Chapter 68
Chapter 68
This allowed Benjamin to stroll in relative peace. Downstream’s roads seemed inefficient and poorly planned, though he failed to consider the impact of the encroaching contamination. He was, at heart, a haughty young nobleman. To avoid walking in circles, he took note of the seemingly identical buildings, memorizing their shapes as he walked. A mental map of the web-like alleys began to form.
The weather worsened. As he considered turning back, not wanting to venture too far, he noticed a woman in a white dress lying on the black earth. Her arms were splayed, one shoe missing, the other dangling precariously from her foot.
Her exposed limbs, long and slender, possessed a strangely captivating blend of strength and grace. Her face was hidden, veiled by hair darker than the Downstream soil.
Nausea welled up within Benjamin. The woman looked as though she might be asleep, or perhaps murdered. Or even something other than human, something monstrous. Sometimes, people are drawn to the grotesque. Hesitantly, Benjamin approached.
The woman was tall. Her white dress, darkened by the black rain, clung to her slender frame, revealing its delicate curves. The hem, hiked up by her position, exposed the juncture of her thighs. Benjamin blushed and averted his gaze.
“Hello?” he called, bending down. Raindrops plopped into the woman’s open hand. Without thinking, Benjamin extended his umbrella over her. Her black hair shimmered with an iridescent sheen where the rain touched it, like oil on a puddle.
Carefully, he brushed the hair away from her face. He gasped and covered his mouth. The woman, with her pale, closed eyelids, was unexpectedly beautiful. He’d seen many beautiful women in Sky City, but none with such a captivating, almost destructive beauty. It was a peculiar allure: innocent yet decadent, lifelessly pale yet with a hint of mischief in the curve of her lips.
“Hello?” Benjamin murmured, mesmerized, kneeling beside her. He lifted her gently, propping her against his knee. Her body was cold and limp. Instinctively, he checked her pulse. It was so faint it was difficult to find, but he finally located the fluttering rhythm in her wrist. Her heartbeat was alarmingly slow. He examined her face again. Distracted by her striking features, he hadn’t noticed at first that her lips were tinged blue. It was a symptom of Downstream air poisoning.
Panic seized him. The situation was too bizarre. A lightly dressed woman, alone in an alley, suffering from air poisoning? But he had to save her. He fumbled for the nebulizer in his jacket pocket. The liquefied Purifier sloshed inside. He tilted her chin up, opening her mouth. The inside, too, was tinged purple. He quickly placed the mask over her nose and mouth and pressed the button. The transparent mask fogged as the Purifier sprayed.
He wondered if he was too late. But he couldn’t stop now. His umbrella lay discarded somewhere behind him. He held the woman close, almost embracing her, as he continued to administer the Purifier.
Her back twitched. The medicine was working. He could save her.
Benjamin continued until the nebulizer was nearly depleted. By then, the rain was pouring. Black streaks ran down his pale hair and handsome face, and across the woman’s pale skin. Downstream, always chilly due to the lack of sunlight, grew unbearably cold in the downpour. The woman’s body in his arms was like ice.
Her chest rose and fell in a deep breath. Benjamin’s gaze was drawn to the movement.
“Hello?” he said, losing count of how many times he’d called out to her. She didn’t answer, which only intensified his anxiety. He put away the nebulizer, leaving the umbrella on the ground. The Sky City nobleman lifted the Glass Dome canary into his arms. Head bowed against the intensifying rain, he retraced his steps.
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