1RomanceEB Chapter 36 Dad, so warm~
Chapter 36 Dad, so warm~
The white senior student, Swaro Adam, was stunned. He slumped into a folding chair in the corner, his eyelids drooping.
"Junior brother, I can't take it anymore, I need to doze off for a bit."
Before he could finish speaking, snoring had already begun.
"Okay."
Ellis, an international student from Seres, took a swig of black coffee, crumpled the empty paper cup, and threw it into the trash can.
He walked to the locker, opened the door, and took out the protective suit.
I wore two layers of rubber gloves.
The rain in Seattle is still pouring down.
The rain pattered on the tin roof of the warehouse, the sound as dense as drumbeats.
The winter air wafted in with the sea breeze, seeping through the gaps in the roller shutter door and brushing against my neck like shards of ice.
Ellis pushed open the door.
The rain cut the view into fragmented squares.
The concrete surface of the parking lot was covered with a shallow layer of water, and the tires splashed up murky water as they drove over it.
He has been moving for three days in a row.
I only went back to the dormitory to nap a few times, each time for no more than two hours.
"Let's go in the cat car~"
The engine started, and the windshield wipers swept across the windshield in a fan shape. The car drove out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
The streets were empty.
Occasionally a car would pass by, but it always went very fast, as if it were fleeing something.
Shadows moved along the sidewalk, wrapped in plastic sheeting or cardboard, huddled under the eaves of shops.
Ellis glanced at the navigation.
The next location is in the south of the city, about a 20-minute drive away.
The radio was on, tuned to the local news station.
The host's voice was flat as he read out unemployment figures and weather forecasts.
"...Noah AI ecosystem partner acquires Doggy Technology..."
"...The city council has approved an emergency plan to open three temporary shelters next week..."
"...Residents are reminded that heavy rain may cause localized flooding; please stay away from low-lying areas..."
Ellis turned off the radio.
The car was parked on a street near the Black community.
An African American gang leader and an African American police officer stood under the eaves smoking, with three henchmen squatting beside them.
Ellis got out of the car, and the rain immediately soaked her protective suit.
"A family of three. All are in good health."
The leader pointed with his thumb to the Gundam hanging on the side like a piece of cargo, and made a five with his hand.
"Another bourgeois? The men are on drugs, the women are ruined, and the young Gao Da is alright."
Ellis didn't respond immediately, but instead flipped through the Gundam's inspection of the cargo, muttering to himself.
He glanced at the three smiling Gundams and quickly gave a simple result.
Hypothermia.
"That's the most."
He held up his hand and made a three.
"I've been liquidated. The market is saturated now, so I can only buy at low prices."
As he spoke, he took a stack of twenty-dollar bills from the car.
"Okay, thank you for coming to move it."
The leader didn't mind, thanking him while gesturing to his underling.
Two henchmen carried the three heavy Gundams onto the train carriage.
They didn't extort money from you, nor did they ask for more.
In this awful weather, who knows when they'll call to collect the Gundam again?
Ellis didn't say anything, just nodded and got into the car.
The trucks are back on the road.
The rain shows no sign of stopping.
The floodwaters on the street overflowed the curb, and the wheels of cars drove over them as if sailing a boat.
My phone vibrated.
"Oh dear, the dam has really burst."
It was news of a breach in the dike south of the city.
Already feeling depressed, he sighed and stepped on the gas.
We need to harvest them before they spoil from being soaked.
……
"Dad, it's so cold."
Arya's voice trembled.
Jack pulled her into his arms.
The down jacket was completely soaked; the fibers were saturated with water and weighed down like a sandbag.
He was only wearing a windbreaker, the waterproof coating of which had long since failed, and rainwater seeped in and dripped against his skin.
"I'm sorry, Arya."
He said in a low voice,
"sorry......"
I've been away from home for two months.
The house was gone, the car was sold, and on a rainy night in the third week, the wife pointed a gun at her temple and pulled the trigger.
He traded the Gundam for some money and began a life of wandering with his daughter.
There were no beds available at the relief stations, and the church's relief was only enough to keep people from starving.
He tried looking for a job, but without a house, he was stuck in a vicious cycle.
You can't find a job without a house, and you can't rent a house without a job.
Besides, where would he find a job for a former IT professional?
Yesterday, he received a donated down jacket and immediately put it on his daughter.
I'm so cold my teeth are chattering.
"I'm so hungry..."
Arya whispered.
"Hang in there a little longer, we'll go get the relief food once the rain stops."
Jack said,
The rain pounded on my head and streamed down my hair into my eyes.
He squinted as he searched the street for a place to take shelter from the rain.
The eaves of the shop were packed with people; there wasn't even room to stand.
The park benches were submerged in water, and the library had long since closed.
Then he saw it.
There was an open inspection well, which should have been opened by a maintenance worker, but there was no one around.
The entrance was dark and gaping, but a breeze blew out, carrying the smells of rust and decay.
sewer.
Jack hesitated for two seconds.
The rain intensified, sounding like someone was pouring water down from the sky.
He picked up Arya and crawled into the well.
It was more spacious inside than I had imagined.
The concrete pipe was over five meters in diameter, and there was a shallow flow of water underfoot. The sound echoed in the pipe as a muffled thud.
The air was humid, but at least there was no wind.
He walked in the dark for a while, found a slightly dry cement platform, and put his daughter down.
"It's safe here for now."
Arya was curled up, her lips turning purple.
Jack took off his soaking wet rain jacket, wrung it out, and laid it on the platform.
Then I had my daughter lie down and covered her with the down jacket.
"Go to sleep."
He says,
"When I woke up, the sky cleared up."
The daughter closed her eyes.
Jack sat beside him, his back against the cold pipe wall.
All I could hear was the sound of water and the faint, low rumble of the city in operation in the distance.
He recalled two months ago.
He thought of the view outside his office window, the sound of the coffee machine, and the smiling faces of his wife and daughter waiting for him at the door after get off work.
Then I remembered that email.
I remember the woman's voice from the HR department, the averted glances from my colleagues as I packed my things, and the ever-shrinking numbers in my bank account.
Everything collapsed too quickly.
So fast that there wasn't even time to be sad.
After some time, the sound of rain seemed to subside.
Jack opened his eyes.
He didn't know when he fell asleep.
Arya was still asleep, her breathing steady.
He stood up, his legs were terribly numb.
Walk to the edge of the pipe and look down.
The current has become stronger, and the water level is rising.
We need to leave here.
But it was still raining outside, and they had nowhere else to go.
He returned to the platform and shook his daughter awake.
"Arya, it's time to go."
The daughter rubbed her eyes and sat up.
They climbed out of the maintenance well.
It was already daylight, but the clouds were as thick as lead, and the rain was still falling, only less.
Long queues formed at the relief station.
Jack was at the end of the line with his daughter.
The line moved slowly, and everyone left expressionless after receiving their food.
When it was his turn, the staff member with the Seris face gave the child a complicated look and handed him a paper bag.
Inside were three gluten sausages, two slices of dry bread, and a box of juice.
"That's all?"
"I feel suffocated," Jack asked.
Gluten sausages, which he used to love as a weight-loss aid, now make him even hungrier.
That's all.
He picked up the paper bag and turned to leave.
"Dad, I'm hungry."
Arya said.
Jack handed her the juice.
Suddenly, a young man from Seris who had just finished distributing relief supplies came over and slipped a small plastic bag into his hand.
"Take it."
The man said in a low voice,
"For the child."
There were a few pieces of fruit candy in the plastic bag.
The man finished speaking and left, quickly disappearing into the crowd.
Jack instinctively wanted to throw it away, but he forced himself to stop.
Take one out and swallow it directly.
"It's not a power enhancer, eat it, Arya."
Arya took one and put it in her mouth, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
"sweet."
Jack looked at her, his throat tightening.
The rain intensified again.
He pulled his daughter up, trying to find a place to shelter from the rain, but all the available shelters were crowded with people.
Finally, they returned to the inspection well.
Go inside and return to that concrete platform.
Arya was exhausted and fell asleep again soon after lying down.
Jack sat beside him, listening to the sound of water, his eyes half-closed.
Suddenly, he heard a sound.
Boom!
It was very low and very far away, like a subway traveling through an underground tunnel.
But there is no subway here.
Boom!
Another sound, closer still.
Then he felt warmth.
Hot air wafted out from deep within the pipes.
Arya stirred in her sleep.
"dad......"
She murmured,
"It's so warm..."