Hope In The Wilderness

The year is 2036—a perilous 12 years since the great collapse of 2024. There remains no government, and no civilization. Massive economic collapse and food shortage, followed by the most deadly world war in history, has turned the world as we know it into absolute chaos and destruction. Cities have burned, and communities have scattered. It is now each man for himself; and survival is the only goal.

The early morning sun shot streaks of hazy light through 19-year-old Brielle Leblanc’s bedroom in Northern Alberta, Canada. Brielle awoke with a start to the loud cackling of a magpie, perched in a nearby tree; and she arose from her bed and dressed for the day.

Brielle, along with her parents Enrique, and Anna, were the only survivors of their entire Eastern Quebec community. The Leblanc trio fled Quebec in 2030, fighting for their lives every step of the way to their eventual settling in Alberta.

To the best of their limited knowledge, the Leblancs were now safe from the chaos, the mobs of raiders and bandits, and possibly even safe from imminent starvation—if they worked hard enough.

Life had been extremely hard the past 6 years; learning from nothing but trial and error, everything from how to grow their own vegetables and hunt their own food, to surviving the brutal northern Canadian winters.

Spring sunshine bathed the once abandoned hunting cabin in bright warmth; and upon entering the kitchen, Brielle’s eyes settled on her father and mother—seated at the table eating their morning bowls of oatmeal.

Morning greetings were exchanged, and Brielle paused for a moment before dishing up a bowl of the coarse, and somewhat tasteless goulash that was their homegrown oatmeal.

“Do you guys remember pop-tarts?” Brielle questioned with half a chuckle.

Anna smiled reminiscently and sighed: “Ah what I wouldn’t give for a pop-tart right now!”

Enrique burst heartily into the conversation: “Give me some french toast, sausage, and bacon!”

Oh how the food of the once-modern world was missed.

One grueling day bled into another, as the Leblancs toiled from sunup to sundown in their fields and garden. Brielle often wondered as she worked, if life would ever be anything as it had been before the collapse. Were there even civilized settlements out there anymore? Any attempts at discovery they had made so far, ended in near death encounters with rogue gangs of rebels who pillaged the countryside.

Brielle had begged and pleaded again and again to go out once more in search of civilization, but both Anna and Enrique responded in stubborn refusal; content to remain in the safety they had found—for the rest of their lives if necessary. Brielle wasn’t ready for a life sentence of loneliness, and each day as she toiled in the fields, she dreamed of finding civilization again.

One hot sunny afternoon in mid July, Brielle finished up with shelling the last barrel of peas from the day’s harvest, and then slipped away to a nearby lake for a swim in the cool waters.

About the time she was ready to come ashore and head back to the cabin, Brielle's eyes caught sight of something unusual on the water's edge. Upon closer inspection, Brielle realized she was looking at an old fishing boat. With spiked curiosity, she swam near the boat.

Tied to the trunk of a large overhanging spruce tree, the boat bobbed up and down in the gentle waves. Brielle was suddenly excited with thoughts of what she might find within the boat.

Under the middle seat she found a tackle box, and along the floor lay a fishing rod. These will be so useful! She thought happily as she pulled her treasures from the boat, and hopped on shore.

“Look what I found!” Brielle announced with excitement as she burst into the cabin and held up the tackle box and fishing rod for her parents to see.

Enrique showed especial enthusiasm as he stood from his chair in the corner. “What's in the tackle box?” He queried with a motion of his hand toward the box in Brielle’s hand.

“Oh I haven’t looked yet.” She chirped as she knelt on one knee and opened the latches.

The top tray was filled to the brim with every kind of lure and hook imaginable.

“Whoa! Look at all these!” Brielle exclaimed.

As she lifted off the top tray, her eyes shone with hopeful excitement at what other valuables might fill the box.

Her excitement turned to curiosity as her eyes settled on a small black book. It looked to be a notebook of some sort. Brielle lifted it from the box, and carefully opened the cover. There on the creamy white pages, in bold black ink—and impeccable handwriting—stood the words: “ALL HOPE IS NOT LOST.”

Brielle’s eyes shot upward to meet the equally bewildered eyes of her parents, who stood above her.

“What does this mean?” She thought aloud while trying to read her parents' expressions.

Fueled with a sudden hope that someone somewhere was trying to communicate with them, Brielle flipped furiously through the pages; desperate for more clues.

Near the center of the notebook, she stopped cold. There was more writing:

“If you’re reading this, I didn’t survive the rebels. If you found this, you must be a good honest soul, just trying to live a decent life on the lake—like I was. Don’t relax. Don’t sleep. They’re everywhere, and they will take everything you have; down to your very life.”

Brielle’s parents had crowded around her by this point, and were both pouring over the haunting words with her.

“I don’t understand!” Brielle burst out. “We’ve been here 6 years! Is this from the person who lived here before us? How are we still alive if this is true?”

Brielle looked frantically at her father, her eyes begging for some type of assurance. Enrique looked solemn and fearful as he glanced toward the cabin windows. “Look for more!” He urged, as he motioned toward the notebook.

Brielle flipped quickly through more pages until she found yet another message near the back:

“The rebels are cold-hearted killers, and their numbers are growing everyday. They may very well control the old world, but don’t lose hope—we control the new world. You will find answers where the magpie’s morning song is sung.”

Brielle’s eyes were wild with excitement as she spun to face her father. “I told you we couldn’t be alone!”

Enrique looked puzzled and stunned as he stared into his daughter's wild eyes.

Anna grasped Brielle's elbow and queried; “the magpie?”

Brielle looked momentarily set back, and her eyes fell slightly to the floor; but then brightened as she responded:

“It’s a riddle...” She trailed off. “...we just have to figure it out." Her thoughtful scowl suddenly lifted as she exclaimed: "THE MORNING SONG! I know what that means!”

Brielle dashed across the cabin and flung wide the wooden shutters on her bedroom window. There in the tree outside her window was a large stick nest, and amidst the commotion, two adult magpies flew from the tree in a panic.

Brielle was already climbing out of her bedroom window, and scrambling up the tree toward the nest before her parents could utter a word.

As she neared the nest, 3 juvenile magpies fluttered clumsily out of the nest and onto the nearby branches. Brielle peered over the edge of the bulky nest, and was not disappointed as her eyes settled on a small mason jar; half buried in feathers, grass, and sticks. Snatching it up, Brielle hurried down the tree and back in her window.

Hands shaking with excitement, she quickly opened the jar to retrieve the rolled up paper within. There, in now familiar handwriting, lay a long string of words that would change the Leblancs' lives forever:

“Beneath the earth’s surface lies a whole new world where hope, love, compassion, and humanity is alive and well. Go now, follow this map, and may God be with you as you journey to the new world.”

Brielle’s mouth was wide open in shock and awe as she looked at her parents in turn. “We’re going to the new world!” Brielle shouted through happy tears and laughter.

Anna and Brielle embraced in a giddy hug before their excitement was stifled by Enrique’s stern voice. “How do we know this is real? What if it’s a trap? Even if it isn’t, it will be dangerous. Look at this map!” He exclaimed in disbelief. “It’s miles upon miles long!”

As Enrique ran his hands over the scrawled out map, his eyes caught some smaller handwriting at the bottom of the page:

“P.S. Since I’m not there to utilize it any longer—take my gold. You’ll need it in the new world; it is the currency there. Lift the floorboards under the table. You will find 20,000 coins there, and you will be the richest person in the entire new world.”

Excitement filled his voice as Enrique read the last sentence aloud, and the three scurried out to the kitchen. Sure enough, under the floorboards in a hefty metal box, they discovered two large gunny sacks filled with gold coins.

“But why?” queried Brielle. “Why wouldn’t this person have gone to the new world themselves? If they knew so much about it, why were they here?”

Enrique shook his head in confusion, but then added: “Well, I guess maybe when this person left the notes and the gold, they were about to attempt the journey; but they didn’t want to risk losing all of their riches on the way.”

Brielle and Anna nodded in agreement.

“So what do we do then?” Anna asked as she looked gravely at her husband.

“Well, I think we should make the journey." He responded steadfastly. "What kind of life and hope do we have here, if what this person wrote is true?” Enrique raised his hands—palms up—in a query to his wife and daughter.

“Oh please, we have to try!” Begged Brielle. “I have no friends, no future; I have no hope here! I’d rather die trying, than not go at all!” Brielle’s eyes pleaded with her mother.

Anna sighed tensely, and then spoke in agreement: “We leave at sunrise then.”

~Epilogue~

The Leblanc family began their journey that very next morning. It was a harrowing, and sorrowful two month journey north; through rugged, and unforgiving wilderness.

3 weeks in, Brielle and her father lost their beloved mother and wife, Anna—along with a third of their gold coins—to a band of rebels.

Riddled with grief and uncertainty, the two travelers barely found the courage and hope to continue.

5 weeks later, Brielle and her father reached Rainbow Lake, Alberta.

Near the crystal-clear lake, stood the mouth of a mountain cave. Just as a note on the bottom of their tattered map directed, three loud knocks—followed by three quieter knocks—prompted a deep and commanding voice on the other side. After demanding their names and business with the new world, Enrique and Brielle were ushered in, and welcomed with gladness.

Miles of underground passages had been carved through the mountains, creating safe passageways to-and-from numerous hidden farms in the mountain meadows.

Hundreds of guards stood watch seemingly everywhere at all hours.

Militia was formed, trained, and added to daily with new recruits from the old world.

Life on the mountain tops and in the caverns grew, and buzzed like a beehive. Families came together, and children were born.

Brielle Leblanc found the love of her life, Luke Bower, in 2041. Together, they started anew on a little farm amid a serene meadow overlooking Rainbow Lake.

The new world grew by unmatched leaps and bounds—their militia eventually gaining enough momentum to rise up against the rebels of the old world. Peace and safety was restored to all, in the year 2051.