18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 447

In the wake of the apocalypse, memories are either as sharp as a cold blade or jagged like shards of glass. Everyone's scars bleed fresh, and some wounds never heal, no matter how much time passes.

Stella, not one to pry, carried a bucket into the house.

Everyone's got their own battles. I remember the first time I saw Miranda. She wore that same dress, looking all dolled up with exquisite makeup, preserved remarkably well.

She was fiery and jealous, but she stood out among the women, thriving like no other.

Now, still in that dress, she looked as if she had aged decades, her gaunt figure nearly unrecognizable.

They say time is a butcher's knife, but the apocalypse came even swifter.

Stella picked up a mirror and scrutinized her reflection, "Jasper, do I look much older?"

"Not at all, pretty much the same as always."

"You're just humoring me." She had passed her prime, yet she maintained her looks with an almost reckless abundance of expensive creams.

"You're only 29, at the peak of your beauty."

Having read his fair share of romance magazines, Jasper's emotional intelligence had shot up, "No matter how you change, you'll always be the most beautiful to me, forever the same as when we first met."

The way she looked when they first met? Forever 19.

Those were good days, the days of youth.

Stella gazed at Jasper, "Jasper, you seem older."

Jasper touched his face, from his early twenties when they met, to now in his thirties, they had both been at the best times of their lives. Sadly, the end of days had them focused on survival instead of normal couple things like dating, getting married, or throwing a grand wedding for her. He felt he had shortchanged her.

"Do I look very old?" He never cared much for his looks, but her teasing suddenly made him self-conscious.

Hmm, he hadn't shaved in days; he'd probably end up pricking her face that night.

Stella smiled, "It's okay, you look more mature and steady."

touch of the wear of time added to the charisma of a man

a man was even more

eyes met,

wheel, pretended to look away while secretly turning Cooper's doggy

don't look,

emotional savvy, Stella boasted with less anxiety, "Your wife is the prettiest,

relationship, Jasper replied, "Yeah, and your husband is the

shared a laugh, inadvertently

overheard Miranda's words earlier; Dylan had been

wondered how he was doing. He was

was worried but kept it from

inspect the purified

was uncertain, "Maybe we should store it in Arcadia for irrigation

didn't fancy the idea

to ensure safety as much as possible, but who knew how many ancient viruses lurked in the ocean, and whether they could be fully eradicated? After storing the water in Arcadia, Stella retrieved a light dinner from the Arcadia villa,

things fresh, but hot food tended to lose its

of disaster, survivors craved food instinctively, their sense of smell sharpened beyond that

down the room to make sure no scents lingered on the

on

tidied up the sofa

pretended to set

opened the door to find a ghastly apparition that made her instinctively reach for her knife,

familiar voice halted

was shocked. The ghostly figure was

had always been lean

in the

hadn't been beaten to a

but blurt out, "How did you get like

time is a butcher's knife, but it

and beautiful, barely a trace of time on her face,

hard

from the villa district, I hadn't even been a year, and yet

Monkey couldn't hold back the