The World Cataclysm - Chapter 44: Unexpected Meeting

“Don’t worry! I’ll be right back.” Evelyn whispered as she held a hand of Mary who was sleeping leaning on the cold wall. Her eyes seemed still swollen from all tears she had cried as her brows were furrowed while she slept.

They were leaning on the wall as their faces were illuminated by the dull lighting of the underground basement. Pipes and ventilation were stretching next to the wall and ceiling as several other people were also located in the same underground basement.

‘Poor Mary!’ Evelyn thought when she looked at the current state of her best friend as she slowly ungrasped her hand. Evelyn was also grieving over Arthur’s death, but she needed to be stronger…for Mary…and for Arthur also!

Due to this, she decided to go upstairs and to acquire food for them, even though searching for food followed with risks on its own. However, she was ready for the risks…No, she had to face these risks!

Several hours had already passed since Kyle had returned from above, and during that time Mary had fallen asleep due to mental exhaustion and as he had said, Kyle didn’t share his food with anyone.

*Growl*

Standing up, Evelyn had pressed her hand at her grumbling stomach since it was already a long time since she had eaten anything. Not only her, but everybody was starving for hours already…everybody, except for Kyle.

During this time, Evelyn had a lot of time to think about the reasons why Arthur had died. And the conclusion she had drawn was that Arthur was too kind! He wanted to save everyone, yet in the end, he couldn’t even save himself.

Ignoring the dangers, he risked his life for everyone and died in a result. Thinking everything over, she could agree with Kyle on one point; others acted as useless leechers who wanted to remain in the safety behind other’s backs.

Slowly, without noticing it, something was changing inside Evelyn after Arthur’s death, something that never had been inside her. Darkness had found its place inside her heart! Without knowing it, her thoughts had become slightly darker and crueller than before.

Resisting the weakness in her body, she took her empty bag and Wooden Club as she trudged towards the stairs. She was feeling slightly weak after starving for hours, yet she could do nothing with it.

“Where are you going?” Kyle asked with a mocking tone.

“…Going to obtain food for me and Mary,” Evelyn replied annoyedly, yet she failed to notice that she included only herself and Mary while neglecting others.

“Try not to die! It’ll be sad to lose the only useful person in the group.” Kyle sneered as he thought, ‘Just wait and see how everyone including you would be begging me to give you food.’

Glaring at him intensely with her ruby eyes, Evelyn turned abruptly and opened the doors of the underground basement as she went upstairs without saying a word. She decided not to waste her breath on him since she thought that it was useless anyway.

“Greet Arthur if you meet him!” As she was closing the door, Evelyn heard Kyle’s mocking remark. Anger boiled inside her heart as she gritted her teeth and went upstairs with big strides.

Slowly opening the door to the first floor, she peeked into the supermarket and, except for one or two zombies wandering close to the door, she hadn’t seen any apparent dangers.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Deeply breathing a mouthful of air, she tried to calm her beating heart. She could never grow accustomed to that feeling no matter how much she had done it in the past week. She felt like if she made one wrong step, she will be dead.

‘Focus Evelyn! Arthur entrusted me Mary!’ Evelyn thought as she gritted her teeth.

Waiting for the moment when a zombie trudged further from the door, Evelyn slipped through the door to the opening between shelves. Making turns when necessary and avoiding groups of zombies, she had somehow reached a shelf with food.

Throwing everything she could find into her bag, she was turning her head occasionally as to guard herself against any surprises. Her hands were swiftly sweeping over the shelf as she filled her bag with what she had thought was edible.

Filling it so that it won’t be too heavy for her, she hurriedly stood up and headed to the underground basement. However, she quickly understood that her way back was blocked by a group of three zombies which were moving towards her location.

‘When I had moved by that way, they weren’t here. Perhaps, I can take a detour.’ Evelyn thought as she pressed her hand on her mouth, fearing that sound could escape from her mouth due to her fear.

Yet when she had turned to take another way to the underground basement, she had heard a sound of steps as they were coming from her only alternative path.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Panicking slightly, Evelyn could only hear the sound of nearing steps and her own heartbeat. With no way forward, she didn’t know what to do as she started backing slowly. Gritting her teeth, she looked at the wide double door with a tablet “Staff only!” on it and entered the door.

Still pressing her hand on her mouth, she found herself in a corridor as she leaned to one of the office doors. Escaping from her death, Evelyn sighed in relief as she thought, ‘It was close just then!’

However, just when she thought that she could catch her breath and calm herself, something hit the wide doors as it tried to push it open. Since wide doors could be easily opened by pushing, she immediately paled in her face as blood rushed from her face.

Just when she had thought that she was already dead, the door she was leaning on opened as a hand covered her mouth and dragged her inside. She tried to struggle, but it was in vain as she was helplessly dragged into the room.

***

Sensing nearing zombies, Dave swiftly dragged Evelyn inside the room as he covered her mouth with his hand. However, when he had pressed his hand on her mouth, he felt a sharp pain from it.

As a last effort, Evelyn bit Dave’s hand in panic and fear!

Ignoring the pain, he quickly closed the door and withdrawn his hand from Evelyn. Regaining her freedom, Evelyn quickly turned to face him, yet when she saw a person next to Dave, she exclaimed in surprise, “Arthur! You’re alive!”

Indeed, a blond man was standing behind Dave as he greeted her with his blue eyes. He was surprised no less than her since he didn’t expect to meet her here. Arthur exclaimed, “Evelyn, what are you doing here? How’s Mary?”

“She cried a lot when she had heard that you didn’t return, but don’t worry, she’s sleeping now. But Kyle said that you were dead. What happened?” Evelyn asked him, yet she already could pick some things about what happened. Evidently, Kyle lied to her!

“Where should I start?…” Starting like this, Arthur told her everything that happened to him.

Since Dave was sensing the supermarket every 15 minutes, he had already detected Arthur and his group when they were filling their bags with food. However, when they had attracted an aggro from zombies, he quickly dashed to them and was able to save Arthur. As for the third man, he was already dead when he had reached them.

It was the same with Evelyn. He was observing her every movement from the moment she had left the underground basement, but he didn’t try to reach her since she was in no big danger like Arthur.

‘Is it truly Evelyn? She seems slightly different than before.’ Dave thought as he looked at her up and down. Evelyn from his memories had black hair till her neckline and had an oppressing aura around her, but now she had long hair and gentle facial features as she smiled at Arthur.

“And they are?” Catching strange glances from Dave, Evelyn felt herself slightly uncomfortable under his gaze as she addressed to Arthur.

“He’s the person who saved me. His name’s David. The girl sitting on the chair is Rachel, while the one on the floor is Rebecca.” Arthur introduced everyone as he first pointed at Dave and then, to Rachel and Rebecca who were listening to their conversation silently.

“Whatever! It’s nice that you’re alive!” Evelyn said as she hugged Arthur. However, finally reaching a safe place, Evelyn stumbled as everything blurred around her. Arthur was the first one who noticed that something wasn’t right with her since she was heating too much.

“Evelyn, why is your body heating so much?” Arthur asked in concern as he shook her body slightly. However, Evelyn was only half-conscious since she was too tired for today. Just in one day, she had lost her friend and also comforted Mary while not getting sleep for herself.

Combined with a rising fever, she couldn’t remain conscious after everything that happened with her. She didn’t notice her body heat due to adrenaline and sense of danger, but getting into a safe place, she couldn’t hold anymore.

“Don’t worry and lye her on the floor. Rebecca will take care of her.” Dave said to Arthur as he thought ‘It seems that I got here at the right time.’

Seeing her going through a process of awakening, Dave couldn’t help but recall another piece of a rumour from his past life which was about why Evelyn had hated abusive people so much so that she had dared to kill them.

‘If I recall it right, her best friend was raped while Evelyn was going through an awakening. I heard that Evelyn had killed that person after she woke up, but a short while later, her best friend had woke up and killed herself before Evelyn’s eyes.’ Dave thought grimly as he glanced at unconscious Evelyn, and Arthur next to her.