They had only been on the road for half an hour when the rain began to fall harder, though it wasn’t a downpour yet.
Perhaps because her period was due, Evelyn Ford was suddenly overcome with a primal urge and pounced on Ronan Kendrick several times.
Fortunately, the highway hadn’t collapsed or cracked. The occasional rockslide blocking the road was also dealt with quickly.
But the rain fell relentlessly. Along the way, Evelyn Ford saw many deserted villages. At nine o’clock that night, the vehicle stopped in front of a tiny Mountain God Temple.
"It’s nine. Let’s stop here. The rain isn’t heavy, but the fog is too thick. Driving on a mountain road in this weather is asking for an accident."
Evelyn Ford took out raincoats and rain boots, handing them out to everyone. They even swapped their padded winter coats for waterproof leather ones.
"This Mountain God Temple has all but collapsed," Officer Graham commented quietly, gazing outside.
"We haven’t seen any refugees on this entire stretch of road. But from what I can see, these areas don’t seem to have been hit that hard. There aren’t even any signs of an earthquake."
"Some other natural disaster must have occurred. Otherwise, the villagers wouldn’t have abandoned their homes."
"There’s another possibility. The villagers here might have been taken to a base during the early days of the apocalypse. After all, back then, rescue teams were evacuating the vulnerable to bases or shelters first."
Evelyn Ford nodded. "That’s possible."
Quincy pulled on his raincoat and boots and took the metal bucket Evelyn Ford handed him. A delicious aroma wafted from inside.
Quincy carried the bucket of food over to Ethan Dawson’s group, then quickly ran back.
"The rain is letting up," he said, taking off his raincoat and rubbing his frozen hands.
"You’re right. Maybe it’ll have stopped by the time we wake up tomorrow."
A faint smile finally appeared on Officer Graham’s face as he saw the rain easing up.
"Alright, let’s eat. I only had three steamed buns for lunch, and I’m starving." Quincy picked up his bowl and began to dish out food. Although the vehicle’s heating was on, Evelyn Ford had also set out two small electric heaters.
Everyone ate until they were stuffed. Quincy and Wyatt Vaughn handled the cleanup while the others washed up and went straight to bed, too tired to talk.
During the night, the rain grew lighter and lighter. When everyone woke up the next day, it had stopped completely.
"The air after a rain always smells like earth and leaves." Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell got out of the vehicle to stretch. The two of them stared at the small, dilapidated Mountain God Temple, and then, on a sudden whim, they put on gloves, grabbed some tools, and decided to repair it before they left.
Evelyn Ford didn’t stop them. She had gotten her period today. While she wasn’t having cramps, she felt completely drained of energy. ’I don’t want to talk, I don’t want to get out of bed... I just want to lie here like a corpse.’
"Since it’s not raining today, it’s the perfect chance to fix up this Mountain God Temple before we leave."
"Mr. Vance, Mr. Lowell, you two don’t strike me as the superstitious type. What’s with the sudden urge to repair the Mountain God Temple?"
Taylor Vance just smiled. "When you get older, you start doing things for peace of mind."
Of course, the others weren’t about to just stand by and watch. They grabbed tools and went to help.
The Mountain God Temple was tiny, only about four square meters. They cleared away the weeds and dismantled what was left of the collapsed structure. Zion Lowell took Peter Owens to chop some wood, intending to build a new one from scratch.
Two hours later, the Mountain God Temple looked brand new.
"If any refugees happen to pass by, they’ll have a place to shelter from the wind and rain."
"Alright, let’s go. Time to head out."
The vehicle slowly pulled away. Ronan Kendrick was driving today, and Evelyn Ford continued to sleep, not even in the mood to keep him company.
At ten-thirty, the vehicle rounded a large mountain and came to a stop before a stone arch bridge. The bridge had collapsed, but fortunately, the current below wasn’t strong, so they could wade across.
"Let’s wade across. We need to be quick. Even though the rain yesterday was light, the riverbanks are soft. They look like they could give way at any moment."
Evelyn Ford stored the RV in her space. She and Ronan Kendrick were the first to step into the river. The riverbed was rocky, and the banks were soft sand, making it easy to lose your footing.
"Everyone, hold hands and form a chain to cross. The current doesn’t look strong, but we don’t know how deep it is, so be careful. Don’t anyone let go. If you do, someone else could get swept away."
Ronan Kendrick was at the front, holding onto Evelyn Ford. Evelyn held onto Wendy, who in turn held onto Officer Graham...
The river was wide, probably over two hundred meters across, and crossing it wouldn’t be easy. Ronan Kendrick was tall, so the water only came up to about a foot above his knees.
The moment Wendy stepped in, the water surged up to her waist. Evelyn Ford gripped her tightly. The current was picking up; they had to cross as fast as possible. A rope was tied around Ronan Kendrick’s waist, connecting him to Ethan Dawson at the very end of the human chain.
"It’s raining again."
Evelyn Ford looked up. A light rain was pattering down on them. Thankfully, they were all wearing raincoats.
The river water was freezing. Even through her leather coat, she felt a bone-chilling cold.
Evelyn Ford shivered, and Ronan Kendrick glanced back at her.
"I’m fine."
"Stay close."
With Ronan Kendrick leading the way, the group had reached the middle of the river when several large rocks suddenly came tumbling down from upstream.
"Get back!" Ronan Kendrick immediately started to retreat, pulling Evelyn Ford with one hand and yanking Wendy and Officer Graham with the other. In that split second, a large boulder scraped past him. Ronan’s body was struck; he let out a muffled grunt but still managed to pull Evelyn Ford into his arms and lunge to the side.
The rocks were carried away by the current. Evelyn Ford stared at Ronan Kendrick, her heart pounding. A moment ago, she was sure she’d heard the sickening CRACK of a bone breaking. Even though Ronan’s injuries healed quickly, the pain didn’t just disappear.
In that split second, she and Ronan could have escaped into her space. But if they had, the others would have lost their support and would have surely been hit by the rocks—especially Officer Graham and Wendy.
He had chosen to save the others, almost without hesitation.
Evelyn Ford took out painkillers and a fast-acting remedy, stuffing them into his mouth without knowing if they would even work on him.
"I’m fine. The pain will be gone soon."
Fortunately, the others had only been knocked into the water; no one else was hurt.
Evelyn Ford was silent for a moment, then forced a smile. "Come on, let’s get across the river first."
As they started across again, Evelyn Ford picked up the pace, worried that more rocks might fall.
The current pushed hard against their lower legs. If they weren’t all bound together, a smaller person could easily have been swept away.
The riverbank began to collapse. With a final burst of energy, Ronan Kendrick forged ahead as fast as he could. The people behind him were practically dragged across the rest of the way. Everyone was exhausted. Just as they scrambled onto the opposite bank, they heard a loud CRASH as more rocks began to tumble down from upstream.
"That just scared me to death! Those rocks were coming right at us. I thought we were done for."
"Ronan Kendrick is hurt," Officer Graham said, his expression grave as he looked at the group.
"When he was pulling us back, he got hit by one of the rocks."
Everyone gasped, scrambling to their feet to check on Ronan.
"Ronan, where are you hurt? Let us see, quick."