Maria

"But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.”

— Khalil Gibran

Day 1

I thought I saw it yesterday, shining brightly from the edge of a rooftop. It was a quick gleam, possibly a shell casing or someone's glasses, or any other sort of polished jewelry. I know what it was, though. If I could get to the top of that tower, I could get it back, have HER back. And boy, do we need her.

That's no way to start a diary is it? Well, dear reader, you're gonna have to forgive me. I didn't think this hunk of crap from 2024 would even pull up a text document. Here I am though, staring at the screen and turning my skin blue like in the good old days. Ironically, there's still plenty of gas to run these generators in here. Everyone thought we would run out of that and start fighting each other for it, but I guess I'm the oil baron now.

I can't say it's been easy. It's 3 weeks out now from when it happened, and I still can't process it. So many lives lost, so much destruction. It's gotten to a point where I wake up in the morning and try frantically to wake myself up even further. Every. Single. Morning. Sorry if this is disjointed and weird, but I'm not a writer, or a philosopher, or even (contrary to my falsified degrees) an academic.

I'm a programmer. One of the best, or so I've been told. I caused this whole thing. I was asleep at the wheel, like an old Far Side cartoon I had on my desk. A caveman passed out next to a crude stone wheel, hungry tigers in the bushes. If there were a court system anymore they would convict me so quick the ink on the documents would run.

That's all gone though, it's just me and those things down in the water. Just a weird, aging nerd and a bunch of deformed simpletons with only what appears to be about 3 or 4 stories in height between them. They'll probably eat me before I get to her. Or whatever it is they do to people who fall in the water. I can't bear to look when someone falls. I have an old telescope my boss kept on his wall, but I never drop the lens low enough to see. I don't want to. I just want to talk to her again.

Day 2

Why am I even writing this? No one is gonna read it. I even correct my grammar and spelling mistakes, just for fun. I guess it keeps my mind off of it. Anywho, you would never be able to guess what I found down in the old storage warehouse. I was rooting around in the canned food donations when I saw it. A box I hadn't seen before, over behind some shelving with some orange plastic sticking out. It's a life raft! I have no idea why, or how the skeleton crew that was running this joint when the waves hit didn't see it and make use of it, but now I have it.

I hooked the pump for it up here with my generators, and I'm astonished that it works. No holes, no messed up pump, just one high quality life raft. Looks like it came from a yacht, I'd guess. Now I can get her back. First, I have to test this thing and make sure it can get to her.

Day 3

Well, it works. I went down the steps to one of the less flooded floors and tried it. I even put some rations in it to make sure the weight wouldn't throw it off balance. Found my boss's name on the inside of the attached storage bag. My boss was a jerk. I know it's cliché, but this guy was nepotism in human form. Beady little eyes on a man that didn't deserve to be in the chair he sat in everyday. He wanted to run this company until he could retire to a beach somewhere with some women he wouldn't have to talk to because he didn't speak the language. He's not talking to anyone now I suspect. Unless he's one of those things, even then all I ever hear is some weird gurgling. Bastard deserved it.

Day 4

I have so many vivid memories of her. I remember being wasted after the Christmas party just last year, and going home and seeing her brighten up the room as soon as I got through the door. She was wonderful. I'm a numbers and code guy, not a poet. Still, seeing her just warm me up while my head was in such a state was and is one of my favorite memories. There's so many more though.

If I can't get her back everything is really gone. I'm charging this thing until it's at 100%, putting my food and water and everything in this stupid raft, and I'm gonna cross this forsaken river. It's better than being consumed in this office by my own stomach, raving mad.

Time for some sleep first, though.

Day 5

Everything is ready. It's all packed up on the lifeboat. I can't believe I'm doing this. I could live here for another year or two if the building holds, I think. With any luck I can get her and bring her back. I don't know what's between me and her, other than a bunch of trash-filled water and "people" who are probably more fish than person. You can't imagine the smell.

It's worse as I get closer to the water. It smells like salt and farts and death. I wish I had a nose clip. I just put the raft in the water. I think I'm in the uh… 4th floor atrium? I have no idea, but there's a big hole leading outside that has water in it. I don't hear any gurgling or weirdness, I don't see any of the monsters that used to be people moving around in the water. Everything is oddly calm, like it's meant to be or something.

I'm gonna put this phone in the pocket of this waterproof coat my grandma gave me. She says "In case it rains" in my head, and I wish that's all it was.

Oh well, bon voyage.

Day 5 Update

Didn't make it. Well, I did, but I'm badly injured. I made it about the length of a football field and was looking up through the telescope before I heard loud strange whistling and gurgles, and saw them swimming up behind me. They looked like young girls, one of them still had her purse hooked tightly under what used to be her arm. I saw a tentacle with some shiny fingernail polish near the end of it. If, dear reader, you are a scientist; you should know that they all appeared to have gills and bulbous eyes. I screamed when they got to the boat and it seemed to make them angry.

Grandma's coat protected me pretty well, but I lost the life raft. As I was frantically trying to swim towards this building one of them caught up to me and nearly pulled me under. I saw the rows of teeth they have. It bit down into my calf so hard I'm pretty sure I heard bones crack. I fought it off and got free, but the damage is done. Good thing Grandma kept a bandage in this coat for just such an occasion, but the elevators are down and it looks like I'll have to drag myself up about 20 or 30 flights of stairs. I'm coming, baby. It's just taking a long time. I think I hear those forsaken mermaids out there whistling at me. It's so eerie. Hope I don't die like this.

Day 6

Well, I dragged myself up 5 stories earlier today. It was whatever the opposite of fun is. To clarify really quickly by the way, I'm aware of what those things in the water are.

She created them, on accident. She figured out a way to restructure the human genome and devised devices to spread it. We were all in a terrible panic, because global warming had been making the sea rise more and more the past few years. She was smart enough to figure out what needed to be done! So we were testing a whole big bunch of them. They were like robot mosquitoes, designed to distribute the serum on a mass scale. Before it all went to hell, we were at the forefront of science and about to win a Nobel prize. Her in front, and me in the back, calmly programming like I always have. I miss those days so much.

Day 7

Miraculously my leg feels some better. I moved it around and it feels fine. Maybe the snapping sound was just in my head. I think I'm ready to get through this building and get back to my love. I'll let you know how it goes.

Day 7 Update

Well, there's a big problem up on this floor. The damn stairs fell completely apart. Just a bunch of rubble it'll take me a while to get through. I keep hearing the whistling, and I'm not sure how. It's low and deep and weird. I'm afraid those monstrosities are climbing the building right along with me. I guess I should also tell you how the world ended, but I'm gonna do it tomorrow morning, ok? My neck hurts and I need the rest.

Day 8

There wasn't anything we could do. We had the evolution of humankind planned out. We had massive barriers and a drain system. I didn't react in time and help like I could have. I was talking to her on the phone instead, and she even tried to warn me about it. It was too late though. The earth itself started spewing water out. The biggest geyser that ever existed. The dark, tall waves washed away most everyone. The survivors weren't actually in any luck, the mosquitoes and the serum tanks were obliterated, and all contact with the water led to instantaneous freakish transformation into a waterborne creature. I couldn't do anything but hold on, mouth agape at my desk as the world below was covered in dark water and mutated.

But I'm gonna fix it today. I'm gonna move this rubble right now, dear reader, and set things right.

Day 8 Update

Well, I got through. I ran up the steps to the rooftop like a giddy child. I reached down for the heart shaped locket and I grasped it just fine. Then I detected something awry. It felt really lightweight, but I had been moving chunks of building all morning so I opened it up. There's a stranger staring at me. IT'S THE WRONG LOCKET.

Day 9

I haven't stopped crying. It feels like my eyes are gonna bulge out of my head. If this had been MY locket, she would have popped out of it and helpfully asked for the password. I would have told her "Maria" and she would have recognized my voice. I would have told her to force the barriers up and activate the drain pump. They all thought I was crazy for falling in love with an AI I designed myself, but she could save this whole city. Her hologram is so beautiful. I'll never get to see it again.

Day 10

My neck won't stop hurting. My… my limbs are on fire. I looked through the telescope earlier and saw another locket. So close yet so far. Can't stop thinking about coral. It'll feel so good on the skin…

Maria. Maria, I need you. My…. Grrrggggglllllggrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!