Stranded Box Set

by Theresa Shaver

  Slowly, as the days passed, the seeds began to sprout and life underground fell into a blur of routines and rotations until a month had passed and April was served two radishes and a small salad of spinach and lettuce with her lunch one day. Every cell in her body screamed with joy as she devoured the first fresh food since the EMP had hit. She couldn’t wait until some of the other vegetables matured and there’d be more on her plate. Humming with delight, she crunched down on the last bite of spicy radish and glanced around the room they used for dining.

  Her eyes were drawn to the huddled figure draped in layers of dirty clothes that sat in the corner rocking while stuffing food into its mouth. Her mother’s face was mostly obscured by dirty, oily hair but April could still see her darting eyes that never stopped moving around the room looking for signs of a threat. After her mother had been underground for a few days, she’d started to layer herself with clothing and refused to wash. Mrs. Moore thought it was a defensive maneuver to keep people away from her. April had tried many times to get her mother to bathe and change into clean clothing but to no avail. The woman would struggle and screech and it took hours for her to calm down. April eventually gave up and let her be. Sighing and shaking her head she had to look away. A commotion by the door caught her interest. A group of people were hugging and a few people were crying.

  Jessica and some of the other girls from her class came by and set their plates down on the table. Jessica spared a brief glance at the group by the door before raising her eyebrows in disbelief at April.

  “I think they’re making a huge mistake!” she declared before munching on a piece of lettuce.

  Looking from her friend to the group of crying people, she asked in confusion, “What? What are they doing?”

  With a grunt, Jessica spat out, “They’re leaving!”

  April rocked back in her chair in shock. She looked to the other girls in disbelief but they all nodded in confirmation. How could they even think of leaving? It was too soon! Mrs. Moore had told everyone that they needed to wait at least three or four months before trying to travel. She had explained that there’d be a great die-off as people ran out of food and water and as bodies rotted everywhere, disease would be rampant. She had also explained that it would be safer to wait until a harvest had come in so people would be more willing to help strangers when they had a surplus of newly grown food. She’d told her own group of students that they’d leave to travel home in September with the hopes of finding a community that would take them in before winter came and that it would likely be next summer before they made it home.

  April looked at the small children that were leaving with the group and shuddered at the dangers they were about to face.

  “This is horrible!”

  Jessica shrugged. “Yes and no. With them leaving and probably others soon after, the water supply and food will last longer for the rest of us but it’ll also leave us with fewer people to scout and scavenge. So, we may need to find more people to join us if we don’t get enough rain.”

  April sat back with a frown and thought about water. It was the biggest concern they all had besides safety. They had taken every bottle from the park they could find and stored it with the stock already underground but what had looked like a never-ending supply diminished at a scary rate. Most of the bottles were regular 500ml size and it took a lot of them to fill a pot for soup plus regular drinking. They used it sparingly for quick sponge baths and still the rooms quickly started to empty. Mrs. Moore had the first scavengers bring back as many barrels and trash cans as they could and then had them set up all around the park underneath drain pipes to catch rain runoff. With hundreds of trash cans in the park put to use for water catchers, the use of bottled water slowed down to just drinking water and the rain was boiled and used for bathing, cooking and keeping the gardens watered.

  The first month they had been here it was still spring and it had rained enough to fill the cans but the locals had warned that the next three months of summer would be mainly dry. The food they had was strictly rationed and would hold out for months but the next concern was fuel. There was a huge buried tank that fed the generator that gave them power but it was constantly topped off with what the scavengers brought back. If they lost enough people there wouldn’t be enough supplies brought in from the city to keep them going. The thought of being trapped underground in complete darkness sent a cold chill racing down April’s back.

  A loud grunt and then screech, from the corner her mom was in, caused her to whip her head around. Her look of concern turned to a thoughtful frown when she saw Liam crouched down in front of the woman. He placed a small bowl with some canned fruit down on the floor between them and then slowly backed away before leaving the room.

  “He likes you, you know,” Jessica said with a soft smile.

  April shot her friend a look of doubt but Molly and Kara started to giggle causing her to turn and glare at them. Molly held up her hands in defense before speaking with a smile.

  “It’s true! You’re the only one of us girls that he really talks to and he’s always looking at you when you’re not watching. He’s majorly crushing on you!”

  Kara gave a dramatic sigh. “I wish Ben would look at me the way Liam looks at you! There’s like two boys our age down here and one of them is clearly not interested in anyone but you and the other one is too busy scouting and scavenging with the men to give any of us a second thought!” she huffed, while moving her pretty blond curls out of her eyes. “This sucks!”

  Jessica snorted a bitter laugh. “Yup, the world as we know it is gone. Millions of people are dead and dying. We’re stuck thousands of miles from home and our families but it REALLY sucks that we don’t have a bigger dating pool. Are you for real?”

  Jessica’s comeback left the table silent and uncomfortable. April understood her friend’s bitterness but it had been nice to have a normal teenage conversation about boys and forget about the huge change in their lives for a few minutes.

  The next two months went by with no other groups leaving and more fresh produce at each meal. April was above ground weeding her small section of garden in mid-July when she first noticed how dry the soil was. When she went to the closest water can to get a bucket of water, she was surprised to find it bone dry. After checking the next closest cans and finding the same results, she rushed to Mrs. Moore.

  “Yes, everyone has reported the same thing. It hasn’t rained in weeks. We have no choice but to harvest everything we can now. The bottled water is too precious to use for the gardens so we’ll have to go back to eating strictly from the canned food,” she explained to her student.

  That decision started a gradual change in the parks’ sense of community. It was only a week later that the next group of people decided to leave and try to make it to their homes in other states. More and more people started to leave and after a month there were only thirty-four people left. With only a handful of people that were willing to go out into the city to search for supplies, the gas for the generator and the bottled water started to deplete at an even faster rate.

  April had a sense of panic every day and she started to prepare for the worst. She started to search through the storerooms and found boxes with cheap Disney novelty flashlights that she filled a bag with. Extra bottles of water were hidden in her room as well as small packaged snacks until she had two backpacks filled.

  She was nervous but still had the hope that they would be okay. It was when the last of the scouts willing to go out brought something back from the city that changed everything.

  Chapter Nine

  The family the scouts brought in was close to death from starvation and dehydration. There were a husband and wife with a small girl and the woman's brother. April had never seen people so wasted away outside pictures of people in third world countries. Their clothes were filthy and the small girl’s head rolled listlessly on her stem of a neck. The parents gushed their gratitude for the food and water given to them but the brother�
�s face stayed grim and his eyes looked at everyone suspiciously. They were settled into one of the empty rooms and given extra water to bathe with. Everyone hoped that the two men would be willing to help with finding supplies once they had regained their strength.

  It was two days later that April was sent to get water for the midday meal that she saw something that worried her. Entering one of the water storage rooms she was surprised to find Marco, the brother, already there. He was standing in front of the stacked cases of water just staring at them. When he heard April behind him, he whirled around and raised a fist threateningly. At her gasp and flinch, he lowered his fist but still glared at her for a second before rushing past her, knocking her to the side before leaving the room. She leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath while trying to figure out what had just happened. She thought about how hard and dangerous it must have been living in the city and that it would take time for Marco to adjust to being safe but there had been something in his eyes that warned her there was something else afoot. It was hate.

  It was the first week of August and after days of rest and food, the two new men agreed to help the community search the city for supplies. They brought back more fuel and other things that were needed and April started to relax but on the third day, they returned with supplies and two other men. They claimed they had been friends before the EMP and that they would also help find supplies but there was a tense hard look about them and their arrival made many people nervous.

  A week later, the four new men came back with news that there had been a shootout in the city and the three original scouts with them had been killed. The death of these men, who had been with them from the start, left a gaping, raw wound for the original group. They had been family men and the cries of their wives and children filled the tunnels. When the new men had delivered the news, April had been there and she searched Marco’s face, but only found coldness. She backed away slowly and then stayed in her room for the rest of the day. Something told her that there’d be more deaths to come.

  Over the next week, things got even worse. Two more “friends” of the new men joined the group and three more men from the original group disappeared. There was no explanation for their loss this time. The mood in the tunnels was tense and fearful and it got even worse when the new men started guarding the food and water saying they were helping with the rationing.

  April tried to talk to Mrs. Moore about what was happening but her teacher just shushed her and whispered for her to stay quiet. Confused and scared, she went to find Jessica to see if her friend wanted to stay in her room again. She didn’t want to be alone with just her mother in case something worse happened.

  Something worse was exactly what she found. April had raised her hand to knock on Jessica’s door when it swung open. Standing in the doorway was one of the new men and he looked her up and down with a suggestive smirk as he redid his belt buckle. He gave an evil chuckle at her expression of disbelief.

  “Aren’t you a cute little thing?” He smirked and zeroed in on her chest. April defensively wrapped her arms in front of her body, making him chuckle. “You and I’ll get together later. That’s a promise!” he said before brushing past her and patting her behind. With a yelp, April whirled around and backed into Jessica’s room before slamming the door shut. She braced both of her hands on the door to keep it closed but after a few minutes eased back. The sound of someone moving behind her made her whirl around, but Jessica sent her a blank look of indifference as she pulled on her pants and searched for her shirt only to find it ripped in two. She flung it aside and bent over to rifle through her suitcase for a new one.

  “Uh, Jess? Was that…uh…are you with that guy?”

  Her friend shot her a look of disgusted disbelief.

  “Are you kidding me? I would never willingly be with a loser like him! No, he took what he wanted and there wasn’t anything I could do about it,” she said angrily.

  April’s mind almost shut down in shock. They were supposed to be safe here! First people died and then just disappeared and now they were raping the women. They had to get out of here! She watched as Jessica pulled all the bedding from her makeshift bed and balled them up before throwing them into a corner. She didn’t understand her friend’s reaction and blurted out, “How can you be so calm? You were just raped!”

  Jess slumped down on the unmade bed and blew her bangs out of her eyes before staring up at the ceiling tiles. Her voice was resigned, almost emotionless.

  “It was bound to happen eventually. It’s an ugly new world we live in and people are just going to take what they want now. At least he didn’t beat me.” Her voice trailed off.

  April was stuttering with incomprehension. As far as she knew Jessica was a virgin or had been before today. She couldn’t understand her friend’s attitude. When Jessica caught sight of April’s expression, she tilted her head to the side and drilled her with a condescending look.

  “What? You think I should be like your mom? No offence but reducing myself to a crazy person and rocking in a corner is so NOT going to make it all better. Listen, April, after your mom got here I thought about this long and hard. I knew there was a good chance something like this would happen. Although I thought it would be on the journey home, I decided back then that it wouldn’t matter. That I wouldn’t let it matter! My body is NOT who I am and what that pig just did had nothing to do with ME! He used my body but he didn’t touch ME. Do you get it? Because you need to get it if you’re going to make it out of here or you might as well go join your mom!”

  April was floored by Jessica’s words. Could it really be that simple? She didn’t think so. Jessica might be acting fine right now but sometime in the future, everything she was suppressing would come flooding out. Maybe that’s what it took to be a survivor, though. Bury it deep for now and get the job done and break down later. She shook her head. It didn’t matter right now. They were leaving and she was just grateful that Jessica was of a sound enough mind to help.

  “We need to get out of here! Do you have any supplies stashed away?” At Jess’s slow nod she continued. “Pack what you can but make it easy to carry. I’m going to find Mrs. Moore and tell her we need to go today! What’s the difference between being down here with lights when we’re in just as much danger as out on the streets?” She didn’t wait for a reply from her friend before pulling the door open and slipping into the hall.

  She kept her head down as she followed the tunnel to the dining area. A quick scan of the few people there didn’t turn up her teacher so she made her way back into the kitchen to check if she was helping with the dinner prep. When she only saw two weary, grief-stricken women working there she leaned against the counter and thought about where to go next. A slight clatter behind her on the counter made her look down. The bright gleam of a butcher knife blade winked back at her. She was about to look away when she reconsidered. Jessica might’ve been inured to her assault but that didn’t mean she needed to be. Glancing at the two workers out of the corner of her eye she turned her back to them and quickly slid the knife into her pouch pocket of the sweatshirt she was wearing. Walking out of the kitchen with her concealed prize, April vowed that if she had to, she’d fight anyone who tried to touch her.

  After searching the tunnels, she was unable to find Mrs. Moore and her biggest fear was that the new men had made her disappear like the others. Her teacher was clearly a leader in their small community and they might’ve seen her as a threat. She left a message with Walt and a few others in case they saw her first and then locked herself and her mother in their small room by shoving a pile of boxes in front of the door. It wouldn’t keep anyone out for long but it would hopefully give her enough warning to defend herself.

  The lights flickered again and her hand flicked on one of the small lights in her chain. She was scared but determined to act if she had to. If the power went out for good, she’d drag her mother to Jessica’s room and they would make their way to one of the exits and ho
pefully avoid trouble with any of the new men. She didn’t want to leave without Mrs. Moore and the others but she knew her teacher would want them to be safe. If one of the men tried to come into her room she’d stab him, and hopefully that would buy them enough time to get out of the tunnels. She didn’t know if she could kill one of them, but if they threatened her or her mother, she’d do what she had to do to get away.

  A knock at the door had her bolting upright in fright. She clutched the wooden handle of the knife in her sweaty hand. After a second knock, through her tight throat she managed to croak out, “Who’s there?”

  A muffled reply came through the door and half a second later the handle turned and the door opened a few inches before knocking a few boxes over.

  April had managed to scramble to her knees when the door was pushed harder causing more of her pathetic barricade to tumble across the floor. Her heart was booming in her ears and a sheen of desperate tears covered her eyes as she held the knife in a white-knuckled grip in front of her and waited for whoever it was to come through the door.

  Mrs. Moore’s head came around the door and her eyes flared wide with shock and concern when she saw April’s expression and the hand holding out the weapon.

  “April! Are you…what?” She didn’t finish her sentence because at the sight of her teacher, and not a strange, smirking man, the adrenaline flowing through her crashed hard. She threw the knife down on the floor and collapsed back onto her bed where great heaving sobs wracked her frame.

  Mrs. Moore’s strong hands gathered her up into an embrace and soothing words brought her back.

  “April, dear child, please tell me what happened? Did one of the men…”

  April sniffed back her tears and shook her head before just saying, “Jessica.”