Chapter 412: Chapter 412: Poisonous Rat Infestation (Part 1)
After firing the crossbow arrow, Ronan Kendrick scattered the Poison Powder into the cave, and the two of them quickly sealed the entrances with stones.
But rats liked to burrow everywhere. To prevent them from having other escape routes, they had to carefully search the surrounding hundred-meter area. Any rat holes they found had to be plugged immediately.
A few minutes later, squeaking sounds echoed from inside the cave. Some of the rats had already scurried to the entrance in an attempt to escape, but it was blocked. They spun around in anxious circles.
"Judging by the sound, there must be over a thousand of them. How did so many rats show up? So strange." Evelyn Ford leaned against a tree, wiping her machete.
"The rats probably started breeding after the temperature rose. A few months ago, refugee corpses were frequently found in the mountains. Add to that the crow and wild boar carcasses left over from the previous beast tide... The rats fed on the rotting flesh, and the plague spread among them like a virus."
Ronan Kendrick stood nearby, holding his crossbow. He wore a face mask and a black baseball cap. Evelyn couldn’t see his expression, but his tone was low. ’She could imagine him pursing his lips, his face slightly stern.’
The sounds from the cave grew louder, the squeals becoming downright hair-raising. Just then, a rat appeared in the distance. Before Evelyn could even raise her blade, Ronan Kendrick had already fired a crossbow arrow.
Half an hour later, the sounds inside dwindled. A medley of odors wafted out from the cracks in the rocks. Ronan Kendrick announced that the rats in the cave were all dead and the fire was out. The two of them continued deeper into the mountains.
The day’s haul was good. The group had wiped out several rat nests. As the sun set, Evelyn blew her whistle, signaling everyone to return to the farm.
The moment she got back to the cabin, Evelyn took off her protective suit, mask, and gloves. There was still work to be done that night. She had Officer Graham take a few people to spread lime mixed with Poison Powder along the inner perimeter of the farm. To keep the wolfhounds from accidentally ingesting it, they had to be tied up first.
"Should we tell Ethan Dawson to start exterminating the rats, too?"
If Quincy hadn’t brought it up, Evelyn would have almost forgotten about Ethan Dawson’s farm. ’It’s pointless for us to do all this work on our own. We have to coordinate with his farm to exterminate the rats. It’s the only way to wipe out these toxic vermin for good.’
"Yes, we need to. It’s a pain to have to summon him like this every time. I’ll see if I can find a spare walkie-talkie for him."
"Does he have a generator?"
Evelyn nodded. "Last time I was there, I saw he had a hand-crank generator. Peter Owens, go get Ethan Dawson."
Peter Owens and Wendy were practicing their riding skills in front of the cabin. Hearing Evelyn’s command, he immediately galloped away from the farm on horseback.
"Evelyn, do you think we can ever really get rid of all the rats? They’re like cockroaches. They reproduce so fast. Every nest has hundreds, even thousands of them. And aside from fire, the smell bombs don’t seem to do much, especially since they already carry diseases."
Evelyn understood Quincy’s concern. Rats carry thousands of viruses, all potentially fatal to humans. They are reservoir hosts or vectors for numerous illnesses and can transmit them through saliva and urine. That was why Evelyn was so particularly worried about the safety of the water cistern.
"Even if it’s not a perfect solution, we still have to spread the Poison Powder. Every single rat we drive away is a small victory."
Just then, Ethan Dawson and Peter Owens rode over on horseback.
"Master Ford, you were looking for me?"
"Yes. Immeasurable Mountain is crawling with toxic rats. We went out to clear them today, but there are too many nests for us to handle alone. You need to spare some of your people to hunt them in the mountains as well."
Ethan Dawson nodded. "It’s a serious problem, for sure. A kid on our farm was almost bitten by one."
"Aside from exterminating them, you have to keep them from urinating near your storerooms or the cistern opening. The diseases rats carry are transmissible through their urine, and with this scorching sun, they’ll spread even faster."
"How have you been exterminating them?"
"We’re burning them out with gasoline and sealing the nests. If there are too many rats, they’ll swarm and either scatter everywhere or attack, so you have to be in full gear."
"Okay, how about this? I’ll assign ten people to the extermination effort. We’ll take care of the Fairgate area, and you handle Immeasurable Mountain."
"Deal. I’ve got a spare walkie-talkie here. You can have it. Let’s share any intel as soon as we have it." Evelyn handed the walkie-talkie she’d dug up to Ethan Dawson.
After Ethan Dawson left, Evelyn went into her bedroom to continue mixing her medicinal compounds. That night, Officer Graham arranged for several people to patrol in shifts, their main task being to kill any toxic rats that slipped through the fence.
Late that night, Evelyn was jolted awake by a series of frantic whistles. A moment later, Nathan Xavier’s terrified voice cried out from nearby.
"Everyone, wake up! It’s bad! Hordes of rats are pouring into the farm!"
Evelyn was instantly wide awake. Ronan Kendrick was already up. They locked eyes, both immediately grasping the gravity of the situation.
"I’m going to the stables to secure the horses. Ronan, you head to the storeroom."
Evelyn threw open her bedroom door and gave orders. "Mr. Graham, get two quilts and cover the cistern opening! Wendy, go alert the others. Tell them not to hunt the rats just yet! Have them stack firewood in a circle around the cabin, douse it with gasoline, and surround the cabin in fire!"
"Yes!"
Evelyn immediately sprinted toward the stables. The ground was a writhing carpet of rats. Luckily, she had already changed into her protective suit. Evelyn planted her foot on a rat and stomped down hard. The creature became a pulpy mess with a piercing squeal.
Reaching the stables, Evelyn pulled all the horses into her storage space. She hadn’t even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard a scream. She immediately rushed back to the cabin. The men were hauling firewood while the women hacked at the rats swarming at their feet with whatever weapons they had. The scream had come from Penelope Parker. A rat had leaped onto her back, and she couldn’t shake it off.
Nearby, Wyatt Vaughn, a child strapped to his back, frantically helped Penelope knock the rat off. Evelyn rushed to the storeroom for gasoline. By the time she got there, Ronan had already moved all the food and clothing from the storeroom into the storage space.
The two wasted no time on words. Grabbing a bottle of gasoline, they returned to the front of the cabin. Evelyn sprinkled a few drops onto the stacked firewood and tossed a lit match on top. With a WHOOSH, the fire roared to life.
"AHHH—!" A sudden scream cut through the chaos. Everyone turned to see Aunt Crane being swarmed by several rats. They had leaped onto her and were biting her viciously. Evelyn rushed over with her long blade, hacking the rats in two. Gushing blood splattered onto Aunt Crane. The stench was vile; even through her mask and face shield, Evelyn nearly gagged.
"What about the horses?" Miles Vaughn asked frantically, grabbing his weapon and starting for the stables before Quincy pulled him back.
"Don’t worry about the stables. Evelyn has a plan for them. Let’s focus on defending the cabin! Hurry up with the firewood! We can’t let any more rats jump over the flames!"
The cabin was soon encircled by a ring of fire. To keep the building itself from igniting, the circle had to be wide, consuming a great deal of firewood. Any rats that leaped through the flames had to be killed instantly. Outside the fiery perimeter, a dense mass of rats swirled, their crimson eyes glowing with an eerie madness.
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