High Pressure System: Part One by K.D. Kinney Page B

politely in agreement and gripped the handle to the pet carrier tighter after wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans, making mental notes on everyone in the room as the young man waited patiently for silence.
    I wasn’t the only single person there, but it looked as if the only single male that wasn’t underage or too old for me was the one in charge. He was good looking with his short dark hair and bright blue eyes. I noticed them even through his thick-framed glasses. His build was average, but I liked average and smart. If I wasn’t nervous and so freaking scared about what my new home was going to be like, and how long I would be alive to care if it turned out to be a craphole, I would have been plotting for a way to grab his attention. Not that I was good at that sort of thing. Almost twenty years old and I still had a tendency to blend in with the scenery even when making a spectacle out of myself. It took until second semester and the world had to fall apart before Corbin noticed me.
    “Welcome to Bunker thirty-eight ninety-seven. I’m Brandon Taylor. I hope you all find the accommodations here adequate considering the circumstances and how fast we prepared the building for residency. I have your apartment assignments. I am also the one you come to with any issues. Kind of like the apartment manager. We will progressively restrict time outside so I suggest everyone acclimate to indoor residency as soon as possible.”
    “What was the point of all that ridiculous looking fancy landscaping then?” The man next to me asked to no one in particular. “I’m Jim, by the way.” He stuck out his hand
    “Rachel,” I said and politely shook his hand.
    “You look like a deer in the headlights. You don’t have anyone with you?” he asked.
    I almost teared up when I shook my head.
    “Me neither.” He squeezed my arm lightly. His eyes were watery too.
    I swallowed the lump in my throat when I gave him a weak smile.
    Everyone began to mutter in distress to one another. I had to dry my cheeks before anyone noticed.
    Brandon’s eyes met mine for a brief moment before his attention dropped to his tablet. “I will announce names and apartment assignments on each floor. Later we will gather for a more in-depth tour.”
    He descended the stairs and the group followed with only whispering and our footfalls echoing off the walls in the stairwell. I shivered as the air chilled more with each floor we passed.
    We had gone down five floors when Brandon called my name and told me my apartment number. He was still engrossed in his tablet, but I hoped he would look up at me. I nearly touched shoulders with him when I passed by. However, his attention went to the little boy that tugged on his arm. That didn’t surprise me. My friends back home use to call me wallflower. I always thought they were being kind by not calling me wallpaper instead.
    The ones assigned to the fifth floor with me quietly made their way down the halls to their apartments. Mine was at the very end of the hall with no neighbors around me at all.
    I fumbled with setting up the fingerprint recognition system. Once it finally approved that the thumbprint was really mine, the lock finally unlatched. I pushed the door open slowly. The scent of fresh paint and toxic cheap furniture assaulted my nose. It wasn’t any warmer than the concrete stairwell. The room with bare white walls was sparsely furnished with a small sofa with an end table on one wall and a dining table for two next to the tiny kitchen in the main living area. A small bedroom was off the living room. After the latch clicked when I closed the door, the silence was almost unbearable. The quiet felt like pressure building in my ears. The brightly lit room had no windows at all. Of course, I knew I was underground, but the lack of windows really got to me.
    I let the dogs out of their carrier and sat down on the floor. They climbed on my lap, licked my cheeks as they sought attention and affection from