"Happy birthday, Eleanor. Be safe."
I spun around at the familiar voice. My Daddy stood there with a large gun slung over his shoulder.
"I thought?—"
"You're the last Young Lady in your group. We wanted to do something special. To turn on the power, we needed more Daddies on sight. Go, have fun." He waved me off. I threw my arms around him and ran off.
I caught up with my friends at the ride labeled “Tilt-A-Whirl”. I climbed into the shell-shaped container and rode with my friends. We screamed as loud as we could as the ride jerked to life and spun us around and around!
We moved from ride to ride, laughing and talking loudly, as if... as if we were normal. As if the world hadn't been bombed decades ago, forcing us to go underground. To stay trapped in time. No, for just one evening, we were justmodern teenagers, with no duties to help mankind. We could just live.
"You guys go on ahead. Ride the Cyclone." I waved them off, feeling queasy, when they took the roller coaster for the third time, and they hurried to go again. I rested along the rusted metal rails when a DIT sauntered over. By his gait, I knew it was Cal. I rolled my eyes and turned away.
"How's it going, birthday girl?"
Callahan was too handsome for his own good. His hazel eyes shone through the mask, twinkling with overconfidence. I was the only Young Lady who hadn’t fallen head over heels for his muscular frame, handsome features, and perfect, charming smile.
"It's fine," I said curtly, hating his smile.
"Did you get everything you wanted?"
I eyed him with suspicion. Why was he acting nice? Cal had never been nice to me.
"Mostly." I sighed. Everything but time with Milton. He'd gone on a few rides but had been pulled to help walk the perimeter with the other Daddies. It looked like I wasn't getting the only thing I had truly wanted for today.
"You like Milton," Callahan said firmly, as if reading my thoughts.
"It's not a crime," I said, crossing my arms defensively, “to have a crush.”
"No, but him acting on them is. You know he can't date you. Why even risk it?"
The rules for the bunker were stupid. Young Ladies were to stay celibate until their duties were done, then they'd be artificially inseminated in a doctor's office and give birth to the next generation. But then what? They refused to tell us what happened after.
"What kind of life is this?" I huffed, looking up at him. "You ever want to do more than justyour duties to mankind?"
"Like what?" he asked.
"I don't know. Go to dances, first dates, and stuff like they did before the bombs. Get married, and?—"
"Have sex?" He smirked.
I glared at him. "Yes. All of it. I want more than what the bunker has to offer. Is that so bad?"
Cal cleared his throat to speak, but was interrupted by a slew of gunshots just outside the gates. Shouting incurred, and we shared a look as more guns went off.
Oh, no. We'd drawn them out.
Rule Three - Callahan
Don’t rat on your fellow DIT’s.
"What happened, soldiers?" Cecil, the warden for the DITs, barked, when the door to the rec hall slammed closed.
When we stayed silent, Cecil growled, "Someone better fucking speak. We have a Daddy dead and a DIT missing. What the fuck happened out there?"
Silence.
"Well then. If no one is going to explain, then we'll just have to deal with the consequences. There'll be no more alcohol, cigarettes, and no excursions until we get some answers."
