Hi, Caelus again. If you have read this far, then you know I have traveled back in time twice now. This is the third life I’ve been given. In my last entry I spoke about what happened up until the bombs dropped. This entry will tell of my life after the bombs.

Loop 3 Day 365

The people with me are the hunters of my group. They are in charge of bringing back meat, if there is any left.

The meat is used to supplement the extensive fruit and vegetable farm I have. That way I don’t need to set aside any room for the animals.

We look around. It looks like the bomb almost hit my bunker. A clean gouge is dug around the area. It looks as if someone took an ice cream scoop, and scooped the landscape up.

The scoops are everywhere. From my location I can see three different cities. Two of which are now completely scooped out.

For some reason, the city of we used to live in was partially spared. Something should be noted. Although not to the degree of Seattle, it is full of hills. In fact, the city itself is on one large hill.

Most of the buildings are scooped, but only the ones on the bottom of the hill are gone completely. Of course Chelsea’s home is towards the bottom.

“So it was all just a matter of luck?” I mumble to myself. The radiation detector doesn’t go off at all. I come to the conclusion that they really weren’t radioactive.

I tell the group to switch gear. They all comply. We change into our bullet proof clothing, and protection gear. The gear basically makes us look like we belong to the marines. Although, there is really only two people that have been in the military in my base.

The group looks at me, seeking a task. “Alright guys and gals; today we are going to do a bit of recon around this area.” I point to about half the group. “You all are in charge of protecting the entrance of the base.”

I gesture to the other half. “You will follow me, and we are going to see how bad the damage is. All of you should remember: I installed cameras everywhere around here, before the bombs dropped. I will be reviewing them when I get back.

We need a recon/collection team leader. Whoever does the best over the course of the next few days will be promoted to that position. It doesn’t come with any perks, but you will be able to issue guns and ammo.

Whoever gets that rank will be keyed into the system to let you open the gun area at will.”

I was giving one person control, and a limited amount of power. That way they think I’m not the only one in charge. What I don’t tell them is that I still have override abilities, and can shut them out of the system at any time.

“I’ll be doing the same for the maintenance crew, and the civilians. You all are allowed to spread word of this when we get back to base.”

I take half the group, five people, and start the recon. The base is about an hour walk from any other building. I decide to try to obtain a car with bulletproof glass and tires. Had I known this much of the world would be left, I’d already have one.

Our group is outfitted well though.

I make the group walk slightly slower than needed, so that we can keep careful watch. We reach the first building in an hour and fifteen minutes. Three of the group scan inside the building, while the rest of us wait.

Most of the buildings have long since been raided for food or supplies, but something useful might be left. I hear shouting. Damnit! I told them to keep their voices down!

I signal the others to follow me into the building. We quietly sneak in. The building used to be a Walgreens. Most of the supplies are gone, and there are absolutely no medicines left. The only things left are the cheap make up, and beauty supplies.

Inside I see a group of three people arguing with my group. The three people, and my group all have guns drawn. I signal for the stealth group to surround them.

The other group is composed of one male, one female child, and a pregnant woman. Oh no. Crap! We can’t be doing this to a family!

We have several signals to let each other know what to do, or if there is danger. I pull out my whistle, and blow a quick note, then a long note.

My group starts to slowly back away. The man shoots the ground in front of their feet. “Hey! I didn’t say you could move. Stop walking!” The group stops walking. I blow two quick whistles.

Frowning, I unsheathe my laser guided 10mm. I announce my presence by walking in. “Now hold on.” I try to calm the people down. My gun is drawn, but I don’t think I could actually use it. I had never shot a person before.

“Look, we were just looking for supplies. We don’t want trouble.”

The man sneers. “You don’t look military, but your gear is way too good to be regular folks. You all must have a place to stay.” The man sneers. “How about you lead us to it? Eh? Then leave it.”

“Sir we can’t do that. I built that place myself. We have a large group of people depending on us.”

“Well, my family are more important. Can’t you see? The whole world has gone to hell! It’s survival of the fittest at this point!” His tone implies he thinks he is better than us.

He points his gun at me. “Now. Tell me where to find you base or die.” The little girl is crying. The pregnant woman looks scared for her life. All these people want to do is live. Maybe I should let them in?

My stealth team makes it behind the group. In one swift motion the three each incapacitate one of the people. The girl is lifted off the floor, the pregnant woman is restrained with cuffs. The actual marine in the group hits the man’s hand, making him drop his gun. He then punches the man in the throat, and the man falls down.

The group looks at me. The marine asks, “So what do we do with them?”

I know I have to seem strong, but I can’t just leave a helpless family here. The woman is awake, as is the little girl, but they will probably starve soon. I don’t know if I can trust the man though.

I walk up to the little girl. “So, what exactly is your name.” She sneers at me. Fire leaps from her fingers. “DIE!” She shouts as she throws the strands of fire at my face.

It burns! It burns! I try to stifle it, but a scream escapes my lips. “AHHH!” I catch a glimpse of the girl. She is smiling, her head hanging listlessly to the side.

The marine shouts something, and the others smother my face. After a moment, I am released. I am too shocked to say anything.

The marine walks over to me. “Listen you’re suffering from deep burns. We have to get you back to the doctor on base. This is going to hurt, but I am going to put some of this on your face.”

The others restrain me. I start fighting against them. I don’t want any more pain! It hurts!

He smears some sort of cream on my face. NO! MAKE IT STOP! It burns, worse than the fire! He injects something into my arm. After a few moments of the worst pain I’ve ever felt, I pass out.

Loop 3 Day 366

I wake up in the medical ward. I look around. The doctor is looking at me. “So your finally awake.” She has a soothing voice. “The others say a little girl threw fire at you. What really happened?”

I tell her the entire story. “So they were telling the truth? Or this is all some mass hysteria.”

Apparently that girl had something that could throw fire. She must have sacrificed her hand when the flames went around it.

“What happened to the family?”

The doctor looks at the ground. She points to a corner of the room.

I see two people. One is the little girl, the other is the pregnant lady. I get unsteadily to my feet. I walk over to the people.

The girl has a gaping hole in the side of her head. I back away quickly. I fall down as I try to unsee the image.

“What happened to her!?” I demand in a shaky voice.

The doctor looks crestfallen. “The men said she was using some sort of fire to attack you and them. They had to kill her to stop her. The woman tried to protect her. …”

My eyes go wide. They killed them!? How could they kill a little girl? “Where is Chad?” Chad is the marine I took with me.

The doctor hesitates. I glare at her.

“Where is he!?”

The doctor says, “He is in the holding area. He is interrogating the prisoner.”

I storm out of the room, on my way to have a little chat with Chad. It is NOT OK to kill children!

When I get there, I see him beating up the man that threatened to shoot me.

“What are you doing!? You are not allowed to kill kids! What the hell is going through your mind!? So help me God!”

A loud noise interrupts me. My chest burns. I look down. I see a hole in my chest.

I look at Chad. “Shut the fuck up. That girl was a hindrance. Same as you. I’m the only one that deserves to rule.”

Everything goes black.

I am in the black space for an eternity. If I ever get the chance, I’m going to fuck Chad over.

As the days and years pass in the black space I think only of revenge on Chad.

Loop 4 Day 1

I’m back again.