Everything went white for a moment—then as one, we turned and looked north to where the mushroom cloud was slowly rising over the city. Moments later, a hot wind stirred our clothing, no doubt carrying with it microscopic particles of death that would give us radiation poisoning, or at least cancer in later years.

The gun slipped from my friend’s suddenly nerveless hands and went off, the sound seeming small and tinny next to what we had just witnessed. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and whined into space, instantly forgotten.

Despite the devastation going on to the north, all I was capable of feeling was an intense sense of relief. This was it. I didn’t have to worry any longer when my pleasant life would end. It just had. Life, at least in the near future, would be a constant struggle for survival. But I could live with that.

And speaking of which…I scooped up the gun and pointed it at my friend.

“Huh? Jody, what are you—”

“Sorry, but there’s only going to be so much food to go around now.”

BOOM!