2129 - Diary: My life before the bunker

I spent 2 weeks bringing this place back to life. Here, a long time ago humans were well equipped and prepared for what would happen, but all this was not enough to save them. I found many gas masks and protective suits which will be very useful out there; radiation did not kill us, but viruses born after the explosions have spread in the air over the years creating a real toxic cloud that makes us sick and kills us slowly. The cloud seems to have taken on a life of its own over the years; it moves with the wind, some days it is thicker than others, when you are lucky you can even see the sunrise. This is the reason why today we are forced to wander around the Region looking for safe areas away from gas. That toxic cloud killed my whole family. The first to die were dad and mom. After some time it was the turn of Emily, my little sister; I tried to protect her with all my might but I couldn't. After our parents died we were left alone, I took care of her until that fucking day.

I used to go alone in the contaminated area to look for food, I did not want to expose her to the risk of contagion or other pitfalls, but that day, that damn day, I let myself be convinced by her. Maybe because I was tired, maybe because sooner or later she would have to learn to take care of herself I decided to take her with me. There was still an old abandoned supermarket to explore and I was sure there was still something to find there.

Emily was very excited, she wanted to help! Finding food would make her happy. We entered that desolate building, the shelves were empty but I wasn't demoralized, and I continued to explore. A room was locked, I had with me the crowbar, I forced the lock and managed to open it.

The light from the flashlight illuminated a series of lockers. I opened those with my crowbar as well and they were full of canned food still in good condition. We screamed with joy!

Something or someone who was in that room, perhaps out of fear, ran away bumping into Emily who fell violently to the ground. The impact broke the glass of the gas mask making her breathe that damn air. I rushed her to our shelter, hoping that the toxic air she had just breathed was not enough to make her sick. She died after a week. She was only 14 years old.