18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 25

Men's emotional expressions are quite different from women's. Instead of Stella or Angela accompanying him, it was Lukas who went in to chat.

They didn't get into specifics; they just mentioned that they had spotted him at the Griffith Hotel when they reached the neighborhood.

The conditions at the shelter were terrible, so Lukas invited him to the Sunrise Sanctuary, "We're staying next door to Stella's place. It's a three-bedroom apartment, and you can move in with us. We'll figure out the rest later." Stella called Angela to a window at the end of the hallway. "What's your plan?"

Angela didn't really want any outsiders disrupting their lives, but these were exceptional times, and friends needed to help each other. Without Stella, she and Lukas would have had no other option but to stay at the shelter. "Lukas is actually quite sentimental," Angela said. "He only has you and Cody as friends. Besides, who doesn't have difficult times? The flood will eventually recede. Let's let him stay with us."

Their food supplies would last two or three months. If they ran out, they'd find a way. Angela was a straightforward person who didn't overthink things. Plus, she firmly believed that the world would returned to normal.

As the two women chatted by the window, Lukas and Cody emerged from the room. Cody approached the two women with a forced smile, "Angela, I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

Angela slapped his shoulder. "We're friends. After the flood recedes, just treat us to a good meal."

As they left in an inflatable boat, Stella handed Cody a package of cookies. Cody thanked her, tore open the package, and wolfed them down. The corners of his eyes were teary.

Lukas also offered the last of his crackers.

"I'm... I'm so sorry." Cody said.

"It's nothing," Stella said. "We've all had our low moments in these end times. There's no such thing as easy."

Upon their return to the Sunrise Sanctuary, everyone was utterly exhausted. Stella took out two pounds of rice she had bought from the supermarket and other items. "Cody, don't say I'm taking advantage of you. Once the flood recedes, you owe me a hundredfold. I'll have a 1% cut on all deals."

same Stella, showing no disdain for him.

"You're covering mine and Angela's

"Deal," Cody agreed.

into sleepwear and fell onto their beds. Stella stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. Unlike Lukas and Angela, Cody, who was used to dealing

days, none of them left

back, she finally managed to sort out all the goods they had looted from the supermarket. The supplies piled up to the ceiling. She locked the large room and hid the key

over once. While they were chatting, Stella

woman really hurt him. And life is so hard right now. Do you

from his company to their clients. He gave me one. Let him drink it and he'll

"The storm has been over for a few days

only did it not stop, but the water levels were rising, making

knows," Stella said, "Maybe one day

was scared. That

day, Angela knocked on Stella's door. "Cody drank an entire bottle of whiskey last night. He

and shaving, Cody looked a lot cleaner. He looked at everyone seriously.

heart jumped

it's unnatural?" Cody asked, sitting upright. "An unprecedented storm,

shelter. The government is working round the clock to salvage food from the wholesale market.

stockpiled food to last two years without farming. So why are they giving us half-rotten food salvaged from floodwaters? And why are they only giving us enough to barely fill our stomachs while the rest is dried and stored?" Lukas looked surprised. "It's been

the power of the state," Cody said confidently. "If it was just

a national disaster, perhaps even a global

Many other areas were also affected. Simultaneous disasters were happening everywhere. Wasn't

for things to return to normal. This