"Why are you asking that? We're just ten minutes from the dorm! Hurry up!" Ella was eager to get back to the dorm and change out of her wet clothes, which were clinging uncomfortably to her skin.
Ashley noticed Logan's serious expression. Although she didn't understand the reason, she pointed to the darkness on the left and said, "The gym is a few hundred meters in that direction."
"Run! Hail is coming!" Logan shouted a warning as he grabbed the flashlight from Dev and sprinted toward the direction Ashley had indicated. Whether or not the others followed, he didn't care.
"What?" The two girls hadn't fully processed his words when Dev had already started chasing after Logan.
"Wait for us!" With the surrounding darkness and no light source, Ashley and Ella had no choice but to follow. However, Logan was already a distant figure, with only a small dot of flashlight light visible far ahead, and they couldn't keep up.
"What the hell is he running for? Wait for us! We can't see anything!" Ella screamed in frustration.
The rustling sound grew louder, something indeed getting closer.
Remembering Logan's warning, Ashley also began to panic. She pushed herself to the limit, utilizing every bit of her physical training as a dance major, and sprinted toward the gymnasium as fast as she could.
"Gym, gym!" Ashley kept repeating in her mind as she ran, completely unaware that she had left Ella far behind.
"Ah!" A cry of pain sounded from behind.
"Ash, I fell! Where are you? Wait for me! I'm scared!" Ella called out desperately.
Ashley hesitated for a moment, but the increasingly loud sound of ice blocks hitting the ground made her bite her lip and continue running. She didn't have time to think about Ella.
Moments later, a piercing scream echoed behind her.
"Ah!!!" Ella screamed, and then there was silence.
Ashley's eyes welled up with tears, but she gritted her teeth and kept running. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't outrun the hailstorm. A marble-sized hailstone hit her forehead, and then a fist-sized one struck her left shoulder.
Ashley cried out in pain but didn't dare stop. The next moment, a head-sized hailstone barely missed her nose, smashing into the ground near her.
"Logan, help me!!" Ashley screamed in terror, her fear and panic reaching a peak, making her cling to the only person who might save her.
Ahead, the flashlight had stopped moving, indicating that the gymnasium was close. But the short distance felt insurmountable. With massive hailstones crashing around her, she feared that she might be crushed at any moment.
Receiving no response, Ashley continued to cry and run in despair. Unbeknownst to her, the genes in her body were rapidly mutating, breaking down and recombining at an incredible speed.
As she ran, Ashley began to display astonishing agility, narrowly dodging several head-sized hailstones. But just a few meters from the gymnasium, her strength gave out. Her limbs suddenly felt weak, and her vision blurred.
Before she lost consciousness, she saw a man's figure appear in front of her, lifting her onto their shoulder and running. Then everything went black.
...
Logan stood at the entrance of the gymnasium, watching as Dev carried Ashley back.
"Hu, hu, hu..." Dev panted heavily. A hailstone had hit his helmet, which was the only reason he made it back. However, he had still sustained multiple injuries on his body from the hail. Ashley's clothes were also stained with blood.
Meanwhile, Logan remained unscathed, having taken shelter under the gymnasium's roof before the hailstorm started. He had coldly watched as others struggled in despair.
Dev glared at Logan in frustration. "Aren't you her classmate? Why didn't you save her?!"
Logan let out a cold laugh, full of sarcasm. "Isn't that girl also her classmate? Why didn't she save her?"
Even from a few hundred meters away, they had all heard Ella's cries for help. For Ashley to have made it here, she clearly hadn't gone back to save Ella.
Dev was at a loss for words. Why didn't she help? Because she was afraid of dying. Because someone else's life wasn't as important as her own. Because that's human nature.
Logan turned and walked into the gymnasium with the flashlight. He wasn't interested in playing the hero. He had already done more than enough by warning them.
Inside the gym, the darkness was thick. Logan walked in, using the flashlight to inspect his surroundings. There were several hallways on the first floor, each marked with signs indicating where they led. He noticed an arrow pointing to a "Fitness Room" just a short distance ahead.
Logan made his way to the fitness room, where he found various exercise equipment and a few yoga mats. When Dev entered carrying Ashley, Logan offered them the room. "You two can sleep here. I'm going somewhere else. Don't follow me."
He wasn't comfortable resting with strangers nearby.
"Wait! Your classmate seems to be having a seizure!" Dev exclaimed as he set Ashley down.
Logan noticed that Ashley was curled up on the floor, her beautiful facial features contorted in pain, her limbs twitching uncontrollably.
Logan's eyes narrowed. Ashley's current state resembled the aftereffects of unlocking the genetic lock that he had seen in Agent No. 2.
He nudged Ashley. "Ashley? Ashley?"
But Ashley couldn't respond. She bit down hard, every cell in her body seemingly writhing in agony, to the point where she couldn't even pass out.
Dev produced a cloth from somewhere, folded it, and placed it in Ashley's mouth. "This will prevent her from biting her tongue. It looks like she's having a seizure, probably because she ran too fast and triggered it."
Logan didn't argue. He'd known Ashley for years and had never heard of her having epilepsy, though it was possible she had kept it a secret.
Dev carefully laid Ashley flat, turned her head to the side, and began massaging her limbs. His actions were competent and well-practiced.
Logan placed the flashlight on a higher spot, illuminating most of the fitness room.
Minutes ticked by. Ashley bit down so hard that her gums began to bleed.
Logan wanted to confirm if Ashley's current condition was indeed the aftereffect of unlocking the genetic lock. He thought of the half-blue pill that Agent No. 2 had taken. But after considering it, he decided against giving it to Ashley.
Agent No. 2 had mentioned that it took five unlocks of the genetic lock before his genes began to collapse. The first four times, he had survived without assistance. From what Agent No. 2 described, the first time, he had managed to survive on his own.
Though Logan was skeptical that an ordinary person could unlock the genetic lock, given the circumstances—where the world was now entering a rapid phase of evolution—it wasn't impossible that someone could unlock it in a life-and-death situation.
Logan pondered this.
"Are we just going to stand here and watch her suffer?" Dev asked, unable to bear Ashley's pain any longer.
"What do you suggest?" Logan retorted with a sneer. "Are you going to take her to a hospital?"
Without any means of transportation, it would take forever to get her to a hospital on foot. And with the hailstorm outside, leaving was a death sentence.
"The school has a medical room, we could..." Dev started.
"And where are you going to find the doctor in a situation like this? And don't include me in your plans," Logan interrupted.
"Aren't you her classmate? How can you just stand by and do nothing?" Dev was infuriated. As a soldier, it was ingrained in him to protect civilians. He was so frustrated that, if he weren't a soldier, he might have cursed Logan out.
"This is the second time you've said that. I thought I made myself clear earlier," Logan responded coldly.
He glanced outside. The hail had already lessened significantly.
Dev pulled a candle from his backpack, lit it, and took the flashlight with him. "I can't just watch her suffer. You stay here and take care of her; I'm going to see what I can do!"
Logan watched Dev leave, murmuring quietly to himself, "There's no one left in this world worth risking my life to save."