Chapter 377: Chapter 377: Christina Thorne
"I ended up drifting all the way to Sudenia. It’s full of high mountains, so it wasn’t affected by the flooding. But the area is prone to earthquakes—there was a major one almost every two weeks. We fled to Varden, and the extreme cold hit just as we arrived. That’s when we were forced to join the Joyce brothers. With the weapons they had, the two of them took over a mountain in Varden, acting like local warlords and kidnapping many women."
At this, Claudia Schultz’s eyes grew red. "We had no choice if we wanted to survive. But two months ago, there was another earthquake in Varden. Then, flesh-eating crows appeared. A lot of people died in the bandits’ nest. Titus and Drake Joyce forced us to flee with them at gunpoint, making us find food for them. On the road, he even sold many of the women for food. When we got to Immeasurable Mountain, he was planning to pull the same trick again, but he ended up getting killed himself."
When Claudia Schultz finished her story, she looked at Evelyn Ford and Wendy, confused. "Weren’t you two swept away when the ocean flooded in?"
"We were separated, too. It took a lot for us to find each other again."
Claudia Schultz smiled. "You’re both so amazing. I never expected to meet you here. It’s wonderful. Christina and I were planning to escape the Joyce brothers and head to The Southward to try and make a life for ourselves."
Just then, Aunt Crane came over with food. Wendy woke Christina. Staring at the steaming cornbread buns and the meat and vegetable soup, both of their eyes grew red again.
"I can’t even remember the last time I ate a meal like this."
Christina Thorne was still timid. Only after Wendy handed her a cornbread bun and she whispered, "Thank you," did she dare to start eating.
Aunt Crane stood to the side, sighing continuously as she looked at their injuries.
"Evelyn, can Christina and I stay here for a while? We can work. I can do laundry, cook, chop firewood, and haul water. Christina’s leg makes it impossible for her to walk. Once the snow stops, we’ll go to the base."
"You’re going to the base?" Wyatt Vaughn sighed. "The base isn’t taking in refugees anymore."
Claudia Schultz was surprised. "They’re not taking refugees? Why?"
"Life is so hard right now that the base is actually cutting down its population. They started driving people out a few months ago. If you try to go now, you’ll likely be stopped before you even get close."
After hearing what Wyatt Vaughn said, Claudia Schultz was stunned into silence for a long while.
"Let’s talk about this later. You two eat first. If you need anything, you can find Mr. Graham, or you can find me."
Evelyn Ford left, medical kit in hand. When she returned to the cabin, two wolfdogs greeted her, wagging their tails furiously. Evelyn gave them some treats, then opened the door and went inside. After taking off her snow boots, Ronan Kendrick emerged from the kitchen and poured her a cup of hot ginger tea.
"It’s six-thirty. You can still sleep a bit more."
Ronan Kendrick frowned. "I can’t sleep when you’re not here."
Evelyn Ford smiled and drank the ginger tea. "It’s so cold outside. I really didn’t expect to see Claudia Schultz again."
"I ran into Quincy earlier. He told me how incredible you were—that you showed up and dealt with those two troublemakers instantly."
Ronan rested his head on Evelyn Ford’s shoulder, nuzzling against her. "When am I ever not incredible? Those people are so annoying, bothering everyone in the middle of the night."
Evelyn scratched under his chin like she was petting a cat. "You’re the most incredible. I’m sleepy. Come back to sleep with me for a while."
At eleven-thirty, Evelyn Ford slowly woke up. Remembering she had to go check on Christina Thorne’s injuries, she yawned and stared into space for a moment. Just as she was about to get up, Ronan Kendrick held her tightly.
"Where are you going?"
"To get up and get ready. Eat first, then go check on Claudia and Christina."
Ronan Kendrick opened his eyes and looked at her. "The wind is really strong outside. Have Quincy go check on them. He’s a doctor too."
"He’s a pharmaceutical researcher, which technically makes him a doctor, but you know as well as I do what his skills are like."
Ronan Kendrick sighed. "Then what good is he?"
"He can be our mascot. That’s fine."
Evelyn Ford lay on top of him, listening to his heartbeat, and felt an unparalleled sense of peace. "Ronan."
"Hm?"
Evelyn Ford smiled. "I missed you." ’How strange. I miss him even when we’re together.’
Leaving the cabin, Evelyn was battered by the frigid wind despite being bundled up. When she arrived at Claudia’s dwelling, she brushed the snow off her clothes and knocked.
"Evelyn, did you fall?"
"Yeah, the wind’s too strong. I slipped on my way over." Evelyn checked Claudia’s condition. Her complexion had a lot more color. Christina was still lying in bed, pale and sickly.
"The wound is a little inflamed. Does it hurt?"
Christina Thorne shook her head. "It doesn’t hurt."
"I’ll leave the medicine. You can prepare it yourselves. One packet every two days, three times a day."
The two quickly thanked her. Seeing Evelyn was about to leave again, Claudia quickly stopped her. "Um, there’s something else about Christina. She’s nineteen now, but she’s never had her period. Could it be because of malnutrition?"
Evelyn Ford re-examined Christina Thorne’s condition. She was five-foot-three but weighed only about sixty-six pounds. She was practically skin and bones.
"It’s most likely due to malnutrition. Let’s focus on building up her strength first."
Truthfully, Claudia’s condition wasn’t much better. When Evelyn had bandaged her wounds earlier, she’d noticed numerous lash marks on her body. Her hair loss was also severe—when tied back, her ponytail wasn’t even as thick as a little finger. Yet she paid little mind to her own health, caring more for Christina, which struck Evelyn as odd.
"I can work now, Evelyn. What can I do?"
Evelyn noticed Claudia’s restlessness and anxiety. After a moment’s thought, she directed her to Aunt Crane. "You can start by helping in the kitchen."
"Great. Aunt Crane, please don’t hesitate to put me to work. I can do anything."
Christina Thorne also wanted to do something, but her condition didn’t allow her to get out of bed. "You just focus on recovering. If you don’t rest properly, all the treatment so far will be for nothing."
Hearing this, Christina Thorne immediately lay back down.
After leaving, Evelyn Ford found Officer Graham and asked about the neighboring farm.
"Ethan Dawson sent a messenger. Apparently, he drove away all the male refugees and only kept the women. His farm has a lot of bachelors, so the women who stay can pick a man they like and pair up. In return, they’ll be responsible for laundry and cooking."
Evelyn Ford chuckled. "So that’s his plan to keep his men loyal."
"Should we warn him?"
Evelyn Ford shook her head. "No need. Let’s just leave it."
Evelyn Ford staggered back to the cabin through the blizzard. The temperature had already dropped to thirty degrees below zero. She closed the door, and as soon as she took off her winter hat, Mina leaped into her arms.
"It’s freezing. I’m not going out again tomorrow."
Ronan Kendrick, who was sitting in front of the fireplace, looked up at her upon hearing this. "You said the same thing yesterday."
Evelyn walked up behind Ronan. The poor fool thought she was about to hug him. Giggling, Evelyn pulled a snowball from her pocket, lifted the collar at the back of his neck, and dropped it straight inside.
"Surprise attack successful."
Ronan Kendrick played along and shivered dramatically.
