000

‘Put him in there. They won’t find him in there. Marilyn, I want you to join him in there. No? But… okay.’ These were the last words I could remember from my Father’s mouth before the door rolled shut and the hydraulic lock shifted in place. I remembered crying in the darkness, I remembered the muffled screams of my parents, I remembered the fluorescent bulbs finally coming to life and the large hall flooding with light.

A robotic voice said to me, ‘Welcome, Alexander Thompson. Welcome to your new home.’ As I walked to the edge of the walkway, my hands grappling around a railing, I looked at my new home.

It reminded me of a padded cell, with the walls being made out of a thick foam which my fingers left imprints on as I walked down the stairs. It had only four walls, with each area sectioned off by floor color. The blue flooring appeared to be a kitchen, lined with every utensil and appliance needed to make dinner. Red was the living-room, suited with a television with a game console. Green was the fitness area and the bathroom, the only place sectioned off with frosted glass, had purple flooring.

That was a horrible decision. Purple looked ugly on padded flooring. They could have went with any other color, but they decided purple..

A soccer ball sized sphere floated up to my face. It had a strange blue glow coming from its edge and it had a circular LED screen with a smiley face on it.

Taken back by it, I asked, ‘What are you?’

‘I am Brendan, your new robot companion, friend, and father.’

‘Companion and friend? That’s a bit redundant.’

‘I have also been programmed to deal specifically with you, meaning that your entire personality has been uploaded and processed. I know everything about you.’

‘That’s creepy.’

‘Here,’ Brendan said, something slipping out of a slot on his side. ‘Take this napkin. You still have tears in your eyes, it must be irritating.’

‘Why do you have a dispenser in your body that is specifically for producing napkins?’

‘Because I know your personality, Alex. You are a crybaby.’

‘It would be nice if you were nicer to me.’ But I took the napkin anyway, blowing my nose and patting my eyes. ‘What is this place? Why am I here?’

Brendan, with his LED smiling face, said, ‘This is the bunker. You would only be here if the world has ended.’