Apocalyptic Aftermath: Chapter One

A 19 year-old teen survives an apocalyptic event that wipes out the whole entire Eastern Hemisphere. Now it is almost winter and he must head South to the warmer climate in order to survive and find food. It'the Survival of the Fittest!

 

November 25, 2015 8:45      

            I awoke staring up at the sunlight shining through the cracks of my makeshift shelter, which was a lean-to made out of timber and rope that I managed to salvage from a damaged ship near the east coast. I wore khaki jeans, a long-sleeved shirt with a red hoodie over it, hiking boots, wool gloves, a belt to hold my automatic revolver, and a red winter hat perched on top of my head. Winter was just coming around the corner. The temperature was freezing and I was heading south towards the warmer climate.

            ‘Hopefully, there will be more food in the south,’ I thought to myself.

            Food is very scarce here in the Northern area. Most of the animals and crops were destroyed during the Apocalypse. I pulled both of the wool blankets off of me and crawled out from under the lean-to, the ground was wet from the morning dew, and stretched. I scanned my surroundings, I was in a wood, or at least it used to be a wood. Most of the trees were broken to bits, scorched black, and lying on the ground, where almost all the leaves were shriveled up. I looked up at the sky, there were mostly clouds and the sun would peek through every now and then.

            I gathered up firewood and placed them in a tipi-shaped pile in the fire pit that I had built last night. I then lit the fire with my lighter and stepped over to the intact shopping cart that I have salvaged from a shopping center and other things that I took that I thought would be useful in order to survive. I grabbed a medium-sized tin bucket with a handle, three long iron rods, a couple pieces of rope, a water bottle, a paper bowl, a plastic spoon, and a Cinnamon Roll oatmeal packet from the shopping cart. I hung the tin bucket from a support that I made from the three rods and the pieces of rope and I emptied half of the water bottle into the tin bucket. Next, I let the water boil in the bucket while it was over the fire while I emptied the oatmeal packet in the paper bowl. After the water was done boiling, I poured some of the water in the paper bowl to mix in with the oatmeal. I ate my breakfast solemnly and the hot oatmeal felt good traveling down my body to my stomach while I was sitting in the freezing cold.

            When I was done I washed the spoon and the bowl with the remaining warm water in the bucket and put everything back in the shopping cart. I rolled up the two blankets and stuffed them in my waterproof backpack which also contained extra socks, underwear, shirts, pants, gloves, a jacket, and hats. I also had a map of the area, a map of the United States, a compass, two pocket knives, some pens, my leather-bound journal, matches, extra bullets for the automatic revolver, a first aid kit, and my Boy Scout Handbook. I folded up the lean-to (yes, I made it foldable so it would be easy to carry) and slid on the bottom rack of the shopping cart. Finally, I cleaned up the fire pit and the surrounding making sure it would seem like I had never camped there. I swung my backpack on my back and pushed the shopping cart roughly through the wood towards the east until I found the road that I had been hiking along since yesterday. This was going to be another long day.

            I awoke at 7:00 with such excitement that I think I hardly slept at all last night. I was going scuba diving off the east cost of Rhode Island for my project on what marine life is like during the fall for my Biology course in college. I got ready quietly trying not to wake my roommate. I looked in front of the mirror. A handsome, skinny, and athletic 19 year-old boy with bright blue eyes and shaggy dark brown hair stared back at me. I gathered all of my scuba gear that I rented from a Dick’s Sporting Goods store and stuffed them in a black duffel bag. An hour later, I met Captain Sammy in the Wayward Marina. I paid Captain Sammy $75 dollars to take me out in his boat to the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

            “Aye! Welcome aboard the White Pearl,” the captain exclaimed while pointing at the big, bold, black letters that spelled out ‘White Pearl’ on the side of the boat’s hull, “Ain’t she a beauty?”

            “Oh, sure,” I told him, not actually caring about the boat at all, but instead I was looking forward to taking pictures of all of the marine life that was underneath the ocean’s surface with an expensive underwater camera that a really good friend of mine let me borrow, like the cool stuff that I’ve seen on television, “she is gorgeous!”

Now, I know it’s dangerous to go scuba diving on your own, but I wanted to take in the views of undersea life alone, besides Captain Sammy agreed that he would anchor the boat and sit out on the boat to wait till I was done looking around and had taken plenty of photos. I put my duffel bag in the boat and climbed in while the captain cast-off. Then, the captain gunned the engine and steered the ‘White Pearl’ out of the marina. I descended down the stairs to the small bedroom with my duffel bag to change into my scuba outfit.

            After I was done changing, leaving the oxygen tank, the scuba mask, and the flippers in my bag still, I climbed back up the stairs to the deck. The boat ran smoothly across the glistening water which reflected off of the bright sun which lit the light blue sky. I couldn’t spot any clouds in the sky; it was definitely a great day for scuba diving. I took a seat at the stern of the boat and watched the marina become smaller and smaller as we raced across the ocean’s surface. About 5 minutes later, the marina had disappeared from view and we still continued to travel along the salty surface of the ocean. After about a while, the boat stopped and the captain lowered the anchor in the water. I checked my waterproof watch; the time was 9:15. I opened my duffel bag and slipped on my flippers, then, I put on the scuba mask over my face, and finally, I pulled the oxygen tank over on my back, still leaving the regulator hanging over my left shoulder.

            “Ready, matey?” Captain Sammy asked me.

            “You, bet!” I exclaimed excitedly.

            I sat on the edge of the port side of the boat with the underwater camera sitting in my lap. I put the regulator in my mouth, held my nose, and leaned all the way back until I hit the cold ocean water with a ‘SPLASH’!

            “Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!” I awoke hearing what sounded like a woman screaming shrilly. Was it my imagination or was someone really out there? It has been weeks since I heard a living soul! I crawled out of me lean-to, stood up, and did a quick stretch. The sun was rising over the mountains in the east. I walked around the charred woods keeping close to my campsite. Suddenly, I saw an orange campfire about a distance from my campsite. Checking to make sure the revolver was still in my belt, I walked slowly and cautiously towards the campfire. I halted behind a tree which was still standing upright and I was only five feet away from the mysterious campfire. I saw six people all seated around the campfire. The first person who was closest to where I was standing and had their back to me, seemed to be a big, tall, guy, to the left of ‘Father’ was a little girl with

long black hair, and to ‘Father’s’ right was a tall woman with long brown hair. They seemed to be a family. Sitting across from the family, was a young guy who seemed to be in his early twenties, tall, skinny, and with blonde hair. Sitting next to ‘Young Guy’ on his left was a young woman who was also tall, skinny, and had blonde hair. ‘Young Gal’ laid her head on ‘Young Guy’s’ left shoulder and they were holding hands. They must be a couple. Finally, to the left of ‘Young Gal’ was an old man who had a small amount of gray hair sitting on top of his head, he seemed to be in his late seventies. All of the campers were whispering to each other, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

             I could see something huge being roasted on a big tree branch over the fire. The animal was at least 5 feet long!

‘How could they manage to catch something so big?’ I thought to myself. I squinted hard at the thing and I shivered. The animal was a headless human! These people were out of their minds and were becoming cannibals! The poor creature was stripped naked, their arms tied together to the branch above their headless body, and their ankles were also tied together to the branch.

            ‘Where did they put the head?’ I wondered. I scanned the campsite, but found nothing. I started to decide that they had burned the head until I stared down at something about a half a foot away from me. The object was a woman’s head which stared up at me

with wide eyes and a screaming mouth!

            Without thinking at all, I yelled, “Aggh!” I took a step backwards and tripped over a falling tree and landed on my back to the earth with a loud ‘THUD’!

“Shh,” I heard ‘Father’ quiet the others, “did you hear that?”

            “Hear what?” I heard ‘Mother’ ask.

            “I heard someone,” I heard ‘Father’say to the group, “stay here, I’ll be right back with some fresh meat.”

            I lay there, frozen as I heard ‘Father’ step closer and closer towards me. I had to come up with a plan, and fast!

 

To be continued…