Page 18 of Sixty Meters Under

“Yeah.” Lennart closed the door and paced behind him. “What’s the situation outside like? Did it take you long to get here?” Lennart watched as Liam gathered his thoughts and turned to face him.

“Complete chaos! It took me about two hours to get through.”

Lennart frowned. “Yeah, I saw it. Everyone is in a rush to find shelter. The public bunkers will probably be filled in a few hours.”

“Now I’m glad you bought this place.” Liam slumped into one of the chairs. “And gave us our own rooms.”

Lennart stopped beside him, crossed his arms and leaned his backside on the edge of the table. “Thank my mother for that. She saved us all from that madness. I would have probably stayed home anyway, if we didn’t have this bunker.”

“I’ll always be grateful to Annie. Truly.”

“If only she were here.”

“What? How? Didn’t she come with you?” Liam sat up straight.

“No, she was at work. She should be on her way now.”

“Damn. I hope the roads remain passable.”

“Yeah. I hope that too. By the way, did you see Edvin? Has he arrived yet?”

Liam shook his head. “I have no idea. Haven’t seen him.”

They both studied the screens at the same time to find the answer to their question. Blue and gray eyes scanned the crowd of people and noticed Hugo and Nils had a lot of work on their hands.

“He’ll probably arrive later,” Lennart finally said, his eyes still glued to the screens.

“Knowing him, he will arrive among the last,” Liam said with a soft laugh, then added in a more serious manner, “and I hope this shit ends soon.”

Lennart glanced at him. “It hasn’t even started properly yet.”

“Do you always have to be so negative?” Liam said with false irritation, a small smile forming on his lips.

Lennart rolled his eyes. “I’m just being objective.”

“Buh-uh!”

Lennart wrinkled his nose and shot him a glare. “Shut up!” he said, but he was glad that his friend was there with him. At least he had someone to lift his mood and distract him from gloomy thoughts.

?

Anna reached their home after an hour’s drive that usually, on any normal day, took her less than fifteen minutes. The streets were full, and on top of that the snow began to fall more heavily. She parked her car in the driveway and went straight to her room to pack what was left from her personal belongings.

It occurred to her that in the bunker the heating would be set to 21 degrees. In the hallways and storage rooms up to 19.Would there be any point in taking my dresses as well?she asked herself while looking longingly at her wardrobe. She ran her hand over the soft fabrics. “Yet, it would be a shame to leavethem here…” She swiftly removed a selection together with the hangers and packed it in her other suitcase. She knew she had plenty of room in the car.

When she finally filled the car to the brim, she went into the house to look around for the last time. Her heart clenched at how empty and abandoned the rooms looked.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to stay in her beautiful home.Why do we have to do all this?Why must she leave her house where she lived and raised her children? She didn’t want to sell the house after her husband’s death, but now she had to leave and live somewhere else, underground and hidden from the sun? And all because the ones who held the power refused to solve their problems peacefully? It seemed unfair.

Anna entered the living room then walked over to take a frame from the wall. It was the only family picture she had on display; all the others with her husband in, she had to put away. As she looked at their smiling faces, tears gathered in her eyes. Her sobs were the only sound breaking the silence.

When she stopped crying, she wiped her face and took the framed photo with her and walked out the door. She took one last look at their house, got into the car and drove off.

The moment Anna reached the jammed streets, and calmed down a little, she contacted her older son.

“Mom?”She heard Lennart’s worried tone.

“I’m on my way to the bunker,” she assured him.