The Silence

Recollection Log, Entry 2:

I never thought that I would be here for this kind of post-apocalyptic B.S. but here I am accompanying a team of twelve to a rations zone. It has been three years, eight months and a day since the world changed. Some say it happened gradually at first, taking over the wildlife then spreading to humanity, but with no clear evidence, who really knows? At one point I believed we would have had a fighting chance if we caught it in time…I know now that it would not have mattered.

It was supposed to be a normal Summer, where the heat would cause sweat beads on foreheads before setting foot outside. Where kids were away at camp or in summer programs, teens were being mall rats and their adults were busy at work. Where I would propose to my girlfriend with a heart-shaped locket because rings were not her “thing” and neither were diamonds. Of course, things always seem like they are going well right before it all comes crashing down. The Silence, as it was appropriately named, was thought to be some sort of airborne biological chemical attack. The finger-pointing between countries was almost as annoying as the fact that no one could figure out if the effects were reversible—something that would have calmed the masses at the time, to know that people were working on it. Eventually, scientists at least figured out that it only affected biological beings that possessed a larynx…I’ll let that sink in a bit.

…Okay, bit is over. They also discovered that it did not discriminate against developing fetuses in mothers that had become afflicted while already pregnant; this was true for both humans and animals alike. If you were hopeful that the phenomenon would not affect future development of fetuses and that babies were born with a voice box void of The Silence? I hate to be the one that tells you your hope is displaced. Add that to the list of growing questions that could not be definitively answered yet were wrought with theories ranging from nearly commonsensical to completely insane.

What did The Silence do? Well, our voices? Completely gone. No words, screams, grunts, just silence. Ever have that dream where you scream but no one can hear you because nothing is coming out? And your throat starts to hurt even though it seems impossible given the circumstances? Think that, but in real life. You can imagine the kind of chaos that ensued immediately after this. How do you control air traffic without a voice? How do you communicate with emergency dispatch or on the phone at all? True, we lived in an age that knew the value of technological advances in video communication, emails, and text messaging from anywhere in the world, but not all careers, jobs and people made use of them and for various reasons. Palpable was the regret from those who failed to take full advantage of the technology available beforehand.

Fighting accompanied this world-wide happening, hindering the revamping of infrastructures to adapt to the new normal. Some countries that were completely self-sustainable shuttered their borders and airports, not wanting to deal with any more than they could handle—and honestly, I commend them for focusing on the people that make their country possible. Others were trying to build alliances to trade resources exclusively, making matters exceedingly difficult for other countries in need. We The People? We were allied with the usual powers that be, which proved extremely useful when the wars began. There is an irony, there, but let me save that for another time.

End Entry.

PS

She said yes, by the way. In case you were wondering. She wears that locket like her life depends on it…and who knows? Maybe one day it will.