~~~Maria~~~

Maria watched from the window as Alejandro once again threw himself into harm's way. He was a fool. The gods' damned idiot would risk his life for strangers when he should stay at her side and protect his family.

Then the hawk fled, and the foreign woman lay her hands on him. Maria touched the butter knife strapped to her belt.

The woman was a healer. That was all it was.

That bird had been less terrifying than the frogs, but only because she could see it coming. Facing those tongues in the dark... fearing at any moment they would snatch her children away...

Outside, Alejandro stood again, presumably healed by the woman, and Maria watched him leave with a heavy heart.

She had tested the weapon her new neighbor gifted. Despite looking as dull as ever, it was sharper than a razor. In fact, it was too sharp. So much so that it was dangerous to carry. She cobbled something together to keep it from harming her or the children, but it sat heavy on her waist.

It was magic, and it was dangerous. But she would not set it aside because the world had just become much more dangerous overnight.

Maria didn't like the magic, not any of it. It wasn't right. This was a trick of some kind. A trap. There would be a cost for this power because nothing ever comes for free, especially not for people like them. She just didn't know what the price would be in the end, or if any of them could afford not to pay it...

Meanwhile, Alejandro had embraced the magic without hesitation.

His readiness and willingness to fight had protected them, so she shouldn't complain, but she still did not trust it.

Then he'd abandoned her to go save others.

True, he had defended her and the children first... Maria hadn't thought she could love him more, but seeing him literally fighting for them... It had stirred something inside her, something primal.

Then he had left her with the neighbor, and it had been safe in his magic apartment, but Alejandro had still left. Then the neighbor had left as well...

Lee. That man had his own magic to protect himself, yet had still let them in. He had complained about it, and then threatened them when cornered, but he had helped. More than most did last night.

When he left and came back mostly naked but completely unharmed, Maria knew he was hiding something. Still, she'd fed him at Alejandro's insistence. He had provided protection, not just to her, but to everyone in the building, apparently. Of course, that meant she had no more food today. Which led to Alejandro leaving her behind again. Lee joined Alejandro as the man left. Her love had told her to stay inside the magic building and wait while he went to fight monsters. Except he had no choice this time. His children would need to eat and they had no car to go shopping. No phones to call for help. Nothing but each other.

Maria watched him disappear down the street and touched the knife again, then took Gabriel's hand in hers. His little sister, Anita, sat on her hip in the other arm. She was doing better than her big brother, not yet old enough to understand what was happening. But Gabriel was struggling as so many things changed overnight.

Maria would hopefully give him a bit of normalcy today. Seeing his friends, maybe some play time if their rooms were in better shape than her own apartment.

There were many people in the building with her, and more in the surrounding complex. Some she knew, and some she did not. Too few of them would be grateful for the protection her husband had so selflessly given them by hunting the frogs and saving their lives.

Too many of them had likely seen the cores by now. Which meant the predators would emerge, if they hadn't already.

Still, it would be a waste not to capitalize on what Alejandro started. To remind them who had stood up for them when they needed it. Maria knew others in the complex that might prove themselves allies, while some she did not expect to survive for long. She needed to search them out, see who remained, and prepare her family for the days to come. There would likely be some with useful magic, and while she did not trust it, they all would need it.

In the meantime, Maria could not leave the children, so they would have to come with her. It was dangerous outside, and she wouldn't risk taking them with Alejandro on his trip. Especially not after that bird… But here in the complex, well, she was not completely helpless.

Alejandro's selfless heart, while a weakness, was one thing she would never wish to change. She loved him for that. She truly did. So instead, she would support him in his dreams, and would have his back. She would be the thorn to protect his rose of a heart. Would be ready for any who threatened her family, any who tried to take advantage of Alejandro's generosity. They would find out that roses have thorns. Sharp, deadly, thorns.

Maria checked on Elana first. The woman lived two doors down and one floor lower. They were friends, of a sort, and their children had the occasional playtime together.

"Elana, it's Maria." She called through the broken windows and knocked on the door.

The woman didn't answer, but her husband did, opening the door with bloodshot eyes and a filthy face. "Maria. She is... in the back."

He let her in, and Maria followed him to the bedroom. Elana was on her bed, little Amelio clutched in her arms as she cried and rocked back and forth.

Her other son, the older boy, had not survived the night. It was a terrifying and heartbreaking event, but the woman needed to pull herself together or she would lose everything else.

Maria did not say that.

One day. She would give the woman one day of grief before laying out the hard truths. Life could be very cruel at times, but it did not care if you were already wounded when it came back around to collect again.

Elana's husband was dirty. He'd been searching for the remains... for a burial. He hadn't found what he sought.

Maria left them with a heavy heart and a tighter hold on her own children. They would survive. Even if it killed her, Maria would see them survive this!

A few more of the neighbors were next. None with the tragedy of immediate loss, but all were still in shock from the night's events. Maria learned what magic they could provide as she went door to door, searching for solutions to the more pressing needs.

Her first hope was that someone could test and or prepare the dead monsters littering the complex, including the corpse in the courtyard. That was where she found a man she had seen before but whose name she didn't know. He was busy cutting pieces from the frog and placing them on an oven tray when she spotted him.

"Are you planning to eat it?" Maria asked.

He replied in a language she didn't know, before switching to English, a language she barely knew... "I will cook?" he said.

"Safe... for... eat?" Maria grimaced at her terrible English, but it seemed to work because the man started jabbering excitedly. She wasn't sure if his English was terrible or her own comprehension wasn't up to it, but she barely caught more than a few words.

When it was over, the gist seemed to be that he could tell if something was edible, and he also had skills to cook it. Though he would need to make a fire, since they had no gas or electricity.

Maria could not help him gather firewood. Not without leaving the children more exposed than she was willing to risk. But she told him which apartments in their building were now vacant... he could burn furniture if nothing else. She wasn't sure what giant frogs might taste like... but she promised to return and moved on.

It would be so much easier if everyone spoke Spanish...

She went on from there. Going building to building. Cautiously, with an eye on the sky. Along the way, she found others doing the same, with groups forming as survivors banded together, and many more magics among them.

A young girl could make water. Clear, clean tasting water that she filled tubs with. The magic was hard, and the girl could not do very much without rest, but it was a good start. Not enough for bathing, but maybe in time. For now, it would assist with their survival. That was excellent, and Maria implored her to move into her enchanted building, where it would be safer, but to no avail. Stubborn child.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

There were others with magic that would make life better in the days to come, but none so vital as the first. Aside from those, there were far too many men playing with violent magic as if it were a toy. Most, if not all, had hidden through the night. They did not know the dangers waiting for them and acted as if this were a game.

Some were merely excited about magic becoming a reality, but a few had already seen the potential for domination. A few had even hunted their way to greater heights of power and sought to leverage that strength over everyone else. Those were the ones that could not be allowed to endanger the lives of her family.

"What's your class, lady?" one of these men said to her. He had two friends, and they'd chosen to meet her here, between the buildings, where no other eyes were watching. The way of cowards and predators. "If it's good, you can join our team. If not, then I hope you have some other useful skills or..." He stalked closer as he spoke. Looked over her body with poisonous eyes. She knew eyes like that. Full of threat, drunk on his new power, and looking to leverage it… then those eyes landed on the children. "Be a shame if…"

Those were his last words.

Maria did not like the magic, but she did not ignore it, either. This 'system', as they called it, had labeled her as a medic. Likely because of her time as a nurse. A combat medic, to be precise. Maria didn't care what it called her, but one skill it granted was useful in dealing with threats.

Maria let go of Gabriel's hand and triggered the skill with a thought.

Rescue Shift.

She had practiced using it before, of course. It was a weapon, and in a world where anyone and everyone had just been handed a potentially lethal weapon, it did not help to ignore your own.

The magic pulled her in a blurring rush to its target, the man who had just threatened her family. She knew it was meant to help her save wounded warriors, to reach them fast and heal them with her other skills. But it didn't only have to be used in such a way.

It moved her faster than she could fully track with her eyes, but it always put her in the same spot. That is, if she didn't focus carefully. If she controlled the skill, and held a knife in just the right position... thrust it forward at the perfect moment... It would slide between the ribs, sever the artery, and slide back out with minimal mess.

Doing so with an enchanted butter knife made it all the easier.

Rescue Shift.

An instant later, and with merely another thought, she was at Gabriel's side again and took his hand. Maria turned him around before the now silent man started falling, his confused expression not yet comprehending that it was over.

She did not turn away with Gabriel. Her eyes remained fixed on the dead man's compatriots as she waited to see how they responded. It was only thanks to Alejandro that she allowed them this chance. A chance for redemption, a chance to prove they were not the monsters they appeared to be. One chance.

She would let nothing endanger her family.

His friends did not take the chance she offered. They did not flee to save themselves, but raised their own weapons, red light springing up from them. It was just as well. Always better to eliminate dangers such as these at the first sign, before they get any stronger. Maria had seen all too well what happened to the innocents when men like these ran rampant.

She would never forget how much it could cost... Her parents begging for their lives... the screams, the blood... and then fighting for her own life when it was already too late... when she had already lost everything. She had barely survived the human monsters that day, her own life left hanging by a thread, but with the monsters dead at her feet. Maria hadn't cared if she had died then. Everyone she loved was already gone.

But she didn't die.

It felt so wrong at the time. To carry on in the darkness that was this world. She carried on anyway; it was what her mother would have wanted. But she never dared to hope for happiness again.

Everything changed when Alejandro had come into her life... A rising sun after such a long night, and he had filled her life with a warmth she thought impossible. He had shown her that there were still good people. Truly good. He had given her two children. Her precious angels. And Maria would let no one take her family from her again.

Not giant frogs or terrifying birds, and definitely not these jumped up thugs. No One!

Rescue Shift. Rescue Shift. Rescue Shift.

Three more times was all she needed, though it left her feeling drained.

Not the killing; that was merely putting down a sick animal. A necessity. No, it was a different feeling, but one Maria already understood well enough. It was her mana. Her magic used it up, but it would come back. It always did. Though using the skill with Anita in her arms was much worse than without. It definitely cost more when she carried another with her.

Gabriel didn't even have time to look back before she was holding his hand again. "Gabriel. Can you stand right here and count the windows on the building for me? After you are finished, we will have lunch." She could scrounge up something from what she had left... if only this 'system' hadn't happened when it did. She had not been nearly prepared enough.

Behind her, three bodies hit the ground. "Okay, Mama," Gabriel said. He was such a good boy.

Maria took their cores while Gabriel counted. Her dear husband had been a fool not to collect them from the frogs the night before, but she could help with that, too.

When the opportunity presented itself, she would not leave weapons like these behind. Who knew how many people had taken what he left? How many of those turned into monsters?

She'd had a talk with him this morning about that very topic. He wouldn't forget them again. So she took these. It would be a waste to keep them lying around, especially if something happened...

Her Heart would return. He would come home... and if he didn't, then Maria would have to have words with those people. Violent words of...

"Mama?" Gabriel's frightened face smoothed her own expression. He must have finished counting.

Alejandro would be fine. Now it was time for some lunch.

She found the neighbor Jamaal in the courtyard of her building. He was cooking over an open fire, and Maria had to admit that it smelled appetizing. Though that may have been because she had skipped lunch, giving the few scraps her neighbors shared with her to the children.

"Maria!" the man said with a wide smile upon seeing her. "It's good! Come, try!"

It smelled good... Maria took the first bite. Then she waited to see if anything bad happened while Gabriel stared eagerly. Nothing did, so she gave him a piece. He devoured it, and she gave him more while eating more herself. "Thank you. Is very good."

Jamaal beamed at her. "Yes! Giant frog delicious!"

She wished he wouldn't have said that. Gabriel was looking dubiously at his next bite. Though Anita didn't seem to mind and she sat in her lap and munched on...

The wonderful moment was shattered when a giant snake slithered over the roof, behind and above Jamaal. A snake like a train off the tracks.

A train that coiled up to strike immediately.

Gabriel opened his mouth to scream, while Jamaal was facing the wrong way to even see his death coming. The man had fed her and her children, with no hesitation, but she would still abandon him in a heartbeat if it was necessary... but now she needed him.

Maria was within arm's reach of Jamaal, and she reached forward, caught his arm, and yanked him toward her as she rolled backward.

She kicked him hard in the belly as he went above and then over her, launching him through the air toward the stairwell under the balcony.

Her free hand had already latched onto Gabriel when she kicked Jamaal away, and Maria didn't even try to stand up as the snake struck.

Rescue Shift.

She blurred away, dragged just far enough to avoid death as her magic pulled her to Jamaal.

It had to work that way. Unfortunately, she couldn't use it without a person at the other end.

Maria's magic stopped with her standing behind Jamaal, where he was sitting up, his eyes wide in horror at what had almost eaten them.

Unfortunately, the snake was undeterred by the failure, and she could see another strike coming. The problem was that she hadn't thrown Jamaal quite far enough. They would still die.

Be strong, my little angel. Maria didn't want to do this, but it was the only way for at least one of them to survive, and possibly, all of them.

She spun and threw Gabriel with all her might toward the stairwell door. She didn't know if those cores had increased her strength, or if her desperation granted her extra might. Either way, he flew true, screaming all the way.

Maria had seen her share of snakes, human or reptile, and she could see the strike coming, despite this particular specimen being the size of a freight train.

Gabriel would live; she had ensured his survival, at least for this moment, and she could pull herself and Anita to the door behind him as soon as he was far enough. Before that happened, she had an instant to choose whether to save Jamaal.

He was not one of the monsters; probably never would be, but she pegged him as a bystander. Someone who would not inflict violence on others, but who would not intervene on their behalf, either.

Alejandro would save him. That was what she knew. The light of her life would sacrifice himself to save another. Any other. He was a fool... but he loved her. Maria desperately wanted to be the person he saw her as, and so she spent the extra half second to grab the man before using her skill to catch up with her still flying baby boy.

Rescue Shift!

She felt it coming behind her, saw the open maw reaching past... closing... and cursed her choice for an instant. Then her magic blurred them all past the snapping jaws. My God!

Maria caught Gabriel before he could hit the ground and braced both of them when the floor shook beneath their feet. She turned back... and saw a great eye that nearly filled the opening. She didn't stop to think, and the knife flew from her hand a heartbeat later.

That was a mistake.

The knife flew true and buried itself in the monster's eye. But that was all it did. The snake didn't die from the blow... it did, however, become quite angry.

It attacked the doorway until Maria ran away upstairs. It came over the roof and saw her on the stairs. It struck... and failed to break through the narrow gaps.

Through it all, the beast did not break the building. Its own size worked against it, and it could not reach her. But it kept trying. Even after she ran into her apartment. There, she hid them all in a closet and begged whatever blighted gods existed to send it away.

Lee had enchanted the building. She should be safe as long as they remained inside, assuming it would continue to hold. But what would happen when Alejandro came back? Had she damned him... maybe if she let it eat Jamaal? What if she threw him outside now?

She didn't think it would work. The snake had followed her, not him. This was her own fault...