Bunker 56

Bunker 56

July 28th, 2347

Sophie Miller.

They announced my mother's name as if it was a blessing, something to be excited about. It was not. She was chosen to be the first to step foot on land in fifty years. Leave the bunker, her home. She was born in here, just like me. And now she was going to leave.

It was said after the apocalypse when the world was covered in a cloud of smoke that made it impossible to live. It killed you within hours. We knew it was coming so the bunkers were made. 100 in total. 1,200 in each. They all had a capacity of 3,000 but they left the room so the population could grow. Our bunker, number 56 has a population of 2,547. Children aren't something you can just choose to have. You have to be approved to have one. Most don't have more than one, but most of the council members have two.

My mother taught me these things when I was very young. I'm only eight now, but I know what's going to happen to my mother.

Standing there, holding her hand as her name was called. Her face is blank, and white as a sheet. After a few seconds, she bent down, hugged me, and started to cry into the crook of my neck. I could hear the soft sound of her voice muffled into my neck,

“Blake.”

Everyone started to clear out of the main meeting room. But we stayed tucked in the middle. I wanted to stay brave for my mother who was going out into the world in three days' time, but all that was going through my head was, These are your last three days with her blake, you'll never see her again. I loved my mother dearly. She's the only friend I've ever really had.

******

Ten more minutes.

I only have ten more minutes until my mother might be gone forever. Yes, they say the earth is inhabitable again but I don't think it is. I just have a feeling.

She's hugging me and crying. It's happened a lot the past few days. But for the first time since her name was called, I'm crying too.

She pulls away from me and releases me. We are sitting on the bed, and she's staring into my eyes. She pulls something out of her pocket, a small golden heart-shaped locket. She holds her hands out for me to take, and I do. Her hands come over mine, and when my fingers interlace with hers I feel the cold metal land in my palm.

“Never forget me, my little butterfly. Never forget. As long as you have this with you, I will always be here.”

She takes her hand back, leaving the necklace in one of mine. As I examine it, I see two little butterflies engraved into the front. As I flip it over I see the words “I love you, my little butterfly”. She picks it up from my palm, motioning for me to turn around on the bed. I do and hold my hair up so she can clasp it around my neck.

The guards opened the door, mother stood up, looked back at me in tears on the bed, and with that she was gone.

*****

July 28th, 2357

Blake Miller.

How was this happening? My mother got chosen ten years ago and never came back. Now I'm chosen, will I ever come back? No. Probably not. I have the same feeling as when I was eight, that mother would never come back. I think she knew it too. She never said it but I could feel that she knew, that's why she gave me this locket. The two little butterflies dancing around each other on the front. I never knew why she called me her little butterfly. I always wanted to ask but I never did and I guess I never will get to.

In three days' time, I will be the one to be going out. I will never see Brandon again. My boyfriend, but more importantly my best friend. The reason I'm still here, the reason I didn't actually commit all those years ago when the horrible thoughts drown out the good ones in my head. He saved me, in every way a person can be saved. He's never let me down. But In three days I will die, and he will never see me again.

Brandon told me to act like it was any other day for the next three days. But we both knew that wasn't going to happen. It couldn't not when we knew these were our last three days together. I don't even know why they bother sending us out. We should just live here forever. That would be fine by me. I've never seen the earth and I don't really want to. If any of the people in here want to go to the earth, then they should volunteer to do this. Not someone who wants to live.

*****

Ten minutes.

God, this feels like traveling back in time to ten years ago. But ten years ago I lost my best friend, this time my best friend is losing me. I don't know why they think we can survive this.

Brandon is holding me in his arms as I tremble. He seems so utterly calm on the outside, he's not even crying. But I can feel his heart breaking in two on the other side.

“Bandon,” I whisper softly to him. “Please don't dwell on this, find someone else. Find someone who can love you more than I ever could. Who doesn't have as much responsibility and headache as me. Find someone else, who's better than me.”

“Blake, Love. There's no one better than you. Even if there was, I could never love anyone, or anything more than I love you. This isn't fair, and this isn't right. I should go.”

When he says that I jolted up, “NO!” Because if I lose him too, I won't be able to live here. And if I knew he took my place I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

I didn't have to explain that to him. He already knew. So I laid my head back in his lap,a s he stroked my hair for the last few minutes before they sent me outside and I would never see him again.

*****

As the door pushed open, a light shone on my face. No toxic smoke, or none that I could see anyway. I walked out and clenched the small golden necklace with the two butterflies dancing around on it. As I do a small white butterfly lands on the tip of my nose. I guess things do live here after all. Maybe I won't die.

The butterfly dances around my head for a few minutes. I just watched it, mesmerized. I've never seen a real one. I have only seen the drawings my mother showed me and the ones engraved on my necklace. I could have never pictured their beauty. The small fragile wings. White, but with different shades swirled within. The butterfly was so beautiful.

But then it started to float away. So I followed it. It wasn't racing away from me, it wasn't trying to get away from me. I think it wanted me to follow it? But what nonsense is that. A butterfly doesn't know what or who I am. Why would it want me to follow it anyway? Even with the questions floating in my head, I follow it. What else am I supposed to do? I've never been on top of the earth, only heard stories.

The butterfly starts to speed up, so I do too. I want to see where it's taking me, I decide. There are trees and green grass. The sky is blue, with only small wispy clouds. I hear the soft chirping of birds and small animals nestling in the bushes. There's nothing though. No rubble, no buildings. It looks like a flat with trees. Almost like a forest. But why build a bunker in the middle of nowhere? Maybe so if the building fell, they wouldn't fall on us, and we'd still be able to get back.

Even though I know the air might still kill me I can't help but be excited. It's nice here, the air smells fresh, the warm sun on my face. Living here with Brandon. That would be amazing. We could live and have children that didn't need to be approved by a board.

As the butterfly slows, I do too. We come up to a small circle of trees, and what looks to be a fence around them, weird? I wonder if anyone else inhabits the earth? Did any of the other bunkers make it? I begin to walk up to the fence, where the butterfly perched. I see movement inside the fence, so I duck down. Kneeling, looking over. There are small houses and people. So people do inhabit the earth. I want to go see them, see what's in there,

But Before I can get up to do any of that, the world goes dark and I feel my body hit the hard earth.

*****

My head is screaming.

My backaches. I can feel a lump already forming on my head. Like I fell down or hit it on something? I started to open my eyes, but as I nestled around on my bed, I realized I'm not in my bed, or any bed for that matter. I'm on the floor, but not in the bunker, the earth. And it's all coming back to me.

I immediately jostle my eyes open in panic. Where am I? What's happening? Am I going to die? But when I look up I see someone sitting before me on a throne.

“Mother?”