In the few seconds Evelyn Ford had the window open, hundreds of moths flew inside. She reacted instantly, spraying half a bottle of insecticide to kill them all. In the process, she made a critical discovery: dead moths decomposed rapidly, melting into puddles of foul-smelling liquid. The acrid stench was overwhelming. A bite from a live moth caused the wound to swell immediately, followed by a loss of consciousness.
Evelyn Ford looked down in frustration at her left palm, which had swollen up like a pig's trotter. Without hesitation, she sliced open the wound to let the blood out and then smeared it with a detoxifying balm.
Half an hour later, some feeling returned to her hand. Evelyn Ford took out a surgical kit, disinfected the wound with saline, and began to stitch it closed. With no anesthesia, the pain was so intense that the veins on her neck bulged and large beads of cold sweat rolled down her forehead.
Just then, Evelyn heard Officer Graham's voice shouting from outside.
"These moths that showed up today are likely venomous! Don't swat them with your hands. The liquid from their dead bodies is probably toxic too, so be careful cleaning it up. If you get bitten, drain the poisoned blood immediately to treat the wound. Moths are usually afraid of fire, so you can use it to drive them away."
As his voice faded, Evelyn also heard crying and screaming from the floors below.
The neighbors who heard Officer Graham's warning scrambled to light torches, books, and paper to drive the poisonous moths out of their homes. But for those who had already been bitten and hadn't treated the wound in time, the swelling had spread across their entire bodies. They inflated like balloons, swollen beyond recognition.
The poisonous moths swarmed outside the window, as dense and numberless as flies over a cesspool. Evelyn put on gloves and wiped the foul liquid from the dead moths off the floor. Then, she sprayed the apartment with disinfectant and an air neutralizer. By the time she was done, she was completely drained.
Drilling pain shot through her palm, accompanied by dizziness and weakness. Evelyn took a box of detox capsules from her dimensional space and swallowed the entire thing.
Her body cycled between fever and chills. As she lay on the bed, drifting in and out of consciousness, she heard the faint sounds of pounding on a door and desperate cries. But she couldn't muster an ounce of strength. Her throat was so dry and sore it felt like it might catch fire. The pain from the wound was unbearable—she wished she could just chop the whole hand off. Evelyn bit her lip, forcing herself to stay awake.
Evelyn ignored the noises from outside. When she woke again, it was already five in the afternoon the next day. The wound on her palm had improved considerably; the swelling was gone. She reapplied the balm and bandaged it with fresh gauze.
Thankfully, before she had passed out, she'd connected her electric blanket to a battery pack. Otherwise, she would have frozen to death in her sleep.
She was ravenous. She pulled a pre-made meal of rice with toppings from her dimensional space and devoured it. Only then did she feel truly alive again.
She pulled back the curtains and gasped. The glass pane was covered in poisonous moths.
The moths were huge. Their attacks weren't particularly strong, but their venom was incredibly potent. Evelyn didn't even dare to think about what had happened to the people on the other floors. Since waking up, she'd felt the entire building had fallen into an eerie silence.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...
Someone was pounding on the door. Evelyn walked to the living room, then abruptly turned back to her bedroom. She put on a hazmat suit and grabbed a can of insecticide. Only after seeing it was Lauren Keller outside did she open the door.
"Ford! Thank God, you're alive! I've been knocking on your door since yesterday. I didn't hear anything, I was worried sick!" Lauren Keller stood outside, fully kitted out. She waved a torch in her hand to keep the surrounding moths at bay and even wore a helmet. Seeing Evelyn, her voice trembled with excitement.
"I was bitten by one of the moths. I've been unconscious. Lauren, is your family alright?" Evelyn glanced at the thick carpet of dead moths on the ground, the hairs on her arms standing on end. 'I never saw anything this disgusting in my past life.'
Lauren Keller sighed. "As soon as the moths appeared on our balcony, my parents locked my grandparents in the bedroom. We were trying to kill them with fly swatters at first, but then we heard Officer Graham shouting from upstairs. We immediately grabbed torches to drive them away. Luckily, we had some rubbing alcohol at home, and we managed to get rid of them."
Evelyn nodded. "That's good."
"Evelyn... there are dead people on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors."
"All from the moth bites?"
"Yeah. Aunt Miller in 402, Denton in 503, and the entire family of five in 601... they were all killed by the moths last night."
It was the first time Lauren had seen a dead body up close. Every time she closed her eyes, the images of them resurfaced in her mind. She looked at Evelyn, who showed no sign of surprise or sadness—her expression was completely blank. Lauren felt a pang of envy. 'Are all medical professionals this mentally tough?' she wondered.
"After they die from the bites, the bodies develop these black and red intersecting patterns, just like on the moths' wings. Once a body swells to a certain point, it splits open along those lines. Officer Graham said the bodies might even explode and liquefy, just like the moths. He suggested moving all the bodies to 601, since the whole family there is already gone."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. 'Officer Graham is sharp. That's the perfect way to handle it.'
"Everyone's already looted 601."
"Let them. Have any rescue teams shown up in the last two days?"
"No. But the rain finally stopped around noon today."
Evelyn finally understood. No wonder it had been so quiet since she'd woken up. Seeing that Evelyn seemed to be in relatively good spirits, Lauren was able to relax a little.
"If we didn't have some cement and sand left over from when we renovated the study, I wouldn't have been able to plug up the toilet in time. Our place would have been flooded for sure."
They chatted for a little while longer before Lauren had to head back. Evelyn gave her the can of insecticide she was holding.
After Lauren left, Evelyn pulled the curtains open again. She took out a flashlight and observed the moths through the glass. An idea struck her. She went to the front door, quickly opened it just long enough to snatch up one of the moths, and brought it inside. She placed the moth in a glass jar. She wanted to run an experiment to see how long these poisonous moths could live.
At six-thirty, someone started knocking on her door and calling her name. Evelyn didn't open it rashly, instead asking who it was and what they wanted.
"Ford, it's me, Luna Rhodes from 403!" The voice from outside belonged to a young woman.
"The floodwater is about to reach our apartment! Can we please stay with you for a few days? We can pay you ten thousand for rent!"
If Evelyn remembered correctly, Luna was a senior in high school. She also had a younger brother who was a freshman. Their family was notorious in Building D for favoring their son over their daughter.
"I've already told you before, I'm not taking anyone in."
"Evelyn, you're all alone in there! Please, I'm begging you! We really can't hold out any longer. The poisonous moths are everywhere outside! Just open the door, please?"
"Evelyn, open the damn door and let me in, or I'll hack it down!" A vicious threat rang out. Evelyn recognized the voice of Luna's brother, Robert Rhodes. A moment later, the sound of an axe striking the door began. However, her three doors weren't made of wood, so Evelyn wasn't particularly worried.
A ruthless glint flashed in Evelyn's eyes. From her dimensional space, she withdrew a foot-long military knife.
'I didn't expect to need this so soon.'