AllFreeNovel
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Maybe it seems silly to mention such things, given the situation, but the next year of my life has already been planned out. I graduate in a few months with good grades and excellent extracurriculars. Then I turn eighteen in July. And in the fall I’ll be going to Yale. There’s never been doubt about any of that.
“It might not be five years. We’ll be able to monitor conditions on the surface, so if it’s safe or if it’s not as disastrous as we fear, then we’ll open up and come back out and you can finish school like you planned. But this is real. This is exactly the kind of disaster this bunker was built for, and it’s happening right now. My most important job is to keep you safe, so that’s what I’m doing.”
My eyes burn, but I don’t cry. I don’t do anything but clutch at the strap of my crochet bag with trembling hands.
“I understand how upsetting it is, and we can talk about it more. I promise. We’ll have plenty of time to process all of it. But I’ve got to take care of some things right now, and we don’t have much time until they lock us down. So Grant is going to show you around and make sure you’re settled in your room.”
“Who even is he?” I ask, glancing back at the stoic man behind us.
“He’s one of the guards here. He’s been assigned to us today. So please just let him show you around. We’ll talk more later.”
I lick my lips and nod at my dad, who takes the brief gesture as acquiescence. He comes closer to kiss my cheek and then disappears onto the elevator, leaving me alone with Grant.
“This is yours and your dad’s apartment,” he says. He sounds milder than he did before we got here, so maybe he’s not always so gruff and pushy. “There are three other apartments on this floor. They’re the biggest in the facility. Other levels have between six and ten.”
“How many levels are there?”
“Eighteen. Since it was an old missile silo, it’s basically an underground cylinder. In addition to the living spaces, there are community areas. A schoolroom for the kids. A clinic. A library. A movie theater. A bowling alley. A gym. A swimming pool.”
“A pool?”
He nods. “The whole thing is built to be completely self-sustaining and off the grid with backup solar generators in case anything happens to our main power system. We’ve got our own water and air-filtration systems. And a hydroponic garden and tanks of cultivated tilapia, so we’ll be able to eat even if our supplies run out. I can show you everything, but do you want to see your room first?”
I nod. There’s nothing I can think of to say.
My room is large and lush—like a five-star hotel—and it’s stocked with clothes and personal items. There are even windows that display a projected landscape scene, which makes it feel less like it’s underground.
“It’s nice,” I say since it feels like Grant is waiting for me to say something.
“Yes. It is.”
“Where’s your apartment?” There’s no particular need for me to know this, but I’m curious anyway.
“Staff is housed on level twenty. I’ve got a decent room. And no complaints.”
He didn’t buy his way into this bunker like my dad and the other residents did. He’ll have to work for it. But still… he’ll be a lot safer than most of the rest of the world if things get bad the way my dad thinks they might.
“How did you even get this job?” I ask him. “I’d think there would be a lot of competition for a place in this bunker.”
“I was recommended by my former commanding officer. I had no idea what it was until I got here. For obvious reasons, it’s been kept pretty quiet.”
“Oh.” I put my bag down on the small desk. I don’t have a clue what I’m supposed to do now.
“Do you want the tour now? Or do you want a minute or two to pull yourself together?”
I give him a little frown since I don’t appreciate the implication that I’m not already pulled together. Surely I’ve handled this as well as anyone else would have. “I’m fine. And it’s going to take more than a minute or two to process all this.”
“I’m sure.”
“How long have you had?”
“I’ve had this job for just over a year, but it was mostly training and preparation for a future event that might not even happen. I’ve known we’re locking down today since this morning.”
He’s had a little more time than me to adjust. But not much.
“Okay.” I glance at my phone, which has slid out of my bag. It reminds me of all my friends. Still at school. No idea what’s going to be happening. With a shaky breath, I whisper, “So we’re really going to leave everyone else up there to die?”
He looks at me for several seconds before he replies. “They won’t all die. Since the asteroid is hitting the other side of the world, folks here will have a chance to make it, and my guess is everyone in Europe will be getting out of there fast. We’ll have a big advantage down here, but that advantage won’t last forever. If things fall out the way I think they will, eventually survival won’t be about who has more money. It will be about who’s tough enough to survive in the new world.”
I really can’t believe I’m having this conversation. This morning I was so pissed at Melanie Brubaker for treating me like a boyfriend-stealing bitch.
“The new world?” I repeat. “So you think the old world isn’t going to make it? What if it’s not as bad as they think?”
I’ll never forget the look in his eyes and the thickness of his voice when he tells me. “I think the asteroid is definitely going to hit, and by tonight everyone on the planet will find out. Which means the world as you know it is already gone.”
