The Deserters

" Now, when you hear the word Deserter, you think of a coward. I'll tell you, you're almost right. A Deserter is a man who has given up hope. Usually, he runs away. At least, that's what it once was. These Deserters do not fit this description. The ones that you will see have given up something much more precious. They've given up their humanity." -Log 203 of Hunter James Eckart. Missing.

The following is a report from the line of duty. ''This is only a single report on the beings that you will read. There are more out there. Be warned; these beings are not human. Shoot on sight.''

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Log 1

To be honest, I thought these things weren't true when I first heard of them. Well, one of our men is dead, now. It's night, and I can't sleep. There's a man on guard, so I'm safe. I figured that I'd write this out, seeing that I've seen these things in action. I've nicknamed them Deserters. I've done this, because they look like us. They look like hunters. They're dark, so you can't see any features, but something about them just reminds you of something. You can't figure out what it is that's bothering you. Anyway, as I said before, they're dark. You can't see anything. There are no outlines, or features to see. They're like shadows, but they move. They're fully shaped like a human, but it's smooth. Thus, it always appears that you're looking at a image rather than a being. I personally think they use this to their advantage. I think this based on our team's first encounter with them. We were in Luray, an abandoned town in the middle of nowhere. I saw them first, as I was in the back.I looked behind us, and saw two figures approaching. I signaled us to stop, and we watched them. The figures stopped, and they looked at us. We stayed like this for a full minute or so. I think they knew we outnumbered them, because they left after this.

More followed us throughout the town. I know these aren't the same ones as before, because each seemed... different. It was always a new helmet, or a type of coat. Small differences seems prominent from figures that were the same in almost every way. They always followed in pairs of two, and these were the only ones in view. They would walk after us, matching our pace, then they would vanish into the shadows. Five minutes later, another pair would appear in front of us. This pair would watch until we walked past, then we would move after us, and the cycle would repeat.

This ended when about twenty of them appeared in front of us. Our team stopped, but these things didn't. They walked twords us, as the same pace as before. We raised our weapons, but said nothing. I should have said something. I was their leader, still am. Something held me back, though. I think it was the same for everyone.

I opened fire fist, striking down a figure with a large hat. He fell down, and slowly turned into ash. The beings didn't react, they just walked. We all soon opened fire, bringing all of them down. Ash filled the street, and made the air dirty, and hard to breathe. We all stood there, coughing. No one moved. I didn't know what to do. My throat was dry, and I rasped continuously. Reina, my specialist, stood in the middle of some ash, staring at the sky. Something troubled her, but I couldn't figure out that.

That's when it all went the shite. They came like flies. About a hundred of them came from all around us, closing us in. We fought back, but they kept coming. When they reached us, they didn't pull out any weapons or anything. They bit and tore, like animals. Their mouths were black, but you could still see it, somehow. I got bit on my shoulder, and I was the lucky one. We eventually just ran. I later found out we left our marksman behind. I couldn't hear him scream though. Apparently, they have nit his throat.

I'm stopping here. I can't write anymore. My fingers are tired, and my shoulder burns. Its turned black. I pray for the morning to come sooner.

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Log 2