If you've managed to get your hands on this journal, chances are that you too share a similar story as me - fighting for your survival. But just in case the world has changed by that time, let me introduce you to my nightmarish reality.

Over two decades ago, a war ripped through my city like a raging inferno. The devastation was beyond comprehension. Bombs rained down from the sky, obliterating entire communities in the blink of an eye. It used to be a thriving metropolis, full of life and happiness. Now it's nothing but a jungle, home to a handful of desperate animals. And by animals, I mean humans.

It's funny, really. Once upon a time, we were the civilized ones. We were supposed to be better than the animals, to work together and share what we had. But now, in my twisted world, the line between human and animal has blurred beyond recognition.

My parents were among the lucky few who survived the bombs. But their luck didn't last long. Instead of banding together with the other survivors and trying to rebuild some semblance of a society, the survivors chose to fight. They chose to prey on their fellow humans, stealing what little food and supplies they could find.

And then there's me - Jaden. I never had a chance at a normal life. All I have are the stories my parents tell me, tales of a world that seems so distant from my reality. A world where people didn't have to kill each other for a scrap of food.

Even then, I wasn't ready for things to change so soon.

It all started on a hot summer evening. I was laying idle on my hammock, thinking about the next chapter of my novel. My room wasn't much, really. The walls were full of fissures and had turned pale yellow. There also wasn't enough space inside. A hammock, a small desk, and a wardrobe were enough to cover most of the space in my room. But it's not like I had much stuff anyway.

When I was done thinking, I decided that it was finally time to write. So, I fished out a notebook from my wardrobe and sat down on the desk. The chair creaked from my weight and the legs started wobbling. When you live in a wasteland, you can't complain about the quality of stuff. All we had was retrieved during our trips to the city. None of them had remained completely intact.

I started jotting down the chapter for my novel, which I had been writing for almost five years. It was a story about a teenager living in times before the war who didn't have to worry about whom to kill next for food. Currently in the novel, he was having difficulty deciding who he could bring to his school dance.

Honestly speaking, that novel was my escape from reality. It might have shitty grammar or a cringy plot or whatever, but at least writing that novel allowed me to think like a normal person and imagine a life that I could probably never have.

Now why did I say "probably"? Because I was convinced that even in my present time, some person must have been living a normal life. Or at least close to that. There was a lot of the world still waiting to be explored. And someday, I knew that I will go on a search for it. But, oh boy, that day was about to come sooner than I expected.

I lost track of time while writing and snapped back to reality only when Amanda, my little sister, entered my room.

"Jaden! You forgot again!" Amanda glared at me with her eyes that glistened like pearls. She was 4 years younger than me. Last year, she had turned fifteen and her body had changed drastically. She now stood at six feet, just slightly smaller than me. Her white skin was dotted with freckles, and she had tied her brown hairs into a bum.

"Uh... is this about the shooting classes?" I asked hesitantly.

"Duh! You promised me."

"Okay, stop complaining," I got up from my seat.

I followed her as she trotted towards our training room. Her walk always irritated me. She would roam around our house, skipping or dancing playfully, as if we had all the joy in the world.

The training room was the worst section of our house. The walls had lost all colors and a hole in the roof revealed the dark skies above us. There was a small wooden rack inside the room, which housed a few pistols, a shotgun, and a submachine gun. There were also boxes full of different kinds of ammunition.

I loaded the bullets on a pistol and handed it to her. "Don't waste too many bullets. We are in a shortage of bullets and have to raid soon."

"Understood," she replied, taking the gun from my hands.

The figure of a human was drawn on one of the walls. She removed the safety lock from her pistol and faced the figure, aiming for it.

"Remember, take a deep breath, shoot, and exhale," I instructed.

She did as I told and took the shot. The bullet created a hole where the figure's shoulder would have been.

"Not bad. You didn't miss," I said, "But aim for the lethal organs next time. A shot on the shoulders won't kill anyone."

"I was just warming up," she muttered.

Her next few shots were a mix. Some of them did good jobs at finding the lethal parts, but the others missed the target completely.

"Your shootings need to be more reliable. Right now, all your shots are too random." I said, "Here, let me show you."

I took the gun from her hands and aimed at the target. Before taking my shot, I was careful to remember the exact position of my hands. The shot found the skull of the figure, but the recoil from it caused my hands to sway away. Luckily, I still had a rough idea of where my hands originally were and positioned them accordingly before firing two more shots.

"Whoa, Jaden!" Amanda gasped. All three shots had found the same spot on the skull, only apart by a few centimeters.

"Now let's try again." I handed her the gun.

However, before she could begin her next round, she was interrupted by our father entering the room.

Roger was a man in his fifties. His survival in the world came at the cost of too many scars on his face. His hair and beard had turned grey and an injury on his leg long ago caused him to limp as he walked.

"Uh, Jaden, we need to go on a raid tonight," my father declared. It was so sudden that I forgot to breathe for a moment.

"So soon? We still have food for a few days, right?"

"Just three days. And besides, your mom spotted a family of survivors a few hours ago. We managed to track down their house."

"They would have enough food, right?"

"Yep, they were returning from a raid themselves."

"When do we leave then?" I asked.

"As soon as we can," he replied, "The walk is long and should take an hour. They should be asleep by the time we reach their house."

"Alright, I will get ready."

I did the job of packing for the raid. My father had taught me long ago that the worse mistake in a raid was to not be prepared for any situation. And that's why I brought everything with me. This included both our shotgun and SMG alongside three additional pistols, ammunition, and a grenade that we had kept saved for the worst scenarios. As for the accessories, I packed a pair of binoculars and three flashlights. I also shoved half a dozen protein bars inside our backpack at the last moment, since the walk was going to be long. They were long past expired, but who cares?

My parents were waiting for me in front of our main door. I handed the SMG to my father, shotgun to my mother, and kept a pair of pistols for myself.

"You packed the binoculars?" Jenna, my mother, asked. She had long chocolate-brown hair and a gentle smile on her face. But her face had aged with wrinkles.

"Yep, they are with me," I patted the backpack that slung over my shoulders.

"Let's go then," my father said. He turned to Amanda. "You take care of the house, dear. We should be back in a few hours."

"Alright. You guys just be safe," she hugged him.

And with that, we departed.

Despite the condition of our house, it was still a paradise compared to what was outside. Staying there too long made me forget what the outside looked like. However, as soon as I stepped out, I was once again reminded of the reality of my dark, dark world.

Author's Note

And that's the end of the first chapter. This was purely an introduction to Jaden and his world. This is the second time I am writing this novel. I halted the first draft after a few chapters due to my hectic routine at that time. A major change in the second draft is that Jaden has a sister now. Anyway, the next chapter will actually show the outside world that the protagonist has been teasing about for so long.