The End of the World Is Better with Friends by M. G. Herron

Author:M. G. Herron
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Short Stories, Dystopian
Publisher: MG Publishing LLC
Published: 2016-12-05T16:00:00+00:00

• • •

I could breathe a little easier after I had put several thousand steps between myself and the garden. I headed to the same place I always went to think: the studio.

In the basement of the downtown building, I crossed my fingers behind my back and flipped the switch on the generator in the boiler room. It hummed to life.

Every time it worked, it was a marvel. I knew the generator would quit one day, just like the power grid had stopped working, just like the water had cut off. I never let it run for long. But for now, for this moment, I had power. It felt good.

I took the stairs two at a time out of the basement, then up another three levels. On the top floor, I entered a reception area with TONE DEAF MUSIC in giant black letters set on the wall. I walked past the receptionist desk and across an office space where several sets of cubicles, long ago cleaned out and abandoned, occupied the floor.

I stopped at the last door and gently touched the carved oak panels. Someone had cared about this place enough to lock it up nice and tight when people began to flee the city in earnest. It had been in pristine condition when I found it.

The French doors swung open at my touch and I entered a lushly carpeted recording studio. I didn’t have any use for the microphone. Instead, I went straight to the bar cart and poured myself a huge glass of whisky from the bottles kept there. Finally, I sat in the producer’s swivel chair before a panel of instruments. My hands glided over the buttons and keys.

“No. Freaking. Way,” Nina said from the door.

I groaned. “Why did you have to follow me here?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“I didn’t know where the hell you were going or what you were planning to do. You’re the only person I’ve met in… god I don’t even know how long. I couldn’t just let you wander off.”

“Like you couldn’t stop yourself from helping me with my ‘stupid’ plan.”

“Just like that.”

“You’re kind of a nuisance, you know?”

“You like being bothered.”

I glared at her, but didn’t object.

Her expression softened. “I’ve been living like an animal in the countryside for months. Eating roots and grasses and berries, afraid to leave my little spot even as the water was drying up. And this was here the whole time.” She took my glass of whisky from my hand. Took a sip, grimaced, and handed it back.

“Why did they leave all this stuff here?”

“It’s just stuff.

“Remarkable stuff. Look at this,” Nina insisted. “It gives you some comfort, doesn’t it?”

I nodded reluctantly.

“Do you know how it works?” she asked.

I nodded, and pressed a couple keys on the instrument panel. Frank Sinatra’s voice came on

“Ahh,” Nina sighed. “He has a beautiful voice. Who is this?”

I smiled. “His name is Frank Sinatra.”

I turned the dial and static flickered. Frank’s voice was replaced by the Beatles.

She gasped and grabbed my shirt in her hands.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.