The Last Realm of Rust and Dust

Chapter 3

Evie, a woman of remarkable frugality, carefully placed the bowl of vegetable soup aside, concerned that holding it with one hand might lead to a spill. With her other hand, she covered Anderson's mouth.

Anderson, trapped in this unpleasant situation, could only stare at her in disbelief. The vegetable soup was truly dreadful, an assault on his taste buds, yet he had no choice but to swallow.

Evie's furrowed brows finally relaxed. Seeing Anderson's cooperation brought a smile to her face. "There's still a little left," she said. "Let me feed you. Don't waste it."

Anderson, despite the pain wracking his body, tried to pull back. "I don't need you to feed me!" he protested.

Evie's method of feeding was less of a gentle offering and more of a forceful.

"Then do it yourself," she insisted, holding the bowl to his lips. "But if you can't finish it, I'll help you."

Anderson desperately wanted to knock the bowl away, but his pride wouldn't allow it. With trembling hands, he reached for the bowl, his strength failing him. In the end, he had to gulp down the remaining soup directly from Evie's hand.

With the bowl emptied, Anderson's sense of taste was completely numb. Evie, however, was immensely satisfied with the empty bowl. Placing it aside, she praised Anderson, "You're so cooperative! Even that dog needed me to feed him vegetables before he would eat them."

Anderson, at the end of his patience, retorted with a mouth full of bitterness, "Can you please stop mentioning the dog?"

Evie blinked, confused for a moment, then thoughtfully changed the subject. She shifted away from Anderson and reached for the now-cold milk, offering it to him. "I added honey," she said. "You have to finish it. Don't waste it."

The scent of milk reached Anderson's nose. He was famished, and the lingering bitterness in his mouth made his body crave the sweet relief. He drank the milk in large gulps, savoring the creamy sweetness with hints of grass and flowers.

He felt considerably better.

After putting the bowl away, Evie wiped her hands, stained with vegetable juice from feeding Anderson, on his blood and dirt-covered clothes. "I'm going out now," she said. "Stay here and don't wander off. I'll be back after nightfall."

Anderson, ignoring her instructions, fixated on her cleaning her hands on his clothes. "Why did you use my clothes to wipe your hands?"

"I just needed to clean the vegetable stains," Evie replied, examining her fingertips before retracting her hand. "Your clothes are so dirty anyway, I didn't expect to get them clean."

"I'm asking why you used my clothes!" Anderson persisted.

"Because you're the reason they got stained," Evie responded with innocent logic. She extended her slender fingers, demonstrating, "See, the vegetable smell is still there, and it's still dirty."

"Well, I'm terribly sorry," Anderson said, realizing that this woman had a knack for infuriating him and stirring his emotions. It wasn't a good sign. He forced his voice to remain calm.

"You're a strange person," Evie commented. "I speak the truth with reason, yet you disagree and resort to sarcasm." She stood up, holding the mud-stained hoe in one hand and the two bowls in the other. With that final remark, she walked away.

Anderson didn't even have a chance to retort.

Evie didn't return to Anderson for the rest of the day. He regained some strength and considered leaving, but the effects of the vegetables forced him into a deep sleep.

...

Despite Anderson's presence, Evie continued her mission of cleaning up the wasteland. She wanted to purify the soil as quickly as possible, knowing that clean earth had a remarkable ability to heal itself. She envisioned a future where this barren land would be covered in lush grass and vibrant flowers.

She made her way to a patch of wildflowers, their tips yellowed but still tenaciously clinging to life. As she prepared to water them, she noticed that they had been trampled into the scorched earth. Digging into the blackened soil, she found the once-green plants now withered and lifeless.

These wildflowers had only recently sprouted from seeds carried by the wind, taking root in the unforgiving soil and drawing sustenance from the meager nutrients available. They had barely emerged before being crushed.

Evie wondered, in this desolate place where few people ventured, who could have harmed these precious signs of life?

She carefully removed the broken stems and watered the roots, hoping that they might one day rise again.

With the sun beating down on her back, Evie continued her journey with her basket, returning to the area where she had found Anderson.

It remained unchanged from the day before. Discarded waste from years past littered the land, some buried deep within the soil, unable to decompose even after so long.

After collecting more trash, Evie set down her basket and stretched her aching shoulders. Taking a moment to rest, she walked towards the shallow pit on the slope, where dried blood and a mess of footprints marked the ground.

"One, two..." she counted. Besides her own and Anderson's footprints, there were several unfamiliar ones. The blood had prevented them from being erased by the wind and dust.

## Evie and Anderson: A Tale of Unexpected Kindness

Evie finally realized, with a slow dawning of awareness, that things might be getting a bit tricky. Not wanting to attract any trouble, she didn't plan to stick around. After scanning the surroundings and confirming there was no one in sight, she slung her basket over her shoulder and set off.

The land here was vast, a seemingly endless expanse of wasteland. However, some paths were winding and circuitous, making it easy to get lost. Evie, though, had lived here for many years and knew every path like the back of her hand. Just to be safe, she deliberately took a detour before returning to her dwelling.

Unbeknownst to Evie, she had indeed shaken off someone who had been lying in wait nearby.

The young, robust man, upon realizing he had lost track of her, tried to find Evie's footprints. However, perhaps due to the dimming light, he couldn't discern any tracks on the ground and had to return to their camp dejectedly.

As soon as he arrived back at the camp, the man eagerly informed his companions, "I'm certain, that person was rescued! The young girl who saved him is very sharp, she completely threw me off her trail."

"Wait, how could there be a young girl in this desolate place?" one companion questioned, puzzled. "There's nothing here, even if she wanted to help, what could she possibly do? Ethan Williams, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

"How could I be mistaken? If it wasn't her, why would she try to lose me?"

"Sounds like a clever girl, but what was she thinking, rescuing that guy? Isn't she afraid of him biting her neck off? That guy, like the zombies that roam the wasteland from time to time, is no different."

Ethan Williams scratched his head and then called out towards the tent, "Boss!"

The men stepped aside as the one Ethan Williams addressed as "Boss" emerged from the tent. He appeared to be around the same age as the other men but commanded their utmost respect.

Owen Thompson, amidst the dusty wasteland, was dressed in a spotless white shirt and a clean, black jacket, looking completely out of place in this environment. He listened to his companions' words, his eyes slightly lowered in contemplation.

"I know the young girl you're talking about," Owen Thompson said, his light brown eyes, usually calm and distant, now softened by the night.

His companions waited with curiosity for Owen Thompson to continue. His eyes moved slightly as if trying to find direction. After a moment, he said, "If it was her who saved Anderson... I think we need to find her quickly."

Ethan Williams deeply agreed, "Absolutely! Anderson is an ungrateful wolf who would repay kindness with evil. He stabbed you in the back before, and today he could strangle that little girl!"

Owen Thompson frowned slightly but said, "It's late, let's rest first. Tomorrow, I will go find her."

After Owen Thompson left, Noah Browngently nudged Ethan Williams and said, "Don't bring up the past."

Anderson was undoubtedly a repulsive stain on Owen Thompson's otherwise perfect life.

"Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue," Ethan Williams hurriedly said.

...

Evie was oblivious to everything happening at the camp. Only after her feet touched the soft grass did she slip her shoes back on. Then, as usual, she deposited the trash from her basket into the "dump" behind the mountain before going to find Anderson.

Anderson was still drowsy from the effects of the vegetables. Evie drew some clean water from the well, intending to clean his wounds again. As soon as she entered the room, Anderson instantly woke up.

Evie didn't mention the footprints she had discovered earlier. Instead, she placed the water basin aside and said, "Don't move, I need to clean your wounds again."

Anderson said, "I want to take a bath."

"Then I'll go out." Evie didn't say much else. Anderson was quite resilient; a bit of food and vegetables were enough, she didn't need to fuss over him too much.

"Is this all the water there is?" Anderson asked, pointing to the half-filled basin.

"Water is scarce here. Unless you want your milk later to be made from your bathwater," Evie said seriously. "In that case, I can fill this basin for you right now."

Anderson: "... No need, thanks."

Evie gave him a surprised look, her emotions transparent and easily picked up by Anderson. He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you surprised?"

"So you do know how to say thank you." Evie seemed happy, a smile gracing her face. "More than verbal thanks, I hope your way of thanking me is to live well and not seek death."

Once again, Anderson clearly felt Evie's kindness, a genuine kindness that forced him to acknowledge that she wasn't harboring any ulterior motives.

Was she truly different from others?

Anderson asked, "Are you like this to everyone?"

"I haven't had many guests here, but you're just like them, no different."

"What if I'm a bad person? Do you know you've saved a bad person?"

Evie's sense of right and wrong made her blurt out without hesitation, "Then you should become a good person."

Anderson tugged at the corner of his lips feebly， silently mocking Evie's naivety.

"Start being a good person from now on," Evie said, wringing out the cloth in the basin and placing it in Anderson's hand. "You still have a lot of time to be a good person."

After saying that, Evie went outside.

Anderson looked at the wrung-out cloth in his hand and muttered after a long while, "It's not that easy. In my world, being good gets you killed... Silly girl."

"You pulled me back from the brink. If I can, I'll be your good person."

"... As long as you're not lying to me."