(A/N): So we're gonna slow down a little bit and do a little gimmick I like to do with these kinds of stories. A Journal Entry! This is a think I do about every two to three chapters which allows you to get into the heads of the characters. I hope you guys can learn a bit from this because the backstory is a little bit difficult to incorporate due to the format. The story will pick up right after this. Rest assured.

Back to the show!

Journal Entries #1 & #2: Zack

Date: February 16th 2015

Everything went well today. I was able to talk down those new guys from Toronto into giving the post a reliable source of fuel in order to keep the trade going well. In exchange, they wanted all their messengers and runners to stay at our makeshift hotel for the nights they arrive here. It made sense considering that often times, they had to travel pretty far with stops anywhere in between 3 to 5 hours of walking. Many of the runners took their time on foot because cars were essentially a bait for bandits to ambush. Many of the messengers were young guys who wanted to be useful so they didn't particularly have a lot of combat experience. All in all, a really good day today.

I ended up spending a little less time with Irina today because I had to stay by the delivery section almost the entire day but she was as usual very happy to see me. She was such an understanding person that it was difficult to not feel guilty for doing my job; I didn't deserve someone like her to come home to. I didn't tell her how I felt about her and for the most part, we were just really good friends. I thought at times that she felt a little deeper for me but her job as part of the security response squad that was sent out to take care of any disturbances around the perimeter left her little time. She recently however decided to take a break, especially when those ex-soldier guys came in a couple of weeks ago. We were friends long before this fungus shit met the fan and I was really glad she was still with me.

I kept thinking that things would keep getting better but the news I've been hearing about the Infected attacking people along some of the routes to this place really bothered me. One of my friends, Theodore Jackson was a part of the caravan squad and he was one of the fastest runners we had here. He routinely made trips six hours away and came back in the dead of night. As dangerous as it was, I was thankful that Runners had just as bad eyesight as we did at night and considering that he trained on how to retrace his steps, as well as running the route nearly 20 times already, I had the utmost confidence in him. I couldn't help but fear his safety because he probably had the most dangerous job of all of us and if he went down, it would be one hell of loss for us.

Still...keeping hope was working so far. I see no reason to stop right now.

I'll keep track of things here...and it's pretty good that I started this journal; it helps vent the stress a lot.

Will write again once I get word from Jordan; he and his sister were due for another visit really soon and because I got those two trucks going on my last trip over to their compound, I expect he'll want a lot more. I didn't mind however...he was a good man and any man who would go that far to protect his sister was definitely a man worthy of my respect. Flora was such a little gremlin but she takes good care of Jordan whenever he's sick. I'm really glad I gave Freya to them; that girl was pretty easy to train and she knew this area like the back of her hand.

Anyway, till next time.

Date: February 18th 2015

To say that shit got real...is the absolute biggest understatement of the fucking century...

I...I still can't believe that all this happened...it came so quickly that I...I just don't know.

It was supposed to be a routine day where Theodore was supposed to go meet a scout half way to pick up a package near Zone 7. It was supposed to be a routine patrol for Irina and it was supposed to be a routine visit to the river to test the purity of the water...but it all went to hell. Irina decided to follow me just in case anything happened and I allowed her to. We then heard a gunshot go off. After we got there...we found Theodore...dead and being gnawed on by Runners.

I couldn't believe that Theodore went just like that...he was such a good man and definitely one of our fastest runners...and now he was gone. But the horror didn't stop there. Irina and I decided to head back but we had to return to the river to recover the equipment that I brought to test the water. When we got there...there was a man screaming in agony. Irina was a kind soul so she naturally wanted to help but when she approached him, he turned and bit her...in the neck. There was blood spraying but that wasn't the worst part of it...it was the thought of knowing that even if the bite wound wasn't fatal...she was going to turn.

There was no way we could've told that he was infected...because we thought before that Runners couldn't make noises like that but this man must've just reached the point where he became a Runner because he sounded so..convincing. Irina...got infected and there wasn't a fucking thing I could do about it.

The day before...I asked Irina out...and she told me yes. She wanted to be with me...she wanted to try something new and she even said that she looked forward to having some of my cooking...only for this to happen.

By the time I reached her...she was barely breathing. She closed her eyes and it took everything I had to not burst into tears. She smiled at me and put a hand on my cheek. She then said:

"Live on...because now you're the only one of the original set of us who's still left,"

I couldn't contain my feelings anymore and I cried for her. I cried so much for her and she kept telling me that it was okay. She held my hand and told me that I needed to move on. She told me over and over again to do my best for everyone back at the post and most importantly, she told me that it wasn't my fault. It really was my fault; I was the one who left the equipment there...if I didn't choose to rush over to the gunshot, I could've prevented this from happening. She then kissed me on the cheek and told me that I'm going to be a good husband to a lucky woman one day.

I radioed for assistance and everyone arrived quickly. We rushed her back to the medical wing but much to my horror...she was infected. She wasn't at the contagious stage at all thanks mostly in part to the fact that the Runner had just turned. That meant she could touch others...but it wouldn't be long before she became someone to quarantine forever. I sent Freya to Jordan as I hadn't sent her back from the last message I sent and told him about the situation. I sat beside her at her bed...for hours it seemed until she woke up. Thanks to Dr. Fadel, I was aware of the states of infection. She had still not turned and she still had some time before she reached the contagious stage.

I told her everything he told me and she cried, profusely. She told me that she really wanted to be there tomorrow for our date...and she really wanted to be around for longer to spend more time with me. She held my hand and despite the horrible situation...she smiled at me. She was such a pure-hearted woman that she smiled even though she knew that her death was inevitable. I couldn't contain my feelings for her anymore and I couldn't help but kiss her...and boy did she kiss back. I had kissed a total of three women in my lifetime...but she was hands down the best one. I felt all the emotions within her through that single gesture. After a few seconds, she broke away from me and held a scalpel in her hand, telling me that she would never turn into one of those things. I begged her not to do it but she once again smiled at me and thanked me for everything. Before I could react to stop her, she stabbed herself where her heart was. She grunted in pain but she was tough as nails and she was able to hold her cry of pain back. She gave me one last smile...before falling limp, never to move again.

I returned from that about three hours ago...it was painful to explain this to everyone else but they all sadly accepted it because there was nothing we could do.

I already wrote a letter to Jordan and Flora but Freya returned quickly, indicating that Jordan didn't have a reply to send back. I wrote a second letter to them...telling them that they could come see me...but I had to let him know what happened in person; Irina was his friend too.

This fucking world...was quickly crumbling underneath my feet...and for the first time,

I didn't see a light at the end of the tunnel.