Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Respective Duties

Everyone took the bowls and began wolfing down the congee, each one of them choking and coughing.

"Here are some steamed buns."

The moment Wendy brought out the steamed buns, several people rushed forward, grabbing them and stuffing them into their mouths. Wyatt Vaughn choked so badly the whites of her eyes showed, and Evelyn Ford had to hit her on the back a couple of times to dislodge the piece of bun stuck in her throat.

After they had eaten their fill, Officer Graham took them to bathe. The clothes Evelyn Ford had prepared were all left behind by the people from Xylos. When they were done, Evelyn treated their injuries and festering sores one by one.

The festering flesh needed to be excised. Evelyn Ford had Officer Graham brew an herbal remedy, into which she added painkillers and sleeping pills. She could only treat their wounds after they had fallen into a drugged sleep.

Wendy assisted at her side. Evelyn Ford started by treating Wyatt Vaughn’s injuries. Only upon examination did she discover that two of Wyatt Vaughn’s fingers had been severed and two of her teeth had been knocked out.

After quickly treating her, Evelyn Ford bandaged the wounds with gauze.

Next was Taylor Vance. He had two broken ribs, his body was covered in various whip marks, and the sores on his limbs were severe. His legs had already turned black and were oozing pus.

"Thank you." Before she began, Taylor Vance thanked Evelyn Ford solemnly. He kept his head bowed. To have lived to his age and still endured such a thing was a devastating blow for him.

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "If you really want to thank us, you should pull yourself together."

Taylor Vance was silent for a long while before finally nodding.

Zion Lowell still had bruises on his face. While treating his injuries, Evelyn Ford also discovered two bone-deep knife wounds on his back.

Peter Owens remained huddled in a corner. He was the one who had been dragged out for beheading just moments before. When Evelyn Ford told him to drink the medicine, he was so frightened he trembled uncontrollably.

Quincy and Miles Vaughn were the most severely injured. Treating the wounds on just the two of them took three hours.

Evelyn Ford also asked about Roy Henderson and Owen Chapman’s situation. Quincy said that when the earthquake hit, Roy Henderson and Owen Chapman had gone out to use the bathroom and never returned. They hadn’t seen them since.

Evelyn Ford stepped out of the cabin. Ronan Kendrick had already returned. He had cleaned the crossbow arrows and laid them out on the deck to dry.

"Did you take care of them?"

Ronan Kendrick nodded. "Three of the savages were hiding in the log cabin out back. I’ve dealt with them all. How are our people?"

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "Not good at all. Internal and external injuries, plus frostbite, festering sores, and psychological trauma."

Evelyn’s mind was still on the trees in the forest. "I’m going to let Mr. Graham know he’s in charge of everyone. Let’s go cut down those trees."

Ronan Kendrick nodded. "Alright."

Evelyn Ford carried the crossbow arrows back to her room. After shutting the door, she quickly stored them away and changed into a pair of rubber boots.

"Mr. Graham, Ronan Kendrick and I are going to cut down trees. You and Wendy, please keep an eye on them. When they wake up, give them another bowl of medicine."

"Alright, I’ve got it. You two stay safe."

"Mhm."

Evelyn Ford made another round through the cabin. Seeing that no one had developed a fever, she felt much more at ease.

The pair returned to the forest, and Evelyn Ford took out two chainsaws.

"Cut it all down. The skull grove, too. I’ll collect the skulls in my space for now. Once we’re back on our own land, we’ll find a place to bury them." ’There are already two bodies in my space, and now I’ve added more than ten skulls.’

The roar of chainsaws echoed through the forest as they began to cut down the trees. Ronan Kendrick felled them, and Evelyn Ford was in charge of sawing the trunks into sections before storing them in her space.

The two of them worked until dark, by which time they had only cleared a third of the forest. Evelyn Ford took out some food and water, and after a quick meal, they got back to work.

Just as Officer Graham had said, the trees here were indeed seventy to eighty meters tall. The wood was red and had a faint, pleasant, woody fragrance.

By dawn the next morning, the forest had vanished, leaving only a bald stretch of land.

The savages’ log cabins were no different from primitive dwellings. Behind them were three wooden boats, which Evelyn Ford also took.

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick only carried two logs back with them. Officer Graham glanced in the direction of the forest but asked no questions. He hurried to help them drag the logs aboard, then grabbed an axe and began splitting them into smaller pieces.

"Are they awake?"

"They woke up. I gave them their medicine and they fell back asleep. No one has a fever."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "That’s good. Let’s get moving. There’s no wind today, so we can cover a few extra kilometers."

Officer Graham went to tend to the patients, Wendy took care of cleaning, Evelyn Ford remained on deck, and Ronan Kendrick went to pilot the ship.

By noon, everyone had gradually regained consciousness. Except for Wyatt Vaughn, the others were so thoroughly bandaged they looked like mummies.

Quincy first went to check on Wyatt Vaughn. The two of them held each other and cried for a while. Although Quincy was badly hurt, he was more optimistic than the others. He limped over to find Evelyn Ford and began to tearfully recount the events of the past several days.

"That day, Ronan Kendrick came to warn us about the earthquake. We had just packed up and were about to run when the ground started to shake and then collapse. Soon, we were washed away by the sea. Mr. Vance told us to cling to pieces of wood in the water, but the wind and waves were too strong, and many of us were scattered. We were lucky; we managed to grab several life preservers. But after drifting for two days, people started sinking into the water one by one. That’s when those savages showed up in their wooden boats. They roped us and dragged us away, and we ended up here. Afterward, we were locked in an iron cage. They beat us from time to time and forced us to eat rotten meat and mud. A few of the savages tried to force themselves on us, and we fought back with everything we had. We managed to fight them off, but they would cut off one of our fingers or toes in retaliation. They even sliced off a piece of my scalp."

Evelyn Ford felt a sense of helplessness as she watched him tremble. "You should go back and rest. Ronan Kendrick and I have already gotten revenge for you. Now that you’re all awake, I’ll sort out the room arrangements. You and Wyatt Vaughn will share a room, Mr. Vance and Mr. Lowell will be in another, and Miles Vaughn and Peter Owens will take the last one."

"Okay, I understand." Quincy returned to the cabin, looking dejected.

Evelyn Ford hauled in the fishing net, and Wendy immediately came over with a knife and a bucket to help.

"Miss Ford, the fish are so plump today!"

"These are silver pomfret."

"And these?"

"Those are cod."

Meanwhile, once everyone was awake, Officer Graham headed to the kitchen to cook. He wasn’t the type to sit idle, so he had already taken on all the cooking duties. Now, Evelyn Ford only needed to focus on fishing.

The kitchen was supplied with clean water left behind by the previous occupants. There were more than ten gas canisters remaining, and the kitchen also had a stove that could burn either coal or wood.

A week later, the others had mostly recovered. Miles Vaughn and Quincy started going to the wheelhouse to learn how to pilot the ship. Once they could handle it on their own, Ronan Kendrick joined Evelyn Ford on deck to help with the fishing.

After that, they came across several more small forests on islands. The trees in this part of the sea were all seventy- to eighty-meter-tall redwoods. Naturally, Evelyn Ford wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to harvest them, leaving nothing but bare earth in her wake.

Once everyone had more or less recovered, Evelyn Ford assigned jobs to each person.

Officer Graham and Taylor Vance were responsible for cooking. Miles Vaughn, Peter Owens, and Quincy were in charge of piloting the ship. Wendy handled the cleaning, while Evelyn Ford, Ronan Kendrick, Wyatt Vaughn, and Zion Lowell took care of catching and processing the seafood.