"The reason they’re like this is probably an infection from bacteria inside the mosquitos. However, once the mosquitos have been roasted by the fire, the bacteria are rendered harmless. That’s why Taylor Vance organized everyone to catch the mosquitos and make them into insect patties."

Evelyn Ford’s expression grew serious. "It’s like an addict going through withdrawal. There’s no cure."

What’s more, the infected will attack others, like they have rabies. If someone gets bitten, they could get infected with the same bacteria.

That’s why when someone came pounding on the door earlier asking for Evelyn Ford to come treat a patient, she never opened it.

"Ronan Kendrick, let’s not go outside for a while."

"Okay."

The two of them stayed inside for a whole week. A week later, the mosquitos had thinned out considerably, and you could see the sky again. Word came from Taylor Vance that people could go get water now, but the limit was two bowls per person per day.

Evelyn Ford took out a piece of paper and roughly marked the route they had taken, then crossed off a day on her calendar.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK... It’s Wyatt Vaughn. Is Evelyn Ford in?"

Evelyn Ford put on her protective suit, grabbed a can of insecticide, and went to the door. The moment she opened it, Wyatt Vaughn grabbed her arm.

"Evelyn Ford, Quincy and my brother found a vehicle. He sent me to get you."

Evelyn Ford was surprised. "A vehicle?"

"Yeah, a medium-sized truck. The kind that can haul fourteen tons. He told me to come back for you. You should hurry over and take a look."

Evelyn Ford glanced back at Ronan Kendrick. They immediately shut the door and went out with Wyatt Vaughn.

"The truck’s a bit rusty. We found it in an underground garage. Unfortunately, there’s no gasoline."

After walking for about an hour, the three of them reached a residential complex in Estgard. The ground here was high, so it probably hadn’t flooded much during the downpour. However, it had collapsed severely after the earthquake, and all the roads were destroyed.

When they finally reached the underground garage Wyatt Vaughn had mentioned, they found it was largely collapsed. They would have to squeeze through the rubble to get inside.

"Who is it?"

"Quincy! Miles! We’re here!"

The three of them emerged into the underground garage, and Quincy hurried over.

"Evelyn Ford, Ronan Kendrick, you’re finally here! Quick, look at this truck."

Evelyn Ford looked at the truck, pinned beneath a dozen steel rebars, and couldn’t help but admire Quincy’s good luck.

"How’s the truck? Can it still be driven?"

"It’s rusted in a lot of spots, but with a little maintenance, it should run. The main problem is the lack of gasoline."

’Gasoline isn’t a problem,’ Evelyn Ford thought. ’I can make an excuse to get the gas from my space. The real issue is that if the roads aren’t clear, we can’t drive away even if we have a truck.’

"I’ve been scouting for the past few days. The road that loops around Danver’s West Mountain Park is flat. It’s drivable," Miles Vaughn said, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Let’s clear the rubble outside first and get the truck out. If the road hasn’t collapsed, we’ll be in good shape. There are a lot of crushed cars under the debris, so we might be able to siphon a good amount of gasoline." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Should we tell the others?" Wyatt Vaughn asked quietly.

"We should tell Mr. Graham’s group. Mr. Graham is a good man." Quincy ran a hand through his hair. "As for Taylor Vance and the others... I believe they’re good people, but they’re not like us. They’re leaders. They think about the big picture. They won’t abandon everyone else."

"Let’s head back first and tell Mr. Graham and his people. For the next couple of days, everyone should go out and look for gasoline."

Wyatt Vaughn was still worried about collapsed sections of road. "It would be great if we could find some bicycles."

Quincy gave an awkward laugh. "Bicycles can’t carry supplies. Besides, I don’t know how to ride one."

Back at the complex, Quincy went to get Officer Graham and Taylor Vance. He got straight to the point and told them about the truck.

"This truck can carry a lot of people. As soon as we find gasoline, we can hit the road."

"What about everyone else?" Zion Lowell asked.

"To hell with everyone else!" Quincy burst out, exasperated. "Have you forgotten what time this is? How can we still worry about others? Don’t you remember the lessons we’ve learned? People who looked perfectly honest showed their true colors the moment they found water. They didn’t just demand food, they assaulted women, beat people, and even killed."

Taylor Vance coughed, trying to smooth things over. "Quincy, don’t get upset. Leaving by truck won’t be easy. First, there’s the issue with the roads. The earthquakes have destroyed nearly all of them. Second, these people came all the way from the safe zone with us. If we just sneak away, it would be a huge blow to their morale."

"But what if they want to stay here? Danver has water now. A lot of people might choose to remain."

Many had already dropped out along the journey. Now that Danver had not only water but also shelter, it was likely that the vast majority would choose to stay.

"Evelyn Ford is right. If you don’t believe me, go ask the others if they want to leave. Most of them probably don’t want to go anywhere."

Taylor Vance sighed. "You’re right. I’d forgotten about that. Alright, here’s the plan: for the next few days, everyone stop what you’re doing and go out to find gasoline. If we can’t find a tarp, we’ll need to find clothes and bedsheets to make a cover for the top of the truck."

They divided the labor clearly: the men would find gasoline, clear the rubble, and get the truck out, while the women would find fabric and sew a cover.

"Right," Evelyn Ford reminded them, "we also need to find more plastic bottles and fill them with water."

Although Danver was a small city, it wasn’t a poor one. They could still dig out plenty of luxury cars from beneath the ruins.

Evelyn Ford, Serena Lynch, and Wyatt Vaughn also set out, searching everywhere for fabric and clothing. In addition to the truck cover, they also needed to sew protective suits for everyone. Lately, people had been using stockings to cover their faces when they went outside, but they were running out.

After about half a month of searching, they had managed to collect a surprising amount of gasoline.

"We found several more vehicles, but only three of them are drivable. Taylor Vance asked the others, and very few chose to leave—only the orphans they’ve taken in and Miles Vaughn’s crew."

Officer Graham got lucky. He found a box of emergency candles and some wilderness survival gear in one of the ruins.

With one truck and three vans, they had enough vehicles.

For the next two weeks, everyone started collecting all sorts of bottles to fill with water. They caught rats and crows to make into Dried Meat. Even Officer Graham’s group made a large batch of insect patties.

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick were assigned a van, with Quincy and Wyatt Vaughn joining them. All their luggage was tied to the roof. Evelyn Ford inspected the vehicle; it ran terribly and smelled awful, but as long as it could drive, it was good enough.

Officer Graham and his daughter shared a van with Serena Lynch’s family of three. Miles Vaughn and his crew took another. The large truck was assigned to Taylor Vance and his people. Registration for those leaving was complete—surprisingly, there were only a little over sixty people.

Evelyn Ford wasn’t surprised at all. ’If I weren’t so determined to get to The Northwest,’ she thought, ’I wouldn’t want to be constantly on the move either.’

"We still need to find some spare tires. And hoes." Evelyn Ford was worried about collapsed roads and the need to clear away obstacles.

"We found over a dozen tires; they’re all in the truck. A lot of the tools are in there too. The truck will take the lead and clear a path. We just have to follow."