Nuclear Compound

I woke up seeking the warmth of the body that should be beside me. His pillow was already cold, so I knew that it had been awhile since he had left. Even the indention that his body usually leaves in the mattress was gone. I caressed my hands over the scratchy sheets as if it would magically make him reappear. Disappointment filled me even though it didn’t surprise me. He often left while I slept, like it shamed him to let me know he was leaving. The shock everyone had once they found out we were together was long gone, but he still kept up pretenses as if they still were ignorant to the fact. His superiors frowned upon our relationship, but never was really outspoken about it. We didn’t flaunt our relationship, so there wasn’t really anything they could say about it. In fact, we acted like we were practically strangers in public. Except for that one time. Unless you actually knew us, you wouldn’t have the slightest clue that we were a couple. Even my friends occasionally forgot since it was so rare that we showed any form of affection to each other. I’m sure they have suspicions that he sometimes spent the night with me, but they never asked me about it. They knew that I kept my private life private.

I sat up and forced my foggy brain to try to function. My body knew that it was still early and shouldn’t be up yet, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. Whenever I awoke and saw that he was gone, I never could go back to sleep. Even if I laid back down, my mind wouldn’t let me get any more sleep. I never complained that to him, I knew that it would just make him feel guilty. Sometimes I wish I would, just to make him feel guilty for acting like I was a secret that had to be kept hidden. I finally got a night off, and I still don’t get a chance to sleep in.

“Ugh.” I sighed and resigned that I was going to have another long day. Since I was already awake, I turned off my alarm clock so I wouldn’t have to hear the real annoying clang when it was timed to go off. The last thing I need was to have my head start pounding from lack of sleep and the ringing of bells in my ears. I fought to get out of the sheets that I had a habit of wrapping myself in, and stood up. I didn’t bother making the bed, I rarely do. I often long for the furs that I used to sleep under. They were so much warmer than the thin military style blanket that are issued to us, and a lot softer than the itchy sheets we had to cover our beds.

I slowly shuffled to put on coffee. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, in fact I could barely stand the taste of it, but Eric loved it. Personally it tasted thin and bitter to me, but for him, I always kept it around. It was never used much since he had a habit of leaving before morning whenever he did sleep in my bed. While the coffee heated up, I went on a scavenger hunt on some food. Seeing my cupboards bare, I knew I couldn’t put off going to the store any longer. I put off getting my allotment of food for the month as much as possible. I knew it was stupid, but it was my small form of rebellion against the bureaucratic idiots. I know in the back of my mind that it was hurting me more than them. I have been self sufficient so long, I hated knowing that I depended on them for anything. Especially my food. I missed meat. The only meat that there was any more was too dangerous for anyone to eat. Most of the plants were the same way. The only plant based food we got, and were fresh, was from the lunch room. Everything else was canned or boxed goods. Most of that was bland unless you knew how to season it, and even that sometimes couldn’t make the taste much better. Especially the soy that we used in place of actual meat. I still couldn’t find anything that could make that taste any better and make it go down easier.

I heard the knock on the door before Christina bound into my apartment. She didn’t even bother to wait for me to answer the door anymore. She was here as often as I was. I was one of the few that was lucky enough to have a whole apartment rather than one of the “dorm” rooms. The dorm rooms were basically one room with a curtain to separate the bathroom from the rest of the room. I wouldn’t have this if it weren’t for the fact that some people were still scared of me and had a petition to keep me out of the general population. They thought that giving me my own apartment away from everyone would benefit them. I wonder what they would think if they knew that it benefited me more than it did them. The only thought they had was to get me far away, I don’t think it crossed their minds that the only thing far enough away was a nice apartment.

“Morning honey!” she called. People often wonder about the nature of our friendship with the way we talk to each other. That is just the way she is, and the way she talks. It’s never bothered me. In fact, I often talk to her the same way. I find it hilarious. It drives Eric crazy. I think she talks that way on purpose even more when Eric is around, just to annoy him.

“In the kitchen dear.” I called out. Not that I really needed to. My apartment was bigger than most dorm rooms, but it wasn’t massive enough to really hide from anyone. She would have found me quickly enough, it only contained four rooms. I have a bedroom, a kitchen that I managed to put a small table with a couple chairs in to make a small dining room, a living room, and a bathroom with an actual bathtub. The dorm rooms were only equipped with a shower stall. Each room was small compared to what people used to have years ago, but it was bigger than what anyone had here. All my friends loved to hang out at my place. We didn’t much because of conflicting work schedules and training, but when we did, it was always at my place. I didn’t mind, in fact I preferred it. I feel more comfortable in a known environment.

I also had more furniture than most people too, since I had a bigger place. Some things were what was given to everyone like a bed, a dresser, and a small kitchen table. The rest I’ve scrounged up from hidden areas in the tunnels, or built myself. Some of this stuff had been here for years but no one has used it for so long that it had been forgotten about. I managed to find a couch in an old storage room at the end of an unused tunnel. I found a recliner type chair buried in a tunnel that had a cave in years ago. I have a couple old milk crates that I fixed up for end tables. I used old wood to build me a coffee table. I sure wasn’t going to win any awards for interior decorating, but it felt like home to me.

Christina stood in the doorway to my kitchen staring at my coffee maker. Not for the fact that it was one that should have expired years ago, or the fact that they were no longer made. She never could understand that I like things like my coffee pot. I like old electronic devices. They fascinated me. I have a couple others like what they call a toaster, and one they called a blender. I love my blender.

“You hate coffee. Why even bother making any? You will only drink half a cup before dumping it down the drain, and groaning about every sip you take.” she asked.

I didn’t even look at her while I hunted down the only coffee mug I owned, a plain ulterior black one. “I guess it rubbed off from Eric. Eventually it was gonna happen.”

Christina laughed, but not because it was funny. There was definitely no love lost between her and Eric. “Maybe, but I will be the one dealing with you while you complain all day that the coffee made you sick to your stomach.”

“Shut up.” I muttered knowing she was right. She laughed in humor this time. She loved proving me wrong. She loved proving anyone wrong. A fact that still annoys me from time to time, but at least she wasn’t the type to rub people’s noses in it. She would admit when she was wrong though. She wasn’t the self righteous type.

“Come on. Joshua said that we were to report to the training room in an hour, and it takes thirty minutes alone to get through the tunnels to get there.”

“When did he say this? I wasn’t even supposed to report until 10 am which is another 2 hours from now.” I asked, surprised.

“He messaged us on our communicators about 10 minutes ago. Why aren’t you wearing yours?” she chided me.

“I have only been up about 15 minutes when you decided to ruin my morning coffee with your early morning happiness. I was scheduled to work the control room on the late shift.” I complained while sipping this foul drink. I turned to add a large amount of sugar. I wish I had milk to add to it, but I hadn’t picked up my allotment of the powder milk that is given to us. I guess I’ll have to make the best of it. I refused to let Christina know she was right any more than she was.

“Well you know that Joshua has always had it in for you.” She didn’t really have to explain that to me. I used to be Joshua’s favorite until I turned him down when he asked me out. He had made it extremely obvious that he wasn’t used to being scorned. The fact that I got with Eric not long after that definitely didn’t help the situation any. He couldn’t punish Eric for it because he is his superior. But he sure could make my life hell for it. I laugh to myself. It sounded like one of those old romance novels that used to be in print before they were banned. It didn’t benefit us, so they said we didn’t need them. They are a rare trading item now. Even if it wasn’t a romance book, other books would have been beneficial to everyone, but the rest of the commanders wouldn’t listen.

“OK, give me five minutes and I will be ready.” Christina laughed when, like she said I would, I dumped the half cup of coffee down the drain. I had to rinse it out because of the mound of sugar that coated the bottom of my mug.

I went to my closet, well the hole in the wall I called my closet, and grabbed my uniform. I was proud of my closet. I chiseled the granite that the compound was made of, until it left an indention big enough for me to fit my clothes. Now every uniform looked alike except for the colors, sturdy cargo pants, dress down type shirt and an undershirt to go under it. Each uniform consisted of military type clothes but each with different colors. Each color represented what job division you were in, but everyone’s training uniform was the same though. I think that they purposely picked the ugliest colors they could find. It was the color of pea soup, and since pea soup was a specialty among the kitchen, I could relate to the color.

Once dressed, I put my hair in the regulation bun, and grabbed my combat boots that are a requirement for training. “OK, I’m ready to go.”

Christina walked ahead of me so I could shut and lock the door behind me.

“Are those new locks?” she asked.

“Yup. Had to use three of my points to get it.” I answered. Money has no value here. It was abolished years ago. We now use a point system. You get so many points for working, and so many points for training. Everyone got a small amount of points every month, but working and training gave us more points, like a paycheck. Those that work at the control room, like me, made a decent amount of points. I know many that are struggling because their jobs barely cover everything they need. We all get an allotment for food, and an allotment of points, but that barely covered the necessities needed to survive. Just like before the war. I guess some things will just never change. Some lead the easy life down here, while others struggle to live. You would think that with the human population being so small that they would make it easier for everyone. Not here. And people sometimes wonder why I don’t like the governmental type system they have going on here.

“Why would you have to do that? You and Eric are the only one with keys. And it’s not like you have anything really worth stealing.” Christina didn’t consider my collection of electrical parts something worth stealing. Her specialty was gathering, she had no idea the importance of my collection.

“You know that I like my privacy. I noticed a couple weeks ago that someone had been in my apartment while I was at work. And since Eric was gone on assignment, I knew it wasn’t him.” Like Christina though, I wondered about the reason that someone would break into my apartment. My collection was only important to me. I had nothing else worth taking. The only thing I could come up with that the break in wasn’t with the intention of robbery, but something else. No matter how hard I tried, any other reason eluded me.

“Did you report it?!” Christina gasped.

I shrugged. “What’s the point. You know that Joshua has most of the idiots that run this place in his pocket. Since he is my supervisor in the control room, he will just swear that nothing was caught on camera. Even if they do decide to investigate it, they won’t do anything. They would go through the gestures of trying because of Eric, but nothing will come of it.”

“You know that you have a real problem with authority, you know that? And keep it down. You know what happens to those that say anything against our leaders!” she reprimanded.

“I know. I know.” I’m well known for liking to buck against the system. Which is probably why I spent quite a bit of time in the box, a room equipped for sensory deprivation. I’ve gotten better lately though. That is actually how I first met Eric. Now that we are a couple, I really have to watch what I say against my superiors. I knew Christina wouldn’t report me. But they always have ways of finding out. Joshua’s spies were everywhere and he would love to have a reason to have me sent to the box. Joshua would love to have a reason to give me any type of punishment.

We jogged down the multitude of tunnels toward the training room. Everyone that first gets here gets uncontrollably lost trying to find anything. The tunnels were all carved out the the granite rock we had our compound, so they all looked the same. It’s not long before everything comes like second nature when finding where you are supposed to go. I know the way around better than most. I sometimes have nightmares that keep me awake at night, and I got into the habit of wandering around. I have a deep suspicion that I know more than I should know. There were still tunnels that I had no idea where they lead too, and I’ve been here two years. There are miles and miles of tunnels under here. I was told that the compound is a part of a cave system that was here before the war. It was sealed to protect everyone from Creatures that might find their way in. It took years to make it into a living environment for multiple people.

When we arrived, there were already a few people there. The training facilities were large open spaces that held multiple weapons for us to train with, a track that looped around the whole room, mats for sparing and fighting matches, and weights and benches for those that wished to use them. Joshua was writing on a clipboard. I knew we were on time, so he couldn’t be writing me up. Yet. He had to start being careful on what he writes me up for. On a rare time when Eric stood up for me, Joshua was reamed for bringing false or irrelevant charges against me. I felt guilty about Eric fighting my battle, until Christina stated that Eric would have done that for any of the trainees. I didn’t want to be singled out. Him standing up for me is the only thing that has saved me many times, and I hated that he did that. I am comforted that Eric would do that for anyone in the compound, but I don’t want rumors that I was given special attention. I don’t care what others say about me, I am worried more for Eric.

“OK trainees.” Joshua called. “We are going to have two hours of PT to wake everyone up that seems to think it’s too early for this.” A few laughed, but I knew it was directed at me, as I couldn’t help but yawn. I noticed that I was the only one there that was from the night shift. It’s a good thing that I am used to running on little sleep. I wasn’t about to give Joshua the satisfaction that he made my life inconvenient in any way. Giving Joshua any form of satisfaction went against my grain. Besides I have the night off tonight and I can relax later.

When I first got here, two hours of PT didn’t bother me like it did others. The only reason that I did ache was because of the inactivity that I had gotten used to when I started living here. Now my body enjoyed the chance to stretch and burn off excess energy, or in this case, find the energy to start the day. I already had a slight buzz from the coffee, so I was raring to go. Christina and I didn’t bother to talk, it would only leave us breathless. She is one of the few that can keep up with me, but she has been training with me for almost 2 years.

I loved how my body stretched and molded along with the exercises. I may not have the most model type body, and my body wasn’t quite voluptuous. Christina was the type that had curves in all the right places. She had the figure that every woman’s self confidence take a hit when she was in the room. I wasn’t a stick figure, I did have a few curves, but I was mostly the lean type with more angles than curves. When you spend your life fighting to hunt and eat, your body gains more muscle from the exertion. I had more curves now than what I did when I first arrived from the surface. The only fighting I did now was the weapons training I did.

Not many people come from the surface. In fact, I’m the only one that this compound has heard of. The nuclear war decimated most of what was up there. At least anything you were consider normal. It took years for the Earth to start to heal itself and grow plants and breed animals. Sadly though, radiation was still present in the lands, seas, and skies. Acid rain was still active and dangerous to everyone and everything on the surface. The radiation mutated many things, including creatures that made your nightmares seem like daydreams. Even though I know I am safe down here, the nightmares will leave me in a cold sweat at nights. Sometimes Eric is with me at night, and is able to calm me down before they get too bad. I’ve actually hit him a few times, not knowing who he was, when he tried to wake me when I was in throes of one. I don’t remember anything. If I do remember, I don’t tell him that I do. I don’t share my nightmares. Or my dreams.

Eric often goes to the surface with search groups looking for other survivors, and to scavenge materials needed in the compound. At least that was what everyone has been told when it came to trying to find survivors. I am always suspicious of any information given to me unless I see it for myself, even from Eric. It’s not that I don’t trust him, I don’t trust that he gives me the whole story, or that he is even given the whole story. Me showing up gave some hope that maybe humanity has survived. Others just consider me a freak considering that I lived in a radiation mutated world that few had seen. And the ones that have seen, usually don’t come back unless they are in the militia. Not all of them came back either. After telling the commanders everything I knew from up above, they shoved me into working in the control room. Guess they had no where else to put me when they were done with me. My familiarity of working with electronics was my only saving grace. Even me telling them what I remember will not prepare them for what they will see. Just like the old saying, ‘Seeing is believing’.

After feeling the pull of the exercises, we were granted a break to regain our senses and catch our breath. You can always tell who were the ones that only exercised when they were forced too, they were the ones panting like they just ran a marathon. This was the advanced training classes. I often wondered how some of these people even qualified for these classes. Christina and I wandered over to the where they had the jugs of purified water. Water has gotten more precious, and we had to resort to getting it the same way that the pioneers did many years ago. Scientists have discovered a mineral that grows in cactus that filters out the chemicals from the acid rain. It may be natural, but it still leaves a garlic taste in your mouth. But no one complains. It’s a fact of life now.

“Is it me, or is Joshua in a worse mood today than he usually is?” Christina remarked as she watched him bellow at some people that looked like they were going to cry. He abuses the fact that he is a superior, to intimidate others.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Joshua is always in a bad mood.” I answered as I sipped from my cup. We were only allowed one cup at a time, and I wanted to make sure that it was spent replenishing all the water I just sweat out. “You would think that with Eric leaving on another assignment soon, he would be in a better mood.”

“When does he head out?” she asked.

“In a couple days.”

Christina stared at me intently. “Are you OK with him going out again?”

I shrugged, “Why wouldn’t I be?” She gave me that look like she was talking to a child. “What?” I asked.

“You know as well as I do that it makes you anxious every time he leaves.”

I hung my head. “I know. But how else am I supposed to feel? I’ve seen what it’s like up there. He sees some of it every time he goes up. But he has never truly seen it. Not like I have. I know what these creatures and plants can do.”

Christina gave me a one arm hug. “It will be alright. Eric is one of the best. That is why they send him. He brings back everyone on his team every time.”

Just then we see a shadow come over us just seconds before we hear his voice, “Hey! No PDA here.”

We just laugh. “Hey Jared.” I smile at him. “So where is the wife today?” Jared was married to one of our scientists, a brilliant organic chemist. Melanie has one of the most important jobs down here. We are forever trying to get a handle on the dwindling resources. We are growing our own food from seeds that managed to survive the war. The water needed for them to grow is full of that cactus mineral, and it is having a bad reaction to the plants. We are still able to grow them, but each harvest is getting smaller. We always plant the same amount, but it’s the plants themselves. We all have been forced to become vegetarians. The only meat in this world now is the animal creatures from the surface, and the radiation in their blood could be harmful to our bodies. Except for me, which still stumps the scientists. I have the ability to neutralize the radiation. That is how I was able to survive on the surface. No one was willing to diffuse this theory.

“She thinks she has had a break through, and is knee deep in books.” he answered. The scientists are the only ones that the commanders found to have the need for books.

“Really?” I asked hopeful. “You think we might be able to fix the problem with the food? What exactly is she working on?”

Jared looked at me like I was dumb. “You know that I have no clue what she talks about half the time. I am just her sound board.”

Christina grinned up at him, “So what does she see in you?”

Jared puffed out his chest and gave her a villainous grin that looked like it came out of a bad cartoon. His black hair and mustache just added to it. “What do you think?” he answered, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Christina push him away from her, “Gross! The last thing I need to have is an image in my head of you in any version of that!”

Jared and I both laughed, but that was cut short with a glower from Joshua.

“You think you three can join the rest of us and pay attention? You might actually learn something.” he sneered.

The three of us gave each other the knowing looks and sauntered over to where everyone else was crowding around.

“Now that everyone is listening, we can start.” he said glaring at us, or actually me. “We will be working on our shooting at the range today. Most of you can manage to hit the target, so we will start working with scopes. Most of you will never use them, but if the case, you need to at least need to be familiar with them.”

I groaned inwardly. Now don’t get me wrong, I am no where near being the worst shot. But I get panicky when I have to use a red pinpoint to hit anything. I feel like I have to be a perfect shot when I use those. I’ll stick with using my knives. I am more comfortable with them, and I know that I can hit any target with more accuracy than most people can on the rifles with scopes.

The three of us walk over to the table where the guns are situated and was joined by a couple more of our friends, Al and Wes. Of course they were late. They always were. Joshua never complained about them. Al once beat the crap out of Joshua when they were in training together, and Wes’s father was one of the commanders that often went out on assignments with Eric. He wasn’t too bad of a kid. Never did understand how him and Al became friends, they are as opposite as you could get. Even in looks. Al was one of those men that was just naturally big. Linebacker is the word I was looking for. Professional sports have long been extinct, even before the war. He also had one of those pretty boy faces that charms the socks off of most the women down here. Wes was tiny. One could almost call him dainty. But never to his face. Small or not, he had one hell of a right hook.

“So you two decided to finally join us?” I asked.

Al laughed. “Sorry, I was up late with a project.”

“Really?” I grinned. “What is your project’s name this time? Elizabeth? Mary? Mildred?”

Al laughed and shoved me lightly, but it still almost knocked me to the ground. “A good boy is raised to never kiss and tell.”

“Right. Like I won’t hear about it in a couple days, some girl crying in some corner about getting her heart broken.” That happened often. With the naturally wavy blond hair, and piercing blue eyes, Al left a row of broken hearts everywhere he went.

Wes grinned at me. “Her name this time is Anne.”

“Anne White?!” I asked shocked.

Al looked over at me, “You know her?”

“Of course I know her. Who doesn’t? She is the preacher’s daughter.” Most people aren’t religious anymore, but there are still quite a few that held on to their faith. We have a few preachers, priests, rabbis and whatever else down here. We have a room specifically for religious purposes. All the religious figureheads worked out a schedule so that those of all faiths can worship. I don’t attend any of them, but I know others that do.

“Well you know what they say about preacher’s daughters,” he said laughing at me. Even though it has been decades, some stereotypes lasted though the years. I’m glad I defy categorization. For Anne’s sake, I hope she defied hers too.

I looked over to see Wes trying to steal glances of Christina as she laughed shaking her head. I looked up at Al and caught his knowing look. We both knew that Wes had a serious thing for Christina. Christina just seemed oblivious to it. She was 8 years his senior, which means nothing now a days. Conformity went out the window when the human population went down like 80%. We still had the taboos that never really left, but there were less of them. Wes was 17 and she was 25, which is only a year younger than me. My friends usually called me Grandma because I was the oldest by 3 months. Al was right under me, leaving Wes as the baby of our group. Jared was 23 and his wife was only 19. Age was based on more than just the number of years since your birth. Fighting for survival does that to people. There were couples with even wider age groups than them. No one pays attention anymore.

Christina nudged me, “We better head over to the ranges. Joshua the Jerk is glaring at us again.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see that Joshua was indeed giving us the evil eye. When he quickly looked away, I was surprised. Until I looked up and saw Al giving him an even more evil eye. We all laughed and headed back through the tunnels.

The tunnels weren’t really lit up, but they weren’t completely dark either. A form of iridescent worm was found underground that had a glowing quality. It didn’t have the brightness of the sun, but it kept us from stumbling over our own feet. We actually had maintenance men that helped maintain the worms. We had to be careful not to kill off the population.

Once at the range, it was hard to hold any type of conversation. The ear phones that we used blocked out any type of outside noise. The constant sound of guns going off would have made conversations hard even without the ear phones. We were only able to practice for about an hour before we broke for lunch. Then most of us were headed to our daily assignments. I hardly made it to the door when Joshua stopped me.

“I need to talk to you.” he said.

I had a deep feeling that I wasn’t going to like whatever he had to tell me. He wasn’t yelling, so I was hoping it wasn’t going to be a tirade on something I supposedly did wrong. “Yes?” I asked. I always keep my conversation with him as short as possible. Which usually meant that he got once word answers or questions.

“I need you to work tonight.” he answered. It was obvious that if he wasn’t yelling at me, he talked as little as he had to also.

“OK.” I answered and walked out the door. I didn’t bother to ask why. I knew he wouldn’t give me an answer even if I wanted it.

My friends were waiting outside the door waiting on me.

“What was that all about?” Christina asked.

I shrugged, “He just wanted to tell me that he needed me to work tonight.”

That ticked her off. “He works you late shift last night. Makes you train early morning, knowing you only had a couple hours sleep. And now he wants you to work again tonight? Did you ask him why?”

I shook my head. “Nope. You know he wouldn’t get me an answer.”

She sighed, “Yeah I know.” Then she put her arm around my shoulders. “Let go see what they are going to poison us today at lunch. She always knew how to put a smile on my face.

As we headed to the lunchroom, my stomach started to rumble, reminding me that I never got to eat breakfast. While most of my friends were off to work, I was going to have to finally go to the store and pick up my groceries. Even though everything was on allotment, the bureaucrats tried to keep up the pretenses of normal living. It is like a mixture of school, and real life. We had a store where we could use our points to buy the necessities we needed for every day life. Our uniforms were made and washed for us, so we never had to worry about that. The food alloted to us was enough to keep us in breakfast and some dinners. We were expected to join everyone in the lunchroom, which was open for 3 hours as not everyone could fit in at once. We just came and left anytime during those three hours. The lunchroom also opened for dinner, for those that wished to go out to eat rather than eat at home. Lunches were free to everyone, but to have dinner here would cost you points. It seemed like a waste to me, so I never went there for dinner. I preferred to cook at home.

We had the ability to cook at home. Some people years ago set up solar panels that in turn gave us electricity. Some places, like the tunnels, didn’t have any sort of wiring to them, and that’s when we used the worms. We were only allowed to use electricity until 9 pm, then everyone switched to the worms. During the day, we stored the energy of the solar panels, to be used during rainy days if there are any. It hasn’t rained in months up on the surface. Even if it does rain, it’s not a good thing. Acid rain does more damage than good. A good downpour could destroy a whole crop in mere hours.

Al worked on the solar panel crew. Their job was to guard, clean, and maintain the panels. Since that consisted of staying above on the surface, there are few that want the job. The chance of mutated creatures, that are attracted to the light, attacking was a real problem. Most of the creatures preferred the night and dark holes, but there are still others. And there were the dust storms. The longer we go without rain, the more of a chance we had for them. Al’s work uniform was a tannish brown, to blend him into the landscape.

Like I said, Christina was a gatherer. She worked and helped maintain the crops that we have been able to grow down here. That is another thing we use the solar panels for. Obviously we can’t have the plants grow on the surface, so the panels were used to reflect the sun enough to provide what the plants needed to grow. It was a stifling job, as it was closer to the surface than most jobs. The reflections could only penetrate so deep into the earth. She seems to love her job. I swear she could convince any plant to grow. The crops seemed to grow from the sheer strength of her will. Her uniform was a beautiful dark emerald green. A much prettier green than the training uniforms. She occasionally worked with Jared’s wife Melanie as they worked on the problems that kept popping up with our crops. Christina wasn’t as smart as Melanie, but she knew the plants better. They make a really good team together.

Jared worked in weaponry. We had special assignment groups that go out specifically to bring back scrap metal that littered our planet now. There was a abandoned city that was about a week’s march from here. They used to use vehicles, but the natural resource of gasoline was used up years go. He used to be a welder when the world was the way it should be. Now he uses his talent to create weapons to defend ourselves for those that go to the surface, and bullets for our guns. There are others that he works with, their only job is to melt down the metal for the bullets. I pity those. They have to work with extreme heat down in the furnaces. Since those furnaces also keep our rooms warm at night during the freezing nights on the surface that seems to seep deep into the earth with us. All of them wear gray uniforms. Those, like Jared who work with the weapons, have an emblem of crossed swords sewn onto the arm of their uniform.

Wes is another one of our scientists, like Melanie. All scientists wear red uniforms. Each one had a different emblem sewn on their sleeves depending on which unit the worked for. Melanie has a tree on hers, representing organic chemistry. With her dark brown hair and hazel eyes, her uniform looks good on her. Wes has an unfortunate hair color for a boy, strawberry blond. His eyes are a grayish/green that are memorizing to stare into, if you can get him to look at you. He spends most of his time looking into a microscope. The emblem he wears is a DNA strand. Wes is fascinated with how our bodies worked and the bodies of the creatures we brought down here to study. But his specialty is the human DNA. His work is more important than many realize. The bacteria and viruses that existed before the war are still around, but stronger and more mutated strands of it. We have to stay on top of each new sickness that arises, or we could be looking at the complete extinction of our own species. That is actually how I met Wes. I worked with him extensively when I first came here. I was able to describe the illness that struck human and creatures alike.

Now what I call creatures, weren’t always animals that we once knew. Some were actually humans that mutated to the point of turning their brains back into just our animal instincts. They lived for just the basic needs. In short, the need to feed. I have met many mutants that were humans. Although their bodies showed the effect of the radiation that penetrated almost everything up there, their brains and intellect were still as they always were. Just like before the war, there were some that were horrific and cruel, and then there were those that were compassionate and loving. The bureaucrats here didn’t believe that. Because they themselves were saved of the mutations, they believed that only those that are ‘pure’ are worth saving. Their assignments for finding survivors, was in fact looking for survivors like me. Or so everyone has been told. Personally, I think they just tell that to everyone to make it look like they actually care about other possible humans that survived the war without being mutated. I lived on the surface for years, I still show no sign of being mutated or any bad side effects of living among radiation so long. Guess some things never change, including ignorant assholes in government.

I work in the control room. That was sheer luck because I was always good with computers and all things electrical. I asked to be a trainer at one point and was turned down. Jared confided in me that the other trainers were worried that I would replace them all. So I went to the control room. Upon my insistence, I had the government form a special scavenger group for computer parts and electrical wires and the such. They usually went on their assignments the same time that Jared’s group left out. There is a safety in numbers. I can’t repair anything, if I didn’t have the tools, wires, or other hardware that is needed. How they managed to keep them running before I got there is beyond me. Joshua just sees me as a glorified maintenance man. I see him as a glorified asshole. It works.

I understand why they have a control room to an extent. We have one room that is designed for the cameras up on the surface. We have someone there constantly watching for creatures, the weather, the dust storms, and anything else that is out of the ordinary. These ones I do believe are vital to the compound. The other room we have is for the cameras around the compound and throughout the tunnels. What we are supposed to be watching around here is confusing to me. I’m not like other ‘Watchers’, as we are called. If you have your lights on past 9 pm because you forgot and are 5 minutes late, I’m not going to say anything. If you are caught getting a little freaky down one of our abandoned tunnels, I’m not going to say anything. As long as you’re not doing any serious violations, I don’t care. This is where most of Joshua’s spies worked. They will run and tell him every little thing that anyone does wrong, and in exchange, get special treatment. Personally, I don’t think that the special treatment out weighs being known to everyone as a snitch.

My uniform is a deep navy blue, not a bad color on me. I have a dark auburn hair with hazel eyes that are known for changing color depending on my mood. That definitely works against me at times. Other times, it warns people when to stay away from me, at least the smart ones. People were leery about me when I started wearing my uniform. I couldn’t blame them, they were leery to all Watchers. They eased up around me once they found out that I wasn’t one of Joshua’s tools, and that I didn’t use my job to find blackmail material on anyone. I think that is how Joshua has the amount of power that he has down here. He isn’t a higher ranked superior to get away with what he does. I don’t turn a blind eye to everything, but I don’t punish or go tattling about everything. The best part is that I know where every camera is, so I know how to avoid them if needed. Sometimes I do just because I have a feeling that Joshua watches me, and it annoys him if he can’t find me. This sometimes makes me feel like I’m back on the surface and constantly feel like someone, or something, is watching me.

After washing down a sickening soup that I couldn’t even begin to figure out was in it, I waved to my friends as I headed to the store. Al wasn’t due to start his shift for a couple more hours, so I’m sure he was headed to work on his ‘project’ some more. I had to feel sorry for the girl. Each new girl that got with him seemed to think that they would be the one that could change him. Al is what everyone would call a ‘player’. No one, even him, denies it but the girls and women still flock to him. He does have his standards though. He stays away from married women, girls that are too young, and he doesn’t intentionally hurt any of them. He just gets bored easily, no female has kept his attention for very long.

Jared was bringing his wife lunch. She had a bad habit of forgetting to eat when she gets started on something. It’s endearing how he does these actions without really thinking about it. They are just second nature to him. Actions that he does like that makes me wish I had someone that would do that for me. I mentally smacked myself. I have someone, he’s just the way his is, and I love him for the way he is.

I strolled down the brightest tunnels where all the stores were. I didn’t usually use my points for shopping except when necessary. I was so used to going without when living on the surface that I didn’t really use my points on frivolous things. We had a clothing store. Many of those that maintained our uniforms spend their extra time making normal everyday clothes for those that didn’t like wearing their uniforms all the time. Their uniforms were a vibrant purple. They used to be pink, but the males that work in this division threw a fit about it. There weren’t many males, but there were a few. They compromised with purple. Except for a couple t-shirts and night shorts, I haven’t been in there. I don’t mind my uniform. They were comfortable, and it’s not like I was trying to impress anyone. Christina had piles of clothes and was forever trying to get me into one dress or another. It’s no wonder that she often ran out of her paycheck points. I made more points than her a week, and I don’t spend them, so I don’t mind letting her spend a few of mine here and there.

We had regular stores where you bought most of your necessities like soap, shampoo, and other things of that nature. This was where everyone went to spend their alloted points the first of every month. Everything that is sold in this store was made by someone in this compound. We actually have a division that makes soaps and other cleaning supplies. They wear orange uniforms. Not that ugly burnt orange color, but the color of oranges that used to grow on the surface. Some of them get creative with scents for the women down here, and even a few scents for men, but I just stick with the normal unscented soap. Since the flowers on the surface weren’t what they used to be, the scents they used in the soaps smelled more like chemicals to me.

The grocery store was the biggest room at the end of the hall. Everyone get a paper with what we are alloted to use to eat. Almost like our point system. The food that is sold is limited, but each one comes with a price. We are automatically given so many points with our cost of living. The prices were based on whether it is more specialized. We have planting plots that specialize in vegetables that aren’t as common as, like to say, corn. I wasn’t the most experimental cook, but I could cook, and there was usually a variety of canned fruits and vegetables. They even had the rarer foods like eggplant. Those that wear yellow uniforms are the one that are stuck canning most of our food so that it will last longer. I just stick with what I know I can cook. Eric has never complained, but then he never did. He was one of the worst cooks I’ve ever known. I’ve only heard him complain a few times, and that was only when he was really irritated. I’ve only seen him get really mad once. And that was when he reamed into Joshua. He doesn’t get loud when he gets mad. The saying ‘silent but deadly’ comes to mind when I think of him.

At the store, I nodded to a few people that I knew. I didn’t socialize much, but I was known to quite a few people. Some people still steer clear of me because I had come from the surface, even though I have been here a couple years already. Sometimes I feel like I wear a huge sign telling everyone where I’m from. The stares and the glares never did bother me, they just get old after a couple years. I’ve been ignoring them since I got here. Even on the surface there were humans that treated me that way. I’ve been used to it for most of my life.

Leaving with my groceries, I ran into a few of my students. The good things about living on the surface, is that I am self sufficient. And I am trained to kill. Living on your wits where almost everything around you thinks you’re food, you learn to be faster, stronger, quicker, and deadlier than your opponents. Size had nothing to do with it. I have seen men bigger than me go down to the smaller creatures. At one time, I took a chance to teach others.

When I was here just a couple weeks, I noticed that there were many people that seemed to be exempt from all kinds of training. I know that they start with younger kids, and that everyone was trained with the basics. Most stopped after the basics, and were content to just go onto their jobs, or go into apprenticeship for those that needed more schooling. And just like life was before the war, some didn’t do either, but got married and let their spouse work while they stayed home. Whether it was because of a disability, children, or because they didn’t want to.

I happened to walk by an argument with some people with one of our trainers. Apparently some of the people wanted further training, and the trainer was stating that there was no reason as their jobs didn’t require it. I do further training because ‘in case something comes up while watching in the control room’, Al is obvious why he keeps training. Jared does because of the strength alone needed to deal with the scrap metal, and he needs to know how to test out his work. Christina and Wes got in with me because of Eric. That’s why Joshua doesn’t like them much either. I don’t usually ask Eric for much, but this was before we got together and he is a lot more sympathetic than most.

Anyway, as I was walking away, the trainer left, and the crowd was grumbling among themselves.

“What’s the problem?” I asked as I wandered up to the group. I wasn’t really the type to just walk up to a group, but I couldn’t fathom why they wouldn’t train those that wanted to be trained.

“What’s it to you?” a snooty blond girl with a pageboy cut snapped at me.

“Shut up Lauren!” a dark haired boy said. “That is the new comer that came from the surface.”

Lauren had a brief scared look in her eyes, before she went back into her bad ass mode. “So?”

A redhead girl that had a redheaded boy beside her, obviously twins, rolled her eyes. “So? Do you think that she made it alive up there without being able to defend herself?”

“Don’t be a smart aleck Amber.” the Lauren snapped back. She turned, crossed her arms, and looked at me with disdain. “Besides, she doesn’t look like much to me.”

In a split second, I had the knife I kept in my pocket right up against her jugular in her neck. I leaned in to whisper in her ear, but it was still loud enough for everyone else to hear. “I don’t have to look like much to slit your throat and watch your life blood spill out without a care.”

The admiration went quickly through the group as they saw me handle the knife that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. It was obvious that I was not an amateur. The cold look in my eye was made to make sure that I wasn’t joking. I had nothing against any of those kids. But I was going to make it completely clear that I was not someone to go up against.

“So I will ask again, what is the problem?” I asked while slipping my knife back into my pocket.

The one that Lauren had called Amber answered. “We already went and passed all the basic training. We asked the trainer, but he refuses to let us pursue any more training.”

“Why?” I asked confused.

“Well,” the red headed boy answered, “He said that none of us are put on the list as necessary for needing the extra training. They are strong believers of not wasting anything.”

“Including time.” a small brunette girl finished.

“Well that’s a load of crap.” I replied. “Everyone that wants to learn should get the chance. You never know when the situation will arise that will make you wish you did.” I looked around them. “Why are you all considered not necessary?”

The small brunette answered again, “Well it all depends. Lauren is going to go into working with the uniforms. They said that seamstress don’t need to know.” Lauren, unwillingly, agreed. “Amber and her twin brother Aaron here are going into the medical field. They said that they don’t have time for more training with the extra schooling that they have to go through.”

The dark hair boy then spoke up, “I am going into working in weaponry. I will need the extra training, but they said that it wasn’t time for me to start because I am so young.”

“Well that’s another load of crap.” I said. “Age has nothing to do with being ready. Creatures don’t give a flip about how old you are. They just care about getting you into their stomaches.”

“Why do you call them Creatures? Aren’t they called anything else?” said a wee girl in the back. The group parted so that I could see her because she was so short. She immediately made me think of a Q tip with the amount of brown curls that surrounded her head. She didn’t look to be older than 12.

“Because that is what they are, Creatures. There are many different type of creatures, but as a whole, we call them Creatures.” I explained.

The tiny girl name Cassandra wasn’t just satisfied with that answer. “Really? What kind is there? Are they all just animals? I heard that humans became Creatures too. Have you seen them?”

The questions were launched at me one right after another. I looked at her. “I’m gonna guess that you are going to be an apprentice for a scientist, and have to go for further schooling.”

Cassandra blushed, “How did you know?”

I smiled, “You are obviously curious, and seem to question everything.”

She laughed out loud. “You’re right. I am going to work with Melanie in organic chemistry.”

I smiled again, “I know her. She is the wife to my friend Jared.”

Amber walked up to me with a kind of hopeful but scared look on her face. “Could you train us?”

“What?” I asked surprised.

“Well it is obvious that you have training. Probably more than most the trainers here.”

“And you could teach us more than the scientists here.” her brother piped up. “At least about the truth that is going up on the surface.”

With all the hopeful looks around me, I felt all my worries about doing this just drain away. They seriously wanted to learn. Eager for learning. I’ve trained others before, but never at this compound. And never to those that haven’t lived on the surface before. I have seen what can happen to those that didn’t have the ability to defend themselves when they needed it most.

“Lets do this.” I agreed.