Free The Cost of Living by David Moody Page A

here, love, stronger than we
would have been back at the old place. We’re cut off from the hell outside now,
and there’s no way anything’s getting in. In the next few days I’m going to
start going through some of the other houses and—’
    ‘You
can’t.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘You
can’t do that... you can’t go breaking into other people’s houses. What if they
come back?’
    She’s
really not grasped the full implications of what’s happening here, has she?
    ‘No
one’s coming back, love. They’re all gone. There’s no way back in here anyway,
remember? And I’ve already told you, I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep this
family safe. There will be things we can use in other folk’s homes. Supplies,
medicines, clothes, fresh bedding...’
    ‘Half
the food in the garage has gone.’
    ‘You
haven’t been taking extra, have you? Gab, I expressly told you how important it
is to make sure we only use the daily allowances I put out. If we start—’
    ‘I
haven’t taken anything extra,’ she shouts, annoyed. ‘I’ve been using the daily
rations like you said, but they’re running out. We’ve been here for weeks now.’
    ‘I’m
sorry, love. I didn’t mean to jump down your throat. It’s important that you
and I both remember to only use—’
    ‘I
know, I know... I get it. For Christ’s sake, you don’t have to keep telling me
the same thing. Every bloody day you tell me to be careful and not use more
than I’m allowed. I get it. I’m not stupid. It’s difficult, you know.’
    ‘I
understand, but—’
    ‘You
understand the practicalities, yes, but do you really appreciate the impact all
this is having?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Did
you know Sally’s wet the bed for the last five nights in a row?’
    ‘You
never said...’
    ‘You
never asked . You’re too busy plotting and scheming to see what’s
actually happening here. Sally’s scared. We’re all scared. Considering the fact
we’re all shut away in here twenty-four-seven, Sally says she never sees you.
She says whenever she asks you anything you just tell her to go away and find
Mummy.’
    ‘I’m
busy.’
    ‘I
get that. But surviving’s not just about making sure the walls are strong and
that we’ve got enough food, is it?’
    ‘No,
but those things are crucial. Without them we’re—’
    ‘I
know, but we have to have a reason to survive too, love. Otherwise we’re just
going through the motions. It’s like being in prison.’
    ‘I
can’t help it. What do you expect me to do?’
    ‘I
don’t expect you to do anything. Why do you assume it’s all your
responsibility?’
    ‘You’re
my family. You are my responsibility.’
    ‘Funny,
used to be our responsibility.’
    ‘You
know what I mean.’
    ‘Yeah,
I think I do.’
    I
don’t know what she wants me to say. I’m doing everything I can, but this is an
impossible situation. ‘I can’t just flick a switch and make it all better
again.’
    ‘Believe
me, Stu, if there was a switch that could fix all this, I’d have already done
it.’
    The
room falls silent. It’s virtually pitch black now, utterly silent. I can’t see,
but I feel her shifting in her seat next to me.
    ‘I
was thinking,’ she says, ‘what happens when the food runs out?’
    ‘I
already told you, now we know the rest of the development’s empty, we’ll go
through the other houses. I was thinking about this earlier... everything
happened so fast, so unexpectedly... there’s going to be plenty of stuff in
people’s kitchens. They’d have been well-stocked, like normal. There are enough
houses here... if we can find even just a couple of day’s supplies in each one,
that’ll be more than enough to keep us going for another couple of months.
Imagine that, love, another couple of months without having to worry about
food.’
    ‘What
about after that?’
    ‘Things
are bound to be better by then. We’ll have almost reached that six month stage,
won’t we?’
    ‘Suppose,’
she says, but she