Day Zero, One Year On [2013]

This is my personal account of the events leading up to what has become known as Day Zero

In the days leading up to day zero mass hysteria and panic had gripped the globe. It all started in early December, news stories of people all over the world frantically stocking up on food, water and medical supplies, the multiple reports of mass suicides on a global scale. The world was in a panic and political tensions were running high, the middle east region was a powder keg waiting to go off and on 12/12/12 the spark ignited and the sky started to fall.





On 12 December 2012 a Nasa employee came forward with information regarding an upcoming solar flare on 21 December that would effectively cripple all electrical devices for three days and nights. After i heard this i naturally went online and found a wealth of information on the subject most of it without any basis in reality in fact i soon discovered that the internet was overwhelmed with conspiracy nuts believing everything from a Mayan apocalypse to spiritual ascension. The alleged Maya Prophesy was interesting but i put it down to coincidence and moved on hoping that things wouldn't get too bad. The next day Israel launched nuclear weapons at Iran, Syria, and Egypt and after that things went crazy. The final news report mentioned Nuclear launches from India , Pakistan, China, Great Britain, France, and the U.S. From what i have deduced Russia never stood a chance after Israel launched the first strike China wiped them out.




Pretty soon after the news channels went off the air i began to realize the magnitude of what was happening, I was lucky to not be anywhere near any of the major cities that were hit but it was pretty clear the government and social structure no longer existed. During those first few days some police officers were trying to regain some form of order however they didn't last long. People were killing each other for food and water, I knew my plan was to gather some supplies find my sister and disappear into the wilderness.




I had been a keen archer my father was a marine and loved hunting especially with a Bow he once said to me that hunting with a bow helps a man tune in to his instincts, to master a bow is to master ones-self. My father died when i was sixteen and i hadn't fired a bow since he passed. I went upstairs and entered my attic were i had stored all my fathers things, my step father had seen to it that they were given to me after my mother died. Eventually i found it in an old chest wrapped in black cloth, my fathers Bow it was hand carved from oak and had a distinct Celtic design all along the handle. I had never realized how beautiful it was, i grabbed the dozen or so arrows and an old leather quiver from the chest and walked out the door with only one thought in my head, Find my little sister.



My first point of order was supplies so with that in mind i headed for the nearest shopping mall, it was 15 miles away i ran the entire distance in order to make it there before nightfall which turns out was probably the best decision i ever made. i took my time scouting the area first the last thing i needed was to run into a crazy who would shoot me out of panic, there were seven people camped out in the main entrance four of them were big with tattoos and piercings two of them had shotguns and one had a pistol the other appeared to be unarmed but i figured his weapon was concealed. Three women sat huddled together in the far corner.



I decided it was probably best to avoid them and find another way in, i Entered through a broken window and found myself in a shop that sold camping equipment. Someone is definitely on my side i thought, i Found a large backpack and started to look for a small one man tent that would fit inside. After i found one i grabbed a hatchet and a wind up lamp/radio and packed everything away, on my way back to the window i saw a display case holding a selection of hunting knives and i knew that i should take one but in order to get at it i needed to break the case which would probably grab the attention of the large biker looking guys outside.



I smashed the case and grabbed the nearest knife and a sharpening tool and sprinted for the window, managing to jump through and move left along the building before they came through the door as i rounded the corner of the building i came face to face with one of the bikers. He looked stunned and before he could react i unsheathed my knife and opened his throat so he couldn't yell out, Blood sprayed my face i could feel it running over my eyes and lips like being in a shower with low pressure. I looked down at the man whose life i just ended he was gargling blood trying to breath, the light draining from his eyes i reached down and picked up his pistol and ran down the dark street.




My sister lived one hundred and eighty miles away on my stepfathers ranch and all the roads were gridlocked with abandoned cars, i thought about finding a motorcycle but decided against it as bikes can be noisy and that draws attention and having to find fuel would be too risky so i decided i would go on foot.





I made good time arriving at the ranch on the third day of travelling which also turned out to be day zero. I knew something was wrong right away! all the horses were gone and i could see Two men i didn't recognize standing on the front porch of the house armed with shotguns, i had no choice i had to find out if my sister was alive but i would need to wait for nightfall.





After the sun went down i waited for my eyes to adjust to the changed light conditions and then i carried out my plan, I headed straight for the barn and found a can of diesel fuel and i poured it everywhere and torched the entire place. Running towards the stables i heard them shouting as they ran out the house to find out what was happening only two appeared. i fired an arrow at the closest of them but missed, the second didn't it caught him in the back of the neck and he went down. His friend looked confused as to what was happening he lifted his gun and wheeled about searching for me. The smoke covered my position so i ran straight at him and tackled him to the floor drew my knife and put it roughly against his throat. He was about forty years old and even through the smell of the burning barn i could smell the whiskey off his breath.




I asked him where my sister was and he started to laugh maniacally, before i realized what i was doing i had cut his throat sawing almost all the way through to the bone. I came back to my senses and seeing what i had done was violently sick.



i headed inside and found no sign of my sister, walking into the kitchen i found my stepfather slumped over the kitchen table with a gunshot wound to the head he was clutching a note it read.


she is with your mother, they tried to take her and we fought so they killed her . Im sorry i couldn't save her




I stood Underneath the old oak tree where my mothers body lies and wept over the freshly turned earth that now covered my sister, Life would never be the same.




I write this One year on. The power never came back on whether this was due to the flare or the fact that nobody was operating the power stations anymore i don't know. Everything has changed, nothing makes sense anymore.....

All that remains is Revenge!