We've started planning the expedition to the Yellow Zone. Sergei has a circuitous route in mind that passes through the areas with the weakest mal. Then we'll dart into the Yellow. Safety is the priority, so we're taking three Jeeps, all with full equipment. The Jeeps will be roped together; it's set up so you can release the rope without leaving the cab. When we get to the middle Green, Xi and I will double up in one Jeep, leaving the other back where we know it works. It's not fool proof, but it's the best we can do.

Xi is nervous but focused. She's planning a book on her experiences. She thinks it will sell, and I agree. Maybe they'll even make a film. She's going to give me her first chapter if she finishes it before she leaves. I'm hoping they relieve Sergei pretty soon after. He's been in The Sick Land for a long time now. Also, he's annoying.

I walked in on him in the lab today. He was filming the skull, describing it into the microphone. His greatest discovery. His brilliant find. His theory about whatever. I didn't mind when it was our discovery, but he seems to think he dug it out the ground over our protests. Xi and I have started calling him the mummy behind his back. He cut himself shaving today, and came in with a bandage on his jaw. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing, and Xi had to leave the room. At this rate, he won't have any skin left to bandage.