18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 545

After the shot, the monitor maintained a steady reading. Stella helped Daniel out of Arcadia.

The hospital chief had already left, but Bran had arrived.

"Sis, how's the boss doing?" Bran asked.

Stella didn't answer. Instead, she turned to the uneasy Vanessa beside her. "I have some medicine at my place; it'll be easier to take care of him there."

Vanessa wanted to argue that moving a patient around wasn't good, but considering Daniel's condition, she nodded in agreement.

"Good, stay with him more," Vanessa said.

Even after finding him, father and daughter had so little time together. They always thought there would be more time, no need to rush, but accidents always seem to come sooner than expected.

Jasper carried an unconscious Daniel back to the neighboring house, with Bran lending a hand.

Stella followed them out, seeing Vanessa sitting there, dazed, all her energy seemingly drained. She couldn't help but turn back to reassure her, "He won't die."

The words seemed meant for Vanessa, but perhaps more for herself. Vanessa nodded, but her face was already streaming with tears.

Once everyone had left, Vanessa allowed herself to cry out loud, "Oh, Daniel."

Stella cleared a room, brought over a cot from storage, and with the help of the others, got Daniel settled in. She took out some medicine and had Jasper help administer it.

Rosie brought out some dumpling soup to fill their stomachs, her expression worried. "Can Uncle Daniel's illness be cured?"

Her brother and sister-in-law were not around, and these past days she had been helping out next door. Nobody expected Uncle Daniel to fall ill while they were away. She had brought out all the home remedies she could, but nothing seemed to work.

Stella was somewhat out of sorts. "Rosie, how did he suddenly fall ill?"

Rosie had only heard the story. "Uncle Daniel was inspecting the base. The weather was fine, but out of nowhere, a storm hit, and he got soaked. He came home that night with a fever that wouldn't break."

The fever reducers didn’t work.

Stella had a headache. "His illness has turned into pneumonia."

Rosie shared what she had heard over the past few days. "A lot of people who got caught in the rain are sick—vomiting, fever, aching all over, diarrhea. But there's no medicine in the hospital. They can only try to physically reduce the fever, with massage or acupressure."

But few cases were as severe as Uncle Daniel's. Stella frowned deeply. It wasn't surprising to have acid rain carrying bacteria from the sky.

Daniel's body was worn down, an easy target for bacterial infection. Viral infections were troublesome, especially if it was a new strain. Stella's head pounded with worry, hoping it wasn’t too late.

She had no appetite, but now wasn't the time to falter. Taking the dumpling soup Rosie had made, Stella forced herself to eat.

Bran tried to offer comfort while eating. "Sis, the boss is a lucky man, heaven's got his back. And with your medical skills, even the grim reaper would take a detour."

Jasper, feeling his consoling role being usurped, just stayed silent. Bran went on, "He's the leader of the base, a man with a family to care for, an iron pillar of a man. He'll pull through."

With all the good words taken by Bran, what could Jasper add?