Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Escape

A series of sounds came from outside as someone pushed against the door. The rolling shutter rattled loudly in the dark night. How could a normal person push a door like that?

Tong Xiangyu sat up again, using her knees to push herself into a standing position. Fortunately, her feet weren’t tied. She didn’t use the flashlight, instead taking small steps forward in the dark. Although she had only looked once, she remembered the general layout; walking straight toward the door was clear of clutter.

The garage was over ten meters long. When the shutter rattled again, Tong Xiangyu jumped, but then she heard a tiny voice outside calling: “Sister? Sister?”

It was Qianqian, Grandma Yan’s granddaughter!

Tong Xiangyu immediately switched on the flashlight, ran to the door, and whispered, “Shh, Qianqian, I’m here. Don’t push the door for now.”

Outside, Qianqian obediently stopped. Tong Xiangyu’s heart raced. “Qianqian, how did you know we were here?”

“I saw.”

“Did you see any adults?”

“No.”

“Qianqian, listen to me. Don’t stay here. Go back to your grandma’s house quickly.”

The little girl didn’t say yes or no, only whispering: “Grandma keeps sleeping…”

A pang of grief hit Tong Xiangyu. “I’m so hungry…”

Tong Xiangyu’s heart felt heavy, but then her eyes lit up. She whispered, “Qianqian, remember the house I lived in? Go to the second floor. The key is in the door. Go inside to the big room. There are two backpacks with lots of good food. Go take them to eat.”

“What about you, Sister?”

“I’m fine. Take the backpacks to Grandma’s and don’t come back here. Okay?”

Even as she said it, Tong Xiangyu thought: Grandma Yan is dead. No one will look after Qianqian… She felt a surge of pity. But she was like a clay Bodhisattva crossing a river—unable even to save herself. She and Song Ge might not even make it out, let alone take a child.

The people in the complex probably just didn’t know Grandma Yan was dead yet. If they knew, they would surely place Qianqian somewhere—though for what purpose, Tong Xiangyu forced herself not to think about.

Hearing the girl’s footsteps fade away, she used the flashlight to walk back to the corner. Her knees hurt; looking down, she saw the fabric was worn through and stained with dried blood. She must have fallen hard. It hurt. She sat back down in the corner, looked at the still-unconscious Song Ge, and turned off the light.

Time flowed silently in the dark. Then, more movement. Familiar footsteps ran back, and the little girl’s voice called out again. Tong Xiangyu sighed, winced at the pain in her knees, and stood up to go to the door.

“Qianqian, didn’t I tell you not to come back?”

“Sister’s backpack…”

“It’s for you,” Tong Xiangyu said. “I don’t want it anymore. There’s food inside. Take it home to eat, okay?”

Qianqian didn’t speak, but she didn’t leave either. She stood right outside. Fearing Zeus and the others would see her and take their anger out on the child, Tong Xiangyu changed her tactic. “How about this? Leave the bag at Grandma’s. When I get out, I’ll go find you, okay?”

This time Qianqian said “Okay” and quickly ran off.

Tong Xiangyu breathed a sigh of relief. As she turned back, her eyes fell on the gap at the bottom of the rolling door. A sliver of dim light peeked through. She suddenly realized: these garage shutters usually require a key, but the survivors here were outsiders. They wouldn’t have keys. That meant the door must have been pried open. It wasn’t locked! You could just pull it up from the bottom!

She was overjoyed! But the old problem remained: Song Ge hadn’t woken up, and her own knees were injured. She couldn’t possibly carry Song Ge away. Unless they hid. But if Zeus found them gone, knowing they couldn’t have gone far, he’d conduct a carpet search.

What about Grandma Yan’s house? Maybe no one would look under the bed… but they would surely run into someone on the way. She frowned and thought, her heart racing. She took deep breaths to calm down and reconsidered hiding spots.

The fish pond. If they could get there after people left, they could climb the wall and escape. But while she had some diving experience, she didn’t know if Song Ge could swim, let alone while unconscious.

Suddenly, voices and hurried footsteps approached. Tong Xiangyu’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately lay down next to Song Ge, mimicking her previous uncomfortable, slumped position.

As the voices got closer, her heart beat faster, but she noticed Zeus’s voice was missing. The shutter was yanked up, and a beam of light bright enough to pierce through eyelids shone in! Tong Xiangyu used every ounce of self-control not to move her eyes.

The flashlight was pulled back. Gao He asked, “Should we get someone to watch them?”

“No need. You drugged them and tied them up; they can’t run,” a man said, pulling the shutter down. “Just add more men to watch every building. Don’t cause a commotion.”

“Nana isn’t back?”

“She was bitten. You expect the Leader to bring her back? Half the people were lost today. The Leader is in a foul mood. Don’t go looking for trouble, and don’t mention these two women.”

“Yes, Brother Chen.”

The two walked away, their voices fading. Tong Xiangyu waited a long time before snapping her eyes open. Nana was bitten? Something happened to Zeus and the others while scavenging today! It seemed they wouldn’t have time for them for now!

She quickly felt for Song Ge’s waistband to grab the knife, but as she reached for it, she realized something was wrong. Song Ge’s barely audible breathing had stopped.

Panic emptied her brain. “Song Ge?! Song Ge, are you dead?”

Song Ge: “…”

Realizing it was Tong Xiangyu touching her, Song Ge exhaled, no longer holding her breath for a counterattack. Her head was still spinning, and her voice was raspy: “Are you okay?”

“Song Ge, you’re awake!” Tong Xiangyu went from despair to joy in seconds, crying tears of relief. “That’s great!!”

“What’s the situation?” Song Ge only knew her hands were tied, but the person who did it wasn’t skilled; she was close to untying them herself. She couldn’t see anything in the pitch black.

“It was Yue Yao! She told Gao He we were going to run!” Tong Xiangyu reported hurriedly. “Let me get your knife and cut the ropes. Zeus and the others ran into monsters today. Nana was bitten and several others were lost. They don’t have time for us.”

As she spoke, she felt something grab her wrist. “Song Ge?”

In the dark, Song Ge untied the ropes on the “Little Milk Tea’s” wrists.

Tong Xiangyu was stunned. “Song Ge? Your hands weren’t tied?”

“They were. The knot was loose.” A real kidnapper’s knot would tighten as you struggled.

“I have a light.” Tong Xiangyu turned on the lipstick flashlight. Song Ge glanced at it and said, “Mine.”

Song Ge took the light and stood up with Tong Xiangyu’s support, but her legs were weak and her head was heavy. In contrast, the young lady looked quite well, aside from the tear streaks.

“Let’s go.”

Just as they were about to leave, Song Ge suddenly pulled her back, turned off the light, and forced her to lie back in the corner. Soon, the sound of returning footsteps echoed.

Gao He was in a terrible mood. He had planned to report the escape attempt to get credit, but the Leader’s disastrous outing and the loss of brothers meant his news was suppressed by Chen Hai, the Leader’s right-hand man. He knew Chen Hai’s plan: suppress the news today, then take the credit for himself tomorrow.

Gao He yanked the shutter open and walked into the corner with malice, grabbing “unconscious” Tong Xiangyu by her hair. She cried out in pain. Gao He realized something was wrong, but it was too late—a hammer slammed into the back of his head!

His vision went black, and he collapsed. Song Ge had grabbed the hammer from the junk pile. She had struck to kill because they only had one chance. She was weak from the drugs, and they were no match for a strong man if she missed. She didn’t waste time finishing him; she simply used the discarded ropes to tie his hands behind his back. With her technique, he wouldn’t be getting out.

“Song Ge, my hair, my hair!” Tong Xiangyu cried. The man’s grip was so tight she couldn’t pull it free.

“Can I cut it?” Song Ge asked, cold sweat on her brow.

“No!”

Song Ge moved the knife up. “Then I’ll cut his fingers.”

Terrified, Tong Xiangyu blurted, “Cut the hair, cut the hair!” She didn’t want bloody fingers hanging from her head. Song Ge cut the lock of hair without a second thought.

They stepped out of the garage and realized it was right next to the building where the sister had made buns. There were no other houses nearby—just the fish ponds. Dim moonlight reflected off the water. Everything was silent.

Song Ge’s strength was returning. She went for the ladder. Knowing the drugs hadn’t cleared, Tong Xiangyu insisted, “I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”

Song Ge stepped aside. Tong Xiangyu took a deep breath and gave it everything she had to lift the ladder. It moved half a centimeter before hitting the ground.

Song Ge rubbed her temples, took a breath, and carried the ladder to the back wall himself. She climbed up to check the situation. It wasn’t as dark outside. Her night vision was good; she saw the alley, the cages, and the black dogs collapsed from the drugged buns.

In the dark, she heard a faint buzzing—static. After being attacked by monsters, the base was on full alert. There was a powered electric fence. How would they get out? And if the base was this scared, the situation outside must be dire.

“Get some quilts,” Song Ge told her.

“From where?”

“The rooms upstairs should have them.”

Tong Xiangyu told her to rest and ran up and down twice, bringing down armfuls of quilts. On her last trip down, she heard a scream. Thinking Song Ge was in trouble, she rushed down, nearly tripping.

Song Ge was fine; someone else was on the ground. Song Ge stepped out of the shadows. “She was too loud,” she explained.

Tong Xiangyu exhaled and carried the quilts over. Then she noticed Song Ge was holding something. Her eyes widened. “Is that my bag?”

“Yes. Yue Yao had it.”

“Yue Yao?!” Tong Xiangyu frowned. “How? I told Qianqian to take it.” But wasn’t she supposed to take it to Grandma Yan’s? “Where did you find it?”

Song Ge looked at the person she had knocked out. “In Yue Yao’s hands.”

Tong Xiangyu froze, recognizing the girl on the ground. A wave of complex emotions hit her. Yue Yao was motionless. “She’s just fainted,” Song Ge said.

“Forget it.” Tong Xiangyu didn’t want to face her. She ran to the wall, climbed the ladder, and threw the thick quilts over to create a landing pad. After a few layers, it was safe to jump.

“Are you scared?” Song Ge asked.

Tong Xiangyu shook her head. “The outside can’t be scarier than the inside.”

Song Ge smiled slightly, wiped a blood splatter from the man off Tong Xiangyu’s face, and said, “Don’t be afraid.”

Song Ge went first, dropping the bag and jumping precisely onto the quilts, rolling to dissipate the force. With the padding, the injury was minimized. She adjusted the quilts and turned on the light. Tong Xiangyu climbed up. Song Ge stood on the quilts and reached out both hands.

“It’s so high, are you crazy? Move, I can jump!”

“Don’t you trust me?” Song Ge didn’t move.

Tong Xiangyu jumped. Song Ge leaned back, skillfully catching her and rolling onto the quilts to protect her own spine and arms. They landed successfully, facing each other.

Song Ge stared at her for a long moment, speechless. Tong Xiangyu suddenly smiled. “The air out here is much better than inside. Don’t you think so, Song Ge?”

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