Chapter 427
If possible, I’d stay very far away from Felix. Whenever I saw him, I’d be reminded of whatever
happened earlier on. Colin’s safety was my priority now. I did not want to be distracted by him.
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Felix wasn’t deterred by my coldness. He asked if I wanted a throat lozenge as he had some.
I did not want anything from him, be it a throat lozenge or a miracle pill. The damages he had done
were irreparable. Not wanting to entertain him, I asked Winston to keep up with me.
Winston heard me loud and clear and closed the distance. He inserted himself seamlessly between
Felix and me, blocking Felix.
Felix’s expression froze. He understood that I did not want to see him. He didn’t want to force me to
change my mind, so he followed behind me silently.
“Are you not fond of Felix? I know many girls have a big, fat crush on him.” Even guys loved to gossip.
I pouted. “Well, they must be blind.”
Winston covered his mouth and chuckled. He said that I had a sense of humor.
I inadvertently looked back and saw that Felix was only slightly behind Winston. He must have heard
what I had said just now because his expression was as dark as the sky above us.
Felix red at Winston. He most certainly said that just to make me insult Felix.
What would normally take less than an hour to reach took us six and a half hours. When we arrived,
the sky waspletely dark. There was a drizzle too.
As the temperature dropped, everyone put on a hoodie and a one–time–use raincoat. John then told us
that the school was right in front. He instructed us to pick a dry, vantage point to set up our camps. We
were to get some rest.
Everyone was exhausted, so we found a nice spot to rest. Some ate their food; some checked their
equipment. Those young volunteers were massaging their shoulders and back tiredly.
I was the only one who couldn’t sit still. I tried to ask John to begin the rescue mission several times,
but Professor King stopped me. He told me that visibility was low at night. And since we did not have
any prior experience, we had to refrain from acting alone and listen to the organizer.
Lacking anyone to fall back on, Professor King became the only pir I could rely on. I’d listen to
anything he said.
Not far in front of us, I heard human voices. The moving lights had to be the lights from the
rescue team, not fireflies.
As I gazed at that area, many tragic, scary scenes appeared in my mind. I grew more and more fearful.
Why? Why did I have to sit here and do nothing when Colin’s life was a stake? Did they not know every
minute counted in a rescue mission?
“Be patient. They must have a reason for asking us to stay put. We must obey the instructions. Now is
not the time to y the hero. We don’t have a lot of manpower here, so we can only act strategically,”
Winston consoled me. He noticed that I was getting anxious.
I knew what he said made sense. But Colin’s life was at stake. How could I not be worried?
Right before I had an emotional meltdown, John waved and told us to depart.
Within 30 minutes, we had arrived at the school–the nucleus of the disaster.
John exined that since this ce was a basin, it was the most affected area of the disaster.
Preventive measures had been installed, so the damages done were lighter than anticipated. Only a
good half of the building in the middle of the school was buried by the mudslide, so chances of survival
were high.
I was delighted by the news.
At around 160 feet in front of us, a pole was protruding from the ground. Its tip was tied to a fabric, but
the color could not be identified. It had to be a gpole.
Surrounding the muddy mound were a few rectangr fences. Those had to be the school fence.
Several buildings were on shaky ground due to the mudslide. Their square windows appeared in public
view.