I awoke to the sound of the holographic television playing in the room shared by my brother and I. It was the cheapest one that could still be found, but it was all we had. The only channel that ever played was the government broadcast channel, and that was of no use except for telling us what to do. 

I turned over in my bunk bed, the top bunk because Vince's head hit the ceiling whenever he would wake up from sleeping in it. Vince sat in front of the blue projected screen, his grey eyes glued to it. I covered my ears with the dusty, black blanket that lay on my bed and groaned. Vince heard me and whipped his neck around until he stood from his position on the floor. He grabbed the edge of my blanket and tore it from my grasp, leaving me to face the cold air. He snickered after seeing me freezing then sat back down on the concrete floor. 

I arose from my bed, placing the blanket back onto it once my feet hit the chilled floor. I slipped my hand through the crack under the door to grab the daily six packets that were to be our meals for the rest of the day. I tossed three of the packets to Vince, ripping the first of my packets open and mixing it with a small cup of water and taking a swig of the grey, murky liquid.

Food shortages had brought America to its knees, and people were falling to gamma rays left and right. The government finally resorted to powdered meals to feed to the people in compounds, since the only other material they would need was water. But the problem of weak immune systems from the gamma rays still occupied the country, so they infused vitamins and other chemicals into the powder.

Vince hated the packets and often refused to eat them, but he knew there was nothing else left for him to eat, so he followed as I did and drank the supplement. He choked a bit as he struggled to get the brew down his throat. I merely smirked as he was coughing on the floor, and I tossed my plastic cup out the window. He scowled back at my ease in taking the drink and finally tossed his own glass out the opening in the concrete wall. I sat down next to my brother and glued my own eyes to the screen. A picture of Gabriella Wilhelm was plastered to it, along with the caption: "PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ANNOUNCED DEAD AS OF FEBRUARY 18, 2037." My eyes widened to the size of golfballs as I listened to the audio track that was attached to the caption and picture.

"President Gabriella Wilhem died the night of February 18, 2037, at the hands of gamma radiation poisoning. She contracted the disease four days prior, though she did not notify her people of her diagnosis until she lay on her death bed. We will all remember and cherish her even after her tragic death while still in office."

"Another one taken to gamma rays." Vince looked concerned as he ran his large, bony hand through his light brown hair. "What do you think is going to happen to us now?" 

"I don't know." I muttered. "Britain already collapsed, and that was our last ally. We can't leave this land, but there's no time for another person to come into power." 

"I still can't believe that there's only 51 Americans left after only twelve years of this... this..."

"Apocolypse." I sighed and brushed a stray piece of dark brown hair out of my eyes.

"Right. 

...

Many hours had passed, leaving us in the dead of the night. I couldn't sleep, trapped in my own thoughts. Vince snored loudly underneath me, and it took me a while to figure out whether or not he was sleeping or faking it. Though, he was actually sleeping. 

At approximately 3:18 a.m., the television came on. 

I quietly climbed down from the top bunk, being careful not to wake Vince. The screen showed blaring red lights, the sign of an international emergency. My heart started to poud in my chest as I listened to the audio track.

"French Prime Minister, Elliot Pier has announced the evacuation of Earth."