The stream originated from the Source River Dam, and ever since, Quincy and Officer Graham had been finding bodies and various kinds of trash floating down to their shores.
Evelyn Ford had initially planned to have them push the bodies they found back into the water and let them float downstream. Burning them would create a strong odor, and with more patrol cars on the highway lately, it would be a problem if they drew attention. However, pushing the bodies downstream meant the refugees there, who were already short on food, clothing, and medicine, would surely die if they drank the contaminated water.
After dinner, as everyone sat in the living room drinking tea and chatting, Evelyn Ford suddenly spoke. "Let’s not grind any more cornmeal. The machine is too loud, and someone might hear."
"The island is pretty far from the highway, and there’s a stream separating us. They shouldn’t be able to hear it."
"After dark, every sound is amplified. We have to be cautious. There hasn’t been any street racing for the past two days. I guess The Second Base issued an order against it. But more and more bodies are floating down the river, and something about that feels wrong."
Evelyn Ford picked up a notebook from the table. It was the logbook Quincy kept there. She flipped it open to the first page, where he had recorded the number of bodies found in the water over the last three days.
Because the island was completely surrounded by the stream, the current around it slowed. As a result, bodies floating from upstream would get snagged on the island’s shores instead of being washed away. Quincy’s current job was to patrol the shores.
In just three days, eight bodies had floated down from upstream. All of them bore severe lash marks. The victims were very young, likely no older than twenty-five. Among the eight, three were women.
’Evelyn Ford didn’t want to get involved, but bodies kept floating down from upstream. The decaying corpses were toxic. If they contaminated the stream, it would inevitably affect them. During the polar night, trees couldn’t perform photosynthesis and would instead consume large amounts of oxygen. The pollution from the bodies in the water and air would directly impact the entire ecosystem.’
"It would be great if we could intercept the bodies upstream."
Evelyn Ford thought of the large fishing nets she had in her space, but intercepting the bodies was likely impossible. The stream was dozens of meters wide at its narrowest point upstream, after all.
Quincy sighed. "These victims are probably the ’slaves’ Mason Morgan told us about. They all died so horribly. I bet that after The Base banned those rich brats from street racing, they started taking their frustrations out on the refugees. Just look—it’s only been a few days, and they’ve already killed this many people."
"We should plant some orchids in the cabin," Evelyn said. "Orchids release oxygen. If the polar night lasts for over a year, the air will get thinner and thinner until people suffocate." As she finished speaking, the group’s relaxed mood evaporated, and everyone stared at her in terror.
"Evelyn, is it really that serious?"
"Of course."
"Should we try to store some oxygen? What will we do when it runs out?"
’Back in Westeria, we emptied out that whole pharmaceutical factory. I think there were oxygen generators in there.’
"How would we even store oxygen? Forget it. I’ll give some orchid seeds to Mr. Graham in a bit. Once the seedlings sprout, we’ll plant them in the cabin. I don’t know if it will work, but it’s better to be safe than sorry."
Evelyn Ford took out several packets of orchid seeds for Officer Graham.
"By the way, there’s something I need to tell everyone. Ronan and I are thinking of using the cover of the polar night to go to The Base and check things out."
’If she could find out who was torturing and killing the refugees, she planned to eliminate them directly. That way, no more bodies would float down to pollute the water and air. Of course, she didn’t voice this idea.’
"You’re going to The Base? When?"
The Base was only twenty kilometers away. By car, the trip would take an hour and a half at most.
"We’re leaving in a little while. Don’t worry, we’ll be back in ten hours, tops." Evelyn left the Gatling gun with Officer Graham.
"Why the rush? There are still patrols out there. Maybe you should wait a few days," Quincy said, still uneasy.
"This is actually the best time. The guards at The Base will be more lax, so it’ll be easier to slip in. Don’t worry, we’ll be back as quickly as possible. After we’re gone, don’t do any work, and don’t make any loud noises."
Evelyn Ford looked toward Ethan Dawson. "You’re in charge of security here."
Ethan Dawson nodded. "You can count on me."
After putting on tattered, padded jackets and night-vision goggles, Evelyn and Ronan left the wooden cabin. The others saw them off at the shore. Evelyn hopped onto the raft and waved to the group.
"Go on back now."
Evelyn and Ronan paddled the raft away, disappearing across the surface of the water until they were finally swallowed by the darkness.
"Let’s all head back," Taylor Vance said, patting a few shoulders. "We’ll hold down the fort. They’ll be back soon." He was the first to turn and walk back to the cabin.
Meanwhile, after Evelyn and Ronan reached the opposite shore, they stowed the raft in her space and crept toward the highway. The road was silent. Evelyn brought out the truck they had taken from Kevin Holloway. Ronan got behind the wheel while Evelyn opened the passenger-side door and climbed in.
The headlights flashed on. Ronan checked the fuel tank—it was full. He got back into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
"Let’s get out when we reach the Source River Dam. I’m actually pretty interested in that place."
Ronan fastened her seatbelt for her. "You should get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we’re there."
Evelyn pursed her lips into a smile. "Neither of us has a great sense of direction. I hope we don’t get lost."
"We won’t. Trust me." Ronan draped a blanket over Evelyn, encouraging her to rest.
Although the search parties had withdrawn, there were more patrols out now. They had only been driving for half an hour when patrol officers signaled for them to pull over.
Evelyn woke up the moment Ronan stopped the truck.
"It’s nothing. Go back to sleep." Ronan got out to talk to them. Underneath the blanket, Evelyn chambered a round.
Two minutes later, Ronan returned. The officers waved them on. Evelyn glanced at the patrol vehicle and the three officers outside, then pulled the blanket tighter around herself.
"They didn’t ask for a toll?"
Ronan nodded. "I hypnotized them."
Evelyn smiled. ’That was just like Ronan, solving problems with simple brute force. He didn’t have the patience to be interrogated. The fact that he didn’t just kill those three men was a show of mercy on his part.’
Evelyn went back to sleep. The rest of the drive was smooth, and they didn’t encounter any more patrols before reaching the Source River Dam.
The Source River Dam was actually a massive reservoir. It supplied power to The Second Base and the surrounding towns.
There was a service station nearby, and the area around the reservoir was the rich brats’ favored spot for street racing. A few wrecked cars were still abandoned on the road.
The service station was brightly lit, and they could even hear the sounds of laughter and conversation from within.
’The Source River Dam was too close to their island. Evelyn had no intention of causing a stir here and bringing trouble back with them.’
The service station had a barrier arm, and two people were chatting inside the adjacent guard booth.
Ronan got out of the truck, walked over, and knocked twice on the glass of the guard booth. One of the men turned to look at him. A few seconds later, he obediently raised the barrier arm.