18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 559

As the storm clouds swelled ominously and lightning flashed more frequently, the winds howled over the sea. Jake, looking increasingly worried, shouted, “Captain, we’ve got a thunderstorm coming in fast. We need to land and take cover!”

The fierce winds made landfall, whipping up dust and debris until visibility was nearly zero. Flying in such conditions meant risking a lightning strike or having the helicopter's parts clogged with dust, leading to potential malfunction or even a crash. Human lives and the helicopter itself were irreplaceable.

Jasper gave a swift command, “Find the nearest safe spot to land.”

Through the dust storm, the helicopter slowly descended. Not far away, a large sand dune provided a perfect shield against the wind. Securing the aircraft, the four of them battled the fierce wind to reach the leeward side of the dune.

The weather was nothing if not unpredictable—one moment it was sunny, and the next it felt like nightfall, with the storm raging overhead. Donning goggles, Stella climbed the dune with binoculars in hand. She saw the distant ocean boiling with waves reaching dozens of feet high, crashing toward the shore with relentless force. The continent’s low terrain meant the coastal areas would soon be underwater at this rate.

Jake, stunned by the spectacle, asked urgently, “What about our submarine?”

Stella thought quickly, deciding to deal with the immediate threat first. As the waves grew taller and the group was only a few miles from the shore, she pulled out the emergency pod and shouted, “Get in, quick!”

Jake had seen many disasters, but this was a first. His mind blank, he could only mutter, “Holy smokes!”

The group squeezed into the emergency pod and barely had time to fasten their seatbelts before a towering wave sent them airborne. The gyroscope spun wildly as the pod was engulfed by the wave, tossing them around until they were dizzy. The water, murky with sediment, was almost impossible to see through. After several collisions and what felt like twenty minutes, things finally began to calm.

Peering through the glass, they found themselves adrift at sea, no longer bobbing uncontrollably. Water surrounded them, and in the distance, the wasteland dunes had been swept into what appeared to be an inland sea or lake. The pod wasn’t far from the shore, so they decided to disembark.

Cole was nearly out when something tried to take a bite out of his leg. Jasper, reacting quickly, pulled him back just in time. Sharks! There were sharks in the lake! This was no freshwater lake but a marine lake formed by the uplift of land, trapping sea creatures inside. The low-lying terrain near the sea likely made tsunamis a frequent occurrence. More than one shark was present, and the tsunami had agitated them, provoking attacks on the glaring orange emergency pod.

Cole, who had almost lost a leg, was in shock.

The lake was vast, resembling a large reservoir, easily several hundred acres. After the tsunami’s turmoil, the water was far from calm, and the sharks' aggressive behavior made the pod gradually drift to shore. Starved for meat, the sharks eventually turned their attention to the fish and shrimp churning in the lake, losing interest in the pod. Once assured of safety, the group quickly climbed ashore.

Walking along the lake, they found signs of human habitation: a dilapidated boat, black ash not yet washed away by the sea, and a destroyed vegetable garden with sparse, undernourished wheat sprouts. Wanting to avoid unnecessary trouble, the group refrained from retrieving the helicopter and hurried away instead.

They hadn't walked for half an hour when cries for help rang out in the distance, “Help, help!” The calls were in Australian English and sounded desperate, followed by heated arguments.