Jack's Diary - Day 41

     I've spoken with Mike about his brother and he said he'd talk to him. Something tells me it won't go well. If nothing changes then I don't think I'll be sticking around to watch everyone die off. As much as I'd like to help them, they need to help themselves first. Not to mention the danger that group we met in the city poses if they find us. Although it is just a nagging notion in my mind, I don't think the boss is dead. He wasn't bleeding when we left so he could've easily been wearing a bullet-proof vest (he might be crazy, but he seemed intelligent and definitely not stupid enough to blindly walk into his own demise). Anyways, danger does not frighten me; it's people who value possession over life. It always leads to destruction. What I told Moses was correct and he doesn't want to give up control of the base, not even for the greater good. I suppose only time will tell if doom is on the horizon.
     Back at the base, I took care of my wounds properly and afterwards, I began sorting through firearms with Jessie. I still can't look her in the eye, but I can work with her. Lexi joined us later on. The base had an ample amount of guns and ammo, along with some melee weapons. It bothered me a little that there was nothing else, such as grenades, smoke bombs, tazers, bow and arrows, bear traps, or anything other than guns. Guns are fine if you're looking to get to point A and back, but what if another task was at hand? What if one of the people here at the base had a nervous breakdown and got ahold of gun. A gun would stop them in their tracks (dead in their tracks), yet a gazer or tranquilizer would work and it would save someone since we need all the help we could get. The people here at the base relies exclusively on guns yet they don't seem too concerned with the fact that no one manufactures ammo anymore and once it is all gone, what will they be left with? Just a bunch of devices that no longer have any use. Perhaps it's wrong to lay such a judgment on the base, especially when comparing it to my old base. Still, the future does not look bright if nothing changes.
     After we were done sorting, I left the base to gather some food and supplies. The area around the base had a lot of plants and trees, allowing me to find plenty of berries and plants and good tree branches. I took them back in and started working on making some of my own weapons. Surprisingly, the base had a lot of scrap parts and other random items lying around in piles so I "borrowed" some of them. As night approached, I had already finished some of my creation: with some sheet metal and rope, I made my own bullet proof vest, with an old car battery and a toy gun I found, I made a gazer/torture device, with a numbing liquid I created from grinding up some of the plants I gathered and a spring loaded gun, I made a tranquilizer gun, and with two bricks I carved out, I made two brick knuckles (I'd say brass, but they're not made of brass). I still working on the bow and arrow (I haven't quite gotten the tension to stay in the bow string), the trap is near finished, and I made a wooden spear with a rope attached to it. I'm still in the process of developing some kind of explosive material and a chemical that will produce smoke out of the materials that I have access to, but this is a step in the right direction. I'm thinking that tomorrow, I'll go out and try and find a gardening shop and bring back all the seeds I can carry. Even if I can't plant them, they'll be great for baiting birds.

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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 17, October 2nd 2013

     City or town? Sometimes, I just don't know what to call these places. They always look so different from one another. Tall buildings don't make a city. I've come across old cities with a multitude of businesses that barely went above the ground level. Houses with yards don't make a town though it is rare to see yards in places with large towering structures. I'd say where I am now is more of a city than town. There's a decent number of tall buildings, but not too tall. I spent part of the morning resting on the roof on an apartment complex, looking over the ledge to the smog of life below. Perhaps it is just the view, but it seems like there is more diverse life here than in other places; a few soulless and a raccoon picking berries from the bush that grew between the cracks of a sidewalk (it'd been awhile since I'd seen a raccoon or any uninfected animal for that matter). There were always birds perched on old telephone lines or standing on distant rooftops. Birds and soulless were probably the most plentiful of creatures left on Earth since most of the birds predators had decreased in numbers do to a number of unfortunate reasons. I suppose a world of birds wouldn't be too bad. It's humanity leaving behind the soulless that I am concerned with though. If we could do one last thing with our fleeting lives, it should be to cleanse this planet.
     After sleeping for a good 8 hours and taking a few more hours for bird watching and scouting the area, I had planned out a looting route to take. I was mainly looking for two items in particular: a flashlight and a map of the area. I didn't want to get caught in the dark again and although John gave me some directions, they were vague which is understandable, seeing as he has never actually visited Saint Angeles. I don't want to end up getting lost  and wasting time.
     I walked through the streets undisturbed by anything and made my way to what looked like a small novelty shop. Lots of toys, trinkets, and other assorted things. I was just entering the shop when I felt something press against the back of my head (my first thought was a gun). Turned out I was right.
"Alright, hands up and down on your knees" said someone behind me in a tough voice.
     I put my hands up, but took my time doing it. As soon as they were up and I started bending my knees, he kicked me down. He started taking a few of my weapons and putting them on the store counter, giving a few comments now and then, such as "decent" or "nice". My back was to him so I couldn't even see his face and he kept the gun pressed against the back of my head. It was during his examination of my stuff that I noticed that the circular mirror that shop owners install near the front desk to catch shoplifters was turned just enough in my direction for me to see the outline of the man. I kept an eye on it and waited for an opportunity. After a minute of going through my stuff, he spoke to me.
"You got a lot of nice stuff. I hope you don't mind if I hang onto it for safe keeping." he said a smugly triumphant way.
     He took the gun away from my head, but still had it aimed at me. He took a step forward and twisted his body and arm to the right to backhand me with his left arm. At this point, the gun had moved out of line with my body and just when he was about to make contact, I ducked, he missed, I kicked him in the shin, which caused him to stumble and lean over in pain and before he could turn the gun on me, I jumped up and struggled to get the gun from his hand. A shot fired from it, as I repeatedly slammed his hand against the store counter until the gun came loose. He reached for one of my weapons on the counter, but he was just out of reach of them before I slammed his head against the counter, knocking him out. I then preceded to snap his neck to prevent future conflicts. I don't know where this guy came from, but he must have been pretty good at hunting to have snuck up on me without making a sound, especially with all the broken glass on the ground. This is an example of how far humanity has fallen although I expected such behavior. Death is the consequence of trying to take what is mine and no one can argue when there is nothing keeping humans on peaceful terms with each other except for our own beliefs and morals. That, in its self, can never be enough.
     No sooner did I kill that man and began collecting my weapons, a guy runs up outside saying, "Ron. What the hell are you doing? You're going to get us killed..."
     He quickly shut his mouth upon seeing me and his partner dead on the ground. He already had a handgun out to his side and I saw him move his hand up to aim the gun, but I prevailed; I shot him 7 times with a nail gun, but he did manage to fire off one round that barely missed me while I fired. It didn't take me long to realize what he was so upset about: loud noises bring death. I could see a few soulless walking toward me, while others ran. I quickly reloaded the nail gun I'd used and went outside into the corridor of the store and began picking all of the approaching targets until none remained.
     Wasn't too bad of a day. I got a few new weapons and supplies from the two guys: two handguns with a few clips, a hunting rifle, a long hunting knife and case, rations, beef jerky, a bible (ironically), a pocket knife, a lighter, duct tape, and flashlights. With all this, i didn't need to go shopping for a while. There were a few other things that may have been useful, but I chose not to take them (I would've if I had an infinite amount of inventory space, but this isn't a video game).
     As I was looting from the two dead men, I heard crying in the back room. I found a man who was extremely scared and begged me not to kill him. After a long talk, I decide to let him join me on the condition that he carry and do what I tell him to do. He accepted. For the next day, we search the city for a map and found one, now we're off to a town by the name of Haleton. The guy's name is Duke. I'll  describe him more in future logs if I don't kill him by the time I write the next one (he's already starting to bug me).

- Jack's Diary

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Jack's Diary - Day 5, September 20th 2013

     Well, I'm writing this now so I did make it out without harm. There was truly no skill in involved. It all relied on luck. The lost souls could have easily caught whiff of my flesh and broke down the barricade. I would've put up a good fight, but they have strength in numbers and in determination. The survivors left are merely living day by day with no goal other than survival while these creature have a driving hunger needing to be satisfied. Luckily, their cognitive abilities are on the level of animals, making it much easier to fool and dispose of them. Had they maintained the intelligence of a human, humanity would have fallen off the face of the Earth long ago.
     Once the lost souls' search had ended and they left, I waited about two hours. They were probably still within a short distance from the house. Some of them were probably waiting outside as well, just to see if anything crawled out a door. I never said they were stupid. Anything that is hungry follows every hunch that will lead them to food so I waited patiently and made my escape when the chance came.
     By the time I got out, night had fallen upon me like a blanket. I knew I should have stopped, but I refused to sleep out in the open, even if I was in a forest. I could have slept in a tree, but there's too many things that can go wrong. Besides, most of the lost souls can't see well in the dark anyway. I was walking on an old overgrown trail when I heard a few screams accompanied by a low chatting. It was far off, but I decided to go see what was going on. As I got closer, it was easier to spot with the large fire light bursting through the tree branches. I had stubbled upon a bizarre ritual. A man wearing a black hood spoke to the large crowd of people, mostly men who chatted a stupid, non-sensical rhythm of mumbles. The hooded man was an annoyingly long winded guy, but all his talking informed me of what was going to take place. They had three women tied to stakes around the fire: two were (apparently) virgin women with similar features while the other who looked a little like them was soulless. They planned to kill one woman and the lost soul and to infect the last one with blood from a soulless. They hoped that making these sacrifices (the killing of one with a soul and one without a soul, and the inflicting of the curse) would either bring forth a cure or at least cure the woman they had infected. The woman who was going to be sacrificed was, of course, screaming while other seemed unusually calm. I wanted to stop the ritual, but I couldn't take on so many men. They also were heavily armed with blunt weapons and guns. The only guns I had with me were a handgun and a sawed-off shotgun with no where near enough bullets. Only one rational thought came to mind: trickery.
     I walked back a ways and ran to them, calling out for help like a scared child. Running into the circle, I collapsed to give the impression I had been running for a long time. I quickly told them, "There's a group of them coming this way. There must have been a hundred of them!" With those words, the ritual had come to a screeching halt. Some men ran into the forest looking for them while the hooded man instructed others to rush into the forest while he ran like a coward with many others, leaving the women behind. How I really would have liked to kill him. Honestly, I really didn't think it was going to work out. I had hoped to stop the ritual, not to make everyone run away. No one else was around, but me and the women. I quickly cut loose the two women. One quickly ran away while the other seemed more concerned for my safety than her own life. "Quick! You must leave in case you fall under the curse." I knew she was talking about the soulless. Everyone had their own way of referring to them.
"There are none. I just said that to get those jerks to leave," I told her.
"But the ceremony must be performed to save us all," She told me. She'd been brainwashed. It was sad and pathetic sight.
"Sacrificing your life will solve nothing. Now leave this place and never come back or I'll kill you myself."I said with the most convincing tone I could muster up.
She ran off and I did the same, but before I went, I finished off the lost soul tied to the stake with a quick motion of my machete.
     It's been a while since then. Now, I'm in what used to be a big gambling town, now deserted. The interiors of the building still have an appeasing beauty about them. This is probably the closest I'll come to being in Vegas.

-Jack's Diary

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