Free Web NovelChapter 409: Chapter 409: Seeds
After composing herself for a moment, Evelyn Ford got up and went into the bathroom to wash her hands. The blood was sticky. Evelyn ran her hands under hot water for several minutes, scrubbing them with a brush until they were raw and red before she finally managed to clean the grime from under her fingernails.
Ronan Kendrick had been standing outside the door the whole time. He only let out a breath of relief when Evelyn came out. By now, the sky was completely dark. The others were still cleaning up the blood at the main gate. Officer Graham had taken a few people to repair the damaged fence. The bodies of the refugees had already been incinerated. Evelyn stood in front of the cabin, silently gazing at the mountains in the distance.
Just then, Chet Lawrence approached with another man. He was from Fairgate Farm. Several people on their farm had been injured, so Ethan Dawson had sent him to borrow some medical supplies from Evelyn.
"Master Ford, our master can’t get away right now. He said he’ll personally bring over the items for trade tomorrow."
"How many people on your farm were injured?"
The man’s expression was grim. "Two dead, nine injured. A few of the younger ones were scared stiff. The refugees were right in front of them with knives, but they didn’t even know to run. A few others were so scared they just burst into tears. If our master hadn’t gotten back in time, I don’t think a single person on our farm would have survived."
Evelyn was confused. "You didn’t close your gate?"
"We did, but they broke it down."
Evelyn went back to the cabin and prepared some medical supplies for him. The man thanked her and left with the medicine.
After such a brutal slaughter, this was destined to be a sleepless night for everyone.
When you know with certainty that the people you’re forced to kill are your own countrymen, that you’re slaughtering each other just to survive, there’s no joy in victory.
It was just as Quincy had said when comforting Nathan Xavier: if the person standing before you wasn’t your own flesh and blood, you wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of sadness or fear raising your knife to strike back.
Whether it was the refugees today or the people on the farm, they were all just mayflies struggling to survive in the apocalypse.
Back in the cabin, Evelyn took a shower, then lay quietly on the bed, staring into space.
Ronan Kendrick made her a cup of honey water. Evelyn didn’t even have the strength to smile. Her wrist was still aching faintly, and her temples were THROBBING.
After drinking the honey water, Evelyn wrapped her arms tightly around Ronan’s waist and whispered, "Thank you."
Ronan gently patted her back. At that moment, he didn’t need to say any words of comfort; he just needed to be there with her.
At four in the morning, Evelyn woke with a start from a nightmare. A hand rested on her waist. Her breath caught for a second before she belatedly realized it was Ronan’s hand, and only then did she calm down.
She’d had a nightmare. In the dream, she was lying on a bed, her limbs bound, but she couldn’t open her eyes or move. She could clearly hear people talking around her, as well as the BEEP, BEEP, BEEP... of a machine.
Right, there was also a needle piercing her flesh, a cold liquid entering her veins. Her dream self lost consciousness, and that’s when her real self woke up.
"Had a nightmare?" Ronan sat up, hugging her from behind.
"Don’t be scared. Dreams aren’t real."
"I’m not scared." Evelyn held Ronan’s hand. "Don’t worry about me. I’m fine now. We were delayed in making the compressed biscuits because of the stench before, so I need to organize everyone to get them done today."
"You looked very pale just now. Can you tell me what you dreamed about?"
Evelyn rested her head in his arms. "I dreamed I was lying in a hospital bed, probably with a serious illness. There were a lot of doctors around, and they were all saying I was a lost cause."
"But I’ve dreamed of my own death countless times since I was a kid, so having a dream like this is normal. It’s just that this time, it felt especially real."
Ronan stared at Evelyn, his eyes dark. "Dreams mean the opposite."
Evelyn nodded. "Yeah. Ronan, do you dream?"
Ronan frowned. "I rarely dream. And even if I do, I can’t remember what happened in them."
"You don’t have any dreams that left a strong impression?"
"None. They’re just a blur. Maybe I dreamed, maybe I didn’t."
Evelyn stroked her chin. "That’s amazing. Some people remember every dream they have, and some never remember any. You’re one of the latter."
After talking for two hours, Evelyn’s mood had improved, and she had recovered from the previous day’s slaughter.
After daybreak, Evelyn assigned the day’s tasks.
The men were to go to the greenhouses to pick pumpkins. Then, they would cut them open, remove the seeds to dry in the sun, and slice or shred the pumpkin flesh to dry as well.
The women would follow Evelyn to the kitchen to make compressed biscuits. Pumpkins have a high starch content, so after being sliced and dried, they could serve as the main ingredient for the biscuits.
Evelyn found Officer Graham to speak with him alone and get an update on what happened after last night’s events.
"How was the blood at the gate cleaned up?"
"We didn’t have water to wash it away, so we had to just shovel up the blood-soaked soil. They originally suggested using plant ash to disinfect and cover it up, but blood attracts flies, so I had them remove the soil instead."
Evelyn nodded. "A lot of them got away yesterday. They might come back for revenge. We need to strengthen the patrols for the next few days."
"I’ve already arranged it."
There was no need to worry about Officer Graham’s work. He had always been cautious and detail-oriented. Evelyn also shared some of her concerns with him.
"Where there’s one, there will be two. As the number of refugees outside grows, the farm will become a target for everyone."
"It seems there’s no water left out there at all," Officer Graham said, his brow furrowed.
"Let’s coordinate with Ethan Dawson’s group to tighten our defenses. But if people come to raid us every day, it will be a constant drain on our resources."
After returning to the cabin, Evelyn began searching her space for all kinds of seeds. Whether they were for grass or trees, Evelyn dug them all out.
To her pleasant surprise, there were also several boxes of traveler’s palm seeds.
Evelyn had originally wanted to have Lola and Red Bird help her carry the seeds away and scatter them elsewhere, but the two silly birds could only carry a few seeds at most. Evelyn had no choice but to go herself.
After sunset, Evelyn and Ronan left Immeasurable Mountain on horseback. The place Evelyn chose was a flat piece of land south of the border. It used to be a ranch of over three hundred mu, but now it was completely barren.
Evelyn chose plants that were extremely resistant to heat and high temperatures. To prevent the farm from becoming a target, she had to create another one to draw all the refugees away.
In the dark of night, two horses galloped one after another along the mountain road.
A little over an hour later, the two of them reached the ranch. Evelyn took out the seeds, mixed several types together, and they began to sow them, heading in different directions.
Although this was a ranch, several earthquakes had left the ground pitted and uneven, making it very difficult to traverse.
"Scatter them sparsely. Don’t sow them too densely."
A few hours later, two sacks of seeds were empty. Their work was done, and they prepared to head back the way they came.
On the way back, Evelyn scattered some Four Seasons Green and traveler’s palm seeds. The traveler’s palm is an African plant that can store water in its leaves. It also grows quickly, becoming a large tree in just a few months.
