Born In A Bunker

15 years ago the world ended, or so I was told.

It all started when that giant orange cloud hovered over the entire world. Rumors spiraled. Aliens, the Illuminati, the government, were all the reasons behind this mysterious cloud.

The end of the world was upon us, and even then, people couldn’t accept the fact that we did this to ourselves.

We wanted to travel the world in various ways, we didn’t want to pick up after ourselves, we didn’t listen to the climatologists, and we were selfish.

We caused the apocalypse.

No one knew what was going to happen, or how this cloud was going to affect our lives.

Except for my dad.

For decades my dad spoke about the effects of pollution and global warming, but everyone laughed. No one cared. So he studied, he studied until he had invented the perfect bunker.

This bunker could be the rehabilitation the world would need after the apocalypse, that’s what he said at least. So when that cloud released what it had been storing up for so long, that’s where he went.

Hundreds of people followed him to the bunker, the rest were left for dead.

In that bunker my dad was the leader, they developed a counsel, aka the deciding factor of criminal offenses. They developed farms, shops, and hospitals. They expanded.

All I’ve ever known was the bunker, that’s where I was born.

“Raya, get out of your head! We have the next run.” My mom demands.

“You’re right. I guess I’m just nervous for my first run.” I told her.

When someone turns 15, they go on their first run. You leave the bunker in search of new life, resources, or just to see how the world itself is developing. The only downfall to these runs is that you have limited time.

According to the originals, the first people here, animals and humans mutated by the cloud come out at night. No one, who has come back, knows if this is true or just a tale to scare us, children, except for Old Man James.

Old Man James is the only one who dared to stay out when it was dark.

When I was younger, the rest of the kids and I would gather in a circle around Old Man James. We would listen intently as he told us about his experience.

"Humans that you had seen every day walking the streets, roam around after dark looking for prey. One came up to me. I'll tell you, I was so scared but thankfully I had my trusty gun and took care of it." He would say, grinning ear to ear.

Thoughts of scary monsters controlled my thoughts when I was younger, honestly, they still do.

"Alright runners, this is your first time out so listen to your guardian for instructions. The door will open after the countdown hits 1. Good luck to you all!" The moderator announces.

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

With the grinding of gears, two huge doors unlock and open revealing the world to us 15-year-olds for the first time.

My mom grabs ahold of my hand and starts running.

As I'm running, I take in my surroundings. We're in dryland, no trees surround us. The only sounds being the collective breathing and stomping of feet from all runners.

After almost an hour of running, we stop.

"Okay, Raya, I need you to listen to me. Being a runner is a huge risk. It's not as easy as some make it out to be, especially Old Man James." Mom tells me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, worried.

"The creatures out here are strong, scary, and relentless." She elaborates.

"What do you mean? Old Man James said he took one out when he stayed out after dark." I asked, confused.

"Old Man James is a liar, he sugarcoats what happened to him, but I was there when he came back." She comments, "Old Man James was attacked by one of those creatures and lost a lot of blood, he was in the hospital for months recovering from the trauma. If he didn't have that gun, he wouldn't have made it."

"Why don't we have guns then?" I question.

"We don't have guns because we aren't going far, this is just to show you the area. We're going back now." She retorts.

We make our way back as the sun beams down on us.

"Welcome back everyone, I hope you enjoyed your first trip out into the world! Get washed up and ready for dinner." the Moderator welcomes.

“Hey, Kiddo. Happy Birthday!” My dad says, handing me a wrapped box.

“Thanks, Dad!” I unwrap the box and see a beautiful heart-shaped locket. Engraved are the words “Daddy’s little girl, forever and always.”

“Do you like it, Kiddo?” He asks hesitantly.

“I love it, Dad. Thank you so much!” I tell him as I wrap my arms around him.

“You’re welcome, Kiddo.” He responds, hugging me back.

The mouth-watering dish in front of me wasn't enough to drown out my gut feeling; something bad was going to happen soon, I could just feel it. I looked over to my parents, they were whispering amongst themselves. A worried look spreads across mom's face as she watches my dad.

My dad stands up, clinking his knife to his wine glass to garner everyone's attention.

"Excuse me, everyone. I would like to make an announcement!" My dad announces.

The cafeteria goes silent as everyone listens intently, no one daring to interrupt their leader.

"It's been 15 years since we holed up in this bunker, and I would like to thank everyone for their contributions. It's not been easy, but we are slowly getting back to how things were before the apocalypse. Tomorrow I will be heading out on a solo run. In the case I don't return before dark, I wanted you all to know how much I appreciate all of your support." My dad ends his speech by raising his glass to the crowd.

Solo run?

No this can't be, he can't just go solo. No one has ever done that before. Plus, my gut feeling, something is going to go wrong!

I run up to my dad after dinner and confront him about his plans.

"Dad!" I call out to him.

"What's up, Kiddo?" He asks me.

"No, don't Kiddo me! What do you mean by a solo trip? That's absurd!" I bombard him.

"Raya, I'm the leader here, people expect me to be brave. They expect me to have answers. I can't have answers or be brave if I don't go out there alone," He stops to take a breath, "These people depend on me; I can't just let them down, Raya!"

"What about me, o-or mom? What if you don't come back? Where does that leave us?" I question him.

"Your mother and I have already talked about this. I'm sorry, Kiddo, but this is happening." He says before walking away.

I couldn't sleep last night, the anxiety of my dad's solo run crushing down on me.

I picked at my nails until they bled, I just can't seem to shake this terrible gut feeling.

It was finally daylight, which meant my dad was about to leave.

Everyone was gathered around the door, ready to send my dad off.

"Hey, Kiddo, I love you so much. Please understand that I need to do this." Dad pleads with me.

"I understand, but please make sure you come back. I love you, Dad!" I tell him.

We exchange a hug and then he heads to the door.

"See you all later!" He says before the doors open.

My heart races as I watch him leave.

I couldn't focus all day. Thoughts of something bad happening to my dad clouded my mind. I felt so nauseous.

It's around the time when the sun goes down, my dad is yet to return. The air is tense as everyone huddles around the exit, everyone except Old Man James.

I walk over to him and sit down.

"I don't think your daddy's gonna be returning, Sweet Pea." He says immediately as I sit down.

"W-what do you mean?" I question.

"He should've been back by now, we all know that." He elaborates.

"What are we gonna do?" I ask.

"We aren't gonna do anything Sweet Pea, he's long gone by now." He tells me patting me on the head before heading towards his room.

He was right, my dad didn't come back. The somber atmosphere was too much, everyone eventually headed back to their apartments.

I couldn't just stand there and accept that my dad was gone, I had to go find him.

I crept out of my room and into my dad's office. A duffle bag laid on the floor, Old Man James sat next to it.

"I figured you'd be leaving, so I packed a bag for you. It has everything you'll need and more. I'm gonna help you get out of here, Sweet Pea!" James declares.

"Won't they hear the door opening?" I ask him.

"Nope, I already thought of that Sweet Pea. I put a muffler on the door when everyone left.

"Thank you for this, James." I express.

"Anytime, but they're gonna lock me up when they find out. You get your daddy and you come get me out of the slammer, Sweet Pea." He demands

He opens the door and I'm faced with darkness and anxiety. After a glance back to James, I leave the bunker.

I quickly look at everything James had packed me. Clothes, a hazmat mask for dirt storms, rations, a medkit, a hatchet, a gun, and a note.

You keep my trusty gun safe, Sweet Pea.

I laugh at the note and head off.

It’s been an hour and I’ve yet to hear any mutated humans or animals.

Just as I think that I hear a growl.

Whipping my head around I see a pack of mutated wolves in the distance. I quietly begin walking away, not daring to take my eyes off of them. Just as I begin walking they all snap their heads to me.

They start running after me.

I spot a cave in the distance and make a run for it. As I’m running I strip off my clothing and throw them in different directions to throw the wolves off.

As I reach the cave I put on the extra clothing James packed and listen for the dogs.

I stayed up for a while. I look down at my locket and start crying as I read the words engraved into it. Forever and always he said. I fall asleep crying and clutching the locket.

When I wake the sun is just now rising, I take this as my cue to head out of the cave.

I run for hours until I spot an abandoned treehouse, I almost ignored it if not for the rustling of something inside. Climbing up into a scarce tree to get a better look I see him, my dad!

He wasn’t the only thing I saw. In the house, a mutated human was eating my dad’s arm!

I grabbed James’ gun and pointed it at the creature. I fired the gun and it hit the creature in the temple, it fell to the floor.

I quickly scramble out of the scarce tree and into the entrance of the treehouse. My dad was still conscious, I wrapped his wound and gave him my rations.

It took us two more days, but we eventually made it back to the bunker. The door opened when we walked up to it. My mom ran out cursing the two of us. Soon a crowd gathered around us. There was only one thing I was worried about though. I got the keys from my father and swiftly headed to Old Man James.

“It’s nice to see you again, Sweet Pea! I was starting to think you’d lost my trusty gun!”