18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 362

Dr. Bennett patched up Kitty's cuts with the deft hands of someone who had done it a thousand times before. A few neat stitches later, all he could do was hope for the best.

backpack and set up a two-room shelter right there.

Stella opened up a thermos, carefully giving Kitty some fever-reducing meds and antibiotics. Once done, she explained to the shelter staff who they all were and her plan to take care of them personally. The staff didn't object, so Stella grabbed a tent from her oversized Rainwater was everywhere, so she laid down a moisture barrier, inflated some air mattresses, and moved Angela and Kitty inside. She and Rosie took the other room. The rain pounded on the tent, mirroring Stella's cold and lonely feelings.

Ever since she got a second chance at life, Stella had done everything to be prepared. Stockpiling supplies, braving dark dangers-anything to keep control in her own hands. But against nature's wrath, she still felt so small. A single storm could wipe out everything and everyone she cared about, leaving her to dig through the earth in vain. Disasters were unpredictable, enough to drive anyone to the brink of despair.

No news was both a blessing and a curse. Each passing day made survival seem less likely. The journey from the disaster site to the shelter was only half an hour, but it felt like a battlefield.

Stella tried not to think about it, but she couldn't stop worrying if Jasper had become one of the casualties.

"Stella," Rosie said cautiously, her face full of concern.

Taking a deep breath, Stella pulled out a cold sandwich from her bag and handed it to her. "Don't worry, Jasper and Cooper will be fine."

anxious to eat, holding the sandwich but

same man and the same dog, but neither dared to voice it,

and Kitty were still asleep, but Kitty's fever had broken. She was still in a daze, murmuring something under her breath. It took Stella a moment to realize she was

Kitty more fever reducers and antibiotics, left Rosie to watch over her and Angela, and kept an

decided

said, "Stella,

for us, what if he rushes off to find

was too dangerous. Stella could adapt on the fly with her survival skills, but taking Rosie along would add

here for

day, each a fist-sized lump of bread made from dried algae, barely enough to stave off hunger. Stella left some energy bars behind and instructed Rosie to stay

exposing numerous dips

full of people anxiously awaiting news of their missing loved ones, pestering the staff incessantly. Contaminated water was a silent threat, and a cut from a rusty piece of metal could quickly lead to tetanus, which had claimed Jasper in his previous life. Stella donned a one-piece rain suit and high boots. When the rescue team returned, she inquired about their recent

out there. I suggest you stay put

were a daily occurrence, where people, against advice, would venture out only to end up needing

of leaving. "I'm not

rescue team, and began her own methodical elimination process. Based on the terrain and the direction of the storm's onslaught, she ventured out with a glimmer of hope to find where Jasper might have ended up. The ground was a quagmire, a mix of shallow puddles and deceptive sinkholes that threatened to swallow her whole. The environment was devastated, transformed beyond recognition. She prodded ahead with a walking stick, inching forward at a snail's pace... After several days of relentless search and rescue efforts by the Raven Port authorities, the chance of finding survivors was dwindling. Stella had been trudging through the muck for over