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.

still on guard, he would

fell for Hector, abandoning her job

was in the midst

fur had fallen off, his skin was covered

state, when she was harassed by a few thugs, he rushed up fearlessly, frantically biting at them. If he hadn't pounced, a baseball bat would have crashed down on her

the spot, yet hr never let go of

but he was

searched for him multiple

as she was killed by the thugs. Yet, the stray dog she had only occasionally fed had given

tears streamed down Stella's face. Without a second thought, Stella started

looked in her direction. The momentary distraction allowed one of the men to hit

himself at the man, biting and clawing. The other men 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 instead

to the swift current. The two boats collided, causing two people to lose their balance and fall into the water, screaming "Help, save

dog had a powerful jump and directly knocked down the person on it. In just a few rounds, three people had fallen into the water, and two had been successfully injured by the

a knife and lunged at Cooper just as Stella's speedboat rammed into their boat. Stella shouted Cooper's name again, and the dog, using his powerful hind legs, jumped onto

angry shouts and curses from the men. She looked down at Cooper who was now sitting in

coming from his mouth and most of his fur had fallen off, leaving behind

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

be afraid," Stella tried to soothe it, "From now on, we'll live together

from her, with no sign of letting down its guard. Stella didn't even have the chance to get close, let alone touch