I'm not dead.
At least, I think I'm not. It's hard to tell. I don't really know what to think anymore. Deb is gone. Everyone's gone.
I woke up in a ditch in the middle of the woods a few hours ago. They left my phone. I thought maybe they'd just forgotten it, but when I found it, the password was disabled and all my data had been scrubbed. Pictures, video, anything I'd taken in Redwood was gone. At first, I couldn't remember anything that had happened. It was like my brain was blocking it out, like on some subconscious level, I didn't want to remember. They left my clothes, at the least. I suppose if they had any real interest in killing me, they would've dumped me in the woods naked. Took my gun, though. I guess if I run into a bear, I'm pretty fucked.
These are definitely the woods around Redwood. Same kind of trees, same landscape. I know I'm near Redwood for sure, though. Everything out here reeks of burnt meat. It's deathly silent; no helicopters, no fighters, nothing. Just me and the sounds of my breathing.
I didn't have a compass, so I started heading towards the smell. Only lead I had at the time, unfortunately. It didn't take long to figure out where it was coming from. There was a ravine, about five miles or so from where I started from. The smell was overpowering. I hadn't eaten anything for at least a day or so, but even still, I puked my guts up.
The ravine was full of bodies. Burnt human bodies. I recognized some of them. People from the town, mostly. No gunshot wounds, no bullet casings. They burned them all alive. The smell of gasoline was still in the air when I arrived. It couldn't have been more than a few hours since this happened. If Deb was in there, I couldn't see her. I hope she's alright.
Took another few hours to find the road. Signs leading out of Redwood and back towards the highway. Sticking near the trees in case patrols come through. There's smoke rising from where Redwood Falls used to be. I'm not really keen on going back and seeing if anyone made it out.
The road seems to go on for miles. No food, no water. Getting cold. I keep expecting to see figures in the woods, like before, but there's nothing. No eyes on the back of my neck, no uneasiness, nothing. For the first time in weeks, I actually feel truly alone.
I don't know if I like it.
Coming up near the highway on ramp now. I'll see if I can get a ride back to civilization.
