A Life Sentence

May 5th, 2026

May 5th, 2026

I must admit I am a little surprised I am doing this. I am not much on writing in diaries, or even writing at all for that matter. But for some reason I feel the need to; I guess for posterity, or something like that. At the rate things are going there won't be many people, or maybe even anyone, left to read it. It seems kind of pointless, but I am going to do it anyway. At least it helps me feel better. It's kind of like dumping the bad thoughts from my head.

Right now the world is scrambling around like a bunch of panicked idiots trying to figure out how to survive and beat Omega. It is an apt name. It feels like it is an apex predator that has stepped into the world to show us humans how puny we really are. The disease popped up first in the U.S. then spread like crazy over the rest of the world. It caught everyone off guard, especially the U.S.

For a long time COVID was the major nuisance, disease wise, in the world. At least since the omicron variant had turned into another annoyance like the seasonal flu with a new, but mild, variant popping up every now and then. Of course people became complacent and lazy about getting their shots, and those who didn't want the shots screamed that they had been right all along; it was nothing worse than the flu. The other side spouted risks of doom and gloom. Of course none of that mattered when it came to Omega. It was an entirely different animal.

What made it even weirder was where this new strain popped up. It wasn't in New York, Texas or Florida, but neither of those would have really surprised me. Nope, this one came from the land of taters, Idaho. Before anyone even realized it was there it had spread like wildfire all over the U.S. By the time it was identified as something new it already made the leap across the pond.

At first Omega didn't seem to be that bad then it started to show off a couple of nasty new moves. This new disease not only attacked the lungs but also the heart and the brain. The double whammy was just too much for most people. In fact it kills almost every person that catches it. Being young or being healthy didn't matter at all. There were a select few that seemed to actually be immune, of course no one knows who that will be. I suppose it's the new lottery.

As luck would have it I would work in a hospital, ground zero, of sorts. I have had to learn how to work in complete hazmat suits for hours on end these days. We have no choice, it's the only thing that we were sure can keep us safe.

In just three month's time millions of people have died in the U.S. Of course at first it was called fake news by certain people who thought it was a hoax but, or perhaps overblown, soon even they could not deny the facts, no matter how hard they tried. Now, none of that matters. What matters is stopping it.

Overseas it is even worse. Countries that were never all that stable to begin with have collapsed into total chaos. Usually the richer and stronger nations would step in to help, or maybe the UN, but pretty much everyone has already called all their own forces home. Us included. Several nations have been making pacts for both defense and to trade specific resources with one another under the agreement they won't trade with anyone else. The old treaties and alliances have all but fallen apart. The planet has gone into "every man for himself" mode. Everyone is closing their borders. They only things allowed through are those shipments from allies. The tension between all nations, even close allies are frayed to the breaking point. I personally believe the only reason we aren't at war is because no one has the resources.

Weird times to say the least. Pretty much every single business is closed except for places like grocery stores and restaurants. If it doesn't keep you alive then it isn't open, that simple.

Going into hospitals is like a death sentence. They have become utter cesspools of Omega. People go in for a broken arm and die not long after. The triage staff that screen people and then are forced to turn away people that are sick from other things rather than risk them getting Omega have been known to commit suicide. These nurses know that they may be condemning some of these people to death in an effort not to kill them. Not to mention suicide itself is also on the rise. There are religious zealots roaming the streets screaming at the top of their lungs for deliverance. Basically it's Revelations.

I can't help but think about the numbers. Millions dead in such a short time, and it is only getting worse. Since I work in a hospital around these people that are dropping like flies from it I moved into my grandma's house that was sitting empty. Better than killing my parents. My girl, Elena, also lives with me since she also works at the same place. My parents are pretty pissed about this, but they will get over it. They pretty much have no choice.

I remember when COVID first came through my city and turned it into a ghost town. It was almost creepy, but not quite. I kind of liked it. I don't really like people that much and it fit my personality fine. I think Elena suffered more than I did in those days. She's a lot more outgoing than me. Now the eerie quiet on the streets that Omega caused is grating even on my nerves.

All and all Elena and I are doing ok. Since we are considered critical personnel we get a couple of extra perks like being allowed to be out after curfew and such. Still though, Elena worries where this will all end. I guess I should too, but to be honest I kind of feel like humanity is getting what it deserves due to its long history of ignorance and arrogance. 

I personally have lost three co-workers to Omega. They were lost very early on because they didn't take it seriously. They thought it was just a new COVID variant. Truth be told, so did I. How wrong we were. Even those who did take precautions didn't fare much better especially in the early days. Some of the people we lost were very close friends and I will miss them. People like me don't trust easily and have an even harder time making true friends.

I guess I should end this and get ready for work. Another 16 hour shift is coming my way. 4th one in a row. Elena is just as beaten up, but so many people have quit out of fear that those that are left have to work crazy shifts just to keep us understaffed. Elena keeps going because she cares. I keep going because I don't want to just sit idle. To be honest I don't really give a damn one way or the other what happens to me at this point. We all have to die, right?

Oh, I take the same precautions that everyone does. I am not asking for trouble; I also don't want to give it to Elena, but for some reason I truly just don't care about myself. Which is weird considering how anal I am. Even Elena thinks it's weird when I tell her. I mean I worry about the stupidest things for hours on end, but something like this that could kill me in a matter of days is greeted with a "meh".

I will never understand myself, never.