18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 415

The ocean breeze started picking up, and thinking about squeezing into those cramped life rafts, the two who were already uneasy decided to stretch out on the deck, making the most of their freedom while they still could.

"Look, a bat!" Rosie shouted as a huge creature suddenly burst out of the sea.

Jasper squinted into the distance and saw a large marine animal with a white belly and dark back gliding just above the water. He turned to his sister, "That's a manta ray. Some of them can weigh thousands of pounds. They've been around for over a hundred million years, like living fossils of the ocean..."

Rosie quickly grabbed her phone to snap some pictures.

Stella scanned the horizon with her binoculars and spotted a flotilla of sailboats about 3 nautical miles away.

But these weren’t your typical sailboats; they were handmade rafts, crafted from massive logs tied together, complete with masts and sails to catch the wind.

The rafts had makeshift houses on them, loaded with all sorts of supplies.

Too far away to see clearly, it was hard to tell if the people on board were elites or indigenous folk, their skin darkened by the sun to the point of being indistinguishable.

There seemed to be dozens of them, likely living at sea for quite some time, their faces and limbs peeling from sunburn.

Stella observed closely and didn’t spot any women or children, just strong men armed to the teeth with weapons like knives, guns, axes, pitchforks, and spears. They didn't look like the kind you’d want to mess with.

"Don't test humanity in an apocalypse," she thought. "It could end badly."

Handing the binoculars to Jasper, Stella said, “They might be heading our way.”

After a look, Jasper suggested, “Should we steer clear?”

“Land’s submerged, borders are gone. It’s one big global family now,” Stella replied with no desire for conflict, “Yeah, let’s avoid them.”

Under Mr. Howe’s guidance, the novice sailor Stella took the helm of the yacht and made a sharp 90-degree turn, steering clear about 10 nautical miles, only stopping when they were sure there was no threat within the binoculars' reach.

As night fell, the waves grew stronger, and the yacht began to rock like a cradle, lulling its four "babies" on board.

Rocking to grandmother's bridge was impossible, but it sure made it hard to sleep. What if a rogue wave hit in the middle of the night?

Decisive as always, Stella switched gears, upgrading the yacht to a cruise ship. The weight difference was clear; the stability was such that it hardly rocked at all now.

Rosie had just fallen asleep and was astonished to find herself aboard a cruise ship when she woke up.

It was huge, even bigger than what she’d seen on TV.

She was terrified, but stubbornly refused to ask questions – she’d rather die than show her fear!

Cooper, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber; his owner had already brought him up to play.

On the deck was a swimming pool. "Should we take a few laps to digest?" Stella pondered, but she wasn’t one to indulge such whims. How much fresh water would it take to fill such a large pool?

The deck was filled with planter boxes, perfect to keep themselves occupied.

Over the years, Rosie had become not just a meatball specialist and skillet queen but also quite the gardener.

She and Cooper got busy with the soil, planting seeds and watering them, their activity a picture of contentment.

Indeed, having tasks keeps the spirit alive – even Cooper agreed, engaging in parkour on the cruise ship, pestering the trainer to set up the ropes.

He would leap three meters high, biting onto the rope and swinging in midair, billowing in the sea breeze.

In addition to gardening, Rosie also fancied raising poultry, but her brother disagreed, “The sea's too dangerous. What if they get out and are eaten by fish?”

It wasn't the fish he was worried about; Stella wouldn't have it.

Though Arcadia had stocked up on fertilized eggs, life at sea was a gamble every day. How could one attend to poultry when at any moment, one might need to switch escape modes? You can hardly take chickens and ducks with you in a life raft, can you?

Just thinking about the mess made her queasy.

Looking up, Stella saw a fighter jet streaking across the sky, trailing a plume of thick black smoke.

The light gray jet twisted and turned in the air, revealing a bright red star on its underside.