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.

Cooper and

"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

"Howl... Woo..."

intensified the pounding

exasperated; these two were making things

the scent of humans was inciting the gators' ferocity, and

you can't beat

retracted the entire shipping

Arcadia tonight, see who could

danger in the Arcadia, and everyone, humans and dogs

a shower and lights out, Stella and Jasper discussed

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

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

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

this was the round that

outside, it was

but saw no sign of

returned to

finding nothing, she

was littered

They resembled pig dung.

prey, had vented their frustration with

cleaned up the gator droppings

handy, suggested, "Should we dry it out and

idea repulsive. "No

in the Arcadia, with no need

Considering the level of the gators' vengeance, it couldn't just be a fleeting encounter in the food

hunted fish in the sea with ease, so why bother coming ashore

she

gator eggs were buried in the snow, and quite deeply at

a brain could tell it

was no wonder the red-eyed gators had been so

and pointed at her nose, scolding,

this family, you

stashing all sorts of rubbish, see

how many times she said it, it went in

bone spared, turning the

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

No scolding, no hitting.

by the ear. "And you,

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

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