From the journal of Correctional Officer Steven Williams, April 13

April 13, 2017

     Everyone has been really quiet, ever since the group lost Stephanie and then Rose right after.  Even the kids have played much quieter than they usually do, and that is saying something because we always have to be careful in case the undead hear us and swarm. Crystal, Stephanie's daughter, has been crying all day, every day since. Today is the first day that she joined the other kids for story time and she didn't cry for the hour of reading. But right after, she went back to her bed and started crying again. Pam is coming out of her "funk", as Jenna says. Taking care of Crystal is helping her to get past the loss of her own daughter, Debbie, although we all know that Crystal cannot replace Debbie. The two of them are learning to live together in their greif.
     We are slowly making our way to Aspen. Linda and Aaron made the suggestion of either Vale or Aspen because of the amount of money people put had to put into their homes. We debated about both, but the majority agreed on Aspen. Especially since it would put us farther away from the
Denver Metropolitan Area and the thousands upon thousands of undead roaming there. We are taking our time and looking around for anything that might be useful.
     The group didn't leave the area where we buried the two women until yesterday. Staying was the right thing to do for Crystal, the grave seemed to give her some comfort the first couple of days. She would lay next to it, cry and talk to her mother. She would talk about all kinds of things from before the shit hit the fan and about things that had happened since. I didn't know that a ten year old could have that much to say. She would drop her voice to a whisper if any of the group walked too close, but I don't think she stopped talking for almost four days. The day she kissed her hand and said goodbye to her mom, we packed up and left the next morning.

     When we looked at the map, I realized that we were closer to Aspen when we left the camp than we were when we left the airport. I wish we had decided to go to Aspen instead of going to the airport. It would have saved us a lot of lives, miles and time. I guess you live and then you learn. I forget who said that but it really fits now. I learn something new everyday. Sometimes, it is something that someone else knows and shares. Other times, it is like the nightmare trip to the airport, and we all learn the hard way.

As a writer and artist, I appreciate any readers and their comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please, come read the other blog I write for our artisan collective, Raven's Castle Creations, on our website at www.ravencastlecreations.com. It includes posts on art, the mythology of symbols we use in our art, history and more! Also, come see the art we produce in our Etsy store at etsy.com/shop/RavenCastleCreations. Follow us on Twitter at @ravencastleart and on Facebook at @ravencastlecreations.