Shrouded Seascape

"Let's go, Jasmine. Let's hurry home," Donna said. The tense atmosphere in the air was making her worried about her daughter.

It wasn't just them. The others on the street had also noticed the red mist. Soon, the bustling street turned desolate and eerily silent.

The two women hastened their pace toward their homes when a gust of wind streaked through the air.

Jasmine instinctively looked up. "Donna, look! There's someone flying in the air! He's in a police uniform!"

"Don't look up! We could get into trouble if they get upset about our stares!" Donna's face grew grave with anxiety, her steps quickening into a jog.

Fortunately, their homes weren't far from the factory. After about fifteen minutes of jogging, they finally reached their familiar neighborhood.

Their frayed nerves calmed down upon returning to the familiar neighborhood.

Jasmine's face was beaded with sweat as she leaned against a wall and panted heavily. Her face was flushed red from the exhaustion. Gasping between breaths, she remarked, "I… can't walk…anymore. This is too… tiring. I should… definitely… save up… for a bicycle.

The "intense" physical activity was unprecedented for Jasmine, who weighed close to a hundred kilograms.

Donna smiled. She was about to respond when a nearby garbage bin that was almost as tall as an average human suddenly shook violently and toppled over.

The lid fell away, and a bloody right hand flopped out onto the pavement.

"AHHHHH!" Donna instinctively screamed in shock and hurriedly clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Jasmine, hurry, let's go!" Donna didn't care what that was. She dashed toward her home.

The moment Donna entered her house, Nene looked up from her homework. She flashed a radiant smile at Donna and greeted, "Mommy, you're back!"

Terrified from earlier, Donna's hands trembled as she locked the door. Then, she scooped Nene up swiftly and rushed toward the basement.

The heavy metal door was yanked open to reveal neatly arranged supplies of fresh water and food. Donna had specially spent a large amount of money to painstakingly prepare this refuge.

Ever since the previous crisis on the World's Crown, Donna had been assuming the worst. Now, it seemed like her preparations had come in handy, especially with what she had encountered today.

One after another, the gear locks clicked into place. After the final click, Donna hugged her daughter, and they sat down among a pile of dried bananas. Staring at the massive portrait of Sparkle on the wall in front of them, Donna could finally find a semblance of safety.

"Mommy, what happened outside? Is there a war?" Nene asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

Donna shook her head. Holding Nene close, she planted a gentle kiss on Nene's forehead. "It's nothing. The police will be here soon and will handle it. Everything will be fine soon. Nothing happened."

Hearing her mother's words, Nene went silent obediently. She nestled against Donna's shoulder and waited patiently.

Minutes ticked by—ten, then twenty, then thirty. It was eerily quiet outside; it seemed that truly nothing had happened at all.

Nene was starting to feel bored and started to share her interesting stories from school with her mother. "Mommy, the senior students graduated early. I heard that they would be starting work in the factories.

"Now, my classmates and I are the oldest in the school. By this time next year, I'll probably be working in a factory too."

"That's great; it's good to have a job waiting for you the moment you leave school," Donna replied while attentively trying to pick up any noises from outside.

"Mommy, is it fun in the factory? Can you take me there to have a look? I've never been to one," Nene asked, her curiosity piqued.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sudden loud knocks on the door startled Donna. She hugged Nene even closer and they retreated further into the basement. However, the knocking didn't cease. Instead, it grew more insistent.

Bad people wouldn't knock on the door and would just break in, right? Could it be the police?

Donne pondered for a brief moment. Then, she hid Nene further in the basement before carefully opening the basement door. After tossing the keys back to Nene, she exited the basement and shut the door behind her.

Grabbing a wooden stick, Donna then walked toward the front door. When she got closer, she heard a woman's sobbing. It was Jasmine's voice, and her voice seemed to be filled with anxiety.

Donna cautiously opened the door slightly and peered outside through the crack. "Jasmine, what's wrong?"

Jasmine raised her trembling hands. Her chubby hands were covered in blood. Tears streamed down her round face as she pleaded, "Donna… please… help… Do you know first aid? I really don't know what to do?"

"Are you hurt? Go and find Doctor Leonard quickly!"

"It's not me…not my family too. He can't go to the doctor; he—" Before Jasmine could complete her sentence, a bloody hand slammed on the door, pushing it open with immense force.

A young man stumbled into the room. He had wounds all over his body and collapsed weakly onto the carpet in the living room.

The young man had striking blue eyes and a prominent high nose. He still looked rather handsome despite his pale face.

"Please… treat me. Hurry. I'm bleeding out… I can't hold on much longer."

The young man beckoned with a finger, and the wooden stick in Donna's hands began to decay rapidly, dissolving into a puddle of sludge on the floor.

With tears streaking down her face, Jasmine hurried into the house. She helped the young man up from the floor and cradled him in her arms. "Donna, please save him quickly! He's really going to die!"

Donna knew that she was supposed to report this to the nearest police station. However, the young man's eyes were filled with a menacing threat; she didn't dare to move an inch. She didn't want to end up with the same fate as the stick.

"I don't want to die, and I don't want to hurt anyone either. Please, help me. Just take pity on me and bandage me up a bit. I'll leave right away after that," the young man pleaded weakly.

Donna cast a brief glance in the direction of the basement and gritted her teeth. She then turned and ran to grab her first-aid kit.

The only thing she could do now was to satisfy the young man's demands and make him leave as soon as possible and as far away from her daughter as possible.

Donna didn't know much about first aid treatment. All she could do was sprinkle some hemostatic powder on the hideous, gaping wounds and clumsily wrap them in bandages.

Yet, despite her shabby first-aid skills, the young man's wounds stopped bleeding, and color seemed to be slowly returning to his face.

"Do you have any food? I'm starving, thank you," the young man raised another request. Soon, a simple dish of banana chips with fish sauce was placed before the young man. The next moment, both Donna and Jasmine were taken aback by his voracious appetite. Donna had placed at least a kilogram worth of food in front of him, and he wolfed down the food one mouthful after another.

Sensing the gazes of the women beside him, the young man's face flushed a slight hue of red, and he slowed down. "Sorry. I've been hiding in the ventilation ducts for three days to escape from them. I didn't have any food or water during those three days."

Her eyes bloodshot from the crying, Jasmine nodded in agreement. "Yes, earlier, he was even eating the banana peels from the garbage bin."

Donna glanced at them but didn't speak a single word. She stood to the side with her head down. She didn't trust the young man at all. If he weren't a bad person, why would the police be after him?

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