The Journal of Madie Beartri

Journal 2

There is trouble in Bear Country.

Runt came running down the admin hall before sunup this morning yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Get up, Get up. They took our fuel. “

I jumped off the couch and tackled him in the hallway.

“Ok, we get the point.” I yelled back as I grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to calm him down.

By this time, everyone residing in the admin hall was awake and standing in the hallway. Sleepy eyes were everywhere, and no one was in a very joyful mood.

Runt tried to squirm out of my hold as he cried.

“Tony …Tony’s hurt. They beat him up.”

Tony lives in the basement. He has been my friend (sort of) since before the world turned upside down. We didn’t run in the same circles, but we had several classes together. He always asked my opinions on homework assignments. I used to wish he would ask me out on a date. Unfortunately, he was dating a cheerleader. He isn’t very sociable these days, but he is very good at fixing and maintaining whatever we break.

I ordered the Runt to stay put in the admin hallway and grabbed some muscle. When I say muscle, I am referring to Matt and Jonas. The three of us ran toward the basement. The basement was a mess, and Tony was slumped against the far wall holding his stomach, bleeding from his head, and his left eye was swollen shut. Tony attempted to open his good eye as soon as he heard us coming. He adjusted the way he was leaning against the wall and let out a cry of pain.

“I tried to reason with them.” Tony said as he spit out a mouth full of blood.

“They took all of our fuel.”

Tony said it was Central. I honestly was not surprised. They have been giving us trouble for ages. The Central Bobcats are from the east end of Lafayette Blvd we live on the West. We were rivals in football, basketball, and volleyball. Our bands competed against each other in competitions before the world threw itself into chaos. The significant difference between Central and us is that we are not a bunch of thieves and bullies.

The leader of the Central Bobcats is a former high school wrestling champion. He is mean, leads by fear, and regularly has his goons beat up people for fun. The kids call him the Hulk after the comic book character. He doesn’t barter for what he needs. He has his goons take what he wants.

Matt and I leaned over to help Tony onto his cot. I told Tony he shouldn’t have tried to stop Central Goons from taking what they wanted. Just then, Runt ran up behind me holding a first aid kit. The Runt is such a tiny little person. I yelled at him for leaving the admin hallway. He gets into more trouble.

Runt glared back at me. “Tony didn’t try to stop them. They beat him up afterwards.”

I looked at Tony and he just nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Matt, and Jonas both blew a gasket and started ranting a raving about getting even. Love these boys but they get hot under the collar fast and don’t always think things through…

We have some big people in Bear Country, but we are not a match for the goons at Central.

Journal: Prologue

I’m not sure exactly what day this whole thing started. I never watched the news. I was a kid doing my own thing. I didn’t care what was happening around me as long as I could spend time with my friends. I remember my dad saying how sad it was that a mother of three small children had died from the flu. Then someone else died, then someone else and then quarantine. Life fell apart after that.

The local authorities told us to stay in our homes. Stay away from other people. Don’t go out in the streets. Doctors were working on a cure. People panicked; they left town to get help from other hospitals. This was a mistake. Almost instantly, the news reported stories about epidemics, people dying by the hundreds, then the thousands.

My dad was a part of the homeland security team. He was working with the town government trying to keep things under control. Unfortunately, his efforts and the efforts of others didn’t help. The virus continued to spread. The death toll continued to rise and soon bodies began to pile up on the streets. It was awful. Our entire town smelled like death.

My mother died first. My heart hurt so badly. I wanted to die. My father was already sick. I could tell his heart was broken too. He died a couple of days later. I lay on my bed and cried hoping death would take me too. The only thing that took hold of me was hunger.

Millions of families were destroyed. Parents died leaving their children to survive on their own. Death preyed on the smallest survivors. Babies died in their cribs. Toddlers starved to death because they couldn’t get out of their homes. The survivors, the so-called lucky ones, began to group together and form gangs. The Bears formed when a dozen people moved into the Bear Country High School on Lafayette Blvd. We survived but life wasn’t easy.

I have always wanted to be a writer. I think my dad bought me my first journal when I was in the 1st grade. I have kept a journal ever since. This is my story. The following journal entries are a brief view of my life.

Madie