"You can say it hurts, and you can rest."

Evelyn Ford’s heart ached with a bittersweet feeling. She squeezed Ronan Kendrick’s hand and nodded gently. "I know. Next time, I’ll say when it hurts."

Ronan Kendrick was exasperated. He couldn’t get angry at her, so he could only fume in silence.

Everyone divided the supplies they had brought back and organized a schedule for scavenging parties. The teams were set: Quincy, Wyatt Vaughn, and Miles Vaughn; Officer Graham, Roy Henderson, and Owen Chapman; Serena Lynch and Charles York; Zion Lowell, Taylor Vance, and Secretary Hawthorne; and finally, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick.

The groups would take turns going out to find supplies, with each group gone for two to three hours.

"We need to find a new place. There are a lot of buildings in the South District that weren’t destroyed in the fire. The first thing we need to do is find a temporary shelter. The soot here is too thick. If we stay too long, we could end up with sinus problems or respiratory infections."

Officer Graham and his team were already geared up. Evelyn Ford handed him a compass, and the three of them left the hotel with their burlap sacks.

The rest of the group continued to rest and recover their strength, waiting for the first team to return before the next went out.

Just then, someone started pounding on the door. Taylor Vance got up and walked over.

"Who is it?"

"Is Dr. Ford there? Someone here got bitten by one of the insects. How do we treat it?"

Evelyn Ford walked to the door but didn’t open it. "Where were they bitten?"

"On the arm. It’s already swollen."

"These insects are like bees—they have venomous stingers. You have to pull the stinger out, make a cross-shaped incision over the wound with a knife, and squeeze out the poisoned blood. Then, clean the wound with water and bandage it."

’If it’s treated quickly enough, before the pathogens from the insect enter the bloodstream, the person won’t be infected. The most important thing is to counteract the opiate-like substance inside the insect that causes addiction.’

’In her past life, people bitten by these insects would go into withdrawal, as if from a drug. The only way they could find relief was through self-harm or by letting the insects bite them again.’

’It was as if humanity had become nothing more than blood bags and a reserve food supply for the insects.’

"Dr. Ford, we don’t know how to do that! Can you come over and help?"

"My foot is injured. You’ll have to handle it yourselves."

’The wound on the sole of her foot no longer hurt, but she didn’t want to go outside.’

"But I’m not a doctor!"

Evelyn Ford’s patience had run out. "Then just wait to die."

With that, she walked to the wall and sat down, leaning gently against Ronan Kendrick’s arm. He had still been angry with her, but seeing her like this, his anger vanished into thin air.

"What kind of person are you? Unwilling to even help. And you call yourself a doctor." The person outside muttered and cursed as they walked away.

Serena Lynch was so angry she started cursing loudly in the room. "What’s wrong with these people? Look at the state of the world, and they’re still trying to guilt-trip us! They deserve to get bitten. Let the bugs bite them to death!"

"Evelyn, is your foot any better?"

"Much better. It’s nothing serious."

The firelight illuminated everyone’s weary faces. No one knew what would happen next. A mournful wail came from the next room, followed a moment later by the sound of curses.

Evelyn Ford leaned against Ronan Kendrick and closed her eyes to rest. She must have been exhausted, because she quickly fell asleep. When she woke up, Officer Graham and his team had returned.

"We found a place we can stay for now. Everyone, pack your things. We’re leaving right now. A lot of people outside are heading toward the South District."

Evelyn Ford quickly got up and packed her things. She secured Mina and Lola back in the pushcart, and Ronan Kendrick tied the bamboo basket to it.

"Can you walk?"

"I can. No problem. Let’s go." Evelyn Ford took the lead, holding a can of insecticide and a torch to clear the way. The others followed behind her, carrying bags of all sizes.

"Watch your step. There are nails and broken glass all over the ground."

When the other people in the building saw them leaving, they all grabbed their things and followed. Evelyn Ford glanced back and saw that, except for her and Ronan Kendrick, everyone else had pantyhose pulled over their heads and hands. It looked like they were about to go on a robbery spree.

The swarms of insects blotted out the sun, but the temperature didn’t drop. The ground was still scorching hot. As they stepped on the sandy soil, a wave of heat surged up through the soles of their shoes.

Before, the disasters were merely natural catastrophes, but now it was turning into a biological crisis. Evelyn Ford wished she could cover her ears; the endless BUZZING of the insects was making them ring.

"Where is it?"

"Take this road to the right. There’s a complex of self-built houses back there. The buildings aren’t tall, they didn’t collapse in the earthquake, and the fire didn’t reach that area."

Evelyn Ford hadn’t expected Officer Graham’s team to have gone so far just to find a temporary shelter. By now, quite a few people were trailing them, but her group paid them no mind and kept moving forward.

Serena Lynch, carrying Annie on her back, stepped on a rock and fell hard. The others helped her up; her face was scraped and bleeding.

"Don’t worry about me, just keep moving." Serena Lynch covered her face, and after making sure Annie hadn’t been hurt, she limped along behind them.

Chase Underwood was carrying supplies and couldn’t help her. Evelyn Ford walked back, unstrapped Annie from Serena Lynch’s back, and settled the child onto her own.

"Evelyn, I can manage."

"Just take care of yourself first."

Annie was very well-behaved. Though scared, she didn’t cry. She clung tightly to Evelyn Ford’s back, her eyes fixed on Serena Lynch.

They finally reached the place Officer Graham’s team had found, but upon entering the building, they discovered it was filled with human skeletons. They had no choice but to move all the skeletons into one room and then clear out the insects. Evelyn went in and began to fumigate. The thick, acrid smell of the pesticide killed the insects, but it was unbearable for people too, making them dizzy.

Evelyn Ford cleared out three rooms. Everyone quickly shut the windows and then cleaned up the dead insects on the floor.

The other people who had been following arrived one after another, but the building was too infested for them to move in. Some rooms still had skeletons in them.

"Dr. Ford, can we borrow your insecticide?"

The can of insecticide in Evelyn Ford’s hands was empty. She gave it a couple of shakes. "It’s all gone. You can light torches to drive the insects away."

"My lighter’s out of fuel. Does anyone have a lighter I can borrow?"

"I have a lighter, but no kindling."

"Just burn some clothes. They’ll catch fire quickly."

More people flooded into the building. Evelyn Ford told her group to go back to their rooms, close the doors, and stay inside for now, lest the outsiders try to break in and fight over the space.

They divided into the three rooms. Evelyn Ford, Ronan Kendrick, and Serena Lynch’s family of three took one. Quincy, Wyatt Vaughn, Miles Vaughn, and Officer Graham with his daughter took another. Taylor Vance’s group shared the last one with Roy Henderson and Owen Chapman.

Evelyn Ford first set Annie down, then gave Mina and Lola a little water and some crushed grain. The two little ones seemed to be in decent spirits, which was a relief to Evelyn.

After more than ten hours of chaos, they were finally settled. Evelyn Ford spread a grass mat on the floor, too exhausted to move a muscle.

Ronan Kendrick got the fire going, then came to her side and helped her take off the hood of her protective suit.

"Get some sleep."

Evelyn Ford took some Dried Meat and hardtack from her bag. "Boil some water. We’ll soak the hardtack before we eat."

’Things were different now. With everyone living together, she couldn’t take food out of her storage space anymore.’