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.

familiar, even though he was still on guard, he would peek

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

they meet again, it was in the

off, his skin was covered in pus-filled frostbite sores, and

frantically biting at them. If he hadn't pounced, a baseball bat would have crashed

on the spot, yet hr never let go of the wrist

he was killed, cooked, and

him multiple times, but she couldn't find any traces of

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

face. Without a second

distraction

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

to lose their balance and fall into

knocked down the person on it. In just a few rounds, three people had fallen into the water, and two had

rammed into their boat. Stella shouted Cooper's

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

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

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 till

soothe it, "From now on, we'll live

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