Shades from Beyond: The Modern Diary

      This story starts in the year 2102 and the population of the world was dying because of the lack of resources like water and food. One of the survivors of this new world was a young man by the name of Ben Kallstrom that had survived on his own ever since the age of 12. Many people had joined gangs to take the food that others had and this kid learned how to survive in a dangerous world.

        One day during his journey Ben Kallstrom found another young man by the name of Todd Bartley. Todd had survived escaping the orphanage where he was at after they were attacked by a ravenous gang that wanted the supplies that they had for the children by hiding beside a lot of clothing that had to be washed that was on the floor. Fortunately for Todd, nobody wanted to check the dirty smelling clothes. After Todd sensed that the gang members were gone he took his belongings which he hid on an air vent and was living out in the streets. Ben found Todd looking for food in the food section of a local gas station and he saw that he needed to eat something and Ben felt that it was always good to have someone to watch his back and he gave him a Hershey's chocolate bar. After that the two of them traveled together towards a safer place and on their way they found a modern technological diary that was open in one of the houses that had an open door. They found the diary inside of a girl's room. This technological diary tracked the location of its owner by a technological watch that was linked to the diary and its owner could also write diary entries by using the technological watch. The first diary entry stated the following:

"Dear Diary,

          My name is Maddie. It has been a year that I have been taken in by the Berman family. They seem to be a kind family and they have a young daughter by the name of Cindy Berman. Their parents were Anne and Sean Berman. Sean is an architect and Anne is a very successful lawyer. They always wanted for their daughter Cindy to have a sibling and since Anne had lost her first child while losing the ability to have any more children after Cindy was born. I was glad that she trusted me with that information as it made me feel like part of the family. Since I have been here I have come to learn that love and life are full of choices and that you just have to follow your heart so that you give your life the attention it deserves. After all, holding onto hope can bring you the strength you need to move forward. "

       Ben and Todd noticed that the technological diary gave the current location of its owner and after reading those words the boys decided that it would be good to see if the person that wrote in the diary was still alive. Ben and Todd thought that there was strength in numbers and to Ben the diary entry reminded him of his sister Geena Kallstrom who supported and stood by her family. Geena had just graduated from college and she had just obtained a job in medical billing. She decided to stay with her family and help out to look after her little brother Ben during the afternoons and on the weekends. Geena had given Ben a lighter and she had been secretly teaching Ben how to drive which is a skill that Ben liked to have. Geena had also gotten a tattoo of a purple unicorn on the lower side of her left leg. When Ben was ten years old his sister pulled him out of the way of an array of bullets that were meant for the adult behind him. Geena and Ben had been separated when they fled for their lives after their patents were executed by a gang that invaded their home. Ben knew that he could trust his sister and he was always loyal to her.