A Damaged Future

The lockdown had started over fifteen years ago and it showed no signs of abating. Well, that is how it seemed for Luna who had been forced to hide in an underground bunker with her family and best friend. Luna had been in Canada when disaster struck. Canada, the land of the hopeful, the last safe haven. Her father, a virologist, had known about the virus all along, but our of fear for keeping his family safe, he had chosen not to tell anyone. Until it was too late.

The year 2135 AD had proven uneventful. As uneventful as it could be considering that the earth had become overpopulated, famine had spread across the globe, the ozone was almost depleted, and the icebergs had all but melted. With the melted icebergs came the viruses along with viral strains that had never been seen before and no cures were ready to combat them. By the time scientists had noticed what was happening, it was too late. Exactly like what had happened in 2020 with COVID-19.

Canada was one of the last countries to be deeply affected by the virus. When the virus was given a name, V-KA (virus kill all), over five million people had died of it, and that was just the beginning. Airports shut down, cities too, until countries closed off their borders and no one was allowed to roam the streets. Martial law was declared in every country and countless more people died. The thing that terrified people was not the fact that millions died, rather it was the fact that the survivors of V-KA were changed; physically as well as mentally. Government officials tried to hide it, but once social media got hold of evidence, it was also too late for the governments. Coup d’états occurred everywhere until total anarchy reigned everywhere.

With Luna’s father having access to secret information that the general population would not know, her, her family, and Evan, her childhood friend, were taken to an underground bunker that they could live in until the situation in the outside world had calmed down. It hadn’t. A couple days after being isolated from the rest of the world, the news had broadcasted that the anarchists had gotten hold of the nuclear weapons and had launched many of them to all superpowers, meaning the United Kingdom, South Korea, China, and Brazil.

That was the end of Luna’s life as she knew it, as well as the end of her parent’s life. On hearing the news about the nuclear weapons, her parents had left the bunker in the hopes of saving at least a few innocent souls. They hadn’t come back. At ten years old, Luna and Evan were thrown into a situation that was out of their control and with it came the responsibility of taking care of each other. They had done so. Over fifteen years they had grown very close to each, in more ways than one, and they knew everything about the other.

With the nuclear weapons striking the planet, the news broadcasting systems had been completely destroyed, and only radios remained as the source to get news. The bunker proved to be very large upon searching through it. It contained three levels. The first level, the lowest, was where all of the machinery needed for the bunker to be livable where located. These included oxygen vents, clean water, and a waste disposal system. The second level had a garden where food could be grown, the living quarters, washing areas, and a living/study room. The uppermost floor, which was the smallest of them only contained a small room with a door that led to the outside world. Rules were quickly made between Evan and Luna, but the most important was to never open the door, unless it was an emergency. That rule had been followed for fear of seeing what the earth had become.

Fifteen years had passed since the two friends had been locked. Now at twenty-five years old, they were rethinking their future based on the resources they had available to them.

“Evan!” Yelled Luna. “Come here. I think there’s a problem with the garden.”

Running from his room to the gardening area, Evan was greeted with Luna looking in horror at the dead leaves of the garden and the rotten vegetables.

“What happened, Luna?”

“I don’t know. I just came in to do my daily visit and I found this. Do you think there’s a problem with the oxygen vents?”

“Stay here. I’ll go check,” said Evan, before leaving in a hurry and jumping down one floor. Upon reaching the oxygen vents, Evan found that nothing was out of the ordinary, except that the machinery was getting old and no replacements could be found for the old parts.

Running back upstairs Evan found Luna in the same place he had left her. Coming up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders he whispered in her left ear, “Don’t worry, Luna. Nothing’s wrong with the oxygen vents. They are just getting old and shouldn’t be working as hard as they should.”

Turning around to face him and putting her hands in his, Luna said, “Is there anything that we can do to take off the pressure?”

“There is actually. We can turn off the oxygen on the first floor and close off rooms that we don’t use.”

“Let’s do that then. This bunker wasn’t designed for us to stay here for fifteen years. We have to make it last as long as possible. At least we won’t go down without at least doing something.”

Luna and Evan made quick work of what was required of them and they were soon done with the task.

“How much time do you think we have bought ourselves?” Luna asked, sitting in the living room.

“Not much, I daresay,” responded Evan. “You know that we don’t have much longer. Probably a couple weeks at best.”

“I know we don’t have much longer. I know. I’m just afraid of what we will find out there. The last reports we received from the radio talked about mutated creatures and humans roaming the land. And what if the air is still poisonous after the nuclear weapons?” By the time Luna had finished speaking, she was hyperventilating and Evan was holding her against him.

“Don’t worry, love. These are just things that we will have to take care of when the time comes. Don’t worry. We will face it together.”

“ I know we will. It’s just scary to think about what’s outside considering how long we have been locked away.”

“Good. Then that’s all you need to worry about. You know that I will take care of you. I always have and always will. Go to sleep now. I’ll be there when you wake up.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Luna shortly fell asleep against Evan. Bringing her to their bed, Evan covered Luna’s small body with a blanket, and left the room to get ready for what lay ahead of them. He had not lied to Luna; the oxygen vents were old and there wasn’t much they could do about them. However, he hadn’t told her that air from the outside had found a way inside the bunker. At the rate that the air was coming inside the bunker, keeping in mind that it was probably poisonous, it would only be a few days before Luna and Evan would asphyxiate.

Heading to the storage room, Evan grabbed two hiking bags, opened them, and started filling them up with materials that they would need for their impossible journey if they made it out alive. Ropes, weapons, water, and dried food were quickly put into the bags, as well as some fresh food that could be eaten in the upcoming days. Fumbling with the straps of the bags, he hadn’t noticed Luna creeping up behind him. Only her voice startled him out of his thoughts.

“What are you doing?” She whispered to him.

“Um… well, I was going to tell you, but um… we have to leave.”

“What do you mean we have to leave? Didn’t you say it was safe for us to stay in the bunker for a little while longer. What changed? Have you decided to leave without me?”

Dumfounded, Evan could only tell the truth, “No, I am not leaving without you. I did not want to tell you yet because I didn’t want to worry you for any longer than necessary.”

Stepping forward, Luna said in a quiet voice, “You don’t get to decide what is good for me. We do this together, not separately. Why do we have to leave though?”

“Earlier when I went to check to oxygen vents, I found out that air from outside was leaking in. I thought that I would start getting things ready for us.”

“Okay, I completely understand the situation we are in. You should have just told me. So… when do we leave?”

Evan took a deep breath, and answered, “Tomorrow morning would be best.’

“Then come to bed with me. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

Luna led Evan back to their room where they both slept a restless night imagining all of the worst scenarios that could occur the next day. So many things could go wrong, and the worst that could happen would be both of them dying to the environment.

The next morning was as stressful as both of them thought it would be. The breakfast they ate tasted like ashes and felt like rubber in their mouths. In what seemed like no time at all, both of them were ready with their bags and some oxygen masks that Luna had found while rummaging through the storage room.

“They might not work, but it’s better to try, isn’t?”

With the masks in place, Evan and Luna walked up to the uppermost floor, stood in front of the door and waited.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Evan asked.

“What other choice do we have? We would have had to leave the bunker soon anyway. It’s better to do it on our own terms.”

“You’re right. We don’t really have another choice. Let’s do this, shall we?”

“I love you,” Luna murmured.

“I love you, too,” Evan responded, while gripping her hand.

Pushing against the opening button, oxygen slowly left the room as the door opened, revealing the outside world. What awaited left them breathless; the land surrounding them was completely blasted and grey mist covered the murky ground. It was only after standing outside for a few minutes that Luna noticed what was happening, removed her oxygen mark, and breathed in fresh air for the first time in fifteen years.