Freida's train of thought was momentarily distracted when a crow landed unexpectedly on the window and startled her. Just as the monster's life was coming to an end, it made a noise. A noise that seemed to be coming from crows but sounded suspiciously like a signal. She was about to use the baston to bash in the head of the cryptic bird when it suddenly took flight and ran away, allowing Freida to spare its life.
In their village, crows are considered a symbol of bad luck. Once a crow wanders into someone's home out of nowhere in their community, it is regarded as a portent of ill fortune. The likelihood of seeing a crow in Biringan was extremely low, which made Freida worry about her predicament even more.
"Freida…"
"Boran?"
The moment Freida looked up and saw Boran enter the hut for the second time, the flow of introspective musings that she had been having was abruptly halted. He was bleeding from the head, which had been injured. It's possible that the impact of what the monster did to him caused this to happen.
Because of his condition, Freida couldn't help but feel anxious as she ran quickly to tend to his wound with a handkerchief, which she took out of her pocket to press on Boran's wound.
"Are you alright?" The fact that he inquired about her condition first despite his injury made Freida feel an even greater sense of guilt.
"Just what are you saying?" Freida was unable to simply restrain herself from speaking. Although she regretted what she had just said, it was too late to retract it at this point. She'd already expressed her concern for Boran and the possibility that he'd been killed by the monster.
Because of what he did, which was to attack the monster while almost completely defenseless, Freida wanted to tell him that she was afraid that something terrible might have happened to him as a result of what he did. Freida knew that what he did bought her enough time to retrieve the baston that she used to strike the monster's head, but she couldn't help but think that what he did was reckless at the same time.
"What did I do?" Given what Freida had just told him, Boran questioned, sounding a little perplexed.
Freida's eyes welled up with tears as she ran forward to wrap her arms around Boran for an immediate embrace. "You could have been killed, you jerk!" she screamed as she sobbed on Boran's shoulders.
"Hey, hold back your tears now. I am fine. See?" Boran said as he gently pushed Freida away from him so she could examine him thoroughly.
"I know. A mistake long ago could have made a big difference. Your assault on that monster while being defenseless was certainly reckless. You might have been killed back then, who knows?" She argued, then pointed at the dead monster lying on the ground.
"I get it, Freida. You do realize, though, that I did that to protect you and your grandmother. Besides, I'm perfectly fine."
"I know that, you idiot. But you just made me scared."
Boran had a small grin on his face as he came to abruptly tease Freida when he asked, "So you're scared to see me die? How interesting."
Freida pushed Boran away from her even more as she told him, "It's not like that! Not in the manner you had in mind.
"It's alright, Frieda. Don't worry about it. If I were in your shoes, I'd be scared to know you'd risked your life for me especially if you're totally defenseless."
"Don't get so full of yourself, Boran." Frieda had no choice but to turn around in order to conceal the reddening of her face and immense affection that she was feeling at that very moment. She simply couldn't let Boran see her blushing for fear that he would understand the depth of her feelings for him if he saw her embarrassed expression. Freida eventually continued by saying, "I'd definitely save you if I were in your shoes, but I'll try not to be too hasty by not calculating both my steps and the enemy's attack."
"So, you're a fighter now, huh?" Boran teased Frieda in a mocking manner as he inched his way closer to the corpse of the monster. After some time, he kicked it and then turned to look at Freida, who was also strangely staring at it.
"No. I just assumed." She replied.
Boran let out a sigh. He was well aware of Freida's capabilities. She couldn't have done it on her own if he hadn't followed her when she came running home after hearing the local news. Boran was completely unaware that a creature of this kind would appear at this time. All he intended to do was assist Freida in evacuating with her grandmother.
During the last few months that the two had been working on their thesis, Freida had a habit of talking about her grandmother at some point in every conversation. Boran was able to come up with the idea to follow her because he realized that it was possible that she would not be able to handle the situation on her own while also rescuing her grandmother.
If Freida were to push herself to her limit, she would appear to be too frail and weak to withstand the gale-force winds that were blowing. Boran couldn't bear the thought occurring within his mind without doing anything about it, so he decided to follow her all the way to her house instead.
"For the time being, we need to find a way to leave this place and move as quickly as we can to the closest evacuation center. If we remained here for much longer, the wind surge would make it impossible for us to pass." Boran gave a quick glance in the direction of her grandmother, who was sitting on the stairs and appearing to be in complete disbelief, before continuing, "And it won't be safe for your grandmother either."
"What do we do?" Freida anxiously asked. She clasped her hands together. Because of the stress she was feeling about the situation, her fingers were constantly squabbling with one another. She couldn't get her mind off the horrible possibility that they wouldn't be able to weather this storm successfully. The absolute worst thing that could happen to them would be that they experience the same fate as Freida's parents did fifteen years ago.
"I will carry your grandmother on my back. Do you have any rope that we can use here?"
"What's that for?"
"I will need you to lead the way first. I know that this will be a bit of a discomfort for your grandmother, but you are going to have to bind her to me until we get to the evacuation center.
"Are the winds really that strong? To that extent?"
"Yes. Now, we better get going. We don't have much time left before the oncoming storm could overtake us."
While Freida's grandmother was being carried by Boran, Freida took out all of the available linen and bed sheets and tied them together to make a makeshift rope to wrap around her grandmother.
"I thought that using this would be a little bit more comfortable than using the rope." Freida said.
"Thank you, Freida. Now that everything has been set up, we should really get going." Boran said. He eventually patted Freida's head and said, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you or your grandmother, rest assured, everything will be fine."
Freida looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes once more.
"Let's go then." Freida replied as the three of them exited the house.
It was just in the nick of time when a powerful gust of wind ripped off the entirety of the roof of the hut. Freida was taken aback, and she found that she had no choice but to turn around and take a look at the house that she and her grandmother had shared as their home for the previous fifteen years. The oncoming storm did a complete number on it, and it is now completely destroyed.
"Quickly, let's keep moving." Boran insisted, gently shoving Freida head on as she was still in the process of recovering from the trauma she experienced when she saw what had happened to their house.
Due to the powerful winds that were attempting to push them back and the darkness that has been gradually consuming the light that was previously present in their surroundings, it has become increasingly challenging for both Boran and Freida to continue moving forward.
Even lone individuals who could have assisted them in their endeavor were nowhere to be found. However, the two struggled to keep moving because the strong winds would sweep them away.
"Boran, it's becoming more difficult to get to the evacuation center at this rate. We'll never make it." Freida told Boran. She was having a hard time peeping ahead into the winding path that they were heading on.
"We have to make it, Freida. We have to make it there alive."
"It's point—"
Boran quickly interjected himself into the conversation and cut off Freida by saying to her, "We have to stay positive, Frieda. For you, for me, and for your grandmother."
At that precise moment, Freida was unable to prevent herself from experiencing an overwhelming amount of affection for Boran. She was aware that she would be unable to repay such a favor to him, but she still harbors the hope that she may be able to do so in the future. Because of what he'd done to her tonight, Freida felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Boran.
Not only did he assist her with her grandmother, but he also arrived just in time to save her life when she was about to be devoured by the monstrous creature that had broken into her house and came dangerously close to killing her grandmother.
Boran and Freida were getting further and further closer to the central business district of the town, which was the location of the evacuation center, when Freida broke into another bright smile of hope.
"I already see it, Boran. It's close!" As Freida got a glimpse of the public indoor sports complex that has been serving as temporary housing for the other evacuees, she couldn't help but let out a jubilant cheer.
"Great. Let's go there." Boran replied.
Freida moved a little more quickly than she had in the past to talk to the military guards who were securing the door. When the guards allowed them to enter, Freida turned around to face Boran, who was hiding behind a shed on the opposite side of the road, waiting for her signal.
She motioned with her other hand for him to come over. And just as Boran, who had carefully carried Freida's grandmother on his back from their home all the way to the evacuation center, was about to cross the road, a vehicle mysteriously materialized out of nowhere and flew towards them. They were both thrown to the ground, and despite Freida's best efforts, she was unable to run fast enough to save them from the force of the impact.