"What!?" her father exclaimed, incredulous. "Are you crazy? If we leave, the creatures will get us, Amara!"
"If we don't, they'll attack us right here in the car, Dad. Not to mention the helicopters that are arriving—we have to get away from that poisonous gas fast."
"How do you plan to push me and run at the same time? Not to mention the weight of this suitcase on my lap."
"Forget the suitcase, we'll just take the knives and go. There are a lot of downhill streets here, which will help us, and we might even find someone to give us a ride."
Hisakawa let out a heavy sigh, lifting his chin as if to hold back tears. He was terrified, just like Amara.
She knew the plan was flawed, but the only options—stay or flee—seemed equally fatal.
"Let's go," he said with his eyes closed, trying to remain calm.
She didn't wait another second. She went to the trunk and grabbed the wheelchair. The rain was pouring now, blurring everything in front of her. Amara pushed the chair toward the passenger seat, but just before opening the door, a voice calling her name caught her attention.
"Amara!!"
She turned around and saw her mother in the rain.
Identical to how she remembered her that morning: a caramel headscarf, a worn white sweater, brown pants, and weathered flats. All of it soaked by the rain. Dona Lina approached with a tense, worried expression.
Amara remembered to stay alert and analyze every detail. She remained still and waited for the supposed mother to say something.
"Sweetie, I've been looking for you two for so long…" her voice was soft and concerned. "I'm so glad I finally found you!"
"How did you get here so fast? You were on foot," Amara asked, her tone low and tense.
"I've been running for hours! I managed to get out of the market and rushed home, but you weren't there, so…"
"How could you run that much if you're sick? Or did you forget already?"
The creature in front of her slowly changed its expression into a wide, sinister grin. It released its claws, its eyes turned crimson, and it spoke in a guttural voice:
"Such a clever girl… it's a shame you'll be my third meal today."
In the blink of an eye, the Sombro lunged at her, claws ready to strike. But Amara was prepared. She raised the wheelchair, and the creature crashed into it and fell. Without wasting a second, she struck its head with the chair over and over, as hard as she could.
She tried not to think about the fact that the face looked exactly like her sick mother's and focused on destroying the Sombro.
The shadowy being howled. Its eyes glowed a fiery red—it was still alive. That wasn't possible. Why was this Sombro so resistant? Amara remembered what her father had said—without a doubt, this creature was strong because it had already fed that day.
Mr. Hisakawa had opened his door and was staring, jaw dropped, at the scene before him. Amara turned to him and shouted:
"Daaaaad! Use the gun, shoot her in the head!"
The Sombro tried to get up, but Amara struck it again to keep it down. Her father, hands trembling, tried to aim the revolver at the creature. He couldn't miss. Only two bullets remained.
"Sweetie, I don't know if I can do it," he shouted over the torrential rain. "She has Lina's face…"
"She's not Mom, Dad! Her eyes show it—you can do it!"
"Amara, look out!" Hisakawa warned, seeing a black blur coming at incredible speed.
She had just enough time to throw the wheelchair at the figure.
"Nooo, my chair!" Hisakawa cried, distraught.
"Dad…" Amara ran to him and yanked the revolver from his hands. "Stay in here. I'll take care of everything."
She grabbed a machete and a hammer, tucking them into her pants.
"There are more knives in there to defend yourself. Don't hesitate if one of them gets in the car, understand? Stab it right between the eyes!"
Before Hisakawa could protest, she had already slammed the door shut and locked him inside. When she turned to face the Sombros, there was nothing—just rain and darkness. Amara walked over to where the broken wheelchair lay and looked around.
All she found was cold, the smell of blood, and the frantic beat of her own heart.
She didn't have time to dodge when a black blur rushed past her like a hurricane. The impact knocked her down, but her hand held the revolver tight. Still lying on the ground, she turned in the direction the Sombro had gone—but saw nothing.
Her heart was pounding louder than the rain, and her trembling hands weren't just from the cold. Amara remembered the harsh military training she had undergone in the Nyoka army in Khalawa, so she stood and stayed alert, trying to focus on her surroundings instead of the acidic taste of fear in her throat.
But…
Someone grabbed her hair from behind and yanked hard—it was the mother Sombro, eyes glowing red. It held her hands around the gun tightly before she could fire and said mockingly:
"How dare you point a gun at your own mother, hmm, daughter?"
The creature's body had completely regenerated. Apparently, strong Sombros could only be killed with a shot to the head—strikes didn't work.
Amara struggled to break free from the creature's grip, but it was no use. However, her thumb managed to reach the trigger and she fired at the Sombro.
It let go of her, and Amara staggered a few steps back before turning to see that the shot had only hit its shoulder, not the head. The Sombro smiled with pointed teeth—threatening and beastly.
The wound healed in seconds.
Now, she had only one bullet left—and two Sombros stalking her.
Amara ran in desperation—not because she thought she could outrun them; that was impossible. But to draw them away from her father in the car.
She ran for a block and a half before the Sombro, still a blur, passed her and stopped directly in front of her. It quickly shifted into another replica of her mother.
Did it really think she'd fall for that pathetic disguise?
Amara aimed the gun at the Sombro's head.
Now she understood what it was doing… Seeing her mother's face again, even a false one, tore her up inside like a rusty blade. Even though she had killed the copy of her sister that day, it still hurt.
It was a test of mental endurance.
The Sombro laughed when it noticed her hesitation. The laughter was animalistic, just like the way it twisted and bent its body. Rapid movements. Inhuman movements. That's what Amara needed to remember…
This. Was. Not. Human.
BANG!
She finally fired.
The Sombro dodged the bullet easily, mockingly. Amara realized that was her death sentence.
But she wouldn't give up yet—she'd fight with her bare hands if she had to.
The creature lunged, and Amara dove to the ground, sweeping its legs. The Sombro nearly fell but stayed upright. She crouched into an attack stance and gripped the machete she'd pulled from her waistband. If she wanted to survive, she had to be as cold as the weather.
The Sombro wasn't intimidated. At lightning speed, it returned and slashed her left arm.
She screamed and tried to strike back with the machete, but only hit the air.
To her horror, the other Sombro appeared as a blur and slashed her left ribs. Amara cried out again, trying not to give in to the searing pain. She turned toward the two Sombros—mirror images of her mother—standing side by side.
She grabbed the hammer with her left hand. This time, she didn't wait for them to come to her. No. This time, she ran at one of them, and when close enough to feel its breath, she spun in the air, legs extended, and kicked the neck of the Sombro on the right. The movement made her wounds burn so much her eyes welled up.
The fight that followed happened in seconds.
Amara spun to the left side, hammer ready to strike. But the Sombro shifted into a blur and dodged.
She stood ready, vision red, thirsting for blood. She tried to ignore the pain and focus on the primal instinct to survive.
The Sombro that had fallen got up and rushed her with its fangs bared. Amara raised her machete and struck the creature's chest. Everything happened so fast she couldn't drive the blade in deep enough.
She didn't stop for even a second. She ran toward the other Sombro, hammer raised to smash its skull.
When she struck its head, the scream was high-pitched and deafening. Thick blood splashed onto her face. But Amara didn't stop. She couldn't stop. Because in this world, stopping meant dying.
But then—the Sombro's claws buried into her side.
A moan of pain escaped her lips. Her hands dropped the hammer involuntarily, and she could see nothing beyond that blinding, searing pain.
When the creature abruptly pulled away from her, Amara hugged her own body tightly and let herself fall to her knees. She was losing a lot of blood; the wound had been deep.
The two Sombros appeared before her in their original forms, laughing and taking pleasure in her suffering.
"It looks like we'll have to share a meal…" one of them said.
The other Sombro agreed and gave Amara a wide, ear-to-ear grin.
It was the end.
She felt herself about to faint and placed her hands on the concrete to steady herself. She would try to get up and run away.
But…
One of the Sombros scratched her belly with a quick, precise strike, tearing through fabric and skin. Amara screamed and fell onto the cold, wet street, nearly drowning in the rain. The pain was a burning tear in her stomach.
She waited for death — the cruelest one those beings could give her.
But…
A bullet pierced through the back of the Sombro's head. Black blood splattered over her as the creature fell on top of her.
Then, another shot went through the eyes of the other Sombro, and it also collapsed onto her body.
Soon, a hail of bullets struck the already dead creatures, covering Amara completely with black blood mixed with rainwater.
When the volley of shots stopped, she dared to lift her head and saw a tall man walking toward her with a rifle in his right hand.
When the man was close enough for her to see his face reflected under the streetlight, she was surprised by such beauty.
His expression was serious and cold, his black hair, cut at neck length, plastered to his head by the torrential rain.
But what froze time was the symbol on his uniform: a red circle surrounding a crescent moon. A katana pierced the moon vertically, radiating bluish flames. Around it, five purple bellflowers — the five guardians of Hinoken.
Amara held her breath.
That man was no ordinary soldier. He was one of the Cobalt Flames.
He was the leader of the Hinoken army.