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A YEAR AGO BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE
It was an early morning of another new day as Eden woke up in her bed in her apartment. She blinked her sleepy eyes, looking like she didn't sleep a wink even though she did peacefully since last night. She turned her head slightly to look at her bedside alarm clock and saw that it was time as the sun rises.
At first, Eden thought that everything she had gone through before was all just a dream but then she noticed the large kitchen knife beside her pillow which she brought and slept with for safety. She sighed upon seeing it and had to accept the harsh reality that what happened last night wasn't a dream.
She blearily sat up from her bed and stretched herself to wake up clearly. Then she did a few routine exercises herself to be alert and active for the day since she can still hear from outside the loud noises of continued chaos breaking out, people shouting and yelling in panicked crowd riots, sirens of police and ambulances driving about, and crashes of vehicle accidents going on from outside the apartment building.
She ignored all the noisy sounds outside while she exercised then after she finished, she took the knife from her bed and walked out of her bedroom cautiously as if expecting that someone or something had broken inside while she's been sleeping.
When she checked and saw or heard nothing, she relaxed slightly and then she had a sudden thought and turned one of her light switches to check if the electricity is still running or not. The lights turned on from her switch and she nodded at this and turned the switch off.
Then she went to make herself coffee which she decided for her breakfast. While the pot is heating up from the gas stove, she took stock of her food, supplies, and necessities, checking to see how long she'd last if she decided to stay here for more than three days. She found that everything would last more than about two weeks and she nodded again with satisfaction on seeing this but she's still planning to decide whether she should leave to meet up with the ones she's scheduled to meet for the coming three days or not.
Before the coffee pot whistled, Eden checked her barricade again, making sure it was secure, checked her ready travel bag and weapons, and then went back to make her coffee. She turned off the stove and the gas and then she sat down on a chair next to her desk with her journal still there on the top and she drank her coffee, letting the drink wake her up more and be more active and alert.
But before she could finish her coffee all the way, she suddenly remembered something and cursed and blamed herself for being careless and clueless, there's also not to mention cruelty when she finally remembered her family.
Even though they had treated her all her life like she was garbage or made her like a black sheep in the family, she still cared and loved them, even when she left without looking back and just left them a note.
She went and grabbed her cell phone, dialed, and called her family, but every call she had tried to get through went to voicemail or an automated voice said that the person you're calling is unavailable. Even though she's not getting any answers or replies from any of her family members, she kept on calling continuously until she gets one.
Then she felt like writing in her journal to ease her stress and calm her down and she went and used her free hand to open the book and write while her other hand is still holding the phone.
*****
JOURNAL ENTRY: 8TH DAY, 1ST MONTH JANUARY, YEAR 2XXX
It's Eden and I just woke up with what I thought that everything that had happened the last seven days was all a dream.
But seeing the cruel and harsh reality of my barricaded apartment, my prepared bag and weapons, and the ongoing continued chaotic noises from outside, I had to accept the facts deep down inside me that everything is real and this is all happening right now.
When I made myself some coffee to be more active, alert, and vigilant and was about to think and plan on what to do. I suddenly remembered my family.
I know that most of them were jerks towards me, but I do care about them and I'm sitting here right now by my desk, writing this entry and calling them at the same time.
So far I can't seem to get through to any of them. I thought at first that the communication lines were down but it's still connecting and I believed that something might've happened to them.
I'm going to continue calling for every one of them until someone finally answers. I pray that they're alright and by the time they answer and then realize it's me, the first thing I'll say to them is that I'm sorry I left and that I love them very much.
Even if they might hang up on me when they find out it's me, I don't care. I still love them even if they don't love me, and I just wanted to let them know that I'm okay and that I'm still alive.
I hope and pray that they are.
*****
Eden stopped writing and kept on listening to the automated tone telling her that the caller is unavailable and then discovered that the battery on her phone ran out when she tried to dial again. She cursed and went to charge it up, along with her portable charger too as long as the electricity is still on and running.
After setting it up and seeing that there's nothing else to do but just wait inside her apartment. She decided to make an early lunch and eat before she went to think about other plans or thinking about something else to do.
After eating her luncheon, then washed the dishes in which the water is also running. She also went to the bathroom and shower herself to feel refreshed.
Then Eden came out, her hair still slightly wet, and then she was staring at her makeshift handmade spears thoughtfully before she decided to try and train herself on using them to defend and fight.
During that whole day, Eden is twirling and spinning and jabbing with the two spears she made to practice and train herself to fight inside the locked apartment. She kept on doing her self-training seriously and continuously until she became completely exhausted. While practicing with her weapons, she even had some make-shift dummies up, by taking some extra pillows from her bedroom closets and hanged them up on tall stands, placed them in different positions, and pictured them as heads when she jabbed and stabbed her knife-end spears at them with the precise aim in both conscious and subconscious moves.
Her fighting technique and prowess aren't very good or perfect but Eden had to make do with what she can do while she practiced all day long until the time passed by fast and it was night already.
Eden was surprised that time flew by so fast when she noticed that it was dark now and she stopped training, placed the spears back but left the stabbed-pillow dummies where they are, went to shower and bathe herself again before she cooks and eats her dinner.
After doing that, she finished bathing then cooking, then eating her dinner, and finally ended it with washing her plates, Eden went to her bedroom and brought the same knife again with her and also brought her journal and pen along in case she needed to write again.
Her phone and chargers are still charging as the electricity seemed to be running a bit slow and she left them there for tomorrow while she hoped to herself that whatever and wherever her family is, they are alright and fine.
Eden sighed, still not dressed in sleepwear but in travel clothes, in case she needs to leave the apartment again, and then lay down on her bed, putting her knife and journal, and pen beside her pillow, and then went to sleep. She kept the bed lamp on the bedside table turned on so that she'll know when the electricity goes out.
Her eyes slowly close as she goes into a deep sleep and she's already gone into slumber after being exhausted through the whole day training herself and ignoring the ongoing chaos that is still continuing outside her apartment building.
It felt like seconds until Eden had woken up again to another early morning sunrise of a new day and she sat up suddenly from her bed, went out of her room and checked on her fully charged phone and charger, and unplugged them from the sockets and brought them to her room to sit on her bed to check if she had any missed calls or replies from her family. After seeing that there were none, Eden felt like she had to accept the harsh and cruel truth that something did happen to her family and they couldn't answer. But she still hoped that somewhere out there they were still alive.
To ease her mind and calm her down from she was about to think negative thoughts, she reached for her journal that she brought in her bedroom and then writes on it.
*****
JOURNAL ENTRY: 9TH DAY, 1ST MONTH JANUARY, YEAR 2XXX
It's another early morning of a new day.
But so far I haven't gotten through to my family. I hope they're all right.
My battery ran out and the electricity that was still running is slow when I charged up my phone and my portable charger.
What I did yesterday before was that I train and practiced the whole day with my spears and put up and made up dummies as target practice. I did it the whole day and I admit I'm not very good at fighting back and defending myself, even if it's only a little that I know much and all.
But I will have to make do with what I can and as the saying goes, "Practice makes Perfect".
Or rather as someone else might call it - Trial and Error.
Truthfully, I have never done any fighting or defending for myself ever in my whole life. But seeing that the whole world is falling down to pieces, I'll have to be brave and man up if I'm going to be facing the new dangers that had erupted in this sudden coming apocalypse.
The dangers are the zombies.
I can hear as I write in this journal inside my bedroom the continued sounds and noises of chaos still going on outside the building. And I knew that the authorities, even the military itself might be trying to mobilize the situation right about now. But hearing from inside my locked apartment of the continued chaotic sounds of crashing and panicking people, I knew that they won't be able to do much until someone from the higher-ups finally ordered an evacuation.
And that is something that I have to think of for the next day tomorrow. When I'm supposed to meet up with the guys I'm scheduled to meet for tomorrow is the appointed third day.
But I have not finally decided whether I should stay or leave.
What do I do?
Stay or Leave?
That is the most important question in my mind that I have to decide before the final and 3rd day comes for me.
I'll have to stop writing for today and try to get my mind off this by keeping up with my self-training with my makeshift weapons.
Hopefully, I might be able to finally decide what I should do once I do something else to ease off my stress and try to relax, even while self-practicing or something.
Maybe by tomorrow, whatever my decision is might result in something that won't get me dead.
*****
Eden stopped writing and sighed as she put her journal away on the bed and then rotated her neck carefully before readying herself to train and practice again with her spear weapons.
She went out of her bedroom, leaving her journal, her knife, phone and chargers behind on the bed as she went and do to self-train again for the day.
*****
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