A New Land

Land Lost….

It seems like just yesterday that one world ended and a new one began. For 17 year old, Allie, her life would never be the same.

She was a high school student at West Peaks High School in Virginia. Allie was a senior in high school and was getting ready for spring, prom season. She had already chosen this beautiful, sparkly champagne colored dress. Her biggest issue at the time was who she was going to go the prom with. She had a couple of offers for a prom date but she probably was going to go to the prom with Brian. He was very smart and handsome and had been voted by others to be the most likely to be President of the United States one day. But now, her life was different. How could life change so much in less than a week?

Allie’s home and all her belongings were lost in the nuclear explosions. America and other major countries had been attacked and now all that was left was this new land located in the British Isles across the Atlantic Ocean. There were no more cell phones, TVs, radios, or any form of mass communication or social media. Everything had been destroyed in the explosions.

After the explosion, Allie’s house had collapsed and all her belongings had been destroyed. The only valuable and sentimental thing she possessed was this beautiful gold heart shaped locket. The locket had actually been a gift to her mother for Mother’s Day. It contained baby pictures of her and her sister Ashley.

Allie’s mom had given her the heart shaped locket that she wore around her neck when America was first under attack. Allie’s goal was to reunite with her family and to be able to return the locket to her mother.

She hoped and prayed that her family had survived to explosion. She had been pulled from the rubble by military men. She was taken to a temporary base, given temporary clothes, food, and water. Allie had also been checked out by military doctors for radiation and they treated all her injuries from the explosion. Then she was loaded with a few other passengers into a special military vehicle and driven to the Jacksonville Harbor in Florida.

Now Allie was at the Jacksonville Harbor hoping to be reunited with her father, mother, and sister. There was a long line of people, survivors, that were giving these military men their names and inquiring about their relatives. When it was finally Allie’s turn at the registration table, she gave them her name and the names of her family members. She found out then that her father had not survived but her mother and sister had been located and they had already gotten on a boat headed to the new land. There was no time for tears or disappointment because she was a survivor and for her to continue with her life, she had to find her mother and sister. There was no way to know what to expect in the British Isles. What would this new land be called? Would they have a government or monarchy? Did the queen and royals survive?

Finally, Allie boarded the boat that would set sail for the new land. So many feelings and memories filled her mind and spirit. It was so horrific-the sounds, visions, and smells of the nuclear attacks. How could anyone ever get over all the trauma? As Allie looked around her, she saw these same expressions on the faces of the other passengers. They all looked bewildered and distraught. She wondered how many of them lost their family members-mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters.

Allie sat near the edge where she could look out at the water as they sailed on this huge military carrier. The Atlantic was darker than what she had remembered and the waves were quite rough. Another teenage girl walked up to where Allie was seated and sat next to her. They struck up a conversation. This girl’s name is Paris and she was from Manhattan. She is 16 years old and a junior at Strousser Academy which is located a few blocks away from their penthouse. Her dad had been CEO of the Microsoft Company and they lived in an exclusive penthouse on the east side of Manhattan. Paris spoke very eloquently but also very realistically. She wasn’t sure if any of her family had survived. When she registered her name and information, none of her family had registered before her. She had a father, mother, and two older brothers. Paris was hoping that she would be able to reunite with them in the new land.

These two teenage girls talked and got to know each other better while waiting on the ship to dock in the new land. They discussed what all they saw, heard, and experienced on their way to the Jacksonville Harbor. Neither girl was wearing teenage girl clothing or dressed as they normally dressed but nothing about their new lives was going to be normal.

Finally, it seemed like their journey was ending. They could see land, beautiful green land. Land where one journey was ending and a new one was beginning.

What would become of Allie and her new friend, Paris?

A New Journey….

Allie and Paris got ready to embark on their new journey. They got in line and waited what seemed like hours to leave the ship. As they left, there was another line to register for the new land. Both girls waited together. They occupied their time by singing popular songs they both knew and laughing at each other when one of them sung the lyrics incorrectly.

Finally, it was Allie’s turn at the registration table. She told the lady her name and her family’s names. After looking through the chart, Allie’s mother and sister had been located. They were at what was called Camp Peace. Allie would be driven to the camp to finally reunite with her mother and sister.

She waited for her new friend, Paris to register. None of Paris’s family had made it to the new land and she still was unsure if any members of her family had survived.

Allie was standing right next to Paris while she registered and asked the woman if Paris could accompany her to Camp Peace. Seeing how distraught young Paris was at not knowing her family’s fate, the woman agreed to let the two girls stay together. The girls were given passes to get through the gate at Camp Peace.

They boarded another military vehicle and we’re headed for their new home, Camp Peace. The girls were remarkably quiet on their trip there. Too many things to ponder about their home, their future, their families.

The trip only took about an hour. The girls arrived at Camp Peace which had huge gates and was heavily guarded. Again, they had to tell the guards their names and give them their passes and the guards waved them through.

They were driven to a small temporary house that was certainly unlike any Allie or Paris had seen before. The girls walked to the door which swung open immediately. Allie’s mother ran out and hugged her daughter ferociously! Then Ashley ran out and joined the hug. They were crying and holding each other. All three of them realized how lucky they were to have survived and not to have suffered any radiation poisoning or any serious injuries.

Then all the attention turned towards Paris. Immediately, Allie’s mother hugged Paris just like she was her daughter. Ashley took Paris’s hand and Allie’s hand and led them inside.

As soon as they walked inside Allie tried to remove the locket and hand it to her mother. But her mother just shook her head and said “it’s your now for finding the courage to survive and make it here on your own”.

All of them talked about what happened and how they finally made it to the new land. Paris also told them all about herself and her uncertainty of any members of her family surviving the nuclear attacks.

As Paris reflected on her story and her thoughts, she was happy and a little disappointed at the same time. She was thankful to have met a friend and to be with her and her family but she also held onto hope that someone in her family survived and they would be together again soon.