The old man looked around the group of small children that had gathered around him, eye

them one by one. He gently rubbed his beard and groaned as all them in unison asked him to tell

them a story. Cmon Mister please tell us a story. You must have at least one story right? The

old man waved his hand to quiet them down. Alright fine. Ill tell you a story. The old man

spoke in a rough grainy voice. You all are of age to heard what happened in 2080, when I was

18 years old. The old man leaned back in his chair, cleared his throat and clasped his hands

together in his lap. All the children leaned forward for the old man to begin his story.

The beginning might be a little boring, but it is necessary to show how my life was

before. In 2080 I was only Eighteen years old at the time. I can remember the entire day as if it

just happened yesterday. I woke up that day around Eight oclock to get ready for class at my

local community college. I got up and went to go take a shower. After my shower I got dressed

and went downstairs to the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee and made myself some

toast and eggs, my daily breakfast. After that I cleaned my mug and plate and got onto the

computer for a little while to read the news. Nothing seemed different from every other day.

Some politician said this and someone said that etc I noticed it was time for me to leave so I

got up and got my bag and left the house and started walking to the college campus about fifteen

minuets away from my house. It was rather cloudy that day and the sun was peaking through the

greying clouds every so often. The old man leaned forward and looked at the bored expressions

of the children. I told you the beginning might be boring, but like I said it is necessary. He

looked straight at one child who had fallen asleep. The old man grabbed his cane and gently

poked the child awake.

 The old man leaned back once more. Now where was I? He lifted his hand to to beard

and rubbed his gently in thought before speaking again. Ah right. I made it to the college

campus with a few minutes to spare so I hurried off to my class so I would not be late. The class

was biology and we were learning about genes and DNA that day. It was awfully boring so I

wont speak much about what happened during the class so I wont bore you even more. The

old man glanced at the kids once more and closed his eyes trying to fully remember what

happened next. That was the only class I had that day so I decided to go get some lunch before I

went home to do homework and relax. I went into a restaurant that was on campus since it was

convenient and I saw a few of my friends so I went over and sat with them. We had a nice lunch.

I can even remember what I had that day. I had a cheeseburger and some fries with a chocolate

milkshake. I decided to stay and hang out with my friends before they had to go to their next

class so we just sat in the lunchroom and talked for a while. I started to notice that a bunch of

other students had started gathered around a TV and so I got up and went to investigate. What I

saw shocked and horrified me. The newscaster was going on how North Korea had made a

nuclear weapon capable of reaching North America and South America and not only had they

just announced its existence it was also on its way to hit North America. While we were relieved

it wasnt hitting us in Brazil we were still scared. The old man shifted in his chair softly. I

decided that it was time to go home and watch the news from there.

I walked the fifteen minute walk back and went straight into the living room and turned

the TV on. No matter what channel I went to it was playing the same broadcast about that
nuclear weapon heading to North America, but this one was updated. North America had sent

one of theirs to North Korea and then Russia and China got involved. It was as if every time

someone pressed the button to let a nuclear weapon go free another country would also press the

button. It got to the point where everyone was saying this would be the end of the world. I

looked out the window and at the streets and everyone was running around in a panic. I didnt

know what to do or what I could do. I mean I was facing certain death and there was nothing I

could do to stop it. My phone suddenly started ringing and it was my mother. The old mans

face changed from his neutral expression into a deep depression. He paused for a few seconds

before letting out a sigh. It was my mother. She told me about how there was a place nearby

that people were able to go to to be safe and she told me to pack as much as I could in a bag or

two and told me shed meet me there. Following her orders I did as I was told and packed

clothes, food, water, and necessities and ran out the door and down the street to where this sort of

fallout shelter was. There was a big group of people gathered around it trying to get in, but they

were told to be patient and theyd let a group of people in at a time. This angered the people as

they wanted to be in that shelter now and not outside waiting to get in. I kept looking around for

my mother and grew worried because I could not see her. Maybe thirty minutes had passed and it

was my turn to get into the shelter. I wanted to wait for my mother but the crowd pushed me in.

The old man paused and closed his eyes trying to choke back a few tears before resuming. What

happened next will always be scarred into my memory. I saw it drop. It fell fast and was going to

hit the middle of the city. The door started to close and people were fighting to get in. There was

then a bright flash that lit up the entire sky and almost blinded me. This flash was brighter than

any sunny cloudless day. The doors finally shut and were locked. You could faintly hear the
people outside banging on the door and screaming, wanting to be let in. The guards of the shelter

made everyone move away from the giant door and we went down a long set of stairs before we

got into this very large underground facility, the exact one we are all in right now. They told us

to get comfy because we would be down here for a long time. I thought they were lying when

they said that and wed be out in a month or so, but as you all can see I was very wrong. And

with that I end my story. One of the children stood up and looked at the old man and spoke. Do

you ever think we will be able to leave this place and go to The Upstairs? The old man

shrugged a little. I hope so. I want to see the sky once again. The great blue sky that is endless. I

want to see the ocean again, I want to see great forests, I want to see live animals roaming

around those forests, I want to be able to see my city again. The old man looked at his rusty old

watch. Its about time you kids go to bed. Dont want to be up past curfew or else youll get into

trouble. The kids scurried off and the old man sat in his chair looking up at the ceiling, deep in

thought.