Chapter 378 I'm not letting them die!
Megan took Byron's advice and decided to reach out to Steven, just to see where he stood.
But she didn't buy for a second that Steven or Lily would actually come to the rescue.
If Steven was the type to play hero, he wouldn't have made it this far in the apocalypse.
Still, she was curious. This was a chance to size him up, to see what he was really made of.
'If they actually give a damn about these people,' she thought, 'even better. That'll give us the upper hand when it's time to talk.'
Megan asked Byron to find a way to contact Steven.
At this time, Steven and his group no longer used their old phone numbers.
Each of their phones had been modified into encrypted communicators, making internal communication easy and preventing eavesdropping.
The advantage was that they no longer had to pay phone bills.
As a result, Byron had no good way to contact the people in the shelter.
He had to tell Megan that they could send someone to deliver a message to Steven and leave a communication frequency for Steven to contact Emberwick Base.
Megan nodded, having no objections to this.
Having already pinpointed Steven's location and captured Lily's students, she didn't need to rush for revenge.
She needed to gather enough intelligence and understand Steven's strength before making a move; otherwise, she might suffer losses.
So, Byron dispatched a few members of Lester's team to deliver the message to Steven.
Warren and the others got thrown into the underground cells, each of them sporting a shiny new explosive collar around their necks.
Escape? Forget about it. Even if someone tried to bust them out, Emberwick Base could remotely pop those collars like fireworks—bye-bye heads.
The jailer gave them a quick warning, then walked out without a second glance. Cold.
The dozen students huddled together, staring at the explosive collars around their necks, their faces blank with despair.
They couldn't even cry—their tear ducts had frozen shut.
"Ms. Evans, you've got to save us!" one of them whispered, though it felt more like a prayer than a plea.
The next morning, the sky was overcast, the sun hidden behind a thick layer of clouds.
On rare hours, when the weather cleared up, you could just barely make out the cold, distant outline of the sun.
But even when it was there, hanging high above, it didn't bring any warmth. Not anymore.
Steven and his group sat around the long table, finishing their breakfast.
Lily stood up and said to Steven, "Steven, I'm heading out to check on Cox Town."
Steven looked up, "Alright, but make it quick. It's freezing out there—don't catch a chill."
The warmth in his voice made Lily's cheeks flush, and she bit her lip, trying to hide it.
She didn't dare look at Nora and Elinor sitting nearby. She could already feel their jealous stares burning into her.
Lately, things between her and Steven had been heating up.
He hadn't said anything outright, but those little moments of concern were happening more often.
And during training, their hands would brush, or he'd steady her with a touch that lingered just a second too long.
She wasn't sure if she was falling for him or if it was just the way he looked at her sometimes.
Grabbing the food Steven handed her, she threw on her winter coat and stepped out into the cold.
Steven didn't watch her leave; he continued to slowly use his fork to pick up a meatball and chew it slowly.
What would Lily do when she found out her students were all gone?
Steven was a bit curious.
Deep down, he hoped she'd just let it go and stay by his side as his loyal assistant.
But knowing her, she wasn't the type to just let it go.
She might even do something reckless.
"Hope she doesn't make a mess of things," Steven muttered to himself. "If she does, I'll have to kick her outta here."
This was a test, for Lily.
Lily took the food to Cox Town.
She walked into the igloo where the students lived as usual, but when she lifted the curtain, she found it empty.
Her heart raced, and she instantly had a bad feeling.
She knew those students well; they were lazy and wouldn't leave the igloo except to go fishing.
They even solved their bathroom needs behind the curtain.
But now, there was no one here, something must have happened!
"Where did everyone go?" Lily swallowed nervously.
She hadn't seen them when she came from across the river, so they couldn't have gone fishing.
Lily put the food on the table and turned to look for their tracks.
Cox Town was now dead silent, with only a few remaining villagers who wouldn't leave their homes except to get food.
Lily didn't care about that; she went door to door, asking the villagers if they had seen her students.
But naturally, she found nothing.
Lily's mood grew heavier, and a sense of foreboding slowly enveloped her.
Her students had disappeared!
Disappeared so suddenly!
In the current environment, leaving Cox Town meant certain death.
Were they kidnapped?
Lily thought of the surrounding forces Steven had mentioned before and feared the worst.
'Did some big players grab them? But why? Cox Town's picked clean—there's nothing left to loot. Unless… they're after people? But why just the kids? The rest of the village is still here.' Her head was spinning.
She couldn't figure it out, and her worry grew.
Sure, these kids had let her down, but they'd been with her since the world went to hell.
Even if they didn't give a damn about her, she couldn't just write them off.
People have their hang-ups, and for her, this was it.
She couldn't sit back and let her students die—no way!
Lily scanned the frozen wasteland around her, the wind screaming in her ears.
She felt lost, like she was spinning in circles with no clue where to even begin looking.
"I've gotta ask Steven for help," Lily muttered, her face twisting with hesitation.
She hated the idea of bugging him. He'd already done her a solid by letting her crash at his place, and he'd been decent to her.
Maybe, just maybe, there was something more there in her heart—something she didn't want to admit.
But right now? She was out of options.
Those kids were gone, and Steven was the only shot she had at finding them.
"Their vanishing act's no accident. If they're after someone, it's gotta be me." Lily took a deep breath, her exhale hanging in the cold air like a ghost. "I'm not letting them die because of me!"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
