Write Yourself Alive 30 Days of Writing

Day 4:

Dig Deeper: What activities unrelated to writing bring you back to the present and make you feel fully alive? What could you get lost in? List 5

1.   Walking on the beach.

2.   Walking in the woods.

3.   Holding hands

4.   A gentle rain

5.   I could get lost in his eyes.

Writing Prompt: Imagine the world is ending in 24 hours. Write the way it will end and how you would fill in the hours.

          While I don’t believe we will be given hours to prepare for the end of the world I might see it this way:   The news just broadcast an invasion of our borders. We’ve been expecting it for months. I have trouble getting through to my family on my cell phone as everyone is trying to make a call at this point. I know my family is hundreds of miles away and we have made arrangements to meet in a safe (or at least we believe it to be safe) place. I load the car with essentials; food, clothing, water, first aid supplies, my computer, flashlights, my camera and anything else I think to grab. I quickly load my car and take the storm evacuation route out of Charleston. My car had been gassed the night before in anticipation of what was to come.

          We had come across an abandoned log cabin in the mountains a few years back. As a family we decided to purchase it as a safe haven in case of war. Each year we went there and set about making it safe. An underground shelter had been on the property, probably a left over bomb shelter from the 1950s. We built bunk beds and placed other beds in it. We purchased a freezer and the guys went hunting to fill it with turkey and venison. A pantry was filled with canned goods. Flour, nuts, and spices were stored there as well. We’d equipped it with a generator and stockpiled enough gas to keep it going for a long time. We were ready, all we had to do was get there.

          Along the way I periodically tried to get through to my family on my cell phone. It kept going to voice mail or told me the circuits were busy. I was surprised about half way through the trip to get a text message telling me my children and grandchildren were about halfway. I remember breathing a sigh of relief.

          It surprised me to see cars and trucks heading toward the ocean. I suppose people thought they would be safer on the water. While I love the water, I did not see it as a safe place should the world come to an end. But, who knows, I’ve been wrong before.

          I arrived at the cabin to see in my rear view mirror my family caravan coming up the drive behind me. I held back tears of joy. We were safe, we were together. It was all that mattered now. Quickly we unloaded the vehicles. Everyone was assigned a task. Once they were emptied, the men set to work syphoning the gas from them. It would be needed if we had to stay underground for longer than anticipated. It could also be put back in the cars should we need to go anyplace.

          Dinner was a simple meal. Sandwiches, chips, and a beverage. The kids were scared and tired. I read some bedtime stories and we put them to bed. In the other section we were subdued wondering what would happen next. We went upstairs to see if anyone could get a cell signal. When we did we used one phone to find any news we could. The news was grim. The capital had fallen to our enemies. Our military was trying to defend major cities. Armed militias roamed the countryside. We bowed our head in prayer. After prayer we went to bed.