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

"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

"Howl... Woo..."

noise only intensified

these two were making things

was inciting the gators' ferocity, and she didn't feel confident about facing them

you can't beat

retracted the entire shipping

Arcadia tonight, see who could last longer, and

in the Arcadia, and everyone, humans and

room, after a shower and lights out, Stella and Jasper discussed how

them hard to target, a much tougher fight than dealing with Union Base's troops. After much thought, with no best plan in mind, they decided to just get some sleep

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

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

lose, this was the round

outside, it was eerily

but saw no

to the sea

triple-checking and finding nothing, she finally opened

the place was littered with

They resembled pig dung.

to catch their prey, had vented their frustration with excrement. Talk about holding a

the trio cleaned up the gator droppings

and handy, suggested, "Should we dry it out and use

found the idea repulsive.

plenty of fuel stored in the Arcadia, with

of the gators' vengeance,

fish in the sea with ease,

figure it out, she

buried in the snow,

could tell it was Snowflake

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

back to last night's danger, Stella was furious. She called over Snowflake and pointed at her nose, scolding,

family, you won't go

of rubbish, see

matter how many times she said it, it went in one ear and out the

bone spared, turning the area around

Snowflake when Cooper came to defend his mate, pushing Stella's hand away with

No scolding, no hitting.

by the ear.

stashed away. This time, instead of tossing them into the ice hole, she

and a simple flame probably