Journal of a Frost Survivor

September 17th, 2038

Today, we should be arriving home. I’ve been away too long, but summer storms and strange weather has kept my ship on the other side of the world. After two years at sea, I have made a name for myself and no one doubts my abilities as captain anymore. I know at first, people questioned whether a woman would be able to handle the rigors of leading a group of men on a ship but after the sun flares which wiped out technology nearly ten years ago, there was no work for me in our small village on the coast. I had always been drawn to travel so together with my father, a former engineer, we built my ship, La Lorena, and I hired a group of local men to set sail for goods across the water. Now I’m returning, successful and hoping my family will be proud.

I’m eager to be home and see everyone, most especially though, I want to see Jack. I’ve thought about him every day I’ve been gone. The heart shaped locket he gave me the day I left has never been removed. Ever since he put the chain around my neck and showed me the picture inside of him, I’ve worn it close to my heart. I hope he hasn’t forgotten me. I’ve sent him letters over these long past two years, but with no return mail on the open seas, I haven’t heard anything from him. Tonight, I will find out if his love has endured as mine has. I hope so. He is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.

We’ll be getting ready to make port at Dunsport soon, an industrious town where we will offload much of what we’ve been carrying. After that, we will be home in Stragston in just a few hours. I hope to be there before sunset. I hope Jack is waiting on the dock for me.

September 22nd, 2038

Something has gone horribly wrong with the world. Nearly a week ago, we sailed into Dunsport a normally thriving port town. As we neared, we saw that there was no one about. No people, no animals, and the ground was covered by frost. I understand that sometimes Winter comes early to this part of the coast, so my men and I shrugged off the strangeness and docked. Still, there were no people, no one to greet us, asking for papers or to help us unload our ship. We went to search the town, finding empty buildings, crops frozen in the fields, the nearby forest glittering with ice like glass statues. It was an eerie but beautiful sight.

In one of the homes just outside the town, we found a family frozen in their bed. They had pulled the bed as close to the hearth as they could and piled blankets around them as if they were freezing. The hearth was cold, barely any ash, so I’m not sure how long ago this happened. I brushed my hand over a young girl’s face, my heart aching at seeing the frozen tear tracks on such a little cheek. For some reason, the contact made them shatter! A shard hit my cheek, almost my eye, and dug deep. I’ll probably scar.

My men and I, shocked by the empty town, the frozen land, and the shattering people, rushed back to our ship, and left, heading to Stragston. There, we found much of the same, empty streets and glass statues, the ground covered with the same thick rind of frost. I searched my home for signs of my family and found none. The same at Jack’s house. I don’t know what is going on, what has happened. Why is everything frozen and where did everyone go? So, for the last few days, we have been sailing down the coast, making land and searching every town we see. There has to be someone alive to tell us what happened here.

October 3rd, 2038

I feel like I am living a nightmare but am unable to wake up. My world has gone crazy and, even though I now know what happened, I still can’t make sense of it.

A few days after leaving my hometown in search of Jack, my family, or any one still alive, we came across a small fishing village on the coast, I don’t even remember the name of it. There, we were attacked by the townspeople who had gone mad. They grabbed at us, ripping at our clothes, tearing our hair, scratching and biting at us. We were able to get away but not before they’d grabbed Peter, a sweet young boy, only sixteen. They dragged him down and he screamed for us to help him, but we were too afraid. It was horrible what they did to him. I know I’ll carry the sights and sounds with me until I die.

In the next town, we were a little more prepared for attack. We fought off the mob and rescued an older man. Onboard our ship, wrapped in blankets by the fire and with a cup of warm whiskey, he told us what had happened.

Nearly three months ago, overnight the world had frozen. A thick layer of frost has covered the ground, freezing everything in its place. Temperatures plummeted, the sun stopped shining, and the crops had died. With no food the animals starved and some people had gone crazy. Fires didn’t stay lit, seemingly smothered as if the frost knew someone was trying to get warm. The people we had come across had been moaning and begging for warmth. I guess they’d found a way to get warm. I shiver here in my cabin as I write this, remembering Peter.

The old man died a few days later after telling us his tale. At least he was warm when he died because the fires on the ship never go out and we’ve not had any trouble keeping them lit.

Day 113, A.F.

I’ve taken to dating my journal with ‘A.F.’ instead of the year. After Frost. It seems appropriate and with no end in sight, our world has forever been changed.

We continue searching each town we come across in hopes of finding other, normal, survivors. So far, most towns are empty and the ones that aren’t, well. My men and I have gotten very good at running. I’m not proud of it, but the people don’t seem to feel pain like us. We can beat them off but unless we’re willing to kill them, there isn’t much we can do. I’m still hopeful that this will all go way, that the frost will melt, and they will go back to normal. If we kill them, they’ll never have that chance.

At night, I’ve started holding my locket in my hands when I sleep. The picture of Jack has become my talisman, representing all my hopes. If I can find Jack, I can find my family. With my family, all of this won’t seem so terrible because we will be together.

I’m holding the locket right now as I write this. Can you feel me, Jack? Do you think of me? I miss you like a limb and hope to be together again.

Day 126, A.F.

There are grumbles on the ship. I know my men are not happy with me. They say that I’’m putting us in danger with my foolish hopes and continuing searches of the towns and villages we find. We lost another man yesterday, Durrin, a strong and happy man, always ready with a laugh. He will be missed. There was a young girl, a child really, in the latest town and Durrin ran to grab her. She turned on him and his screams brought the mob. With the little girl clinging to him, he couldn’t outrun them. When they dragged him down, I shot him. It was mercy, I didn’t want him to suffer, but now my men are saying that I don’t care about them, all I care about is finding Jack.

I fear they may be right. I am obsessed with being reunited with my love. But I care about my men as well, most of whom I’ve known my whole life. They are like family to me and I cried when I shot Durrin.

I won’t stop my search, though. Somewhere, there must be a place untouched by the frost. There must be someplace safe from whatever madness has infected these people who attack us. Somewhere, Jack and my family must still be alive.

Day 129, A.F.

My men mutinied and tossed me from my ship. My ship! As if I wasn’t their captain and hadn’t seen them safe on our travels for two years. They grabbed me from my bed and tossed me into a small boat with a backpack full of food and only the clothes I was wearing. We’d just anchored offshore of another town we were going to be searching the next morning. It was after sunset and we’d found out from prior trips that the townspeople are even more aggressive at night. With no choice, the tide was going out and I didn’t want to get further from shore, I had to make land.

I’m hiding right now in what I think used to be a bar. I smashed the chairs for firewood and with matches I always carry next to the locket, I was able to make a small fire. It barely gives off any heat and I can’t sleep for fear it will go out, but it’s something.

It’s so quiet and dark. I’ve never felt so alone in my life. On the ship, there were always people talking and laughing and the vastness of the ocean at night never bothered me. Here, with only the wind whistling through the empty streets, I feel like the last person alive on land. I know that isn’t true because I’ve seen the other people, but is that really surviving? Having to attack other humans to live?

I must stop thinking about those people or I won’t be able to relax. Even now, I imagine hearing their moans as they come for me and my warmth. Would the fire stop them? If they were able to get warm some other way, would they still attack me? I don’t know but I fear their minds are so warped now that they wouldn’t hesitate.

Wait, I think I do hear something. Is that moaning –

Day 131, A.F.

My life has changed again, and it is glorious! Jack and I are together, my family, too!

That night in the bar, when I thought I heard moaning, it was the townspeople. They were coming for me, drawn by my fire. I was able to get away and ran towards the woods. As I neared the trees, a small group of people rushed out. I thought that was it for me, I couldn’t outrun two groups and I had no where to go. Then a man stepped forward and by the light of the moon reflecting off the frost covered ground, I saw it was Jack! He looked older, leaner, but I would know my love anywhere.

He grabbed me, we kissed, and he told me what had happened. The people in our town started going crazy, slowly at first and Jack, fearing for their safety, took as many people as would come and left. They hid in the forests, where the mobs never went, and were making their way south hoping for warmer weather.

We are together again, Jack and my entire family, and I will never leave them. I know the world is still frozen and crazy because we see the mobs everyday and run from them. I have hope for a better future now though, and I can almost see the sun shining through the trees.