18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 121

And so, they spent five whole days making pie.

In apartment 1801, where they worked side by side, each contributing half the ingredients to the cause. To prevent the crust and filling from freezing, they kept a lively coal fire burning.

Jasper contributed the coal while Rosie helped, and Stella provided generous helpings of chives, cabbage, and parsley.

Jasper was in charge of the filling, sneaking in the chopped vegetables without Rosie noticing, and then mixing it with a bit of pepper.

Rosie, only six years old, was clever but not enough to realize the trick. She was thoroughly fooled.

Each household received a whopping 200 pies, enough to last for quite a while.

Stella's share was kept in Arcadia for preservation, while Jasper's was left out on the balcony to freeze for an hour, after which they were harder than rocks.

No need for a refrigerator, they just stored them in boxes and cooked them whenever they felt like having some.

Stella had wanted to make some bread as well, but the cold weather made it difficult for the dough to ferment, so she gave up on the idea.

After spending some time together, Stella realized that Jasper not only had good fighting skills, he was also a boy who loved reading and learning. He was actually reading books on automotive repair, and he seemed to be enjoying it thoroughly. Stella, while a good driver, knew next to nothing about car repair, so she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you reading that?"

She felt a bit sorry for his old truck, even if it hadn't been swept away, the months of submersion in water and extreme cold weather had drastically deteriorated its material properties, making it practically useless.

Once the flood had receded, all vehicles were practically written off, getting another one would be no easy task.

"Just passing time," was his response.

thing as "just passing time" for a man who had

by, but they also

to bring out her abs, making the daily grind seem

their potato sprouts

asked,

Stella took the opportunity to give them a lecture, "Potato sprouts contain solanine, eating too much of it can lead to dizziness, vomiting, and

curious, "What's

it can kill you," Stella figured explaining wouldn't make sense to her, so she

to die. I want to be

there had been no news. She wondered how they were doing and realized it was almost time for their break. She was woken

was there, looking fierce, scratching at

suddenly started wagging its tail. As soon as the outer door opened,

voice could be heard, "Cooper, did you

three of them had returned as planned, carrying their

had been a month since they had last seen each other, and they seemed to have changed a lot. Lukas and Cody were still joking around, but there was a new

dropped to minus sixty degrees, and their faces were wrapped tightly. Their eyes were filled with exhaustion and bloodshot veins. They had had to walk for seven

door, Stella brushed her teeth and washed her face. She carried a hot water kettle to Room 1803, noticing how tired they were and,

"Stella's cooking really is the best. The food at the canteen was terrible, not a hint of

her his bandaged hand, "I almost lost my

of grain,

life, he was prepared for the job. But Lukas was different. For the first time in his twenty years of life, he was working hard for

them were on the night shift, but Angela was in a different group,

calm, but

Lukas got slashed by

people who were careless, relying on their size and strength, carrying their grain without a care in the world. But as soon as they left the company, they were robbed, and they were dragged across the ice for several