18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 34

Stella squinted, finding her vision blurred. She took out her binoculars for a clearer look.

In the middle of the river were two rubber boats filled with men and women. They were armed with makeshift weapons, sticks and pitchforks, and they were attacking something on the window ledge of a fifth-floor apartment.

A drenched dog was on the ledge, baring its teeth and growling ferociously at the attackers.

"Come on, kill it! We'll have meat tonight," one of them yelled, prompting an excited cheer from the others. They swung their weapons at the dog, who jumped and dodged but refused to retreat.

Ever since the sudden disaster, food supplies had become scarce. Many people had starved to death. The sight of a dog, even one as skinny as this one, was enough to stir their hunger.

"It's meat! Who wouldn't want it?" their eyes glowed with anticipation. Stella watched them, feeling a pang of sympathy for the dog.

She was about to turn away when she recognized the dog. It was Cooper! She had named him Cooper after she had found him abandoned by his owners. He had been living on the streets near her university, scavenging from the trash bins outside the local fast-food restaurants.

Stella, who had been selling dog food at the time, had taken pity on him. She would often leave some food for him or toss him a hot dog.

The only difference between a dog abandoned by its owner and a baby abandoned by its parents is that humans have orphanages, but stray dogs are killed once caught.

At first, he was very cautious, resisting Stella's approach, only eating after she walked away.

As it grew familiar, even though he was still on guard, he would peek his head from behind a tree, stealthily watching her.

Later on, Stella fell for Hector, abandoning her job of selling dog food and forgetting about Cooper completely.

When they meet again, it was in the midst of a severe cold spell.

Stella didn't know how he survived. All his fur had fallen off, his skin was covered in pus-filled frostbite sores, and he was so skinny that only his skeletal frame remained.

Yet, even in this state, when she was harassed by a few thugs, he rushed up fearlessly, frantically biting at them. If he hadn't pounced, a baseball bat would have crashed down on her forehead.

In order to protect her, Cooper was beaten to death on the spot, yet hr never let go of the wrist he was biting until its death.

She survived, but he was killed, cooked, and then eaten.

When she was reborn, she searched for him multiple times, but she couldn't find any traces of him.

It was ridiculous to think that she had given her all to Hector, but he watched idly as she was killed by the thugs. Yet, the stray dog she had only occasionally fed had given his life to protect her.

"Cooper."

When they meet again, tears streamed down Stella's face. Without a second thought, Stella started her speedboat and headed towards the dog, shouting, "Cooper!"

Cooper, hearing his name, looked in her direction. The momentary distraction allowed one of the men to hit him with a stick.