I miss our mother and hope we can save her. I hope we will have the opportunity to let her rest in peace and grieve for her as we did for our father. I can't imagine her being trapped under the rubble forever, it was too painful. But more importantly, I hope Jenna doesn't have to know how she feels tossing and turning in a sea of mourning and pain. We have never really liked each other, but the sadness she is experiencing now is not what I would like to happen to my most hated enemy, if I have ever had it.
"Jenna won't be so painful one day." Cade's gaze crossed Jenna's head to meet me. These are not what he said to me a long time ago, but they all follow the same route. "One day, this pain will not be so intense."
These words are true, but they do not imply how much loopholes this loss will leave.
I tried to cover my nose with my shirt, it worked a little, but the trouble it caused was not worth the little help it provided. "It's terrible," Abby whispered.
I totally agree, but I think the word "bad" does not fully describe this frustrating experience. The pile of things began to level out, leveling the ground. Although I am sure that we will never be able to get rid of this smell, we seem to have seen the end of the waste ocean. My tongue can feel its horror. This place will linger in my memory until the end of my life. I trembled and drew strength from Abby's slender body, because we chose to pass through the smaller layer of garbage.
I glanced at the sky and was surprised to find that there were no seagulls and crows in the sky. They always go around the dump, croaking, diving in search of food. We trudged through the veritable mountains of garbage, but we did not encounter any creatures. There are no birds, no rodents, or even a few stray cats and dogs looking for food everywhere.
When I quickly scanned the piles of mounds around us, I was stunned. The birds have been singing this morning, and now...
Now there is nothing left.
I brought Abilah back and stopped her before she moved on. "Bethany!" She hissed.
I shook my head to her and looked at the pure sky again. The weather is very hot, maybe the animals are looking for a shelter in the shade. But all of them? This seems not only impossible, but almost impossible.
"Beth, hurry up, I'm leaving here!"
"Shhh, Abby!"
Cade and Jenna stopped, they stared at me in confusion. "Come on, Bethany."
"Something is wrong," I muttered to myself.
"Don't be kidding!" Jenna retorted.
I did not adopt her arrogant attitude; instead, I released Abby and went back where we came from. "Bethany!"
I raised a hand to stop Cade's words. In the past day, one of the greatest things I have experienced is that I finally got down to this veritable mountain of garbage, and now I am climbing up frantically. Rubbish slipped out of me, making climbing more difficult. My legs hurt and my lungs started to burn again, but in the end I climbed a small mountain in the ruins.
I stood up slowly and scanned the mountains that stretched out in front of me. I looked back at the sky, but there was still nothing there. Through tons of garbage, I found movement on the other side of the garbage dump. I opened my eyes to see what was on the other side of the road. The heat and the rotting smell of the pile of things made them blurred and unrecognizable. It could be anything, it could be a missing animal, it could be more people, but a strong feeling that destruction was coming began to hit me.
Fear spreads in my body; I don't need to see what will happen next to know that it won't be a good thing. I slid, slid, and fell in this disgusting gangbang. My feet slipped out of my body, I lost complete control of my body, and cried. I fell, rolled, bumped in the dirt.
They gripped my arm tightly and pulled me out of the dirt that fell on me like a waterfall, saving me from being buried in the mound. The rubbish was ripped off from me, brushed off, and thrown on the ground, all to wipe my butt. "What's wrong?" When his gaze fell on the mountain, Cade asked his hand to stroke my skin surprisingly and gently. "Bethany, what's the matter?"
"I don't know," I said breathlessly, trying not to think about the dirt and bugs I just ran over. "However, the situation is not good. I think they are still following us."
Cade grabbed my arm and ran through the garbage dump. We tried to get through the high pile of cow dung as quickly as possible. We reached Abby and Jenna, but Cade did not release me, he continued to drag me forward. I grabbed Abby's hand and pulled her with me. My heartbeat is faster than the racing of the National Automobile Racing Association, because garbage seems to attract us more than before. We will never escape, and rubbish will never let us go. It drags us into the mud pit, until those things press on us, until we are left with useless corpses, plus the rotting debris scattered around us.
Li said, I know that there are no thoughts in the garbage dump, nor is it side of the aliens, but now it looks like a monster stalking us, it is my enemy. I believe it is doing its best to ensure that we stay here to nourish it.
The rubbish let us out suddenly, and I almost fell on my knees because the rubbish had been discharged and the sidewalk rushed up to greet us. "Go here," Cade ordered, and he let go of me and rushed to the right.
I don’t know where we are going; I’ve never been here before, and I don’t want my final resting place in the garbage dump. A huge warehouse vaguely appeared in front of us; a huge garage door opened, revealing the dark interior. When Cade plunged into the darkness, I hesitated to go in. The last thing I want is to be trapped in the huge wall and be killed.
"Beth," Abby whispered when I hesitated. "Please call me Bethany."
The fear of imminent death overwhelmed my fear of being trapped in this huge building. I ran across the open door and saw Cade starting to pull the rope, quickly pulling down the garage door. "Wait!" I gasped.
"It must be done." His jaw was tight, a muscle was beating on his cheek, and his face became ruddy. He put the door down quickly, I didn't realize it was heavy, and he tried hard not to let it fall. It settled down, and there was only the sound of a small piece of metal crashing on the sidewalk. "This way."
"How do you know where we are going?" Abby asked.
"I don't know," he answered bluntly.
I shudder at what Cade said, but as he led us through the building, I followed him. There are a few small windows on the high walls, but they do not illuminate most of the porous structure. The smell of rotten garbage lingered, but I didn't see it in the building. The four of us brought this smell, which can be easily found in these walls. If I think taking off our clothes will help, I will happily take off the nasty clothes, but the disgusting smell has now entered our skin and hair.
There are five big holes in the ground, surrounded by steel pipes. I leaned against the pipe railing and peered into the darkness. There is something shining in the sun, but I can't see what it is. "Recyclable items," Cade explained.
I realized that this is why this building does not smell. Unfortunately, this is actually the place where recyclables are brought, and it doesn't help our cause much. Cade walked past the trash can and toward the back wall. When Cade disappeared, Abby's hand almost broke a bone. Jenna followed, then Abby and I sneaked into the small room behind.
This looks like a worker’s lounge, because there are two tables and five chairs around it. A microwave oven, a TV and a radio, and four different vending machines against the wall. Cade stopped and tilted his head to the side while studying the machine. He quickly pulled the shirt over his head and quickly wrapped it around his hands. This may be the worst moment, but even so, I can't help but admire the flexibility and athleticism of his thin muscles, as well as his ridged abdomen as he strode towards the glass front machine.
I didn't understand his intentions until he started breaking the glass. The glass slowly fell to the ground, and I frowned. The sound I heard was as loud as a gunfire, but I tried to assure myself that the sound was not as loud as I thought.
He grabbed the gun bag and dragged it towards him. Letting go of Abby's hand, I hurriedly helped him open the bag and started to fill it with French fries, biscuits and candies. This is not the healthiest food pairing, but it is much better than hunger.
Cadella zipped up, closed the bag, and leaned back. I know I should stop admiring the smooth bends and skin in his lean muscles, but I can't take my gaze away. When he found that I was admiring him, there was no complacency in his eyes. On the contrary, a strong sense of hunger burned my life, and I found that I could not breathe.
The feeling Jenna stared at me finally turned my attention away from Cade. I lowered my head, turned and walked towards the door we passed by, without looking at her. When I tried to hear any sound, I had to force my mind to leave him, but in this building, it was worryingly quiet, too quiet.
Maybe I just imagined something moving towards us from the garbage dump, but I don't think so. I know what I saw, it is impossible to be ignored without animals. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)