Shelf Life

By S.L. Dearing

Shannon and her dog, Max, have been hiding in her shelter for three weeks. The phones are dead and the radio has been nothing but static for several weeks now. What will happen when Shannon leaves the safety of her shelter in search of food? Has the Apocalypse happened? We all have a Shelf Life.

This is a short story from the anthology Apocalypse compiled by Cynthia Shepp.
What began as an idea soon set into motion a chain of events which would lead to the next APOCALYPSE...

I want you to imagine that the world as we know it has ended. Total Apocalypse. You only have yourself and one other person you can rely on. There is no power, no water, and you are armed with only a backpack of supplies. In your backpack there are matches, four bottles of water, enough food to make it three days, and one weapon. Spin a web of survival, danger, and conflict. Tell us why the world as you knew it ended, tell us your fears, make up a world in which nothing is the same and survival is hard, and the world is against you. Tell us what you would do, where you would go, how you would get food and water, how you would protect yourself, and how you would make your life over again. You could even throw in some romance and meet some new people to help you on your journey.

11 authors, 11 different stories, one main idea…welcome to the APOCALYPSE…

• Language: English
• Publisher: SLDearing
• Release date: May 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781498964456

Book preview

Dedication:

Cynthia and Cassie, for creating the contest and encouraging the art of writing in all of us.

Shelf Life

Shannon felt the cold wetness against her cheek as she forced her eyes open, only to close them again quickly as the warm, wet tongue slid over her face.

I’m up, Max...I’m up.

The Sheppard/ Lab mix danced excitedly as she rose from the cot, his nails tapping against the concrete floor. Shannon walked slowly across the room of the tiny shelter to her rations bin and opened it.

Shit...

Inside the bin she saw what was left of her emergency rations: four bottles of water and food enough for three days, at most. She glanced around the room, illuminated by a few LED lamps, and stopped at the calendar. Three weeks. Each day ticked off by a giant X. She had been in this hole for three weeks.

She hadn’t thought about the water. Half of her supplies had been used to flush a toilet that was no longer attached to a working main line. She had thought the power and plumbing would have been restored by now. After all, this was an earthquake shelter...but what if the alert from the EBS wasn’t an earthquake?

It sure felt like an earthquake, didn’t it, Max?

He cocked his head to one side, ears up, and wagged his tail. Shannon smiled and turned back to the rations bin. She pulled out a foil package, ripped it open and broke off a piece of rice cake, then tossed it to her dog. Then she placed the bulk of food in her mouth, holding it with her teeth as she reached for a small black radio. Her index finger slid the small button into the on position and her thumb began to rotate the wheel as she watched the needle slide across the series of numbers. There was nothing but static. She switched to her AM channels, but the result was the same. Then she watched as the light dimmed and went out. She banged it a few times, then turned it off and put it back on the shelf.