Chapter 376: Chapter 376: Claudia Schultz
Just like that, the man who had been shouting moments before was dead. Several women among the refugees shook and screamed in terror, while the men all backed away, looking at Ronan Kendrick with dread.
"You dare kill my big brother? You’re asking to die." A man with bloodshot eyes pulled the trigger. It was the last bullet in his gun. BANG! The shot rang out. Ronan dodged it with ease and, before the man could even react, charged forward and kicked him, sending him flying.
The man flew several meters. He groaned in agony, his legs flailing as he tried to get up, but Ronan kicked him squarely in the side. Less than thirty seconds later, the man coughed up a mouthful of blood and drew his last breath.
"You... you..." The refugees stumbled back in terror, their eyes fixed on Ronan Kendrick as if he were the god of death himself.
"Who else wants to ’bathe this farm in blood’?" Ronan Kendrick pointed his rifle at the crowd. "You?"
The person he pointed at frantically waved his hands in denial. Ronan Kendrick then aimed at the next person, who immediately stumbled away and fled.
"We... we were wrong. We’ll leave right away." With their leaders dead, the remaining refugees were panicked and afraid. A few of the women stared blankly at the two men lying in the snow, their expressions vacant.
Suddenly, Claudia Schultz lunged toward the man who had been shot. Heedless of the others’ stares, she began stripping the clothes from his body and pulling them onto her own. Seeing this, the people beside her rushed to do the same, but with only two corpses, there wasn’t enough clothing to go around even when they were stripped bare. They began to brawl over the clothes.
Quincy picked up the empty gun and gave it a shake. "Only one bullet, and they wasted it on Ronan Kendrick."
The people on the ground were still brawling, but the women were no match for the men and were quickly pinned down and brutally beaten. Blood trickled from the corner of Claudia Schultz’s mouth. With a roar, she used all her strength to flip the man attacking her and pin him underneath her, then opened her mouth and sank her teeth into his neck. The man shrieked in pain.
"You fucking bitch, you dare bite me?!"
The man raised his hand and—SLAP! SLAP!—struck Claudia Schultz twice across the face.
Quincy couldn’t stand to watch any longer. He walked over and kicked the man away.
"Still robbing and beating people right at our gate, you little bastard." Kicked in the groin by Quincy, the man screamed again.
"If you don’t want to die, grab your stuff and get lost! Peter Owens, Chet Lawrence, Nathan Xavier—you three grab your weapons and escort these people off Immeasurable Mountain."
At Officer Graham’s command, Peter Owens and the others took up their rifles, ordering the refugees to leave Immeasurable Mountain.
Just then, Claudia Schultz, lying half-dead in the snow, opened her swollen eyes and looked toward Officer Graham. She’d felt their voices were familiar, but they were all bundled up so tightly she couldn’t recognize anyone. Now, hearing Officer Graham’s voice, she was finally sure she’d run into an acquaintance.
She struggled to her feet, shrugging off another female refugee who tried to help her up. Staggering before Officer Graham, she clutched her chest and sobbed.
Officer Graham frowned at her. Peter Owens came to his side and whispered something in his ear. Officer Graham studied Claudia Schultz for a moment before asking tentatively,
"What’s your name?"
"Claudia Schultz. I’m Claudia Schultz."
Officer Graham looked to Ronan Kendrick. Recalling Evelyn Ford’s stance on these things, Ronan cleared his throat. "Let her stay."
Officer Graham nodded. "Drako, take her inside."
Seeing Claudia Schultz enter the farm, the other refugees became agitated. "Sir, I was with her! We were all poor souls forced into prostitution by Titus Joyce. If Claudia Schultz can stay here, can I stay too? I’m younger than her, I can do any kind of work, and I don’t eat much."
"Please, sir, let me stay too!" another woman cried, rushing forward.
Claudia Schultz looked back at one of the women, then turned to Officer Graham with a pleading expression. "Can she stay?"
Officer Graham cleared his throat. "The farm isn’t a charity." He shot Peter Owens a look, and Peter began urging the refugees to leave immediately. The women, crying and wailing, continued to beg Officer Graham to let them stay.
In this weather, if they couldn’t find shelter, they would soon freeze to death.
Seeing that Officer Graham remained unmoved, Claudia Schultz dropped to her knees. "Mr. Graham, please let Christina Thorne stay! She’s only nineteen, and her foot is injured. She’ll die! Please, I’m begging you."
Officer Graham glanced over. The girl was indeed the youngest among the refugees, and her right leg was injured. The wound looked serious.
He looked to Ronan Kendrick. Ronan’s brow furrowed. "Keep these two." With that, he turned and walked away, rifle in hand.
The other refugees were driven away. Claudia Schultz and Christina Thorne were brought into the farm and settled into the room next to Wendy’s.
Wyatt Vaughn got the two settled in, bringing them clothes and shoes. However, Christina Thorne’s injury was severe and beyond what Wyatt could handle, so she went to get Evelyn Ford to treat it.
On her way over, Evelyn Ford ran into Officer Graham. He told her that as Peter Owens and the others were escorting the refugees off Immeasurable Mountain, people from Fairgate Farm had shown up and taken the women from the group.
"Didn’t Ethan Dawson say he wouldn’t take in refugees?"
Evelyn Ford smiled. "They probably saw that we took in two women and got the same idea. Their farm only has four women in total, and they’re all over thirty-five."
Evelyn Ford’s expression was calm. "It’s none of our business."
Arriving at their room, Claudia Schultz grew emotional upon seeing Evelyn Ford. Wyatt Vaughn had told her that Evelyn was now the owner of the farm, and she immediately became reserved and formal.
"Let me take a look at your injuries."
"I’m fine. Please look at Christina Thorne’s injury first. Her leg was hit by a rock and hasn’t been treated. It’s been half a month now."
Evelyn Ford looked at Christina Thorne’s leg. Christina seemed timid, watching Evelyn with fear and anxiety. Claudia Schultz patted her shoulder, comforting her nonstop.
"It’s pretty serious. The bone is broken, the wound is compacted, and there’s pooled blood. It’ll probably take three months to heal, and there will be lasting effects. This leg will always have a bit of a limp."
Christina Thorne’s eyes reddened, but it was Claudia Schultz who let out a sigh of relief. "That’s already wonderful. Christina, you’re lucky you get to keep your leg. A limp is nothing, so don’t be sad. It’s not a big deal."
Christina Thorne nodded. "I know, but we can’t be taken care of for three months."
At that, Claudia Schultz fell silent. They both knew the reality of their situation: no one would be willing to shelter people who were of no use.
"First, we’ll do a simple procedure to set the bone. I have painkillers but no anesthetic, so it’s still going to hurt." Evelyn Ford looked at Wendy. "Come and help me."
’I should teach Wendy some basic medical skills,’ she thought. ’She’s quite smart and learns quickly.’
The bone was set quickly. While she was at it, Evelyn also cleared out the pooled blood and scraped away the pus and necrotic flesh.
Christina Thorne passed out from the pain. Evelyn Ford then treated Claudia Schultz’s wounds, and as she worked, she learned what Claudia had experienced over the last few years.
"After the sea flooded Aeridor, I lost contact with everyone. At first, I found a piece of driftwood and clung to it, floating for two days. Then I found a life preserver. I drifted in the sea for a few more days before I passed out from exhaustion. When I woke up, someone had saved me."
