After the bombs

14th of january 2018. That is when the 1st bomb fell. Ned could remember it so well. It was his 36th birthday. Due to his conspicious ways he had prepared for this day well in advance, 8 months in advance to be precise.
He had built his own fallout shelter. It had electricity powered by an petrol generator, its own water supply from an underwater tank.
And He had stocked up with canned foods and bottles of his favorite fizzy. "Pepsi".
He had included some luxuries a tv, his xbox console and a collection of his favourite movies and music discs.
There were 2 rooms, one room around 10ft by 16ft which had a toilet in the corner which would pass the waste to an septic tank, and a small single bed for rest. The second room slightly bigger held the food stockage, a small basin and a desk pushed against the far wall setup with his tv and console. It also had an old 70s style retro clock hanging on the wall above the desk.
The walls were lined with lead to help stop radiation getting in and the only way out was a ladder to a hatch in the ceiling.
Ned spent the week prior to the 1st bomb testing out his living accomodation. No-one noticed his absence as he was a loner and had no real friends. His parents had passed away in his mid twenties, they were middle aged when they had him so both were in there 60s but both died relativly early. also he was an only child.

Ned was celebrating his birthday locked away in his shelter. He had prepared himself a small cake for one from his local supermarket. It was a chocolate sponge covered in a chocolate fudge icing with a chunk of flake in the middle.
Ned sliced the cake in half and took a bite before replacing it. He decided to put some music on so he switched on his console then the tv and put on his classic rock songs cd. Using the wifi from the house ned thought he would watch the news on mute while his music blasted, waiting for any worthwhile news.
10 minutes pass then breaking news flashes on the tv " trump launches missle at north korea " this is what ned had prepared him self for for his past 5 years. Ned feeling slightly confused as he felt a sense off excitement but also a sense of scared shitless.
The queen song so depressingly in the background playing " who wants to live forever"
The tv switches to just a fuzzy black and white screen.
Ned took himself to his bed and decided to lay down, Preparing himself incase his shelter is not upto scratch for a nuclear war.
Graphic images like strobe lights race through his mind. After a while the thoughts begin to slow down. His mind suddenly creates a dream like thought in real time.
There is a mother running with her two children hand in hand. One boy the other a girl. The blast behind creating the mushroom cloud before piercing bright light filling the landscape. Then the destruction. Buildings crumbling, trees uprooting before burning to a crisp.
The mother falls to her knees and covers her children with her long winter coat in some kind of slim hope they will be protected.
Skin then flesh disintegrating from there skeleton. Burning there bodies. Cremating them to ash. All the while the kansas song plays dust in the wind.
Ned hears a loud blast, then he feels the earth move, rumbling. Anticipating his last breath. Will he feel it?
The rumbling getting nearer. Cds and dvds shaking off from the shelfs and the desk. A violent rumbling passing right over his shelter followed by a surge of temperature heating the whole place, becoming like a sauna when the water hits the hot stones sucking the oxygen from the air.
After a while the heat starts dropping. the shaking calms. Ned then realises he has passed the 1st test.
For now he must survive and wait for the fallout to clear. Stay strong minded and ration wisely.

This is just the start of his adventure.

To be continued.