Earth: Survival

My name is Eldon Wheeling. This is my journal.


July 8, 2058

It has been several months since Diana and I found our way to Hope City. Thankfully, they have been more than kind in allowing us to stay and be a part of what they are doing. In fact, the leader of the town, Charlie, has placed both Diana and I in leadership roles. Diana handles the science department of the city (what's left of it at least), and I have been placed in charge of things from a more political standpoint. I am considered the second in command of the city. Diana has also been romantically involved with one of her assistants. His name is Tom Shavers. She insists that he is a great guy, but of course I have my doubts. I look at Diana like I would a younger sister, and after all we've been through ... it just seems hard to let her go. Either way, Diana and I are grateful for our opportunities in Hope City, and are looking forward to bringing hope to the future.


July 9, 2058

The unthinkable has happened. Hope City has been attacked by a large group of rebels. No one is sure where they came from or why they attacked, but they did. Thankfully, we were able to fight them off before things got out of hand. In fact, we managed to capture one of the rebels. For now, Charlie has placed me in charge of interrogations. Also, before the attack, Tom spoke to me about Diana. He actually asked me for permission to marry her! I told him I'd think about it. I know she would be thrilled, but I'm not so sure that this is the best thing for her; I just get a bad feeling about this guy. Hopefully, the rebel attack will postpone anymore of those talks.


July 11, 2058

I have begun interrogations, and it seems hard to be optimistic. The rebel refuses to answer any questions regarding the attacks, and he is not fazed by tortures. I did notice he has dark bags painted under his eyes, but I decided to wait to ask him about them. I am anything but a professional when it comes to interrogations, but I'm hoping to get some answers soon. Also, Diana spoke to me about Tom. Of course, she is madly in love with him and wants the relationship to progress. I truly believe she is simply spooked by the recent attacks. I simply told her to be patient.


July 16, 2058

Another attack from the rebels! Sadly, we were not completely prepared for this attack and we suffered greatly. We lost several citizens. Charlie is desperate for me to get answers.


July 17, 2058

It did not take me as long as I thought it would. After a couple blows to the face and a death threat, the rebel started talking. His name was Juan. He explained to me that the dark bags is their trademark and every member must wear them proudly into battle. He also told me where their hideout is. I released him into the custody of our police, and I immediately told Charlie the information. He assured me he would take care of it. Also, Tom spoke to me again about marrying Diana. As much as it pained me, I gave him my permission. Diana is an adult, and deserves to be happy. My personal opinions should not prevent that.


July 19, 2058

Charlie has approached me with a plan to wipe out the rebel forces. He wants to send several soldiers disguised as rebels to their base and attack them by surprise. He said the dark bags under their eyes should get them in. Of course I thought it was a bad idea, and I tried to convince Charlie to take a different approach, but he is insistent. He will be sending out the soldiers in a matter of days.


July 21, 2058

Finally, some good news! Tom has proposed to Diana and they will be married soon. She asked me to walk her down the aisle. I feel so honored, and I shamefully regret ever doubting Tom. I know the two of them will be perfect for each other. In a time of darkness for us in Hope City, it was nice to have a moment of joy.


July 22, 2058

Charlie has finally sent out the soldiers. I tried to convince him to change his mind, but of course it did not work. As I watched the soldiers walk away, I could feel the fear from them. They seemed to know it was a suicide mission.


July 24, 2058

It has been a couple days since the soldiers left. By my estimation, they should have arrived yesterday. I am more than just a little worried for the good men we sent out. Charlie is trying to remain optimistic, but I can tell he has his doubts. With all the talks of soldiers not returning, Diana seems completely normal. Her mind seems to be focused solely on her wedding. She has come to me for opinions on things, but I know nothing about weddings. They are awkward conversations to say the least.


July 27, 2058

Our greatest fears have happened. The rebels came and attacked us. With all of our soldiers gone, we lost many men, women, and children. We gave them our best effort, but that did not stop them. They took everything: our food, clothes, science experiments, books, notes, everything. I was trapped alone in a room with the leader; I still get the chills when I think about the encounter. He informed me that they killed off every soldier, and we were lucky to be spared. We have been left with nearly nothing and we are now forced to rebuild from scratch.


July 31, 2058

Charlie is trying to encourage us to stay focused and that the future of humanity depends on us, but you can feel the hopelessness of everyone. It has been four days since our last attack, and we have yet to truly accomplish anything. Diana still insists on getting married and wants to move the wedding up to next week. She's worried that we will be attacked soon and she wants to get married while she still can. I have no choice but to oblige. She will be married in seven days.


August 2, 2058

We have downsized our housing to just a couple of buildings, and as strange as it seems, I believe we are still being looted. No one seems to have seen anything, but things are still disappearing. I thought I saw a shadow run out of a house, but I don't know for sure. I mentioned having a guard or some form of security, but he insists there's nothing we can do. We simply don't have the manpower to support that. He also says we have nothing left to loot. It can be frustrating having a leader not listen to your suggestions, but he is in charge. I must simply sit back and watch.


August 3, 2058

Suddenly, Charlie wants to use my suggestion of security. Last night, someone stole some of his food, and he is set on catching the thief. I don't want to scare the other people, but I caught one of those rebels trying to steal from me last night. He had the dark bags under his eyes. I warned him to stay away, but I doubt he was afraid. Unfortunately, Charlie finds it most appropriate that I handle the first guarding job. Diana is starting to turn into one of those crazy brides. I think they are called bridezillas. She actually snapped at me that I need to support her more. It was strange, but I can understand her frustration. Her marriage is less than a week away, but it is far from a sure thing.


August 4, 2058

I was right. The rebel group that massacred us a couple of days ago are back and they are simply looting us of all we have left. Charlie is worried, but think it's best to not inform the others. He wants to keep this controlled. Tom and I will be alternating nights for security for the time being. Honestly, I do not care what happens, but I just want to make sure Diana gets her wedding. After all of this, I just want her to be happy.


August 5, 2058

Tom handled the security last night and he must have fell asleep on the job. Everyone was looted very badly and Tom says he never saw anything. I'm a little more than worried because our rations are running low, but I have to remain calm and confident. Diana seems to be leaning on me heavily for support through these testing times. Her wedding is just a couple long days away, but it seems to be getting farther and farther away...


August 7, 2058

Today was supposed to be the wedding. Again ...it was SUPPOSED to be today. Tom handled the security last night, and I decided to stay awake as a precaution. I simply could not risk losing anything more. In the middle of the night, I saw a figure sneak into my house and I prepared for the rebel. As the rebel entered my room, I quietly got behind him and stabbed him in the chest from behind. As the figure crumpled to the floor, I felt a wave of terror overcome me as Tom lay in a pool of blood on my floor; he had the symbolic dark bags painted under his eyes. About an hour later, other rebels came to check on him, but I ambushed them, and discovered that Tom had been their leader from the beginning. Thankfully, I gave these rebels all I had left and they promised to leave us alone in return. Hearing Tom was the leader of the rebel force was a devastating blow to the morale of all the survivors.
As I tried to explain to Diana what had happened, she threw her face into my chest and wept bitterly. And with this I leave you, my reader, with one final thought. Be careful who you trust. So many times we place our faith or trust in others. Maybe it's a friend, a leader, or an organization. And many times, we will be let down. So many times, we are betrayed by those closest to us. We are betrayed by those we never thought would betray us. It is for this reason, that we must always be careful who we place our trust in. But at the same time, we should never be afraid to trust. We may be betrayed, people may let us down, but that is no reason to never trust someone. There are people who sincerely care about you. It is important that you never shut those people out. Given time, Diana will be fine. She will go about life as usual and leave this in the past. She will trust again. And so, in this dark moment, we are left with less than we had before, but we have hope. We have the hope that we can will live to see another day... and we will survive.