Chapter 67 Will He Be Here?
The bus to Stoneford Town only ran once a day, and you had to transfer once along the way.
Matilda knew that staying in the county would mean dealing with Tom anyway, and besides, someone had to go to Stoneford Town. She'd learned some boxing and basic self-defense—if she really ran into danger, she could protect herself.
And danger wasn't guaranteed to happen. Maybe it would just be rougher conditions.
She arrived at Barrow County Bus Station early in the morning to wait. After an hour, only a dozen or so people showed up—half locals, half tourists who looked like they were part of a group.
The tourist group was making social media content. Their lead blogger picked up his camera and started filming enthusiastically. "Guess where we're headed today? Leave your guesses in the comments, and if you're right, you'll have a chance to enter our giveaway!"
After putting the camera down, he started complaining. "If it weren't for content, who would come to this godforsaken place? Nothing here—dry, cold, and high altitude."
His teammate laughed. "This is nothing. Wait till you get to Briarford County—then you'll know what real desolation looks like!"
These days, travel bloggers would go anywhere for views—deserts, tundra, rainforests. Some even ran off to war zones for "adventure content."
Some teams traveled in groups but insisted on calling it "solo exploration."
Of course, there were some genuinely interested in exploring the world, but they were few and far between.
After the bus left the county, houses became increasingly sparse along the route, with nothing but barren mountains ahead.
The mountains here were all exposed rock, no trees or brush. You could even see snow on the peaks—utterly desolate.
The landscape made you feel like you'd entered a place forgotten by time.
For someone who loved crowds and socializing, this kind of place would be torture. But for Matilda, it was a kind of mental relief—she could escape from so many of her troubles.
She soon dozed off against the window.
After about three hours, someone called for them to get off.
This was a transfer station—a row of long, low buildings containing a convenience store, gas station, gift shop, and small diner. It actually had some charm.
Travelers passing through or people on road trips would stop here to eat and rest.
Some locals on the bus, trying to save money, pulled out sandwiches or beef jerky and found spots to sit and eat.
The travel blogger team headed to the diner, their enthusiasm restored. They ordered burgers, fries, and fried chicken, happily filming while they ate, acting like they loved the place.
Matilda bought a cup of hot soup noodles from the gas station convenience store and found an empty chair.
While eating, she saw several military trucks pull up.
The trucks were there for fuel and water. A few soldiers got out.
The locals showed great respect for the military. The diner owner enthusiastically invited them in for a meal.
But they said they'd already eaten. While waiting for refueling, they looked around the transfer station, helping anyone who needed it—lifting and carrying things.
Watching them, Matilda couldn't help thinking of Wentworth.
Could Wentworth be stationed around here?
Then she reconsidered—impossible.
With Wentworth's family background, he'd never be assigned to such a remote location.
Half an hour later, Matilda and the others transferred to a military truck.
Because of the complex terrain and some snow-covered road sections, trucks were safer than regular buses.
After another half hour, they finally reached Stoneford Town.
Getting off, Matilda took in the town.
It wasn't large, but it had a motel, community clinic, diner, small grocery store, and daycare center.
The population was tiny. On the way, locals had mentioned that this town and its surrounding villages had fewer than a thousand people total. Most young people had left for work elsewhere, leaving behind mostly elderly and children.
The travel blogger team had already booked their motel and headed straight there.
The local passengers scattered to their destinations, leaving Matilda alone.
She pulled out her phone and called the local community clinic.
No one answered for a long time.
She decided to just ask for directions and walk over.
The clinic was small, like a rural primary care facility, with only one elderly doctor and one nurse.
It was afternoon, and the clinic was packed with over a dozen patients. The old doctor and nurse were overwhelmed—all these patients had been brought in after eating poisonous wild mushrooms. Some were vomiting, others were delirious, and some were moaning in pain.
Matilda quickly set down her suitcase and approached the old doctor. "Hello, I wanted to..."
The old doctor looked up at her and said in heavily accented English, "You don't look like a patient. There's a pharmacy across the street if you need medication."
"No, I'm..."
Before she could finish, a male patient shouted in pain, "Does this clinic even work? I've been hurting forever—when are you finally going to give me medicine?"
The old doctor was still treating another patient and called back, "Just hang in there. Who told you to be brave enough to eat wild mushrooms?"
"I'm practically dying, and you can't just let me wait to die!"
Seeing the situation, Matilda immediately said, "Let me take a look at him."
She walked over to the male patient and said in her distinctive voice, "I'm a new doctor here. Where does it hurt?"
Seeing a pretty female doctor, the male patient calmed down slightly. Clutching his stomach, he said, "It hurts—like there's a pair of scissors cutting up my intestines!"
Matilda put on a mask and examined his complexion and tongue coating, diagnosing food poisoning.
She looked at the clinic's medicine cabinet, quickly searched through it, and found diuretics and atropine. Based on his condition, she gave him the medication.
She also poured him a large pitcher of warm water. "Drink up. You have to drink a lot to flush out the toxins, or else you'll need your stomach pumped."
The male patient, despite his pain, obediently took the medicine and drank water.
The old doctor glanced at Matilda's actions. Seeing the patient calm down under her care, he knew she must be a doctor.
Remembering yesterday's notice from the county health department about a female doctor coming to provide support today, this must be her.
So he stopped interfering and let her work freely.
Matilda helped treat several patients in succession. For those severely dehydrated, she set up IV drips. For the less serious cases, she had them drink plenty of water and take medication.
They worked until dark before this batch of patients recovered.
The old doctor took off his mask to wash his hands, and Matilda followed him.
She introduced herself again. "Dr. MacAllister, I'm Matilda Spencer, the doctor sent to support you."
MacAllister was an old surname in Stoneford Town. Levi MacAllister looked at her, puzzled. "You're such a young woman—why would you come to a place like this?"
Matilda smiled. "Orders from above. I go where I'm assigned."
"I appreciate it. That batch of patients were tourists who came a few days ago—no idea why they decided to eat wild mushrooms. They're stable now, but someone needs to be on night duty. Can you handle that?"
Matilda answered without hesitation, "Yes."
"Go grab something to eat at the diner outside, then come back for the night shift. Your housing is in the building behind the clinic. I'll show you around after you eat."
"Sounds good." Matilda nodded.