18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 419

Jasper wasn’t just blowing smoke when he mentioned that the blue whale was covered in parasites—barnacles, to be exact. Thanks to an ancient virus, these barnacles had grown huge and were causing the poor whale more harm than ever.

A good scratch is hard to come by, and the itchy blue whale wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip. It went berserk, rubbing up against the submarine to try and scrape off the annoying barnacles.

So there it was, the whale scratching away and the submarine retreating. But the creature was relentless—a real thorn in their side.

After being jostled for over half an hour, Stella was feeling seasick. She closed the observation window and tucked the submarine safely back into the Arcadia.

Time was precious, so they didn't linger in the Arcadia for long. After about ten minutes, assuming the blue whale had moved on, they went back into the sea.

But less than five minutes later, the submarine started shaking again. That damned familiar feeling—it couldn't be that the whale had fallen for her sub, could it?

Stella tried several times to get away, but the whale’s affection was deep; it just wouldn’t give up. If you can't beat them, join them, she thought, deciding to lie back and enjoy the ride.

After two more hours of being rubbed, the world finally settled down. Waking from a nap, Rosie opened the observation window. Weird, it was dark outside. Checking the time in her room, it was only three in the afternoon. Something was definitely off. She quickly knocked on her brother and sister-in-law’s door.

With no peace day after day, Stella and Jasper got up without hesitation to investigate. It was pitch-black outside, and you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The observation window was made of several layers of sturdy special glass; it couldn’t be a quality issue, or water would have flooded in already.

Rosie climbed up to the second observation window, but it was still dark. Stella remembered there was a third observation window at the tail of the submarine and hurried to check it. No problem there—the light filtered down from the surface, and fish swam leisurely outside. So, the trio and their dog stared out of the window, even enjoying an afternoon tea.