I’ve been working hard at Deimos, not only with cleaning the lab and getting us back to some normalcy after the earthquake, but to help bring the community into a better state of existence. As a newer senior staff member among the scientists, I’ve been assigned the task of working on forming a team. The water treatment plant is of the utmost importance. Not only for Deimos, but for the town as well if we wish to keep a clean system of water flowing through the pipes. I have a few dedicated people looking to help in the restoration of the water treatment plant. Unfortunately, as time has progressed, I haven’t been as focused on the project as I should be. My personal life, I suppose, has put a small hindrance on my work, including Phage Therapy that could eradicate the H.Pylori from the running water supply.

The main focus of my energy, has been on my wife. As I write this, I am sitting on the floor near her bedside in the hospital. She’s been scavenging for baby supplies, and has manage to land herself in the hospital twice now due to overexertion. I can’t be too mad at her. Elaine did what she thought was best to protect her, and our twin babies. That’s also a new development isn’t it? I forgot to write that we learned we were having twins! According to her latest ultrasound they did on her, we’re having a baby boy, and a baby girl. Honestly, I was in shock, and not expecting this at all, but Elaine and I will love them no matter what happens to the world. Though supplies may be an issue, we’re prepared to do what it takes to keep them both well in this new world of ours.

I couldn’t help but wonder that day if my kids will get the chance to have their own babies, and if they did, would they have the same privilege we received? To have Elaine checked on, given vitamins, and to be able to see them before they are even born. With each passing day, our situation gets grimmer. Sure, I’m with Deimos, and they keep my family and I alive. We’re protected, but survival isn’t a guarantee these days. Elaine’s been attacked twice by the infected. Both times she went to the hospital fearing she was going to miscarry the babies. It’s scary to think that the dead could prevent my children from even being born. By now people are even seeing babies and pregnancy as a burden, and that it’s not worth going through. Regardless of what the future might hold, whether the issue gets worse and the human population cease to exist, we aren’t going to achieve anything by thinking that it’s pointless to have children. If we hope to get past this disease, we need to greet every new life with open arms. Without that, we might as well put up the white flag now and let the infected take us all. No matter what people might say, or what the future may hold, my family makes my life bearable. I work hard to try and find a cure, or solution to problems that will help us survive. In my free time, I can see my wife. As time progresses, I want to hold my children, and wholeheartedly believe that if I fail, they will keep mankind thriving. I’m not cursed, and my children certainly aren’t a mistake. They will bless my life. Sure, It will be hard, but what would the future hold for me otherwise? I’d rather feel like a human being then a lab rat.

~Peter Perkins