Suzy’s Strange Saga

You wake up to the faint sounds of rustling. You look up from your bed and see Johnny getting dressed.

“Where are you going?” you ask groggily.
“I was going to get the stuff I brought in from the jeep and left up stairs on Thursday night. I know we’ve got more than enough stuff down here now, but I still thought you’d want your clothes which we don’t have any of down here.”
“Oh. Okay, I’ll come with you.” You say.
“No, stay here and relax, I got it.”
“It’s okay really, I don’t mind. Besides, I still left things in my room that I’d like to get.”
“You sure you want to do that with your sister’s body still in there?”
“Oh yeah that’s right. Well I’ll just help you with the bags from upstairs then.”
“Okay. Always enjoy your company anyway and don’t worry, I fully intend on cleaning up all the bodies upstairs, not just your sister’s. I mean know we’re going to be down here for a while, but you never want bodies just lying around to rot in your area. Never mind the smell, but there are also vermin and health hazards to consider.” Johnny says.

Well he’d probably know better than most…

You and Johnny finish getting dressed and exit the shelter. From the basement you then head to the ground floor where you see your bags lying on the floor near the front door.

“You said you brought these in on Thursday night?” you ask.
“Yeah, after you fell asleep.”
“I suppose it’s a silly question since you never seem to be scared of anything, but you weren’t concerned about those rabid things possibly wandering around at night?”
“Oh I definitely was prepared in case of an attack, but the strange thing is, its dead silent in your neighborhood. Or at least it seems like it is. I didn’t see anything wandering around out there. Rabid or otherwise. If I had to guess, the National Guard exterminated everything in this area and moved on.”
“Hm, well from what I’ve seen they’re getting their ass kicked elsewhere. I just hope that…”

Before you or Johnny can say anything else a bright flash shines through one of the uncovered windows along with the sound of a large explosion in the distance. You can’t help but take a quick glance out the window.

And there you see it in the far distance, the dissipating remnants of a mushroom cloud rising up in the sky.

“…they finally went and did it.” You say.
“…I have to say, I’m not entirely surprised. Johnny replies looking with you.
“From the direction I saw the cloud, I’d say it probably hit Security City and that’s fairly far away. I know impact should’ve at least shattered the windows of the house had it been closer or bigger so it probably wasn’t even a large one. Still, we probably should still get down in that shelter.” You say.

Johnny agrees and the pair of you grab all the bags and quickly head back down to the shelter.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing we decided to come back here instead of trying to leave town.” You say.
“Yeah, I imagine things are going to be quite chaotic for a long time to come. It’s better that you’re safe down here.” Johnny says.
“We’re both safe down here.” you say, but Johnny’s pacing suggests that he’s a bit preoccupied.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” you ask.
“Well, with this new event come to light, its already established that the situation just got a lot worse and isn’t going to be ending anytime soon. Now we’ve probably got a decades worth of supplies, possibly a little more since I don’t eat much anyway, but the fact remains, we’re going to need more supplies eventually and that means going up to the surface and dealing with it.” Johnny replies.
“Yeah, I know. I didn’t really want to think about it, but you’re right of course. I think I saw some survival manuals in one of the rooms down here, guess I better read up on them.”
“While I certainly wouldn’t stop you from getting yourself acquainted with such things, my thoughts are, why do you need to leave here and risk your life at all? I’ll be the one going up there.”
“Well we are sort of a team now right? I mean don’t you want me to help you?”

Johnny’s hands touch your shoulders as he stares into your eyes. His hands gently run down from your shoulders to your arms until he’s holding both of your hands.

“Suzy, you were too good for this world when it wasn’t completely fucked up, you’re definitely too good for it now. As dangerous as it was in this past week, it’s going to be ten times worse now. It’s going to be chaos, anarchy and people killing each other for survival as well as pleasure. In short, it’s going to be a world that someone like me would thrive in. I actually belong out there.”

Johnny then lets go your hands and raises his arms upward and looks up and around making motions with his hands pointing to the shelter in general.

“And this, all this, is your world. This is all you have ever needed Suzy. Some place to feel safe. Some place locked away from the outside world. I mean you’re the honest one here, can you tell me sincerely that you really want to go out there scrounging around for supplies and having to deal with people wanting to rape you or kill you, or hell even eat you? Wouldn’t you rather someone else deal with it?”

Johnny focuses his attention back to you. You look at him and you don’t even answer because your face is probably giving him his answer already. He’s absolutely right.

You don’t want to deal with reality. You never have. In fact you got along pretty well without having to for a very long time and whenever you have had to deal with it, it’s always been a stressful mess. He’s also right in that he’s far more suited to dealing with the shitstorm that the surface is going to be.

And maybe that’s just one more reason why you didn’t kill Johnny. You knew he’d be willing to take care of you no matter what. It’s all you’ve ever wanted, for someone to just love and take care of you while you didn’t have to worry about a thing.

You move forward and put your arms back around Johnny and look into his eyes.

“Just don’t get killed okay?” you say.
“Never. I’ll always be around to protect and take care of you Suzy. My love for you will always keep me going forever and ever and ever and ever.”

The way Johnny is looking at you while he strokes your hair each time for emphasis when he says “and ever” would probably be creepy to most, but you know its just his way of confirming his love you.

You’re so lucky.