18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 149

Before the big chop, Jasper made sure to snap a few pictures of Stella with his phone. As the buzz of the electric razor filled the air, a growing pile of hair littered the floor.

Rosie scampered over, eyes widened as she took in Stella's newly shaved head. "Wow, Stella, you look like a boy."

Stella took a look at herself in the mirror, and... well, she didn't look bad. The buzz cut suited her, even. It gave her a certain edge, a dash of toughness she hadn't had before.

In this post-apocalyptic world, where smiles were far and few between, this new look gave her a certain 'don't mess with me' vibe. With her buzz cut, whenever Stella didn't smile, she looked like she was ready to throw down.

The next day, she went out to the rooftop to fetch some water and bumped into Cody and Lukas, who were popping some popcorn. Both of them were taken aback. "Good lord, when did we get a girl gangster on the 18th floor?"

Stella decided to play along, flipping her water bucket at them. "Stick 'em up."

They handed over half a bowl of popcorn to her. "You know, Stella, that haircut really suits you. It's cool, badass, and refreshing."

"Are you guys just buttering me up?"

As the sun set, three buzz-cut figures were having a jovial time on the rooftop. Cody went downstairs and came back with three cold beers. They sat on the rooftop, enjoy beers.

As they drank, Stella noticed that Cody was downing his beer pretty fast. Lukas was a bit slower, but he too looked troubled. Having practically grown up together, Stella could tell when something was bothering them.

"What's up?" She asked.

They didn't answer, and Stella didn't push.

...

Stella had been tending to a few sweet potato vines in The Garden for over a month. They were finally long enough to be cut into two sections. Just as she was about to bag the sweet potato vines, Jasper appeared.

Over time, Stella had learnt that Jasper had a sneaky side. He would often send Rosie off with Cooper, so he could have some alone time with her. Today was one of those days, with Cooper busy munching on popcorn next door.

Seeing her bag the vines, Jasper looked surprised. "Aren't you worried about damaging the vines?"

Stella didn't have a choice. The Garden in Arcadia was fertile and the sweet potato vines were thriving. It would be suspicious if she gave them to 1803 in such good condition. She decided to bag them and let them wilt a bit before giving them away.

After finishing her chores, Stella sat on the couch, tuning the radio. The local government announced that the provincial base was officially open to survivors.

There were two bases - an official one and a military one. Each base could accommodate up to 300,000 people. The first phase of both bases was already completed.

Two years into the apocalypse, the bases were finally ready.

The official base was located in Goldbridge, situated in the northeastern direction of the province. It was a typical mountain city with underdeveloped industries, focusing on green agriculture. It was about 500 kilometers from Griffith.