"Boran, Grandmother. No!!!!!"
The loud scream that Freida let out competed with the constant barrage of noise that the storm produced. It was at a volume that allowed the volunteers working inside the evacuation center to pick up on her voice. The two victims of the accident—Boran and Freida's grandmother—are being quickly rescued by rescuers as they quickly move in past her direction.
She fell while her eyes were unable to focus on anything other than the sight of Boran and her grandmother being separated by the people who had come to their aid. She hits her knees on the sharp pebbles strewn beneath her, and they throb from kissing the muddy ground.
Even though her face was being washed by the raindrops, the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. When she was being blown off the ground by the strong winds, one of the people who were helping her grabbed her around the waist to pull her in.
"No, wait! I have to help them!" She screamed.
However, the person who came to her aid did not allow her to leave; rather, he yelled at her for being so self-centered and obstinate. "The gusts of wind are much too strong. Coming close to the people who are trying to save them won't even be of any assistance anyway. Go inside to better avoid getting in our way."
"It would be irresponsible of me to stay inside while they were both in danger."
"Miss, take a close look at the situation. Who do you think will look after them if you come anywhere near them and something bad happens to you?"
Freida realized at that point that the rescuer was correct. It would only complicate matters if the worst-case scenario occurred and something happened to her as well.
"What will happen to the two of them now?" Freida immediately inquired as the rescuer urged her to enter the evacuation.
"They will be transferred to the isolation ward, which is reserved for patients who require medication as soon as possible."
"And then what?"
"They will be attended to with the necessary first aid and medication that they require."
"But they were severely injured by the vehicle. What if they needed more than just basic first aid and medication?"
Freida's curiosity was growing to the point where the person who had rescued her couldn't hide his irritation from her. "Just drop it, okay? You just proceed inside and wait for an update on the situation!"
Despite her protests, the rescuer forced Freida to come inside. In the end, all she could do was wait for news about Boran and her grandmother's condition.
The rescuers eventually left Freida inside the evacuation center shortly after they arrived. With the sudden image of what was happening inside the evacuation, she was struck with guilt and compassion. Many families were given temporary shelter, despite the fact that the majority of them were in shock and traumatized from the storm. It was massive enough to have cost so much for their families to feel in such a state.
She couldn't help but cry as she looked into the eyes of the children, who were completely unaware of what was going on while their guardians were devastated. There were also reported casualties that rescuers were unable to save, which was why some evacuees were crying out at the other end of the center. Hearing such lamentation, Freida couldn't help but imagine the worst-case scenario that could have happened to Boran or her grandmother.
The two of them are still inside the isolation ward, being cared for by the medical team assigned to the center, and as each second passes, Freida finds it increasingly difficult to remain calm. She thought if there was any way she could just barge in there and check on them, she would. However, the rescuer advised her that it would be in her best interest to wait until the medical team was finished providing Boran and her grandmother with the interim assistance they required before making any moves.
After one of the volunteers handed her a dry towel to wrap around her shivering body, Freida settled into one of the empty bleachers. Freida was also given a bag of donated clothes to change into because her T-shirt and pants were already soaked with rainwater and soiled with mud.
She decided to simply change her clothes in order to dry off and avoid becoming ill. She couldn't afford to be sick, as the rescuer had told her earlier, because she was the only one her grandmother had. If she became ill, no one would look after her grandmother in her place.
Freida sulked in fear as she remembered the previous incident. She couldn't keep the tears from falling again. Freida had to quickly wipe it off so she didn't draw the attention of others. And as soon as the restroom became available, Freida took her turn showering and eventually venting everything there.
While she was in the shower, Freida let her tears fall in private. She was no longer able to exert any control over it. She held herself responsible for what had occurred to Boran as well as to her grandmother. She was in such a helpless state. Even if she tried, she was completely helpless to save them. She could do nothing but watch as the two of them were struck by a moving car that appeared out of nowhere. She was helpless to stop the collision. Because it happened so quickly, Freida was unaware of the oncoming car until it was too late. If she had known sooner, she wouldn't have bothered to call Boran and ask him to hurry across the street.
Because she was so angry, Freida pounded her fist repeatedly against the concrete wall. Since there was nothing else, she could do, she might as well just let it all out now. Although it won't eliminate all of the suffering, it will almost certainly make things more bearable in some way. Her suffering would be eased, even if only slightly, even if only for a short while.
As soon as she was done showering, Freida approached the volunteer's desk and asked for a cup of coffee. Since arriving to rescue her grandmother, she hadn't eaten anything for dinner. However, she was not in the least bit hungry at all. She simply needed something to help her warm up even more, and she decided that coffee would be her best bet in this situation.
The eager volunteers gave Freida a coffee cup and tetra-packaged instant coffee powder so that she could make her own cup of coffee. Frieda let the coffee sit to get a little warmer while she sat on the bleachers once more. Suddenly, she overheard two elderly women, who happened to be evacuees close to her neighborhood, talking about something that caught her attention.
Their voices, in spite of the fact that they were whispering, were still audible enough for Freida to hear them. Especially after one of them mentioned something that Frieda found so unsettling that it caused goosebumps to immediately appear all over her body. "Not only did we fear for our lives because of the storm, but we also feared for our lives because of the gruesome attack that was made by that hideous creature."
"You've seen it as well? While we were leaving the area, both my husband and I carried a sickle and a bolo with us out of fear that we might run into the monster along the way."
"From what I've heard, attacks on neighboring villages were that bloody. The rescue workers discouraged the crowd from talking about it, but it was obvious that they knew we weren't making any of it up at all. It's impossible that anyone else could have carried out such an attack."
"Yes. As if such monstrous creatures existed in the first place."
"Yes, I completely agree. It is a relief that we were able to leave safely. However, returning after the storm would be extremely dangerous and frightful if that hideous creature is still on the loose."
"I know. I worry about the well-being of my children as well."
"Me either."
During Freida's eavesdropping, she was abruptly interrupted by another volunteer who approached her and asked, "You're Freida Salome, right?"
"Yes." A swift response came from Freida shortly after she had turned her head in the direction of the volunteer. She appeared to be a woman in her mid-fifties at the most.
"We want to update you on the situation with your grandmother. She regained consciousness about a few minutes ago, but we're still observing her."
Freida was so alerted to learn such information that she rushed over to the volunteer side as soon as it was announced to make sure that what she had just heard was true and that she wasn't imagining things.