The ground beneath them shook violently. The horses neighed in terror as they galloped wildly.
Evelyn Ford could even feel sweat begin to bead on her back, her clothes clinging tightly to her skin. A wave of heat and panic washed over her entire body.
Of all the disasters she had ever experienced, earthquakes were what Evelyn feared most. Even a magnitude two tremor was enough to leave her in a cold sweat. Right now, her mind was a complete blank. She had forgotten how to react, only knowing to pull the reins tight, lean forward, and press herself against her horse’s back to keep from falling off.
Evelyn glanced at the wolfhounds trotting closely behind. She reached out, trying to touch their bodies. As long as she could touch their fur, she could pull them into her space.
The wolfhounds clearly guessed what Evelyn was trying to do. They surged forward, and the instant she touched their heads, she willed them into her space.
As another wave of tremors hit, Quincy’s horse suddenly collapsed, flinging both him and Peter Owens several meters away.
Evelyn and Ronan Kendrick spurred their horses forward. Quincy’s horse had taken a bad fall, but after a few struggles, it managed to get back up.
Peter, who had just regained consciousness, passed out again. Evelyn leaped from her horse and quickly hauled Quincy and Peter to their feet.
The horse had fallen too hard to keep running. Right in front of Quincy, Evelyn put the horse into her space and brought out a new one. He stared, stunned for a moment, before Evelyn slapped him across the face.
"Still standing there dazed? Let’s go."
Evelyn got back on her horse, grabbed the reins, and continued on.
Even if it was a magnitude ten earthquake, they had to break out of this place tonight.
Seeing Evelyn back on her horse, Ronan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, Zion Lowell, riding behind him, tugged at his clothes. He was awake, but his consciousness was hazy, and his speech was slurred.
"Don’t worry about me. Get out of here. Leave me behind."
His words were quickly carried away by the biting wind, but Ronan still heard them clearly.
He didn’t look back, replying word by word, "They’ll be very happy to know you’re awake."
Zion said no more. Perhaps he’d been convinced, or perhaps he’d fallen asleep again. Ronan caught up to Evelyn’s horse, and the two of them rode side-by-side, charging into the pitch-black forest.
Evelyn had seen volcanic eruptions on the news and on TV before. One small country had suffered earthquakes and a tsunami after an eruption, and the entire nation had vanished overnight.
The damage from natural disasters was devastating. They could easily make a small country disappear, level a thousand-meter-tall mountain, or obliterate hundreds of kilometers of land in an instant.
After what felt like an eternity, the earthquake stopped. The horses neighed again. They had watched their companions fall time and again, anxious but helpless. This neigh, however, sounded more like a cry of victory.
The scrapes on their hooves were severe, already dripping with blood.
Zoe reached out and tugged on Evelyn’s clothes. Evelyn glanced back at her. The little girl’s eyes were wide open as she pointed at a fiery glow in the far distance.
"Auntie, there’s a fire."
Evelyn nodded. "Yes, there is."
The black mist began to dissipate, making the firelight even clearer. When Evelyn looked up, she could even see the long-unseen moon. Above the overlapping mountain peaks, the firelight flickered like decorative lanterns.
Zoe thought it was beautiful. Evelyn smiled. ’It is beautiful,’ she thought. ’All deadly dangers possess a brilliant beauty.’
The earthquake had stopped, and they had left the great fire far behind. They stopped to rest once more. Evelyn tended to the horses’ wounds first before checking on Quincy and Peter. Luckily, their thick clothes had saved them from any broken bones.
"Mr. Lowell is awake." The moment Ronan said this, everyone was overjoyed.
Evelyn went to check on him. His complexion was much better than before; the special medicine was working. Evelyn gave him some more restorative medicine. Everyone sat in a circle, but no one spoke.
"Will it really take until tomorrow to get out of this forest?" Quincy asked, looking at Ethan Dawson.
"That’s just my estimate. At the latest, by afternoon or noon tomorrow. If we’re fast, we might get out just after dawn."
"Have you guys ever seen a volcanic eruption before?"
Quincy shook his head. "I haven’t. It was an explosive eruption. With the volcano as the epicenter, dozens of kilometers in every direction are probably destroyed."
Ethan Dawson smiled. "I saw one when I was a kid, but it was a very small volcano. There was no lava, it just burned at the summit for a week. After a week, the fire went out on its own."
This time was different. Without a torrential downpour, the fire behind them could burn for months without stopping.
A fire that burned for months would wipe out all the plants and animals here.
Perhaps after a heavy rain, nourished by the ash, new trees could grow here again.
After an hour’s rest, they set off again.
"The black mist is gone. Does that mean we’ll see the sun after daybreak?" Quincy asked wistfully, rubbing his bruised back.
"Who knows."
Evelyn took a painkiller from her pocket and popped it into her mouth. This night alone, she had already lost count of how many kinds of medicine she had taken.
At 8:30 in the morning, the black mist slowly faded, revealing a vast, white sky. Although the absence of the sun was a bit disappointing, being able to see the road clearly was a welcome event.
After several months, they could finally see each other’s faces clearly. When Evelyn saw a few new white hairs sticking out from under Quincy’s hat, she froze for a second, then patted his shoulder.
"Are you going to hit me again?" Quincy took a wary step back, then craned his neck, trying to see if Zoe was awake.
Evelyn rolled her eyes. She had actually felt a bit sorry for him, but he was just so ungrateful.
Evelyn pulled down her mask and took a deep breath of air, free of the black mist.
"At our current pace, we should be out of the forest soon. But after we leave this forest, we might enter a desert."
Ethan’s words left everyone stunned.
"A desert? Isn’t this Oakhaven? Does Oakhaven even have a desert?"
Ethan was even more shocked. "Quincy, did you fail geography? Of course Oakhaven has a desert, and it’s huge."
"Please, let’s not go through the desert. I hate deserts."
"It’s not up to you." Evelyn shot him a glance and took out her pocket watch to check the time.
"It’s 9:30. Let’s go. We’ll aim to be out of the forest before noon."
"Evelyn, you’re so energetic. In this whole group, you and Ronan are the only ones who still look human. Look at the rest of us—we’re half-dead, like zombies."
Evelyn ignored him, riding her horse directly to the front. Ronan immediately followed.
At 11:00 AM, Evelyn and Ronan were the first to emerge from the forest. Looking at the barren, endless expanse of stone ahead, Evelyn let out a breath of relief. They had finally made it out.
"This isn’t a desert. It’s all rocks. Ethan, are you sure this is the desert?"
Ethan shook his head. "This is the entrance to the famous Rocksea No-Man’s-Land. The desert is on the other side of it."
Behind them was a forest engulfed by wildfire; ahead, a perilous no-man’s-land.
Evelyn looked at the others, then jutted her chin toward the path forward. "Let’s go."