“I’m not going to bed! You go to bed if you want!” Tong Xiangyu went over, took the little stool, and sat down. Then she propped her cheek on one hand and stared out the window as if sulking.
It was so quiet.
How could Kecheng be this quiet at night…?
Tong Xiangyu gazed silently up at the streetlights.
If I hadn’t gone with Song Ge, where would I be now? Would the monsters have eaten me already?
I can’t climb trees or scale walls. I couldn’t even find a bike. Qiaoqiao and Qin Mo are dead. The rest of the class must be dead, too. And there’s only Fan Mingyuan left—and he did something so utterly inhuman.
Song Ge took out the military knife she’d used earlier in the day and began sharpening it. Then she remembered something and opened a drawer. She took out a pack of ten new toothbrushes. They were all blue, green, or gray. After a moment’s hesitation, Song Ge chose the only pink one, right in the middle.
She laid it on the table. “There’s a toothbrush here. Brush your teeth before bed if you want to sleep.”
Tong Xiangyu came back to herself and looked at the table. The toothbrush was large and clunky, in a drab color. She’d never seen such an ugly toothbrush. Her pretty face pinched, but she didn’t complain. She just said, “Thank you.”
Song Ge felt she’d been thoughtful enough and went back to her own business.
By the time she finished, it was very late. She stretched, trying to loosen her stiff muscles, then turned to look at Miss Tong. The girl was still sitting there quietly, propping up her cheek and staring out the window.
Song Ge went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.
When she came out, she stopped in front of Tong Xiangyu. “It’s late. Aren’t you going to sleep?”
Tong Xiangyu looked at her. “I’m not tired. I don’t want to sleep yet.”
“I want to sleep.”
“Then go ahead. I won’t make any noise.”
Song Ge clicked her tongue. “You’re sitting on my stool. Where am I supposed to sleep?”
“On the bed.”
“The bed’s yours.” Song Ge couldn’t make a delicate young lady sit all night on a hard stool. The single bed was cramped enough for one person. If they had to share it, she figured Miss Tong would rather stand all night.
Tong Xiangyu shook her head. As a guest, she couldn’t keep occupying Song Ge’s bed. She was silent for a moment, then, for the first time in her life, spoke in a cutting tone. “I’m not sleeping on the bed. It’s too hard. I woke up aching all over.”
Song Ge laughed in disbelief. “The bed’s too hard, but the stool you’re sitting on isn’t?”
Tong Xiangyu choked on her words. “I just can’t sleep, okay?”
Song Ge thought back to the afternoon and wondered who it was that had slept so soundly. But she didn’t say anything. She went to the cabinet by the wall near the entrance, took out a mattress and quilt, and laid them on the bamboo bed. “There. It’s not hard anymore. Come sleep.”
Tong Xiangyu looked at the bedding, then at Song Ge. Though touched, she was still stubborn. “I really don’t want to sleep yet…”
“Then come sit over here. You can sleep whenever you get tired.” Song Ge frowned, looking impatient. “Why are you so hard to please?”
Tong Xiangyu’s nose stung. She stood up, feeling wronged. She’d only wanted Song Ge to sleep on the bed…
Song Ge was exhausted from the day. She sat on the stool, leaned against the wall, and soon fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, she heard something and opened her eyes, instantly alert. She listened carefully, then looked toward the single bed.
Tong Xiangyu was sitting on the bed, holding her stomach.
Even in the dim light, Song Ge could see that the young lady’s pale face had turned bright red.
Song Ge felt a little helpless but said nothing. She opened the box beside her, took out two packets of compressed biscuits and a small bag of dried meat, then opened a bottle of water and carried it over.
“Eat.”
Tong Xiangyu wasn’t stubborn now. She took the food in both hands and whispered so softly it was almost a murmur, “Thank you.” The red on her ears spread down her neck.
Song Ge went back to sit on the stool.
But the night didn’t end there.
Song Ge had barely fallen asleep again when she heard footsteps and the bathroom light switch on, followed by a toilet flushing.
This happened several times in a row.
Song Ge got up and stood in the doorway.
Tong Xiangyu’s little face was pale. When she opened the bathroom door and saw Song Ge waiting outside, she jumped and stumbled back.
Song Ge caught her in time, stopping her from crashing into the sink.
Tong Xiangyu looked awkward. “Did you need the bathroom? I-I’m done.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Song Ge asked.
Tong Xiangyu’s eyes darted away. She looked miserable. “Nothing…”
“Do you have diarrhea?”
Tong Xiangyu had been found out. She was mortified. Her little hands clenched into fists as she stammered, “I, I…”
Song Ge sighed. “You really do have a stomach made of glass.”
Tong Xiangyu felt humiliated and tried to protest in a small voice. “I’m fine now.” Then, afraid that didn’t sound convincing enough, she added, “Really.”
“I don’t have any medicine at home,” Song Ge said. “But you’ve reminded me that I should stock up. If the rescue teams don’t arrive soon and one of us gets sick, we’ll need basic medicine. Tomorrow, when I go out, I’ll try to get some.”
Tong Xiangyu was so startled she forgot to be embarrassed. She grabbed the hem of Song Ge’s clothes with both hands. “We’re going out tomorrow? No! I’m really fine now! It’s dangerous out there. There are monsters everywhere!”
“Not we. I’m going. You’re staying here.”
That was even worse. Tong Xiangyu’s eyes reddened with panic. “Please, just download the map app and call my dad’s company. It’s called Tongda Group. He’ll send someone to rescue us!”
Song Ge looked at the anxious young lady. Her lips moved slightly. She wanted to say that she’d already downloaded the map app and tried calling the company. It had been three in the afternoon, during business hours, but no one had answered any of Tongda Group’s three numbers. They were probably all dead by now.
In the end, Song Ge said nothing. “We’ll try tomorrow.”
Tong Xiangyu finally smiled. Tears still filled her pretty eyes, and they were red around the edges, but she nodded hard. “Yes! Just trust me. My dad will definitely send someone to get us out.”
Song Ge gave her a halfhearted answer. “Sure. I believe you.”
Tong Xiangyu spent the night battling diarrhea. It was nearly morning before she finally fell into an exhausted sleep.
Dawn had just broken.
The half-window was dim with early light.
Song Ge tore off a scrap of paper and left a few words for Tong Xiangyu. Then she took the javelin she’d sharpened with a whetstone the night before and her folding military knife, and quietly slipped out of the basement.
She didn’t plan to go far.
There was a supermarket a few hundred yards away, and a neighborhood pharmacy.
She needed food and medicine.
With the young lady at home and her stomach made of glass, she wouldn’t last until the rescue teams arrived otherwise.
It was still early. Song Ge didn’t know if the monsters kept a schedule.
Yesterday, they’d wandered all over the streets. Now she couldn’t see a single one.
Even so, Song Ge stayed alert. She kept her steps light, gripped the javelin tightly, and listened for anything moving nearby.
She hadn’t gone far before she smelled something foul. Then she spotted an old beggar lying in the greenery beside the road. It was the one she’d kicked over yesterday. Now he lay motionless, covered in bite marks.
It was the height of summer. The body was already decomposing, and flies swarmed around it.
Song Ge’s stomach turned. She quickly looked away, only to realize the street was littered with bodies. There were corpses sprawled across the wrecked roadway and the bloodstained sidewalks.
