanging above the trees, open like someone had torn the sky with invisible claws. From it, things were falling. Loud things. Strange.

The huts were burning. Some were already just charcoal.

And on the ground… heads were rolling.

Goblins' heads… Our heads…

The adults didn’t react. They just watched. In peace. In silence. That was their way.

But the children… screamed.

And that ripped me out of myself. Made me realize something horrible was happening.

I thought of running. Escaping.

But then I saw them.

My little ones. The little ones I cared for. Who followed me. Gave me pretty stones and ugly flowers full of love.

They were there. Trembling. Two of them. One holding a baby.

I didn’t think. I ran to them.

“Come! Now! Follow me!”

They didn’t hesitate.

I took them to the old hut. The one we used to store branches and shiny stones we liked. We entered. The walls were already shaking from outside.

Fast. It had to be fast.

I ran to the hole in the ground where we kept the shiny things.

I threw everything out with my hands. Stones, shells, dried flowers. Everything.

My fingers tore, my nails cracked.

My heart pounded like never before.

Not during the ritual. Not during play. Never like this.

And it pounded. Pounded. Pounded.

Like another goblin inside me, trying to break free.

My slime was trembling like never before. All of it. Desperate. It felt what I felt.

I put the baby in. Then the other two.

“We’re playing,” I told them, voice broken. “You hide. Don’t come out until I say. Okay?”

They looked at me, scared.

“You win if you don’t make a sound,” I said, softer.

I covered them with dry baskets.

I hid behind a jar.

And then… it happened.

Something rolled down my face.

It wasn’t sweat. It wasn’t water.

It was what only little ones do when they fall or hurt a lot. What I hadn’t done since my heart became… quieter.

But now it was there. That liquid. Coming out without permission. Blurring my sight.

My heart couldn’t take more.

And then… It entered.

The creature.

Shorter than an orc, but taller than me.

Its skin was pale, like dried milk. Hair only on top of its head, yellow like old summer grass.

Tiny, round ears. Nothing like ours.

Its body was covered in hard things. A shiny stone on its chest. Legs wrapped in thick hide. Black boots that echoed with every step.

And in its hand… a long, shining claw. Not bone. Not stone. Something… unknown.

It spoke. “One more here. Check behind.”

I understood nothing. But its voice tore something inside me.

The slime trembled in silence.

The creature knocked things over. Pots. Jars.

Until it found them. The children.

It looked at them.

And smiled.

It wasn’t a smile. It was… something twisted. Cold. Like wolves when they find prey.

My body moved on its own. I grabbed the first thing I saw.

One of the trade spears. With a bone tip.

I leapt. And pushed.

The spear went into its chest. A wet, soft sound. Like rotten fruit bursting.

The being stepped forward and fell to its knees.

It looked at me.

And collapsed.

I… collapsed too.

But not from a wound. From my heart.

Because I couldn’t take anymore.

My chest hurt like never before. My vision blurred.

I couldn’t breathe.

Everything became noise and fire.

My slime crawled up to my face. I saw it tremble.

And just before my eyes closed…

It touched me.

I felt its warmth. Not physical.

A deeper one.

As if it told me: “I’m here.”

And so… I gave in.