Chapter 3: rainstorm

A summer thunderstorm was brewing over F city.
The lights went out, and the city fell into a long darkness. In the apartment, Cassia's suit and school uniform had not been replaced. He sat on the edge of the living room, facing the darkness outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
Thunder cloud burst out of tangled bright lightnings, connecting the tall buildings standing on the ground with the dark night sky, and the distant scenery revolved in the dark eyes of the teenager.
The first thunder exploded, lighting his pale face, and something rang in the thunder. The thunder rolled over, and the phone rang quickly.
"Dad, how long are you home?" Cassia said.
"Baby!" The man on the phone called anxiously, "What are you doing ?! I didn't come back so soon!"
"Well, I see." Cassia replied, another thunder exploded.
Zhang Huan's voice shouted, "I have to delay for a while on the road! It is estimated that I will be home at midnight! You have dinner first, and there is cooked food in the refrigerator!"
The end of the phone was noisy and chaotic, as if there were some turmoil, people screaming, urging, and torrential noises.
Cassia said: "There is a power outage and the microwave oven cannot be used."
Zhang Ye shouted anxiously: "What are you talking about ?! Be loud! I can't hear you!"
Cassia cried out, "Nothing! Hang up!"
Zhang Ye finally heard his voice and shouted with a smile: "Wait for me! Dad will be back soon!"
Cassia hung up the phone, took a glass of water, and didn't open the refrigerator, sitting quietly in the dark home. I stayed at school every Friday and went to high school in City F. I got back on a rare holiday and reunited with my adoptive father.
Zhang Ye went out for a business trip on Thursday and said that he would go out for dinner. Zhang Ye was done, but he was blocked on the road when he rushed back on Friday.
Another two hours left was another day, and Cassia was sitting in the darkness, motionless.
At twelve o'clock, when the call came in, the entire house lit up in an instant, and it was difficult for Jumeizu's pupils to adapt to the sudden light, and it unnaturally narrowed.
He turned on the TV, all snowflakes, rustling, and then turned off. The whine of the ambulance came downstairs.
The phone rang again, deciding to answer in the past, the voice over there was much lower.
Zhang Huan: "Baby ... are you okay?"
Cassia: "Yes."
Zhang Ye's voice was trembling, and his words were intermittent: "Don't you go out, hell, what's going on? Is anyone knocking? Someone knocking, don't open."
Cassia replied, "Oh."
Zhang Huan panted for a while, and was very quiet over there: "Come downstairs and wait for me, and enter the city."
Cassia replied: "I see."
Zhang Ye changed his voice immediately: "No, no, you are at home, um, pack up, bring your card, money, medicine, pack a few clothes for washing, and dad will take you to camp."
"Baby! When I come back, no matter who knocks on the door, don't open, I have ten minutes to get home." Zhang Yan said: "Don't open the door if anyone knocks! Remember!"
Be sure to hang up the phone silently, walk into the room without asking anything, take out the travel bag used for school, unzip it, pull out the clothes to be washed, and put them in the washing machine. Then he packed up Zhang Jian's, with several pieces of his clothes, medicine box, cigarettes, money and cards.
Zhang Ye's □□ and cash were placed in a drawer. Cassia was still flipped into a small box. In the box was a pair of white gold mobile phone pendants—Capricorn and Cancer.
Cassia tied Capricorn to his cell phone, the other hooked with his little finger, packed his things, and sat in the living room waiting.
There was a scream screaming outside the door, and he was involuntarily sitting upright. His eyes were very blank. He turned on the TV, but still no signal, turned off the TV, turned on and off, repeated several times, and finally left it on. Slowly got up and went to the cat's eyes on the door and looked out.
The aisle was so dark that nothing could be seen.
"Help!" The woman screamed sternly, thumping the door, and Bing Ming's eyebrows were touched by the shocking door, and she stepped back.
He thought for a moment expressionlessly, and when he looked down, he saw that the door was lined up neatly, his sneakers, Zhang Ye's military boots, two large and one small flip flops.
Cassia said: "My dad told me not to open the door."
The door knocked frantically in the aisle, and after a moment a wailing sounded, standing for a while, bowing and wearing shoes.
While tying the shoelaces on one knee, a thick stick of blood infiltrated through the crack in the door, staring at it for a moment, letting go a little, and continuing to wear shoes.
When he got up, put his hands on the doorknob, and there was no sound outside the door.
Cassia changed his mind again and sat back on the sofa, staring at the door.
For a moment, the rhythmic knock on the door sounded, accompanied by the beast-like cry of "嗬 嗬 ".
Cassia looked blankly, and then the elevator "ding".
"Dad," Cassia said.
Zhang Ye's voice roared in the aisle, shattered glass of fire hydrant, shouting, impact, and came forward to open the door, pulling the door of the safety chain open a gap, Zhang Ye shouted: "Don't Come out! Don't come out now! "
Cassia stood at the door and was hit by the ground. A rotten hand stretched out outside the door, and was dragged out.
Zhang Jian said: "Close the door!"
Cassia closed the door.
The dull sound of heavy objects falling to the ground was quiet outside.
"Dad?" Cassia said.
"It's okay ..." Zhang Yan said with a shaking voice, "Don't look at the cat's eyes, wait for a while."
He nodded silently, and after a while, he couldn't help but look in the cat's eyes, Zhang Ye was hiding something in the safety aisle, wiped his sweat, and said, "Baby, you can open the door."
Cassia dropped the insurance chain and opened the door.
Zhang Huan was blood, staring at him panting, his eyes flushed, and the two stood face to face.
Zhang Ye is one and a half meters tall, and Cassia is only fifteen years old. He is shorter than him and looks up at him.
Zhang Yan swallowed his saliva, Kankan held Jue Ming in front of him, and touched his head. He finally called out, "Finally ... I saw you and thought I couldn't return this time."
Cassia didn't say anything, but answered briefly: "Um."
Zhang Huan: "I love you, baby."
Cassia nodded.
Zhang Huan closed the door and leaned on it, panting, and decided to ask, "Did you eat?"
Zhang Ye replied, "I'm afraid it's impossible to eat. The shops outside are closed. Let's go someday."
Cassia said: "I asked if you ate."
Zhang Huan shook his head blankly and said wearily, "Baby you."
Cassia said: "Called, I'm going to warm up the rice."
Zhang Huan immediately realized the danger: "No, we have to go. Are you packed up? The car is downstairs. Go right away and leave here."
Cassia said, "Can you drive?"
Zhang Huan's eyes were flushed, and he entered the room like a gust of wind. He found a bottle of Red Bull and opened it. Then he went into the bathroom, twisted the flowers, and decided to go inside to find and change his clothes.
Zhang Jian is 28 years old. He has studied, used to be a soldier, and travelled to many places from south to north. At a time when he is young and strong, his skin is healthy bronze, and he is hot under the shower. The water is naked, and the water flows down his body-building abs, like a wild but gentle leopard.
Cassia stood silently watching.
The hot water relieved Zhang Huan a lot. His nervous tension had subsided, and he finally calmed down. He looked at Jue Ming side by side and wanted to say something.
Cassia said: "Dad, I love you too."
Zhang Huan wanted to beckon him to come and wash it together, but thought of the time was tight, he was busy: "Baby, are you packed?"
Cassia shook his head, nodded again, and walked out of the bathroom.
"How is business?" Cassia asked.
Zhang Yan sighed and replied: "Very good, let's go out of the north highway and go to other cities, find the brother Wang who had eaten last time, and drive for two days."
Cassia asked again: "Here it is."
Zhang Huan got dressed, changed his trousers and shirt, and hurried out, saying, "I can't take care of it."
Cassia: "The company."
Zhang Huan calmed for a moment, and then said, "I can't open any more. After we leave, call them tomorrow and leave."
Zhang Huan took the travelling bag, and behind his shoulders he opened the door with one hand, holding his adoptive son with the other, and stopped at the door. The blood on the beach was still dry and thick.
"Don't look, baby." Zhang Huan whispered, then took the right shoulder over Jue Ming's shoulder, put his palm in front of his eyebrow, and half-hugged him out of the corridor.
Cassia also didn't struggle. He followed Zhang Huan, walked into the elevator, and got off the underground garage. Zhang Hua took the Cassia all the way, took a deep breath, and set the window of the front passenger seat to dark brown. Have Cassia fasten his seat belt and get a blanket to cover him.
"You sleep, when Dad calls you," Zhang Yan said.
Jue nodded his head, like a cat in a blanket: "Is it enough?"
Zhang Huan looked backwards, turned to his side for a moment, and decided to come over consciously. Zhang Huan kissed Jue Ming's face.
Cassia stretched out his hands to embrace Zhang Huan's neck, which meant a bit of attachment. Zhang Huan said, "Let's go." He rubbed his body and rubbed Jue Ming's forehead, and started the car to drive out of the apartment building.
City F was cleaned by an apocalyptic catastrophe, the street lights were dim, the streets were littered with newspapers, empty vehicles were thrown at the roadside, and the light boxes of billboards flickered.
Zhang Ye drove through the deserted urban area along the road, his eyes widened unbelievably. When he entered the urban area from the highway at high speed, there was no such sight. It was just one night. The entire F city park and streets were empty.
A person walked across the road.
Zhang Jian slammed the steering wheel, and the brakes made a harsh, squeaking noise, but after all, he could not make a turn, and made a loud bang, shoveling the person crossing the road straight.
Cassia immediately opened his eyes and woke up.
Zhang Huan said: "It's okay ... I'll get out of the car and take a look." He said he unfastened the seat belt, but was found to be holding his sleeves by one hand.
I saw the knocked-out "corpse" not far off the road supporting the ground again, and stood up staggeringly.
Zhang Yan panted, fastened his seat belt, bypassed the living dead, and continued to drive all the way.
The car passed the blockade, and the police signaled Zhang Huan to shake down the window, look at the car with a flashlight, and put on the face of Cheng Mingxiu.
"Are you injured?" The policeman asked. "Caught and bitten at the clinic next door to bandage."
"No." Zhang Yan couldn't help but trembled: "What happened?"
"The rabies surge." The policeman said, "You didn't listen to the radio?"
Zhang Huan shook his head. He and Jumei looked as usual, unlike those who were sick.
The policeman asked, "How about you, take out your ID card and see what it does? Where is your home?"
Zhang Ye said: "He is my son, adopted son, and I am his guardian."
A policewoman came over and waved, "I look into your eyes."
Cassia's pupils did not adapt well to light, and contracted slightly. The police commented, "Very nice boy, how about your mother? Why isn't it snoring? Your body isn't comfortable? What's your name?"
Zhang Yan said: "Baby? Tell your uncle your name."
"Jingming," he began.
Zhang Ye smiled embarrassedly: "The child doesn't like to speak, his mother ..."
Suddenly suddenly said: "I have no mother."
Zhang Huan was very embarrassed, but the police nodded in understanding, gesturing and letting go.
Finally, the number of living people gradually increased, Zhang Ye's breathing was still a little trembling, and the long queues of the team lined up on the highway. There are cars on the front, back, left, and right, and many car owners occasionally roll down the windows and scold.
Zhang Huan was finally relieved.
Two hundred meters away is a high-speed toll station, and four dazzling incandescent lights make the intersection look like daylight. From a distance there was a quarrel and a loudspeaker broadcast:
"Citizens, please wait patiently, you need to be scanned and inspected when you pass the pass ..."
It looks like it will not be able to go out at 1:30, there are armed police everywhere, and there should be no major problems. Zhang Ye drove the car for nearly fifteen hours in a row, he couldn't hold it, and said, "Baby."
Cassia looked out in front of the window, was called, and looked back at Zhang Ye in confusion.
Zhang Yan said: "You sleep a little longer, obedient."
Cassia shook his head, and Zhang Huan followed his gaze and said, "Dad rest for a while, and the car in front will leave and you call me."
Zhang Ming nodded, Zhang Huan took off his jacket and covered himself, leaned on the driver's seat, and closed his eyes.
Looking out the window of the Ming Dynasty, lightnings rose and fell in the dark sky, and at the intersection of the highway, the end of the wilderness connected the sky and the earth together.
Another jeep was parked next to their car, and it was staggered a little bit. It was decided that the seat was facing the jeep's rear window.
A woman sat there, turned her head and smiled to see Jumei.
Cassia pressed one hand on the window, the rain started again, and the clear rainwater dripped down the glass.
I don't know how long, the woman behind the window of the jeep across the road disappeared.
Immediately after, a blood splattered on the car window, and a scream of extreme screaming came out. He grabbed the car window with one hand and caught a blood fingerprint.
Zhang Huan was suddenly awakened, and the police shouted from outside.
"what happened!"
"Open the door—!"
"The man inside put his hand on his head and got out of the car—!"
Cassia looked around and saw the jeep driver's seat pulled apart. Several policemen pressed the car owner to the ground. The car owner couldn't help struggling and screaming and biting. A policeman was biting his arm and couldn't help yelling.
The father and son watched this scene quietly.
The police dragged the owner of the biting car away, and blood was dripped out of the car and washed into the road by rain. The half of the woman who had previously smiled towards Jumei Hung out of the car and was bitten beyond recognition by her teeth.
Cassia said: "Mr. Xiao."
Zhang Huan: "..."
The deceased was a teacher at the Cassia School. She waved her hand to Cassia, and Zhang Jian said, "Don't look away, go, baby."
The congested convoy moved again, staring at the light flowing in a blindfold.
It was finally their turn to pass, and the two were taken to a lighted hut where several doctors sat.
"Where to go," one asked.
Zhang Ye answered, going to S city.
"Take off your clothes."
Zhang Ye took off his coat and trousers, and a few people glanced, Zhang Ye put it on, and undressed Ju Ming.
"Come here for an injection," said another nurse.
The needle tube of the vaccination needle is very thin. After the injection, Zhang Huan asked, "What kind of serum is this?"
A doctor raised his eyes and said, "There is also an outbreak of rabies in the places you go. It is recommended to go northwest. Are there any relatives in the northwest?"
"Mr. Zhang!" A doctor in charge found Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye was busy shaking hands with him, and decided to walk to the car. Zhang Ye said, "Is it an epidemic?"
The doctor in charge whispered: "Not quite sure, can President Zhang assemble some medicinal materials over there?"
Zhang Ye shook his head with a bitter smile, and the employees were gone. What medicinal materials were collected? Zhang Ye's hometown is in the countryside not far from here. He retired as a soldier a few years ago. He came to the provincial capital to start a business without a family member. He founded a small-scale medicinal material company based on the traditional Chinese medicine handed down from his father's life. He had business dealings with several major hospitals in the provincial capital, and the doctor in charge was the one who had received his red envelope.
Zhang Huan said: "There is not much stock, and I am planning to go to a place to buy goods. This is not just coming back. The goods have not arrived yet. The deposit has been paid ..." He touched it in his jacket pocket and couldn't feel anything.
Cassia came over and handed out a pack of cigarettes. Zhang Huan couldn't laugh or cry, but fortunately, Ju Ming had a little smoke in his heart.
The doctor in charge picked it up, Zhang Ye gave him a cigarette and asked, "Already a vaccine?"
The supervisor said: "The role is not clear, but it is harmless to the human body. Take a shot first and you need to be careful."
Zhang Ye nodded, and the doctor in charge said, "Pay attention to the radio. Although the epidemic is coming, it has not reached the scale of SARS that year and should be able to get better."
Zhang Ye said, "Leave, you must also pay attention to your own safety." Bi said to say goodbye to the doctor, get on the car and leave the highway. Head towards S city.