There are firebombs in trash cans mainly at every  end of every street. Houses broken into, seeing cars dropping off  something or someone and take off. This place is called Lost Angeles. This is the year  of 2050.

       Here you never see a family  walking together.  All you see are a majority of men with different attitudes or seeing violence. Not a pretty picture is it? All of these men and teens seem to be alone with nore mother or father just like me and everyone else here.
       Not one person here can trust no one, they can't seem to love no one because they don’t want to get hurt for letting someone in their lives. So they try their hardest to shut everybody out of their lives just like I have. I barely turned 18 last month on November 12. Everyone calls me “Ray” short for “Raymond”. I’ve raised myself since I was 9 without knowing who my parents were, even till today. Just being able to trust in only yourself isn’t nothing great at all. Ever since I let one person who I thought was my close friend in my life, he has gotten me into so many problems and he never had my back. This is the reason why I cut everyone off.
           I usually hang out in the corner of main street by an abandoned police station with graffiti writings all over. It’s nothing new, just a normal sight to see every day. There is this one guy thats a year younger then me named “Robert”. The way we meet was the funniest thing in life. I was minding my own business walking down Fresno Ave. when I heard something move in the bushes and a horrible smell of crap just hit me randomly. I threw a rock at the bush thinking a dog or cat was behind it, until I hear a man’s voice yell “Aye what the hell!” I couldn’t help but laugh. He came out the bushes zipping up his zipper looking at me like if  was on crack. The first thing he said was “Don’t tell no one about this please!?” Ever since then,we have been hanging out mostly everyday since i’ve meet him. All we mainly talk about is how it would be cool to create our own crew so we could all protect each other and have each others back. It wasn’t a bad idea at all, so I decided to create my own crew and asked robert if he wanted to join. He knew some people that he was cool with and asked them if they wanted to join. They all agreed, so mainly it was all his friends and me but I was the leader.
            They were all scrawny looking, very dirty like if they rolled in mud, and had extremely bad breath, with scars all over their bodies. There were 10 people in the crew including me in it. I had came up with a mission for them to do and me aswell, which was to rob a car. Each person had to rob one car so in total 10 cars and take anything valuable they had in there. It was 8pm the sun had just went down and I sent them all in seperate directions. No one complained then just went where they had to. I was in the same corner that I am always in with only one street light working but blinking every minute. I saw this one car with its high beams on, it seemed like a little black Honda. I couldn’t see who was in the car but I didn’t care all I wanted to do was get this mission done and leave. As they were closer to me I grabbed my gun from inside my sweater, aimed at the drivers side, and the next thing I knew I pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed and the car lost control and swerved to the right into a tree. I ran over there quickly opened the passenger door, aimed my gun at him and saw that I shot him in his left shoulder.
“Get out of the car!” I yelled. He wasn’t listening but holding on to his arm tightly in pain. I looked in the back seat and saw a little baby girl crying. Everything around me got silent to where I couldn’t hear nothing and my soul just dropped completely. I froze and just walked back slowly and took off running to where we were all suppose to meet up at 10pm. It was already 10, everyone was coming all happy with what they got while I was just in complete shock and feeling less about everything.
             Everyone had achieved the mission except me. They were talking to me but all I saw where their mouths moving going slow motion, with no sound coming out of it. Robert shook me, and I  turned quickly like if he scared me.
“Where is all your stuff at?” Robert asked.
“I couldn’t do it.. I…”
“What are you talking about? What happened?”
“There was a little baby girl in the back seat. I didn’t see her, I swear! I could have almost killed her!”I said.
        Everyone stood quiet looking at me, giving me that ashamed look in their faces. After that night the next day I didn’t see no one,not even Robert. I felt so ashamed and guilty in myself. I went to Main street at the same corner where I shot at the car. the car was still there with a busted engine I opened the door, I couldn’t believe what I saw! The man was dead in the front seat, but the baby girl was gone. Someone had taken her but left his body dead in the car. I could have sworn I shot him in his shoulder but when I looked closely the bullet mark was right by his heart, there was blood everywhere. Just seeing him dead knowing it was my fault made my soul drop completely. All that was running threw my head was where was the little girl? What if a man took her and raises her badly? Or what if they killed her? That even mad me feel more guilty about myself knowing that I killed her father or whatever he was to her, and leaving her abandoned just like all of us here with no family. 
          Ever since that day I promised myself that I will only take care of myself and not worry about others. So I would have to gather my own food some way, and find a new place to sleep and live in. Seeing kids younger than me struggling to survive I can’t help myself but to help them out. They are my weakness.
          I see this one teen he has to be around 15 years old. I went up to him and said “I haven’t seen you around, you knew?”
“Yea, Im just looking for a place to stay. Don’t want no problems.”
“There’s no problem, would you like to stay at my place? I know we just met but you're always welcome.”
“Umm, yea sure. Thank you!” He replied.
        I couldn’t help but be nosy and ask why is he here or how did he get here? When I asked him he just stood quiet and acted like he didn’t hear me. So we stood quiet and left it like that while walking to my place. I gave him an extra blanket that I had and we went to sleep. The sun was hitting my face so I couldn’t sleep, it had to be around 8am when I got up. I went to the restroom like usual then went to the kitchen which everything was gone, my food, my drinks, plates, everything? If it weren’t for me being dumb enough to letting a stranger sleep in my house this would have never happened. I couldn’t help but to feel depressed all day with guilt inside of me.
        It’s not worth even asking others for food or help because they are all stingy for their own things, and have no trust in no one. While I was at home depressed I realized that in order to survive I have to let others in my life instead of being alone, because the more people the better for survival.
        1 month has passed and I did accept others in my life and come to find out it’s way more easier living now without worrying about starvation or being in danger. It’s a good feeling to know people who have been on the same journey as you and understand what you have gone threw in you past. Who knew Lost Angeles would be not Just a place for abandoned people with danger, violence,etc. But a place where the streets and people are a family that you’ve never had.