Su Nian stood beside the bed, clutching the car keys in her hand, unable to decide whether to leave or stay.
With Xingxing in this condition, he definitely needed an IV drip. But even if they made it to the county town, would there still be any doctors left?
She stared at Xingxing’s fever flushed face, and suddenly something came to mind.
A year ago, she had taken Xingxing to that very county town for a trip. He had always been prone to coughing, and someone had recommended a well known clinic there.
At the time, several children at the clinic had high fevers but were not receiving IV treatment. The elderly doctor had prescribed them a bag of oral rehydration solution mixed with fever reducing medication, saying it worked especially well for children and usually cured them within three or four days.
She had no idea whether that clinic still existed.
But it was the most promising option she could think of.
She decided to take the gamble.
Su Nian carried Xingxing into the bathroom and lowered him into a tub of warm water for more than ten minutes.
The temperature was just right, warm enough to be comfortable without feeling hot.
Xingxing shrank into himself and murmured weakly, “Mommy… it’s cold.”
Su Nian’s heart clenched painfully.
She dared not respond.
Instead, she kept scooping water over his back and shoulders one handful at a time.
After drying him off, she checked his temperature.
37.9°C.
It had finally come down a little.
But he still had a fever.
Xingxing leaned weakly against the pillow, his eyelids drooping.
“Mommy’s taking you to see a doctor.”
Xingxing nodded obediently.
Just then, a series of dull thuds echoed through the night.
Thump! Thump!
The sounds came every few seconds.
The group was chopping down trees.
Su Nian looked out the window.
Night had completely fallen, making it impossible to see into the distance.
Why were they cutting down trees?
Were they planning to climb over the wall again?
The possibility made her decision for her.
She could not wait any longer.
Su Nian packed every useful item in the house back into her storage space.
Then she lifted Xingxing onto her back, secured him tightly with a carrier, and wrapped him from head to toe in a blanket.
His little body had gone limp from the fever.
Pressed against her back, his burning hot face rested against her neck.
She eased the iron gate open just enough to peer outside.
The village lay in complete darkness.
Flashlight beams swayed in the direction where the group was staying.
The chopping had stopped, and voices drifted through the night, though she could not make out what they were saying.
Slipping outside, Su Nian quietly closed the gate behind her.
She dared not use a light.
Feeling her way through the darkness, she headed downhill.
The dirt road was uneven.
Loose gravel made her footing slippery, forcing her to steady herself with every step before taking the next.
Xingxing’s weight pressed heavily against her back, leaving her shoulders aching.
She did not dare move too quickly.
She was afraid of falling and hurting Xingxing.
She was even more afraid of making any noise.
But the house where that group was staying stood right beside the road.
She had no choice but to pass in front of it.
When she was only a dozen meters away, the flashlight inside suddenly went out.
Su Nian froze. She crouched beneath the shadow of a roadside tree.
Someone came out of the house.
Footsteps crunched across the gravel outside the door.
Closer, closer still.
Su Nian held her breath and reached behind herself to press firmly against Xingxing’s legs, making sure he would not move.
The man walked a few steps toward the roadside.
Then she heard the unmistakable sound of him relieving himself.
A gust of wind carried the pungent smell of urine toward her.
The man yawned, turned around, and walked back inside.
His footsteps gradually faded before the door closed again.
Su Nian waited several more seconds before standing up and continuing forward.
Her legs felt weak.
She stayed close to the edge of the road, hardly daring to breathe.
Only after she had walked several dozen meters and put plenty of distance between herself and the house did she finally relax a little.
After walking farther, she reached a bend in the road.
Beyond it lay the dirt road leading down the mountain.
Su Nian quickened her pace.
Behind her, Xingxing gave a muffled cough.
She froze in terror, scarcely daring to breathe as she stood there for several seconds.
Then she continued downhill.
The moment she rounded the bend, a shout suddenly rang out behind her.
“Someone’s over there!”
A flashlight beam swept across her from behind, stretching her shadow long across the ground.
“That woman escaped!”
Su Nian’s heart lurched.
There was no time to think.
She darted behind the corner, took the electric scooter out of her storage space, set it on the ground, jumped onto it, and twisted the throttle.
The scooter shot forward.
Behind her came hurried footsteps and angry shouting.
“Stop!”
Flashlight beams danced wildly behind her.
Su Nian leaned low over the handlebars as the wind roared past her ears.
The people behind kept shouting.
Their voices gradually faded farther and farther away.
She never looked back.
Only after reaching the foot of the mountain, turning onto the dirt road leading toward the county town, and riding for some distance did she finally slow down.
Her palms were drenched with sweat.
Even the rubber grips on the handlebars had become slippery.
She stopped and glanced back.
Nothing! Only endless darkness.
No one had followed her.
She drew several deep breaths, her chest feeling painfully tight.
She wanted to cough but forced herself to suppress it.
Behind her, Xingxing stirred weakly.
“Mommy…”
“It’s okay now.”
Su Nian’s voice was hoarse.
She started moving again.
The road was even worse than she had expected.
Rain had washed deep potholes into the dirt road, and in many places, piles of broken stones blocked most of the path, forcing her to weave back and forth.
After riding for more than twenty minutes, a cluster of dark figures appeared ahead.
Su Nian slowly came to a stop, planted one foot on the ground, and narrowed her eyes.
Zombies!
More than a dozen of them.
Several were crouched over something on the ground, tearing into it.
The moment they heard the sound of the electric scooter, every one of them turned their heads.
The stench of rotting flesh drifted toward her, mixed with the metallic scent of blood.
The wind carried it straight into her nose.
Her throat tightened, and she nearly gagged.
She instinctively backed away.
To her left was a steep mountainside.
To her right was a deep ditch.
She had trucks and pickup trucks stored inside her storage space, but none of them could get through.
The road was simply too narrow.
Even the electric scooter could not force its way past.
The Zombies completely blocked the road.
The scooter offered no protection whatsoever.
If they were knocked off, neither she nor Xingxing would survive.
The Zombies ahead began shuffling toward her.
The ones in front moved faster, while the rest followed close behind.
Su Nian counted them.
At least fifteen.
She looked back. Behind her was nothing but darkness.
Retreating meant returning to the village.
But that group was still there…
Forget it! She would deal with that later.
For now, she had to turn back.
The Zombies drew closer and closer.
The rutted dirt road made it impossible to gain speed.
Sweat poured from Su Nian’s palms.
The nearest Zombie was almost close enough to grab her.
Moments later, one of them caught hold of the rear rack of the electric scooter.
The scooter lurched violently.
No! Xingxing was on her back.
She could not keep riding.
The instant she abandoned the scooter, Su Nian dumped a pile of miscellaneous supplies out of her storage space, crushing several Zombies beneath the heap.
Another Zombie lunged at her.
One of its eyeballs dangled outside its socket as it rushed toward her with its mouth wide open.
Su Nian twisted aside and slashed at its arm with her machete.
She missed. She pulled the machete back and swung again.
This time, the blade bit deep into its neck.
It became lodged there.
The Zombie collapsed but was not dead, its body still writhing on the ground.
More zombies crowded in behind it.
One! Two! Three!
Packed tightly together on the narrow road, they stretched out their hands toward her.
Ignoring the pain, Su Nian threw several coils of wire from her storage space.
Her life was on the line.
What use were supplies if she died?
The moment the Zombies were buried beneath the tangled wire, Su Nian turned and ran.
Behind her, Xingxing let out a faint groan.
His little hands clutched the blanket tightly.
He was suffering badly.
Su Nian took out another electric scooter from her storage space and rode back the way she had come.
After more than ten minutes, she finally managed to leave the Zombies behind.
Even so, she could still hear their low growls echoing through the darkness.
Xingxing’s forehead rested against the back of Su Nian’s neck.
It was frighteningly hot.
With trembling hands, she fed him another dose of fever medicine.
She still had to reach the county town.
But how could she get Xingxing past the Zombies?
Then a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
Her storage space. The planting area inside it could grow vegetables.
But she had never tried storing any other living creature there.
If she could put Xingxing inside…
She did not know whether it would work.
The Zombies were already closing in again.
They were only about fifty meters away.
Su Nian decided to gamble. She had no idea whether there was even air inside the space.
But she had no other choice.
She reached out, grasped Xingxing’s arm, and silently willed it.
“Go in.”