18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 21

Stella peered at the floating object, drawing closer, not realizing it was a corpse, until she poked it with her oar.

Initially, the sight was shocking and stomach-churning, but after seeing a few more, she grew accustomed to it. Floating bodies had been a common sight in her neighborhood ever since she had set out. With her eyes on the clock, she noted that a minute had passed since she had released the rope into the water, and there was still no movement.

Two minutes... Three minutes...

Four minutes...

Anxiety began to gnaw at her. Stella yanked the rope twice, but there was still no response. Even the most skilled swimmers could only last a minute or so underwater. Even though Jasper was known for his diving prowess, four minutes seemed overly long. She had a bad feeling about this. Just as she was about to pull on the rope again, the water surface broke with a loud splash. Jasper emerged. "I checked several stores. All their doors have been pried open, and they've been cleaned out."

Cleaned out? Who could have done such a thing?

Lukas looked disappointed. "We can't find gas. Even if we had food, we wouldn't be able to cook it."

They had been quick, but not quick enough. They had been beaten to the punch. Stella glanced at Jasper. These fast-food joints had been flooded the day after the hurricane. Even if some of the owners had tried to salvage their stocks, it was unlikely that they would have been able to pry open all the stores. The floodwaters were too murky and fast-flowing for anyone without a diving mask and strong swimming skills to succeed.

Unless these stores had been looted as soon as the disaster struck.

She had a hunch. "We need to try our luck at the propane station. Hopefully, they haven't cleared everything out."

all. There was no way they were going back empty-handed. They'd

the offline map to the others. "It's around here. I think

Sanctuary. It wasn't

propane station. The suburbs were filled with bungalows,

firefighters trying to rescue stranded individuals. Upon seeing their boat, the rescuers tried to commandeer it to help transport the stranded people. Jasper ignored them, and the trio continued to

it was difficult to make out directions. Stella used her binoculars and said, "Go straight and turn right. There's something green sticking

giant tree. The once tall tree was now almost entirely submerged, with

mask on, dived into the water. After about two minutes, Jasper resurfaced. "I found it, but the station has a roll-up door and a sliding metal

silence. Why was it that he was the only

out in front of them. When she saw that Jasper had a simple diving mask, rope, and binding rope in his bag, she didn't hesitate to put on the mask, tie the rope around herself, and said, "I'll go down and help. Keep an eye on

Lukas nodded. "Be careful."

station, guided by the light from her waterproof flashlight. She

standing in the water, trying to lift the roll-up door, but the water resistance made it incredibly difficult. Stella swam over to help him lift the door. Their

gate behind it. Jasper took the steel pliers from Stella, cut the chain on

to swim in, a dark shadow darted towards Stella. Jasper, with his quick reflexes, pulled her away. The shadow grazed the top of her head, and she quickly swam up. Stella shone her flashlight towards it,

one but realized that these were probably empty tanks. Filled tanks wouldn't float that easily due to their density. She took out her high-beam waterproof flashlight from her pocket and scanned the dark surroundings. She could faintly see several

swam out of the building. He then pulled the rope tied around him. Lukas grabbed the rope and pulled

lift the heavy tank. It was likely left behind because the owner didn't have time to move

the boat to catch her