DEAD RIVER
Three
months passed before we saw the sun again; its meagre light barely visible
through the ashen sky.
We’d
reached another dead river.
Swollen bodies floated lazily down stream.
“I’m
so thirsty,” Ginny moaned. “Can’t
I take a tiny sip?”
“You
don’t want to end up like these folks, do you? We’ll find another shop soon.”
After
we crept out of our storm cellar, we’d been foraging for bottled water in
abandoned supermarkets.
“We’ll
pick up more iodine. We can use it to purify rainwater,” Mom said. “Here, take
a sip from this bottle. It’s time for
another iodide pill.”
This Dabble
in FLASH FICTION is from FRIDAY FICTIONEERS courtesy of:
and you can comment on mine below:
Its, not it's. Other than that, a lovely piece of writing with a quiet, tangible awfulness to the story. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that. I shall correct it right now. And thank you for the compliment also...
DeleteA terrifying scenario indeed-well painted :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI hate it when there are bodies in my drinking water...
ReplyDeleteYes, and I don't think iodine will be enough to make it safe...
Deletewow,an absolutely horrifying scenario. i really wish i dont live to see that day.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is left over from my reaction to the novel "Bombshell", where all your worst fears are allowed to happen...
DeleteBodies of water or body of water? Very clever piece. Thanks, Nan
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nan, those bodies keep on floating...
DeleteDear Lindaura,
ReplyDeleteI find it intriguing that they don't seem the least bit rattled by the dead bodies. You've set the stage well. I'm going to be checking my drinking water more closely from now on.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Yup, you can get used to a lot of things at the end of the world. Dead bodies, dark skies, eating bunny rabbits... but I guess in this scenario, you couldn't eat the bunnies. They'd be contaminated. You'd have to eat canned food from the abandoned supermarkets.
DeleteThat would make a great scene from a full "end of the world" novel. Sounds like they've begun to take the whole situation in their stride. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alistair, I think you are right. That will be the only way to survive. Take it in your stride and just get on with the business of survival.
ReplyDeleteFirst the coastline's messed up, then Jews hunting, and now dead bodies in the old swimming hole! When are you going to write a musical, for Chrissake? Anyway, I like it, keep it going.
ReplyDeleteDisaster: The Musical! coming up soon. When I was in the 6th grade I wrote a musical about the UN! I taped in all on a Wollensac Tape recorder. It was awful. The only song I remember now, is "Open Skies" sung to Blue Skies of course!
DeleteI agree with Perry--we're very dark! Hopefully, he and Russell will cheer us. Meanwhile, keep doing what you do so well....
ReplyDeleteThank, Jan, I really appreciate a complement from you and I always enjoy your offerings. Oh, bur where would we be without Perry and Russell to lighten the week?
DeleteSo dark and post apocalypse.. the iodine made me thinking about the nuclear winter I read about as young...
ReplyDeleteyup. Totally nuclear winter here....
DeleteIt must be so tempting to drink when you are that thirsty; even through the obvious.
ReplyDeleteUgh, it is a disgusting thought, but we need water, even with the dead floating in it... Hopefully, there are enough bottles of water left in those abandoned mini marts!
DeleteGiven recent situations in WV and other places, this isn't so much fiction, as we might want to believe. Such a haunting tale, from this mood inducing prompt! Well done, Linda.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am wondering if there is enough Iodide to go around...and thank you for your compliment. This was a great photo taking everyone in all directions.
DeleteAtmospheric and depressing.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Thank you, although you make me chuckle at the idea of being depressing as a good thing!
DeleteYou've set the stage so well. And the disinterest of the characters - their focus purely on survival - is stark. Well done ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks. I just wish I'd kept a supply of those iodide pills!
DeleteHi Linda,
ReplyDeleteThese people must live in West Virginia. Water purity, what a topical and important theme. We live in an area of many springs, which used to be pure and you could drink from them with no worry. No more. All polluted. As to your story, suggest they drink beer or ouzo. Ron
You are right! I think that is why they invented Beer in the first place - and wine and Ouzo. But alcohol does make you thirstier, so I guess there aren't any answers, except storing all that bottled water in the cellar...
DeleteYep, potable water becomes priceless when there's none to be found. You painted a grim picture that could easily become a reality for all of planet earth.
ReplyDeleteYep. I remember storing all this bottled water, then running out of cash and drinking it up... Sadly, I think only those who can afford it will survive...
DeleteThis gave me shivers!! Quite gross and horrifying and that is meant to be a compliment. I love to be freaked out by a well-written, post-apocalyptic story.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I like that you appreciate a bit of a post apocalyptic story.
Deletethis is a chilling piece, well done
ReplyDeleteThanks. I am glad it seemed to work.
DeleteGrim, but believable picture of a dire future.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Let's hope it's not ours.
DeleteLet's hope it never happens, because hope is all we've got.
ReplyDeleteGuess we better rely on our brains, cause I don't have much hope.
DeleteGuess we better rely on our brains, cause I don't have much hope.
DeleteHave to have an awful lot of bottled water in the basement to survive in your world. Well imagined.
ReplyDeleteDamn, I keep raiding my cache of bottled water!
DeleteMade me think of 'The Stand'... or 'Walking Dead' without Zombies. Nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I don't think we need Zombies any more. Humans are scary enough.
DeleteTo think we take every day for granted, yet this is reality for some people after horrific weather/natural events.
ReplyDeleteYes, except for the necessary Iodide pills, this could be any natural disaster - but this one is man made...
Delete