Chapter 6 - Journal Entry

I walk for days, finding shelter in run down houses or huddling behind bushes during the colder nights.

I have no clue where I'm going, or where I'm at.

It's been getting colder every night now, and it's harder and harder to find shelter every night.

There's weird animals too. I sometimes scamper up a tree as fast as I can like earlier when one almost got my shoe from my foot.

It was the middle of September when I left.

It couldn't be that long of a time since I left, right?

The sky turns that orange-yellow color as the day begins to draw to a close. With clearly no old houses around yet again that means nothing to take shelter and hide from the wind in again tonight.

Following my every night schedule, I walk until I find a good sized bush that doesn't have any prickers. I take a seat next to it and pull out my notebook.



Day Eight (I think)

Not much different than a few days ago. Walking, running from anything that tries to eat me, sleeping with one eye open, repeat.

I don't know how much longer I can survive like this.

I try and find water and safe berries or leaves whenever I can to keep my self on my feet, but there keeps being less and less the farther I travel.

Even if I wanted to turn back and go home and get put in child services until I'm an adult, I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to find my way back.

There is literally no sign of life out here; well, besides the wildlife.

I don't even understand how they survive.

I guess it's just eat or be eaten.

I've yet to kill any of them, but boy do they want to kill me.

I just hope I can find a city somewhere around here.

I remember dad telling me months ago about all of these other cities that were experimented on, just like Milwaukee. Most of them weren't proven to failure yet, and if they were, they still hadn't known about the Bureau of Genetic Welfare. Milwaukee was still the only one to try and rough the waters with them.

Dad had told me that the Bureau was in a place once called "O'Hare". I guess it is at a place that was once an airport.

He also told me that we live in the place that was once known at the "United States of America" and that there was certain boundaries between places called "states", and inside of those states were places called cities.

He told me that we lived in the former state of Wisconsin and the city was still called Milwaukee way back when there was states.

The major cities all turned into experiments made by the Bureau. It seems like they took over the world after the old system of states and government collapsed. They believed that we shouldn't know about each other; each city living in its own world like the rest of it didn't even exist.

I remember dad telling me a few of the cities that were turned into experiments.

There was where we lived in Milwaukee, Kansas City, Detroit, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and the farthest one out to the east being New York. There was also the newest one being created ten years ago after Milwaukee failed and the Bureau recovered from the war. That city is called Chicago. It isn't far from Milwaukee dad said, but it is in the former state of Illinois which is right next to Wisconsin.

There was many other cities he listed off, but I don't remember them.

Maybe I can find another one of those cities he listed off.

Maybe someone will accept me in one of them.

Maybe I'm not too far away from any of them.

I hope I'm not.

~Natalie Rose Wright



I put my pencil in the metal spiral of the notebook and then tuck my notebook back in my pillowcase. Trying to be as quiet as I can, I then crawl into the bush just as the sun fades and darkness takes over the world. I put my feet in the pillowcase, it coming up to about my mid calves. I curl up trying to keep myself warm as the breeze picks up.

I close my eyes trying to fill my head with thoughts of finding a wonderful city with nice people, lots of food and indoor heating.

Part of me just wants to keep walking, telling myself that every moment I waste is another minute of being in the dangers of this forest.

Just as I feel myself drifting off I hear a faint yelling coming from way far away.

I raise my head looking in the direction of the noise.

It's very faint, but I clearly see a bright orange glow coming from way far away to my left. I know for a fact that the glow isn't the sun.

The smell gets to me first. It is a very unfamiliar smell to me, but it is very distinctive at the first scent.

Smoke, and lots of it.

A/N-

Hi humans!

I am so sorry! I promise I am going to get better at updating this.

This is kind of just a filler with an interesting journal entry from Natalie and her knowledge of the world as it is with its control all in the hands in the Bureau.

It is somewhat boring and may seem like a filler, but it needs to be known for the future of all of this so just hang in there! Plus the cliffhanger there leaves a lot of potential for the next chapter! ;)

Snowing where I'm at today, so I got let out of school early. I will continue to pray for a snow day tomorrow but the likelihood of there being one is unlikely.

Anyways...

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