All the supplies that remained were water, a machete, and a small gun. Angeles seemed confident in exactly where we needed to go. Of course, I was suspicious and questioned his competence, but it turned out we were going the right way.

After walking for a while, we decided to rest. We were fortunate for not encountering any animals yet, but it wasn't a concern for meeting another freak of nature. Angeles' words got to me; he seemed incompetent yet cunning, possessing ruthlessness akin to my own. It's like we have the same philosophy. I know this isn't right, and I shouldn't have those dark thoughts of leaving them to die, but I couldn't stop thinking of them.

Ever since my experiences in the Great War, I simply can't stomach saying anything positive about humanity. The pointless wars, the lives ruined, the nature ruined, the manipulation, the lies – all for nothing. Millions of young men died for what? Only to serve the rich cunts who only ever saw them as expendable chess pieces. I saw close friends die; I was left in the muddy trenches to die by people I trusted the most. Generals were useless; their only strategy was throwing more bodies at the enemy. They didn't have a shred of remorse. No one did. And what happened when I broke down and cried to my family, telling them the horrors that I witnessed?

They called me weak. My friends called me a sissy, and my mother was ashamed that I came out of her body. It was then that I adopted a nihilistic view of life.

Humanity is pure evil and must be eradicated. That's when I fully started to work with animals and have gained massive respect for them. Truly, if every human were extinct, the planet would be happier. We humans bring nothing but pain and misery; the negatives outweigh the positives. Try as best as I could, I am still human and possess awful traits. I'm really not better than anyone else.

I wrote a philosophy book detailing the true dark side of humanity, but my book and work were laughed at, and I was considered a madman. No one took them seriously, and I always wanted to meet someone who shared my views.

Now I think I may have found that in Angeles, but the joy that I expected to find has been replaced with worry.

"Are you cold, Blackwood?" he asked me. "I'm fine," Angeles nodded and continued, "I find it nice here. The air is fresh, and although the creatures are heinous, I'm amazed by them. I can't wait for them to be further documented."

"Angeles, you're getting far ahead of yourself with this. It's clear we won't be the ones to document it; we're already goners. But other people will, and even if I'm not a fan of this ruthless place, it's still nature and it shouldn't be tainted by man, even though it will eventually," Angeles nodded. "Fully agree, my friend, but don't worry. Once we reach the truth, we will know exactly what the outcome will be."

"Ah yes, your little creatures documenting the world and the Garden of Eden. Give it a rest, Angeles. Whatever we find will be irrelevant. We're poorly equipped, and we'll die without sharing anything of what we witnessed, just like the men before us,"

Angeles smirked. "If you're so certain of death, then why continue marching forward?"

I paused before answering, "Curiosity...I'm human after all, and you can't beat man's curiosity. I must see it, and even if I die, it's better than to be another cog in the shameful society we live in."

It seems as though Angeles loved listening to this. "Humanity is evil and should be eradicated." My eyes widened. It's like he's quoting me. Did he read my work? No, impossible. It was never published. Only the publishers that rejected me ever read the book.

"And why is that, Angeles?"

"Simple. We destroy nature and fight meaningless conflicts. As intelligent beings, we should help the environment, document it, and leave it for our successors to see. If man spent as much time learning about the world and preserving it as much as he fights, we would live in utopia. Yet man only cares about lying to each other and manipulating each other. A waste of our talents. We give nothing to our beautiful earth, only take and take," he said it all with disdain, not holding back.

I agreed with every word, but I won't dare show it. "It's getting late."

"Rest, Blackwood, I'll take the first watch."

I lay back and attempted to sleep. It was almost completely nighttime. It's useless to walk at night unless you have a death wish.

I didn't sense any mosquitoes at all while being here which leads me to believe that it has none. Mosquitoes don't like cold places, and this island is so similar to the Amazon rainforest, but none of those little buggers in sight. It reminds me of Hawaii, where it too didn't have mosquitoes until settlers arrived and brought mosquitoes with them, devastating the ecosystem.

I felt myself drifting off to sleep but I felt a sting in my neck. Once I opened my eyes, I saw my blood being sucked by a small bird.