The Sanderson Apocalypse – Chapter 1

Well, the children have been put to bed for the night, so I think now is as good as ever a time to continue reading aloud my grandmother’s diary. This part I assure

you will be much longer as it spans grandma’s entire adult life. Yes, 28 whole years in one entire sitting. You better be ready for it…

Okay, here we go:

Dear Diary,It’s been years since I wrote inside of you, and for that I’m sorry. I’m a mother

now and the efforts to rebuild society have been successful so far. But I still feel the need to tell you how I have gotten this far, it’s only fair.

After I began to hear that voice in my head, the rest of the day became one huge blur. The taxi drove me to the edge of the island where I was shuffled on to a

ferry with my fellow students in order to reach the mainland. I eyed everyone in sight. I recognized a few faces from many of my biology classes, but one

seemed to be missing: Ethan Olfski. I remember praying to the creator- the voice- that he would guide Ethan to the next ferry for protection. I wouldn’t be

able to fulfill my mission without knowing that my darling Ethan was safe.

Once the ferry stopped, we were all ushered into safehouses by military forces. Above is a rough sketch of my three level home, complete with mismatched

kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom sets.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I found a job as a file clerk during my first day on the mainland. It didn’t pay well, but money wasn’t something I was concerned about. Creator said that by mastering a career in law, I would open up the doors

for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to keep their efforts stable. I scoffed as he said it with every ounce of pride he could muster. We

spent the next five minutes laughing hysterically before he snapped and said that he was serious. I continued to giggle after that. I’m glad that I was made by a

Creator who I can enjoy the company of.

One week into my mission and already I could tell that I smelled disgusting. The soap that I was left with could be classified as Grade F during the times before the apocalypse, but now it would be classified as a luxury. So I had to choose

either feeling disgusting verses feeling nothing but pain. I can tell you with ease that it was tough. In the end, I choose to feel disgusting. I already had enough things that hurt in my life. Physically, I could barely move objects bigger than a

chair because my body was eating at any muscle I had to feed itself due to a lack of nutrition (it was recommended that we only have one square meal a day). But that wasn’t the worst part. Emotionally, I was pained by the fact that I didn’t know if Ethan was safe or not. What if he had stayed behind on the island because he thought that I didn’t make it to a ferry? Or worse, what if he was here, but was part of the living dead? A few old friends from school managed to get through

the phone lines and report to me that they had seen grey, limping men and women walk across the street looking famished.

Throughout the next few years, I managed to edge my way up the law career and became an Injury Attorney. With so many people getting hurt on the job because

of a lack of sleep while at home or lack of muscle tissues because of malnourishment, I felt it was my duty to defend them. Everyone during these times knew what it was like to live in squalor, but no one truly realized that this was how we were all living. It was depressing to know how little we cared for

their fellow Sim.

After a few more years of dirt and grime were added to my body, I finally caved in and was forced to deal with more physical pain just to feel clean. My entire body

ached for weeks following what could only be described as my worst bathing ever (2nd going to the time when I was 4 and got shampoo in my eyes).

With a few more years of work, I was soon an Entertainment Attorney with one more promotion before mastering the law career. It was so close that I could

almost taste my victory (which tasted much better than I clearly smelled at that point).

But something went amiss the day before I became The Law…

You see, there were these three men that showed up outside of my house the afternoon before my promotion. The man with the buzzcut was nicknamed

“Rock” by his family for his rugged appearance and silent demeanor while the man with the slanted eyes was named “Slim Johnny” for being the thinnest of the

clan. But they weren’t the ones that truly mattered; it was the fat one with the greasy, gel-incrusted hair that I should have been concerned about. Joseph

“Joey” Comb was the leader of the family, the don per say. Behind those jolly cheeks was a manipulative man who could make you do anything by playing

innocent. I regret every bit of that day…

Before I approached them, I could hear them talking from outside my home.

“Alright, Rock. I’ll be the one doing the talkin’ with the broad that lives here,” Joey said in his fake Sim City accent, “You just stand there and look pretty while

Slim stares her down, capice?”

Rock nodded in silence.

“Good, man. Soon we’ll have her payin’ a hefty sum of money to our little enterprise to keep her home afloat.”

Rock grunted.

“Aw come on, Rocky. You now we got our family to feed. What did mama tells ya when we were just kids?”

Rock mouthed a couple of words.

“That’s right, family does come first. This broad ain’t a part of our family, but she sure is gonna help. Word on the street is that she’s about to become The Law of the world, so we need to get a holda her before she makes our family starve to

death.”

I began walking down the staircase as the three men were in mid-conversation. I pretended to be reading from a skill book to not draw their attention, but Rock

had tapped Joey’s shoulder and pointed toward my figure.

Joey turned around and greeted me, “Well, well, well, aren’t you a lovely young woman. It takes a lot of effort to stay classy like yourself in these times, don’t it

Ms… uh…”

“Sanderson, Michelle Sanderson.”

“Ms Sanderson.”

“Listen buddy, what do you want from me?”

“Well, my name is Joseph Comb, but everyone calls me Joey.”

“Okay.”

“Ya see, I run this little, erm, ‘family business’ with my brother and couple of other relatives and we was hoping for a favour.”

Immediately, I knew what he meant by ‘family business’. Maybe it was the fact that owning your own business in these times was a rather absurd idea because the economy had crashed, or maybe it was the fact that he acted like a blatant

stereotype, but I sure as hell knew I was dealing with the mafia don.

“You’re part of the mob, aren’t you?”

“Ah, the classy lady is also very intuitive. It’s good to see that the world is about to be run by someone as intelligent as yourself.”

“Cut the sweet talk, Comb. What do you want?”

It was after hearing my words that he put on a little of his charm, “Well, Ms Sanderson, I can assure you that all I want is what would be best for the both of

us. My family and I will abide by any laws you make as long as you pay us a nice sum of money every week. How does $1000 sound to you? Good?”

His teeth shone bright. I tried to look away.

“Ms Sanderson, I do have a family of my own to feed and clothe. My wife Sofia has always wanted to have six children and I won’t be able to do any honest

work while I take care of her during her pregnancies. Besides, you can afford this. It’s only $1000, and didn’t you once say during a case that you wanted

everyone to be equal in these times?”

He was right. Years ago, I had said that I wanted everyone to be treated equally, but I didn’t believe this scumbag. I had to make a choice and fast, but I didn’t

want to make the wrong one. I began thinking as loudly as I could in hopes that Creator would respond.

“Creator?” I asked through a thought.

“Yes, Michelle?” he replied.

“What should I do? Should I pay this man? I mean, I really don’t want to and-“

“Listen to me for one second, Michelle. I want you to trust me on this. You need to earn his trust and pay him. It’s the only way that your family will ever be able

to be free to overthrow his power.”

“But I thought that I would have full power once I become The Law.”

“You’ll have power, yes. But it doesn’t mean that you alone can fix everyone. One day, a descendent of yours is going to take over as the mafia leader by

overthrowing Joey. I know it to be true.”

“Okay, I’ll trust you on this one.”

“Alright, Joe, we have a deal,” I said calmly.

“Wonderful, Ms Sanderson. It’ll be a pleasure to work with you.”

I trust Creator, I really do. But I do regret the deal I had made with Joey. $1000 soon became $5000 as he saw that I was making even more money. Eventually, it became $10 000 and later he forced my family to pay over $50 000 just so he wouldn’t rat me out for being corrupt. But that began only recently. I need to

keep up with the timeline that I’m trying to remember.

The day after my meeting with Joey, I became The Law of the world. Creator explained to me that, by becoming the law, I had made it so that my future

descendents who mastered other careers would be able to keep their changes set in stone rather than to be reset after they passed on. I wasn’t to clear on

what he meant by that.

Besides becoming The Law, a new feeling of euphoria could be found across the land. People felt hopeful now that someone had restored order and had begun their hand at making change. Unfortunately, Creator told me that only a certain

few would be destined to be successful in their ventures because they were meant to become a part of my family.

But bringing back order and hope did not make me any happier. I still missed Ethan and, by then, I had lost all hope of ever seeing him again. Most would have told me to toughen up, be strong and find someone else, but that was

impossible. I loved him with all my heart.

Then, a miracle happened.

One night, as I returned home late from work, I saw a man standing beneath my home. I approached him and little by little I began to recognize his face…

“Hi honey,” he said sweetly.

“E..Ethan?” I stuttered, “Is it really you?”

He nodded.

We held each other in a tight embrace.

“Ethan, where have you been?” I said, “I thought you were dead!”

He laughed, “I thought you were dead, too. I must have taken a later ferry than you to get to the mainland.”

“Well, why didn’t you try and call?”

“Because I didn’t know where I you were living. As soon as they moved everyone into a safehouse, the military left us on our own. Their duty was done. I tried to ask them about you, but they just ignored me. Luckily, because of you now being The Law and all, everyone knows who you are and where you live.

Oh Michelle, I’ve missed you so much! I love you.”

“I love you, too, Ethan.”

Ethan moved in that night and the two of us were wed outside in the middle of the night. That was the same night that we conceived our first born child. Ethan and I were reunited at last and could finally be a family that he and I had always

wanted.

Ethan began work in the Medical field deciding that his part in fixing the apocalypse would be to restore medicine using the knowledge he had acquired

majoring in biology.

Within a couple of weeks, Ethan had already moved up to the level of an Intern. Many of his fellow employees lacked the knowledge demanded to be a doctor so

Ethan shone in front of his higher ups. They didn’t care that he hadn’t been in medical school for as long as they had, they knew that he would be able to be

just as good with the knowledge he already had.

As Ethan rose through the ranks of the medical profession, it soon became evident that I was with child. My wavy hair was pulled back into rows to allow me

to watch my baby bump grow day in and day out without it getting in the way. Yes, it was a silly idea at the time and I’m sure there were people that snickered at my look, but I enjoyed getting to watch my little one grow from the outside. It gave me a great deal of satisfaction to know that she would restore something

from the past.

Unbeknownst to me, this little one also had a knack for tiring me out after only a few hours. Every few weeks, there would be a day that I would pass out on the

floor because my muscles weren’t strong enough to carry her everywhere I went. Soon, Ethan recommend for me to stay in bed while he was at work as he didn’t

want either his wife or his child to perish. He truly is a family man.

I went into labour on the second floor of the safehouse while Ethan was at home. Lucky for me, he had known how to deliver a child because I was quite useless

at it.

On that day, our eldest child and only daughter was born. Nadia Sanderson had her father’s hair and my eyes and face. Nadia was a beautiful baby despite

being a little sleeping, eating and pooping machine.

Ethan began to put on weight as he and I aged. He became self-conscious of it, but I found it made him look adorable.

Nadia was growing up very quickly. In a matter of only a few years, she had begun to go to school, which turned out to be much harder than it used to be.

Without the presence of secondary or tertiary education, young Sims were forced to learn things beyond their capabilities. Some nights I found myself doing

Nadia’s work for her so that she would be able to pass.

By the time Nadia was a child, Ethan had already become the Chief of Staff at the hospital here on the mainland. By doing so, he invented new contraceptives

and medicines as well as created tablets that could purify the oceans around SimEarth.

During this time, I had become pregnant once again and soon found myself giving birth to my middle child.

This time around, I gave birth to a son who Ethan and I decided to name Clark Sanderson. Clark had his father’s face and hair while he bore my eyes. Nadia

was quite happy to be a big sister despite not being able to play with Clark due to his small size. She felt as though she was the one who would be responsible for

him. Nadia really does care about our family a lot, doesn’t she?

Clark grew up into a toddler only a couple years after his birth. We celebrated by making gelatin so he could have some, but soon realized that the package was too ancient to produce anything that we could possibly eat after we noticed the

specks of mold inside the final product. We immediately through it out and went hungry for the day.

Nadia told us that she wasn’t too happy about the situation. She hated the idea of going hungry when we had so much food around us. I had to explain to her

that we were on rations because the food supply could run out at any time. She scoffed and said that one day she wanted to be a chef so she could produce exquisite food for everyone in the family and know how to preserve food once

again. I do hope she achieves her dream.

By this time, I was also pregnant with Ethan and my third and final child.

Our final baby was little Steven Sanderson. He took on nearly the same genetic code as his older brother, but managed to have the lower half of my face. I found

him to be just as adorable as our other two children.

Clark and Nadia soon reached the next steps in their developments. Clark had become a very excited child while Nadia reached her adolescent years. Nadia

told us that she dreamed of romance and woohooing 20 men when she was older. I was shocked to hear that this was her dream, but she laughed and told

me that it didn’t mean that she would stop loving her family. She felt that being a family oriented Sim was second on her list of aspirations.

Nadia was truly a family Sim deep down, like her father. She cared a lot for both Clark and Steven no matter what she said about woohoo and promiscuity. I

remember overhearing a conversation she had with her younger brother one day in the living room which went something like…

“Nadia, I’m worried,” Clark told her, “Who’s gonna take care of Stevey while mom and dad are at work?”

“Well, I guess I will,” she said.

“But that would be skipping school!”

Nadia sighed, “Clark, teenagers don’t have a school to go to. After sixth grade, we’re done. You will be too once you get to be my age.”

“But how are you going to get a good job without going to school like mom and dad did?”

“Well, I have the time to learn about things from the skill books mom and dad have and I can learn some basic life skills while at home. Besides, it doesn’t take

learning algebra to become a chef, it takes time and practice.”

“Will you at least let me like the spoon when you make cake batter?”

“Sure, buddy.”

“You’re awesome, Nadia!”

Nadia did spend a lot of her time at home learning how to become a great chef, but I felt as though something was on her mind the entire time.

She spent most nights staying up late just lying in bed staring at the walls. One night when I caught her doing this, I asked her what she was thinking about and

she replied with, “Stuff.”

She would then get up and proceed to head downstairs. Nadia always worried me the most out of my three children. Maybe this is what Creator meant when

he said the heir would choose themselves.

But I couldn’t worry about just one of my children. At the time, I had to get Steven potty trained so he could be out of his diapers and we could save them

for the next generation.

Nadia kept to herself for most of her teenage years. By the time she was seventeen, she had already mastered the art of cooking by reading the skill book

we had in our bookcase. When I told her how proud I was, she blushed and whispered a thank you before going off to work on other skills.

Every time I saw Nadia when I got home from work, she was taking care of her siblings. She was beginning to be more of a mother to them than I was. By then I was sure that she had chosen herself to be my heiress. I was glad to have her

so dedicated to carrying on the family because, at that point, strange things began happening to me…

“Creator, I need food! Just cheat this once!” I yelled toward the direction I hoped Creator was in.

“Uh, Michelle,” he replied.

“Yes?”

“You may not want to talk out loud.”

Clark turned to his older sister, “Nadia, who’s mom talking to?”

“Look, Clark, mom is getting older and you know that most old people begin to go through dementia, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe its just mom’s time…”

“Oh…”

Things proceeded normally in the house for a while. The kids became older and things were running smoothly until Nadia approached me one morning to talk

about the apocalypse.

“Mom, can we talk when you’re finished?”

“Mhm, yes dear. Just give me a second.”

“Alright, sweetie, what is it?”

“Well, mom, I feel that, now that you’re older, I feel that someone should take over the restoration efforts from you.”

I beamed, “The Creator did say to me that the heir would choose themselves.”

Nadia stopped dead in her tracks.

“Mom, look around us. There’s only you and me. No ‘Creator’.”

I laughed, “Well, I know that. He only speaks to me.”

Nadia sighed.

“Mom, dad and I have talked and we both think you might be suffering from a mix of…”

“Yes?”

“Well… we think you might have schizophrenia. Remember how you told us that the ‘Creator’ told you to start your ‘mission’ of rebuilding society? Well, that was

probably just an auditory hallucination you had. You also seem to cling to the delusional belief that there’s a ‘Creator’ who tells you what to do. With at least two symptoms like that, dad says he can diagnose it officially and put you on

medication.”

It felt like a knife had gone through my heart. My own daughter was accusing me of being mentally ill just because I could hear the voice of the ‘Creator’. I felt

betrayed.

“Mom,” she said, “I think I should take over your efforts. It would be for the best.”

I looked past her and sighed, “Okay. I agree with you.”

Not long after my conversation, it was time for two birthdays to be celebrated in our home. The first was Steven’s celebrating him becoming a school-aged

child…

And the second was my own. I was now an elder and was forced to quit my job due to a lack of muscle tissue allowing me to leave my home.

With only one thing left to do, diary, I felt it necessary to write within your pages about my time as an adult. If one day, my descendents read this, I want them to

know that I’m not crazy. The Creator does speak to me and has guided my every step within this apocalypse. I want them to know that I believe in them and so does he. We’re all counting on you to finish what I started and bring back the

society which we once knew. And Creator…

“Mi-…”

Creator, can you hear me?

“I… I’m…ing…up…”

“Creator! Creator, speak to me! What’s going on?” Michelle screamed at the top of her lungs, “Creator?”

“Come on mom,” Nadia said as she touched her mother’s shoulder, “Let’s get you to bed; you’ve had a long day.”

“Oh Nadia, the Creator can’t speak to me anymore,” Michelle was sobbing.

Nadia put her arm around Michelle’s shoulder, “I’m so sorry, mom.”

“Steven, you wait for dad to get home and tell him what happened. I’ll take care of mom.”

“Who made you the boss?”

“Steven, don’t talk back to me; this is an emergency.”

“Creator…” Michelle whispered.

“Come on, mom; take my hand.”

“Thank you, sweetie.”

***

The last part I know only because my mother, Nadia, told me of it when I was a teenager. She said that the day that grandma stopped hearing the Creator, she was incredibly distraught. Any by reading her diary, I don’t care whether or not

she was crazy. She was lucky to have something or something guiding her along the way. We wouldn’t be where we are now without the voice’s help.

When I asked mom if she had ever heard the Creator, she looked toward the walls. She said nothing.

Next time, maybe instead of telling you the story my mother had told me that begins where we left off, I will have her tell you myself.

***Hey, Reggie/rcubical/Gamecube20041978 here to end off the story. So

last time, I didn’t properly introduce the characters with their aspirations/personalities and the whatnot, so I’m including it at the end

here:

Michelle Sanderson - FounderPopularity – Become a Media Magnate

5/5/6/2/7

Ethan (Olfski) Sanderson - SpouseFamily – Graduate 3 Kids from College

8/6/7/0/4

Nadia Sanderson - HeirRomance/Family – Woohoo 20 Sims

5/5/7/2/7

Clark SandersonFortune/Popularity – Become Business Tycoon

6/10/10/0/7

Steven SandersonFamily/Grilled Cheese – Have 6 Grandkids

8/5/6/2/7

The restrictions I can cross off now (after this chapter) are: Hopelessness, Law, and Medical

See ya later!

PS – Above is Katheleen Sanderson if you need proof of her existence. Yes, I am on generation four right now and am just starting to write out

the story. I wanted to get a lot of playing out of the way first.