Dear Survivor,

Dear Survivor, May 16th, 2017 The brothers spent all day today drinking more wine. I was almost certain they had already drank everything there was but obviously I was wrong. I guess they were so quiet yesterday because they were, indeed, hung over. It looked as if that hangover had since subsided so it was time to make another. All three of them spent a large portion of their drunken day in the office. For some reason they decided to keep me company today. They didn’t say much to me, I think they were just doing it to rub in the fact that they had ample amounts to drink and that they were having such a good time. I, again, stayed silent the entire day, even when I was spoken to. I didn’t want to make this any more enjoyable for them than it already was, but I was also holding onto the small possibility of them opening the door to see if I was still alive. I wasn’t quite sure what I would do if they did, but even the thought was very appealing. Unfortunately, the door remained nailed shut the entire day. Due to the weakened state I was in because of the lack of food and water, I was drifting in and out of sleep practically the entire day. I was trying my hardest to stay awake because I knew that I would eventually not wake up, but I simply couldn’t fight it. One good thing about the constant sleep was that it made the day go by very quickly. Before I knew it the sun had gone down and the infected were once again groaning on the other side of the wall. I fell asleep once again but this time was woken up to the greatest surprise I had experienced ever since the infection started. A massive thunderstorm had started and the old church apparently needed a new roof because a steady stream of water was falling onto my face. Just the feeling of the water on my face gave me so much joy that I began laughing. I opened my mouth wide and allowed the water to fill it and I took the greatest drink of water I had ever had. The water itself didn’t taste so great as it was probably mixed with dust and dirt from the ceiling, but I was not in any mood to be picky about what I was getting. The storm was very loud, one of the loudest I had ever experienced. The thunder was cracking so loudly that it was causing the entire church to shake. The wind was so powerful that I thought the steeple might be blown off of the church. The lightening was constant and bright enough to light up the entire closet so much that, if I didn’t know any better, I might think the sun was out. Now that I had my first drink of water in days I was feeling well energized, even though I knew it was just a placebo effect so I needed to act quickly. I knew that this was my best chance of escaping. The brothers had again been drinking the entire day and had gone back to the pews and were, most likely, in a deep sleep. I had to hope that the amount of alcohol they consumed was enough to cause them to sleep through such a loud storm. The loud and continuous thunder would camouflage any noise I would make while I breaking the door open. The crackling sound of the thunder resembled that of breaking wood so, even if one of the brothers did hear it, they probably wouldn’t think twice about it. Even the lightening was beneficial because it would help light up the room so I wouldn’t bump into anything while walking through. I pressed my ear against the door just to make sure I didn’t hear anyone moving or talking on the other side. It was hard to hear over the storm but I was confident that the coast was clear. I tucked my journal in the back of my pants, stepped back to the far wall to get a running start and charged my shoulder into the door with as much force as I could gather. I was right; the door was very weak and cracked with the first hit. One more strike would do it. I paused to make sure nobody was coming, and nobody did. I made one more charge at the door and this time it broke completely open. I wasn’t able to get out just yet, though. The desk they put on the other side of the door felt extremely heavy in my emaciated state. I kicked the door over and over again until there was just enough room for me to squeeze through the small gap. I squirmed my way over the desk and fell to the floor on the other side, where I just laid on my back and laughed for a few moments, taking in the feeling of self-accomplishment for finally being able to get out. I took a deep breath and made my way to my feet. I stood in the doorway just to take in my surroundings so I could strategically plan on what I was going to do. The lightening lit up the room, allowing me to see the brothers each spread out in their own pews, fast asleep. The floor was covered in broken glass from them throwing their empty wine bottles. The glass would certainly make it difficult to get through without waking any of them but it was a chance I was going to have to take. The thunder cracked loudly as I began my walk to the front door. Wyatt was sleeping on the front pew, right on the aisle, so I was doing my best to be as quiet as possible as I walked past him when a lightening strike reflected off of something shiny tucked in Wyatt’s left arm. It was my baseball bat. There was no way I was going anywhere without my bat. My grandfather gave me that bat and it didn’t belong with anybody but me. The bat was, fortunately, just lying on top of his arm so I was able to very gently lift it away without him noticing. “Hello, ol’ friend,” I whispered to the bat. I managed to make it to the front door when I heard the sound of a gun c*****g behind me. I froze as I felt my heart sink. “Turn around, Dean,” said Wyatt, his voice trembling. I slowly turned around and looked Wyatt in the eyes. The lightening lit up his face and I could see that he was about ready to cry. He didn’t want to do what he was doing but he was too scared of what his brothers would do if they found out he let me go. “Just go back in the closet. This doesn’t need to go any further. I won’t tell Mark or Sid,” he said with his shotgun pointed directly at my face. “Why are you so scared of them?” I asked. “They’ll never know that you let me go. Everything will be fine.” “You don’t understand. If you leave then all of their frustrations will be directed at me again. They’ll blame me for you leaving whether they know I let you go or not. They’ve bullied me my entire life but with you I finally get a break. I know it sounds selfish but you would understand if you were in my situation.” “Then come with me. Leave them and we’ll go to the sanctuary together.” “No. They’ll find us. Besides, you can’t go out there right now anyway. The freaks are everywhere, you won’t make it a minute.” “Who said anything about going outside?” He looked at me with a confused look on his face as I swung my baseball bat as hard as I could, connecting with the side of his head. He dropped his gun and fell to the ground. I didn’t knock him unconscious but I definitely hurt him as he curled up in the fetal position, holding the side of his head. I ran to the front door and opened it just a crack when I heard Mark and Sid wake up. “What the Hell is going on!?” yelled Sid. They both got to their feet and noticed Wyatt lying on the floor in pain. They looked around and saw me standing at the bottom of the ladder that led up to the bell tower. The dumbfounded look on their faces brought me such joy that I actually smirked at them and climbed up the ladder faster than I ever thought I could. The adrenaline got me into the bell tower before either of them even made it to the ladder. I closed the door in the floor and latched it. The rain was blowing in through the windowless bell tower and the wind was so powerful that the bell was actually swaying back and forth, but not enough to make any noise. It wasn’t long before Mark was up the ladder, pounding on the door below me. “Get out of the way, Mark!” yelled Sid. Gun shots began going off as bullets cut through the bottom of the floor but I was standing in an area that he was unable to hit from down there. Sid’s anger got the best of him because the latch on that door was not very strong and Mark would’ve probably gotten through just by hitting it, but Sid made him get down, which gave me the time to grab the thick rope and pull down hard, causing the bell to sway more than the wind already had. After a few strong tugs the bell began to chime loudly. This bell was once used to alert the entire neighborhood that service was about to begin so it was more than capable of getting the attention of the infected that wandered the area below. The infected began their loud shrieking as I watched them begin to stream into the church from the safety of the tower. I could hear all three of the brothers screaming below me as more gunshots went off but this time, not directed at me. The infected were sprinting towards the church from as far as I could see. The gunshots didn’t last long but the screaming continued on for a solid minute, almost as if the infected knew I wanted these guys to suffer. Just when things got quiet and I thought it was over, I saw Sid come running out of the church into the street. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him holding the stump where his left arm used to me. He stopped for a moment and looked up at the bell tower. Whether or not he was able to see me staring at him, I don’t know. It was as if he wanted to take one last look at the person that was able to kill him. The infected quickly piled in on top of him as he let out his final scream. I watched as dozens of them gathered around Sid’s lifeless body and simply tore him to shreds. The infected remained gathered around him for at least 15 minutes until I decided I had enough for one night and laid down on the floor to get away from the rain that was soaking my entire body. It may seem very cold hearted but part of me really enjoyed what I had just done. I did the right thing when I showed mercy and let them into the church in the first place and they repaid me by holding me captive and leaving me for dead. All I was doing was returning the favor. I don’t find it cold hearted at all. The sun has since risen, the storm has stopped, and the infected have gone back into hiding. Now that there’s light I am able to see Sid, or what’s left of him, in the street. His body has been torn into multiple pieces; only his right leg and his head remain attached to his torso. His insides are on the outside and I am able to see the skull that was behind that massive beard. Still, I feel no remorse. Even in the non-virus world I wouldn’t have wanted him around. Him and his brothers are the kind of people that were a drain on society and were probably in and out of jail. The world is much better off without them. I know there are infected inside the church still because I can hear them underneath me. So before I attempt to get out of this bell tower through the tiny window, I’m going to get some sleep because, for the first time in days, I can finally relax. Best wishes, Dean