The App: App-ocalypse (1)

Day 41 - Listening to Xia

Somehow all I want now is to be back in our small hotel.

They decided to change our little groups. I don't know why. I think it was Anna's idea. She wanted to get to know a bit more Xia and Edmund. Why would she want that, seriously ? I don't know but she asked Edmund if she could come into his car. Then Xia said it was a good idea to swap cars – again: I still don't know why – and she came with Georges and I.

So we took the road to New York. According to Georges, we're very closed to New York now. Except we also have a fucking flat tire right now.

Well let's go back to the beginning. Once more I'm jumping to the conclusion of the story before really telling it. I mean what's the point to write my story if I don't write it? I can definitely forget half of what happened in the next 10 years and I don't want to look back on this diary and not understand it.

So where was I?

We took the road and it was really awkward to have Xia with us in the car. It was all silent and I was wishing I could sleep - but I had already sleep too much during the night. Then Xia started talking and it was even worse and the flat tire was the best thing that could happen to us.

She talked during at least two hours. Nonstop. She wanted to tell us everything about her life – how she was adopted, how she endured racism in school, how she met Edmund when she thought she would never have any friend in her life, how he gave her confidence, how she decided to stop caring about what everyone could think about her... That's also my point actually: who cares about that, Xia? I don't want to tell her the whole story of my life and I don't need the whole story of her life either.

I heard how she got her gun. She stole it in a house. Obviously. They – Edmund and her – were followed by a bunch of Robbers because they had some food. As a matter of fact, they had stolen that food but who cares?

So they stole food in a restaurant and then a bunch of Robbers saw them and decided to do the same and stole their food. They ran and hid in a house with a broken open door. I don't know how this could appear as a good idea to anyone but it did somehow. And Xia started to search the house – she was looking for a weapon to steal and use against their enemies. Because that's of course your first thought on this situation, right? Let's quote her on this one : "A weapon, you know, any kind of weapon ; just something to scare them off and gave them the fear of their life". I do not know.

That's how she found a gun wrapped under a bed. Who looks for a weapon under a bed? Xia. Basically, she wasn't looking for "any kind of weapon", she was clearly looking for a gun. I mean, come on, if you want to find a weapon you go straight to the kitchen of the house to find a knife, not straight up the stairs to the bedroom.

She found a gun, unwrapped it and decided to use it against Edmund's advice because that's Xia. According to her, she faced the robbers smiling at them with some food in her hand. Tempting them before scaring them - and even trying to flirt with them. When they were close enough she showed them the gun and aimed. She's so crazy. Not in a good way crazy.

"You should have seen their face" she told us, laughing out loud. I can't stand that girl, seriously. How can she be so... I don't even have the word. So irritating, for sure. Robbers fled away of course and Edmund found a van in the garage of the house. The owner was a Sleeper, lying in the kitchen "like a dead whale".

Empathy is obviously something Xia doesn't know. She just laughs at everything as if it all was some sort of a big joke. I really don't understand her. Sure she was bullied as a child because of racism then so what? You can still be human after bullying for God's sake.

Georges was quiet for most of the ride. He asked a few questions when she told us about her life but it felt to me as if he was trying to be polite with her. I really never missed my iPod more than during this ride. For sure I wished a thousand times I could have some earphones to stop hearing her.

Sun was already down on the sky when we heard a crack. Flat tire. We don't know exactly how it happened but it happened. Anton, Anna and Edmund were ahead of us and they didn't realize what happened to us. They finally came back ten minutes later. Thanks a lot, folks.

There was however nothing they could do – we were in the middle of yet another forest. Xia said the best solution would be to find another car and Edmund seconded her opinion (what a shock, right?). Since she didn't drive that day she said she would go back to the last city we saw with Edmund's car and would try to find a car. Anton went with her to drive the second car. I'm really the only one focusing on the fact he doesn't have a licence.

They left us yesterday evening on the road and we slept in the car with the flat tire.

They didn't come back yet. Which is über-weird to quote Edmund. We are starting to think about the worst. Edmund decided to start walking in their direction which is the stupidest decision ever. We should move in the other direction and aim at New York. Michael will be there. Somewhere. Don't get me wrong: I want to know Xia and Anton are alright but Michael is waiting for us to save him. We know he's in a bad place.

On the other hand, we don't know anything about what happened to Xia and Anton. Georges refused we move in one way or another. Anna seemed relieved to hear that: I think she is still not OK about her shoulder. I'm worried about her.

I know this is not my place to be extra worried about her but I can't help myself. I see her suffering. I would probably feel and react the same way if it was Georges who was hurt anyway.

I also worry about Anton. They had a walkie-talkie with them. We turned on the other one, hoping they would try and reach us. We swore not to use them unless something very awful was happening to us. So in a way I have to keep telling myself "Let's hope they won't use it" even though I want to hear news from them. Maybe they just didn't find any car after all.

It's hard. It's really hard to adapt to this whole new world. I can't stand waiting for people. First, it was Xia and Edmund. Now it's Xia and Anton. And I didn't forgot about those times I was worried about Anton & Georges when we were in that shelter or about Anna who was shot. Or about Michael. I miss Internet. I miss my phone. It's still in my pocket, totally useless.

I wish I could know more about this App. I wish it didn't break all the phone of the planet – or that there was a way to repair them. Maybe there is. After all, those army guys had a tablet with them and I'm pretty sure tablets all over the world also received the App which is why so many people fell down.

I can't stand being reduce to wait for them again. I wish I could do more. I wish we were back at the hotel yesterday and I wish I had the courage to tell Anna she had a bad idea. Then we would have kept the same groups and George would have missed whatever caused the flat tire. Because he obviously missed it because he was listening to Xia.

Let's hope they're alive. Anna prepared some kind of breakfast with what we had. I better eat if I don't want to die. I didn't eat anything since we left the hotel yesterday because we were driving and then we were too exhausted to eat. Which is something I never thought I would write down someday.