Day 220?

 

Honestly not sure how long its been. My notes are completely incomprehensible and unreadable. I ate some bad meat and got sick, only to discover I neglected to pack any antibiotics for the trip. And I was unable to locate any reishi 'shrooms to counteract the effects. I was laid up in bed for over two days and could barely keep any water down.

 

This, it turns out, was a good thing.

 

While I felt like death warmed over, my head was clear for the first time in weeks. And I figured out why. Oh. I should mention that I have found myself on the second floor of a hunting lodge. Not entirely sure how I got here. That said. When I made my way downstairs I discovered that the entire first floor was a charnel house. It's a good thing I was born without a sense of smell, because I can still taste and the air had a tang to it.

 

Intestines of all sorts were strung about the walls like christmas lights. Many hides were lying about, on top of chairs, tables, the walls, the floor. By the door were a half dozen empty boxes of ammo. I couldn't find the bullets, but judging by how many hides were covering every surface, I suspected I went on some sort of killing spree. Two bears, a moose, and well over a dozen wolf hides. I must have slaughtered a couple packs.

 

What disturbed me were the... symbols? Not sure. I don't know exactly what they were for. Swirling and jagged. They obvious meant something but for the life of me I have no clue what. And the Bible, if you can call it that. Written over old paperwork from the Hydro Dam and bound in leather, I scribbled The book of Deer. It's hard to pin down exactly what I was going for. I think the knife sheath concealed inside the back cover was telling. I'll try and decipher it later.

 

The revelation was when I reached for the pain killers. This was the first time I really looked at the bottle. It was worn and old, but I used my magnifying glass to look at the faded letters more closely. They were 222s.

 

2 cups of coffee. 2 Aspirin. 2 codeine.

 

I'm quite allergic to codeine. When I was a child I had surgery to correct my underbite. They put me on codeine for the pain. Turns out I react badly to the stuff. It makes me paranoid. Causes massive pupil dilation so everything looks brighter. I get fairly crazy on the stuff. At small doses, no problem, but as it builds up in my system...

 

Two other things. One, this bottle that I found up on the plane crash. It expired in 2011. Also, when I dumped the pills out, I discovered on the bottom was something... brown. Not mold but... something. Is it called Ergot? Maybe that's it. I'm not sure. It's not on all the pills, but there's little brown dots on some of them.

 

All I know is, every time I took something for pain, I was also taking 2 pills of pure crazy.

 

I almost threw the rest of the pills out, but thought better of it. You never know. Maybe I can poison some meat with it and see how it effects the wolves. The truth is, usable medicinal plants are getting harder to find, so any medication, even meds that have gone bad, are to be valued.

 

I'm going to avoid taking any drugs for a while. Stick with nothing stronger than herbal tea until I'm all dried out. I might feel like crap, but I'm thinking clearly for the first time in weeks.

Day 200?

 

I'm not sure what day it is so I'm starting over at day 200. I've managed to recover from the contaminated medication but-

 

[several lines are scribbled out]

 

You know what? I'm just not ready to talk about this. I left the hunting lodge. That's it.

 

Day 203: Managed to haul all the hides and supplies up to the tunnel. Took three days and had to kill two wolves, which added to the weight of the cargo I was hauling. Tomorrow I transfer everything to the train cars.

 

Day 204: Managed to get everything to the train car. Had to kill two wolves and a bear to do it.

 

Day 206: Finally got everything to the camp office. Three more wolves dead. Where the hell are they all coming from?

 

Day 209: Took several trips, especially since I keep accumulating more gear as I move along. I'm stocking everything at the Hydro Dam. This has been a save leg of the journey because I can take the overhead route. Even managed to snag some rabbit. Alas, I regret leaving the meat on that bear to rot, but there was just too much to carry. I'm considering moving everything in the area to the hydro, or just pushing ahead with the supplies back to the coastal road. The weather has turned horrid lately and these trips are taking their toll.

 

Day 210: Abandoning any chance of looting the Mystery Lake area. The wolves have returned in force and I'm way too low on bullets. Not even sure I can make it across that rickety bridge in these winds. Going to have to go the long way. Damn it, I have to return to Pleasant Valley.

 

Day 215: On the one hand, I should be glad I can still write. On the other I suspect I won't be able to much longer. After making it through the cave system I was forced off my path by four wolves and a bear. Unfortunately I'm running low on bullets and retreat was my only option. The irony is, I know of a stock pile of arrow heads and bows that was past these damn wolves. I just found some birch to make the arrows, but I'm not going to be able to get to that farmhouse any time soon.

 

I did luck out and find some dead guy with a box of bullets, so I'm not completely screwed, but I've been forced out into the middle of a pond and I'm holed up inside a fishing hut. The door is strong and the wolves have failed to break it down, but the cold is likely to finish off what the wolves cannot. This Hut is so poorly made I can feel the wind right through the walls, if I stand in the right spot.

 

You might say, "Hey, make a fire!" Wish I could. I rush out to find something to burn, and then the wolves show up. I've been trying to get wood without using up any bullets, shooting only when I need to, but my luck has run out. One wolf wasn't scared off by the gun shot and rushed me. I managed to stab him in the face, but he screwed me up good. Had to run over to some nearby trees to get some of that old man, then I got jumped again.

 

I've treated my wounds, but I don't have nearly enough wood to make it if this storm lasts. I got a choice, wait it out with these piles and piles of tasty wolf meat and hope that I don't freeze to death. I could fight my way to the farmhouse, which will be a ton of wolves. I could make my way along the ridge until I find that old coal mine. I have supplies there, but there is at least a bear or two along the way. I think I will be making a run for the farm house. I'm going to need those arrows if I'm out of bullets.

 

Been giving this some thought.

 

I didn't talk about why I left the Hunting lodge. After I recovered from the food poisoning and the meds that were driving me insane, I tried to make a go of it. I packed up most of the stuff, in case I had to bug out, got everything lined up. I even took some time to explore that ravine and found some nice hides down there.

 

Then the phone rang.

 

Yes Yes. That's been happening. Except it was MORNING. I almost jumped out of my skin. It wasn't the Aurora. It wasn't a hallucination from the meds. It was the actual, god damn phone. I swear I almost ran out there and just kept running. I managed to pull it together from the doorway. I kept it open, just in case. Leaving the door open made me feel safer. I remember that.

 

Then I picked up the phone. There was a crackle. And then I heard the voice of my general manager. My blood turned cold. The world started to spin. But then... I listened to what he was saying.

 

It may have sounded like the voice I remember listening to at the Garage, but it wasn't a human. It was a robo-caller.

 

The voice of some guy, sounding all serious and dramatic was telling me how there was an urgent issue involving my credit card and that I needed to contact them immediately. Press one to be connected to a representative.

 

God. Damn. Tele-scam.

 

Somewhere in the world there is a computer, more then likely hooked up in some protected bunker to make sure it isn't found by the authorities. When the Aurora hits it right, it powers up, reboots, and does it's job. It starts calling people. I suspect it's set up on an illegal tap into the system so its harder to trace.

 

And it does its job, calling phone number after phone number, remembering which numbers are bad and which ones connected and which ones are still good.

 

I bet at this point, the number of good phone numbers left is fairly small. Must be the old fashioned set up of the phone lines on the island. They must be a bit more resistant to power surges then the fiber optic crap.

 

At first, I laughed and would have pressed 1, but their was a crackle and the line went dead. I pressed 1. I stopped laughing. I pressed it again. And again. And again. and again.

 

Then I smashed the damn thing.

 

Then I ripped it out of the wall.

 

Then I shot it.

 

Then I dragged it outside and set it on fire.

 

You know why, oh hypothetical person who finds these entries on my frozen corpse?

 

Because here I am, at the end of the world...

 

At the end of civilization...

 

At the end of an Era...

 

At the end of civilization...

 

At the end of humanity...

 

And what will survive us like the civilizations of old? Will we leave behind our own version of the pyramids? Will we leave behind the statue of David? Will we leave wise words carved into the rock for those who follow to read and ponder?

 

No.

 

When the final switching station fails to switch. When the last power relay fails to relay. When the last LED light finally flickers and dies and all that we have crafted and created and forged and built and made has failed, rusted, and is no more... the very last light to go out before the coming of the long... long dark...

 

Will be a robo-caller trying to get my credit card information.

 

I'd blow my brains out with one of these last three bullets, but I won't. The wolves have been after me for a long, long time.

 

I owe them that much.