The bunker

Sliding down the metal ladder, what awaited everyone was a wide open chamber. Fumbling around in the dark, someone discovered a light switch. Flicking it on was so easy, Sam could only gaze in wonder at the sight of electricity. After finally accepting technology was gone (apart from the system) it was a shock to suddenly have it back.

The floor was stone like the cave and cold too. Some areas were tiled. Several rugs were each surrounded by sofas with a coffee table at the centre of them. A hearth was put in place by each, ready to be lit.

There was a bar as well that could be used as a kitchen. Only, there wasn't an electric oven or a fridge. Just cupboards. "I suppose we're lucky enough to have lights," murmured James.

There did seem to be a Rayburn though which was just as good. It had four compartments: one oven, a warming oven and two to light the fire in. The top had a hot plate as well and the chimney seemed to lead up to the surface somewhere.

Bookshelves hugged the walls on the other side full to the brim with books on survival, cooking, agriculture, science, educational material for future generations, crafting, construction, medicine, child birth, everything a new society would need to be aware of.

Sam started to laugh in a psychotic manner. "Just a minute ago we could have died. What the hell would all of this been used for then huh? The government did so much preparation and yet it would have served absolutely no purpose at all if we had died out there!"

"Hey, it's okay. Everything's alright," James reassured her. He gripped her shoulders firmly to stop them shaking but it was also to stop himself from trembling too. Lana slowly began to cry. Marcus turned to Marya who had been oddly quiet.

"Marya is everything o-" her knees buckled and before I could stop myself, I was catching her. Gently, I layed her down on a couch before examining her. "Marya...? Marya?!" No response. Marcus' heart was suddenly beating so fast. When had it begun increasing so rapidly? "System!!!" A panel appeared.

'Patient has contracted the corpsifying virus: Violet Decay. Life expectancy - 20 minutes.' Marcus didn't care that the system had got to the point for once. Right now he would do anything to save Marya.

"Corpsifying? Wait ah- " Marcus feared the worst as he took her arm and found a bite mark on it.

"B-b-but that's not fair..." tears dribbled at first until they streamed like the rain down a car window. "What do I do?" No answer.

"System! How do I cure her?"

'No cure currently exists.'

"Currently? Currently! Like some fucking scientist is gonna be around to make one!"

'Do you want more information?'

"Yes!" Marcus clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his skin, drawing blood. Everyone else just watched him in despair. Soon Sam began to cry as well. James was the only one holding it in but in truth, he wanted to cry more than anyone else.

'Violet decay was a virus partly responsible for the collapse. Cities all over the world fell in the first few weeks and martial law was brought about.'

"None of this is useful damnit tell me something! Anything!"

'Some victims have survived by severing the infected limb in the first ten seconds of being bitten.' The words hit him like a rock on the ocean floor. How far had his mind sunk into despair after hearing that? He didn't care what the system had to say afterwards.

It had already been too long to try cutting her arm off. He could see it. Marya's face was pale and veins bulged on her forehead meaning it had already spread. Thinking about cutting her arm off was too much for him to handle right now anyway.

It hurt even more to hear 90% of the infected became walking corpses and the other 10% just died. It didn't even raise the possibility that a small percentage could survive. No false hope was given.

A touch brought him back. On his hand. Marya had reached out to him as he cried. "Why... why did you try to save me?"

Marcus choked back a sob. "What?"

"Why did you refuse to leave me behind when it would have been easier to just let me buy you all some time?" Marcus didn't know why. He didn't have a logical reason. How could he describe this intense emotion.

Marya... he just got her. He understood her struggle and out of everyone, she was the most aware of their situation. Never getting to know her at all somehow seemed even worse than losing her whilst knowing her well.

Millions might disagree but they were dead anyway so screw them. "Mar-cus?"

"I... I... " Even though he knew why, he couldn't get the words out. Everything he'd just thought about was there waiting to be said but... saying it was just too much. It was his last chance to say something though. Marya deserved that much.

"You... made me feel enamoured... as soon as you arrived at the valley." Now it was Marcus' turn to look at her and really see who she was. Even on the verge of death she was beautiful. Maybe a bit mature for him. Way out of his league but still beautiful.

"There were too many girls anyway. One of us had to volunteer..." she gave a slight chuckle but it evolved into a cough and blood stained a violet colour on the stone floor.

Marcus felt utterly helpless. How many minutes had passed? How much time would she have left? "Marya. I want to ask something selfish of you. Can you please not die today. You can die any day you want to. You can die tomorrow if you like but please... Please don't die n-now..."

Marcus erupted into wails of desperation. Every single person here was precious because they were all each other had. There wasn't going to be a chance to make new friends. There were no longer plenty of fish in the sea.

Even if Marya was right and there were other groups set up like hers, they still might never find them. Their pods might have been destroyed or never opened in the first place. They could have been taken by a zombie horde. Starved, caught some lethal disease, got bitten by a venomous snake.

"Marcus... I don't know if I can do that." The way she lingered on his name made him want to trade his life for hers. Why should he deserve to live. She was a much more qualified leader than him. One of their most prominent fighters too. "There is one thing I can do though. I can-"

She went into another coughing fit and as she drew her hand away from her mouth, Marcus knew that that much blood was unnatural. The purple colour was unnatural. She was reaching her end.

If only just to provide her with some relief he gave her some water, being careful not to let her lips touch the flask. Risking infection would mean more deaths. If it was airborne then they'd all be dead anyway though. Hopefully the virus couldn't survive outside the body.

Finally she continued, "I can tell you the truth. You have a brother Marcus. He was in our group but his capsule revived him a day before mine and he was murdered by a pack of wolves. I didn't want to tell you because..." She spluttered and choked but no matter how many times Marcus said her name over and over, she didn't get a single moment to breathe. He tried to get her to sit up but her body was being racked so hard that she kept jerking out of his grasp.

Eventually, she lay still and didn't draw breath again. Her confession should have made him sad. It should have made him feel something. How could he feel more pain though after witnessing the way she died. She'd never finished her sentence. 'because... because what?' She hadn't even told him the name of his brother...

He couldn't even remember his brother in the first place. This world was unforgiving. It did not care if you lived or died. Humans were not the main cast for some extravagant story. They were just another blip of life that would do anything, that is something, then was nothing.