Jack's Diary - Day 46

     Stupid barbarians got the better of me. After we entered a new town and searched for a while (finding nothing), we were approached by what appeared to be members of a circus, wearing red shirts and blue pants. Their smug demeanor and their lustful eyes tipped me off as well as it did to the others. I wasn't expecting the gun fight to come so soon since I thought they intended to take us alive. I was instantly shot in the leg and didn't get a chance to shoot back. The others made a run for it, but Mike came back to help me out of the situation. We went into a nearby school and he took care of the wound. I don't know what it is about sudden incidents of pain that make you forget your problems because last nights concerned were forgotten and I fell asleep shortly afterwards.
     It was during this time that I had a dream. I don't dream very much or at least I didn't up until this point. I also didn't know I was dreaming until I'd woken up. I dreamt I was in the same situation with the men who had shot me. When they open fire this time, I dodged the bullet that had struck me before and the five of us killed them all. However, when I turned back, Mike and the rest were gone. It seemed weird and concerning at the time, but nothing I couldn't handle. I then searched around and in all the building we'd visited, but I found nothing, not even stray soulless wandering about. As the hours passed and about the time the sky should have begun to darken, the sky slowly turned green, casting an eerie green shadow on the town. My sight became blurred as the green shadows became darker and darker until the sky was black and I could barely see two feet in front of me. It all seemed strange when I dreamed it, but not impossible. Finally, I saw lights in the distance moving toward me, so bright that my vision seemed no longer limited. I thought for sure it had to be something good, at least better then staying in uncertainty. I approached the lights to find they were people on fire. They walked just like soulless, but they looked clean and completely human. I backed away to find that more were approaching from behind, from the sides of buildings, from every direction. I'd been cornered and they began to surround me. In their faces, I saw what felt like something familiar. It wasn't until I started shooting that I recognized the faces: they were all people I'd met, dead and alive. I tried to open up a path by focusing in one direction and even throwing the grenades I made to clear a path, but they were determined to keep me trapped. Just when I ran out of bullets and bombs, I drew knives and threw them. And that's when I woke up. When my eyes opened, I saw Mike across from me leaning nervously to right of a knife stuck in the wall. It seems that even in your sleep, you can throw knives with partial accuracy.
     "What the hell?!" Mike yelled at me.
     "Sorry. Reflexes mixed with dream throwing." I looked around the room we were in, "Where are the others?"
     "I told them to wait for us at the blue roofed dorm. I had to go back for you."
     I got up and started gathering my equipment. "You didn't have to, but I appreciate it. So I guess we're going to go meet up with them?"
     "Yah. Hopefully they're still there."
     "Alright." I started taking guns and other pieces of equipment out of the bag and attaching them to myself, "You lead the way. Once we find them though, I'll be leaving to do something."
     "To do what?"
     "To kill the people who attacked us."
     There was a pause.
     "Jack, we have to deliver the package. Besides, there's no telling how many of them there are."
     "There's no time limit on that package delivery and you've seen for yourself that I've taken on a great number of people before while injured and I still came out on top."
     "But what's the point in going after them? They don't have anything we want."
     I turned around to face him, "The point is that we're probably not the first to be attacked and we won't be the last. You saw the smug contempt they had for us. They were like some hounds staring at hanging meat in the window of a butcher shop. Anyone of us could've been killed in that gunfight: you, me, Lexi. And who's to say we won't get into another fight with them if we try to leave?"
     "It sounds like you want to kill them all. What if they're not all as bad as the ones we met? Would you really kill them all then?"
     "I didn't think twice about doing it when you got captured....... but you are right. I intend to find out who these people are. We're not safe with them around. We'll talk more once we find the others."
     "Alright," he answered.
     We exited the room and walked down the hall towards the exit when a nagging thought came to mind.
     "How did the others know to go to the blue roofed dorm?" I asked.
     "I told them to."
     "When?"
     "During the gunfight, just before I went back for you."
     "Exactly, how loud did you say it?"
     Mike looked over at me strangely. Within a few seconds, he realized what I was alluding to.
     "Shit!" he said as he bolted down the hallway. I tried my best to keep up with him, but I struggled to stay on pace with him. He exited and I followed, up one street and down another alley, all the time looking out for movement around us. It was already getting dark, much like my dream. Mike frequently had to pause for me so I could catch up. I'd never seen him run so fast. Within a few minutes, I could see a blue roof and a group of men standing outside. We hid behind one of the buildings, still far away from them. I was just about ready to chuck a grenade at them when I saw they were bringing two people out of the dorm by force.
     "Damn it," Mike whispered.
     I squinted and I could see they had Lexi and Jess.
     "Still think not all of them are bad?" I whispered, "What'd you want to do now?"
     Mike paused for a moment, considering the options. There were at least 8 people in red and blue (even at night they were easy to spot).
     "Why take them and where's Victor?" he asked.
     "I don't think you're going to like the answer to either of those questions," I answered.
     Lexi was still kicking and struggling when one of the men punched her in the stomach. Mike lunged forward and fired a shot, hitting one of the guys facing away from us in the back. The men began shooting toward us. I quickly drew my rifle while Mike ran across the street and hid behind a nearby building, and began shooting. I shot three men in the abdomen and back and I managed to strike one of the men holding Jess in the leg. He let go of her and she hid inside the building. I think Mike shot two of them, three if you count the first shot. The remaining men tried to drag Lexi to cover, but she continued to struggle even more (bite, kicking) so they threw her down and ran away. Mike followed after them. I ran toward the blue roofed dorm while Lexi stood up and ran into the building. I passed by the men still barely alive bleeding out. Making sure not to startle Lexi or Jess, I called out and made my presence known. I entered to find Victor bloody and bruised on the floor. He was still alive, but in bad shape. There were two dead men on the ground as well. Jess and Lexi were trying to help Victor by wrapping up his wounds.
     I went outside to greet the nearly dead. One was holding a gun and attempting to reload it when I shot him. Another looked like a prime subject to extract information from. I knelt down and held a knife to his throat.
     "I'll give you the option. Tell me where your base is and I'll let you die."
     He looked at me and laughed.
     "Is that suppose to be a threat?" I said.
     I stuck the knife under the skin of his arm, moving it back and forth, as he squealed in pain. I then ripped the piece of flesh I'd just loosed off as he tried to stop me. He was already weak so his struggles were in vain.
     "Yes, it is because I will torture you and keep you alive until you have what I want. From now on, you will be my prisoner and if you don't cooperate now, I ensure you, by the end of it, you will be begging me to let you die."
     I saw a spark of fear in his eyes. He knew I was serious and I was serious. He spilled the information I wanted along with his own blood. He told me why they attacked us (for food, supplies, and for the females) and his only defense was "Only the strongest survive". It would seem they all share this moto. I also was told the location of their base and just in case he's lying, I continued to torture him, telling him I knew he was lying. The answer still didn't change after all that time so I killed him. Jess and Lexi were so busy were Victor, they didn't notice my torture session. Afterward, I told them we needed to go to another building now before they came back, but I didn't want a similar situation to happen again so I waited for Mike. While we waited, soulless began showing up due to all the noise so I quietly took care of them (there weren't too many for some reason). When he returned, he led us to a building he saw while we were searching for supplies. Now, everyone is resting. I don't know what Mike plans to do now, but I know what I'm doing when the sun comes up, with or without Mike and the others.

- Jack's Diary