18 Floors Above the Apocalypse



The folks living in these houses had to be Union Base members. The idea of them launching a survival-of-the-fittest plan just to handle a couple of intruders, disregarding their own members' lives, was beyond twisted.

Union Base... what a joke!

If this is how they treated their own, invaders didn't stand a chance. With heightened senses, the duo ventured deeper into the labyrinth. Jasper pushed open a door and, to his surprise, found a two-way corridor leading to another passage. One scouted ahead while the other watched their six.

Stella noticed faint seam lines on the floor. Jasper was right; the base was multi-layered. This was just the first level. They twisted and turned through several corridors but still couldn't find an exit. Were they trying to trap them here until they died?

The idea of mazes wasn't new. It dated back to ancient divination practices, over 4600 years old, almost as old as Australia's recorded history. Now, they were pawns in someone else's twisted game.

As they wandered, Stella faintly heard some grating, sharp sounds that came and went. Jasper, however, heard nothing, maybe because of his bulky bio-suit. There was no room for complacency.

A few minutes later, a dead-end door suddenly flung open, and something dark and ominous poured out. Despite the darkness, they saw a swarm of dark creatures with round heads, large ears, sharp fangs, and impressive wingspans through their night-vision goggles.

Bats! Bio-engineered bats!

These were far larger than any Stella had seen before, carriers of countless lethal pathogens, often the subject of biological studies, linked to numerous disease outbreaks throughout human history. Now, Stella faced these bio-engineered bats, their danger magnified a thousandfold. It wasn't just the threat of physical attack; the pathogens they carried were deadly.

And they were swooping down on them.

Without hesitation, Stella pulled out a flamethrower from their Arcadia gear and unleashed a torrent of fire. A dragon of flame roared to life in the darkness, the bats screeching in agony as they fell from the sky. The intense heat sealed their fate.

The flamethrower was powerful but short-lived, and the swarm seemed endless. After a dozen or so blasts, the fuel was depleted. While many bats were forced back, they were far from eradicated. This bought Stella a precious moment to breathe. She quickly handed Jasper another flamethrower.

The used Arcadia was scorching, but the bats were hesitant to emerge. Jasper didn't aim at the nest; instead, he cranked the flamethrower to max and scorched the ground, melting the sturdy alloy into a malleable mess.

Seizing the moment, Stella followed up with two grenades and a frag, tossing them into the mix. They couldn't stay trapped on this level, dealing with gas and bio-bats, while Union Base's people watched from above. If they couldn't escape the maze, who knew what horrors lay ahead?

Oh, they'd share the misfortune alright.

After the grenades, Jasper grabbed Stella, and they bolted. Dozens of meters out, a thunderous explosion echoed behind them, and he shielded her in his embrace. Both were disheveled, but their eyes remained clear and determined through their visors.

The explosion had torn a gaping hole in the floor, and from below, panicked screams and light seeped through. Remembering their own ordeal, Stella showed no mercy. Another bomb down the hatch.

Boom!

Then a fuel-air explosive for good measure.

Boom!

And finally, a bottle of ether to seal the deal.

Silence reigned from below. A contest of ruthlessness? It seemed everyone had a knack for it. As the heat dissipated and the bats were riled again by the blast, they

swarmed out. Stella and Jare

ducked back into Arcadia, using the cover of darkness. The bio-bats, drawn to the noise, flew into the hole.

After about ten minutes, they emerged from Arcadia. No more

bats in sight Peering down the hole, they saw a large room littered with bloodied corpses. Concerned for safety, they didn't descend but

sought a safer exit. The rooms seemed identical, but Stella and

Jasper, with their keen eyes, spotted subtle differences in the floor patterns and doorknobs. Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.

Navigating into a new area, Jasper noticed a change in the floor's hidden design. Gently manipulating the objects in the room, Stella twisted a doorknob continuously until a wall panel slid open, revealing a staircase leading down.

The staircase was dark and foreboding, its end invisible. Stella sensed danger below, but they couldn't stay trapped. They had to try. The longer they waited, the more peril Snowflake faced.

Flashlights on, they descended the staircase. At the bottom, they confronted a sealed door. Stella scanned the area, noticing another door on the wall, resembling an access panel to electrical systems. It wouldn't budge.

A bomb attached, they retreated to Arcadia. When they emerged, the panel was blown to bits. Not taking chances, Stella doused it with acidic rain, ensuring its demise. The staircase ended here, the only way forward through the sealed door.

Jasper tried the handle, it wouldn't turn. After a few forceful kicks, to their surprise, the door gave way. Darkness enveloped the space, their hands invisible before them. With night-vision goggles equipped, they moved stealthily forward.

"Watch out!" Jasper suddenly pulled Stella to the ground, rolling to avoid a hail of bullets from hidden traps. It was like firecrackers going off. Taking cover behind a pillar, they waited out the barrage.

After the firing ceased, a flurry of

soft footsteps echoed in the darkness. With the aid of

night-vision goggles, Jasper zeroed in on their hiding spot and lobbed a grenade their way. Screams fitted the air as multiple figures were hurled into the chaos.

The enemy wasn't going down without a fight, though. Once they spotted Jasper and Stella's hideout, they unleashed another wild hail of bullets...