Never in my life did I imagine that I'd be writing in a journal. I've been through a lot in life. I group up in a fairly affluent family, went to med school, and then when I finished decided to join the Marine Corps. I had never been the biggest guy in the room, I'm about medium height, and that always seemed to my advantage. I started doing martial arts when I was young and liked it, getting my blackbelt by age 14, I began learning other disciplines, Judo, Tai Kwan Doe, Karate, I really enjoyed learning them. So when I eventually joined the Marines, it was only natural that as I worked my way up the ranks, that I made it all the way upt o a 5th degree blackbelt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Had I stayed in, I'd have probably gotten to the last belt, but by that point I was ready to return home.

And when I did return home, things were different. My father was dying, and still is. He took me aside and told me that I had a half sister, the result of a fling he had while traveling on business 19 years earlier. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Apparently my mother had no idea either, we were both shocked. I decided that I was going to go find her. It turned out that she was living in Hathian, attending CU. So I made my way down here and got a room at the motel. I began my search, but apparently she was nowhere to be found. One day when I was starting to lose hope, I made my way to the Diner to get something to eat. That's where I met the love of my life, Zia. It wasn't love at first sight. I've always been a bit of a player, as of now 294 women would agree. I figured that she would just be woman number 292 and then I would move on. Fate had other plans.

I try to run 10 miles every day, so when I eat, I eat a lot. The Diner was empty besides myself and Zia, and I had convinced her to join me at the table. That's when they came in. Two lunatics, dressed in zombie clown makeup. A man--whose name I didn't find out until more than a month later--Chase, and then a woman: Sharea, whose name I overheard Chase say when they walked in. Looking back now, I wish I had known how much trouble she would have caused me. I would have just killed her when I had the chance, and then I wouldn't be here writing this journal now, I'd probably be at the hospital seeing patients.

After theyw alked in I knew it was going to be trouble. They started yelling about wanting to speak to the manager, and Zia told them that she wasn't in. They were armed, had a nice variety of weapons on them. At the time I only had my one knife, which I happened to have out since I was using it to cut into the mountain of food I had ordered. When they started yelling I hid it under a napkin, on the off chance that they weren't planning on staying, so I could avoid provoking them. However when Zia turned around to tell them that the manager wasn't in, the two of them started approaching us menacingly. I quickly pulled out my phone and called 911, figuring that they could sort all this out. Unfortunately as I did so, Chase pulled out a 2x4 with nails in it. I thought the call had gone through and that they had heard me, but apparently they didn't, because the police didn't show up. I knew they were going to try to hurt at least one of us, and I couldn't have that, so I dropped the phone on the table. I didn't have time to grab my knife, I just got up and them that it was time for them to leave. Apparently they didn't appreciate that.

Sharea came at me with a knife, and I bolted into action. I slammed my hand into her shoulder, managing to get cut in the process, but my adrenaline was flowing at that point, as well as all my training. She was caught off guard, and I used it to my advantage, twisting her arm behind her, using her as a shield so her friend couldn't come at me with the 2x4. At this point, Zia crawled under the table, taking my phone with her to try to call 911 again since nobody had come. Chase started going after her, and I knew I had to do something. I began wrenching Sharea's arm as hard as I could, with my goal being to cause a spiral fracture. I heard the bone, I knew I had disabled her partially, so I Used her as a weapon. I ran her right into Chase, ramming him into the wall. While he was only dazed for a moment, he was focusing on me now, instead of Zia. When he came at me again I had to let go of Sharea. She had dropped her knife at this point, but was still fighting with her other arm, with the arm that I hurt just hanging there limply. I had turned around to try to put down Chase. I threw a punch at his face and it worked, him recoiling, but then I heard movement behind me, Sharea trying to come at me with the knife again. It was a mistake to take my eyes off of an opponent, and in that moment Chase hit me with the 2x4 with the nails in it in the back, and I went down. Luckily the police showed up finally and took Sharea and Chase took their attention away from us. Zia, bless her heart, pulled me with all her strength under the booth. She is one of the strongest women I've ever met, both mentally and physically. Here was was, under the booth, pregnant, and trying to get me to safety. I was bleeding pretty badly and lost consciousness.

When I woke up, the police were still fighting with Sharea and Chase. We took the opportunity to get out of there, Zia helping me to get to the hospital where I lost consciousness again and didn't wake up until the next morning in the recovery ward. It was there where I finally met Lauren Lowtide, my half-sister. She had had a rough time of her own, having just recently killed a man who had abducted her twice and put her through all kinds of psychological torture. She was still in the hospital from it, recovering from the physical wounds she'd recieved from almost a week in captivity. As I heard the story, I couldn't believe it, not understanding how somebody so evil could exist. I had no idea that the city was filled with these kinds of people. Lauren told me the story, told me everything. I could tell that while her physical wounds were healing, she would have to go through a long healing process mentally. She was discharged from the hospital, and I spent a few more days there, with Lauren coming to visit me.

When I finally got discharged, I went to find Zia, managing to find her at the Diner again. Things were different between us. Although we had only met once before, we now shared a bond, having saved each other's lives (had she not pulled me under the table, Sharea and Chase might have tried to finish me off). We talked for a few minutes, and things got passionate, as we started making out. I saw she had a wedding ring, saw that she was pregnant, but it just didn't matter, it felt right. Soon after, her shift was over, and I asked her if we should go back to her place, wanting to talk to her more. However she interpreted it as me wanting to sleep with her, and while I did, that wasn't my intent at the time. When I explained what I had meant she looked embarrassed, but I told her it was no big deal, and we went to her place where we talked for hours. I fell asleep on her couch, and she had apparently put a blanket over me while I slept.

When I woke up the next day, she was there, making breakfast. I asked her about the ring, about her husband, and about the pregnancy. She told me that her husband had been missing for over 4 months, and that the baby was his. She told me that he had been in a life of crime, had planned one last big score, planning to steal from his bosses and then they were going to disappear together. Well it didn't work out, and she got a phone call, telling her to run. That was the last she heard from him. She was understandably upset as she told the story, and I tried to comfort her, and again we ended up making out. Things got a bit heavier, and we made our way upto the bedroom. I wanted to make sure that it was what she really wanted, as I actually cared about her, and didn't want to take adantage of her in her emotional state, but she said that she really wanted it. It was probably some of the best sex I ever had. We made love all day and night, only taking a few short breaks to eat. The next day I left, quite satisfied, and I promised her I would call her. I went to the hospital for a follow-up appointment, and then went and met with Lauren at the Gein. It was crowded, so I brought her back to Zia's place, since I knew that she was at work and we talked for a while before she went home. That night Zia and I were about to make love again and I, being a person who hates not saying what I really think, told her that I loved her. It was a mistake, she wasn't ready for it, and I ended up spending the night on the couch. I figured I had blown it, and was upset, leaving the next morning I wasn't sure if Zia was going to change the locks or not. I had promised her that I would stay with her, to protect her in case they came back, and I meant it, but I figured as a couple we were finished.

When I met with Lauren, tt was very obvious that Lauren was mentally distressed. She wasn't sleeping well, and was having nightmares. She lived at the SIK house, and since apparently most of the sisters lived off campus or weren't there often, she was alone. I told her that she could stay with me for a while. I was glad that Zia and her roomate were ok with it when I asked them, otherwise I'd have been in a lot of trouble. The little house had 1 bedroom, a couch, and a cot.

That next day I was walking on the beach when I met this woman. To be honest I don't even remember her name ((Charly Vita)). She and I had something in common, she liked to be upfront and honest with everything she said. She said she needed to get laid, and I obliged her, figuring Zia and I were finished anyway. It wasn't anything special, she was a sophmore at CU, that's all I remember about her.

Around the same time I decided to head over to the hospital. I filled out an application to become a HGH doctor. I figured I was going to be staying a while so I might as well have something to do.

Later that day, I decided to head over to the Diner again. I was going to hang out there and make sure that Sharea and her friend didn't come back. Apparently Sharea had been caught, but Chase had disappeared, and I didn't know if there was more of their crew. Zia was busy, so I just sat there and ordered food, waiting for her shift to be over. I paid for my food and gave her a really generous tip, because I could tell how hard she really worked, and also because I hadn't gotten to pay the last time I was at the Diner, since I was barely conscious when I left. So I hung out, was checking the news on my phone, and then Lauren showed up and sat down with me. She had taken my advice and started writing a journal ((viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4822)). As I sat there reading it, I knew I had to do something. I would try to convince her to go see a psychiatrist at HGH. When Zia finished her shift we all headed back to the house. Lauren and Zia got along really well and I was glad about that.

That night, Lauren got some bad news, her boyfriend had killed himself. She did not take it well. I knew she was already in a fragile state of mind so I made her a promise that I would take care of her. When she found out the news, she was hysterically crying and throwing herself on the floor, and she ended up aggrivating her healing collarbone. I Was going to help her get better. She cried and cried until she eventually fell asleep on the bed out of exhaustion. I stayed with her the whole night, I knew that she had to have somebody watch over her for a while.

The next day we all slept in late. Lauren slept for pretty much the entire day, and I got up at some time 6 or 7. I went downstairs to talk to Zia. Things weren't quite the same, they were somewhat awkward, but we still had a great deal of passion for each other, and once again things got passionate, she gave me an amazing blowjob and managed to get herself off while she was doing it, and we would have continued, but then we heard Lauren awake upstairs so we got dressed quickly. At this point I had made up my mind that Lauren really shouldn't be alone, and Zia agreed with me. However I figured that she would be okay to walk to the hospital. She had reinjured her collarbone and needed to get it checked. Zia and I talked and decided that we would confront Lauren when she returned, telling her that we wanted her to stay with somebody at all times. We sat there talking for a while and then I fell asleep, and slept through the night.

The next day I realized that Lauren hadn't come home and I got nervous. I eventually got a text from her and started freaking out. She had told me that she was going to kill herself. I called up one of my cop friend ((Lelouch Bowler)), the one who had delivered the news about her boyfriend's suicide to lauren and we tried to figure out a plan of action. All the while I had been texting back to Lauren, trying to get her to respond, to tell me where she was. Finally she told me where she was, but told me not to bother coming, because she was going to jump either way. I showed Officer Wildstar the text, she was on the bridge. We decided that he was approach from above the bridge, trying to talk her off the ledge, and that I would wait under the bridge, out of sight in case she decided to jump. Well she decided to jump, and I caught her, but lost my balance and managed to
slam my head above the pavement, getting a nasty concussion and losing consciousness. When the EMT's arrived, they resucitated me, and I told them to call Zia, tell her I was going to be in the hospital. I was taken to the hospital along with Lauren. Eventually when Zia arrived, I wasn't sure if I was going to live so I confessed to her about sleeping with that girl on the beach. She was more concerned about my safety. The doctors took care of me, stabalizing me. Zia and Lauren talked, and Lauren agreed to stay in the house so somebody could watch over her. Lauren was admitted to the hospital along with me so they could watch over her.

The next day when I woke up, I was in the ward with nurses watching over me. A doctor came up to me ((Jasmine Slade)) and introduced herself. She was a really great doctor. Shortly afterwards, Zia came by, wearing an outfit from the 1950s, she had thought that the Sock Hop at the Diner was that night (she had the date wrong) and she wanted to check in and see how I was doing before she went to work. I told her to be safe since I couldn't stay with her at work and watch over her. After she left I started feeling very sick and started puking before I lost consciousness again. Apparently I was having a seizure, and the nurses called the doctor who ran into the room. They managed to stop the seizure with medicine, but one of the nurses gave me the wrong medicine and my heart stopped. CPR wasn't working, so Dr. Slade jammed a needle full of adrenaline into my heart. That worked, and my heart started again and I regained consciousness. One of the nurses had called Zia, and shortly after I was revived, she ran into the room demanding to know what was going on, but I felt like shit at the time, I had thrown up again and was physically exhausted from what I had just gone through. When Zia eventually sat down next to me and took my hand, I fell asleep for a while. When I woke up about a half hour later, she was still there holding my hand and I smiled. I still wasn't sure if I was going to live or die, so again I told her that I loved her, and to my surprise, she responded with "I love you too". I dozed off again for a while, but when I woke up she was there, still holding my hand, still watching me. I tried to convince her to get into the bed with me. I was in pain and exhausted, but I was also horny. She wouldn't have any of it, and I tried negotiating, first asking for sex, then for a handjob, then to play with her breasts, and then finally I was able to convince her to flash me quickly. Again I told her that I loved her, and she responded in kind. I promised her I'd always be there for her and then I fell asleep for the night.

When I woke up the next morning, there she was, asleep next to me. She really is something special. I talked with the doctor and he said I could be discharged, as long as I promised to come back if I felt even the slightest bit ill. Lauren went in and spoke with a psychiatrist while I got ready to leave, and then sat around waiting until she was done. Lauren was being discharged as well, and promised to come in to see the psychiatrist regularly. I made a promise to myself not let her out of my sight until she was better. We got to the house and I made her a promise "We're going to get you better ... I won't let you come to any harm ever again". I kept the first promise, and if I had kept the second one I wouldn't be writing this right now. How could I have let this happen? I'll explain what happened later.

Soon after that, I got my job at the hospital. I started out as an intern and quickly showed that I was a hard worker. Zia and I took turns staying with Lauren. The house next to Zia and her roomate had opened up, so I rented it, figuring that we needed more space. When I wasn't working I was there in the house. I had rigged the house with security cameras that I could watch on my phone, so one day when Lauren had fallen asleep I ran over to the Diner to see Zia. Nobody was there so we decided to have some fun, having wild sex behind the counter (Don't tell the health inspectors!) before her roomate stopped by the Diner, catching us. Zia was embarrassed, but I was excited, figuring maybe I could get a threesome out of it. Things were going pretty well for me. Zia and I were having amazing sex multiple times a day, I was a rising star at the hospital, and Lauren was getting better, or at least that's what I thought. One day when Zia and I were cleaning up her house, and Lauren was asleep, we went through Lauren's bag and found a bloody towel and a razor. It turned out she had been cutting herself, and she hid it from me. I confronted her about it, and was trying to convince her that it wasn't the answer. In the meantime I made sure that somebody was watching over her constantly now.

A few days later, when I knew that I could monitor Lauren on the security system, I went to the Sock Hop party at the Diner. Zia was working that night so I hung out, helping her out if she needed it. I stayed late, and when everbody had cleared out, except for some guy ((Ellis Millet)), she showed up again; Sharea. I recognized her voice. Sharea had gone behind the counter and started rumaging through things, wanting to steal stuff. Apparently she worked there but wasn't allowed to return until she had a psych evaluation. It was obvious that she hadn't had one or she'd have been thrown in the psych ward, under Title 25, and then a court order would have been requested to hold her there. If that ha dhappened, things would be different. Looking back now it's so hard to believe that somebody like that can exist. I managed to chase Sharea off but I knew that wouldn't be the last I saw of her. That night Zia and I had really great sex.

The next day I got a phone call from hone, and had to head back up north for a few days. My dad was getting sicker.

Later that week, Dad's condition had stabalized so I came back to be with Zia and Lauren. When I got home I noticed something. Zia had stopped wearing her wedding ring from her missing husband. I felt that the time was right, and during sex I asked her to marry me, and she said yes. After we finished I slipped the ring on her finger.

Lauren was still there with me at home, pretty much staying put as far as I knew. One day I decided to walk down to the beach for a little bit after a long day at work. TO my surprise I found a puppy. She had a collar on her neck that said "Sheba". I went to the police station and they said I could hold onto her and that they would let me know if they heard any reports about her, but that I could keep her if nobody claimed her within 30 days. She's a very small Husky puppy, the most adorable thing ever. I brought her home and Lauren went wild over her, loving her as much as , or more so than I did. It was funny, we had actually argued about when Lauren moved out, who would get to keep Sheba. I had finally won the argument, although it all seems kind of pointless now.

The next day, Lauren had gone for a walk, to go visit her sorority sisters. She came back very upset, and with a video camera in her hand. Apparently somebody had burned down the SIK house and video'd it. We plugged in the camera to charge it and then watched the footage. It was of Sharea, burning the house down. She had left the video camera there, filming the whole thing. We took it to the police station and apparently Sharea was arrested for Arson not long after that. After getting back from the police station, I spoke to Lauren, asking her to not cut herself anymore, especially in light of what just happened. She Told me that she couldn't promise that, and I explained to her that I needed to take her to the hospital to be admitted for observation and treatment. She understood, and spent a few weeks there. She was making good progreshe s until one day when she had woken up from a nightmare, and not having her razor, tried to dig her nails into her wrist. I happened to be at her bedside at the time, and stopped her. It was painful, but I had to sedate her and put her in restraints. It really was one of the haredest things I've ever had to do. Luckily, things got better from there. Within a few days we were able to take the restraints off of her. Around the same time I got promoted. I was no longer the rank of Intern at the hospital, but a full Physician. I felt so proud showing off my white coat to Lauren and Zia.

A few days later, I found out that Zia's roomate, Belle, had been out of town looking for evidence of Zia's husband. She found out alright, he was dead, and they were trying to kill her. She left a message on Zia's voicemail, and when I heard it, I knew I had to go help her. I rented a car, drove to the storage locker outside of town, grabbed my M16 I had managed to convince the supply clerk to let me bring home with me when I left the marines, some body armor and plenty of ammo and made my way to Atlanta. The next day I returned with Belle, she had two gunshot wounds to the abdomen, and I had gone through 10 clips of ammunition. I got her into the hospital and took care of her, putting her in the recovery ward once she was stable. She was going to be alright. Once she had fallen asleep I headed home to tell Zia about what happened, and helped her deal with the realization that her husband really was dead. It was hard on her, but she seemed to have known already, on instinct that he was dead. I helped her through the next few days, and then she started smiling again, and said that maybe we could start planning the wedding. At that point I realized that she really was ready to move on.

I continued working at the hospital, and things were busy as always. Started getting a few regulars in ER, and developed a good rapport with some of them. For the most part I get along well with my patients. All except one. I'm getting tired at this point, so I'll just say that she was in the hospital with two broken legs, and was apparently doing cocaine even after being admitted so I had her sent to the detox suite downstairs for 72 hour observation, before we could apply for a court order to keep her in detox until she had it all out of her system. It would have worked. Her druggie husband called the cops, and the idiot cop arrested me for kidnapping. First of all, kidnapping requires you to take somebody somewhere, and she was already in the hospital, so if anything it would be wrongful imprisonment, but I was well within the law, and holding somebody for 72 hours is a fairly typical thing. When I tried to explain that to the officer, he started roughing me up. It was all caught on the security camera in the lobby of the hospital. He released the patient ((Piper Rewell). I was thrown in jail, but was released later that day when the hospital administration came down to the police station and informed the officer on duty that no laws had been broken. Luckily that asshole Baden ((Baiden Danes)), the one who arrested me wasn't there. He hadn't read me my rights, and refused to allow me a phone call, I only got one after he'd gone off duty and another officer came into the cell area. When I was released, I went to the ER to have my bruised wrists photographed for when I sued him, which I'm still in the process of doing. I went to the local newspaper and spoke with the HPD Captain. I'm making sure that justice is served here.

Last week I woke up and Zia had left me, leaving her ring out on the counter with just a note saying how it wasn't fair to me. I assumed that she was refering to her still having feelings for her deceased husband. I was upset, and went out looking to get laid, but amazingly, for the first time in my life, I couldn't find anybody. I texted Zia, she had moved out of her hosue with her roomate and had gotten a small shack somewhere else. I met with her there, and gave her the ring back, telling her that she could sell it. She tried to apologize for everything, and that she wanted me back, but she had really hurt me when she left with just a note. I was going to leave, but she managed to convince me to sleep on the couch. I guess I really did want to be with her still, even if she had hurt me. I was sitting on her couch, and I assumed that she fell asleep. I had a lot going onin my head and just needed to go for a run. I had been getting settled in, so I took off my belt. I keep a few things in there for self defense, as well as a first aid kit and other supplies. I really wish I had remembered it before I went running. That's when I ran into Piper again, and her friend caris. My wrists were all bruised from Officer Baden, so I wasn't able to defend myself well. I got a few good hits in, but I didn't even have my knife with me. I was stabbed many many times. I remember falling down and them kicking me before a police officer showed up and I lost consciousness from bloodloss. I was brought to the hospital, and after being treated was admitted to the recovery ward. Zia came and visited me almost immediately, and I forgave her and agreed to get back together with her, on one condition. That it be an open relationship when it came to sex. She was actually alright with that, and the other night I found woman number 294, one of the nurses I work with. The next day, I went for a walk. Lauren had been out of the hospital for about two weeks at this point, and was living with me on and off, staying at her friend's place sometimes. She was better, I saw it in her eyes, and the psychiatrist at HGH agreed with that assessment. I walked over to the pizza parlor to get some food and to my surprise she had started up her old job again there. I told her how proud I was of her and gave her a hug, telling her I loved her. I had no idea that it would be the last time I saw her alive.

That night, I got a weird text message from Lauren, telling me "Are you hungry? Meet me at the diner. I'm cooked to perfection. EAT ME :D". I knew something was up so I ran down to the Diner and there she was, sitting up in the booth. I started to talk to her "Lauren, what's with the weird text, is everything alr..." and I paused, suddenly realizing what was in front of me. Lauren's face had been burned, her eye had been taken out and replaced with a white marble. Her fingers were cut off on her right hand and arranged on the table in the word "Hi". There was blood all over the Diner. She had been stabbed, and apparently she had hot oil from the fryer poured down her throat. I was speechless, but when I saw the marble in her eye, I knew it had to be Sharea. I Called 911 and after dealing with a really assholish officer, I went to the hospital to be with her body, where i've been pretty much for the last day and a half, except for a brief time I spent down at the HPD with Officer Carlucci, telling her the whole story about Sharea's history of going after my family. After that I went right back to the morgue to be with Lauren's body. I came home a few hours ago to shower and then I started writing this. I really can't put into words how I feel, I'm just so sad. She was finally better, she was smiling again, and she had even looked into teaching a Summer art class at Seaside

I don't know what I'm going to do next, but I know one thing, I am going to kill Sharea. By the end of the month, one of us won't be alive.

-Paul