18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 358

mouths without a thought for the days before the dust storms.

A ragged group shuffled into a side room, each clutching a half cup of water and a chunk of dense, dark rye bread. Starved and parched, their eyes lit up at the sight of food. They lunged like ravenous ghouls, gulping down the water and cramming the stale bread into their They ate in a frenzy, choking and coughing as they forced the dry food down their throats.

Rosie was still out cold, and someone eyed the untouched portion of food on the table with greedy intent.

The woman tending to Rosie shoved the intruder away. "We're all women here; no need to act like animals."

The pushed-away woman muttered, "She ain't your daughter. For all we know, you might not even make it through the night."

The caretaker's eyes turned icy. "Believe me, I'll cut you down if I have to."

deadly seriousness in

Panic set in as one whispered, "What do they want with

fed Rosie water and crumbled

a pool. "Clean yourselves up. Do a good job later, and there'll

water was precious. They frantically scooped it to their

her face, thanked the woman who had cared

clean, they were given second-hand clothes -

drew the men's hungry and lascivious gazes. Rosie, particularly frail, staggered dangerously close to them,

you," she murmured, her gratitude genuine despite the rasp in her voice, stirring a paternal instinct in some of the

her downcast eyes. After three years of perpetual darkness, many survivors had developed acute hearing. She could discern the wind outside, suggesting

resembling a living room, where several men sat around a table laden with food that

scene. These