Apocalypse Mentis

Nuclear Warning

It's Sunday, Hannah, a girl with short lilac hair, is sitting in her room, tapping her pencil on her desk, listening to music and just looking out the window. She was just getting lost in her thoughts. She imagined what life would be like if mental illnesses didn't exist. She and all her friends have some kind of illness and she hated it. They all met through a support group for kids with "special needs". People always make fun of her for it. Why can't they just look past her mental illness and see her true personality? This question always ran through her head. She was sick of it. Why couldn't it be over? She hated taking pills every day, going to support group, and getting bullied because of something she can't help. You see, Hannah had severe depression. She didn't like telling new people, worried that they'd all just leave her behind like everyone else. Another thing that sent people running was, Hannah was openly gay. Both things, she couldn't help but people bullied her for it. Hannah always wished that mental illnesses could just, disappear. She just want to be normal and happy. Or what society calls "normal". She sat, at her desk lost in thought when she heard mom calling for her downstairs. Usually her mom sounded nice and calm but this time, when Hannah heard her name, she got chills down her spine. Her mom sounded scared, what was going on? "H-Hannah!" Her mom called again, this time louder. Hannah took out her earphones and set them on the desk "Yes mom?" She waited for her answer. Every second felt like an entire lifetime "Please come down! Right now!" Her mom sounded panicky and on edge, this made Hannah feel her stomach drop. "Okay!" She yelled back and stood from her desk, what was going on? What should she prepare herself for? She shook her head and walked downstairs to find her mom and dad standing in front of their T.V., the news was on. She looked at her father and her eyes widened when she read what was on the bottom of the screen. "There are nuclear bomb threats being placed on America. The president is working to fix this problem but he is advising that everyone gets to a safe bunker until advised otherwise. There will be toxic air spreading around from any nuclear explosions."  Hannah felt a numb feeling wash over her. She wanted to react but she couldn't. She felt everything all at once but felt paralyzingly numb. She was scared but also tired. She couldn't say anything, she couldn't do anything. "Move! Do something! Anything! Help!" She screamed at herself in her head. Her dad turned to her, beads of sweat visible on his face. "We need to get to a bunker, now!" Hannah looked at her mom, she wasn't moving, she just stood there with a blank look on her face. "Mom?" Hannah looked at her and asked, nothing. She did not answer. She did not say anything. Hannah was about to say something again when she heard a loud, siren outside. It blared through the small town they lived in. They were about to be bombed. "Both of you go to the bunker, I'll get some stuff to survive and meet you down there!" Hannah's dad yelled at them over the siren, her mom did not want to budge. "No! I'm staying with you!" Her mom finally spoke up. Her dad knew there was no time to argue so he sighed and nodded "Okay fine, but Hannah, go! Get in the bunker and if I tell you to close the door, you listen to me! Okay?" Hannah gulped and nodded, with that she ran upstairs so she could grab some of her stuff. She grabbed her backpack and filled it with her phone, phone charger, earphones, her favorite book, a flashlight, and her journal with a pen. She zipped up the backpack and threw it over her shoulder. After it was secure on her back she sprinted down the stairs, and tripped on her way down. She fell down the stairs to the bottom but she stood up and brushed herself off before running again. She got to the door of the bunker in her basement and heaved open the heavy metal door. She took out her flashlight and turned it on, shining it into the small space. It was cramped, and dry. There was dust on the few wooden shelves that were poorly nailed to the wall. She stepped inside and shined her flashlight around the room. There were 3 beds, all of them were made but didn't look very comfortable. She then kept looking around trying to find a better source of light. To her surprise she found a battery powered lantern. She walked over to it and set her flashlight down on the ground. She felt around it, in the dark for the switch and found it on the bottom. She flipped the switch and the small, dark room lit up. Once the light filled the room, she looked around. There were 3 gas masks, a bookshelf filled with canned food and water, some playing cards, an outlet, a radio, a map, a knife, and an old riffle. She took off her backpack and set it on one of the beds, claiming it to be hers. She sat on the bed and took out her phone, no signal. She sighed and put her phone back in her bag. She was about to lay down on her bed when she heard the words from her dad she didn't want to hear "Close the door Hannah! We're not going to make it! We love you so much!" She didn't move, this wasn't real. But she stood up and did as she was told. She slowly walked to the door, and closed it. From the inside she locked it and right as she heard the click she heard a large boom outside. The ground shook. Everything around her shook. It was happening. Her small town she grew up in, was by now, gone. Her parents, gone. Her whole life, gone. The shaking knocked the lantern off the shelf it sat on and the light went off. There Hannah sat, alone, everything around her shaking. She couldn't do anything. She fell to the floor, maybe it was a dream, maybe she could go to sleep and wake up to find herself, in her bed. Maybe... Before she could think of something else, a part of the roof fell and hit her head, knocking her out. She laid, on the ground, in the dark, while her whole world, outside that metal door, is in ashes.