Chapter 394: Chapter 394: Aftereffects
Evelyn Ford discovered she was suffering from mild aftereffects of the earthquake. The sound of snow sliding off the roof in the dead of night would jolt her from a deep sleep. She sat up in bed, gasping for breath, while Ronan Kendrick patted her back, murmuring soft reassurances.
"An earthquake."
"No, it was just snow falling from the roof. Don’t be afraid."
Evelyn Ford stared blankly at the window. The wooden planks they had previously nailed over it were gone. The glass pane was small, less than ten inches, and through the swaying curtains, Evelyn could see the vast white expanse of snow outside.
"It wasn’t an earthquake."
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "It wasn’t an earthquake. Go back to sleep."
Evelyn raised her head and began to stare blankly at the beams above. "I had a dream. I dreamt I fell off a cliff. The fall lasted for several minutes. As I was falling, I tried to grab onto something, but there was nothing to hold. And just then, I plunged into water. It was just like the water in Aeridor—foul-smelling, black, and filled with floating corpses, trash, pieces of wood, and dead rats."
Evelyn’s eyes were vacant as she continued to stare at the ceiling beams.
"So many corpses... tens of thousands of them, all floating on the water’s surface. People who drown always bloat, but do you think someone who starved until they were skin and bones could still bloat after drowning?"
Evelyn gripped Ronan’s hand. "After the torrential rains in Corinth lasted for over ten days, many bodies appeared in the water. At night, people would even throw their dead family members out the windows. Everyone knew, but what could they do? Everyone just wants to die with a little dignity."
Whenever Evelyn closed her eyes, her mind would fill with the faces of strangers who couldn’t rest in peace. She didn’t know any of them, yet their faces were now vividly etched in her memory.
’It was just a dream, yet it felt terrifyingly real.’
’It wasn’t the corpses she feared, but being the only living person in a boundless sea of them.’
Evelyn looked at Ronan Kendrick as if trying to commit his face to memory. "Ronan, we won’t get separated, will we?"
Ronan held her hands, his expression serious. "We won’t. Don’t worry. We’ll always be together."
Evelyn nodded, reassured. "We’ll always be together."
***
The cave in the mountains had collapsed. The dozen or so refugees who lived there were packing their tattered belongings, preparing to find a new shelter.
The mushrooms they had gathered from the mountains during this time had been dried. A refugee placed the dried mushrooms into a plastic bag, carefully tied it shut, and then put it inside a black duffel bag.
Their group consisted of men and women, an elderly man over fifty, and a child of seven or eight. Fleeing from disaster had become a regular part of life; they were long accustomed to it.
Maybe after crossing this mountain, they would find a house. It didn’t matter if it was rundown, as long as it could provide shelter from the elements. A refugee carefully tucked a flint into his chest pocket. It was as important as his life, something he had to protect. Without fire in this awful weather, they would likely freeze to death quickly.
There was a farm in a nearby mountain hollow that they had staked out for a long time. However, they had now decided to give up on it. The last time, they had smelled a foul odor in the mountains. After returning, everyone got diarrhea. They had so little in their stomachs to begin with, and after a full week of it, several people nearly died from exhaustion.
There was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor in their group who said it was a smell bomb made from chemical agents—a warning from the farm.
Everyone was terrified and didn’t dare to act rashly again. But the sudden earthquake made their already difficult lives even worse. They had to move, as there wasn’t another safe cave to be found on this mountain.
A refugee used vines to secure his shoes. The pair was already falling apart, but he couldn’t walk barefoot, or his feet would freeze solid in less than ten minutes. He wrapped the shoes in scrap cloth, but still feeling uneasy, he found more vines and some bark to bind them securely.
Besides the dried mushrooms, their packs also contained some mud cakes. They were hard to swallow, but at least they could fill their stomachs.
"Let’s go."
At the leader’s command, they formed a long line and began the next leg of their flight.
***
The earthquake had caused considerable damage to the farm. The ground inside the greenhouses had developed numerous cracks and collapses. Evelyn Ford decided that after this harvest, she would stop farming.
On the third day after the earthquake, Ethan Dawson suddenly appeared outside the farm’s main gate. The gate, which had collapsed, had already been repaired. Chet Lawrence blocked Ethan, refusing to let him in no matter what.
"Master Dawson, our master said that you and any trash are not allowed in."
Ethan Dawson looked exhausted. He had spent the past few days dealing with the aftermath on his farm. Four people had died there during the earthquake, crushed by collapsing wooden houses. Fairgate had experienced a major earthquake before, one that killed tens of thousands. Although this tremor wasn’t as strong, the terrain had caused half of the farm’s buildings to collapse. Boulders rolled down the mountain, smashing the greenhouses, and several chickens and ducks were killed as well.
"I need to see Master Ford on business."
"I’ll have to announce you." Chet Lawrence didn’t dare let him in on his own authority. He shot Ethan a warning glance, then blew a whistle to summon the wolfhounds. He had the two dogs watch Ethan Dawson outside the gate while he ran back to find Evelyn Ford.
"Ethan Dawson? What’s he doing here at a time like this?" Evelyn Ford was confused.
Chet Lawrence was even more baffled. "He doesn’t look good. His eyes are all bloodshot. It looks like their farm was hit hard. Could he be here to ask for our support?"
"The tremor wasn’t that strong. It shouldn’t have been enough to destroy his entire farm. Let him in."
Chet Lawrence returned to the main gate and invited in the shivering Ethan Dawson.
When Evelyn Ford saw Ethan Dawson, she thought he was a refugee. He looked so wretched.
"Did you get robbed?"
Seeing Evelyn Ford, Ethan Dawson forced a smile. "You must be joking, Master Ford. I’ve just been busy these past few days."
"What do you want?" Evelyn asked, getting straight to the point.
"Yes. I was hoping to get some medicine from you. A lot of people on our farm were injured, and we’ve used up all our previous supplies. Four people died. Your farm doesn’t seem to have suffered any losses."
"We only have two buildings left standing, and you think we didn’t suffer any losses? Fine. What medicine do you need?"
"I need medicine for injuries. Was no one here hurt?"
Evelyn nodded. "Everyone got out in time."
Evelyn got some wound medicine for him. Ethan Dawson let out a sigh of relief. "What supplies do you want in return?"
"It’s yours." It wasn’t that much medicine, and he didn’t seem to be injured himself—it was all for the people on his farm. For once, Evelyn felt a rare pang of charity.
"For me?" Ethan Dawson was surprised. "Are you serious?"
Evelyn nodded. "Hurry and take it back. There’s wound medicine and also some blood-replenishing medicine."
Ethan Dawson gave Evelyn a deep look. "Thank you."
Evelyn waved her hand dismissively, but Ethan Dawson’s expression was solemn. "If you ever need my help in the future, I swear I’ll do everything in my power to assist you."
