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 destitute beggar by natural disasters. Fate had a cruel sense of

no room left in the cab, so Bran had to settle for sitting on a

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

fallen rich kid sat atop a pile of garbage, numb to the jostling of

drove

and

time to clean, and after weighing, they earned 3000 credits

steel could sustain a

attitude meant no prying questions about where the steel

She went straight to

for escape pods, these ten packs

of a real-life Robinson Crusoe situation,

for sale but decided to save up and buy a whole

supplies, aside from a submarine, Stella had

road, the family was eager to return

without a word, probably a matter of

a deep breath inwardly, not sure

back to their private

out, "Hey, Bran. You left some meds with me a while back. With things as chaotic as they are, I can't

expecting the usually covetous Stella

"Uh, later," he mumbled.

"Alright, but try to come by soon. We'll probably head out scavenging again after a short

Bran merely nodded, "Mhm."

to the compound and exchanging goodbyes without

watched the truck drive away, feeling his heart, already battered by the

at the compound, the trio and their dog enjoyed

of home-cooked food after days on

got hit by that satellite? Bran gave us a lot of meds as thanks. I think he added extra as

probably all in Goldbridge except Bran. With all the disasters, looking

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

necessity, he had turned to scavenging, a dangerous and unglamorous

reduced to a pitiful state, it