18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 502

After a while, faint sounds began trickling from inside the house.

"Rosie, Cooper?" Jasper and Stella called out frantically, their voices echoing in the cold air.

Snowflake, their loyal dog, was just as anxious, whimpering pitifully.

The door creaked open, revealing a pale-faced Rosie clutching a gun. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her brother and sister-in-law. "Bro, Sis?"

The tension in her body melted away, and she crumpled to the floor. Jasper's quick reflexes caught her just in time. "Rosie, what's going on? Are you okay?"

Rosie was a mess of injuries, her clothes stained with blood. She forced a weak smile. "Bro, I kept the house safe. You finally made it back."

Fear had gnawed at her, worried they wouldn't return in time.

Too exhausted to keep talking, her heavy eyelids fluttered shut.

"Rosie," Jasper's voice cracked, his face ashen. "Rosie, stay with me. Don't sleep. I'm here now."

Stella, panicked, urged, "Let's get her inside. Quickly."

Jasper, hands shaking, felt for her breath and nearly collapsed in relief when he found it.

Inside, Stella wasted no time checking Rosie's wounds.

Rosie had taken bullets to her thigh and arm, and her body bore numerous other wounds, evidence of a brutal battle.

Though none of the injuries were fatal, the bleeding hadn't been stopped in time.

Exhausted from the fight, Stella couldn't rest yet. She prepped for surgery to remove the bullets.

It took over an hour to extract the bullets, disinfect, and bandage the wounds.

After giving Rosie antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds, Stella turned her attention to Cooper.

The dog had also been injured, with a deep wound exposing bone. But Rosie had managed a makeshift bandage.

Cooper was a trooper, enduring the stitches with stoic patience while exchanging playful banter and tender moments with Snowflake.

Caring and scolding all at once.

Rosie unconscious from blood loss, Jasper kept a worried vigil by her side. "I want to give her a blood transfusion. We're siblings; it should work," he insisted. Stella shook her head. "Her blood loss isn't critical enough for that. Let's monitor her first. Transfusions between

before heading off

swallowing more meds, she

clean up and get some rest," she advised

finally agreed, returning refreshed

her eyes open, muttered, "Cooper and

for too long, not with the constant

Rosie to a room warmed by a crackling fire, turning on both the space heater and

around Stella, and they both fell

herself up to clean the mess outside. Rosie and Cooper had taken down thirty base members. The battlefield outside was a testament to the

guilt and heartache, but this was the harsh reality of their

protect Rosie now, but not forever. Rosie had to toughen up in

area was clear, Stella moved

with a shovel, helped clean up the bloodstains, erasing the evidence

finished, Rosie had

for details. Instead, she fed her some

Rosie drifted back to

tough, and

with a hearty dinner and

morning, feeling somewhat rejuvenated, she and Jasper helped each other with medicated massages to ease

had to stick to light

need to rehash the previous

them into a trap but

they waited until dark

sensed something was off during the day

openings in

had been scared before it happened. But once the fight started, fear took a

life, but in fear her brother and

After that night, Rosieered

steely

grown up. don'Dneed to worry about me

In

joining Stella

the bodies.

been in