The Journal of Madie Beartri

Journal 23

The sky is dark and gray. The air is thick with smoke and the ground keeps shaking. I am tired of trying to survive. I want to live and enjoy life. I feel as if I am carrying a black cloud over my head. No matter where I go, disaster follows me. The earthquakes started about the time we decided to leave the cave and return to the village. Everyone made it out of the cave safely. I don’t know how we all made it out, but we did. The first quake started suddenly and seemed to last forever. It was difficult to stay standing. Tony and I were standing at the entrance of the cave when the first quake started. I don’t know how long we stood there (tried to stand there) looking at each other. I think it took me a moment to realize what was happening was actually an earthquake. At first, I thought a large meteor had struck the ground nearby. If the world is going to end, I wish it would hurry up and do it.

The meteors and the earthquakes have destroyed most of the Sequoia village. Only a couple of the huts are still standing, and they have major damage. We have been trying to gather supplies to rebuild but it is going to take time.

The smaller children cling to us and beg to be held constantly. When a baby fills your arms, it’s hard to do any work. Xu, Tony, and a couple of the other senior gang members went out hunting but came back empty handed. They couldn’t even catch any fish. The stream that was wildly flowing a couple days ago had dwindled down to practically no water at all. We have a few supplies left but it will only last a couple of days. It would be nice to put some meat on the table instead of just berries, mushrooms, and wild onions.

Journal 22

It has been twenty-four hours since we noticed the last meteor crossed the sky. I fell asleep last night sitting up and leaning against Tony. I was hesitant about lying down. I hate bugs. I hate the thought of them crawling all over me. Tony said he would keep the bugs off. I told him I would only sleep a couple of hours and then he could sleep. I promised to keep the bugs off him too. Tony let me sleep the entire night. At least until a nightmare woke me (us) up. We have decided to stay in the cave until this evening. If no more meteors cross the sky, we are going to move back to the village.

I had a weird dream last night. I dreamt aliens had taken over the earth. They had snuck down to Earth during the meteor shower. Everyone was trying to hide by blending in with the aliens. Everyone had proper clothes. I was stuck in the cave without my clothes. All I had was a blanket. All my clothes were gone or too small. I had no bra, no underwear, and no shoes. Everyone could speak the alien language but me. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. I couldn’t blend in. I must have been crying in my sleep. Tony woke me up just as the aliens prepared me for dinner. The aliens were going to eat me. None of my friends could help me because they were trying to blend in.

Journal 21

We barely avoided a disaster early this morning. A meteor fell within about 50 yards of the cave and started a fire. We were lucky the wind was blowing away from the cave and not towards it. We stopped the fire before it climbed any of the bigger trees. Fires are everywhere. The air smells like smoke. I think we will be fine if the wind doesn’t change direction.

I hate this cave. It is dirty and smells. There is bat poop everywhere. I have never seen so many bugs in one place. I tried to clean a place for Tony and me to sleep but the bugs keep invading our space. I had a horrible time trying to sleep last night. I woke up several times with bugs crawling over my face. I don’t even want to think about the ones crawling over the other parts of me.

I think the worst of the meteor shower is over. I haven’t heard anything big hit the ground in hours. We see the occasional meteor crossing the sky. They are getting smaller. Xu and Palesa are not ready to let us go back to the village. I understand their concern, but I hate these bugs.

Journal 20

We have taken refuge in the cave. Xu and Palesa claim it is the safest place to be now. They are doing an excellent job at trying to keep people calm. I think my adrenaline level is off the scale. My heart feels like it is beating a thousand times a minute.

Tony is so brave if he is afraid, he isn’t showing it. The meteors continue to fly across the sky by the thousands. Several meteors ranging in size from marbles to baseballs have fallen in and around the Sequoia Gang village. We were lucky that none of the meteors fell directly on any of the huts. A meteor barely missed obliterating Tony and me. It struck the ground in front of our hut. It was the first hint in the middle of the night that something was terribly wrong. The explosion was so loud that everyone in the camp was knocked out of their beds. We gathered up our things as quickly as we could and went to the cave. There are fires everywhere. For several hours, the meteors have been hitting the ground. It sounds like bombs exploding. Everyone is afraid. I have my doubts that this cave is truly a safe place to be. I think I am feeling Closter-phobic. A meteor will entomb us if it hits the right spot.

Journal 19

The rain finally stopped in the midmorning hours. We did not have to retreat to the cave. The skies are clear again. Mud puddles are everywhere. The children are enjoying the mud puddles to the dismay of their parents. There isn’t one child not covered in mud from head to toe. Bath time this evening should be interesting. I can understand their attraction to the mud. I couldn’t resist standing in one of the puddles myself. There is something undeniably fun about squishing mud between your toes.

The creek is significantly wider and deeper. We asked all the small children to stay away from the creek. Tony and Xu were fishing earlier. They both had to jump into the creek and retrieve a toddler caught in the fast-flowing water while trying to retrieve a ball. The child is fine. The waterlogged but fine.

Meteors continue to fly across the sky in amazing numbers. They have been flying across the sky all day. They look like little fireballs. It is no longer cool to see them fly across the sky. It is a little scary. Xu and Palesa held a meeting today. I think they are worried. I am worried and I know Tony is worried. Neither of us can remember every hearing about meteors of this size passing by the earth.

I wish the library trio (Marty, Gretchen, and Cecelia) was available. They would know where to do research to get information. I have a feeling they would say something like “The last time meteors of this magnitude and numbers hit the earth the dinosaurs died out.” Scary thought.

Journal 18

Tony and I spent the morning fixing our hut to help keep out the wind and rain. We also added a canopy off the front and reinforced the sides. The hut sprung a leak over my bed last night. I think fates don’t want me sleeping in my own bed. I tried to move my bed away from the leak, but the hut is too small. It didn’t matter which direction I moved my bed. I crawled into bed with Tony. It’s not so bad he is cuddly and doesn’t snore. If he objects, he hasn’t mentioned it to me.

It has rained on and off all morning. The clouds move in and then they clear away. The sky looks dark over the far mountains. I think an intense storm is moving in. Palesa said if things start to look bad, we will have to move to the cave. I didn’t know we had a cave. Palesa said she would give Tony and me a tour. She needed to complete her chores first.

The meteor showers continue. I think the meteors are getting bigger and brighter. There was another light show last night before the clouds moved in and it started to rain. I am certain I saw a meteor fly across the sky when I was down by the creek earlier today. I didn’t know it was possible to see meteors during the day.

Journal 17

I hate being afraid. I hate irrational fear. I woke up in the middle of the night to thunder and lightning. I hate thunder and lightning. I tried to be brave and ignore the storm by hiding under my blankets, but I couldn’t. Every time the lightning lit up the sky and the thunder clapped; I nearly fell off my bed. I think I have a fear of being turned into a French fry.

Tony never moved. He just lay there in his bed next to mine sleeping as if nothing life threatening was happening. I crawled into bed with Tony. He didn’t seem to mind. I don’t even think he noticed I was there until I had stolen all the blankets in my attempt to hide from Mother Nature.

It rained most of the day. Thankfully, the rain stopped a couple of hours ago and I am no longer drenched to the bone. There is almost nothing worse than being cold and wet for hours on end. The only thing good about the rain is that everything smells good afterward.

Tony is becoming a very skilled hunter. He spent most of the morning out in the rain with several of the other men trying to catch something big enough for dinner tonight. I spent most of the morning attempting to keep the fire going.

Journal 16

It took me most of the morning to wash and remove the ants from my bed linen. Those little ants were so tiny it was almost impossible to see some of them. Just a little note wet ants are harder to remove than dry ants. I hung everything up to dry and then cleaned the hut to make sure there weren’t any tiny stragglers hanging around.

There was another meteor shower this evening. It was so very cool. This shower lasted a lot longer than the one the other night. The meteors were larger and brighter this time. I was expecting a couple of meteors to hit the ground with a loud boom. Tony said they all burned up before they hit the ground. I hate it when he is a know it all.

I was holding little Kinsey, one of the smaller children during the light show. Kinsey is so cute she reminds me of one of those little cupid statues you used to find in the Hallmark stores back before the virus. Kinsey fell asleep before the light show ended so I laid her on my bed.

Don’t lay small children on your freshly washed bed linens. She peed all over my clean bed. Tony offered to let me share his bed again but asked that this time I didn’t wiggle around all night. I thought of saying that I wouldn’t have had to wiggle around all night long if he hadn’t put ants in my bed, but I was afraid he might make me sleep on the dirt floor. I said, “Thank you” and jumped into my side of Tony’s bed.

Journal 15

Tony and I sleep in the same hut next to each other in separate beds. At least we did until someone decided to play a joke and put a couple berries in the center of my bed. I didn’t realize the berries were there until I started to feel the ants bite me. I jumped out of bed and stripped naked. I was trying to get all the ants off and prevent further biting. Tony thought my little ant dance was funny. I didn’t think it was funny and when I get the chance, Tony is going to pay. Tony swears he did not put the berries in my bed, but I have my doubts. I had to remind him a couple of times yesterday not to eat in the hut.

The ants were very tiny, but they left a couple dozen welts on my legs and abdomen. I made Tony share his bed. A colony of ants inhabited mine. I told him if he laid one hand on me during the night, he was a dead man. I think he knew I was mad. He complied with my wishes all night long. Neither one of us got much sleep. The ant bites itched and stung. I couldn’t get comfortable. I tossed and turned most of the night. Palesa gave me some salve to put on the bites this morning.

Journal 14

Sometimes the days you are expecting to be long and boring turn out to be something else entirely. I spent the day keeping the smaller children occupied. I didn’t want this particular chore, but Palesa said it was my turn. I asked if I could exchange chores with someone else. I was willing to gather wood. I was even willing to get rid of the garbage. Palesa smiled at me and said “No.”

Therefore, I spent the day with the little ones. At first, I had no clue what to do to keep them occupied. I tried just letting them play but they kept arguing with each other over the littlest things. I tried making up stories off the top of my head but my brain wasn’t working so well. The stories were boring and put me to sleep. The children were bored as well. I couldn’t keep their attention. Suddenly an idea hit me in the head it was a pinecone thrown by one of the children.

I introduced my little friends to the pinecone people. Before it was midmorning, we had an entire village covered in dirt with rocks and populated with pinecone citizens of every shape and size. Our city continued to grow throughout the day. By mid afternoon, we had help from several of the older children and most of the gang seniors.

Am I good or what?