2016

INTRODUCTION

  On June 6, 2016 disaster strikes. Massive earthquakes shake the planet; the whole earth shifts. Buildings collapse while nuclear waste spills over anything in its path. Nature collides with society. Some, however, saw this coming and built networks  of underground safe-houses now flooded with survivors. Tragedy has found ordinary people with ordinary lives who never wanted to be found. The end isn't near, its here.

June 6, 2016

  Life as I know it has changed. The earthquake has sent others, along with myself, fleeing to these so called safe-houses. Most saw the quake coming but for the few who didn't, or those who didn't make it in time, their fate is unknown. I can still feel the aftershocks as the movement echoes through the room. I haven't heard from the rest of my family; I wonder if they are alright. My wife, Charlotte, will be ready to give birth at any moment. I hope she will be okay. She is all I have left. For now all I can do is hope pray and wait. ~ Maxamillian VII

June 7, 2016

  The first night in the safe-house was rough, not really because it was uncomfortable but because all I have known is gone, ripped from my hands in an instant. Through all the destruction though, hope is alive. My two beautiful daughters, Eve and Esther, have just been born. With their twinkling blue eyes and dark black hair, they keep hope alive in me. To my dismay, though, Charlotte's vitals are steadily dropping. All the excitement must have taken its toll on my dear wife, but for now Eve and Esther are safe. I pray to God it will stay that way. I still haven't heard from my family, though there are rumors that they have found my brother. Today now yesterday, tomorrow now today, I must keep going and look forward. ~Maxamillian VII

June 8, 2016

  The only thing I was able to save from the earthquake, besides my wife and daughters who keep my hope alive, was my Bible, and it may be the only thing that will truly keep my heart alive. I've been thinking about the people who may have come in contact with whatever poison is now out there. With my medical knowledge from my years in the university, I may be able to make some sort of antidote later. I can only hope I would be able to if the need arose. Pushing forward with a courageous heart will take some courage by itself, but I must try to be brave for those I love. I must try. ~ Maxamillian VII 

June 9, 2016

  I finally know where at least one other family member is. My brother, Theodore, has just been found. That is the good news. The bad news is he is sickened by the toxins outside the safe-house. This only makes the concern of others being sickened by the same thing more desperate in my mind. Now I'm glad I started working on that antidote but I am going to need a blood sample and a swab of the toxin. I hope my brother will be okay. Through all this darkness and night there is hope... there has to be. ~ Maxamillian VII

June 10, 2016

  Eve and Esther are as bright and beautiful as ever, but Charlotte's future doesn't seem so promising. The doctors say she has only a week maximum to live. She is being killed by the poison my brother is being killed by. Too make matters worse, Esther has tested positive to the same toxins; she might not live either. The urgency for an antidote is even greater now. I must save my family. I hope this vaccine, when completed, will work. Though the future is so uncertain I must face tomorrow, no matter what it may hold. ~ Maxamillian VII

June 11, 2016

  I tried to get in to see my brother today, but the doctors won't let me in yet. My brother doesn't have much longer to live either. Even amid my worry about Theodore, Charlotte, and Esther, I am so thankful Eve is healthy. I guess I will just have to leave it with God and wait. --- I just had a dream. I stand far off, but in the distance I see a terribly scarred heart suspended over a deep chasm. Dark rigid flames are below it while smooth white flames are above; entangled somehow with each other as if at war. I get closer and I can see more detail. The heart is bound by jagged chains, tearing its flesh, and a dark black blindfold is wrapped around it. Down the middle of the heart it is divided, one side shadowed, one side light. Behind the blindfold I can see tattered bandages covering some of its wounds. I step even closer. The fires roar. Blinding light flashes. I wake up. I have no idea what the dream means but I feel like its relevant somehow. Its late, and I'm planning on seeing my brother tomorrow. I'll need my sleep. ~ Maxamillian VII