Chapter 365: Chapter 365: Mutated Animals 6
Late at night, no one on the farm was resting. Everyone grabbed their tools to inspect the damaged fences. The thorn trees outside had grown very high, and through the gaps, they could still see countless cockroach carcasses.
"What should we do about the cockroach carcasses outside? Should we burn them?"
"Let’s not worry about the ones outside for now."
’The area was too large; it would be impossible to burn them all.’
Evelyn Ford caught cockroaches with a net, then poured them into an iron bucket filled with charcoal to burn them. With a loud SIZZLE, the cockroaches were reduced to ash.
The farm’s branches and wood were locked away in the large shed. Evelyn Ford had already checked; while there were many cockroach carcasses, the branches themselves were still relatively clean.
As dawn approached, everyone gradually finished up and returned to their cabins. Ronan Kendrick tossed Smoke Bombs into every corner, while Evelyn Ford went to the neighboring cabin to bring back the two wolfhounds.
"They’ve gotten so skinny after just a few days at Quincy’s."
Ronan Kendrick chuckled. "They have huge appetites. They must not have eaten enough next door."
"I need to make some dog food to keep on hand. I’ll raise them in the space for now. The cabin is too small, and they’re too much of a handful."
Evelyn Ford took out a book, and Ronan Kendrick leaned in, his eyes catching the title gleaming on the cover: *Dog Training Guide*.
"You were always reading this book back at Broken Cloud Mountain."
Evelyn Ford replied guiltily, "Back then, I was raising Mina as if she were a dog, so I used the techniques from this book to train her."
Ronan Kendrick felt that something was off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
"Okay, I’m going to mix the dog food now. Hurry up and help me." Afraid Ronan Kendrick would figure out she had used the book to train him, Evelyn Ford quickly changed the subject.
The two wolfhounds weren’t actually very large, being less than a year old, but their appetites were enormous. They could devour a large basin of food in a single meal, and it had to be a balanced mix of meat and vegetables.
There were still many pumpkins in the space, grown back in the safe zone, which could be mixed into the dog food. With some chicken, beef, and plenty of vegetables, Evelyn Ford planned to make a five-year supply.
"We have to save all the pumpkin seeds. We can plant them later."
Ronan Kendrick split the pumpkins open, and Evelyn Ford scooped out the seeds with a spoon before washing them by the well.
"We can roast the extra seeds. They’re much more aromatic than sunflower seeds."
"Can we make them five-spice flavored?" Ronan Kendrick perked up immediately at the mention of a tasty snack.
"Of course. We can even make a spicy and numbing batch."
’We could also make sweet and chewy pumpkin cakes, or even pumpkin dessert soup.’
After they finished with the pumpkins, Evelyn Ford brought over a large batch of vegetables.
After several hours of work, the two of them finally finished roasting 330 pounds of dog food.
"Three hundred and thirty pounds is only enough to feed one dog for six months. We’ll have to make more tomorrow."
When she emerged from the space, Evelyn Ford’s hands were trembling. It was already broad daylight outside. A glance at the thermometer showed the temperature had risen to six degrees Celsius.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, Evelyn Ford was still dozing in bed when Ronan Kendrick suddenly shook her awake. Seeing his grave expression, she was instantly alert.
"Is the beast tide here?"
"Yes. I heard some noises. I’m going to go check it out."
Evelyn Ford quickly handed Ronan Kendrick a rifle. "Be safe."
"Don’t worry. I’ll be right back." Ronan Kendrick took the rifle and headed out of the cabin.
All of Evelyn Ford’s sleepiness was gone. She took her binoculars to the window and pushed open the wooden shutter. The noise was gone, but the number of crows had multiplied. They circled high above the farm, letting out bone-chilling caws.
"Does anyone know what’s going on outside? I feel like some long-beaked animals are pecking at the posts."
It was Drako’s voice on the walkie-talkie. Soon, others started chiming in, all talking at once.
"It’s crows. There are crows everywhere outside. Ronan Kendrick has gone to investigate. Everyone stay calm for now."
The number of crows outside was comparable to the earlier cockroach infestation, though they weren’t nearly as disgusting. Evelyn Ford took out two Smoke Bombs and tossed them out. BANG! The bombs exploded, releasing a pungent odor. The crows cawed and retreated, but a large flock was caught in the smoke. Within three seconds of inhaling the fumes, they passed out and dropped to the ground.
Evelyn Ford had instructed someone to dig a huge incineration pit in the clearing in front of the cabin. With Ronan Kendrick still not back, she put on a hazmat suit, grabbed a pair of tongs and a bucket, and went outside to start clearing away the fainted crows.
Unlike with the cockroaches, the toxins in the Smoke Bombs would only render the crows unconscious for a few hours at most. Evelyn Ford used the tongs to collect the crows in the bucket before dumping them into the incineration pit.
Hearing the activity outside, the others bundled up in protective gear and came out to help.
"My god, so many crows. I don’t know where they all came from."
"Crows carry diseases. Make sure to spray yourselves with disinfectant when you go back inside," Evelyn Ford said, just as she saw Ronan Kendrick return.
"How is it outside?"
Ronan Kendrick shook his head. "Two wild boars were ramming the gate. I killed them."
Everyone was pleasantly surprised to hear about wild boars. "Wild boars? Can we eat them?"
"If the boars are carrying pathogens, we’ll all be in trouble if we eat them."
"As long as we don’t eat the head and organs, and we smoke all the meat until it’s jerky, it should be fine, right?"
"If it’s carrying pathogens, the meat is just a petri dish for them."
"If we can’t eat it, that’s such a waste. It’s all meat."
"Crows have meat. Would you dare to eat them? Cockroaches have meat, too—nice and crunchy. Would you eat them?"
Evelyn Ford gave them an exasperated look. "Get back to work. We definitely can’t eat the boars. If you have a death wish, feel free to try. For all we know, a whole herd could be on its way right now."
"So the beast tide is a herd of wild boars?"
Evelyn Ford shook her head. "I thought it would be wild wolves, but boars are dangerous too. Everyone stay on high alert."
Once all the crows were cleared away, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick went back to their cabin.
Ronan Kendrick had already stored the wild boars in his space. Evelyn Ford examined them and saw their bodies were covered in blood blisters. They weren’t very large, weighing only about fifty to sixty pounds, but their tusks were long.
"Look at their heads and tails," Ronan Kendrick said. He used a stick to part the bristles on one boar’s head, revealing a dense layer of scales underneath. Evelyn Ford’s brow furrowed tightly.
"Why would they grow scales? That’s so strange."
Ronan Kendrick thought for a moment. "Perhaps growing scales is a characteristic of their mutation?"
"Let’s destroy them. These things are disgusting."
Ronan Kendrick took the wild boars out to incinerate them, then returned with a crow and a cockroach.
"They have scales on them too. They’re very thin and soft, which is why we didn’t notice them before."
Evelyn Ford pulled on gloves and a mask, then took the crow and the cockroach to examine them carefully.
"No wonder we didn’t notice. The scales are the same color as the animals’ skin. The crow’s skin is black, so its scales are black. The boar’s skin is white, and its scales are transparent."
Evelyn Ford took out a pair of tweezers and plucked off a few scales.
"Ronan Kendrick, I just had a thought. If a person gets bitten or infected by one of these mutated animals... do you think they’ll grow scales, too?"
