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."

proud son of a wealthy family, now reduced to a destitute beggar by natural disasters. Fate had a cruel sense of

so Bran had to settle for sitting on a pile of

he knew was a nightmare come true. But what could

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

entered the base and drove up to

trading, and

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

could sustain a family for a few

meant no prying questions about where the steel came from,

She went straight to the

for escape pods, these ten packs could last

Crusoe situation, it was better to

sale but decided to save up and buy a whole load at once, for the day when

a submarine, Stella had

days on the road, the family was eager to return

word, probably

took a deep breath inwardly,

then, on the way back to their private compound, they

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

the usually covetous Stella to offer

"Uh, later," he mumbled.

to come by soon. We'll probably head out scavenging again after a short break. Wouldn't

Bran merely nodded, "Mhm."

and exchanging goodbyes without much fuss,

away, feeling his heart, already

compound, the trio and their dog enjoyed a luxurious meal after their

of home-cooked

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 returning the

in a hurry, probably all in Goldbridge except Bran. With all the

his prideful nature, asking him to do hard labor for food

he had turned to scavenging, a dangerous

pitiful state, it was a poignant