From the journal of John Archer, the Archivist, March 7

March 7, 2017

     This morning we awoke to rain and overcast skies. Guess it was a good thing we slept in the vehicles, anyway there have been too may of the roamers around to safely sleep in tents. We made shifts for the sentries to keep an eye out for any coming into our secured area. We had all agreed it would be best to avoid using the guns, if at all possible. Quieter methods to dispose of the ones who did find themselves too close to our camp were preferred. We have a machete, hunting knives, a bat, and a tire iron which are our first line of defense. We also agreed that if too many came at us at once, we would head out instead of using the guns. Sound has been shown to draw them from the surrounding areas, so it is best to keep as quiet as possible.
     When our group drove into Bailey, we saw a sign for the location of the local FEMA Camp. We decided it might be a good idea to stop and see if we could get any additional supplies. But we found the camp overrun and everyone dead, or undead. The sound of our vehicles drew a large group of the roamers out the open front gates and Aaron decided it was not worth stopping. Too much risk for too little sure reward. We had no idea what supplies were left in the camp. For all we knew, someone else might have stopped for supplies and left the gate wide open, freeing the roamers.

    This happening in the small community of Bailey, with low population made us reconsider driving through Denver to get to the airport. Once we had stopped for the day, all the adults sat down to discus the plan. Jonathan, our FEMA Camp administrator, tried to take charge, but no one has looked to him as our leader since we had to flee the camp. We all ignored his attempts to get all of our attention and we congregated around Linda and Aaron.
     Linda got everyone to sit and brought up what had happened earlier in the day. Aaron took over and started us thinking about how many emergency shelters there would have to be in Denver for the amount of people who lived there.
     Maps were pulled out for the Denver area, thank you deserted Bailey gas station, and we decided to skirt the main city of Denver. We would go through the surrounding area of around five cities or towns and have to make multiple freeway changes to get to Pena Blvd and the Denver International Airport. Taking on the much smaller populations that would be spread out would be easier for our group to handle. It would be quieter and better for us to drive a little further than to take the risk of being stopped by the larger groups of roamers that must be traveling around the streets of Denver.
     Jonathan started complaining about the entire plan, saying we should be going away from the main cities and more populated areas, not towards them. Again, he was ignored and the discussion continued around him like a stream parting for an unwanted stone. He stormed off into the trees around the field we had made camp in between Bailey and Conifer. He was having a hard time realizing that he was not the best person to lead our group any longer. The sooner he realizes this, the better off we will all be.
     Everyone but the sentries went to bed early so we can leave a first light and try to cover more distance tomorrow. It is slower going than any of us thought because of the need to scavenge for supplies and avoid as many roamers as possible. Hopefully, we can go a little faster tomorrow. Maybe Bailey was the centrally located evacuation point for the area we would be driving through.

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