Diary of Harlan Meadows

[Harlan]

Time finally feels like it's slowing down.  Harlan grabs 

the beans he had found earlier.

The fire warming his bones as he takes his first bite of food in days.

He feels his pulse returning to normal as he takes his second bite.

Not sure when he will find more food

he puts the can away and grabs his diary 

[align=left]Entry 1 - Not really sure what day it is.  Last I remember it was the end of Oct.  Happy I finally found this red pen so I can keep records of my journey.  I hope in some way it will help me find Shane.......

The thought of his brother brings Harlan right back to reality.  

The short lived enjoyment of food in his belly and a fire at his side,

comes to a swift halt.  

He once again feels his heart begin to race.

[align=left] I've been thru two town and have not seen any sign of life.  I did see an arrow shot into a shed but it was hard to tell the age.  I am heading south and will start to leave Shane notes in each town telling him to go south.  Hopefully .....Once I figure out where I am then I can find Shane. 

Harlan puts his diary back in his bag,

Hoping to get alittle sleep he closes his eyes

[Harlan]

It had been raining for three days straight

Most of the group was sleeping now

the fire casting everyone's shadow on the wall

Harlan looked over at Shane and smiled

It was the first time he had seen is brother sleep in weeks

It was the first time he had felt safe in a longtime

They met the group while searching for supplies in a small town

Besides themselves it was the first time they had seen anyone else in months

Mativy, his wife Lena

Sergey, Nastya and their son Alex

They said they were neighbors in a town in Ukraine

They had been together since the beginning

There was also James,

a British man who said he was on holiday when everything went down

All of them at some point was hoping to find safety

But now they all realized "safety" was what they were gonna have to make

Harlan slowly open his eyes

The cold dew covering his body

He realizes morning has come

[Jamie]

Coming along well. Nice read.

[Harlan]

After another long day of hiking the countryside

Harlan sits down and pulls out his diary

[align=left]Entry 2 - Ran into people for the first time since the ambush today.  Been heading south still leaving notes for Shane.  I was in a town when it started raining so I jumped inside one of the houses.  A man with a gun followed me in, I hadn't seen him while I was searching the town.  I'm not sure he was trying to harm me, was telling me to watch out for another group on the other side of town.  Or at least I think thats what he was saying.  I started feeling he was ok when all of sudden 2 other guys suddenly came down the stairs.  They all had guns and seemed to know each other.  I didn't stick around to find out and took off.

Harlan puts his diary down and grabs his backpack

He searches for one of the apples he had picked earlier that day

[align=left]Once I got deep in the woods and felt I wasn't being followed, I started back south.  Not sure if those guys were friendly or not but I had a bad feeling.  Just wish I could have asked them if they had seen Shane.  Hit the coast just before it got dark and the rain started back.  I was waiting it out inside a house when I saw another guy running around.  He didn't have much on so I called to him to get shelter.  He told me his name was Gregor, not sure where he was from.  He was soaked and had no supplies so I gave him some water.  He told me there is a big city east.  He said he hadn't seen anyone but saw a deer there.  I'm going to check it out tomorrow and see if I can find a place to start up camp.  Hopefully Shane is on his way to the coast also.  He headed west once the rain slowed down.  I told him about Shane and to please keep an eye out.

Harlan puts his diary back into his bag and trys to get some sleep

[Harlan]

Today was a lucky day Harlan thought to himself

After what he thought was a close call with some bandits

he ran into Gregor

and was shown that there was still good people out there

After a good night sleep

Harlan was going through a house and found a leather kit

His work boots needed some work

So he decided to sit and fix them before his hike to the city east of him.

As he was finishing up the patchwork

He slips with a small blade

Cutting his hand in the process

Harlan wipes the blood on his jacket and finishes the patchwork

Once finished he decides to make one more radio call to Shane 

and then continue east to the city Gregor told him about.

Radio Message

After he finishes with the radio call he gets on the road heading east.

Only about a mile down the road Harlan notices he hand itching

The pain was starting to build as he trys to shrug it off

"Today's a good day" he tells himself.

"Today is the first of many good....uugggh"

Harlan falls to his knees

The pain in his hand shooting right to his head

His hand now feeling like its on fire

After taking a few minutes to catch his breathe

Harlan takes a drink from his canteen and inspects his hand

The bleeding has stopped but his hand is clearly infected

Or maybe not so clearly??

"what the.... I can't see?"

"Oh my god, whats going on"

Harlan remembers a well just down the street from him

Feeling his fever starting to build he heads to the well to drink some water

Almost totally blind Harlan finds the well and trys to cool himself off

Feeling like hes gonna pass out

and worried about being out in the open

He crawls to a shed near the well and hides in the bushes behind it.

[Ronan]

Liking this storyline, keep 'em coming!

[Harlan]

Harlan laughs at Shane as he sees his brothers eyes fill up

"Don't worry bro, Mom will be ok"

"Or you worried you won't be alright?"

Harlan laughs trying to make his brother feel better

Truth is he is worried about her too.

"Plus, all the money we are gonna make in Dubai"

"Mom will get everything she needs once we get done"

The brothers worked for an off shore drilling company and was being sent to help train at the companies newest rig

Neither had ever left the country before 

so both were very excited 

Harlan rolls over, shacking horribly

His infection has become serious and his fever has gotten worse.

He mumbles trying to find his canteen.

"Names Harlan and this is my brother Shane"

Harlan says to a tall skinny man

Dressed in rain coat and carrying an ax

"Nice to meet you both, my name's James

Come to the next block with me

I'm with a few more people

We are trying to get to Istanbul

Heard there was still help there."

Thunder wakes Harlan back up

He realizes he is out of water and crawls back to the well

After two or three drinks he trys to refill his canteen but collapses

"Please NO!!!  PLEASE!!!"

Mativy screams as one of the bandits grab his wife Lena

---

Sergey and his son Alex both are on the ground in a puddle of blood

Sergey's wife Nastya being pinned at gun point just in front of them

 No one had noticed the group of badits as they surround them

The camp fire always seemed to have the power to let you lose yourself for a few minutes

 And this time looked to be deadly

[align=left]

Harlan slowly opens his eyes

His fever feels gone but eye sight is still blurry

He sits up against the shed trying to look at his hand

Standing to his feet, he waits a minute to get his balance

He heads to the well to get another drink of water

[Harlan]

After a few more hours of drinking water and trying to keep food down

Harlan decides if he is going to venture to the east

he will need to do it soon since the day is almost over

He gathers his strength and heads to city Gregor had told him about

About a mile or two Harlan can see the high rises Gregor described

Once there he begins looking through each building

At the top floor of one of the buildings he climbs a ladder which lets out on the roof

Harlan looks in all directions, not really being able to see much now that it is dark out

He climbs back down the ladder and exits the building

Following the street he came out on Harlan looks around

It is the first time in almost a year where he has been in a city and felt so small

He checks a few cars along the road not really finding much

A police car had an extra clip to the hand gun he had

Harlan follows the road to a main square

As he continues looking for supplies he hears what sounds like gun fire in the distance

Not wanting to find out if he was right

He heads back west to where he had started

It took him a little longer getting back due to the darkness

But Harlan did feel better traveling at night

He felt safe

He stopped at the well which was once his own personal hell

While getting a quick drink he looks down and sees the leather repair kit.

"Lucky day my ass"

He chuckles to himself

Happy he can now look back and chuckle about it

Harlan decides to keep pushing west while its still night

He remembers there is another small town just down the road

but after that he had not seen

While walking the road he starts to wonder about Shane

Shane was always one to try to help

whenever, it didn't matter what it was

But why'd he have to try to be the hero this time Harlan thought

Harlan then notices what looked like a island with a castle on it in the distance

He walks to the shore while trying to make out the whole island

As he is trying to see through the darkness he sees a dock ahead

Unfortunately what boats were there were all smashed apart

Harlan then looks back towards the road and past it, up the hill looks to be a light house

Harlan leaves the shore and heads to see what it is 

Once on top of the hill Harlan stops to catch his breathe

Next to the light house is a shed with a few tools inside

Knowing it is now getting early

Harlan decides to go inside the shed and try to get some sleep

Hoping he will get a better look at what is across from him in the morning

[Harlan]

The pinging noise of rain hitting the roof of the shed woke Harlan up

He rubs his eyes, happy that he has no problems seeing

As he gets up, his sights fix right on the big island across from him

He walks out of the shed trying to get a better look

Not really being able to see anything

Harlan heads north away from the shore

Feeling comfortable with what is around him towards the east

He wants to start exploring towards the north

Not knowing the time but feeling he slept pretty late

He drinks some water from his canteen and heads north

A small town appears along the horizon after a few miles

As he approaches Harlan stops by a tree to watch for a few minutes

Gregor was a nice guy but nothing would make Harlan forget why he was in this situation

After a few minutes

and not seeing any signs of people

Harlan goes into the small town

Three houses in total, he finds nothing worth wild

Not wanting to go too far from his new "home"

Harlan turns back

While walking back the sky once again decides to open up and the rain starts

Harlan begins to run seeing a hunting stand ahead of him

He climbs inside and begins to smile

A beautiful pair of binoculars is sitting inside

"Maybe my luck is back?' Harlan says as he looks through the binoculars

"Now I'll be able to see whats over on that island"

As the rain slows down Harlan runs back to the shed

Once there he looks at the island and sees many buildings

No real sign of life but things didn't look as run down

The biggest problem was he saw no boats

Not along the shore 

and not on the island

Hearing his stomach starting to grumble

Harlan goes back into the shed and looks through his bag for an apple

Seeing his radio he also decides to try to message Shane

Radio Message

As the rain continues and still not feeling 100% from his infection

Harlan decides to stay in the shed for awhile

Taking a drink of water and grabs his diary

[align=left]Entry 3 - After a near death experience with a leather repair kit I think I might have found a place to setup camp while looking for Shane.  A  light house on top of a hill is now what I call home.  Note to self, be extra careful around rusty tools.  I cut myself with the repair kit and nearly went blind.  Really bad fever.  Better keep boots looking good for awhile.  There is an island across from the camp, many structures but no sign of life.  Maybe an old military HQ??  I will keep tabs on it while making camp.  I am also regularly making raio meaages hoping to contact Shane.  I keep telling him to go south and will leave a marker for him to see.  I plan on building a fire at night on the hill and putting my light inside the light house.  Hopefully he will see it.  Next step is setting up camp

Harlan shuts his diary and puts it back into his bag

[Nightngale]

These are really well done! Hopefully we can run into you ingame sometime.

[Harlan]

While sitting in the shed trying to figure out what to start for camp

Harlan notices the rain and wind starting to pick up

He closes the door of the shed and looks out the window

The rain and wind begin slamming against the shed

There is no hope of venturing out for supplies so he tries to get comfortable for the night

Harlan had tries to get some sleep but the wind was too loud 

He used the time to figure out his next steps

Turning on his lamp he grabs his diary

[align=left]Entry 4 - Crazy storm tonight, feels like a hurricane coming through the camp.  Was hoping to start looking for more supplies but there is no hope in going out.  Once I am able to, I plan on heading further north to see what is there and to see if I can leave some type of sign for Shane.  My food supplies are ok right now but I need to find more.  I am thinking of trying fishing along the coast, maybe hunting in the woods??  While searching through some of the smaller villages, I have noticed many green houses.  I'll look into starting some crops.

[align=left]Still no sign of life across the way on the island.  Will continue to watch

Harlan puts his diary away and turns off his lamp

[Ronan]

This is getting very interesting...

[Harlan]

This is getting very interesting...

Tks guys, really enjoying it

[Harlan]

Harlan feels the warmth of the sun on his face as he slowly opens his eyes

Hearing the birds chirping he sits up checking out his hand

"Looks good"  he thinks to himself

"Now lets see if we're still not in Kansas anymore"

As Harlan opens the shed door he is temporally blinded

The sun fills the small shed, instantly warming Harlan's body

He raises his arm trying to adjust his eyes to the sun

Taking a step forward he takes his first look

"Damn, still in hell"

Harlan says out loud, looking at the lifeless island across from him

"At least its sunny out"

Harlan grabs his bag and pulls out his canteen

After a few drinks and a few bites of the canned peaches he had found

Harlan sites to plan out his day

Realizing he is low on water and food

and remembering acouple greenhouses in the town down the hill

He decides he'll first walk down to the well and fill up on water

Hopefully there will be some supplies there to start planting crops

He sets off for the town

Once finishing filling his canteen and finding some tomato seeds

Harlan heads north

Starting to feel good about knowing his surroundings

he cuts through a field knowing where the small town he went to the other night is

From there he plans on continuing north for awhile

Hopefully he will find a way to leave some type of sign for Shane

As he walks up the hill he looks towards the east

Six building sit way off in the distance

All looking identical, Harlan believes its the start of the city he was in earlier

By the time he got to the last place he could remember, the sun was starting to set

A sign on the road listed two towns

One to the south 

which he knew was where he had gotten water

And one to the north

" I think thats Russian" he thinks to himself

The arrow pointing north he at least understood as he continues on the road

After awhile Harlan notices many structures on the road

Several barriers are placed to stop traffic and a tent is setup at the end

Obviously military, he cautiously moves to the tent

Finding nothing, he notices a gate with a small building on the other side

He opens the gate and goes inside

Seeing many hospital scrubs and a first aid kit

he figures the area must have been an evacuation spot at some point 

A long road goes into the woods but Harlan decides to keep heading north

Being as dark as it is, he knows going deep into the woods could be a bad idea

He'll come back another day

He heads north, back on the road he was originally on

A few more miles up the road Harlan see's what he's been waiting for

It was a golden globe shining in the moonlight that he first noticed

He pulls out his binoculars and see's what he thinks is a church of some type

along with many other buildings

He approaches cautiously, looking for any signs of life

Once at the church, Harlan starts to look around

It was a decent size town

not the city that was to his east but big enough that he might find some good supplies

The first three houses had nothing in them as Harlan was starting to get frustrated 

Leaving the forth house empty handed, he was getting pissed

 Then he entered his fifth house and almost fell down

"Holy Shit" he says as he looks at the room in front of him

Things were everywhere

Clothes, shoes, bags, food

It looked like a fully stocked survival store

Then reality came back and Harlan started to get real nervous

"No way this isn't someone's place and stash...."

Harlan starts to back out of the house and closes the door

"and I'm not trying to meet them this way"

He runs up the road and see's the edge of the woods ahead of him

Almost feeling the owner or owner"s are chasing him

he sprints to the woods

Once at the edge he stops at a tree and catches his breathe

His mind racing he heads back south wanting to get back home to think things over

He knows the supplies he wants are probably inside that house

But he also knows whoever put that stuff there had to go find it first

and if it was him, he'd be alittle mad if someone came in and took it

Plus other then his handgun and a few rifle shots

he doesn't feel heavily armed

"Maybe go back and leave a note?" he thought

"Maybe they are just traders?"

All the way back to camp he thought about turning around

But each time he figured a bad outcome and would talk himself out of it

No matter what he was going to do, he knew he was gonna wait until it was light out

He gets to the shed and stretches out

Thinks about maybe trying the group on the radio, he had heard some chatter the other night

but then decided to sleep on it and goes to bed

  

  

[Harlan]

"NO!!!!"

 Mativy screams as one of the bandits pulls a knife to Lena's neck 

Harlan rushes to his bag, hoping to get to his gun 

He is met with a swift hit to the head from the butt of another bandits rife 

Shane jumps at the bandit, only to get hit across the face 

The bandit holding ther knife to Lena's throat looks at Mativy and asks 

 "Is this your wife?" 

Mativy looks at his wife, his eyes filling up with tears 

 "Please, don't hurt her, please you guys can have whatever you want, just please..." 

BAM!!BAM!!BAM!! 

Mativy is cutoff mid-sentence by the bandits hand gun

Harlan jumps up from the crack of thunder

Looking outside he see's its another rainy morning

He opens the doors to the shed and looks to the sky

"Hopefully it won't keep up all day" he thinks to himself

He then looks towards the island across the way

Grabbing his binoculars he looks for any signs of life

"Its got to be some type of miltary base"

"Whatever it is, it looks secure"

Harlan knows he can't get to far ahead of himself

Shane is the most important thing right now

But he also knows they will need something more then a shack for a home once he finds him

After a few minutes of studying the island

the rain starts to slow down

Harlan gathers his things and heads back north

His plan is to check out that road going into the woods he had passed last night

As much as he wants to pass the gate and go back to the stash house

He just wasn't sure how without getting himself into trouble

Meanwhile he hopes to find some medical supplies in whatever is down that road

After awhile Harlan gets to the road block and gate

Entering he slowly walks down the road, being very careful

After a few yards he begins to see some structures

Two large buildings surrounded by a large fence

Another check point sits at the entrance

Harlan walks to the farthest building

being careful once inside

After carefully inspecting each floor he exits the building

Only finding a blood transfusion bag, he walks to the front of the second building

"Some type of hospital I guess?"

Harlan searches the second building not finding anything useful

Finding a seat in the lobby, he opens his bag and gets a drink of water

His stomach grumbling, he looks to the sky

"Turned out to be a nice day"

Figuring it must be close to noon

and wanting to get some food in him and try Shane on the radio again

He heads back south

[Harlan]

Harlan slowly walks up to the shed on top of the hill

All he has been thinking of the last couple weeks was that ugly shed

He pushes open the door

Holding his breathe, hoping that Shane might be sitting inside

He takes a look

Only seeing the empty cans and burnt out fire he had left behind

"Damit"

Harlan says out loud as he walks inside the shed

He drops his bag on the ground and finds his old spot along the wall

"Well that was one hell of an adventure"

His eyes start to shut as he thinks of the past few weeks

[Harlan]

As the wind blows the loose doors of the shed

Harlan rolls over

all too well familiar with the squeaky sound

he realizes once again where he is

Not knowing if he should be happy or sad

he gets to his feet and looks outside

His eyes adjust to the sun as he looks towards the island

Again not knowing if he should be happy or sad to look at the mysterious island once more

He hears his stomach groan and walks back to the shed

grabbing his bag to get some food

Opening up a can of peaches he reaches for his journal

knowing what he is ready to admit to himself

[align=left] Entry 5 - Its been afew weeks since my last entry.  Still not sure the date but I know I was out exploring for at least 3 weeks.  Back at the camp now after a crazy trip.

Harlan stops writing

The enormity of his circumstances fighting his heart

Looking towards his bag

he sees the few cans of food he has left

The one canteen of water

the dull knife and ax

His ripped pants and worn out boots

The past few weeks made Harlan look at his own survival

He fought the ideas that slowly crept into his head

Should he be out in the woods?

Almost falling to the infected several times

One cutting his arm while he was getting some water

He had to run leaving his bag behind with most of his supplies

He almost froze that night 

Finding warmth in a van with a blanket in the back

It was that night he first thought that Shane was dead

Or that it wasn't smart to keep looking for him

He realized then

that he had to start worrying more about himself 

and not his brother

[align=left] I headed back north to the town with the traders house.  I wanted to at least leave a note, hoping they might know something about Shane.  Once I got to the town, I noticed what I thought was someone going into a house.  When I approached I called out acouple times not trying to surprise anyone.  I went to the back of the house and was face to face with an infected person.  I almost didn't know what to do until I heard him yell and I turned and ran.  Once in the street I saw three more infected coming from all directions.  I ran as fast as I could towards the woods and didn't stop till I couldn't hear them anymore.

[align=left]Yes the infected are here!!

[align=left] That's when I started to lose track of time and days.  I hid in a hunting stand, figuring I was gonna head back to camp once morning came.  It wasn't till morning I realized my compass was gone.  I had no idea where I was and no idea which direction camp was.  I knew if I got to the shore I'd be able to find the island, and I could continue looking for Shane and leaving notes.  I looked at the sun and figured out south and headed out.  

[align=left] After what I'm guessing was three days I came to a big city.  I was almost out of food so I started looking for supplies.  I was getting water from a well and filling my canteen when I felt someone grab my arm.  An infected had snuck up behind me and now was on top of me.  I managed to get away but lost my bag at the well.  I thought about trying to go back but after my first experience I decided to keep looking for the shore.

Harlan looks down at his arm

His cuts almost healed

thoughts of what being cut by an infected might do

still in the back of his head

He felt good

or as good as someone calling a shed home

During the end of the world

while looking for his probably dead brother

could be

[align=left]I was able to bandage my arm from the rags I made from my hat.  I also had my half filled canteen, a can of food and a knife.  It took acouple more days to get to the shore but it was a very happy moment.  A small town was also there and no infected.  I found some more rags for my arm and some more food.  Also a gun with a few bullets.  Not really sure how many more days it took till I came to the airfield and town I recognized.  I decided to stop by the well to fill up on water.  Knowing not to keep my back turned too long, I noticed an infected coming down the street.  As I got ready to run I saw it was a normal person.  Or as normal as one can be now.

[align=left]Once he saw me he stopped and introduced himself.  He told me his name was Richards, what sounded like an English guy.  Said he was on holiday before everything went to hell.  He said he was jumped by a group of bandits and that they had killed people while making him watch, that they then burned his face.  I guess leaving him for dead.  He had a bandanna wrapped around his face and spoke with a rasp.  He told me that the bigger town north of the airfield, had a good group called the "helpers"?? I think he said.  He said that no one can survive out here on their own and that they would help.  He also said something about them "Saving" people.  He was alittle out there at times but took me to the shore in front of the island.  He also said that the island had a group called the "regulators" and to stay clear of them.  This has me wondering what I should be doing right now???

Harlan feels his throat start to tighten

A growing pain in the pit of his stomach

[align=left] I'm starting to wonder if Shane is even alive??

There he had wrote it down

He couldn't hide from the thought any longer

Even if he scratched it out he'd know it had been there

As much as he felt like crying

He also felt relieved

He knew he could never give up on finding Shane

But he also knew he had to start worrying about himself

and that he needed to find a new camp

A new life

 I'm going to head back north to the traders house.  Look for some more people and try to find out more about these groups.  Not really sure if I can trust Richards words.  But I need to find out. He said he had something he had to do and didn't know if he would come out alive.  And to tell people about him.  Then he headed north towards the mountains.

Harlan puts his journal back into his bag and gets to his feet

Looking around to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything

He pushes open the shed doors

and heads north

In hopes to find some friends

and hopefully get some answers

 

[Harlan]

Once getting to the town with the traders house

and his first infected attack in a longtime

Harlan starts to look around

None of the houses seem to have any signs of life

or infected life

Thinking maybe the person moved

Harlan continues north

As Harlan walks along the road

he wonders about Richards

He hopes he was ok

he actually was hoping to run into him by now

He wondered about the groups he talked about

The Helpers

the ones who were saving people

The Regulators

the ones to watch out for

Harlan then looks up

seeing what looks like a rocket on the top of a mountain

He had lost his radio awhile back

so he thought it might be a place to checkout

The sun was starting to set so Harlan decides to sit and eat first

As he opens another can of peaches

he looks up at the tall structure

"There's gotta be someone up there"

Harlan then watches as the sun turns the sky purple

and he almost feels like he's in a normal place once again

It was completely dark once he reached the base of the mountain

As he starts to climb his eyes adjust to the darkness

After about 20 minutes Harlan thinks he hears voices ahead of him

He doesn't want to scare anyone

and wants to know what he's walking into

So he slowly walks forward

After three or four steps

gun fire rings out

Harlan can see people all over running and shooting

He turns and runs back down the mountain

Not stopping till he hears nothing but his own heart racing

Feeling exhausted but still scared

Harlan keeps walking finding a dirt road heading East

After acouple small towns and what feels like 100 miles

Harlan feels the sun start to come up over his shoulder

He finds a tree to sit under and eat breakfast

Knowing he should stop and find a place to rest

he also knows he needs to feel safe

Finishing his can of beans

Harlan starts back down the road

Hoping for a better day

About an hour later Harlan see a guy running towards him

Coming out of a larger town

Harlan introduces himself and tells the man about Shane

Told the man he was looking for people who could help him

The man said his name was Mr. Chang

That he was busy and couldn't talk long

Mr. Chang explained that there was no one around that could help

He pointed in each direction

and said he'd get robbed each way he went

Mr. Chang then ran off

Harlan thanked him for the information

Feeling alittle unsafe

Harlan keeps walking down the road

watching carefully as he walks through the town

Towards the edge of town

Harlan see another person running towards him

As the man approaches

he waves and introduces himself as Dougie

Harlan waves back giving his name

Dougie asks Harlan if he knew 

"the guy running down the street?"

and points behind him

Harlan tells him no

but tells Dougie about meeting Mr. Chang not far behind

and that it could have been him

Harlan then asks Dougie if there were more people up the road

Dougie explained that there were many people in the area

He didn't make things sound as bad as Mr. Chang

Dougie said he was headed south to look around

Harlan asks if he had ever heard of "The Helpers?"

and explained his run in with Richards

Dougie said he hadn't heard of The Helpers

but that The Regulators were "messed up people".

Said they were trying to enforce laws

"Their laws" Dougie says

Harlan halfway laughs thinking he use to camp across from them

Harlan heads back up the road looking for more people

As he starts to think of his last two run in's

He gets mad that he forgot to ask Dougie about his red arm band

He seemed like a nice person

and hopes the next person he comes across

with a red armband is just as helpful

[Harlan]

Entry 6 - So many days have passed and so many things has happened.  I tried to reach the traders house to the north but was cut off by a group of infected.  After a day of wandering the forest I came across a town that seemed clear of infected.  I was getting water when I was jumped by 2 guys.  They said they were "sorry" but needed help.  After 3 more days of building back supplies I found myself sitting in front of a campfire cooking up a chicken a had killed at a farm I came across.  By the morning I was puking my guts out and burning up.  I couldn't keep anything down for 3 days.  Finally woke up on the shore with nothing but my diary and pen.  Not really sure what to do now......

Is Shane still alive???

[Harlan]

Harlan closes his diary

He looks out in front of him

Beautiful mountain

 all the fall colors shining in the bright sun

Not really sure what to do anymore he closes his eyes

He sees his Mom

Doing dishes in the kitchen

His brother Shane talking about some car he was saving up for

Harlan starts to think about Sergey and Alex

Laying in their own blood

About Mativy

Was he dead?

He thought to himself

"Might just be easier"

He says out loud

He opens his eyes knowing this isn't the first time he has had this thought

Killing himself has seemed like a real option to him

He has been looking for Shane for what feels like months

The people he has run into have never seen or heard anything

"What left is there in this new world?"

He again says aloud

As if someone was there talking with him

Then Harlan thinks of those people he came across

Other than the bandits that jumped them in the beginning

and the two the took his supplies later

Most of the people he has met seem to be good people

Everyone was helpful in some manner

He thinks

"I know I can survive"

"I've been surviving"

Harlan once again says out loud

With his mind now on living 

He starts to think of what he needs

"We have to go get medical supplies"

"Too many times I've gotten...."

Harlan stops himself mid sentence

"Who the fuck am I talking to?"

Trying to stay focused on supplies

Harlan thinks of the medical camp he came across awhile back

Knowing it was towards the west

Harlan stands up and looks at the now setting sun

"Guess we're headed west"

Still not wanting to give up on Shane

He heads west in search of the camp

Hoping to hear some news on his brother

Something that will prove he's alive

Or even the others that he was with

"The one's that made it..."

[Harlan]

Harlan walks throughout the night

Stopping at a small cabin to get some rest

Looking around he finds a knife 

"Finally something I can open these cans with"

He was lucky enough find a backpack with several cans of food in it

As Harlan sits at a table he opens up some beans

He smiles to himself 

Not knowing the last time he had an appetite

He throws another log onto the fire he built

and takes another bite 

It was the gun shots that woke Harlan

Looking up he adjusts his eyes to the light

BAM...BAM....BAM

Three shots ringout

Harlan can tell the shots are coming from up the road

He creeps out of the cabin heading towards the shots

BAM....BAM

Two more shots as Harlan hears shouting

He runs into a house just to see a guy running

BAM....BAM...BAM

Assuming the guy running is being shot at

Harlan crouches down by the window and watches

The guy runs out of view 

and soon the gun shots seem to finish

Still not sure about going outside 

Harlan looks out the other side of the house

BAM...BAM...BAM

"Shit!!!"

Harlan screams

thinking the shots are for him now

He runs back into the room he was in before

not knowing if he should run or stay

Just then the guy that was running early 

runs right into the house

He surprises Harlan as much as Harlan surprises him

The guy introduces himself as Paul

Tells Harlan he was just looking for supplies

Goes on to tell Harlan the shots are from another guy out in the field

That he was shooting at a bunch of zombies

Feeling better Harlan goes outside with Paul 

and begins asking if he had seen Shane

Paul tells him no and the part ways

As Harlan enters the next town he hears two people

Getting closer to the house he can tell one of the voices is Paul

Harlan enters the house to find Paul with another guy

Looking more like a woodsmen he introduces himself as Hunter

He seems very nice but has a surgical mask on 

and asks Paul to administer a saline bag to him as we are talking

Harlan begins to ask Hunter about Shane and tells him the story of how they were separated

He also asks if either know where the medical camp is towards the west

"Ya, I know where you mean"

Hunter tells Harlan

He offers to take Harlan there as he is in need of some supplies too

Since he has been alone for so long

and Hunter seems like a good guy

Harlan agrees and they both say good bye to Paul

and head South West

As they cross over field after field

town after town

Harlan learns that there are a few more groups out there

Hunter tells him about a group called Kingdom

North from where we met

Hunter explains that he thinks they are friendly

Also that there were two trading groups

One that he should watch his back with

and the other that is out trying to help people

Harlan tells Hunter about his run in with Richards

and what he heard about 

"The Helpers"

Also about Mr. Chang and Dougie

Hunter explained there were alot of strange people out there now

Harlan also told him about the Regulators and the island

Hunter said he hadn't heard of any of the groups

but seemed to know about the island

Sometime during all the talk 

and the occasional stop to look for supplies

They walked up to what looked liked military barracks

"Does this look familiar?"

Hunter asks Harlan

"I'm not sure"

As they walk deeper into the camp

Harlan starts to recognize some things

He checks for a long road up a hill at the front of the camp

Once at the top he sees the road blocks and knows where he is

"I don't know how to thank you"

"You really got me here"

Harlan says to Hunter

He tells him that alittle farther south is the light house he has been camping at

And the house with all the goods in it that started the whole mess in the first place

Hunter tells Harlan that he needs to head back

That he needs to get back to his camp 

with the supplies he had found

"I hope you find your brother Harlan"

"and I'll keep an eye out for him"

Hunter tells Harlan as they part ways

"Wait one second"

Harlan says

"I know you said you like to hunt and fish"

"Take this"

Harlan hands him a thing of netting

"It will help"

Harlan had found the netting with his backpack

and felt he had to repay Hunter somehow

"Thanks Harlan"

"And be safe"

Hunter says as he walks away

After acouple more miles

Harlan reaches the light house

He smiles as he opens the door 

seeing the empty cans 

he had left behind

He felt like he was home again

Sitting at the door he looks towards the island

Wondering why Hunter acted so strange about the island

Or as he called it

a "Prison"

[Harlan]

Entry 7 - Took two days but I made it back to the light house.  Ran into 2 guys (Paul and Hunter) who were friendly.  Hunter took me to the medical camp in hopes of finding supplies and my way back to this light house.

Harlan stops writing

He looks back up at the island 

Thinking of Hunter

not knowing if he was telling the truth about the jail

"He sure didn't want to talk to us about the island"

"He also kept drinking water like he was sick"

"He also knows where we are looking for Shane"

Harlan says out loud

[align=left]Hunter said he knew of the island across the way as a jail.  He said he didn't know if anyone lived on it but didn't really want to talk about it.  He told me about acouple other groups running around.  But when I mentioned the regulators he again stopped talking.  He was very helpful in getting back so I hope to run into him once I find Shane.  Just have to watch out!!!!

"We have to get some sleep"

"Need to look for Shane tomorrow"

"Grab some water down the road in the morning"

Harlan says

[align=left]Hunter also talked about a place called Green Mountain.  We passed it going to the medical camp.  It had a big radio tower you could see from the distance.  Hunter said it was a radio station and that some guy lived there.  Might be a good place to try to go and radio for Shane??

Harlan puts down his diary

Making a pillow out of his backpack

He lays down and shuts his eyes

[Harlan]

"So your boy, how old is he?"

 Harlan asks Sergey

 "14"

"But whats age now a days huh?"

 Sergey replies

"He's a good kid though"

"He listens to his mother"

 He adds

 Harlan looks over at Shane

 sleeping by the fire next to James

"Shane is a good kid"

"I always listened to Mom more"

Harlan laughs

"But he is all I have left"

Sergey asks Harlan if he thinks they well find help in Turkey

"I hope"Answers Harlan"If not we will find another way"

Harlan felt good with the group

He had to brother

He had friends

Harlan looks back at Sergey

Alex leaning against the tree next to him

sleeping.....

As Harlan is about to ask Sergey if he wanted to take the rest of the shift off

to get some sleep before tomorrows journey

BAM

Harlan's goes blind

Blood coverning his face

soaking into his eyes

"Nobody fucking move"

Is all Harlan hears as he wipes his face

"Grab the kid man"

Harlan hears as he trys to adjust his eyes

"I got the old man"

"you two get the women"

Looking at Sergey

Harlan sees half his face is blown off

He looks up at Alex

 just in time to see a masked man cutting his throat

"Noooooo"

Harlan screams

jumping to his feet

"Finish with the kid and get that guy man"

Before Harlan could turn to see who said that

He feels a sharp pain to the back of his head 

Harlan jumps from the shed floor

Covered in sweat

he realizes he was just dreaming

He sits for awhile trying to calm down

Knowing he needs to head out and get some water

and start looking for Shane again