Jonathan Arel

I left the bunker for the first time in months with my stomach tied in

knots. I was nervous but excited all at the same time to be finally free from

rations and enclosed space. It was a few moments before I was able to

open my eyes which had become accustomed to months of darkness. The

knots in my stomach quickly gave way to emptiness. Instead of

anticipation, I just felt sick. Before me was nothing but a wasteland as far

as the eye could see. It was like something out of a fiction story, except

instead of zombies or some magical force being the cause, humans did this

to themselves.

The year was 2104 and Earth was in the midst of a world war that

had begun years earlier. The threat of launched assaults grew by the day.

Bunkers were in constant development around every country with enough

money and resources for building them and still supporting the war effort.

Militaries were struggling to keep numbers.

For those not drafted yet, things weren’t any easier since most of the

money was taken by the government to fund the war effort. Food, drinks,

and toiletries were in high demand, but couldn’t be manufactured fast

enough. Stress and fear levels were at the max for everyone at all times. I

swear I even felt stressed while asleep. Things went on like this for a

while—all until the alarms started blaring. The one thing everyone feared

had begun.

I ended up being placed in one of the older bunkers, the ones hastily

made toward the start of the war that didn’t have any showers. We were

probably lucky the toilet worked at all. I just hoped everyone brought some

deodorant.

I was in a group of at least 100 people from all walks of life. Military

personnel sectioned off the bunker, however, so my group had 23 others.

Among them was a grandmotherly lady, a family made up of a pregnant

woman and two children, a teenager, and a young man with frantic eyes. To

avoid as many people as I could, I quickly claimed a corner of our section

by placing my stuff so I could be alone for a while to gather my thoughts.

We all started unpacking our bags. Any extra food and water we’d

brought were added to the stock to keep organization and even rations.

This was our section’s assigned military officer’s idea.

“We have to start rationing the food right away,” he explained to us.

“The sooner you get used to it, the easier it will become when we have to

ration for real.” At this point, most of us were already used to rationing food,

but no one seemed to be up for complaining.

I figured out pretty quickly that if I didn’t hold my head high and stay

strong, I would probably go crazy. I knew I had to keep hope that we would

make it out of here and be able to go back to our normal lives.

I mostly kept to myself, as I had before having to hide out in a bunker.

I never was good at meeting new people. I decided to pass the time by

watching how everyone in my group acted and interacted under the

circumstances.

The granny unpacked a pile of books from her bag.

“If anyone wants to read, I brought some books!”

A murmur arose within our section with responses like “Who reads

physical books anymore?” and “Now is not the time to relax”. No one

seemed to want to read with her, until suddenly, the frantic-eye man slowly

stood up and walked over to granny, looking nervous. He grabbed a book

from her pile and dropped to the floor. He disappeared behind the book

very quickly, and granny joined in with another book.

After a few hours, everything started shaking and we heard loud

booming noises. No one had to guess what the sounds were, as all knew

what caused them before we even got inside the bunker. They were the

reason we were in here after all.

As hours led to days, some people were starting to give up. The

teenager in our group was the first to lose it. He started screaming and

throwing things around. Granny and the officer attempted to calm him, but it

took a few minutes for them to be successful. Honestly, I felt like doing the

same, but I kept holding out to get out of this place.

Others finally decided to ask granny for a book to read. Most of the

section seemed to be reading now, and some new faces even came in to

ask for a book. Not everyone was interested in reading, however. After the

pregnant lady had given birth, her other children kept trying to interact with

all the people and their possessions as their mother focused on the new

baby. The children seemed to take interest in me especially. Just my luck.

The children kept trying to talk with me and look through my bag. No

matter how many times I said “Please leave me alone,” they wouldn’t. After

a few days of this, I gave up, ignoring them going through their new

“treasure chest” (my bag).

After months and months of having to eat less and less—and dealing

with a half-working toilet and smelly, moaning people—I was ready to give

in. But then, something unexpected happened.

“Alright, everyone, gather your things and form orderly lines.” The

bunker doors finally opened. We cheered at the thought of going back to

our normal lives. Once we all stepped out, though, that idea quickly

dissipated. After seeing the outside, all feelings of joy went away.

I was at a loss for words. Our city had been flattened. The e-nukes

left no trace of anything. For all I knew, the whole state looked like this.

Maybe even the whole coast.

I stood there, staring out at the horizon for what seemed like a

lifetime, with no sense of time passing. I didn’t even pay attention to what

the soldiers were telling us. My brain just shut down right there. My strength

bled away in an instant. The only thing to snap me out of my trance was the

hand on my arm dragging me into a military vehicle. I just stared out the

window, confused and scared, while wondering what I was supposed to do

with my life now, and getting farther and farther from the land I used to call

home if you could even call it land anymore.