Read Online The Cellar: A Post-Apocalyptic Novella by Richard Dela Cruz - Free Book Online
Authors: Richard Dela Cruz
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around to hunt them down.
“So what do you tell your village when you bring them fresh food?” he asked, breaking the silence. “They’ve gotta be curious.”
“I tell them it was a gift from the Angel of Death,” she replied. “And after all the ‘sightings’ in the area by yours truly they all believe me and are too scared to ask any more questions.”
“And you get away with that?” He adjusted the straps on the bag.
She looked back and shot him a smirk. “Apparently.”
“So…” He held his shoulder straps while sticking up his thumbs. “I must be special, huh?”
Lara faced him and raised an eyebrow. “How do you figure that?”
“You didn’t tell anyone else about the cellar,” he said. “But you let me see it.”
“That’s because you begged me like the sad boy you are. And so I took pity on your sorry ass.”
“Maybe. Or maybe you might have a little crush on me.”
She quickly turned her head back and cleared her throat. He liked the way her hair flipped when she did that. He had a sneaking suspicion she was hiding a blush.
Eventually the tunnel ended, and they emerged inside an old cabin. Odors of dampness and rot assaulted Daren as he looked around. Wispy layers of cobwebs dangled from the rafters, and a thick layer of dirt covered the floorboards. All around were broken barrels and empty crates. The place had been looted decades before.
Lara kneeled down by the hole in the floor from which they got out. She closed the trapdoor, making it squeak from its hinges, and pushed it down shut. Then she used her hands to push dirt over the door to conceal it.
She approached a dark corner of the cabin and shone her glowstick on the area. There were a few crates and some plywood propped up on the wall. She pulled them aside to reveal a wheeled platform vehicle—exactly like the one he saw in the cellar.
“So you keep one up here, huh?” Daren walked over and shone his light on it. “How’d you get this thing up those stairs?”
Lara mounted the vehicle and fiddled with the handlebars.
“Willpower, perseverance, and a lot of free time,” she said.
She leaned forward slightly to propel the platform to the center of the room. The aging floorboards moaned in protest as the wheels passed over them. She turned the vehicle around to face Daren.
“Okay,” Lara said. “Open the doors so I can ride out. Then you come out and close them as soon as I’m outside.”
After Daren complied with her instructions he found himself standing outside the old cabin. It was still night so most of it was shrouded in darkness, save for whatever was revealed by the greenish glow of the tubes. He looked over at Lara standing on the wheeled platform. She was on the front walkway leading away from the cabin.
“Tell me,” he said. “How exactly did you carry me from the woods, up to this cabin, down the stairs and right into the bunker?”
She drove the vehicle around him in a circle while she smirked at him. “I have my ways.”
“No, really,” he prodded. “How?”
Lara shook her head. “Never mind. You’ll just get mad at me.”
“Mad?” Now Daren really wanted to know. “Why would I be mad?”
“Just drop it, okay?” She stopped the vehicle by leaning back. “You’re alive, breathing and mostly uninjured, so just let it go.”
Daren kept asking her but she seemed to tune him out. She pulled out the gray robe and placed it over herself. She grasped the hood, pulled it over her head, and adjusted it until it concealed her face.
“All right,” she said. “Step under the robe and do everything like I told you to.”
“So you’re not telling me how you transported me, huh?”
“Are we doing this or not?”
“Okay! Okay!”
Daren went under the robe.
It was like crawling into a dark, tiny claustrophobic tent…with a girl in it. Daren swallowed hard as he stepped on the platform. He made sure his feet were in the proper position beside hers and carefully slipped his
“So what do you tell your village when you bring them fresh food?” he asked, breaking the silence. “They’ve gotta be curious.”
“I tell them it was a gift from the Angel of Death,” she replied. “And after all the ‘sightings’ in the area by yours truly they all believe me and are too scared to ask any more questions.”
“And you get away with that?” He adjusted the straps on the bag.
She looked back and shot him a smirk. “Apparently.”
“So…” He held his shoulder straps while sticking up his thumbs. “I must be special, huh?”
Lara faced him and raised an eyebrow. “How do you figure that?”
“You didn’t tell anyone else about the cellar,” he said. “But you let me see it.”
“That’s because you begged me like the sad boy you are. And so I took pity on your sorry ass.”
“Maybe. Or maybe you might have a little crush on me.”
She quickly turned her head back and cleared her throat. He liked the way her hair flipped when she did that. He had a sneaking suspicion she was hiding a blush.
Eventually the tunnel ended, and they emerged inside an old cabin. Odors of dampness and rot assaulted Daren as he looked around. Wispy layers of cobwebs dangled from the rafters, and a thick layer of dirt covered the floorboards. All around were broken barrels and empty crates. The place had been looted decades before.
Lara kneeled down by the hole in the floor from which they got out. She closed the trapdoor, making it squeak from its hinges, and pushed it down shut. Then she used her hands to push dirt over the door to conceal it.
She approached a dark corner of the cabin and shone her glowstick on the area. There were a few crates and some plywood propped up on the wall. She pulled them aside to reveal a wheeled platform vehicle—exactly like the one he saw in the cellar.
“So you keep one up here, huh?” Daren walked over and shone his light on it. “How’d you get this thing up those stairs?”
Lara mounted the vehicle and fiddled with the handlebars.
“Willpower, perseverance, and a lot of free time,” she said.
She leaned forward slightly to propel the platform to the center of the room. The aging floorboards moaned in protest as the wheels passed over them. She turned the vehicle around to face Daren.
“Okay,” Lara said. “Open the doors so I can ride out. Then you come out and close them as soon as I’m outside.”
After Daren complied with her instructions he found himself standing outside the old cabin. It was still night so most of it was shrouded in darkness, save for whatever was revealed by the greenish glow of the tubes. He looked over at Lara standing on the wheeled platform. She was on the front walkway leading away from the cabin.
“Tell me,” he said. “How exactly did you carry me from the woods, up to this cabin, down the stairs and right into the bunker?”
She drove the vehicle around him in a circle while she smirked at him. “I have my ways.”
“No, really,” he prodded. “How?”
Lara shook her head. “Never mind. You’ll just get mad at me.”
“Mad?” Now Daren really wanted to know. “Why would I be mad?”
“Just drop it, okay?” She stopped the vehicle by leaning back. “You’re alive, breathing and mostly uninjured, so just let it go.”
Daren kept asking her but she seemed to tune him out. She pulled out the gray robe and placed it over herself. She grasped the hood, pulled it over her head, and adjusted it until it concealed her face.
“All right,” she said. “Step under the robe and do everything like I told you to.”
“So you’re not telling me how you transported me, huh?”
“Are we doing this or not?”
“Okay! Okay!”
Daren went under the robe.
It was like crawling into a dark, tiny claustrophobic tent…with a girl in it. Daren swallowed hard as he stepped on the platform. He made sure his feet were in the proper position beside hers and carefully slipped his
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