18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 146

Only the two women of the Moore family were at home, and they were extra cautious. "Who's there?" Recognizing the voice of Amber, Stella spoke up: "It's me, from the 18th floor."

Amber opened the door with a mixture of surprise and anxiety, "Stella, is something wrong?"

Before she could answer, her dog Cooper barreled in, followed by a series of gnashing sounds.

Fearing a misunderstanding, Stella quickly explained, "Some vicious rats have invaded the 18th floor. They're not scared of humans and they chew everything in sight." Katie emerged from her room, "Rats are here?"

From the look on Katie and Amber's faces, it seemed they had already anticipated a rat infestation. They weren't overly shocked, but their eyes reflected worry and unease.

The battle on the balcony between Cooper and the rats was loud and chaotic. The balcony was filled with pots and planters growing sweet potato vines, all of which had been chewed through by the rats. Cooper was quick to act, killing three rats. Two managed to escape, and fresh rat droppings were scattered across the floor.

But the rats weren't limited to the balcony. They had also made their way into the living room, chewing through the sofa to reveal hidden bags of grains. The grain bags were torn open, their contents spilling out.

The women of the Moore family were shocked at the ferocity of the rats and felt a wave of fear wash over them. If their food stock was ruined, they would have no means to survive.

Katie was visibly shaken, "Stella, we really owe you one tonight."

"No problem." Stella replied awkwardly as Cooper started marking his territory around their apartment. "The rats may not be scared of us, but they sure are scared of Cooper." "That's good to know." Katie was an experienced woman who understood the value of Cooper's actions and praised him generously in front of Stella.

Having done everything she could, Stella left with Cooper.

Katie sighed, "What else can we do? Every day is a struggle."

With no sleep in sight, the two women found all the hidden food and locked it in an iron cabinet. They cleaned the balcony with a flashlight, replanting the chewed sweet potato vines and brought them indoors for protection. "What do we do with the dead rats?"

The three rats were not small, each one looking to be about a pound. Amber was torn between fear and anticipation. This was meat after all. But thinking about what the rats had been eating, she felt sick to her stomach.

considered this and reluctantly said, "Let's butcher them, dry the meat and store it.

choice, who would willingly eat rat meat? They were simply out of

food stored at home, but who knew what the future would

her mother-in-law's advice, fighting off revulsion as she

...

Cooper around, Stella slept soundly until morning. After breakfast, she sat

by an urgent call from Lukas over the intercom, "Stella, we need backup! Send Cooper

opened both doors and

had invaded their space. The ensuing chase between Cooper, Lukas, and

finally managed to kill several vicious rats and threw their bodies on

Stella got up to stretch. Through the glass door, she was surprised to see three rats gnawing at the stainless steel screen that had been chewed through the night

challenging her in broad daylight. Did they really think she was

fear, their sharp teeth gnawing at

a jug of boiling water from the Arcadia and flung it at them. The rats squealed in agony as they fell from the high-rise balcony into the

had it easy compared to

bittersweet situation. The bitterness came from the ruthless and bold rats. The sweetness came from the fact

vacant apartments and corridors in search of them. Some even made simple rat traps. Of course, there were also those who were bitten by rats in the middle of the night and had

marking his territory everywhere. It had

he collapsed on the floor, panting heavily, 'Human, I need some Gatorade. I've given my all for this home. If I don't replenish my fluids, I won't be able to pee anymore.'

Jasper was also busy. He opened the triple doors on the

side, Rosie was

Rosie was extremely cheerful, "Stella, I killed

"How did

"With a crossbow."

weren't many rats on the 17th and 18th floors, so Rosie didn't have much chance to practice. That

two hours, they

shot, but she didn't expect her to be