The Last Journals

The Last Journals

By

R.H. Proenza

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PUBLISHED BY:

R.H. Proenza

- A Romance With A Touch of SciFi -

Revised 02/26/2021

The Last Journals

Copyright © 2018 by R.H. Proenza

ISBN: 9781099073328

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This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Your support and respect for the property of this author are appreciated.

Many thanks go to those who encouraged me to write and to publish. I hope you enjoy the story and perhaps become one of its characters in your mind, if for only a short while.

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THE LAST JOURNALS

Chapter 1

The mysterious micro-organisms of unknown creation were highly virulent─like none other before. They lay dormant in the minus 455-degree Fahrenheit deep freeze of interstellar space on the surface of its primary carrier─an asteroid spinning inconspicuously at the far reaches of the known universe almost since the beginning of time. They were now carried frozen in the debris of the tail of a comet that happened to cross paths with the asteroid and innoculating it. Then traveling for a myriad of millennia toward an unsuspecting solar system in an accidental cosmic encounter, the organism arrived quietly, deceptively, and unannounced into the planet's atmosphere with the stealth of fog in the middle of the night and found an unsuspecting petri dish to inoculate─Earth.

Without malice or premeditation, it slowly crept downward and in, through the cracks and crevices of humanity. The organisms seeped into homes under doorways, around windows and chimneys, efficiently attacking and destroying the fertile ground of what is known as the Human Genome, the organism's only attraction─the DNA molecule that sustains and carries humankind's life and personality on the planet.

The earth's inhabitants were caught off-guard by something invisible, something they didn't understand, something as breathable as air, that seemingly rained down on them like dust or pollen.

Once thawed in the warmth of Earth's protective cocoon, it effectively inoculated the planet, attracted only to the Human DNA molecule, leaving all other animal life unscathed. Earth was unprepared for the subtle attack despite all its collective wisdom, technological and scientific advancements. It was unprepared to be cleansed of all human life─save for a very few ...

Chapter 2

Mt Mitchell, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA, Earth

Justin Gray was trekking on the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina and having the time of his life breathing in the fresh mountain air. There were no textbooks or appointments, or emergency phone calls to interrupt his hike. There's probably no cell phone signal up here anyway, he was thinking. He stopped to listen to the peaceful sounds of the forest. The light breeze whisked through the pine needles and leaves, making the sounds of a sigh. A far-off high-pitch whine interrupted the peaceful sounds. The sound grew in intensity as if approaching. The man looked skyward to find its source …

The colossal fireball caused by the plane could have been seen ten thousand feet away─or even twice that distance. There was more than enough jet fuel remaining in the wing tanks of the US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster transport plane to create spectacular pyrotechnics. It was carrying valuable cargo─a secret military satellite to be delivered to NASA at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The incinerating explosion had little effect on the offending interstellar organism. It was already present in the air as the inoculation had already occurred upon the planet.

This costly spacecraft's internal components included precious metals titanium, palladium, silver, and gold─along with many miles of high-quality copper wire. A fair-sized plutonium-molybdenum trioxide nuclear power pack supplied its needed energy. More importantly, it also contained a recently discovered mineral displaying extraordinary uniqueness found on a meteorite known only to a select few. The meteorite only recently entered the Earth's atmosphere and was found by scientists. It contained minerals previously never seen on the planet. Given the right amount of heat, conditions, and circumstances, this extra-terrestrial mineral could yield a strange new silvery powder with never-before-seen effects on laboratory animals. Unfortunately, scientists were never able to reproduce those conditions or circumstances in the laboratory.

The slam of the plane fuselage against Mt. Mitchell in Pisgah National Forest's Appalachian mountains shook the ground for a considerable distance. The lightning bolt that struck the plane's cockpit just moments before the crash instantly and mercifully incinerated the crew. The lightning was not nearly as dramatic as the plane's impact against the mountain. The 1-million volt lightning was sufficient enough to bring it down, but the ensuing explosion allowed it to co-mingle and melt together all its contents in its inferno.

The mixing of molecules of the plane's cargo and the resulting reaction in this unlikely caldron was not unlike the dramatic union of poisonous chlorine gas and the explosively unstable metallic sodium, which creates the innocuous compound known as table salt. However, THIS reaction was not as benign as the creation of salt, but in fact, much more complex and would end up being the saving grace forEarth.

Chapter 3

THE JOURNAL OF JUSTIN GRAY

HOLEY-MOLEY!! And Y I K E S----OH WOW. I have to stop to MAKE THIS ENTRY NOW!!!

And YIKES again! I'm taking a break so I can write this journal entry. I can't believe my eyebrows are intact, or even still on my face! I'm surprised they weren't scorched off. I just survived a PLANE CRASH with a massive fireball that charred the mountainside (and almost my hide) where I am hiking! No, not MY plane! I wasn't on THAT plane because if I'm writing this now, it would make me a genuine ghostwriter! Right? Pun intended!

Wow, what an exciting hike so far─and I just got started, too! If this is a preview of how my trek in the mountains will be, I better start recording ALL my experiences in this journal because who knows what else is in store for me?

Okay, so now I HAVE started My Journal...

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DAY 2--- Let me back up a bit and give a summary: I'm finally hiking on the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, somewhere near Asheville. It's early August, and I just finished getting my advanced BS degree and internship as a Paramedic, taking a break before I jump into my career (before I get too busy).

It's lush and green out here, jammed packed with trees and foliage and streams and tiny waterfalls─just beautiful! Even the deep burnt orange and brown color of the carpet of pine needles on the trail is attractive. As I said before (since after what just happened), this is a log of my thoughts and experiences on this hike. (Day ONE I spent getting here, so actually, I'm starting my Journal on Day 2).

. . . Okay, so, I was enjoying the sights of the forest when I heard a WHINING ROAR that got louder! Then a WHAM and a BOOM that shook the ground under my feet. I was able to eyeball this large gray military plane just before it impacted Mt. Mitchell, NC (where I am) and turn into a fireball. It was so close that I felt the heat (a lot!) on my face and body, like being in front of an industrial furnace where they melt steel!.

There was a secondary explosion (more subdued) that oddly doused the larger inferno ─maybe it momentarily sucked out the oxygen out of the immediate area, I guess. After the 2nd explosion, I got sprayed with some silvery powdery debris that felt hot and stung my skin. I'm glad I wasn't farther down the trail. I could have been roasted alive! I did not get hurt from burning debris and flying trees, thank goodness. I need to go for a closer look, but broken trees and smoking limbs are everywhere, and the walk down these inclines away from the trail is a little treacherous. I don't think I'll go very far in this terrain, but I'll try...

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Ok, I'm back from surveying the wreck. Some of the sections of trees and limbs were still smoking! Yikes again! Yes, it was a PLANE CRASH! After seeing it slam into the mountain, I knew there could not be any survivors, but I had to investigate. The ground around it was charred and what was left of the smoldering shell of the plane. I could still feel some heat coming from it and was now convinced nothing could have survived. My face felt flushed, I guess, from that blast.

I looked around at the remains─it seems incredible to me that I'm still here, having avoided being burned alive from the plane crash. Perhaps in the improbable event of another plane falling on top of me, people can identify my crispy remains from the PARAMEDIC ring I wear. Thankfully I was not riding in that plane ... good grief! Poor crew members!!

The demolished plane carcass (what pieces remained of it) ended up in a deep ravine away from my spot and not too many miles from the trail entrance