ENTRY 100_02 - HUMAN SUBJECT AMANDA FORTIS - PERSONAL ID 06242009.

I give up.

I am done.

I refuse to live any longer.

Ever since the damn bomb dropped, I have been alone for years. Maybe even longer then that. I can't keep track of time anymore. In a wasteland of a world you are only concerned with two time slots, Night and Day. But now that is even useless to me. This is the first time in God knows how long I wrote in this memory card journal. The only reason I am writing now is hope that some other intelligent life form finds it and reads it. Because today is the day I end it.

Today, I will take my own life.

Its a wonder how I've been able to survive for so long only to give up now. Then again, at the moment I don't have a snowflake's chance in hell surviving tomorrow. I have exhausted all my food and water supply, have not slept in days in fear that a mutant animal will devour me, and my pistol only has one bullet left in it. Saved for myself, of course.

Besides, the memories of my past life have caught up to me again. This time more vivid, more painful than before. Everyone I know is dead. My peers. Dead. My teachers. Dead. My... My Guardian. ...Dead... What's life without companionship of any kind? Any life worth living at that case.

But as I sit on a pile of rubble with my weapon pressed against my temple, I ask Life, God, The Universe, or any greater being for something as illogical as clean water and food.

I ask for a sign.

A second chance, you could call it, to see if I should or shouldn't kill myself now. I don't why but I just ask for anything to interpret as a sign. If nothing comes, I'll interpret it as a sign to end all the suffering now.

So I wait.

Not a moment later, the wind picks up. So powerful it almost knocks me off my feet, but I stand my ground. Debris of a fallen civilization fly past me. Out of habit, I cover my face even though I have my goggle and mask to protect me. When I realize how stupid of a habit it was, (And that the pistol was no longer by my head) I lower my arms to be greeted by what has to be the most random of all objects gently floating from my eyesight to my feet.

A straw.

Okay, beggars shouldn't be choosers, but come on! A straw?

I bend over and pick up the plastic beverage transporter as gently as I could, afraid that it could crumble at the slightest touch. I stare at it as I ponder. What a strange sign to be given. This couldn't be a mere coincidence. I haven't seen a straw in all my years of scavenging for expired food. I use parts of my brain I haven't used in years to decipher this message. I didn't take a Philosophy class for nothing.

But it dawns on me. For a moment, a non-existent light bulb hovers over my head. The polluted skies clear way for a patch of sunlight to bathe me in a heavenly light of knowledge. By Hell, I know exactly what this means. There can only be one, logical explanation for this.

My life sucks.

Literally.

So once again I put the pistol to my temple, pull the trigger, and enter a new world of blissful darkness. The End.

.

.

.

.

.

Or, at least that's WHAT I was going to do.

Instead, I look up to see a dark figure running towards me rather frantically. Whether out of sheer shock that another human is alive in the Dead Zone or pure fear, I stay absolutely still and do nothing as the figure comes closer and closer. Upon further examination, he (Or she?) seems to be wearing a heavy, black coat and a fashionable red scarf with it. The respirator he wore seemed to be placed in a permanent smile, giving an emotion to this mysterious man. What struck me as most odd was the purple goggles he wore. The only reason which made me think of this as odd was probably because purple is my favorite color. Like, ever.

But despite this being either a figment of my imagination or not, nothing could have ever prepared for what has to be the loudest, most ridiculous voice on the planet.

"AH-HA! YOU HAVE FIND MEIN STRAW! THE CURSED WINDS HAVE TOOK IT FROM ME IN ATTEMPT TO FOIL MY PLAN FROM DRINKING MY TEA!"

Okay, the guy is obviously German. The accent is so thick, it even penetrates the voice modifier he put in his mask.

"BUT IT HAZ YET TO TAKE AWAY MEIN MOST PRECIOUS STRAW" He boomed. After he said that, Purple Eyes points an accusing finger to the sky.

"TAKE THAT POSIDEN! ZEE MIGHTY CAPTAIN HAS WON AGAIN!"

The person who goes by Zee Captain turns his gaze to me. I feel slightly unnerved by the Captain. He was wearing a cap usually worn by high ranking military officers so he couldn't have been lying. Or he could have stole it off the body of a real Captain, which probably makes more sense.

"ANYWAY, I MUST ASK OF YOU TO RETURN ZEE STRAW. PLEASE DO HURRY THOUGH, ZHERE EZ A NIP IN ZEE AIR AND THE TEA MUST BE ABOVE FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE DEGREES CELSIUS OR IT IS SIMPLY UNDRINKABLE!"

By now I have noticed that in his right hand he had a black mug with a heart in the middle. However he found a ceramic mug in such perfect condition is beyond impossible, but I have the feeling that this man in front of me did not follow the rules of probability. Zee Captain extends a gloved hand to me to retrive his beloved straw. I hand it over and place in his palm. The German brings the straw up to eye level and inspects the drinking device for any damage. Satisfied with the results, he places it back in his mug and takes a long, loud slurp from it.

"AHHHH ZHAT HITS ZEE LIVER. I DANKE YOU M'LADY."

The towering man bows slightly and takes my trembling hand. He brings it up to his respirator as a substitute of an chivalry kiss. Touch, God its been so long since I've been touched by another human, and even longer to be refered to by my gender. This act only lasts for a few seconds, but to me it had to be at least a few hours. The man straightens his back and clears his throat for yet another loudly obnoxious proclamation.

"ZHIS HEROIC ACT CAN ONLY BE REWARDED IN ONE WAY. BY THE GLORIOUS POWER OF ZEE CAPTAIN OF CAPTANIA, I HEREBY OFFER YOU A RANK IN MY MOST EPIC ARMY!"

I blink. This dude has an army? Wait, does that mean even more people? Is he rebuilding civilization? This guy can't be for real! I must be dreaming! Or maybe I did kill myself and this is some screwed form of Heaven.

"SO VHAT DO YOU SAY? VOULD YOU LIKE A JOB WITH A CHANCE TO RISE THROUGH ZEE RANKS?"

I nod so furiously, the hood of my jacket falls over my eye.

"GOOD! NOW BEFORE YOU OFFICIALLY JOIN ZEE CAPTAIN'S ARMY, YOU MUST FILL OUT PAPERWORK AND I MUST I HAVE YOUR NAME."

My name. A few syllables I haven't even spoken out loud to myself. It comes out more of a stutter than a sentence, but he must get the idea.

"A-A-Amanda. A-Amanda Fortis, sir"

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So this is the start of a new story I had in mind. Its going to mostly feature my OC which I hope you guys like. Romantically Apoctalyptic is such an inspiration that I couldn't resist to eventually write a fanfic for it. If I had better drawing skills, I would have made this into a comic. But if you like the story or don't like it, leave a review explaining why. This will help me improve and continue writing if it gets enough reviews. I am also looking for a Beta reader for any upcoming chapters so if you are interested, please contact me by my Fanfiction profile.

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