Doomsday America

Chapter 34 The Blacksmith and the Veterinarian

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin immediately answered the phone and eagerly turned on speakerphone.

Eugene, standing to the side, pondered for a moment before finally realizing what was happening.

If it wasn't Madison calling Gavin, then who was it?
If Doris and William weren't in danger, there was no need for them to bypass Madison and Gavin to communicate.

So if the call comes from another team member, it means something has happened to them!

Thinking of this, Eugene's expression turned solemn, and he strained his ears to listen to the sound coming from the phone.

As Gavin and Eugene waited anxiously, a few soft coughs came from the phone, followed by a slightly weak and aged voice.

"Cough cough, damn it... cough cough cough... Is that Gavin over there?"

"Yes, this is Gavin. And you are...?"

Gavin hesitated before asking into the phone.

He hadn't saved the number in his contacts, but the person who had access to his private number couldn't be a complete stranger.

As for this sound...

The voice on the other end of the phone was so hoarse and distorted that I couldn't recognize who it was!

Upon receiving Gavin's reply, the person on the other end of the phone coughed heavily twice, then spoke in an extremely weak voice.

"That's good. Cough cough, God, this is Albert. I changed my number a couple of years ago."

"Little Gavin, do you remember old Bert? When you were little, I...cough cough...I held you...uh cough cough!!!"

A violent coughing sound came from the phone; Eugene was even worried that the person on the other end might cough up their lungs!

As for Gavin...

Upon hearing Albert's name, he immediately recognized him; he was his father's old friend, the family's earliest blacksmith and veterinarian.

More than a decade ago, before Gavin started making big money through his foresight, his family's farm was only about three thousand acres.

At that time, the entire farm had fewer than forty households. Apart from a dozen or so cowboy households, five or six hunter households, seven or eight fishermen households, and a bar owner, old Albert was the farm's only blacksmith.

He forged all the horseshoes on the entire farm, and he repaired all the cow hooves on the entire farm!

He sounded like a very stress-relieving person, and in fact he was. Old Bert was easygoing, funny, and had even taken eleven-year-old Gavin deer hunting once.

However, after Gavin entered high school, he worked hard to earn money while also pursuing football, first making it into the college league and then into the major football league.

Gavin was so busy that he could barely go back to the farm, let alone catch up with old Bert.

As the farm's blacksmith continued to expand, old Bert became increasingly busy and had no time to contact Gavin at all.

After briefly recalling Albert's situation, Gavin immediately spoke into the phone, which was filled with coughing sounds.

"How could I forget you, Albert? How are you doing now!"

"Me? Cough cough!"

Old Bert coughed twice and replied weakly to Gavin.

"Gavin, you should be able to tell that I'm absolutely terrible... cough cough."

"I probably caught a chill while swimming in the lake yesterday. I've had a high fever since early this morning, and my back and legs hurt so much I can't even get out of bed... cough cough..."

"My God, my useless sons... cough cough... not one of them can get through on the phone."

“Those bastards, all they know is to beg me for work… cough cough… but when I got sick, not a single one of them cared about me…”

At this point, old Bert's voice noticeably softened.

Upon hearing this, Gavin took a deep breath and quickly spoke to old Bert.

"There might be another reason. Anyway, where are you now? Are you still living in the lakeside cabin?"

"That's right, the lake water... cough cough it's too cold cough cough cough..."

At this point, old Bert coughed for more than ten seconds before finally managing to stop, and continued speaking to Gavin with trembling breaths.

“I called my ex-wife, I called Joanna, and I even called your parents, but I couldn’t get through.”

Old Bert took a deep breath, so loud that it could be heard on the other end of the phone.

After exhaling, old Bert's voice softened considerably, and he continued speaking with a weary and pained expression.

“I’ve reached the age where people dislike me. Up until now, you’re the only one who answered my call. You’re a good kid. Can you help me… help me contact Joanna?”

"These old bones of mine are finally going to Joanna's hospital bed... cough cough... to be pricked and stabbed by her... cough cough cough cough!"

Hearing this, Gavin sighed.

Joanna is the doctor in the small town of Gavin Farm. Gavin Farm has a sparse population, so one or two doctors are enough, and the town hospital has fewer than ten beds. It's quite clear now that old Bert has narrowly escaped becoming a zombie.

Old Bert's lakeside cabin is seven or eight kilometers away from the farm town, and the nearest fishermen's huts are at least 1.5 kilometers away. No zombie would go that far to attack Old Bert.

But given Old Bert's current situation, it seems he might be heading to meet his maker even without a zombie attack.

As for Joanna...

Gavin took a deep breath and spoke into the phone, word by word.

"I'm sorry, Albert, Joanna is probably dead."

"And my parents, though I don't want to admit it, they are also dead, and there is almost no chance of a miracle."

"In short, no one can save you now. You have to hold on for a while longer, at least until I get back."

"I've already passed through Ennis and am on my way to Koscana, but I can't guarantee how long it will take to get to you!"

"Cough... Shit... Are you drunk?"

Old Bert's coughing intensified, while Gavin continued in a somber tone.

"Listen to me, Albert, you must hold on for a while longer!"

"I will come to you, and until I reach you, please do not leave your room under any circumstances..."

Doodle.

Before Gavin could finish speaking, Albert hung up the phone.

Holding his phone, Gavin remained silent for a moment before putting it back in his pocket and lighting a cigarette.

Eugene tossed the lighter to Gavin, and while Gavin lit his cigarette, Eugene asked hesitantly.

"Are they from your farm?"

"He is a professional blacksmith and part-time veterinarian on my family farm."

After answering, Gavin paused for a moment and then added a sentence.

"He did hold me when I was a child."

After saying that, Gavin rolled down the car window and exhaled a puff of smoke out of the window.

Upon hearing this, Eugene nodded and smiled wryly.

"Okay, I really don't know how to advise you, and I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing."

"But he didn't turn into a zombie directly. With that kind of luck, a high fever might not be enough to defeat him."

"So there's no need to worry at all. Everything will be fine once we get to your farm, haha!"

Eugene gave a weak laugh and threw his cigarette butt out the window.

Gavin shook his head noncommittally and said nothing more.

The two drove on in silence for nearly two kilometers. By this point, they had traveled almost five kilometers. The road was surprisingly long.

However, the journey ended there. After Gavin turned another bend, the end of the road finally appeared before them.

Gavin parked his car by the roadside and looked through binoculars at the grassland 300 meters away, where nearly 20 RVs of various types were gathered, 14 of which were towed RVs.

"Is this a campervan campground?" Eugene asked, standing next to Gavin. "But why isn't there a sign for a campervan campground?"

"It was a privately hosted RV party, not a campsite. I saw the bus that transported the models; it was the usual style."

As Gavin responded to Eugene, he continued to look 140 meters behind the RV campground, where there was a small, private castle-style manor with curtains drawn over every window.

Upon hearing this, Eugene curled his lip and sneered.

"With such tight blocking, it's obviously something only rich perverts like you play with. You even went to the trouble of hiding so far away just to have fun. Do you think there are any little kids among those people brought in by bus?"

After saying that, Eugene instinctively touched the gun.

Gavin put down his binoculars and slowly walked toward the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

He said this as he got into the car.

“I’ll mark it on the map. This place is barely suitable as a campsite. I estimate that there are no more than a hundred people in the manor. By using sound as bait, we might be able to lure them away.”

Eugene nodded and smiled.

"This place is really nice. Setting up some traps on the road can also stop any ill-intentioned bastards."

"Of course, there are downsides too. There's only one road leading out. If it's blocked, you can't drive out unless there's a plane inside."

(End of this chapter)