The Nuke Shelter

You could just about call it the beginning of the end, right about now. Or, Day Three.

-

Clark shot awake suddenly. It seems he'd fallen asleep, reminiscing on how everyone had gotten back. Grant Ford, his big brother in a way, had saved them just as they were exiting the school building for the evacuation. He had been a prestigious member of the AOU Military Police, and managed to get everyone into the underground, a large rumble shaking things, thought to be either an earthquake, or perhaps even the bombs: Maybe there was only one or two, but even that was enough to reduce the place beyond dust, and into nothingness. But he couldn't dwell on that…Not now. not at all.

He wiped his lip with his jacket sleeve, and grumbled. There was a bit of drool!

"Damn! I really need to figure out why I do that in my sleep!" He sighed, before patting Doc on the head. "Anyways, I'm sure Grant'll be back in no time. Then you can have a nice juicy dinner full of meat and nothing else, and then we'll go to Hollywood, where I'll turn this into a movie, and hit it big as a director and a writer!…Haven't got a title yet though. :D"

The young man climbed up to his feet, looking back down at the chair he had drifted over to. It wasn't actually all that comfy when he was awake, but he was quite thankful it was there.

He scratched the back of his head a bit, rubbing his stomach, and chuckling to himself, as he helped Doc stand up, leading the white retriever back into the living quarters.

"Speakin' o ' grub, we haven't even touched the supplies yet, on account'a Grant making us eat what the school made us pack 'fore we left…" He thought to himself.

A smile was painted onto his lips: There was a doubt in his soul and mind, but he didn't want to give in to that doubt. He was going to give into his stomach instead, and maybe have a quick meal with the others.

"Hey! Uh, anybody hungry?" He asked, loudly pronouncing his greeting, but quieting down for the last three words, as if cautious of the others he was among.

Doc barked happily, tail wagging, as he dashed off to see the others up close and personal, causing Clark to shake his head and slip his hands into his pockets.

Keni had been up well since the clocks flashed past six. She was mending one of the younger children's clothes when Clark came waltzing into the living areas. Quickly reaching for the remote, she turned down the episode of 'Kids Next Door' and looked over to the older male, just in time to be greeting with happy, sloppy dog-kisses.

Smiling, she gingerly set down her work and began to pet Doc; scratching behind his ears and rubbing under his chin.

"Good Morning, Doc." She cooed before looking up to Clark with a shy smile, a light bit of red gracing her cheeks. "Good Morning, Clark."

At the mention of food wanting to be made, she tried to speak up.

"I-I can make you something if you're hungry, Clark. It won't be a bother." She hated seeing others have to do unnecessary work for themselves, especially Clark. For some reason, she always felt as if she needed to be the caretaker of their little group; making sure that everyone was happy and healthy.

"No one else is really up yet, so it won't be too much of a hassle." She smiled prettily, hazel eyes sparkling for a moment before they returned to Doc, giving the pup the attention he so craved.

Seth groaned a bit before he finally descided to go out from his bed. He had been staring at the ceiling for maybe hours. He didn't even think he had slept at all this night. He felt terrible and yeah, miserable but when he finally stood he couldn't afford to think like that. They might come back, everyone. All the elder ones, his parents and their talking about how big he would get with whatever he chooses. He sighed deeply and streached for a while, feeling a bit stiff and then walked out from his room towards the living room.

He took another deep breath and put on a soft smile, everyone needed to be strong now. There was doubt and he could bet that everyone was feeling a bit scared but they all had to stay strong and if this was going to be their place to stay for sometime, then they really needed to not think about the worse. Just make sure that everything went smoothly. "Good morning." He said when he slowly were closer to the kitchen. He fixed his clothes so that they weren't that rumbled. Always look neat, he could hear his mom in the back of his head.

He saw that there were two who was already awake. Keni and Clark, and ofcourse Doc. Clark's dog. He walked up to them and sat down on a chair. "Breakfast doesn't sound bad at all, do you need help?" He asked and looked towards Keni, running his hand through his hair so that it didn't hang over his eyes.

Keni blinked softly as Seth entered the room. Well, it seems everyone was going to start working on early morning scheduals. (She had begun to tell time by using the re-runs as a guide) Smiling to the other male, she gave a light and gentle nod.

"Help sounds lovely, Seth. Thank you." She cooed, reaching over to gently fuss with his hair for a moment as he ran a hand through it, before pulling back and standing, doing the same with Clark before smoothing out her skirt and making her way towards the kitchen. She didn't mind taking this role. With the parents gone, there needed to be someone who could allow the others to focus on the more important issues. Even if what she did was just a small help, she was glad she could do it.

When she reached the kitchen, she began to look through the supplies. Mostly everything was canned or powdered. Picking up a box of pancake mix, she smiled. She could recall the episodes of TV that showed families eating stacks apon stacks of pancakes, coated in syrup and butter... Maybe, today could be one of those days? Giving a light nod, she set the box on the counter and began to pull out ingrediants.

"Eh, thanks, I guess…" Mumbled Clark, fixing his hair when the girl just shot her hands out and messing with it as she saw fit. But, on the bright side, she was offering to work now, and that was a plus. The others also seemed prepared to try and pitch in however they could. But then suddenly, a yawn came over the teenager, as he drifted back towards his bedroom, allowing Doc to stay back and be with the others, as he drifted over to his room door, and silently locked it behind him as he began digging into the clothing that was left there for him by his parents, having been assigned this place much much earlier. A simple pair of pajama pants and a button up shirt, colored dark blue with traces of red were its colors, as he changed into it, and out of the clothes he'd been wearing for the last couple of days.

"Maybe the others may want to change too. With the shelter closed off for a while, we'd might as well have a pajama party…"

He slipped himself back into bed, letting off another yawn, as he wrapped the blanket around him in the most comfortable fashion he could set up for himself. The last couple of days had been all about staying up late, yet getting up extremely early just for the sake of waiting to see if the adults would return. If order would return. If everything would turn out okay, and his older sister and Grant were okay. Looking at the others, complete and utter strangers to him, didn't make him feel all that positive, except when he would sit back and play with Doc a bit, the dog being his closest friend there, among people who he had hardly remembered even going to his school.

Seth sighed a bit irritating but nothing more, it was a bit of an affection for him when Keni ruffled his hair. He stroke his hand through his hair to fix it and walked after Keni. He looked back once at Clark when he saw him walk away, kinda felt that he knew that the boy would go to bed. Everyone must be tired these days and scared. Being locked down in a bunker and not knowing what is happening above could make everyone get sleepness nights. He sure hadn't slept well for a couple of days now and everything he was thinking about was his parents and his school. How would this affect his future? Would he even have a future if something bad happen above them? He shook away the thoughts before going into the kitchen.

"What can I help you with? Set the table?" He asked and looked at Keni when she took forward all the ingrediants. While he was looking at her he wished he actually was home. Looking at his mother that always seemed to be busy in the kitchen. He usually sat down at the table, doing his homework or reading another book while watching her. Humming on a song, looking all bright. Well she probably wasn't all that bright and all but he wanted his memories to be like that for now. Taking out all the bad things, putting them away deep in his head. There were better things to think of then the depressing stuff.

Keni sighed lightly as she looked over her ingredients. A light jump ran through her system as she was addressed. Looking to Seth, another smile graced her lips.

"Please and thank you?" She asked, opening one of the cabinets to try and retrieve a mixing bowl. The problem with being short, was everything seemed to be just out of reach. She couldn't ask Seth to get it for her, oh no, he was already doing more than she could ask for. Looking into the kitchen, she scurried past the male to retrieve a chair. Pulling it into the kitchen, she let out a soft grunt.

Shauna slowly came walking into the living areas. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday; old blue jeans and a green top with a red cardigan over it. Her hair was one big mess and her eyes were red, but she didn't care. She'd slept in her clothes. Well.... she actually hadn't slept at all. She'd just been laying on the bed all night, thinking about everything that had happened the last couple of days. She walked over towards the kitchen area where a few of the older kids were sitting. One of the girls was even making breakfast.
Shay sat down at the table and looked at the others - all strangers to her. This was the first time she actually came out of the room. Not like she hadn't eaten or anything, she'd just done it when everyone else were asleep. "Aren't we a nice little family, huh?" she chuckled mockingly, even though nothing about it were funny.

The blonde had sucessfully pulled down a mixing bowl, and a few utensils she would need. Climbing off of the chair, Keni's eyes immidiatly darted to the owner of the new voice.

"Oh, h-hello..." She greeted shyly, giving a light nod before quickly moving to push the chair into a corner of the kitchen. It shouldn't be in the way, right? Biting her lower lip, she cast one more glance to the pretty female before setting to work. She would have to make more now, but that was alright. Glancing over the directions on the back of the box, she pulled a stove-top griddle out of a cabnanit and set it on the stove.
While the griddle heated, she poured some mix into a bowl and followed the directions to the T. When she was finished, she looked down at the bland white mixture and eyed the spice rack. Maybe some cinnamon or pumpkin spice could make things a little more delicious.

"Is anyone a-allergic to anything?"

"Is everything to your liking Ian?"
Ian looked at Bliss and smiled
"as always everything is perfect and especially the tea! So same time on the morrow? I wonder what i should make for you; its my turn after all is it not?"
Bliss returned the smile which Ian so adored and wondered if Bliss would like something sweetish
"Indeed it is and please do be imaginative, remember that you may gain any ingredient you need for the recipe in this realm"
Both paused when a great dong was heard and looked towards a towering clock above them which stood as a keep to a great kingly castle.
Bliss stood up and bowed slightly to Ian
"it seems that our time together must come to a close, I do hope this new dawn signifies a new beginning for you"
Ian also stood up and returned the bow
"What if this dawn shall never rise for me?"
"Then you should help others find their dawn and wait for the night"


Ian opened his eyes, was it already morning? but where was the sunlight?
Ian then remembered, this was an underground shelter and as a result witnessing the rise of the sun was a bit problematic.

Ian wondered if he should simply go to sleep again and wait for all this to be over and done with when he remembered; a dream.
"then you should help others find their dawn" Ian closed and shortly after opened his eyes again deciding he should stand up and hope he did not sleep on his arm again.
Standing up Ian stretched and looked around him, the shelter was a likable enough place but a prison was still a prison no matter from what dangers it was keeping you safe from. Ian smiled in amusement, if indeed war had began the day they had arrived at the shelter then the earth above would be a radioactive wasteland by now. And here the humans who's species where responsible for such carnage hid from the consequences of their actions, as if a group of killers hiding behind bares from a vengeful mother.
Ian began to giggle and soon his giggle became a laugh, unable to stop Ian wiped the tears off his eyes; he did not know if these where the tears of laughter or sadness and suspected they where both in some way or another.

Ian looked around him and saw that while he was laughing he had ventured into what seemed to be the dining room, smiling at everyone Ian again began to laugh for a few moments before he sat down and sighed. Ian looked around at his fellow comrades and wondered if he had shocked them in some way, too hungry to care Ian picked up his fork and began to play with it until it fell down to the floor.
Ian then again looked at those in the room and smiled

"Morning all!"

Now standing again Ian coughed clearly making it up and spoke his voice full of cheerfulness and joy but in reality still wet with the dark humor which greeted him each morning while he was in the shelter.

"First and foremost since this is our first joined dinner i would like to wish us all a great day full of joy, laughter and comradeship.
I trust that no matter what acts of insanity and barbarism may occur on the surface of our dear planet that we will maintain civilized society in this our little shelter.
we may remain here for a considerable amount of time so without further adieu i propose we accept that our fates are joined in this place and that we make this place our home away from home"

Ian held a bottle of water and poured a small amount into his cup, he then held the cup and said:
"Chin Chin!"

Clark would have to face it sooner or later: He couldn't get any sleep at this hour with everyone out and about, and most especially, all the noise. He'd get his sleep later tonight though, as he stumbled into his bathroom and began splashing cold water on his face to wake himself up, as he walked back towards the room to acquire his breakfast for the morning. He heard mention of dinner and 'Chin Chin,' utterly confusing him as Doc walked over to Ian, and let out a joyful bark, and a wag of the tail. Anyone else who'd come along with them was probably still in there rooms, or he was imagining they'd brought more people along due to the fact they were on a bus, during a heated situation, and the adults had all left to check above ground, taking some of their numbers up.

"Ughhh…" Groaned the teen, as he walked in on everyone, the bridge of his nose being pinched, followed by a rub of the eyes. He clearly did not want to be awake, and it truly showed at that very moment, as Clark drifted over to the couch, mumbling something about having the pancakes as well, among other mutters and low whispers none of them could probably make out, as the lad went about his incoherent babbling on his own.

Shay rolled her eyes at the very loud and intrusive guy standing next to her. "First and foremost since this is our first joined dinner i would like to wish us all a great day full of joy, laughter and comradeship. I trust that no matter what acts of insanity and barbarism may occur on the surface of our dear planet that we will maintain civilized society in this our little shelter.
we may remain here for a considerable amount of time so without further adieu i propose we accept that our fates are joined in this place and that we make this place our home away from home" With a groan, Shay got up from her chair and raised her cup just like the guy did. "Chin Chin!" she yelled with an overly excited voice. It was ridiculous; the guy was a complete jerk. They were kids for god’s sake, it was only a matter of time before everyone started to kill each other. It reminded her of a movie she saw some years ago, before the war of course. "And may the odds be ever in your favor!" Shay laughed at her own joke and then poured water all over the jesus christ wannabe. Back when they'd lived a somewhat normal life, Shay wasn't like this at all. But now she was getting more and more bitter.

Keni’s attention turned to the two children as the commotion started. She got a bad feeling in her gut when she watched the rather moody female stand.

The blonde had thought the male’s speech was rather nice; a gesture of wanting to get to know everyone… It made her smile a little to think that these people didn’t want to slice open everyone’s throat. But then the girl made her move.

“Excuse me!” Keni squeaked quickly moving forward. One thing she would /not/ tolerate was such rudeness at the ‘family’ table. Turning off the stove and grabbing two of the kitchen towels, she quickly handed one to Ian and placed one on the floor where the water had spilled. “That was rude and uncalled for, young lady.” She snipped, looking down to the younger female with a stern glare, all traces of shy seeming to have vanished. “We are all stuck here, and it would be greatly appreciated if you don’t start trouble.” Yep. There went the mom voice.

Ian was quite bemused by the sudden splash of water and wondered if it was raining, looking up at the sealing Ian made a thoughtful expression on his face as he examined the sealing for clouds. Ian knew it could not be raining however to Ian it was always a good idea to idiot check the world.

Ian grinned as he turned his gaze back to the table and its occupants, Ian guessed his expression was a little scary but saw this as a way to pull off a sweet little piece of action. Now gazing at little miss Temper who splashed him Ian changed his stance to seem taller, placed the towel he was offered behind his neck as if a cloak and picked up a piece of toilet paper. Within a few moments he had shaped the piece of paper into a rough example of a glove and then closing his eyes for a few moments Ian let loss the full fury of his voice with a deep sinister twist.

"I am the count of Monte Cristo, i shall have my revenge!" Ian tossed the toilet paper glove like creation he had made a few moments earlier on the floor and then pulled a water bottle as if a sword in its hilt.

"I challenge you to a dual! On guard!"

Ian "drew" his bottle of water, opened it and splashed a little water at the offending girl's face. Now laughing he made a show of "disarming" her of her own bottle which he snatched off the table and then proceeded to make a little victory dance around the table.

Shay grabbed the towel from the floor and tossed it towards the girl. Who did she think she was? Her mum? The weird guy actually looked like he thought it was fun and before Shay had any time to react, he took a bottle, splashed water in her face and then made sure Shay couldn't splash any water back. For a short second she forgot all about hating society and she chased him around the table trying to hit him in the head. But then reality hit her and she stopped dead in her tracks. She'd been forced down into this hole; even though she'd much rather die up there with the others. There was nothing to laugh about, couldn't they see that? They were all going to die an unworthy death down here while their parents were fighting for their lives up on the ground.
Shay was standing right in front of Keni and she turned around to face her. Her eyes were watery, hopefully no one would notice. "If you want to be responsible and everything then that's fine. If you want to give the little ones fake hope, then that's fine too. But don't you fucking make me the bad guy!"

Oh mother of grud.

The squabbles were already starting. And he did not like it one bit at all. He began to clench his fists a bit at all the insanity going on, almost as if it were that episode of Star Trek, the Naked Time. Some of the crew members had gone mad by some disease, and everything had altogether gone wrong. They even had their own version of Sulu in the form of the 'Count Of Monte Cristo,' complete with the challenges and such. Then Shay was doing whatever to stir a couple people up, Keni was trying to keep the peace… It was just awful.

"HEY!" He exclaimed as loudly as he could, while maintaining a strict, and threatening nature about his voice, should anyone have disobeyed him. "EVERYONE CALM DOWN FER THE LOVE'A MIKE!…Ohhhkaaaay….If We're going to be squabbling like this for the entirety of our time down here, having over-all upset attitudes nearly every moment, and insanity to the point people begin getting aggravated, especially the ones trying to get some SLEEP, I would much rather take my chances in a pool of RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT! So if you guys are quite done with this little fiasco, I suggest we all just find something quiet to do until SOMEONE with BRASS BALLS finds a way to organize everything!!!…."

Clark huffed as he yelled at the other teens, straightening out his shirt and snatching a mug to begin pouring himself some coffee, growing rather silent now, as he prepared himself a hot drink…

"We'd might as well make a pit and jump in one by one if this is the kind of cooperation we've got…"

They shyness returned, and Keni quickly crawled back into her proverbial shell.
When Shay began to yell at her, she quickly hung her head, mummbling soft sorries and 'yes ma'ams.' As the towel struck her chest, she let out a soft squeak, letting it drop to the floor in a sloppy mess. Clark's voice however, caused a shudder to dance up her spine as she immidiatly stood at attention.

Her head hung once more, she gave a light nod - not quite sure herself if she was agreeing or simply obeying. Grabbing the towel that had been tossed at her, she slid onto her knees and began to mop up the water. No noises would escape her this time, her mouth glued together with the possibilities of small whimpers and tears. All she had wanted to do was make breakfast. A nice, calming, home-made breakfast.

She wouldn't ask for help, she didn't need it. When she came to it, she would just kindly ask people to move out of the way and be careful as not to slip. Occasionally she would stand and make her way to the kitchen to ring out the towel before returning to her duties. She would have to tend to the pancakes soon...

Ian nearly fell down when the loud one made his noises, Ian could never stand people shouting like that but admired the old man for his amusing attempt at maintaining sanity in a world which dispensed with that sort of thing.

Ian turned and saluted to Clark while grinning like an idiot

"Yes mine president, I assume we will be suspending the constitution for the time being? How about you declare a state of emergency? that would give you the authority to issue such commands"

Ian laughed and sat down at down again placing his feet on the table, as suddenly as he started laughing Ian stopped struck by how close to reality his statement had been. Now making the effort to sit properly on his chair like respectable people do Ian seemed to loss the grin he had on his face.

"hmm it just struck me that we may be the last people alive in the world for all we know; maybe the other shelters have been sabotaged by the communists and even now their occupents are being killed by poison gas in the ventilation systems?

Well i guess we do not know but for now we can only assume that only we survived this war, based on that assumption this shelter has within it the last shreds of the United States of America and therefor it is within our rights to elect a new president"

Ian now turned to face Clark his eyes full of wonder however with a hint of appreciation that someone was willing to take the situation seriously.

"I nominate Clark Parker as the 45th president of the United states of America"

Ian then grinned and chuckled

"Or Chairman Parker if you are a communist, prime minister if we are going for a parliamentary democracy, chief Parker if we are resorting to tribal life styles, Overseer if any one here fancies fallout or... we could crown him as King of the British Empire and then anax the united States! they are all dead any way but i am sure they would have appreciated the gesture!"

Crystal looked up at the ceiling in her room. Hearing the yelling she wondered what happened. She wondered if she should go in their. She wondered if her brothers were all right. Shifting to the side she forced herself to stand up. She walked to her bathroom and washed her race of the dried tears she cried for her brothers. Gosh is that the only thing she was thinking about. Running a Han through her hand to take out the knots she decided to focus on different things. Like when will they be able to leave. She knew that wasn't going to happen in awhile but it was still good to think about it. Think...that's all she did in here was think. Thinking about anything that popped in her head. Finally getting out a knot her hair was back to its natural curly self. She seemed presentable enough to join the others.

The living area already had a lot of people their. Walking in on someone saying Clark should be president maybe her smile. At least other people were happy. She took a look around the room and counted 5 people. 3 boys and 2 girls. Well 6 people if you included herself. Instead of just staring at the people she walked over to a chair and sat down. "Good morning everyone." Taking a glance at everyone so they know she meant it. "Is it even morning?" A question that lingered her mind for awhile.

Once the squabbleing stopped, Keni picked herself up - brushing past Ian - and moved to the kitchen to resume her cooking. She turned the stove back on and allowed the batter more of a chance to cook. Her attention was only turned when the new girl came in. Smiling kindly, she gave a wave of greeting before returning to her duties.

This was going to be a long life....