Introduction

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January 1st, 2014

Today is the first day of 2014. Thank God 2013 is over. What a horrible,wonderful, year. But you don't know that, do you? Well, I guess someone should write an account for that God-forsaken year, and Ms. Worthington did just find me a type writer... I guess it's settled then! I will tell you about 2013, but first, let me give you some background information, or this is all going to sound like some insane persons mindless blather.

My name is Riley Hathaway. I'm from California, and I'm 16.

This all started several years back, in 2008, when the economy first started going down. My father always used to tell me it was because our credit bubble popped. Everybody kept saying it wasn't that bad, it would be fine. It wasn't. By 2012, people were on every street corner begging. I was one of the lucky ones. My dad bought us a farm, in the country, where we could grow our own food, raise our own meat, and stay out of the city, since it was dangerous. People were desperate, and would do anything to get food and money, as we had already found out.

My brother was 2 years older then I, at 17, and, like any teenage boy, was mischievous, and wasn't exactly fond of all the rules my parents had, especially about going into the city. Don't get me wrong, he was a fine boy, but the rules where always a topic of discussion with my brother. One night, my parents and brother got into a fight. My brother, Alex, had gone to the city to meet up with a friend. My parents got mad, since they had strictly forbidden anyone go to the city without them. Some very harsh things were said, and one thing lead to another, and my brother left, saying he would go live with his friend in the city, and show us that we were being ridiculous. Alex was shot the moment he stepped into the city. My poor brother was shot down by a beggar who had some how gotten his hands on a gun. We were all devastated, even Avira, my baby sister, who didn't even know what was going on, but cried anyway.

The house was never the same. My mother was always depressed, and my dad was always angry, trying to be strong for us, but I could always tell how sad, and depressed he was. Reading people has always been something I'm good at. That was in December of 2012.

The electrical storm hit in May. What a perfectly innocent 3-letter word, that now either makes people cry, become immensely angry, or depressed. It hit late on a Saturday night. Cars spun out of control, several satellites dropped, stop lights stopped working. All electric stopped working, just like that. The next morning, the sky and ground alike were red. It was a horrible, horrible sight to see. That was when the government stopped working altogether. Not just the United States, but everywhere. All the governments all at once just reached breaking point. They were already scrabbling to hold on, as there were many revolutionists getting mighty pissed off, and the economy was a joke. This just put it over the edge. My parents were part of the blood red ground by this point, having gone out to have a nice night.

This left just me and Avira. This is were Ms. Worthington comes in. What a fitting name, for such a wonderful woman. She was about 59 when she took us in. Since then, she has fed us and clothed us and helped me take care of Avira, and has helped me continue my education to the best of our abilities. This is were we begin on that horrid, red, morning.

This is the story of 2013.

2013. The story of my trip through Heaven and Hell.Where stories live. Discover now