Also ignore the pictures I cant remove them
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In this setting Timothy and Emily are already at the bunker
I was the last person to get their room. "Nerissa Davidson. As a purple, you will be given a private furnished suite" she said to me as I followed her, "What's a purple?" I asked her. "The elite. The worthy. Those chosen to survive" she said watching my every move. I opened my wardrobe to reveal all purple clothing items, "Some of these are beautiful" I said pulling out a long dress. "In The Outpost, everybody knows their place. The purple's wear purple, the Grays, gray", "If you don't mind me asking. Who are the grays?". "Grays are our worker ants. Still a necessary component of any functioning society. The grays are here to serve. And grateful for the opportunity. The alternate being nuclear winter, cancer, death"
"What was this place before they turned it into a shelter?" I asked, "For many years, it served as an exclusive boys' school". "Who's school is subterranean?" I asked. "The cooperative, to whom we owe our eternal gratitude, took ownership and converted it once they realize what was coming", "The end?" I said. "No. The beginning. The cooperative has plans far beyond the temporary cleansing fire of the bomb. The cooperative is not made up of nations or armies. It's a collection of The dozen greatest minds mankind has to offer. The visionaries" It all started to slowly make sense. "Are you a purple? I'm sorry if I'm asking so many questions. This is all so new to me". "It's quite alright. You are the nicer one out of the rest of the pity party. But I am neither. Rather, I am the strong right arm of The Cooperative. Think of me as their face" I nodded in response.
"I highly doubt this place is a care free land, what are the rules here?" I asked quite sternly. "The house rules are simple. You will refer to me only as Ms. Venable. You may never leave the building. If you wander out into the grounds, you will not be allowed back in due to the dangers of radiation contamination. You will take your chances with the canker our monsters beyond the gates. And no unauthorized copulation of any kind, under any circumstances, no exceptions. You'll find the evening wear on the left side of the armoire. We dress for dinner. Cocktails in the music room at 6:30. Be prompt. There's no excuse for tardiness when there's nothing else to do" I smiled at her and she walked out of the room.
*2 weeks later*
It's been 2 weeks in this candlelit prison and I'm bored out of my mind. It's the same activity's every single day. It was time for cocktails, yet again.
(I know these dresses aren't the most old looking but they were the best purple dresses I could find 💀)
I went downstairs so see Gallant complaining about the song that was playing yet again. "This song— the same one every night" he moaned, "Oh, here we go" Andre said getting annoyed. "Where is it even coming from? And why do we have to listen to it? What are we missing here?" He said getting out of his seat, "About 99% of the world's population" Stu said. "Would've been better off dying with them". "If you don't stop moaning, the only reason why we won't be listening to that damn song anymore is because I've shoved that radio right up your goddamn a-" I said before Evie cut me off. "That's enough! Speak for yourself, darling" she said to Gallant, "Wouldn't have to drink this. Whatever this is". "It's mineral water" Andre said to him. "Did you get a chance to talk to Venable?" Mallory asked Coco, "No, she creeps me out". "It's not fair that they get to be purples and not me".
"Okay, he refused to touch my hair if he was a Gray, and she's been at the Oscars, and was best friends with Natalie Wood, so fucking get so perspective" Coco said. "Coco get a fucking grip, Mallory is the one deserving of a purple spot not you. She works her ass off day and night and all you do is bitch and moan about waiting for your dumbass macchiato. Maybe you are the one who should gain some perspective" I said sitting down on the couch. "It just plays over and over. 24 hours a day", "It's like Satan's Spotify playlist". "At this point I'd let Satan to come along and stab me in the fucking neck, or if he has a son that would work perfectly too" I said before Ms. Venable walked into the room. She rang the bell and spoke, "Dinner is served" she said guiding our way to the dining room.
We sat down in our assigned seats and got our cubes. "This is all we get. It's such a disappointment" Gallant complained, "Darling, you don't know what disappointment is until you've slept with Yul Brynner" Evie said. "I want to die" he said, "Now that's something I can agree with" I said taking a sip of my drink. "I'm still hungry. I am so tired of the hunger. Fuck this bullshit! With all the thought that went into this place, they don't have a single bag of Pirate's Booty in the pantry? For a hundred million dollars a ticket, I expect goddamn Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen cooking us real food!" Coco yelled as Ms. Venable abruptly slapped her in the face. "I'm going to be very clear so there will be no misunderstanding. We have enough nutrition for the next 18 months. And if our situation doesn't improve, you can count on less and less" she said before sitting down across from Mead.
"Situation? What is our situation?" Gallant asked angrily, "We had a perimeter alert this morning. Something penetrated the grounds. It was a carrier pigeon, delivering a message from our benefactors" Venable said. "Wait. A pigeon? Can we eat it?", "Are you a dumbass, it was contaminated by the fallout. We can't eat or touch anything from outside" I said to Coco. "Can we boil it?" Evie asked, "There are no more governments. Only rotting mounds of corpses, too many to bury. Starving people kill for a piece of bread. Three Outposts have been overrun. We are the last vestiges of civilized life on the planet. Be vigilant". "Everything we know is gone" Ms. Mead said, "In two weeks? That's all it took?" Andre asked. "It was always fragile. They made you think the system was a rock. It was a water balloon. One prick of the needle and... pop... that's all it took", "We will only survive if we follow the rules"
Fist came over and whispered into Meads ear causing a moment of silence. "There's a problem. We've detected a spike in the background radiation, centered in this room. Place your hands on the table and don't move" Ms. Mead announce. "Radioactive contamination's a grave risk to our entire community. The clean rule is there to protect all of us. A single stray gamma particle can cause skill lesions. You're DNA breaks apart, your body disintegrates. You'll wish you died in the blast. But someone here decided that their individual needs were more important. Someone went outside. Touched something dirty. Makes me sick to think this person was selfish enough to risk contaminating all..." she stoped as Gallants readings spiked.
"No. No, no, no, no, no. That's a mistake, because the only think I've touched is Coco's hair" he said, "She's clean. You're dirty". "No. this is impossible. That machine is wrong. Ow!" Gallant said while getting dragged away. "This is outrageous. Stop! Please stop. Bring him back" Evie yelled. At this point I knew what they were doing. I've learned in the past that putting a Geiger counter to a sensitivity of 10 could make anyone sound like Chernobyl. Nobody went outside, they just want to clear out some space so our supplies could last longer. They got Stu next, "No way. No, no way!" He yelled as they grabbed him too. "No! Get your hands off me!", "No!" Andre yelled sobbing. "Take them to the decontamination room" Ms. Mead said waking out of the room.
We all sat at the table in shock. "How could he be contaminated? Stu never went outside. He was with me most of the time" Andre said while crying, "Well, people do strange things when they're stuck inside 24/7. I've started masterbating with my off hand" Coco said fixing her hair. "Are you saying he deserved this?" Dinah asked her, "I'm saying Stu was boring, and using up our food, and that lesions won't work with my complexion". "Fuck you. I hope they come for you next" Andre spat, "Nobody's coming for anyone. Not unless you break the rules" Ms. Mead said, "This is a difficult time for everyone. As a small consolation we have a special treat" Ms. Venable said while opening a pot to reveal what looked like chicken.
"No cubes tonight?" Emily asked, "Enjoy the bonne bouche. Don't get used to it" she said as the plates began to be passed round. I wasn't hungry for anything, I have a small appetite, or at least that's what I told them. "You think bribing us with hot meal's just gonna make everything okay?" Andre said, "Oh, my god. I think my mouth just had an orgasm" Coco said. "Andre, we're not trying to bribe anyone, but there is something we all need to understand. There is no "us" and "them" We are in this together. No individual is greater than the group. We did what we had to do. This is quite simply a tragedy" Ms. Venable said carrying on with her meal. "Where have you been hiding the fresh meat?" Dinah asked, "We have resources... for special occasions" she said.
"I've never tasted anything like it" Gallant said, "It's chicken" Ms. Mead said bluntly. "That's not a chicken bone" Timothy said, "Tell me this doesn't look like a finger. Oh, Jesus Christ. Oh, this stew is Stu!" Andre yelled causing an uproar. "Oh! Oh, my god!" I screamed, "Mallory, come here and stick your fingers down my throat!" Coco yelled. "For heavens sakes, don't be ridiculous. There are lines that can never be crossed. Not eating people is of the first rank" Ms. Venable said not giving one shit, "I don't care what it is. It's absolutely divine. And it's full of fiber. I'm going to finish every drop" Evie said.
It was finally time to change and head into the lounge area. I picked out a light purple dress, and walked down to meet everyone:
"You're a monster. How could you keep eating? You knew what it was" Andre said to Evie, "It was chicken, Andre. Delicious white-meat chicken" she said back. "You're a cannibal. You're all cannibals!" He yelled, "Think about it. She ate it, too. Stu was contaminated. Why would Venable eat irradiated meat?" Dinah said calming him down. "That's right. Why would she feed us poison? The whole reason she is here is to keep us alive" Timothy said, "But where's his body, then? I want to see it. I want to see it. I want to see Stu!" Andre yelled, "shut up! Shut up! Just listen" I said. "I don't hear anything" Gallant said sitting on the couch, "Exactly. The song stopped" I said relieved, "It's been the same song for two straight weeks. Why would they suddenly change it? Don't you get it?! It's a message! Ah! The Cooperative Is trying to tell us something!". "They're saying, 'Hang on. We're coming for you'" Emily said, "We're gonna be rescued" Mallory boasted. "Yes, The Cooperative is coming for us. Halle-fucking-lujah!"
*18 months later*
"Maybe it's time to eat somebody" Gallant said, "Or just, like, an arm" Coco said trying to fix her messy hair. "He was right about the song. There was a morning after. It just looked exactly like the previous morning. We weren't rescued, no one ever came. But nuclear winter came, and it finished off anything the bombs had left alive. The world for colder, deadlier" I said to myself. We were all disheveled and exhausted, the next morning we got to our breakfast, half a cube. "I have an announcement. This will be our last breakfast. We're cutting back to one meal a day" Ms. Venable said, "You can't be serious" coco said. "An effective dieting technique" Evie said, "Yeah, so is starving to death!" She said getting angry.
"How are we supposed to survive on half a cube?" Gallant asked Venable, "It's not optimal, but also not impossible. Either way, we have no choice. Not if we want to keep eating at all". "I fucking can't do this anymore!" Gallant shouted, "We don't know how strong we are until we have to face adversity. This could be an opportunity for all of us to grow" Dinah said trying to be classy. "Finish that bumper sticker shit you used to say on your show, and I'm strong enough to shove this fork in your neck!", "Oh, calm down". "What is the point of all of this? Starving, killing each other, getting shot? All we're doing here is waiting around to see how we die" I said rubbing my temples, "I say we take our chances outside" Mallory boasted. "She's right. We have to get out of here".
"Nobody's going anywhere" Ms. Mead said, Gallant stood up and threw his plate at the wall causing it to smash. "What are you gonna do?! Shoot us all? Huh?! What are you gonna do?" He said acting tough. All of a sudden a loud alert tone chimes in our ears and the sirens caused the whole shelter to be red. "Perimeter alert. There's been a breach" she said.
Ms. Mead's POV
We put our protection on and ventured outside to see who or what had gotten into our grounds. The gate clattered open in the distance and we could here neighs coming from horses. We walked slowly towards the mysterious figure that just pulled up. "I need to speak with Ms. Venable" he told us, "Yes, sir, Mr. Langdon" I said to him. He walked passed us and waved his hand, "Tend to the animals" he said walking inside.
Langdon's POV
I walked inside to Ms. Venable's office. The doors got closed behind me leaving it me and her. "Wilhemina Venable. I'm in charger here" she said to me, "Of course you are" I said. "You don't sound like you believe me" she said, "Why wouldn't I? Seems like you've done a wonderful job. The walls are still standing. Your people are alive and healthy. Which is... quite a feat, considering" I said looking at the fire place. "Considering?" She asked me, "The three more Outposts have been overrun, and the remaining three won't last through the year" I told her. "Why are you here?" She asked, "Because it's only a matter of time beforethe same things happens to you. The good news is there's another facility, a sanctuary. This one's completely impregnable and stocked with enough supplies to last a decade" I said. "You're here to take us there" she said while smiling, "Hmm. I've been assigned to evaluate the people here and select the ones most worthy of survival. I could take all of you... or none of you. Those who make it, live. Those who don't...end up like my horses.
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