And so, here we are!

Finished. Fatigued. Famished. All F words of how I really feel in this moment. Guess I should be used to it by now, but I cannot seem to really get a grip of this life. Nothing here makes sense anymore. There is barely water, no food, and a despair of humans to accommodate a party. How did I get so lucky, you asked? Well, I didn’t and that is the issue. If you are reading this, I found a hot tub during the drought and was able to send a message back to the year 2019 to tell people stop using the butter dispensers at the movie theater, that’s how we got in this situation. 2020 was just the beginning! All I remember is JuiceWRLD, Coronavirus, Elon Musk, Bat-shit crazy bats, goddamn mosquitos and everyone dying for popping a zit! I’m telling you people, stop with the butter! I know it taste good on that dryer sheet popcorn but it’s going to give you acne, then you’re going to want to pop those bumps, and if I have insinuated anything so far, DON’T POP THE BUMPS! You may think I am joking but this is no joke. Some goofball thought it would be cool to put some weird concoction in a bat. The bat got mad and started scratching and biting any and everybody in sight. These bats were making people drop like flies, which coincidently brought more flies!

Long story short, here I am with Peter, Joe, Mary, and Bernie. I don’t really know how we all got here but I’m glad we did. I love them all the most, but Mary and Bernie remind me of my sisters. My mom tried her hardest to make us layer up and stay inside, but Mary just had to see the sun. Thankfully I was always a loner, by the time I turned 15, I had a secret room in my closet. I mean somewhere in my room. My addiction to Ritz crackers and spray cheese possibly saved my life. Took me 3 months and a very stenchy odor to build up the courage to poke my head out and reveal myself. Once I saw my family no longer there, I knew I had no choice but to venture into emancipation. Stuffing my backpack with as much food and water I can carry and a small box, the size of a Jenga block, I head out into the evitable.

Fast forward to 3 years, 3 heckling years, until I found my little family and I am sure this is as good as it gets. Duties here does not come easy, but they come fast. Peter and Joe prepare any armory we can find. Bernie is the only one old enough drive or old enough to even remember how to drive, so she oversees the transportation. Me and Mary oversee the food. We cook mostly butter noodles, but these dorks love it, so it makes me happy. With my new family around, I do not think about my beginner family often. I only feel the memories rushing back when I hold my mom’s locket nearby. I keep it at the safe house under the floor but sometimes I bring it out when I am down. My mom always wore this beautiful heart shaped locket, glittering in the sun, it caressed this dark orange and brown tone that reminded me of the dreadful décor we all hated but she loved, so we dealt with it. It almost looked like a it was carved by some rock but who knows? The locket holds a place in my heart that cannot ever be replaced. That is why I am the only one that knows it is under the floor and I mean, now you guys.

I know I said it before but long story short, the butter in the popcorn is where we end. When the bats were going crazy, I found myself going down a rabbit hole to figure out why popping a zit was such a big thing. With all the destruction in foresight, all television and internet broadcast had come to a catastrophic halt and all we had left is a weak radio signal that we only got being on the roof of the safe house. Which was not a safe place to be. The radio did not say much as the days began its lonely travel, but it was the only updated information that was constant, so we held on tight. I remember hearing about the bites, not creating zombies, but creating acne filled faces with no possible serum to clear. The ones who survive the draining of blood by the bat bites, returned to life halfway normal just with faces of a puberty ridden teenager. Everything looked like it was getting better, until people just started dropping and all that could be driven from the research was there was always a freshly peeled or popped pimple. Days were not much hopeful afterwards but every time we ran into someone with blebs, we fought hard to keep their hands away from their face, but we all know how hard that may be. That is why I am saying again, please do not get the butter!

Today was no day different from the past, I woke up early and surpassed the bats, to make breakfast. Thankfully, they sleep during the day hiding in tree trunks, unless you make a lot of noise traveling through, then of course you my friend are dead. After breakfast I waited for the others to wake and get started, something about today gave me an extra preparatory kick, something was special about today. The sun was high, and the rays were strong. As I lay there in the meadow, my mind at peace, breathing deeply, accepting this day. Nothing could take this feeling away.

“Run”, “Lisa, get up.” Abruptly Peter screams, I quickly rise and turn to see the destruction. A swarm of bats fluttering towards me, I froze in my tracks. “The hell are you doing?” Peter screams at me. My mind grapples with scenes from my life lasting on the last time I held the locket in my hand. Ugh, I know it going to be some shit.