Chapter 234: Officer Graham, Wendy

"Someone’s there, Evelyn. Look, the grass is moving."

Evelyn Ford picked up her binoculars and kept her eyes on the island’s tall grass. The islet was only about a hundred square meters, covered in nothing but boulders and weeds—not a single tree in sight.

"I see them. Someone’s there. Ronan, take the boat in closer."

The person stayed hidden in the grass, and Evelyn couldn’t get a clear look at their face. She’d have to go ashore to see.

Ronan Kendrick sounded the horn as the fishing boat slowly approached the island. Evelyn quickly leaped off.

When she pushed aside the tall grass and saw the person within, they froze, then raised a hand to rub their eyes, staring at her in disbelief.

"Wendy? It really is you."

Wendy was dressed in tattered rags, with weeds wrapped around her body and feet for warmth. It had been months since Evelyn had last seen her, and now a long, deep scar marred her face. Her hands, swollen and cracked with frostbite, clutched two stones as she shivered, huddled in the grass.

"Miss Ford..." Wendy sobbed. "Miss Ford, this isn’t a dream."

Wendy threw herself into Evelyn Ford’s arms, and Evelyn began to cry as well.

"I’m here, Wendy. Don’t be afraid. Miss Ford came for you."

Wendy cried so hard she could barely breathe, hiccupping as she grabbed Evelyn’s hand and tried to pull her toward a stack of grass in the back.

Evelyn started to take off her overcoat, but Ronan had already beaten her to it, draping his own jacket over Wendy’s shoulders.

"Miss Ford, Mr. Ronan! My dad’s back there! Quick, come on!"

Evelyn and Ronan hurried after her to the stack of grass. Lying inside was Officer Graham, his face covered in stubble and his hair a tangled mess.

"Evelyn? Ronan?"

He struggled to sit up but didn’t have the strength.

Evelyn gently pushed him back down. "Mr. Graham, it’s us, Evelyn and Ronan. We came for you. Where are you hurt? Let me see."

Officer Graham’s eyes welled up. He grabbed Ronan’s and Evelyn’s hands, trying to speak, but no words came out. Tears just streamed down his face.

He was barely clothed, wrapped only in weeds for warmth.

"Miss Ford, Papa hurt his legs, his back, and his ribs. He can’t move now. He was unconscious for a long time and only woke up half a month ago."

Evelyn nodded. "Is there anyone else on the island?"

Wendy shook her head. "No, it’s just me and Papa on this island."

She pointed to a kayak tucked away deep inside the stack of grass. "We found this. Papa and I used it to escape. In the end, he tied us both to the kayak, and the water washed us here. When I woke up, Papa was unconscious. We didn’t have any medicine to treat his injuries. There’s a thorny bush with red fruit on the other side of the island. At first, that’s all Papa and I could eat. When the red fruit ran out, I started catching fish."

’Evelyn’s heart ached for her. She’s only nine years old. How terrifying it must have been for her, all alone while Officer Graham was unconscious.’

"Don’t be afraid anymore. Mr. Ronan and I are here now. We’re taking you with us. We can leave right away."

Wendy’s eyes lit up. "Is that big boat yours, Miss Ford? I thought it was bad guys."

"It’s ours. Come on, let’s get you on board."

Ronan Kendrick lifted Officer Graham into his arms. Wendy didn’t want to leave the kayak, so Evelyn picked it up, along with the backpack hidden inside it.

The desolate little island was covered in traces of their survival. Nearby was a fire pit, filled with the ashes of burnt weeds.

"Thankfully, I’d wrapped the lighter in a plastic bag, so it didn’t get wet. But it was almost out of fluid. Wendy smashed it open, took out the igniter, and managed to start a fire. Without it, we probably would have frozen to death." Officer Graham looked at Wendy, his eyes filled with guilt.

Evelyn spotted the thorny bushes with the red fruit Wendy had mentioned. They didn’t look like anything special, but she uprooted a couple of them anyway.

Once aboard the ship, the father and daughter were stunned.

"This ship... where did you get it?"

"A group of Xylosians came here to fish a while back. Ronan and I were on an island when they showed up. They tried to provoke us, demanding we let them ashore and kneel in surrender. So, we dealt with them."

"Why would Xylosians be fishing all the way out here?"

"Mr. Graham, it took Ronan and me over twenty days of sailing to get here. We’re not in the same part of the ocean anymore. After the great flood, a lot of the land and mountains disappeared. We think we’ve reached the waters of Country A."

Officer Graham was shocked. "I thought we were still near Aeridor."

Evelyn heated some water for Wendy to take a bath and went to get them both some clean clothes. She brought some for Officer Graham as well; since he couldn’t move easily, she had to ask Ronan to help him.

Once they were cleaned up, Evelyn prepared some food in the kitchen for them to fill their stomachs. Having been in a state of constant hunger for so long, they wolfed down everything the moment they saw it.

"Your stomachs have definitely taken some damage, so you can’t eat too much at once. You need to let them recover. For a while, you should only have soft foods and fish broth."

"Thank you, Miss Ford. This is already wonderful. I don’t need to eat a lot."

Evelyn sighed. "You can eat more once you’ve recovered a bit. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of food on the ship. It was all left behind by those other people, so eat as much as you like."

Only then did Wendy finally relax.

After they had eaten their fill, Evelyn began to examine Officer Graham.

"Your ribs, tailbone, and both legs are broken. You’ve likely sustained brain and internal organ damage as well. The bones will have to be rebroken and set."

Officer Graham nodded. "All right. I can take it."

"Will it hurt a lot?" Wendy asked, her heart aching for her father.

"It will hurt a lot," Evelyn could only say honestly.

Officer Graham raised a gaunt, bony hand and stroked Wendy’s head. "Wendy, Papa’s not afraid of the pain. Don’t you worry."

"Wendy, after I’ve treated your father’s injuries, I’ll give you a check-up too. For now, why don’t you go to the next room and get some sleep?"

"But I want to stay here." Wendy refused to leave, so Evelyn had no choice but to let her stay.

Officer Graham drank a bowl of medicine and fell asleep. Evelyn put on gloves and a mask and began the process of resetting his bones. His wounds were severely swollen and festering, which made the procedure extremely difficult.

The process was gruesome. Wendy stood in the back, gritting her teeth as she watched. Three hours later, the bones were finally reset. Evelyn was so exhausted her hands were shaking, and Ronan quickly moved to support her.

"I’m fine," she said. "My hands are just a little out of practice, so I’m tired. Wendy, your father is going to be all right. Let me give you that check-up now, and then you can get some sleep, okay? When your dad wakes up, we’ll set sail."

"Okay. Thank you, Miss Ford. Thank you, Mr. Ronan."

Evelyn smiled. "Come on, let’s go to the other room."

After taking off her mask and gloves, Evelyn washed her hands and led Wendy to the adjacent room.

Strangely, Wendy had no internal injuries whatsoever. Other than the severe scar on her face, she was completely unscathed.

"Wendy, you’re perfectly healthy. But how did you get that scar on your face?"

"I was cut by a sharp rock during the earthquake."

Evelyn’s brow furrowed. "You’re lucky it didn’t hit your eye. This scar is quite deep. A typical scar-removal cream probably won’t be enough."

"I don’t need to remove it, Miss Ford."