Evelyn Ford’s expression turned serious when she heard what Ronan Kendrick said. She hadn’t left the cave for the past few days, and it seemed the situation outside was even worse than she had imagined.
"We need to gather some firewood to store in the cave. If the temperature drops any further, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to go outside in the future."
Ronan Kendrick patted her shoulder. "Don’t worry about it. Get some sleep."
The next morning, Evelyn Ford built a few chicken coops next to the vegetable patch Wendy had started.
"Miss Ford, are we going to raise chickens? But we don’t have any eggs."
"I have five fertilized eggs in my backpack. Once they hatch, we can raise the chicks in here."
Wendy’s eyes lit up. "Leave it to me! I’ll raise them. I’m great at taking care of small animals."
Evelyn Ford nodded. "Alright. The eggs should hatch in about half a month."
"But how will the eggs hatch without a mother hen?"
Evelyn Ford smiled and lied with a perfectly straight face. "I’m a doctor. I have a special method for hatching chicks without a mother hen."
Wendy’s eyes filled with admiration. "I want to be an amazing doctor like that someday, too."
Ronan Kendrick and Officer Graham had gone out to chop wood. They had to chop as much as possible to stock up while they could still go outside.
When the two of them returned, Officer Graham was so cold he could barely speak.
"In another couple of days, I’m afraid we won’t be able to go outside at all."
Evelyn Ford glanced at the wood they had brought back. The trees had frozen solid; a light step was enough to make a branch snap in two.
Evelyn Ford rubbed the bridge of her nose. "It looks like another cold front is about to hit."
Wendy looked anxious. "Are we going to pass out again?"
"It’s been over twenty days since the last cold front. We’ve had all this time to acclimate, so our bodies should have some resistance. We probably won’t pass out again."
"This cave is pretty big. We should build a latrine near the entrance. We really shouldn’t go outside anymore. It’s way too cold out there, even colder than negative fifty or sixty degrees," Officer Graham said, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
Evelyn Ford nodded immediately. "Okay. I’ll go mix up some drying and deodorizing powder. The cave is getting a little damp, and living like this long-term isn’t good for our health."
Evelyn Ford returned to the wooden hut, took several packets of herbs from her dimensional space, and began mixing the deodorizing powder.
The drying powder was easier to mix; she had plenty of desiccant packs and lime powder in her space.
"Oww..."
A faint voice echoed. Evelyn Ford paused her grinding and glanced outside. Officer Graham was warming himself by the fire, Wendy was tending to the seedlings in the vegetable patch, Ronan Kendrick was splitting firewood, and the two wolfdogs were roughhousing nearby.
’Who made that sound?’
A thought struck her. Evelyn Ford put down the stone mortar and walked over to the communal bunk room.
"Oww..." ’It wasn’t my imagination. Someone’s really waking up.’ Evelyn Ford quickly opened the door to the bunk room. Seeing her urgency, Officer Graham hurried over as well.
"Ford, what’s wrong?"
"I heard something. I think someone’s waking up."
Evelyn Ford switched on her flashlight, swept the beam across the room, and then went inside to check on each person.
"Oww..."
Evelyn Ford spun around, her gaze finally landing on Quincy.
"It’s Quincy, but he’s not awake." Officer Graham walked over and felt Quincy’s forehead.
"He’s running a fever."
Evelyn Ford’s face lit up. "Wendy ran a high fever for hours right before she woke up. It looks like Quincy is about to wake up, too."
Officer Graham had been an exception. He’d woken up without any warning, only to cough up a mouthful of dark, clotted blood.
Evelyn Ford hurried back, poured a cup of water, and placed two fever-reducing pills in Quincy’s mouth. Officer Graham took the cup and helped pour the water down Quincy’s throat.
"Oww..." He was still groaning, but his voice was a little louder this time, the word much clearer.
"Quincy? Wake up. Can you hear me? If you can, try to move your eyelids or a finger."
Evelyn Ford watched Quincy closely. After half a minute, his eyelids twitched with great effort.
"I saw that. You have a high fever right now, but don’t worry. You’ll wake up properly once it breaks."
"We’re all waiting for you, Quincy," Officer Graham added. Just then, Evelyn Ford saw his finger twitch.
"Mr. Graham, I’m going to brew some medicine. Please keep an eye on Quincy."
Officer Graham nodded. "Alright. I’ll go put some more firewood under the heated bunk. It’s getting cold."
Just as Evelyn Ford stepped out of the communal bunk room, Ronan Kendrick walked over with an axe in his hand.
"Someone’s waking up?"
Evelyn Ford nodded. "It’s Quincy. He’s not conscious yet, but he’s running a high fever and muttering deliriously. I think he’ll probably wake up by tomorrow. I’m going to go brew a bowl of herbal medicine."
Ronan Kendrick went in, took a quick look, and came right back out.
When Wendy heard Quincy was waking up, she forgot all about the vegetable patch and stayed in the communal bunk room with Officer Graham to watch over him.
Once the herbal medicine was brewed, Evelyn Ford brought it in. It was a little hot, but medicine was best taken warm. With help from Officer Graham and Wendy, Evelyn Ford managed to pour the entire bowl of dark, murky liquid down Quincy’s throat.
"Oww, that’s scalding hot," Quincy mumbled, then fell unconscious again.
That night, Officer Graham stayed in the communal bunk room to look after Quincy. When Evelyn Ford came to check on him the next morning, his fever had broken, but he was still unconscious.
"Ford, why isn’t Quincy waking up?"
His temperature and complexion are both back to normal. He should be awake by now.
"He was unconscious for a very long time. He probably just needs a little more time to fully come to."
Seeing that Quincy was out of immediate danger, Officer Graham went to work on the latrine. Evelyn Ford poured another bowl of medicine down Quincy’s throat, then returned to her wooden hut to continue mixing the deodorizing powder.
Inside the communal bunk room, Quincy struggled to open his eyes. He could faintly make out a dim, yellow light. It looked like there were several people lying beside him, but he couldn’t see them clearly. His throat began to itch, and then a foul, coppery taste surged up from his gullet.
"BLECH... GAG..."
Hearing the commotion, Evelyn Ford rushed back in to see Quincy sprawled on his straw mat, vomiting relentlessly onto the floor.
In the blood he coughed up were several writhing, red, thread-like worms. Nausea churned in Evelyn Ford’s stomach, but checking on Quincy’s condition was the priority.
"Quincy, do you feel any other discomfort?"
Hearing Evelyn Ford’s voice, Quincy was on the verge of tears. But another foul, coppery wave surged up, and just as he was about to retch again, Evelyn Ford quickly grabbed a wooden bucket from the corner and shoved it in front of him.
"In the bucket."
"BLECH... I... GAG..."
"Don’t try to talk. Just get it all out," Evelyn Ford said. She pulled out a mask, put it on, and stepped out of the bunk room.
"What happened?" Ronan Kendrick and Officer Graham came over. Evelyn Ford just pointed inside.
"Quincy’s awake. He’s vomiting blood."
"Vomiting blood?" That was the same thing that had happened to Officer Graham when he woke up.
"And there are red, thread-like worms in the dark blood he’s throwing up," Evelyn Ford said, exchanging a look with Ronan Kendrick.