The sky above the unclaimed lands had darkened. Rain was about to start pouring and lightning was already crackling in the area. In the midst of darkness created by the absence of the sun, Greg and his team of goblins walked through the foliage.

  They were following their leader because he told them he could hear the sounds of battle from this area. At first, they didn't trust his words as they could not hear it themselves, but now that they were getting closer and closer to the other goblin village, the screams and growls became apparent.

  Greg was the first one to reach the clearing, and the goblins behind him crawled beside him to see what was happening. And it was horrible. The black wolves had returned and they were attacking the other goblin settlement from all sides.

  The perimeter had already been pierced through and many of the houses were starting to burn. The wolves were everywhere, causing a massacre within the goblin forces, and the other party just ran around aimlessly between the buildings.

  When the houses were about to catch fire, rain began pouring down and doused the wood so only small bits of smoke could be seen in the sky. But the smoke couldn't be seen from far enough because the sky had turned a similar color and its colors blended into the space perfectly.

  "We should run back," one of the goblins said.

  "We need to tell everyone that the wolves are coming," Mandi whispered, panic laced in his voice.

  Bog just stared at the bloodbath with a serious look, thinking about Eka. The last time the wolves had attacked, they were more in number, and once they had their fill, they left the area. But this time? They were not even half the population and most of them were women or children, and they couldn't protect themselves.

  The group of five started to slowly back away until they were far enough to start running back. Greg was faster, but he could not leave these people behind, so he had to slow down to match their pace. He couldn't lose the last few strong goblins in his settlement in a deep dark jungle like that.

  "What should we do, Greg?" Bog asked, not ready to surrender. He wanted to be a father, he wanted to make a big family, and he wanted to see them grow up healthy and strong.

  "We'll evacuate the village," Greg was quick and decisive.

  "But where would we go?" Mandi asked, not liking the idea any bit.

  "I know a safe place," Greg said with confidence. "It’s just a few hours of travel."

  "Traveling in this climate?" It was a goblin named Fass who interjected. "We would lose too many people if we get ambushed along the way."

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  "Do you think your thorny bush walls will protect you from those wolves?" Greg glared back at him. "How did they fare the last time?"

  When he got no answer, he added, "If we stay there, every one of us will die."

  He wanted to say he could protect them, that they didn't need to worry about anything and just trust him. But he knew the extent of his powers and how they would fare against a large pack of wolves whose claws could set your house on fire and poison your body.

  He could fight one or two or three, maybe five at the maximum, but not more than twenty. Especially not when he had to account for more people in the picture and worry about their wellbeing.

  "My partner is about to give birth," Fass spoke with some difficulty.

  "We'll continue with the plan," Greg's expression darkened. "But I might have a solution to carry her."

  Nobody talked the rest of the way as they were more occupied with their own thoughts. The party of goblins soon reached their home village back, and the first thing they did was gather everyone in a hurry.

  "Pack everything important that you can carry. We're moving," Greg barked.

  Before the villagers could interject or disagree with his statements because of distrust and disapproval, he added, "The wolves have come back. They are about to be done with our neighboring village and come straight for us. Our walls are not enough to protect us, but I know of a cave that can."

  The other goblins who also went with him on the hunting trip agreed and told everything in detail. Everyone was fearful, and some didn't want to move and test their luck with the current perimeter they had.

  But fear took hold of them, and they stammered away, gathering everything that seemed important for their survival. Greg instructed them on what to bring and what to throw away, and he seemed like a tyrant to some, but because of his overwhelming strength, people had to listen.

  Then he butchered some of the runner corpses he had killed recently and laid them bleeding in the village center. A strong stench of blood permeated the air, but Greg was already gone.

  He got two parallel wooden sticks and used some of the ragged clothes the goblins always wore and made a makeshift stretcher. Next he followed Fass and reached his home.

  The one-room hut was dark and there were two figures already inside. One was Old Lady May, who was taking care of the goblina lying down on the ground. She was deep in labor and her bed was filled with green liquids that seemed like watered-down blood.

  "How much time do we have?" Greg asked May, and she was quick to reply.

  "Maybe an hour, maybe less."

  Greg nodded and then worked with Fass to transfer the pregnant goblin onto the stretcher. They tried to keep her bulging belly up and not move her unnecessarily before Bog entered the small house, and Greg asked him to carry the stretcher in front.

  The back side was covered by Fass, and both of them managed to get the pregnant lady out of the village to everyone who was waiting for them there.

  Some of the citizens had decided to stay back and Greg could do nothing about it. He looked at the twenty or so people waiting for him ahead, and they were mostly women, but what could he do? He told them to move, and they got away from the settlement they once called home.

  Greg was at the front leading them, and any of the male goblins were at the back and side to form a circle around the group. The pregnant lady on the stretcher was at the center of it all.

  They soon reached the river, which they could follow to get to the caves, but they stopped for a second. A wolf roar was heard, and it came awfully close to the village they had left some time ago.