The Storm; Where the Path Leads

The title gave him chills no matter how many times he'd seen it. It was written in all uppercase letters, and each of those letters' serifs were overly extended. With a flick of his wrist, he opened the journal, to Entry Nine.

[ENTRY NINE]

November 20, 2154

We walked for hours, tired and hungry. But then, amidst the broken buildings, we found a nice spot. Grass and flowers everywhere. And guess what? Sheep and cows! They looked calm, like they didn't know about the war. It felt good seeing them, like a break from all the bad stuff. Fucking finally. The path was a long one, my kids are tired as hell. So am I. I think the military didn't bother to destroy this place since it's got no humans as far as I can see. Or maybe they just ran away. Maybe there's something hiding in this scenery waiting to jump me and eat me or whatever. On the far edge though, I saw a long wooden bridge. It went across the river, into a dark forest. Hell if I'm going there. Gotta set camp here, I did bring a tent, so we don't gotta suffer here at least. I set up everything there was and yeah. That's about it. We brought the remaining canned food, and I don't know how I can gather more food. Man fuck. Maybe I do need to check the forest.

"Huh… is this… the bridge dad was talking about? No… no way, that close? This place was that close to… attacks?" Vincent questioned. "It can't be, no." he said, as he flipped to Entry Ten. "Oh god, this is some… horrible handwriting." he sighed.

[ENTRY TEN]

November 21, 2154

Alright. It's pretty early. Kids were sleeping, now I'm standing right next to the bridge. I'm writing everything down as soon as I see it. Don't wanna risk forgetting anything. The bridge's made of planks, and it's pretty sturdy, since it doesn't budge when I step on it. Man the river's beautiful. But also not. I see corpses just flowing through. Disgusting. Okay, I puked. God. Okay, no more distractions. Okay, I crossed the bridge. It creaked a little so I hesitated, but I'm fine. The trees are huge. I don't see anything through it. The forest is lush. There's fruits. The ground's covered in vines and all sorts of that stuff. It's like a whole ass jungle here. I picked some fruits, they look safe. Hopefully, they are. My kids need something to eat other than canned food. The air is thick with humidity, and I'm sweating buckets already. It's uncomfortable, but at least it's not freezing like it was back at our makeshift camp. 

"God, this handwriting is so bad! I can't read anything… huh… grass… open…?" Vincent said, squinting his eyes to read as much as he could. 

"Wait… does this say sheep? Wait… that means… this is here. Where he was… it's… here! That means… something might exist outside this forest…" he murmured. It was shocking to him, he'd doubted his father's words of 'life' being outside this forest, but now it seemed like a possibility.

"Ah, wait. Hang on, this is still readable… this is one long entry." he said to himself. 

I didn't stay long. Just long enough to gather some food and take a breather. The forest seemed endless, like it stretched on forever. But then I found a large area, not clear but not as dense as most of the forest. I think I could set up camp here, the sunlight's not too harsh but it's still warm enough so we don't freeze. Looks like the perfect spot, maybe we can slowly create a small hut here. I'd seen some fish in the river, and these fruits are fairly sweet, and I haven't died yet, so yeah. Fun. Besides, no one's gonna think about staying deep inside a forest, so I think we should be fine from any unwelcome visitors. I'll make a trail so I don't get lost. Good idea, Elias.

"Okay yeah, this has got to be it. And if he did build a hut, it must be one of the village huts. Bingo." said Vincent, as he began reading Entry Eleven. But then, a knocking sound was heard, and Isabella's voice called out. "Open the door, Vinny." she said.

Vincent put the book back on top of the closet and unlocked the door. Isabella and Lily entered.

"So, did anything else happen after I left?' Vincent asked.

"Nope, he's okay. In deep sleep."

"Mama, papa, I'm scared." Lily whimpered.

"Why, what's wrong?" Vincent asked, leaning to her.

"The storm…"

"It's okay, Lily. You've already been through this." he reassured her.

"Exactly, this is no different." Isabella added.

"But grandpa said that this might be scary!" she exclaimed.

"Your grandpa just likes to scare you." Vincent said.

"Noo… the clouds were darker like he said!" Lily pouted.

"Yeah but so what?" Isabella replied.

"Um…" she hesitated.

"Yeah. He's just trying to scare you, okay? Don't worry. I've got you. Mama's got you too." Vincent said, smiling and patting her head, before he scooped her up in a hug.

"Looks like my girl's growing faster. You're heavier than last time, eh?" he laughed.

"You're so observant, Vinny." Isabella giggled.

"No, she really is heavier. Look, try it yourself." he replied, as he gave Lily to Isabella.

As Isabella picked her up, she groaned a bit. "Oh wow, you're right. Lily did grow! Look at you, sweetie!" she smiled.

"I'll be big soon right? Like you, mama." Lily giggled.

"Yeah!" Vincent said.

"And maybe you'll find a boy like your dad."

"Nooo I don't want to get married like you!" Lily frowned.

"Why not?" Isabella giggled.

"Because no boy can ever be as good as my dad!" she replied, smiling.

"I…" Vincent stammered at her response.

"You're right…" Isabella said softly. "No one could be like your dad."

"Guys, really?" Vincent chuckled. 

"You're the best papa, papa!" Lily said, breaking away from Isabella's grip to hug her father. Vincent gladly picked her up and kissed her forehead.

"Couldn't have a better daughter." he smiled.