Welp... Now What?

I HAVE GONE MAD

This story was created in a challenge where I could not make a single typo, or the document would delete, and I would have to start over from scratch. In all, this story took me 56 attempts and over 5,000 lost words to create. The software I used to delete my story every time I made a typo is called Fromsoft word, you can find it on itch.io and try it yourself. Just know, it will make you want to toss your computer in the trash!

I have gone mad. ha ha yes, I have gone mad. That is the only reasonable explanation for why I hear sirens above my head. I knew it would only be a matter of time before I went mad in this doomsday bunker all alone, but this has happened sooner than I could have expected.

I put a pillow over my head to try to continue reading my book, but I can not seem to focus. It is not that the book is boring. If it was, I would simply put it down and pick up another one of the thousands of books I have stored down here in an attempt to keep my mind sharp. So much for that plan. It is the very noises I hear in my head that prevent me from being able to read a single page.

After staring at the blank page for several minutes I close the book and set it beside me. Closing my eyes I listen for the sound of the sirens. They are faint, but I can hear them a bit better with my eyes shut. It sounds like what it would sound like if life on the surface had somehow survived the asteroid and emergency vehicles were working to rescue the survivors. What if...

No. I can not entertain these thoughts of hope. I saw the very asteroid with my own eyes as it burned across the night sky, leaving a red trail in its path. The scientist said this was two times larger than the great rock that destroyed the dinosaurs. That would be more than enough to wipe out the surface in an instant. I did not need to be a scientist to know that much.

It was clear the world I knew and loved had been wiped away, and yet deep down I still had hope. The sirens fueled that hope. The more that I think about it the bunker never shook upon the impact. There was no sound. Maybe it had not happened. Perhaps our scientist had stopped it after all. Maybe it just missed our planet.

No. I need to stop thinking like this. Of course, I did not feel or hear the blast of the asteroid impact. This bunker was designed by the best engineers on the planet to survive a nuclear blast. The metal is too thick to hear a thing. The idea that I would be able to hear sirens above me is insane. I am insane.

I must be insane because my mind continues to play tricks on me. I read that when humans are alone for too long that tends to happen. The sirens I hear are one of the tricks my mind is trying to play. My mind wishes to give me hope.

I have no need for that hope. That hope will lead to nothing. There is nothing left to hope for. All that remains is what is here in this bunker.

I keep telling myself to stop listening for the sirens, but I ignore myself. The more I listen the more I am sure they are real.

I stand from the bed and make my way to the ladder. Looking up at the blast door the sirens grow just a bit louder. As I climb up the ladder they continue to grow louder.

I reach the blast door and press my hand against it. The sirens are louder than they have ever been.

No. There are no sirens. They are in my head. Out there I will find nothing. The asteroid took it all. All that is left is what I have in this bunker.

I climb down the ladder and return to my book. I must keep reading to keep myself sane.