Red (In midst of editing)

Introduction

A/N: Please read this background information. I tried to keep it as factual as I could, but this is a fiction story! Jackson Hale is Reds' grandfather. See chart on side for geneology.

Summer, 2058

In 2023, the Middle East made the first move in World War III. They released nuclear bombs on major American cities- Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Hollywood, New York City, Chicago, Tampa, Dallas, Phoenix as well as widely known area like D.C. and Area 51. Their goal was to debilitate the American people and cause wide spread panic. The fallout radiation spread to Canada which caused the U.K. to step in for their people, but otherwise the world watched the United States burn but offered no help.

America had lost all of its good graces a long time ago.

The effects were instant. Large populations died as soon as the blast hit them, others died from building collapses or in the mass hysteria that followed. The majority of coastal cities fell off the main land and fell into the ocean. California was lost entirely. The survivors, while thankful they had been spared, had a worse enemy to face: the radiation.

The survivors were left divided. Some had foreseen an apocalypse of some sort and were able to prepare themselves while others were blindsided. The world grew harsher for them as climates shifted due to pollutants blocking the sun, or in some places the pollutants absorbed solar heat and broke done the ozone layer. Animals populations either died off or changed migration patterns leaving many without a food source.

Complete anarchy followed.

Food became something people killed over. Brothers killed brothers for a can of peaches or a tin of sardines. Eventually people turned to cannibalism, promising that they will stop when they see a deer. But then they got greedy. They started searching for the better fed people to consume. Now mothers warned their kids about cannibals in the shadows instead of the boogeyman. In the north, in places like Alaska, the radiation was trapped in the snow, letting it decrease to a safe half-life or it was contained in hot zones. The animals clustered together in safe zones, making hunting easier for the survivors.

Meanwhile, the world spiraled downwards into war, bombing each other over small tiffs and squabbles. The Americans took a small joy in the news that the very countries that spited them were also in trouble, but even that joy didn’t last long as a new problem appeared. The older survivors made a mad dash for historical documents and books to be distributed to surviving colonies so humanity wouldn’t lose its past, as bad as it was sometimes.

Alaska was the most affected because the radiation sat so long, seeping unseen into food and water. People started noticing differences. The first and second generations had a sharp rise of cancers and physical deformities due to acute radiation, the few survivors from near the initial radiation wave had objects atomically fuse to them. Many of these people had permanent fabric swatches in their skin or kids toys fused on their hands.

The later generations had genetic mutations, estimated to be seven times the amount of normal mutations. Albinism was more common in not only people but animals, too. Many animals kept the mutation as an evolutionary adaptation to fit the nuclear winters. These mutations slowly decreased but some worrisome mutations stayed.

Human males and females were effected differently, for whatever reason. Males were either abnormally muscular or lean and willowy, which suited them just fine. But most males suffered from Von Hippel-Lindau disease which caused tumors in the adrenal glands, but instead of eventually leading to death, the tumors were, ironically, stunted by the low dose radiation. Instead the effects were limited to an increase in rage and a short temper. This combination led to the effected men killing people over a rude look or a small bump on the shoulder. When other men realized what was happening, they left in order to save their families. But something terrifying was waiting in the wilderness for these vulnerable souls.

Females suffered from sterility, brittle bones that made carrying children near impossible. A mutation that many embraced was abnormal iris colors, like red, violet, yellow or white. Even though their mutations were kept on a genetic level, women had to play the part of mother and father as their husbands fled to isolation, leaving young kids behind with sicknesses. Children had slower growth rates, as well as an increase in autism and Down syndrome.

While the human population faced certain collapse, the environment flourished. Animals were larger overall, and radiation levels were low in many species allowing them to be safely consumed. Lakes had high contamination as well as immobile producers and primary consumers, but the more mobile animals like wolves, bears and deer had lower levels. Forests thrived, becoming lush and an increase in fungus like mushrooms. Invertebrates decreased, like bumble bees and butterflies because their eggs were more susceptible to radiation.  

Even in these dark times, hope was always there; slowly burning, waiting to grow to an inferno.

I offer this account to those remaining after me. I hope you are in better times, for the sake of everyone.

Remember this, brother or sister, the sun always rises, even if you cannot see it. Trust in that.

Sincerely,

Jackson Hale