Fragile Diary

'Today marks a year since the Great War. Surprising, isn't it? To think that the disaster that left billions dead would have passed a full year ago… some days, I still wake up thinking my wife will be next to me, my son in the cot near the bed… of course, they're both gone now. I was at work when my wife turned, along with every other female in the world. Turned into ghouls in human flesh, demons under the guise of humanity. When I raced back home after hearing the news, I found her trying to figure out how to open the back door, and she lunged at me the moment she turned.'

'Thank God I had been somewhat prepared, and I jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the bloody hammer in her hand, shot her in the foot to stop her from getting up. But what still haunts my darkest nightmares is the sight of her crawling to me, hammer in hand, staring up at me with those soulless eyes. I just left her there, still hoping she could be saved somehow, and ran up to check on the baby… I can't write down the kind of things I saw that terrible day.'

Some of the words, which looked to have been written with something like ink, had run into each other due to some liquid that had seeped into the pages, probably the author's tears. It took me no small amount of time to decode the smeared words, but the moment I finished reading, I immediately moved on to the next page.

Time lost meaning as I slowly read through the pages, piecing together the clues, understanding just what kind of horrors the people here had fought in the 'Great War'. In fact, as I moved deeper and deeper into the diary, it struck me that all the things that were gradually revealed fit perfectly into the scattered puzzle pieces I had picked up from conversations with the crew, even illuminating phrases I had not understood previously.

My blood chilled as I realized why they had all been forced on the ship: the sea level had started rising ever since the 'Great War' began, something that everyone knew but was helpless to stop. As time went on, they were all forced to retreat to the highlands, where they made a last stand against the abominations that attacked them in endless waves. 

Though the sea did not rise any further, they were still helpless to stop the monsters that threatened them. At last, they decided to send the last of humanity on various ships that had been constructed by their global government, this ship itself being one of them. 

They were outfitted with technology that had been discovered after killing the monsters and some gaining the ability to use magic, mankind's last resort to stay alive as long as possible… not that there was any point, with there being no future to be told of: no more children would ever be born, no new generation to carry the dying torch of humanity.

Then, as I continued to leaf through the pages, a phrase suddenly leapt out at me. A chill ran down my spine as I confirmed the words that had been written. 

'Today, Timmy disappeared from the ship.'