Chapter 348
Had it not been for the sharp ps that Bently''s mom unleashed on Lindsay''s cheeks which caused Bentley’s eyes flicker, Ste might''ve thought
Bentley had keeled over in some tragic act of devotion
Bentley''s mother was livid, teeth clenched in fury. "If you''re so eager to die, do it already! Leave your son behind and just die."
It was that little hussy throwing a fit. insisting on moving to the guesthouse, that dragged her son and grandson over there to coddle her.
Well, now look what had happened. The house copsed, that woman was dead, and her unborn child too. Her son''s spine was damaged, paralyzed
and the poor little grandson was motherless.
Bently’s mother was on the brink of insanity. If she had known birthing such a cmity would lead to this day, she would''ve choked the life out of him
at birth, avoiding this tragedy.
Bran wrapped his arms around the distraught woman. "Auntie, please, try to calm down."
She broke down, sobbing uncontrobly. "He might as well be dead. It would solve everything!"
Ste wasn''t an expert in orthopedics or neurology, so she could only tend to Bentley''s superficial injuries. Thinking of all the supplies Bentley had
provided her, she offered a friendly suggestion, "He''s got nerve damage. If it''s possible, you might want to see if acupuncture could help."
As for where they could find a master of such things, she was of no help.
After tending to the wounds, Ste rushed off to rescue her own dder.
Dawn broke, and the rescue efforts ceased.
Due to the night''s poor visibility, Cody and Austin had suffered some minor scrapes and bruises.
The Porras family had their own medicine and tock care of the injuries themselves.
The debris from the demolished guest wing revealed a charred object, twice the size of an escape pod. This cursed thing had caused injuries and
death.
Curiosity stirred around it. "What in the world is this? It sure doesn''t look like a missile," they murmured
Ste inspected it closely. "Looks like a satellite.”
A satellite? Confusion painted the faces of the onlookers. Those who didn''t understand were baffled, while those who knew what it meant turned pale.
With thousands of satellites orbiting Earth, it was rare for one to fall—and even if they did, they seldom hit the ground, typically vanishing into the vast
cosmos.
To think the Porras family would be struck by a falling satellite, talk about bad luck.
If the vi hadn''t been extended, today''s disaster might have been avoided. Poverty, in this case, had saved lives.
Ste approached the charred sphere. Its rapid descent had scorched it beyond recognition, but within the hefty metal mass, there seemed to be
chips not entirely burnt to ash.
After much discussion, they were more convinced it was indeed a satellite.
While many saw it as a curse, Ste didn''t. Having witnessed numerous inexplicable disasters over the years, she wondered if something had gone
awry in the cosmos, like a change in the maic fields. If that were true, with thousands of satellites above, their descent to Earth was a chilling
thought.
Exhausted, Bran, usually so suave, didn''t even have the energy to change his blood-stained clothes. "Jasper, Ste, we owe you big time for this.”
Their family doctor had passed away in a smog incident, and since then, they hadn''t found a suitable recement. With many injured at home, it
looked like they''d be depending on Ste for a while.
"Whatever you ask for as payment, just name it," he said.
Ste smiled. "I haven''t thought of any payment yet. Just focus on your family for now. If Shane needs anything, let me know."
While they spoke. Evan arrived with the police to assess the situation.
Ste, not wanting to attract attention, quickly slipped away with Jasper.
The researchers confirmed that the satellite had indeed caused the damage to the Porras family''s guest wing, and it was American
Evan''s face darkened at the news.
ording to official sources, this wasn''t the first satellite to fall. Days earlier, one had crashed in the capital, igniting fires and causing death and
injury.
Now. Griffith was struck, and it was uncertain how many other ces might be affected.
Old districts were in ruins, and
Newtown acked bomb shelters. If
all the satellites were to fall, it would
be an unprecedented . >
disaster—unpreventable. The <>
government on high alert, canvening
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At dinner, Ste''s fears hadn''t subsided, and then came another earth-shattering tremor.
She climbed to the rooftop, scanning the surroundings with her telescope, but saw no signs of disaster. Her eyelid twitched incessantly.
Unwilling to sleep on the second floor and constrained by the escape pod''s limited space, Ste decided to make use of the Rover. Reclining the
seats, the three of them and the dog spent the night in the vehicle
Lukas reached out over the walkie-talkie. "Ste, another strike just happened. You folks want toe stay with us?"
His crew had dug out a sizable basement, roomy enough for several people.
Ste declined, "No thanks, we''ve moved to the ground floor. The Porras ce just got hit; what are the chances we''d be next? You guys just be
careful.”
Lukas persisted, concerned, but she refused.
No sooner had Lukas signed off than Austin called. "Jasper, Ste, why don''t you move in with us?”
His basement was top-notch, with good drainage and venttion, offering them two rooms.
With thousands of satellites, who
knew how lodg the disaster would
last. What ifthey had to live there far
days, manihs, years? Ste x
expressed her gratitude but =~
declited. Home is where the heart iS,
even nif it was a bit crampedin the
Raver. It was indestructible and
offered safety.
Unless absolutely necessary, Ste wouldn''t live with anyone else. Secrets were hers to keep, and in times of long-term disasters, even kin turn away
—let alone friends. A safe distance was best.
They slept in the car at night and went about their lives by day.
But as fear has it, not long after, another thunderous "boom" was heard. An apartment building had been struck, leaving a massive hole.
There were rumors of impacts deep in the forests, which could have sparked fires if not for the acid rain that had already ravaged the trees.
Unable to bear it, people vented their frustrations on the channels.
“Damn it all, why does misfortune always find the unfortunate?"
"Just do it, crush me. I don''t want to live anymore."
"The fear is, it won''t kill you—just leave you paralyzed.”
Without Bentley''s luck, tempting fate was foolish, one wrong step and there might be no loving mother to seek out a miracle cure.
Staying indoors didn''t guarantee safety, so Ste decided to embrace life. Why not live a little when there might not be a tomorrow?N?velDrama.Org copyrighted ? content.
So, she loaded up the Rover with her man, Rosie, and her dog, and headed to the research institute.
Ste''s face was like a golden ticket, an all-ess pass that had the guards waving her through without a second nce.
For the life of ner, she never
anticipated thet the greenhouse she
toiled over,<the one="" that="" had="" withstood="" acid="" rain="" and="" storms,="" ~="" would="" fall="" victim="" to="" the="" debris="" ofa="" rogue="" satellite.="" ss="" shattered,="" 2)="" symphony="" of="" destruction="" {hat="" left="" her="" herbs="" crushed="" beyond="" recognition,="" scattering="" thé="" earth="" with="" a="" crater="" mark="" impact.="" content="" belongs="" noveldrama.org<="" p=""></the>
By some stroke of luck, the satellite had chosen to plummet at dusk, when the greenhouse had been empty of any souls.
It was a bizarre new world where satellites fell from the sky with a frequency that made winning the lottery seem a thousand times more likely.
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