Famished Read online

  Famished

  Lauren R. Hammond

  There is no United States. There is no world. An asteroid has destroyed what the human race knew as earth and The Great Famine has wiped out most of the surviving human population. For the few remaining survivors, food is scarce—precious—a luxury. A luxury that most humans can't find.

  Seventeen year old Georgina Carver is fortunate. She's survived the destruction. She eats three times a day while the rest of humanity is plagued by The Great Famine. And she's safe, hidden away in an underground colony with her family and several other families of survivors.

  All of that changes the day she's randomly selected to be a gatherer. Georgina must leave her safe yet simple world and venture out into a world unknown. A vast, dangerous, destroyed world that could literally eat her alive.

  After Georgina is severely injured, her life begins to fall apart. She can't remember how she got home or what happened to her while she was on the new earth. The boy she is crushing on avoids her and she keeps having visions that involve an unknown person with violet eyes.

  As Georgina begins to unravel the truth, it doesn't take her long to figure out that maybe her safe yet simple life isn't that safe at all.

  Lauren Hammond

  FAMISHED

  Chapter 1: Aftermath

  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

  ~ Genesis 1:1

  Vivid flashbacks of the day the asteroid hit had always haunted me. Not only because the asteroid demolished the world I knew, but because it led to The Great Famine, a deceitful murderer ten times worse than the asteroid itself.

  Two things had circled around my mind in constant rotation when I thought about my last day on the earth I knew. The loud, deafening cry my mother let out, when the leader of our nation made the announcement that we were all doomed. And the actual sight of the asteroid, with the circumference of a small strip mall, when it breached our atmosphere. It blazed bright orange and muted yellows flames trailed behind it as it sailed across the powdery blue skyline.

  Plopping down on my porch swing that day, I marveled at the asteroid. My mouth had dropped open and I kept my eyes on the cratered monstrosity, lost in a trance as it passed over my house. Even though I knew the amount of destruction the asteroid would cause, I still found it beautiful. The bright colors reminded me of a brilliant display of fireworks shot off on the Fourth of July.

  Our neighborhood was like an intersection in an overpopulated city. People were frantic, running from their houses to their cars, grabbing everything they could. Police officers were parked in between the cluster of people and cars, shouting from megaphones, blaring their sirens, and shooting off rounds of bullets into the air, trying to take control of the situation. But it didn’t matter, because nothing they did worked.

  One of the men in the street clubbed a police officer on the side of the head with a baseball bat. Then, the people who didn’t have cars trampled all over the poor police officer, trying to evacuate. Terrifying screams played out like a song on the radio. And in just seconds, the amount of people in the street doubled.

  My parents didn’t panic like all of our other neighbors. Yes, my mother had been startled and yes, she had screamed. But my parents were focused and set a plan in motion. Only seconds after the President finished his speech, my father was out the back door in a flash with a shovel in his hand.

  I’d glanced at my mother, confused. “Where is he going?”

  “To build our new home,” she answered solemnly.

  “Where at?” The President had informed us that the asteroid would have breached our atmosphere in six hours.

  “Underground.”

  As I watched more of our neighbors flee, I’d squinted, puzzled as to why they thought it was necessary to shout and carry on like escapees from a mental institution. Did they think panicking was going to help their situation? Would spouting off like lunatics save them? Now, as I looked back on that day, I understood.

  Nobody expected a global apocalypse. Nobody expected a massive ball of molten, burning rock to fall from the heavens and disintegrate anything and everything we knew. And most of all, nobody expected The Great Famine to sneak in, like a thief in the night and leave the remainder of the human population, starving and mad.

  Everything had been wiped out. All of the houses, buildings, and skyscrapers, that were once carefully crafted wonders had become heaped over piles of rubble. Cars spontaneously combusted as a result of too much radioactivity.

  Plants died from the earth’s soil being tainted. And shortly after that, the animals died, leaving what was left of the human population to rot from the outside in.

  At the time, I’d thought people would have been more educated on what to do if a catastrophe struck. But people weren’t educated. And because they weren’t educated, they weren’t prepared. They were ignorant. Now, two and a half years into The Great Famine, everyone is hopeless and lost, left to fend for themselves.

  The following two months after the asteroid hit were dismal and depressing. My father had constructed this tiny underground home for us, but it wasn’t completed and we spent most of our time huddled together, wearing surgical masks, and going without food for days at a time. Honestly, thinking back, if we would have continued on like that, I was certain that within a few months, our carcasses would have been rotting on the side of the road with most of the other survivors.

  The name of the state I used to live in was Nebraska. And the city used to be Lincoln, the capitol. Now it was nothing. There were only fourteen surviving families left. Fifteen if you counted mine.

  It had been a long time since I breached the surface of the world above. My parents wouldn’t allow it. So, as far as I knew, the survivors that remained were savages. I’d seen a few things while our colony was being built, and most of the inhabitants left ran wildly through the bare, desert terrain, filth covering them from head to toe, bones protruding through their leathery skin, foam dripping from their mouths in search of one thing…

  Nourishment.

  A high pitched squeal pulled me from my thoughts.

  “Georgie!”

  My time reminiscing about the past was over the second my kid sister, Frankie waltzed through the door. I rolled over on my cot as she plopped down next to me, sitting Indian style on the concrete floor. “What’s up, Frankie?”

  “Were you sleeping?” Frankie was short for Francesca. The name suited her. She was a short, petite brunette that made the word enthusiastic seem like an understatement.

  I propped my head up. “No,” I commented. “I’m just thinking.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Thinking? About what?”

  I let out a long winded sigh. “I don’t know, Frankie, just

  things.” I didn’t feel like elaborating.

  Suddenly, Frankie, shot up off the floor like a cannonball barreling out of a cannon. I flung myself backwards startled by her spontaneous gesture. “Did Mom let you have coffee today?” I inquired. She was hyper by nature. She didn’t need the added caffeine.

  Frankie paced back and forth across the small room, then giddily clapped her hands. “No,” she squealed. “But I have the most exciting news!”

  I waited for her to go on with the story. “Well, come on. Spit it out.”

  She stopped pacing, faced me and giggled out in delight. “We’re all being invited to the council meeting tomorrow!” She went on. “Can you believe it? After all this time we are finally going to see what goes on inside of a council meeting!”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  Four months after the apocalypse we banded together with the fourteen other families. The members helped my father expand our underground home into a colony, with tunnels that led to each family’s household. Sho
rtly after that, they formed our colony council.

  Once a week, the heads of each household met for a council meeting. Only the heads of each household attended the meetings. They never invited any family members. So I found it odd that were inviting everyone now.

  There were a number of reasons why the families could be invited. They may have learned of some advancement on new earth. Maybe there were less toxins in the air now. Or they could be calling us in to give us some bad news. That maybe our food supply was running low or that they caught someone committing a crime. My gut told me, whatever the council was planning, wasn’t necessarily good. I sat up some. “Where did you hear about the families being invited?”

  “I overheard Dad talking to Mr. Baker.”

  My father’s involvement in the council worried me. He was so kind, trusting, and easily impressionable. I scowled at the idea of a weasel like Mr. Baker, a man who was always sneaking around, planting some stupid idea into his head. My father wasn’t a natural leader but, he did start this colony so he had to be included. I crossed my legs. “Well, what else did he say?”

  Frankie cocked her head to the side. “That’s all I really got. Dad said and I quote, ‘we’ll have to invite all of the family members.’”

  Seconds later my mother strolled into our room. “Dinner is in ten minutes.” She turned to leave.

  Then I got up from the bed. “Mom, wait!”

  My mother stopped, turned around and faced me and Frankie. “What is it, dear?”

  I spoke up. “Frankie heard something about the families being invited to a council meeting.”

  My mother turned away from me, looking sternly at Frankie. “Francesca, were you eavesdropping again?”

  Spots of pink appeared on Frankie’s ivory cheeks. “Guilty.”

  She stepped backwards, glancing between me and Frankie. “Well, as far as I know, the topic is all really hush-hush. But yes the families are being invited to the council meeting tomorrow.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “And you swear, you have no idea what for?” Even though she said she didn’t know, I knew sometimes she lied about certain things. She said she did it to protect us.

  She made an x across her heart. “Sweetheart, I swear. I have no idea.”

  My mother turned to leave, giving Frankie another hard look. “Francesca, you better start minding your own business or I’m going to have to lock you in this room. You hear me!”

  Frankie rolled her eyes. “Yes, mother.” Frankie glanced at me as my mother walked out of the room. “How is she going to lock me in? We don’t even have a door.”

  “Believe me,” I harrumphed. “She would find a way.

  * * *

  On the way to the mess hall, I brushed passed MayVickers. “Sorry, May!” I shouted apologetically.

  May kept her eyes on the floor, lost in a trance and didn’t look up. She hadn’t been the same since her daughter, Monica disappeared.

  The council had set up some rules for the rest of the colonists to follow. They maintained their importance because it made our new life underground operate smoothly.

  Rule number one: You could not steal another colonist’s food.

  Our supplies underground were limited and greediness was not tolerated. In fact, if you were caught stealing, the punishment was severe. First, you were kept in solitary confinement in a little room called the hole. You had to stay in that hole, submerged in complete darkness without food or water for three days. The punishment was created to remind the guilty party what life outside of our little world was like.

  Second, after you were pulled out of the hole, you were given lashings. One for each item that you stole. Dylan Edwards once stole three eggs from the Baker family. After he received his punishment, he lifted his shirt to show me the deeply rooted lashing marks that stretched horizontally across his back. As I fanned my fingers across his scarred flesh, I shuddered. There was no way in hell I was stealing anyone’s food.

  Rule number two: You could not, under any circumstances, leave the colony and venture out into what remained of earth unless instructed.

  Monica Vickers disappeared about six months ago. I was told that her curiosity was eating her alive. That she was so desperate to peak outside that she just left our world, never looking back.

  Every week, gatherers were sent out in search of supplies. That was different. They were given permission to leave. But if anyone was like Monica and just wanted to see what was out there, well, they should have seriously considered digging themselves an early grave.

  A twinge of remorse struck my heart whenever I saw May, wandering around like a lost soul. But these rules were made for a reason. They had to be followed. There could be no exceptions because with exceptions came chaos.

  And finally…

  Rule number three: You could not give food to outsiders.

  Yes, there were outsiders. Mostly people that traveled from other cities and states in hopes of finding some kind of rescue or refuge. Sometimes, it bothered me that we never invited them in. “You’d better erase that thought from your mind, Georgina Carver!” my mother would say. “Food is scarce and we have too many mouths to feed as it is!”

  “But, what if they need help?”

  “They could be cannibals. We can’t risk it!”

  I didn’t bring up the subject of outsiders too often. It wasn’t a subject my mother or anyone else liked to talk about. And the punishment for feeding an outsider was….

  Well, I honestly never knew because no one had ever done it.

  The members of the council made it perfectly clear that if we were caught feeding an outsider, the punishment would be more severe than any of us just stealing food. I don’t think anyone needed them to elaborate. Fear was already instilled us after we saw Dylan Edwards being whipped. Nobody wanted to experience a punishment worse than that.

  I caught up with my father as he walked down the wide, muddy corridor with Mr. Baker. I reached out, tugging on his arm. “Daddy.”

  He waved goodbye to Mr. Baker and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “What is it, Georgie?”

  I pulled away from him, lacing my arm through his. “What can you tell me about this meeting?”

  He craned his head around, looking behind us. “Where’s Frankie?”

  “There’s no point, Dad. Mom already yelled at her.”

  “I’ve got to start looking out for her and learn to watch what I say when she’s around.”

  Frankie was one of those kids that was like a talking parrot. She couldn’t keep a secret. And if she was in hearing range of your conversation, she would repeat whatever you said. She was five years young than me. One time, when I was thirteen and she was eight I accidentally screamed the word “bitch.” She heard me say it and even though I asked her not to say anything, she ran around the house for the next two days shouting the word. Naturally, my parents found out she heard it from me and I was grounded for a week. I learned to keep my lips tight around her from that moment on.

  My father and I made a left turn, walking into the mess hall. I unlaced my arm from his and stepped away. “So, are you going to tell me more about this meeting?”He placed both of his hands on my shoulders. “Honey, I wish I could but you know I’ve taken a vow of silence when it comes to the council. I can’t talk about what goes on in the meetings outside of them.”

  “Did Mr. Baker put you up to this? Why do you always do everything he says?” It bothered me that my father started this colony and Mr. Baker pretty much ran it. There was something sinister about him that made my insides churn when I thought about his fake, gap-toothed smile. It was a smile that said, “I know something you don’t.”

  “Georgina, this has nothing to do with Mark. I’m telling you, I took a vow and I will not break it. You need to learn to respect that.”

  I pushed his hands off of my shoulders. “It’s not fair!” I protested. “You people keep us out of the loop for all of this time, now suddenly you want us involved!” I was more confident t
han ever that this meeting was going to be bad. And more than anything, I felt betrayed. Council or not, my father was my father. And if he knew something awful was going to go down he should have told me.

  He sighed. “Georgie, don’t act like this. You know I want to tell you. I just can’t compromise my position.”

  “Your position as what? A council member or my father?”

  “Georgina!”

  Storming off, I ignored him as he continued to call out my name. At the moment, I wished that whole council would disband. Then maybe my father would put his priorities as a parent above his priorities as a council member.

  Chapter 2 : Hush Hush

  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and The Spirit Of God was hovering over the waters.

  ~ Genesis 1:2

  The colony was divided into several sections. There was a long, wide corridor that ran horizontally, with open to doorways to each family's quarters along both sides. Mine was at the end, next to the exit. On the opposite end of the corridor was the mess hall.The mess hall was the largest room in our underground village. The floor was made of concrete and the walls were made of dirt. There were six, long wooden picnic tables positioned vertically, three on each side of the room. The only lighting we had was the dull flicker from candles mounted along the walls or motion lamps that were powered by generators.

  My eyes had grown accustomed to this kind of lighting because it was the only light we had, but I missed the sun in the worst way. Sometimes I’d close my eyes and remember its warmth. The way it sizzled on your skin as it burned the tip of your nose. There was no sense in me complaining about not having it. I was just thankful to be alive.

  I trailed my finger along the dirt wall, as Grace Vickers my best friend nudged into my shoulder. “Why so pouty?” she chirped.

  “Ugh,” I sighed. A slow rumble circulated through my stomach. “I’ll explain after I eat.”