When night turns to day
The year is 2081
Five years ago to this day, a Bacteria was created by scientists to stop all disease, was released. Of course it was only tested on animals, who seemed to be immune. They went to fast they were too excited to stop all illness in the world including cancer, they would be heroes. I was ten that day. They released it into the air so everyone would get it rich or poor. Instantly ten thousand died. Slowly the next five million. Then we were left, the survivors who lived on the east coast who got the news and received gas masks before the illness arrived.
Today I am fifteen. The scientists who created the disease were killed shortly after by all of the people who were angered by what had happened. Due to supply and demand only two gas masks were given out to each family. My mother father gave up theirs and gave them to my brother and me. I actually disliked my brother but when the disease, now called Bacteria X, was released we became close.
We were taken to a camp for minors since he was fifteen when I was ten. We grew up there but when he turned eighteen he was sent off to fight the war that had broken out. America was dived against itself the military against common citizens. He left when I was only thirteen. He decided to fight with the military since they were fighting for the greater cause, to bring this broken country back to its former glory.
No other country wanted to aid us. They just turned away and told us to take care of it on our own. Of course I understand them, why risk their military getting sick and bringing it overseas when obviously one of the most powerful countries and handle it on their own. Cities were burned chaos ruled the president went into hiding with her family. The military of course does not want to fight citizens who live in their same country, why would they?
To get to the point, this is my story I am now fifteen and I have heard news that a select few will be taken from the camp to be taken overseas. Few, is the keyword, only a thousand or two thousand will be taken, and you have to be healthy. I still wear my gas mask every day, twenty-four-seven, day and night. I’ve learned to sleep on my back. Still I have developed lice, and will not be admitted.
At least I will get to stay with my friend Angel. She is a short African American girl with hair as frizzy as an old teddy bear that you’ve slept with ever since you were a new born. It sticks out everywhere on her small head and she attempts to put a thick hair band over it but to no avail it still sticks up, but I have to admit the hairband does make it look better. Truly she is an angel. When my brother left the camp she was the only person who would talk to me.
I cried my eyes out for weeks. I hadn’t eaten in days until she walked up to me with a small loaf of bread. She sat with me and comforted me by shushing me and singing to me an old African folk song. Angel had moved to America from Africa just two months before Bacteria X was released.
After I grieved, we became best friends and worked together in the garden that grew the plants that made our food. The only problem with growing plants is the sun is barely visible anymore. The government released an anti-bacteria to try and the stop the disease.
It worked, until it was just released again by all of the coughing. The airborne anti-bacteria was released so much in a desperate attempt to end this, it blocked out the sun. The anti-bacteria is not lethal to humans, but when it blocks out the sun you have a problem. So we created green houses with lights that produce artificial sun. I loved that place, the smells of fertilizer and the green all around was beautiful.
Outside everything was bland all of the plants died and everything was built on dirt. Since Angel and I were the same age it was perfect that we ended up working in the garden together, it was the first job we signed up for, we first signed up to work at the animal shelter. Animals were still on earth we keep them in rooms that air from outside does not get into, it’s perfectly germ free but I still wear my gas mask.
There are dogs there you can adopt, but they have to remain at the shelter. There are rooms with fake grass and holographic scenery that you can play with your pet in. Of course you earn money doing jobs, there are very little though, we have about ninety-five thousand seventy-six people in the camp. Jobs are rare, only minors can sign up for them and if you get fired you’re done, no more job. Money is just for extra things like a dog, house, or horse.
The camp is huge, it stretches to what would estimate at fifty football fields, horses are transportation for those who have important jobs, such as temporary government. Even the camp has rules, they call it temporary government, rules that make due in the apocalypse.
I supposed I should get on with the story and stop rambling on. Like I said before, they are taking people overseas, those who show no sign of carrying the disease or show any sign of being sick with it, are allowed to go. Not only that but you can’t be carrying any parasite that may have the pathogen, any animal, any clothes, food, nothing.
I want to leave this place but there is no way I’m leaving everything here, especially the picture of my family. I decided not to sign up. The temporary government was getting desperate though.
