18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 494

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.