[[All entries are assumed to be written in Russian. For the sake of this Journal the entries are translated into English so the players can follow the story as it progresses.]]

March 2…

There are still four of us…

I found the only place on the island so far that had working showers. It was an old motel out in the suburbs. Suppose it was wishful thinking that the water would be warm.. it wasn’t. On top of that, it was a particularly cold day. That did nothing to help my… condition. I shouldn’t be surprised. If Viagra was still a thing, they’d likely use me as their poster boy if they knew what was wrong with me. But its not.. whatever. Still, I managed to get in a shower, took a bit longer to clean all the blood and grime than expected. I didn’t even hear Angel walk in. She is making a particular habit of catching me when I’m under-dressed, or just plain exposed. After seeing her run out the room the last time, it wasn’t a surprise that she refused to look at me after I walked out. Despite the fact that she was on my bed. Not like it made a difference. We didn’t talk much, but she did explain that the patients in the hospital were getting very violent. That didn’t bode well, especially when she had the bruises to prove it. Nurse or not, if the security at the so called hospital can’t protect their own workers, what good are they? Anyway, she was tired, so I left her sleeping in the motel, while i took another tour of the suburbs.

I managed to evict a few tenants from an old trailer after a while. By tenants I mean, the squatters that were animals, a few wayward rot-heads moving away from that seemed to almost be a pack-like formation, and of course cobwebs and dead leaves. I didn’t evict a lost puppy that was hanging out at the trailer though. Angel would likely want to take it in anyway, so I let it stay. I spent the majority of the day fixing up the trailer. Jade managed to find me as well, and actually offered her help. Found some furniture out back, and went on to try to rig it up so that it was at least usable. Whoever used to live there, must have been pretty well off, until whatever took them away took them, because the bed was probably the most pristine thing in the trailer. What’s better? The Shower worked. Probably drawing from an old reservoir, but it works. A generator for power, enough electricity to run the place with a working fridge, also cleaned out as much as possible, and if we can find a microwave or something.. I might be able to get that working as well. Seemed like hours before i was finally done, and I laid down for a nap. Needed it.. It felt good.

When I woke, I got dressed and went to the pier. There were actually people there for once. Apparently I get noticed everywhere I go, because Angel and Jade seem to have no problems finding me. Marcus, that pub guy, he was there, and another tiny blond with him, who seemed to look at me as though she were staring at something that shouldn’t have been. Maybe she was just high as hell. Wouldn’t surprise me. Still, the business they were talking about, told me a lot about the Trade Company’s owner. The woman was a snake.. Angel also mentioned having a gift for me.. apparently she likes the puppy. I waited for them to get done, before I started to talk business myself.. but then… Some woman walked in, delirious and bleeding all over the place. No surprise that Angel would spring into action, tending to the woman, but I could care less about her. Every time she asked her a question about her injuries, the woman’s answer was, “I don’t know.” Pathetic. She doesn’t know if it hurts, if the person that stabbed her was male or female.. Maybe she tipped over too much while emptying her bladder and fell on a rusty nail. She probably doesn’t know that either. Whatever. Not my concern. The Business lady said her name was, Cake, and she did own the business, but didn’t want to talk about it in front of others. So.. she left and left her security in charge.. and we left, and left the woman that doesn’t anything about her injuries there with the guard.

We decided to get food and take it back to the trailer. As usual, I was left to do the heavy lifting. Angel had long ran ahead, leaving me to carry a full fuel canister all the way to the diner… from the pier. Then after that, she bought enough servings of goat soup to feed a platoon of soldiers and filled it in a water tank. Again, leaving me to carry it, and lug it all the way back to the trailer. I had a few choice words for this, but even when jade offered to help, i wouldn’t let her. The girl needed to be a look out in case some mongrel dog, or rot-head came after us. Somewhere, we lost track of Angel, who managed to catch up with us and meet us at home. Not surprising considering I was playing pack mule. My irritation finally subsided once we got home. That was when I took a load off, literally, and Angel presented her ‘gift.’ It was a shotgun.. and ammo to boot. She’d been mentioning this for the last few days, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

I probably didn’t take it very well. So many mouths to feed, and I’m barely able to scrap together enough to buy water. I don’t know how i feel about this. Jade, and Angel both have been supporting me, taking care of me as though I were helpless and homeless. I think they enjoy it. I am not used to having others fill my mouth with food, or make their money to provide for me. That has never been my role. I work for everything I have, I had… Now I have to sacrifice my pride, and dignity, to eat.. While I’m not ungrateful, it does nothing to make me feel any less of a man. Maybe I’ll sleep it off, and rethink my own contributions to this crew.. Maybe I’ll laugh about it later.. Maybe…