The Strange Case of the Orman Family

The Ormans had always lived a private life. They lived in a small house outside the city. Anyone who went there would agree that the house was beautiful. This house was lived in by Michael and Elizabeth Orman. Michael Orman, the father, was in a lot of senses cynical. This was contrary to Elizabeth Orman who was quite pious. No-one really knew the origin of Elizabeth's adherence but everyone knew how loving she was. Day to day life was simple. It mostly consisted of Michael working on the field and Elizabeth reading and studying. Once in a while a person would visit the house and disturb their peace but this was quite rare. 

The day was just like any other. Micheal had woken up at around 7:00 and turned on the television. Around  that time, Elizabeth flipped open a book and started reading. A message went across the screen, "A set of bombs have been sent towards America at around 6:30 AM. People are being put into bunkers around the world. We don't know why this happened so suddenly but it did. The bombs are said to arrive at 8:30 AM." The household went into a panic. Thoughts such as how did this happen and are we going to survive rushed through their heads.

Due to Michael's suspicion of the war, he had bought a bunker. The bunker had just enough food for three people to last five years. Normally this would be strange, but during this time the war between the United States and Germany was going hot. Nuclear bombs were said to be in development on both sides. Henceforth it was decently reasonable to prepare for nuclear apocalypse.

After about twenty minutes, they had arrived. Michael opened the hatch, and they crept down the ladder. They checked the food supply; everything was normal. The thought of what would you do came upon them. The only thing they really had were books and each other. 

Two days had passed since they entered the bunker. Elizabeth as usual was reading, and eating a cup of instant ramen.  Michael was trying to tune a radio. Every now and then they would talk. Eventually the topic of what was out there was brought up. In truth this was an interesting subject. What really was out there, maybe broken buildings, radiation clouds and other things along this line. They truly wouldn't know unless they went out. this wouldn't be viable. The bunker had a couple of hazmat suits tucked away near the entrance. Maybe, they would have to exit once they ran out of food. 

Slowly but surely Michael grew to go mad. The origin of this madness was the death surrounding them. In truth the only thing stopping him from taking his life was his daughter Elizabeth. The kindness and wisdom she had shown. Though she was young, Elizabeth tended to be wiser than Michael. Micheal had it in his brain that he and Elizabeth were the only ones left, but she comforted him for the time being. 

Michael's madness had grown by the hour. Eventually, Elizabeth wasn't able to suppress it. His mind was split in two. Half of it was the kind and gentle Elizabeth while the latter was his insanity. His personality seemed to split. His speaking was jumbled and broken. Occasionally, he would hallucinate. The hallucinations varied from seeing a bed and a room to seeing Elizabeth's mother. The strain on Elizabeth seemed non-existent. Elizabeth had stayed the same, from the way she would read all day to the joyful way she held herself. Nothing had seemed to change.

One day, Michael woke up. Everything seemed the same, except that Elizabeth wasn't there. He had checked every place in the bunker and yet she wasn't there. Next he had checked the bunker for any clues. Everything was the same. The suits and clothes were in the same place, not a single cup of ramen nor any spam were missing. What had happened?

What if she was never there, what if he was never there. These sorts of thoughts peered into his head. Something felt off. He didn't feel the same. Still he felt compelled to search for her. He opened a closet, picked up a hazmat suit, and put it on. He climbed up the ladder and removed the hatch. At first, he was blind in an ethereal way. After his blindness went away, he peered around to see a room. Next to him, was his wife and daughter. Within their hands was a picture book. They slowly read it as he stared at them. 

Then in the same way as before he was blinded just to see again. This time it was raining; in front of him stood two graves. He grabbed the tombstone and read the markings. Grace and Elizabeth Orman were too precious for this world. For whichever reason a tear fell across his cheek. Then it came to him. 

He woke up. In front of him was a sheet on-top of a white bed. On his right, he saw a window and peered at it. Droplets of rain slid across the glass. On his left, he saw a machine he couldn't make sense off. The more and more he looked at it the more he saw a set of lines bounce up and down. He was in the hospital. 

A nurse had rushed in. She then yelled,"He's awake!" What was going on? A set of doctors and nurses went into the room. First he asked them were he was and who he was, "Michael Orman!' What had happened? Within his mind he recalled the tombstone of his family members. A tear slipped across his face. It had come back to him. Like re-reading an old book, memories flashed through his brain. Grace and Elizabeth, his wife and daughter were gone. Though he was a grown man, he wept.