The Imperfect's Journal: 2

August 15th, 2066

I saw something last night. Something that I know wasn't real.

Auditory and visual hallucinations are still rare, for me, but I'm noticing that they're becoming slightly more frequent. It makes me question things. In the middle of conversations, I find that part of my brain is wondering if the conversation is really happening or if my brain is making it up. Am I talking to thin air? Am I having a discussion with myself?

Last night's hallucination was of Sara. I saw her sitting on the edge of my bunk, staring through the window of my hotel room. Moonlight cascading through the glass caught her hair and glasses in a way that made her seem to glow. Her skin shone more brightly than the moon itself and when she turned to look at me, my blood ran cold, my heart stopped, and my stomach twisted. I felt weightless. Then she smiled... and vanished.

I know it was a hallucination. I know that. But I'm still holding onto it. It's the closest thing to real contact that we've had in a dreadfully long time.

Today was spent patrolling. I'm on a team with Trent, who also happens to be one of the three people with whom I'm sharing a room. The other two are Sergio and a man who had previously occupied the room on his own. His name is Mateo. He speaks very little English and he's an imperfect--that much was apparent when I saw that he was missing an eye. He's rough, gray-haired, bearded, and has a permanent scowl on his face. I feel like he didn't really want three strangers to invade his once-private living quarters.

Mateo keeps to himself, for the most part. He takes an abysmally long time in the bathroom in the morning, but the rest of us have silently agreed to let him do his thing. No one really wants to get on his bad side.