Evelyn Ford felt like her heart was going to pound out of her chest. Her breathing grew heavy and ragged. The mask she wore restricted airflow, starving her brain of oxygen until her head started to throb.
The others were in a similar state. But if they took off their masks, they worried the flying insects in the black fog would get into their mouths, so they had no choice but to keep themselves completely covered.
"Hah, hah..." ’I’m like a stray dog,’ Evelyn thought, panting heavily and telling herself she couldn’t stop. She smelled a foul odor. A volcano was erupting. Magma was bubbling up from beneath the earth, and its fiery glow signaled that lava would soon cover everything in its path.
She could also feel a faint warmth in the air. ’I shouldn’t have worn two thermal layers,’ she thought. Now her collar felt like it was strangling her.
The path through the woods was even worse, littered with loose rocks, pits, fallen branches, and animal carcasses.
Evelyn stubbed her toe on a rock. She grimaced in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Take off your shoe. Let me see if it’s bleeding."
Evelyn stood to the side, stomping her foot in pain. "Just give me a second. It’ll be fine in a moment."
Ronan Kendrick glanced behind them. Officer Graham and Wendy had caught up. They had no luggage, and while Officer Graham had a slight limp, it didn’t slow him down.
After the pain subsided a little, Evelyn took a deep breath and started walking again.
"I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt anymore."
Evelyn pulled flashlights from her space and, regardless of whether they’d be useful, handed one to Officer Graham and Wendy.
"We can only rely on our gut instincts to move forward now. We can’t see the path, so we can’t get our bearings."
"Evelyn, Ronan, we should be in the Southern Range of Oakhaven. If we head west from here, we can get out of the mountains. But the Southern Range has several active volcanoes. We need to pick up the pace and get out of here," Ethan Dawson said, catching up to them. His tone was dead serious.
"I have a decent sense of direction. If you trust me, I’ll take the lead."
Evelyn nodded. "Okay."
Evelyn offered him her other flashlight. Ethan Dawson froze for a moment, then accepted it with a solemn "Thank you."
Neither Evelyn nor Ronan Kendrick had a particularly good sense of direction. With him leading the way, they could get out of the forest faster.
"Volcanic eruptions can trigger earthquakes. Everyone, be careful."
Hearing this, Evelyn took out her whistle and blew it three times, signaling for the people behind them to hurry and catch up.
After running for so long, her body and palms were slick with hot sweat. Waves of heat, carried by the cold wind, washed over them intermittently. Evelyn mentally rummaged through her space, searching for face masks. Thankfully, she had hoarded all sorts of miscellaneous things and still had a few different kinds of masks left. She dismissed the bulkier ones. The motorcycle masks were tight-fitting and thin, designed to cover the entire head.
Evelyn pulled the masks from her space and quickly handed one to Ronan Kendrick, gesturing for him to put it on.
With the masks on, they wouldn’t need their smaller face masks or goggles, and they wouldn’t fall off.
Evelyn passed one to Ethan Dawson up ahead. When Officer Graham and the others caught up, she gave them each one as well.
Within the black fog, several figures darted through the forest in a desperate escape. Miles away, atop a high mountain, a deafening BOOM echoed as a pillar of fire shot into the sky, and red-hot magma spewed forth.
The ground beneath their feet began to shake violently. Boulders tumbled down the mountainside, and fissures started to rip across the earth.
Once again, Ronan Kendrick pulled Evelyn forward into a run. She could hear his strong, powerful heartbeat and feel the searing heat of his palm, even through her glove.
"Don’t be afraid. I’m here."
He had said those words countless times, and each time they carried immense weight. He never broke his promises; he always did what he said he would.
Evelyn struggled to keep up with him. The sound of footsteps echoed from behind—the others were catching up. Ronan Kendrick took the whistle from Evelyn’s hand.
"Give it to me. I’ll blow it."
—
Evelyn didn’t know how long they had been running—so long that she was on the verge of suffocating—when Ronan Kendrick finally stopped.
She glanced back but didn’t see anyone. A sense of panic washed over Evelyn.
"Where are the others?"
"We got separated."
The two wolfdogs panted at their feet, tongues lolling out. Evelyn’s legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.
Ronan Kendrick took out the whistle and blew it again and again, but even after a long while, no answering whistle came from the surrounding area.
They still hadn’t made it out of the forest. The earthquake had left fissures in the ground, and the layer of ice had cracked. Sitting on it, Evelyn didn’t feel the cold. She only felt her heart about to burst from her chest. Sweat from her forehead dripped into her eyes, stinging them slightly. Her mouth was dry, and her throat ached as if pricked by needles.
Ronan Kendrick took some water from his space and gave it to Evelyn to drink. She felt a pang of envy at his constitution; after running for so long, he wasn’t even flushed or out of breath.
Evelyn was speechless now. It felt like she was running a three-kilometer race at school, except today, she had been sprinting every single minute.
Her body had reached its limit. Her heartbeat and breathing grew heavier.
"Evelyn, where does it hurt?"
Evelyn shook her head slightly. ’Don’t move me right now. Just let me lie here. I’ll be fine in a bit.’
But she had been running too fast, and collapsing so suddenly caused her limbs to start cramping.
She was worried about the others and feared another earthquake. Her body couldn’t relax, which only made the cramps worse.
"Relax. Breathe slowly. Don’t be tense. We’re safe for now. Don’t worry about the others; they’ll be fine. Just relax and breathe slowly."
Evelyn gasped for air, unable to slow her breathing. Even though she wore the mask, she had been running with her mouth open, and the cold wind had rushed straight in. Now her entire chest felt uncomfortable.
It felt as if her internal organs were being squeezed and twisted, an agony so intense it forced tears from her eyes.
After a long while, Evelyn finally started to recover. Ronan Kendrick held her in his arms, gently rubbing her back to soothe her breathing.
Evelyn raised a hand and gripped his wrist tightly. Their eyes met. She saw that Ronan Kendrick’s eyes were bloodshot, filled with panic and fear.
"I’m okay now. Don’t worry. I’m okay."
Ronan Kendrick didn’t say anything, just held her tighter, resting his head on her shoulder. Only then did his body finally relax.
After a twenty-minute rest, Ronan Kendrick blew the whistle again. About half a minute later, a faint, answering whistle echoed from the woods to their right.
Evelyn’s eyes lit up, and she scrambled to her feet. But she moved too abruptly, stumbling and falling heavily back to the ground. Only then did Evelyn realize she couldn’t summon any strength in her limbs. Her hands and feet were shaking violently, and the blue vein over her pulse throbbed a few times.
"Don’t get excited. You just recovered. You need to be careful."
"Someone answered us, Ronan. Let’s go check."
"Okay. I’ll carry you."
Evelyn climbed onto his back. After drinking some water and eating some meat, the two wolfdogs were instantly back to full strength.
"Just now, for a moment, my mind went completely blank. My limbs went stiff. In that instant, I think I had amnesia for about a minute. For that one minute, I forgot who I was."
In that moment of oxygen deprivation, Evelyn had felt death’s approach.