The Malignant Abode by Susie Q Whitmer (classic english novels .txt) 📕

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March 1, 2011
I thought I had transcended into a sanctuary of complete mind-numbing serenity. There was absolute silence, and the warm light seemed to be drawling me in, comforting me as if to ease the sorrow of death. A tender voice whispered to me, “Not yet my sister, you still have much work ahead of you. Now go, and lead those who chose to wander blindly through life.”
A mind-numbing cry awoke me from my enigmatic experience. Wiping the dried blood from my brow, I glanced around at my surroundings. There must have been at least seven others there. They were in shock, unable to rationalize any coherent thoughts.
There were four middle aged men, three young females, and a little girl, no older than 10. The little girl looked like she was in shock, so I went to comfort her, wrapping a blanket around her trembling petite frame.
“What is your name darling?” I asked her gently.
She stared up at me as if I was speaking a foreign language.
“My name is Candalynn, Candice for short,” She replied passively.
“Well Candice how old are you?”
“I just turned eight years old; may I ask why we are here Mrs. Umm?
“Honey, my name is Lila Maddox; you can call me Lila sweetheart.”
She asked me if she would ever get to see her mom and dad again. The look in her eyes made me tear up, but I knew that I had to stay strong for her.
“One day my darling, I promise you that my love”

March 2, 2011

I awoke with Candice in my arms; I rubbed the dry tears from her supple rosy cheeks.
A young grubby man stood up and yelled out to everyone, “What the hell are we doing just sitting around doing nothing? Does anyone here know what the fuck is going on?”
An older gentleman put a hand on the boys shoulder, “We are all scared right now, but we are going to get through this, through the glory of god, we will get through this.”
The young man pulled away irritated, “God isn’t here old man, it’s just us trapped in this god damned shelter. How do we even know if there are any survivors up there?”
Offended, the old man clutched his crucifix tightly in his hand and backed away; mumbling to himself. A well dressed middle-aged woman stepped up to defend the religious man.
“Listen; there is no reason to be hostile. We don’t know what has happened yet so let’s try to keep it together and stay sane long enough for help to come.”
“There is no help coming woman,” commented a deep voice from a shadowy corner.
“We are all dead, may as well accept defeat now.”
“No body asked your opinion, so just keep your negativity to yourself; there are small children here,” the classy woman responded insulted.
The feeble man light up a smoke and remained quiet for the remainder of the evening.

March 3, 2011

We all had trouble sleeping through the night; wondering where our loved ones were, or even if they were still living among us. I gazed at the ceiling wondering what was left; who survived the nuclear explosion? A young girl came to me and began to cry; she had to be no older than twenty. She explained that her parents sent her to the shelter and went back for her baby brother; they never returned. These people were falling apart; I had to take control of the situation.
“Listen everyone, I know that most of us are still in shock, but we must begin to make plans for however long we have to be here. We should begin by introducing ourselves and what we do”
Silence and tension filled the room.
“Ok, I’ll start. My name is Lila Maryann Maddox and I’m an expecting mother and housewife to an amazing man, my high school sweetheart.”
A middle aged man stood up, “My name is Rodger Wilson and I am an ordained minister.”
“Hello, I’m Lesley Daniels, and I am a carpenter. Yeah I bet y’all were hoping for a scientist, sorry people.”
The well dressed woman stood up and adjusted her blouse, “My name is Barbra Shaw and I am a defense attorney; not that it matters now anyways.”
The edgy man in the corner remained quiet.
“My name is Aida Woods. I go to UCLA; I’m a film major,” the striking young woman blurted out.
An older, somewhat elegant man spoke last, “My name is Truman Sparks, and I am a geneticist.”
“Well now that we know a little more about each other let’s try and ration out our food and supplies,” I suggested.

March 4, 2011

“How long do we need to stay in here until it’s safe to go back up,” I asked Sparks.
“We should stay down here for at least a year to avoid any contamination,” he replied.
“A year? There is only enough food to last eight of us six months tops!”
Sparks glared at me desolately. In that moment I felt the dread that Sparks was illuminating. It was either four people being eradicated, or everyone in the shelter would starve to death. I couldn’t just send four people out to die, but I couldn’t risk everyone’s lives; especially little Candice. Sparks grasped my hand and looked at me with conviction.
That night my mind raced; I was faced with the most crucial decision a person could possibly rationalize.

March 5, 2011

As the people awoke this morning and rationed their breakfast foods. I pulled Sparks aside to speak of the rations.
“I think we need to save four people, and find a way to convince the others they can’t be here,” I told him.
Sparks snickered at my comment, “Do you really believe that four people will just walk right on out of here and commit suicide?”
I thought about it for a moment, “Then what do you suggest we do then?”
He told me to write a list; a list of people who truly deserve the gift of life, and to present it to him in the morning. I thought for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.

March 6, 2011

The List

1) Lila Maddox (Stay-pregnant)
2) Candice Lynn (Stay-child)
3) Aida Woods (Stay-Young Useful)
4) Truman Sparks (Stay-geneticist)
5) Lesley Daniels (Must leave)
6) Barbara Shaw (Must leave)
7) Rodger Wilson (Must Leave)
8) Guy Dane (Must Leave)

It brings me great sorrow to write this list... But it is for the greater good of the people. God forgive me.

March 7, 2011

The people are still in shock, being obtained from their homes involuntarily by the U.S. military and being thrown into bomb shelters; separated from their families. I ask myself, why they put eight of us in a shelter with only enough food for four people. I crumble my list into a ball and slide it into Sparks’s pocket.
Guy instantly stood up and shouted, “What do you two have to say that the rest of us can’t hear?”
My heart skipped a few beats and I glanced to Sparks to come to my rescue. Unfortunately, Sparks was just as caught off guard as I. Guy demanded to see the note, which Sparks refused.
The two men wrestled to the floor; clawing at each other’s eyes and throwing random punches. Guy finally finagled the note from Sparks’s pocket. He took a moment to look over the note; then peered back up at Sparks.
“So, you plan on killing us off just so you have enough food? Well you ain’t going to kill me off!”
Guy grasped a jagged rock and paced towards Sparks; raising his hand to strike Sparks cranium, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. The rock fell to the ground, and Guy staggered back in shock; blood gushing from his belly. Falling to the ground, he gasped for his last breath. Sparks tucked the revolver under his shirt.

March 8, 2011
The panic from Guy’s death was beginning to settle; but people were still frightened and confused. Guy’s body lay decomposing in the corner; the smell of blood and rotting flesh made my stomach turn. The others are starting to ask questions about the list.
“Who put you two in charge, and what gives you the right to kill us off? And isn’t it convenient that you put yourselves on the list,” Barbara demanded.
Sparks stood up and responded smoothly, “We have counted our rations and we only have enough food to last four people for a year.”
“So what do you purpose, just kill off the people you don’t like; you’ve already slaughtered one man, who’s to say that you shouldn’t die,” Barbara argued.
Sparks took a moment to reflect on the situation, “He attacked me; I did what I needed to do in self defense. I have to live with that on my conscious now.”
The people remained silent for hours, perhaps plotting their fight for survival.

March 9, 2011

I have to protect my unborn child by any means. It came to me then; I proposed to take a vote on who should stay and who should leave. The people agreed and all wrote down the people who should leave. Sparks counted the votes and announced that the three to leave would be Aida Woods, Barbara Shaw, and Truman Sparks.
“No, that can’t be right. Why should I go? I am an established attorney. What about the Minister? He doesn’t have much time left anyways,” Barbara shouted.
Offended, Rodger stood up, fists clenched, “How dare you, I am a man of the lord. All you do is help criminals go free to go harm more innocent people!”
“Let’s all just settle down people, now we agreed on a vote. Now I know you may not concur with the results, but that’s just the way things must be,” Sparks intervened.
“So what now? You just kill us, just like that?” Aida asked.
Sparks suggested that we all just rest for a while and calm down. Hesitantly the people obliged, and sat quietly.
I went to speak with Sparks and asked him where he had gotten the gun. He said he found it in the supply room, and oddly enough I believed him. Why would there be a gun in the supply room I pondered. Did they intend for us to have to kill each other eventually?

March 10, 2011

I awoke to a bang and a high pitched scream. Still in a daze, I looked around to see where the commotion was coming from. The familiar smell of blood and decay hit me like a bus. I held my hands up and felt the warm crimson liquid dripping down to my elbows; however it was not my blood. Lying