Her father screamed when he saw the Sombro, Amina's copy, dead on the living room floor. Though frightened, Amara didn't stop moving. She realized that the weapon, now with only two bullets left, wouldn't be enough to protect them on the road. She went to the kitchen and grabbed every type of knife she could find, as well as a hammer and other tools her father kept in a box. She stuffed everything into a bag and placed it on her father's lap.
— Dad, you'll have to carry the bag on your lap, okay? Keep it open so we can grab whatever we need to defend ourselves if any of those creatures attack. — Her voice was commanding. Her father nodded, though his face showed the deepest terror.
Amara rolled the demon's body to the side, and its black blood further stained the floor. It was cold as ice, and having the exact appearance of her sister made her soul tremble.
— Sombros — said Mr. Ryoji Hisakawa suddenly. — What's attacking our city are Sombros, a type of Morphid. — His eyes were fixed on the creature.
— Yes, Dad.
— But... but... this doesn't make sense!
— What do you mean? — Amara asked.
— According to a book I read many years ago, Sombros only feed on humans... So how could they still exist if they lived beyond the border, where there are no humans?
Amara froze for a few seconds, trying to process that information. Her father had been a librarian before the government stripped him of the title for marrying a foreigner. He had a vast collection of books and knew everything about the Nefari. His memory was sharp, so what he was saying couldn't be wrong.
— I don't know, Dad. Everything's too strange, starting with the fact that the barrier opened for those things. That's why we have to leave as quickly as possible.
— Yes, yes, let's go. We need to find your sister — he said, still lost in internal thoughts.
Amara pushed her father's wheelchair out of the house, and as she opened the passenger door, they both heard a sinister noise, like hundreds of mourning moans. When they looked toward the vast bamboo forest, they saw them: the Sombros in their original form.
They were nothing more than black shadows with humanoid shapes, sharp claws, and glowing red eyes. They moved slowly, chanting that song of suffering. They had to be starving.
Amara hurried to get her father into the passenger seat, placed the bag back on his lap, and shut the door. Then she folded the wheelchair and shoved it into the trunk as fast as she could. Her arms ached from the weight and the speed she forced on her muscles.
She jumped into the car and started it. The road ahead was mostly downhill, so they would soon be able to put a good distance between them and the Sombros. As she drove at high speed, a light rain began to fall, and thunder roared in the late afternoon sky. Her father, beside her, began sharing information as if he were an audiobook.
— Sombros can read people's memories when they get close. That's how they choose someone the victim trusts and replicate that person's appearance to deceive and kill the human…
— We're going to make it in time, Dad — Amara stated. — Those things walk slowly.
— They don't, actually. — Mr. Hisakawa's narrow eyes looked lost as he spoke. — Starving Sombros walk slowly, but strong Sombros can run faster than this car.
— Dad, you're scaring me.
— Hey, what's that? — her father pointed to the rearview mirror. — Are those helicopters?
Amara followed his gaze and saw that, indeed, dozens of helicopters were flying toward the city, releasing thick smoke into the bamboo forest. It had to be some kind of poisonous gas meant to kill the creatures.
— It's the Hinoken army, Dad! It has to be. They've arrived, they've come to help the city! — Amara was so euphoric watching the scene in the rearview mirror that she forgot to look ahead.
— Amara, look out! — her father shouted.
She swerved just in time to avoid what looked like a Sombro devouring a person's organs right in the middle of the street. The rear tire burst, and since they were on a steep descent, the car kept going out of control until it crashed sideways into a streetlight pole. Amara and her father screamed from the impact, but they weren't hurt, as only the rear part of the car had collided.
— Dad, are you hurt? — Amara quickly unbuckled her seatbelt.
— I don't think so, — he replied, pale as paper. — I can feel everything, except my legs, but that's normal.
Amara let out a sigh of relief and quickly tried to come up with a solution for their situation.
— We're going on foot, — she declared, resigned.