Zack's Log: 14th Entry

9-28-20XX Sunday

Been a while, hasn't it. Four days in fact. It took some doing, but I eventually got back into the swing of my normal life. The day after getting home was the hardest. I had to go to the bank, take some more money out, convert it into more change and buy another backpack. This meant I had to miss another day of school. Mom and Dad were called after I had "ditched" two days of school and they had to talk to me for a bit over the phone. I played along and told them I had been sick. It was sort of true. I did have have to deal with being immensely sore in my legs and feet for a while. But the least hardest part of the first day was organizing the camp site evidence. I put labels on them and emptied a shoe box just for all the Stillglade stuff before storing it carefully in my closet.

But...that's not really why I'm here making a new entry.

There's been another story on the news. Something big. (Where have I written that before) The main difference this time is the location. It isn't in Stillheart or Stillglade. It's not even Whitewood for that matter. 

Apparently up north and more than twice the distance I walked home from, there's this other town called Welstrad. It seems like they've had a series of fires start in parts of their town. From the looks of things, the damage is severe. At least twenty homes and businesses have been affected. Some more badly than others. The lady giving the news says there were only several wounded and haven't confirmed any casualties as of yet. But they could be covering it up if it's as bad as it looks. The fires are contained for the time being, but the question on everyone's mind now is -was someone behind it?

For a fire of this scale?...Hmm. Maybe. They addressed some unfounded rumors floating around of ruptured gas lines or something similar, "calling into question the architectural integrity of the town's infrastructure". But at that point I saw the topic starting to change and the tone shifting, so I turned the t.v. off and meditated for a bit.

My mind drifted invariably back towards the natives I had discovered. They had used fire to burn parts of the camp site they had found. Could there be natives up north organising more dangerous attacks? Well...sure, there could be. But gradually, I dismissed the idea. I needed to stop using them as the only solution to these kinds of problems. Besides, in my heart of hearts, the sheer scale of Welstrad's destruction tells me they weren't involved and that such a hypothetical attack would only risk their discovery by more humans. And they don't exactly seem the most fit to go to war against a bigger people with modern tech.

Concerning the fire though, the ash cloud was gargantuan. I could see it even from my house forty miles away. The sky has slowly turned a dirty, brownish red these past couple of days. The sun itself is just tiny red light behind the brown clouds---and from the looks of things, it seems like people are hesitant to go outside. 

It gives me goosebumps. Knowing that for the time being, this unnatural climate is hanging over everyone for miles around and we're all just silently watching it from indoors.

Who knows what's going to happen next...