Chapter 366: Chapter 366: Mutant Animals 7
Evelyn Ford thought her idea was a bit crazy, but it wasn’t completely without basis.
"That’s possible. If someone gets infected, can they be cured?"
Evelyn shook her head. "I can’t think of a treatment for now."
Crows avoided coming out during the day. At night, their flight speed and attack power increased, so Ronan Kendrick deployed a few more Smoke Bombs.
Evelyn was mixing a more potent insecticide when, at eight o’clock, a terrible scream woke everyone. Panicked voices flooded the walkie-talkies. Evelyn grabbed her binoculars and scanned the farm, but aside from the crows, she saw no other animals.
The crows flapped their wings, flying back and forth. Accompanied by their unique calls, the farm instantly became eerie and terrifying.
"Oh my god, this is terrifying! I feel like there are ghosts around. The crows’ cawing sounds like ghosts wailing."
"I just heard my parents calling my name."
"I heard someone call my name too."
The more they talked, the more absurd it got. Evelyn frowned, looking outside. After a moment, the walkie-talkies went silent.
"Quincy? Wyatt Vaughn? Wendy?"
Evelyn and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look. They both felt something was wrong.
The two put on their protective suits and left the cabin. When they opened the door to the neighboring cabin, they saw everyone had fainted on the floor.
Evelyn called out for a long time, but no one showed any sign of waking. She slapped Quincy across the face twice, and he finally stirred.
"What happened to me?"
Evelyn looked at him, her face cold. "You just fainted."
"Fainted? I remember I had a dream. In the dream, I was back in Corinth. My department head came over and told me I was getting a raise next month. I was so happy I went online and bought a ton of canned cat food."
Just then, Ronan Kendrick slapped Miles Vaughn awake too.
"How did I get here?" Miles Vaughn looked completely bewildered.
"Where else would you be?"
Miles Vaughn was stunned for a moment before he understood. "I was dreaming. I even dreamed of my parents. Where’s Wyatt Vaughn?"
After waking everyone, Evelyn discovered they had all had a "sweet dream" while unconscious. Everyone’s dream was of their most cherished and beautiful memories.
"This is probably a side effect of the sun poison," Evelyn explained. "Even though we weren’t poisoned or infected by the mutated animals, we all handled the burning of the crow carcasses. The pathogens in their bodies might have the side effect of hypnotizing the human brain. At eight-thirty, the crows outside started cawing frantically, which was probably a hypnotic signal. This kind of hypnosis could cause us to drift off in our dreams and never wake up again."
After hearing Evelyn’s words, everyone sat on the floor, covering their faces and trembling.
Seeing the slap marks on their faces, Evelyn cleared her throat.
"We’ll suspend the burning work for the next few days. I’ll pass out some medicated oil for everyone. Rub a little on your foreheads."
"Evelyn, if you and Ronan Kendrick hadn’t come to wake us, would we really have died in our dreams? This is unbelievable. Why is everything getting more and more terrifying? I’m afraid to sleep now."
"From what just happened, it does seem like you were showing signs of slowly losing consciousness in your sleep."
"Does this mean we’ll be safe as long as we don’t burn the crows?"
"I don’t know. Everyone needs to stay vigilant."
"I’ve had enough! I don’t want to keep scraping by like this! I’m done!" The short-term worker, Luke Lynch, suddenly jumped up and started screaming. Then, he threw open the cabin door and ran outside.
Evelyn froze for a second before chasing after him, only to see Luke Lynch swarmed by a flock of crows. He fell to the ground screaming. In less than half a minute, only a skeleton remained.
Evelyn staggered back two steps and nearly fell, but Ronan Kendrick pulled her back into the cabin.
Everyone had seen what just happened. Many were so scared they trembled, unable to speak, while others began to sob quietly.
The scene replayed in Evelyn’s mind: the excited cawing of the crows and Luke Lynch’s bloodcurdling screams.
Countless crows had surrounded him completely. As they devoured his flesh, the sound of their chewing was so loud it even drowned out his screams.
"The crows are eating people! What do we do? Should we hide in the cellar?"
Evelyn pressed her temples. "Mr. Graham, take some people and clear out the cellar. Everyone, move in. The cabins up here might not last much longer."
’If a herd of wild boars were to stampede through, the outer fence probably wouldn’t hold for long, either. And making Smoke Bombs requires materials.’
"The cellar is full of grain. We can only clear out about thirty square meters."
Evelyn nodded. "Everyone, hide in the cellar for now. Ronan Kendrick and I will stand guard up here. If we can’t hold them off, we’ll come down."
Everyone hurried to pack their things. Austin Moss, who had roomed with Luke Lynch, looked pale and kept staring outside.
After they moved everything into the cellar, a few of the men went to the water room to fetch several buckets of ice. The cellar was relatively safe with the cabin above it, but it was crammed with grain, making it very crowded. Everyone would have to sleep on the floor.
A few crows were still circling over Luke Lynch’s skeleton. His cotton coat was torn to shreds, and bits of flesh still clung to the bones. Evelyn’s head was splitting. She pulled Ronan Kendrick back inside.
Back in the cabin, Evelyn threw up for a long time before she recovered.
"This will all be over." Ronan Kendrick held her in his arms, comforting her softly.
Evelyn remained silent. Only the sound of Ronan Kendrick’s heartbeat brought her any sense of peace.
At dawn, most of the crows retreated. Evelyn pushed aside a wooden plank to look outside. The farm was silent, though a few crows could still be seen circling overhead. They were cannibalizing the corpses of their own kind. The dead crows rotted quickly, and flies laid eggs on the decaying flesh. Within a few hours, red, fingernail-sized flies began to hatch.
Evelyn turned on the walkie-talkie and asked about the situation in the cellar. Everyone’s condition was relatively stable.
"How is it outside?"
"The crows flew off after daybreak, but once the sun came out, the dead ones started to rot. Some flies have hatched, and they look a lot like mango flies."
Inside the cellar, Taylor Vance and the others looked grim.
"Evelyn, Ronan Kendrick, you two should move into the cellar too. Flies carry infectious diseases, and they multiply incredibly fast. As long as there’s rotting flesh, they’ll breed."
Evelyn understood. "If there’s any danger, we’ll move into the cellar immediately. There’s been some boar activity outside, and the farm’s fences won’t hold for more than a few days."
Evelyn could also hear Zoe Hughes crying. A child would naturally have trouble adjusting to a new environment.
"You two have to be careful."
"You too."
Turning off the walkie-talkie, Evelyn let out a faint sigh.
"I’m going to the warehouse to put away the truck and the carriage."
Ronan Kendrick stopped her. "I’ll go."
’This farm we worked so hard to build... is it really going to be destroyed by a beast tide?’
’Evelyn couldn’t accept it.’
