It wasn't long before the Eight realized that they were locked in for the duration of the time that it took for the radiation to ebb to the point where they would be able to go out for short periods of time without protection. There were trace elements such as Cesium 137 and Strontium 90 that were present in radioactive fallout. It was the fact that 90Sr was what biochemists knew as a bone-seeker - binding to calcium and causing bone cancers and leukemia. It had a radioactive half-life of 28.7 years which meant that a lot of the area affected would not be possible to grow anything for at least that long. 137 55Cs (Cesium-137) affected cells in the body damaging them and causing what was known as radiation sickness; it's symptoms ranging from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding, coma, and even death and if it didn't kill you, it would probably cause cellular cancers in the long-term. Cesium 137's half life was also around 30 years.
Which meant that lifetime-wise, they wouldn't be coming topside until they were old enough to be grandparents. The verdict: a lifetime in the bunker, until their children had children. The dangerous radiation in the environment had dictated how long that duration would be. So evidently they would end up having to find someway of extending their life to the point where they were able to do most of the rebuilding work themselves. Each new family member would learn what it took to extend their life and each would be rewarded with the opportunity to either live out their lifespan naturally or extend it indefinitely. Such was what was called The Choice. Every single one of them would end up having to make that decision. And it would prove to be a difficult one. So far there was only one pair who had paired off officially and that was Haruo and River.
Needless to say, finding out who was amenable to pairing up with whom.
Phil had taken a liking to Bebe Hart who returned his affections. Even though Phil was socially inept and really wasn't what one would call an extrovert, he summoned up the courage to talk to Bebe and what he got in return was definite interest.
In fact, he grew brave enough to give her a kiss and, subsequently, to go the whole nine yards. To Holly's shock and disgust he'd gotten down on one knee and proposed practically on the spot to Bebe and well, that wasn't what Holly was expecting.
Certainly to any outsider (if there were any left), this engagement would appear hasty, but when the survival of the human race was at stake, well, haste was good. Holly, despite her feigned disinterest in Phil, had been interested in him, and the fact that Bebe had staked her claim, didn't sit too well with her. So she went off to talk with Noel and commiserate on the fact that their choices were dwindling. Especially with River and Bebe affirming that their prospective mates were off the market. However to her surprise, Noel had other plans...
ultimately...surprising her with a ring which she accepted. Now poor Mickey was down to one potential mate and the only choice he had left which was probably not fair to him, but well, Autumn was certainly a catch. In fact she had expressed interest in him at the start of their stay in the bunker and well, they would certainly have good-looking kids if they did get together. If they didn't it would certainly be a lonely lifespan for him.
Autumn was taking the opportunity to spend some time in the hot-tub relaxing her sore muscles from exercising earlier in the gym/martial arts sparring room...and well, when Mickey walked in and asked her if he could join her, she didn't say no. Mickey was attractive to her.
Haruo and River were also in the martial arts/gym working on their board-breaking skills.
Pretty much, all sense of modesty had been suppressed to the point where none of them batted an eyelash seeing anybody else naked. After all, morals, being a construct of society, now that society had been pretty much exterminated to the point of near-extinction, were now a memory. Outside of not doing harm to each other, morals were subject to scrutiny only in the sense that survival was their only goal. Rehabilitation of societal norms would happen only when the human race was back on their feet and well on the way to repopulating the earth.
Though, of course, that didn't prevent Autumn from dunking Mickey when she thought he was being a little too forward.
But Mickey didn't drown and he did get a chance to propose to Autumn...and well considering that Mickey was the only game in town, she accepted his proposal.
C'est l'amour, wonderful, isn't it?
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