Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse

Chapter 187: Polar Day, Temperature Drop 8

Evelyn Ford hurried out of the cellar and blew her whistle in response.

The temperature was fifty degrees Celsius, cool enough for people to venture outside. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick gazed at their surroundings, unable to find any peace of mind.

The once lush and green safe zone had once again become a barren ruin. The sandy soil underfoot had hardened, and when a strong gust of wind blew past, it carried only a wave of heat—not even the sand stirred.

"It’s like The Tencend Flats... but at least The Tencend Flats has some plants. There’s nothing left here at all."

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look, and both offered a helpless smile.

The ground was still scorching hot underfoot. Evelyn Ford sighed. "Come on, let’s go check on them."

The path was treacherous. A network of deep fissures crisscrossing the land served as a stark reminder to Evelyn Ford of the terrible scars left behind by the sixty-plus-degree heat.

The sun hung high in the sky, surrounded by concentric rings of a pale, whitish-blue halo.

There were no clouds, and the sky was a hazy, milky white. Not a speck of green was visible in any direction. This place was more desolate and terrifying than The Tencend Flats or any no-man’s-land.

After walking for about thirty minutes, they finally reached the earthen houses where Quincy and the others lived. Many of the structures had been caught in the massive fire, leaving behind nothing but blackened, crumbling walls.

"Evelyn, Ronan! Thank god, you’re okay!"

Quincy emerged from the cellar. He was back to his usual scruffy self, with a stubbly beard and long, greasy hair. The corner of Evelyn Ford’s mouth twitched at the sight.

"Where’s Wyatt?"

"She’s inside. Wyatt, come on out! Evelyn’s here!"

A moment later, Officer Graham and the others emerged. Evelyn Ford scanned the group. ’Good, they’re all alive.’ But none of them seemed to be in high spirits.

"I lifted the plank today and realized it wasn’t as hot as before, so I quickly blew the whistle to let you know. I didn’t expect you and Ronan to get here so fast."

As Quincy spoke, he ran a hand through his hair, and Evelyn Ford noticed something small crawling in the strands.

"You should just shave your head."

Quincy was confused. "Why?"

Wyatt Vaughn parted his hair to take a look. Oh, great. It was crawling with lice.

It was the same for the others. Everyone had caught them.

No one expected their reunion after ten months to turn into a head-shaving party. Dagger in hand, Officer Graham shaved everyone’s head, one by one—men and women, adults and children, no one was spared.

Annie had grown a lot, too. Evelyn Ford patted his perfectly round head. Serena Lynch was beside herself with excitement at the sight of Evelyn. Other residents began to emerge as well. A few hours later, Taylor Vance came over to report that over twenty people had died in the safe zone during the past ten months, all of them elderly people over the age of fifty.

Death had become so commonplace that the news only registered as a brief shock.

"I don’t want to shave my hair," Wendy whispered, looking at Officer Graham.

"Wendy, there’s no water to wash your hair anymore, so we have to shave it. Be a good girl. It’ll grow back in two months, and then it will be nice and clean, with no more bugs."

"Will it really grow back?" A child of seven or eight is already old enough to have a sense of what is beautiful and what is not.

"Of course it will. Daddy’s going to shave his head, too."

Wendy nodded. "Okay, then. I’ll let you shave it."

When it was Annie’s turn, however, he cried for a long time before he could be comforted.

Now that she knew everyone was safe, Evelyn Ford asked about their food supplies. Thankfully, they all had some remaining.

"Evelyn, do you and Ronan have something in mind?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Once the temperature drops to around forty degrees, we’ll probably have to leave. The ground has cracked open, and there’s no more groundwater to be found."

Taylor Vance sighed. "You’re right, it’s time to leave. If we stay here without water, we’re just waiting to die. But it’ll probably take another two months for the temperature to drop to forty degrees. We don’t have a thermometer, so we’ll just have to go by feel. Everyone, start rationing your food and water. Save some for the journey. Use this time to pack up all your belongings." After he spoke, the others nodded. Leaving was inevitable, and everyone was mentally prepared for it.

"So, where will we go?"

"I propose we head to the Southwest," Secretary Hawthorne suddenly spoke up.

"I, on the other hand, suggest the Northwest," Zion Lowell countered.

The others chimed in, each with their own ideas. Based on analyses of elevation, geography, geology, and mountain ranges, everyone had a different place they wanted to go.

"Evelyn, where do you think it would be safest?"

Evelyn Ford already had an answer in mind. She wanted to go to the Northwest.

"The Northwest," she said. "But we can take a detour through the Southwest to get there."

It was a safe compromise, and the others agreed.

Back in their cellar, Evelyn Ford, worried she might have gotten lice too, asked Ronan Kendrick to check her hair.

Ronan Kendrick didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he still searched through her hair meticulously.

"There’s nothing. If you’re still worried, we can shave our heads too."

"My hair is already short. It’s not much different from being bald anyway."

Evelyn Ford put away her solar panels. ’Now that the temperature is dropping, people might start visiting,’ she thought. ’It’s better to keep things like this hidden.’

Fortunately, the temperature dropped noticeably each day that followed. Although the polar day showed no sign of ending, the cooling trend gave everyone a glimmer of hope.

When the temperature dropped to forty-five degrees, Evelyn Ford began scouting the perimeter. She saw the great fissure Ronan Kendrick had told her about. A few months ago, it had only been thirty to forty centimeters wide; now, it was almost a meter across.

When she returned, Taylor Vance came over to tell them that half the residents had decided not to leave the safe zone.

Would they really be able to find a new home after leaving? It was an enormous gamble, one they were betting their very lives on.

Maybe it would rain soon in the safe zone. Maybe the withered land would spring back to life. Who could say for sure?

But Evelyn Ford’s intuition told her it was time to leave.

Those who planned to leave began to pack their belongings. Most of their grain had been baked into dry biscuits. Pushcarts were loaded with plastic bottles and jars of all sizes, filled to the brim with water.

Evelyn Ford brought a finished sheepskin poncho to Wendy. Officer Graham had nearly finished packing. In addition to the items on his pushcart, he had also packed a bamboo basket to the brim.

Even Wendy had a large bundle of her own.

Roy Henderson and Owen Chapman, both sixteen or seventeen now, had packed no small amount of luggage themselves, filling two entire pushcarts.

Carrying bundles on their backs and hoisting them on their shoulders, everyone wished they could take all their possessions with them, unwilling to part with even a single needle or thread.

Serena Lynch brought some sweet potatoes to Evelyn Ford and traded them for a pair of shoes. She had no other footwear, and her clothes were nothing but patches upon patches.

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick also dressed in their most tattered clothes. In the twelfth month of the polar day, the temperature finally dropped to thirty-eight degrees.

Taylor Vance took a headcount of those who were leaving, then banged on a stainless steel pot lid.

"Let’s move out."

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick walked in the middle of the group. She carried a bamboo basket on her back while Ronan pushed their cart.

Those who remained behind couldn’t help but gather at the edge of the safe zone to watch the others depart.

This was less a journey to find a new home and more a new kind of exodus.