Chapter 8 - And now, for the recap of what happened over the gap...
(AN: Lots of walking, so, as I said, gonna skip some of the entries... as long as it's got significance to the)
February 14, 2021
To the wind,
So, it's Valentines day, huh?
Well, I really don't have anything to miss about this, do I?
I never really got into a relationship with anyone to begin with...
Anyway, moving on from depressing topics like always being lonely, we've been walking for a month. As far as we know, we should be getting closer, but Jake still won't tell how long it would take, or how far we have to go... speaking of which, he's been acting more distant every day, even to his kid.
I don't get it... I should probably ask him what's wrong, but I can leave it for now. I don't wanna get my face ground to a paste.
Later then...
Joseph
March 1, 2021
To the wind,
So, Jake's been getting oddly jumpy about stuff... I don't see any reason for it... maybe there's something I'm missing...
Well... that's all for now... I'll write down anything I find out soon enough...
Joseph
March 3, 2021
To the wind,
Well, lucky us, we found ourselves a refrigerator that hadn't been cleaned by Elpis and her group... at least they left something behind... and I do mean *a* refrigerator... everything else was looted. Kinda makes me think of a corpse picked on by a pack of hyenas... nothing left behind, marrow sucked clean, leaving behind hollowed out bones...
That... was a weird train of thought...
...
Fuck, I really miss being around people... yes I have two travel companions, but no, no one opens their mouth. On the off chance that they do, it's May asking for something to her dad or just trying to talk to him.
I'm just a bystander.
I need someone to talk to...
(Mini J)
I can talk, you know...
(Joseph)
I was just about to add that you don't count... your my diary. Thanks for being here but this doesn't really count.
(Mini J)
...
You're an asshole sometimes, you know that?
(Joseph)
And your a book... a sentient book, but a book none the less...
Anyway, we have to keep moving again. I guess I'll write later then...
Joseph.
May 1, 2021
To the wind,
So... Jake got spooked by an apple...
Yeah, that's the highlight of my day... fucking stupid... the days are getting pretty dull
It wasn't even a particularly bad apple too... sure, it was a bit beaten up, but what can you expect when we put them in a bag with literally everything else we have (mostly food along with some stuff that wouldn't damage the quality of the food like batteries and things with chemicals in them).
Well, that's just about it.
Joseph
(AN: Bear with the start of this day. I didn't cut it out of this for a reason...)
May 4, 2021
To the wind,
I have no clue what this pen is made of and what it has for ink, but this is great... I haven't had a single issue while writing... I mean it's just so smooth...
(Mini J)
No one wants to hear about you rambling about a pen... not me, and not anyone else. Just think of it as a supernaturally good pen that came with a supernaturally amazing book and shut up already...
(Joseph)
Come on, it is a good pen...
(Mini J)
SHUT UP ABOUT THE GOD DAMNED PEN ALREADY! WE GET IT! IT'S A GOOD PEN!
(Joseph)
Wait... what do you mean, "we"?
(Mini J)
Huh? Don't tell me you think I'm the only one of my kind out there...
...
You have no clue, do you?
(Joseph)
No clue about what? You never told me anything...
(Mini J)
If it'll get you to leave me in peace, I'll tell you what I can...
To put it simply, we watch everything and stand by the ones we have...
(Joseph)
You mean you chose me? You're on my side?
Are you telling me you could've helped me?
Then what the hell were you doing when I needed help?!
(Mini J)
Well, picked at random is more accurate, or picked by someone else at best.
I had no choice and, as far as I know, neither did any of the others. They just woke up like this, in these items, no memory of anything before... except for some fragments of what I think were my memories, but I can't be too sure... seeing them... I felt like an outsider peeping into someone else's life...
Anyway, as for helping you, we have our limits. If we cross them, or if you force us to cross them, then we're both dead.
(Joseph)
That... was kinda heavy and all, but how exactly are you supposed to help me if you can't do shit?
(Mini J)
You really shouldn't underestimate how far a little bit of information can go...
(Joseph)
Like if I stayed back in the apartment?
(Mini J)
Yup... you'd be dead by now...
Listen... or read... how does it work for writing? Anyway, I don't know about you, but I'm not thrilled to be with you, but, we're stuck with each other. For the foreseeable future, at least... You keep yourself alive, and I'll give you tips and point you in the direction you need to go to survive.
(Joseph)
...
Fine.
We need to keep moving now. I guess we can continue this later.
Joseph
May 7, 2021
To the wind,
A few days ago, I wrote that Jake was scared by an apple. He ate it a bit after the incident.
It's good to know that he won't be starving on us like that... he still looks worse for wear. All that walking and so little eating.
As for whatever is following us, he seems to be even more worried about it now. I don't know what's going on, but our best bet is to hope that he makes it. Jake's the only one who has an idea of where we need to go and the only one who can see whatever is following us...
I think it's time for me to call it a day.
Night,
Joseph
May 15, 2021
To the wind,
Jake's looking more and more like a skeleton by the second.
He looks like he's being held together by sheer force of will.
I still have no clue as to why he's starving himself... I can't make any sense of it... He's the only one who has the way to this safe region and he's letting himself waste away like this...
I need to talk to him.
It may not be much, but I think if I'm able to help, even by a bit, it'll be good...
I mean, he's got to be worried about what would happen to his kid if he died, right?
Also, before I call it a day, something weird happened today.
So, we were walking along, as usual and I just stop for a second to get something to eat. I set the bag I was carrying down and reached in for basically anything... I used to be a picky eater, but I suppose you don't get those kinds of privileges in this kind of hell.
Anyway, I reached in and felt something weird... the way it felt, I guess the best way to put it is alive... I didn't know what I meant I that. I still don't understand what I meant by it, but that's what it was.
Alive.
In my hand.
I pulled it out and saw it was just a regular orange, but still, something was off. I knew it then and I still do. I didn't imagine it.
Just like I didn't imagine those insects.
I can't see any proof that they were what I think they were, but I know that they were... if that even makes any sense to you...
Something's wrong. That's about all of what I know about this predicament I'm in...
I'll have talk to Jake tomorrow. I'll write it down if I find out anything that's worth remembering...
Night...
Joseph
(AN: Well... I know I skipped a lot of the days, but I'm kind of busy at the moment and so, I took the parts that I felt were important, so, yeah... I need to get back to work as soon as possible... good thing I got this thing done by the time that I did... any later and I would've missed the gap in the entries and would've really been late to publish this chapter...
As for what I'm referring to, there's a blank space in the entries after the last one I put... as in, he didn't have any entries put from the one I just wrote down up till a point in the near future... I'll try to get the next entry out soon enough. Hopefully, I won't have to end up pushing that chapter back too far as well...)