Who are they?  She thought.

She quickly ran back to Liz and hid beside her, clamping her palm over Lizzie's mouth.

"Not a peep."

Liz was so exhausted that she didn't protest. Her mother's heart hammered so hard it felt ready to explode, and her hands shook, but thankfully, the creatures ran down the street without ever looking in their way.

They kept moving.

The farther they went, the more of those things they encountered, torturing people, slaughtering everything in their way with such violence that Liz and her mother couldn't even begin to imagine. Those creatures were munching on humans like they were some late-night snack, devouring their limbs, drinking their blood as if it were some expensive wine. Their pure hunger, their craving for flesh, was horrifying to see. 

They looked like they enjoyed eating people, as if they had been waiting for it their entire lives. Such a savage delight.

Liz and Mom had to keep hiding, which slowed them down, and on top of that, they were injured and terrified of getting stuck, as some people had, or even worse, having part of their bodies freeze. If that happened, you couldn't even move from the place where that part was trapped.

How much longer can we survive?

When they reached Frey's city port, it was already severely wrecked. Most of the ships were either in flames on their way down or so far away you could barely see them. People were trying their luck, searching for a small boat or anything that could carry them and their belongings far away from this chaos. Yes, even in fear of death, some people still tried to save their possessions over their lives.

As they approached the shoreline, Mother spotted their lifelong friend and neighbor boarding a small rowboat. It was loaded with his belongings, equipment, emergency supplies, and paddles along its sides. 

"Volur, is that you?" Lizzie's mom asked, with a hint of relief in her voice.

"I'm so glad you're alive… Where are Erika and little Aasa?"

"They're gone, Frigha…," he said firmly.

"I'm so sorry, Vol…" she murmured, reaching to pat his shoulder, but before she could touch him, he shrugged her off with a hard look on his face.

"Leave… I have no time for this," he said, then returned to preparing his boat to leave for good.

But she could not let this opportunity slip away.

"Can you take Lizzie with you? Please, I'm begging you!" She grabbed his hand with both of hers and repeated, "Please, I'm begging you!" 

He met the desperate mother's tearful eyes and said, "Fine. Just make it fast."

Only then did she release his hand and turn to her daughter. She picked up Lizzie as if she were a baby and gently set her down in the boat.

 "Listen, you will leave the city with Mr. Volur. You will be safe out there, and I will find you as soon as I can," she said, trying to hold back her tears and steady her voice.

"Wait, what about you, Mom? Aren't you coming with us?"

"No, baby. There is not enough space for all of us. I will find another boat and catch you right back," she said, and her heart sank.

"But, Mom…"

"No buts. We don't have time for that," she cut her off, then instantly regretted it, realizing those could be her last words. 

I almost forgot...

Her trembling hands reached for her neck, then swiftly unclasped her necklace. She approached Liz and, with a gentle touch, fastened the necklace around her thin neck. Then she stepped back to admire her precious daughter's new look. A fine silver chain with a family pendant in the shape of a house cat now adorned her.

Lizzie could not believe she was leaving without her mom. She never thought there would be a day when she would not be close to her mom. For a moment, she forgot about her pain, about the living hell she was witnessing. She couldn't believe she would be left again.

"I will never forgive you if you are lying!"

"I love you, munchkin."

"I love you too, Mom."

By now, they were both crying openly, no longer trying to hold back their emotions, while Volur stood ready to leave but didn't have the heart to interrupt them.

The boat slowly took off.

For the entire time since their departure, Liz kept her gaze locked on her mother. She didn't leave her spot, just patiently waved goodbye. Deep down, she knew there was no point in trying to find another boat. By the time she sent Liz sailing away, she was already a dead woman walking.

"MOM, LOOK BACK!" Liz shouted.

But her mother already knew what was coming. She was waiting for them to come for her. Her only hope was to buy as much time as she possibly could.

It didn't take long for those monsters to find her. Liz watched as they lifted her mother by the neck. It tightened its grip, choking her. Blood rushed from her eyes, nose, and mouth. Her arms swung weakly at her sides, showing she had no strength left. Without a hint of mercy, it stabbed her in the abdomen with a large metal dagger. Liz's mouth went dry. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out. They casually dropped her mother's lifeless body on the ground as if it were a bag of stones. The moment her body hit the ground, a couple of monsters ran to her and began hungrily devouring her remains. One of them spoke to another. Liz saw the creature conjure a large fireball out of thin air, then aim it at their boat and release it. It sped toward them, but when it reached the target, something strange happened. It was as if it had struck some invisible bubble protecting the boat. The fireball vanished, leaving no trace that it had ever existed. The leader of the creatures looked extremely satisfied. His left cheek rose toward his eye, forming an evil smile. Then, in a low voice, as if talking to himself, he said:

"We found it…"