Chimera

Chapter Twenty: Camila

Camila shook her head firmly. That thought was too much.

"I think you should see this," Lance said on the other side of the room. He was holding an electronic tablet. She had heard of them in history class, and she knew that they were advanced technology capable of aiding research and visualisation in seconds, but she was too shaken from the discovery of the contents of the lab to start working on a tech project.

"I know I asked for tech and stuff, but don't you think this is a bigger deal than fixing up some ancient electronics?" Camila asked, gesturing to the tubes.

"No. I'm not talking about finding tech. You should read this. It's about... well, everything," he said, passing her the device. On the screen were hundreds of words, organised into small segments. Was it a diary?

Camila read, unable to look away.

Today, my father woke me up early. He said that he's bought a house in the outskirts of San Francisco. That means I'm moving schools. Again. And I have to leave all my friends.

At first I was mad, but then he drove the car to the new house. It's crazy: there's lots of fruit trees and vegetables and stuff growing right next to it. And there's a lake where I could swim if it's not too cold.

There's even a private lab there, where dad will keep working with a group of other scientists.

But even though the new house is cool, I've been scared lately. Everyone is. On TV they're talking about conflicts between dozens of nations. I overheard the school principal saying to my teacher that he thinks they'll resort to nuclear weaponry or something. Plus, there's this epidemic going around. The teachers say it's only happening in third world countries, but doctors and scientists on the news say that it has no cure and it could spread to here.

And all the scientists are ranting on about global warming. I guess it could maybe be a threat, like, a hundred years from now, but everyone's been talking about it for ages and none of it has happened yet. I don't think climate change will be a big problem.

Well, anyway, dad's telling me to pick some plums. We have lots of them and they're really yummy. I'll pick lots for dad so he can help me make a plum pie when he's done in the lab. It's going to be delicious! Well, I'm going to go.

-Alice.

Today was kind of boring. I decided to go for a swim in the lake, but it was chilly and I hopped out real soon. And now Dad is constantly working, stuck in his stupid lab.

I was so bored that I went on my tablet for hours. There was a headline saying that bomb threats have been issued against six countries. I played a couple of games, but even those got boring because Dad's still in that stupid lab, so now here I am, with nothing to do, writing this stupid diary.

-Alice.

I really... I can't believe this is happening. Not now. Not while I'm still alive. I think the world is at war. They said that the New York Cosmopolitan area has been hit by a bomb. Manhattan was destroyed. The reporters said that other major cities have been bombed all over the world. Dad said that millions must have already died.

The refugees have brought a disease. The government says they can't stop it. It's on the east coast, so I think we're safe here, right on the West Coast. They're trying to quarantine the diseased, but everything is in disarray and it's not working.

I panicked and ran to my dad in the lab. I asked him if we would survive. And he said he was working on something that could save us... something that could save humanity.