18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 321

"Rosie, remember this-if we are strong enough, no one can touch us. The moment we let others dictate our emotions, we're asking for trouble.

"What's it to them that I'm home? I have no obligation to be the savior. Why should I save someone who doesn't have the will to live?"

The world outside, Rosie soon learned, was far more complicated than her brother and Stella had described. It took her several tries to wrap her head around it, but eventually, it clicked.

Even though they let Rosie take her shifts, they were never truly at ease, always inquiring about the happenings outside and how she managed them.

Rosie was just a young girl, barely five, when she started fending for herself at her uncle's place. Living under someone else's roof, she learned to endure in silence, to face everything with a smile or hidden tears-she knew the consequences of being found out. Over time, Stella gently guided her-Rosie would open up to her brother and Stella, but rarely showed her true feelings to outsiders.

So, even when people gossiped about Stella, Rosie didn't rush to her defense. Instead, she took mental notes, afraid of acting on impulse and regretting it later. Her brother had warned her: some mistakes, even just once, could cost you your life. She had to figure out many things on her own.

Stella stopped her shifts to focus on training and managing Arcadia, devoting nearly all her time to medical books.

In the neighborhood, some rejoiced with newfound treasures while others mourned their losses. The endless night only amplified the gap between the rich and the poor. There were those who chose to end it all, some by slitting their wrists, others by overdosing on expired sleeping pills.

Shared sorrow, shared joy-but never the same.

A month drifted by as Stella immersed herself in the ocean of knowledge. One evening, feeling affectionate, she reached out to Jasper only to be gently rebuffed.

it. The shadow of Molly's tragic labor hung over them

turned off the bedside lamp. "Let's sleep," she said, and Jasper

about to dive back into her medical books, the intercom buzzed. Someone had come looking for

the child was well, today marked a full

Moore family, mother and daughter-in-law, had come bearing ten pounds of rice

doing?" Stella didn't take

grief, but she managed a small smile for Stella. "The child's

but after a month of careful nurturing, he was looking more robust, his eyes lively and

celebrated the arrival of a great-grandson with gratitude, their hearts were too heavy with sorrow. Mikey, in particular, had been devastated, blaming himself for Molly's death-if only he had been more cautious, if only they had addressed the breech

public discussion, and Katie had come to express her

off the rice. "Katie, please take it back. Grind it into a paste to feed the

care for years; their debt of gratitude couldn't be repaid with a few words. Katie insisted, but

grown numb to the harsh realities of this new world. Katie's family was one of the few that could still touch her heart. Wasn't a person without emotion just a walking machine?

been for Stella's timely C-section, saving the baby, Mikey might not have made it.

Moores left, Stella returned

would occasionally crackle through the

how about a

some