18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 34

Stella squinted, finding her vision blurred. She took out her binoculars for a clearer look.

In the middle of the river were two rubber boats filled with men and women. They were armed with makeshift weapons, sticks and pitchforks, and they were attacking something on the window ledge of a fifth-floor apartment.

A drenched dog was on the ledge, baring its teeth and growling ferociously at the attackers.

"Come on, kill it! We'll have meat tonight," one of them yelled, prompting an excited cheer from the others. They swung their weapons at the dog, who jumped and dodged but refused to retreat.

Ever since the sudden disaster, food supplies had become scarce. Many people had starved to death. The sight of a dog, even one as skinny as this one, was enough to stir their hunger.

"It's meat! Who wouldn't want it?" their eyes glowed with anticipation. Stella watched them, feeling a pang of sympathy for the dog.

She was about to turn away when she recognized the dog. It was Cooper! She had named him Cooper after she had found him abandoned by his owners. He had been living on the streets near her university, scavenging from the trash bins outside the local fast-food restaurants.

Stella, who had been selling dog food at the time, had taken pity on him. She would often leave some food for him or toss him a hot dog.

The only difference between a dog abandoned by its owner and a baby abandoned by its parents is that humans have orphanages, but stray dogs are killed once caught.

At first, he was very cautious, resisting Stella's approach, only eating after she walked away.

guard, he would peek his head

fell for Hector, abandoning her job of selling dog food and

meet again, it was in the midst

his skin was covered in pus-filled frostbite sores, and he was so skinny that only his

when she was harassed by a few thugs, he rushed up fearlessly, frantically biting at them. If he hadn't pounced, a

Cooper was beaten to death on the spot, yet hr never let go of the wrist he was biting until

was killed, cooked, and then

multiple times,

Hector, but he watched idly as she was killed by the thugs. Yet, the stray dog she had only occasionally fed had

Without a second thought, Stella started

his name, looked in her direction. The momentary distraction allowed one of the men to hit him

rushed to their companion's aid, raining down blows on the dog, but Cooper was quick and agile, and managed to dodge their attacks. The cudgel

The two boats collided, causing two people to lose their balance and fall into the water, screaming "Help, save me..." Before they could regain their composure, Cooper leaped towards the

directly knocked down the person on it. In just a few rounds, three people had

just as Stella's speedboat rammed into their boat. Stella shouted Cooper's

angry shouts and curses from the men. She looked down at Cooper

fallen off, leaving behind blotchy wounds. It seemed that this was not the first

was nothing one wouldn't do to survive. Forget about stray dogs, before the storm, many people in her apartment complex kept pets, treating them even better than themselves. But where were they now? Stella didn't dare to think about how he had managed to survive

don't be afraid," Stella tried to soothe it, "From now on, we'll live together

her, with no sign of letting down its guard. Stella didn't even have the