18 months after the last time he surfaced, do-nothing Intellivision CEO Phil Adam posted this feckless update.

May 24, 2023
Intellivision Update May 2023
The last 18 months, since becoming the CEO, has been an extremely difficult time for the Intellivision business. A long list of disappointments from both inside and outside of the company had to be taken head on. During this time we laid off a large portion of our staff, restructured our management team, and began the process of reevaluating every aspect of the business, which included the path that lay ahead for Intellivision.

That phrase, "a long list of disappointments," really sums up the project, doesn't it?

What we have distilled down from countless hours of self assessment is that we are, or more accurately, wish to be, in the business of creating a living room experience that brings people of various ages together in group play. It is the experience between people, sitting in the same room, that will be our primary measure of success. This, first and foremost, comes from offering great content.

If that's your "primary measure of success," I guess you realize by now that you have utterly failed, right?

As an entertainment business, we realize that creating great content requires world class partners and a focus on strategies where we can effectively achieve the necessary level of excellence to succeed. To this end, we will be announcing a string of new partnerships that will not only help bring fun and innovative content that captures the Amico experience, but also bolsters and celebrates our content's appeal by (1) licensing our IP to development partners who have product pedigrees that are creatively aligned and best poised to bring something great to market, (2) leveraging our IP in ways that ensures delivery on Amico but additionally expands our content to entirely new audiences Intellivision would otherwise be unable to reach and (3) acquiring new IP that embodies Amico and fits our strategic focus. This will include licensing IP for other platforms where it makes sense to do so.

That's how we got Astrosmash (music "compiled" by Tommy Tallarico) and Shark! Shark! for Steam, Switch, and Xbox, as well as Google Play. Very few reviews and not many more sales. Good job, Phil!

Our commitment to delivering a unique and innovative platform that brings people together has not wavered. What has changed is our philosophy on how to deliver that experience. The business environment is quite different from what it was in 2018 when the original Intellivision business plan was put together. We cannot solely be dependent on a traditional hardware console business model. The cost and time to scale such a business is too great. We must be more creative in how we deploy our intended entertainment experience - not only delivering a better experience for our customers, but also reducing the time and cost to scale the business.

Oh, it's wavered. No amount of empty words can hide that.

We want to assure our fans that shipping a console remains a part of our product strategy. The development and hands-on testing of our pilot units have been a successful step forward. As a testament of this progress, we are pleased to share with you this video of a father and son playing Shark! Shark! on one of the pilot units in their home!

No comment.

As part of our expanded strategy, we also plan to bring the Amico experience to other hardware platforms, starting with mobile devices, under the name Amico Home. Amico Home will dramatically reduce the hardware footprint needed to enjoy Amico games and provide more developers the opportunity to explore the creative potential of in-room multiplayer games with our innovative physical and smartphone controllers. This broadening of the talent pool will bring new ideas and gaming that will shape the future of Intellivision and our place in the market.

Amico Home = $15 ports of existing mobile games except you need to use a phone to control your phone. The most popular of them has "100+ downloads" and the modest roadmap milestones are already slipping.

We are excited for this future and what it means for bringing the Amico experience to the public. Those who supported Intellivision early on helped set the foundation for all that we have been able to achieve, and we are truly thankful to you all. In the coming weeks, those that have maintained a deposit will be able to sign in and verify their spot on the priority list (Amico Club List). The Amico Club List will be used as the primary mechanism to prioritize access to special products, early access to new games and other unique offers. More details to follow.

Again, it's been 51 weeks since this feeble declaration.

Again, we thank you for your patience and support as we chart a new course for Intellivision and establish our own unique position in the vast and vibrant video game industry.

Phil Adam, CEO
Truly unique indeed.

1. Finding a Job You’re Interested In

Step one is incredibly important in your job-hunting journey because you don’t want to waste your time searching, applying, and interviewing for a position you don’t actually want. You can get the same practice interviewing by going out for jobs you really want, so you have to figure this out.
Is there a particular area of IT that interests you? Maybe you don’t see yourself specializing in your work, and that’s fine. There are companies seeking IT professionals who can follow various types of projects and work closely alongside other tech experts.
Not only is becoming an IT professional a practical job choice, but it’s also dependable in terms of career growth. The demand for IT professionals has continued to steadily grow over the years, with employment for IT specialists estimated to grow by a whopping 11% in the next decade.
As an IT professional, your skills will also make you eligible for employment at businesses other than tech companies. You might also decide to teach or be your own boss as an independent contractor for IT services. An IT education displays the skills necessary to work in a wide range of occupations, including government, finance, healthcare, and more! Should you transition into another field of study, IT courses still offer an educational foundation that you can build on throughout your life.
In today’s market, careers don’t have a linear direction—instead of moving up the office positions, you may shift from one occupation to another, learning to pick up certain skills as they become more in demand. IT professionals show great career development. They have strengthened problem-solving skills, technical knowledge, and interpersonal relations, all trending job traits.
Another way to narrow down your options is to pick a city or location in which you want to work and begin searching there. You can search in nearby areas as well if the immediate city doesn’t have open positions for IT professionals. Maybe you want to find a position that is flexible, so you can work some hours remotely or on the weekends to fit your lifestyle better.
Whatever the case, once you narrow down your criteria and select some jobs you’re interested in, you can begin applying and interviewing.

1. Getting Past the Gatekeepers

Highlight your skills and credentials to potential employers. This will help you stand out, and it showcases your credibility and skills. Accreditation ensures high-quality education and services for schools in a similar way that certification ensures high-quality job candidates.
As a graduate of the CompTIA certification program, you secure more than the necessary coursework needed to sit for various IT exams and certifications, such as the CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications. These certifications are well-recognized in the industry and can significantly boost your employability.
Your CompTIA certification demonstrates your competence and readiness to handle IT tasks effectively. Not only is CompTIA recognized globally, but it also aligns with industry standards and expectations. Employers often look for candidates with certifications from accredited programs, as it assures them of the quality and relevance of the skills acquired.

1. Using Temporary Agencies

Once your certification is completed, the next steps and hunt for an entry-level career begin. Temporary agencies, or staffing agencies, are one of the best and time-tested strategies in the IT hiring process.
For a short period of time, employers hire temporary workers until they have time to find a permanent employee. Temp jobs can give you experience in industries and careers you might not have otherwise thought of trying—without a long-term commitment. Furthermore, firms like Robert Half Technology are well-paying and reputable temp agencies in the IT field.
They will send you out for short-term assignments, which is an ideal amount of time to get your foot in the door for a full-time position or to gain experience in a particular field. Having a high-powered connection is the most likely way to getting hired. These include a recruiter, a temp agency, or a personal friend who has connections in the industry. If you have no connections or you haven’t made it to a recruiter’s list yet, then your best bet is to go in through a tech temp agency.
The temp process should not last longer than a year. As a result, you may want to pursue a part-time position as a temp in a firm while you are getting your degree or other qualifications. Regardless of how you get on the inside of a firm, remember the cardinal rule number two in all firms is privacy. You should avoid gossip and discussing your business, or the business of others, with those inside the firm. Use discretion when releasing any personal information. You want to make and maintain friendships while remaining professional and representing the firm you are under at all times. You never know where networking will lead you, or how it can help you get hired in the future!

1. Interviewing for an IT Job

Before interviewing with a company or any of its representatives, you will want to remember a few important facts. IT managers are often detail-oriented and thorough. Consequently, they listen to every detail you say and weigh it in the balance of what it is they want from you. Therefore, choose your words carefully and avoid getting personal.
While you don’t want to get too personal, you also don’t want to answer questions with a simple “yes” or “no.” Explain your reasons for answering a question a certain way. Take time to answer an interviewer’s questions. If you need a minute to think before you answer, take it. You don’t want to look stuck and allow long periods of silence, but thinking about a question before you commit to an answer shows the interviewer that you care about your answers and want to be hired. If you reiterate the question back to the interviewer, you can ensure that you’ve understood them correctly and buy yourself a few more moments to consider your response.
This is a cardinal rule in negotiations: He who speaks first loses. At a time when you are seeking to negotiate a salary, view our previous IT blog post for tips on negotiating an above-average IT salary.

1. Accepting the Job

The goal of the interview process is to be hired for the job, so this moment is exciting and probably intimidating as well. You might decide to accept the job, decline the job, or negotiate the job with pending acceptance. When you’re offered a job that you’re unsure of accepting, it’s okay to consider the offer prior to accepting or declining. If you tell the company you’d like to think about the offer, give them a date you’ll let them know by, never more than a few days. They have a position to fill and others to notify, so they can’t wait around for you to respond to their offer.
Here are some things to consider about a potential job:

• Growth Opportunities
  
• Compensation
  
• Benefits
  
• Responsibilities
  

Once you are offered a position and decide you’re ready to accept the job, you’ll need to let the prospective employer know. Be proactive. It’s common to wait 24 hours before accepting a job, and during that time you can ask for the offer in writing if it is not provided. Verbal offers and acceptances are okay, but written communication alleviates room for any disconnect between you and your potential employer in the scope of the job, benefits, etc. Make sure you discuss the starting date of employment. Allow yourself enough time to prepare and conclude your time with any previous employers if necessary.
Perhaps the most important reason to pursue IT certification programs is that you have all the tools to achieve a career doing what you love. IT courses provide the tools and develop the skills necessary to excel in the field. Accessible resources may include online case citation software, exercises that strengthen your technical knowledge, research and investigative skills, technology organization, and multitasking.
If you’re searching for the tools you need to earn your certification in a convenient and affordable manner, then consider reputable institutions that offer comprehensive IT programs. These institutions provide you with the complete freedom to manage your personal life, get hired at your dream job, and pursue your education—all at your own pace. Contact them today and discover how their excellence in online career training can help turn your dreams of an IT career into a reality.

Sneaking into supposedly haunted building late at night always sounded like a laugh, but I don't think so anymore.
​
My town has this old mill. There used to be a lot of farmland around here, and the mill was practically the lifeblood of the town. You wouldn't know it to look at the place now. The soil surrounding us for a good couple of miles out is dry as bone with nothing growing out of it, and the mill looks like it's falling apart. Which apparently it has been since even before it closed down a few decades ago since a series of accidents is said to have been what finally pulled the plug on the old place—accidents where people died.
​
Which is where all the ghost stories come from, which in turn are what led to my late-night venture into a building that looked like it would fall on top of me any moment if I brushed the wrong bit of wall. It was dumb, and the one or two friends I'd told of my plan thought I was going to get myself killed. In hindsight, they were right. But then, hindsight is 20/20, right?
​
The door was easy enough to force. I had the torch function on my mobile phone switched on, and I saw that the wooden door was barely there anymore. Once it was open, I was hit by a cloud of dust so thick that I nearly choked on it. I couldn't believe I was the first one to try exploring the mill since it closed down, but that's what the air was telling me as I stepped inside.
​
Most of it was wood just like the outside. Decades-old wooden pillars held up the ceiling, above which had to be more machinery like what I saw in this downstairs room. I won't pretend to know what any of it does, but it was rusted with age and far past its ability to perform its function. It looked heavy, though, and I immediately feared the prospect of the ceiling crashing down upon me. But, I reasoned, if it were going to do that, this place would have collapsed years ago, wouldn't it?
​
The thought calmed me slightly but not much. After all, it would have to fall eventually.
​
I was about to climb the stairs, satisfied that nothing was left to see on the ground floor, when the whisper reached me.
​
"Help."
​
I spun around, startled, to see absolutely nobody. The room was still as empty as it had been when I broke the door open. My heart raced in my chest from the start the voice had given me. "Is that someone mucking about?" I asked.
​
There was no answer.
​
I took some slow, deep breaths to calm myself down. Just my mind playing tricks on me, I thought. This place being spooky is the whole reason you came here.
​
Satisfied that I was alone and that the voice had been nothing more than an illusion produced by my own mind's reaction to the darkness around me, I continued on up the stairs. Each one creaked as I planted a foot upon it, and I had visions of the flimsy wood breaking beneath my weight. At least I wouldn't have far to fall.
​
I was right about there being more machinery on the floor above, although I still couldn't tell you what any of it was for. Well, I knew logically that it was for the process of making grain, but you know what I mean. I pointed the torch at it and saw that it was just as rusty as what was downstairs. I sighed. Nothing here but rust and dust. Not that I was expecting to find any ghosts or anything, but I was hoping for something marginally more interesting than old machinery and drifting flakes of crumbling wood.
​
One of the shadows to my left moved, and I bloody near toppled onto my ass, yelling.
​
My heart hammered away its rhythm at a quickened pace, and I pointed my light toward the area of the movement. Nothing. Just more old wood.
​
I was alone, but I was certain that something had moved in here.
​
"First your ears, now your eyes," I said to myself shakily, trying to make a joke of it. "This dark's making you lose your marbles. You're the only one here."
​
Only ... I found that I didn't believe that anymore.
​
I can't tell you what it was, but I just had an overwhelming feeling that I was no longer alone. I felt like a deer in a clearing who's just begun to suspect a tiger is watching me from the bushes. I could feel my legs tensing, preparing myself to run for the stairs.
​
I stood there for what felt like an hour but was in actuality only a couple of minutes. I breathed to calm myself down again and decided that I really wasn't in the right headspace for this. I was too nervous. Too ... scared. Prey instincts I didn't even know I had were kicking in, and that couldn't be healthy. I decided to leave.
​
I walked down the stairs, each step toward the front door coming as a relief.
​
Then I saw it.
​
A door. A door I knew hadn't been there when I'd entered the building. I remember sweeping my torch all over the room, and at no point had I seen that door in its light.
​
"Down here. Help."
​
It was the same voice as before, whispering in my ear so closely that I should have felt their breath on my lobe. But I felt nothing of the sort. A chill ran up my spine. Fuck this, I thought, and turned to charge at the exit.
​
It was gone.
​
Where once there was the front door, which I had broken open to gain entry in the first place, there was now only more wooden wall.
​
I could bring myself to do nothing but stand and stare for a few minutes. It wasn't possible. The door was there, I knew it was! How could it be gone? What was happening? A scream of primal fear ripped its way out of my throat, and I charged at the wooden wall. The wood was flimsy-looking and rotted and should have broken easily, but with every punch I succeeded only in making my fists ache, and with every kick all I made was noise. Noise which reached nobody but myself.
​
Tears of terror and frustration ran down my cheeks in rivers, and I bit my hand to keep from loudly sobbing. I was trapped.
​
My legs buckled beneath me as the truth of my situation finally became clear, and I sat on the dusty wooden floors, my back against the infuriatingly sturdy wooden wall, and I held my head in my hand. What do I do?
​
I must have sat there for hours.
​
The sun didn't rise. No light peaked in through the gaps between the wood planks.
​
"Help," the voice came again. This time it was no whisper, but a call from beyond the new door. "Down here. Help."
​
Well ... what else could I do but listen?
​
I stood up on shaky legs, bracing myself against the wall until I was sure I could stand unaided. Then I made my way over to the new door and gently pushed it open. It made a long, high-pitched creaking noise as it opened to reveal a second staircase—one that led down.
​
I didn't want to go down. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't. My only other option was to sit and wait for something to happen, and I thought that might drive me mad.
​
I went down the stairs.
​
Unlike the ones upstairs, these steps didn't creak as I stepped on them. In fact, my footfalls made no sound at all, which if anything was even more unsettling.
​
Yet that was not the most terrifying part. The part that scared me most, the part that got my heart racing so badly that I thought it'd beat its way right out of my chest, was the way the stairs just didn't end.
​
I must have been walking down them for a good ten minutes before the thought occurred to me. My first instinct was to run around and run back up, but somehow I knew that if I did that, I would be running up forever just as I'd be walking down forever. Maybe I was wrong, but I don't think I was.
​
"Keep going," the voice said, whispering from right by my ear once again. "Come down."
​
I could see it now, whatever was speaking to me. Only not really. I didn't see what it looked like, but I saw it there, out of the corner of my eye, walking right next to me on the stairs somehow without ever touching me. Just a dark shape that only superficially resembled a human body—and too many eyes to count, all of them glowing a dull yellow, each one blinking periodically. Its entire body covered in them.
​
I sped up my descent down the stairs. I knew I wouldn't find an end, but I had to get away from whatever it was that was with me. That deeply-buried prey instinct rose in me again, this time to the point of damn near screaming at me to run, run away because the predator was here.
​
But I couldn't get away.
​
No matter how much I picked up speed, it was always there, right by me.
​
"Yes, yes!" it cried in pleasure. There was a sort of slurping sound. "Just like that! Such delicious terror!"
​
I screamed.
​
It laughed.
​
And suddenly, I understood.
​
It was eating me, not in body but in soul. With every second of fear, I could feel myself growing weaker. I felt thinner, less substantial. At some point, I knew, I would stop existing.
​
​
I was scared, and that only fed it more of me.
​
But then I realised something else: there were no walls around the staircase. Just a great expanse of darkness beyond the splintered wooden bannisters on either side.
​
I had a way out.
​
I stopped running down the stairs, turned, and gripped the bannister. Without so much as thinking about the height, I launched myself over the edge.
​
There was a roar of pure rage loud enough to still be ringing in my eardrums now.
​
Then a blinding light.
​
It was the sun.
​
I sat up, and I was outside the mill again. The warmth of the sun felt glorious, and I've never been happier to find myself lying in the grass where all the bugs could crawl all over me.
​
I think I know why the land around our town died.
​
I'm moving soon. I've told everyone else they should do the same, but they aren't listening to me. I hope they come to their senses before it's too late.
​
Because whatever is living in the mill is hungry.
​
How long will it take to leave its habitat and feast properly?
​
I can already hear that voice again.

So long story short, I am new to soccer and I’m in my 30s. I recently decided to sign up for a league and I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I just know that I want to do something active. I had soccer practice and I didn’t wear shin pads and so I accidentally gave someone a nosebleed and, a few minutes later, she ended up stepping on my ankle not extremely hard but enough for me to give out a loud cry and then she also stepped on my other foot with her cleats and I’ve never really been in this kind of situation, so I felt upset inside because I don’t take pain to well even if it’s something small and I just felt defeated after that. I know I’m taking it out way too much on myself, but I called my boyfriend and I cried to him and I told him that I wanted to quit soccer because I didn’t want to get hurt and he tells me to man up and that this is a rough sport and that’s what I signed up for. We have a five year age gap between the two of us (him older). Obviously my legs got better the next day but I just get a little annoyed every time I think about this because at that time I just wanted him to comfort me emotionally but instead I had to hear him say man up. I was too annoyed to keep talking to him on the phone. I told him that I’ll call him later. He did call up later to see how I’m doing but I’m a bit annoyed.

It is a man, old and scraggy. He wears a jacket that lays over the red plaid button shirt and blue jeans. He wears an old baseball cap and a pair of glasses. He yelled something to Dad, holding his hands up like he was pleading, although we couldn’t hear it over the truck engine. They talked, but we couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“Hey, what are they saying”, I asked, while petting Matt’s hair, calming him. The old man then put his hands down and came close to Dad in a cautious way. They seem to start having some kind of conversation.
“I don’t really know, hopefully, something good”, Mom answered. They talked for a little while, with daylight beginning to disappear, giving us a sense of dread, and making me more worried about what weird creature was going to show up. Eventually, the old man turned and pointed toward what I think is the northeast. They then shook hands and walked back to their respective vehicles. “What’s going on”, Mom asked as Dad got into the truck.
“Well, our new friend here invited us to dinner at his farm”, Dad replied.
“Does he have supplies?”
“Well, he says has supplies for us to make the journey.”
“Should we even trust him? We just met h-”
“Relax, he’s just an old man, living alone at his farm, feeding his cows. What could go wrong”, Dad countered. The old man then entered the truck that was running and drove slowly, expecting us to follow him.
“Alrighty then, but we have to be cautious”, Mom said, with her suspicions of the old man. We then followed the old truck along the dark, frozen road. It just feels like something is going to show up along the road, but nothing happened. Matt did eventually stop crying, but he is still upset about the Joe escape thing.
“Where are we going”, Matt lamented, with the prior series of events in mind.
“I guess somebody is offering us dinner”, I answered.
“Why can’t we just go home?”
“It’s only going to be a stop, like a hotel. After that, we go to our new home, I guess”, I said, taking another look at Matt and cradling to comfort him. “It’s going to be okay.” I stared out into the darkness. I looked to the sky from the window and I faintly saw something in the clear, dark sky, lit up by the waning moon. They were brilliant, green auroras that defy the bright moon, dancing across the sky like ribbons in the wind. The truck eventually took a right-hand turn into another road, with us following suit. I can see a bright, orange light emerging from a patch of tree. When we passed by, it seemed it was a house, at a farm, burning in a massive flame.
“I guess those people aren’t so, uh, lucky”, Dad said, taking a quick look at it before looking at the road. Passing by, we went on and continued to follow the old man’s truck. We passed onto another intersection until he turned into a driveway to what I believe to be his farm. Going into the driveway, I can see an old house, along with a dilapidated farm further away, barely visible by the headlights. The old man parked by the house, where there were a few other trucks there. We parked alongside the truck and we got out into the cold, near-silent night.
“Welcome to sanctuary, where all are welcome”, the old man bellowed. This is the first time I’ve heard his voice. Matt was the last to get out of the truck, slowly and clumsily climbing out of the truck.
“What’s your name”, my Mom politely asked the old man.
“Oh, I guess your husband didn’t tell ya. My name is Steven, but you can call me Steve”, the old man said, with some crackling in his voice. “I am very proud to host a dinner for you and your family”, he continued. “What’s your name, ma’am?”
“Oh, my name is Janice”, Mom replied, quite pleased at his politeness.
“Hello, Janice, and what are their names”, Steven asked, pointing to me and Matt.
“That’s my daughter Kate and my son Matt”, Dad said to Mom.
“Oh, what wonderful names for a couple of beautiful children you have”, Steve grinned. “Come, it is dangerous out here.” We followed him to the house, which looked like it had seen better days. He entered through the double-set door, the first a solid door and a screen door behind. Entering the house, it smelled like what you’d expect, old man. Looking onto the floor is made of glossy wood and walls with cracks, likely caused by the earthquake. It is dark in there, lit by candlelight from many candles, yet it’s fairly warm here. I don’t know why we went into the house, but Dad was right, Steve is just a lonely, old man. Matter of fact, there seems to be nothing wrong here, other than the cracks in the walls. “Sorry, the power went out. Had to resort to the candles. I knew my wife would come in handy”, Steve explained as he took his coat off. “Oh, supper will be ready right away. Had to use the fireplace to cook. Also, can you take your boots off?” We took our boots and set them aside. We went into what seemed to be a living room, with dusty old-style furniture.
“So, where do we sit”, Mom asked.
“Oh, well, follow me”, Steve commanded, leading us to the dining room, with a long, wooden table and six wooden chairs, along with their corresponding old-fashioned plates, glasses and cutlery, lit up in the candlelight. We noticed that everything on the table was covered in a thin veil of dust. “My apologies, the recent shocks dropped a bit of dust on the table”, he explained as he noticed us looking at the plates and moved into another room nearby. “Take your seats if you like.” We all settled onto the chairs, and blew off our plates of the dust settled there.
“When will we eat”, Matt impatiently said.
“Once Steve comes out with the food”, Mom answered. Matt sat there with a tired look on his face. Dad seemed to be in a better mood than before and it looked like he wanted to start a conversation.
“Hey, should we talk about something”, Dad asked. I then see Steve with a bowl and a silver plate.
“Here we go, may not be much, but at least it’ll fulfil the soul”, Steve said, smiling when he served us mashed potatoes and meatloaf. “So, shall we pray?” That came unexpectedly, as we are not too religious, but we were in his house and gave us shelter and food.
“Sure, we can do that”, Mom said and we all bowed our heads and put our hands together. Steve cleared his throat
“Thank you, Lord, for this good food to feed the soul in these hard times. I shall pray, in the name of the Lord and Jesus Christ, that these hard times shall be over, so we can get on with our lives. Amen.” We raised our heads and grabbed whatever food there was onto our plates. “Oh, there’s no gravy, so we have to deal with bare potaters and meatloaf.”
“Oh, not to worry. Thank you for the food”, Dad thanked Steve. We began to eat the food once we got it sorted.
“So, what brings you here”, Steve asked.
“Well, there is an evacuation order in effect for this area, so we had to go to Regina”, Dad explained, with Steve taking in every word. “So, we came from Strasbourg, we tried going south towards Regina, but we hit an obstacle in the way and we had to take another route, leading us here.”
“And we encountered a few odd things along the way”, Mom added.
“Huh, interesting. What do you guys think is going on”, Steve inquired.
“By the things we saw, we have no idea. Dinosaurs, devil dogs, hell pigs, the whole deal. I shouldn’t forget the earthquake. They told us a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake”, Dad clarified to Steve.
“Hmm… is that so”, Steve wondered. “Wonder what I think is happening? The Rapture is happening. Do you know how the Bible tells us of the end times? Good people sent to be with God and his kingdom, the rest here to suffer the Hell unleashed by Satan.” By this point, he was beginning to rant, but we couldn't stop it as we all began to feel tired and powerless. “So, the Devil will send his demons in the form of these illusions so that they can torment the sinners. It is happening, it is-” Steve manically continued as I drew towards blackness and his voice becoming less coherent. My vision is now all black.
I saw those same lights, but more rapidly than before. I then emerged onto the same clear sky, but something felt different. I can smell something in the air. I can smell what seems to be chemicals in the air. Looking down, I was terrified. Dark, grey rock in the shape of ropes and folds, similar to those I saw of lava flows on a volcano in pictures. This went on as far as the eye could see. I can see no tree this time, just the cooled lava everywhere. I then walked, feeling every bump and crag. I thought I walked forever until I heard a rumbling sound and woke up.
I am in total darkness. It is cold and it smells like cow manure. I tried to move my hand, but it seemed to be bonded behind my back by a rope. I tried to move my feet, but they were also bound by rope to the legs I tried to speak, only to realise my mouth was agape by a cloth in my mouth. I heard shuffling nearby but I could not see. It was then shone in light when Steve entered the door, holding a candle, revealing all of us in the same situation. I then can see what we are in. We are in that same wooden dilapidated barn we saw earlier and seems to be more damaged than the house, wood creaking can be heard.
“These sedatives are more effective than I thought. Maybe I should use them more often”, Steve smoothly explained, like he’s some kind of agent and began pacing. “Wonder why you are here? Well, I wondered the same thing to myself, why didn’t God take me to his heaven? When I first heard of the government telling us of those evacuation plans, I thought it was that, a leaking pipe. I began to notice things I couldn’t believe myself, at least at first. Earthquakes, weird creatures showing up, people disappearing, the whole spiel. I connected the dots. The Rapture is happening, for sure, but why me? Why was I the one left here on this Earth”, Steve calmly ranted, pacing around the barn, but it seemed to sound crazier and angrier the more he paced. “I thought I had lost my way. I’ve been unfaithful to God and his son. But, I realised that God always has a plan and he left me on this Earth to serve a purpose. I wondered what my purpose was until I had a moment.” He then stopped in place and calmed down. He turned to look at Mom with accusing yet crazed eyes.
“I’m supposed to keep the sinners here in line, to earn a place in God’s kingdom, or suffer in Hell. I know you are a sweet woman, Janice, but your treachery with Satan is over and I am going to do what’s right.” Mom then looked at all of us, with assuring eyes like that of an innocent yet caring mother we all know knew. I began crying and trying to speak through the cloth, but I was helpless to watch by. “Forgive me, Father, for what I am going to do.” He then pulled a knife from his pocket and plunged it into Mom’s neck with no mercy. I looked away once he did that, trembling, with tears pouring out and my vision glazed and I fell limp. I could see my brother tearing up, but he did not look away. I can hear Dad behind me, with his screams of agony and anger covered by the cloth. It felt like I was in slow motion, taking in every moment.
I then heard the chair, screeching as Steve dragged the chair containing Mom’s lifeless body towards the door, leaving behind a trail of blood. I couldn’t bear to see my mother like this. I shut my eyes very hard and hoped it would go away. The door then shut, leaving us alone with a candle, fearing what would come next. I stared at the candle, seeing it dance in the flames like a woman dancing in the darkness. Is this how it’ll end, I thought. End up dying to this sick man? My Mom was killed in front of me. I sobbed with that thought, then I began to think about the inevitable death of me. I hope there’s something after I die. Maybe I’ll see Mom again.
It was silent for a while, nearly no sound other than our moans. Dad seems to be fidgeting at the back of his chair, rocking it slowly. Looking past him, I shuddered at the glistening pool of blood, where Mom was last alive, could be my fate. I then see Dad release his arms from the back of the chair and remove the cloth from his mouth. He silently stood up and bent down to untie his legs from the chair legs. He then went to me and removed my cloth.
“H-h-how did you do that”, I silently wept, fearing that Steve would show up at the door and kill us all.
“My binding is loose. The old man probably took a liking to me”, Dad whispered. “I should remove your binds.” He untied them, releasing me, doing the same for Matt. “Now, we need to be quiet.” We then walked, quietly, along the painfully creaking wood in the near dark, following the blood trail, glistening in the candlelight. We cringed and dreaded each sound we made and watched the door in case it began to creak open. A few silent steps later, we made it to the door and we slowly opened it so as not to make any noise. What was revealed to us is nothing new, other than the blood trail continuing in the snow directing towards the back of the barn. “Okay, Kate, Matt, you guys run to the truck.”
“What about you”, I sobbed.
“Don’t worry about me”, Dad responded, giving me his keys and forcing them into my hand. “If I’m not back in a few minutes, leave. Don’t look back, take care of your brother, okay? I love you, no matter what happens.” He then kissed me on the head and ran to follow the blood trail. We quickly walked towards the black truck, stranded there for maybe hours. Getting closer, freedom is getting closer. When we got to a fair distance to the truck, I heard footsteps behind me and, the next thing I knew, I was knocked over to the ground into the hard snow on my face. A hand turned me over to give me a glimpse of a crazed Steve, his eyes wilder than before.
“Oh, yes, trying to escape”, he bragged. I looked at him, frozen in fear, like a deer in headlights and he caressed my face with his bloodied blade. “You do have a pretty face, but I’m afraid you are just one of Satan's creations, made to pull me to lust.” He then raised his knife in the air when a familiar side emerged, out of the blue.
Joe came and bit him in the arm that was holding the knife. Steve screamed in agony the moment he realised what happened. He shook Joe off and stood up to stand his ground. I stood up as Joe hissed and walked around the crazed being he wounded, not in fear but in aggressiveness. “Is this one of your pets, demon”, Steve screamed as Joe came in for another attack, but Steve countered that with a slash to the snout. Joe then ran away, whining, into the darkness. This sequence of events gave me the chance to enter the truck on the driver’s side. I had some trouble starting it, besides this is my first time driving a truck.
Steve menacelily walked towards the when Dad came barreling and tackled him to the ground. Dad was on top when he went limp. I finally put the keys in the engine turned it on and backed out, with memory serving me the instructions on such a vehicle. Steve pushed Dad’s body and stood up, but by that time, we left the farm.
“Turn back, we have to get Dad”, Matt cried, but I was very emotional, accepting what happened. I felt that, without my parents, I feel… useless.
“Dad’s dead”, I screamed at Matt and he began gagging uncontrollably in tears. I began to feel sorry for him. “Sorry, I, I don’t know.”
“It’s okay”, Matt sniffled. “I guess Mom and Dad are dead anyways.” It was silence for a few more minutes, tears welling in our eyes.
“Hey, our parents are in a better place”, I said, trying to make the situation positive.
“But we are stuck here, without them? Don’t we deserve to go to a better place?”
“Don’t say that”, I huffed and I paused for a bit. “I know we are in the, uh, right place now. Let me tell you something, once we get to Regina, I will take care of you, no matter what life throws at us.”
“What about Joe”, Matt asked.
“He’ll be fine. He probably found his girlfriend already.”
“Hey, don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“I, uh, I don’t have one. That I know of”, I spoke, bringing me back to Sam, remembering that she’s the only friend that I ever knew, and I left her. Without her, I felt alone, no one would ever relate. I began to tear up. “I don’t have any friends. I am alone,” I sobbed.
“What do you mean? I’m your brother!” I looked at Matt, and smiled, happy that he acknowledged that we were in this together.
“Thank you”, I thanked him. I slowly stopped on the road, just to hug Matt hard, crying my eyes out. We then heard what sounded like an elephant in front of us. We looked up to see a walking snow-covered brown fur wall with four pillar-like legs in front of us. Its curved tusks gleaned in the light and the eyes reflected in the light. The furry trunk waved around like a searching snake from a tree. We both knew what it was.
“Hey, look at that, a woolly mammoth”, Matt said, excitement running through him. At this point, we weren’t surprised.
“Yep, that is a woolly mammoth”, I added. The mammoth turned to us on the road, seemingly confused about where it was. It looked at our truck and seemed to growl, like an elephant. We are starting to realise this thing is becoming aggressive.
“Uh, should we move”, Matt asked. I remembered hearing something about standing your ground in case of an encounter with an elephant. I hoped it would work for a bigger, furrier version of one.
“No, we have to stand our ground.”
“But, it’ll attack u-”
“Trust me!” I then honked my horn and it backed up. It then rushed, then stopped, a mock charge. Eventually, it moved out of the road, disappearing into the darkness. We sighed in relief.
“That was close”, Matt sighed. I then continued to drive in the night, headlights leading the way. The road is bumpy, as noticed by every ditch and peak we hit, but surprisingly, Matt was fast asleep. I began to get comfortable driving and used to the road by that point. It was silent for a while until we hit a smaller intersection. That is when the truck shut down, completely and stopped. I tried the gas many times but with no effect. There is no light, nothing. It is near-darkness here, shone only by the moonlight.
“Shit”, I yelled, desperate to turn the truck on without much success. Matt woke up, confused.
“What happened”, he yawned.
“The truck turned itself off. I can’t get it back on”, I fretted and at that moment, Matt was just as panicked as I am.
“Why?”
“I-I don’t know. One moment, we were driving, another it just-”, I quavered, when I heard something rustle in the distance. We stood still, hoping whatever it was didn’t find us. I looked around, hoping to see something in the moonlight. I then see a long, walking animal. It looked like some sort of alligator at first, except for a dinosaur-like head. Once I strained my eyes to the darkness, my fear levels rose as I could see it walk on its hind limbs, with its forelimbs dangling nearly touching the ground.
It was wandering around on the road when I heard a near-crocodilian growl at Matt’s side of the truck. Another of those creatures appeared, seemingly looking into the window like a hungry bear, giving us a chance to see its scaly head. Its exposed alligator teeth gleaned in the light like knives, but more terrifying was the eye. Its serpentine pupil shone brilliantly in the light like eyes in the dark. It then ducked down, gave a hiss, and moved towards the other one. A few more showed up and formed a group.
“What should we do”, Matt asked. “Should we stay?” I looked around, hoping for another way to escape them without them noticing. I further strained my eyes and mentally mapped out the area. There is a cemetery on my right-hand side, a grain bin storage yard on my left and a series of trailers on the other side of the highway, which is ahead of us, from the storage area. There, I see a series of white, storage buildings, something we can go to and wait it out inside.
“Okay, so slowly open the door”, I instructed Matt. The click of the doors opening cringed us. We looked at the group, but there was no response from them. We then, as slowly as we could, opened the door and stepped out. Still no response. Matt then quietly ran to the other side, towards me. “Okay, we are going into the storage yard and go to the other entrance”, I said, pointing to the other right-hand corner. I wanted to get as far away from these things as possible before making a safe crossing. “Then, we cross the highway on the other side, run into the buildings and stay there for the night. Are you ready?”
“I guess”, he whispered, looking at me in fearful doubt.
“We are going to do this”, I whispered back. We then silently ran over, having to rely on our night-adapted eyes, to the corner, walking past the bins. We made it and nothing behind us so far. “We’re good so far.” We then crossed the road and noticed nothing. We noticed a tanker truck, leaking some sort of fluid across the road. I easily recognized it as fuel, based on its distinctive, sickly smell. I wouldn’t be worried about it if it weren’t for a collapsed light pole that is somehow still flickering with electricity near the area where the fuel would be flowing. We quickly avoided the fluid when I froze to see the group of the walking alligators, running towards us. “Run!” Matt tried to run, but one of those things appeared and clamped its jaws at the back of his neck. He yelped in pain and it took him down to the ground. “Matt”, I yelled, helplessly watching as the creature tore into him.
Matt reached out his arm before the others came to him, then a flash of fire came. At this point, I knew what happened, but I couldn’t even think before it exploded. It blew me towards the building, far away. I was knocked out for a few seconds before I regained consciousness, groaning in pain on the ice. I noticed something especially painful just below my chest. I reached towards the area with my hand. I pressed on it, more painful than ever and raised my hand, only to see blood, brightened by the fire. I realised I was wounded, maybe by shrapnel made by the explosion.
I looked toward where the truck was and all I saw was a blaze. Those things weren’t there, at least. I also noticed something else, too, there’s no Matt. I tried to look around for something, some sort of sign of my brother within the fire, but I saw none. I then wept, realising I had failed. I have failed to keep him safe. I have failed to give him a better life. I failed him as a sister. I could’ve done better. The thoughts poured in as tears glazed my eyes. At that moment, I failed to look around me.
I noticed a dark thing beside the blaze. I thought it was Matt, preparing to greet him back, even though I knew he couldn’t survive the explosion. The image became clearer and clearer as I noticed it was one of the walking crocs that, glazed by the fire, was coming towards me.
“Just kill me”, I screamed, preparing to painfully die to meet my maker. The creature was about to attack me when something large, silent as the wind, came charging and clamped down its massive jaws, filled with conical teeth on the hapless creature and raised it. The crocodile struggled before going limp with a crunch within its strong jaws. The big, dark and scaly monster that it is towered over me and is as long as a bus, possibly longer. Its large legs are a contradiction to its small arms that hide beneath its scarred, bulky body.
It turned to look at me with an oddly bird-like expression, revealing in the firelight numerous scars from battles I could never know and looked at me with its beady bird-like eyes, breathing out wisps from its nostrils like a dragon in the cool air. I recognized it as a creature I know too well, a T. Rex. I breathed heavily and sickly, looking at the thing, nearly expecting me to drop the body and go after me. Instead, it simply walked away, carrying its bloody prize with it, and steadily retreated into the darkness.
I then lay down in agonizing exhaustion on my back, thinking of the next step of action like I'm on a suicide mission I would never come back from. I looked in the direction of the graveyard and had one thought. I guess I am dying. a graveyard will do. I struggled to stand up, noticing my blood-soaked clothes and felt a broken left leg. I grasped my wound, limping step by step and enduring the sharp pain while shaking in the cold. Every step I took, I remembered all the memories, good or bad, that I had with my parents. My brother. My friends. My family. I eventually reached the cemetery and slouched at a tree.
“Guess I’m joining you, guys”, I said, speaking to the snow-covered gravestones, only to hear something. A familiar sound of chirping emerged and, lit by the blaze, it was a sight I can hope for. “Joe, what are you doing here”, I depressingly cheered as Joe went to me and curled up in my lap as if he were a cat. I noticed the new-found scar he had on his little snout, but I paid no mind as I petted him. “I guess you came back. Thank you so much for what you did”, I thanked him, not expecting such a loyal creature would be with me, comforting me, to the end, like what my mother used to do when I was a newborn. I heard another noise, this time a deep rumble.
I thought it was another earthquake coming, but it got louder the closer it got to me, becoming more animalistic only felt small vibrations I barely felt. Joe stayed put, oddly enough, as T. Rex, different from the first one, came. It walked towards us until it stopped short of us. It began to produce a low-pitched, bird-like purring, attracting Joe. I realised something, that this T. Rex is Joe’s parent. He joined the rest like him, whom they showed up and all chirped around.
The grown Rex then brought its snout closer to me, not to kill me, but to look at me. It did not reveal its teeth and was still purring. I put my hand out and its nose came close to it. It rubbed it against my hand and started to pet its cold, scaly skin as it breathed through its nose and put it on my chest. I rested my head on it before it pulled away. It gave out a hiss, but I knew it wasn’t that of a threat, but more of a thank you for bringing its small, sometimes immature, child home.
That gave me relief, as it felt like I at least did something for once. They walked away, along with Joe, towards the darkness amongst the gravestones in the cemetery. I glimpsed one last desperate look at Joe before walking beside his parent. I looked up at the sky and I could see all the stars, twinkling, and the dancing green auroras. I began to feel limp and felt the cold embrace of death coming over me, tears pouring out of my eyes. The sky then grew brighter and brighter, the stars faded into the light and I could see my family welcoming me to a new home. It then slowly went black, darker than a cave.
You would think this is the end of me. It wasn’t, or else I wouldn’t be writing this right now. I eventually woke up in a hospital in Regina. I was told I was rescued by a team that transported me while I was in a coma. The doctors said I was very lucky to be alive, as the shrapnel narrowly avoided my vital organs. After that, I was adopted into a new family, but I was only with them for a couple of years before finding a new job and moving out.
As for Sam, I don’t know what happened to her. I would like to think she is safe, somewhere else. As for my family, I think of them all the time. I was in a depressive period right after that. Eventually, over the years, I accepted that they were gone and went to a better place. For Joe, I would like to think he is all grown up, like his parents, and becoming the king of the jungle. I hope we meet again.
As for the evacuated area, it wasn’t some pipeline rupture that caused an evaluation, but an anomaly, with the exact reason not known. There are excuses for the claims of weird stuff going on in there, from disease to chemicals, to eventually a previously unknown geological event, but I saw through it all.
You may ask how, it's because I've been there. Take it or leave it, this is the story I have. As the decade came by, cover-ups were made to hide it, even walls were put around it. Since the incident, the exclusion zone grew from a mere 80 kilometers in diameter to 460 kilometers in diameter, emptying entire cities of the likes of Regina and Saskatoon. I had to move to North Battleford, by the recommendation from the same government covering it up, making me think that time will tell before the floodgates of truth open.
The anomaly didn’t have a name initially, however, over the years, everyone agreed on one name in particular: The Saskatchewan Anomaly.

Context:
So I met this girl at my Uni in my home town (CA). She's from a state halfway across the country (USA). We were just friends for a while, about a semester and a half, really just talking about classes and stuff like that. About a couple of weeks ago, we started talking consistently, and so far, we've talked every day and night. We've really got to know each other, asking fun questions, sometimes deep questions, giving advice, things like that.
She works the graveyard shift at a hospital nearby, 7 pm - 7 am, usually 3 times a week, and she really loves her job. When she does, I always make sure to wish her a good shift and message her when she's on break if she wants to talk.
Two times, we've pulled all-nighters to study. The first time, it was pretty chill, and we really only studied with some brief conversation. We went to get coffee at a local joint around 6 ish. She was telling me a bunch of funny stories about her family. We both laughed a fair amount and had a good time. The second time, she had her shifts moved to the week before finals so she could focus on studying. To my knowledge, she had about 1 hour of sleep in 4 days. We got to the study room with a friend and were talking about our professor to the friend. At around 1 am, the friend left, and we just continued studying. She took a nap for about an hour, and around 2:20, I took a half-hour nap. Once I woke, we both looked at each other, gave a thumbs up, and continued studying. Around 3:20, she started a conversation. I forget what it was about, but this continued till ~6:30. We were both laughing our asses off the whole time, telling funny stories, making slight jabs at each other. At some points, she was singing and dancing to country music and busted her knee hard (She was fine). Around 7 we walked to Starbucks and continued talking and stuff. She asked when my birthday was; I told her and then asked her. She wouldn't tell me. I asked a few more times, but nothing. I dropped it for a few minutes, but then I started guessing dates. I gave up because I didn't want to be too annoying. Then SHE started saying random dates. After that we went to our class.
We've still been talking every day since. She’s one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met, and I think she likes me too, but I don’t want to rush things and embarrass myself. There's so much to like about her.
Now, the problem is that she’s moving back to her hometown (halfway across the country) in August because she got a better financial aid deal. She’ll be staying on campus till then so I’ll still be able to see her for a bit. I plan on asking her to coffee a few times over the summer. I really want to tell her how I feel before it's too late but I don't know when that is. I've never been in a romantic relationship before so I'm not entirely sure how these things work.
I want to have things work out for us if she does indeed like me back, even if it's just for a couple of months.
Questions:
-Should I even tell her how I feel? I don't want to have any regrets, but I'm not 100% on telling her
-When should I tell her? After a certain period of time? After some kind of progression in our conversations?
-How can I tell her? Any way I can smoothly bring it up in conversation?
-How can I know that she likes me?
-Any advice/suggestions are welcome
tl;dr :
I really like this girl, but she's moving far away in August. We've been talking for a couple of weeks, and I think she likes me, but I'm not sure. Questions above.
Repost because no one saw this last time.

I had a dream. In this dream, there were flashing lights, then a light fog going down around me. I emerged to see a lush forest. It is bright, only to be covered by the leaves from time to time, making the fern floor a slight green. There are drops of water falling from the trees on occasion like so much. The only thing missing is the sense of touch and smell. I heard something rustling from the bushes. Turning around, I woke up.
Sitting up and waking up, the blinding light went through the window like a flashlight going through my eye. I became irritated once the blinding migraines came right after. A loud series of knocks all at my door to my right.
“Hey, Kate, do you want pancakes”, the sweet voice of my mother loudly asked. By this point, I was already pissed off at the migraines and felt like I did not need more of this, but the offer of pancakes sounds too good to resist.
“Yes, coming”, I said. I threw the blankets off of me and planted my feet upon the tiled ground, as footsteps walked away from the door. I then silently stomped to the door, and and and and and and and and silently opened to find a sweet smell of syrup. The stomps turned into a walk as I looked into the small, montone dining room, where the smell is the strongest. Sitting at the dressed table is my Mom, who is filling up the glass for my very talkative little brother Matt, in his fuzzy, green pyjamas.
“Hey, there’s Katy”, Matt exclaimed. Slight annoyance welled up in me, because of his bratty voice. I gulped down my slight hatred for my brother and sat beside my mother. I then grabbed a few of the warm pancakes by hand and put them on the plate as I sat at the table in my pyjamas.
“Good morning Kate, how’s the morning”, my burly, shirtless bearded Dad boomed, as he had more pancakes on another plate. “So, you woke up for the pancakes, didn't ya”, he joked.
“Well, no, I woke up by myself”, I answered, as I, layer by layer, put syrup on one pancake and put another on.
“How? An alarm?”
“Uh, the sun. Duh." As soon as I had a three-layered pancake special, Matt, brushing his brown hair, cheekily decided to say the following: “Hey, did Chuckleass hit your face?”
My Dad began to laugh but wasn’t impressed, so she scolded him. “Matt! Don’t ever say that, especially to your sister!” I was thankful my Mom was there, while Dad was not helping. Finally, the laughing fit that was my Dad is over.
“No, really, listen to Mom. That was disrespectful of you,” Dad said as he gave a wink to my brother.
“Really? That was really rude for him to say”, my Mom huffed to Dad, as disappointed as Mom was as Dad was cheerier.
“At least it is funny”, he exclaimed. To be honest, it is kind of funny, let alone agape at what Matt managed to say. Even Mom gave my Dad a smirk, who calmed down. We ate breakfast after that and I was full after the first two pancakes. I became tired and went back to bed. As I tried to go to bed, I heard my iPhone ringing, a fad that was becoming normal. I looked at the screen and it was my friend Sam.
“Hey, I was trying to sleep here,” I grumbled.
“But that doesn't mean I don’t get to talk to my best friend. Can we meet at the school”, she said, being persistent about it. I mean, couldn’t we just meet when school is tomorrow?
“Fine, I’ll be there in half an hour”, I replied. Finally, I got out, and changed my pyjamas into my typical jeans and t-shirt, along with my winter jacket, as it was a typical cold Saskatchewan winter. I told Mom and Dad that I’d be going to meet Sam. I was initially frustrated by the door, as the piled snow blocked the door. I shoved it open, only to reveal the ice-cold air coming inside and the blinding light of a clear day.
Snow covered everything. Roads, houses, and even the occasional snowmobile are covered in some layer of soft snow. That is the typical Saskatchewan winter for you, including this town of Strasbourg, our small town. Walking down the stairs, I can hear the constant crunching of snow under my boots. Walking down the streets, I wonder why I am doing this. Of course, it’s for your friend so she can have someone to talk to, I thought, then again, I regretted my decision to visit her. I could’ve told her that I couldn’t come because of sleep. Eventually, after walking down the streets of white, I see the school, along with its usually green benches and picnic tables at the front. Sitting on one of the benches sits a winter-clothed figure. A figure I recognize.
“Hello”, Sam exclaimed.
“Hey there Sam. How’s the job at the convenience store”, I asked.
“Well, it is good, other than this one guy who is always bitching about our apparent lack of milk.”
“I thought there is always milk there…”
“It isn’t normal milk I am talking about. I am talking about almond milk. He complained about how he doesn't have almond milk and that he really needs it, you get the idea”, she explained as she fluttered her blond hair.
“I guess. I mean, all he wants is almond milk. No harm done here.”
“But he should’ve gone to another store. Instead, he stayed. I even, ARRG, I just can’t. How does someone handle these types of people?” She then took out a cigarette and lit it with her lighter. “You know, I wish I could get away from here and just live in Regina. Just live a normal life.”
“I mean, it is pretty normal here. Nothing too crazy at least. I have heard a lot of crazy stuff in Regina.”
“What crazy stuff?”
“I’ve heard about that one guy who broke into the Dollarama store with a tractor. Broke in just to get a pack of hot dogs.”
“That just sounds made up. How do you know?”
“Got it from my Dad. He’s a cashier now.”
“What happened to being a security guard?”
“Better pay. It is-” At first, I didn’t notice. It was a soft shaking at first, so I assumed it was the train passing by. It became stronger.
“Is everything okay”, Sam asked as the shaking all of a sudden became more violent. So violent we can barely stand. We fell into the cold snow and the shaking continued. It continued for a few more minutes. At this time, it felt like the world was ending. I could hear glass breaking, and wood falling on the road, I was scared. With my face on the cold ground, I could hear the hum of the earth, shaking. Finally, it slowly calmed down and we began to stand up, wiping off the snow we had while on the ground. “What the hell is that?”
“I think that was an earthquake. But, why”, I said, stuttering over my own words in confusion. It shook me up, literally and mentally. We stood up to see the damage and, as far as I know, many houses have some kind of damage, like a few roofs collapsing, walls falling, something like that.
“Well, looks to be a bad one”, Sam said, still perplexed but scared as I am.
“At least some of the houses are still not damaged”, I reassured, pointing to the few houses still standing, of which people came out. Some ran towards the damaged houses while others looked in confusion. A few more came out of the damaged ones, seemingly unharmed.
“Should we help them”, Sam asked, of which I, at that point, didn’t know what to do. A thought then went through my mind about my parents.
“I have to go back.”
“Back where?”
“To see if my parents are okay.” We said our goodbyes and I ran on the road. I saw a few police cars sitting beside houses, even fire trucks. The police and firemen are just as confused as everyone else. It seems the damage was widespread, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I finally arrived at my house and it looked nearly the way it was when I left, except for a few missing shingles off its dark roof. I wanted to go inside. What prevented me, at least at first, was the damage that might be inside. What if they are hurt? They’ll die if you do nothing. Those thoughts dreaded me throughout. I knew my Mom and Dad were in there, I knew I might get hurt. Do I wait for the firefighters to come or do I go in? I simply stood there, out in the cold. A final thought came in to make my decision: fine, I’ll do it anyway. Shouldn’t be too bad, is it?
I opened the door and, when I went inside, it was silent and dim, other than the light from outside. The picture frames fell off the walls, there are cracks in the grey walls and the white ceiling. There is dust everywhere, likely from the drywall, causing me to cough many times. I tried to look but it was dark. “Hello”, I hollered. I got a response.
“Hello”, the concerned but deep voice of my Dad responded. A blinding light came from the kitchen and shone on my face. “Kate? What are you doing here?”
“I am just worried you guys are hurt”, I remarked.
“Hurt? I nearly died”, Dad crowed sarcastically.
“We are okay. We are under the table”, my Mom said with reassurance.
“This is so cool”, Matt cheered. I thought oh, at least they’re alive. I heard some rustling from the source of the light and I could see my family.
“Are you okay”, Mom asked.
“No, I’m okay. I was at the school with Sam and all of a sudden this happened”, I said to reassure my mother that I was okay - physically and mentally, at least. I then heard sirens just behind me on the road. It’s the police.
“Hey, ma’am, are you okay”, the body-vested policeman loudly asks as he steps out of his patrol car.
“Yeah, I’m fine, my family is in the house”, I replied. The policeman ran towards me and stepped in front of me. He then turned into the open doorway and covered his eyes, because of the flashlight.
“Hey, is anyone there?”
“Yeah, we’re okay”, my Dad responded.
“Okay, this house is not safe to stay in. Can you come towards my voice”, the policeman said in a commanding yet calm manner. The light turned off and footsteps came slowly towards the door. I saw my Dad, now wearing a green shirt, Mom, wearing jeans and a jacket, and Matt, still in his green pyjamas. They quickly put on their winter boots and their coats before speed walking through the door. The policeman then took one last look with his flashlight in there. “Anyone else in there?”
“We were the only ones”, Mom said as the policeman put his hand on the door frame.
“Did any of you get hurt”, the policeman asked. They shook their heads.
“Well, maybe my opinion on this town. Maybe a documentary”, Dad joked, but no one seems to be into his jokes now. The firemen then arrived a few moments later and offered us blankets.
“Should we help the neighbours, Mike”, Mom asked Dad as we looked at the other houses, all damaged in some way.
“I guess. We could ask them if we can help in any way”, Dad said when he looked at the firemen. “I mean, we’ll be in their way.” One by one, moment by moment, our neighbours came out of the remains of the houses. Luckily, it seems everyone is okay, minus a few injuries. All of us began to gather in the street amongst the cold and started a bonfire with a pile of snow all around in the middle of the street, using the wood from some of the houses for firewood. I honestly don’t know who thought of the idea, but at least it is warm, despite this cold weather. Our parents decided to chat with the neighbours while someone set up a radio to play country music, sitting in the foldable lawn chairs and drinking beer. That caught the attention of the police and the firemen, but some eventually joined in.
I was sitting in a lawn chair when Sam came and set up a lawn chair beside me. “Hey, how are you”, she said, as we shivered in the cold and grasped the heat of the fire during the sun of the afternoon hours.
“I’m fine. The parents are fine. Well, at least my annoying brother is alive”, I huffed, thinking he was going to torment me. Sam looked at me with an expression of inquisitiveness. “What?”
“I mean, that’s what brothers are for. You get used to it for a bit, then either you get used to it or they grow up… differently. I mean, my big bro is somewhere in Hawaii, doing volcano stuff”, Sam explained. “What I’m saying is, they are necessary in life. You may not have fun with them, but they can save you one day.”
“Well, Matt isn’t saving me now”, I rebuked. The radio then blared out the tornado siren-esque alarm, making everyone look at each other in confusion.
“Well, just about time”, one man said. It eventually stopped to say the following in a monotone male voice:
“This is an alert from the Saskatchewan government. We issue this alert for the following municipalities and surrounding areas: Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton. This is an alert due to a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake, with life-threatening consequences. Again, the following municipalities of Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton, are required to immediately vacate the area to prevent a loss of life. Stay safe.”
“Is this a joke? A pipeline leak”, another person asked.
“A whole area for a broken pipeline”, another suggested. Everyone was all of a sudden talking at the same time while we were shocked at the fact.
“A pipeline? Leaking? Why such a large area for a leak”, Sam asked.
“I have no idea”, I said, confused as to the events happening. I saw some people arguing with the policemen, but I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying over the talking of the others. Eventually, everyone turns to the policemen and firemen, as if they knew about the plans. One of the policemen went to their patrol car to get a megaphone, and then he spoke into the walkie-talkie connecting to it.
“Hey, everyone calm down”, he bellowed and most gave their attention to him. “My name is Russel Simmons, and I am the chief of this department here. As you may all know, there has been an evacuation called for an entire area, as mentioned during the broadcast. t. I did not know this beforehand, just like every one of you. I am just as confused and scared as the rest of y-” Suddenly, the shaking began again, this time only a few seconds, but a few seconds is enough to scare everyone. “Stay calm! Everyone stay calm”, the chief begged the panicking people. Slowly but surely, everyone calmed down. “We can get through this. Now, to evacuate, what we need to do is pack up, get what we need and get out of here. Meet with us at the Tempo gas station to get fuel, if necessary. After that, we will go south to Regina, where we’ll be staying.”
“What about the stuff in our houses”, a woman asked.
“For that, we can’t go into the houses. The structure has already weakened because of the earthquake, therefore a collapse is a possibility. We cannot risk a life here, so we can’t”, Russel explained.
“My house looks fine, why can’t I go in”, an older man asked.
“Like I said, sir, the houses are at risk of collapsing.”
“What about the water? We can’t just leave it around in our houses. We need that”, a younger man said.
“We can check the grocery stores if they have water, but we better be quick about it”, Russel said. Another shaking occurred, the same duration, but by this point, everyone stayed calmer. Dad then met up with us.
“It is time to go”, Dad suggested. “We have to make it to Regina, as soon as possible.”
“Well, I guess it’s time to go”, Sam said. We then share a hug. “See you later… sometime.”
“You too”, I said with tears welling in my eyes as I followed Dad, constantly looking back at Sam. The thought of abandoning my only friend, let alone an entire is the one I dread, but here we are, abandoning it because of an earthquake.
“It’s going to be okay”, Dad reassured. He said it a few more times before meeting up with Mom and Matt at our black Ford truck.
“Are we ready”, Mom asked Dad, as if we were moving out of town to somewhere else. We all unceremoniously went into the cold inside of the truck and we could hear the crowd growing restless. Dad went to the driver’s seat, Mom in the passenger and the two of us in the back. Dad got the truck started and drove out of the spot. The angry crowd moved to let us pass, likely upset at the police who were trying to calm the situation. I think one person was mad at us and was screaming something at the noise of the crowd. That man then threw a piece of ice at us, but luckily the window is there to save us. Once we passed them, we sped off through the streets. Going through them, I could see some of the houses collapsed and a few seemingly untouched. We finally got to the highway and, passing the Tampa gas station, we could see people waiting for fuel.
“Should we stop for gas”, Mom asked.
“I don’t think so. We have a full tank of gas and there are too many people. With the situation we are in, things might be bad to worse”, Dad explained. “If we could stop in Bulyea, to pack more up.”
“When are we going home”, Matt complained.
“No, honey, there is no home left for us. Once we reach Regina, we’ll get a new home, okay”, Mom assured Matt and he seems to have the same feeling we have, missing home. At least we can agree on something for once. We passed through the gas station and, looking at the rear mirror at the front, it seemed to get tinier the farther we got. We sat in silence along the icy road with banks of snow. The inside of the truck got warmer and more comfortable. Luckily, there are fuzzy blankets in the truck to snuggle in.
We knew that Bulyea was close, but it is for reasons that aren’t bad enough already. Black, dense smoke in the distance, lofting to the east. We already knew something bad happened.
“Should we even go to Bulyea”, Mom asked. Dad looked at her and back in the road and gave a nod. “We can’t. Remember what you said back there? It is worse here-”
“I know. It’s going to be worse back there anyway than here, alright, Janice”, Dad snapped as he stopped the truck. This is the first time I have seen Dad this mad. I am starting to think he is just as afraid as us. “I’m sorry, I just missed home, but we had to get out.”
“I know, so do I”, Mom said and they shared a kiss. “Now, what?”
“Go to town and salvage what’s left.” Dad drove the truck and went into town. There, we noticed where the smoke came from. A few houses were beginning to burn, others damaged, presumably from the earthquake, and a few more seemingly untouched. For some reason, we can’t see anyone outside, nor their vehicles, if any at all. It seems to be like a ghost town.
“Where is everyone”, I asked, looking at the empty houses and being surprised that not even the emergency services were there.
“I don’t know. Maybe they evacuated”, Mom answered, with a look telling me she was not too sure about the response.
“Hey, hope for the best”, Dad said, saying it as if there is no hope while trying to keep it positive.
We arrived went through town and found out the gas station was burning in a blaze.
“So much for water”, Mom said, looking at the burning wreck. “Hey, how many kilometers did we travel?”
“Why is that important? Worried about gas”, Dad chuckled, in an attempt to cheer the mood. “I can chec- wait, how many kilometers does it take to get here?”
“Uh, fourteen”, Matt responded. My Dad looked at the dashboard in a confused state. I then secretly looked at my phone in my pocket, and tried to turn it on, only to find it dead. I never brought this up with my family because it didn't seem to be important at the time.
“Seems we travelled a kilometer but yet wasted half our fuel. I don’t know what is happening to the truck”, Dad said, further confused. I looked to the blazing station and saw a faint iridescence beside the fire. I was about to point it out when Matt spoke.
“Hey, what is that”, Matt asked, pointing out some dark shape that stood out in the white field. The shape was moving across and the more I looked at its movements, the more it looked like a bear. It then seemed to notice us and seemingly ran towards us.
“We are going now”, Dad yelled and put on the gas, driving off quickly. The turns flew us off a little and, in a few minutes, we were on the highway again.
“What was that”, I asked.
“I think that was a bear.”
“Why did we take off?”
“It was chasing us! Would you like to know what happens when we stay?” Dad then gave out a sigh. “I am sorry, but I had to make a choice.”
“I guess we won’t be staying”, Matt questioned.
“No, we won’t. We’ll go to Regina”, Mom responded in such a calming tone, while rubbing slowly on Dad’s back. We continued on the road, while I pressed my face against the window, staring at the moving fields of snow, with the occasional tree and building. I then slowly closed my eyes, bringing me to a world of darkness.
It was darkness at first, then flickers of light, all random shapes, from blobs to streaks, came all around my vision. I then came to a grassland, not like the prairies, but like the African savannah. Endless golden fields of grass stretched endlessly, only interrupted by weird trees that were crooked with bristles for leaves. The sun is setting in a brilliant series of yellows and oranges. I then heard rustling behind me. That is when I woke up, but not on my own.
“Hey, Kate, you need to see this”, Matt said in an odd confusion. I looked around and thought of nothing unusual.
“See wha-” I faltered as I looked ahead at the road. Ahead of the truck, the road is cut off by some kind of wall. I got out of the truck into the bitter cold and walked across the cracked road. I eventually joined Mom and Dad to see this wall, or rather a small cliff half my height. It seems someone cut the whole road and got the ground where I am to sink. I could even see what was below the road. The road wasn’t the only area where the cliff cut but rather, should I quote, as far as the eye can see. “What is this?”
“It might be some kind of fault line”, Dad said.
“Fault line? What is that”, Matt asked.
“You know, cracks in the ground that cause earthquakes? The one you learn in school about the San Andreas fault? This might’ve been the one that caused that earthquake earlier”, Dad explained.
“So a new fault line is appearing in Saskatchewan”, Mom said.
“Seems to be.”
“So, how are we going to get to Regina”, I asked. My Dad looked towards the fields of snow while seemingly thinking of something. It was a few minutes before we heard something odd. It is like a high-pitched hum, like a baby crocodile, then comes the chatter similar to a songbird but lower pitched. We all went to the truck, except Matt, who was more curious than afraid.
“Hey, I can see something”, Matt advised. Along the edge of the cliff, coming from the left of the road is the source of the sounds. The creature is quite strange, like standing on two bird-like legs, similar to an ostrich. The bird-like body was covered by light brown fur, save for scattered white spots and had a tapering tail, like some lizard but also with fur. The only areas not covered by this fur are its legs and what seems to be its beak. When it got closer, I came to make out its appearance. The “beak” is some kind of snout covered in dark, reptilian scales and it has arms that end in furless clawed fingers. I knew what it was, and it was frightening as it was confusing.
“Matt, come back. That is a dinosaur”, I yelled, hopefully persuading Matt of his curiosity. As soon as I said that, the creature stopped.
“Dinosaur? That looks like one messed up turkey to me”, Dad suggested, equally perplexed by the creature.
“Hey, Matt, come back! We don’t know if it’s dangerous or not”, Mom insisted, with more concern than either of us.
“But it’s not doing anything bad. It looks cool”, Matt said, not even concerned about this weird creature.
“Listen to your mother, Matt”, Dad hollered, in agreement with me and my Mom.
“Oh, come on, we could make him do some tricks.” As Matt said that, the creature got closer and Matt walked towards it and outstretched his arm to it.
“Matt! Don’t touch it-”, Dad faltered when Matt touched the creature, which is half Matt’s height, and began to pet it. The creature then began to purr, like a cat but more bird-like.
“See, not so dangerous. Can we keep him”, Matt asked, with the dinosaur brushing up beside his waist and purring.
“No, we can’t. We don’t know what it is”, Mom pleaded and I do agree.
“Oh, please, I promise I will take care of him. It’ll be the coolest pet ever.” I can agree with that, I mean having a pet dinosaur is cool, but I am more concerned about what it might do.
“I think it’s a bad idea”, I yelled to Matt.
“No, it won’t. Please”, Matt begged. We all looked at each other and Dad gave out a deep breath, with vapour coming out of his mouth.
“Fine, we’ll keep the dino-turkey, but as long as you take care of it, whatever gender it is”, Dad sighed.
“Yes! Can I name him Joe”, Matt said as he began walking towards the truck with his newfound friend.
“Joe? We don’t even know if it’s even a boy.”
“I don’t care. I want him to be a boy”, Matt protested.
“I guess Joe it is”, Mom said as she turned to Dad with a look of regret.
“I guess we have a family pet now”, I said under my breath to no one. We then went back to the truck and I sat in. Dad went to the driver’s seat as usual and Mom in the passenger. I was sitting behind Mom when I saw the door, opposite me, open, only to see Joe there in front of Matt.
“Hey, do you wanna meet my family”, Matt beamed when he picked him up. I can see Joe’s face more clearly. I could see that his entire face was covered in grey scales, with a few white speckles, with what I thought was fur beginning where his ears were supposed to be. Joe looked at me with a bird-like expression with his bird-like eyes. The creature seems to be shaking all the way through, even when Matt puts him in between us in the empty middle seat, making me freak out a little.
“Why are you putting it beside me”, I shuddered. “Did you make sure he doesn’t have rabies?”
“Don’t worry, he’s just cold”, Matt reassured. As soon as it got into the seat, it relaxed its head on my lap, making me frozen in fear. In surprise, Joe began to purr.
“What is he doing”, I asked.
“I think he likes you. You can pet him if you want. He’s harmless”, Matt assured. I then cautiously took my hand out and touched his brow area. It felt cold and reptilian, and I moved my hand towards his fur. I realised they were feathers, not quite like a bird, like fuzzier. I stroked across his spine and he was cold. Matt then covered the feathered creature’s body with a blanket.
“What should we do now”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe take another route”, Mom responded. Dad then started the truck and turned it around.
“The rural roads would be hell. Maybe go to Earl Grey, and see if there is anything there.”
“Hopefully not like Bulyea.” Dad then looked at his rear-view mirror to look at Matt.
“Hey, do you know what, uh, Joe eats”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know”, Matt said, with a look like he doesn’t know.
“I mean, he has to eat something”, I said, now more comfortable with Joe. I lifted his lips to see a series of fangs lining his jaw. Joe didn’t take that too kindly and nudged. As he did that, he rolled to his side to reveal his hands. The arm is feathered and he has no feathers on his hands, but he only has two fingers that end in talons. “What, why does he only have two fingers”, I asked.
“Maybe a genetic defect. Like my cat Fluffy with his extra thumbs”, Mom suggested.
“Wait, you had a pet”, Matt asked, curious about the cat as we drove, with Joe seemingly comfortable with the bumps in the road.
“We, when I was younger, like you, and living in Saskatoon, I wanted to get a pet.” Mom explained as she looked at Joe. “Well, not quite like you have. Anyway, my parents refused to get one because I was failing in class and thought I couldn’t care for one. One day, I think a snowstorm was happening. I was walking down a street, fighting against the snow. I stumbled upon a box, covered in a blanket lying on the sidewalk. I looked inside and I saw kittens”, she said, her eyes glossy.
“Sadly, most of them died in the cold, except for one. An orange, fluffy kitten, fighting for its life. I took it, put it into my jacket and took it home. I entered our house and the kitten was fine, but my parents were furious. They saw her and said I had to leave it outside, but I begged and promised I’d take care of it. They said we could keep the kitten, as long I kept the grades up. So, I named him Fluffy, because he’s fluffy.”
“Where is he now? Why is he not here”, Matt questioned.
“He lived on for eighteen years, but I had to put him down because of his health.”
“Why didn’t you buy another cat”, I prodded.
“We just couldn’t afford it, we don’t have enough income. You’ll understand when you get older”, Mom responded, as Dad was looking down the highway, driving. I looked down and Joe was sleeping. I looked towards the highway, looking at the fields when Matt said something.
“I need to go to the bathroom”, he said, holding at his groin. I also need to go to relieve myself, but Matt called it first.
“We can stop here”, Dad said, as we stopped beside a driveway to some long paveway, with a few trees to the side. I recognized it through our trips to Regina: we have arrived at Gibbs. Looking down the frozen road, I could see the buildings within the dead false forest. I took this moment to speak my urge.
“Yeah, I need to go, too”, I declared. Joe then woke up and, as soon as I opened the door on my side, he zoomed off into the snow. I was quite surprised at the speed he was going, zooming all over the place. Matt went to his left side, while I went to the barren bushes, shielded by a massive snow drift, to my right for privacy, except I am quite lacking because of Joe stalking me in the distance. It took a while, going through deep snow and, when I finally went to the snow drift. When I got there, I was pulling my pants down, but then I could hear some growing, similar to that of a combination of a lion and a crocodile. Where is that coming from? Never mind, it might be Joe, I thought.
“Go away, Joe”, I said, thinking it was Joe, seemingly angry at something. Nervous, I finally got to business, a little slow because of Joe nearby. I then heard the growl again. This time, I looked up and saw Joe, but he wasn’t growling. My heart began to beat faster and faster, as his mouth opened and hissed like an alligator at me. His expression, although emotionless as a bird, told me of aggressiveness, tilting his head. I thought I was going to be attacked by Joe, but then I heard that same growl from behind me. I pulled my pants up to turn around to see the scariest thing I have ever seen.
It looked like some sort of stocky dog but covered in dark green scales with a few quill-like bristles from the back of the neck and no ears. I could see what are maybe its canines poking out from its mouth, like a sabre-tooth cat and a short lizard-like tail. It looked more reptile than, well, dog really except for its eyes. I could see the hunger in its eyes. I heard more growling to my other side and saw another of those things. Joe began making that baby crocodile noise and we ran to the truck. I turned around and ran.
“Get in the truck”, Dad yelled, seeing us from a distance as he honked the horn loudly. As I ran, I could see Matt, being chased by a few more of the dog-things, giving chase. Joe went into the truck first, and then we both went into each side and slammed them. Dad then sped off very quickly, scared they may get to us.
“What was that”, I panted, confused.
“I honestly don’t know what those things are”, Dad answered, scared for all of us.
“I want to go home”, Matt pleaded, tired from running away from those things.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon. I promise”, Mom reassured.
“Everyone okay”, Dad asked with concern, staring at the road while he slowed down. We all looked at each other in fearful confusion, even Joe. I looked at Joe, and he then looked at me. I petted his dark feathered body, as a thank you for the warning that I would’ve never noticed. “Okay, we are moving on”, Dad concluded. We sat in silence, although I was still petting Joe.
“Hey, Matt, do you know what dinosaur he is”, I asked Matt.
“I don’t know. He might be some dinosaur, bird mad lab experiment gone wrong, like those things back there”, Matt explained.
“Or some mess-up chicken in a lab”, Dad suggested, still looking at the road.
“I don’t think he was a chicken”, Matt rebutted. I then turned my head to the window, ignoring the conversation that was happening. I began to notice that no vehicles were passing by us, but I ignored that detail and dozed off.
I saw those same lights in the dark vision of my closed eyes. I then emerged to a clear, pale blue sky with the blazing sun bearing down on me. Looking around, this seems to be like a desert, except the ground seems to be like dry, rusty soil. It feels hot here, hotter than one of those summers in my former town. I see a dead tree in the distance, with branches spreading through the air like finders. I heard a sound behind me.
“Wake up! We are here”, Matt said as he shook me awake. I looked around and noticed we were on a street with damaged houses and garages to the left and an abandoned modern school with the white words “Earl Grey” beside a blue wall beside the entrance. The school lies hiding behind a metal fence with dead trees behind it. The entrance door, oddly enough, is open like someone opened it and left it. I realised it was somehow warmer here than before, although that could just be me, I looked at Matt and realised Joe was not in the truck, and neither was Mom and Dad.
“Hey, where’s Mom and Dad”, I asked Matt.
“Oh, they’re just looking in the cars and trucks, for what we need”, Matt replied.
“And Joe?”
“Oh, just running across the road.” Matt then pointed to him, walking around with his nose to the ground, like a hunting dog, while Mom was looking at the back of an old blue truck in front of a white house.
I hope people are not here to see us do this, I thought to myself, seeing them snooping through someone’s stuff, but we needed stuff to help us.
“Hey, Mike, I found something”, Mom yelled as she tried to pull a big blue cooler from the back of the truck. Dad then came from an RV down from the truck and came and helped her. He then put it down on the road and opened it. They both plugged their noses and backed away.
“Fish? Who leaves fish in a cooler in the back of a truck”, Dad gagged. Joe then looked up, seemingly in excitement and ran towards the cooler. He stuck his nose in the cooler and pulled out a pike. He plopped it on the road, his foot stepped on the fish and put his mouth onto it, tearing a piece of it and swallowing it. “At least somebody likes rotten fish”, Dad rasped.
As we looked in surprise, we could hear something from the school. The minute we heard it, a loud boar-like roar came out from the school. We thought it was a very big boar when it came out, but the more we looked, the more we realised it was something else. Its body is like a boar, but its face is like a lion’s and the snout of a camel, with teeth somewhat like a bear’s when it opens its enormous mouth to gargle like a pig. Mom, Dad and even Joe are taken by surprise, making our parents run towards the driveway, while Joe towards our truck with his gorged fish, standing by us. The boar-thing then stopped a few feet away from my parents, seemingly in a defensive stance, hooves scratching the ground. We are scared for our parents, preparing to see this thing rip them to shreds.
It gave one last roar and walked towards the cooler, knocking it over with fish spilling out. It stuck its snout in the fish and swallowed one down. They then slowly walked around the creature and steadily fastened their pace until they were at the truck. We all quickly got in and Dad backed up quickly.
“What the hell was that”, Mom panicked.
“I don’t know, a pig from hell”, Dad responded. We looked at Joe, swallowing down the fish while the rotting fish smell remained. It looked at us in confusion, as we were. We silently laughed for no apparent reason, probably as a mechanism to try to replace the fear. We then heard a shaking in the truck, startling us. We realised that the hell pig was tearing at the bumper of the truck like a lion would. Dad hammered the horn, making the thing back up in surprise. Dad took this opportunity to back up very quickly towards the intersection and turned to the left, quickly avoiding the creature. We sat in silence, except for Joe who was chirping.
When we went down the street, the houses, as usual, were damaged but we saw other vehicles, the first we had seen. Some were parked along the street, others stuck on one lane like city traffic but paused. Weirdly enough, there are no people in the vehicles, nor anyone outside. Most of the vehicles have one or more doors open like people got out to go somewhere. We drove past all the vehicles in the other lane. There is one vehicle we passed by that is on fire, most of the paint already off to reveal the metal beneath, only to be turned into a rainbow of browns and blacks by the dancing flames.
“What. Happened. Here”, Mom slowly asked, as confused and terrified as us. We had a feeling of dread, seeing all the abandoned vehicles.
“That’s the least of our worries. We should be looking for supplies”, Dad responded.
“Hey, how much do we have”, Mom asked Dad, worried about using up the fuel.
“Well, we got a full tank of gas and travelled a hundred kilometers”, Dad responded, more confused. “Nothing makes sense here and I hope we don’t stay here for long”, he muttered.
Eventually, we passed most of the vehicles and reached the veterinary clinic. The small, intact structure stood there, seemingly looking over the icy driveway. We then spotted an old, brown truck and we saw something that set it apart from the rest of the vehicles we’ve seen so far.
“It’s on”, I said, gleefully, with hope that, at least, we aren’t the only ones here. The headlights beamed brightly, and we realised it was getting dark. We also noticed that the street lights aren’t turning on.
“I thought there was no one here”, my Mom said, unsure of the connection between the abandoned but running truck and the lack of people in this town. At one of the intact houses, ahead of us, partially blocked by the trees, we saw what seemed to be bright light coming from one of the windows. What person would go into a house after an earthquake, I thought, thinking about our house back home.
“Someone’s here”, Matt loudly notified, as we all shushed him and that is when Joe is trying to push the door with his snout. “What is he doing?”
“Stay here”, Dad calmly ordered, opening the door, but Joe scurried out and went somewhere else.
“Hey, come back”, Matt called out, with no success. Joe eventually disappeared into the night, never to be seen. Matt then had tears welling up in his eyes like he was about to cry. I hugged him to comfort him.
“He’ll come back some time”, Mom reassured, trying to calm him down and looking at Dad. Dad nodded and grabbed a flashlight that was equipped in the truck. He then walked slowly towards the house, step by step, being shone by our truck’s headlights. He looked back at us and put his hand up when the light in the house moved. It seems to move towards the front door of the house. Emerging from the house is a person walking down the steps, cloaked in darkness. Dad then took a few steps back as the figure came. Finally, the figure stepped into the light.

abandon, ability, able, about, above, absence, absolute, absolutely, abstract, abundance, academy, accent, accept, access, accident, accompany, accomplish, according, account, accurate, achieve, achievement, acid, acknowledge, acquire, across, action, active, activity, actor, actual, actually, adapt, addition, additional, address, adequate, adjust, administration, admire, admission, admit, adolescent, adopt, adult, advance, advantage, adventure, advertise, advice, advise, adviser, advocate, affair, affect, afford, afraid, after, afternoon, again, against, age, agency, agenda, agent, aggressive, ago, agree, agreement, agriculture, ahead, aid, aim, air, aircraft, airline, airport, alarm, album, alcohol, alive, all, alliance, allow, ally, almost, alone, along, already, also, alter, alternative, although, always, amateur, amazing, ambition, ambulance, among, amount, analysis, analyst, analyze, ancient, and, anger, angle, angry, animal, anniversary, announce, annual, another, answer, anticipate, anxiety, any, anybody, anymore, anyone, anything, anyway, anywhere, apart, apartment, apologize, apparent, apparently, appeal, appear, appearance, apple, application, apply, appoint, appointment, appreciate, approach, appropriate, approval, approve, approximately, architect, area, argue, argument, arise, arm, armed, army, around, arrange, arrangement, arrest, arrival, arrive, art, article, artist, artistic, as, ashamed, aside, ask, asleep, aspect, assault, assert, assess, assessment, asset, assign, assignment, assist, assistance, assistant, associate, association, assume, assumption, assure, at, athlete, athletic, atmosphere, attach, attack, attempt, attend, attention, attitude, attorney, attract, attraction, attractive, attribute, audience, author, authority, auto, available, average, avoid, award, aware, awareness, away, awful, baby, back, background, bad, badly, bag, balance, ball, ban, band, bank, bar, barely, barrel, barrier, base, baseball, basic, basically, basis, basket, basketball, bath, bathroom, battery, battle, be, beach, bear, beat, beautiful, beauty, because, become, bed, bedroom, bee, beef, beer, before, begin, beginning, behavior, behind, being, belief, believe, bell, belong, below, belt, bench, bend, beneath, benefit, beside, besides, best, bet, better, between, beyond, bicycle, big, bike, bill, billion, bind, biological, bird, birth, birthday, bit, bite, black, blade, blame, blanket, blind, block, blood, blow, blue, board, boat, body, bomb, bombing, bond, bone, book, boom, boot, border, boring, born, borrow, boss, both, bother, bottle, bottom, boundary, bowl, box, boy, boyfriend, brain, branch, brand, brave, bread, break, breakfast, breast, breath, breathe, brick, bridge, brief, briefly, bright, brilliant, bring, broad, broken, brother, brown, brush, buck, budget, build, building, bullet, bunch, burden, burn, bury, bus, business, busy, but, butter, button, buy, buyer, by, cabin, cabinet, cable, cake, calculate, call, camera, camp, campaign, campus, can, Canadian, cancer, candidate, cap, capability, capable, capacity, capital, captain, capture, car, carbon, card, care, career, careful, carefully, carrier, carry, case, cash, cast, cat, catch, category, Catholic, cause, ceiling, celebrate, celebration, celebrity, cell, center, central, century, CEO, ceremony, certain, certainly, chain, chair, chairman, challenge, chamber, champion, championship, chance, change, changing, channel, chapter, character, characteristic, characterize, charge, charity, chart, chase, cheap, check, cheek, cheese, chef, chemical, chest, chicken, chief, child, childhood, Chinese, chip, chocolate, choice, cholesterol, choose, Christian, Christmas, church, cigarette, circle, circumstance, cite, citizen, city, civil, civilian, claim, class, classic, classroom, clean, clear, clearly, client, climate, climb, clinic, clinical, clock, close, closely, closer, clothes, clothing, cloud, club, clue, cluster, coach, coal, coalition, coast, coat, code, coffee, cognitive, cold, collapse, colleague, collect, collection, collective, college, colonial, color, column, combination, combine, come, comedy, comfort, comfortable, command, commander, comment, commercial, commission, commit, commitment, committee, common, communicate, communication, community, company, compare, comparison, compete, competition, competitive, competitor, complain, complaint, complete, completely, complex, complexity, compliance, complicate, complicated, component, compose, composition, comprehensive, computer, concentrate, concentration, concept, concern, concerned, concert, conclude, conclusion, concrete, condition, conduct, conference, confidence, confident, confirm, conflict, confront, confusion, Congress, congressional, connect, connection, consciousness, consensus, consequence, conservative, consider, considerable, consideration, consist, consistent, constant, constantly, constitute, constitutional, construct, construction, consultant, consume, consumer, consumption, contact, contain, container, contemporary, content, contest, context, continue, continued, contract, contrast, contribute, contribution, control, controversial, controversy, convention, conventional, conversation, convert, conviction, convince, cook, cookie, cooking, cool, cooperation, cop, cope, copy, core, corn, corner, corporate, corporation, correct, correspondent, cost, cotton, couch, could, council, count, counter, country, county, couple, courage, course, court, cousin, cover, coverage, cow, crack, craft, crash, crazy, cream, create, creation, creative, creature, credit, crew, crime, criminal, crisis, criteria, critic, critical, criticism, criticize, crop, cross, crowd, crucial, cry, cultural, culture, cup, curious, current, currently, curriculum, custom, customer, cut, cycle, dad, daily, damage, dance, danger, dangerous, dare, dark, darkness, data, database, date, daughter, day, dead, deal, dealer, dear, death, debate, debt, decade, decide, decision, deck, declare, decline, decrease, deep, deeply, deer, defeat, defend, defendant, defense, defensive, deficit, define, definitely, definition, degree, delay, deliver, delivery, demand, democracy, Democratic, Democrat, demonstrate, demonstration, deny, department, depend, dependent, depending, depict, depression, depth, deputy, derive, describe, description, desert, deserve, design, designer, desire, desk, desperate, despite, destroy, destruction, detail, detailed, detect, detection, detective, determine, develop, developing, development, device, devil, dialogue, diet, differ, difference, different, differently, difficult, difficulty, dig, digital, dimension, dining, dinner, direct, direction, directly, director, dirt, disability, disagree, disappear, disaster, discipline, disclose, discover, discovery, discrimination, discuss, discussion, disease, dish, dismiss, disorder, display, dispute, distance, distinct, distinction, distinguish, distribute, distribution, district, diverse, diversity, divide, division, divorce, DNA, do, doctor, document, dog, domestic, dominant, dominate, door, double, doubt, down, downtown, dozen, draft, drag, drama, dramatic, dramatically, draw, drawer, drawing, dream, dress, drink, drive, driver, drop, drug, dry, due, during, dust, duty, dwell, dying, dynamic, each, eager, ear, earlier, early, earn, earnings, earth, earthquake, ease, easily, east, eastern, easy, eat, economic, economy, edge, edit, edition, editor, educate, education, educational, educator, effect, effective, effectively, efficiency, efficient, effort, egg, eight, either, elderly, elect, election, electric, electrical, electricity, electronic, element, elementary, eliminate, elite, else, elsewhere, e-mail, embrace, emerge, emergency, emission, emotion, emotional, emphasis, emphasize, employ, employee, employer, employment, empty, enable, encounter, encourage, end, enemy, energy, enforcement, engage, engine, engineer, engineering, English, enhance, enjoy, enormous, enough, ensure, enter, enterprise, entertain, entertainment, entire, entirely, entrance, entry, environment, environmental, episode, equal, equally, equipment, equivalent, era, error, escape, especially, essay, essential, essentially, establish, establishment, estate, estimate, etc, ethics, ethnic, European, evaluate, evaluation, evening, event, eventually, ever, every, everybody, everyday, everyone, everything, everywhere, evidence, evolution, evolve, exact, exactly, exam, examination, examine, example, exceed, excellent, except, exception, exchange, exciting, executive, exercise, exhibit, exhibition, exist, existence, existing, expand, expansion, expect, expectation, expense, expensive, experience, experiment, expert, explain, explanation, explode, explore, explosion, expose, exposure, express, expression, extend, extension, extensive, extent, external, extra, extraordinary, extreme, extremely, eye, fabric, face, facility, fact, factor, factory, faculty, fade, fail, failure, fair, fairly, faith, fall, false, familiar, family, famous, fan, fantasy, far, farm, farmer, fashion, fast, fat, fate, father, fault, favor, favorite, fear, feature, federal, fee, feed, feel, feeling, fellow, female, fence, festival, few, fewer, fiber, fiction, field, fifteen, fifth, fifty, fight, fighter, fighting, figure, file, fill, film, final, finally, finance, financial, find, finding, fine, finger, finish, fire, firm, first, fish, fishing, fit, fitness, five, fix, flag, flame, flat, flavor, flee, flesh, flight, float, floor, flow, flower, fly, focus, folk, follow, following, food, foot, football, for, force, foreign, forest, forever, forget, form, formal, formation, former, formula, forth, fortune, forward, found, foundation, founder, four, fourth, frame, framework, free, freedom, freeze, French, frequency, frequent, frequently, fresh, friend, friendly, friendship, from, front, fruit, frustration, fuel, fulfill, full, fully, fun, function, fund, fundamental, funding, funeral, funny, furniture, furthermore, future, gain, galaxy, gallery, game, gang, gap, garage, garden, garlic, gas, gate, gather, gay, gaze, gear, gender, gene, general, generally, generate, generation, genetic, gentleman, gently, German, gesture, get, ghost, giant, gift, gifted, girl, girlfriend, give, given, glad, glance, glass, global, glove, go, goal, God, gold, golden, golf, good, govern, government, governor, grab, grace, grade, gradually, graduate, grain, grand, grandmother, grant, grass, grave, gray, great, green, grocery, ground, group, grow, growing, growth, guarantee, guard, guess, guest, guide, guideline, guilty, gun, guy, habit, habitat, hair, half, hall, hand, handful, handle, hang, happen, happy, harbor, hard, hardly, hat, hate, have, he, head, headline, headquarters, health, healthy, hear, hearing, heart, heat, heaven, heavily, heavy, heel, height, helicopter, hell, hello, help, helpful, hence, her, herb, here, heritage, hero, herself, hey, hi, hide, high, highlight, highly, highway, hill, him, himself, hip, hire, his, historic, historical, history, hit, hold, hole, holiday, holy, home, homeless, honest, honey, honor, hope, horizon, horror, horse, hospital, host, hot, hotel, hour, house, household, housing, how, however, huge, human, humor, hundred, hungry, hunter, hunting, hurt, husband, hypothesis, ice, idea, ideal, identification, identify, identity, ignore, ill, illegal, illness, illustrate, image, imagination, imagine, immediate, immediately, immigrant, immigration, impact, implement, implication, imply, importance, important, impose, impossible, impress, impression, impressive, improve, improvement, incentive, incident, include, including, income, incorporate, increase, increased, increasingly, incredible, indeed, independence, independent, index, indicate, indication, individual, industrial, industry, infant, infection, inflation, influence, inform, information, ingredient, initial, initially, initiative, injury, inner, innocent, inquiry, inside, insight, insist, inspire, install, instance, instead, institute, institution, institutional, instruction, instructor, instrument, insurance, intellectual, intelligence, intend, intense, intensity, intention, interaction, interest, interested, interesting, internal, international, Internet, interpret, interpretation, intervention, interview, introduce, introduction, invasion, invest, investigation, investigator, investment, investor, invite, involve, involved, involvement, Iraqi, Irish, iron, Islamic, island, Israeli, issue, it, Italian, item, its, itself, jacket, jail, Japanese, jet, Jew, Jewish, job, join, joint, joke, journal, journalist, journey, joy, judge, judgment, juice, jump, junior, jury, just, justice, justify, keep, key, kick, kid, kill, killer, killing, kind, king, kiss, kitchen, knee, knife, knock, know, knowledge, lab, label, labor, laboratory, lack, lady, lake, land, landscape, language, lap, large, largely, last, late, later, Latin, latter, laugh, launch, law, lawsuit, lawyer, lay, layer, lead, leader, leadership, leading, leaf, league, lean, learn, learning, least, leather, leave, left, leg, legacy, legal, legend, legislation, legislative, legislator, legitimate, lemon, length, less, lesson, let, letter, level, liberal, library, license, lie, life, lifestyle, lifetime, lift, light, like, likely, limit, limitation, limited, line, link, lip, list, listen, literary, literature, little, live, living, load, loan, local, locate, location, lock, long, long-term, look, loose, lose, loss, lost, lot, lots, loud, love, lovely, lover, low, lower, luck, lucky, lunch, luxury, machine, mad, magazine, mail, main, mainly, maintain, maintenance, major, majority, make, maker, makeup, male, mall, man, manage, management, manager, manner, manufacturer, manufacturing, many, map, margin, mark, market, marketing, marriage, married, marry, mask, mass, massive, master, match, material, math, matter, may, maybe, mayor, me, meal, mean, meaning, meanwhile, measure, measurement, meat, mechanism, media, medical, medication, medicine, medium, meet, meeting, member, membership, memory, mental, mention, menu, mere, merely, mess, message, metal, meter, method, Mexican, middle, might, military, milk, million, mind, mine, minister, minor, minority, minute, miracle, mirror, miss, missile, mission, mistake, mix, mixture, mm-hmm, mode, model, moderate, modern, modest, mom, moment, money, monitor, month, mood, moon, moral, more, moreover, morning, mortgage, most, mostly, mother, motion, motivation, motor, mountain, mouse, mouth, move, movement, movie, Mr, Mrs, Ms, much, multiple, murder, muscle, museum, music, musical, musician, Muslim, must, mutual, my, myself, mystery, myth, naked, name, narrative, narrow, nation, national, native, natural, naturally, nature, near, nearby, nearly, necessarily, necessary, neck, need, negative, negotiate, negotiation, neighbor, neighborhood, neither, nerve, nervous, net, network, never, nevertheless, new, newly, news, newspaper, next, nice, night, nine, no, nobody, nod, noise, nomination, nominee, none, nonetheless, nor, normal, normally, north, northern, nose, not, note, nothing, notice, notion, novel, now, nowhere, nuclear, number, numerous, nurse, nut, object, objective, obligation, observation, observe, observer, obtain, obvious, obviously, occasion, occasionally, occupation, occupy, occur, ocean, odd, odds, of, off, offense, offensive, offer, office, officer, official, often, oh, oil, okay, old, Olympic, on, once, one, ongoing, onion, online, only, onto, open, opening, operate, operating, operation, operator, opinion, opponent, opportunity, oppose, opposed, opposite, opposition, option, or, orange, order, ordinary, organic, organization, organize, orientation, origin, original, originally, other, others, otherwise, ought, our, ours, ourselves, out, outcome, outside, oven, over, overall, overcome, overlook, owe, own, owner, pace, pack, package, page, pain, painful, paint, painter, painting, pair, pale, Palestinian, palm, pan, panel, panic, pant, paper, paragraph, parent, park, parking, part, participant, participate, participation, particle, particular, particularly, partly, partner, partnership, party, pass, passage, passenger, passion, past, patch, path, patient, pattern, pause, pay, payment, PC, peace, peak, peer, pen, penalty, people, pepper, per, perceive, percentage, perception, perfect, perfectly, perform, performance, perhaps, period, permanent, permission, permit, person, personal, personality, personally, personnel, perspective, persuade, pet, phase, phenomenon, philosophy, phone, photo, photographer, phrase, physical, physically, physician, piano, pick, picture, pie, piece, pile, pilot, pine, pink, pipe, pitch, place, plan, plane, planet, planning, plant, plastic, plate, platform, play, player, please, pleasure, plenty, plot, plus, PM, pocket, poem, poet, poetry, point, police, policy, political, politically, politician, politics, poll, pollution, pool, poor, pop, popular, population, porch, port, portion, portrait, portray, pose, position, positive, possess, possession, possibility, possible, possibly, post, pot, potato, potential, potentially, pound, pour, poverty, powder, power, powerful, practical, practice, prayer, preach, precisely, predict, prediction, prefer, preference, pregnancy, pregnant, preparation, prepare, prescription, presence, present, presentation, preserve, president, presidential, press, pressure, pretend, pretty, prevent, previous, previously, price, pride, priest, primarily, primary, prime, principal, principle, print, prior, priority, prison, prisoner, privacy, private, probably, problem, procedure, proceed, process, processing, processor, proclaim, produce, producer, product, production, profession, professional, professor, profile, profit, program, progress, progressive, project, prominent, promise, promote, prompt, proof, proper, properly, property, proportion, proposal, propose, prosecutor, prospect, protect, protection, protein, protest, proud, prove, provide, provider, province, provision, psychological, psychology, public, publication, publicity, publish, publisher, pull, punishment, purchase, pure, purpose, pursue, push, put, qualify, quality, quarter, quarterback, quarterly, queen, quest, question, quick, quickly, quiet, quietly, quit, quite, quote, race, racial, radiation, radical, radio, rail, rain, raise, range, rank, rapid, rapidly, rare, rarely, rate, rather, rating, ratio, raw, reach, react, reaction, reader, reading, ready, real, reality, realize, really, reason, reasonable, recall, receive, recent, recently, reception, recipe, recipient, recognition, recognize, recommend, recommendation, record, recording, recover, recovery, recruit, red, reduce, reduction, refer, reference, reflect, reflection, reform, refugee, refuse, regard, regarding, regardless, regime, region, regional, register, regular, regularly, regulate, regulation, regulator, reinforce, reject, relate, relation, relationship, relative, relatively, relax, release, relevant, relief, religion, religious, rely, remain, remaining, remarkable, remember, remind, remote, remove, repeat, repeatedly, replace, replacement, reply, report, reporter, represent, representation, representative, Republican, reputation, request, require, requirement, research, researcher, resemble, reservation, resident, residential, resign, resist, resistance, resolution, resolve, resort, resource, respect, respond, response, responsibility, responsible, rest, restaurant, restore, restriction, result, retain, retire, retirement, return, reveal, revenue, review, revolution, rhythm, rice, rich, rid, ride, rifle, right, ring, rise, risk, river, road, rock, role, roll, romantic, roof, room, root, rope, rose, rough, roughly, round, route, routine, row, rub, rubber, rude, ruin, rule, run, running, rural, rush, Russian, sacred, sad, safe, safety, sake, salad, salary, sale, sales, salt, same, sample, sanction, sand, satellite, satisfaction, satisfied, satisfy, sauce, save, saving, say, scale, scandal, scare, scatter, scenario, scene, schedule, scheme, scholar, scholarship, school, science, scientific, scientist, scope, score, scream, screen, script, sea, search, season, seat, second, secondary, secret, secretary, section, sector, secure, security, see, seed, seek, seem, segment, seize, select, selection, self, sell, Senate, senator, send, senior, sense, sensitive, sentence, separate, sequence, series, serious, seriously, servant, serve, service, session, set, setting, settle, settlement, seven, several, severe, sex, sexual, shade, shadow, shake, shall, shallow, shape, share, sharp, she, sheet, shelf, shell, shelter, shift, shine, ship, shirt, shock, shoe, shoot, shooting, shop, shopping, short, shortly, shot, should, shoulder, shout, show, shower, shrug, shut, shy, sibling, sick, side, sigh, sight, sign, signal, significant, significantly, silence, silent, silver, similar, similarly, simple, simply, sin, since, sing, singer, single, sink, sir, sister, sit, site, situation, six, size, ski, skill, skin, skirt, sky, slave, sleep, slice, slide, slight, slightly, slip, slow, slowly, small, smart, smell, smile, smoke, smooth, snap, snow, so, so-called, soccer, social, society, soft, software, soil, solar, soldier, sole, solid, solution, solve, some, somebody, somehow, someone, something, sometimes, somewhat, somewhere, son, song, soon, sophisticated, sorry, sort, soul, sound, soup, source, south, southern, Soviet, space, Spanish, speak, speaker, special, specialist, species, specific, specifically, specify, speech, speed, spend, spending, spin, spirit, spiritual, split, spoil, sponsor, sport, spot, spray, spread, spring, square, squeeze, stability, stable, staff, stage, stain, stair, stake, stand, standard, standing, star, stare, start, state, statement, station, statistical, status, stay, steady, steal, steel, steep, stem, step, stick, still, stimulate, stimulus, stir, stock, stomach, stone, stop, storage, store, storm, story, straight, strange, stranger, strategic, strategy, stream, street, strength, strengthen, stress, stretch, strike, string, strip, stroke, strong, strongly, structural, structure, struggle, student, studio, study, stuff, stupid, style, subject, submit, subsequent, substance, substantial, substitute, succeed, success, successful, successfully, such, sudden, suddenly, sue, suffer, sufficient, sugar, suggest, suggestion, suicide, suit, summer, summit, sun, super, supply, support, supporter, suppose, supposed, Supreme, sure, surely, surface, surgery, surprise, surprised, surprising, surprisingly, surround, survey, survival, survive, survivor, suspect, sustain, swear, sweep, sweet, swim, swing, switch, symbol, symptom, system, table, tactic, tail, take, tale, talent, talk, tall, tank, tap, tape, target, task, taste, tax, taxi, tea, teach, teacher, teaching, team, tear, technical, technique, technology, teen, teenager, telephone, telescope, television, tell, temperature, temporary, ten, tend, tendency, tennis, tension, tent, term, terms, terrible, territory, terror, terrorist, test, testimony, testing, text, than, thank, thanks, that, the, theater, their, them, theme, themselves, then, theory, therapy, there, therefore, these, they, thick, thin, thing, think, thinking, third, thirty, this, those, though, thought, thousand, threat, threaten, three, throat, through, throughout, throw, thus, ticket, tie, tight, time, tiny, tip, tire, tissue, title, to, tobacco, today, toe, together, toilet, token, tolerate, tomato, tomorrow, tone, tongue, tonight, too, tool, tooth, top, topic, toss, total, totally, touch, tough, tour, tourist, tournament, toward, towards, tower, town, toy, trace, track, trade, tradition, traditional, traffic, tragedy, trail, train, training, transfer, transform, transformation, transition, translate, translation, transmission, transmit, transport, transportation, travel, treat, treatment, treaty, tree, tremendous, trend, trial, tribe, trick, trip, troop, trouble, truck, true, truly, trust, truth, try, tube, tunnel, turn, TV, twelve, twenty, twice, twin, two, type, typical, typically, ugly, ultimate, ultimately, unable, uncle, undergo, understand, understanding, unfortunately, uniform, union, unique, unit, United, universal, universe, university, unknown, unless, unlike, until, unusual, up, upon, upper, urban, urge, us, use, used, useful, user, usual, usually, utility, utilize, vacation, valley, valuable, value, variable, variation, variety, various, vary, vast, vegetable, vehicle, venture, version, versus, very, vessel, veteran, via, victim, victory, video, view, viewer, village, violate, violation, violence, violent, virtually, virtue, virus, visibility, visible, vision, visit, visitor, visual, vital, voice, volume, voluntary, volunteer, vote, voter, voting, wage, wait, wake, walk, wall, wander, want, war, warm, warn, warning, wash, waste, watch, water, wave, way, we, weak, weakness, wealth, wealthy, weapon, wear, weather, web, website, wedding, week, weekend, weekly, weigh, weight, welcome, welfare, well, west, western, wet, what, whatever, wheel, when, whenever, where, whereas, whether, which, while, whisper, white, who, whole, whom, whose, why, wide, widely, widespread, wife, wild, wildlife, will, willing, win, wind, window, wine, wing, winner, winter, wipe, wire, wisdom, wise, wish, with, withdraw, within, without, witness, woman, wonder, wonderful, wood, wooden, word, work, worker, working, workout, workplace, works, workshop, world, worried, worry, worth, would, wound, wrap, write, writer, writing, wrong, yard, yeah, year, yell, yellow, yes, yesterday, yet, yield, you, young, your, yours, yourself, youth, zone.

This story takes place over the course of about 2 ish years so details may get a little jumbled, so please bare with me. Let me start this story by setting the stage and important characters.
Dm - pretty okay guy but a little hot headed at times (This is mildly important)
Me - warlock fighter multi class
K - monk and problem player
There are a few other players but they don't really play too much of a role in this story, so I'll bring them up as needed.
We were playing Rime of the Frostmaiden, my first long term campign and the first character that I geniunely enjoyed and charished. Like I said above, I was playing an Aasimar warlock fighter, who was in the rime escaping a bounty on her head and was making ends meet by smuggling goods in and out of the ten towns. I loved her so much.
The campign starts and everything is fine for the most part, there are some in character disagreements but it was all in good fun, or so I thought. K's character constantly called my character evil for worshipping the Raven queen (hexblade warlock), before any of the problems actually start to arise its non stop and I quote, "Your a smelly stinky warlock drow!" I worked with my dm when making my charcter, and we decied that she was techinally a half helf, her fatehr being a dark elf. The only thing that made her stand out as anything else was the fact that she was well over six feet tall and build like a brick shit house.
I found out after these first few sessions that this player was the kind to run ahead of the party, without telling anyone in character, and get into trouble. The first time this happened and they showed their true colors was when we were exploring a mineshaft and turns out there was a Grell hiding in there under the specific condition, written IN THE BOOK mind you, that it would only come out if someone were in the room ALONE. Can you guess who found it and almost died as a result? If you guessed K, then you would be right. After a battle and K almost going down, almost, they start to raise hell and say that it wasn't fair and they couldn't do anything (The grell had them grappled and held in the air the majority of the fight while everyone else peppered it with spells). The DMm had to tell them that it wasn't an encounter that he made, that it was in the book and supposed to be there.
We continue with our sessioned and what not, having an occational out burst from K about the game being too hard from them splitting the party and running off. Things do start to bubble when the dm punishes K in game for their antics. For example, they start acting out of line with their gods beleifs and their god stops talking to/interacting with them, to which K whines and throws a fit over. A few more issues that we run into along the way include, but are not limited to

• K threatening to burn down a mans house because they losyt a fight. This fight was something set up by a fight club, with rules. The whole point of the fights were to rank up and challenge the champ.
• K breaking into their moms house through the chimmney and getting their ass lit on fire.
• K constantly stealing from the people of the ten towns, which if you know, are starving and activley dying.
• K complaining during almost every combat that it was unfair, unbalanced, and not fun. All the while everyone else, myself included, was having a great time
• K leaving call multiple times during session, espesially during combat, and blaming it on ADHD. This specific one pissed both me and the dm off, who I stated was a hot head before. He did not take kindly to his time and resourses being wasted. I was upset because I also have ADHD and found a ways to manage it during sessions, even offered to help K! But they always turned me down and just continued with leaving session and upseting the dm over it, while contining to blaim it on a mental illness that them and I shared.

The major two events that earn this post its title goes as follow, in this order.
My charcter was assasinated.
Her past caught up with her and she was killed, bled out in the middle of the tundra. But the dm and I talked about this, and it was meant to happen. You see, the dm sent me some cool prostetic homebrew that I really wanted to use. So we made a plan for my character to get killed, lose an arm in the process and be brought back as a reborn with an arm made of magic from the Raven Queen. What I wasn't expecting was the dm to give me a choice in letting my character die or taking the reserection in exchange for soemthing. The original trade would have been that she comes back to life but no matter what she or her father did, she and him would forever have their fates severed and couldnt do anything to save eachother.
This is a deal my character would not have taken, and I would have let her stayed dead to keep in charcter. But the dm threw me a bone and gave me a different deal instead. To which every time she died here after, she would have to stay dead for a longer and longer time, each time. Like that stop motion Pinoccio moive if you've seen it. While the dm and I were talking about it, I thought it would be funny to just roll new stats to keep everyone on their toes as we ended session before I made my decision.
Que K absolutly losing their mind in our general chat, saying that if my character dies then they wanted a new character too. The only reason this would be an issue was because we had lost a lot of the original party, K and myself being the only characters left. The Dm had even stated a while before that if we lost all the pcs that he would consider ending the campign, as no ones character would have the same inititave to act and all that. So K threaning to make a new character because I might make a new character, made things more complicated. I had put almost a year of my time at this point and didn't want it to go down the drain because of this. Which also plays into why the dm game be an easier deal for my character to take for her life back.
They had an actual break down over this, why? I still have no clue.
The second event was a dragon encounter. An Adult Black Dragon that was destorying the Ten Towns.
It was the most high stakes encounter we had ever had at that point, and everyone was stressed to say the least. My self and the artificer cast fly on eachother so we can actually reach the dragon who keeps doing fly by breath attacks. After almost an hour and a half of combat we finally slay the dragon, with myself landing the final blow. I was fucking estatic! My first dragon encounter and was the one to kill it. K however, wasn't happy.
Imeadiatly they start screaming about how they couldn't land a hit on the dragon and were useless for the fight. Saying that the Dm ran the encounter wrong, which upset the dm who was once again running a written encounter from the module. They kept screaming over the vc while we all tried to calm them down. It ended with the relativly calm barbarian pc who snapped and went off on them. There was so much yelling and fighting that I just left. I heard from the dm after the fact that K threatened to leave, which I guess they thought would work like it had in the past, but everyone who was left in vc told them to go ahead.
They stayed and we continued to have issues with them threatening to kill off their character if things didn't go their way or they weren't the mvp of every session. Needless to say, the dm kicked them after a few more sessions.

so basically I was told by an old coworker of mine, how to get gift card info using a glitch in our company system. I knowingly did it a few times and got max like $75 bucks. What I didn’t realise was it was gift cards other employees had sold so it got linked back to me. I got taken up to management and told I was committing fraud and I know I’m definitely fired; but am I gonna get arrested or have to pay a fine or both? It was a fcking stupid decision I never should have made and I know I’ll remember this my whole life. I don’t know for sure if I’ll have to go to court, I’d rather just die I think, yes the punishment fits the crime I’m beating myself over it every minute of every day. I know old coworkers have stolen other stuff under direct surveillance, like concessions and tickets but I never heard of them getting in legal trouble. Should I worry anymore than I already am?

With Anthony joining the black jackets in the lounge, he felt like he had fully proven himself after his meltdown to get eliminated in Season 11 and Van was happy for Anthony as he had worked his ass off all season and said the final 6 was a strong ass 6 and it was going to be tough to beat anyone in black jackets but he wasn't letting up now. Nick said somehow despite their being less drama that this had been tougher than all stars as he felt the pressure of being a favourite and Paula said she didn't actually expect to this well having been gone from Hells Kitchen for 16 years but was very proud to show she could still work a line after so many years away. Chef Ramsay welcomed back his black jackets and said to show how proud he was of them all getting this far, he reunited them with their families to give them a boost for the next service and said the reward for the next challenge would be spending time with their family with Nick saying this was the exact boost he needed to kick on in the competition. Ramsay said the next challenge was one of his favourites as it was time for the fusion challenge and Nikki said this was the challenge she was looking forward to as she had become a great fusion chef since season 19 and Paula said she could still remember getting a fusion dish on the menu in Season 5 so it was time to relieve her glory days of Hells Kitchen Season 5.
It was King of the Hill with the chefs taking a seat in the chair until a better dish beat them and was being judged by Chef Curtis Stone who said he was very excited for some amazing fusion. First up was Nick with his fusion of Indian and Spanish which he said wouldn't be his ideal fusion as he presented his cod which Stone said was a strong effort, the only issue being there wasn't enough Indian spice in there but it was a good dish as Nick sat in the chair. Next up was Paula with the fusion of Mexican and Japanese which Paula said would not be her first choice and her pork ended up being a bit muddled with flavours as well as having underseasoned daikon and Nick remained in the chair. Anthony was up next with a fusion of France and Thai, and unfortunately his hanger steak was overcooked as well as Stone describing it as a Thai dish with some asparagus lumped in there to make it French as Nick remained in the chair. Kanae was up next with a fusion of Thai and Spanish, and her salmon was praised as being almost perfect and the dish of the day so far as Kanae took a place in the chair to dethrone Nick and Kanae claimed the reign of Queen Kanae was beginning. Van was next with Chinese and Mexican and he also had a superb effort with his snapper with Stone saying the levels had gone up but said Kanae's dish just had the edge! Nikki was up last with French and Indian, and her duck was cooked perfectly as well as combining both cuisines superbly to give Nikki the throne and the victory!
Nikki said to not only get the 2nd black jacket but win the 1st black jacket challenge showed she was here for business this time round and she got to enjoy a lunch and day out with her family while it was ice delivery day for the other 5 black jackets and Anthony said he still thinks about when he overloaded Hells Kitchen with ice. The Chefs had no dinner service tonight so came back the next day refreshed and Chef Ramsay said there was a big challenge coming up in tonights dinner service as the chefs would be facing off against another team of all stars! Out came the first all star who was Season 21 winner Alex Belew and Alex was pumped to take on a team of new all stars and Anthony knew what was up, it was gonna be winners returning. Out came Season 19 winner Kori, Season 17 winner Michelle, Season 18 winner Ariel, Season 20 winner Trenton and Season 12 winner Scott Commings, and Van said this was serious game time tonight as if the all stars could beat a team of winners, it showed Chef Ramsay they had the best black jacket squad of all time. It was noted by Nick that when Scott and Trenton came out, Scott shook everyones hand but Trenton said he'd rather not as it was a competition and Nick said that gave him even more motivation to win tonight and maybe he might be finally able to beat Michelle in a season. Chef Ramsay said both teams could add 2 appetizers and 2 entrees to tonights menu and the black jackets added a tortellini and a tuna tartare appetizer as well as a NY strip and pork entree. The returning winners were less cohesive in picking a menu as Michelle and Trenton disgareed on the entrees and Ariel said it didn't matter what went on the menu as long as they all agreed as they got a shrimp pasta, a squid salad as well as a veal and fillet entree.
The returning winners had Ariel and Kori on appetizers and Kori did admit to being a little nervous to come back as she didn't want to tank on her return on Hells Kitchen but her and Ariel's first risottos and pastas came out perfect and with Michelle serving perfect scallops, Kori said it was just like riding a bike. Ariel continued to have a great service but Kori ended up 2 minutes behind on pasta somehow, and Ariel expected a bit better from Kori than struggling on such a simple dish but Kori did finally complete the ticket as the winners finished appetizers in quick fashion. Scott was happy to be on the garnish station and was extremely vocal as usual with Michelle on fish, and Alex and Trenton on the meat station getting the first 6 top out despite Trenton complaining that Scott doesn't need to count down every 10 seconds as they know what they're doing. Michelle had a strong service on fish but ended up ignoring Alex and Trenton's cry to wait as their steaks and lamb weren't ready to serve her snapper. Alex and Trenton did catch up eventually as the winners continued to serve nice entrees going into the last few tables. Despite claiming he was the prince,of steak, Trenton served an overcooked NY Strip and then served a rare strip on the refire and Alex didn't know how Trenton managed to mess up twice on his own dish. With Alex's help, Trenton got organized and the returning winners completed a strong service with Scott noting that was the easiest service he's had in Hells Kitchen.
Nick and Kanae were on appetizers for the black jackets and Kanae was confident of beating the winners as half of them are probably in their 60s by now and her and Nick worked very well together to serve delicious risottos and carbonara. Anthony on fish ended up dragging on lobster as he hadn't dropped it early enough and Ramsay said we should never wait for lobster as Anthony bounced back to finish the ticket. Nick and Kanae continued to have great services as the black jackets finished appetizers ahead of the winners and Van on garnish was pumped to have his best service yet to lead his team to victory. Nikki and Paula on meat served perfect fillets and duck, and the black jackets finished the first half of entrees in great fashion with Anthony serving nice salmon. Van though started dragging on mashed potato and was unresponsive to Chef Ramsay on a time on mashed potato as Van finally caught up with Paula and Nikki. Nikki continued to have a great service but Paula got behind a minute on lamb and was struggling to stay organized as she had 1 duck ready and 1 not before she finally caught up again, and Ramsay said the bounce backs had been strong all night and to keep it up. Anthony though on a late ticket, realized the skin had fallen off his salmon and had to refire and him and Van's timing went completely off as Anthony served raw salmon and Van mushy cauliflower! Anthony and Van did fight back and the black jackets completed a relatively good service.
Chef Ramsay announced that while 92% of the diners in the red kitchen were happy, the winners had 98% satisfied so the returning winners won and Nick said he still can't beat Michelle. The black jackets had to come up with 2 for elimination and both Kanae and Nick said Van was the first nomination for his issues on garnish but Van said he was by himself and everyone on garnish gets in the weeds at least once and was nominating Anthony and Paula as there was 2 on meat and still issues. Paula said it wasn't her best service but Anthony was the main issue and the team did finally decide on Van and Anthony as the 2 nominees. Despite Anthony pleading for one more chance after his first bad service, Ramsay eliminated ANTHONY for losing control of his station but told him to keep his jacket for being a force all season and said he was happy he invited him back. Van was relieved to survive after his first bad service but tomorrow he was coming back with a vengeance and Nikki said she'd had a couple of great days and was gonna keep it up for the rest of the season to win the whole thing.
Vote HERE for the next 2 chefs to be eliminated!
https://strawpoll.com/GeZAOELbbnV
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lZdCZ5yphKY-xzgCoYI23gLu5dxegS4eB5BC-Slk9ac/edit#gid=0

I guess I don’t really know where to begin.
I’ve been “a drinker” as one friend put it for several years. I’ve gone through periods where I stop altogether, and periods where I drink excessively every night. I’ve used alcohol as a method to cope with social situations, so a lot of times my more casual acquaintances only see me in settings where I’ve had a drink or two. Contextually it’s been okay because they were in settings where everyone was drinking: live music events at bars or big concert venues.
I’m guessing people knew I had a problem with excessive drinking. Even though I wouldn’t go so far I couldn’t remember the entire evening, you’re never hiding it as well as you think. So while I’d been drinking around these people, I at least kept it well enough together to get myself home.
That changed a few months ago where I found myself in a setting where some people were drinking at a house party. I decided to join them and have a few drinks, but after doing so the people I was drinking with left. I don’t remember the context of why they left, I think someone had to go home and it just kind of went from there. We couldn’t leave because my husband was still actively engaged in the game they were playing. I didn’t push the matter at all, he wasn’t at fault. But essentially I became the drunk one in a sea of sober people. My memory of what happened next is fuzzy, which really sucks. I started an SSRI not too long before this party, and as such was cutting back on my drinking. My tolerance wasn’t what it was, and I pretty much blacked out. My husband assures me I just fell asleep on the couch and everything was fine. He claims if I’d done something, or someone had a problem with me, I would have known about it by now.
But just the shame of waking up the next day…I’ve done some pretty dumb things while drinking before but I’ve never been the only drunk person in a room of sober people. It’s especially not a good look for someone well past their college years…to pass out in a room full of sober people. At the time it felt like I outed myself as an alcoholic. Not a light casual drinker but someone with a more serious problem. I know one night doesn’t make or break you, but like I said a few of these friends hadn’t really spent time around me sober so kind of feels like confirmation bias for them if that makes sense.
I think a lot of this stems from me apologizing for being drunk, and someone making a snide comment about me never being sober. All good and well that person was being a jerk, but it really affected me. I think it made me reflect on myself and my behavior over the years, and how much it sucked that he was right.
Since that time I made the resolution to stop drinking. It’s been 5 weeks now and suddenly I find myself in a position where I’m going to see several of these friends for the first time since that night. We’re all going to dinner for a friend’s birthday that my husband found out about last minute. It would normally be something I’m looking forward to, but like I said I haven’t spoken to a lot of these people since the ill-fated night and I’m honestly so scared. I’m worried something I don’t remember from that night will come up, or peoples’ perception of me will have changed because they saw a different side of me.
I’m posting this here because I was hoping anyone had advice for how to approach the situation. My internalized guilt, embarrassment, etc. are making me panic ahead of this social outing. Normally I’d use alcohol to cope but as I’ve said I’m pretty new to sobriety so that’s not an option.
For context these are my husband’s friends from as far back as high school. He sees them pretty regularly but I don’t given work/life/school/etc. Honestly I’ve been avoiding them but in this case it would be noticeable if I didn’t come to dinner. It’s time to rip the band aid off and go be social again, but I wanted to comiserate and hear from others who’ve been in my shoes.

My wife 49/F and I 51/M have lived in our home for 2-1/2 years. It’s the nicest home we’ve ever owned. Very elegant (to me who grew up very poor). The home came with beautiful custom hardwood plantation shutters. A representation of our hard work to get where we are. This is known to her. She knows I love these shutters. One day I come home from hunting and the big shutter in our dining area is down and sitting on the back porch. No discussion. Fast forward a few months and a lady shows up out of the blue to measure for blinds. My wife asked me to stay but she had already made the decision. I got mad and told them both it was a waste of money to me. After I told her that I loved the shutters and they represented elegance to me. She never said a word about it. A month or so later I was in our account and noticed a $2200 charge to Budget Blinds. I lost it. Not only did she decide unilaterally to replace our shutters, and ONLY the shutters, she didn’t feel it necessary to tell me. $2,200 for 4 blinds. She said the shutters didn’t let enough light in and she wanted to let more light in. And she refused to even tell me what they look like. Of course I protested but she doesn’t care. What’s done is done she says. Get over it. They’re going in.
I feel betrayed. Lied to. Discounted. And I work from home so now I’ll have to see them every minute of everyday. I don’t know what to do or how to act. I see her in a completely different light. And we’ve been married 30 years (M30). How do I get over this and move on? Am I just supposed to accept the fact that I feel betrayed? She won’t listen. She’s done talking. Why am I so hurt? Should I just get over it?

If you have questions feel free to ask 😊
So I'll preface this with I don't want to engage in political debates about Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong/Macau. I am treating them as seperate only because they have different visa requirements. I have my own views on the matter but my opinion doesn't matter.
So I am a 27M white european and this was my experience. 5th time solo.
Taiwan (14days) Taipei - north coast - Puli/sun moons lake - Tianan - kaohsiung - Yuli - hualien (taroko gorge)
Opinion Taiwan is incredibly beautiful, the level of English in the north especially is very high. Most people will be able to speak a few words which makes travel around easy. The highlights for me were Taipei/sun moon lake/taroko gorge.
You'll want to get an easy card for general travel. This can be picked up at the airport and reloaded at any station.
The food, like the rest is quite limited in either being big American brands like McDonald's or local noodle shops. If you have dietary requirements please have these translated and saved on your phone beforehand. As a vegetarian I found that people would often just give me fish regardless of how persistent I was. This was common throughout.
The people are very respectful and friendly, but unless you get someone who wants to have a conversation you're interaction will be very surface level. They are happy to just let foreigners be alone.
I would highly recommend anyone who wants to try this culture to go via Taiwan as it is a much more gentle introduction.
Things to be wary of Getting around by walking is quite frankly a nightmare. Every pavement outside of Taipei is covered in bikes and if you are disabled this will be a serious issue without a car.
Everything is ticketed so be sure to carry cash. You can use the easy card but cash is just much simpler for attractions.
There are multiple different train types and they enforce ticketing strictly. The local train can use the easy card as well as the metro. Regional trains are more fancy and require a purchased ticket. Highspeed is treated similarly to flying and you should show up 30minutes before to ensure you get there in time.
Hong Kong/Macau (4days)
Hong Kong city - main island - Macau
Opinion Honestly I was disappointed, Hong Kong just felt very boring in comparison to Taipei. It's very multicultural and due to this I found it hard to see a unique identity for Hong Kong. Macau felt unique but just a bit irrelevant.
The highlight was certainly the hike up Victoria peak and watching the city move in seclusion. When I got to the top people were camping there I had never been so jealous. It's truly an amazing view. Be sure to go past the mall and take the small mountain path. It's well lit and fairly easy incline if you are in relatively good fitness.
Mainland china (48 days) Guangzhou - hengyang - Changsha - Zhangjiajie - Chongqing - Emei Shan - Chengdu - Xian - huashan - luoyang - pingyao - Datong - erlian (visa reset) - Nanjing - Qingdao - Jinan - Beijing
The main part to my trip, there's no pretending. China is difficult. Mostly because of the restrictions and the unwillingness of china to accommodate for foreigners. You need WeChat, you need trip.com and you need to use A map. The people do not speak English. I would go days or weeks without haveing a real conversation. I was often cut off from the outside world due to my VPN struggling to get past the firewall. (Surfshark)
If the above scares you avoid china for any long trips. If like me you see a challenge then you will adore china. It's frustrating, but I've never been in a country that gave me the same kind of highs. The mountains of Huashan rival the dolomites and they are much more accessable for everyone.
This is a large bonus for China, once you adapt everything is very easy to do. And nothing feels off limits. Except that sectioned off my armed police. China is so safe I never once felt in danger of theft or being attacked which I can't say about my own home. There is a reason for this. Anyone who breaks the law will be delt with due to the survalance.
The negatives Be prepared to take a lot of screenshots to translate via WeChat. Menus, metro stations, hotel check in. Anytime you need information you need to translate it yourself. This gets exhausting.
People will stare at you, I always took this as curiosity. Especially in the west and south as there are very few foreigners. Many of the people are very racist however. The things said to me about black people, Japanese and Koreans genuinely upset me. But I want to experience and understand so I would listen. If you speak up in defence you are often ignored. It's ingrained sadly. And it makes me question how many felt similarly towards me.
Banned websites, pretty much all our sites are blocked. It makes it hard as your only option for a search engine is Bing. And who wants to use bing. A VPN is an option but can be spotty and it is illegal so becareful where you use this.
As someone from a country with 8million. There's just so many Chinese people for me to be comfortable with. Everything is packed. All the tourist sites are full. Metro full. Bus full. The worst case for me was the terracotta army which I visited on a normal day and it was hard to just walk around.
Getting searched going into any metro or trainstation. You basically have to go through airport security everytime. It's a real pain when you have a 15kg backpack.
The spitting, it's gross.
The pros China is so cheap, my hotel in Zhangjiajie for example was only 5€ a night. And it was a decent little double bed and bathroom, tv and toiletries supplied. Easy 70€ back home.
Food (for me when I got it) was incredible and very cheap. Average was about 15 yuan or 2€ a meal. Drinks are also very cheap 3yuan for a bottle of coke and 2yuan for a water.
The trains, man did the chinese build an excellent train network. You need to use WeChat or tripmcom to book these. But they are well priced and very efficient.
The apps, there's an app for everything. Want to read a menu? It's a WeChat app, metro line app! Book tickets for the summer palace app! Sometimes you'll need to look up the qr code in advance, especially around high tourist season.
Cashless, you can totally use cash. But you don't need to. If you have wifi or data which is cheap and easy to get (30days unlimited 150yuan China mobile) you just scan your WeChat Code and pay. Similar to contactless but not as convenient.
Overview China is a real solo travelers challenge I think, it's a great way to test how good you are at making split decisions. For short trips I recommend Nanjing, Chengdu, huashan, Chongqing and Zhangjiajie.
Conclusion. (Tldr) I will be going back to both Taiwan and mainland china. Both have got a hold on me. I'm hooked and I'm hoping to get you all hooked too. Taiwan is better if you want a chill holiday to explore Chinese culture. I recommend the north. Mainland is best for the experienced traveler as they will be able to get so much love from this unappreciated country. And my fellow Europeans take advantage of those visa free 15 days.
If you have any questions feel free to ask 😊

Hi, I smoked weed for the second time on April 23rd. First time I was completely fine. I had taken a hit and then waited around 20 minutes. I didn’t feeling anything so took another. I was completely fine and went about my day. Second time I smoked I took two very large hits off of a 97% cart in the same minute. I was told I shouldn’t but did anyway as I’d heard it’s good to take a few hits and then wait. Boy, was I mistaken. Around 5 minutes later I got really tingly all over my body and suddenly really confused. Confused about where I was and what was going on. I thought I had fallen asleep and was dreaming is how it felt. I realized I was probably having really bad derealization. At the start, I held my head in my hands and incoherently freaked and panicked. I had no perception of time and my voice felt far away from me, as if I was not the one talking. The guy I was with calmed me down as well as he could as he was experienced and knew what was going on (luckily). At times I would scream “I am dying”. and overthought about every possible thing that could be happening to me. I thought I was having a stroke one minute then a heart attack the next. I also fainted and few times and threw up when I got home. Went to sleep and was fine the next morning. Point being I had a terrible reaction to it. The smarty pants that I am I tried it again a week later thinking I had just greened out and that I could have a better experience with something less potent. Took two hits, NOPE same exact out of body experience occurred, not as bad but still occurred. I had the same tingly feeling right before I fell into complete derealization. Went to sleep and everything was fine. Today, May 13 is where I was really freaked. I got the same tingly feeling all over and fell into derealization and freaked. Exactly how I felt on weed. But without smoking any weed…. I had a better perception of time but still felt the same nonetheless. I couldn’t distinct what was real from what was not for around an hour and a half. The main freak out part has passed but I’m still pretty out of it. I feel like a zombie. I am terrified. Why did I feel like I was on weed two weeks after I smoked weed??? I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder just a heads up. Please help me I’m genuinely so scared. Shouldn’t it all be out of my system by now? Does anyone know what this might be and what will help? Of course I am never smoking weed again.

hello everyone. these last few days I've been going through a lot and i thought it might be a good idea to ask for help in here.
this year i'm sharing a house with a roommate who turned out to be an immature, spoiled, childish bitch. i've been always respectful to her and i assume i have tried to be as considerate as it's humanly possible.i'm very calm and when at home, i'm usually busy studying or watching movie with a headphone or doing other silent activities. i even don't like talking over the phone that much and at times that i'm obliged to use it, i lower my tone as much as i can. also, as i brought almost 90% of the furniture and the apartment was basically furnished when she arrived, and i agreed her to take the best room.i never even mentioned all the favors I did and I really regret what i did, because none of these roomie-pleasing acts paid off.if anything, she became more controlling and rude.she had talked to me in an offensive manner two times before this but i hadn't said anything in response and had suppressed my anger in order to avoid conflict( classic trauma response, right?).ten days ago i invited my sister over( and i hadnt invited anyone before this) and she traveled hundreds of miles to come and see me. i had done it with her permission and she said it's alright for my sister to come and stay. so she came and stayed a couple of days and we were mostly hanging out outside and we just came back at night to sleep in my own room.she was acting alright in the first 2 days, then she started to act in a passive-aggressive manner –she slammed the door as soon as she heard us preparing the table or quietly laughing, she avoided us each time we were in the living room and would sneakily jump out of her room to use the bathroom or toilet as soon as we moved into my room. she had done this before during the last semester's finals, too. but this time it had got way more obvious and way more aggressive. after my sister left, she quitted even looking at me or saying hi to me when she saw me.( she had done this before too, but i had convinced myself not to take it to the heart specially as she got friendly with me again after the finals were over! she's such an unstable player.) last day she wrote me a scroll on telegram and as hard as she tried to seem cultured and civilized, she just oozed out even more controlling shit.it was the juice of her message: ''don't use the living room for studying. only use it for going to the kitchen or to the toilet, because i feel uncomfortable doing cooking and shit when someone's in there reading.'' i answered that i'm well-aware that living room might be distracting at times, but i'm not bothered by the sound of her doing her stuff and she doesnt need to worry about it and she can also freely use it. but then she started to argue with me saying ''living room is not for studying'' and weeping over her victim complex ''noooo, i'm not comfortable,you MUST go to your room just like i've tolerated you reading now you must act to my desire''. this time finally i became furious and assertively talked to her that it's her problem that she doesn't want to see me AT ALL and for this irrational demand, i would not have any more compliance. i'm silent as a rabbit, not making a fucking noise and really dont occupy much area in a 80 m² living room!! if she wants to use it as well, she's welcomed, but she can't command me to stay prisoned inside my small gloomy room without no proper light. interesting part is that she even doesnt prefer to study in the living room and all she's mad about is she cant use it for toilet and kitchen without coming to see me staying in there. although my whole body was trembling with rage ( and simultaneously with fear of a conflict or a loud argument) i managed to be assertive and talk my words.then she left me unread, although i'm quite sure she's read it.
now although i've come out ratherstrongly, whenever i use the living room, every moment of being there feels like torture.the silence in the living room feels like a ticking bomb that might explode in any minute. i'm anxious af and i have endless ruminations about how she might just walk out of the door and snap at me.she still continues slamming the door and walking thumpering her feet on the ground.also, i know it's very unlikely, but my mind constantly jumps to the possibility of being attacked or she getting physical with me. i'm very sensitive to loud noises and arguments. i try to avoid them as much as i can. i get this semi-panic attack feeling whenever even two strangers argue with eachother. i know me keeping using the living room to my desire will serve her right and will bring me back some power over the household affairs, but i can barely even concentrate this way; while i rigidly sit there, my muscles tense as rock and i hear my hear ponding.
so, i appreciate your advice: do you think i'd better fight or flight? regarding that my finals are arriving in 10 days or so...
P.S: special thanks to you ma' for the perfect upbringing and all that dreadful childhood days you would shout at me – your voice's still ringing in my ears and although you encourage me to stand for my rights, i always fail because i've always been on the lower end of the power imbalance seasaw. i never dared disagreeing with you, now how you expect me to be magically a brave person who can disagree when she's not pleased?

if you're in Lucknow and looking to hire a skilled and reliable tiles mistri , you've come to the right place. Hiring a professional tiles mistri can ensure that your tiling project is completed with precision and expertise. In this paragraph, we will discuss the benefits of hiring a tiles mistri in Lucknow and how they can assist you in achieving the desired results for your tiling needs. Let's explore the advantages of hiring a tiles mistress in Gomti Nagar Lucknow.

Advantages of Tile Flooring

Tile flooring offers several advantages that make it a popular choice among homeowners. Firstly, tile floors are highly durable, thanks to materials like ceramic, porcelain, or natural stone. This durability ensures that tile flooring can withstand heavy foot traffic and last for many years with proper care. Additionally, tile flooring provides versatility in design, with a wide range of options in terms of shapes, sizes, colours, and patterns.
This allows homeowners to create unique and visually appealing designs that match their style. Maintenance is also a breeze with tile flooring, as it is resistant to stains, spills, and moisture. Regular sweeping and mopping are usually sufficient to keep tile floors looking clean and well-maintained. Furthermore, tile flooring is hygienic and allergen-free, making it an excellent choice for individuals with allergies or respiratory issues. Unlike carpets, tiles do not trap dust or allergens, improving indoor air quality.
Durability: Tiles are known for their durability and long lifespan. They can withstand heavy foot traffic without showing signs of wear and tear, making them ideal for high-traffic areas like kitchens, bathrooms, and hallways.
Easy Maintenance: Tile floors are relatively easy to clean and maintain. Regular sweeping and mopping are usually enough to keep them looking clean and fresh. Additionally, tiles are resistant to stains and spills, making them an excellent option for households with children or pets.
Variety of Designs: Tiles come in a wide range of designs, patterns, and colours, allowing homeowners to create unique and personalized looks for their spaces. Whether you prefer a traditional or modern style, a tile design suits every taste.
Water and Heat Resistance: Tiles are highly resistant to water, making them an excellent choice for areas prone to moisture, such as bathrooms and kitchens. Additionally, they can withstand high temperatures, making them suitable for underfloor heating systems.
Hygienic: Unlike carpet or other flooring materials, tiles do not harbour allergens such as dust mites or pet dander. This makes them a sanitary option for individuals with allergies or respiratory conditions.

Disadvantages of Tile Flooring

While tile flooring has many advantages, there are also a few potential disadvantages to consider. Firstly, tile flooring can be cold and uncomfortable to walk on, especially during colder months or in areas with colder climates. Unlike carpet or vinyl flooring, tiles do not provide much insulation or warmth underfoot. This can be mitigated by using area rugs or underfloor heating systems, but it's important to note this potential drawback.
Cold Surface: One of the main drawbacks of tile flooring is that it can feel cold, especially during the winter months. However, this can be easily solved by installing underfloor heating systems or using rugs or carpets in specific areas.
Hardness: While the durability of tiles is an advantage, it can also be a disadvantage. Tiles are hard and unforgiving, which may not be comfortable for individuals who spend long periods standing, such as chefs or hairdressers. Using anti-fatigue mats in these areas can provide some relief.
Installation Complexity: Proper tile installation requires a certain level of expertise and skill. To ensure a flawless finish, it's important to hire a professional tile mistri in Lucknow with experience in tile installation. Amateur installation can result in uneven surfaces and grout issues.

Improving Home's Resale Value

Investing in tile flooring can be a wise decision if you're considering selling your home in Lucknow or want to increase its value. Here's how tile flooring can improve your home's resale value:

Enhanced Aesthetics

Tile flooring instantly adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to any space. Potential buyers are often drawn to homes with tile flooring, as it is associated with high-end finishes and luxury. Additionally, the wide variety of tile designs and patterns allows you to choose a style that will appeal to a broader range of buyers.

Durability and Longevity

Tile flooring is extremely durable and can withstand heavy foot traffic without showing signs of wear and tear. Potential buyers appreciate the fact that they won't have to worry about replacing the flooring in the near future, making your home more desirable.

Low Maintenance

Buyers are often attracted to low-maintenance features in a home. Tile flooring requires minimal maintenance, making it an ideal choice for busy individuals or those who don't want to spend a lot of time cleaning and maintaining their floors. The easy-to-clean nature of tiles is a major selling point.

Allergy-Friendly

For individuals with allergies or respiratory conditions, tile flooring is a great option. Unlike carpets or rugs, tiles do not trap allergens such as dust mites or pet dander, making them a healthier choice for sensitive individuals. This can be a significant selling point for potential buyers.

Versatility

Tile flooring can be installed in various areas of the home, including kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, and even outdoor spaces. This versatility allows potential buyers to envision different uses for the space, increasing the appeal of your home.

Home Renovation Tips Lucknow

Embarking on a home renovation project in Lucknow can be an exciting yet overwhelming task. Whether you're planning a small update or a major overhaul, here are some essential tips to consider:

Set a Realistic Budget

Before you start any renovation project, it's crucial to establish a realistic budget. Consider the scope of the project, including materials, labour costs, and any unexpected expenses that may arise. Keeping your budget in mind will help prevent overspending and ensure a successful renovation.

Plan Ahead

Proper planning is key to a successful home renovation. Take the time to outline your goals and priorities for the project. Consider factors such as functionality, aesthetics, and convenience. Create a detailed plan that includes a timeline for each phase of the renovation, ensuring everything runs smoothly.
Additionally, make sure to obtain any necessary permits or approvals required for your renovation project. This will help you avoid any legal or regulatory issues down the line.

Choose Quality Materials

Investing in quality materials is essential for a long-lasting renovation. While it may be tempting to opt for cheaper options, they may not withstand daily wear and tear and may require frequent repairs or replacements. Choose materials that are durable, easy to maintain, and suited to your design preferences.

Hire Reliable Professionals

Working with reputable professionals, such as Lucknow Tiles Wale, will ensure that your home renovation is completed to the highest standards. Professional contractors have the expertise and experience to tackle various renovation projects, from tile installation to complete home makeovers. Before making a decision, feel free to ask for references, review portfolios, and get quotes from multiple professionals.

Consider Functionality and Future Needs

When planning your renovation, keep functionality and future needs in mind. Consider how the space will be used and what your requirements may be in the coming years. This will help you make informed decisions and avoid costly changes in the future.

Tile Installation Services Lucknow

When it comes to tile installation in Lucknow, hiring a professional tiles mistri is crucial to achieve a flawless finish. Here are some key reasons why you should opt for tile installation services:

Expertise and Experience

A professional tiles ministry has the necessary expertise and experience to handle all aspects of tile installation. From preparing the subfloor to ensuring proper adhesion and grouting, they have the knowledge and skills to deliver exceptional results.

Speed and Efficiency

Professional tile installers are well-versed in the installation process, allowing them to work quickly and efficiently. They have access to the right tools and equipment, which helps streamline the installation process and minimize any delays or errors.

Quality Workmanship

By hiring a professional, you can be confident in the quality of artistry. They have a keen eye for detail and will ensure that every tile is properly aligned and grouted. This attention to detail will result in a visually stunning and durable tile installation.

Access to a Wide Range of Materials

Professional tile installers often have access to a wide range of high-quality tile materials. They can help you choose the best tiles for your needs and preferences, ensuring that your installation is not only visually appealing but also suited to your lifestyle and requirements.

Time and Cost Savings

Hiring a professional may seem like an additional expense, but it can save you time and money in the long run. Their expertise and efficiency will minimize any costly mistakes or reworks. Additionally, a professional installation is likely to last longer, reducing the need for frequent repairs or replacements.
In conclusion, hiring professional tile installation services in Lucknow is essential to achieve a flawless and durable result. Their expertise, efficiency, and access to high-quality materials will ensure that your tile flooring exceeds your expectations.

Tile Grouting Techniques Lucknow

Proper tile grouting is essential for a successful tile installation. Here are some tile grouting techniques to consider when installing tiles in your Lucknow home:

Choose the Right Grout

There are different types of grout available, including cement-based and epoxy grout. Cement-based grout is commonly used and is suitable for most tile installations. Epoxy grout, on the other hand, is more expensive but offers superior durability and stain resistance.

Mixing and Application

Follow the manufacturer's instructions when mixing the grout. Ensure that it reaches the desired consistency without being too thick or too runny. Apply the grout using a grout float, working it into the joints at a 45-degree angle. Using the float, remove any excess grout, taking care not to remove too much.

Grout Cleaning

Once the grout has been applied, allow it to set for the recommended time. Use a damp sponge to gently wipe away any excess grout from the tile surface, being careful not to disturb the grout lines. Continue rinsing the sponge and wiping until the tiles are clean and the grout lines are smooth.

Sealing the Grout

After the grout has cured, it's important to seal it to protect it from stains and discolouration. Please choose a suitable grout sealer and apply it according to the manufacturer's instructions. Allow the sealer to dry completely before using the tiled area.
By following these tile grouting techniques, you can achieve a professional-looking tile installation in your Lucknow home. Proper grouting will enhance the tiles' aesthetics and ensure their longevity and durability.

Hire Tiles Mistri Lucknow

Lucknow Tiles Wale is a reputable tiles mistri service provider in Lucknow, dedicated to enhancing the aesthetics and functionality of your home through professional tile installation. Here are some key reasons why you should consider hiring our services:

Experience and Expertise

With years of experience in the industry, our team of floor tiles ministry in Lucknow has unparalleled expertise in tile installation. We have completed numerous projects, delivering impeccable results that exceed our clients' expectations.

Wide Range of Services

At Lucknow Tiles Wale, we offer a comprehensive range of tile installation services to cater to all your needs. Whether you're renovating your kitchen, bathroom, or outdoor space, our team can handle all aspects of tile installation, including preparation, adhesion, and grouting.

Exceptional Workmanship

We take immense pride in the quality of our artistry. Our team pays attention to every detail, ensuring that every tile is perfectly aligned and grouted. We value customer satisfaction and strive to deliver results that not only meet but exceed your expectations.

High-Quality Materials

As a trusted tiles mistri service provider, we only work with the highest quality materials. We have access to a wide range of tiles in various designs, patterns, and colours, allowing you to choose the perfect option for your home. Our materials are not only visually appealing but also durable and long-lasting.

Timely Completion

At Lucknow Tiles Wale, we understand the importance of completing projects within the agreed timeframe. Our team works efficiently and effectively to ensure that your tile installation is completed on time, allowing you to enjoy your newly transformed space as soon as possible.
Contact Lucknow Tiles Wale today to discuss your tile installation requirements and experience the exceptional service that sets us apart from the rest.

Back in 2022 I left home for good, was very happy about it, I'm sharing an apartment with two more people, last year when my ex moved out, this girl moved in his place.
She was bad news from day one, I have an elderly cat, she has an elderly dog, I asked her to please introduce the dog to my cat prior to moving in, she didn't even reply. The dog is thankfully chill enough, but my cat has been a lot less active ever since he moved in, every time her mother takes the dog for a few days my cat instantly goes back to her happy, active self.
She also leaves the dog alone for a lot of hours on end, she forbids the poor thing to go in her room, so he's always in the living room, hence why my cat avoids the largest room in the house. Just now, poor dog was scratching her door because it's past noon and he desperately needs to go outside and pee, she scolded him and went back to sleep, she does this every day. When she finally wakes up, she will take her sweet time having breakfast, choosing a fancy outfit so she can walk the dog for 15 short minutes. He's completely untrained and from what I saw at the dog park that's in front of our building, she practically forbids her dog from playing and socializing with other dogs. She barely pays attention to him at all.
This irks me more than usual because my mom also had dogs that she neglected and mistreated. Just like with my mom's situation, I'm forbidden to walk the dog myself and any sort of suggestion would escalate into an argument.
She has never once cleaned the house in the 10 months she's been living here, only her room, she also doesn't work, she had a part time job for two months I think, and quit because working 25 hours a week was "too much" according to her, I think she basically lives off her parents. All she does is sit in the couch all day, collecting dirty dishes she rarely washes.
The kitchen is perpetually dirty, there's never clean dishes, nor pots, pans or silverware, I always wash after myself, or at least I put my dirty dishes in the dishwasher, but neither she or the other roommate, who is the owner by the way, even bother loading the freaking dishwasher. I left for a business trip last Friday and came back yesterday to a garbage smelling house and they still didn't load the dishwasher.
The owner is also a slob, so they both act weird whenever I complain about how dirty everything is. But that's the extent of my problems with the other owner, otherwise she's very nice and we bonded a lot overtime.
The other girl also loves using my stuff without permission, it's such a frequent thing that I don't even bother trying anymore, I don't have space in my room for kitchenware and appliances because a lifetime of things is already cramming up my room. So I have to deal with a perpetually greasy airfryer that was a gift from friends and thus holds sentimental value to me. She broke several cups and glasses and refuses to buy me new ones. If I don't hide my stuff, she basically uses everything she sees without ever asking who owns it or if it's okay for her to use, most of the time it's not. I will 100% have to barge into her room and look for my property before moving out, because I'm certain I will find things I own in there.
She also takes up my bathroom counters and fridge space deliberately, the house is basically covered with her stuff and she complains whenever we leave something in the living room.
She's mean to my friends and makes it very clear that they're unwelcome here, I kind of refrained from inviting people home or we basically lock ourselves up in my room all the time they're here. She's also banged my bedroom wall while I was having intercourse, and no, we were not being even remotely loud, mainly rushed breath noises, not even moaning.
Friday I had no time to clean the airfryer so I left if with some chicken grease because, well, its mine and I am within my right to do so, right? Well not according to her. She texted me a picture of the dirty airfryer and told me it was unacceptable to leave it in that state. I was enraged, I told her I would clean it when I got back and told her not to touch it, she said she would "use a paper towel from time to time from now on". I can't make this sh*t up.
This last incident is largely what made me want to write this post. It made me realize how horrible this whole situation is for my mental health. I mean, I have to deal with a house full of dirty stuff and rotting food, but it's not acceptable for me to use my own airfryer and not clean it afterwards? Even when she never asked for permission to use it in the first place?
I am isolated in my room all day long, don't even want to cook anymore because everything takes extra 30 minutes to clean, I also lose my appetite every time I enter the kitchen. I've got some health issues related to poor nutrition because of all this. I am back to the same situation as when I was living with my abusive family, only then I could at least let some steam off because I could argue with my mother, it was also a beautiful countryside house that was clean and I loved my yard. Now I have nothing. I feel observed, judged and manipulated 24/7.
I am probably moving out in less than a month at best, a month and a half at worst, so there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Some of my younger friends still in college and I are going to move in together, we've discussed in length house rules and etc and it seems like we're all on board. I truly hope everything goes well, or at least that I'll have a short break from all this. At least I know my friends aren't manipulative like her.
I'm sorry for this incoherent vent, today I just broke down. I feel impotent and miserable.

Warning: long; brief mention of sexual assault, drug use, child abuse; TLDR follows
Hi, I’m wondering if anyone else has mutism in certain extremely stressful situations. I’m talking about losing the physical ability to use your voice. It has happened to me three times now and every one is scary. The first time pretty much cost me my job, as my mind blanked in the middle of a speech to 300 people, which was being recorded for future use. I totally forgot the entire training yet couldn’t explain that to my audience. It was a nightmare. I cried until they sent me home, then all night. My speech didn’t come back until the next morning.
The second time was when I had sex with a guy I didn’t like at all. I had a bad gut feeling about him and what we were up to. I went against my better judgment. The minute he took off his clothes, I went mute. Thinking back now, neither one of us should have gone there because we had both been drinking and doing hard drugs; however, I was unable to say no. I couldn’t say anothing at all to make him stop. So he didn’t really have my consent, because I couldn’t give it. Today, I would consider reporting him.
The last time (so far) this has happened was just a few days ago. I dropped my Apple Watch and needed it fixed, so I had changed my Apple password just before I brought it in - purposely easy to remembe because sometimes I have super bad trouble with my memory (former ECT patient). When the Apple technician who was working on my watch asked for my password, I could feel my brain blank and I went mute again. I tried so I had to write him notes on notepad. But it was embarrassing and scary. Very scary. My voice came back when we got home.
I hate when this happens but my psychiatrist and therapist both have said it’s related to PTSD and also to a lesser extent, anxiety. And that it will continue until I can process what happened in my past and get my anxiety under control. Well, they might as well have told me to bring the moon home in a handbasket. They said it’s NOT a bipolar thing because it’s a safety coping skill. I learned it as an abused child I’d be silent and not draw attention to myself to get beaten, and the absolute terror of my parents solidified that and turned it into a conversion disorder (which has been diagnosed). A conversion disorder is one in which a condition in which a person experiences physical and sensory problems, such as paralysis, numbness, blindness, deafness or seizures, with no underlying neurologic pathology. I’m just wondering, has anyone have it or heard of it? I feel so alone. Anyone have any advice on how to handle it again?
TLDR: I have a conversion disorder with selective mutism (physically cannot speak) that happens when I feel threatened or I panic. Am wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

As the holder of a multiple decades old email address, plenty of bots and sweatshops are trying to sign into my uniquely passworded account due to that email being credentials for other accounts.
MS told me my account required a password reset. I thought maybe I goofed up and let my email client on a weird VPN location and MS flagged it (has happened before and I had to verify all my MS accounts), but only two accounts got flagged for a reset.
So I thought maybe someone did manage to get into my account somehow.
So I sign in on live.com, go through the prompts to verify identity, and I set a new password. Then I look at the successful sign in activity. Oddly my email client is not recorded on there, as I know it had successful syncs, so I can't rule out that that one being a weird location didn't trigger it. But all the activity until I signed in on my browser says unsuccessful login or for one section of automatic sync, a dozen or more ip6 addresses from around the world were all recorded as unsuccesful sync.
Any idea how to trace the client syncs? I can't recall if I am set up with IMAP or POP, but by this morning my client did get locked out of the 2 MS accounts approximately 40 minutes after I saw the emails, and it tries to sync every hour, so I would have expected those to be on the log even as unsuccessful attempts...