July 26, 2011
Today I will be going on a journey across the Antarctica to look for a new species of penguin which we have reason to believe is located between Amundsen-Scott and Vostok. I'm not going alone, of course. There is a search crew of three others. We have packed a two and a half month supply of food incase a storm comes in, water, and plenty of blankets and spare changes of clothes. One tent. The best part of this trip? If we do find the penguin, our names will go down in history - Alfred Jones, Natalia Arlovskaya, Elizabeta Héderváry, and me, Sadik Adnan. All of us are wondering what it will look like, how it acts, and what it eats for food since it's so far inland.
Sadik Adnan
August 4, 2011
It's been eight days since I wrote in my journal, but it has been slow. No signs of life anywhere. The whether is extremely cold and we joke constantly about how it would be so nice if we hadn't volunteered for the trip. Documenting is not fun either.
Sadik Adnan
August 18, 2011
Two weeks since I last wrote. Though I haven't been documenting, Natalia has been documenting everyday. The days are getting colder and it feels like they are also getting shorter, which is madness because winter is months away. There's snow for endless miles - it's all we see nowadays. I'm sure if we walked for a hundred years all we would see is snow. No sign of life. I'm starting to doubt if this penguin does exist and why the American's couldn't have just let the Russians discover it - they're used to the cold already, unlike some people from Southern California. I could possibly be getting frostbite, my lips already turned blue.
Sadik Adnan
August 22, 2011
A blizzard hit and we loved the fact we had packed more food then necessary. We're snowed in, however, and can't go anywhere until some of the snow melts. The extra blankets are heaven. Still no sign of penguins.
Sadik Adnan
August 31, 2011
The search party is very depressed. I am depressed. While the snow was melting away a week ago, more snow had piled in overnight. We still haven't made any progress since the twenty-second.
Sadik Adnan
September 3, 2011
Thank the Lord! The snow level dropped down considerably and when we get packed up, we can travel more. We have never been this happy since the beginning of the trip. Alfred is on his knees right now praying nothing else goes amiss and Elizabeta is fixing some breakfast. I'm starved.
Sadik Adnan
September 10, 2011
It feels like we are walking in circles. Everything looks the same! There is no sign of life, and, thankfully, no sign of another blizzard. But the weather changes quickly here. Everyone keeps getting colder; the sun is no longer warm.
Sadik Adnan
September 17, 2011
During the night, another blizzard came in. If the snow level continues to be this high, we'll be in deep trouble. Our food supply isn't getting any bigger and we are only getting colder. Maybe a miracle will happen.
Sadik Adnan
October 1, 2011
We are still stuck in the snow after two weeks. Our food is gone and we're going hungry but we all know that won't last long. Natalia caught a cold and stopped documenting every day - refer to Alfred's journal now for an almost constant article. Elizabeta said we should eat our hair and just wear hats the whole time to get some protein. None of us are thrilled about the idea and are hoping the message we tried to send to HQ will get there before we freeze and die.
Sadik Adnan
October 8, 2011
There is more snow then before. Natalia's cold turned into a high fever and we're trying to do everything we can for her. We started eating things we would have never imagined eating - our hair, leather, and some wool off the blankets. As far as we know, our SOS never got to its destination.
Sadik Adnan
October 20, 2011
Natalia passed away sometime last night. Alfred prayed for hours and hours that the three of us wouldn't end the same way. Her body is still in her sleeping bag, just lying there, so peacefully, like she's just sleeping. We have already eaten a quarter of a blanket and a fifth of our hair. None of us care about appearances - we just want our lives and heat from the cold.
Sadik Adnan
October 31, 2011
We made a desperate move. A move we wished we didn't have to make, but it has to be done to survive. Elizabeta and I watched as Alfred moved his Swiss knife across Natalia's frozen, dead body.
Sadik Adnan
November 16, 2011
A search party found me. They asked me where the other three were. I replied: "In my stomach." I'm at a hospital right now, getting my frost bite checked out. I wonder how many people are judging me.
Sadik Adnan