Jack's Diary - Delusions of Danger - Day 58

     Well, this is turning out to be a good day (sarcasm). Mike asked me what happened with Ann last night. I still have no idea why she was crying and that’s what I told him. He tells me I should find out before she joins us. How in the world am I supposed to find out? She says she still can’t remember anything from her past. For all I know, she could be crying over something she saw today that subconsciously reminded her of something that made her sad before (I’m not a psychologist). Besides, hasn’t she for the most part “joined us”? She’s been with us for a while now and she’s had plenty of opportunities to kill or steal from us so it seems unlikely she’s with us for self gain.

     Afterward, Mike and I heard a noise and turned around to be greeted by a man running from us. We ran after him, and I pulled out my gun and threaten him to stop. He didn’t so I shot him in the right leg (you can’t run well on an injured leg). I went forward to the guy while Mike went through the backpack he dropped. I punched him in the face and took out my knife.

     “What are you doing here?” I asked

     “I don’t want any trouble,” He responded in fear.

     “And you thought we’d be alright with you sneaking up on us? Was that you sneaking around last night?”

     “No! Honest. I just got here.” The man’s voice had panic in it. He reminded me of Duke.

     “I knew someone who sounded a lot like you. Had I killed him when we first met, I would’ve saved myself a lot of trouble,” I said while pushing the knife up against his throat.

     “No! Please!”

     “Who are you working for?”

     “No one! I was only passing through!” The man started crying. As much as I wanted to slit his throat, I knew nothing good would come of it. I returned to Mike and told him what the man told me. I didn’t believe him. It was too much of a coincidence for a lone adventurer to just happen to come across us when there is a large base nearby. It seemed Mike was suspicious as well, but he was a much kinder man than me, as he had the man bound and brought back with us and I tied him to the same tree Julie was tied to. I asked his name and he responded, “Brian.” May not be his real name.

       I believe that he wasn’t the one we thought was watching us the last few nights. There were no sounds or signs that someone was nearby. We could only feel the uneasiness, the strange sense that eyes stared at us through the darkness. For that man to make a sound now would be a dangerously rookie mistake in stalking.

     To make matters worse, Mike still intended to go to the Valor’s base to drop off Julie. I thought we had decided not to. Perhaps he’s reconsidered, seeing as we already took half of our payment (no one happy to get the shaft in the deal). Everyone looked at Mike when Julie thanked us. I don’t know how Mike’s going to handle seeing her go. Anyways, I really don’t care as long as we head back, though I am interested to see the Valor’s base. It seems all bases these days run differently; will theirs be savage or civil?

      We headed out, bringing Brian with us. The area, although the appearance didn’t change much, took on a greyness to it, a sadness that was both fascinating and unsettling. We passed a pleasantly welcoming sign “Valor’s base. Can be your savior, or your death.” They should really go into the advertising business. They make a fortune (sarcasm). We could see what looked like the base in the distance; a large building among many others surrounded by a brick wall. It may have once been a gated community or a college; ideal places to build a base. The group decided to stop and rest before entering the base; better we be prepared for anything. Mike chose a nearby liquor building. Suddenly, Ann started to walk in without letting us check it for danger. Julie stopped her though and good thing because there was danger, but nothing we couldn’t handle.

      We started setting up the tents. I used all my willpower to restrain myself from slapping Ann. She did the same thing even though I specifically told her to never do that again. I had another talk with her.

      “What did I tell you before?”

      “Huh?” she responded.

      “I told you to never go into a building without letting us check first!”

      “I… forgot.”

      “Then you better start remembering! Write down on your arm if you need to. You could’ve been bitten!”

       “I’m sorry,” she responded, which did appear to be genuine.

       “If you were sorry the first time, you wouldn’t have done this to us again.”

       Ann just gave me an upset look. I saw Mike peeking in at us. I have no idea what to do. She’s like a little kid and I’m scolding her like one too. What’s worse is that I can’t tell her to leave now. We’re too far from where we picked her up and she doesn’t know how to defend herself. It would be like throwing a baby to a pack of wolves. So even if this is a reoccurring problem, I have no way of punishing or threatening her other than physical abuse (which I refuse to do to her). I just hope she’ll grow while she’s with us.

      Tomorrow, we’ll be at the door of a new base. I had enough time to start preparing a few things just in case things get “out of hand”. I’ll leave it to your imagination this time. There’d be no reason to write it down should I die tomorrow. Then again, perhaps I shouldn’t go with the group. There’s no way of knowing what the Valors will do to us once we enter their domain. If they do betray us and we’re all inside, they could kill and capture us easily. Besides, I don’t see any reason why I should set foot in that base.

- Jack's Diary