Dairy of Remi Salazar

 

 

 

Diary of Remi Salazar-Found in her abandoned car between Tucson, Arizona and Phoenix, Arizona on December 31st, 2012-Document located in the “Disaster of 2012” Archive room at Tucson Arizona’s Monument for the victims of the disaster.

 

 

My Diary by Remi Salazar 

 

December 18, 2012

 

I would start this as Dear Diary, but that won’t work here.  Usually a diary is for hopes and dreams.  Unfortunately, this one is full of heartaches and nightmares.

 

My name is Remi Salazar.  I decided to write the events of the worst day of my life.  The whole thing started yesterday December 17, 2012.

 

I am married with two children living in Tucson, Arizona. 

 

When I woke up yesterday morning I had a feeling there was something wrong.  I wasn’t prepared for what happened next!

 

I am happy with my life.  I have a husband, two wonderful boys, and a dog smart as a whip.  

 

The boys were at school; my husband and I were both at work.  The day was beautiful.  We went about our day as usual though it seemed everyone was walking on eggshells with the usual ‘end of the world’ doom and gloom hanging over our heads.  This wasn’t the first time someone had said the ‘End of the world was near’, though the Mayan’s had predicted it long ago.  We have always had one of those nut cases spouting some kind of nonsense.

 

I didn’t believe the bull, but at the same time I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen. 

 

It started around noon.  First, the ground started to tremble.  You could only feel them when setting down.  We didn't think anything about it since Tucson sat on a plate.  But when the power went out everyone got nervous.  By now, the emergency horns were going off.  At work they told us to go home for the day they didn't want to be responsible if someone got hurt.  It was a good thing too, because as soon as we were out of the building the walls started to crack from the shaking.  I got into my car and left.  I tried the radio but only got static.

 

As I was driving, I could tell that the tremors had turned into earth shattering quakes.  I could feel the street move under the wheels of my car.  As I drove down the road, I watched as buildings caved in on themselves, trees being up rooted, and I watched as a fire hydrant exploded throwing water twenty feet into the air. 

 

Shit had just hit the fan! 

 

I was going to drive home when I decided to get the boys instead.  There were few people driving on the roads, but the few that were, were panicking and driving like idiots.  

 

They were in a hurry to out run the End of the World!!!! 

 

I just wanted to find my family and go home!

 

I remember making the heart wrenching decision about which boy to look for first.  

 

I went to look for my oldest son Jacob but when I got to his high school, only 30 minutes after this whole damn thing started, there was nothing-left standing, but one or two people in the street.  They stood staring at where the three story buildings were now a heap of rubble.  I stayed for an hour searching the rubble and screaming out Jacob’s name trying to find him.

 

I thought maybe the emergency crews would come, but after a while, I just gave up.  I didn’t think they even knew where to start.  After no success of finding Jacob, I decided to go look for Kyle.  Jacob was a smart boy.  He would find his way home.

 

The youngest, Kyle, went to the middle school close to our home.  It was normally a fifteen-minute trip from Jacob’s school.  The trip took me two hours to get there.  The bridges were down and finding a way through town was a nightmare.  When I finally made it, his school was also in a heap I didn't even try to look for him.  I had wasted so much time that I didn't think anyone was alive under the rubble, so I drove home.  The drive took me what seemed like forever as I maneuvered through the rubble and the damaged roads in the neighborhood.

 

I finally made it home.  At least I thought it was my home, it sure as hell didn’t look like it anymore.  I was frantic.  I ran up to the fallen house yelling for Kyle or even the damn dog Terminator, then I heard a whimper.

 

I ran to where the whimpering the loudest.  I started to pull debris out of the way.  There was the dog, he was alive and well.  I helped him out of his trap.  I carried him over to where my car was and sat down with him on my lap.  As he whimpered, I tried to soothe him. 

 

“This can’t be happening” I slumped next to my car holding onto the dog for dear life.  I could not move, could not think, and was just not able to stop the tears.  At some point, I fell asleep from exhaustion.

 

After waking a few hours later and still no one had come home, I decided to try to drive to my husband.  I got into my car, started it, then realized I didn’t know where he was working, I hadn’t asked that morning when he left.

 

(I can still feel his last kiss on my lips.)

 

So, I just stayed where I was, with the dog in my lap and waited, no sense in me being lost also.

 

 

December 24th, 2012

 

It has been one week now after the earthquakes, the buildings falling, what few people there were was wondering around as if they were lost.  I still haven’t found my children or husband.

 

I keep replaying the events of that day in my mind.  Could I have done something differently?

 

I decided to go to the warehouse store across the way to see if I would be able to find something to eat.  There was no one around.  I couldn’t believe it.  Was I the only one left alive?  I found the store pretty much destroyed.  Going through the fallen buildings debris, I found a couple of bottles of water, and some crackers under a pile of twisted metal.  It looked as if others had already been through the debris.  After gathering what items I could I went home to wait.

 

 

December 31st, 2012

 

It has now been two weeks today since hell released its demons.  No one has come home.  I am afraid they are dead.  Even though I haven't seen anyone for a couple of weeks, I have still been afraid that someone might come looking for food.  I should never have watched that movie "The Road".

 

I have decided to start driving to find shelter.  Partly because I have been scaring myself, and partly because Tucson had become unstable, we are having so many aftershocks that the house has finally caught on fire.  I thought maybe if I could make it to Phoenix, I might be able to find help to look for my family.  I do not think I will have enough gas to get far but I’ll try.

Chapter One

 

 

 

As Remi drove down the deserted highway, she couldn’t help notice how hot it was.  It was almost midnight and it felt like one hundred degrees.  Anything over forty-five degrees in Arizona in the winter was warmer than it should be.  The moon was going out of its full cycle but it was still large enough to give off a lot of light.  With all the bridges down and the large cracks in the roads, it took her awhile to get out on the highway.  

 

She thought she would feel more relieved now that she was finally doing something but driving down the deserted highway gave her the chills.  She noticed how scary everything appeared.  Looking up at the sky, she saw some clouds around the moon.  She dragged her attention back to the road in front of her. 

 

“What could that be?”  She asked herself aloud.  She knew it was stupid talking to herself but she found after two weeks of being alone it calmed her nerves.   

  

That was strange, what was that?  Fog or was it smoke?  Whatever it was she was heading right for it!  Remi looked at the speedometer, she took her foot off the accelerator to slow down, but the car sped up!  Forty.  Forty-five.  The car seemed to have a mind of its own.  She didn't want into drive in the strange swirling fog like stuff!  Remi slammed both feet down on the breaks stopping just a few feet from it!  Nervously she sat behind the wheel of her car.  She watched the grey matter as she slowly drummed her fingers on the steering wheel.  Tap, tap, tap.  Tap, tap, tap.

 

“This is stupid I need to get out of the car to check it out.”  Again the sound of her own voice soothing her.  Setting back in her seat, she gripped the steering wheel one last time then she quickly unbuckled her seat belt before she could change her mind.  She wanted to see what it was even if she was scared out of her wits.  Putting the dog on his leash before getting out of the car, she slowly walked to the edge of the smoke/fog.

 

The dark gray matter was strange it didn’t feel right.  Something was wrong.  With the dog barking uncontrollably, she decided to go back to the car.  That senseless saying “Curiosity killed the cat” kept playing through her mind.  She turned around to walk back to the car when a movement caught her eyes.  When she turned back to the fog, she noticed it seemed alive as it rolled and tumbled around.  She was mesmerized.  When it looked as if it was coming toward her, she tried to turn and run but the fog quickly surrounded her and the dog.  Remi looked around startled, trying to see if someone was around to help her.  Trying to scream she opened her mouth but no sound came out.  She could hear the scream in her head.  She looked at the dog when she realized he wasn't barking and to her surprise, the dog’s mouth was moving with no sound coming from him.  She wanted to move but had no control over her limbs.

 

She looked down at the now black fog creating a circle around them.  She watched in horror as the moving entity crept closer and encircled her feet working its way up her body immobilizing her.  When it started to surround her face, she tried to take in air but she couldn’t breathe!  That was when she lost consciousness!

 

She started to come to unsure of what had happened.  Had she fallen asleep before she left Tucson?  Everything seemed fuzzy as a couple of things struck her as off

 

First, she was lying on the ground.  How long had she been out?  She could feel the dog licking her face so she laid there for a moment longer listening to the soft chirp of the crickets.  She frowned as she petted the dog. 

 

Suddenly remembering the strange fog, she felt alert.  That was strange there was no sound when she passed out.  She wanted to open her eyes to see if it was still there!  If she could open her eyes, she would know but her eyes wouldn’t open!  Damn it, eyes open!  She could feel the fingers of panic creep into her mind.  She needed to calm down so she could relax. 

 

“Eyes open,” She said aloud hoping to encourage their cooperation as she focused on her eyes opening.  She smiled with a triumphant "Voila!" as her eyes slowly fluttered open.  Her smile turned into a frown when her vision was blurry, she blinked rapidly to clear her vision…. 

 

She was on her back looking up to what was supposed to be the sky.  Her frown deepened.  That cannot be right!  She had been only 20 miles north of Tucson, heading towards Phoenix.  Shit where the hell was she?

 

She stayed still trying to get her bearings.  Without moving her head, she watched as the leaves moved in the gentle breezed that she felt brushing her face.  Her mind tried to process what she was seeing.  What she was feeling.  Those looked like trees of some kind.  

 

Did she hit her head when she passed out?  She reached up to feel her head but she didn’t feel any bumps.  

 

Taking a deep breath, she smelled the scent of rotting leaves, dirt, and fresh clean air.

 

Maybe the fog caused her to hallucinate.  She has been through a lot in the last two weeks.  That had to be it, yeah!  This whole thing was just a hallucination!  That was it, whew!  

 

She closed her eyes and counted to ten, she slowly opened them again.  Crap!  That didn’t help anything.  She sat up quickly and looked around.  Shit, that wasn’t bright she needed to go slow.  Instead of seeing what was around her, she was seeing black spots flashing in and out of her vision. 

 

The fast movement also caused her stomach to turn.  It had been a few days since she last eaten anything of real substance.  Groaning she rolled over to her hands and knees, just in time as she wretched what little she had in her stomach.  She had to force herself to stop the dry heaves.  The poor dog watched her.  Setting back on her butt, she petted him on the head before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. 

 

“It’s okay Terminator, we’ll be okay.”  She hoped!  She was not going to panic! 

 

“I’m done with this shit, and it’s going to stop now!”

 

She had better get her ass up and figure out what was going on here.  She slowly got up from the ground, but still her surroundings twirled.  She was not going to let that stand in her way of finding out where she was.  Finally standing on wobbly legs she looked around.   

 

Okay so maybe she was hallucinating.  She looked around at her surroundings again as she put her hand on her hips she scowled.  Maybe someone was playing a trick on her?

 

Arizona was desert, very few trees.  These trees looked like redwoods, and they were huge.  She walked over to a tree and touched it.  It was real and looked like the trees that she had seen on a Yosemite National Park website she had goggled once.  She turned to look at the massive things surrounding her.  She leaned against the tree to keep from falling.  She had never been to Yosemite.  She remembered the website showed trees so large that you could drive a bus through them.  She was sure that was what kind of trees these were.  God if she was in a forest she was in trouble.  She wished she had learnt about different trees and plants before, she didn’t even know what poison ivy looked like, not that she was allergic, but god she was not where she was before!  

 

Shit just what she needed!

Chapter Two

 

 

 

Pulling herself out of her panic she stepped away from the tree, she started to walk in the direction of where she thought she left her car.  Stopping she looked for a road.  She turned around in a circle but all she could see were trees.  What the hell?  Wait!  Where.Was.Her.Car? 

 

NO!  Her mind was screaming.  She wasn’t thinking straight.  She needed to get a hold of herself.  She needed to calm down!  Taking a deep breath, she mentally slapped herself.  Walking calmly she decided to head towards what she hoped was north.  As she walked, she realized she wasn’t even sure if this was the correct direction.

 

“God how can I be so stupid?”  In all her years, she never was able to tell north from west.  The bird magnet thingies that most normal people had in their heads, well, hers was broken.  Just when she needed it most, well damn! 

 

“I can’t tell what direction I’m going to save my life.”  She walked a little further then paused.

 

“Okay, you’re rambling,” muttering to herself and the dog, “Take a deep breath, in, out, in, out, think.  Find the sun, but that won’t help.  I don’t know whether it was morning or afternoon.  What if I find the sun and its noon, I’m so screwed.”

 

She walked a few more feet then stopped again.  She looked around and decided that things had to start looking up. 

 

“So what if I am in a strange place and lost.  I am sure things couldn’t get any worse right, Terminator?”  She asked the dog trying to sound chipper.

 

In her current state of mind, she hadn’t noticed the pair of eyes that were watching her and the dog just a few feet behind them.

 

“I don’t mind a good adventure but this is a little farfetched.  What the hell do you think we should do?”  Asking the dog who turned to look at her as his tail wagged happily.

 

A beautiful white wolf was watching them.

 

What was that crazy human doing?  She acted as if she was lost.  The white wolf wondered if she should get her Uncle Dominic.  He might know what to do.  No, she had better not leave the human alone.  She looked unstable.  Moreover, the white wolf definitely didn’t want to bring to her Uncles attention that she was out alone.  She wasn’t supposed to be out in the woods by herself and if Dom found out he’d skin her alive.

 

She wondered who the human was.  Should she go to the human in her wolf form?  No, better not.  Not with the way she was mumbling to the dog she might go overboard, besides her wolf could upset the dog.  What did she call him ‘Terminator’ what a strange name.

 

The wolf shimmered turning into her human form that was only five foot tall, short by wolf standards weighing about ninety-five pounds.  Her blonde hair was almost white and she had brown eyes.  She was china doll pretty.  Even though she was twenty human years old, humans always mistook her for a child. 

  

However, this woman needed her help.  Well here goes nothing.  She started to walk loud enough in hopes it wouldn’t scare the woman or the dog. 

 

Remi walked another couple of feet when she heard a noise, “What was that?  Terminator, come!” 

 

She stopped as the dog came back to her so she could grab his leash.  God!  Now she didn’t think about wild animals. 

 

“SHIT!”  She muttered softly.  She turned around slowly.  Remi didn’t want to startle any wild animal.  To her surprise standing about seven feet from her, was a young girl. 

 

Where the hell did she come from?  How did Remi miss her approach?  For that matter, how did the dog?  Remi gave Terminator that “you’re in big shit mister” look that he ignored.  He was wagging his tail at the girl.  Stupid dog!

 

“Hello there,” said the cute little blonde-haired woman, “are you lost?”

 

She speaks English, thank god.  Remi must still be in America.  Remi could only stare, for some reason she couldn’t seem to find her voice.  The sound that came from her was a rude snort that was quite annoying.

 

Terminator started barking at another noise coming from the opposite direction.  Well at least he was paying attention now.  Remi turned to look in the same direction the dog was barking.  The rustling sound got louder and whatever it was it was huge.  Remi turned her head and looked at the young girl.  The girl didn’t seem afraid so Remi looked back.  To her surprise, she caught a glimpse of a huge silver wolf, maybe seven or eight feet tall!  It had the most alarming silver eyes and he was staring at all three of them like they were dinner! 

 

“So there is life on this planet,” Remi found her voice finally and couldn’t help but snicker at her own joke just before she started to see black spots dancing before her eyes as she fainted, AGAIN!

Chapter Three

 

 

 

Chrystal, what are you doing out here?  And why is that woman lying on the ground?  The large grey wolf came into the clearing looking from the woman on the ground and the young girl.

 

Chrystal recognized the sexy, deep masculine voice in her head.  It was her uncle Dominic.  In his wolf form, he was impressive.  His fur was all shades of greys and his eyes were silver, you didn’t mess around with him in his wolf form, he was just plain scary.

 

He walked to where the woman had fallen to the ground.  He bent down to sniff her.  The little black dog was growling at him and seemed to be protecting the human.  She didn’t smell right.  He could smell fear, confusion, dirt, but there was another strange scent clinging to her and the dog.  It was several layers down but it was triggering something he didn’t quite understand.

 

How the hell did a human get out here anyway?  He asked trying to figure out how she got this far out in the woods.

 

“Uncle, if you hadn’t made her faint we might have found out.  We need to get her some help,” Chrystal said standing with her hands on her hips.

 

Shit, you run back to the house and get a room ready for her and I’ll carry her home Dominic said as he looked down at the woman again. 

 

Before he had a chance to shift to his human form Chrystal said, “Okay but you had better change to your human form before she comes to or you’ll scare the poor thing again,” her voice held a hint of laughter hoping to keep his mind on the woman and off the fact that she was breaking the rules.  He had several rules and you didn’t break Dom's rules. 

 

“Smart ass,” he said as he transformed to his human form.  He was a huge man, considered handsome with his hair of multiple shades of silver with his eyes that matched the lightest shade.  He was well over six foot, weighing about two hundred twenty pounds, built of hard muscles and bones.  He was the alpha of the Pack. 

 

He had good traits, he was the kindest, gentlest shifter in existence but he had some nasty traits also, he was always in control and always right!  Combined these traits made him the alpha.

 

He turned to Chrystal, “Don’t think you’ve dodged a scolding for being out here alone.  We’ll talk after we figure out this human’s problem.” 

 

He hesitated for a second pointing down at the dog he said, “See if the dog will go with you.”  The dog was still growling at Dominic so he reached down slowly to let the dog sniff his hand.

 

“It is okay boy, calm down,” Dominic took his large hand and patted the dog’s head.  The dog quit growling and sat next to the woman whimpering and licking her face. 

 

Dominic hadn’t seen many dogs but this one was loyal.

 

“Okay Dominic,” Chrystal said then she called the dog, “Come here Terminator – Come here boy,” Chrystal patted her leg.  Terminator just looked her and then back at his human.  “Nope looks like he’s with you.  See you at the house.”  Chrystal said as she shifted back to her wolf form.  She ran off toward the house hoping her Uncle Dominic would be way too busy with the human and dog to remember her offense.  If not she was in trouble herself.

 

Dominic wondered how the hell Chrystal knew the dog’s name.

 

“Terminator, huh?”  Dom asked the dog.  The dog looked up at Dominic wagging his tail as if recognizing Dominic as his alpha.  The dog was still setting next to the human waiting on her.

 

Dominic stood over them looking from the woman to the dog.  He still couldn’t shake the strange feeling that something wasn’t right.  What was it that was so different about this human woman? 

 

He pondered what she was doing out here alone.  Humans usually didn’t venture out to Yosemite this time of year.  It was thirty mountainous miles from the nearest road one direction and four miles to the house the other, which if she came onto the “Packs” territory from the direction of the house someone would have seen her.  How did she get out this far?  Chrystal said the woman looked lost.

 

Dominic didn’t want to think about what could have happened to her if Chrystal hadn’t found

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: Copyright 2011 Patricia Rodriguez 2nd addition 2014
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 17.01.2014
ISBN: 978-3-7309-9592-1

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