Suzy’s Strange Saga

“Suzy? You up?” Shrimpy asks and knocks on your door.

Normally you wouldn’t be this early, but in this rare instance you actually are.

“Yeah, I’m awake. I’ll be ready in a moment.” You say applying make up on your face.
“Okay, we’re all about as ready as we’re going to be, Lifto and Fatty have already put Klepto’s body in the hole we dug, so we’re all about as ready for this thing as we’re going to be. See you downstairs.”
“Hey Shrimpy can I say a few things at this event?” you ask before he walks away from the door.
“You mean like a eulogy? Sure I mean if you’ve got something to say then by all means go for it. Really we were all trying to come up with something formal, but I think we’re all still a little exhausted. Lifto actually broke down in tears yesterday about Klepto’s death. I think he’s upset that he tried to kill him just the day before and wishes their last moments were on friendlier terms.”
“Well, tell Lifto that the time for tears and regrets will soon be a thing of the past. I’m almost done, see you downstairs.”
“All right.”

You look at yourself in the mirror and finish applying lipstick. Not the exact shade of red you wanted, but it was the only lipstick that the previous owner hadn’t used yet. You’re just glad the girl had as much make up as she did so you could paint up your face proper.

Satisfied with your face, you stand up and look at yourself in the nearby full length mirror.

“Well it’s not my old carnival outfit, but yeah… this is definitely me now. Now and forever.” you say and walk towards the door.

Before leaving you stop and look towards the closet.

“Thank you for letting me borrow your make up and clothing.” You say and then giggle a bit.

You skip down the stairs and meet up with the rest. They’re all a bit more somber than you and are quite surprised to see your slightly energetic temperament.

“Suzy? That’s a uh interesting outfit.” Fatty remarks.
“Isn’t it though? Made it myself. Nothing like a new set of clothes to put you in a different mindset! In fact given that all of you have been running around in the same clothes for day on end, I’d say that all of you could use new clothes too. Those rags must be really filthy by now; you’ll all probably feel a lot more positive about things once you change. I’m sure we can gather up enough of this family of deadnecks’ clothing and I can make you all something. Anyway, we can talk about this later let us be on our way.”

Everyone is unsure of how to react to your new chipperish behavior especially given the circumstances, but they all just lead the way to Klepto’s open grave which has been dug out in the backyard of the house.

Klepto still looks about as dead as he did that last time you saw him, though someone has arranged his body in a respectful way. He even has some freshly pulled flowers in his hand.

“The flowers are a nice touch.” You remark not knowing who did it.
“Thank you.” Lifto says wiping away a tear.
“Shrimpy probably told you all that I was going to do a bit of a eulogy, but does anyone have anything else to say?”
“No, we were all trading Klepto stories last night. We’ll probably be doing it for a while. None of us are really good for formal speeches though, probably best if you do it. Besides, it means a lot that you want to do it despite not knowing any of us that long.” Shrimpy says.
“Glad you feel that way because what I’m going to say is going to be towards all of you…”

And before you can finish that thought. Your eyes (and everyone else’s) catch sight of something quite spectacular in the distance.

A mushroom cloud.

You’re not feeling any tremors or aftershocks, a wave of fire hasn’t engulfed you, so you’re guessing that it wasn’t excessively close, maybe it was even a small one. Still, you can’t help but wonder if you’re in some sort of deadly radiation radius though. If so there isn’t much that can done about it.

“Well I’ll be damned, the world finally went and did it…” you say to yourself.

Lifto, Fatty and Shrimpy all at the same time begin to swear and react to the situation as most people would, namely panic, fear and hysteria. You think in the old days you probably would have too, but not anymore. If anything this is excellent timing for your new outlook on life.

You quickly call everyone to attention.

“Hey! Listen up! This might be the end of civilization as we know it, but it isn’t the end of the world! Sure life is going to be harder now, but look at we’ve already survived. Just this damn week we suffered through a military occupation, an internal civil war, an attack by freaks, and took down a bunch of rednecks trying to murder us.”

At this point they’re all listening to you intently.
“We’ll survive this and as long as we stick together there isn’t anything we can’t do. This is a new beginning and it’ll be us against the world if necessary. We are a family and I love you guys.” You say.

These words are met with a pause and then of course positive approval by all and everyone goes in for a bit of a group hug. Feelings run a bit high and some more tears are shed.

While your words are genuine and do have feeling behind them, but your mind is still in a dark place. You do see them all as family, but you also can’t help see them as useful “tools” in the chaos that’s going to come. Even now you’re sizing them all up on their weaknesses and strengths.

In any case, you and everyone finish up by completing the burial of Klepto and gathering all the supplies from the farm that will be needed. You all know you’ll run out eventually, but for now you’ve got enough supplies to ponder a long range plan of your future.

No longer are you the shy “good” girl who hid away in the basement, harassed by your family and living as one day blurred into the next. Far from it. Very far from it.

It’s a brand new day and this is just the beginning of your brand new life.