18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 367

Tom's punch landed hard, and the young boy's lip split, blood trickling down as his head spun in confusion and pain.

Facing his father’s blazing eyes, he clutched his cheek, too terrified to say another word in his defense.

Tom took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself, before bowing deeply to the crowd. "Everyone, I'm truly sorry. It seems I've failed as a father, causing all this trouble. Please accept my deepest apologies."

The crowd’s anger simmered, but they knew the fault lay with the spoiled brat, not the refugee camp that had saved so many lives, including theirs. The camp leader had always been at the forefront of rescue efforts, even braving the rain to offer comfort. He was a good man; it was just his son who had gone astray.

After a moment's thought, and despite their grievances, no one wanted to escalate things further.

Stella wasn’t looking for a fight, especially since the camp was filled with Tom’s people. Picking a real fight would only put her at a disadvantage due to their numbers.

She turned to Rosie, "Did they hurt you?"

Rosie shook her head, "No."

Stella relented, "Alright, for the sake of my sister-in-law being unharmed, I'll let this slide. But if there's a next time, I won't be so forgiving."

Tom thanked her, then turned to his son and slapped him twice more. "You ungrateful brat, apologize now!"

Under his father's stern gaze, Hunter braced himself and muttered, "I'm sorry."

Stella responded coldly, "I can't hear you. Say it louder."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he repeated, though his eyes still burned with hatred.

Stella chose to ignore it, allowing Tom to take his son away.

When she returned, Angela and the others breathed a sigh of relief and asked with concern, "Did you find Jasper?"

Stella shook her head, her expression complicated. "No."

"Don't worry, Stella," Lukas consoled her. "Jasper's tough; he'll be okay. He's probably just delayed because of injuries, same as us."

They drove out of Griffith, only for their car to break down just outside the city. It took a while to fix, and then they were back on the road.

When it rains, it pours; halfway through their journey, they were accosted by a group of desperate refugees blocking the road. The entire village had banded together for safety and surrounded their car, throwing stones and attempting to overturn it, all to force them out.

Kitty, in desperation, floored the gas pedal, hoping to break through, but the engine failed to start again. As their windows shattered, Cody fired shots, taking down a few assailants, but they were overwhelmingly outnumbered.

Eventually, they were forced out and had to fight back with whatever weapons they had. Then, suddenly, a sandstorm hit. Cody and Lukas, being closer to the car, scrambled inside to seek shelter from the storm. The vehicle was flipped, and they clung on to their supplies for dear life, but were still mercilessly swept away.

Cody twisted his ankle and sustained multiple injuries. Lukas suffered a concussion from a flying rock. Separated, they were lucky to keep their supplies and managed to survive. After the sandstorm abated, they sought each other out, despite their pain. They found each other first, but then torrential rain brought mudslides, and they were trapped by a river, eventually straying further in the wrong direction.

Stella nodded, reminding them, “Keep an eye out for Hunter. He doesn’t seem like the type to let things go.”

“If that scumbag wants trouble, he can bring it on,” they muttered, frustrated by the injustice of his privileged birth.

Stella pedaled away on the bike with Rosie in tow. Cody and the others stood on a hill, watching her silhouette vanish, their emotions tangled.

Kitty stood beside him. “Don’t worry about Stella. She’s capable. Wherever she goes, she’ll fare better than most of us.”

Angela looked at her injured friends. “No matter what the future holds, we too must survive.”

Lukas spoke up. “Should we find a place to lick our wounds, or head straight to Lincoln?”

“Let’s hole up somewhere,” Cody pondered. “Get a bit of rest. Once we’re feeling better, we can hit the road to Lincoln and look for Jasper on the way.”

The other two nodded in agreement, shouldering their gear and supporting each other as they left.

Stella was eager to get back, pedaling her bike like a woman possessed, almost sending Rosie, who was seated behind her, flying off.

Rosie, fighting off the discomfort, asked, “Sis, where are we headed now?”