Nuke Us

The Last See You Later

Memories of a Dead past

Sirius was a simple man who appreciated solitude, loved cooking, browsing the internet, playing his favorite songs, and had a quiet passion for survivalism. Despite his dedication, he had his flaws, like laziness. He would sleep in whenever possible, leave the house only for essential reasons like visiting his parents, exercising, or fulfilling an unavoidable obligation, aside from work. But contrary to what his routine might suggest, he was very intelligent. He graduated in Engineering at 24, did postgraduate studies in Aerospace Engineering, and after years of dedication, moved abroad. Upon returning to his homeland, he settled in a town near his parents, where he stayed until the nuclear cataclysm changed the world forever.

A few days before the snowstorm hit the region, Sirius visited his family as usual. At that gathering were his two brothers, Mark and Daniel, and their wives, Emilia and Cassandra, who had already lost all their relatives due to the radiation ravaging the country. His parents, Suzan and Walter, were also present. The entire family gathered in the living room, anxiously discussing what they could do in the face of the imminent threat. The dust and soot from the atomic explosions had blocked the sunlight, and scientists predicted the nuclear winter would last months. There was a slim hope of survival, but for Sirius, the odds seemed grim.

- "I know you have hope," Sirius said seriously.

- "But I don't think we can survive this. We don't have enough food for so many months and..." he hesitated, feeling the weight of those words.

- "We don't have a place safe enough, neither from the radiation nor the cold.", as Mark and Daniel, in revolt, confronted him:

- "So you're just going to give up on us, Sirius?" Mark asked, his eyes full of pain.

- "Are you saying you've lost hope? That you'll simply accept this?" Daniel added, his voice breaking with indignation.

Sirius lowered his head and gave a sad smile.

- "No... I'm not giving up on you. I'm sorry if it seemed that way." He took a deep breath, trying to dispel the tension and said:

- "I'll help as much as I can. I just need to go back to my house, get some things that might be useful, and I promise I'll be back."

The farewell was brief, but as he approached the gate to leave, his parents came to him.

- "Don't mind your brothers, dear," his mother said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

- "They just... can't accept it. It's hard for them too, especially now that they're newly married." She smiled sadly as his father hugged him. Then he said:

- "I understand, mom. I'm not mad at them... I just feel so powerless. I wish I could do more, but... with what we have, it feels impossible."