Chapter 437 I Won't Leave You
Harper jolted awake from her nap, her heart racing. She shot up and saw everything on the cabinet crashing down with a deafening roar.
Without thinking, she yanked the door, trying to bolt outside, but the lock was stuck like it was welded shut. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't budge.
There were no hotels in the mountain. All the volunteers were either crashing with local villagers or staying at the school. The school buildings were mostly falling apart, but the doors were all made of sheet metal, which didn't rot easily even after years of use. Because the door locks hadn't been maintained for ages, sometimes they could only be opened from the outside.
Harper couldn't open the door, so she pounded on the sheet metal and yelled, "Is anyone there? Can someone help me open the door?"
Outside, there were frantic footsteps everywhere. Everyone was desperately trying to escape and couldn't hear Harper's cries.
The village loudspeakers blared, "Due to a sudden landslide in Whispering Peaks, please quickly move to the central safe area of the village in order."
Harper heard it; it was a landslide, not an earthquake. But this elementary school she was staying in was right at the foot of the mountain, and with all the noise and chaos, it was likely in the danger zone.
Harper didn't give up and kept using whatever she could find to smash the door. But there were no metal rods in the resting area, and even the bench legs broke, failing to open the sheet metal door.
She went back to find her phone to call the volunteer leader.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, the sound of someone kicking the sheet metal door. A man's voice came from outside, "Ms. Murphy, are you in there?"
Harper shouted, "I'm here! I'm here!"
The male voice barked, "Step away from the door."
Harper quickly moved back.
After two more kicks, the door finally burst open. A man in black rushed in.
Harper didn't recognize him; he wasn't part of the volunteer team.
He said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here on Mr. Getty's orders to protect you."
He panted heavily and handed Harper a dust mask, saying, "Do you have anything to pack? Please hurry and come with us."
Harper didn't have time to think about when Francis had arranged for a man to protect her. She put on the dust mask and shook her head frantically, saying, "No, I don't need anything."
In a life-or-death situation, everything else could be abandoned.
After she got out, she glanced back and saw a massive black cloud of dust approaching, so thick she couldn't see her hands in front of her face.
The dust from the soil was extremely choking; without the dust mask, prolonged inhalation of that could be fatal.
Harper clutched her phone tightly and ran behind the bodyguard. Soon the other bodyguard joined them.Fortunately, she was wearing long-sleeved pajamas, so she didn't look too disheveled running out.
After a few steps, she suddenly heard a faint crying, very soft and weak. In the midst of the loud noise, it was impossible to hear without stopping to listen carefully.
But since becoming a mother, Harper had become very sensitive to the heartbreaking sound of a child's cry. She turned back and was sure the crying was coming from the house on the edge.
Harper's face changed. Inside lived a little boy whose parents were away working, leaving him with his grandmother. She vaguely remembered that the boy's grandmother had mobility issues and probably hadn't escaped.
The landslide was coming fast.
Harper thought of Agnes and hesitated for a second, but the faint cry climbed into her heart like a vine.
She patted a bodyguard's shoulder and shouted, "You go ahead."
Right then, she knew she couldn't make anyone else take the same risk she was about to.
Without another word, she sprinted towards the shaky old house, and the two bodyguards followed her without a second thought.
They were quick; before Harper could even get there, they had already kicked the door open. Inside, it was pitch black, but the crying was much clearer now.
One of the bodyguards flicked on a light and saw the grandmother lying on the ground, already unconscious. Next to her, a little boy, maybe four or five years old, was lying on her, crying his heart out.
Seeing them come in, he immediately recognized Harper as the kind, pretty lady who had come to aid their village. He sobbed and gasped, "Please, save my grandma."
Harper didn't waste a second. She signaled the two bodyguards to carry the grandmother out first while she went to pick up the little boy.
The bodyguards lifted the grandmother and rushed out. Harper had just picked up the boy when she realized his foot was caught on something. Looking closely, she saw the boy's foot was tangled in a hemp rope.
She pulled out her military knife and started cutting the rope with all her might.
The deafening noise was getting closer. The little boy was trembling and squealed, "I'm so scared."
He was afraid Harper would abandon him; he didn't want to die without seeing his parents.
Harper quickened her movements and said soothingly, "Don't be afraid. I'm here with you!"
Finally, she managed to cut off the rope.
Harper breathed a sigh of relief. As she stumbled to her feet with the boy, a powerful shockwave hit her hard! She was thrown against the wall by the shockwave, and the resistance broke her fall.
But she knew the landslide was right in front of her. Running in the direction of the landslide now would be a death sentence; they'd be completely buried.
She made a quick decision and dashed sideways with the boy in her arms. After a few strides, she realized the landslide was massive. Coupled with the recent rainy season, the soil was very loose. No matter which direction they ran, there was a lot of soil coming down.
The little boy was already terrified. He clung to Harper's neck, crying non-stop. Harper patted his back and said assuringly, "Don't cry. I can't hear anything and it messes with my judgment."
The little boy obediently covered his mouth to shut up.
At this moment, Harper's heart was pounding uncontrollably. She forced herself to stay calm. Panic would only waste time and likely lead to wrong decisions.
She assessed the situation and saw that there was no way to escape in any direction.
She looked around and finally fixed her gaze on a tall tree. The tree looked ancient and deeply rooted.
Harper asked the boy, "Can you climb a tree?"
The boy nodded.
Harper quickly tied a volunteer's red scarf around him, then took off her dust mask and put it on him, lifting him up, saying, "Climb up quick. Hold onto the thickest branch in the middle and don't let go."
The boy understood and nimbly climbed up. Just as he got up, the soil rushed over again, and even the ancient tree started to shake violently.
Harper clung to the tree trunk, missing the chance to climb up. Soon, the soil buried Harper's legs, knees, and thighs, with hard stones mixed in, hitting her painfully.
The boy, seeing Harper about to be washed away, started crying again. He shouted, clinging to a branch, "Climb up..."
Harper felt her limbs feeble at the critical moment. She could feel the trunk slipping inch by inch from her grasp, but she didn't give up, holding on tightly.
She looked at the boy and tried to keep her voice cheerful, "Sweetie, what's your name?"
The boy promptly replied, "Bradley Ortiz."
Harper articulated, "Okay, Bradley, listen carefully to what I'm going to say next."
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