Jack's Diary - Day 35, October 21th 2013

     After about a day in darkness, my sight finally returned enough for me to leave my hiding place. Distant objects were still kind of blurry, but I didn't need to see exact details; only detecting movement was necessary and was within my capabilities. I went by the rule that if something charged or shot at me, I shot back. I was also still sore from being beaten up before and from staying in one place for so long, so my body wasn't in a good condition. All I had for a firearm though was the handgun I took from one of the men. Looking back, perhaps I should've just stayed in there for another day.

     Upon exiting the building, the sunlight taunted my eyes and in the distances, I saw two figures walking in my direction. I waved and called out to them, hoping they were my friends, only to have them start shooting at me. They missed all their shots being so far away. They were moving to the right to hide behind a building or to get away when I fired two shots, striking one of them down. The other ran behind the building as I approached. I only had a few rounds left in my gun so I needed more ammo so I had to risk facing them in my condition. The one laying on the ground was squirming, but I couldn't make out what he was doing and I didn't want to waste ammunition on another long range shot. As I got closer, the situation became clear and I shot him just as he had cocked his reloaded handgun. His friend jumped out from behind the building, landing on some glass and alerting me to his presence. I shot him just as he fired off a round. I don't know where the bullet went, but I could swear that I felt a small breeze go by my head. I was blessed with luck I suppose. I could have easily been killed. The men had plenty of ammo to go with their rifles and handguns along with a thick club. Up close, I could see their faces, but I didn't recognize them from the trial. Then again, I never did get to see everyone. Anyways, I quickly took their gear and left before anyone or anything else showed up.

     I walked around the city, never staying in the same place for very long, encountering men (some of which I recognized) and soulless (including a few of the strange and strong looking ones I'd seen before). Nothing that confronted me survived and as the death count grew, I got back more of my original gear (which I guessed had been split among the men). I even felt a thrill again from killing so much. It was so overwhelming and exhilarating, I thought that I might go on another rampage again, but I stopped myself, knowing full well who might end up being my victims.

     As the day dragged on, my sight sluggishly got better, but not enough to decipher faces from far away. When I heard my name called out from the alleyway, I instinctively shot in that direction only to find out it was Tim.

     "Wait! Jack! It's me, Tim!" he shouted.

     "I put away my guns and went to him, "Sorry about that. I didn't see you. Do you know where the others are?" I asked.

     "No. I hoped you knew."

     "You don't even know where Jane is? Seriously? You two stayed next to each other for everything else except now!"

     "She ran off! What'd you want me to say? That stunt you pulled may have let us escape, but how were we suppose to stay together when we couldn't even see who was a friend or enemy? I've been hiding and searching at every opportunity."

     "Whatever. Do you have guns?" I asked.

     "Yah. Right here. What? Are you blind now?"

     "No, but my vision hasn't been the same since that flash. I'm going to need you to be my lookout. Alright?"

     I handed him a few of my guns. "Fine," he said with unenthusiastic tone. With Tim by my side, we started searching the buildings and shooting up the city. I didn't have to worry about shooting Jane or Duke. I just waited for Tim to start shooting to take aim. We searched what seemed like thirty buildings. I was starving at this point, but I didn't care. Finding Jane was my main priority, but I definitely wouldn't leave the city until I found Duke or was sure he left or was dead. It started to get darker and our haste quickened. It was almost night when I heard an electrical buzz, like the sound a walkie-talkie would make. Tim said he saw something run down the alleyway. I knew from the moment that we stepped foot into the alley that we should've just kept walking by. I knew even before Tim saw something move, but I didn't say anything at all. I felt so weak, hungry, and sore, dismissing my instincts which I always listened to and stepped into sure death. I promise myself now that I will never let that happen.

     We were a fourth of the way down the alley when a group of men jumped out from behind anything and everything, pointing bright flashlights at us. It seemed almost instantaneous: the noise, the light, and the gunshots, yet somehow, Tim managed to jump in front of me begin shooting. Within three seconds, he collapsed backwards, knocking me to the ground. He probably died within the first two seconds. I could tell that he had gotten a few because I saw lights creating shadows on the walls beyond the men. As soon as the lights moved toward me, I draw my gun and shot into the lights, breaking the bulbs and hitting flesh. I don't know if I killed them all, but no one except for myself was left alive in that alley. I crawled out from under Tim's body. I knew he was dead already, but I still felt the urge to check. I picked up one of the flashlights and held it over his body. There must have been 50 bullet wounds. He was dead and a bloody mess and he took all of it to save me. He saw what was coming and jumped in front of me to sacrifice himself when he could have easily hid behind me and let me die. I don't know why he did it for someone like me when he had some much more to give to the world and to Jane. I'm crying now, but I wasn't before. I simply closed his eyes and folded his arms and left. It was all I could do. As I was about to exit the alley, I saw something heading toward my face fast and then nothing.

     I woke up on the ground somewhere else with all my weapons stolen. Night had passed and it was now approaching dawn. I was pretty sure someone had knocked me out cold. Why they didn't kill or shot me was another question, but all things become clear with time. I wandered the streets avoiding soulless, looking for weapons and just trying to get my bearings. It was then that I heard two gunshots. I knew it was long shot, but Iran toward where I heard them come from. They were pretty far away, but I was pretty good runner and I heard more of them. I was coming up to the main entrance when I saw Jane was red hair from far away.

     "Hey Jane!" I yelled. She waved back and I saw someone else with her. It was Duke. They were headed out of the city. I ran to them and we continued, with Jane's first words being, "I thought you were dead."

     It didn't occur to me that the situation was unnatural. Duke was shooting soulless left and right and Jane was following him. I'd never seen Duke shoot a gun before and it seemed strange that Jane and Duke were prepared to leave me and Tim here in the city and Jane didn't even ask about Tim so I decided to get some answers.

     "Jane, don't you want to know what happened to Tim?" I asked.

     "I know. He's dead," she said in a somber voice.

     "How did you know that?"

     "Duke told me," she said.

     "Quiet you two!" Duke shouted.

     "Hey, shut up! I'm talking and since when did you get a backbone?"

     Duke didn't respond. We just kept moving and he kept shooting.

     "So, you both were just planning on leaving me here to die?" I asked.

     "No. I was going to keep searching until Duke told me he saw you both get shot so he assumed you were dead."

     If Duke saw what happened, that means he was there and could have been helping us out. I was about to say something when Duke stopped and turned around. He pointed his handgun at me.

     "This is as far as you go, murder!"

     Jane chimed in, "Duke, what're you doing..."

     "Shut up or you'll be joining him!" he shouted at her. He never took his eyes off me and looked directly into my eyes, "So, Jack. How does it feel to be powerless? To have to rely on someone else who holds power in their hands. I've cowered behind you long enough!" he said with gusto.

     "What brought about the change in you?" I asked.

     "No change at all! Just an unveiling!"

     "Not really. You're still a pompous jerk."

     He was just pulling the trigger when Jane pushed his arm out of the way. He threw her against the wall and I was about to tackle him when he pointed the gun directly at my forehead. Jane got up, but he head had a large cut on it.

     "I've read all your journals entries. I find it ironic that you kill monsters being one yourself. You leave your friends behind and you expect me to place trust in you. If anything, you deserved to die long ago. Would you like to say anything before you join Tim?"

     "Just a question. Were you one of the men shooting at us in the alleyway?"

     Duke laughed, "No, but I did watch it. How heroic of Tim to save your life. I only wish they'd gotten you instead so I wouldn't have had to knock you out cold. I'd hope that you would've been eaten or turned, but this ending is much more satisfying."

     "You're still a coward," I told him, "You had your chance to kill me and you didn't take it. You hoped the gunmen would've finished me off when you could've done so yourself. You're afraid of murdering. What, is it below you? Maybe you..."

     "Shut up! I'll prove it to you."

     Duke pulled the trigger. Nothing came out. The round was empty. It was just then that I saw the cowardly look that had always been on his face come back over him. He didn't have any more ammunition. I punched him and helped Jane up only to realize that a group of soulless had cornered us. I began pulling out knives and throwing them, taking out a few, but the gathering was so dense that there was no chance to squeeze through them without being grabbed. There were no windows in the wall behind us. We were trapped. I took out my longest knife and began stabbing at random. I thought for sure that I would finally meet my end. Suddenly, I saw bottles heading toward us. Many of them crashed onto the giant grouping of soulless, setting them ablaze. Sadly, the soulless had come so close already that they had bitten Duke and Jane was partially set on fire and was pinned down by a group of soulless, being feasted on. I ran out of the only gap I could see and met the man who threw the bottles. I told him my name and I followed him. His name is Mike. He was on a loot run for medical supplies. I stood guard for him and alerted him when a large group of soulless (some of the soulless were probably from the same group that cornered me) headed straight for the pharmacy. Long story short, we ran away and now I'm back at his fortified camp. It's a lot more secure than The Hill's was though. He said he'd introduce me to everyone tomorrow, but really, I just don't feel well. I'm extremely tired right now but I can't sleep. I can never sleep. Whenever silence visits me, all I hear is the sound Jane screaming for help. Whenever I close my eyes, all I can see is Jane burning in fire and being picked apart like a turkey at Thanksgiving. I can see Tim's bloody body riddled with holes and I can Duke smirk as he held the gun to my head, claiming that I should have died long ago. Looking back, I'm pretty sure Duke was the one who was contacting the hunters by radio transmission since we did pick up a lot of stuff during the journey, some of which I didn't understand how it worked. Duke's death was his own fault, but Tim and Jane. Even with Duke's intervention, I still should've been able to save them and I should've seen Duke's true colors long ago. I should have killed him when I found him.

     I don't want to write anymore, but I can't stop. I need to chase the memories away. Duke's taunts echo in my mind, most prominent being, "you should've died long ago." He was a fool, but even a fool can see truth sometimes.

- Jack's Diary

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Jack's Diary - Day 33, October 19th 2013

     We've gone farther northwest than I ever imagined we would and in a very short time. The hunters are still tracking us and on top of that, I've spotted several strange and vicious looking soulless that I've never seen before. They reminded me of the one I fought in the fields before Duke joined me, but they are far slower and they still look like soulless, only bigger with slight modifications. There aren't a lot of them right now and I hope it stays at that low number because they're a lot more aware of their surroundings then the others.

     If Jane had any doubts about my abilities before then she shouldn't now. It's been four days since we left the safe house and we're all alive with the only wounds we've received are from the hunters. Neither Jane nor Tim have voiced any negative words about the current situation so it seems like they understand. We've even begun having small conversations with Tim telling us hunting stories and Jane about her former job as an architect. It was nice to talk with people for a while even for as short as the conversations lasted.

     We came upon a very large city, which I suggested that we hide there and maybe the hunters would think we passed through it and leave. It seemed like a good idea at the time and everyone agreed, including Duke. Just in case we were found though, we split into two groups and hid in two different buildings with shooting vantage points. I would've had Jane as my partner, but Tim insisted that he be her partner so Duke ended up with me.

     As the day dragged on, we watched out the window and after the sun had nearly set, the hunters marched down the street. They split into two groups, one headed towards me and Duke and the other towards Jane and Tim. At this point I knew something was off and I rushed out of the room and out the backdoor of the building without alerting Duke. He followed for a while, but he didn't catch up. I couldn't worry about him then; I needed to get to Jane and Tim before they did. How they knew where we were is still a mystery to me. I thought that Tim or Jane might have been in contact with them and had led them to us, but I found out later that wasn't the case. It wasn't easy sneaking passed all the hunters on watch, but I managed to reach the back of the building Jane and Tim were in. I was just about to enter the alley to way to get to the backdoor when I felt a gun pressed against my back, "Don't move," I heard.

     I was pushed against the wall and my guns and weapons were taken away. I was then turned around and faced three men. The one in the middle pushed me to the ground and said, "Walk forward with your hands behind your head. You do anything else and we shoot."

     Having no other choices available, I did as I was told. They told me to turn at the corner and marched me into the street. They didn't do a very good job of taking all my weapons. I still had a few knives, and other trinkets I could use as weapons, but being deprived of my guns meant that I couldn't just squeeze a trigger to kill these guys, which would be all the time I would have before they'd kill me. There were men at a distance killing any soulless that got near the area. There must have been about 15 or 16 men. After a few minutes or so, Tim and Jane were marched out of the building and lined up beside me. The man who had voiced the group who came to the last safe house I was at now faced us.

     "Where's the other one?" he asked.

     "Who?" I responded.

     The man nodded to one of the guard and I was punched in the stomach, "Where is the last member of your group?" he asked again.

     "Dead," I answered.

     The man nodded again and I received another blow, "We know he's not dead."

     "How would you know that?" I said and I was immediately punched again. This pattern of questions and abuse were repeated until I was on the ground, where the punches turned into kicks. Jane and Tim were telling them to stop and that I was telling the truth, but it did no good. Finally, a man yelled, "Found him!" from far away. I was stood up and saw Duke being marched toward us.

     "Well, lucky you! Your suffering will soon be at an end," said the man.

     Duke was lined up beside us. The man looked us over with an angry yet amusing look.

     "Greetings," said the man, "Allow me to introduce myself to those of you who don't know me. My name is Alexander the Great. I'd tell you why you are currently at gunpoint, but I believe you already know that. Are there any questions before we begin?"

     "Begin what?" I asked.

     "The trial, of course!" answered Alexander, "You all have committed crimes and, although we live in barbaric times, we believe in the law established by the government that all people must be given a trial before any punishment is given."

     "So what, you're going to hold a trial here?" asked Tim.

     "Yes. For the world to view and judge for themselves," answered Alexander.

     "And who's going to be the judge?"

     "Yours truly. Who else, but someone with a degree in law is more qualified in this situation."

     "And what stops you from letting your own involvement influence the trial?" I asked.

     "No trial is perfect."

     Tim snorted in anger.

     "How were you able to find us?" I asked.

     "Oh, very good question! As much as I would love to reveal this to you, I'm afraid I can't due to a certain party's involvement."

     "Can you tell me why you were so persistent in trying to capture us? We're at least 30 miles from Saint Angeles," I asked.

     "Because justice must be carried out. We must go to great length to stop evil doing-ers as yourselves from corrupting our already fragile society.

     I knew how the trial would go. It would only be a mock trial to vindicate their reason for killing us. I had to do something.

     "Wait! Let the other three go. I'm the one who killed your men, not them. They are innocent."

     "Well, thank you for admitting that. It will make it much easier to prove our case. However, they have committed crimes, such as aiding a known criminal and a few attempted murders when you fired upon us. And let us not forget how many my men and innocent people were lost at that safe house when we tried to arrest you. Their death is on your hands. Besides, your associates will most likely receive a lesser charge, but we won't know until the trial has taken place." He turns around and walked away a little and turns around again. "Let the trial commence!"

     The trial went like the ones I had seen on TV or at least it did at the beginning. We swore an oath with our hand on a Bible to tell the truth, but after that, the unfairness began with us being given no chance to speak as "witnesses" came forward that I had never seen in my life, telling everyone the crimes that I committed (and a few that I didn't commit) against them. The trial went on, night fell upon us with in the distance shooting and clubbing soulless. I knew I had to think of something to escape so I waited until it got a little darker and then attempted to light the flash grenade (one of the many small things they left with me). There were still guns pointed at us, but the rule of my hands needing to be behind my head didn't come up when I put them down. The flash grenade was in my back pocket so I slowly moved my hand back into my pocket and attempted to stick it partially out into the open and lit it. I couldn't look back to see what color the flint was without the guards getting suspicious of what I was doing (if they weren't already suspicious) so I wasn't sure how long to wait. I figured that if it blew while I was holding it, it would still project a bright light to blind the guards, allowing Duke, Jane, and Tim to get away and I might even be able to escape even with only one hand. However, it wasn't long before the copper wiring I'd wrapped around the lighter to keep the flint in place began to heat up and burn my hand. I couldn't hold it much longer without making any groans and I tried to gently toss it away, but it had fused itself onto my hand. Suddenly, in a desperate attempt to remove it, I tossed it forward onto the ground near directly in front of me and a great flash of light blinded me and everyone else nearby. I probably should've warned the other three. One by one, I vaguely saw them running away with the sound of inept gunfire filling the air. I, on the other hand, was able to make out a figure far in front of me that was probably Alexander so I pulled a knife out of my shoe, rushed forward, and stabbed the figure multiple times and up close, I saw the shocked and petrified face of Alexander. Someone came up and grabbed me, but I threw down Alexander's body, stabbed the person, and stole their gun. It was then that I made my escape with my vision still distorted and the flash grenade still burning brightly behind me.

     I took refuge in the building where I hid in a closet, hoping that my sight would return to what it once was with time because I could barely see the paper in front of me right now. I hope my writing is readable.

- Jack's Diary

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Jack's Diary - Day 31, October 17th 2013

     Things would've been a lot easier had I chose the correct safe house to begin with. I could have got Jane and went straight back the way I came. Now, we have to take a long detour to escape the pursuers. They're probably upset with me killing their men, but to track us this long and far is very strange. I would've just taken them out had there not been so many of them, about 35 or so. We tried to stay ahead of them, but every so often, they'd catch up and we'd be standing in a rain of bullets. However, out of all the shots they fired, they only managed to graze Tim's leg. As I've always believed from watching plenty of action movies in my youth, "Bad men equals bad aim". 

     About Tim, although we haven't had much time to talk, he seems like a good person. For some reason, he rarely questions where we are going and why (Jane may have filled him in on the details), but I guess being hunted by gun wielding morons has a way of bringing people together without an exchange of words. Tim was definitely a lot stronger than me and unlike Duke, was more humble and intelligent. I think we'd get along pretty well, that is, if he'd stop clinging to Jane. She really hasn't said anything me either since our first conversation. Then again, we've been pretty quiet as to not attract attention. Even at night when camping in the forest in the dark (where the hunters would never see us), we still kept quiet. The silence bothered me, but on the plus side, Duke hasn't said anything either.

     We've travelled through neighborhoods, forests, highways, and fields to lose them and turn around, but it isn't working. We could head back to John's house, but I don't want to take the chance of bringing them with us. For the first time in a while, I don't have an answer. My only hope is that they'll get tired and leave or we may to go further out than I'd hoped. With four of us now, we need more food so we loot whenever we pass near buildings. I don't have to worry about Jane and Tim; looting, killing, and surviving are a daily route for them. Duke seems to be coming around as well. I was surprised at the small amount of soulless we came across. Tim wanted to kill them just in case they saw us, but I advised us to avoid them to create a few obstacles for the hunters.

     We stopped for the night and found a nice large wooded area. Duke's on watch. Jane's asleep against a tree and Tim is carving a spear with his knife. I decide to do a little experiment that I started back at The Hill; I was going to attempt to make a flash grenade, just in case we get cornered and need a diversion. Some of my "friends" back then liked to trade skills in making weapons out of common household things (just like Macgyver). That's how I learned to make the taser. I, myself, liked to experiment and learn new ways of making things. With the times being the way they are now, I never got the chance to build the flash grenade and I wasn't even sure it would work, but I decided it couldn't hurt. I got a piece of flint and tied in off with copper wiring to the top of a lighter. Once the flint got cherry red, I could throw it at the ground and the flint's collision with the ground would make a bright flash. Then again, it could also explode in my hand, but if I have no other option, I'll take the chance.

     I was just abut ready to take my shift when Tim leaned asked me, "why do care so much about bringing Jane to her father?"

     "For a few reasons; her father saved me and taking her home brings purpose to my life. Besides, home is where we all belong."

     I left for my post as Duke came back and in the mean time, I wrote this entry. The hunters haven't found us yet.

- Jack's Diary

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Jack's Diary - Day 29, October 15th 2013

     The guilt of yesterday's sins dripped away like water from wet cloths. I no longer felt sorry or disturbed by my actions, which is both good and bad. We all have to live with what we do, but it is how we live with and accept that defines us. Putting these acts behind me as if they were the act of stealing something from a grocery store seemed wrong or inhuman. Not much I can do about it now.
     After I woke up, I looked out the window and saw that the safe house wasn't a buzz with men shouting and searching the streets for us so I woke up Duke and we headed for the last of the safe houses we knew of. I figured that if Jane really was at the "inviting" safe house that we could always circle back for one last check. I knew there was a good chance we wouldn't find her, but there was nothing wrong with trying. I really don't know what I would have done next if I hadn't had found her. No one was at the next safe house (they may had all been out looting or had simple moved on like a herd of animal. There were no bloodstains on the floor so I don't the soulless got in here), but there were a few guns and ammo still stashed in hidden places so I decided to claim them. We kept coming across a few soulless here and there, and I would bash their heads with a thick monadnock (a police club) that I looted off one of the two men I killed. I had this strange feeling that Duke didn't like me doing that.
     The next safe house we came to was much different in greeting then all of the previous ones. There were lookouts on the roof along with a small group of men and women standing guard. The guards looked relax with our approach, but I could tell from the way the lookouts were watching me that they had their hands on a gun of some kind just in case I became violent. Upon reaching them, I explained who we were looking for and the response from one of the largest men there was, "I think I know who you are looking for. Follow me."
     Duke stayed outside while I walked in and at a table in the far back was a woman that matched the description given to me by John. She was talking with another guy when I approach, but both became quiet with our approach.
     "Excuse me, Jane" said the large man who had led me in, "This man says that he's been looking for you."
     "That's what they all say," she said in a kidding tone.
     "Your father's name is John, correct?"
     The amused look left her face, "Yah. How did you know that? Is he alright?"
     "Yes. He's just fine. I came here to take you back to him, that is if you want to."
     "Don't you think I've thought about going back. There's no way I'd make it without being killed." she answered.
     I told her that I did and I've been travelled a lot farther than this in my life. I promised that I'd get her there safely. After a brief few moments of contemplation on her part, she agreed and left to go pack her stuff.
     "Hey." The large man said, "You're just going to walk in here and take one of our women. You've got a lot of nerve."
     "Well, I'm pretty sure that their not YOURS in ownership, but that they are your comrades. I know it's not much, but would you take guns and ammo as a peace offering," I responded.
     He smirked and said, "Alright."
     We walked outside and were greeted by a small group of men, one of which immediately said, "That's him! That's the man!"
     A few of the new arrivals attempted to grab me, but the guards pushed them back.
     "What is this all about?" The large man asked.
     "Your friend there visited our places before he came to yours and killed a number of our men," one of the other guys said.
     "Because they tried to kill us! One tries to shoot me for knocking on a door and two others try to sneak up on us with knives in the night!" I said assertively.
     "Details are not important. so, are you going to come with us or will you force us to kill you all."
     "Go to hell!" The large man said taking a swing at the man who said the last phrase. However, the large was quickly stabbed and a fight broke out. I quickly ran back inside while the members of the safe house either poured outside or to the windows to provide cover fire. I found Duke cowering behind me, who had snuck in when no one was looking (which explains why this riot didn't start sooner with the men noticing him). People were pouring down or up the stairs in a panic and as soon as I saw Jane, I grabbed her arm and said "Let's go!"
     We made our way to the back of the safe house with the backdoor being barricaded a pile of table, chairs, and wooden shelves. I began moving the stuff out of the way, along with some other people who had followed us back here. It didn't take us long to get the door open just enough for us to get out and just in time because I heard gunshot about 8 seconds after we escaped. There was a group of 8 of us weaving through the alley ways, hiding from people running around with guns. I didn't know if they were necessary looking for me or just people from the safe houses to kill in general, but either way, avoidance was the best policy. As more and more gunshots were fired off, soulless began pouring in from around the city. We often has to take alternate routes because of a blockade of soulless. Going around one of the sides of the buildings, we came across some people with guns who instinctively shot at us and we shot back. Two people in our group dropped to the ground and there was no time to check  whether they were still alive.
     Finally, we made it out of the city, but not without being pursued. A group of men followed distantly behind us for some time, but it seems that for now we managed to lose them. Through all of the men shot dead and the ones that left once they realized we were leaving the city, we were now a group of four. Tim was the fourth member's name and ironically enough, he and Jane knew each other well (and if I'm not mistaken, knew each other romantically). Tim and Jane never left each other's side, even after our haste slowed. Somehow, Duke kept up with us (I was surprised) I'll go into more detail about Tim in my next entry. Right now, we're taking a breather. A long, long breather.

- Jack's Diary

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