Chapter 281


    Chapter 281 An Earthquake?


    Upon getting interrupted by Charlie like that, Inch reluctantly suppressed the words at the tip of his


    tongue and grudgingly replied, “Okay.”


    I found the way these two interacted with each other quite strange.


    It was not exactly strange if I considered the fact that Charlie was Inch’s superior. Even if they were


    friends, the difference in their positions was significant. They could not truly interact like friends.


    With this in mind, I decided not to dwell on it any longer.


    We had been on the road since early morning, and the continuous journey of over ten hours had kept


    my nerves on edge. Everyone had their limits, and after exchanging a few words with them, my focus


    was diverted. Fatigue began to overwhelm me.


    Besides, the warmth of the fire in front of me, coupled with the hypnotic sound of the rain outside, made


    me drowsy. Before long, I fell asleep.


    I did not sleep soundly, though. When I woke up, the rain outside was still pouring. Charlie had his eyes


    closed, leaning against the wall, while Inch was tending to the dwindling fire. When he noticed I was


    awake, he looked at me and whispered, “Did I wake you up?”


    I shook my head and, noticing that the fire was dying out, nced outside. It was still dark, and the rain


    was still falling, though not as heavily asst night.


    I asked, “Did it rain all night?”


    He nodded. “The road today might be challenging. It’s not fully light outside yet. I’ll go out to find more


    firewood. Let Mr. Yates sleep a bit longer, and when he wakes up, we can have something to eat


    before we continue.”


    Seeing dark circles under his eyes, I felt guilty. He probably did not get much sleepst night. I said,


    “You rest a little more. I’ll go find some.”


    He stopped me and gave me a reassuring smile. “You stay here. It’s not fully light outside yet, and


    there are mountains all around. It’s not safe for a girl to go. I’ll go.”


    Without waiting for my response, he went outside.


    I felt a pang of guilt. This was originally my problem, yet they had followed me here, suffering alongside


    me. We were practically strangers who had met by chance, yet they were helping me in such a selfless


    way.


    Thinking this way, I felt even more indebted. I made a mental note to treat them as true friends in the


    future.


    My mind drifted away for a moment, and Charlie beside me shifted slightly. I thought he was waking up,


    so I nced over, only to see him adjusting his position slightly and furrowing his brow. Then, he


    remained still.


    Looking at him, I reached out to touch his forehead, wanting to check his temperature. However, as


    soon as I made contact, he suddenly opened his eyes.


    I was startled by his alert and cold gaze.


    Chapter 281 An Earspake


    212


    Probably noticing that it was me, he softened his gaze a bit and scanned the surroundings. When he


    did not see Inch, he asked in a hoarse voice, “Awake?”


    I nodded, recovering from the initial shock of his abrupt awakening. I could not help but notice his


    extreme vignce, even when sleeping.


    I took a deep breath and, still concerned about his fever, I asked, “Are you feeling better?”


    Afterward, I could not resist touching his forehead again and realized that his fever seemed to have


    worsened. I furrowed my brows and said, “You had medicinest night. Why is your temperature still so


    high?”


    He looked at me and did not shy away from my touch, allowing me to examine him. He spoke gently,


    his voice carrying exhaustion, “It’s okay. I’ll be fine soon.”


    His voice betrayed his weariness. Seeing this, I rummaged through the medicine box that Inch had


    brought in the previous night, intending to find cold medicine and give it to him again.


    However, the medicine box contained numerous medications, most of thembeled with their scientific


    names, mainly consisting of anti–inmmatory and pain–relieving drugs. After a considerable search, I


    finally found the cold medicine and quickly followed the instructions to prepare it.


    Boom! Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and before I couldprehend what was happening, I felt a


    sudden dizziness.


    “Run!” Charlie’s voice reached my ears, and without giving me much time to react, he forcefully pulled


    me toward the exit of the cave.


    We had just walked a few steps forward when I noticed thatrge stones on both sides of the cave


    entrance were tumbling down. The entire ce felt like it was ced on a violently shaking tform.


    “An earthquake?” I eximed. I didn’t have time to look at Charlie’s expression and instinctively walked


    outside.


    However, Charlie was pulling me forward, and before we could reach the cave’s entrance, a massive


    boulder suddenly rolled down. The cave entrance was not very spacious to begin with, and in our rush


    to exit, we could not evade the rapidly approaching boulder.


    In the blink of an eye, amid the thundering and trembling, Charlie suddenly pulled me close. Then, in a


    hoarse, pained voice, he warned, “Be careful!”


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    I distinctly heard him stifling a groan. The tremors persisted, and Charlie shielded me with his body. I


    struggled to free myself, but I could not move.


    Fearing that I might cause more trouble, I finally stayed still. After a while, the intensity of the tremors


    lessened, and I finally managed to lift my head from his chest. It was pitch ck around us.