Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse

Chapter 145: Dense Fog 6

After a deafening "CRASH!", the apartment building collapsed. Evelyn Ford was holding the boy, and Ronan Kendrick was holding her. No matter how you looked at it, the three of them were in an incredibly awkward position.

The collapsing building threw up a massive cloud of dust. Evelyn couldn’t stop coughing. Grit filled her eyes, making them dry and painfully irritated.

Ronan was incredibly fast, carrying them a hundred meters away from the disaster. Once he set Evelyn down, she put the boy down as well.

The corroded building had collapsed, and dozens of people were still inside.

Evelyn heard faint cries for help. Residents from the neighboring buildings came out, and everyone started trying to rescue people.

Evelyn glanced at Cherie. The boy was terrified, staring blankly at the collapsed building, his small, bony hands trembling uncontrollably.

Evelyn took his hand, silently comforting him.

Others in the safe zone heard the collapse and rushed over to help. Security personnel organized a rescue effort. The faint cry of a baby reached everyone’s ears, but even after half an hour of digging through the rubble, no one could pinpoint its exact location.

Ronan glanced at Evelyn, then silently went over and joined the rescue.

An hour later, the baby was pulled from the rubble.

Others were pulled out one by one. Of the more than thirty people in the building, fifteen had died, including a pregnant woman who had bled to death and the man who had shielded the baby with his body.

"That baby’s lucky to be alive, but it’s so tragic. To lose both parents right after being born... His father was a true hero. He held that baby tight, even as his own spine was crushed by the concrete."

"What’s going to happen to him? How is a newborn supposed to survive now?"

Evelyn looked from the baby wailing in a security officer’s arms to the unrecognizable body on the ground, her expression unreadable.

Cherie stared blankly at the infant, then suddenly pulled his hand from Evelyn’s grasp. He walked over to the security officer holding the baby and reached out as if to touch him.

"Brother."

"Is this your brother?" the security officer asked, lowering the infant toward Cherie.

Cherie didn’t say a word, and the onlookers’ gazes filled with sympathy.

Evelyn brushed the dust from Ronan’s hair. If he hadn’t joined in and pulled that baby from the rubble, the search would have likely gone on much longer.

When the rescue was over, the security personnel took the dead away for burial. The survivors needed to be relocated.

Evelyn and others joined in treating the wounded, but several of the rescued died shortly after from excessive blood loss.

Serena Lynch came to help as well, focusing her efforts on caring for Cherie and Annie.

Annie was the name Serena had given the infant; she wanted to adopt him.

"Have you really thought this through? Raising a child in this environment is no easy task."

Serena Lynch gave a bitter smile. "I know, but poor Annie... if no one takes him in, he’ll just die. Besides, Chase and I have talked it over. We don’t know how much longer things will be like this. The after-effects of the acid rain... I have a bad feeling that it’s become hard for people to conceive. Evelyn, Chase and I have decided not to have children of our own. We’re going to raise this baby as our own."

"You should ask Cherie what he thinks. This is his brother, after all." Evelyn didn’t try to dissuade Serena.

Serena nodded. "I know. I’ve already asked him, and he doesn’t have any objections. Besides, Secretary Hawthorne has mentioned wanting to adopt Cherie."

Evelyn was surprised. ’The quiet, taciturn Secretary Hawthorne wants to adopt Cherie?’

"I understand. I have a little flour. I’ll bring it over to you later so you can make some gruel for Annie."

Serena didn’t refuse. She thanked Evelyn and left, holding Annie in her arms.

Serena took Annie home to care for him, and Secretary Hawthorne took Cherie. Regardless of the circumstances, both children had now found better homes.

Meanwhile, building collapses were a daily occurrence. Nearly half of all the high-rises in the safe zone had already fallen.

All the survivors began to congregate in the villa complex, the administration building, and The Undercity.

As people began living in crowded clusters, conflicts started to escalate. The first disputes were over soil. Factions formed in each area, forbidding outsiders from digging in their territory. Eventually, this escalated to a ban on trading food and supplies with other zones.

Where there are people, there’s trouble. Taylor Vance instituted a new set of management regulations for the safe zone, appointing a manager for each area.

Even though only a little over ten thousand survivors remained in the safe zone, there was no shortage of things to manage.

Evelyn stayed out of such affairs. She was content to grow her vegetables and medicinal herbs. Occasionally, people would come to her for treatment, and as long as it wasn’t a complicated illness, she never refused. Those who sought her help would bring cabbage or corn as payment.

Although Taylor Vance had tried to recruit Ronan several times, both openly and covertly, he had always failed. Vance had even approached Evelyn twice, asking her to persuade Ronan to help them manage the safe zone.

The role was essentially that of a security captain, wanting Ronan to use his strength to suppress anyone looking to stir up trouble.

Ronan had no interest in such things, and Evelyn had no desire to get involved either, so she made an excuse to deflect the request.

"All the wood nearby has been gathered. Secretary Hawthorne said he’s organizing a group to go farther out to collect firewood. Do you two want to come along? It’s getting cold again, so we need to stock up."

Though they said "farther out," it was actually just two kilometers outside the base.

The thick fog obscured all vision, making the roads treacherous. It was no different from walking in the dead of night, so two kilometers was considered a long way.

Officer Graham came by to ask if Ronan wanted to go, but Evelyn declined the offer.

She had plenty of firewood in her space, and she had also collected a lot of wooden planks and shelves from the medical department’s basement. There was no need to go to all that trouble.

Aside from the occasional house call to treat patients, Evelyn spent nearly all her time at the villa, tending to her vegetables and medicinal herbs.

The temperature dropped another two degrees. The thick fog was heavy with a briny moisture that stung your eyes on contact.

Serena Lynch called Evelyn’s name from outside. When Evelyn went out, Serena handed her a daikon radish.

"You gave me flour last time, and my radishes have finally come in. I wanted you to have the first one."

Evelyn didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted it. She glanced at Annie, who was strapped to Serena’s back, and saw from his healthy complexion that he was thriving.

"He’s such a good baby, he never cries or fusses. And Cherie is doing well, too. I saw Secretary Hawthorne earlier, who’d gotten him a clean, thick set of clothes."

"You were meant for each other."

Serena grinned. "I know. I fell for him the moment I saw him. Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I’m so happy. Now, more than ever, I want to live a good life. I feel filled with courage."

Evelyn gently pinched Annie’s cheek, and he blew a bubble at her in response. The two women spoke for a little while longer before Serena headed back.

Evelyn went back to tending her medicinal herbs. This crop was ready for harvest, so she took out a hoe, dug up all the plants by the root, and stored them in her space.