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// June 16, 2015 
// Story: The First Unicorn on Earth 
// by Baileyjrob 
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Dear Journal,

Old habits die hard, huh? You know, when you do something so many times that you continue to do it when there's no need? I learned that the hard way today. I woke up and the first thing I did was walk over to where Max was and grabbed some gauze, before realizing he wasn't there. I visited his grave sight and picked out some nice flowers from a botany shop in the same strip mall (that's what they were called!) that the grocery store is in, and I put them on Max's grave. They look nice. It livens up the graveyard. I gave some flowers to Jamie, and he put them on Barbara's grave. I can't help but hate her for killing Max (or indirectly causing his death I suppose,) but I have to remember she was a loving and caring mother, and Jamie was her son.

Jamie's still in denial about that, if what Max said is right. He still kind of avoids me, but I haven't noticed any real anger yet. I know it'll hit though. He does seem somewhat sad, but not depressed, so yeah. 

I have to say, I'm kind of thankful for Jamie's presence. He's kept me anchored. Now I have a child to take care of; I don't have time to dwell on Max's passing. I don't have time to cry or feel bad. It's still kind of hard to believe he's gone.

Without the burden of taking care of Max, I was able to get stuff done. I've decided to restart my search for a radio. 

Did I forget to mention the power ever going off? Yeah, looking back through my journal, I never did that. It went off about a week ago. I'm surprised it took that long. I managed to find a small generator, but I'm using it on my computer to keep up my journal entries... hey, now that I have magic, maybe I'll be able to write again.

Testing, testing, one two three.

Hah! I can write again. The rest of this chapter is written. I've printed off the rest of the other pages (I hooked a printer up to the generator for a short amount of time) and put them in a physical journal. It feels good to handwrite again, though it is a bit exhausting.

Anyway, I continued my search for a radio, and I went to a local RadioShack. I mean, it has radio in its name. Walking down the street... things aren't looking good. I haven't been outside in a week, for more than a few minutes anyways, and things have gotten significantly worse. Packs of wild dogs roam the streets, concrete has begun cracking as plants slowly begin to grow through. Worse still... the fire. 

I made sure to turn off every source of heat I could around me, and that kept it at bay. But after walking a few miles, I began to see small fires popping up. Nothing too serious, but I worry that won't last for long. I'll need to be careful and take extra fire safety precautions. 

I also stopped at that gun store I mentioned awhile back, and picked up a gun and holster. With my magic, it's now usable. I'm not dextrous enough to use a basic gun yet, so I picked up one of those old guns where you actually have to pull the little handle back to shoot. Those ones you see in westerns. I don't know what they're called. I also picked up as much ammo as I could fit into a saddle bag. That's what I'm calling my backpack contraption. I haven't used that in awhile.

I picked up a portable radio and some batteries. Only problem is... I have no clue how to use it. My idea from way back on the 32nd, I think it was, still holds. I should go to the library or book store to figure out how to operate. The thing came with an instruction pamphlet, but all it really told me was how to change frequencies, change batteries, and change the volume. The only one that was really helpful was the frequencies, but I don't know what that means. I'm sure there's a sort of emergency frequency. Maybe a nation wide broadcast with other survivors trying to meet up. I need to figure out those numbers. As it stands, I couldn't even figure out how to broadcast myself. I tried yelling into it for awhile before Jamie pointed out that it wasn't working.

Thanks Jamie.

It was too late by the time all that was done, and I didn't want to leave Jaime alone. I practiced my dexterity with magic by trying to pick two things up at once. I've determined it's possible, but I'm not good enough yet to do it. I'll probably start resuming my 1-hour practice session of magic. If I want to have any hope of being able to defend myself and Jamie well, then I'm going to need to be more dextrous with my magic. I wonder if it works like finger exercises. Like the spinning a ball thing. I need to decide if I'm gonna work on pinpointing, or precision with my magic, or quantity. How many things I can pick up.

I put Jaime to sleep recently, but he seemed somewhat more aggressive about it than usual. I worry that tomorrow will not be a fun day. Stage two might be upon me, and given that I'M the one who killed his mother... I can guess where that anger will be directed.

Sincerely,

Leon.





"Dear Dallas, Texas,

"Yesterday, a good man died. He soldiered on for such a long time, but was unfortunately killed. His loss will not be forgotten.

"I will now work harder than ever to reach Bastrop. I also have a child to look after. I need everyone's help that I can get. If you can hear this... some help would be much appreciated.

"Good luck to all of you,

"Leon."