Jan 1 2012. I'm still alive. Part of me still can't believe it. Two chiefs of staff, any number of interns and nurses have left DEMH in my time here. I've buried a lover, lost a baby and have gone through more than I could believe possible. Friends and strangers have endured hell, most have survived, some haven't.
 
My dark past has nearly caught up with me. Why I'm not rotting in a cell is beyond me. Still, I have friends who care. They give me light in the darkness, hope in my despair. I hope I can be that for them. This place is a black hole. Dead End attracts both darkness and light and only chaos ensues in the collision of forces.
 
There are time when I think that events settle into a uneasy truce, but then someone shows up in the ER with horrible wounds, both physical and emotional. I can treat the physical, but I can only watch inflicted cruelty eat away at the souls of the victims.
 
Yesterday I became a voluteer at the Shelter. Syn, the operator of the place, wants to make her place one of healing. But it's also a target by the cowards and monsters that inhabit Dead End like a cancer. I want her to succeed, Dead End needs a haven for the many hurt women in this town. I'll do all I can to help them. They deserve some peace, someone to protect them. I only hope I can do enough to stop this darkness.
 
I don't dare think what will happen if I fail.