Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 125: I’m Safe

Evelyn Ford opened the door to 601. Inside, she found that Mina and Lola had been well-fed. The room was very tidy, and the heater was still warm. The moment Mina and Lola saw her, they pounced.

Evelyn Ford bolted the door, calmed the two little ones, then took out a dagger and a cup. She made a cut on her arm. The sharp sting of the blade slicing her skin made Evelyn frown slightly as blood trickled down her wrist and into the cup. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

After collecting just under half a cup, Evelyn Ford dropped in a few Albendazole tablets. She then cleaned and simply bandaged the wound before putting away the cup and leaving 601.

Chase Underwood was still waiting outside. When he saw Evelyn Ford come out, he rushed forward to ask about Serena Lynch.

"She’s doing well. I expect she’ll be back soon."

Chase Underwood breathed a sigh of relief. "Evelyn, could you please bring something to Serena for me?"

Evelyn Ford saw several cans in the bag, and her expression hardened.

"Have you eaten any of this canned food?"

Chase Underwood shook his head. "They’re for Serena. I haven’t had any."

"I’m not going back to the medical department right now, so I can’t take them for you. You should throw the cans out. They have worms in them; they’re inedible."

Evelyn Ford’s gaze was so severe that a startled Chase Underwood immediately nodded.

"I’ll go throw them away right now."

"Wait. Just hold on to them for now. If you throw them out, someone might find them."

With that, Evelyn Ford immediately left the apartment building, running as fast as she could toward the single rooms in The West Courtyard. Quincy had told her Officer Graham’s room number: Building 13, 5th floor, 502.

Evelyn Ford had taken off her protective suit before leaving. She’d been wearing the same clothes for over ten days, and one didn’t need to get close to know she smelled.

Evelyn Ford looked up at the glaring sun. A patrol was loitering up ahead, so she ducked down a side path to avoid them.

When she reached Building 13 in The West Courtyard, Evelyn Ford saw no administrative staff around and dashed straight up to the fifth floor. She checked the room number, then raised her hand and banged on the door.

"Mr. Graham? Wendy?"

The door opened quickly. Officer Graham was surprised to see her.

"Hurry, get inside."

Only after entering the room did Evelyn Ford realize just how cramped the four-square-meter space Quincy had described was. There was a small bed inside, and it was difficult for two adults to even turn around in the remaining empty space.

Wendy lay listlessly on the bed, her face tinged with blue. With no time to waste on pleasantries with Officer Graham, Evelyn Ford pried open Wendy’s mouth to examine it.

"How has Wendy been the last couple of days?"

"She’s been completely listless. She won’t eat or drink anything, but she hasn’t thrown up either."

Evelyn Ford took the small Water Cup from her pocket and poured the blood inside down Wendy’s throat.

Officer Graham smelled the metallic scent of blood and looked at Evelyn Ford in astonishment. But he knew she would never harm anyone, so he held back his questions.

"There are worms in the canned food. They’re likely another type of mutated nematode from the animals bred at the base. They’re even trickier to deal with than the ones that were in the water."

Wendy’s eyes fluttered open. She tried to spit out the blood, but Evelyn Ford forced her to swallow it.

"Miss Ford, I missed you so much."

Evelyn Ford ruffled her hair, a stinging sensation in her eyes.

"I missed you too."

Evelyn Ford wiped her lips. "Do you have any clean water?"

Officer Graham quickly pulled a bottle of clean water from his bag and handed it to her. Evelyn Ford had Wendy drink some to wash away the taste of blood.

"I have some compressed biscuits here. You two can share them. For now, don’t eat any food from the base. Ronan Kendrick said they’re already purifying the water, so things should be okay in a little while."

Evelyn Ford shrugged off her backpack. Just then, Wendy suddenly clutched her stomach and began to cry. Officer Graham’s mind went blank with fear, but thankfully, Evelyn Ford reacted instantly. She grabbed a bag and patted Wendy on the back, urging her to throw up.

The yellow bile and fresh blood she vomited contained tiny worms. They writhed for a few seconds before dying. Wendy threw up until she was completely drained, and only when she could not bring up anything else did Evelyn Ford finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Take this half-box of medicine. Give Wendy one pill every few hours. I have to go now, but I’ll come back to check on her tomorrow."

Officer Graham looked at Evelyn Ford, concerned. "Don’t let anyone know you have medicine."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "I know."

Wendy had fallen asleep again, but her complexion was much improved. The pale, bluish tint to her skin had faded considerably.

Evelyn Ford left The West Courtyard and hurried back. Patrol teams were scattered throughout the base, stopping and inspecting anyone they saw. If anything seemed amiss, the person was sent to the medical department.

Evelyn Ford saw a truck carrying live pigs drive past on the road ahead. Fat, white pigs were crammed into cages. As she looked at their milky-white eyes, goosebumps prickled on her arms.

"Hey, you! Stop right there."

Several patrolling security guards spotted Evelyn Ford and approached her, electric batons in hand.

Evelyn Ford stood her ground, her fists clenched tightly inside her sleeves.

"Take off the mask."

Evelyn Ford didn’t resist, obediently removing her mask.

The guard sized her up. "Which department do you work in?"

"The medical department."

The guard looked her over from head to toe one more time before waving her away. Without a word, Evelyn Ford put her mask back on and left quickly.

Back at the apartment building, Evelyn Ford saw that Ronan Kendrick still wasn’t home. She frowned. ’Did he go hunting again?’

’That shouldn’t be possible.’

Evelyn Ford took a shower and changed out of her dirty clothes. She had no intention of returning to the medical department.

The cut on her arm was already starting to heal, making it both sore and itchy.

Evelyn Ford took out some meat she’d previously bought at the villa market. She inspected it carefully, relieved to find it wasn’t pork from the base’s farms.

She took out an egg, cracked it open, and shone a flashlight into it. Thankfully, the egg was also free of worms.

At eight in the evening, a faint noise came from outside the door. Evelyn Ford quickly got up and opened it just as Ronan Kendrick was about to use his key. Their eyes met, and Evelyn Ford let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"You’re finally back."

The moment Ronan Kendrick stepped inside, he grabbed her arm and tore away the gauze bandage.

"Why did you bleed yourself?"

"To save Wendy. The canned food has a mutated nematode that’s harder to kill, and the specific medicine wasn’t working anymore. The only way was to use my blood to save her. Thankfully, it worked."

Ronan Kendrick lowered his gaze to her, his expression somber.

"I should have come back sooner."

Evelyn Ford didn’t say anything. Instead, her eyes were drawn to his sleeve, where she saw a large bloodstain. Her keen sense of smell told her it was human blood.

’Ronan Kendrick had his secrets. He must have come to the base for a reason, but if he wasn’t going to talk about it, she certainly wouldn’t ask.’

"Is she okay?" he asked, referring to Wendy.

"She was doing much better by the time I left. I’ll go check on her again tomorrow."

Ronan Kendrick grunted in agreement. "I’ll go with you."

"You’re not busy tomorrow?"

Ronan Kendrick pulled over a chair and sat down, looking up at her. His gaze was so focused it was impossible to look away.

"Not busy. I’ve already finished. Evelyn, I’m safe now."