Things only got worse back in the villages and forest.

Snow kept on coming, and lots of it, too.

It kept piling higher and higher, trapping more than just sirens in their homes.

Many people were getting sick, and even more were starving and without food, leading to competition...even between the small group of friends.

Cory was probably getting affected the most.  He already struggled with his sanity from not drinking blood like vampires normally do, and now he was worried about Kasai and running out of alternatives...

...not to mention he was freezing cold.

Ratka often went to check on him, but got chased out every time.  It seemed like Cory was finally losing his grip on sanity.

She had finally had enough and stormed to his room, knocking loudly on the door.

"Cory, I've had about enough of this behavior.  Get out here this instant, young man!"

Cory hissed loudly.

"GO AWAY!" he screeched.  "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I'm not having that attitude this time!  Get out here right now!"

"NO!"

"Don't make me come in there!"

"OR WHAT?"

Ratka was about to say something, but Cory flung himself at the door and slammed his body against it, making a loud bang.  She jumped back.

"STAY AWAY!  I'LL JUST HURT YOU IF YOU DON'T!" Cory wailed, sounding more scared than anything now.

"Cory..."

"STAY AWAY!  LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Cory, you need to calm down."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

He clawed at the doorknob, trembling.  He couldn't control himself.  He was too stressed, hungry, cold, and weak.

He finally got a grip on it and opened it, immediately collapsing at his mother's feet.

Ratka froze and immediately scooped him into her arms.  He squirmed for a moment, still not able to grasp his sanity, but eventually gave in and cuddled closer to her.

"...it hurts...m...make it stop...make it stop..." he whispered.

Ratka held him close to her, cradling him in her arms as if he was a baby again, even though he was already 16.

"Cory, I know you don't want to, but you HAVE to drink some blood.  I promise you'll feel better."

"But...I don't wanna..."

He flinched and whimpered as pain overwhelmed him, making him tremble again.  He gripped Ratka's shirt tightly in his hands.

"Cory, you have to." she whispered.  "You'll die if you don't..."

Cory was already starting to slip into unconsciousness.  Tears filled Ratka's eyes as she cradled him.  She didn't want to lose him like he lost his father.  She went and got a cup, filling it with blood and holding it to Cory's lips.

He refused to drink it at first, but eventually was unable to struggle and gave in, letting his mother force him to drink it.

Almost immediately the pain started calming down.  Cory relaxed.  His mother was right, he felt better already.  Still cold, weak, and stressed, but better.

Ratka gave a small smile and held her son even closer to her.  He snuggled a little and hesitantly let her feed him more blood.

He still didn't like the fact he had to drink it, but knew he'd die if he didn't.

"Mom...I'm worried about Kasai." he finally said.  "She's been gone for a while now..."

"I know, I know." Ratka whispered in a soothing voice.  "It'll be okay.  I'm sure she'll come back soon."

"What if she doesn't?"

"Don't think about that.  It'll only make things worse."

Cory whimpered and coughed a little, making Ratka jump.

"You're sick!  How long have you been sick?"

"I was...mmph..."

He was too exhausted to finish his sentence and drifted to sleep in Ratka's arms.  She sighed and gently kissed his forehead, carrying him back to his room and tucking him into bed.

She stayed by his side for a moment, gently stroking his glossy black hair.

Just like his father's.

She sighed and closed her eyes as she remembered Rick.  She missed him greatly.

No time to focus on that now.

She stood up and finally left the room, turning off the lights as she exited.