Swarm in the streets: The Widow Makers feast

It was chaos in town. The Widow Makers had arrived just as night fell, and they were tearing through everything in sight.

The six-legged, gray-colored monstrosities were relentless in their swarm, easily overpowering the temple knights who had tried defending the town’s gates as they flooded into the streets in large groups.

Skirmishes were constantly breaking out everywhere—in streets, in alleyways, in corners, and even on rooftops—as men and women from the adventurer’s guild tried fending the beasts off with magic and swords.

A woman on the roof of a house was constantly shooting fireballs from her hands, illuminating the darkness with brief bursts of orange flames. But a Widow Maker suddenly lunged upward toward her, biting her arm and throwing both of them off the building. The woman went crashing onto the other side, screaming the whole way down. Soon, all Lumia could hear were sounds of tearing flesh and gurgling, as the monster no doubt proceeded to eat her.

With her chest pounding in terror from the amount of carnage she was witnessing, Lumia was still doing what she had been instructed to do. She was running house to house while yelling for the inhabitants hiding inside to go find shelter in the temple or central plaza. Mages were setting up barriers in those places, so the creatures wouldn’t find it easy to break through. Although it seemed like a good idea, it wasn’t safe for people to remain hiding in their homes with no protection. Plus, an emergency evacuation was being organized. She couldn’t imagine anyone being left behind in this madness.

Still tightly holding onto the little girl’s hand—who was surprisingly keeping pace with her—Lumia successfully crossed another street without a Widow Maker catching sight of them and giving chase. The monsters were too busy scuttling after unlucky townsfolk instead, and a little piece of Lumia’s heart cracked whenever she saw a temple maid being hunted down and killed.

Even though they weren’t fighters, on the head priestess’s orders, the senior healers from the temple were all out here, sacrificing their lives in order to get people to safety. Lumia briefly wondered when her turn would come, when she was chased down a corner and mauled by one of the monsters, but she quickly shook that thought from her mind. She had the little girl with her to worry about.

She remembered the kitchen knife she had stuffed into her gown’s pocket. No matter what, she wouldn’t let any harm befall the little girl—not as long as she was still standing and breathing. This wasn’t the time for self-sabotaging, suicidal thoughts. She needed to focus on keeping them both alive.