October 20, 2023

89 days into the apocalypse.

A lot of things have happened.

Honestly, it's been a while since I've gotten around to write in the journal. So, I'll go over what happened during the last few days now.

Things are finally starting to look up for our little group, I guess. While traveling through this city, we've managed to scavenge up some more food for ourselves. It's kinda surprising, honestly, with how much edible stuff you can find even after almost 3 months of this apocalypse.

We also managed to find ourselves some bags to load up our supplies, since those damned cultists took our previous bags. Even the kid got a little bag for himself. Also, while stumbling around, we also came across a gunshop. It was empty and there were no guns anywhere in sight. Probably somebody was lucky enough to get here before we did. But we did find a cabinet full of ammo.

There was plenty of ammo for both Natalie and James's guns. So, we don't have to worry about running out of bullets anytime soon. We also kept the other caliber bullets. Though they might not fit the guns in our possession, the gunpowder would certainly be useful. And in a time like this apocalypse, being resourceful is quite necessary.

Also, we found a map of the city. Don't ask how we came across it. We were scavenging for supplies, when the kid had showed up carrying a folded worn out map in his hands. Despite the map being rusty, we can still use it pretty nicely to navigate through this city and make our way to Atlantic city.

The mood of our little group has also improved quite a bit.

I've found myself to be able to crack jokes again. James has lightened up quite a bit. Especially with the company of the kid. Since calling him the kid or the boy was a bit uncomfortable, and he doesn't remember, or at least doesn't want to remember, his previous name, we decided to call him Carl.

Carl and James have seem to build a bond, with James acting as a caring older brother to Carl. It's not to say that I and Natalie do not like the kid, but James got a special soft spot for him. Natalie is smiling more too. After everything that has happened to her, that girl deserves to smile.

That said, the trauma we had suffered at the hands of those cultists haven't gone away completely. I can still feel phantom pains on the spot where they had burnt my arm. And at times, I had nightmares of being back at that place too.

Carl was also suffering from nightmares. And a couple times, he woke up from his sleep and began crying. James would always hug him and try to calm him down, which seems to help.

A couple days ago, I woke up at the middle of the night due to the noise of someone whimpering. It was Natalie. She was tossing and turning and was muttering 'no, no, no' and some other inaudible stuff. I held her shoulders, and gently shook her and she woke up.

The moment she did, she sprang at me and hugged me tightly, burring her head in my shoulder as she sobbed. I just held her, trying to comfort her to the best of my ability. I guess, she had a breakdown after being strong for so long.

After her breakdown, she asked me if I could stay beside her while we slept. She said she'd feel more comfortable in my presence. I couldn't reject her request, so I had laid down beside her. She hugged my arm, treating it like some teddy bear, as she slept.

I think we both had slept more peacefully that night. Though, we never brought it up anymore, and there were no repetition of it again, much to my disappointment.

Anyway, that seems to be all. We're trying to make our way to a right course to Atlantic city while evading both the cultists, and the Plagued.

I just hope we manage to make it out.