“Mommy, it’s light outside!”
Anna begins to move under the blankets, knowing that it is time to get up, because Jason is up. She hates this part of the day, regardless of whatever happens throughout the rest of it, these few moments of forcing herself to get up and face the day are by far the worst. Jason learned to open doors recently, and since he woke up on his own bright and early she had decided to put a cover on the knob to keep Jason from wandering around the house on his own. This does not keep him from trying however, and as she clears the fuzz from her mind she can her her precious boy rattling the knob, trying to work it himself.
She loved him to death and did everything within her power to make sure that Jason would grow up to be a kind and gentle soul. This was just her nature, but it was not through these tendencies that she always paid special attention to ensure these qualities would shape who her son would become. She remained vigilant because she was terrified of the dreams, both waking and asleep that she had had when Jason was just days old.
These dreams were terrifying to her because they were more vivid and real than any she experienced before or since. The worst part was that in each and every one of them she witnessed her son growing to become a monster, one who would come to murder each and every person in their small town. All were different in some way, the means of this slaughter would change, the order of deaths, the method by which he chooses the next victim, but he was the same in all of them, and in all of them everyone died. As suddenly as they had come to haunt her they just as suddenly stopped when he turned a month old.
She knew that the person she saw in her dreams was a deranged lunatic, she believed that these visions of death were a warning. In her heart she believed that these things would come to be if she failed in her motherly duties, if she did not protect her baby from the evil that corrupted too many people at a rate that seemed to accelerate daily. She had seen the movies where young boys were raised to be mamma’s boys, never really knowing anyone but her, thinking she was protecting her son instead he became a sick and twisted man. She knew that if she was going to protect Jason from the fate she had seen in her dreams she would need to instill love and kindness for everyone into him. The only way to keep him safe was not to smother him and lock him up, but to teach him to be free and caring.
He was now four and he had grown up as a perfect little gentleman. He was always polite, and even at a young age was willing to help everyone in any way that he could. Last week his pre-school teacher had told Anna about how great he was with the other kids, never getting into a fight, and if someone got hurt or scared, he would be there to comfort them and cheer them up. And he was smart as a whip! It is a wonder that he hasn’t figured out how to open the door yet, but then his hands are small, he hasn’t yet figured out to use them both to open the contraption. After what feels like an eternity she is finally ready to take Jason downstairs for breakfast followed by a trip to the park so he can play with his friends.
Looking in the mirror, Anna made sure that she looked perfect for Jason’s graduation. He was not receiving any honors today, but it wasn’t because he wasn’t smart enough. The Davis twins were the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for his High School class, and the way their parents drove them to success there was no way Jason could keep up with them. He was third in his class academically, but he also spent a lot of his time in clubs and other extracurricular activities in school. He was never worried about being the best, he only wanted to take in a bit of everything. He was so well rounded and just about everyone in school loved him. She was so proud of her baby.
Alone in the security office she can be seen looking forlornly at the monitors, lost in the destruction of the once beautiful landscape outside. She remembers back to her visions, wondering if they really did mean anything, not understanding the point of raising her son so well only to live in this aftermath. She had wanted to save his soul as well as the lives of all of those who appeared in her dreams. So many more have died, so much has been lost. No one believed nuclear war would ever happen. Everyone was wrong, she had been wrong. The survivors wasted no time in protecting themselves however, finding ways to survive underground. Led by Jason, their group found a perfect series of caves that would shelter them from the elements and mask them from the roving bands of nomads. Everyone contributed, her son constantly motivating everyone, before long they had built up a compound which had become self-sustaining.
To avoid the sickness, groups were organized to take turns in scouting the area around their compound. She did not know it, because he knew it would never be allowed, but Jason had been leading a majority of the raids. He felt that it was his duty to make sure everyone stayed safe, everyone made it back alive. The others kept his secret knowing that no one else had the skills that he had learned in the military. They knew that his 10th group training was needed to both train them in turn as well as stay sharp and focused in the field. They all trusted him. They all needed him. They would keep his secret from the one person who would stop him.
She watched in horror as her son killed friend and foe, nothing but fury filling his movements. Once his patrol was gone he found the nomads alone or in small groups, using two large knives to cut them all down. He was red from all the blood that had spilled when he killed the last intruder, heaving with each breathe, seeming unable to focus or steady himself. Anna watches as stares at the ground, fists in his eyes, growling in pain.
He couldn’t bare the pain. His head was on the verge of bursting from the pressure. The exertion of the battle had taken its toll, caused him to lose sight of everything but the pain, and the pain gave him power. The doc had told him of the tumor developing in his brain, and he knew it was to blame for these changes. It has been too much, it won’t go away, the pain is everywhere and it keeps getting worse. As the last nomad falls it hits him like an inferno, without the focus he burns with rage. Even lost in the torment he still senses his surroundings, aware of the movement down the hall. Everything is a threat now, nothing is clear except the need to protect. He forces back the pain and charges to meet the new threat.
Sad for his men, but relieved the fighting is over Anna starts to leave to comfort her son. She stops short however as she sees Jason begin to run. The nomads had not made it into the living areas where most of the people gathered for protection. She watched as her son attacked a woman who had left the group to ensure it was safe. This time he did not stop, following the sounds until he reached the quarters. Frozen in terror her eyes could not move away from the monitor and the carnage he made. She could only hear the agony after the first few rooms, places where they never placed cameras, maintaining privacy for the residents.
It became too much and the noises were drowned out, the screams blending as her visions came rushing back. She fell to her knees as the memories were replaced by those of her young son, her pride and joy, such a perfect young man. Lost in her misery she missed the sudden silence, pain masking the movement of the air as the door opened, buffering the sound of heavy rushed footsteps, the growl of rage. All the misery, all the pain, drained away in the flash of a blade
Realm of 13
Observational Sanity 
Even the strongest of men can only take so much radiation poisoning before their bodies begin to fail. When he could hide it from her no more Jason knew it was time retire. He had full confidence in the others, he had trained them well. He had been focused for so long, driving so hard, he had ignored the changes that were happening. Without this focus his mind started to relax and it was then that the real damage began to become evident. It was not long before he started to become irritated with people, those he had always had nothing but love for before. The echoes in the empty halls would begin to fool him, to make him think there was someone there when there wasn’t. The shadows would play similar tricks, causing a paranoia to grow within him. He did what he could to suppress these uneasy feelings, and for months was able to enjoy his reprieve from the missions.
Their numbers began to dwindle as encounters with nomads grew more frequent and new births were few and far between. They both knew it was dangerous, but Anna knew that if they were to survive Jason had to once again help the patrols. For months the attacks lessened in frequency, but for Jason things got worse. The others began to notice that instead of the careful evasion once used to avoid conflicts, now they attacked every band they came across. When Jason was in the lead he no longer acted calm and focused, but aggressive and almost bloodthirsty. Before where there was cooperation and instruction, now the only motivation seemed to be a full on assault on anyone who came into their territory. They would have worried about his sanity slipping if he had not gone back to being more like his old self once they arrived back at the compound.
The exposure was taking its toll on everyone, and Jason especially was constantly having headaches and violent mood swings. Anna became more withdrawn as she watched this changed and began to realize her best efforts were in vain, her work was coming undone. She still believed he would not become the monster of her dreams, but the angel was gone as well. He seemed to have no more peace within him, the love was all gone, but at least his mind was still strong. They were all dying slowly anyway, what difference did it make anymore. They would slowly wither and there would be no one left to save.
These were her thoughts as she gazed at the screens, waiting for them to come back with what little they were able to find these days. There only two hundred of them left, a handful of the thousand who once walked these hallways. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the movement of bodies as they slipped in the entrance. They blended with everything else, dirty, dusty, an indiscernible blur marked only through movement. This group of nomads numbered 100 strong and they had gathered from groups which had been thinned by her son’s patrols. They came seeking vengeance, set on taking over the compound as their own.