Picnic - A Breath Of Fresh Air
A Story Inspired By A Harvest Records Album Cover
They were billionaires having made their fortunes in weapons sales, and knew that at some point they would be subjected to a nuclear winter, so they built their bunkers where they would live when humanity was wiped out by the things these people had sold.
It didn't matter to them; they had their bunkers and supplies for fifty years, and by that time, they could return to the surface. There was talk that the world would be habitable within twenty years.
What they hadn't taken into consideration was that systems had to be maintained, and when there was a fault, they would need support people to fix it, except all the support people had been wiped out by the bombs and chemical weapons that had lined the accounts of the bunker dwellers.
Systems started to fail within a year, and corners had been cut to increase the profits of the bunker builders. Power, air and water purification began to fail, and soon they had to wear their emergency gas masks to protect themselves from the poisonous atmoshere.
The bunkers became underground caves, and everyone blamed everyone else for what had happened. This was a world where money had become an irrelevance.
They sat in a sand dune in a group, no one trusting each other, or with any idea what to do. They only knew how to scam money, but that was no use in this situation.
No one was coming to rescue them, and they had nowhere to go and no food. The supplies all needed processing by the machines that had broken down. They had no drinkable water either.
There was not one idea of how to get out of this situation.
The four of them soon became three, then two, then one and then none and humanity was gone; it had pressed the self-destruct button.
About the Creator
Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred
A Weaver of Tales and Poetry
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Comments (3)
Wouldn't be surprised if this actually happened. Loved your story!
Oh wow mate, this was such a great read. It might be dystopian, but how far are we from just living it out in mediocre bunkers? ... it may be closer than we think. It scares me...
What a doomsday story, but a great read for there is a lesson to learn. Never count your chickens before their hatched. I think that old phrase works even in this scenario. Good job.