Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 64: High Temperature, Refugees 2

When Evelyn Ford returned home, her mind was flooded with the scene from earlier. She knew the reason she had fled wasn’t because she’d killed that man, or because she’d seen the others cannibalize the body. It was because her crossbow arrow was coated in a deadly poison. The people downstairs would be dead within three hours, their bodies rotting away completely.

Evelyn went into the bathroom and dry-heaved. She looked at her own hands, which were still relatively clean. For a moment, it was as if she could see them covered in blood.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK..."

A knock came from the door. Evelyn got up, rinsed her mouth, her expression already restored to its usual calm. She opened the door and saw Quincy standing there, holding the crossbow arrow.

"Thanks."

Evelyn took the crossbow arrow. The blood, flesh, and dirt had been cleaned off, but she could still faintly smell the scent of blood.

"Don’t mention it. Get some rest. Those people got what they deserved, so don’t let it weigh on you. We’ll handle the patrol tonight."

Evelyn’s lips twitched into a humorless smile. She took the crossbow arrow, closed the door, and went back inside.

Perhaps the crossbow arrow had intimidated everyone, or perhaps their stomachs were temporarily full. The troublesome refugees downstairs had left, leaving behind only a few extinguished torches and bone fragments.

That night, Officer Graham and Quincy stood guard downstairs while Roy Henderson and Owen Chapman borrowed binoculars from Evelyn to keep watch from the rooftop. No one dared to rest or even close their eyes, terrified the refugees would return to cause trouble.

At five in the morning, Evelyn heard several agonizing screams from the next building. Then, people came stumbling out. Standing on her balcony, Evelyn looked down at them. They ran and vomited, spewing a mixture of blood and rotting flesh. Those behind them were crying, cursing, and groaning in pain...

They tried to run to Building D for help but collapsed midway, unable to get back up. Under the scorching heat, the decay of the dead bodies accelerated. Not a single person who had eaten the flesh last night escaped.

—

The air once again filled with a putrid stench. There were still some survivors in the next building. When Roy Henderson and the others came to return the binoculars, they told Evelyn that those people were hiding on the sixth floor of Building C. There were about twenty of them, mostly women and children.

"Wild vegetables have sprung up all over the places where the corpses are rotting. They grew huge in just a few hours. Could they be growing by absorbing the rotten flesh?"

After Owen Chapman spoke, the color drained from Quincy’s and Roy Henderson’s faces.

Evelyn remained silent, standing off to the side. She glanced at the dreary gray sky, her thoughts a mystery to everyone.

"Are we still going to dig for wild vegetables?" Owen Chapman asked Officer Graham, the only one who seemed unfazed, in a low voice.

"We’re digging. How many people have been buried in this land since the dawn of time? The dead just turn back into dirt. Isn’t food grown in dirt? What’s there to be afraid of? We’re going out again tonight to dig for wild vegetables. This is food that will keep us alive."

At ten that night, just as the residents of Building D were heading out with their tools, two frail, skeletal women darted out from the side. Evelyn noticed whip marks on their accidentally exposed calves and arms. She glanced at Quincy and Officer Graham, and in a flash of insight, she understood why the two women were there.

"Sir, could I have a word with you in private?"

One of the women stopped Officer Graham, but she couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. Her slightly trembling hands betrayed her inner struggle and fear.

"About what?" Officer Graham frowned at her, discreetly taking two steps back. The woman timidly reached out to grab his clothes but was so startled when he suddenly brandished a knife that she nearly fell.

"Sir, I... I..."

She hesitated, unable to get the words out. The woman behind her swayed her hips, pushed her in front of Quincy, and suddenly pulled open her clothes.

"Hey there, sir. My sister just turned twenty. She’s very pretty. Are you interested?" The younger woman tried to pull her clothes shut, but the other one held her hands down.

Quincy’s eyes went wide, shocked by the sudden development. He instinctively drew a knife and pointed it at them.

"You... you... Don’t... don’t come any closer."

Just then, the woman was shoved by her companion and fell right toward Quincy.

The other one walked toward Officer Graham and skillfully unbuttoned her outer shirt. Seeing this, Roy Henderson and Owen Chapman were so scared they scrambled to hide behind Evelyn.

"Sir, we don’t mean any harm. We just want to find a protector. My sister and I don’t have any family left. It wasn’t easy escaping to Corinth. Sir, we eat very little and we can work. Just give us a place to sleep."

"Get dressed and leave."

Officer Graham’s expression was grim. Wendy was on his back, watching everything with wide eyes.

"Sir, is this your child? I can take care of her. Don’t mind that I’m dirty; I’m actually only twenty-five. Please don’t make us leave. We have no other way to survive." As she spoke, the woman collapsed to her knees and began crying while hugging Officer Graham’s leg.

Nearby, Quincy kicked the other woman away and also hid behind Evelyn.

The woman he kicked scrambled back to her feet as if she hadn’t felt the pain. Seeing the masked Evelyn, she reached out to grab her hand.

"How can you be so shameless? I told you to get lost! You couldn’t grab me, so now you’re trying to grab Evelyn?"

As Quincy spoke, he raised his foot to kick again. Evelyn glanced at the woman, then turned and walked away with her shovel and bucket.

"Wait, don’t go!" The woman tried to follow but was blocked by Quincy.

"Get lost. I won’t say it again."

The woman flinched but looked at Evelyn, refusing to give up.

"Sir, can my sister and I stay?"

"Like hell you can stay. Get lost." Before Officer Graham could say anything, Quincy came over, grabbed the woman’s arm, and dragged her aside.

"Take one more step closer, and don’t blame my knife for being blind. You’ve had it rough, but you think we’ve had it easy?"

The two women were mercilessly dragged away. They couldn’t understand why their tactic hadn’t worked here. How could these men remain so indifferent when faced with two living, breathing women?

The security door was locked. The group ignored the two sobbing women and began searching for wild vegetables and giant rats.

The winds had died down recently, so there was no need for Officer Graham to blow his whistle at two o’clock to signal a retreat. Evelyn hadn’t come out this time to dig for vegetables, but to see how many people had arrived outside.

Like them, many people were out in the streets and alleys digging for wild vegetables. They were all as skittish as startled birds; the sight of Evelyn’s sudden appearance sent them scattering in fear.

Evelyn didn’t go far. She made a quick loop and headed back. When she returned, the two women were still squatting at the base of Building D. Seeing Evelyn, they ran toward her, their clothes still open.

"Sir, please, have a heart. Take us in. We’re very good at taking care of people. Just give us a place to stay. We can find our own food."

"Did you just give birth?" Evelyn’s gaze fell on the woman who called herself the older sister, staring at her chest for a few seconds.