By Jordan\nElizabeth<\/p>\n\n\n\n All\nZara wanted to do was pass her Spanish final and graduate high school, but\nsuddenly she\u2019s waking up in an unknown hospital. The east coast is destroyed\nand she\u2019s one of the few survivors. The government has assigned her to Outpost\nEight, an abandoned Catskills resort converted into a fortress. Not only does\nZara have to come to terms with the loss of everything she\u2019s ever known, but\nthe leader of Outpost Eight marries her to his son. Get your book today from Amazon for 99\ncents! getbook.at\/BunkerBoy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chapter\n1<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can\u2019t study with Metallica blaring downstairs.\u00a0 The windows vibrate with the booming bass.\u00a0 They might shatter, and shards will shred through me, while I sit here at my desk with my teeth clenched and my fist tight around this pen.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I can appreciate some Metallica.\u00a0 If I\u2019m having a bad day, there\u2019s nothing better than enjoying heavy metal music while driving to Sylvan Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you have your Spanish final\ncoming up tomorrow morning, you don\u2019t want to hear swear words ricocheting off\nyour walls, especially with your bedroom door shut. My head pounds; that music has been going for\nthe last hour and a half, ever since Mom and Dad went out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enough! I stand and throw my pen down, which doesn\u2019t\nhelp anything other than to make me more irritated when it rolls onto the\nfloor. I stomp into the hallway,\nslamming my door behind me, and storm down the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uncle Brad reclines on the couch\nwhile playing some video game I don\u2019t recognize. A girl with giant boobs and shorts so short\nher fake butt-cheeks hang out runs at some kind of alien monster. She shoots him dead and then slashes through\nwith a sword that magically replaces the dual pistols in her hands. The sword vanishes and now she\u2019s running down\na hallway with portholes \u2013 maybe she\u2019s on a ship \u2013 and her hands are empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My uncle belches before stuffing\nchips into his mouth and taking a sip of beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to drink beer,\u201d\nI yell over the music coming from Mom\u2019s old CD player. Uncle Brad has it turned up as loud as it\nwill go. If I\u2019m lucky, the neighbors\nwill call the police with a noise complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uncle Brad belches again, returning\nto his video game. I glance into the\nkitchen, but he has yet to put the vegetable lasagna into the oven. When Mom and Dad went to the work party, Dad\nhanded Uncle Brad the instructions. He\nsaid: \u201cMake sure to put this in an hour before you want to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would have been great to eat at\nsix, but whatever. Studying came before\nfood. Okay, it shouldn\u2019t, because I need\nthe energy, but I\u2019m supposed to give Uncle Brad responsibility. I\u2019m not supposed to do things for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid you put the food in yet?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uncle Brad nods his head in time\nwith the tune of a new song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey!\u201d I walk in front of him, blocking the\ntelevision screen. \u201cDid you start the\noven yet?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMove!\u201d He hits a key on the game controller and\nglares at me. He must have paused the\ngame. \u201cWhat\u2019s your problem, Zara?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, I\u2019ve got a lot of problems, and\nthey all started with Uncle Brad getting released from rehab. Again. \nThis was his third release since he started doing meth at age fifteen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could start by rattling off the\nlist of things he lacks: a job, a car, a home. \nThis house that Mom and Dad pay for with their nine-to-five jobs is not\nhis home. It\u2019s mine, and I need to study\nfor the class that has given me the most trouble this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other seniors took easy classes so\nthey could fly through and ride off on golden horses to college. I had to take French for grades ninth through\neleventh, and then decide to be super proactive for grade twelve. I had to sign up for Spanish 1 and 2 to look\nbetter on my applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDude,\u201d he says, \u201cmove.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You move. Go get a job. \nYou\u2019ve been out for a month now and you just rot on our couch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I try to smile. I\u2019m supposed to smile to make Uncle Brad feel\ncomfortable. I don\u2019t have to feel\ncomfortable, but hey, I don\u2019t matter because I\u2019ve never touched illegal\ndrugs. \u201cI was wondering if you put the\nlasagna in the oven yet. It takes an\nhour to cook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI already ate.\u201d He extends his foot to push me aside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou ate chips and drank beer.\u201d I hope my voice sounds pleasant enough. I\u2019m not supposed to sound accusatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So many rules, and Uncle Brad\ndoesn\u2019t have to do much, other than sit there and behave. Beer is off limits, according to Mom, and he\ndoesn\u2019t care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He must know my train of thought\nbecause he sneers, \u201cYou\u2019re not gonna tell on me, are you, Zara?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo.\u201d Tattling won\u2019t get anything\naccomplished. Mom will sigh and invite\nUncle Brad to attend church with us. Dad\nwill break into one of his lectures and Uncle Brad will zone out. Dad\u2019s fourteen years older than Uncle Brad;\nhe treats him like a son instead of a brother. \nUncle Brad\u2019s pointed it out so many times in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re\nnot Papa. Don\u2019t treat me like a kid!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That just triggers yet another\nlecture. Dad can lecture for hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan you turn the music down?\u201d I ask. \n\u201cI can\u2019t study with it so loud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He bares his teeth. \u201cOnce the CD finishes, sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have it on repeat.\u201d I hook my finger at the player he\u2019s stuck on\nthe floor. How he found it in the cellar\nis anyone\u2019s guess. I haven\u2019t seen the\nthing in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He found it just to terrorize me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He brays out this horrible laugh\nthat grates on my nerves. If it wasn\u2019t\nMom\u2019s, I\u2019d throw the player in the trash out by the curb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI need to study. I can\u2019t with it being so loud in here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat you got to study for? Didn\u2019t college end already?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uncle Brad narrows his eyes at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrant\u2019s in college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uncle Brad takes another swing of\nbeer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrant\u2019s my brother,\u201d I supply, in\ncase Uncle Brad\u2019s too drunk to realize he has a niece and a nephew. I glance around the room for a pile of empty\nbottles, but this seems to be his first of the night. If he cares, he\u2019ll toss it outside before Mom\nand Dad get home. If he doesn\u2019t, I\u2019ll\nhave to endure a screaming match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNah, you\u2019re in college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou think a college girl would wear\nthis?\u201d I point at my worn-out Hello\nKitty hoodie. My best friend would laugh\nand point to her Sanrio socks, but Uncle Brad just blinks at me. He swears. \nHe drinks more beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I draw a deep breath, steeling my\nnerves. \u201cYou need to put the lasagna in\nthe oven so we can eat.\u201d Uncle Brad\nneeds to take responsibility. I\u2019m not\nhelping anyone except myself if I do it for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNah, I\u2019m good.\u201d He presses the pause button and the game\nstarts back up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUncle Brad\u2014\u201d Ugh, whatever. He\u2019s not going to keep me from acing this\nfinal, my final<\/em> final. He isn\u2019t breaking my GPA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I storm into the kitchen, then creep\ninto the cellar. The bare bulbs buzz in\nthe ceiling. I open the door to the\ncircuit breaker, find the right switch, and flip it off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The music cuts off mid-word. Uncle Brad hollers out a swear. The video game isn\u2019t playing either, so that\nmust have gone off too. I hurry back\nupstairs and slide into a stool at the island just as he barrels into the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat did you do to the power?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I blink at him. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d I point to the hanging lights in the kitchen,\nall of them bright and alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat did you freaking do?\u201d he\nroars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I gulp, and my heart starts to pound\na little bit faster. No one has ever\ncalled Uncle Brad dangerous, but there\u2019s something in his face that makes the\nsaliva dry in my mouth. His eyes have\ngot this wild look. It reminds me of the\nferal cat that slinks around the house sometimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are a bitch,\u201d he growls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Me, the girl trying to study, the\ngirl who has never complained aloud about him living with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe check the basement? Maybe the circuit breaker flipped.\u201d My voice squeaks and I cough before the\nsudden fear chokes me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He calls me a swear word that makes\nmy cheeks hot and my mouth drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uncle Brad slams the door open and\ncurses when he flips the light switch on. \nHe can\u2019t know I did it. Should I\nrun upstairs and lock myself in the bathroom before he returns?<\/p>\n\n\n\n He won\u2019t hurt me. He\u2019s my uncle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll make dinner. He\u2019ll eat the lasagna even if he doesn\u2019t want\nit now. All will be well as we chow down\non Dad\u2019s specialty. Maybe we\u2019ll watch Saturday Night Live<\/em> and I\u2019ll make us\nsome popcorn for dessert. Mom and Dad\nwill come home to find us laughing like bosom buds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A bang sounds in my ears. Lights flash through the kitchen\u2019s French\ndoors and I cringe, blinking. Another\nhuge bang. Uncle Brad shouts, the words\nindistinct, and I sail backwards. I hit\nthe floor. Pain is in my head and\nthen\u2026nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan Elizabeth is a\nyoung adult author rom Central New York. The history of the Catskills has\nalways fascinated her. BUNKER BOY is her twentieth book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n BUNKER BOY YA Post-Apocalyptic By Jordan Elizabeth All Zara wanted to do was pass her Spanish final and graduate high school, but suddenly she\u2019s waking up in an unknown hospital. The east coast is destroyed and she\u2019s one of the … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.matthewcoxbooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Bunker-Boy-705x1024.jpg\")
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\nCliff Andrews is too quiet and afraid of everything, especially his father.\nThere\u2019s much more to the situation than he\u2019s telling Zara. Nothing feels right\nabout Outpost Eight and Zara questions what really happened to Cliff\u2019s first\nwife.
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\nEveryone else might be willing to blindly follow the leader\u2019s laws, but not\nZara. She won\u2019t stop until she knows the truth about Outpost Eight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nAbout the Author<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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