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down the hall. One of the nice things I noticed Brandon did for me was have Hydroponics install a little dog yard at the end of the hall. That was as far as I’d venture out my door and I never stayed out for long.
    Jim was kind enough to check on me again to tell me the physician said self-quarantine was required. Even though I wasn’t actually sick, it didn’t break my heart one bit. I still felt awful that my mistake changed everything for him and he no longer had a job as a security guard in the lobby.
    The Anderson’s’ little girls knocked on my door a couple days later.
    They were relentless with their knocking and the dogs answered back with ceaseless barking until I opened the door a crack. “You guys only need to knock once.”
    “You wouldn’t answer.” Little Alison was a determined six-year-old, with her hands on her hips. I couldn’t help liking her with her matter-of-fact, take charge, personality.
    “There might have been a reason I didn’t come.”
    “Why wouldn’t you open the door to us?” four-year-old Maddy asked. She was super cute, awful small for four, and had the cutest blonde bob with enormous blue eyes
    “I don’t feel very good.” I held the dogs back with my foot.
    “Mommy says you’re probably depressed. See, Ali. Mom told us not to bother her.”
    “Well, Daddy said we always make everything better. He says we’re like the best kind of medicine.” Alison turned her head to the side and gave me an enormous smile as if she was trying to win me over the way she could with her dad. I knew all about that sort of thing when I was her age.
    “I think your dad means that when he’s talking about your mommy and daddy. It doesn’t quite work like that with me.”
    “We miss the dogs and Rocky. You don’t come walking with them anymore.” Maddy had a pretty cute pout.
    I opened the door wider to let the dogs out in the hall. Dobbers and Yodel romped and tussled around the girls’ feet, greeting them with their high-pitched hello bark. Rocky stayed in his nest. He had no interest in house guests.
    I enjoyed hearing the girls giggle as they chased the dogs down the hall. I pressed the side of my head against the door to watch. I couldn’t help laughing. When they were done, the dogs scampered inside to get a drink. The girls couldn’t stop giggling when they ran up to me.
    “Thank you,” Alison said as she grabbed her sister’s hand. They ran back down the hall to go home giggling at the sister secrets they shared with each other all along the way. Their dad was right. They were the best kind of medicine. The little girls weren’t bothered by life in the bunker. They were happy enough and not brooding over the fact that they may never go outside again.
    I was about to close my door when I saw him and my heart jumped into my throat. Brandon stopped to speak to the girls just before they made it to the stairs.
    I shut the door running my hands through my messy hair. I brushed off the front of my shirt and tripped over my shoes on the way to the bathroom. There was no helping how bad I looked. I threw water on my face and tried to brush my teeth at the same time. I yanked a hairbrush through my long hair with little luck at detangling it as I hustled into the living room chucking shoes, blankets, a couple towels, possibly some garbage into my room. I tripped over Yodel in my haste. He yelped, scurrying to his kennel.
    Rocky barked back in squirrel. Probably chastising me for hurting his friend. I tossed him a peanut before scooping the nutshell mess off the ground and barely got them in the garbage when he knocked on the door.
    “Just a minute,” I yelled louder than was necessary. Then the dogs were barking all over again. I stuffed the garbage down before I hid that in my room too. I knew I wasn’t recycling right. There was no salvaging the kitchen and my horrible burnt attempts at home cooking though. I’d been starving mostly. My cooking failures stunk up the room. I