18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 348

Had it not been for the sharp slaps that Bently's mom unleashed on Lindsay's cheeks which caused Bentley’s eyes flicker, Stella might've thought Bentley had keeled over in some tragic act of devotion

Bentley's mother was livid, teeth clenched in fury. "If you're so eager to die, do it already! Leave your son behind and just die." It was that little hussy throwing a fit. insisting on moving to the guesthouse, that dragged her son and grandson over there to coddle her.

Well, now look what had happened. The house collapsed, that woman was dead, and her unborn child too. Her son's spine was damaged, paralyzed and the poor little grandson was motherless.

Bently’s mother was on the brink of insanity. If she had known birthing such a calamity would lead to this day, she would've choked the life out of him at birth, avoiding this tragedy.

Bran wrapped his arms around the distraught woman. "Auntie, please, try to calm down." She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. "He might as well be dead. It would solve everything!"

Stella wasn't an expert in orthopedics or neurology, so she could only tend to Bentley's superficial injuries. Thinking of all the supplies Bentley had provided her, she offered a friendly suggestion, "He's got nerve damage. If it's possible, you might want to see if acupuncture could help."

As for where they could find a master of such things, she was of no help.

After tending to the wounds, Stella rushed off to rescue her own bladder.

Dawn broke, and the rescue efforts ceased.

Due to the night's poor visibility, Cody and Austin had suffered some minor scrapes and bruises. The Porras family had their own medicine and tock care of the injuries themselves.

The debris from the demolished guest wing revealed a charred object, twice the size of an escape pod. This cursed thing had caused injuries and death.

Curiosity stirred around it. "What in the world is this? It sure doesn't look like a missile," they murmured Stella inspected it closely. "Looks like a satellite.”

A satellite? Confusion painted the faces of the onlookers. Those who didn't understand were baffled, while those who knew what it meant turned pale. With thousands of satellites orbiting Earth, it was rare for one to fall—and even if they did, they seldom hit the ground, typically vanishing into the vast cosmos.

To think the Porras family would be struck by a falling satellite, talk about bad luck. If the villa hadn't been extended, today's disaster might have been avoided. Poverty, in this case, had saved lives.

Stella approached the charred sphere. Its rapid descent had scorched it beyond recognition, but within the hefty metal mass, there seemed to be chips not entirely burnt to ash.

After much discussion, they were more convinced it was indeed a satellite.

While many saw it as a curse, Stella didn't. Having witnessed numerous inexplicable disasters over the years, she wondered if something had gone awry in the cosmos, like a change in the magnetic fields. If that were true, with thousands of satellites above, their descent to Earth was a chilling thought.

Exhausted, Bran, usually so suave, didn't even have the energy to change his blood-stained clothes. "Jasper, Stella, we owe you big time for this.”

Their family doctor had passed away in a smog incident, and since then, they hadn't found a suitable replacement. With many injured at home, it looked like they'd be depending on Stella for a while.

"Whatever you ask for as payment, just name it," he said.

Stella smiled. "I haven't thought of any payment yet. Just focus on your family for now. If Shane needs anything, let me know." While they spoke. Evan arrived with the police to assess the situation.

Stella, not wanting to attract attention, quickly slipped away with Jasper.

The researchers confirmed that the satellite had indeed caused the damage to the Porras family's guest wing, and it was American Evan's face darkened at the news.

According to official sources, this wasn't the first satellite to fall. Days earlier, one had crashed in the capital, igniting fires and causing death and injury.

Now. Griffith was struck, and it was uncertain how many other places might be affected.

Old districts were in ruins, and Newtown acked bomb shelters. If all the satellites were to fall, it would be an unprecedented . > disaster—unpreventable. The <> government on high alert, canvening mieétings immediately.

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At dinner, Stella's fears hadn't subsided, and then came another earth-shattering tremor. She climbed to the rooftop, scanning the surroundings with her telescope, but saw no signs of disaster. Her eyelid twitched incessantly.

Unwilling to sleep on the second floor and constrained by the escape pod's limited space, Stella decided to make use of the Rover. Reclining the seats, the three of them and the dog spent the night in the vehicle

Lukas reached out over the walkie-talkie. "Stella, another strike just happened. You folks want to come stay with us?" His crew had dug out a sizable basement, roomy enough for several people.

Stella declined, "No thanks, we've moved to the ground floor. The Porras place just got hit; what are the chances we'd be next? You guys just be careful.”

Lukas persisted, concerned, but she refused. No sooner had Lukas signed off than Austin called. "Jasper, Stella, why don't you move in with us?”

His basement was top-notch, with good drainage and ventilation, offering them two rooms.

With thousands of satellites, who knew how lodg the disaster would last. What ifthey had to live there far days, manihs, years? Stella x expressed her gratitude but =~ declited. Home is where the heart iS, even nif it was a bit crampedin the Raver. It was indestructible and offered safety.

Unless absolutely necessary, Stella wouldn't live with anyone else. Secrets were hers to keep, and in times of long-term disasters, even kin turn away —let alone friends. A safe distance was best.

They slept in the car at night and went about their lives by day.

But as fear has it, not long after, another thunderous "boom" was heard. An apartment building had been struck, leaving a massive hole. There were rumors of impacts deep in the forests, which could have sparked fires if not for the acid rain that had already ravaged the trees. Unable to bear it, people vented their frustrations on the channels.

“Damn it all, why does misfortune always find the unfortunate?"

"Just do it, crush me. I don't want to live anymore."

"The fear is, it won't kill you—just leave you paralyzed.”

Without Bentley's luck, tempting fate was foolish, one wrong step and there might be no loving mother to seek out a miracle cure.

Staying indoors didn't guarantee safety, so Stella decided to embrace life. Why not live a little when there might not be a tomorrow?

So, she loaded up the Rover with her man, Rosie, and her dog, and headed to the research institute.

Stella's face was like a golden ticket, an all-access pass that had the guards waving her through without a second glance.

For the life of ner, she never anticipated thet the greenhouse she toiled over,

By some stroke of luck, the satellite had chosen to plummet at dusk, when the greenhouse had been empty of any souls.

It was a bizarre new world where satellites fell from the sky with a frequency that made winning the lottery seem a thousand times more likely.