The glow of the full moon made it easier to find the children as Max and Luna scoured the area.

They knew they were far from the compound once the smell of burnt wood and magicores vanished. As they slowly made their way through the field with lanterns in hand, they saw a tree near the wall of the compound, and Luna saw two bodies on the ground.

The first one was a child with a steel collar and a chain that tied him to the nearby tree, and the second one seemed to be an elder ork.

Fearing the worst, she sprinted ahead while Max barely kept up. Luna dropped her lantern and rushed first to the small boy, who could not be older than eight or nine. She embraced the child and put her ear to his chest. When she heard a very soft beat, Luna closed her eyes and thanked the Maker that he was still alive.

Max, however, rushed to the elder ork.

“This one’s dead.” He inspected the runes carved onto his arms and torso. “And he’s a warlock too.”

“Find the other child.” Luna said as she broke the chain like paper and lifted the small boy in her arms. “He must be close.”

The small boy was like the others. He was starved and sickly thin, but he was covered with fresh bruises and bled profusely in the head. She also saw that he had boot prints all over his clothes, face, and body. Then she heard Max curse.

“What?” Luna rushed over. Max crouched down and he shined the lantern to reveal footprints that led towards the wall.

“You see what I’m seeing?” He said as he slowly stood up, with his sights still on the ground.

“Bootprints that match the ones on the child,” She crouched lower to get a better view of the tracks on the ground. “Also, these seem too detailed-”

The ground was soft and squishy, the wet earth staining her gloves. “Whoever left these tracks was either carrying something or stomping as they went, but they could not have gotten far if they were.”

Luna carefully handed the child to Max, who held him in his arms. “Take him back to the trucks. He needs help fast. I’ll find the other child.” She took Max’s lantern and followed the tracks.

“Sure you don’t want to use a gun this time?” Max called out. “If that kid dies, it’s all on you.” But she did not reply.

Sensing he was dismissed, Max huffed and returned back to the compound while carefully cradling the small boy in his arms.

=0o0=

The slaver had given up. Rather than carry the child, he dragged her by the long chain of her collar.

Elizabeth had grazed, cut, and bumped her bare feet and legs after being forced to run on the forest floor. She did not know how long they ran. Her hands, legs, and knees have been cut by the bushes and the rough ground. But after she scraped her foot on a sharp rock, Elizabeth could not move anymore as she fell to the ground.

“Get up!” He yanked her chain, which caused Elizabeth to gag as she weakly stood up. Her legs stung with hot pain and caused her to fall flat on her face.

The slaver told her numerous times that if she ever made any sort of noise, he would shoot her on the spot. But the sharp and wet pain on her feet and legs, the gritty taste of the wet dirt in her mouth, and now the dull pain that throbbed in her head finally caused her to cry. She wailed and broke the silence of the forest.

“Mama! Mama! Grama! Grampa!” She cried for help. The slaver finally reached his limit. He clenched his fist and prepared to strike her down when he heard a low growl from behind him.

It was a pack of wolves that seemed to have followed the scent of the child’s blood.

The slaver looked around and found that they were surrounded, one behind them and three in front of them. He knew that they were after the wounded child, so he grabbed Elizabeth by the neck and, with all his strength, threw her straight to the wolves in front of him.

“It's her you want!” The slaver said as he ran to the side and hoped that the child would buy her time. But he was unaware that the chain had snagged onto him, and the moment he ran, he unknowingly dragged Elizabeth with him.

The fangs of the wolf almost caught the child’s legs when she landed, but Elizabeth managed to pull away right on time. She felt the pull on her neck that dragged her up, but before she managed to even get away, another wolf held her down by biting on her clothes and pulling her back. She screamed as more wolves ran closer and one wolf aimed at her head.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and shielded her face with her arms when she heard the sound of wolves crying out in pain. She then felt someone’s boots near her arms, and she opened her eyes.

It was a figure dressed in a long black coat that resembled a cape and reached all the way down to the ground, covering her. She couldn't see their face because they were wearing a large hat that blocked all light above it. The figure standing on top of her blocked her from the wolves. It held a metal staff that it used to fend off the beasts. The figure looked down, and Elizabeth saw its eyes.

It shone a sickly pale white, like the moon in the night sky. The wolves, however, did not relent and the attention of their savior returned to them as it spun its staff. With a whooshing sound, it struck down the wolves that dared to come close. Each hit landed with a sickening crack.

But Elizabeth’s relief was short-lived as the pull on her collar dragged her away from the fight. The strong pull heaved her away from underneath her rescuer.

The figure attempted to grab her but missed narrowly as their attention again returned to the wolves.

=0o0=

Luna struggled to fend off the wolves coming at her from all sides.

She fought three wolves at her front, which she did with ease, but the other two at her back sidestepped and attempted to leave the fight to chase the child.

One leapt toward her neck, but a precise swing fended it off. Keeping the attention of five wolves solely on her took its toll as one almost landed a bite on her arm. Fortunately, it was successfully blocked by her metal bracers.

Four wolves then attacked her all at once, which she blocked. Some bit down on her coat and bracers, which pinned her down. The last wolf, however, saw an opening and landed a solid bite on her left arm.

Its sharp teeth locked and caused Luna to yell out in pain. The other wolves tried as well, but she spun around and used the wolf that bit down as a shield. It caused them to dodge and leap out of the way.

Using all her strength, Luna pounded her fist on the wolf’s face and forced it off of her. Her blood crept down her arm through her shirt and coat. The five wolves snarled and growled at her when Luna heard the sound of gunfire.

She was so focused on the fight that she did not realize there may be more wolves aside from the ones she fought. She cursed her short-sightedness. Luna took a step back and bolted to where the child was being dragged while the wolves chased her down.

=0o0=

The slaver caught on to what was happening behind him.

The wolves were being dealt with and, lucky for him, the chain snagged on to his gear. Elizabeth screamed out as she called for help. The slaver pulled hard and silenced her. When she was close, he grabbed her and made a mad dash away from the fight. Elizabeth bawled for help, which made the slaver draw out his pistol with one hand and shoot into the air.

“If you don't shut up, I’ll shoot you next!”

It muzzled the child, but when he looked back, he could hear the sound of fighting and the wolves getting closer. Seeing a clearing up ahead, the slaver saw an opportunity.

=0o0=

Even with her left arm that bled freely, Luna had landed precise blows to the wolves' heads, ribs, backs, and paws, but they relentlessly pursued her. The only weapons she had left were her staff, a freeze grenade, her grappling gun on her belt, and a knife.

Once Luna had a clear shot, she aimed at the nearest tree. Using her grappling gun, she shot upwards, then used the momentum to get her clear grenade and threw it down at the wolves. The moment the canister hit their bodies, it exploded and froze the beasts in place. The moment she landed, she quickly threw her gun to the ground. The gun jammed and started to melt from the heat of the steam cartridge. It sizzled in the ground, now useless, as the smell of burnt rope and metal entered her nose.

The wolves, though, only had their bodies encased in the cement like crystal, while their heads still growled and snarled at her. The moonlight shined as Luna looked closer and found something in the animals that seemed off. They were blighted somehow; their skin was covered in pus-filled boils, their eyes were sickly yellow and red, and their fangs and jaws seemed more... terrifying.

The numb pain in her arm snapped her back. She quickly reached into her pocket and brought out a syringe with a thick, heavy needle on the end, filled with amber liquid. Luna clutched it tightly and pressed it against her lower arm.

Her entire arm burned and felt as though hundreds of ants were stinging her all at once, but she gritted her teeth and endured the pain. She watched as the massive bite wounds began to slowly close, and within seconds, her entire injury was gone, but it left gruesome scars.

When a gunshot rang in the air, Luna coughed and gagged. She tossed the vial to the ground and turned to follow the sound.

More gunshots came from ahead, which gave her a sense of direction. Luna then spotted the child, who was lying in the middle of a clearing. As she ran and got closer, she realized the child’s hands and legs were tied with the chain on her neck. The child also had a cloth gag on her mouth.

Luna quickly rolled to her side as she felt a bullet whizz past above her head.

=0o0=

The slaver had a clear shot but still couldn’t hit Luna as she dodged every bullet with lightning speed. She had managed to find cover in a nearby tree when the gunshot came to an abrupt stop. She had run out of her grenades, and her gun had all but melted. All that was left was her retractable staff and a short knife Luna kept in her boots. But in a fight with a gun, she might as well have carried sticks and stones.

"Get out or I’ll kill her!"

Luna peered with the small mirror she had in her pocket. The slaver carried the child while he pointed a gun to her head. She then drew the knife from her boot with one hand and held her staff with the other.

"Believe me, I’ll do it!"

Luna took a deep breath and threw the staff to her right, then turned to her left and threw the knife straight at him. With years of training and skill, her knife landed with such precision that the tip of the knife perfectly cut the index finger from his hand and rendered the gun useless. When Luna heard the scream, she made a mad dash towards him.

In the slaver’s eyes, the figure that came at him was like a shadow that had pale white eyes. It tackled him to the ground in seconds, which caused him to drop the child.

Once Luna had slammed him to the hard ground, she released blow after blow on the slavers' face. Each hit landed with an audible crunch and squish. It was only when her gloves were wet and dripping with blood that she finally stopped. The slaver had fallen unconscious, and his face was hardly recognizable while covered with blood.

=0o0=

Luna panted, stood up, and returned to the child. The child had tears that streaked down her face. Her face had scratches and light bruises. Luna was about to touch her gag when she realized her gloves were soaked in blood. She removed it to reveal a hand that had more scars than skin.

Luna gently removed the gag and gently wiped the child’s tears. With the gag now removed, the child sobbed uncontrollably as she removed the chain from her hands and feet. She saw the heavy metal collar on the child’s neck, and her anger towards the beaten slaver grew again.

“It’s alright. I won’t hurt you. You’re safe now. You’re safe.” Luna repeated as she comforted the child that wailed in her arms.

She noticed the little girl’s cut and scratched legs and bruised arms and neck. Her clothes were covered with mud and dried blood. The child smelled horribly as well, just like the others back in the mines. The hostages in the camp were treated worse than animals, and as the child sobbed on her chest, Luna’s gaze was fixated on the unconscious slaver on the floor, determined to make him suffer more.

She waited for the cries to finally subside, then Luna carefully sat the child on the ground and tried to remove her collar. The collar was covered with gritty rust that flaked down on the child’s skin. Removing it violently was not an option as Luna was not sure if the child had injuries to her neck. She used her frozen grenade concoction and gently poured it on the child’s chain. Once it had crystalized, she carefully broke it. Now, with chain in hand, she made her way towards the slaver.

“Stay still, alright.” She looked back at the child, who sat frozen and in shock. Luna gave the child her most comforting smile. “I’ll just fix some loose ends.”

She then picked up the unconscious slaver's legs and dragged them to a nearby tree. Luna stripped him off his gear until he wore nothing but his underclothes, then used the chain to suspend him in the air upside down with one leg tied up on the tree’s branch. Luna then stared at the man dangling from the tree and one thing came to her head.

I did not kill him, and I won’t save him either.

She walked back to the child while her hands and fingers twitched and shook.

=0o0=

Elizabeth watched in silence as she returned after she dangled the slaver up a tree. Then, once her savior had fixed herself, she offered to carry her.

She suddenly felt exhaustion weigh down on her body, so Elizabeth could not even reply. She just let the woman carry her gently in her arms. She did not know if she could trust this stranger, but as she put her head on her rescuer's chest and felt the soothing steady heartbeat under their clothes, Elizabeth felt something she hadn’t felt in a week.

The child looked up at her savior, and the woman gave her a weak smile. Elizabeth looked at her eyes and, like the moon on a dark night, her eyes made her feel calm and protected.

Elizabeth slowly drifted to sleep, knowing that she was finally safe.