Young Writers Society

We're back!

Lilah

I could feel the road change from pavement to dirt as I pulled into my parent’s driveway. The smell of dirt and herbs hit me and memories started flooding back. I quickly suppressed them as I put my car in park. I sat there for a moment, not wanting to go through uncomfortable conversations with my father. My mother even knows that I don’t even really want to be here. School breaks felt like an eternity.

Instead of going to the front door, I headed straight towards the barn. My horse, Sunny, saw me coming and started neighing right away. A smile ran across my face as I made my way to her. “Hey, old girl.” I said as I stroked her. “I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long.”

Sunny kept hitting the stable door with her leg as I pet her. I laughed to myself. My mother would often compare my impatience to that of my horse. “Fine, we can go for a ride. It has to be quick though. I haven’t been inside yet.” I began to saddle her up, but quickly stopped when I heard footsteps behind me.

“Now I know you are not about to go on a ride without me, young lady.” My mom said as she walked over to me with her arms held open for a hug.

I smiled at her and walked over to her. “I knew you would hear me as soon as I parked in the driveway.” She hugged me tightly. I always talk about trying to come home more but life always seems to get in the way. “Are you going to come ride with me?”

“You know I can’t say no to that.” My mother smirked and began to saddle up her horse. We went around the trail on our property. We didn’t talk, we just enjoyed each other’s company. Things were so simple with my mother. She was easy to talk to, she gave me space when I needed it. Things could not be more different with my father. He was distant and awkward. I could feel him trying but I could also see him just give up. That was the hardest part.

“I think it’s time we head inside. I’m getting hungry.” My mother said. “Plus, it’s getting a little late.” She was right, but when she said it my stomach fell in knots.

I turned Sunny around and then we began to head back to the barn. That’s when all hell started to break loose. My father came out on the front porch and started to yell for us to hurry. My mother and I rode straight past the barn and rode up to the house. She busted through the door and I followed closely behind her.

The only sound you could hear was the sound of the television. Nuclear war. Images of explosions ran across the screen and panic started to seep into my skin. Everything started to go numb. I could not move. I see out of the corner of my eye my father smashing bottles against the wall and at the television. My mother sunk down against the wall sobbing. The world was ending. It was really happening.
“We have to d-do something. We have to go somewhere.” My mother croaked.

“Rachel where the hell are we going to go? There’s nowhere we can go.” He yelled. “We are going to die. Get that in your head.”

That’s when I snapped out of it. “She is trying to help! Don’t you dare talk to her that way.”

“There’s only one way out of this.” My father said as he walked into another room. Then, we heard it. The faint sound of an explosion in the distance. My mom started to freak out even more.

“Mom, we are going to be okay.” I lied. I knew we were not. “We need to go into the basement and we need to get all the food we can.

My dad came bursting into the room with a gun in his hand. “There is only one way out of this.”

“What the hell, dad?” I said.

“I’m not going to let this war kill me. I’m going out on my own.” He said. My father and mother started arguing and I went outside. In the distance, I could see a smoke cloud. I tried to calculate the distance that would be in my head, but I could not think straight.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a black SUV drove up to our house. I was too confused to move. My parents came outside when they heard it too.

“Is this the Hanson residence?” A man in a black suit said.

“Yes, who is asking?” My father demanded, the gun still fully loaded in his hand.

“My name is Mike and we are here for your daughter.” He said. Three other people got out of the car.

I looked at my father and mother confused. Turning back to them, I noticed they had weapons of their own. “What do you mean?”

“Mr. Genesis had us seek you out. He finds your talents to be very useful to help and wishes to grant you sanctuary in a bunker. It will keep you safe.” He explained.

I struggled to comprehend what was happening. “Who is…”

“There is no way in hell my daughter is going with you.” My father yelled.

Everything that happened next happened in slow motion. One of the men stepped towards my dad to knock the gun out of his hand. I was suddenly lifted off the ground and pushed into the car. I see my parents on the doorstep sobbing as we drive away. I turn around and watch them as the get smaller in the distance. Before they are completely out of distance, I heard two gunshots and then see them both fall to the ground. I began to scream and try to throw myself out of the car, but the men beside me were too strong. The last thing I felt was the feeling of the dirt turning to the pavement as we turned on the road. Then everything turned to darkness.
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Ryland

Rounds at the hospital were a bit crazy. It felt like there were a million people in the cancer center. I looked at my chart to see which patient I needed to see next. Wilma Bradshaw. The most lovely patient. Ms. Wilma was pretty kooky, but that’s one of the things that made her so lovely.

I knocked on the door twice and after the all-clear, I pushed the cart into her room. “How are we doing today, Ms. Wilma?”

“Well, I still have cancer. However, the sky is just so pretty today, so I guess I will keep fighting on.” She smiled as she drank her tea.

I poured out her medicine into a container. “Well, I’m happy you are choosing to fight. My rounds would not be as enjoyable without you.”

“Oh dear, you better stop flirting with me. You are going to make my husband jealous.” She said, gesturing towards her sleeping husband. “I won’t tell if you won’t.” She winked.

“I won’t tell a soul.” I told her, washing my hands. “I will be back shortly to check on you. I will be sure to sneak in an extra dessert for you if I can.”

Her smile seemed to fade a little. “I don’t think today is an extra dessert kind of day.”

“Everyday should be an extra dessert day.” I tried to get her to look back at me, but she kept staring out the window.

Her gaze was transfixed on the skyline. “Today is going to be no day to celebrate.” She pointed out the window and there was a faint mushroom cloud on the horizon. Right when my eyes focused on it, sirens started to go off. Ms.Wilma grabbed the remote and flipped to the news channel. The news anchor tried to keep his composure and she talked about more bombs headed straight towards us.

My mind was snapped back into reality when I realized Ms.Wilma started to unhook herself from the machine. “Stop! What are you doing?” I asked, trying to get her hooked backup.

“Honey, It’s no use. We are all about to die. I need to go outside one more time before another bomb hits.” She told me, with tears in her eyes. “Goodbye, honey. Get out of here. Maybe you can get somewhere safe.”

I looked out the window and I saw chaos on the streets below. Even if I wanted to go somewhere, there was no chance of getting anywhere in this traffic. I took a deep breath and walked over to her. “I’m going to help you get outside.”
I scooped her up and I made my way to the stairs after I saw the line to the elevator. There were only two floors to get to the roof, but it felt like an eternity because of all the people fighting to get downstairs.

When we finally made it up there, I was out of breath. I set her down on one of the benches and took a second. The sound of car horns and shouting was deafening. Ms. Wilma remained calm as she took her first real breath of fresh air she has had in years. She closed her eyes as she felt the sun beaming down against her skin. I sat down with her and I tried to be as calm as her.

“I’m sorry this is happening to you. You had so much life left to live. I could tell it was going to be a great one.” She said pinching my cheek.

“I’m sorry you had to live your last moments in this hospital. I’m sorry we could not heal you.” I told her honestly. It was hard to think of the hundreds of people that were in the floors under us, scared and confused about what was going on.

She grabbed my hand. “I know you would if you could. I knew I was going to die soon anyway. All we can do now is just wait.”

I was prepared to stay there and wait with her. We would have talked about memories and her grandchildren. I accepted the fact that the world was ending. My thoughts were interrupted when a helicopter attempted to land on the roof. I moved Ms. Wilma out of the way so we were not crushed. The wind created by the helicopter. forced me to help Ms. Wilma stand upright. Two men in suits got out of the Helicopter. “Ryland Jamison?” one of them said.

“That’s me.”

“We are here to take you to an underground bunker for safety. If we leave right now, we will make it before another bomb hits.” He said. He rattled on about someone named Mr. Genesis and how I was important to the future of the world.

“No, I’m not going.” I said. It all sounded like a scam.

“No, honey you have to go.” Ms. Wilma said to me.

I looked at her. “This can’t be real. They're probably going to kill me.”

“You're going to die anyway. At least you have a chance at survival. Go, and go quickly.” She said with tears in her eyes.

Before I could even rationalize my thoughts, I was scooped up onto the helicopter. As we looked higher in the air, I looked down and saw Ms. Wilma waving at me. With tears in my eyes, I tried to imagine what life would be like now. Nothing could have prepared me for this moment.
We were in the air for about 10 minutes when another bomb went off. I felt my head pound against the ceiling and I was out.

-----

I woke up to the faint feeling of something cold and wet against my forehead. As I opened my eyes, a woman slowly came into focus. She was dabbing a wet rag against my forehead. I panicked, not knowing what was going on and tried to sit up. However, she gently pushed me back down. “Be careful, you have a concussion.” She told me. “Just lay down.”

“What’s going on?” I asked her. She got up off the bed and got me some water.

She handed it to me and sighed. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you're in a bunker. Bombs went off everywhere and we were taken here to be safe.” She said, attempting to hold back emotion to spare me and maybe spare herself.

I started to vaguely remember what had happened before I blacked out. “So it was true. Where are we?” I asked, still trying to process it.

“I know just as much as you. I got here around five hours ago and they asked me to come and help you. I don’t know anything really.” She explained. It was a little comforting to know that someone was experiencing what I was, but upsetting not getting any details. “I’m Lilah, by the way.” She said.

“Ryland.” I told her. I felt in my heart that this was the beginning after the end.

Jonas

"Jonas!" Mom called from her spot at the round kitchen table. "Did you already put your tip money from last night in the jar?"

I hobbled over to the kitchen, trying desperately to walk and tie my converse at the same time. "Yeah, why?"

Splayed out on the table were this month's bills. A crease appeared between my mom's brows as she glanced between the water bill in her hand and the calendar marking our paydays. "I thought we might be able to pay this one on time, but it seems the patrons of Texas Roadhouse don't want that. We're still fifty-eight bucks short even after I added both of our tips from the weekend."

"Damn." I dug around in my jean pockets as if the fifty-eight dollars we needed would magically appear. I knew it wouldn't, but I couldn't help feeling disappointed when my hands came out empty. "I'm sorry, Mom. I have to go, I'm already late for my shift and they'll cut my hours if I'm late again. Tomorrow I have a little over an hour between shifts, I'll try to swing by Biolife. Matt told me they give fifty dollars each time you donate plasma."

She sighed, massaging her temples, then opened her mouth to speak. Before she could get a word out, both of our phones buzzed violently. I swore under my breath, thinking it was my manager calling to see if I was on my way, and ran into my bedroom to find my work shirt.

"If it's Kevin, tell him I'll be there in ten!" I shouted as I tugged on the unwashed shirt.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream came from the living room. I sprinted down the hall fully expecting to see my mom curled up in agony from a heart-attack or some other medical emergency, but instead she was standing in front of the tv, frozen still. Her knuckles were white from her grip on her cellphone. When she saw me, she burst into tears.

"C-call your brother right now!" She said between sobs. "He-he won't answer me. Oh, god. What are we going to do?"

I fumbled in my pocket for my phone and dialed Jalen's number. "Mom? What's going on?" I held the phone to my ear as I joined her in front of the television. The image of the iconic mushroom cloud over New York lit up the screen.

"They're bombing us," Mom said. Her voice hoarse from the scream. "T-ten minutes. That's what they said, w-we have ten minutes."

Jalen's voicemail picked up and the phone slipped from my numb fingers. "Jalen's in Philadelphia." The words left my lips as a whisper as I remembered how short the drive was from his apartment to New York City. My mom frantically pulled me close, her arms shaking as she hugged me.

"We're gonna be okay," she mumbled over and over in my ear. Her tears soaked my hair. "We're gonna be okay, we're--"

Her mantra was cut off as three men in suits burst through our front door.

"If you want to live you need to come with us." One of them said, calmly. "You have five seconds to make that decision."

"Yes!" Mom cried. "Yes, of course we do."

"Come." The man spoke again, turning sharply on his heel and leading us towards a black SUV.

I struggled to wrap my mind around what was happening. "Wha... who are you? Where are we going?"

"Mr. Genesis has a sanctuary. He's kind enough to let in strangers at a price."

My mom stopped in her tracks and tears filled her eyes again. "A price? We don't have any money. We couldn't--"

The man opened the door to the SUV and ushered us inside. "Mr. Genesis is willing to accept payment in the form of service."

"What kind of service?" I asked as the sketchiest situations raced through my mind.

"All kinds." The man answered. He stepped on the gas pedal and drove straight through the cornfield surrounding our tiny house. It sounded as if the car was being shot at as ears of corn smacked into the hood of the car. "The sanctuary needs people to keep it clean, to provide its residents with food and maintenance. As long as you are willing to provide that kind of labor, Mr. Genesis is willing to provide you a safe space."

"Yes, yes, of course we are," Mom gripped my arm. "B-but I have another son--Jalen-- he's in Philly, is there any way--"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. There's no time."

The answer hit me in the stomach like a baseball bat. I hadn't talked to Jalen in a couple of weeks but I couldn't process the fact that we might survive while he doesn't.

"Oh, god!" Mom hunched over sobbing. "Oh, Jonas, I-I don't think we can go... We-we can't leave him!"

"In all likelihood, Ma'am, your son didn't survive the New York blast from that distance." The driver said, swerving out of the cornfield and around civilians flooding the streets in panic. "You must now decide on what is best for the son sitting next to you."

Mom cupped my face in her hands and stroked my cheeks with her thumbs. Blood vessels had popped in her eyes from the severity of her earlier sobs. "I love you," she said as tears leaked down her face. "I love you more than you can imagine but I don't think I can go with you."

"What? Mom--" The car stopped suddenly, jerking us around in the backseat.

"We're here." The man said, opening the car door.

I grabbed my mom's hands. I hadn't felt the urge to cry until that moment. "Mom, you can't leave me!"

"Go!" She cried as the man in the suit reached out for my hand. "Go, Jonas! Please!"

All of the words I wanted to yell, beg, and scream got tangled in my throat. As if on autopilot, my body got out of the car.

"MOM!" I screamed until my voice gave out. With one arm, I reached out for my mother who was also getting out of the car but began walking the opposite way. My other arm was being held by the man in the suit. "MOM!"

Adrenaline and pain overrode my system. My knees gave out, my head smacked hard against the dirt ground, and the last thing I remembered was the look of agony on my mother's face as she looked over her shoulder at me and mouthed "Goodbye".


*****



Kit


I was in the middle of a nap when my dad burst into my room declaring it was the day the world would end. To me, it wasn't any different than any other Tuesday.

"Please leave me alone," I grumbled, rolling over in my bed. "Can't you see I'm sleeping?"

"I mean it, Kit, I mean it!" Dad frantically paced around in circles while waving highlighted portions of various newspapers in the air. "The summit meeting in Russia, the rumors about the president, it's all falling apart and no one is seeing it!" He cried. "North Korea's been testing their nuclear program, the climate is fifteen degrees hotter than it was last decade!" He ripped the blankets off and yanked me from my bed.

"Fuck, Dad! Stop it!" Before I could rub the sleep from my eyes, he thrust the newspapers in my hands.

"Look, Kit, look! It's all right there!" I could see the sweat beading on his receding hair line. With the way he was rambling and his wiry frame, he looked like a mouse to me. An alert chimed on his watch and he froze for just a moment. "The summit meeting just begun." He whispered. "That's it, we're going to the bunker!" He grabbed several pens from off my desk and shoved them into the pocket of his button up shirt. "If you're not there in three minutes, I'm having Ms. Klein come get you!" He yelled as he scurried off down the hallway.

I groaned and stretched out my back. It wasn't the first time we'd spent the day in the bunker. At that point, the bunker had become a second home to us. The only reason we ever spent time above ground was because I refused to spend more than two days a week in the bunker.

After putting on my favorite baseball hat to shield my waking eyes from the bright sunshine, I reached under my bed until I found the small wooden box I was looking for. I tucked it into the pocket of my battered sweatshirt then also took the comforter from my bed and wrapped myself in it.

"KIIIIIITTTTT!" My dad's voice carried upstairs.

"I'M COMING!" I yelled back. "Fuck."

The bunker was only half a mile from our house into the countless acres of midwestern land my dad owned, then a three minute elevator ride down into the earth. As soon as I got to the suite I called my second bedroom, I locked the door behind me and pulled out the wooden box. Inside were ten neatly wrapped blunts, bag of powder, six Mollys, a prescription bottle of Adderall, a lighter, and a bent seven of diamonds card.

"Kit!" My dad pounded on the door as I plucked a particularly fat blunt from the box and held it between my lips. "Kit, are you in there!"

"Yes," I said, flicking the zippo lighter open. "The world can end now, we're all safe." I mumbled under my breath as I brought the flame to the end of the blunt.

Just as I finished smoking, the sound of voices floated into my room and footsteps pounded overhead. I could distinguish Ms. Klein's shrill voice from the mix, but the others were strangers. I tucked my box of goodies beneath the bed then unlocked the door to see what was going on.

"What the fuck is this?" I asked as Ms. Klein and a group of eight or so randoms headed up the hall towards my suite.

"It's happened." Ms. Klein said sternly. Her white hair was pulled into a bun so tight I wondered if it was giving her a migraine. "Your father was right. They've dropped the bombs." She sniffed the air then scrunched up her face. "Have you been smoking in here?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "What do you mean he was right?" I studied the group of randoms in the hallway. They all clutched at each other, whispering and clearly frightened.

"There's no time to explain, you must stay in your room until all residents are accounted for." Ms. Klein ushered me back into the room then closed the door before I could say another word.

I rubbed my temples and sat down on my bed, sure I was imagining the whole thing and it was a hallucination from the drugs, but a part of me knew it wasn't. I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over my head. Maybe it was just a bad dream.

Lilah

I dusted the black charcoal off of my hands and admired my latest creation. The only thing that was keeping me sane was drawing on my walls. I would recreate the still images in my head of the time above ground so I could see them. The field that was once my home was now apart of my new home. The dim light of the flickering candle made it look as though the grass was blowing in the wind. I closed my eyes and imagined that sunlight was hitting my skin.

My thoughts were interrupted with a knock on my already opened door. I turned around to see Ryland walking through the door with paper in hand. “I see you did not get your letter.” He said, bending down to pick another paper off of the ground. He walked over and handed it to me.

I scanned the words on the page and saw that it was an invitation to a mixer tonight. “Join us tonight as we all join together.” I read out loud. “Do you really think they mean all of us?” I asked him.

“I think so. I guess they wanted to do something special to mark one year.” He said. “I can’t believe it’s been one year.” He joined me on the floor at this point.

I looked at the invitation again. “Why do you think they are giving us the opportunity to interact now after all this time? It’s not like they have ever pushed that before.” I asked him.

“You conspiracy theory gene is showing again.” He joked. “Give it a chance, maybe they are just trying to lighten the mood.”

I looked at him and rolled my eyes. “I don’t think anything they do is just a coincidence.” I look around my room and looked at my walls again. “I miss the sun.” I told him. “I miss them.” I stared at the drawing of my parents.

He looked at them too. “I know. I miss my old life too. Maybe today could be the day where we can start really moving on. Maybe today will be good for all of us.” He said getting up. “Come on, get dressed. This thing starts in twenty minutes.”

--

Ryland, Drew and I walked into the room and there were so many people that we did not know. “I really did not think there were that many people in the bunker.” Drew said. Drew use to be a brain surgeon. He was also a complete ass. However, he latched on to Ryland and me. He then spotted the drinks laid out of the table and went over to them. He brought them back for us. “Now this might actually be fun.” He said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone by the fireplace. They were grabbing the remaining charcoal left behind before he blew on it to help the flames grow. I walked over to him.
“Um, hi.” I said. “I’m Lilah.” I went to shake his hand.

Before he expended his arm, he wiped off his hand on his pants. “Jonas.” He said.

“What are you going to do with that charcoal?” I asked him. The question caught him off guard and he looked nervous. I picked up on his nervous energy and quickly tried to redirect my question. “I was just asking if you were going to leave it in my room. Someone has been leaving the charcoal in my room for months now and I just wanted to thank you if it was you.” I said smiling. You have really helped me get through this year.”

Jonas

"You really helped me get through this year." Lilah smiled and I could feel the burn in my cheeks. I hoped she couldn't see it.

"Yeah, I uh--" I cleared my throat nervously. "I liked your drawings. They look just like how I remember the outside to be and I was hoping if you had the materials, you'd draw more. And you did." I held out the charcoal. "I guess I can just give it to you now that you've caught me."

She pocketed it then grabbed a champagne glass off a side table nearby and offered it to me.

"Oh, no thanks." I said sheepishly. "I don't drink."

She smiled again and my stomach did flips. "No worries." She took a sip of champagne then closed her eyes to savor it. "Wow. It's not like I was a big drinker before, but I haven't had any alcohol since we got here. It's nice on occasion." She gestured towards a velvet couch in the corner of the room. "Let's sit."

I followed her and tried to contain my nervous energy as I sat down but my leg bounced anyway.

"So," she said. "Do you have any requests?"

"Requests?"

"Yeah, for a drawing. I figure I kinda owe you one since I wouldn't be able to draw at all without you."

My previously racing mind suddenly went blank. "Oh, uh... I'll have to think about it."

A tall curly haired guy plopped down on the couch on the other side of Lilah. "Who's this?" He asked.

"Jonas." Lilah said. "He's the one who's been leaving the charcoal in my room."

The guy extended his hand. "Ryland. Nice to meet you."

As I shook his hand, a tinging noise rose above the chatter and we looked around to see Ms. Klein standing on top of the stairs. She kept tapping her fork against her glass until the room fell silent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as you all know it is out of the graciousness of Mr. Genesis's heart that tonight's mixer can take place. He has noticed a somewhat of a somber mood has taken over our sanctuary in recent weeks and wanted to remind everyone of the joys life has to offer." She held out her glass and everyone raised theirs in a toast. "To forging new friendships during the darkest of times. May they be the light at the end of this tunnel."

Just as Ms. Klein was finishing her speech, a girl came stumbling into the room, knocking over a platter of champagne glasses and cursing under her breath.

"Please," Ms. Klein said louder, trying to distract from the obviously drunk girl. "Enjoy your night." Classical music resumed playing at a notably louder volume than it had before.

"Who do you think that is?" Ryland asked. We all watched as she held her middle finger high towards Ms. Klein and struggled to find a place to sit. "Should we help her?"

"She doesn't seem like the type to want help." I said.

Lilah handed her glass off to Ryland. "Finish this for me, please. I think if I continue drinking I might end up like her." She stood up. "I feel like dancing. Do you want to join?"

"Oh, I don't really dance." Ryland said, beating me to the excuse.

"Yeah, I don't--" I mumbled.

Lilah stuck out her bottom lip. "Oh, come on! It's not anything fancy. When are we going to get the chance to do this again?"

Ryland and I exchanged glances.

"Okay." I said finally.

"Ryland?" Lilah asked hopefully.

He shrugged. "I might join later."

Lilah huffed but hugged him goodbye and lead me towards the other people who were dancing.

"I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to this," I said as I followed behind her.

"I don't either!" She laughed.

Ryland

I sipped on the champagne and watched Lilah and Jonas dance. I laughed to myself as I watched them. I could not help to think of Lilah as family. She was one of the only people in the bunker that I got along with and really understood. I finished her champagne and set the glass down on the coffee table in front of me.

Drew sat down on the other end of the couch and took a big swig of champagne. “This is like my fifth one.” He bragged as he finished the rest.

I tried not to roll my eyes. “Congrats.”

“You see that girl over there?” He asked, gesturing to the girl who broke a tray of champagne glasses. “I think I’m in love with her.”

At that point, I could not stop my eyes from rolling to the back of my head. “Oh, yeah? Why?”

“I mean look at her. She’s hot.” He said. “I mean that only hot girl in second class is Lilah and she hates me.”

I nodded, she definitely did. “Yeah, she is a pretty good judge of character, Drew.”

Before he got a chance to speak again, the girl came over and sat in between us. They started talking and I felt out of place. I was about to get up and go dance with Lilah and Jonas until I noticed that the girl was bleeding on her shoulder. It looked liked she got cut on the glass. I don’t know how she did not feel it.

“Um, ma’am. You are bleeding.” I told her.

She looked down at her shoulder. “Ah, shit.”

“I can help you.” I told her.

It took a little bit of convincing for her to let me help her, but she finally came with me to the bathroom. I got some first aid supplies from a cabinet in the common room. I cleaned her wound. I did not even get a chance to ask for her name because she was cursing and squirming so much. She was very confusing and went from yelling at me to flirting and back to yelling again.

“I think you will need stitches,” I told her.

“Oh, hell no.” She said.

I sighed and tried to reason with her. “If I don’t stitch you up, your wound is going to get infected.”

At this point, Lilah walked in. “Do you need some help?” She asked me. I guess she could help this girl yelling from the bathroom.

The girl I was helping suddenly starting flirting with Lilah. Lilah looked back at me and laughed. “You have fun with this one, Ryland.” She said before running out the door.

Kit

I tried to get a look at the deep cut on my shoulder but the alcohol had numbed most of the pain. “Ah, shit.”

“I can help you.” The curly haired boy said.

"I don't need help." I said sharply, as I tried to use my shirt to stop the bleeding. The cut was near my back though which made it difficult to reach. "God damn it." I whispered, wriggling around trying to find the right angle to reach the cut.

"Come on," the boy said again as he stood up. He offered his hand. "Follow me, I know where the first aid kit is."

"So do I, genius." I spat before I thought about the words I was saying. I gave up on trying to reach the cut and as I slowly started to get less drunk the wound became more and more painful. I studied his eager to help face and his large outstretched hand. "Fine." I said finally, standing up. "But I'm not holding your hand."

I followed the boy into the bathroom and sat on the counter.

"I think it'd be easier if you took your shirt off." He said, bringing in the first aid kit.

"I'll take off mine if you take off yours." I pulled mine off after some difficulty from my shoulder then reached for the hem of his.

"Hey!" He jumped back. "Stop. Do you want my help or not?"

I rolled my eyes. "Well, now I'm thinking not." I told him but let him hold a wad of gauze to my wound. He pressed on it and I jerked away. "Fuck! You could be a little gentler."

"Pressure makes it stop bleeding." He said, focusing solely on my shoulder. It was the first time I was half-naked in front of someone and they weren't looking at me like a snack. A part of me felt offended. I got a strong urge to take off my bra just to see if he'd look somewhere other than my wound but before I could act on it, he spoke again. "I think you will need stitches."

“Oh, hell no.” I grabbed my shirt out of the sink and tried to jump off the counter but the boy stepped in front of me, blocking me.

“If I don’t stitch you up, your wound is going to get infected.”

Suddenly, the door swung open and a girl poked her head in. “Do you need some help?”

"Yeah, babe, why don't you go grab me a drink." I told her. "While you're at it, grab yourself one too and maybe we can turn this into a fun three-way."

The girl laughed. “You have fun with this one, Ryland.” She said before closing the door.

"You think that means she's not getting me that drink? Or she's just not into it?" I asked.

He blinked twice. I watched with satisfaction as his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You're into that?" He asked.

I smirked. "Don't act like you're not, doctor boy. So are you gonna stitch me up or just keep standing there with your mouth open like a dumbfounded idiot."

He ran a hand through his hair. "You're really confusing."

"Good."

He rummaged through the first aid kit then sighed. "There aren't any supplies for stitches in here. You might have to go to Ms. Klein."

"I wouldn't go to that bitch if my whole body needed stitches and she was the only person left in this goddamn bunker." I hopped off the counter. "If all you need is a needle and thread, then wait here." He nodded and I walked out the door towards my suite.

After a few minutes, I returned with the supplies and two glasses of champagne.

"Oh, I don't need another drink." He said when I walked into the bathroom.

"I wasn't offering you one." I said, handing him the needle and thread instead. "Here. Make it quick."

"How did you get these?" He asked as he started to thread the needle.

"I stole them."

A small smile crept across his face. "Why am I not surprised?"

Lilah

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, the party did lift my spirits. It was nice to loosen up and not take life too seriously. It was hard not to do that locked down under the earth. I walked back to my room and felt a burst of creativity. I needed to sketch. I took the invitation off of my dresser and walked next door to Ryland’s room and knocked on the door. He yelled for me to come in, so I opened the door.

“Hey, can I have your paper?” I asked, showing him my invitation.

He nodded and gestured over to his side table. I walked over and picked it up. “Are you going to the library?” He asked.

“Yeah, I think so. There is usually good light in there.” I told him.

He nodded and laid back in his bed. “I don’t think I am going to join you tonight. I’m going to try and get some sleep.”

“I hope you get to rest tonight.” I walked over to the door. “Hey, did you stitch up that girl?”

He laughed and rolled over in bed. “Yeah, it took a while though.”

“You know, she is the first girl to ever hit on me. I feel a little proud of that. She seemed to like you too.” I joked.

He blew out the candle and laid down. “Goodnight, Lilah.”

“Night,” I said, chuckling. I walked out of his room and closed the door. I walked out of the room and down the hall. It always baffled me how big the bunker was. I was thankful that there was a library. Even though I have read most of the books now, I still enjoyed being in there. I opened the doors to the library and walked in. There were a few candles unlit so I grabbed the hidden stash of matches under behind one of the bookcases. As I was about to sit down, Jonas walked into the door. His clothes were changed to an all grey ensemble.

“Sorry. No one is usually in here this late at night.” He said, carrying a broom.

I smiled as he walked in. “No, please don’t be sorry.” I said. “Do you have to clean this late at night?” I asked him, laying out my papers.

“Yes, they don’t really like for us to get into the way.” He said.

I sighed and looked down. “I’m sorry. That’s really stupid.”

“I guess it’s not that bad. At least I’m alive.” He said beginning to sweep. “What are you working on?” He asked, gesturing to my paper.

I looked at him. “I don’t know yet.” I told him. “I haven’t had a piece of paper in a while. I want to make sure I do something good with it.”

“Have you always been able to draw?”

I nodded and began to sketch. “Yeah. I have a photographic memory. For a while, I drove myself crazy because images were burned into my mind. Drawing was the way I was able to deal with it.” I told him.

“So it that why you were brought here because you were incredibly smart?” He asked.

I sighed and thought for a second. “Kind of. My parents were farmers, so I know how to help sustain land and grow things. That’s part of it. The other part of it is that I studied science in college. Because I have a photographic memory, they think that I will be able to help a lot when we are able to go above ground.” I told him. I shifted the conversation, not wanting to talk about myself anymore. “So, where are you from?”

“New York.” He told me as he dusted off the bookshelves.

I got up and started dusting with him. He looked at me like I was crazy. “What are you doing?”

“If I help you clean maybe you can just sit and talk to me for a while.” I suggested. I could tell he was about to object, but I quickly spoke again. “Look I’m not going to take no for an answer, okay?”

Jonas

"Okay," I chuckled. The library was a fairly small room compared to the common room and Lilah was a surprisingly quick helper, so we finished much earlier than I expected to.

"Let's sit here," Lilah said, taking a seat in one of the leather chairs in the corner. "Trust me, I've tried out every chair in here and these are the best." She put the piece of paper on the side table and took out a piece of charcoal. I could see she was itching to draw something but I also sensed hesitation at the fact that she now had paper to do it on.

"I've been thinking about what I wanted a picture of," I said carefully, still unsure whether her offer at the party was a serious one or not. "If, you know, still want to draw me something."

She smiled. "Of course. What is it?"

"My family." I said. My leg began bouncing again without my permission. "I know you've never met them so you don't know what they look like, but I thought maybe if I described them you could try? If it's too much to ask--"

"It's not." She reassured me. "It might not turn out perfect, but I can try."

"Okay. You don't have to waste your paper on it. There's a spot of wall by my bunk that would be a nice spot."

"No, you're gonna have the paper." She said, flattening it out on the table. "That way, you can keep it with you like a real picture. Besides, Ryland gave me his invite so it's not the only piece of paper I have."

Heat flushed my face. The idea of having an actual picture, one I could keep in my pocket or under my pillow, was overwhelming. Let alone, that it would be the first time in over a year that I would get to see my mother and Jalen's faces outside of my memories.

"So," Lilah said as she positioned herself over the paper. "Start by telling me who I'm drawing and what shape faces they had."

"My mom and my brother, Jalen." I said. It suddenly struck me that it was the first time I'd said their names out loud since I arrived at the bunker. An overbearing sense of sadness tried to take over but I wouldn't let it.

"Head shapes? I don't know... they had regular ones?"

Lilah stood up fast. "Okay, wait here." She scurried over to the shelves and browsed the titles before picking out one and bringing it back over to where we were sitting. "I don't think anyone's going to mind if we scribble on Moby Dick. It's not that good of a book anyway." She flipped it open to a random page and drew a variety of slightly different shaped circles. "So now I'll ask you again. What shape faces did they have?"

I studied the ovals and circles then compared them with the images of Jalen and my mom in my head. After a minute of thinking, I pointed out the closest ones.

"Now, eye shapes." Lilah said after drawing my chosen ovals onto the paper.

We went on like this for a while: Lilah drawing different shaped facial structures onto pages of Moby Dick then me picking out the ones with the most likeness. When I had picked out all the features, she proped Moby Dick up on the table like a barrier so I couldn't see the paper.

"No looking anymore until I'm done. I just have to do the shading now," she said before adding, "and no talking or I'll get distracted."

I obeyed her rules and watched in amusement as her face crinkled with concentration as she continued sketching. The only noise in the room was my heel bouncing against the carpet and the sound of her fingers smudging charcoal into the paper.

It didn't take her long to finish and soon she was holding the paper behind her back, beaming at her accomplishment. "Are you ready?"

I nodded though I wasn't entirely sure I was ready for the emotions that would likely follow the reveal. Lilah handed over the paper and I could feel her watching me as I studied the portrait.

A lump sat hard and unmoving in my throat. The drawing was far better than I had anticipated. She was able to capture their complexities and the essence of them both all with just a piece of charcoal I'd pulled from the fire.

"You added me." I said, struggling to keep my voice even as I gingerly ran my finger over the portrait of the three of us. "Lilah... I don't even know what to say...thank you."

Her smile got even bigger and she clasped her hands together in excitement. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

"It's perfect." I couldn't take my eyes off the paper. It was if she had plucked their faces right out of my memories. My hands began to shake from all the emotion.

Suddenly, the library door burst open and an angry Ms. Klein stormed into the room. "Jonas Longmire!" She shouted, looking around the shelves.

"Shit!" I whispered, tucking the paper into my pocket and jumping up to grab the duster I'd left on the floor. I peeked out from around a desk to meet her. "Yes, Ms. Klein. I'm here, sorry."

She pursed her lips and looked me over. "You were supposed to have moved onto the common room by now." She looked at the silver watch on her wrist. "It shouldn't take you nearly an hour and a half to clean the library. That's unacceptable."

"I understand." I said, looking at her large forehead because I couldn't meet her beady eyes. "I'll go right now."

Ms. Klein looked at me disapprovingly then turned on her heel and walked back out the door.

"Is she gone?" Lilah asked, appearing from behind a bookshelf. "She's so uptight!"

I smiled and nodded in agreement. "I really have to go but I can't thank you enough for the drawing. I think it's my most prized possession now. I have free time from noon until four tomorrow. Could I see you sometime then?"

"I might be able to arrange it." She grinned. "Now go, before she comes back!"

I waved goodbye then ran off down the hallway towards the common room, all while thinking about how amazed I was by Lilah's talent and the cute way her face crinkled while she drew.

Ryland

I was walking to the common room when I saw Lilah practically skipping down the hallway. She saw me and started to rush into her room. I was able to get in front of her and block the door. “Um, excuse me. Were you just trying to dodge me?” I asked smirking.

Her cheeks burned red and she did not meet my eyes. “I would never try to dodge you.” She said smiling at the floor.

I wondered in my head if it had anything to do with the guy she met yesterday, but I decided to try and spare her. I knew that I would get her to talk later. “Well, whatever has you this happy, it’s good to see you smile.”

She gave me a hug and headed into her room. Before she closed the door, she poked her head out the door. “Thank you.” She whispered.

I began to walk to the common room, but something caught my eye. Well, someone. I saw the girl from last night stumbling around. She started to walk up some stairs, but then fell down.

“Dammit.” She exclaimed and I rushed over to her.

“Are you okay?”I asked, getting down on her level.

She smirked and looked at me. “Ohh, hey doctor boy. Do you need me to take my shirt off again?” She began to pull it off but I put my hand on her arm.

“That won’t be necessary.” I said. “Didn’t you hurt your leg?”

“Oh, so you want my pants off?” She said seductively. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”

I got up and stood back. “Ma’am, I was just trying to check on you. Clearly that was a mistake.” I told her as I turned around.

“Look, I’m not helpless. Nobody needs you.” She yelled aggressively. “Gosh, who do you think you are?”

I turned to her and sighed. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way, but all I was trying to do was make sure you were okay.” I told her. “I don’t know who hurt you, but I’m sorry they did.” Right as I said it, I regretted it.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” She asked.

“You can’t accept the fact that people may just want to help you. It just makes me think that someone really hurt you. Plus, you keep making sexual advances at me and you don’t even know me. You are worth something and you are beautiful. That makes me think that someone has not appreciated you for that.” I told her. “Look, I’m sorry I said anything. I just think you need to know your worth.”

Kit

Know my worth? Who did he think he is, a psychologist? For some reason though, I failed to articulate any witty response and walked away instead. As I headed back down the hallway to my suite, his words kept replaying in my mind despite my efforts to ignore them.

In search of something to clear my head of mine and Ryland's recent encounter, I headed towards the large stock room. It was kept securely locked with an intricate password, but over the course of the year we'd been stuck in this tin can, I'd been able to memorize it from watching Ms. Klein.

I stood in front of the metal door and confidently punched the code into the screen beside it. I wasn't concerned when the error message flashed the first time I entered it. With so many numbers and symbols, it usually took me two or three times to get it right, but when the message still appeared after the fifth time, I knew they'd changed it. '

"ERRRRGGG!" I cried out in annoyance. Ms. Klein would never tell me the password and I didn't want to wait around trying to watch her enter it. If I really wanted to get into the stock room, I'd have to go to the man himself.

It'd been two months since I saw or talked to my father. He spent his days cooped up in his suite too paranoid to show his face. Two months ago, Ms. Klein marched me to his suite demanding he punish me for whatever trick I'd pulled on her back then. This time would be the first time going to see him by myself. Voluntarily.

His suite was at the end of the hallway and required an eye scan for access. As the light passed over my pupil, I wondered who else he'd programmed access for besides myself and Ms. Klein.

"What is it, darling? I'm very busy." My dad said as I walked into his suite. He was hunched over, his wire glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose as he typed frantically into his computer. I was fairly certain that it was the only computer in the whole bunker.

"The stock room password has changed."

"Yes, it has." He didn't look up as he spoke. "And for good reason. I've turned a blind eye to your theft for too long."

I scoffed. "I would hardly call snagging a beer theft. What am I supposed to do? Wait around for Friday treats like the fucking help?"

He rubbed his temples, pausing just a moment to sigh, then returned to his typing. "I can't talk about this with you, Kitty. Please just wait for the ration distribution like everyone else."

Anger started to boil up inside me. "But I'm not like everyone else, Dad! This is our bunker, our food and supplies! I should be able to have a god damn beer when I want!"

"Klein!"

That wretched woman appeared in the doorway. "Yes?"

"Please see Kitty to her room. I don't have time for this."

Ms. Klein took two steps towards me but I headed for the door on my own. "Don't bother," I spat, my hands clenched in fists at my side. "I can walk by myself."

The heavy metal door closed behind me. The anger had made me forget Ryland's speech. Now I wanted a beer because they told me I couldn't have one. I marched back towards the stock room and started punching in random series of numbers and symbols. I was determined to get my beer.

Lilah

The next morning, I arose from my bed with a mission in mind. I charged over to Ryland’s room and knocked on the door. He yelled sleepily to come in and I opened the door. He was laying in his bed still.

“Are you okay? You are usually up by now.” I asked him, getting concerned.

He sighed and sat up. “Yeah, I just didn’t sleep very well last night.” He told me honestly. “Anyway, what’s up? You seem determined.”

I smiled and stepped up on his bed. “Today, I am going to draw on the ceiling.” He looked disappointed by my revelation. “What? I’m pretty excited about it.”

He sighed and laid back in bed. “I thought you were going to tell me that all of this was a dream and that we were going to go home.” He told me. I began to feel concerned. Out of the two of us, Ryland was always the one to lift spirits and be positive.

“Okay, what’s wrong with you? You are being a Debbie downer.” I told him.

He simply told me that he did not want to talk about it and we moved on from the subject. I would be determined to get it out of him later.

He helped me bring in his dresser and we managed to stack it on mine. We also borrowed one from another person in our hall. He helped me climb up on the stack, very carefully. I laid down and looked up at the ceiling. I was in perfect distance so I could draw on the ceiling and lay on my back.

“What’s the plan today, Michangelo?” He asked staring up at me.

I smiled and looked down at him. “God bless you for knowing who Michangelo is. You know I’m not going to tell you.”

“It was worth a shot.” He said. “Okay, I will check in tonight. Don’t fall.”

I laughed and looked up at the ceiling. I wanted to make the night sky. My urge to be outside grew each day. Something I would never be able to get used to being indoors for so long. Most of my life was spent being outside. Well, it was. I began to sketch my memory of the night sky when I was laying in the field with my mother. I was able to move around the room twice moving the dressers on my own.

While I was laying on top of the dressers, I heard a knock at the door. “Come in!” I yelled, still staring at the ceiling.

When I heard the door open, I turned my head. I saw Jonas walk in. “Hey. Are you on break now?” I asked.

He nodded and looked up and my stars on the ceiling. “Lilah, this is amazing.” He said.

I smiled and looked down at him. “Thank you.” I told him. “Give me a second, I will get down.” I began to get down from the stack of dressers when one of the legs slid a little too far over. I began to fall, but Jonas ran over and I ended up falling on him.

“I’m sorry.” I said. I looked down at him and smiled. Realizing that I had lingered a little too long. I rolled off of him on the floor beside him.

He sat up next to me and I joined him. “Are you okay?” He asked.

I nodded, not meeting his eyes. “Yeah. I am used to falling.”

I could tell he was looking at me. Before I could react his hand was against my cheek. “You have some charcoal.” He explained.

It was then that I realized how much I had missed human touch and closeness. I tried to credit the feeling in my stomach to the unfamiliar touch, but I knew I probably wouldn’t feel this way if it was anyone else.