Twelve Months In A Year

May

Slamming the door to the bunker shut Viggo scrambled to lock it. Hearing the beasts that were chasing him clawing at the door he backed away. Seeing a small bed the boy limped over and collapsed into a fitful sleep. Upon waking he could hear the animals growling outside the door. Looking at the vault-like door he figures it should hold. Now curious about what kind of things were in the bunker he started to examine the room. ¨Just the right amount of food and water for 11 months if I do it right¨ Viggo thought. Sitting down on the concrete floor he sighed hearing the barbaric creatures growling. ¨This is gonna be a long wait¨ he mumbled before slipping back into his dreams.

June

Groaning, Viggo marked off another day on the calendar he had found. ¨That makes one month that I’ve been stuck in this hole¨ his heavy morning voice said to no one. Dragging himself into the minuscule bathroom he looked into the sink. Upon seeing his reflection in the water that had collected he grimaced. Not having found any razors he had no choice but to grow out a beard. Shaking his head he turned away to undress and take a shower. Stepping into the freezing water he was now accustomed to the boy started to hum. A song of misery.

July

Looking at the pile of empty food cans and water bottles Viggo deflated. Voice starting to get scratchy from lack of use he said: ¨I could have sworn I was eating less than that.¨ Now curious as to how much food he had left the boy turned to the cabinet that contained his food. About to start counting out the cans he was interrupted by a snarl. Viggo knew that the animals had gone hunting but had decided not to try and run because there was nowhere to go. Now that they were back the young adult had no choice but to stay.

August

Having heard the monsters outside go hunting Viggo once again weighed his chances of escaping if he ran. His mother had always told him to listen to his heart above his head but right now they were both telling him the same thing. Stay where you are. Don't die. Throat dry the boy decided to have his half of a bottle of water for the day. Knowing he didn't have enough food to eat three meals every day he chose to not eat today so he could have twice as much tomorrow. Throwing the now-empty bottle in a pile he lied back down.

September

Having realized that he could drink the water from the sink or shower the adolescent had started drinking more water. Basking in his little victory he smiled for the first time since he was trapped in the little room. Looking over at his food stash he started to do a bit of math in his head. Viggo had stopped making off days on the calendar after the third month, but from his food stores, he had been around five months. Opting to worry about his food later he relaxed back into his triumph.

October

After a while of figuring out what month it should be Viggo elected for October. After choosing October he made another decision. Since the boy was growing restless from lack of excitement in his life he came up with the solution to add some spice for the holidays. “It’s not much, he thought, but it is something.” Grabbing two cans of food he exhaled remembering there was no way to heat the meals.

November

When Viggo woke to the growling of the monsters who he assumed had just returned from hunting he felt off. Shaking it off as just being extremely lonely he took the short walk to the bathroom to shower. Before taking his clothes off the boy went to turn the water on. Twisting the water he waited for it to start. Nothing. Trying desperately to try and get water to come out of the shower and sink he began tearing up. Sliding down the wall the youth could feel a sob rising in his throat. “How could I be so careless?”

December

Looking at his food and water Viggo was thankful that he had refilled some of his water bottles when he drank them. “But how was I supposed to know that the water would run out?” his voice was terribly raspy due to not using it. Hearing the hideous snores of the monsters he started at the door. “I’m going to get out of here. Soon.”

January 

Lying on the floor the young adult thought about how it should be somewhere near his birthday. Wanting to do something special for it he contemplated eating twice as much as usual but chose not to. The food stores were dangerously low. Brightening up a bit at an idea he had Viggo sat up. 

His now harsh, deep voice rang out:

“Happy birthday to you,

 Happy birthday to you, 

 Happy birthday dear Vig, by the last line he was choking up,

 Happy birthday to you.”

 Thinking he was worthy of some extra sleep the boy went and slipped under the covers.

 February

 Thinking about the marker he had used to mark off the calendar he searched the tiny room. Not taking long to find it considering the size of the room he held it in his hands. Impulsively he started to write on the hard concrete walls. His story. If Viggo never made it out of the room he wanted to be remembered. 

March

There would be no more food or water soon. After finishing catching up his story to the present he started to write about what he did every day. It's the same thing every day. His hope was running out faster than the marker could dry up.

April

He’s sleeping more than he should. His food ran out. The water is gone. He won’t last. 

May

Pale and malnourished, the boy too young to die took a shaky breath. His last.