Virtually mirrored

The find

The man finally collapsed to the ground. Nathan approached slowly. Body still had breath, shallow and quick. Stood silently for a few more minutes as the breathing stopped. Only then he approached the corpse. The leg was likely blistered as well, and who knew what else. Clothes were half torn apart, likely from the itching in the early stages. Nathan turned the body around with the tip of his boot. Nothing of value here. The man had no boots, he had... shoes? Dirty and muddy, but shoes instead of boots. Who wears shoes in the wasteland? They were far too small to take even as a spare. Nothing in the pockets. Whatever the man had was abandoned to the disease long ago. 

Yet where was the man going? Seemed in an awful hurry. Crazed from the disease or was there something in this direction? There was only one way to find out. Whatever scavengers remained in the waste could have the body. Nathan kept walking in the direction the dead mans hand still pointed. An hour later and it was nearly dawn. Didn't walk so much in a long time in one stretch, feet hurt. Foot problems needed to be avoided at all costs so he stopped and rested. Only massaged his feet, no point in sleeping now. The ocean waves taunted with sleep.

Nathan continued the walk when light finally illuminated the shore. No more than fifteen minutes later he came across a rocky part of the shore. At first he tried going up to the cliff and around, but decided to walk past the water. Almost missed it. There was a hatch facing directly to the ocean. Half submerged during the tide, only fully revealed during day.

A keypad and display screen were above the hatch. Seen these before. If it was locked then likely he would never get in. There was a tiny green light at the bottom of the keypad, not bright but visible. Encouraging color. Experience said hatches should open if turned clockwise. Nathan gripped the circular handle and tried. The metal groaned but turned none the less. Quarter of a turn, then half. The door shuddered slightly and clanged somewhere in the mechanism. A beep came from the keyboard that startled Nathan and made him jump, unlike from the groaning metal. Nothing changed on the pad itself, screen still empty and grey. 

Opened the hatch slowly. Darkness and stairs leading down. Nothing left to do but go in. Question was, should the hatch be closed behind? The moment a foot stepped inside a light turned on in the stairway. Electrical lighting, something Nathan hadn't seen in a while. He closed the hatch behind, but only turned it a quarter. Easier escape. Sixteen steps in all, a door at the bottom on the right side. Hallway was damp and wet, especially at the bottom. A drain was present just after the last step.

A Light beige door, strange color. Something still seen around the world, just not on a door. It had a regular handle, straight and metal. Door seemed metallic too, even though it was a normal door. The lock mechanism clicked and a whoosh was heard. Strange sound, Nathan never experienced that before when opening a door. Not in any of the abandoned places, whatever the door was made of. At first there was complete darkness past the door. Only shadows thrown by the stairway light. But when Nathan stepped inside a series of lights came fully on. The brightness was blinding at first, like when the mid day sun showed its face on rare days. Nothing to lose now.

It was a series of four rooms. Nathan was standing in the center one. There was machinery lightly humming. To be inspected later. Walls were most definitely rock, not concrete. Carved into the cliff. The left room had a very large screen on the wall. A double bed with clothes laid out already. Lockers along the walls, all metallic looking. A metal table and nightstand with a few personal items.  A cozy bedroom, rarely seen in the wastes. Protected and undiscovered. Hope, a lot of hope blossomed in his chest. Heart beating quickly as it hasn't in years.

The room directly in front had more screens. Some strange equipment Nathan couldn't recognize. A larger table with what appeared to be a small kitchen behind. A small stove visible just beyond the edge of a doorway. But the room on the right, that door was closed. For good reason. It was a pantry! A very large one spanning over thirty meters in length and ten in width. Nathan stood staring at rows of canned or boxed food. Meats of all kinds, even flour. Hadn't seen flour in... years. Since before mother passed. Dehydrated vegetables! Not tasted those in two years, so rare to find a patch anywhere. Dried spices, even sea salt which was impossible to acquire since the ocean was poison.

In the corner of the pantry were stairs leading down. Dare he hope? There was another identical room below, with more food. This one with less, half empty. A new set of stairs in the opposite corner led to another identical room below. This one completely empty except for cutlery and plates.  Nathan was dizzy as he climbed back to the first level. All this food. A find of the century. Just one of the small cans would keep him fed for days. The room for possibly decades. Rest of his life if this find was supplemented with food from outside. 

First things first. Nathan practically ran to the hatch and closed it all the way. No one can find this place but him, no one. Returned to the pantry and stared, lost in time as his eyes drank in the sight. Finally a craving took over. Pure selfish greed, waste can go to hell. Picked a medium sized can and cradled it in his hands. Beef it said on the lid. Irrelevant what kind, it was meat. Protein. Food! Unaware of surroundings Nathan simply appeared in the kitchen, on auto pilot. He ransacked the drawers until a can opener appeared in his hand. Sat at the table, then quickly got up and retrieved a fork. Opening the can was torture, pure delight. The wonderful smell from the first notch made on the metal made it bliss! Took his time in order to create memories. After all this shall never happen again. Hand shook as the fork reached inside the open can. Just a tiny morsel, chipped from the whole piece of meat.

Heaven in his mouth. The aroma over running all sense of taste and smell. Chewed on instinct, too paralyzed to think. Then another bite followed, and another. Ever so slowly the meal continued. Jaw movements made no sound. There was a clock on the wall of this living room. When Nathan started the hands showed half past nine. Contents of the can grew smaller and smaller. With the meat gone Nathan drank the remaining juices, in small sips. Then he licked the can clean, avoiding the jagged edges created by the opener. The deed done, clock showed twenty past twelve. Best three hours of his life. Never had he felt so full from birth. Stomach was a bit queasy, head dizzy and sleepy. Could indulge a little longer. 

Nathan sauntered slowly to the bedroom, holding his stomach the entire time. Collapsed into bed on top of the clothes. The silence in the bunker was deafening. Ringing in his ears like the loudest thunder of the wastes. Could still taste the meat and juices, will be tasting it for a long long time in memories. Fought the feeling of illness, food trying to come back up his throat. Finally successful in keeping the food down, Nathan drifted away to the most blissful sleep of his life.