18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 376

Stella spotted him too-no doubt about it, he was a beggar. Dressed in tattered rags, barefoot, and wandering aimlessly. "Another soul driven mad by the apocalypse," she sighed to herself.

Just as she was reflecting, the sound of a car caught the beggar's attention. Surprisingly, he turned and waved frantically to flag it down. "Robbery tactics are getting more and more creative," she thought. "This guy could very well be a decoy for an ambush."

Stella cocked her gun, ready to take him down if he showed any sign of threat.

"Hey, stop the car, stop the car!" the beggar shouted.

Stella scanned the area but saw no sign of an ambush.

Jasper didn't hit the brakes and just drove past.

"Damn it, stop!" the beggar yelled, flipping them the bird.

Stella squinted, recognizing the figure in the rearview mirror.

"Stop the car," she commanded.

Seeing the truck pull over, the beggar's mood swung from irritation to hope. He limped over and asked, "Buddy, could you give me a lift?"

He hurried over but froze in shock when he got a better look.

It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him in the dead of winter.

Without a word, he covered his face and turned to leave.

"Bran," Stella called out.

It was as if his heart had been pierced; his entire body stiffened.

His dignity, once guarded, now trampled into the mud.

But Stella didn't mock him or ask how he'd come to this. "Get in. We're still a good ten miles from the base. If you walk, your feet will be shredded."

a wealthy family, now reduced to a destitute beggar by natural disasters. Fate

Bran had to settle for sitting

worst moment exposed to someone he knew was a nightmare come true. But what could he

atop a pile of garbage, numb to the jostling of the vehicle, his eyes void

base and drove up to the recycling

and cashing in

took the workers some time to clean, and after weighing, they earned 3000 credits minus

of steel could sustain a

prying questions about where the steel came from, which eased Stella's

to keep the credits. She went straight to the base's store

for escape pods, these ten packs could last for three

case of a real-life Robinson Crusoe

Stella spotted coal for sale but decided to save up and buy a whole load at once,

for other supplies, aside from a submarine, Stella had almost everything

road, the family was

without a word,

deep breath inwardly,

to their

pulled over and stuck her head out, "Hey, Bran. You left some meds with me a while back. With things as chaotic as they are, I can't keep them safe anymore. When do

usually covetous Stella

"Uh, later," he mumbled.

by soon. We'll probably head out scavenging again after a short

Bran merely nodded, "Mhm."

the address to the compound and exchanging goodbyes without much fuss, they parted

his heart, already battered by the disasters, bleed

dog enjoyed a luxurious meal after

of home-cooked food after days on

full and dishes cleared by Rosie, Stella sipped on juice while discussing with Jasper, "Remember when the Porras family's annex got hit by that satellite? Bran gave us a lot of meds as thanks. I think he added extra as a gesture of goodwill. Now that he's hit rock bottom, I'm thinking of

Goldbridge except Bran. With all the disasters, looking after their golden

prideful nature, asking him to do hard labor for food

necessity, he had turned to scavenging, a

pitiful state,