The Journal of Madie Beartri

Journal 100

The nightmare I had last night was extremely disturbing. I dreamt I was back in Mathias’s jail. Mathias, Xavier, and Casey were on the outside of the jail cell laughing at me. Aleece was also on the outside of the jail cell but she was in a crib with a bottle just out of her reach. I was trying to reach thru the cell bars to give it to her but my arms wouldn’t reach. She was crying so hard. I was begging and begging for Mathias, Xavier, and Casey to help me. They just laughed and laughed.

I woke up crying, my heart was racing so hard I thought it was going to explode. I sat up in bed, no bars, no jail cell. Where was Aleece? I started to panic, and then I remembered that Aleece was with Casey down the hall. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my robe, and headed down the admin hallway to Casey’s room.  I didn’t knock; I just went in and picked up Aleece.  Casey was a little startled to find me in her room. I must have looked dreadful. She asked me if I was feeling ok. I hugged Aleece tight and simply said “I’m fine. Bad dream.”

Casey didn’t try to take Aleece away from me. She let me hug Aleece until I had finished. Casey invited me down to the cafeteria for a cup of tea. We ran into Tony on the way. He keeps some weird hours. We all had a nice conversation. Tony and I filled Casey in on everything that happened while she was away. It was probably about 4:30 in the morning when we decided to go back to bed. I gave Aleece back to Casey. Tony walked me back to my room.

Journal 99

People walked around in a daze for a couple of days. I think everyone was in shock. The explosion at 400 Mason Street caught everyone by surprise. There are always casualties in a war but I don’t think we were expecting the amount of casualties that occurred because of the explosion. For the next week, the local gangs buried their dead.

Bear Country was lucky, no one from our gang died. Was it luck or fate? I don’t know. Pete and I were walking toward the building when it exploded. The explosion knocked me off my feet and threw me backwards. I hit my head on one of the big blue mailboxes. Pete sustained minor injuries only a couple cuts and bruises. Matt and Jonas were off fighting somewhere out of my view. I was glad to see the both of them walking up the street after the explosion. For a while, I wasn’t sure if they had made it inside the building before it exploded.

With the war stopped, Hess and the Blue Monarchs set out to organize meetings between the local gang leaders. These meetings intended to solve several issues in the community that were causing difficulties. I think the meetings help, although a couple of the meetings I attended actually began and ended with fists fights.  Most of the local gangs are a part of some gang association. We don’t always get along but we are making an honest attempt at rebuilding society.

Journal 98

I knew it was going to be a difficult day. I woke up that morning with a feeling of dread. By the time, I made it to town with Matt, Jonas, and Pete, that evening, a fight was already in progress.  Gang USA and Gang UPS were in a battle to the death. I don’t know who started the fight but I had heard rumors that Gang USA was going to attempt to take over Gang UPS’s mail depot.

Hess and the Blue Monarchs were doing their best to stop the fight but no one was listening. The number of people participating in the fight quickly grew in spite of their efforts. The news of the battle quickly spread thru out the community. By nightfall, nearly every gang in town was participating in the fight. The wounded were everywhere.

Hess and the Blue Monarchs continued their efforts of trying to stop the fight. Sadly, the battle injured several members of their gang. People were out of control. Rage and hate took over that day. The number of people actually inside 400 Mason Street is still a mystery. The explosion was unexpected. Many people died including most of the members from Gang USA and Gang UPS. The large explosion knocked nearly everyone off his or her feet. I would not be surprised if the casualties on the street equaled the number of casualties inside the building. The explosion stopped the fighting. The cause of the explosion is unknown but people have speculated that it was a gas leak.

After things had calmed down, Hess jumped on top of a broken down truck and told everyone to go home. She said our parents would not be proud of what we had become. She was right. We gathered our dead, wounded, and went home.

Journal 97

The violence against the mail carriers intensified. The fights between the different gangs became more destructive and violent. Day in and Day out the streets were filled with people protesting and chanting. It didn’t take much for the protest and chants to turn into violent encounters among the different gangs. Walking on the streets was increasingly risky.

It saddens me to think about how the people living inside Bear Country caught up in the violence. I was caught up in the violence. Matt, Jonas, Pete, and I held rallies and protest against Gang USA. We fought against other gangs who spoke badly against Gang UPS. Are lives became consumed with proving that Gang UPS was in the right and that Gang USA was responsible for all our troubles.

One gang was totally against the war. Hess was the leader of the Blue Monarchs. Hess and the Blue Monarchs were in the streets daily trying to get people to put down their weapons and talk things out. Not a lot of people seemed interested in what she had to say.

Hess and the Blue Monarchs dropped by Bear Country on one evening. Hess attempted to get the gang leaders to meet and discuss the mail war issues. I agreed to attend the meeting. Unfortunately, the gathering of the local gang leaders would happen too late to avoid a major catastrophe.

Journal 96

The wearing of colors to support the mail carriers was suddenly the thing to do. I have to admit that people in Bear Country took up this ritual.  The UPS Gang delivered our mail. I knew most of the carriers and they were good people. As far as I was concerned, the propaganda about the UPS carriers was false. They weren’t capable of the atrocities other gangs accused them of performing.

Billboards and signs began to appear all over town. “Support UPS” “Support USA” “UPS carriers steal your mail.” USA wants to control your life” the billboards were everywhere and most of them were spreading hate messages. Local businesses began to choose sides. If you wore the wrong color, local businesses denied you entrance into their establishments. This began to make getting food and the necessities of life difficult.

Friends began to argue with each other. Fights were breaking out all over town. Protest rallies began to popup all over town. Protesters from both gangs purposely schedule their rallies to be next to each other. It was a race to see who could get the most people to attend and yell the loudest. I attended some of these rallies. I barely escaped serious injury on more than one occasion.

Journal 95

I don’t have all the details of the mail war and this is only my recollection of what happened. The feuds between Gang USA and Gang UPS began small. At first, no one realized that there was even a problem. A couple of mail carriers had their mailbags stolen. This was one of the first efforts to keep the mail from delivery. Gang USA and Gang UPS responded by sending their mail carriers out in teams instead of single mail carriers. This declined the number of stolen mailbags.

It didn’t matter what side of Pass Road you were from, if you were a mail carrier people worshipped you.  People began to volunteer to be mail carriers. The more mail carriers there were the more location coverage. The leaders from both gang USA and gang UPS both set their goals to cover a majority of the surrounding areas. A few other gangs attempted to set up mail depots but they were put out of business. Rivals gangs burnt down their kiosks and the proprietor beaten to discourage mail delivery. The mail carrier occupation was suddenly an extremely dangerous job to hold. People began to take sides with either Gang USA or Gang UPS. Small bands of sympathizers set out to destroy the opposing gang’s mail carriers. Propaganda spread detailing the awful deeds of Gang USA and Gang UPS. Fights suddenly became commonplace over which gang was the actual victims in the mail war.

Journal 94

Gang wars are an unpleasant fact. They occur probably on a daily basis. Not so much around Bear Country but the farther away, you get the more likely you will stumble into something dangerous. Most of the conflicts are small but occasionally things get out of hand. The conflicts occur because two or more gangs want to have control over something, the block, the local grocery, or the mail route. The list of conflicts and the reasons for those conflicts could fill an entire encyclopedia. We try to avoid conflicts these days by forming Gang Associations. Local gang leaders join associations to work out their problems. Of course, sometimes the different Gang Associations have conflicts and difficulties.

Lost and I were on our walk yesterday and we stumbled across a burned-out building.  400 Mason Street was previously a mail depot. That fire took many lives. Mail carriers are a unique breed. They take their jobs and their positions in the community very seriously. The mail war was the largest gang war to take place in this area. This war didn’t just involve the mail carriers it involved everyone in the community. Gang USA and Gang UPS both wanted complete control over the local mail routes.

In the beginning after the virus mail delivery wasn’t possible until a couple of gangs decided to start mail depots. At first, delivery just occurred in the local area. If you lived on one side of Pass road, Gang USA delivered your mail. If you lived on the other side of Pass road, Gang UPS delivered your mail. Everything was going well. Getting mail became a special occasion. People started writing mail to other people just so that they would get mail in return. The mail carriers continued to expand their businesses.

A war began between Gang USA and Gang UPS when a letter was innocently delivered to the wrong mail depot. A gang USA carrier delivered a letter to a gang on the Gang UPS’s side of Pass road. The UPS leader got angry. He felt invaded by the USA mail carriers. The war that occurred after that innocent mail delivery was deadly.

Journal 93

I slept in late. Joshua dropped by to see me. He said he heard thru the grape vine that Aleece’s mom had returned to Bear Country and that I was having a hard time.  I hate the grape vine. All of Bear Country probably thinks I am off my rocker. Joshua was sweet. He gave me a hug and asked if there was anything, he could do for me. I assured him that I would be fine and that I didn’t need anything except for diversion to keep my mind off the events from the last couple of days.  He invited me out to the Spurs Campsite. I told him I would think about it.

Marty, Gretchen, and Cecelia are a unique couple. The three of them are rarely seen but informative. They dropped by shortly after Joshua left. They were on their way to Casey’s room. Marty asked for the books back that they had lent me. I forgot I had the child rearing books. Cecelia thought Casey would have more use of them. Gretchen agreed. Those three are odd, helpful at times but odd. Just a thought but Gretchen and Cecelia are looking very plump. Those two are eating either very well or… I’m thinking that Marty is a very lucky man.

Pete our local sheriff also dropped by. He generously offered to leave a guard outside my door. Just in case, I didn’t want to be disturbed.  I declined his offer. There is a rumor circulating that I am mentally stressed. A guard outside my door would just make things worse.

Matt and Hemy invited me to dinner at the Central Campus. I took a rain check for another day. They didn’t look as if they needed my company. The offer for dinner came between intense moments of PDA (public displays of affection). They haven’t finished with their honeymoon yet.

I think Lost and I will go for a walk.

Journal 91

Tony and Casey stood outside my door and knocked for a couple of hours. The knocking was making me insane. Casey’s crying was making me insane. I couldn’t take one more knock or one more “please let us in”. I considered jumping out the window and running away. However, I was too high up. I unlocked the door.

Casey stepped into my room. I tried to ignore her by making myself busy. Casey stood there crying. She asked if Aleece was getting big, and did she have any hair? She said she missed her deeply. She thanked me for taking care of Aleece while she was away. I turned around to face Casey and snapped. “How dare you abandon that sweet little baby and then come back here and expect me to give her back.” Casey tried to tell me she didn’t abandon Aleece. I yelled for her to get out of my room. I told her she wasn’t getting Aleece back.  Casey ran out of my room sobbing. I didn’t care. I was in the right and she was in the wrong.

Tony stepped into my room next. He was calm and spoke quietly. He said he understood my concern. I stood there staring out the window. I didn’t want to hear what he was saying.  I asked him to go away. I wasn’t giving Aleece back. Tony said I had to give her back. She wasn’t mine.  He said I didn’t know the whole story. Tony stepped up behind me and put his arms around me. I was trying not to cry. Tony quietly spoke into my ear and said that Mathias sold Casey into slavery. She spent more than a week in his jail. He sold her to a gang that needed people to dig tunnels and excavate ore. I turned around and cried into his shoulder. I didn’t want to give Aleece back to Casey.