18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 1

"Ah..."

Stella Larson bolted upright in bed, sweat trickling down her forehead. Her eyes were clouded with confusion and despair. Her muddled consciousness was jolted by the scene before her. Was this her apartment from before the apocalypse? "Ding-dong, ding-dong."

The sound of incoming text messages prompted her to reach for the smartphone on her nightstand. September 14, 2029, 9:32 AM.

Over a dozen unread messages, all about the impending arrival of a powerful hurricane, "Cleaver," expected to make landfall on the coast in the wee hours of the 17th. The storm was predicted to be a Category 5, bringing heavy rainfall that would last for several days. Stella was bewildered. Hadn't she perished in the chaotic apocalypse? Could her unwillingness to die have plunged her back into this nightmare on the brink of death?

"Ding-dong." Another alert, this time timestamped 9:37 AM.

Stella pinched her arm hard. The sharp pain served as a reminder: this was no dream; she had truly been given a second chance. She had returned to three days before the hurricane that marked the start of the apocalypse. Or more accurately, two and a half days. Stella was far from overjoyed. Instead, she felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue. Hurricanes, torrential rains, floods, extreme cold and heat, and earthquakes, each challenge felt like hell. Was there anything worth starting over for?

But since she had returned, was she supposed to just wait for death? Absolutely not!

She splashed cold water on her face. Looking into the mirror, she saw a young, beautiful reflection. Her face was glowing, untouched by the desperate struggle of the apocalypse. Everything seemed so perfect.

Her weary gaze fell on the pendant around her neck. She had found it in the hospital when she was abandoned at birth. Later, Hector took it from her to give to the cheerleader, Sadie.

Three years into the apocalypse, Sadie still looked pristine and radiant, her clothes spotless, her skin rosy. It was as if she still lived in the prosperous world before the disaster.

Once, Stella had been so hungry she fainted. In her peripheral vision, she saw Sadie take an ice cream from the pendant and start to lick it.

let a drop of blood fall onto the pendant. The pendant emitted a bright light. When Stella opened her eyes again, she found herself in a sparsely furnished apartment with no doors, except for the one leading to a small garden with black earth on the

in

that had allowed Sadie to live

water, finding that apart from the balcony and the garden, every other place had

have the luxury to contemplate the mysteries within. Now that she had another chance

search for types of natural disasters. After reading the dense list of possible disasters, she felt

aside unnecessary emotions, she started to make a list of

there were intense power struggles

scraps and doing odd jobs in elementary school. By high school, she was tutoring and even cleaning toilets - as long as she was paid. She ranked highly in her exams and

sold insurance, organized events, and she dared to do anything as long as it was not illegal. After a decade, she had saved $200K in the bank, planning to make a down payment on a house

she was supposed to have professional classes and in the evening, she

hospitalized, unable to tutor for a considerable period. She asked if they could find a replacement

settled every two weeks, and the parents were all well off. Among them, two

to remind them about the impending hurricane and to stock up on

the list to her childhood friend, Cody, who worked for a pharmaceutical company. [New rich client needs these urgently, and they

immediately,

this medication list is weird. Are you

has only one

phone and transferred

up her keys and headed out, her gaze falling on the limited edition, brand new Air Jordans on the table. She felt like slamming her head against

under a spell. To win him over, she gave up her dorm and rented an expensive apartment in a school district, even queuing up at the crack of dawn at a specialty store to buy