18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 489

Jasper and Cooper took off like a shot.

As they bolted, the distant red dots started closing in faster, like they had rockets strapped to them.

Inside the house, Snowflake sensed something was off and bared her teeth, ready to charge out the door. Stella and Rosie instinctively grabbed their guns.

The two women and the wolf reached the door just as Jasper and Cooper came barreling back in.

"What's going on?" Stella asked.

Jasper quickly deadbolted the door, securing all three locks. "A pack of gators."

No sooner had he spoken than a series of thuds hit the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The impacts were rapid and fierce, shaking the entire shipping container like a tin can in a storm.

Stella was baffled. The gators hadn't bothered them last night when they came ashore to lay eggs. Why were they attacking now?

The banging didn't let up; it only got more intense.

Front, sides...

Even through the container and layers of ice, Stella could imagine the swarming chaos outside.

She approached the lookout point with her gun, trying to get a glimpse.

In the gloomy watchpoint, a pair of red eyes suddenly appeared.

Cold and bloodthirsty.

Holy smokes, red-eyed gators.

If it weren't for the lookout point being just 20cm wide, trapping the gator's head, they'd be flooding in.

Even so, the trapped gator kept wriggling, trying to get inside and devour them.

Could it be because she threw their eggs into the sea?

After a whole day, any traces or scents should have been scattered by the wind and snow by now.

Stella was puzzled, but the eerie red eyes made her quickly close the lookout.

She put on night-vision goggles and peered through a higher watchpoint, spotting a mass of gators outside, easily a few hundred.

If they broke through the container, the three humans and five dogs wouldn't even be enough to pick their teeth with.

the door, Cooper and Snowflake squared off, fierce and

"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

"Howl... Woo..."

only intensified the pounding

was exasperated; these two

the scent of humans was inciting the gators' ferocity, and she didn't feel confident about facing

can't

the entire shipping

could last

no danger in the Arcadia,

after a shower and lights out, Stella and Jasper discussed how to handle the

a much tougher fight than dealing with Union Base's troops. After much thought, with no best plan in

day, well-rested and fed by 8 AM, they armed themselves to the teeth. Even Cooper and Snowflake had bulletproof vests, Rosie having

they stepped out of the Arcadia, weapons loaded and even flamethrowers at the ready, it was time to face the gator

lose, this was the round that

outside, it was

opened the lookout, but saw no

returned to

nothing, she finally opened the

place was

They resembled pig dung.

creatures, unable to catch their prey, had vented their frustration with excrement. Talk about

cleaned up the gator

ever thrifty and handy, suggested, "Should we dry it out

idea repulsive. "No

of fuel stored in the Arcadia, with no need to

felt off to Stella. Considering the level of the gators' vengeance,

with ease, so why bother coming ashore

it out, she checked around the

eggs were buried in

tell it was Snowflake

predators' offspring, it was no wonder the red-eyed gators had been

over Snowflake and pointed at her nose, scolding, "Don't think just because you're

you won't go

you keep stashing all sorts of rubbish, see

many times she said it, it

bone spared, turning

had barely reprimanded Snowflake when Cooper came to defend his mate, pushing Stella's hand away with a paw,

No scolding, no hitting.

ear. "And you, you

stashed away. This time, instead of tossing them into the ice hole, she placed them not far from the

afraid of heat, and a simple flame probably wouldn't scare them