My Friend has Been Living in an Alternate Reality

Part 11

ENTRY 34:

It's been really quiet around here after the drone incident. Everybody seemed a bit confused at first. Although Smoker tried explaining the nature of Neo-Civitus to them, they didn't seem to want to believe him. It took a few other people with knowledge of the place to finally convince everybody that this was not good news. Smoker also went on to explain that the drones meant they could be coming in weeks... or years. In other words, we could never anticipate their arrival. I asked him why they'd even be interested in this place at all.

"Resources. Colonization" He told me. "Most likely resources, though."

He seemed incredibly worried as he told me this, but I couldn't understand why. I mean, if the only thing that they were after were some resources, then we'd just let them take it, right? No problems there.

"No." He said sternly. "They don't work like that. You see, nobody likes giving up their shit to an invading force, right? But nobody would ever even bother fighting back if they knew what kind of power Neo-Civitus has. Problem is... most people just don't. That's why they always retaliate at first. The battle never lasts very long.

He sighed, pausing for a bit before continuing. "Here's the thing with Neo-Civitus... there's never any paperwork with them. No deals, no negotiations, nothing. Wherever they go, they eliminate the native population, no questions asked. It's just simpler that way. Besides... most islands that they land on are incredibly hostile, anyways. There's no risks being taken with them."

However, even as everybody started to prepare for the oncoming assault, Smoker just scoffed at them. "There's no point." He explained. "Once they land, we're all dead. It's hopeless."

"So what are you going to do? Just give up, let 'em kill you?" I asked him.

He furrowed his brow. "Nah... I'll be long gone before they arrive. There's a lot of dignified ways to die. But fighting a pointless battle... that just ain't one of them. I'll have a better chance out there as opposed to staying here."

Carrying nothing but a small sack of rations, one rifle and a few knives, he left just a few days later. He didn't tell us where he was going. But... I'm pretty sure that he wasn't sure himself. Before his departure, he asked me if I wanted to join him. Despite the grim reality that seemed to be waiting for me, I declined his offer. I suppose that there was just a small part of me that thought he was bullshitting about this whole thing. But in retrospect, that didn't make any sense. I guess I just didn't want to deal with the horrors out there on this island. I guess I'm just taking my chances.

But... Kunz did eventually recover yesterday. So I guess that's good news.

ENTRY 35:

A few more months have passed. At this point, we've prepared to the best of our abilities. However... Smoker's words still linger for me.

"There's no point".

What if he's right? Hell, why would he be lying? He left for fuck's sake.

What's worse is that nobody's really explained it to Jolan yet. She's confused as to why everybody's so tense these days. She knows that we might have to fight some people sooner or later, but she has no idea what the scale of it just might be. I should break the news to her but... I really don't want to.

ENTRY 36:

A few more months have passed, but we've finally come up with something. Smoker said that they're most likely coming here for resources, right? Well this place is filled to the brim with zombies and other shit. That'll pose a nuisance for sure. Not the ideal area to harvest/mine. You see, the creatures here are mostly attracted to sound. The more we make, the more congested the ground below us seems to be. So here's the plan: