18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 6

Stella couldn't believe it. Not only had apartment 1801 acquired a new tenant, he was also the same young man who had lent a helping hand at the courier service station.

The man was tall and lean, with a handsome, cool demeanor. His clothes hinted at a muscular physique that suggested explosive power.

After a brief nod of surprise, he continued his work and Stella quickly retreated back to her room.

This time it was different. Not only had the hurricane arrived early, but she also had a new neighbor. Who in their right mind would install three steel doors? She didn't want trouble, but she maintained a level of caution. He was indeed brave enough to help her, but after all, it was before the natural disaster, and with the decline of morality in the end of the world, who could guarantee that he would remain kind?

Now, she found herself in her apartment, brushing her teeth and grabbing some breakfast. The weather was still dreary, and she could hear the howling winds of the hurricane against her windows. In just one night, the streets were flooded and many cars were submerged. The lower- lying areas were completely swept away by the floodwaters.

The rain obstructed the view, and in the distance, everything appeared hazy and ominous. The sky grew darker, as if two invisible hands of darkness were compressing the entire city in their grasp, crushing it with relentless force.

She stood on her balcony with her binoculars, watching as a tornado formed, quickly sucking up everything in its path. Were there tornadoes in her previous life? She couldn't remember. She had a feeling that things were getting worse.

Her phone kept buzzing with messages. She switched off her network, annoyed by the constant notifications.

She busied herself in the kitchen, cleaning and chopping, preparing a meal. When she turned off the kitchen fan, she could faintly hear a child crying. She didn't pay it any mind until she heard the crying coming from next door.

She was only a first-year medical student, but she knew enough to recognize that the child's crying sounded off. After a moment of hesitation, she knocked on the door of apartment 1801, "Rosie?"

She knocked for a while but there was no answer. Just as she was about to leave, she heard the door unlatch. The door opened to reveal a child with tear-streaked cheeks, her face abnormally flushed. "Rosie, why are you crying?"

Stella touched her forehead, which was burning hot. The child was clearly sick with a fever. "Where's your dad?"

"My brother is gone." The child's voice was hoarse from crying, "My brother doesn't want Rosie as well."

It seemed she had been abandoned before.

Stella comforted her, assuring her that her brother would be back soon, and offered to take her to her apartment in the meantime.

The sick child was frightened by the unfamiliarity, but she remembered the young lady, and tentatively agreed. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Stella took Rosie back to her apartment, gave her some children's cold medicine, and left a note on the door of apartment 1801 for Rosie's family.

Listening to the roaring typhoon outside, Stella couldn't help but become curious about the neighbor. Wasn't going out in this kind of weather akin to seeking death?

The typhoon was occasionally accompanied by thunder and lightning, and the television had lost signal. Upon seeing Rosie, who was curled up on the sofa appearing extremely terrified and anxious, Stella's mind drifted back to her childhood. She thought about how she would get sick and curl up in bed, crying into her pillow, feeling abandoned by the world when she saw other kids being cared for by their parents.

Stella could only pull out her tablet and play downloaded cartoons for Rosie to watch. The animations certainly did the trick as they seemed to provide a slight boost to Rosie's sagging spirits.

As Stella sat down to check her phone, she noticed a message from Hector. [Stella, I was rude yesterday, don't be upset. I was looking forward to you coming to my birthday party, but you didn't show up, so I was upset.]

Stella didn't expect him to be such a wimp. He couldn't even hold on for a night.

Well, there were so many people celebrating his birthday with him, so there must still be several people at his house who hadn't left. Parties were all about snacks, beer and cake. They didn't know how to cook, so where would they get their supply of food? Even if they had instant noodles and biscuits, it would not be enough to feed so many mouths.

The message was an hour old, and Stella figured that Hector was probably hungry and looking for food.

She ignored the other friend requests and continued scrolling through her messages.

Two parents from the tutoring before sent messages, thanking her for her reminder that allowed them to go to the supermarket on time to buy food, otherwise their families would have gone hungry. One of them even sent a giftcard as a token of gratitude.

Stella did not accept it, and even if she had, she wouldn't have had the chance to spend it.

There were people bragging about their lavish meals, others complaining about not having any food at home, and some even offering to trade their face masks for a pack of instant noodles.

Stella quickly scrolled past these messages until she stumbled upon a video. It showed a car being swept away by the floodwaters and a firefighter trying to rescue the occupants, only to be swallowed by the raging waters. Such videos were not uncommon, some with successful rescues, others with tragic endings.

Stella found herself growing increasingly frustrated as she stared at her phone. Just as she was about to switch it off, a message from Hector popped up.