COMING NOVEMBER 18th!
October 9th (Day 159)
This is me keeping my promise. Doc and Kelly thought it would be a good idea for me to start a journal. Doc started one as well and thinks it’s important for those who come after us to know what happened here. Kelly thinks it’ll help me with my nightmares. Either way, I told them I’d do it as long as they didn’t read it while I was still alive. I’ll always keep my promises to them. They’ve always kept theirs to me.
I asked her where I should start. I should’ve known her answer before she gave it. Start at the beginning. Start at 8:13 on May 3rd. That’s the exact time everything that used, stored, or produced electricity stopped working. 159 days later, they’re still not working. Nobody has a clue why, but everyone has a theory. A solar flare, terrorist EMP, magnetic pole reversal, an angry God, aliens, and the list goes on. I don’t think about the reasons much. I just think about making it through another day.
I was stuck in Atlanta traffic heading into work when it happened. In an instant, there was chaos beyond anything I could’ve imagined. Cars smashed into each other, and planes fell out of the sky. Pillars of smoke rose in every direction while I stood outside my car trying to figure out what the hell was going on. After a few minutes, I didn’t care. I grabbed my backpack and started walking home.
After a hellish night of sonic booms, green waves of light in the sky, and people screaming, I decided to get out of Atlanta the next morning. There’s no doubt in my mind that decision to leave saved my life. It took less than twenty-four hours for some people to turn into monsters. The killing hasn’t stopped since.
I guess I was more prepared than most. There were signs that something bad was coming. I had no idea how bad or how fast that thing would be. I do now.
My plan had always been to go at it alone. It meant I’d only have to take care of myself. My parents left me their retirement home in the North Georgia Mountains, so that’s where I headed. It would take me at least a week to get there on foot. It was an isolated cabin, and I planned on staying there until people smarter than me figured out what was wrong and fixed it.
Assholes taking advantage of the situation weren’t the only things out there trying to kill me. Cannonball-sized hail, two-mile-wide tornadoes, floods, and insane storms popped out of nowhere. In most cases, I only had seconds to find shelter. In some cases, I didn’t find it at all.
Most people didn’t pay attention to the signs. They stayed in their homes and waited to be rescued. They figured out too late that nobody was coming. They were easy targets for those who knew that as well. I still run into people today who can’t believe how quickly our society fell apart. I wasn’t surprised at all. It was falling apart long before the event.
There were armed robberies, home invasions, kidnappings, rapes, murders, and countless other crimes against the innocent every day when there was a 911. What the hell did they think was going to happen when there wasn’t? Whatever the reasons, they didn’t last long waiting for someone to save them.
I made it to my parents’ cabin, but not before I ran into a few people who were looking to take advantage of me or others. Okay, more than a few. Somehow I managed to come out on top. Some of those fights were easy to win. Some of them weren’t, and I have the scars to remember each. I’m not ready to go into detail about them on paper. That’s going to stay between me and them for now.
The cabin was everything I hoped it would be. I was there for a while before things started to change. I wanted isolation and I got it. I need to be more careful with the things I wish for. Sometimes I get them.
Before I lost the rest of my mind, I left. My Uncle Perry and his family lived in Stevenson, Alabama. It’s where I am now. It had been years since I visited them, and I was worried about the reception I’d receive. Without hesitation they took me in as one of their own. It seems a little weird writing that, since I am one of their own. It has taken a while for that to sink in.
Stevenson is an amazing place full of amazing people. This town is resilient, loyal, and tough. Those are also the words I’d use to describe Kelly. She’s a talented nurse and ended up saving my life on more than one occasion. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. Well, after I was shot, broke my arm, got drunk, and then puked all over my uncle. That was a helluva day.
I guess my point is that going at it alone wasn’t working. The only hope any of us have to survive is by taking care of each other. The strong helping the weak. The haves helping the have nots. The hopeful reaching out to the hopeless.
With each passing day, all of that is becoming harder to do.
October 9th (Day 159)
This is me keeping my promise. Doc and Kelly thought it would be a good idea for me to start a journal. Doc started one as well and thinks it’s important for those who come after us to know what happened here. Kelly thinks it’ll help me with my nightmares. Either way, I told them I’d do it as long as they didn’t read it while I was still alive. I’ll always keep my promises to them. They’ve always kept theirs to me.
I asked her where I should start. I should’ve known her answer before she gave it. Start at the beginning. Start at 8:13 on May 3rd. That’s the exact time everything that used, stored, or produced electricity stopped working. 159 days later, they’re still not working. Nobody has a clue why, but everyone has a theory. A solar flare, terrorist EMP, magnetic pole reversal, an angry God, aliens, and the list goes on. I don’t think about the reasons much. I just think about making it through another day.
I was stuck in Atlanta traffic heading into work when it happened. In an instant, there was chaos beyond anything I could’ve imagined. Cars smashed into each other, and planes fell out of the sky. Pillars of smoke rose in every direction while I stood outside my car trying to figure out what the hell was going on. After a few minutes, I didn’t care. I grabbed my backpack and started walking home.
After a hellish night of sonic booms, green waves of light in the sky, and people screaming, I decided to get out of Atlanta the next morning. There’s no doubt in my mind that decision to leave saved my life. It took less than twenty-four hours for some people to turn into monsters. The killing hasn’t stopped since.
I guess I was more prepared than most. There were signs that something bad was coming. I had no idea how bad or how fast that thing would be. I do now.
My plan had always been to go at it alone. It meant I’d only have to take care of myself. My parents left me their retirement home in the North Georgia Mountains, so that’s where I headed. It would take me at least a week to get there on foot. It was an isolated cabin, and I planned on staying there until people smarter than me figured out what was wrong and fixed it.
Assholes taking advantage of the situation weren’t the only things out there trying to kill me. Cannonball-sized hail, two-mile-wide tornadoes, floods, and insane storms popped out of nowhere. In most cases, I only had seconds to find shelter. In some cases, I didn’t find it at all.
Most people didn’t pay attention to the signs. They stayed in their homes and waited to be rescued. They figured out too late that nobody was coming. They were easy targets for those who knew that as well. I still run into people today who can’t believe how quickly our society fell apart. I wasn’t surprised at all. It was falling apart long before the event.
There were armed robberies, home invasions, kidnappings, rapes, murders, and countless other crimes against the innocent every day when there was a 911. What the hell did they think was going to happen when there wasn’t? Whatever the reasons, they didn’t last long waiting for someone to save them.
I made it to my parents’ cabin, but not before I ran into a few people who were looking to take advantage of me or others. Okay, more than a few. Somehow I managed to come out on top. Some of those fights were easy to win. Some of them weren’t, and I have the scars to remember each. I’m not ready to go into detail about them on paper. That’s going to stay between me and them for now.
The cabin was everything I hoped it would be. I was there for a while before things started to change. I wanted isolation and I got it. I need to be more careful with the things I wish for. Sometimes I get them.
Before I lost the rest of my mind, I left. My Uncle Perry and his family lived in Stevenson, Alabama. It’s where I am now. It had been years since I visited them, and I was worried about the reception I’d receive. Without hesitation they took me in as one of their own. It seems a little weird writing that, since I am one of their own. It has taken a while for that to sink in.
Stevenson is an amazing place full of amazing people. This town is resilient, loyal, and tough. Those are also the words I’d use to describe Kelly. She’s a talented nurse and ended up saving my life on more than one occasion. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. Well, after I was shot, broke my arm, got drunk, and then puked all over my uncle. That was a helluva day.
I guess my point is that going at it alone wasn’t working. The only hope any of us have to survive is by taking care of each other. The strong helping the weak. The haves helping the have nots. The hopeful reaching out to the hopeless.
With each passing day, all of that is becoming harder to do.
