18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 510

They came seeking help, eyes red and swollen, tears streaming down their faces non-stop; the worst cases even had bleeding eyes.

Stella played dumb, "What's going on?"

Ivans was frantic, "I think it's from the sun these past few days. Their eyes got damaged, and now they're nearly blind."

It wasn't just those people; many at the base had suffered from the same exposure.

Stella sighed, "Ivans, I'm no eye doctor, and even if I were, I don't have the meds."

Ivans tried to sweet-talk her, "Ginger, you're the only one left who knows anything about medicine. Plus, your traditional remedies are amazing. Can you at least take a look? Whether you can fix them or not is another story."

Their treatment wouldn't be free; they could trade supplies for it.

With the situation laid out like that, Stella reluctantly let them in.

They couldn't enter the house, of course, but she led them to an igloo out front.

It was an extra one that Stella and Jasper had put together, not too big, but enough to hold about a dozen people, and they had built two of them.

Stella checked them out; their eyes were terribly swollen, seeping fluids that were not only abundant but streaked with blood.

She went back inside and grabbed a few herbs, took them to the other igloo, and started brewing them. Then, one by one, she had them come over and steam their eyes.

A few injured Russians went first, followed by the regular survivors.

Mark was in the middle, his expression pained, but he was trying to endure it.

When everyone else was gone, Stella discreetly poured out a few anti-inflammatory and antibacterial herbal pills and gave him some acupuncture.

Mark whispered, "Thank you."

He had overheard others saying they were only given eye steaming as treatment, but clearly, he had received special care.

Wary of eavesdroppers, Stella whispered back, "It's the least I can do. As long as we're alive, there's always a chance to see the dawn."

Mark paused, "Is there really... a dawn?"

"There is," she replied, knowing that hope was essential to survival.

Mark took a deep breath, his eyes stinging with more than just pain.

Once the treatment was done, he went back to wait quietly.

Ivans asked, "Hey, what did Ginger do for you?"

"Just some of that medicinal smoke for the eyes."

"You seemed to be in there for quite a while?"

Mark forced a smile, "Well, we're both Aussies, right? Couldn't help but chat a bit. Didn't hold you up, did I?"

The treatment didn't actually take much longer for him.

After everyone was treated, Stella handed Ivans a packet of herbs, "This is all I've got. Try steaming your eyes a few times, rest a lot, drink plenty of water. If that doesn't work, I'm out of options."

For the medicine and treatment, she asked for 50 pounds of meat or crocodile eggs.

Potatoes and corn would also do, but the quantity would have to be doubled.

Ivans agreed readily, "I'll bring it over tomorrow."

No sooner had the Russians left than a wealthy man in a white robe arrived.

They'd been neighbors for so long, yet this was the first time they'd come calling.

He didn't speak Australian; his language was English.

Stella's English was rusty after a decade, but she managed to get her point across.

They had injured eyes too and wanted Stella's help, and they were also looking to acquire some greens.

Stella wanted to refuse, but her gaze was glued to the gemstones on all ten of his fingers.

This was no ordinary wealthy man; he was the ultimate representation of opulence.

As a child, when she was poor, she would gnaw on bread, watching TV shows with characters draped in gold, vowing that one day she too would wear gemstones on every finger.

The wealthy man was quick to catch on, and he promptly removed the gemstones from his fingers.

But gemstones won’t fill a stomach, so Stella asked for an additional 10 pounds of meat.

In the end, the man handed over 20 pounds of seal meat.

Stella gave him three doses of medicine and five pounds of vegetables in return.

Back inside, she slipped on the ten gemstone rings and made a mock-surprised face.

Rosie, ever understanding, quickly snapped a photo.

Not just a photo, she even added some extra lighting to make the gemstones sparkle under the light.