After The End Read online

  “My name is Maisy Rayne,” I reply.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Maisy Rayne.”

  “Maisy is my first name, not the whole thing.”

  His lips quirk into a smile so devastatingly beautiful my cheeks burn. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Maisy. My full name is Garlind Donovan. Although there isn’t really a need for surnames much anymore, is there? It’s not like we have official paperwork to fill out or anything.”

  “No, I guess we don’t.” The energy bar tastes like strawberries. I once had them in jelly and they were so sweet my taste buds rejoiced.

  “How long have you lived here?”

  “Forever.”

  “Your whole life?” he asks with surprise. I don’t know why this would shock him. Didn’t he listen when I told him about the radiation?

  “Yes, my whole life. Where is your bunker located?”

  He shakes his head messily from side to side. His hair bounces with the effort. “I don’t have a bunker. When the big bang happened, my family sought shelter underground. I lived there until I was four.”

  “You’ve been outside since you were four?” It can’t be true. He has to be lying. The radiation would have turned him into a mutant by now if that were the case. He’s too pretty to be a mutant. They should be ugly, shouldn’t they?

  “Yeah. Our food ran out and there was lots of fighting. People just started going crazy so my parents decided it would be best if we left,” he explains.

  “So, you just went outside?”

  “That’s it.”

  “Weren’t your parents worried about the radiation?”

  Garlind shrugs. “They never said anything. I was only little at the time so I don’t really remember much. All I can remember is thinking how blue the sky was. I had a T-shirt that color and my mom always promised me she would show me the sky one day.”

  I didn’t want to admit that I only saw the sky for the first time today. I was just in awe as the four-year-old version of Garlind. My mouth remains firmly closed.

  “I was really sad when I grew out of that blue shirt,” he finishes with misty eyes. I wonder what happened to his parents but don’t ask. It seems too personal to ask from this stranger.

  “What’s it like to live outside?” I ask before I can stop myself. I sound like an idiot—wondering about something so simple as being outside the bunker.

  Garlind sits up straight and looks me directly in the eyes. He makes me worry about what he’s going to say next. “It’s hard out there. Everything has gone wild. I’m constantly in a state of panic.”

  “You said you haven’t found anyone else alive.”

  “You’re the first.”

  “Surely there are more people alive on this earth than just you and me?” My throat tightens. My parents told me there were other bunkers. That people besides them were prepared. Surely there must be more than two people left in the world.

  Right?

  I’d always hoped there would be.

  “Have you seen the ships?” Garlind asks.

  I have no idea what he’s talking about. “What ships?”

  “The Generation Ships.”

  I couldn’t be more confused if I tried. “No. What are they?”

  “They are spaceships that hover just outside our atmosphere. My father used to believe in them, but not my mom. I went looking for them and I think I saw one. They’re real.”

  All the possibilities spin in my mind. I reel through everything my parents said and I can’t remember them saying anything about spaceships. The idea sounds preposterous. But Garlind actually saw one?

  He could be delusional from all the radiation.

  But maybe not.

  “Who lives on the ships?”

  “People. When they knew the meteorite was going to hit, they built these crazy big ships to live in forever. They went up into space and are never coming back—they don’t need to,” he says excitedly. He really does believe in these ships.

  “So, they’re called Generation Ships because generations can live there?”

  He nods, his eyes wild. “Yep. They have everything they need. They don’t want for anything.”

  Not worrying about anything sounds pretty appealing. I bet they never have to ration food or gas. My parents took to a bunker, Garlind’s went underground, they went up in the air. I guess there were a lot of different survival plans going on seventeen years ago. It’s amazing what people will do to survive.

  “I’m going to find one,” Garlind says. “And then I’m going to find a way to reach it. They stick to the shoreline, hover over the sea.”

  “How are you going to get up into space?” And that is just one of the millions of problems I see in his plan.

  “They have small shuttles that can travel outside the ships. If I can get their attention, they’ll come down to pick me up. They’ll have to take me in. They can’t leave me behind.”

  A few more millions of problems pop into my mind. “You’re going to be tinier than an ant to them.”

  “I’ll make them see me.”

  For just a smidge of a moment, I believe him. He has convinced himself of his plan’s promise and I fell for it too. Garlind truly believes he will be rescued by one of these ships. My parents would be appalled at the idea.

  He’s crazy.

  It will never work.

  “Come with me,” Garlind says.

  Chapter 3

  I physically reel back, putting distance between us in the small bunker. There’s no frickin’ way I’m leaving this place. “I’m not doing that.”

  “Why not? The ships can save us.”

  “I don’t need saving. My parents designed this bunker so we could live here forever. I’m not leaving to chase a phantom.”

  “They’re real and I know I’m going to find one.”

  “Good for you but that’s not my plan,” I reply. My arms cross over my chest. Even as my mind wanders to the near-empty pantry, I’m not going to consider leaving. This is my home and it will always be. I can’t put my faith in this stranger with his nice teeth and handsome face.

  He stares at me like my reasons are written all over my cheeks. He’s silently urging me to change my mind but I won’t. One step outside today was enough for me. There could be anything out there—including vast amounts of radiation that could kill me. Just because Garlind hasn’t succumbed to it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist out there.

  His body sags as he leans back on the couch. “Can I please stay the night? I’ll leave you alone in the morning, I promise.”

  “Are you going to kill me while I sleep?”

  “What? No. Of course not.”

  “Will you rob me?”

  “I wouldn’t do any of that. I just need a safe place to stay for the night. That’s all, I promise. You won’t even know I’m here.”

  I find that difficult to believe. His presence fills the room like a pleasant scent. I’m conscious of everything he does, everything he is. “Just one night.”

  My parents would kill me if they knew.

  “Thank you. You won’t see me again after tonight.”

  The thought of that inexplicably fills me with sadness. It weighs on my shoulders like a burden. I’ve been on my own for nine years. This is the first conversation I’ve had with another human being in as many years. I thought I was alone. Now I’m not so sure I want to be alone again.

  I show Garlind to the beds, despite his protests that he is happy with the couch. We settle in for the night after I’ve checked the door three times. It’s weird to hear someone else breathing in the bunker. It’s been just me for so long. I didn’t realize how much silence there was until now.

  Turning over, I can see into Garlind’s bunk from the light of the emergency sign that is always on overhead. It’s a sickly green color. His skin picks up on the horrible hue but it doesn’t change his handsomeness.

  Garlind seems like a nice person. He’s the first one I’ve ever met that weren’t my parent
s. He hasn’t tried to hurt me and his gun has remained by the door since he stepped inside. I don’t think his intention is to do me harm. He seems too…pleasant for that.

  It doesn’t change my mind about leaving with him, though. I have no idea what is outside this bunker. It may have looked beautiful and green from the door, but radiation and danger can’t always be seen. Once I leave here, someone might claim it as their own. I would lose everything—if I managed to return one day and not be eaten by a monster in the interim.

  Plus, my parents were here. This is the only home I’ve ever known. Everything here reminds me of the mother and father that loved me so dearly. They built this place. For us, for me. I can’t leave every memory I have of them in this place. It’s too important to me.

  They would want me to stay here, wouldn’t they? Everything they ever taught me was how dangerous the world became after the meteorite hit. They said the bunker was the only safe place left in the world.

  But…if that were the case…how did Garlind survive? He seems to be healthy and strong. His mind appears to be intact. If everything was so terrible and the radiation so thorough, how could he be alive and healthy now?

  Maybe the danger has passed?

  It has been seventeen years. That’s a long time for dust to settle—both metaphorically and literally. My parents couldn’t know everything for sure. There had never been a meteorite like this one before. Nobody could know exactly what would happen and how long the effects would last.

  But what did it matter anyway? I’d already told Garlind I wasn’t going with him. My decision was made earlier. Changing my mind now was stupid. My mom always said to trust my instincts. My senses earlier said to say no. So that’s what I did. And that’s what I’ve got to stick to now.

  I closed my eyes so I could stop staring at the boy in the bunk across from mine. We have four beds in the bunker but there was only ever three of us. I always wondered why there was an extra but I never thought to ask my parents. Now I wonder if they expected someone to turn up? Did they know someone would find us and seek refuge within these steel walls?

  I guess it doesn’t matter now. Once Garlind leaves, it will be back to me. Just one person with the choice of four beds to sleep in. I’ve never slept in any other than mine. It never felt right.

  Sleep overtakes me and whisks me away to the dreamless haze. When I awake in the morning, it’s with a start. I remember the stranger and how I was supposed to be wary of him in case he hurt me in my sleep.

  My gaze darts around until I find him. He’s sitting on the couch, flipping through a book on astronomy that I never bothered to read. I couldn’t see the stars from the bunker so what did I need to know about them?

  He greets me with a wide smile. “Good morning, Maisy Rayne.”

  My legs slide off the bunk to hang over the edge. “I told you my name is just Maisy.”

  “But the whole thing sounds so nice together.”

  I give him a sardonic smile. I’m not really in the mood for cuteness. I nod toward the book. “Why are you reading that? It’s not helpful for survival.”

  “The Generation Ships are amongst the stars. I think this is very helpful for our survival. It will help us find them.”

  “I told you I’m not going.”

  “I know. I just thought I’d try.”

  I slip off the bunk and land with a thud on the floor. My slippers are right where I left them so I can get my feet off the coldness of the steel floor. Everything is always how I left it. That’s what my life is like inside the bunker. Orderly. Safe. The same.

  Every day is the same.

  But isn’t that a good thing?

  “Would you like an energy bar for breakfast?” Garlind asks. He closes the book and places it gently on the coffee table.

  I pad over to the pantry. Every time I look inside, I’m shocked to see how low my food levels are. I don’t want to take his energy bar in case he needs it. But my food could only last a few weeks more at best. That’s not enough for the rest of my life.

  “I’m fine, thank you,” I reply. Half a hard biscuit will do for breakfast. I’ve got to get used to the feeling of being hungry. There will be a period of adaptation but surely I’ll become accustomed to it. There were people in the world that suffered far greater when the meteorite hit.

  We eat while the silence in punctuated by our jaws munching on the food. My paltry half of a biscuit is gone well before his energy bar. He takes small bites and eats it slowly. Watching him makes me extra-hungry.

  When he’s done, Garlind stands. “I should be going. Daylight is a precious thing outside and it will go all too soon. I need to be moving before that happens.”

  Panic suddenly makes my throat feel too tight. He’s leaving and I’m going to be alone again. Shouldn’t that make me happy? I can go back to how my life was twenty-four hours ago. Safe and the same. Always safe and the same.

  Except it’s not going to stay that way. I’m going to run out of food and gas in the very near future. Things are going to have to change eventually. I just hoped it wasn’t going to be so soon.

  “Stay safe out there,” I say as we walk to the door. He shoulders his rifle and turns to face me.

  “You stay safe here, Maisy. I hope we meet again.”

  “I’m not going to look for a ship.”

  He shrugs. “Maybe not. But maybe you will. Goodbye.”

  I stand in the doorway and watch him leave with every step. I’m never going to see him again. The handsome boy with wild hair and beautiful eyes. Once he leaves me, he’s never going to come back. He’ll either die or he’ll succeed in finding one of those imaginary ships.

  My heart leaps into my throat and threatens to choke me. I wish it would go away. I don’t know why I’m feeling so sentimental about this boy. I only met him yesterday, it’s not like we’ve known each other our entire lives. He is nothing to me.

  Nothing.

  I have to remember that. I close the door quickly—before I can change my mind. I’ll forget about him, that’s what I’ll do. He was an unwanted visitor here and now he’s gone. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. My parents would never have let him through the door in the first place.

  I’m doing the right thing.

  The bunker goes dark.

  Everything is completely pitch black. I’ve finally run out of gas to power the lights. Despite my rationing, I am completely out of the one thing that keeps the bunker going. My ventilation shafts, my lights, fuel for my cooker. Everything is dead now.

  I open the door.

  And run.

  Chapter 4

  “Wait! Garlind, wait!”

  My feet stumble over themselves as I run through the outside. It still strikes me as too bright and too colorful out here. It’s so different to the bunker. So…everything.

  I have no idea which way Garlind was heading. I saw him walk in a straight line away from the bunker but now I have no idea. Did he turn left? Right? Did he go around in circles so I couldn’t track him if I change my mind?

  How did he know I would change my mind?

  “Garlind!”

  It seems like a crime to make so much noise. Everything is so quiet. I’m breaking the peace of the outside and I’m not sure if I’m allowed to. My father used to tell me to keep my voice down when I was little. He always said I was too loud to be inside all the time. Maybe I’m too loud to be outside too.

  “Garlind! Where are you?”

  How could he have gone so far in such a short amount of time? Did he run? Perhaps he was that keen to get away from me. But he wanted me to come with him, doesn’t that mean he would want me to find him now?”

  I stop and be still for a moment, listening for any signs of him. I take a deep breath and yell as loud as I can with everything I have. “Garlind!”

  “Over here.” The voice returns to me instantly, male and familiar. The only other voice I’ve heard apart from my parents. He’s here, all I have to do is find him.

/>   “Garlind!”

  “Maisy!”

  We stumble around and continue to call each other’s names until we spot one another. I run to him, stand directly in front of him and stare to make sure it’s really him. “I want to come with you.”

  “I thought you would,” he replies. He’s got a sparkle in his eye that I can only describe as cheeky. He thinks he’s so clever because I changed my mind. But it had nothing to do with him. My bunker ran out of gas, that’s all.

  Nothing to do with him.

  “On one condition,” I say boldly.

  “What’s that?”

  “I want to see the ocean.” My parents had a picture from their wedding in the bunker. Mom stuck it on the wall over her bed. They got married on the beach and would tell me stories about how beautiful the ocean is.

  I have to see it. Even if it’s the last thing I do.

  “That can be arranged,” Garlind agrees.

  Relief floods through me. I’m actually going to see the ocean.

  “I need to get some things from the bunker. Can you wait for me?” I ask with my throat still clogged by that annoying lump. It feels like everything hinges on his answer and it shouldn’t.

  “Of course. Do you want some help?”

  “No, I can do it.” I take a step to move but stop. “But wait right here. Don’t go anywhere.”

  He is still smiling as he nods. I rush back to the bunker and grab one of the two backpacks. I stuff it with some clothes and all the remaining food I have. The last thing I place in the bag is a photograph of my parents. It’s all I really have of them besides some old clothes and shoes.

  The only light in the bunker comes from the open door and makes it difficult to see any detail. Still, I stand in the middle of the room and look around. This was my whole life until yesterday. I lived here for seventeen years and never expected anything more. I thought I would die here, alone and starving.

  It’s difficult to leave it behind. All kinds of doubts fill me and threaten to change my mind again. But this place is dying. The gas is already gone and the food not far behind it. I would be next if I were to stay.