Post Apocalyptic Diaries: The Lab

Diversified Writer
5 min readSep 21, 2023

(This is an ongoing series — See my reading list for earlier episodes?)

How do. I’m still not dead.

So it’s just me and Bert back on the road again. We have bugger all in the way of supplies but the sun is shining, I’m free and in a great mood. I throw a tennis ball for Bert and he dashes off to fetch it. He’s back in moment ready for the next throw. I throw it hard and it bounces off a burnt out car and into an open doorway. Bert is away after it like Usain Bolt with ants in his pants.

“Bert wait….”
Of course he didn’t.
“Bert!” but this time he doesn’t come back. At the doorway I see that it is pitch black in there. Of course it is. I step over the threshold and look for Bert and his tennis ball. No sign of them. Of course there isn’t.

This is some sort of ante-chamber with a staircase to my right and there’s another door which is also open but just a little bit. I tiptoe to it because in this post apocalyptic world no good ever came of being a noisy bastard. I look around the door and of course it’s dark inside. Suddenly I hear running steps and I startle as Bert crashes into me. He drops the tennis ball at my feet hopefully.
“You little bastard, scared me half to…”
I hear a noise from the first floor and like any pillock I do the stupid thing and climb…

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Diversified Writer

Darren is a short story and novella writer. He likes tall tales that have humour and heart. He’ll occasionally bring you poetry, finance and health blog posts.