Jack's Diary - It's All a Game - Day 80

*Morning*

            You’d think I’d have gotten used to these dreams by now. No matter how pressing the situation is in real life, my thoughts always come these dreams I’ve had. They seem so real. So realistic to the point where I believe that they are my reality, until they end.

            Last night, I dreamt I woke upon the ground, just beneath the tree we slept in. It was twilight out, not quite morning yet, but the light from the sun just below the horizon of the trees provided enough light to see. Mike and Julie were still up in the tree asleep and my body felt beat up so I assumed the rope that was holding me broke and I fell (the branches, while bruising me, must have slowed my descent and saved me or so I thought). I was about ready to climb back up when Ann appeared from behind a tree (Although I was looking the other way, I “sensed” her, in a way. I knew she was nearby and turned around). She was wearing a seductive red dress with straps on the shoulders and was barefoot. She walked off behind the tree again as I chased after her. In dreams, my logic is always misconstrued to a certain degree and my senses are dulled. I hadn’t noticed the lack of noise in the surrounding area, the lack of soulless or people, the fact that the trees were barren and dry, and the stench that any nose would’ve smelled; the smell of skunk. None of this became apparent to me until much later in the chase.

            I couldn’t catch her. Whenever I looked around a tree, I’d see the bottom of her skirt going off behind another one.

            “Stop running, Ann!”

            I started throwing knives as soon as I went around a tree (I never hit her, not even her dress). This went on for a few minutes. I was running out of breath. I rested myself against a tree, leaning on it with my hand and felt something wet. The trees were oozing a red substance (maybe blood or sap). The chase went on. I heard her laughing mixed with the sound of deep breathing (it wasn’t just mine, I’m sure of it). This “game” led me in circles until suddenly, coming around a tree, I ran into her. She grabbed both my arms and stared into my eyes, smiling. I tried to get free, but her grip on my arms got tighter and tighter until I felt like yelling. The pain was so intense that I dropped the knife I was holding. I tried kicking her, but she came right up to me, standing on my shoes and putting her chest against mine. Just as quickly as she had grabbed my arms, She pushed me back and fell on top of me, still smiling. Her knees were now pinning my legs down and the grip on my arms only got tighter has she leaned in to where he face was only an inch away.

            “The curtains are drawing to a close,” she said playfully.

            “Perhaps…” I stated, “but on who?”

            I tried to hit her with my head, but she moved back.

            “Oh Jack, you’re such a tease!” she said in a taunting way and laughed.

            “If you’re going to kill me then do it already. I’ve had enough.”

            “Awwww,” she said, as if speaking to a child, “Giving up? That doesn’t sound like you. I was hoping to have a little fun first. After all, you are my favorite toy but let’s get down to business. I have a proposal: since you were so gracious and stupid enough to let me accompany you, I thought it be common courtesy to extend to you the same offer.”

            There was no hesitation, “No.”

            “I’m sure you know what the other option is if you listened to my messagers.”

            “I’d rather die than end up like one of your slaves.”

            She smiled.

            “It’s amazing what a drop of my blood can do to someone. A small taste of my nectar is all I need. I just discovered this recently myself. Though I would never do that to you.”

            “Why is that?”

            “Because you and I are the same. I can feel it, can’t you? We are powerful, strong, and smart; we should stick together. Besides, I could sense the tension between us, before you had that first dream. You wanted me and in a small way, you still do.”

            “I’m nothing like you. I don’t stalk and mess with others for enjoyment.”

            At this, she laughed.

            “It’s strange what power can do to a person. Power is a subjective term. It applies to an essence that is capable of achieving, of doing,” she spouted off like a philosopher. “Those who have power can do as they wish and it’s only a matter of time before your shaky morals fall apart and you realize this. You can do so much more than you’re doing now yet you sit around day after day and fear me. No matter what you do, you can’t shake the feeling that my eyes are upon you and you are powerless to stop me. You look for reasons in what you do; a law or collection of knowledge to validate your decisions when none of that means anything to your decisions. In the end, you choose them because you know you can do as you wish despite what others think because you hold power over them, just as I hold power over you.” She continued, “By the time you decide, you will have no more power and your day in the sun will long since have ended.” She leaned in again, “Your life no longer entertains me so soon I’ll be moving on to a new show, right after one last game.”

            Just then, Mike and Julie appeared from behind a nearby tree behind us and shot Ann multiple times. She collapsed on top of me.

            “Jack, you alright?” asked Mike.

            I was about to answer when I heard Ann whisper, “Even your friends can’t save you…” she said. She quickly turned around and unloaded a clip on them from the gun she took from me. While my one arm was free, I drew a knife and stabbed her in the neck. It did nothing. She only dropped the gun, picked me up and threw me at Mike, who was just getting up after being shot. (I don’t know if Julie was dead, but she didn’t stand up). The guns that Julie and Mike brought with and dropped were mysteriously gone so I took out another knife and Mike took out his hatchet and we charged at Ann, who grabbed both of us by the neck and squeezed. She lifted us into the air as her grip tightened and I heard a subtle crack. Black.

            It was then that I woke up. Mike, Julie, and I were still hanging from the tree by rope. I looked through the scope on my sniper rifle to the camp. It was gone: the men, tents, and supplies were all gone. I instantly began shouting up to them, saying, “Mike! Mike!” I yelled.

            “What?!” he said waking up.

            “They’re gone! You said to wait and now they’re gone!”

            “Keep your voice down.” He said. He looked through his binoculars. “Damn…”

            I untied my rope from the branch, got down, and ran to the spot while Mike and Julie did the same. The spot was completely clean and unmarked; as if no one had camped there at all.

            “This doesn’t make sense. I saw them last night. They weren’t packing up at all. How could they do this so quickly and efficiently?” asked Mike. We were all at a loss for words. We searched the surrounding area to no avail. They were gone. I should have just came here myself and killed them all, maybe tortured a couple to get them to tell me where she is.

            Mike and Julie stopped and ate breakfast before we were to head out. I didn’t. I wasn’t hungry. I just wrote. Although I didn’t agree with her, Ann’s words still ring in my head, like a howling wind.

*Noon*

            There’s no sign of them anywhere. No footprints or dropped equipment. Julie suggested that the people at the camp were all magicians and just disappeared. With everything going on, it wouldn’t surprise me.

*Evening*

            This might be my last entry so anyone who finds my body has permission to have whatever equipment is left on me (though you were probably going to take it anyways without permission). We continued to search for the men that “disappeared”. After some time, we made our way into an open field because we saw something strange on top of the large rock near the center. From a distance, it looked like someone had painted and/or decorated it. We approached it and began to smell the horrible stench. The rock was covered is blood and crushed organs.

            “That’s disgusting,” said Julie.

            It was less than a second later that Mike yells, “Get down!”

            We dropped and gunshots were coming from all directions. There were men hiding in the tree line shooting at us. I drew my rifle and killed five of them while Mike and Julie shot in different directions, no doubt taking out a fair number of enemies as well. Just as quickly as they revealed their presence, the gunshots stopped and they left. A few scratches here and there, but for the most part, the three of us got out of that situation just fine, which seemed very odd. We were surrounded, had no cover, and were fired upon at a constant rate, and none of us were hit? It’s almost like they were trying to scare us. We got away from that boulder and searched the body. They all had the red irises and a wide variety of guns. I didn’t take an accurate count, but there had to be around 100 men in the camp and we killed 12.

            It didn’t stop there. Every few minutes as we were searching for them, I’d hear a subtle sound like a twig snapping or Mike would see something odd in the far distance and just like that, we get showered with bullets. However, we always won, but these sudden attacks are taking a toll on us. Julie hasn’t spoken a word in hours, Mike’s looking over his shoulder every minute, and my hand hasn’t let go of my gun in since the fifth attack. It’s all a game. Just one big game! One big bloody game!

            We’re hiding in a small cave right now and we’re taking turns watching.

*Night*

            I’m on watch. Seven attacks! Seven attacks since we stopped here! These aren’t even attacks! They’re target practice! The last two attacks were just plain unbelievable. They didn’t fire; they just stepped in front of the cave entrance and stood there until I shot them dead. I’m at a loss for words. They’re just bags of meat. There’s no victory until Ann is dead. Her puppets are nothing, but insects to me.

- Jack's Diary