"Agh..."

The ground beneath their feet suddenly collapsed and split open, and Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick plunged through the rapidly widening fissure. Evelyn reflexively shot out a hand, trying to grab the wall of the crevice, but they were falling too fast. Her fingertips were quickly torn raw. The fissure continued to expand, ultimately becoming a chasm a meter wide.

Ronan Kendrick braced himself by pressing his legs against the walls. He glanced up. They had fallen about thirty meters.

"Evelyn?"

"I’m here."

"Don’t sleep."

"Okay."

Evelyn squinted, peering down. She couldn’t see how deep the fissure went. The boundless darkness below gaped like an abyssal maw, threatening to pull them in and devour them. Blood dripped from all five fingers on her right hand. An idea struck her, and she quickly retrieved the Eagle Claw Hook she had prepared for emergencies from her space.

Ronan tried to climb up, but the walls of the chasm were slick with wet clay, offering no purchase for his hands.

"Ronan, I have the Eagle Claw Hook. Throw it up."

The ground above was still cracking and collapsing, and Evelyn had no confidence that the hook would catch on the surface.

Ronan took the Eagle Claw Hook and hurled it upward with all his strength. The hook caught, but the surface soil was too soft; it would never support the weight of two people.

"Evelyn, you go up first. I’ll support you from below."

Evelyn didn’t hesitate. She grabbed the hemp rope, and Ronan’s eyes fell on her blood-drenched right hand.

"Don’t be afraid. Don’t look back."

Evelyn nodded. Ignoring the shattered bone in her lower leg and her mangled right hand, she gripped the hemp rope and began to pull herself upward.

Gritting her teeth, Evelyn climbed with every ounce of her strength. The hook dislodged a chunk of earth that slammed into her face. She didn’t make a sound. She had to get out as fast as possible so Ronan could follow. She couldn’t be the one to drag him down.

In that moment, Evelyn was grateful she had learned to rock climb. She was no professional, but at least she wasn’t terrified of the height.

Ronan was also inching his way upward. He had to rely solely on the strength of his legs, wedging himself horizontally in the fissure to keep from plummeting.

On the surface, the hurricane raged on. Huge hailstones rained down, striking her on the forehead. Evelyn seemed to feel no pain, not even flinching.

The skin on her palms was shredded, and the patch of ground holding the hook began to crumble. Evelyn didn’t dare to hesitate, summoning all her energy to keep climbing.

’Almost there. Only about five meters to go.’ Joy filled Evelyn’s eyes.

Blood from her fingers stained the hemp rope. For a moment, Evelyn felt her body starved for oxygen, struggling to breathe. She bit the tip of her tongue, forcing herself to stay clear-headed and calm.

’I can’t pass out. Ronan is still down there.’

Evelyn planted a hand on the surface and pushed herself up with all her might.

The moment she was back on solid ground, a wave of vertigo washed over her. It felt as if all the blood in her body was flowing in reverse. She quickly yanked out the Eagle Claw Hook and leaned over the edge to find Ronan.

"Ronan, grab the rope! Quick, I’ll pull you up!"

High in the sky not far behind her, the hurricane had formed a black vortex that was now sweeping in her direction. As Evelyn watched Ronan grab the rope, the sudden weight nearly yanked her back into the chasm. She dug her heels into the earth, wrapped the rope around her wrist and waist, and began to shuffle backward, one painstaking inch at a time.

Hail and gale-force winds battered her body. Evelyn closed her eyes, mustering all her strength and chanting to keep rhythm.

"One, two... One, two... One, two..."

Ronan ascended quickly. The moment the rope went slack, Evelyn collapsed to the ground. Just then, with the hurricane’s vortex nearly on top of them, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, and Ronan pulled her into a roll, tumbling them both to the side.

Ronan shielded her with his body as the hurricane passed over them. A rock caught in the vortex slammed into her lower leg, and the agony was so intense Evelyn nearly coughed up another mouthful of blood.

"Go."

As the vortex moved on, Ronan scrambled to his feet and pulled Evelyn up. His back, where he had shielded her, was a mangled, bloody mess from the flying rocks. Evelyn tried to stand as well, but her legs were broken. She collapsed to her knees the moment she put weight on them.

’She wanted to tell Ronan to leave, but she knew he wouldn’t. He was too stubborn. If she died, he wouldn’t go on living alone.’

Evelyn struggled to rise again. Ronan’s gaze fell upon her shattered legs and ruined hands, and he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I’m sorry, I’m so sorry."

"It doesn’t hurt. I’m tough as nails. I’ll be fine in a couple of days."

The aftershocks subsided for the moment, and the hurricane vanished. Only the hail and gale-force winds remained.

Ronan grabbed the hemp rope, preparing to tie Evelyn to his back. Inside her backpack were the two little ones, Lola and Dotty. Their family of four had just escaped death, but the danger was far from over.

Blood was still trickling from Evelyn’s legs. She swallowed three painkillers, sprinkled a handful of hemostatic powder over the wounds, and forced a grin for Ronan.

"It really doesn’t hurt."

Ronan wiped the grime and mud from her face. After a quick bandaging, Evelyn lay on his back, and Ronan used the rope to lash her securely to himself before breaking into a run.

Ronan’s wounds were already beginning to heal at a rapid pace, but Evelyn still pushed two painkillers into his mouth.

The sky had darkened, and Evelyn wondered if the period of the midnight sun had finally ended. The cold wind cut through her, making her shiver uncontrollably.

They had only run a few hundred meters when another aftershock struck.

Even with helmets on, the fall made them see stars.

Collapses and fissures were everywhere. Evelyn thought about taking out her motorcycle, but it would be impossible to ride through this terrain to escape.

A new hurricane wave hit every three to four minutes. A deafening roar echoed from all directions, a sound even more terrifying than the earthquake itself. Evelyn forced her swollen eyes open to look at the sky just as a bolt of lightning struck, and the ground beneath them began to shake violently once more.

Evelyn used her sleeve to wipe the water from Ronan’s face. His breathing was growing labored.

"Ronan, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. Don’t worry about me."

’Was he really okay?’ Evelyn’s eyes were bloodshot. She bit her lip, trying not to cry, but tears still fell, one by one, onto the back of Ronan’s neck.

"Don’t cry. Have you forgotten? My healing is very fast. The pain is long gone. Just get some sleep. When you wake up, we’ll be safe."

Evelyn nodded. "Okay."

But the roaring didn’t stop. Another hurricane was bearing down on them, the ground continued to crumble beneath their feet, and even the distant mountains showed signs of sinking.

The hailstones began to grow, from the size of peas to walnuts, and finally to the size of fists.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Evelyn felt as if her internal organs were being ripped apart. Every breath was agony.

Ronan leaped across a fissure, narrowly avoiding the oncoming hurricane.

Rainwater streamed down her hair and soaked into her clothes. Evelyn clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her coughs.

A coppery, sweet taste welled up in her throat. Evelyn pressed her face tightly against Ronan’s back.

WHOOSH...

An unusual sound rose from the distance. Evelyn looked back but couldn’t see anything. They had stumbled onward for about a kilometer already.

The rushing sound grew louder and louder. Evelyn pulled out her binoculars to look behind them. Her eyes went wide with terror, losing all focus.

"Ronan, the water... it’s chasing us."