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."

teasing and familiar. She was the same Stella, showing no disdain for him. Cody let out

indignantly. "You're covering mine and Angela's brunch for

"Deal," Cody agreed.

the ceiling, lost in thought. Unlike Lukas and Angela, Cody, who was used to dealing with business, was far more insightful.

days, none of them left

house organizing their supplies. Exhausted to the point of breaking her back, she finally managed to sort out all the goods they had looted from the supermarket. The supplies piled up

this period, Angela came over once. While they were chatting, Stella asked about Cody,

hardly speaks. He just sleeps all day," Angela said with a sense of foreboding. "That woman really hurt

couple of days," Stella said, rummaging through a cabinet. She pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "This is a gift from his company to their clients. He gave me one.

over for a few days now. Why won't

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

knows," Stella said, "Maybe one day it will reach the 18th

That was

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

changing clothes and shaving, Cody looked a lot cleaner. He looked at everyone seriously. "I think the

jumped at his

unprecedented storm, rain pouring like there's a

lot of news at the shelter. The government is working round the clock to salvage food from the wholesale market. Our bread and crackers are

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 state," Cody said confidently. "If it was just the coastal areas

national disaster,

Many other areas were also affected.

for things to return to