« Do you know that life is the nightmare of those who dream it? » Apocalypse Now
Day 22:
I'm Gianelly. Eden has decided that everyone will write in this diary as they have done since our disappearance.
I'm Jaime. Happy to see my friends again, but saddened by the loss of others… At the start of Day 20, we left Brownwood for good to join the survivors of Stanks. Unfortunately, it was another disappointment. Nothing at Stanks. The survivor camp was just a rumor. Stanks is a small town where zoneurs are rare. We found the survivors, and they were happy to see us again. They settled into an abandoned church in the center of the town. They seemed to be living peacefully. They invited us to stay with them. We've been here for two days, and it looks like we'll stay for a while.
Day 60:
It's been two months since the disaster struck, and we still don't know what caused it or why. The radios have stopped broadcasting, except for the message from the authorities.
Two people have joined us, Jepsen and Tyler. We really are a group, a family. There have been no incidents with the “zoneurs”. We go to the big cities around here to get supplies. I'm Lucy, writing to you directly from Stanks.
Day 91:
I'm Alendra. It's been a while since we last wrote, as our life was relatively peaceful. It's December, the nights are getting longer, and the weather is cold and nasty. We were settled in a church, and we were beginning to enjoy our life like this. But we had to leave in a hurry. A group of well-armed, battle-hardened survivors attacked us. Apparently, they thought our church would be a good refuge and decided to move in. We didn't give in and defended ourselves with whatever weapons we could find. But they were stronger… We had to flee, taking as many things as we could. Despite the panic, we were careful not to forget anything. They took possession of our church, and we set off in search of a new location. We found an abandoned roadside motel and stayed there. We've been here for two days now, and Christmas is just around the corner…
Day 114:
I'm Eden. Today is Christmas! It's a nostalgic time of year. We miss our families and friends very much… We miss our old lives. At this time of year, I should have been at the Stanford chalets with my family. Alendra and Anna should have been there too… We had a “meal” last night, although it wasn't as good as past Christmases, but the spirit was there. The new year is approaching. We're getting used to our motel, and hope to stay as long as possible.
Day 121:
I'm Chris. The New Year begins with a bitter chill. Not a sound was heard during the night. The New Year begins in dead silence. The world is really too quiet. We went out to see the snowfall this morning, and yet a car came along, honking as if to wish us a Happy New Year! arms were sticking out of the windows to show us that we're not alone in the world yet. We returned home with a smile on our faces.
I'm Anna. The cold gripped us. Snow fell in abundance. We went out for a snowball fight and forgot for a few hours the worries of this world to return to childhood. It was an extremely pleasant day. Our food supplies are running low, and the nearest town is quite far away. We'll soon be leaving for somewhere new, but we don't yet know where to go. The others are working together to find a new refuge.
Day 122:
I'm Jaime. Yesterday, we made the decision to move north, looking for somewhere safer than the motel. We set off this morning, but the snow slowed our progress. It's now noon, and we've only covered a few kilometers.
I'm Alendra. I presume it's now 5 p.m., and we've been forced to return to the motel, as the snow has prevented us from continuing our journey. I'm afraid we'll have to wait until the end of January before we can resume our trip. We'll have to do with the resources we have on hand.
I'm Eden. For the first time, we picked up a message other than the one looped on the radio! It was Chris who was looking for signals, and he hadn't intercepted anything since 1:30 pm when suddenly a voice emerged! he called out to us, and we gathered in silence around the radio. At first, we didn't understand, but then the message became clear:
“Can anyone hear me? I repeat, can anyone hear me? I am James Crow. If there are survivors listening to me right now, I'm delighted to tell you there are others. I'm with other survivors, we've found a safe place where you're welcome. We're not in a town, but a few kilometers from Cravenblood. Unfortunately, I can't be more precise. I hope someone can hear us, and I hope to see you soon. If not, I can only wish you good luck…”.
A short, simple message that rekindled the spark of hope within us. They've found a safe haven, and we're welcome too! We organized a vote and unanimously decided to go there. Now all we have to do is find out where Cravenblood is…
Day 145:
I'm Lucy. It's done, the snow has melted, and we've discovered where Cravenblood is. The town is still quite far away, which will require several stops along the way. Right now, we're at a gas station, filling up with fuel. None of us (Jaime, Alendra, Anna, Chris, Max, Kaany, and me) has had the courage to go in. Memories of Lona's death still haunt us… Eden, Gianelly, Byron, Khan, Jepsen, Tyler, Tyrius, Jana, and Lester were not present at this tragic event. Soon, we'll be back on the road.
I'm Maxence. We've been driving all day, and we've just stopped for some driving relays. Cravenblood is still a long way off, and what worries us most is that we don't know the location of James Crow's camp…
Day 147:
I'm Gia. We're near Little Rock, which we have to cross, although the town is probably infested with zoneurs. Jaime is scouting with Byron, Khan, and Alendra. We have no choice but to wait.
I'm Eden. Little Rock is overrun by zoneurs, and although we looked for a way around the town, it would have taken too long. We finally decided to go through, but we'd have to abandon our vehicles. No one agreed, but Jaime and Byron made the decision for the group. We're about to do it and hope to find ourselves safely on the other side. See you later, we're off…
Night from Day 147 to Day 148:
I'm Eden (again). As usual, nothing has gone according to plan. We now find ourselves in Little Rock, in the middle of the night, sheltering in an empty apartment. Here's what happened:
We abandoned our vehicles and entered the town on foot, walking silently and keeping some distance between us to avoid attracting attention. We'd discreetly kill any zoneurs we came across, without using firearms, so as not to attract any more creatures. At least, that was the plan… But Kaany, clumsy as she is, had accidentally pulled the trigger on her gun in response to a sudden noise. The whole group turned to her, and Jaime shouted, “Damn it, how many times do you want to betray us?!” Suddenly, we heard growling all around us. Max and the others shouted, “RUN!” and we followed. Several times we found ourselves at dead ends, pursued by hordes of zoneurs. Without even realizing it, we split up, each of us running for our lives, with no clear destination. For my part, I landed with Lester, Alendra, and Chris. As for the others, I'm not sure, but Chris saw Byron, Jana, Khan, and Lucy heading off in another direction. We'll debate whether to go out now or wait until dark, knowing that zoneurs see poorly in the dark.
Day 148:
I'm Jana, and this is the first time I've written. The others didn't have the courage, especially Khan. I'll pick up where Eden left off. I found myself with Byron, Khan, and Lucy. For my part, I had seen Jepsen, Tyler, and Tyrius off in another direction. As for the others, I didn't know where they were. Unlike Lester's group, we stayed outside to look for the others and eventually came across Lester's group. They, too, had gone out to look for the others. Even with our lights on, we proceeded cautiously, knowing that the streets were teeming with zoneurs and hordes. It was a real miracle to find the others little by little. But the group of Tyler, Tyrius, and Jepsen were still missing, as were Gianelly and Maxence. Eden used her walkie-talkie to call Gia, who had the second device. She answered and informed us that she was with Max and that they thought they were near the town exit. Eden asked them to wait for us and asked them about the whereabouts of Tyler, Tyrius, and Jepsen, but even they didn't know where they were.
Around dawn, we reached the edge of town, and as expected, Gia and Max were waiting for us. They were in a large military truck capable of carrying several people. Suddenly, shots rang out behind us, nearby. Rushing to the spot where the shots were coming from, we discovered that Tyler, Tyrius, and Jepsen were facing off alone against a horde of zoneurs. The creatures were too close for us to leave them alone, so we rushed to their aid. After fifteen minutes of fierce fighting, most of the creatures were neutralized, but Tyrius was caught by one of them. Khan jumped in to rescue him, but when we realized that Tyrius had been bitten and was being devoured, Jaime held Khan back, claiming it was already too late… He ordered us to get into the military truck, which we did, leaving behind the horde of zoneurs, and Tyrius. We're now stopped on the side of the road, all in a state of shock. This is not at all what we had planned when we chose to drive through Little Rock.
The town is now far behind us.
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