novelraw Chapter 141: Dense Fog 2
Chapter 141: Dense Fog 2
Evelyn Ford looked at the skeletal hands reaching for her and the numb, vicious expressions on their owners’ faces. When she drew the long knife from her waist, the children froze for a moment before scattering.
The woman was still sprawled on the ground. Just as Evelyn was about to leave, the woman grabbed her pant leg.
"Please, give us some food. The children can’t hold on any longer. Have pity on them."
Her large, sunken eyes were filled with desperation. Evelyn glanced at the children, who had stopped a short distance away and were now staring at her.
"I don’t have any food." Evelyn tried to get a clear look at the child on the woman’s back, but it was completely obscured by a ragged quilt.
"Just some water, then. The child is dying of thirst."
Evelyn pinned the woman down and ripped the bundle from her back. The woman struggled frantically, but Evelyn held her fast to the ground, immobilizing her.
Evelyn shook out the quilt. Inside was a lifelike doll. There was no child at all.
The woman suddenly shrieked. Evelyn threw the doll at her and left quickly.
After Evelyn left, two men emerged from around a corner and dragged the woman away.
She was heading to the Medical Division building today. It had an underground warehouse that should contain some tools and wooden planks.
The others couldn’t leave without gas masks, and Ronan Kendrick had another assignment, so Evelyn was heading out alone.
She had been to the Medical Division’s underground warehouse before. It didn’t have much—just some storage racks and tools. The base had already been picked clean. Evelyn was thankful she hadn’t left rashly. If she had, she would have been caught on the road when the dense fog rolled in. At least here in the base, she had a roof over her head.
It took her almost an hour to reach the Medical Division. The building had been stripped bare, leaving behind nothing but some scrap metal from doors, windows, and hospital beds.
Several people had been following her on the way over, and it took Evelyn a considerable amount of time to shake them.
The survivors remaining in the base were either the old, weak, sick, and disabled, or they were highly capable individuals. It was best to avoid them all.
Once in the basement, she saw the shelves had been completely ransacked. Evelyn closed the door and absorbed them directly into her spatial storage. In the end, she sorted out about a hundred pounds of wooden planks, bundled them up, and carried them back on her back.
After prying up the floorboards in the basement, it was possible to dig up some soil. Officer Graham had used it to plant a handful of corn kernels he had come across in the last two days.
Strangely, although the acid rain left humans with lingering health problems, plants grew incredibly fast in this new environment. Seeds would sprout just a few hours after being planted. Evelyn almost felt as if she had stepped into a fantasy world.
Halfway back, Evelyn ran into Ronan Kendrick. He took the planks from her back, and they returned to the villa together.
"Did you get it?"
"Yeah. I already gave it to them."
Secretary Hawthorne, who had been silent for nearly half a month, suddenly contacted Evelyn. He told her he had hidden something under the floor tiles in the men’s restroom on the ninth floor of the administration building and wanted her and Ronan Kendrick to retrieve it. Since Evelyn was going to get the planks, she had Ronan go instead.
"What was it?"
"A few boxes of seeds. He decided to bring them out and share with everyone after he saw Mr. Graham planting corn."
Evelyn was stunned. "Seeds? ’Those crafty old foxes,’ she thought. ’It seems everyone had their own fallback plan.’"
Ronan Kendrick nodded. When they got back to the villa, Officer Graham and the others were waiting by the door. Everyone helped unload the planks, and Quincy tossed a few pieces into the fire.
After the dense fog appeared, the temperature dropped from thirty degrees to fifteen, with wild fluctuations. On top of that, everyone except Evelyn, Ronan Kendrick, and Officer Graham had fallen ill from inhaling the toxins in the fog.
Evelyn looked at the seeds on the first floor. There was a huge variety: not only rice, wheat, and beans, but also many kinds of vegetable and fruit seeds.
"Secretary Hawthorne already divided them," Ronan explained. "Everyone gets a bag, about two pounds each. If we’re ever forced to separate, we might be able to survive on these, provided we can find clean soil."
Evelyn picked up her share. Ronan handed his bag to her as well. She gave him an amused look before taking it and putting it safely away.
Elsewhere in the base, some people also began to organize, digging for soil and searching for seeds to start growing things inside their villas.
Many people remained, but many also left each day.
A week after the fog rolled in, people’s bodies began to adapt. Though still suffering from dizziness and coughing, they could go outside to dig for soil and scavenge as long as they wore masks.
Fortunately, it rained every three days like clockwork. The rainwater brought with it a renewed sense of hope.
"Could I trade for some of your seeds? I have a clean, padded cotton jacket. I’d trade it for just a handful of seeds."
More and more people started showing up at their door to barter for supplies. After the riots and the disaster, those who remained still had to find a way to survive.
Officer Graham accepted the jacket and gave the person a handful of wheat seeds he’d gathered. Others came trying to trade their children for food. A skeletal little girl was pushed forward as her father began to list her value as if he were describing an object.
"She’s a girl, at least. There aren’t many people left. She’ll be able to bear children later on."
The girl’s father scanned the inside of the house, an ingratiating smile on his face.
"You’ve got quite a few men in here. The family next door to me has a few young women. If you’re interested, I can take you over for a look. You’d just have to give me a small finder’s fee, of course."
Quincy was so furious he grabbed a club and rushed forward. "Get out! Get the hell out! What’s wrong with you? Are you even her father? Trading your own child for food!"
The man flinched and backed away but didn’t leave, still keeping the girl pushed out in front of him.
"We just can’t survive anymore! There are so many of you, you must have what it takes. Please, do a good deed and take the child. You can even use her as a servant. I’m not asking for much, just ten pounds of grain."
Quincy pointed the club at him. "Get out! I’ll beat you if you don’t go now!"
"If you don’t want her, what about those two young guys behind you? How about nine pounds of grain? Eight would be fine, too."
Officer Graham couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He picked up Wendy and walked away. Quincy glanced at the emaciated girl and tossed her half a piece of hardtack, but the man snatched it away and wolfed it down himself.
The girl stood there, sobbing quietly. Quincy was beside himself with rage.
"Quincy, close the door," Evelyn said. Quincy had no choice but to shut it.
The man was still shouting outside, occasionally hitting the child to vent his frustration.
However, this sort of thing began to happen more and more frequently. Women would come to their door offering "services" for as little as a bowl of rice or a piece of bread.
Whenever Evelyn went out, she would run into all sorts of people—women and men alike.
That’s right. Even younger men had started resorting to the same methods to trade for food.
In the abandoned buildings, elderly and emaciated people huddled in doorways, staring blankly outside.
Some were already dead. Others would be startled by a stone thrown by a passerby and quickly retreat back into the darkness of their rooms.