The Imperfect's Journal: 2

August 13th, 2066

Nothing but ash, rubble, and spores awaited us.

There's a thin purple haze hovering about an inch or so above the ground.

People I left behind at the base are either dead or afflicted. Most of those who realized they were afflicted chose the simplest solution: suicide. Their bodies are now covered in rotten pustules and spore pods, so the deaths of these men and women did little good for the world.

Those who chose to live through the affliction are ambling around, screaming in pain and frustration. Most have torn apart their own clothing and flesh. It's a horrifying sight, and I'm in the middle of it.

We gave suits to the survivors, but we don't have enough weapons for each survivor to be armed. Our lieutenant asked us to search the base for anyone who isn't afflicted while he tries to find out if anyone was able to escape. If he can determine where those people went, we might be able to meet up with them and decide what to do, next.

I slipped into the captain's office and found the most recent batch of letters from Haven. I sorted through them until I found a letter with my name on it. For Darren, it read. There was no signature.

The letter was short and without affection. It was from Sara's sister, Heather, and it simply stated:

Darren,

Sara is not at Sanctum. She never met up with me in Queensland.

You should not seek her out. It's too dangerous. Please, just come to Sanctum. Everyone is safe, here.

Heather

Sara never made it to her sister's. That means she's still in Australia, perhaps holed up in her cottage. I need to find a way to get there, and Sanctum is not the path I need to take. I don't need to be coddled, I don't need to be safe. It would be pointless--irrelevant--without Sara by my side. I have to get to her, there's no way around that. But I don't know how... I don't see how I'm going to do that.

Sergeant Glassgow found two survivors who explained that the afflicted they were keeping below the base managed to escape (big surprise there). Many were injured before the afflicted was taken out. It took two days--two days--for things to get as bad as they are after that. The affliction spread, nearly everyone contracted it, and soon they were all spreading the virus to one another. It won't be long before this place is as bad as Dublin.

Captain Saphran took anyone who wasn't afflicted away from Madagascar. They just packed everything and left... for Mexico.

Glassgow split us into two teams. One will be taking a boat to Sanctum with the survivors we rescued from Ireland while the other team will be taking our helicopter to Mexico. It wasn't really a choice, for me. I know that if I go to Sanctum, I'll have a difficult time getting to Australia. They wouldn't let me dive into that war zone. I stand a better chance of ending up there if I stay at the center of the action--if I prove myself to be a capable soldier.

Sooner or later, this path will bring me to Sara.

So Trent, Sergio, Glassgow, and I are on the transport chopper with a few other people I have yet to become acquainted with (unless... I just forgot that I've acquainted myself with these people). More than half of our original team is heading for Sanctum. That seems to be the best place for everyone... everyone but me.

Sergeant Glassgow gave a big speech about how brave we are for sticking with the team and fighting the good fight. He told us that we would all be commended upon our arrival at the base in Mexico, but I don't really know what that means--what does a commendation from a rebel group mean, especially when the world is ending? Not like I can put that on a resume.

Oh well. Time for the next chapter of this... adventure.