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."

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

room left in the cab, so Bran had to

nightmare come true. But what could he do? He climbed aboard, the truck bouncing

sat atop a pile of garbage,

entered the base and drove up

and

dirty steel took the workers some time to clean, and after weighing, they

truckload of steel could sustain a

questions about where the steel came from, which eased

went straight to

ten packs could last for

of a real-life Robinson Crusoe situation, it

half the credits left, Stella spotted coal for sale but decided to save up and buy a whole load at once, for the day when it might

aside from a submarine, Stella had almost everything she

family was eager to return home and clean

a word, probably

a deep breath inwardly, not sure what to

on the way back to their

"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

the usually covetous Stella to offer the meds

"Uh, later," he mumbled.

We'll probably head out scavenging again after a short break. Wouldn't want you to

Bran merely nodded, "Mhm."

him the address to the compound and exchanging goodbyes

his heart, already battered

dog enjoyed a luxurious meal after their

beat the comfort of home-cooked food after days on the

the Porras family's annex got hit by that satellite? Bran gave us a lot of meds

family had left in a hurry, probably all in Goldbridge except Bran. With

military skills and his prideful nature, asking him to do hard labor for food was out of

necessity, he had turned to scavenging, a

now reduced to a pitiful state,