D+1

Tina was not inclined to watch the news, but this time, at the insistence of her family, she had to make an exception. The event that took place in the Arctic Circle, which resulted in the sinking of a nuclear submarine by a patrol plane that fired an anti-submarine torpedo with acoustic guidance, was only the culmination of several months of crisis between the two superpowers. Even the proverbial monotonous expression of the news anchor was gone - in its place was biting his lips and obvious fear.

What further disturbed Valentina was the fact that one of the larger military bases was located only twenty kilometers from her city. She wondered what to do, how to act, even though until the last moment she didn't want to believe that the nuclear mushroom cloud would still rise above her, above her parents, relatives and friends, above her husband who worked at the base...The paranoia slowly but surely began to disturb her, to kill her in the slightest, she began to follow the news, read newspapers, surf the net about the consequences of radiation... to the point that she decided to take a few days of unpaid leave from work, if nothing else to at least calm her thoughts.

The news did not bring anything good, the mobilization of the reserve of the armed forces was announced and the nuclear strategic command was placed under 24-hour alert. Tina could not reach her husband on the phone - who, although a civilian, had to behave according to military rules that in such a situation provided for the cessation of communication with the outside world.

There was no news on the fourth day. The ominous hiss of static on her parents' favorite channel became the subject of speculation. And they too became redundant after a blinding light that turned night into day appeared from the north, probably from the place where the base was located. The shock wave followed, which, although weakened due to the distance of about twenty kilometers from ground zero - was still the result of a megaton detonation as opposed to the good old kilotons known from Hiroshima, strong enough to wreak havoc. And its deadly companion, the heat wave, arrived with a delay of only a few seconds, turning those who found themselves in the open - into charred, unrecognizable corpses. Those who were sheltered, including Tina and survived the wave - were now hit by the terrible ionizing radiation from which there was no escape. It penetrated every pore, every cell and sowed death. Tina turned out to be one of the less fortunate, who did not die immediately - but were sentenced to a painful and agonizing death.

Coming to her senses and looking around, she saw the corpses of her parents. She didn't even look back at the pieces of skin hanging from her hands, she didn't have the strength to scream, to beg, to cry - she just silently watched her dead parents and dead neighbors. The next day dawned. D+1, as they wanted to register it at the Supreme Headquarters. Tina dragged herself around in search of water, thirstier than ever in her life, her insides crying for liquid. Heading to the local supermarket, which, although damaged, was still somehow standing upright - she met several people with completely absent-minded looks, horrible remains of former human beings, walking ghosts staggering back and forth. Although some voice from the depths of her consciousness whispered to her that the mineral water bottles were irradiated, Tina simply had to drink. And she drank, although it only brought her closer to a quicker death. And maybe that's why, who could say.

The water refreshed her, cleared her mind a little. Only then did the paroxysm of pain follow that she couldn't express due to the shock of everything that had happened. Sitting like that in a corner of the market, the thought came to her mind that she hadn't heard from her husband in a long time. A thought called from nowhere began to convince her that maybe after all - he had survived? Tina had to fight fiercely with the rational part of herself that clearly told her that her husband had been reduced to ashes. She had to stifle it and believe in something, anything. Although her relationship with her husband had been far from idyllic lately, he was still her greatest love and the next day - a reason to pull herself together and seize the few hours...or days...that she had left.

Daniel, her husband, working as a civilian at the base, obeyed the rules of the job. But that evening, whether out of fear or paranoia, he decided to go home. He asked for a leave of absence that was quickly denied, he resigned that was not accepted, he argued and argued with his superiors, all in vain. He simply knew what would happen and he had to find a way out. The physical exit was normally blocked by soldiers, but Daniel knew that there were places he could get out of. But what good would it do him if he left the base without his car? After all, it was twenty kilometers. He decided to try hitchhiking. And miraculously, he succeeded, he was picked up by an elderly couple in a Ford Escort in their later years.On the way home, some three or four kilometers from the city, after a curve that went behind a large hill - came the flash. And the impact. And the heat. And the ionized particles.

Regaining consciousness after a while, awakened by the terrible screams of the elderly couple, having the quasi-fortunate circumstance of the hill that protected him from the impact to some extent - Daniel looked around and got out of the car. He knew enough about the Bomb's action to be clear that they did not hear him and did not see him. Trying to help them was pointless. And he was so thirsty...Tina's brain was filled with only one thought, to find her husband. She did not even know why and she did not even bother with it. She only knew that she did not want to die alone, on the street, like the charred dogs in front of the market entrance. Since the few vehicles that were not destroyed were disabled by the electromagnetic pulse that followed the explosion - Tina rushed to the supermarket and grabbed the first bicycle that came to hand.

Daniel had no choice but to set off on foot. One of his eyes was bleeding and his face was disfigured. A thought began to overwhelm his mind - what if Tina had survived? And Daniel had to liquidate the rational in him... and move forward. Step by painful step. Tina pedaled persistently, ignoring her bloody knees and the monstrous pain. She pedaled as if it were the last thing in her life. In fact, it was probably the last thing in her life.

At an abandoned checkpoint located a few kilometers from the city, Tina stopped to catch her breath. She once again gave herself to emptying the bottle of water that she had brought with her. In the distance, she saw a human figure moving uncertainly in the middle of the road towards the checkpoint. Tina was about to ask the would-be traveler if he knew anything about the base, if anyone had survived... when she suddenly began to recognize Daniel's physiognomy, which, although distorted, was still most intimately familiar to her. There was no longer any room in her mind for disbelief and skepticism. She tried to squeeze under the ramp that she had no strength to lift, but her strength failed her and she fell. The next thing she felt were Daniel's arms around her, and the strange, bizarre and never-before-seen expression on his face.

The black clouds that had been gathering over the region all day - finally poured down to the ground. Radioactive rain usually comes last, like a late guest in the orgy of death. It was the same now. Tina tried to say something but apart from barely distinguishable sounds, she could say nothing. Daniel's situation was similar. They didn't need words anyway, their eyes knew everything, everything was clear to them, they had an answer for everything. Their cracked and bleeding lips pressed together, ignoring the black drops that were pouring down their faces. How much time did they have left? Hours, maybe a few days? They didn't know exactly, and it didn't matter. Hugging under the eaves of the checkpoint, they decided to wait out their death together, abandoned to the last thing that still had meaning in a meaningless world soaked in black rain - their love.

(Roger Mortis, 106)