novelraw Chapter 184: Polar Day, Cellar 5
Chapter 184: Polar Day, Cellar 5
Time flew by. The polar day had now lasted for four months, and Evelyn Ford had gradually adapted to life in the cellar. She occasionally cooked some good food to pass the time. The rest of the time, she would either read or watch TV, basically just lazing about.
Evelyn Ford placed the solar panels on top of the cellar to charge her storage batteries. She had only used one barrel of gasoline from her space. And although she had consumed a lot of supplies, she had also added many things over the past few years. Her inventory hadn’t dwindled; on the contrary, it had multiplied several times over.
For Evelyn Ford, food was the source of her confidence and security. As long as she had something to eat, she knew she could survive, no matter how hard it got.
The smell of something burning reached Evelyn Ford’s nose. She opened the heat-insulating panel to look outside and saw an eagle that had landed on the ground not far away. Suddenly, the dry grass beneath it spontaneously combusted, instantly singeing the bird’s feathers. Evelyn Ford glanced around. The previous wildfire hadn’t been completely extinguished; red-hot embers were still smoldering. In addition to the scorching sun, waves of heat from the fire radiated through the air. Then, her eyes lit up. There was a breeze, faint as it was.
Back in the cellar, Evelyn Ford eagerly told Ronan Kendrick what she had just discovered.
"There’s a breeze! As long as there’s wind, it will eventually rain again one day. Ronan Kendrick, you were right. This will all pass."
But Evelyn Ford’s smile didn’t last long. In the fifth month of the polar day, the outside temperature shot past 60°C.
Cracks began to appear on the cellar walls, and Ronan Kendrick decided to go out and check on the situation.
"How far are you going? To the outskirts of the safe zone, or into the mountains?"
"The mountains, probably. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be back within two hours."
Evelyn Ford didn’t want Ronan Kendrick to go out and take the risk, but he was resolute.
"I’m more heat-resistant than you, Evelyn Ford. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to me."
Evelyn Ford had no choice but to get him an extra-large heat-resistant suit.
"One hour. You have to be back."
Ronan Kendrick smiled. "Alright."
After he left, Evelyn Ford began to pace anxiously.
She told herself not to worry. ’Ronan Kendrick is very capable; nothing will happen to him. The polar day isn’t an earthquake or a meteor shower. He’s a fast runner; he won’t be in any danger.’
But in the face of disaster, humanity absolutely does not grow stronger. It only grows more fragile.
Ronan Kendrick was the only partner she trusted, and the two of them were practically inseparable. So when he left, even if it was just for an hour or two, Evelyn Ford couldn’t help but feel on edge.
Hiding in the tiny world of her cellar, all she could do was wait for him to come back.
Evelyn Ford held Mina, staring silently at the entrance to the cellar.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes, an hour passed...
With a CLACK, the heat-insulating panel opened. Ronan Kendrick’s figure appeared in the entrance. Evelyn Ford stared at him, her eyes bloodshot. Startled, he was in front of her in an instant.
"What’s wrong?"
"You’re finally back."
’So this is what it feels like to wait alone in the cellar.’ She had always been the one to go out and had never stopped to consider if Ronan Kendrick worried or felt afraid. In that moment, Evelyn Ford understood with perfect clarity that just as she worried about him, he worried about her, too.
"Ronan Kendrick, I was afraid you wouldn’t come back. I was even more afraid that I would be the only person left in the entire safe zone."
"Don’t be afraid. I just went over to the earthen houses. Quincy and the others are all still alive. The fire burned away all the trees and grass on the outskirts, and a deep, narrow rift valley has opened up in the mountains. I saw the carcasses of some snakes and eagles on the ground; the high surface temperature had scorched them to the point of spontaneous combustion."
He brought back a lot of information, and Evelyn Ford processed it piece by piece.
"Did the rift valley appear after the polar day started?"
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "That’s right."
The upwelling of the hot mantle causes the surface to form a dome where the convection currents rise. This results in regional tension, causing the lithosphere to continuously thin until the dome’s axis fractures and subsides, forming a rift valley.
All these signs pointed to one possibility: the Earth’s crust was in motion, and the tectonic plates were shifting.
"Oh, right. You said you went to Quincy’s place. Did you see them? How are Wendy and Annie?"
Ronan Kendrick shook his head. "I just went to take a quick look. I heard them talking. Judging by the sound of their voices, they’re in relatively good spirits, so you don’t need to worry."
Evelyn Ford felt much more relieved. ’If the children are okay, the adults are probably doing even better.’
"Why did you run to so many places? Hurry and take off that heat-resistant suit."
Seeing the fine beads of sweat covering his forehead, Evelyn Ford quickly grabbed a towel and wiped them away.
"Ronan Kendrick, are you sunburned? Let me see your arm."
Ronan Kendrick showed her his arm. Fortunately, his skin was normal.
"I’m fine."
"It’s a good thing you have a special constitution. Alright, let’s not go out for a while. We’ll just have to wait patiently for the polar day to end. Rushing things won’t help."
Ronan Kendrick smiled. "Yes. I’ll do whatever you say."
Knowing everyone was alive and well, Evelyn Ford could sleep more soundly and even eat an extra bowl of rice at meals.
In her spare time, Evelyn Ford would take medicinal herbs from her space, grind them into powder, and compound them into antidotes or poisons.
Preparing in advance was essential. When Evelyn Ford kept herself busy, she felt tireless. The days passed one by one. Half a month later, the temperature rose another three degrees. For the next few months, however, it stabilized at 63°C, neither rising nor falling.
The mung bean soup and various sweet drinks from her space became crucial during this time. Worried about gaining weight from consuming so many sugary drinks every day, Evelyn Ford started exercising like a madwoman again.
The most awkward time, however, was when she got her period. In the small cellar, there was nowhere to hide the scent of blood. With Ronan Kendrick’s keen sense of smell, it was impossible to keep it from him.
But he had completely wised up by now and wouldn’t pester her with questions about being injured, followed by trying to make her drink blood like he used to.
Every time she recalled it, Evelyn Ford found it both exasperating and funny.
Fortunately, her physical condition had improved significantly, and she no longer experienced any cramps or back pain during her period. ’I guess I have that bowl of blood Ronan Kendrick made me drink to thank for that,’ she thought.
In the blink of an eye, four and a half years had passed since the apocalypse began. In her past life, there had been no polar day, only a three-year-long insect plague.
After they had holed up in the cellar for a month, Evelyn Ford opened the heat-insulating panel to check on the situation outside. A wave of heat blasted her face. The scorching wind made her feel as if she had been plunged into a sea of fire.
The wind was picking up, but with the temperatures so high, the arrival of a hot wind wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Closing the heat-insulating panel, Evelyn Ford returned to the cellar and only felt human again after chugging a large glass of ice water.
Mina circled her feet while Lola dozed on Ronan Kendrick’s shoulder. Evelyn Ford sank into the other lounge chair and sighed in resignation.
"Even the wind is scalding hot. It’s completely impossible to go outside now."
"What does the sun look like?" Ronan Kendrick asked.
"It’s turned a dark red. It looks like it’s about to drip blood."
Evelyn Ford stroked Lola’s little head. ’Thankfully, our two little companions are tough. Nothing’s happened to them so far.’
A squirrel’s lifespan could be up to twenty years. As for Lola, she didn’t know what kind of bird she was, but as long as she wasn’t a sparrow or a parrot, other types of birds also lived for a good while.