The Cellar: A Post-Apocalyptic Novella by Richard Dela Cruz Page B

face crumpled as she fought back the wave of emotion. Tears came down her cheeks as she covered her eyes with her hand and sobbed.
    Daren had never known his own father. He was barely a month old when his father was crushed by a portion of the rock wall that gave way during construction. But he definitely had experienced the painful void of not having him around. He went over to Lara’s side, knelt down by her chair, and rested his palm on her left hand. She turned up her wrist and gently squeezed his fingers.
    He wanted to stay there longer. So much longer. That is, until he realized something. He let go of her hand and abruptly stood up. Lara, startled by his movement, looked up in surprise.
    “What’s wrong?”  
    “How long have I been down here?”
    “I’m not sure.” She furrowed her brows. “Three … four hours maybe.”
    “Shit!” He slapped the top of his head with both hands.
    “What?” Lara’s eyes widened.
    “My mom probably thinks I’m dead! I gotta get back home!”
    Daren burst out into the hallway and went on a frantic search for the exit. Lara followed after him.
    “How do I get out of here?” He turned to face her.
    “Just calm down for a minute.” She grabbed his arm. “You can’t go charging out like that. You could run into the raiders again.”
    “So what should I do?”
    She walked over to one of the doors in the hallway and opened it. She went inside the room and Daren heard her rummage about. Moments later she emerged with a long robe draped over her shoulder.
    “You’ll need a disguise.” She took the gray hooded robe and held it up in front of him.
    “Wait a minute.” He held up both his hands. “You mean I’m wearing that and riding on the wheel platform thing?”
    “No. You can’t handle the vehicle yet. So we’ll both have to be under the robe, and we’ll both ride the wheel platform thing.”
    “You’re kidding me.” Daren looked at the robe. “We’ll be riding together and you think that’ll cover us both?”
    Lara gave a shrug. “We’ll just have to hope the wheels don’t peek out too much. And if they do let’s pray that people will be too freaked out to notice.”

    ⊕   ⊕   ⊕

    D AREN AND L ARA CARRIED GREEN glowsticks to light their way as they climbed up a long flight of concrete stairs. Strapped to Daren’s back was a bag of food supplies from the cellar. He could just imagine everyone’s reaction when he showed it to the village. That’ll beat a horde of rats anytime. They can go extinct for all he cared.
    “I can’t wait to tell everybody about this place!” He rushed ahead of Lara. He felt too happy to feel the weight on his back.
    “You can’t tell anyone, Daren!”
    He stopped, turned around, and looked at her in slack-jawed amazement.
    “What are you talking about?” His voice echoed down the tunnel. “There’s infinite food in there. As in it will never…NEVER…run out. Enough for everyone we know and twice more. There’ll be no need to fight over meals again.”
    “First off, you promised me you wouldn’t tell a single soul about the food stash.” She stomped her way past him. “Second, how can you be sure the food supply is infinite? That cellar could lose its magic anytime and we’re back to scrounging for scraps. And suppose the food renews forever?” She turned around and placed her hands on her hips. “You think that’ll stop people from being the bastards they are? Clans and villages for miles around would slaughter each other for control of the cellar. That’s exactly what I meant when I said the knowledge was too dangerous.”
    Daren had to admit she was right. The cellar and its treasures would be powerful leverage in a starving world. It had to be kept a secret.
    The sound of their footfalls bounced around the tunnel as they continued on their way up. A couple of rats scurried their way down past them. He gave them a passing glance before resuming his climb. Just a day before he would’ve turned