Chapter I : The Prologue

“Sarah, run!” Two people were running down the main street of a city in pandemonium. Debris fell from the roofs as the two ran up a steep hill into a school, its nameplate barely recognizable. “We’re almost there. We just—” The taller of the two never had the chance to finish her sentence, since a blinding flash of light emanated from the shore with a boom. Due to the shockwave, the smaller one was thrusted into a small opening. Slamming the lid shut with herself still outside, the tall woman, unwavering even in the strongest winds, sighed and looked up at the sun, just before the entire world became as bright as the sun itself. 

Sarah woke up drenched in sweat from a dream that seemed like yesterday. For the past 35 years, her dreams were the same : she and her mother running toward the small opening on the floor, a blinding flash of light behind, a familiar hand pushing her into the hatch and closing it even before she had the chance to scream. She was only 5. Now, 40 years old, she had never seen sunlight for 35 years. She stumbled out of bed, preparing for the 12,976th day in bunker B-14. 

Chapter II : The Underground

The day was a normal day for the 30-person bunker; People were chatting about yesterday’s radio, clumsily eating breakfast, or exercising on the stationary bicycle which doubled as a powerhouse for the bunker the size of a small conference room. In the center was a flipped manhole, which was used as a breakfast table, or a place for people to play cards. The scent of recycled air with no hint of moisture remained the same as always. Everything has been this way, for 35 years, ever since the world ended. 

Nearly 35 years ago, nuclear bombs rained from the skies, wiping out half of East Asia. Sarah, who was visiting Busan at that time, ended up on a lifelong trip on foreign land. Just like B-14, there were a lot of bunkers outside, ranging from small basements to bunkers the size of a huge gym, which were all connected by wired radios. They didn’t last long, however. Many bunkers failed due to malfunctioning life support systems and attempts by people to leave the bunker. All of them ended in the same fate; Sarah could hear them slowly dying on the other side of the radio. 

In standards of a bunker, B-14 was very well equipped, with self-sustaining oxygen, food, and water supplies, complete with backups. Theoretically, they could last forever in this little bunker. However, as the famous saying says, nothing lasts forever.

Chapter III : The Eve Before the Storm

The day was December 24^th, the day before Christmas. Everybody was in a festive mood. Mashed potatoes and stuffed chicken were laid on the table, an extremely rare sight within the bunker. Everyone had prepared it for Sarah—whose birthday,according to the lunar calendar, coincidentally fell on Christmas Eve. The atmosphere was an all-time high, with everyone talking, playing games, and wishing their best for Sarah. It could not have been better. 

“Sarah, what do you think the outside looks like?” James asked, a 5-year-old boy who was one of Sarah’s favorites. “Nobody knows,” she replied simply. However, as if that small talk had been a catalyst, she couldn’t help herself from imagining the outside. How devastating had the explosion been? It definitely won’t be a utopia mentioned in the books from the olden days. was there anything to eat? Anywhere to live? Was her mother still alive? Was anything alive out there? 

Meanwhile, deep below ground, a piece of rock that had been stuck in the same position for centuries echoed a small crack. It didn’t take long for the noise to resonate through its neighbors, spreading slowly and ominously. Sarah would soon find her answers to her questions. 

Chapter IV : The Earthquake

She thought it was a simple power outage when the lights went out. Everybody stopped talking and stared at the small candle on the birthday cake, its dull yellow light now the only source of light in the room. As if answering their gaze, the candle quivered slightly, the quiver changing to a wave and getting stronger over time. At some point, people realized they could feel the source of the tremor themselves : the entire bunker was shaking. It felt as if a gigantic monster had awakened from its sleep. The shaking eventually knocked the candle to the floor, smothering the light along with everyone’s patience. B-14 was thrust into pandemonium, with people screaming and searching for their friends and family. Sarah quickly tried to move to a corner where she could escape from the mess. However, she wasn’t fast enough.

“Watch out!” Someone shouted as a groaning crack echoed through the pitch-black room. One moment later, the ceiling gave in and the debris came. 

Chapter V : The Opening

The earthquake was over, and the bunker was of no means now. A gigantic hole, now letting in sunlight on a low angle, was left open on one side of the room. Everyone, at least those who were conscious, sat on the direct opposite side of the bunker, as if something horrifying lurked out there. The room was silent except for the rhythmic beep of the geiger counter, exactly 20 times a second. 

Outside, down the hill, a small crowd was staring at a hole in the middle of the hill. Or, to be exact, what used to be a hill. On the side of the hill lay a gigantic hole that had caved in from the earthquake, revealing the shining black outline of something. Then, somebody shouted out something, then everybody began cheering. A woman was emerging from the rubble. 

Chapter VI : The Reality

In the end, the bombs had exploded, however they were relatively small, about half the size of the one dropped on hiroshima. This fact, combined with the interesting weather conditions of Busan, decreased the radiation levels in a matter of 5 years. People had slowly emerged from their hiding places and started to resettle. Since the bombing had completely wiped out all traces of human life completely, the new people had a blank canvas to begin with. Plus, 20 years was enough for the smallest of seeds to grow into a massive tree. Meanwhile, for the unfortunate people stuck in B-14, their geiger counter had been malfunctioning, for 35 years.

It was not something Sarah had expected. She had expected rubble, not a village with small huts and smoke coming out of them. She had expected deadly radiation, when she only found annoying mosquitoes. She had expected them to be the last survivors, but instead there was a village five times their population. She had expected people carrying scraps, but instead people were carrying around hoes to farm. The lush green fields, still recovering and growing, swayed as if mocking her. A lot of explaining was required to fill in Sarah’s 35 years of ignorance of the outside world. 

Sitting on the side of a small table, Sarah’s face was far from calm. She had stayed up for 3 nights in order to understand the entirety of the situation. All of the old days, her childhood friends, adults—everything…was just gone. Her 35 years felt like a piece of paper crumpled up and thrown into the fireplace. Literally. She hadn’t expected a complete world, but neither had she expected everything to be gone. Her eyes, moving wildly around, eventually settled down on James playing ball with another kid. For James, this was the first outside he had seen. She smiled, let out a small sigh, and stood up and took a step. Then two. Her pace quickened as she walked to join their game. It was time to step forward. 

Chapter VII : The Epilogue

Halfway across the globe, a man in a black suit courtly walked down a dimly lit hallway with heavy footsteps. He reached a door, knocked, and quietly entered. A black figure, totally engulfed in darkness, raised its hand as an order to begin. 

“Ma’am, phase 1 of project birdcage has been suspended after Birdcage-14 hatched. Currently, around 65% of the participants survived, and are gathered around in the feeding grounds.”

The unknown person smiled, then turned around in her chair and opened the curtains to view the massive expanse of screen in the control room below her office. She stared long and hard at a specific screen, where a middle aged woman was playing with two kids. She sighed, then said in a hoarse voice. “Initiate phase 2.”

As the famous saying says, nothing lasts forever.

Things were not going to be easy for Sarah.

Credits

Original novel written by Sihoo Lee

Edits kindly provided by Jennifer A. S.