Kenya Harris

August 27th, 2102

Book 16, Entry 47

I don't know where it came from, but every night it haunts my dreams. I see flashes of fire, destruction and …dragons? I don't understand, but I must continue on. I need to understand what it means. Why can't I remember? She left this to me, almost frantic, making me swear on my very soul that I would never allow anyone else to see it, touch it, or even know about it.

I look at the heart-shaped locket in my hand, knowing that it's the last thing my mother ever gave me. She never explained where it came from, only that she couldn't be without it. She clung to it as if it was the only thing keeping her alive.

Maybe it was? Maybe the reason she died is because she gave it to me.

End of entry. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow.

~________________________________________________~

I put my diary back into its hiding place and get ready to leave. They don't usually look under the rocks when they come for their raids. I don't dare hide my journals in our territory.

The trail is long, and the temperature will drop soon. I need to move quickly. Alaska is as unforgiving as it is humanity’s last hope. Unfortunately, the long trail gives me time to think.

I think about my dreams, and what they could mean. Why dragons? What am I even thinking? Dragons? Everyone knows those aren't real, contrary to popular belief back in 2014, and lockets don't keep people alive. Not in the real world anyways. How I wish THIS wasn't the real world.

Maybe I just miss her, maybe I don't know how to continue on without her. Ever since all of the nuclear plants "melted down", nothing's been the same. Germany has become its own supreme power and Russia is trying to rule the world. Texas tried to become its own country right after the meltdown, but they too, we're overrun by "unknown" soldiers.

We all know the truth though, China owns everyone.

The United States used to be strong, used to be real, but those in power successfully destroyed anything that was left of what all those men and women fought and died for. Every morning I wake up and see total destruction. I see murder, pillaging and the worst thing of all, hoplessness.

Gangs of every shape and kind dominate this land now. When the government collapsed, what started out as mobs, became the new powers that be. Instead of stealing from paychecks in the form of ever rising and multiplying taxes, they roam the streets, taking what they want, if it isn't given freely.

Freely. Ha. The only reason anything is given "freely" is because the cost of not doing so is death, or worse. Death is a release from this forsaken land, but worse is being exiled out into the deadlands.

The radiation in the deadlands isn’t enough to kill a person quickly, it eats away at you, over years, until you can’t move, then after long and unspeakable suffering, they die. No one is there to bury them, no one is there to remember them.

I have learned to just let the raiders have what they want. They call themselves different things, but the truth is plain for anyone to see. As long as I cooperate, they pretty much let me be. The only thing they haven't taken from me is this heart shaped locket. I keep it hidden. I won't let them have it, I can't let them have it. I need to find out why it was so important to her. Maybe I never will.

I’m going check our traps on the way home. I hope we got something that’s not infected by radiation this time. It's been 2 weeks since I had a proper meal. I could eat more often if I joined the local gang, they call themselves the Acquisitioners, but violence and taking from those that desperately need it just isn't my style.

I decided to join the Gatherers about 5 years ago. We are a peaceful group, so the Acquisitioners don’t give us too much trouble. That’s a good thing, because we’ve made a few discoveries. About 3 years ago we managed to find soil that was at least partially usable, and we finally figured out a way to filter the radiation from the water about a year ago, but in order to stay "uninteresting" we still trade for water from the Acquisitioners.

We've had to start posting guards at the entrance of our territory. God forbid the Acquisitioners ever find out about our advancements. We'd lose it all. They think they are the only ones with the last remaining technology to make clean water. Not that any of those thieves and thugs would know how to reproduce the process.

Someday, we will find a way to be rid of them. For now, we stay quiet and unseen.

We've got a good community here, we try to grow what we can and make sure our 250 people have enough to stay alive. I noticed last night that the children are beginning to laugh and play around camp. I don't remember the last time I heard children laughing. It's been 50 years since everything was destroyed.

50 years of hell.

50 years of darkness.

Maybe tomorrow will be better, maybe tomorrow we'll see the sun.