18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 67

Jasper, on the other hand, was likely grappling with the shadow of his past. His body involuntarily stalled and, in a blink, Stella over toppled him. She pinned him down with her long legs and twisted his arm with force. Their bodies were entangled like a pretzel, but Stella clearly had the upper hand.

Jasper, however, found it amusing and, surprisingly, did not retaliate. "Not bad, you could defeat me with your wild punches."

Stella, feeling a bit guilty for using underhanded tactics, awkwardly got up. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

They continued to spar and after two hours, they were both soaked in sweat. Stella was flushed and panting. She felt exhilaratingly exhausted.

Rosie, clutching her rag doll, came back with her stomach rumbling. "I'm hungry. What are we having for dinner?"

Jasper looked at Stella and, oh great, was she supposed to cook again? She had plans to eat out with Cooper in Arcadia. But Jasper had done so much for her, and she felt embarrassed to refuse. As much as she didn't want to cook, she suggested, "How about pies?" Rosie, not wanting to be subjected to her brother's notorious cooking, clapped her hands in excitement. "Yes, yes, your pies are the best!"

They had chicken pies for lunch, and for dinner, they had fried apple pies.

Stella went to change her clothes and then taught Jasper how to cook fried apple pies. She had to admit, the pies smelled heavenly.

The crispy golden crust and the juicy filling were mouthwatering. Luckily, they were on the 18th floor, and it was raining outside, otherwise, they might have attracted unwanted attention. Rosie, with a greasy mouth, patted her belly and boasted, "Look, I have a baby now."

Jasper grimaced.

"Kids," Stella thought, trying not to laugh. Looked like Jasper had to give Rosie another lesson on biology.

After dinner, Jasper took the dishes from Stella. "I'll handle the cleaning."

After helping Rosie with her homework, Stella bid them goodnight and headed home. Just as she opened her door, she ran into Lukas. "Stella, join us for some pie?"

thanks, I just

ate too much when she saw the

"Well, if you change your mind, just

left Stella puzzled and slightly uneasy, probably because she had left them out of their dinner plans, but Jasper

thought she could stock up on them

for her pets. The baby rabbits had all

to a second litter, a whopping twelve babies. Unfortunately, their chances of survival were slim due to

food. She took out a bag filled with about three pounds of white powder and was beaming. "Stella, this is wild kudzu powder. I brought it especially

she also knew that the people on the 18th floor had

powder. They estimated they could produce more than a hundred pounds of powder. If it weren't for the apocalypse, this would've been a highly sought-after

18th floor could accept an exchange of kudzu powder for

"What's your exchange

for one pound, what do

make any promises. "I'll ask around

work, I'm willing

the Moore family had

powder? Only wealthy women who had sufficient

The taste was average, slightly sweet, and bitter,

tasty, it had many health benefits. It was indeed a rare commodity in the post-apocalyptic

she split it equally between the neighbors in the 1801 and

"It's such a shame. Monkey came to us later and wanted to order 2000 pounds of fish at

we had no more fish, they were so disappointed and repeatedly reminded us to contact them if we get more." The next day,

prepared a hundred pounds of wild kudzu powder and gave Stella an extra