Survive

We Happy Few

Ellen surprisingly did keep her promise to take me to see Curtis and the kids after my chat with Hawthorne. She had explained to me that the entire community lived underground in the bunker. Which was created around the same time as the train by a wealthy engineer named Claudia Glockner.

"Wilford always said that the train was carrying the last survivors." I mentioned. Ellen just scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"That man was a crackpot, always raving on and on about his bloody train. The idea of it was ridiculous." she griped, crossing her arms over her chest as we walked towards the west wing, where the infirmary was.

"Well, I experienced that ridiculous idea for eighteen years." I muttered, wincing at both the pain in my ankle and the memories of the train.

"And for that, I'm sorry." she said sadly. Pity wasn't something I cared for, but once in a while it felt nice to have someone sympathize with you.

"So, how does this place even work? You have to be getting the electricity from somewhere." I said, wanting to change the subject. Thankfully, Ellen caught on and started to talk about how the bunker functioned.

"We run on solar power, the bunker covers about two miles, but the entire east wing is closed off for now to save on energy. Not enough people to fill that area yet, and we have over eighty people living here and everyone has a job. Some work in the greenhouse, others work in the mess hall or the laundry room. But most watch the perimeter or go on supply runs."

"Don't seem to have very many people." I commented, eighty people doesn't seem like a lot in such a huge bunker.

"There used to be more, but a while ago we let in some survivors who we thought were good people. But, turns out they were bandits." Ellen explained, "Now we have more widows and orphans than we'd like to admit." she added solemnly. I didn't miss the small action of her rubbing a spot on her wedding finger. I decided not to ask about it.

"And Hawthorne's been the leader this whole time?" I asked, I had some skepticism in the back of my mind. Someone being in control for almost twenty years can make them go mad with power. Wilford was an excellent example of how crazy a person could be if given the role of "leader" for too long.

"No, of course not. The first person in control was Claudia Glockner, she was the leader up until about ten years ago. Then Hawthorne took over." Ellen divulged. It was surprising how open she was with explaining everything.

"What happened to her?" I asked, wanting to know more about the history of the bunker.

"She died." Ellen replied nonchalantly. I didn't get the chance to ask how Glockner died, because we were finally at the door to the infirmary. "Well, here we are." she said, opening the door with a soft smile.

I ignored all of the stares I was receiving from the other people in the room as I made my way over to where Curtis and the kids were. Yona was holding Edgar as she and Timmy sat on one of the infirmary beds. Curtis had his back to me but turned around quickly when Yona called out my name. I didn't hesitate to kiss him viciously when we finally reached each other. A few people in the room snickered and a couple even whistled, but we paid them no mind.

"Hi," Curtis chuckled a little breathless when we finally pulled apart for air. His small smile quickly disappeared when he brushed away strands of my hair to reveal the bandage on my forehead. "Who did this to you?" he said gruffly, glaring over my shoulder at who I assumed was Ellen.

"Curtis, it's fine--" I tried to calm him down, but his eyes were like a wild animal's. Fierce and protective.

"Sam, who did this to you?" he repeated, holding my face in his strong hands. He gently brushed his thumb over the bandage, his frown becoming deeper when he felt the stitches underneath. I placed my hands over his and brought them in between us, running my thumbs over his knuckles soothingly.