Allen and Michael had finally finished securing the glass entryway on the front of the store when Lora showed up with lunch.
"Baked beans or ravioli?" she held up a can of each.
Michael unsheathed the knife on his belt and worked to open the beans. "These are going to get old pretty fast. We've got to get more food."
Allen shook his head at his son. "I know these won't last forever, but we have enough for a few weeks. Things need to settle down a little out there before we go out again."
With cold ravioli sauce still on her lips, Lora spoke up, "Dad, I agree with Mikey. There's a grocery store less than a block from here. Let's go stock up."
Allen knew the store was a magnet for everyone in town in the same situation. There were just too many desperate people willing to do whatever they had to do to feed themselves and their families. "No. It's too dangerous. People are still panicking and being irrational. It's safe in here."
Lora retreated back to the comfort of her can of cold pasta, but Michael had always been willing to stand up to his father. "Dad, every minute that goes by, the less food and things will be there. It may be empty already. We have to move now."
Allen was unwilling to risk the safety of his children. When they had to flee their home due to the unruly mobs that had grown more and more unpredictable in the last few days, Allen intentionally chose this hardware store as their target. It didn't have much food, but there were lots of supplies that may come in handy later and it was a very secure building. The small gun counter in the back meant they had the means to protect themselves. Food was definitely going to be important, but that seemed to be the whole town's focus at the moment. The nearer anyone got to potential food sources, the more dangerous it was as people fought to be the person to take their discoveries for themselves.
Allen was actually surprised at how well his children were handling things. They were scared and had their panicked moments, but the atrocities they saw on their grisly adventure to get to this store still bounced around in Allen's head. No one had mentioned anything they witnessed out there in the chaos.
Allen scooped out the last of his beans and declared that he was going to take a nap. He hadn't really slept since he saw the mushroom cloud in the distance and could not go on like this forever. No power, no radio or TV, and no phone service meant no news of what was going on. He knew he had to be alert, but it was time to try to sleep so they could come up with a plan for tomorrow.
As soon as he stepped to the back of the store, Michael whispered to Lora, "Let's give him 30 minutes and we'll sneak out the service entrance. We'll be loaded up and back before he knows we're gone."
Returning the love after you stopped by my blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Thank you. Good to see you here.
DeleteI'm intrigued! Want to know more. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you. My wife always says the same thing. I honestly don't know what happens next.
DeleteI deliberately didn't use 'dystopian' in my 'D' post, as I always think dystopian writing should be about something other than the dystopian world it is set in - and your story did this really well.
ReplyDeletehttps://iainkellywriting.com/2021/04/05/the-state-trilogy-a-z-guide-d/
Thank you. Since I was doing genres, I couldn't even think of anything else for D. I'm sure there are some, but I didn't research.
DeleteI don't think those kids know what they're in for.
ReplyDeleteKids never do.
DeleteI kind of hoped for a hopeful end. This is why I don't read dystopian - it's always more pessimistic then optimistic.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
That's pretty much the vibe for dystopian. Even if the protagonists when, they are still usually in a terrible world situation.
DeleteI really like how you ground the dystopia in everyday life. That actually makes it that much more scary. Enjoyed the post.
ReplyDeleteFor a flash fiction story, it seemed pointless to create and entirely new world to set my story in. So, small town after a potential nuclear attack seemed to work.
DeleteI'm hooked. I like how the dad deliberately chose the hardware store. I don't watch or read a lot of Dystopian stuff, but I don't think that's the common choice.
ReplyDeleteI many of them, people go for food and weapons first. My thought was this place had weapons in the back, which would be needed. However, it was a small percentage of its business. So did not come right to people's minds. Everyone ran for the gas stations, grocery stores, and gun shops.
Delete