It had been a long
time since I saw a bean sprout. The last time I had ever seen one was within
one of our books on agriculture. It was weird seeing something so lush and
beautiful being held by this man before me - I wanted to hug this man and jump
for joy because being one of the survivors it was like seeing an emerald angel
before me. My name is Jason Aaron and the world has changed.
It all started
slowly not like the movies of instantaneous freeze over but over years it
slowly occurred. Days started to seem shorter, winters colder, and summers with
less warmth every other year. Even thinking about summer seems like a fairy
tale land that never truly existed but in our dreams. The times spent in an air
conditioned room during those blazing years seem so useless and stupid when any
of us would beg for 10 degrees more now.
A lot of what
happened had many people guessing. Many scientists pointed to global warming,
others blamed it as a natural occurs nice of the earth, while there were those
who screamed out government conspiracy every chance they could get. If the government’s
goal was to fall apart, kill more than half the population on earth and nearly
starve everyone, rich or poor , then their mission was accomplished with golden
stars. What was created was turmoil and chaos. Everyone trying their damnedest
to move south and occupy that land in earnest. Of course this led to civil wars
all across the globe.
All across America
brother fought brother and relatives killed each other to protect what little
land they had. Those protecting their families sometimes tried to accommodate
for others out of the kindest still left , others would rather see their own
grandparents freeze to death right on their door step. It was maddening how
uncivilized people could become through a tragedy. Those who could take up arms
did and with deadly force. If you had the guns you would wind up with the power,
so even though our original government failed we still had something left over
those who had the guns and the scientist. Those who still wanted to protect us
and save us from those who would rather just see themselves survive despite the
rest of humanity .The scientist were the key to our survival, they were able to
conduct research and help design new ways for us regular folk to survive.
The most
threatening thing that occurred during this permanent cold snap, an oxymoron
yes but it best described the occurrence, was the lack of food. With a
permanent winter we lost 80 percent of crops across the globe. The remaining little
that did grow was rationed as good as possible but since it was barely enough
have the time people would suffer from malnutrition, their immune system would
slowly fail and sickness was assured, mainly followed by death. In Essence
getting sick usually meant meeting you’re making sooner rather than later. It
was a necessity to stay as healthy as possible. Hunting became our best option
and the wilderness still provided enough for us to eat for now. But not only
had plant life suffered but so did the animal population. Those that were on
the endangered list were long gone; some animals were left in their zoo cages
with no damn given about their life at all. Most all birds migrated as far
south they could and stayed there on permanent vacation. The biggest issue we
had were bears and wolves as they were already adapted to this kind of weather
but we weren't some people would go out and never return forgetting that
traveling with big groups was completely necessary lest you became their new
meal. Yes there were some truths in wolves not attacking people, but when food
became scarce for them it would not be rare to see a pack roaming around the
boundaries of our camps.
Another thing that
occurred, or rather was agreed upon was population control. The few children
that survived with us suffered a great deal and we soon learned the mortality
rate for any woman giving birth and her child had decreased greatly the colder
it got. We were burying too many people left and right, with the graves being
smaller and smaller every time. It was too much heartache and it dealt a blow
to many peoples psyche. We would then agree to slow the growth of population
with any and all birth control methods. Condoms were given to married and
unmarried couples alike. The warmth of a woman was always sought after by men
and now it was the last luxury of warmth we had left. We all agreed that our
women needed to be protected at all costs and they were more valuable than
anything we had left. Any man caught
attacking or even attempting to rape a woman was dealt with swiftly. It may
seem like a barbaric thing to do but when facing the notion that if we ever got
through this that they are the only thing that would help us repopulate, then
of course all measures were taken to take care of those who became an issue.
It was sad to see
people suffering like this but it became hazardous to try to get medicine
especially since most of the things we needed like that were located in the
upper regions where the temperature remained well below freezing, that on top
of the fact that some people chose to live like outlaws and nomads in those
regions made it a downright a deadly affair. It was a wonder there were people
who could even survive those temperatures but they made due somehow
constructing their own shelters, finding their own food with that which was
left, who knows. All we know were the stories of those that survived encounters
with them. It was like a retelling of a horror story as they were hunted like
animals shot at and forced to freeze to death. No one ever saw their faces just
the thick white parkas with fur and their weaponry. Those foolish enough to
cross their path became their game. If you had any warmth of blankets coats or
even the slightest food you were targeted. Considering anyone who came across
their territory was labeled as such meant all persons were targets. The only
thing stopping them from taking over the last survivable land to us were the
guns on our side. The only thing keeping me alive was news of hope. Hope in the
hands of a scientist who discovered a way to grow food that sustained the
brutality of this damned cold and could bring a better life to us. I had to
first find him and bring him back down south to make sure he could probably
save us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment