The Compound

Eli dreams of food. After waking, he remembers the history of their food in the Compound. Initially, there had cows and chickens that provided milk, meal, and eggs. After seven months the animals stopped touching their food. Soon the chickens and cows died. Rex examined the grain in his laboratory and found rat poison in the feed.

Eli remembers Cocoa, his dog, and tries not to think about how much he misses touching her.

They had enough food for years, but Rex couldn’t extend the shelf life of anything. Meat ran out when Eli was thirteen. Although they were supposed to last for 10 years, the MREs (meals ready to eat, purchased from a military supply store) went bad. They would have lasted if kept at a 60 degrees temperature, but the thermostat malfunctioned and went to 90 degrees. It was six months before Rex noticed.

Then Rex made a decision that altered them all, and Eli thinks about it when he walks by the yellow door. 

Eli listens to music while running on a treadmill. His mother comes in and pedals the exercise bike next to him. She is pregnant. She says that he should “visit”