Jack's Diary - It is Ann - Day 73

*Early Morning*

            I went out and found some clothes to use as bandages and canned food (nearly expired, but still good). Mike refused to go back to base last night due to be almost unable to move so we had to stay put. It was probably for the best though. Also, a thought occurred to me: was Ann only teasing me about just how much control so had over our lives or was this something more sinister. Perhaps, she left Mike in such a state so that if I wanted to save him, I’d have to carry him back with him, giving her the chance to kill both of us. I’m not even sure that it was Ann anymore although Mike’s story is making me doubt this. He told me the last thing he remembered was being hung up in a room and that he saw a woman about Ann’s height and she had blood on her face (to hide her appearance, maybe). I then told him my side of the story of how I found him and what I found on him though I couldn’t tell him how I thought it was or at least not yet. Not until I was sure or at least until we got back to base where I could show him the dream written in blood.

*Noon*

            I’m keeping watch while Mike rests. No doubt whatever drug he was injected with is still in his bloodstream so he probably wouldn’t have been able to hold a gun if he needed to. From the rooftop to patrolling around city hall, I kept hoping I’d see something; a shadowy figure lurking or Ann, anyone I could blame this on so I could kill them. There wasn’t a soul or soulless around except for two that were licking up Mike’s blood from around the flagpole.

*Afternoon*

            Still nothing happening. Mike told me he remember one smaller detail, that the woman said, “Do not watch.” The words themselves weren’t as shocking as the realization behind them (not to mention, I never told Mike the exact words that were carved into his back so he couldn’t have been hallucinating). The message on Mike’s back was only meant for me and Mike was only the means to get it across in the cruelest way possible. Just as Ann said in the dream, she was interested in my adventures.

*Night*

            As selfish as it is, I am no longer worried about Mike as I am for myself. All this time, I’ve been looking for an excuse to put that nightmare to rest. Every time I had one of my panic attacks, although I’d never admit it before, I tried to convince myself it wasn’t real. It was all real. It is Ann. It is Ann. It is ANN! There’s no doubting it anymore. No theories and explanations. It’s her. Ann wants to watch a show and she’s willing to get involved to make it as entertaining as possible for her. And worst of all, I know that if I’d meet face to face with her again, I wouldn’t be able to defeat her. She could have easily snuck up on me last night and ended it there. Whatever she is, I know she’s too clever to be killed. This is all I know. I don’t know what powers she has and what intentions she has for everyone else at the base. I don’t care if Mike says no, we are leaving for base tomorrow even if I have to forcibly drag him. As soon as we get back, I’ll tell him, seeing as it is no longer just my problem anymore.

- Jack’s Diary

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Jack's Diary - Nothing Has Changed - Day 65

            Still haven’t slept. Then again, neither would you if you experienced that dream. It felt so real at the time and it still does. I tried not to wallow in it too much. It’s just disturbing to think that Ann could be some monster. What’s even worse is the thought that she could be watching me right now. It’s hard to let these kind of things go, but I decide to move on. If Ann comes back and kills me, then so be it and if I get the chance to kill her, I will.

            As the morning came, I was found myself looking out the window for Mike and working on the details for my plan. I never did write about it before since I wouldn’t have been able to get it done if I could only use one arm. I’m calling it operation NUKE. I realized something after the Valor’s base was destroyed about my purpose. I’ve been trying to protect people from death even though we all know that it is inevitable. Soulless, on the other hand, do not die naturally as far as I know. While we struggle to stay alive, they multiply with each person they turn and their appetite as a whole grows. The plan is simple at its center; I build or find a device that can make a sound loud enough to be heard for miles around to attract the soulless into one large area, preferably a field or a town. After a day or two when they have all gathered, we ignite the explosives that have placed all around the chosen area and all of the soulless get destroyed. This plan won’t kill all the soulless so it will have to be repeated a number of times in different areas, but it will kill a large number of them in only a few seconds and make travelling and scavenging a lot safer. I say “we” because I’m going to need help, mainly with finding, making, and placing the explosives. We’ll see what Mike thinks when he gets back… if he gets back. Whether or not he chooses to go along with the idea doesn’t matter. I’m carrying on with it even if I have to do it alone.

            By the time morning passed and the afternoon came, I was starting to get a little concerned. I’m not even going to speculate what could’ve happened to him because there are just too many possibilities (Mike could’ve been abducted by aliens for all I know). I decided to go out and find him. I equipped myself with guns, knives, grenades, and other assorted weapons and headed out. Outside my room, I saw that the base was in perfect order: no one screaming in terror, no bodies littering the ground, and no quick panicked movements. Everyone was calm. I didn’t stop to talk with anyone. Outside the base, it seemed calm. No bodies hanging from trees though there were a few soulless. Suddenly, I saw something emerge from behind a tree. As soon as the sun reflected off of it, I could tell it was a gun. I quickly ducked behind a tree as the sound of bullet rang out. I peeked out and was greeted by four men slowly moving closer to me. Whenever I leaned out from behind the tree to shoot, they shot as well, keeping me in one place. I decided to climb up the tree and since they didn’t see me, I managed to shoot and kill two of them. The last two nearly shot me and fell out of the tree. Suddenly, some shots were fired from the top of the base wall and killed the last two men. I looked up to find Moses at the lookout point with a sniper rifle. I’m still not sure what the men were hoping to accomplish or what they would have done had I not come out. However, the battle wasn’t over. Because of the gunfire, soulless were beginning to gather around the base entrance. I definitely didn’t want my dream to become a reality so I stayed around and quietly killed a great number of them before a few more men came out to assist. There were many more than I expected to show up and it took us several hours, but we killed them. Afterward, one of the men approached me.

            “So perhaps you can tell me. What was the gunfire for?” he asked.

            “Four men were hiding out here and fired at me when I came out.”

            “Is that so? Would you mind showing me one of the bodies of them?”

            I could only recall the location of one (there were a lot of soulless corpses on the ground). The guy looked at the man’s face.

            “I don’t recognize him,” he said. He called over the other guys so they could have a look. No one knew who he was.

            “If that’s the case,” the man said, “that means he doesn’t belong here and that means they knew where our base was. There’s probably more of them too.”

            The man suggested that everyone search the area around the base. It was already getting late so I just left without saying anything. Just before I was out of sight of the base, I found two dead men sitting against trees. Upon closer examination, their throats had been cut open to the point where it looked like a chunk of their throats muscles were missing. I guess a will animal got to them before I did, but the fact that they were both sitting in a relaxed position under a tree makes this idea unlikely. It was like they didn’t even see the attack coming. The only possibility that came to mind was Ann. I have no idea what she is capable of. You’d think from then on, I’d be more careful and aware, but it didn’t change a thing. If Ann was able to sneak out of the base, she could easily sneak back in so I was never safe. Besides, had she wanted to kill me, she could have many times.

            I reached the nearest town, figuring that is where Mike would go if he were gathering supplies, but it was already close to dark. I’m still searching though. I just decided to stop to write this in case the worst should happen. Sleep is for those who can afford to waste time or who can withstand their inner fears. I suppose I am neither of these.

- Jack's Diary

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