It was monotonous. Wake up. Do chores. Eat. Go to bed. How long had it been this way anyhow? Ady was supposed to keep track of time. There was a clock on the wall that attached to a solar panel up above ground. The clock said it had been five years. Ady knew that in five more years things would change.

“About ten years” a memory. Ady tried to dwell on those because at least they were something other than the present. “About ten years, maybe a bit more. Then the dust will fall from the sky and it will be safe to leave.”

Wake up. It was an uncomfortable bunk tucked into a corner in the gray room. The air was always musty and damp but at least it was breathable. That was better than most. Chores consisted mostly of tending the gardens. They grew from grow lights that worked from a solar panel somewhere up above ground. The main focuses were nutrients and preservability, far above taste, so the only things that grew were dull vegetables that were canned and eaten daily.

Ady spent the rest of every day sitting at the door or by a radio listening. The door shook every few hours every day. Ady swore that faint voices were at the other side whispering “is anyone there?” or more often “I need help please please…” someone would say “I have a child, they’re sick” or “I have a wife” or more often “I just want to see another person” Ady could sympathise. Other than the picture on the wall, when was the last time they saw another person anyhow?

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The radio used to work. A memory. It used to play music and news and other interesting little things. It was always obscured by static but there used to be voices. Nowadays it just plays static. Ady could sit by the radio for hours and listen. Sometimes it sounded like there was a voice on the other side. It always faded away before they could say anything comprehensible.

Ady ate canned vegetables. The same thing every day. Some days it was sunny out or Ady found a new tank of gasoline in another row of hidden storage and there would be just enough energy to heat it up. Most days Ady wouldn’t bother.

After eating, Ady would walk from the garden through the rows and rows of storage where people used to be. They would find themselves back at the row of empty bunks and climb into the one tucked into the featureless gray corner. It was monotonous.