Chapter 405: Chapter 405: Stench 3
"It’s poisoning from the stench. It’s not fatal."
When Ethan Dawson heard this, his expression instantly calmed. "Master Ford, how do you counteract the poison? At first, I thought your farm was burning something. But after two days, the smell still hadn’t dissipated, and several people on our farm started vomiting. That’s when I realized something was wrong."
"Drinking large amounts of ice water will work as an antidote. It’s best to add some mint leaves or plantain."
Ethan Dawson was taken aback. "Ice water? Are you sure?"
Evelyn Ford scoffed. "Since you don’t believe me, why don’t you go back and figure out an antidote yourself?"
Evelyn wouldn’t allow anyone to question the antidote Ronan Kendrick had devised.
"Master Ford, you misunderstand. It’s not that I don’t believe you. I’m just surprised the antidote is so simple."
It made sense. Everyone was used to drinking hot water now, afraid of bacteria or nematodes in cold water. Even though the sun was scorching, no one dared to risk drinking it cold.
Ethan Dawson dug up a mint plant before sunrise and left. Evelyn went to check on Zoe; her complexion was much ruddier, and the poison had been neutralized.
Today, everyone had to continue making masks and face shields. After a simple breakfast, they all gathered together. The stench outside was suffocating, and everyone wore pained expressions.
"The sun feels even hotter today."
"And the stench is even worse. It feels like we’re living in a sewer."
"I feel like we’re living in a toilet. I almost threw up in bed when I woke up. I really wish I’d lose my sense of smell."
Everyone complained about the stench outside. A large bucket of mint water sat nearby. Zoe’s sudden illness the previous night had given them all a serious scare.
"The pumpkins in the field won’t get poisoned, will they?"
Evelyn Ford shook her head. "It seems like plants and animals aren’t affected. Only humans get poisoned."
They stayed busy like this for several days until they had enough masks and face shields. The stench grew thicker each day with no sign of dissipating. Evelyn used her consciousness to plant a large patch of mint and plantain in her space. Fortunately, no one else was poisoned after that.
One night, half a month later, the farm’s two wolf-like dogs suddenly started barking loudly. Ignoring the stench, everyone grabbed their weapons and went out to investigate.
At the farm’s entrance, eight refugees were slumped on the ground. They wore straw sandals, their feet were bleeding, their lips were cracked, and their faces were sallow. They carried luggage of various sizes.
When Evelyn Ford came out with her people, the refugees huddled together, watching the farm’s inhabitants warily.
"We’re just resting here for a bit." A middle-aged man raised his head, trembling, and looked at everyone with a mixture of vigilance and fear.
"Where did you come from?"
The man licked his severely chapped lips and pointed to the forest behind him.
"We came from Oakhaven. We emerged from the mountains and saw these buildings. We just wanted to find some water to drink here."
Their eyes were filled with utter despair and fear. They were all dressed in tattered rags. The cuffs of several people’s pants were shredded beyond recognition and caked with thick mud.
"Please, give us some water. We’re dying of thirst. For the past few days, we’ve been scraping bark off trees in the mountains and drinking the sap to survive."
Their lips were all severely cracked; two of the women’s were even bleeding.
Evelyn Ford waved her hand, signaling for Quincy to go back and get some water.
"You came from Oakhaven. What happened over there?"
Perhaps sensing the gentle tone in Evelyn Ford’s voice, they grew a little bolder.
"Black spheres suddenly started falling from the sky where we lived. They would explode right after they landed. A lot of people in our town died."
Evelyn Ford’s eyebrows shot up. "Black spheres? How big were they? Were they on fire? Did they have a stench?"
Evelyn Ford asked too many questions, and for a moment, the man didn’t know which one to answer. Just then, Quincy came out carrying a bucket of water. Evelyn told them to drink first. The refugees’ eyes went wide at the sight of the water, but no one rushed to snatch it. Instead, they took out their plastic bottles and looked at Evelyn cautiously.
"Can we take the water with us?"
Evelyn Ford nodded. "You can."
"Thank you, thank you..." They expressed their gratitude excitedly, carefully pouring the water into their bottles. The others cupped their hands underneath, afraid of spilling any.
Only after they had filled all the bottles they carried did they begin to drink the cold water left in the bucket.
Evelyn Ford stood to the side, waiting quietly without rushing them.
There were no children or elderly people among them. The oldest-looking man was only about forty.
Even in the middle of the night, the bright moonlight allowed Evelyn Ford to clearly see the bloody scratches on the backs of their hands.
After drinking the water, they sat on the ground, satisfied.
"This is a small fragment of a black sphere I picked up. Some of the spheres are very large, and some are small. They aren’t on fire, but they explode immediately upon contact with the ground."
Evelyn Ford took the fragment from the man’s hand. It was indeed very small, about the size of a fingernail, and looked a lot like coal. It had a faint, foul odor.
Evelyn Ford passed the fragment to Ronan Kendrick. The two exchanged a look; Evelyn’s earlier suspicion had just been confirmed.
"Where are you headed?"
A lost look appeared on their faces. "We don’t know. We’re looking for a water source. We’ve been walking for a month and a half, and we haven’t seen one."
Just then, several of their stomachs suddenly rumbled. They looked embarrassed. The man put a hand over his stomach, trying to press it to stop the sound of his hunger from escaping.
Evelyn Ford sighed inwardly and gave Officer Graham a look.
He went back and brought out some coarse flour biscuits to distribute among them.
"These are for us?"
Each person was given two cold, hard biscuits. They weren’t fragrant and didn’t taste good, but it was food.
Their eyes turned red. Despite their craving, none of them dared to step forward and take the biscuits.
"Go on, take them. Two for each of you."
Officer Graham handed out the biscuits. The man took a small bite, then pulled back and broke off a tiny crumb with his fingers. He ate the crumb and tucked the rest away inside his shirt. The others also sniffed theirs repeatedly, but no one dared to finish both biscuits.
"SOB..." Just then, a woman squatting at the back suddenly started to cry. At first, it was just a quiet whimper, but her sobs grew louder until they became hysterical.
"Don’t, don’t cry." The woman next to her, afraid she would anger the farm’s residents, quickly hugged her.
Evelyn Ford glanced over the group, then turned her gaze back to the man who had spoken before.
"Did the black spheres fall over a wide area?"
"All I know is our entire town was blown flat. We’ve seen a lot of refugees on the road. Some said they saw the black spheres, others didn’t."
Evelyn Ford’s brow twitched. "Are there a lot of refugees out there?"
The man’s face was a mask of sorrow. "The mountains and the roads are littered with corpses. Flies eat people, eagles eat people, crows eat people... and people eat people. It’s a gruesome sight. This clothing I’m wearing... I took it from a man on the road. He’d been dead for a long time, covered in maggots. The heat makes the bodies rot fast. That’s the only reason his corpse was still in one piece."
