Dinner that evening was a magnificent feast. There was fish, shrimp, beef bone soup, stir-fried beef tripe, dry-fried shredded beef, and beef stew with large steamed buns.

"Now this is what I call living." Full and content, everyone gathered around the fire pit to warm themselves and chat.

"We still have to go cut branches. Ugh, I don’t want to move after eating so much. I’m stuffed," Quincy said, rubbing his belly as he struggled to his feet.

"Let’s all head over. Bring the horses to carry the branches. We should have enough firewood, but we need to cut enough branches for the animals to eat for two months."

Officer Graham handed out sickles and machetes. Wendy stayed home to watch the flock of bighorn sheep while everyone else headed out.

"We’re pretty much a big, wealthy family now. Ten people, sixteen horses, two Mammoths, fifty or sixty bighorn sheep—so many I can’t even keep count—and two elk."

Wyatt Vaughn said excitedly, "It’d be great if we could find some camels later on."

"You’d have to go to a desert to find camels."

Chatting as they went, they soon reached the mountains. Miles Vaughn was still thinking about that lynx, so he scouted around for a bit but came back empty-handed.

"Ronan Kendrick, can you help me listen for any signs of the lynx in the mountains?" Unwilling to give up, Miles Vaughn went to find Ronan Kendrick and asked for his help listening for the lynx.

"We’ve probably made too much noise hunting these past couple of days. There are no animals in the mountains right now."

Miles Vaughn was crushed. "They ran away?"

"Looks like it."

"What a shame. I’m telling you, that lynx was really fat and good-looking, almost like a leopard."

"Just give it up, bro. Maybe you’ll bag a wild pheasant later," Wyatt Vaughn said, trying to console him. His words made everyone laugh.

Everyone started cutting branches, shaking off the accumulated snow and icicles. They tied the branches into bundles with hemp rope and loaded them onto the backs of the horses and Mammoths.

It took them nearly four hours to cut enough branches. On the way back, everyone dragged a bundle in addition to what the animals were carrying. It was enough to last for more than two months.

Even though they had stockpiled a lot of firewood, they still felt uneasy. The next morning, Officer Graham and the others went back into the mountains to cut more.

The blizzard grew more and more intense. The snow in the courtyard had to be shoveled daily, and the snow on the roof had to be scraped off to keep it from collapsing.

To everyone’s surprise, one of the mares gave birth. By the time Evelyn Ford discovered it, the foal had already been born.

"Wyatt Vaughn, bring a brazier over! Quincy, get some branches to spread on the ground! One of the mares had a foal!"

Evelyn Ford shouted from the courtyard, and the busy group came running. Seeing the little foal on the ground, everyone’s hearts melted.

"Oh my god, we didn’t even notice this mare was pregnant. Do horses need postpartum confinement?"

"I don’t think so."

"We need to get a brazier to let the foal warm itself by the fire. It’s too small, and the temperature is so low right now it could freeze to death. Spread the branches on the ground for it to lie on, but it should be able to stand up soon."

Wyatt Vaughn had already brought the brazier over. To prevent the mare from kicking anyone, Evelyn Ford took the brazier and went into the makeshift stable, then lifted the foal onto the bed of branches.

The bighorn sheep on the other side were bleating all day long. Seeing everyone gathered around the stable, they started bleating even more enthusiastically.

"I wonder if any of the bighorn sheep are about to give birth too?"

"It’s possible. Our group is growing again."

The foal’s arrival brought a touch of joy to the small courtyard. Peter Owens and Miles Vaughn both vied to take care of the little one. Despite the raging blizzard, everyone kept busy, still going out every day to cut firewood and branches.

They only stopped when the snow outside was deep enough to bury a person.

Evelyn Ford added three large bags of flour to the shipping container. She and Officer Graham were now in charge of it, so the two of them knew best what was inside.

The Musk Beef was incredibly tender. After a few days of such nourishing meals, everyone’s faces had filled out. But the weather was so cold that they all had red, wind-chapped cheeks. Evelyn Ford had also gained several pounds. Conditions were harsh, though, and she couldn’t bathe. Looking at herself in the mirror, she saw that while she wasn’t exactly disheveled, she was still terribly grubby.

Her hair was getting greasy, too. Evelyn Ford sighed. ’I have to wash my hair tomorrow. I can’t put it off any longer.’

"Speaking of how Evelyn Ford and I met, that’s a long story."

The men were still chatting by the fire pit. Quincy had a loud voice, and he could be heard from a great distance.

"Come on, tell us. I’m pretty curious," said Miles Vaughn, taking a sip of tea. It was a rare treat that Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick had brought back from Westeria, and everyone was usually reluctant to drink it.

Ronan Kendrick also stared at Quincy, a faint trace of envy and jealousy in his eyes.

"It was about ten days into the heavy rains, I think? I forget exactly how long. We were trapped in our office building—I worked for a pharmaceutical company—and Evelyn Ford came looking for medicine. That’s how I ran into her. When I found out she had an assault boat, I offered her a deal: if she got me out, I’d show her where our company’s medical supplies were. She stared at me in silence for a long time, and I thought she wouldn’t agree, but in the end, she did."

"I led her to the medicine, and she took me back to my apartment building. I thought I’d never see her again. But more than half a year later, I ran into her when two robbers were mugging me. Evelyn Ford saved me. I made another deal with her: she brought me to Prosperity Gardens, and that’s where I met Mr. Graham and Wendy. From that day on, I’ve seen Evelyn as my savior and my own sister."

After he finished, everyone turned to look at Ronan Kendrick.

"Ronan Kendrick, how did you and Evelyn Ford meet?"

Ronan Kendrick...

’Could he tell them?’

’He had been starving and weak from a lack of nutrient solution. After seeing Evelyn Ford in the karst cave, he had tried to follow her out, only to lose her and faint in the forest.’

’It had been just as cold as it was now, and it was snowing then, too.’

’Evelyn Ford had appeared and shot an arrow at him. He definitely wasn’t going to tell anyone about that.’

Ronan Kendrick’s lips curled into a slight smile. "We met after the earthquake." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"A friend in need is a friend indeed. Nice, nice."

Inside the house, Wyatt Vaughn and Wendy were also staring at Evelyn Ford.

"Did you really walk all the way from Broken Cloud Mountain to Wyrmrest Base? That’s so far. It must have taken you a long time."

"Yes. We were delayed because we stopped to fish at Silver River. We happened to run into the base’s fishing team, and Quincy and I recognized each other. He vouched for us, and that’s how we got to the base."

Wyatt Vaughn sighed wistfully. "That must have been so hard. My brother and I were pretty lucky at the beginning. The base sent people to pick us up, so we just came over. Why didn’t you come at the start?"

Evelyn Ford smiled. "We didn’t plan on going to a base at first. But during the heatwave, a huge fire broke out in Corinth and was about to reach our neighborhood. There was a convoy heading to the base at the time, so we followed them."

Wendy, who was beside her, nodded. "That’s right, I remember all of it."

"Wendy was only three years old then. Look, she’s already nine now."

In the blink of an eye, more than six years had passed since the apocalypse began.