18 Floors Above the Apocalypse



Red-eyed gators were quick-too quick for Stella and Jasper to even think about dodging. In a desperate bid to avoid becoming prey, they ducked inside the Arcadia, barely making it in time.

The red glow outside intensified, and the rustling sounds grew louder by the second. Lookouts aboard the warship sensed something was wrong and started sweeping the area with spotlights. They didn't spot any people, but fortunately, the gators recoiled from the yellow light, instinctively shutting their eyes when caught in the beam.

Despite the high beams revealing nothing unusual, the outside commotion grew louder, prompting armed sentries to step out into the darkness. One of them noticed flashes of red in the snow. At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after blinking and focusing again, he saw even more red dots moving rapidly.

When he finally realized what was happening on the snowy ground, his face turned pale, and he shouted, "Fire!"

At his signal, the lookouts opened fire, unleashing a storm of bullets into the darkness. The rapid gunfire lasted a solid half-minute until the first round of ammo was spent. They felt confident-surely, not even steel could withstand such an onslaught, let alone flesh and blood.

They waited another two minutes for the dust to settle before opening the door to check outside. What they didn't realize was that half an hour of continuous gunfire had left their eardrums buzzing, masking the ongoing rustling sounds. As soon as they opened the door and took a few steps out, a colossal shape lunged at them.Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.

Screams echoed through the night as the snow turned crimson with spreading blood, yet more red-eyed gators surged forward. Stella timed it carefully, staying inside the Arcadia for 20 minutes before emerging. Gunshots and screams continued, now coming from the rear of the warship, while the ground beneath their feet remained a bloody mess.

Many red-eyed gators lay dead on the snow, evidence that their camaraderie had helped them breach the first line of defense. Donning balaclavas and night vision goggles, and armed with guns, Stella and Jasper moved cautiously forward. They weren't in any rush to head to the front lines. Climbing to the warship's lookout point, they saw only chaos and carnage, with body parts strewn everywhere.

They picked up weapons, made sure the coast was clear, and ensured there were no survivors outside to avoid being ambushed later. One unlucky soul had hidden in a cargo hold during the gator attack and didn't dare come out. Hearing silence outside, he emerged trembling with his pistol. Just as he opened the door, Jasper ended his life with a silenced shot.

The warship had numerous compartments below, and it was uncertain if people or other weapons were inside. They locked what they could from the outside, using padlocks or jamming steel pipes across the doors. For automatic doors, they twisted a few wires and hung grenades as booby traps.

After securing the first warship, they moved quickly to the second and, to their surprise, found three shoulder-launched armor-piercing missiles. Stella couldn't help but chuckle. Did they really think she had the strength of a giant, preparing such heavy artillery against her? Appreciating their generous spirit, she was determined not to let their enthusiasm go to waste.

Jasper remained vigilant, swiftly taking out three hidden enemies and repeating the process to clear the second warship of danger. Standing atop the warship, they spotted the entrance to the Union Base. The entrance, over ten meters long, resembled a kitchen extractor fan with a black door firmly shut.

Union Base lay in wait, having buried

a number of people in the snow to confront Stella's family. They never imagined they'd be facing a horde of ferocious gators instead. As they fought the gators, they called for the people inside to open the door. However, there was no response from within, even as they screamed themselves hoarse, assuring that it was just gators outside.

As the gator horde drew closer, Stella naturally wanted to lend a hand. "Can an armor-piercing missile blow open the door?" she asked. The seabed fortress was their most formidable stronghold, and the shoulder-launched armor-piercing missiles were among their mightiest arsenal. It was a classic test of spear against shield.

Stella thought it was worth a shot, considering the Arctic conditions, where temperatures often plunged below fifty degrees. Even the toughest materials would degrade over time in such an environment. But she had a concern. "Do you know how to fire it?"

Jasper gave her a confident nod. "Yeah."

No more hesitating-it was time to act! Stella kept watch while Jasper aimed at the base's door and fired. The missile soared and struck, creating a hole in the specially crafted door. A thunderous explosion followed from within. One blast wasn't enough; they fired until the missiles were gone.

The second... The third... Each explosion made the hole in the door larger. After three blasts, the base's door had a gaping hole. By then, the team members at the door had been massacred by the red-eyed gators, which poured in through the breach.

Though many gators died, about a hundred or so survived. Soon enough, anguished and eerie screams echoed from within. Stella and Jasper didn't rush to enter through the main door; instead, they maneuvered between the warships and transport vessels. A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and Union Base surely had other exits or ventilation ducts.

Sure enough, behind an

inconspicuous snow mound lay a hidden vent. They made it look unnoticeable, and had the gators not indiscriminately swept the area and taken out the lookouts, it would have been difficult to spot. Without mercy, Stella retrieved ether from the Arcadia and poured it down the ventilation duct. Worried it wouldn't evaporate quickly enough, she even used a powerful electric fan to blow it through. Then, they sealed the vent with mixed cement.

That'd keep them from breathing!

After dealing with the vent, the duo continued to search for other exits. As they moved, Jasper suddenly wrapped his arms around Stella and rolled to the ground, drawing his silenced pistol and firing in rapid succession. Two bodies fell from the ship.

After collecting the weapons, they skirted the vessel, faintly hearing whispers of conversation. A couple of sentries were armed with heavy machine guns. They were indifferent to their comrades who had been torn apart by gators, as long as they stayed within their fortified posts, safe from the gator invasion.

They watched their teammates get shredded into pieces, shaken and hiding, forgetting in their panic to be wary of other enemies. They whispered to their fellow survivors, taking solace in their narrow escape. This gave Stella and Jasper their chance. They crept up silently and placed a bomb at the base of the watchpost.

With a loud blast, the entire post

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was shattered and collapsed. Blood-soaked sentries struggled to crawl out, only to find a shadow looming over them. Lifting their heads with difficulty, they met a pair of cold eyes, followed swiftly by a flash of steel and a gush of blood. After eliminating the two sentry posts, the second hidden entrance revealed itself behind the ship's hull.

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