Apocalypse How?

Detective Ramirez stepped under the police tape and headed straight for the front door. "All right, what do we got?"

The officer she was addressing moved aside to let her in. "Looks like basic starvation. You won't believe what they thought was important enough to hoard."

They headed through what remained of the upper part of the house and into the kitchen. The officer gestured to the kitchen island.

"Really? They have one of those?"

"Yeah," said the officer. "I saw that shit on Pinterest." He opened the cabinet door in the island with a gloved hand and looked at the detective. "You might want to cover your nose. We haven't determined how long they've been decaying."

Ramirez took a step back at the putrid odor that hit her. "No kidding." She lifted her jacket over her face and descended the staircase. With her free hand she pulled out her flashlight and shone it around the walls.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" her voice rang up the staircase. "They stockpiled soap? Soap?"

"Don't forget the soap," said the officer, coming down the stairs and pointing at a shelf full of shower gel and body wash.

"Did they really not think about food?" Ramirez stooped down and picked a half-unraveled spool of yarn. The other half looked to be on its way into becoming a scarf, but the pattern was all askew.

"Well, they do have a lot of tea, and there's a few empty jars of spaghetti sauce over here."

Ramirez moved towards what should have been a bookcase in happier times. It was still being used as a bookshelf, packed completely full. She shook her head at the absurdity of it, and reached to the top of the shelf, pulling down several egg cartons. "At least they got some protein."

The officer walked over, shaking his head. "It wasn't anywhere near enough to last through the whole fallout." He gestured to a series of garbage bins in a corner. "There's some empty mayonnaise jars and soda cans in those, along with some pill bottles. Looks like Advil."

Ramirez snorted. "Yeah, you gotta take care of the headaches you get from the malnutrition and dehydration." She looked down at the bodies. They looked to all be in their early to mid twenties. "College friends probably. I'm surprised they didn't have a game system set up down here."

The officer shook his head. "They must have known the power grid would be down." He shrugged. "But who knows? They didn't think about a power generator, but they got enough chapstick to last until the next nuclear annihilation happens."

Ramirez had had enough. "I can't take this smell anymore. You got this?" She didn't wait for a response, but climbed the stairs. "I have to go next door, apparently the constant ginger-scented air fresheners drove the occupants to cannibalism when they ran out of butter and coffee."

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Yeah, obviously when it comes to a bunker, you'll think of the "essentials." But if you don't get a chance to, what can you manage with what you already have?

Thanks to Kelsey, Adam, Jess, Rikki, Nayari, Fay, Jennifer, Heather, Kimberly, Lori, Karen, Denise, Susan, and Natalie for reminding me of what's really important.

For next week, I want you to go out and vote. Seriously. It's your civic duty. I could care less who you vote for, but just get out there and make your voice heard, no matter how insignificant you think it is. (It's not.)

For me, though, I want to know who you would vote for if the election was between all 45 past presidents? Let me know in the comments section below, and then take an extra scroll down and subscribe.