Young Writers Society

Entry 0 10:23 PM September 21 2021

.It’s been seven years after the war between Philippines and China. Seven years after China launched several bombs into Luzon I was hiding along with several people inside a huge bunker which could probably fit thirty people inside it. I don’t know who they are and I am really getting worried about my family who are outside of the bunker. My father went to the army to serve his country. My mother and sister, Emma were separated when the Chinese were launching the bombs. I am worried about them right now; I know that the other people told me that they are probably in another bunker. I doubt it; even if they are in another bunker, by now they might have already left the bunker and wander around in the barren wasteland. The reason why I am writing this is because I am tired of waiting inside this prison. I want to make sure that they are safe. That’s what father wanted when he left to the war. It’s up to me to find my mother and sister and if I find them, I promise I will take care of them. My name is Adam , I am 17 years old and I am about I leave this bunker, I will begin to write these entries just so that just in case I die and someone picks these up, maybe that person will learn from my mistakes and will do better in the wasteland than I will.

Entry 1 7:56 PM September 24 2021

Finally I left the bunker and… Sta. Rosa looks much worse than I expected. The sky is no longer the happy blue I once knew, now it’s depressing gray mixed with color of blood red. Most of the plants and trees look dead and the buildings are really in a bad shape. As I was wandering around the wasteland, I don’t know why I had this feeling of fear, I sort of expected the ghost town look of this neighborhood, yet I also don’t feel ready for the wasteland and I have this desire to go back to the bunker. But I try to avoid such thoughts; my father told me that if I have fear, I can’t achieve anything. He is right, if I leave now, anytime my mother and sister might be captured or even worse…dead. I encountered various horrors, there were animals that survived but they were horribly injured or disfigured. Some of the animals tried to kill me as if they were possessed by evil spirits. Sometimes the things that tried to kill aren’t animals but survivors who try to kill me just so that they could steal my resources. I learned from these attacks but I sometimes wish I didn’t. Kill be killed, it does not matter if the attacker had a family to feed or not, I had to kill him. I try to avoid situations like this but no matter what; it always had to come to this. I was so exhausted from the attacks that I almost forgot to write this entry.

Entry 2 11:56 AM September 25 2021

My resources are diminishing. I only have one day left for food and water. I was forced to drink whatever water I could find; the thing is that I don’t have the filter so chances are is that I might get sick. But what’s even worse is that I am forced to hunt for food, I had to eat the rats that crawl around the abandoned houses and the dead dogs that I killed, including cockroaches. I sometimes try to ignore the fact that I am eating something disgusting. I already miss those times when me and my family use to go out and have some ice cream. I remember the games I played with my little sister such as hide and seek and hop scotch. I miss the delicious cake that our mother used to make for us. I remember when I was young, my father would regularly give me advice because he told me that someday I will be on my own, that I will have to look out for myself. And to think I used to be excited about growing up, I remember that I said I wanted to be the next president and that I want to do whatever I want, I guess that was just yet another pathetic dream I came up with when I was a child. Life used to be a lot easier before the war; I didn’t have to do such vulgar things such as eating this very roach, I had nothing to worry about, but it’s too late now, all I can do is accept that my life should be like this.

Entry 3 11:24 AM September 26 2021

During night time, I was just doing my usual thing; scavenge for resources, explore areas, trying to survive. Then I encountered this strange house. Of course there are indeed a lot of house that look ruined but this particular house caught my eye because of the graffiti it had. “STAY OUT, NIGHT SPAWN TERRITORY”. Night Spawn? Were there gangs formed while I was in the bunker? At first I feel like I wanted to explore the area but I also have this feeling that I should run away. So at first I simply walked away from the old house but then I heard someone yell at me. He told me to put my hands in the air. I think the guy might be a guard belonging to one those Nightspawns , I don’t know how he saw me just now but I guess I have no choice but to come with him into the house. The guard eventually lead me to their leader. The leader’s sir name is “Martin”. He is a tall man and he is rather clean for a thug, he was wearing a business suit and he looked like he just took a bath. He was just busy sharpening his machete and as soon as he saw me, he began to ask me questions like what my name is, where I come from and what I am doing here. I told him everything and I told him that I was simply scavenging around the area and that I am looking for my sister, I described her facial features to the leader.

It seemed weird to me that the leader seemed interested when I mentioned the facial features of my sister. He then tells me that he actually knows my sister because he was from the same bunker she was in. He met her when she was just sitting at a chair. The leader told me how much she waited for me, she knew that someday I may come back for her and mother. They told me that they fled from the bunker because the resources were running out, so they were the first ones to leave while my sister and the rest stayed behind. The Nightspawns told me that in order to find the bunker, I must head north and there I will find a school. Somewhere in the school is the bunker where my sister is hiding. The Nightspawns suggested that I should rest from all the scavenging that I have been through, so they are providing me a bed just in case I need to rest. I am also free to eat whatever is on the fridge. For a bunch of thugs, they seem very nice, I don’t know why they are doing these things for me but I guess maybe they understood the importance of family. It’s good to know that there are still good people in the world.

Entry 4 12:24 AM September 27 2021

I am wrong. I am very wrong about these people. I should have known from the start that there was something weird about them. Just right after I wrote entry 3 in the afternoon, I was on my way to the dinner table; no one was there but only the leader and a little girl wearing a red coat. The leader was giving her a plate of raw pork…I think. Just before the leader was about to leave, I approached him because I wanted to ask why he is giving the little girl raw pork? He answered that today is her birthday and she is turning 10. What the leader is feeding to her is merely for the good of her survival; she needs to learn how to eat raw meat if she is ever going to be on her own and she is also preparing for a ritual. I assumed that Mr. Martin left and went back to whatever he is doing. Meanwhile I just approached the little girl and asked her name. Apparently she has none yet, she needs to go through some kind of ritual before she receives her name. I asked about the ritual and apparently the ritual is that when she is old enough, she must learn how to hunt and kill something and drink its blood. I find it odd, not only is the leader well organized but he is some kind of religious zealot as well, at least I think it’s some kind of religion.

I then ask if she is okay of eating the pork raw. The first thing she answered wasn’t whether that she is okay with it but instead she corrects me. She told me that it is not “pork” but “mommy”. I tried to laugh it off; she is just a kid, why would she eat her own mother? And why would the leader kill a child’s mother just feed her. But somehow I think I believed her at the same time. After this I went to one of the Nightspawn members and I asked about the girl’s mother. Some tried to ignore me or some just told me that the girl’s mother already died from another band of bandits. I almost gave up so I decided to just go to sleep. Just as I was about to go to my reserved bed from the upstairs, I think I heard a noise coming from the closet. I opened and I found a young man, about my age. He looked dehydrated and hungry. I asked him why he was in the closet and he told me that he was locked in there because he refused to eat human flesh, especially his own mother. It turns out that the “Nightspawns” are really a gang of cannibals. The young man’s name is “Rex” because of how he killed his prey. He is the son of Mr. Martin and the little girl is his daughter. He told me that he saw what happened to his mom. She and Mr Martin had an argument because she doesn’t want her daughter become a cannibal like her. Unfortunately, it lead to Mr Matins’ accidental murder. Rex told me to run away from the house and go somewhere else because if I don’t leave, the little girl will kill me in my sleep for the sake of the ritual. Just as I was about to run, Mr Martin was already there carrying a shotgun. Mr. Martin said that he was very disappointed that I found his good for nothing son, and as punishment, he wants to shoot my legs off. Mr Martin was just about to fire his shotgun but Rex jumped to disarm the shotgun from him, he then tells me to run. As I ran down stairs, I heard the sound of a shotgun, Rex is probably dead.

I jumped outside to the nearby window and I think I broke a few bones because I felt a great pain in my ribs and legs. I tried to get up from the shattered pieces of glass and as I finally stood up, there she is, the little girl carrying a magnum revolver. I don’t know how long I was lying down on the ground but Mr. Martin eventually showed up with his bloodied suit along with the other five nightspawns. The members raised their rifles to aim at me but Mr Martin told them that he wants his daughter kill me instead. As the girl in red raised approached me, I tried to talk to her. I told her things of what’s really happening and I told her who killed her mother. It didn’t work, Mr. Martin shouted to his daughter that her mother was a fool to not prepare their child for the future. No, I don’t believe that her mother is a fool, just because she refused to do something evil. Her mother does not want her to be a cannibal because she loves her and I am very sure that the mother wanted a better future for her daughter than to be an emotionless killer. I asked the little girl if she loves her mother, she said that she indeed loves her mother. I then ask if this is what her mother would want, to become someone who hurts people for her own amusement.

I can see the confusion in her eyes, I think its working. She tries to tell me that she is only doing it because her father wants her to hurt people, but I asked “but wouldn’t a good husband listen to his wife as well? Because he is a loving husband and a caring father, right?” She stops for a while and there was temporary silence in the air. She raised her revolver and finally pulled the trigger. She missed, I don’t know if it was intentional or it was my luck. She threw the revolver at the side of the road and walked back to her father. Mr. Martin became furious and asked his men to ready their rifles, but his daughter told him to stop hurting people. I saw her burst into tears and begged on her knees to spare my life, she tells her father that she didn’t want me to end up like the other dead victims her father killed, and she didn’t want to become somebody who hurts people. Mr. Martin tries to comfort his daughter but she was continuously crying. He then looked at me right in the eye in a sad expression and he told me to run away before he changes his mind. I tried to get up from my feet and I ran as fast as I could. I was heading to nowhere as I kept on running; all I could think about is saving my life. I found a wrecked car eventually and I decided to hide there. Thankfully my injuries aren’t that great but I still need to apply first aid to my legs. I believe so far, this the longest entry I have in this journal. I am never going back to that place again.

Entry 5 7:59 PM September 28 2021

I wasn’t able to find my mother but I finally found my sister…but it’s not how I wanted it. It was the next morning and I got up. I applied first aid to my legs, I ate a seven year old corned beef for breakfast and after that, I headed north to find this school Mr. Martin told me about. I was doing my usual thing, scavenging for food, killing my attackers, praying to God. It took me about I think two hours before I reached my destination. I finally found the school, it was ruined. It looks empty and haunted, just like the other abandoned buildings I have been to. I entered the school with a flash light and I searched for the hidden bunker around the school. I found the bunker and it was hiding in the administrator’s office behind the principal’s desk. The bunker door was already opened, the people must have already left the bunker, but I still believed that my sister must have remained there. I entered the bunker and I found three rotting corpses around the place. I don’t know why I still feel afraid; I should be used to the sight and smell of dead bodies. I searched around the lobby, the halls, the cafeteria and the rooms. I finally found her… dead while laying on her bed. I found her in the clinic along with the other 4 corpses. I can see that it see that it seems like she died a few days ago because her corpse wasn’t rotting yet. My lord, what happened? Why is she left here all alone!? I saw a medical clipboard that shows an analysis of her health. According to the clipboard, she was dying of radiation. The water filter was broken and it radiated the water. My sister was one of the victims of the radiated water. I think that because of this, the others left the bunker leaving the radiated patients to their death.

I was crying I couldn’t hold my tears anymore; it was too much for me to handle. I sat on the chair beside my dead sister as I kept on crying. I am sorry Emma, I failed you! it was too late to rescue you from your prison! I am a pathetic fool who couldn’t even hold his tears when things like this happen! There was more silence as I stopped crying for a while, but then I thought, this isn’t my fault! This is the fault of the generations before me! I don’t blame Russia and China for their atomic bombs that destroyed my country! I blame the older generations that could have stopped this stupid way of life! By now, humanity could have learned from our mistakes! But instead we only feed the arrogance and anger that fuels us to create wars! I blame our fathers and their grandfathers who have taught us how to kill one another for the sake of “survival of the fittest”! I blame my father who had turned me into a merciless killer... I left the bunker and the school to wander around the wasteland. What do I now thanks to this way life? My sister is dead, my mother is either with a different group or she is dead as well, my father is probably dead too because he joined the army, but good riddance. By the time I realized what was wrong, I already wished him dead…

Entry 6 8:24 AM September 27 2021

I had a dream… I was in a normal disco party where everyone is happy. There was no fighting, no hatred involved, everybody was just enjoying their time. I was at peace, I feel like I wanted to stay in this dream forever… that is until, I saw my sister, Emma standing there. She was in her usual dress and she was carrying a syringe in her hand. Her voice was filled with sadness; I remembered that she asked me “why didn’t you save me sooner?” She injected herself with the syringe and she screams in horrible pain. The music became distorted as she was screaming, I turned and I saw the people around me. They no longer look normal; they look like zombies that just climbed out of their grave. They were shouting to me that I should take Cyanide because my sister is dead and that I should join her suicide. I tried to run but I tripped because one of them grabbed my leg. Then I saw my father, he told me how disappointed he is, so he is going to have to inject cyanide into my bloodstream. I screamed in terror but thankfully it was just a nightmare. I woke up in a garden in which for some weird reason has living plants. I don’t know how I get here but I think I was so traumatized of my sister’s death; I just wandered around aimlessly and fell asleep. As I stand on the ground, I saw a hanging dead body beside a chair that was already pushed. I pity this dead person, sometimes I wish I knew this person’s name, as well as what he has been through. Even though I don’t this dead person, I already feel like that he couldn’t handle his depression. I went outside of the garden and I went back to the main wasteland.

Sometimes I wonder why I am still walking; I have nothing left to do. So after walking a few miles, I decided that I couldn’t take it anymore, I don’t want to be a part of this stupid game. I pulled out the pistol from my bag and I aimed it to my head. As I was about to pull the trigger, I remember my sister. I remembered that my sister didn’t truly commit suicide but only waited for me till the radiation killed her; she hasn’t given up on life yet despite her condition. I still have so much life left, why should I commit suicide now? In fact why on earth should I ever commit suicide? There are probably others who are like me suffering out there, waiting for someone who understands them. So I didn’t pull the trigger after all, I just kept moving forward to the east towards sunrise. I may never forget about what happened yesterday, but that doesn’t mean that I should dwell on it. I should look forward to tomorrow because it’s only a mere day away. War may never change, but I can change my life and if possible, I may change others as well. I can make them believe that they aren’t useless, that they don’t need to destroy other people in order to survive; instead we can help each other in order to survive. I hope that soon other people will realize that during the darkest hour, anytime the sun will always again.

THE END?