February 1, 2027 - Crossville, Tennessee
My mom died today from lack of insulin. Although my dad and I saw it coming, we're both still shook up. Neither of us is strong enough to dig a grave, and no one else can be hired to do it. So we used gasoline to cremate her in the backyard near where a few of her pets are buried. During my occasional forays from the house, I've seen smoke from fires here and there and wondered what was going on. Now I know they were most likely funeral pyres. We set my mom's pets free. I suspect they will either starve to death or be eaten soon. So it goes, as one of my favorite authors wrote.
I really wish I had spoken more with friends and relatives when the power was still on and phones [telecommunication devices used instead of carrier pigeons and pony express riders] still worked. Technology made it easy for people to stay in touch even if they lived long distances from each other. American communities and families weren't very solid to begin with. I only knew the name of one of my neighbors. My dad is about all I have left now, and his health is not great. I promised him I'd stay with him for as long as he's alive. He said I should head elsewhere when spring comes regardless.
On the one hand, I regret not having a family of my own, but on the other hand, I'm glad I don't have to worry about feeding and protecting them as so many other men are forced to do now. The herd is being thinned, and only the strong will survive. I managed to raid a lot of beer from the various gas stations and liquor stores in town. Beer has plenty of calories and was used as a survival food in previous eras. One thing's for sure though, it's going to be a long time before the breweries get going again. I guess if I really want alcohol, I'll have to make it myself or buy moonshine from some guy in the woods.
Dating won't be the same, and no woman will want to have kids until there's enough food again. We'll have to forget about birth control and bunch of other stuff until the population recovers. On the whole, I expect the US to regress to a 19th century standard of living and population for at least a few decades. Will slavery return? It's impossible to know now, but I expect the world's population will decrease by about 90% this year. So many scientists, engineers, technicians, doctors, professors, etc. will be dead, and the survivors won't have the manpower or the knowledge to get civilization going again for many years.
Another military convoy came to deliver fresh meat. It's probably the last shipment we'll get. Just about everything of any survival value has been looted. All the fuel is gone from the gas stations. At least half the town has fled for the coasts or some other greener pasture. I'd have fled too already if not for my parents. I was about 50 pounds overweight on doomsday, so I've been able to get by on less food than most. With enough water and vitamins, a person can live for a long time and decent health with little food. I remember reading that during WW2 [the largest war ever fought with over 50 million of deaths] the city of Leningrad was under siege for almost 900 days with very little food coming in. People survived on bread mostly made from sawdust and it was common for people to die in the street and be left there. I haven't seen any corpses besides my mom's so far. That makes me lucky.
I'm glad I lived to see the peak of civilization. We really had something amazing going for us, and most didn't appreciate it enough. People have started burning books and furniture to boil water. It's a shame we don't have a fireplace or a kerosene heater to keep the inside of the house warm. I suspected the books in the library would get plundered for fuel, but when I went there, not much was missing. I don't know if the internet [like a library, but with vastly more information] will ever be back, so I took the books from the library I figure have the most survival value. I got books on first aid, wilderness survival, and gardening. I saved an atlas of the world and one of the US. Paper maps are suddenly much more valuable again. I hope most of the books don't get burned because we'll need them to rebuild.
March 1, 2027 - Crossville, Tennessee
My dad died last week, probably from a heart attack. He was on a lot of medications, and they all ran out last month. At least his death was quick. I cremated with gasoline him next to where my mom's ashes lay. I wished I'd told him and mom how much I loved them more. I wish I'd been a better son. I wish I'd had kids of my own while they were alive so they could have more grandchildren. All that seems trivial now. It gets above freezing during the day now, but it's still unseasonably cold. I wrote obituaries for my parents and made a pile of stones on the ground where I burned their bodies. I used some of my mom's angel and bird figurines to decorate their grave. More than anything, they wanted me to succeed in life and be happy, so I figure the best way to honor them is to survive any way I can.
I've been surviving off fish from the lake, beer, and vitamins. I've also lost about 40 pounds. It's a good thing I looted more vitamins when I had the chance. Is looting to stay alive a crime and everyone else is doing it? We survivors are going to have a hard time establishing law and order again. I still haven't eaten any dogs or cats yet, but I have shot some birds with my .22 rifle and eaten them. I also did it to let people around know that I'm armed. I never leave the house without a pistol in my pocket and a rifle slung over my shoulder. I haven't had a bath or washed my clothes since January. When it gets warmer, I'll bathe in Lake Tansi. I've been answering nature's call outside for over a month now. It's a good thing I went on lot of camping trips as a kid.
Before the phones stopped working, there were rumors of cannibalism. I can't say I fault anyone for doing so, assuming they weren't killing people for food. I haven't seen a kid outside since early January. I wonder how many of them were mercy-killed and eaten or are dead now from something else. From what I've read about famines, mortality is much higher for children because they have weaker immune systems. They same is true for the old. I suspect that the vast majority of the people alive now are between the ages of 15 and 50.
When the weather warms enough, I figure I'll head for the gulf coast of Florida [a province of the former United States of America] by riding my bike down I-75 [a major road connecting big cities] through Atlanta [a once great city home to millions of people]. Pretty much the only goods aside from the fact that I'm alive is that I've picked up some news broadcasts on my survival radio. It's a good thing it's powered by a crank. I suspect most of the batteries [miniature sources of electricity] are dead, and there won't be anymore for awhile. Even if the factories were running, all the batteries are made overseas.
My generation and my parents were foolish to rely on foreigners for things as essential as batteries, fuel, and medicine, among with many other commodities. Sure, it was cheaper to import than make it ourselves, but it made us extremely vulnerable to supply chain disruptions [it seems the world economy was vast, prosperous, and interconnected in the Before Time]. Oh well. There's no way we could have known doomsday would happen. Many people thought that the world would end because of global warming caused by pollution from factories and cars. I expect most of them have frozen or starved to death by now.
The trip to Florida is about 600 miles. I figure I can easily ride about 20 miles a day, so it should take me about a month to get there. Following the interstate means I can take shelter in nearby buildings along the way and maybe forage from any abandoned vehicles on the road. I worry somewhat about bandits, but they'd be more interested in finding food than robbing people. In fact, I think by now just about everyone still standing has settled in somewhere relatively safe. I wonder if there'll be anyone left in the cities I pass through.
I went through town the other day to check things out. The library and the used book store had been stripped of most books. Paperbacks [a kind of cheap book] are easy to burn and there are a lot of them. Or at least there used to be. Of the books left, I saw some Bibles, encyclopedias, and classic works of literature. That gave me hope. I checked my apartment to see if my book collection was still there, and it was. It's too bulky to take with me, but I have a good memory and can recite a summary of each one. The only book I plan on taking with me is called The Cartoon History of the Universe. It doesn't weigh much and is jam-packed with knowledge. It was a gift from my grandpa's collection, and I greatly enjoyed it as a child.
I've lived in Florida before, specifically the Gainesville area. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida. There's bound to still be books, lab equipment, chemicals, etc. Other survivors and I can team up and use that stuff to rebuild civilization. But that comes later. My plan is to settle in Manatee Springs State Park [there used to be a system of nature preserves called parks]. There are many animals there including deer, armadillos, alligators, fish, turtles, and a variety of birds. I'm not sure how much wild game will be left, but certainly some, especially in the gulf which is not far away.
I finally gathered the courage to visit the farm near my parents' house after I saw a man watching a small herd of lambs graze. He had a rifle in his hands. I had my pistol in my pocket. I blew on kazoo to get his attention when I was about 100 yards away. He turned to face me, but did not take aim. I held up some fish I'd caught and a small bandolier of rifle ammo. He mentioned me to approach, and then led me inside.
He told his story and I told mine. They were similar tales of suffering, death, and isolation. He said that he had been planning on hanging himself soon. I suggested we eat together at my place and have a few beers. He took some food from the cupboard for us to share. I could barely hold back my tears. Sharing a meal with someone is such a basic part of being human. He told me his name, but preferred to be called Bud, so that's the name I'll use here.
I told him about my plan of migrating to Florida, and he insisted we go together. There's safety in numbers. He even had his own bike. We still needed to pack and prepare supplies like salted meat and dried fish. We would sleep in turns so one could keep watch of the others. It turns out Bud and I were both Army veterans and that added to our camaraderie. I suspect that a disproportionate number of survivors are veterans. And criminals.
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