18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 219

Jasper spoke succinctly, expressing his doubts.

Mark pondered. Things did seem a bit off. "Okay calm down. There's a retired geologist in Building 2. I'll contact him right away. You guys start packing."

Cutting off the walkie-talkie, Jasper started packing swiftly, "Rosie, put on the first-aid backpack."

Rosie wanted to help, but he refused, "Stay in the room, and don't move."

They worked quickly, swiftly gathering furniture and other items, with Jasper tackling the air conditioner. Once they were almost done, the walkie-talkie unexpectedly rang, "Jasper, Stella, get your stuff and gather outside immediately, a major earthquake is likely to happen."

After the call, Mark immediately went to see Samuel, "Ride my bike to the neighborhood committee and alert them about the potential earthquake. They'll replace a way to contact the city council."

Eastwood Eden had a well, and pets like dogs and mice, which helped them detect the premonition of an earthquake early. But others might not be aware.

Christian rushed out of the house, "Stay safe, and hurry up."

Mark immediately broadcasted, instructing residents to evacuate urgently, "Only take essential items, evacuate to the designated open area outside the neighborhood immediately."

Having packed beforehand, he grabbed his bag and Luna, hurriedly descending the stairs. He didn't forget to continue the announcement with his megaphone, "Hurry, save yourselves. Don't bring unnecessary items."

Emerging outside, he saw Jasper driving a Hummer, Mark was taken aback, "Jasper, the earthquake might arrive soon. Why are you driving?"

"We have elderly relatives who need help moving. We have to make a stop."

Mark had organized everything well, and there wasn't much to worry about in Eastwood Eden. The Hummer quickly left the neighborhood. Fortunately, the tires were heat and friction-resistant, otherwise, they would have melted.

Crossing state and national highways, the car headed for a secluded area. In less than 20 minutes, it entered an abandoned factory.

Jasper got out of the car, leading Rosie towards the vast wasteland behind the factory. Stella took the opportunity to park the car inside the Arcadia.

Cooper was on high alert, patrolling the wasteland. Jasper and Rosie were no different; they dared not let their guard down.

Stella turned on the radio, which repeatedly broadcasted the city's emergency news. A major earthquake was imminent; residents were advised to evacuate to open spaces in the wild.

After triple-checking and confirming there were no traces of humans around, Jasper and Stella stood together, with Cooper playing with Rosie.

Upon turning around, Rosie found a giant orange escape pod behind her, the same one they used during the tsunami. Having seen so many unusual things, she looked up at her brother. Jasper opened the pod door, "Rosie." Admittedly, the family-sized escape pod was very user-friendly. It even considered child seats.

Jasper helped her fasten the seat belt and put on a crash cushion helmet, "Don't be afraid. I'm right here with you."

Rosie nodded, "I'm not afraid."

There wasn't a dog seat, but Stella had specially sewn a dog helmet for Cooper, made of fleece and cotton. If the earthquake shock was too great, it could protect Cooper's head from injury.

After some effort, she put the dog helmet on Cooper, leaving only his mouth and eyes exposed. Well, he looked very ugly.

Rosie was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

Stella took out her phone and snapped a funny photo of Cooper. Cooper sensed something was wrong, and pawed at the helmet in protest.

Stella fastened her own seat belt. Halfway through, she felt a sudden jolt in her body.

The escape pod had a center of gravity anti-shock device, and it was quite heavy. Ordinary vibrations were hard to detect unless...

The earthquake was here!

They exchanged glances, hastily fastening their seat belts.

"Cooper." Jasper issued a command.

Cooper jumped up, and Jasper held the dog tightly in his arms.

"Rosie, hold on to the handle."

The vibration came from under their feet, Stella's body was wrapped in a soft seat, her hands tightly holding the handle.

The escape pod swayed like a punching bag, left, right, forward, backward, without a pattern, and the shaking kept intensifying. Stella could even feel her muscles vibrating.

Through the round glass window, the scenery outside kept changing, the images flashing rapidly.

In the corner of her eye, an abandoned factory in the distance was vibrating. In the next second, it was collapsing.

The four-story building, thousands of square meters factory, after the deluge, extreme cold, and intense heat, just collapsed like that in the earthquake.

The walls cracked rapidly, like a fast-forward painting. The concrete beams broke; bricks and stones fell.

The overwhelming force came, and the escape pod was suddenly tipped forward, spinning 90 degrees. Thankfully, the inner and outer pods had a gyroscope to adjust gravity, otherwise, they would have been hanging upside down.

"Woof..." Animals were most sensitive to danger. Witnessing the power of nature, the usually brave Cooper was scared, making a mournful sound in its throat.

Jasper patted Cooper's head, "Don't be afraid. We'll be okay."

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole escape pod was thrown up and then fell heavily.

Rosie turned pale, "Jasper."

Jasper quickly asked, "Rosie, are you hurt?"

Rosie was fine, just uncontrollably frightened.

The escape pod rocked violently before stabilizing after a while.

Outside the glass capsule, the factory buildings lay in ruins. After being frozen and then exposed to the sun, the mountainous forest, with a large amount of dead trees and loosened soil, cracked open with a loud rumble. The soil, carrying with it dried-up branches, slid down like a mudslide, revealing vast stretches of yellow soil. The visible cracks widened as the scene unfolded.

Before they could catch their breath, the escape pod tilted and rolled, then suddenly sank down, getting stuck.

The intense earthquake had torn the ground apart, creating ravines that continued to spread. The escape pod sank halfway into a crevasse, stuck in mid-air. Beneath them was a deep ravine.

Rosie was still shaken, her lips trembling. It took her a while to replace her voice, "Will we fall down?"

Stella comforted her, "Even if we fall, we can live in the escape pod for a month, and someone will come to rescue us."

As soon as she finished speaking, a huge rock from somewhere slammed on the escape pod. Under the impact, the escape pod sank a little further.

The pod was eerily silent, they could clearly hear each other's breathing. The three of them hung in the crevasse created by the earthquake.

Stella asked, "Rosie, do you feel uncomfortable?"

"No." She was just scared.

Everything was fine, and with Jasper by her side, Stella seemed exceptionally calm. When the earthquake actually hit, the previous anxiety seemed to fade away. Cooper clung to his trainer, his anxious eyes following every move of Stella. When he saw that she's not afraid, Cooper also seemed to calm down.

The escape pod hung in mid-air for several minutes. Stella couldn't help but to ask, "Is the earthquake over?"

No sooner had the words left her mouth, a violent shake followed. Accompanied by a shower of dirt, the escape pod plummeted once again.