These diaries were discovered by Lance Corporal Krishno Alekov after his unit was sent to the state of Chernarus. Nobody really knows what happened, we do know some kind of infection spread like a plague, wiping out half the population within days. What followed is blurry, reports stopped coming, radios went dead and for weeks nobody was seen alive. Eventually the army was sent in to attempt to restore order to Chernarus and hopefully bring back any survivors. Despite the hundreds of soldiers involved in project “DayZ”, only a handful returned and this journal was the only piece of physical evidence collected from Chernarus.
Day 1
I awoke to the noise of the gentle waves brushing against the shimmering sands, my eyes struggling to focus against the bright glare of the afternoon sun. I struggled to my feet, every limb in my body felt like it was on fire. Resting my hands and knees on the soft sand, I tried to focus my eyes, scanning the area around me. I failed to recognize any of the surroundings. Where am I? How did I get here? These were just some of the questions floating through my mind. I felt so weak, sand coursing through my trembling fingers as they rested on the beach, a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had anything to eat. I eventually rose to my feet, stumbling several times before I was able to get my bearings, only then did the real horror hit me. I could barely stand yet I was faced with endless, dense woodland and empty fields in front, with the endless horizon over the ocean behind, there wasn’t a sign of civilization in sight. I only had one choice, to walk, or die. Before setting out, I turned to the ocean behind me, glaring at the horizon just hoping to find some courage within. It was then I noticed a small backpack half buried in the sand. The pain in my limbs, the trembling of my hands, it all dissipated as I dove towards the backpack with the hopes of finding something to keep me alive.
I tore open the backpack, giving very little care to the steadfast zipper. I began searching frantically through the bag, tossing things everything over my shoulder that would not cease these intense hunger pains. Total despair set in, I’d reached the bottom of the bag with no food in sight. I suppose I should have been happy to find some medical supplies and a torch, but none of those were going to solve the problem at hand, I was starving to death. Disheartened and struggling to move, I rose to my feet and swung the backpack strap over my shoulder. Despite the fact I was in total agony, I knew I had to find some food so I decided to walk into the forest. An eery feeling crept across me like nothing I’d felt before, doom, dread, fear, all rolled up into a single emotion. It was eerily quiet, there wasn’t a bird or animal in sight, I even squinted my eyes to check the ground for bugs but I saw nothing. Not even a bird in the sky. I felt like I’d walked for hours, I had no way of telling for sure but I’ll never forget the intense pains followed by the joyous feeling that swept over me as I approached a clearing at the end of the forest. There, was something I’d seen a million times in my life but now, it was more than just a road, it was a path to survival. If there was a road, there had to be something somewhere.
I strolled down the road, the hunger pains and shakes seemed to disappear with each step I took. It wasn’t long before I noticed a building in the distance, the sun glare heeded my vision slightly so I wasn’t able to make it out fully, but it meant civilization wasn’t far away. As I got closer I noticed several figures stumbling around, I grinned from ear to ear and picked up my pace. As I got closer I waved my arms in the air and began shouting “Hey there”, “I need some help”. I felt confused, they didn’t reply, or even acknowledge that I was there. I ignored it and carried on. Suddenly I noticed a figure running out from the brush at the side of the road, the other figures surrounding the building suddenly sprang to life, chasing the man at the speed of an Olympic runner. I didn’t know what to make of it, had he done wrong? Did I stumble into the middle of something I really didn’t want to be involved in? It wasn’t long before I found out. The man was able to allude the lightning fast pursuers, but only until he tripped trying to leap over a fence. I felt the color drain from my face, the weakness returning to my knees, and the dreaded stomach pains crippling me again. I fell to my knees, only my hands stopped me from falling face first into the hot tarmac. I glimpsed up, trying to locate the fallen man and what I saw would change my life forever. Five figures now surrounded the downed runner, all crouched around him clawing rapidly at his body. At first I thought they were going to mug him, until a cloud covered the blinding glimpse of the sun giving me a clear view of the situation. They were eating him. Tearing his arms away from his body, ripping through his clothes, each one taking chunks of flesh and swallowing them whole. I forced myself to stand, exhausted and terrified, I ran off the road towards some brush at the top of a nearby hill. I didn’t look back, even once. I couldn’t stop thinking “Are they behind me?”, “Did they notice I was watching?”. But I didn’t care, the answers to those questions were irrelevant if they managed to catch up with me too. I made it to the tree line and took comfort hiding behind a giant oak tree. I leaned against the sturdy trunk, head in hands as I slid down to the floor. What was I meant to do now? What the hell was going on? The fears and questions in my head soon pushed to one side by the returning pain of my starving body. I was exhausted, I could hardly move, “I’ll just stop here for a minute” I thought. My eyes felt like heavy weights, unable to keep them open, my body gave in and I drifted off to sleep.
Reports are coming in from Washington. Further diary entries will not be released until a full inspection has been carried out by the CDC and the military. We’re confident that this is the full entry for the first day, but there’s been no official confirmation of that as of yet. We will release further entries as soon as the military grants permission for it to be released to the press, stay tuned!
