You Must Continue My Legacy... You... You Must...

[CW: blade]

Sweat dripped from the nape of Colby's neck all the way down his back for a full hour before he decided sleep wasn't coming. The night air outside his expedition group's tent was unfamiliar; the air never smelled normal anymore, all these undercurrents and secondary layers and what have you, and all the more unpleasant because most of the layered scents were of burnt food or flesh. Still, any cool was welcome. He stood some ways away from the tent, face to the forest, bathed in the clear, translucent light of the moon.

Funny. They had never felt so close to nature before.

The first prickle down their spine was enough to send them into high alert. He spun 360 degrees on the spot, his focus on the movement and refusal to feel embarrassment (emotional sphere dominated by and large with an acute sense of panic) rendering it a rather graceful pirouette, before his sharp eyesight identified the problem. He just barely managed to stop himself from screaming.

In the Eirsasi forest ahead of them, half-concealed by dark, low-hanging leaves, was a gleaming white face. With a sinking feeling he wished he could ignore, Colby realised he recognised it all too well.

A changed man, Colby fingered the hilt of the knife in their pocket, ready for anything. But, of course, although he hadn't physically become accustomed to this reality yet, deep down he knew there was half a chance his ex-teammate wouldn't react at all.

Half a chance they wouldn't even approach.

The quietude was unsettling. Not even any wind tonight. Just the soft snores of people who'd come along on this expedition – for him, because he asked, because he wanted this, he'd led people into danger – and the unsettling gleam of two hyper-focused, inhuman eyes fixing him in their stare. Colby gulped, but his throat was dry, and it set him off coughing.

Through streaming eyes, he observed that the zombie stood, stock-still, unreactive. His hand tightened around the hilt of his knife, heart racing. Any movement could destabilise the situation. Any moment, and he could endanger the whole of his camp. Again.

It lifted its foot. Colby flinched. One lumbering step outward; one massive thunk as its foot landed on the stony ground.

A pause, thick and gelatinous.

It tilted its head, clearly sensing something on the air. The blade was cold and sharp in Colby's hand.

But the blade was never needed.

Its piercing gaze turned away at last, and the creature departed.

Colby was left standing stock-still and silent. The snores of his expedition group somehow seemed gentler. The moonlight was comforting. He was, for the first time, safe.

Updates:

• MH11 condition stable.
• MH12-14 condition deteriorated.
• MJ1-2 newly injected.
• QA4, QE6 succumbed.
• ██████ condition stable.

Notes:

Still no significant difference between strain M treatment groups pre- or post-exposure. MH12 taken longer to deteriorate than any others; unclear if this is due to the treatment. J group created to test increased aluminium adjuvant dosage of 1.2mg. Positive control once again deemed unnecessary.

Cell culture test with Q was once again delayed due to lack of available tissue. Should pursue this as living targets of Q are beginning to dwindle, though many unused plates are available.

██████ has developed no new growths in their fourth week here. Still making jerky, unnatural movements since painkiller supply was withdrawn, but doing so less frequently. Loosening restraints seems to have unfortunately made little difference.

Tomorrow:

• Contact ██████████ to discuss tissue samples.
• Check in on QA,D,E, and MJ.
• Apply third dose to MH11-15.
• Collect seeds for food mix.
• Clean unused cages.
• ███ wants to see ██████. Should be possible.

It seems so much busier here than it did even a month ago. Din Talin is the place to party I suppose, if only I'd realised that sooner. Or perhaps I'm just seeing it more.

Achievements Today:

• Successfully argued against suggested Parett modifications in favour of how it used to be played in the Bastion.
• Finally tried the bramble infusion. Will definitely have a hangover tomorrow.
• Successfully daydreamed a world where my trials work for the 6th day running.
• Reorganised plot to accommodate mystery seeds from our recent expedition.
• Survived the red berries.

Will be returning to the Bastion when possible.¹⁾

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