The Day

[Anita Blake]

ok, i'm posting this more for some kind of motivation for me to finish this project i've started. It WILL be posted in this thread, once i've come clsoer to completing it, which should be soon, but if i didn't start a thread, i might not finish the project.

Basically, what i am doing is this: SEVERAL years ago, i wrote a short story, which i later adapted into a 2 page stage script for a drama class. Later on in life, when I went to film school, i developed the story as a short 10 minute film script, which was produced (and i edited :D )

My plan: to post the script, as filmed, and then to post the current 'backstory' that i am working on, since i am bored at work today. There are 2 characters in the story, and my back story is basically the journals of the two characters, with the ultimate goal of having 3 perpsectives on the same story: 1) the script, impersonal perspective, 2)Character A's 1st person perspective, and 3) Character B's perspective.

So far, i've got 4 pages of Character B's diary, with probably about another 4 or 5 to go, maybe less. Then a similar amount to write on character A. (they have names, but i don't feel like telling them to you yet ;) ) I figure that by posting all this info, i will feel more compelled to keep up with the project, as i have been incredibly lazy in my writing since the movie got made. Eventually, I'd like to get the movie online, but sadly, i don't think i have enough hosting space for it, but i'll see what i can do, i'm not sure about the legalities of posting it online, but i think it should be fine, as long as it's not for commercial use. Anyway, *crosses fingers* with a little devotion, i should be done in a few days.

-anita "trying to stop being lazy" blake

[Anita Blake]

ok. so, i don't have a copy of the script on me, but since the script tells the end of the story, and the diary's tell the rest, i would like to introduce you to Bridget, and Adriana.



warning! strong language and adult content!

[Anita Blake]

April 17

My sister called today. Waldo, her golden retriever, has another ear infection. I told her to bring him over, but really, if she would just follow my advice, he wouldn’t get so many ear infections. Mark says that Wendy just likes having her veterinarian sister look after her dog. Truthfully, I don’t mind giving Waldo his shots, but sometimes I wish she’d find a better reason to come and visit me!

On the news they are talking about war. I don’t really believe it will come to that. But… well, it is a little bit troublesome. I’ve had some nightmares lately. Mark is thinking about looking into one of the shelters the government is building. I think that’s a little bit excessive. I mean… nuclear war? Here? It’s ridiculous to even think about it.

[Anita Blake]

April 15


I went out to watch the sunset today, and I was struck by how beautiful this world really is. So often, we take it for granted. I love the feel of the spring air on the back of my neck, it’s as though I can feel the world coming back to life, waking after it’s winter slumber. The world is in so much chaos right now, and it’s hard to reconcile the human world with the natural world. The natural world is doing what it’s always done, return to life from winter dormancy, while, I suppose the human world is doing much the same as it’s always done: battle one another and fight for supremacy.

I don’t know what to think about it, I mean, I keep hearing that this might be The Big One, the war of all wars. I don’t like the sound of that. Not one bit.

[Anita Blake]

May 3

I got the garden in today! It’s been a beautiful spring so far, so here’s to hoping that the summer will follow suit! Just in case my row guides get lost (and they always seem to!) or I go senile in the next few weeks, I better write down what is where.

First row (east side!): Peas
Second row: green beans and wax beans
Third row: carrots
Fourth row: potatoes (mmmmm)
Fifth row: corn

And of course, as always, the rhubarb is gradually taking over the north west corner. The almanac says this should be a really good summer, hopefully those farmers know what they’re talking about!

[Anita Blake]

April 29



God, I am so mad. Fucking Connor, I never should have given him the key to my apartment. And he’d have to waltz in right when I was in the middle of having some of the greatest oral sex of my life. And HE was the one that was angry! What fucking right does he have to be angry? Fuck. I told him that I wanted to see other people. Fucking told him that. And he nearly fucking killed John. Now I have to get my locks changed, I had to call the cops and have him taken away. I should press charges. I could. I want to, but I don’t know if it would be more trouble than it’s worth. Restraining order, yes, having to see him in court several times, I don’t know about that. And now John thinks I’m some kind of slut, thinks I just give out my keys to anyone. FUCK!!!!!!! Whatever, I’m done with men for a while. This is driving me crazy. I don’t know why I can’t just find a decent guy that likes me and doesn’t have gross emotional issues.

[Anita Blake]

May 8

I can’t believe it. Mark signed us up for one of the Shelters. A bomb shelter! We’re only allowed to take a few pounds of belongings with us. And once we go in, there’s no going out, not until this ‘threat of war’ is over. This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. We could be in there for weeks! My garden… this is… I am so angry with him right now. I don’t know how he could do this without asking me first! I asked him when we had to go, and he said tomorrow. Tomorrow?! I have appointments to keep. The world is not going to end just because we’re afraid, I told him. He gave me that look, that look he reserves for when he thinks I am being particularly foolish. Well, I refuse to give in to this irrational fear. The President is not going to allow this to go any further. This is an international dispute, not an all out war! This whole shelter business is just a way to get more money out of the hard working people of this nation. How much did it cost? $10,000! That was our vacation money! We were going to use that to go to Hawaii, or maybe Europe! He just went in and took it out and paid for our places in the shelter without so much as asking me!

Now he’s knocking on the door, asking if he can come in. I’m not talking to him. I am furious with him right now. I am...

[Anita Blake]

May 7

What does it say about our species that the price of oil is more important to us than the balancing of the ecosystem? We’re so busy fighting our wars, seeking our precious commodities, and making money that we don’t even stop and take a look at what’s actually happening? We don’t stop and say “hey, millions of people are starving to death here” or “umm, guys? What happens if we don’t have any plant vegetation left?” . No we just barge on ahead in our own petty little lives and concerns, not even thinking that we’ll eventually need to think about something bigger. Bigger? What is bigger than humanity? And yet I guess there is that hypocrisy. Sure I can feel my discontent from a safe distance, but what can I actually do about it? Donate some of that precious money? Volunteer to pick up garbage? Maybe those things don’t accomplish very much, but at least I could try. But no, I’m wrapped up in my little, insignificant life too. After all, I am only human, and I have to say, if I had to choose my species, it sure as hell wouldn’t be human. What have we honestly offered the world? Nothing but death, destruction, and obliteration. We’ll destroy ourselves before we’re done, maybe take this entire, beautiful planet with us.

It frightens me so much to think about what my stupid, thoughtless species will do. Will I see it in my lifetime? What will I do to survive? Will I try, or will I just sit here like always, waiting, watching the world pass me by?

[Anita Blake]

May 8,

Well, maybe I was a little hasty in my judgement. I finally let Mark in and he showed me the brochure. It actually looks really nice. And Mark told me to think of it as a vacation, and when he put it that way, and looking at the brochure, I guess it really is kind of like a vacation.

The official name for it is the Northern Protection and Emergency and Safety Centre.(quoting the brochure) “It houses over a thousand people, including staff and maintenance people, and has over 20 stories of facilities, all underground… Designed to withstand almost any natural or manmade emergency that can be predicted or forecast, including flood, tornados, hurricanes (a hurricane, here?!) fire, even a nuclear blast (yikes!). It is a completely self-contained, closed system, with recycled air and water, waste management systems, food rationing systems, and complete climate control. The outer walls of the Centre are made of solid concrete , two feet thick, and coated on both sides with a high-temperature paint that reflects heat and radiation. In the event of a minor disaster, the Centre can be used as a temporary home for those displaced, but in the event of a major disaster, such as war, occupants can be sealed inside safely for up to five years!”

Well now, it sounds kind of like some kind of emergency bio dome, or a time capsule! There’s one floor that is entirely devoted to being a greenhouse! So, maybe I can at least try to grow something while we’re there, since we have no idea of how long we’ll be there for. I asked Mark how long he thought, and he wouldn’t answer. I don’t think we’ll be there for much more than a week or so… they’re already talking on the news about peace talks and such. In which case, it’s a very expensive vacation, but I suppose it will be a once in a lifetime experience. There are private rooms, I guess it’s kind of like an underground hotel. When I heard “moving into a Shelter” I was thinking more of a high school gymnasium where everyone gets a cot to sleep on. But this doesn’t sound so bad. Who knows, maybe it’ll even be fun!

[Anita Blake]

May 7

And into the arms
Of darkness I am
Willingly led. Swim into
Oblivion. The world is soft and inside
to the depths I go I know not
Where I will end, but I follow my dark
Lover wherever he shall lead me.

And all is within me and I feel
The dark envelop me and I am
Reborn into the flesh of myself.

Time passes and numbers change
And the world spins madly
Ever closer to
Oblivion

[Anita Blake]

May 9

Well, we’ve been in the shelter for a few hours now. They haven’t locked the doors up yet, which is a good sign, to me. It’s not full yet either. We were only allowed to bring a few things, and when we got here, they went through absolutely everything. It was terribly embarrassing. They wouldn’t let me keep all the clothes that I brought, but they did put them in a ‘secure outer location’. Then they gave us these ugly jumpsuits to wear. The people at the doors all seem to be soldiers, and they seem to disapprove of a lot. I guess I don’t blame them. This is so silly!

Well, they weighed us, and measured us, and based on our size, gender and age (I guess) they assigned us a food ration level. I raised my eyebrows to Mark at that. Some ‘vacation’. We got a nametag, and were cautioned to wear it all the time. There’s a barcode on it, and I guess that’s what we use to tell the food machines what to give us. Well, I guess at least I will finally lose those last few pounds I’ve been meaning to get rid of!

Mark seems so serious. He’s been so quiet, listening to the darn radio in his headphones, frowning. I understand. The radio, the news can be so upsetting, I’ve tried to explain to him that the news gets sensationalized just so that they can sell it to you, they want to make us afraid, because if we are afraid, we’ll do things like spend $10,000 on a silly shelter that is ultimately pointless. He agrees with me, or at least he says he does, but obviously, he puts more weight to the news than I do. Personally, I think they make a lot of it up. I believe very little of what I see on the news. So generally, I don’t watch it much. But Mark, he seems obsessed with it. I wish I could comfort him, but he doesn’t seem to respond to comfort right now.

[Anita Blake]

May 8

The news these days is really scary. They’re saying that this might develop into nuclear war. Nuclear war. I mean, did they not hear about Mutually Assured Destruction? Do they not know that…. Dear god, of all my childhood fears for them to threaten me with. It’s debilitating, the very notion… especially living within a hundred miles of a military facility. It kind of raises the chances of getting nuked. I remember I watched this movie once, called The Day After, and it scared the shit out of me, all about a nuclear war on the domestic front, and the thing that gets me isn’t the blast, it’s the radiation that I’m afraid of. The lingering effects. The fact that there might be high levels of radiation around you and absolutely nothing you can do about it. No matter where you go, it can find you, maybe not all of it, but just enough to give you painful and terminal cancer. Oh what fun. And I look at the fuckwads in office and I go, oh great, of all the guys to have to trust my life with, these are the jerk-offs I get. What the fuck?! It frustrates me, that my life, my motherfucking life is in the hands of old white men that I have never met, that have no concern for my, me, Adriana Brownstone’s, life. Why should they care if 1000 civilians get killed? Well, they were just our worker drones after all. Who cares?!

I don’t know if I can sleep. I feel awful. This is … beyond terrible. I never thought the day would come where I would see the direct threat of nuclear war. It seemed like… an old thread, a dead threat, something from the distant past. I never imagined that in my lifetime, this would happen. It’s like an abstract thought, something so terrifying that it can’t be real. We can’t have really invented this nightmare machine? Maybe I’m overreacting. After all, it’s not happening yet. Political analysts aren’t infallible. They don’t know everything. And there’s still a chance for reconciliation. It doesn’t have to happen.

[Anita Blake]

May 9


I made a decision yesterday. I don’t know if I’ll regret it, but at least it was a decision. At least it’s something. The news isn’t getting any better these days, the talk about nuclear war is getting truly frightening. So I went to the bank and took out a loan so that I could get a place in that giant bomb shelter north of town. It wasn’t cheap, and I don’t know if later I’ll feel stupid for having caved into the mass hysteria that’s being sold, but maybe at least then I’ll be able to sleep. Of course, I told the bank I wanted a loan for a down payment on a house. Hopefully the shelter isn’t as permanent as that. I’d like to say that was funny, but it really wasn’t. I’m really scared. I wish I had someone to hold on to, someone to tell me that everything is going to be alright, someone to keep me safe, but all I have is a very expensive underground hotel room until this insanity is over.

[Anita Blake]

May 11

Well, the past couple days have been really busy. I’ve decided that since I’m stuck here for a little while, I might as well get to know the place. Our room is on the 10th floor (-10), and there’s a common room on the 4th floor (-4). You can take the stairs, they are really narrow, but bright. A lot of the walls are painted really reflective, light colours. The stairways are bright white. I guess it cuts down on the number of lights they need to use. It sure isn’t very pretty. The common room is a nicer colour, a pretty lemon yellow. Most of the places are so bright and colourful that you’d never think you were underground. In fact, in the common room, and the main dining hall (on the 5th floor) they have these really neat fake windows. I don’t know how they work, but they are really cheerful. It’s just like looking outside! You can see the sky, and the ground, and the horizon and everything! They’ve got a video playing through it, it must be, because you can watch the sun set though it. The one on the other side shows the sun rise. I think it might be an actual video loop from a nearby building. Whatever it is, I really like it. You can tell they put a lot of work into designing this place, it’s actually kind of neat. There’s not a lot to explore, but when you go to the common room, there’s usually a few people there. Some of them seem really afraid. I honestly don’t understand it. I mean, what is there to be afraid of? For one thing, this whole ‘war’ thing is never going to happen. This shelter is just a precautionary measure. That’s all. But even if, on some wild, bizarre chance, something bad did happen, we’re in this shelter! This place is like a mountain. It’s probably the safest place to be. Maybe they juts miss their friends and family. After all, not everyone can afford to stay here, and there’s really only room for so many.

Mark frowns more when he watches the news (they have TVs here, so we can still keep up to date on the outside world!) Personally, I hate the news, so when he furrows his brow like that, I just ask him. It’s easier to get the news from him than to try to watch those ridiculous newscasters. He says that ‘communications between the superpowers are breaking down’. I don’t know what to make of that. On the one hand, it seems really serious, but on the other hand, when I think about these ‘superpowers’, what I really think about is the fact that the leaders of the world are individuals. People. Surely, no one wants to have a war. No one wants this little conflict to go that far. Surely, the individuals in charge recognize that they have a responsibility to the people, a responsibility to not get us all killed.

[Anita Blake]

May 11


Wow. This place is… huge. I knew it would be big, but I figured since it’s underground, it would feel cramped, but it really doesn’t. It’s like a hotel, but underground. Kind of neat, actually. The walls are all shiny and white, all really light colours, I guess to help with the illusion of being above ground. They have these kind of weird fake windows with a video display showing an outdoor scene. I think it’s the view from a nearby building actually, I recognize some of the landmarks. Pretty cool, I guess. So, now I’m here, I feel kind of silly. There’s lots of people here, but I have my own private little room, not much more than a cubicle really, but it’s enough. I couldn’t believe the amount of money I had to pay the soldiers who let you in to help me sneak in some smokes. The place is like a fucking bio dome, once they lock it up, there’s no ventilation to the outside. Helps make the place radiation proof. For the price I paid, there really should be a smoking room in here. They’ve got just about everything else. I feel great… they gave me my own barcode and ration level. I don’t feel like one of the sheeple now, noooooo. For what I paid, I really think I deserve better treatment. I am a person, not a number! Heh. Well, I’m on the 14th floor, and that’s’ 14 floors below ground level, so I can actually for once sleep and not be terrified of nuclear radiation.

[Anita Blake]

May 12

They closed the doors today. We’re full, I guess, but it doesn’t seem crowded. I guess some people are staying in their rooms. Well, I’ve never been much of one for sticking to my room. I like to be out and about. I like to talk to people. So I spent a lot of my day in the common room. I got to meet some nice people today. Doris and Donald, the cutest little old couple, they’ve been married for 35 years! They are the only senior citizens that I’ve seen here. They said their daughter bought them their tickets. It’s so sweet! There’s a few people like that, that had their family members send them here. It makes me feel kind of bad for getting so mad at Mark. I met young woman here by herself today, Adriana. She took out a loan to get in here. I can’t believe it! She’s so pretty, it’s hard to believe she doesn’t have a significant other here with her. I told Mark about her, and he rolled his eyes at me, told me I shouldn’t try to play matchmaker for her. Well. Now that he mentions it, it seems like a pretty good idea. I think I will look for some nice single men to introduce to Adriana.

[Anita Blake]

May 12


Ok, maybe I could sleep and not be terrified but I sure as hell can’t sleep and be comfortable. This is not promising.

[Anita Blake]

May 16

One week. Mark says the news isn’t getting any better, so I don’t know how much longer we’ll be here for. The food isn’t very good, but I suppose it gives us all the nutrients we need. I found out that there’s a medical clinic on the 17th floor today. They really did think of everything!

[Anita Blake]

May 14

The people I meet here are so different from me. I don’t understand that, since most people aren’t in a bomb shelter, so you’d think that fear that drove us here would unite us, but a lot of people didn’t even want to be here. Their family members bought their way in, a lot of their family members are military. There’s even this old couple who’s daughter is married to a senator who bent a lot of rules to get them in here. It’s unbelievable. They closed the door today, so from now on it’s bio dome central in this place. I’m not sure how I feel about that. It says a few things. For one, it says that the threat of nuclear war is a hell of a lot worse than they are letting on in the public media. This Centre is basically a military installation, after all. All of the key personnel are military, and yeah, most of the people here are related to military personnel. There are some civilians, a few here and there. I guess most civilians are buying that whole “patriotism” bullshit. Refusing to show their fear, refusing to acknowledge the threat, the danger. You could ask most people, and they’d feed you back the company line “we’re going to win this war!”. They seem to think that winning the war means that they are invincible, that none of ‘us’ will get killed. They don’t seem to realize that civilians can die in a war too. And so they go on with their lives. Well, I could have done that, but I actually want to live.

[Anita Blake]

May 20

Some of the people are getting depressed. Donald has Doris bring all his food to him in their room. She tells me he’s fine, but she looks so worried. I found out that initially they were refused entrance because they are seniors, but their daughter is married to a senator, and forced the Centre people to take them. I don’t really agree with that. It seems wrong to make the other people in the shelter suffer because of the illness of old people. What if one of them had a heart attack? The medical clinic isn’t prepared for that kind of life-or-death emergency. Goodness, I hope that nothing happens to Mark or I. I talked to one of the support staff, and they said that the medical clinic is mostly equipped to deal with depression, since the lack of natural sunlight and the stress of the situation make depression a serious concern. I’ve decided that when I see someone who looks depressed, I’ll smile at them, talk to them. People are missing their family and friends, I know I do, but the best way to feel better is to make some new friends, talk to someone. I asked the doctor if it would be ok if I tried to help out in that capacity, and he looked relieved. Well, I can’t help it. I refuse to give in to this morbid fascination everyone has. Though I do wish I could go out for a bit and go home to check on my garden. I asked if I could help out with the Shelter garden and they said it was restricted access. That’s too bad. I try to walk around the shelter as much as possible, to keep myself well exercised, fresh, and positive.

Oh, I just reread some of this diary, and I realized I still haven’t found a single man for Adriana. I haven’t seen her for a few days. She’s starting to be more reclusive.

[Anita Blake]

May 20


I don’t believe some people. I mean, the amount of faith they place in our government is astonishing. I met this one woman today who was trying to tell me that we wouldn’t even go to war. And even if we did, everything would be fine. They wouldn’t do “it”. She just refused to say the word “nuclear”. I don’t know how she can be so stupidly naïve? Or is it just that she’s so terrified that she thinks if she just acknowledges it, it will be real. I don’t know. But she’s a character all right. Her name’s Bridget, all she does all day is go around and comfort people. Some of them seem to need some sort of comfort, so that’s alright. She kept making hints at trying to find me a boyfriend. I so don’t need to go there, lady. I think she’s a little younger than I am, but she’s very motherly. I don’t think she has any kids, not that she brought with her, and she doesn’t seem the baby-abandoning type, but she is definitely obsessed with mothering people. Smothering. I feel kind of sorry for her though. Her husband is one of those guys who just stares at the news all day, there’s a few of them, it’s like, if they stop watching the news, the world will end without them knowing. I don’t know, maybe they think if they keep watching, they will impose their will upon the world. Maybe something about the kind of person who would spend an exorbitant amount of money to go live in a giant nuclear bomb shelter/ fucking bio-dome is the same thing that makes a person neurotic. God knows I’m in no position to judge the crazy-factor. It’s only been a few days, and I’m starting to feel a little wacky too. Maybe it’s the recycled air.

[Anita Blake]

May 21

When I was walking around the shelter today I found some places I haven’t seen before. Mostly they are in the lowest levels. Not many people go down there. The air seems thicker there, but it’s probably just an illusion. It’s so deep in the earth though! Most people take the elevators to go up and down levels, but I like the stairs. Well, I finally decided to look and see what is on the 20th floor today. Mostly, it’s the dry waste-storage, and recycling units. Lots of machinery, and less lights than on some of the other floors. It was actually kind of creepy. I can understand why nobody really goes down there. Come to think of it, I don’t even know if we’re allowed to be there. Just as I was about to leave, though, I saw a strangely familiar little light coming from around the corner. I went to investigate, and who should I find, but Adriana? She looks awful. I don’t think she’s brushed her hair for a couple of days, and she looks terribly thin. She was on the floor, writing in a black notebook, with a candle in front of her. I don’t know how she snuck in the candle, since we’re not supposed to have any combustibles, but that wasn’t all she had, she was smoking a cigarette!

She didn’t look at me at all when I stood at the door. But she stopped writing, and said my name. I asked how she knew it was me, and she said that no one else would come down here. Well, I guess she was right about that. When she finally did look at me, her eyes seemed so… I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone with a look like that on their face before. I’ve read books about people with ‘empty eyes’ and I always thought it was just writer’s imagery, but her eyes were as close to being empty as I ever want to see.

She didn’t seem to want to talk to me, and it was very uncomfortable to stand there and see her there, so …empty. It was almost like walking in on her naked, that kind of uncomfortable. I didn’t stay long. I’m not going to report her smoking though. Or the candle. It seemed to be the only thing that comforted her, and down there, no one would know. I don’t think it’s a danger to anyone. I certainly hope not.

[Anita Blake]

May 21

Looking out the fake window makes me really anxious. I can see outside, and what I see is not comforting. Not at all. Out the window, you can see the planes flying by continually. Patrolling. I don’t like that… I … I’m glad that I’m not outside, up there, where ever, but then, the more I think about this place, the less I like it. I bought the brochure, hook, line, and sinker, when I read it, but I think that was mostly just because I really needed to . I needed some kind of comfort, and this shelter promised that. But you know, thinking about it, it doesn’t make any sense. This is just a feat, a feat of technological wonderment, and yet human technology is exactly the thing that we’re afraid will be the death of us. I’ve been trusting that this place will protect me from a blast or from the radiation, and sure it just might do that, but what if ground zero was near here? What it a blast triggered an earthquake that wasn’t quite strong enough to destroy the structure but managed to knock out the power, or short out one of the electrical systems? What would happen to our food rations then? Our climate control? Our oxygen?? Are we any safer here than above ground? If we do get nuked near to here, how long before we’ll be able to leave? How long will the radiation hover, silently, waiting to kill us? Are we ever going to be able to breathe clean air again? We don’t have any guarantees, not of safety, not now, not ever, here or anywhere.

The people who built this technologically wondrous shelter are the same death junkies that created a bigger and better nuclear bomb. Did they think we could win? How much money dies it take to convince you to create a weapon big enough to destroy the world? What could they possibly have gained that was worth this price? Did they go home and make love to their spouses after a hard day’s work of global destruction? My god, to think there are such monsters among us. I hate humanity.

[Anita Blake]

May 23

Mark has been holding me tightly lately, when we sleep. We haven’t been … having relations… and I don’t know what to do. It’s near impossible to tear him away from the darn TV long enough to have a decent conversation. And when I do talk to him, all he ever tells me about is the news, what’s going on with the war. Apparently it is a War now. Soldiers are fighting, tanks are rolling, planes are dropping bombs. I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it. It’s simply, insane. But I know, I mean, I really KNOW that it’ll be over soon. It’s more than just a belief, it’s like a deep inner knowledge. We’re going to be fine. We’ll be out of this shelter soon, and we’ll go home, and everything will be fine. Maybe it won’t be exactly the same as it was before, but, life isn’t just going to stop because of this war. I know that telling Mark all this won’t make him feel better, so I just hold him, stroke his hair, and will him to feel the knowledge that I have. I know if he could just understand how confident I am in this knowledge, he would feel better. I wish he could just look at me and feel better, but I suppose everyone needs their own form of comfort.

[Anita Blake]

undated entry

The sun goes
Black and the world
Fades to gray and all
Shall wither and thrive.
Be not afraid of the
Dark.
Be afraid of the light
Be very very
Afraid

[Anita Blake]

undated entry


DEATH is like a shadow for all of our lives, like you shadow as you walk down a dark street: sometimes it stretches out behind is, chasing, and sometimes it looms before us as we walk closer. It is beside us, laying in wait on the paths we might have chosen. And sometimes, it is nowhere to be seen, because it is right on top of us, stretching it’s cold fingers to snatch us away in a roaring silence. It is all around us, waiting for the moment. And like a shadow, we can never hope to escape death, for in the end, death is the great lover, seducing us all into his darkness, snuffing out the candles that life could have been.

DEATH IS INESCAPABLE.

[Anita Blake]

May 25

I wanted to talk to Adriana today, see if maybe I could make her feel better. I have been feeling very calm lately. I know she’s been feeling a little under the weather, so I really wanted to help her, give her comfort and understanding. This morning was Extra Ration Day, where we got 2 cookies with breakfast. Adriana wasn’t there at breakfast, I looked for her everywhere on the dining level, so I decided to find her and give her one of my cookies. After a long search, I finally decided to see if she was down on the 20th. And she was. She didn’t have the candle lit today, so it was dark in her little hiding place, but she was smoking again. I told her that they have the nicotine patch at the medical clinic, and she raised her arm to show me that in fact, she already was on the patch. Such a woman! When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw that she had brought a blanket down there, and a pillow. I asked her if she was sleeping there, and she said “when I have to”. I don’t know what she meant. She’s so strange, unreachable. I tried to talk to her for a few minutes, but she chased me out screaming horrible things at me. I ran up the stair so fast that I tripped and fell, cut my hand open on the stairs. I’m lucky I didn’t break my fool wrist. But that staircase echoes something terrible, and even 3 flights up, when I left the staircase to go to the medical clinic to get my hand bandaged, I could hear her. She was …laughing, but not in a happy way. I’ve never heard laughter like that, and I don’t want to ever hear it again.

[Anita Blake]

May 30

Mark convinced me to spend some time with him in the room. I guess even he’s not immune to wanting to be private. Thankfully, he turned off the news. We talked and talked, and he made love to me like it was our honeymoon again. We only left our room to get our meals. It was so romantic!

[Anita Blake]

May 31

Mark went out of the room yesterday, and he’s been glued to the TV since then. When I try to talk to him, he hugs me absently like I’m not even there. It’s so frustrating. Everything was fine yesterday! I sat down and watched with him for a while, because I wanted to be with him, I want him to be with me, and if the only way I can do that is to watch the stupid news, then so be it. That’s what I’ll do. And for once, the news seemed really favourable! They said that the government is doing it’s best to work out an agreement, it could all be over in a matter of days!

[Anita Blake]

June 6

More news stuff: A treaty is being drafted even as I write this. I don’t know why they won’t let us out yet, but I guess it’s still a case of better safe than sorry. Still, it’s been almost a month, and I’d really like to weed my garden. I’ve got my fingers crossed, I might be able to do just that in a couple days! I think I’ll go tell Adriana the good news. Surely this will make her cheer up and feel more like herself.

[Anita Blake]

undated entry




The night flashes white
And the darkness
Crawls
Into my body on a
Hundred billion legs
Invasion so pleasant
And sweet like
Dark chocolate
A hundred flashing
Strobe lights
And fire in the sky
I move
Kidnapped by sonic waves
Of darkness will I
Survive the ordeal?
Lightening like knives
Pierces my brain through
My eyes
So beautiful like
A panther dripping blood
From the jaw
Intense
In life and death
This darkness will
Always consume
Me.

[Anita Blake]

June 6

I just talked to Adriana. I think I will get the doctor to go to her soon. She’s terrible. She said such vicious things to me, that today would be the end of the world, that we’d all die, that the Shelter isn’t safe at all. I didn’t know what to say, what to do. She upsets me so, I don’t know why she says such awful things. The worst thing is that when she says them, I look at her, and I can see she means them, and not only that, she … delights… in making me upset. Seeing that only strengthens my resolve. We’re getting out of here, probably in the next two or three days, and I am going to help her see that. I am going to make her feel better. I refuse to allow her to give up hope like this. When I am through with her this afternoon, she will understand that we are fine, we are safe, and we are all going home. Even if I have to drag the doctor down to the 20th to sedate her. I don’t think it will come to that but if it does, then so be it. I will go back down there and show her that her words are hollow, meaningless, and that she doesn’t scare me. I’ll give her what she’s been missing, I’ll give her strength, and hope, and a friend.

[Anita Blake]

undated entry


It’s easier these days to just sit here in the lowest sub-basement of this massive complex and write in my journal. Go figure. The world is on the verge of nuclear destruction, and here I am, half-mad with anxiety, scrawling my insignificant thoughts. God, but my hand is shaking terribly. Wonder why. It sure as hell isn’t the abundance of coffee, not with the bloody food rationing in this hell hole. I don’t know why I am writing all this down. Therapy, I guess. If I make it out of here alive, I think I’ll enjoy burning this book page by page. But I really don’t think I’ll make it out of here alive. Oh,, it’s nice to say that, nice even to think it, but I watch the news. I watch the soldiers who feel like they were cheated out of honour and glory by being locked in here with us, I see them suddenly seeming gladder to be here. Oh, I think something very bad is going to happen, and I think it is going to happen today.

When I say stuff like that to Bridget, she gets so upset. It makes me laugh. She says things like how we should be grateful to be in the shelter. I find that hysterically funny, much like Bridget’s reaction to my mad laughter. She’s sweet, the only person who seemed to notice that I keep to myself and hide out down here on the 20th. I know I seem insane, but I don’t really give a damn.


I honestly think that the shit is going to hit the fan today. I don’t know what to think about that. I have a feeling, an inner knowledge, an intuition, that I am going to die today. We’re all going to die today. I… don’t know what to think of that. I’m sad, because I really don’t want to die, but on the other hand, I wish it would just happen. I wish it would just happen now, because the suspense is driving me insane. I just can’t sit here and wait for the world to be destroyed. There’s nowhere I can run, because I already did run, and it turned out that I don’t feel any safer for having ran away to hide. So, I’m sitting here knowing I’m going to die, and knowing there’s nothing I can do about it, and I have to wonder, why aren’t I panicking? Why isn’t anyone panicking? Does everyone know it? And then Bridget comes in telling me about how they’re signing the treaty today, yippee, we can all go home, and I just don’t understand, why doesn’t she get it? Where’s her ‘woman’s intuition’?

I think I just want to be alone. I want to just be alone and go to sleep, sleep, and let the end come to me peacefully. I’d like to hope that this won’t be the last entry in my journal, but I think it will be. I don’t know if anyone will ever read this, but the way I feel right now is, indescribable…. Anxious, yet strangely at peace. I know what’s coming, and I don’t like it, but I accept it, I think, but there’s this horrifyingly depressing hope that I can’t get rid of, and it won’t allow me to be at peace. That last bit of hope, what is this? I don’t want it, it’d be so much easier without that. You can’t get rid of it, so future person, if there’s any such thing left one day, I didn’t die at peace. I didn’t accept it. I wanted to, but I didn’t. that’s how I want to be remembered. It’s so… dammit, Bridget’s here now, I was going to write more. Hopefully she’ll just leave again………….

[Anita Blake]

THE DAY shooting script

INT. THE BOMB SHELTER – DAY

The bomb shelter is a sterile space of grey concrete. The room is small, and ADRIANA sits alone in the corner of a dark room smoking a cigarette.

She does not seem to notice BRIDGET (woman with blonde hair, wearing the same kind of jumpsuit as Adriana) turning the lights on and entering the room.

Bridget crouches down behind Adriana.
BRIDGET
Hi Adriana!

ADRIANA
Bridget. Do you think it will end today?

BRIDGET
I hope so! They keep saying any day now that a treaty could be signed, and we’d all be able to go home.

ADRIANA
I meant the world. Not the war.

BRIDGET
What a horrible thing to say!

ADRIANA
Realistic.

BRIDGET
What do you mean, “realistic”? I don’t see anything realistic in talking about the world ending. Especially since it’s never going to happen.

ADRIANA
Realistic lies. Lies that you’re repeating to me. That everything is going to be OK. And it’s so practical because it pacifies the sheep going to slaughter.

BRIDGET
Sheep? Slaughter? Oh, come on! This whole shelter is just a silly precaution. It was designed to withstand a major attack. It is completely self-sufficient, so that in case the unmentionable did happen, the environment inside the shelter wouldn’t change a bit.

ADRIANA
Did you get all that from the brochure?

BRIDGET
It’s true! … Oh, now don’t tell me you doubt that, too! Adriana, you are too much.

ADRIANA
Would you like to know something Bridget? This is not a “precautionary measure”, and this is not a “shelter”, it’s a fucking death trap, and the “unmentionable” is very mentionable, and you better start thinking about it, Bridget, because the unmentionable is nuclear war…

BRIDGET
Stop it.

ADRIANA (CONT’D)
… it’s nuclear war…

BRIDGET
Stop it.

ADRIANA(CONT’D)
…nuclear nuclear nuclear war and…

BRIDGET
STOP IT!

ADRIANA (CONT’D)
… WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!

Bridget flees the room, as Adriana begins to chant after her:

ADRIANA (CONT’D)
Die die die, we’re all going to die die die, when the bombs fly fly fly. Die die die…


Adriana crushes her cigarette on the floor.
FADE TO BLACK.


FADE IN:

INT. BOMB SHELTER – DAY

It is later in the day, and we see Adriana crouching down to pull the grate off the wall ventilation, the place where she keeps her blacklisted possessions hidden from the rest of the shelter. She reaches in and removes a notebook, a pen, and a candle.

She brings them over to the table and sits down. Setting some candles around the table, she strikes a match and lights it, watching the match until it nearly burns her fingers. She begins to write and draw in her notebook. Bridget enters the room, turning the lights on, and speaks to Adriana over her shoulder.

BRIDGET
Are you feeling better yet?

Adriana does not answer.

BRIDGET
Adriana? Adriana? Are you feeling better?

Without looking at Bridget, Adriana speaks.

ADRIANA
You know what I miss most? Coffee. Remember how good coffee was? It tastes like piss here.

BRIDGET
Well, caffeine is bad for you.

ADRIANA
So is decaf. I mean, really, the whole point of coffee isn’t the taste, it’s the whole caffeine energy thing. If you don’t want caffeine, fucking drink something else.

She pauses, and turns to look in Bridget’s general direction, but not directly at her.
ADRIANA (CONT’D)
How about you? What do you miss?

BRIDGET
About outside?
Adriana nods, and Bridget sits down on the floor beside her, taking this as a positive turn in the conversation, and makes herself comfortable.

BRIDGET
I guess I miss my garden. I mean, the fresh vegetables from the earth. My garden is probably a mess without me there to weed it. Hopefully, we can get out of here in time for me to harvest all that I can salvage.

ADRIANA (low and ominous)
Vegetables…

BRIDGET (CONT’D)
You know, they just taste better when you dig them up yourself.

ADRIANA
You could save yourself a lot of trouble if you dig them up tomorrow.

BRIDGET (curious)
Why?
ADRIANA
Because they’ll all be cooked by tomorrow. The nukes should cook ‘em up real good, and isn’t that just so funny?

BRIDGET
No. No it’s not funny at all. I wish you would stop saying such terrible things. Goodness gracious. Someone would think that you meant it, or that you wanted it to happen.

Adriana looks directly into Bridget’s eyes for the first time, her face a mask of rage and sorrow.

ADRIANA
But I do. I do. I want it to happen, just burn the whole fucking world, end it all.

Bridget gets up and backs away in horror, turning towards the door and the long hallway to the stairs.
BRIDGET
You’re sick Adriana. You need help…

She exits, and Adriana tosses her book aside and runs to follow.

INT. BOMB SHELTER/ HALLWAY

ADRIANA
I need to get out of this fucking shelter.

BRIDGET
You need the doctor to help you…

ADRIANA
I’m sick? I need help? Oh Bridget, I’ll tell you what, to me, it looks like I’m the only one here with a full grasp of the situation. I you ask me, you guys are the ones who need fucking help.

BRIDGET
You should really watch your language. Why are you so angry?

ADRIANA (frustrated)
Why aren’t you?

BRIDGET
What do you mean?

ADRIANA
Why aren’t you angry? What the fuck makes you so damn hopeful?

Adriana slumps down the wall, defeated, confused. Bridget crouches down beside her, choosing her words carefully.

BRIDGET
Because this shelter is safe, I guess that’s why. When these problems get resolved… and they will… they will, we’re going to go home… There is reason for hope you know. There is always reason for hope.

ADRIANA (seeking comfort)
How long… how long have we been here? I can’t tell anymore.

BRIDGET (confident)
About a month. But we won’t be here much longer. I have a feeling.

Adriana hears these words and when they sink in, her eyes grow wide with fear, and she stands up against the wall.

ADRIANA
This is wrong, all of it. I can’t… I don’t… I don’t want to die here.

Afraid that she is losing control of the situation, Bridget tries once again for reassurance.
BRIDGET
You’re not going to die. Nobody is going to die.

Bridget’s words seem to melt away Adriana’s fear, and turn it to a cold resolve. Adriana’s walls are up, stronger than ever.

ADRIANA
We all die Bridget. Everyone.

She turns to go back to the room at the end of the hall, to get her cigarettes. Bridget, trying desperately to calm Adriana down, follows.
INT. BOMB SHELTER

BRIDGET
Don’t you think you’re being overly dramatic?

ADRIANA
Does it matter? How much does what I think matter? Not at all, that’s how much. It doesn’t matter what you think, what I think, what anyone else thinks, because we are all locked in this fucking box.

BRIDGET
We are not locked in here. We’re here for our own good! We’re getting food, shelter, safety, what more do you want?

ADRIANA
How safe are we if the power goes out? Hmm?

BRIDGET
The power won’t go out. This place was designed by very smart people.
Adriana begins to attack Bridget verbally, chasing Bridget around the room as Bridget turns away from her continually.

ADRIANA
Yes, designed by the same people who designed the bombs. The same death junkies that thought up the genius of mass destruction, and the same people who thought we could actually win a nuclear war, and here we are, rats in their fucking cage, and who are they going to blame, when it all falls down, hmm? No one, because there’s not going to be anyone left. Are you listening Bridget, do you understand on any level at all? Your hope is baseless, it is pointless, and it is fucking depressing!


Bridget’s face is damp with tears as she turns away from Adriana

BRIDGET
That is not true.

Adriana continues the verbal attack, punctuated now by physically grabbing Bridget’s arm and pushing her to and fro like a small, weak rag-doll.
ADRIANA
It is true, it is true, your hope is a lie, it’s a goddamn lie, and when you just let go of it, you will be free.

Bridget is unable to respond, because at that moment, a distant crunching sound is heard, and the lights go out. Red emergency lights begin to flash on and off, and the ground shakes. A siren begins to keen, the red emergency lights flicker and fail, and the sound of panicked screams fill the air.
CUT TO BLACK.

END CREDITS ROLL.