Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Injured, Reunion

Fortunately, as they fell, Ronan Kendrick quickly pulled a dagger from his sleeve and plunged it into the Earthen Cliff, slowing their descent.

Evelyn Ford felt a wave of dizziness and fell stiffly into the water.

"Evelyn Ford!"

In the last moment before she lost consciousness, Evelyn Ford thought she heard Ronan Kendrick screaming her name.

Evelyn Ford was aware of a lot of noise around her, but she couldn’t open her eyes. She heard the BEEP-BEEP-BEEP of a machine, along with the voices of men and women.

Then, someone touched her. ’I want to jump up and hit them!’ Evelyn Ford thought, but she couldn’t move at all. ’It’s like I’m trapped in a narrow box, my limbs tied down, turned into some specimen on display.’

"Evelyn Ford."

Someone called her name gently and held her in their arms. She felt a warm touch on her forehead. ’Damn it,’ she thought. ’Who’s taking advantage of me?’

Evelyn Ford raised her hand with all her might. SLAP! Her palm connected squarely with the person’s face. Evelyn was thrilled. ’Great! I can move again!’

"Evelyn Ford?"

Evelyn Ford opened her eyes to a handsome face. A flicker of confusion crossed her gaze, but the sharp pain in her shoulder quickly brought her to her senses.

"Ronan Kendrick?"

"It’s me. Thank goodness, you’re finally awake."

As her senses returned, Evelyn Ford remembered. She and Ronan Kendrick had been leaving the cliff when the husky’s barks attracted patrolmen. The soldiers shot her twice in the shoulder. And though she had managed to kill them, she fainted from her injuries and fell into the murky seawater.

She also remembered Ronan Kendrick’s desperate, hoarse cry.

"Where are we now?"

"We’ve left the Earthen Cliff and are almost at the border. Does your wound still hurt?"

Only then did Evelyn Ford notice the taste of blood in her mouth.

"COUGH, COUGH. Did you feed me your blood again? It doesn’t hurt. How about you? Did they hurt you?"

Ronan Kendrick shook his head. "I’m fine. It’s all my fault. I was careless and didn’t spot them."

Ronan Kendrick’s eyes were filled with self-reproach, guilt, and heartache. Just as Evelyn Ford was about to speak, she noticed a red handprint on his face.

In an instant, she understood what had happened and coughed guiltily.

"While I was unconscious, I thought someone was taking advantage of me. That’s why I hit out... I’m sorry."

Ronan Kendrick said nothing, just gave her a meaningful look, which made Evelyn Ford feel even more sheepish.

She was lying in a kayak. The two Snow Rabbits, tucked into Ronan Kendrick’s backpack, peered curiously at Evelyn Ford. The torrential rain had stopped, but fierce winds churned the sea, making it incredibly difficult to paddle.

Ronan Kendrick had already removed the bullets from her shoulder, but since Evelyn Ford had been unconscious, he had only been able to give her a simple bandage using the torn lining of his own clothes.

Evelyn Ford quickly took out some clean clothes for Ronan Kendrick to change into. Since he had given her his blood, her wound barely hurt anymore.

"Let me re-dress your wound," Ronan said. "You lost a lot of blood, so you’re still very weak. Just lie still."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Okay."

He cleaned and re-dressed the wound. Her clothes were still sopping wet, and Evelyn Ford shivered with cold, so Ronan Kendrick helped her change again.

「Three hours later.」

The kayak neared the border. Evelyn Ford took out her binoculars and spotted the fishing boat’s location.

"I’ll get the supplies out first. Two sacks of medicine, plus raincoats, hazmat suits, canned food, guns, and knives. Also, milk powder, brown sugar, and glucose to help everyone get their strength back. Oh, and bars of soap..."

The small kayak was already piled high. The rest of the items would have to be secretly added to the storeroom later.

"Mr. Graham knows we have our secrets, but he’s never asked about them. He’s one hundred percent trustworthy. I gave him the weapons and the storeroom key before we left."

"I trust him." Ronan Kendrick, now in fresh clothes, looked at Evelyn Ford with concern.

"You look terribly pale. Does your wound still hurt?"

"It doesn’t hurt much. I’m probably just pale from the cold. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine once we’re back on the boat. You can’t kill me that easily; I’m tough as a cockroach." Evelyn Ford raised her right hand and made a fist. Ronan Kendrick just smiled helplessly.

"Lie still. Even though the wound is starting to heal, you need to take some time to rest and recover properly."

Evelyn Ford gave him a salute. "Yes, Sir Kendrick."

As the kayak approached the fishing boat, Peter Owens, standing on deck, was the first to spot them.

"They’re back! Joy Ford and Mr. Ronan Kendrick are back! Mr. Graham, everyone, come quick!"

Lying in the kayak, Evelyn Ford watched Peter Owens jumping up and down in excitement and couldn’t help but smile.

The others swarmed out onto the deck. Seeing the two of them back safe and sound, they were all moved to tears of excitement.

"Miss Ford," Wendy sobbed, "I was so worried about you!" She cried so hard she could barely breathe. Evelyn Ford tried to sit up, but the movement tugged at her wound, so she could only lie there and wave to them.

When they reached the side of the fishing boat, Officer Graham lowered a thick rope. Ronan Kendrick tied it securely around Evelyn Ford, letting the others haul her up.

"Evelyn Ford’s hurt? Where? Is it serious?"

Evelyn Ford smiled. "I’m fine. It’s already healing. Just my shoulder."

Seeing that she was otherwise in one piece, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Once the supplies were hauled aboard, Ronan Kendrick climbed up after her.

Everyone started asking what happened. Ronan Kendrick kept it brief, giving them a quick rundown of the situation in Westeria.

"Mr. Graham, could you take inventory and store the supplies? Evelyn Ford is injured, so I’m taking her to her room to rest. By the way, did you run into any trouble while we were gone?"

"Okay. I’ll get started on the inventory. You take Evelyn Ford to rest," Mr. Graham replied. "I’ll brief you on what’s happened on the boat later. Quincy, Wyatt Vaughn, go prepare some food in the kitchen. Peter Owens, Miles Vaughn, get the ship underway."

Evelyn Ford wanted to say she could walk, but Ronan Kendrick simply swept her up into his arms.

Ronan Kendrick handed the backpack containing the Snow Rabbits to Wendy. She was so moved she burst into tears again, making everyone laugh.

Back in her room, she saw Mina and the others sleeping soundly in their little den. They spotted her and tried to jump up, but Ronan Kendrick quickly stopped them.

"Let’s put an electric blanket down. It’s too cold in here."

"Okay." Evelyn Ford took out an electric blanket and gave it to Ronan Kendrick. He spread it on the bed while she sat in a chair, watching him.

"I want to take a bath first."

"I’ll go heat some water." The moment Ronan Kendrick heard her, he rushed out to do just that. Evelyn Ford smiled like a fool at his retreating back.

"Mina, Lola, are you guys doing okay?"

’They look like they’ve gotten fatter,’ she thought. ’So adorably dopey.’

Ronan Kendrick insisted on helping her bathe, too. Evelyn Ford felt like a helpless doll, letting him do as he pleased. He even fed her every single bite of her meal, spoonful by spoonful.

After she finished eating, Evelyn Ford grew drowsy. Ronan Kendrick waited until she had fallen asleep before leaving the room to take a bath himself. Afterwards, he found Officer Graham to ask what had happened while they were away.

"It was pouring rain constantly," Officer Graham explained. "We ran into two different groups. We couldn’t understand a word the first group said, but it was easy to guess their intentions. They wanted to board our ship. We refused, so they tried to launch a surprise attack later. I handed out the weapons, and we dealt with them together. The second group had been exiled from Westeria. They came begging for food and clothes. We didn’t give them anything."