Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



Caught in the gaze of two men, what they saw was her leaning against a pillar, cheeks flushed, body trembling, arms wrapped tightly around herself. "Roseanne? Roseanne?! Are you okay?" Owen Reynolds tried to rouse her.

However, the woman's eyes were tightly shut, her eyelashes fluttering uneasily, barely awake and visibly distressed.

Owen's heart sank as he touched her forehead...

"This isn't good! Roseanne's temperature is skyrocketing. If it keeps up, she might not make it until help arrives."

Corley couldn't help but lose his temper, "Do you think I don't know that? But we're out of options here, what the hell can we do?"

No fever medicine, no heater, not even a decent shelter from the wind.

Owen glanced at him, then stretched out a hand, flat, at a right angle to his body.

Corley: "What are you doing?"

Owen didn't reply immediately, but after a few seconds, he withdrew his hand, explaining, "The wind's coming from the northwest. If we move her behind that pillar over there, it won't block the wind completely, but at least it'll be at her back and not blowing directly on her."

"Alright." Corley immediately followed suit.

After they moved her, he instinctively looked at Owen: "What now? I've got a lighter. We could find some dry branches to start a fire."

"No way," Owen shook his head. "Look north and south, there are smoke detectors. If we start a fire and set those off, the whole area will be drenched."

Hearing the word "alarm," Corley froze.

"So, what do we do? What can I do?"

Owen raised an eyebrow: "Will Mr. Sullivan follow my lead?"

"Heh," he smirked, "What choice do we have? I might not like you, but I'm not blind to the urgency."

Owen looked at him for a few seconds, "I've got some fever reducer in my bag. Find it, then mix it with hot water and give it to her."

Corley: "You have medicine?! Why didn't you say something sooner?!"

"You never asked."

"""

After some rummaging, Corley found the medicine, "Is this it?"

"Yeah, follow the dosage instructions."

As Corley administered the medicine to Roseanne, Owen pulled out some gauze and alcohol from his bag.

He then began tearing the gauze into strips.noveldrama

Corley frowned, "What are you doing?"

"Using the alcohol to wipe her palms, forehead, and behind her ears. Maybe we can bring the fever down physically." Owen continued his work as he spoke.

Corley, having finished giving Roseanne the medicine, came over to help.

One tore the gauze, the other soaked it in alcohol, wiping Roseanne's palms.

The storm abruptly ceased, and the world seemed momentarily silent.

Two men, typically at odds, found an unprecedented harmony in their actions, their cooperation seamless.

Half an hour later, Owen checked Roseanne's temperature again.

"How is she?" Corley, sweating profusely, asked.

"It's down..."

"Thank God."

"But not by much, she's still feverish."

Corley: "..." He had been about to sigh in relief but stopped midway.

"How much alcohol is left?"

"Not much."

"Let's keep going then, it's all we can do for now."

"Alright."

Fortunately, after they used up the alcohol, Roseanne's temperature dropped from 42°C (107.6°F) to 38°C (100.4°F), a mild fever.

By then, four hours had passed since they were promised access to the facility "in 5 hours."

Another hour went by, and the gate remained firmly closed.

Even their cell phones had no signal!

Unable to contact the facility manager or seek medical help, Corley was seething with anger cursing under his breath, almost

ready to kick the door down.

Owen solemnly advised, "If you don't want to trigger any security measures, I'd suggest holding back." "...Oh."

Corley indeed held back, learning from his earlier mistake not to make another.

Owen helped Roseanne sit up and then looked at Corley, "Come here."

"What for?"

"Sit behind her."

"Why?"

"We'll surround her, front and back, with the pillar as a windbreak. Hopefully, it'll keep her warm." "Fine."

It turns out, warmth can be shared.

Even though there was no close contact, just sitting near each other allowed their heat and energy to converge in a short time.

Whether it truly worked or was merely a placebo, it did have an effect.

As dawn broke, Roseanne's fever finally subsided, and her breathing became steady.

Owen and Corley, relieved, allowed themselves to doze off.

...

The sun pierced through the heavy clouds, casting a golden glow over the snow-capped mountains.

It was another rare sunny winter day.

With the morning dew still fresh and the wind rustling softly, tranquility was restored.

The emergency gate was finally opened, and hurried footsteps approached, startling the birds perched in the trees into flight.

Murray, having waited from night till dawn, was the first to rush in.

His steps were both swift and eager, as if he couldn't wait another second to see the one he'd been worrying about all night.

With no surveillance in the control

temperature area, he had no way of

knowing Roseanne's condition let

alone imagine what she

ad gone

through all night.

And as for what Owen Reynolds and Corley had done...

Even though he knew he shouldn't entertain such thoughts, hoping only for her safety, conflicting ideas invaded his mind uncontrollably.

Thus, Murray was extremely

anxious, fooking haggard with dark

circles under his eyes and stubble on his chin, a clear sign of his distress.

The next moment, he froze in place, completely stunned.