Apocalypse Novel [UNDER HEAVY EDITING]

The Bunker

     The elevator doors finally open, a cloud of dust blasting in from the hallway. I back away, coughing.

     "Oh, uh, sorry 'bout that." Jimmy mumbles. I peer into the room in front of us, to see a living space, hallways on almost all sides. There are two well-used couches in the middle surrounding a makeshift coffee table duct-taped together out of cardboard boxes. The hallways I can see lead to a staircase heading further below the ground, and another leading to a kitchen. The entire area is coated in a thin veneer of dust. There's a boy sitting on one of the couches, typing away at a laptop. His oval glasses are bathed in blue light from the screen, he's wearing a blue turtleneck sweater underneath a lab coat, and his hair is naturally styled in an afro.

     "Ethan! I'm back, and I found what Wesley saw!" Jimmy says cheerfully. "Meet Violet!" The boy - Ethan? - glances up from his computer.

     "Hm. Well, welcome to A-1, I guess. Don't mind the dust, someone was supposed to have cleaned today." Ethan scolds, sending a snarky look at Jimmy.

     "Hey! It was Kazuki's turn this week and you know it!" Jimmy retaliates.

     "Whatever. Anyways, I'm surprised there was even anyone out there, Wesley's watches tend to be unreliable."

     "I heard that!" A boy exclaims, ducking out from the kitchen. That must be Wesley. He's wearing a tank top tucked into heavy-duty camo pants, with messy curly hair and a forest tattoo on his left arm. "And either way, you can't be talking! You just sit around playin' games on your computer all day!"

     "Actually, I keep track of all the records and data we get to make sure we don't all die! All you do is mess around and mess up!" With that, the two begin arguing. Jimmy steps in to try to get them to stop, to no avail. I plop down on the couch, spacing out. The loud noises combined with my current state is disorienting, to say the least. Suddenly, a voice from below yells, "SHUT THE FUCK UP!", snapping me out of my stupor. The three boys fall silent immediately. They send a few death glares each other's ways before Jimmy clears his throat. 

     "Well, I guess we should actually introduce Violet to everybody! Aaand Ethan's in charge of getting Kazuki."

     "WHAT?!" Ethan yells.

     "Listen, you do kinda sit on your butt all day. Gotta get some exercise, right?"

     "Only if Wesley comes with me." Ethan grumbles, wrapping his arm around a very angry Wesley.

     "Hey! I didn't agree to that!" Wesley exclaims.

     "Listen, how 'bout we all go. That way we all die!" Jimmy says, perfectly nonchalant like this is a normal statement. There is a chorus of irritated agreement and the three charge down the stairs, yelling "WE DIE LIKE REAL MEN BOYS!". I don't think I'll survive living here.

-_-_-_-_-_-

     After a few minutes and what sounds like a war from downstairs, everyone is sitting at the couches. Jimmy's sitting next to me, twirling his lanyard between his fingers, his signature winning smile on his face. Next to him is Ethan, polishing his glasses with an irritated expression (Jimmy forced him to put down his laptop). On the other couch, Wesley is looking extremely uncomfortable sitting next to a fourth boy. He looks older, tougher. He has shoulder-length spiky hair and a scar crossing over his right eye. He has a very heavy-duty coat on, with like a bajillion pockets, paired with matching pants. He looks eternally grumpy, like he has better things to be doing, but he could definitely kick all of our asses in a fight.

    "So, uh, why are we here?" Wesley says, raising his hand a little.

    "We're here because y'all need to introduce yourselves!" Jimmy says. He then gestures to me, prompting me to say something. I swallow and glance around. 

"Um, hi. I'm Violet. I've been living in the city for..." I trail off, not remembering how many years it's been. I try to count on my fingers. "..6 years, I think? Ever since the Apocalypse hit. I.. got lost.. and found my way here." I finish sheepishly.

"Well, y'already know me and Jimmy, but for the purposes of formality, I'm Ethan. I run the computers. I log the info an' shit. Enough said." Ethan says grumpily.

"I'm Wesley, and I'm the one who keeps watch over the base! Generally just the first line of defense sorta thing." Wesley says. He glances at the other boy, who mutters something.

"Name's Kazuki." He says gruffly. I expect him to say more, but he seems almost bored with the conversation.

"Well then!" Jimmy stands up. "I guess it's getting late. We should all head to bed!" There are general murmurs of agreement. Jimmy taps me on the shoulder to lead me to my room. Down the long hallway, fourth door on the left, is my room. It's a claustrophobic space, with barely enough room for a torn bed and a scratched-up dresser. 

"It's not much, but uh-" Jimmy starts, blushing out of embarrassment. 

"Thank you." I cut him off. "It's better than I've had in a long time." Jimmy nods. He gives me a final smile before leaving, closing the door behind him. I take off all my clothes except my undergarments and fold them neatly away in the dresser. My hand-patched green shirt, my stolen high school jacket. There are some worn but fluffy gray pajamas in there already, so I put those on before collapsing on the bed. It's not the most comfortable thing ever, but it's more than enough. It doesn't take long before sleep finds me, leaving me with thoughts of home.

[I finally updated y'all!! Are you guys proud of meeeee?? Because I'm proud of me, I've been really busy. But anyways, have a nice day/night, go to sleep, drink some water, byeeee!]

Word count: 984