Day 1

My mother used to say that talking to people helps ease your mind, but since I have no one to talk to, writing should keep me sane going.

         Hello, I am Alex and I’m 27 years old. When If you’re reading this, it’s probably been a long time since this whole apocalypse started so let me try and summarize everything: everything wasn’t like this at first. Earth was actually pretty decent. A lot more animals were alive and there weren’t as many threats as there are now… at least none that we could’ve thought of.

         In 2032, when I was around 24 years old, things started to change. A couple of hundred animal species went extinct, winters became similar to autumns summers and ice became a rare sight. I wonder if ice exists at the moment you’re reading this… anyway, soon after, things turned chaotic. The research team I worked in tried to help but things got… out of hand long before we could do anything.

         These things monsters soon appeared. They loved the heat and, as it nurtured the plants to gigantic sizes, the animals we used to know started evolving into massive gigantic versions of themselves.

         Nature changed and everyone had to adapt in order to survive… something humans failed at miserably. I have no idea if there are any how many people are left now… haven’t seen one for the past two months, ever since Alice…

         Right, I should probably go and get myself today’s meal… hope I won’t become that meal.

Day 2

         Yesterday I was lucky enough to come upon a pack of giant dragonflies. I saw them before they could react and I killed one as the rest flew off into the horizon. I don’t think I know it’s not the healthiest type of food out there but any food is better than no food.

         No sign of civilization today either. I don’t think I’m alone the last one standing, but it does seem like there are no people close to this part of the city and in all honesty I think this might be a good thing. After all, humanity isn’t pretty when it comes down to apocalypse; that much I learned from my books. Oh right, you may not know this but before everything went down there were tons of books about how the apocalypse would look. My advice: trust no one.

Day 3

         Things aren’t looking too good. Today, I went farther than I ever did and there was no sign of life besides the usual mutant spiders and birds. That means yesterday’s dragonfly will have to do. On the bright side of things I did find more paper, pencils and even an eraser! I’m seriously trying to stay positive but it’s getting harder as the days go by. I know the weather is getting hotter, my water sources are only getting fewer and my main food source consists of giant creatures. I will have to move again soon enough, but for now I’ll just save my strength.

Day 4

      I started my big move before the sun could rise and am now on the road towards what I think might have been Atlanta. I didn’t mean to do this now, but I got woken up by a giant hare. Its red eyes sent me flying, but I managed to grab the little stuff I had saved up for this trip before it started chasing me. Don’t know if it’s because I smell like a rotten carrot or because I am smaller than it though.

         As I passed some clothing shop I noticed a bright yellow dress, medium-sized. Images of Alice flashed through my mind. I think mentioning her here is the least I can do after… everything. She was a bright 20-something with whom I used to travel. She was very sweet and was quite optimistic given the situation… I guess that’s why I sound so hopeless now. Long story short, after 8 months or so of travelling together she got killed by a mutant.

Day 5

      I don’t know how much longer I can take it. My water supply ran out and as spring is coming to a slow and burning end, my travelling needs to be ended early to prevent overheating.

Day 12

      I managed to survive… On my sixth day of journaling I came upon a field full of Moxeafs. These are some of the numerous plants that spread like wildfire as the oven-like weather provided it all that it needed to grow… There’s something in that plant that forced the creatures to adapt and so they also grew in size… The field was full of them. Most don’t pay attention to me, but those who did…

         Anyway, I ran for a good while and then I stumbled upon a city. I stopped writing for a while since I was out all day trying to find water, food, anything really. This thing kept bugging me though, like I needed to say more so I guess this won’t be the end of my notes.        

Day 13

      The sun is about to go down so I have to keep things short but overall things are starting to look better. I found water and some canned beans. These will keep me going for at least another week. I think I hit the jackpot with this city!

Day 16

      Things went bad. There were people in that city… I’m not a people person (would anyone be if they were in my situation?), so I ran away from my so-called ‘jackpot’. I think I even passed out at some point but luckily I woke up at night and continued running until I spotted a ruined house. It was good enough for me to spend a few days there. Now I’m thinking of moving (out) since I keep hearing noises from the woods…

Day 20

      Those noises were giant bees buzzing. When I saw them I thought of honey, but then they also saw me and I had to run away once again. Will I ever be able to catch a break?

Day 26

         I… I don’t know why, but I lied to you. Normally, I would take this secret to my grave but… my thoughts are killing me faster than the heat… I caused this. I killed Alice and everyone else. The researching team I was in was the first to discover the Moxeaf plants, but we were greedy and wanted to find out more before reporting our discoveries to anyone. I was leading them… I told them that they could experiment and everything in a little green space as I covered everything we did to our superiors. We changed the plant in such a manner that it changed something in creatures, but it traveled faster than any of us though and so, before we knew it, the whole world was full of it. Besides the changes it brought to creatures, it had sped up global warming by producing massive amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons. We were the only ones who knew what was going on, but we stayed silent, afraid of the consequences.

Day 27

      I thought they would stop but they didn’t. I still have nightmares about the research team and a restless night might be the cause of my death one day. I thought that documenting my experiences might help my mental health, but not even confessing made things better. What am I doing?

Day 30

      Today I finally established what I can only describe as a small base. It may not be my ‘forever home’, but it’ll have to do. I’m sick of running, it feels like all I’ve been doing is get chased by my problems, literally and metaphorically. Luckily, I found this small hut at the top of a hill. It also offers me a beautiful view of the city ruins.

Day 32

      I feel like I’m about to die, I keep throwing up (and I don’t know what I could possibly be throwing up since I haven’t eaten in days). If I were to start running now I would pass out in a matter of seconds and my skin is as dry as the deserts around me. I tried cooling myself but nothing is working...

Day 34

      I somehow managed to live another day, but I am not trying to give myself false hope. I don’t have the strength to try and find something to eat or drink, and from what I remember I only have about a day before my body completely collapses.

Day 35

      It feels like I’m trapped. I want to live and die at the same time. How come I, the one that caused this whole thing out of greed, have managed to survive while every other innocent person died? I guess I am too selfish to die. If you’re wondering how or why I am still alive, a water jug bug passed my house a few hours ago and I managed to collect some of the water it was carrying. Water jug bugs developed from normal bugs and they have a sack on their abdomen in which they carry clean water. I guess they are the best option for survival in this messed up world.

Day ???

      I followed it because why not? I got nothing left to lose. The water bug jug was my water source and I (also) found some food as we were both passing through the city. The heat was overwhelming, but I managed to withstand it. Maybe I’m becoming immune to it like all the other creatures.

Day ??? +10

It’s been 10 days since I wrote anything but nothing was worth mentioning until now. I saw Alice again today, she seemed so real but at the same time she was so different from what I knew her. Maybe she survived the attack! This time though, her lips did not form a smile and her eyes were glaring at me. Beside her stood other people whom I didn’t recognize, but they seemed to know me pretty well since they were all staring at me.

I’M SORRY

I TRIED TO CHANGE, I WANTED TO BE BETTER BUT I CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST! I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE