Jack's Diary - Operation Inferno - Day 137

     It's finally done! Operation Inferno is ready to go. Katy and I have been working overtime on this and it's finally ready. Let me explain the set up. On the tallest building near the center of the city, we placed three Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD), facing in different directions. They were originally used to signal people from far away and to deter wildlife and pirate without violence, as the device can make a sound powerful enough to cause headaches. You'd think equipment like this would be hard to find, but it really wasn't. The LRADs were probably brought in early on to try and bring the outbreak situation under control, only to have it backfire on them since the sound attract soulless (I say this all from observance, not from first hand account. We found these mounted on police vans and the area surrounding it was still sticky and disgusting from the previous accumulation of soulless). These things were not light (I almost killed myself carrying one up the stairs with Katy). The sound from it can reach about a mile or less, but we didn't stop there. We also ripped a bunch of sirens out of ambulances and police vehicles. Since my ability to focus well was slowly slipping away, Katy volunteered to scatter the sirens to lure more soulless when the time came. I didn't want soulless to just hang around outside the city so I attached the power cords that were attached to the sirens to a crank so we could reel them back in and draw the soulless into the trap. Katy managed to spread the sirens out to about 8 to 10 miles in each direction (with the amount of glue and duck tape I coated the plugs with, they better not come undone). I wished we could have gotten more LRADs to put on the very borders of where we ran out of sirens to attract even more soulless, but we only had so many to use.
     Now for my favorite idea yet. We commandeered several generators to power the local Water Plant (also used them to power the sirens). We also ripped a great deal of sprinkler systems from the more expensive buildings that could afford them. From here, we attached and welded the pipes together, attaching them to the tops of buildings across the city, to create a system of sprinklers that could drench every non-existent resident. I filled the Water Plant with the gasoline we accumulated to pump through the pipes when the time was right. Lastly, since we didn't want to burn alive and needed to be in the city to activate all this, we create a zip line to go from one of buildings to a small rock plateau in the distance, high enough of the ground to keep us safe from soulless and so we could watch the show.
     I decided to make some thermite bombs with charges connected to them so we could detonate them from a distance to start the fire. Katy and I shooting flaming arrows into the masses of soulless. Everything was set up. Before we began, I reminded Katy of my will in case anything happened. I then contacted Mike, after what feels like years, to tell him to pick up something I left for him (it was nice to hear him again). We're about to begin and I want him to have a front row seat to see Operation Inferno in action. Hopefully, everything works out and my goal will have been met.
     Katy, I'm sorry. It's time.

- Jack's Diary


Katy's Entry
     I felt like he'd want this. For me to complete this. The plan worked just as he said it would. We switched on the LRADs. They almost blew my eardrums out. He yelled at me to put in the earplug before we preceded. The sirens were switched on next. Soulless, as Jack called them, charged into the city, surrounding the building the LRADs were on. There had to be a 1000 of them within only two minutes of the LRADs being turned on. It was only the beginning. Mobs of soulless entered the city from all sides. You could hear their screams and moans as clear as day a top of a seven story building. It sent shivers down my spine. Jack waited another 5-10 minutes before we started reeling in the sirens, all the time hundreds of more soulless entered the city limits. The streets were becoming as tightly packed than when the ball is dropped on New Years. Two of the wires put up a fight. Part of them must have snapped off in the distance, but we still brought in the majority of them. It was such an amazing sight. A frightening sight. The sirens were followed by slow soulless, fast soulless that leaped each time the sirens moved, soulless with swords, soulless with long slender bodies, and horribly deformed soulless, ugly enough to make me gag. The smell of rotting flesh of near unbearable. I occasional looked over at Jack and he was happy, happy his plan was working as we'd hoped. The city was completely filled to capacity. There were a large amount of soulless outside of the city's entrance, unable to get any closer with the streets jam packed. Soulless were piling up on top of one another to reach the LRADs. The piles were three stories tall. There must have been 10,000 or 100,000 of them. Jack activated the sprinkler system. The moans were slightly drowned out by the rush of gasoline. The sunlight went through the gasoline, creating small temporary randoms in the air. It was so beautiful. We ran out of gasoline after three minutes. Jack then took out the charge and pushed it. The explosion rattled me and hurt my ears worse than the LRADs. The fire spread quickly where the bombs had gone off and we helped by launching flaming arrows into the soulless crowds. Soon, the LRADs and moaning was overtaken by the roaring fire that was engulfing the city. They were so stupid, still going after the LRADs while their bodies burned to a crisp.
     Jack told me it was time to go. I hooked a pulley on and went. The ride filled me with an adrenaline. I was so happy everything worked out. I landed on the pile of cushion we set and looked back. I kept expecting him to use the zip-line next. He just stood there on the edge of the building. I yelled for him to hurry. I kept yelling, but he did nothing, nothing except cut the zip-line rope. I could only watch as the fire slowly consumed the building and the black smoke blocked my view to him. The fire burned for what felt like forever. The soulless on the outskirts went into the city with the soulless there previously burning dead on the ground. Even more soulless came from all around and burned in what I now see as a mass grave. I didn't watch the whole time. Most of the time, I cried.
     Once the fire stopped and everything had calmed down, I went it to search for his body. The streets were covered in a foot of cremated corpses. His body was no where on or in the building. I was angry at him. He left me alone. He didn't have to die yet. There was still time. We still had time. The question of why bothered me until I found a letter he left for me.

"Katy,

     I hope you find this and if I'm not around, Operation Inferno must have been a success. You and I both knew what was going to happen to me eventually so I took matters into my own hands. At the end, I didn't want to end up like my friend, who went insane. It would've been dangerous and just a plain waste of time for you to look after me any longer. I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd try and stop me. It's not that I don't care about you Katy. If I could have, I'd have stayed with you forever, continued doing this, and take back this planet. I wish my other friends would've come with me and that I could bring back yours, but life doesn't conform to what we want, sadly. I hope you'll continue on this work and know that if there is life after death, that I'll be watching over you and giving you all the prayers and help I can.

Your friend,

Jack"

     I decided to continue though it will be more difficult without help. Jack had more than just Operation Inferno in mind. While he was still alive, he spoke of others, like luring soulless into a large hole and either burning or just filling it back in with dirt. He called it Operation Re-burial. He only went with Operation Inferno because it was much easier and according to him, would make for a much better show. I may go with one of these plans. I stopped by the river where Jack had left his gifts for his friends. They had already come and gone.

     The night was quiet as I'd ever known it. There were no soulless, no danger, no paranoia. This is the kind of world I want and it's the kind of world I intend to bring back. I don't think I'll ever write again; it's just not my thing. I just felt it was the right thing to do; to write about Jack's last day on Earth so no one would forget. So I wouldn't forget. I'll miss you, Jack.

- Katy's Entry

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Mike's Diary 137 - 1 Last Request

Since we separated from Jack, everyone stayed silent. No one talked, they just couldn't believe that Jack decided to leave us, that is until Julie told me what she heard. Man, it really is fucked up, humanity is destroyed, and we are left with nothing. Victor, Moses, and Jess are cooking something in the bonfire right now, it's been too long that I haven't heard from Jack. Is he still alive? I was sitting there just playing around with the walkie-talkie hoping that a static from Jack would come up. We are not yet at the cave that I have been talking about. Still a long way from that, and when we were all eating, chatting, and drinking, a noise shut us up. It was a static from the walkie-talkie that I've rested right beside the log that Julie and I were sitting on. Everyone looked at me, then the walkie. There were a lot of static but I still did make out a word or two "Mike, if you're still there say something, copy."



I quickly grabbed the walkie and mashed the side button to talk back
"Jack?"
"Hey Mike, it's been a while bud. Sorry that I didn't tell you about what Julie has probably told you."
"It's alright, at least now I know why you want to do your shit so bad, heh.."
"Yeah, it's fine. It's all good, and hey! Good news is I got another person who might be willing to do this with me. Name's Kathy"

"Yeah? That's great Jack, that really is. Glad you checked back on us."
"About that, I just want to tell you guys to go back to the river where we stayed and lost Mike last time. Remember?"

"Yeah, crystal clear. Why?"

"Just go there, you'll see my sign. Oh and I left something for you under a tree trunk, dig it out, about 2 feet deep. The only evergreen tree with white paint on it."

"Oh okay, so where are you?"

"Nice Mike, you're not coming over. Well, I wish you all the best. Good-bye for now, tell me when you're there!"
"10-4" I said.

I couldn't sleep that night, and we all decided to do what Jack has requested. We packed up, and travel as fast as we can the next morning.

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Jack's Diary - Too Long - Day 123

     It's been too long since I last wrote, mostly because I've been too busy with the present and didn't think I'd be alive too much longer so I couldn't risk wasting time with writing. I'm not dead yet, but it's clear I'm living on borrowed time. I now sometimes forget where I am momentarily, have intense migraines, and I feel a lot more tired (fortunately, these don't happen too often and very rarely during "interactions" with other people). It's terrifying, yet sobering to be at death's door. You see what's important and I'm still strong enough to do something.
     Mike and the others didn't come along with me. I expected as much, but still wish they were here. I just want to make a difference before I die. I don't want to leave this world with a whimper, I want to go out fighting. Grant had the right emotions, but devoted them to the wrong thing. He gave up on doing what's right and chose to do only what gave him pleasure. I intend to succeed, even if I end up alone. I'm not angry with them. I could never be. Julie spoke to me just before I left. Even with a foggy memory, our exchange of words comes through clear.
     "You sure you want to do this?" she asked, her face still beat up from Grant. I was hobbling myself.
     "Yes."
     "I'm sorry," she said, almost unable to look me in the eye.
     "About what?" I asked.
     "That guy said you only have a few months to live. No one else knows except me and Mike."
     "Yah, that reminds me. I have you to thank for being alive right now. Had you not shot Grant, I'd be dead already. I owe you my life."
     She smiled and said, "If that's true, can I have your sword?"
     "As much as I'd like to give it to you, I need every edge that I can get now that I'll be on my own again. I've only got a short time left to accomplish my goal."
     "You're goal? What's that?"
     "Let's leave that as a surprise," I said turning away, "C'ya, Julie."
     As I walked away, although I didn't look back, I could somehow picture the scene behind me; a group of frowning faces, some waving, some looking away. I didn't talk much during my time with them. There really wasn't much to talk about, but even leaving a home you never liked brings a subtle feeling of sorrow to a time and season that's passed. It's all just memories and words upon paper and soon, the memories will be gone.
     I suppose the reason I'm writing is for good news. I've gathered about three-fourths of the supplies needed to begin Operation Inferno (it tickles me a little with excitement each time I say). Bases and groups of survivors so generously "gave" me plenty of supplies. For all the enemies I already killed off from my previous time before meeting Mike, I think I made five times the amount of enemies. I tried to "accept" these supplies as discreetly and sneakily as possibly, but I often got too greedy. Not happy with having to kill and injure so many people. In my defense though, I did give most of them fair warning (I'd recently been doubting my skill, but having detained/killed 30 people attempting sneak attacks where I slept and having taken on a base of 20 guys alone, I feel awesome). I've also gotten pretty good with the katana; I've already decapitated two soulless and one guy's arm (I warmed him) though I'm definitely not samurai level yet. I also found an ideal city to set up the operation; it's a good size, not too many soulless and almost no survivors living in it and it's only 15 miles away from where Mike is (thought I'd let him see the results). Whenever I find supplies, I bring them back here.
     I've got to be honest. I can't take all the credit for everything I've written her. Twelve days ago, I was searching houses and cars for tools, wood, sprinklers, and gasoline having just visited a small base about two miles away. I came upon a little tin shack. It looked like a tool shed so I went over to it, expecting to find some lumber or oil or something. It was locked. I lightly knocked to see if anyone was living there. That's when I saw a shadow approaching from the left, slowly growing in size. In a flash, I drew my handgun with my left hand, fired right into a guy's chest, then I quickly drew my katana with my right and whipped it to my right (suspecting there to be more) and the blade cut a woman's lip, throwing her off balance and I shot her. It didn't look like there was anyone else, that is, until someone landed on top of me, having jumped from tool shed's roof. She nearly had me pinned except for my right arm, which I quickly took advantage of and blindly elbowed her twice, the second   time hitting her throat. I shoved her off, stood up, and proceeded to land one powerful forward kick to her chin, sending her flying back. This knocked her unconscious. The gun fire brought more soulless than I expected, which created a problem. Usually I would stay, kill them, and continue gathering supplies, or if there really were too many, I'd shove anyone still barely alive who was too weak or too stupid to run in a car, house, or base. There was nothing near by to stuff her into and I couldn't just leave her there (in defending myself, I hadn't even looked at her in the face; in her twenties, very pretty, and just had a look of peace about her. It was one of the few times I felt guilty about defending myself). I picked her up, carrying her like the firemen do, and made the sprint to the closest building in sight, holding the katana in my free hand. When I got there, I rushed up to the second floor and barricaded the door. Eventually, I knew they'd lose interest.
     Later, when she woke up, upon recognizing me, she backed up into a corner, pulled out a knife along and picked up a chair with the other hand. I won't go into the long details, but I'll give you the summary. I eventually talked her down to putting her weapons away, explaining myself and why I was at that tool shed. The people I killed were her friends so she held resentment toward me. I told her about my plan and although she thought it was crazy and only something a moron would do, she chose to help (I think this was because she hoped to kill me or I'd die in the process). Her name is Katy. The first few days were pretty rough with her getting a hold of a gun or something and trying to kill me. I always got the upper hand and stopped her. It reached the point where I went back on my desire not to have hurt her in the first place. Had she did this a few more times, I'd have killed her until on one attempt, she broke down and starting sobbing on my shoulder. Afraid the noise would draw soulless, I tried to calm her. She was angry with me, but she was also alone for the first time in a long time and I was the only person left. I'm sure she could have left and found others, but it's human nature to stick with the familiar, especially when you're scared. I knew the feeling. I told her about my imminent death, thinking at the time it would make her happy. It just made her cry more. From then on, we grew closer and so far, she hasn't tried to kill me again. At night, we talk about our pasts and the stuff we like. There are times where she'll stop for a few moment before quietly continuing the conversation, probably remembering I'm the guy who killed her friends. I taught her survival, combat, weapon, scavenging, and hunting skills. She really didn't have much to teach me, but she did take care of me when the problems resulting from the drugs began becoming worse. Funny. Just when things seem so good in my life is when it's coming to an end. Fate is strange. You'd think with all this time we're spending talking and training that the operation would be moving slower, but it's moving just as fast.
     One more good thing. Now that I have a traveling companion, I have someone to fulfill my wishes after death. I've given her instructions on what to do with my body. I'm leaving everything in her hands, including the plans for Operation Inferno. I told her I hope she'll continue it after I'm gone because one go isn't going to be enough.
     She fell asleep an hour ago. I feel the urge to do many things. To get up and kiss her on the forehead, to radio Mike and let him know I'm alright, but it's not the right time yet. I think I'll go to bed. Hopefully, I'll live to see tomorrow.

- Jack's Diary

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