Another short story I wrote for Creative Writing Club. I also added the fascinating video that inspired the story.
The windows are the creepiest part, which is saying something, because there are a lot of creepy things in this bunker. The immaculate, untouched bedrooms. The empty swimming pool. The dry, dry dirt in the small garden that would not have been enough to feed everyone.
The brochure Adam found advertising the amenities of the bunker said the windows were video screens that would change throughout the day to help keep the guests’ circadian rhythm normal, showing the sunrise, daylight, sunset, and night sky. As Adam continued to read the brochure, Kim kept scoffing, pointing out the problems with the bunker.
“One third of the eleventh floor is dedicated to garden space to grow fruits and veggies…”
“How are fruits and veggies going to keep nine families fed for years?”
“The rest of the eleventh floor is stocked with cans of nonperishables...”
“And what would y’all rich folks do when you run out of your canned meat?”
“A swimming pool and water slide for the kids to enjoy…”
“Oh so you have enough water and space for a pool!? But not enough to grow a sustainable amount of food!?”
“and a bar for the adults.”
“Y’all are going to need all the alcohol you can get when you are stuck with a bunch of other rich assholes who don’t know how to cohabitate!”
I left Adam and Kim to continue reading and tearing apart the brochure while I went to find more windows. I took the stairs to one of the residential levels - an entire floor for one family, what a waste of space. Each bedroom had a single bed, but could easily fit four beds. I mean it wouldn’t have done them any good, no one who paid for this bunker ever made it out here, but the waste still makes me angry.
I find the kitchen with a “window” above the sink. The screen is stuck on a single image, just like the other windows I had found. The sky is bright red and black flecks are frozen in the air, before they could sink to the earth. The trees are all barren as if it is the dead of winter, but I know it wasn’t when this picture was taken. Because I was a young kid when the sky turned crimson in the middle of a bright summer day while I was playing outside, and ash started to fall from the sky.
The camera must have stopped working near the beginning, and the screens were left frozen on this image. I imagine washing dishes, staring into this view for years, never learning that the earth was recovering, and wasting away in this bunker. I shudder and turn away, and go to find my friends.
Inspired by an actual doomsday bunker sold to rich people:
You might feel like Kim after watching this.