From the recovered journal of the Battle of the New Alamo, April 25

April 25,  2017

     My name is Suzanne Cleary and the woman I have been imprisoned with is Michelle Wilson, although our captor called me Chicken and called Michelle Fish. We had another woman with us, Mary Dillard, but she was murdered and eaten by our captor, Samuel Williams. We were part of the group here who refused to take part in eating people. He took the three of us from what they called the "pens" and brought us here as his personal "cattle" right before the undead swarmed over the walls of the Alamo.

     Last week he killed Mary, who he called Beef, and cooked her up. We knew he was planning on doing the same to us. We worked quietly at getting a piece of wood off the window and ended up using it to kill Samuel when he came in this morning. I beat his head in with this board while Michelle kicked him repeatedly.
     I am writing this down so if anyone comes here they will know how depraved this place became. It wasn't always like that. This city really took on the challenge of making a safe place for people to survive after the pandemic hit. We had walls and soldiers. We had food and water. We thought we were ready for anything.
    Then March 30th came and the undead broke through the walls and everyone was fucked. I made it into the Alamo and thought I was lucky. Life was pretty good here for a few days. But the supplies did not make it into the fort before the undead came through the walls and there wasn't enough food or ammo to keep us alive. A group of the soldiers tried to go for more supplies, but they never made it back. They left on April 3rd and Samuel, the guy in charge, convinced about half of the group that cannibalism was the answer. Those of us who didn't agree were rounded up and put in the old animal pens.

     Samuel must have seen that everything was going to be over when the undead were ready to push over the walls and he brought the three of us here. Now, Michelle and I have to decide what we are going to do. The fort is overrun and we are stuck in this set of rooms. There is some food and water, but not enough for long.
     At least we got Samuel before we died. I can hold onto that if I die without getting out of this place.

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.

From the Journal of Rebecca Martin, April 25

This journal was written by Rebecca Martin, an employee at the Jaspar County Circuit Clerk's office. She was inside when their town was swarmed by a group of undead that had come from a emergency center near Greenup on Interstate 70. She survived on food found in offices and in the cafateria. The building had been overrun, but she slowly cleared it out and boarded it up, with the help of several other employees who did not survive the process.

April 25, 2017

     Today, Alice died. She was the last of the group that I had holed up with in the Jaspar County Circuit Clerk building. There were 15 of us at first. Most of us were already in the building when the horde came through two months ago. We knew that the rest of the world was gone, but it really hadn't hit Newton hard. There were only a couple of people in town who turned and they were taken care of by their own family. The rest of the town set up patrols and we kept the few that wandered through from infecting anyone else.
     Then, last month, a horde came from the north and swept through town. There must have been a couple hundred of them. I was on the second floor when the shots outside started. I looked out the window and saw the end of our little community. Alice was in the office next door so I ran into her area and together we headed for the attic. It is the only place that has no windows and is able to be completely closed off from the rest of the building.

     When we got there, Kenneth was manning the door and there were already 10 others inside. By the time the zombies could be heard breaking into the first floor, there were 15 of us in all: Judge Ronald Heager and his baliffs, Charles Haydown and Marcus Altwood; Marianne Northon, the Prosecutor, Matthew Madison, the Defense Attorney and his client, Everett Baker; Annie Hall, the court reporter; John Smith, Tony Pascal, Martin Farmer, the deputies who manned the doors downstairs; Carl Marker, the man who ran the coffee cart in the lobby; Alice Porter, Stephanie Mason, Sandy Mayhew and myself, secretaries and transcribers for the courts.
     No one else came to the door to the attic. At least no one still alive. When we first closed the door, everyone looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. Charles, Marcus, John, Tony and Martin all had sidearms, but the sound might draw more of them. We all looked through the junk that had been discarded up here over the years. I took a leg off a broken desk. We all huddled together as far from the door as we could. We could hear screams from the people stuck in the building below us. The undead also make this horrible moaning, growling sound when they are going after prey. It went on for hours and all of us just prayed they didn't figure out we were in here.
     Some of the undead in our building were eventually drawn back outside by the sounds of gunfire, screams, cars trying to drive away and all the other sounds from the chaos on the streets. We stayed in the attic, quietly, the rest of the day and all night. When the sun came up, Judge Heager whispered that we needed to make a plan. We all whispered and debated and finally decided to send a scout out to see if the building was completely overrun. John volunteered and quietly snuck out the attic door. He was gone about 20 minutes and when he returned, he said there were around 20 left throughout the building. Some of the ones on the first floor were at the windows and trying to get out at any sign of movement, even other undead. But he said the ones on the second and third floors were in an odd way. They just stood in one spot and looked like they were asleep, like they were waiting for something to move before they wasted energy on moving themselves.
     The next couple of hours we talked and planned and everyone finally agreed on a course of action. We cleared out the building, floor by floor, over the next couple of days. We searched all the offices and found enough food to live until we made it into the cafateria. It took longer than we thought it would, with having to find ways to sneak up on them out of sight, and then take them out quietly.  But, if they saw someone, they would start that horrible noise again and draw others to where they were.
     Once the second and third floors were clear, we blocked off the stairways and moved our sleeping area from the attic to the adjoining judge's offices. They were really nice and had couches, comfortable chairs and more room than the other offices. We had decided to stay as a group and not spread out, just in case the zombies made it up the stairs. Together, we could fight more off than by ourselves. This was made very clear when we lost Annie and Matthew. They had snuck off to find a moment alone together and somehow one of the undead found them while they were in the middle of fooling around. They both died and we all heard their screams as they were ripped apart. Charles and Marcus rushed to help them, but by the time they figured out where the screams were coming from, it was too late for anyone to be able to help them. All they could do was take out the undead who had found them and make sure that Annie and Matthew could not come back as one of the zombies.

     Next, we worked our way through the ones on the first floor. As we cleared rooms, including the courtrooms, we covered the windows with whatever we could find and closed them off from the rest of the uncleared part of the building. It took over a week to clear and secure the first floor and it was not without casualties. We lost four more clearing the rest of the rooms:  Carl, Sandy, Tony and Marianne. Our group that started at 15 was down to 9.
     The rest of us made sure all the openings were secured and then we went to the cafateria. We had a good meal that day, but not huge because we knew we would need to make the food last. From there, we spent our days surviving and trying to keep our little place secure.
     Eventually, we had to go out to find more food. We lost more of our group on scavenging missions. Charles and Everett were bitten. We all tried to save them but still ended up watching them die. We made sure there was no chance of them reanimating but couldn't even bury them because there are way too many outside.
     Now, I am alone and have no one left to talk to. Alice has not been able to provide much company since she was scratched on the last scavenging mission. She as the only one who came back alive and it was down to just the two of us. We didn't know that she would die like Charles and Marcus, and just from a scratch. It took longer, but she died horribly.
     I don't know what I am going to do now. Should I stay here or should I try to go somewhere else? I have no idea. That is why I wrote this down. In case anyone comes looking for someone who worked here. At least, they will know what happened to their loved ones. Who knows if I will survive or not.

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.

From the journal of James Cohen, Somewhere around April 29

Somewhere around April 29, 2017

     I have decided to try for the Greenbrier Hotel. I know I am a long way away from it. When I left the housing complex today, I drove through a town called Greenup. There is about 570 miles between where I am and where I am headed. I guess I am lucky that my rig has a place to stay in it so I don't have to look for a place to stay at night. I am also used to long hauls across even larger distances than 570 miles, so that should also give me a leg up.

      It is hard staying in the rig without my Dorris, but I will just have to get used to it. She is gone and I am still here. She would not want me to give up, either. So, I am heading to the Greenbrier and hoping that someone is still alive in the bunker there. I know it is no longer a place to have Congress go, but some people might have been able to get in the bunker and survive. They still supposedly have food, water and supplies down there. Most of it is probably expired, but in this day and age, it is better than nothing.
     I am going to need to stock up on supplies so I will have to scavenge along the way. I wish I had someone with me to watch my back. I will keep my eyes open but I have no idea if people are still good or if someone would only want to take what I have. I can hope for the best but will have to plan for the worst.
     I am planning on trying for Grayville before I take a rest. It is a little over 70 miles. If I can't make it all that way, there are a couple of towns between. I would rather try for larger sections, though, so it takes less days to get there. But, with it only being me, it is hard to get through the traffic snarls I come accross and it is harder to take out the groups of undead I run into. Luckily, my rig is big and can run over a lot of undead before they would be able to stop it. I have yet to see a group that large in my way, but if I was not sure I could make it over them, I would just not try to go over them. I would turn around and find another way.
     With being on my own, I have decided to not go the shorter route through Indianapolis. That is a really big city and I don't know what I would find. I think the extra 20 miles are worth skipping it. I know there are cities on this route too, but Louisville Kentucky has a couple of hundred thousand versus the over two million people inIndianapolis. I am going to try to find a route around Louisville that keeps me going in the right direction and helps me not have to get too close to the main populated areas. If Dorris was still here, she would be able to navigate me around and keep me on track. She was the best at that. I will keep my fingers crossed that I can do half as well as she did. Still, that is days away. Today, Tricksey and I head to Grayville.

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.

   

From the record kept by the twins Jenny and Barbie Crow, April 30

April 30, 2017

     Well, we tried to take out the zombies in the admin area on the 28th. Our barricades were ready, we had a plan on where we were going to start and where to move when our initial spot got overrun. We made sure the door to get to the barricaded area was behind our barriers, so if we had to leave and go back we can. Good thing we did, too. There were almost 30 undead in the admin area and when we opened the doors, the area between our barricades filled up really quickly and there were still more pushing to get out the doors.

     Between us, we took out half almost half of them and then moved to our next kill spot. Then we started in on the ones that were still moving. But, once we got through about 10 between the two of us, this giant undead security guard pushed his way through the rest and rushed Barbie's spot. He was so large, he just bowled through the barricade and almost grabbed her before she could move out of his way. She climbed over the part of the barrier that he had pushed over and was back in the safe area, for whatever good it would do against that monster! We both ran for the door and I have never been so glad to push a solid metal door closed and get it secure.
      There are still at least 10 undead, plus the monster, so we are going to have to try again. We were taking them out without using any of the guns we have found, but for that huge guy, we are going to have to take the chance on the noise drawing more. We don't have a choice! We learned a lesson about how solid our barriers need to be. You never know when a huge zombie might stumble out of an apartment or admin area. We will make sure to have a gun on each of us and in such a case, sound be damned! We will just have to shoot and run, go back another day and see how many were drawn by the noise.

     On a happier note, we now have buds on the plants that had nubs! We are going to have fresh veggies galore! The tomatoes are starting to grow from the flowers, cucumbers are starting to flower, and we have little green sprouts where we planted the carrots! I can't wait to have a fresh salad. We did end up finding some powdered ranch and will make it up with the dehydrated milk when we get our veggies!

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.

From the journal of Sarah Richards, April 20

 April 20, 2017

      We left the Towers last night for good. The undead had piled high enough to be able to bang on the bottom of the windows. We packed up whatever we had left of our supplies and weapons, swung by Mandy's place and packed them up, and snuck out into the tunnel by using the hidden stairs.
     I am glad we left but also sad for all the people we know who have no backup plan.  I know that Mandy's family was not happy, they complained the entire time they were packing and had to be  told to shut up when we left the apartment. He even complained about Mom and me carrying our guns. Stupid! If we run into any undead, how was he planning on protecting his family? He only has a large kitchen knife and would have to get within a foot or so on an undead to try to kill it. He would be swarmed if there is more than one and then his two daughters and wife would be all on their own!

     We waited until the middle of the night to leave and made it to the tunnel without being seen. The tunnel was clear but we could hear the undead at the gate where the school is because it echoed down the tunnel. We moved as fast and quietly as we could and when we were almost at the end of the maintenance tunnel to Buckner, Mandy and I stopped everyone and told them to be really quiet. We went ahead and made sure how clear the exit was. There were only three undead within our sight so we used rocks to move them away from where we needed to be. If you throw a rock in a different direction, they will go to see if the sound was made by something alive.
     Once the exit was clear, we got everyone and snuck in to the stairway. We made it to our hiding place and made sure all the openings were covered and the light was kept inside. Now, everyone is finding a place to sleep and we will have to see what the morning brings. Mom says if it looks like the Towers are still not taken over, we should see about going back to find more supplies tomorrow. But I think we should stay here and stay away from the Towers. Even if they are still safe, if we are there and the zombies break in, it will be really hard to get back here. Let alone, get back here without being seen by anyone who would be panicking! It could become chaos and we might lose someone who would not be dead otherwise.

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.

From the journal of Carol Evans, April 17

April 17, 2017

     I am still heading towards Aspen. I really hope that there are other people there who thought about the rich peoples homes. I have been avoiding the cities and towns to avoid the biggest concentration of undead. I am getting really tired of my own company and would give my right arm to talk to someone else.
      At least there were some good CD's in the truck. Garth Brooks, Aerosmith, Eminem, Kelly Clarkson and others. I have been enjoying listening to all the music and singing along. It has been a long time since I was able to listen to music. It is really serial to be listening to music and passing undead on the road, almost like a twisted music video.

    Last night, I slept at what used to be a gas station. I rigged empty cans around the truck with string so I would be alerted if anything got too close. I also raided the little store and found some junk food. It's not my favorite, but it will keep me alive.
      I am thinking about checking out the restroom to see if there is any water left in the pipes. I would kill for a sponge bath because I can smell myself. Here I go....

     Holy shit! There was about a cup of water left and I used the freezing cold water to wash myself and then headed back to the truck. There was a horde of undead, at least 15 or so, and I barely made it back here to the truck. I have to leave now! I will try to write more later, once I am in a safer place.
 







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. 

From the journal of Charlie Fast Fingers Pearson, April 23

April 23, 2017

     We spent the last ten days or so getting up to speed on finding food in the forest we are in from the scouting group and getting to the closest clean water sources that they found. Well, at least those of us who can walk have been getting up to speed. I am still out as a scouter and have continually drawn fire duty until my leg stops being fucking  lame.
     Four days ago, the original scouting party left to try to get down the mountain and the rest of us have learned to fend for ourselves. They are not going to come back until they either find people or a way down the mountain that everyone can make it down. We have no way to keep in touch, so for now, it's like they no longer exist.
     Man, I never thought I would be so sick of fruit. What tasted like heaven when we first found it, not tastes like hell. I know it's the reason that most of us have been having the shits, but with nothing else to eat, we have no choice. While we have seen birds and other small creatures in the forest around us, none of us have any hunting skills. No one knows about trapping and there were no guns on the plane. So fruit is it.
     What I wouldn't give for a piece of meat, some bread or something salty. A burger and fries with a cold beer to wash it all down. Or a steak, baked potato and a veg on the side, don't matter which one. Fuck yeah.

      Most of the survivors are getting better. Will and Mick are out of their slings and as long as they don't push it, they can use their injured arms again. Melanie still is unable to use hers, but she broke it pretty bad, her leg, too. Buck finally can stand without being dizzy, but his ribs are still bad. Melanie and Buck are like me and have been given stuff to do around our camp until they've healed a little more. Luckily, no one else was hurt bad enough to die, at least since we lost Red.
     Hopefully, our scouting party will be able to get off this mountain and find some people, still alive. Then they could bring some food back to us and we'll have a place to go and stay besides living in the shadow of our broken plane. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the natives have a village and some kind of animal to eat, like a goat. I think a cow would be too much to hope for on this island. But a goat, pig or some chickens is reasonable. Ummm. Eggs or roasted chicken. Heaven.
   

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.

   
   

From the journal of Correctional Officer Steven Williams, April 20

April 20, 2017

     Today we are going to head to Glenwood Springs. It is the longest stretch on this trek we are driving in one day. The rest of the sections we broke the trip into were only around 30 miles, or so. The trip from Eagle, where we stayed last night, to Glenwood Springs is a little over 40  miles. I know it doesn't sound like a long drive,  but with the way the world is today it takes all day just to go that far. There are traffic snarls and groups of undead that we have to get through.

      The groups of undead are not that hard, as long as they don't get over 10 or 15 in the group.  We have a really good group of people here and some of them have  gotten really efficient at taking out the undead with quiet weapons. It would be faster to take them out with the firearms, but the sound could draw others that might be really close to where we are traveling. Instead, we have other weapons that we turn to. There are machete's, bats, hunting knives, axes or hatchets, and others, too. Whenever we scavenge, we keep an eye out for anything that can be used as a weapon.
     I told Aaron and Linda that it's good we have a part of the group that are really good at doing this, but we need to get everyone up to snuff. When we get to Aspen, we are going to hold training sessions to get everyone trained up on the best use of all the weapons we have in our arsinal. Most of them already know the basics of using the firearms, but the best way to hold and use a bat? The best way to handle a machete without hurting yourself? Yeah, we need to work on how everyone uses them.
     The traffic snarls, on the other hand, take a hell of a lot of effort to get around or through. We have to make sure the cars are empty or zombies before we go to move them. We try to have, at the least, two people per vehicle, and it takes time to clear them before we get ready to move them. Then, it takes someone behind the wheel and several others, or one of our vehicles, to push them out of the way. Sometimes, the vehicles are just unmoveable and then we have to find a way around the mess. Most of the time, we go on the side of the road and around the cars. But there have been times that even the edge of the road is clogged and the cars are stuck. In this case, we have to back track and find another way to continue in the same direction. This can add hours, and miles, to our trips.
     Amanda and her crew are preparing breakfast right now and the vehicles are being packed as we speak. Once we eat, we are heading out and I hope we don't run into any huge hordes or traffic jams. There is really only one place to stop between if we need to, a place called Gypsum. But, with luck and the skills we are learning on our way, we will make it all the way to Glenwood Springs.

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.

From the journal of Sean Glover, April 17

April 17, 2017

     Watching movies by myself is getting really old. So is searching houses. At first, the search was really cool, it was like a live video game and I was the master! It made me feel like I was in an episode of The Walking Dead and I was the Carl character. I felt cool and strong and capable. Just looking for stuff to keep myself alive or for stuff that was really cool. I was hoping to find a giant can of pudding, so I could have my own pudding episode. I was pretending that each day was a episode and was seperate from the day before or the next day.
     But now, it's boring. I haven't even gone out the last five days or so. I just stay at the place I have been living and eat the food I already found. I watch movies  that were already here or that I found since coming here. I know I'll have to start looking for food again or I will run out at some point. I just wish I had, like, one other person. I don't care who it is, I would take anyone I have ever known or a stranger, guy or girl. I wouldn't care if they were old or young, as long as I ended up with someone to talk to, watch movies with and search houses with. Just someone to be with, that's all.

     Who would have thought that the zombie apocalypse would be so lonely. I always thought it looked like heaven. Of course, when you are a foster kid and always have to be in someone else's house with lots of other people, being alone looks really appealing. There were times in the past where I would have given up all my memories of my parents just for an hour alone. Now, I would give up the memories for an hour with someone else. Shit, I would even take my last social worker Bob Barkley, or Bobby Big Man, as I used to call him behind his back. He thought he was so important and hungered for a promotion away from us bothersome kids. But now he is just another shuffling undead somewhere with a hunger for human flesh.
     I might have to go somewhere else, closer to a bigger city, to see if I can find other survivors. It will mean being closer to large hordes of undead, which by myself is really dangerous. I don't have anyone to watch my back. But I might find someone to watch my back by going, maybe even a group of someones.
      I just hate to leave this place because it is so stocked and all the power still works. It even has a wall all the way around the place. It is, like at least a five acres inside the wall. Then there is another fence, this time made or rocks, around the house with less than an acre right around it seperated from the rest. It makes it really safe in here, even though there haven't been a lot ,of zombies in this part of Aspen.  There were almost 7,000 people in this city before the shit hit the fan, but this was the richest part. The plots are at the smallest around five acres and the houses secluded. The trailer parks for the service workers were in another part of the city, so most of the zombies are closer to the center of town. There just weren't really enough houses here off W Buttermilk Road to cause an issue for me. I just have to avoid the airport because it has a small horde all it's own and will soon have to go closer to the city to search more houses.
     I just wish someone would show up in Aspen who still has a heart beat. I will wait for a couple of weeks and then I will make a decision about whether to stay here or go looking for someone else still alive.
     Back to my movies. I think I will watch Jeremiah Johnson today. I might need some of his mountain skills if I do decide to leave.
   

   

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.

From the journal of Jenna Bless, April 17

April 17,  2017

     We have been in Vail for a couple of days now. We found this huge house that we all fit in, but it doesn't even have a fence, so we made one out of cars from the streets around here. It has made a nice area for the kids to play in and we posted lookouts on the roofs of some cars and also in the highest windows in the attic. I wish we were going to  stay here, but the adults don't think it is quite far enough from the Denver area.
     There wasn't much food here, but the houses right around it had some stuff to eat in them. Mostly canned vegitables, rice, pasta and Spam. Not a lot of neccesities, which is what Amanda was hoping for. Her little cooking team was still able to make some yummy food. I never thought Spam was good,  but whatever she did to it made it taste pretty good.
     Today, some of us are going to search houses a little farther out. There was a meeting last night after the kids were in bed and everyone agreed that we needed to look farther out.  I know that they have a list of items to search for. Gary, the former Sheriffs Deputy, is going to lead the group. Amanda, Jesus, Anthony, Dr Ben and Steve are going to go, too. They are looking for at least five others and Williams told him that we will go. Amanda is hoping to find staples to cook with, like flour, salt, or sugar. Dr Ben is going to look for any kind of medicine or any medical supplies. The rest of us are going to look for other stuff that might be helpful. At the top of our list is ammo. We are also going to look for warm clothes in every size, blankets and sleeping bags.

     We might have to stay in one of the houses we are searching, if it gets too late to come back tonight. Gary and Steve went to one of the stores near this house and brought back every set of walkie talkies they could find, which was seven sets. Aaron and Linda took one and the other in the set went to Dr. Ben, in case of an emergency. We were going to give each lookout one, that takes two sets. Then, the group going out will take the other three and stay in contact for as far as the walkies will reach.
     The rest of the group was going to stay at this house and go through the vehicles to see what we have. We need to know if is other stuff we need to start looking for.

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.

From the journal of John Archer, the Archivist, April 15

April 15, 2017

     Crystal wanted to know approximately where her mother was buried. So,last night we looked at the map and checked the mileage on some of the cars. We figured Stephanie and Rose were buried somewhere on the outskirts of Idaho Springs. When we drove away from that camp, we went through a small town but didn't see any signs to tell us what the name of the town was. I put a small cross on the map about where we had been and Crystal was satisfied when we told her the name of the small town. I think that she wants to know so she can visit her mothers grave at some point in the future. Poor kid.

     Getting out of the Denver area was a long slog with us having to stop every few miles to clear a traffic jam. It's dangerous, too. We never know if there are any undead in the cars we need to move and we usually don't find out until we walk up to the car and wiggle the door handle. It has been made a rule that there has to be at least two people per vehicle and one has to be ready with a weapon while the other jiggles the handle. That way, if there is a zombie in a car, one opens the door and the other takes out the undead. It is getting a little less clogged on the roads the farther we get from the Denver area. Now, it is just the little towns and intersections that are causing us to slow down.
     We made it as far as the outskirts of Silver Plume last night. It was almost 35 miles from Idaho Springs but felt more like a hundred. I know losing the two women is part of that, but we still have to keep going. We scavenge everywhere we can along the way, looking for food, water, ammo and anything else that might be useful. Every traffic jam has the potential to be a gold mine of supplies. Although, we usually get only a few things from each. Yesterday, we found three boxes of granola bars, a case of water with only two missing and a cache of mini chocolate bars. The kids were thrilled with getting dessert last night and the sugar kept them zooming around for a couple of hours past their regular bed times. Even Crystal smiled when she was given the chocolate.

     Today, we are going to leave soon after breakfast, which should be ready any minute now. The plan is to try for Vail, find a place to make camp and then stay for  couple of days wherever that happens to be. It looks like it will be around 30 miles from our present location and there are not a lot of towns listed on the map to slow us down. If we make it to Vail by tonight, we will still have almost 150 miles to go, but it would allow us to rest and try to scavenge from some of the houses around there. We are starting to run low on food and really need to find some supplies to keep us going. So far, the cars have really only yielded snack items and water. Now, these will keep us alive,  but some staples would be appreciated. We need flour, baking soda and baking powder, salt, sugar (if possible) and other basic necessities for cooking. I think houses are more likely to provide these items, hence the stay over in Vail.
     From Vail, we have mapped out a course to get us to Aspen in approximately 30 mile jaunts. Vail to Eagle, around 30 miles. Then Eagle to Glenwood Springs, which will be the longest section of the journey at around 41 miles. From Glenwood Springs, we head to Basalt, which is just under 30 miles and then to Aspen covering the last 19 miles or so. It will take us, including today, the next 6 days to get there. We are hoping to be able to find whatever we need along the way and make it to Aspen without losing any more of our group. Hopefully, we can find a place to make secure once we get to Aspen. It would be great if we could find one of those compound type houses that are featured in architectural magazines. One with a yard would be great, so the kids can have somewhere to play. A wall around the compound would be ideal,  but we can build one if we have to. Please, God, let Aspen be the right move for us.

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.

From the journal of Nathan Sanchez, April 12

April 12, 2017

     It has been about a week since the meeting and we are putting our plans into action. The teams have been training with Fernando, learning the tactics he was taught at the academy. They have been using one of the old houses on the ranch to practice their entry and exit.

     There are more people included on the five main teams than used to go on the missions. These include the main team that does the entry from the front. The back entry team, who come in from the back on foot. The lookout team, who are responsible for doing the surveillance before the mission and coordinating with all the teams on the day of the mission. This team also includes the sub-team of our snipers. They set up near the lookouts and provide protection from afar.
     We also have two other teams that are considered back up for the main team and the back entry team. They get close to the target on the sides and are ready to jump in if the situation warrants.  Fernando has been drilling us all in what our parts will be in during missions and has even set up practice runs with other family members participating. He has run us through a bunch of senerios, some go smoothly and others have suprises for his teams. We are all hoping this will help to prepare us for what can happen out there, in the new real world.
     Darren and I have been put on the mail entry team along with Alonso, Emilio and Javier and Lupe. Luis, Rosita, Martín and Manuel are on the back entry team with other cousins. Fernando is in charge of the lookout team and the one who will be the person coordinating our missions. Lorena, Alejandro and Bruno are part of it, as well. Our snipers, Jorge, Pablo, Francisco, and Jazmin, are our best shots and are also our best trackers, just in case we need those skills, too. The back up teams are made up other cousins with each team having at least 4 people on them.

     There have been meetings where potential targets are being discussed. So far, there is a list of about 10 places to hit. Once Fernando says the teams are ready, surveillance will begin on the one selected to be first. Everyone is working together to make this place more secure and to get the mission teams ready. It is really inspiring to see how we have all come together and have not been at each others throats, at least since the 6th..
     Tonight, there will be a meeting to finalize the order of our list of places to scavenge and then Fernando will let us know what the progress is for the teams. We are all hoping that we have learned enough to be able to start watching our targets. I am getting tired of training and I bet the others are, too.

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.

From the journal of James Cohen, Somewhere around April 27

Somewhere around April 27, 2017

     I have been stuck since I lost Dorris. I just stayed in the housing complex and have been remembering our life together. I feel like I have lost the will to keep going but I know that Dorris wouldn't want me to give up. I feel like I am stuck between what she would want and what I want to do, which is give up. Life is so empty without her.

    Tricksey has been having a blast here. All of the houses have little yards. She gets to be in the yards of whatever house we are in, either the one we are living in or the ones I spend the days searching. We don't go out every day. Sometimes, we go into the backyard of the house I am beginning to think of as ours. The day will just happen while I sit in the lounge chair and throw the ball for Tricksey or nap in the sun. Other days, we  go and look through another house. Tricksey is the lookout and I leave the door open so she can run to me if she smells any undead coming. We have almost gone through all of the houses on the two streets closest to our place. We have been lucky to not see a lot of undead here in this complex. From the mail I have seen in the houses, these families were evacuated pretty early on. They took clothes, pictures and other stuff they have a sentimental attachment to, but lots of good stuff was left. I have made our house very comfortable.

     Last night, while I was trying to sleep, I remembered this documentary about the Greenbrier Hotel's underground bunker. It was designed to house Congress in case of an emergency somewhere in the 50's'. I have always wanted to take a tour of bunker and stay at the hotel. Maybe, I should think about going there. I know it is a long way for where I am now, something like 3 or 4 states away. What else am I going to do?
     I guess I need to decide what and where I am doing next. If I am going to give up, then this place is as good as any to do so. I can kill myself in our little house and still be close to Dorris. But, if I am going to keep going, I need to make some decisions. Where am I going to go? What do I really want to do?
    I think I will spend a couple of days making up my mind and then I will have to act. Either kill myself or leave this complex.

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.

From the recovered journal of the Battle of the New Alamo, April 20

April 20, 2017

     Beef has been delicious! I was going to slaughter Fish first because she likes to cry, but Beef turned out to be the leader of the cattle and was encouraging the others to try to kill me. I decided day before yesterday that it would be better to keep the crier and rid myself of the one who was trying to cause me trouble.

     I waited until it was time for their lunch and brought it in like everything was normal. Once I was in the cell room with the cattle, I stood by the door and I handed out their plates; first to Fish, then to Chicken, and lastly, I held the plate out to Beef. When she reached for it, I dropped the plate and grabbed her wrist. I pulled her to me and put the knife, hidden at my back, to her throat. The others started to jump back up but I slit Beef's throat before they could make it to their feet.Wow, the blood just sprayed all over the cattle, the floor, the walls, just everywhere! Fish screamed and I dropped the carcass to slap her quiet. Only took three slaps and she was laying on the floor quietly sobbing to herself while Chicken held her and stared at me with hatred in her eyes.
     I pulled the carcas to my room and secured the door behind me. Then I started imitating the way Alice Wakabiashi butchered the last one. I was not as neat, of course, because I have not experience with doing the butchering. But, I got it done still. I cut the meat off the big bones and got the pans ready to put the meat in and place it on the fire. Then, I realized I had no way of disposing of the unwanted parts from Beef. I decided to wait until dark and throw the parts over the rail off my balcony. I was really quiet and quick and was not noticed by the undead on the street below.
     Since then, I have been enjoying all the meat that I can stomach. The best tasting bits, so far, have been the butt and the thighs. I guess they are the most tender because she carried her weight mostly there. The fat made the meat so soft and succulent. Finger licking good! Last night, I fixed the last of the fresh veggies, the ones still edible, and had myself a feast. The cattle were even given a little extra bite of dog food. 

     So far, the smell of my cooking hasn't drawn any more of the undead to my building than there were out there before. I wonder if they don't care about the smell because it is not the smell of a live person. To them, the smell of cooking isn't associated with people because it is something already dead being cooked. Too bad no one is around who can answer this question now. Just me and my remaining cattle. Fish hasn't stopped crying since I slaughtered Beef, but she is being quiet about it, at least. Chicken just stares at me with a look that would kill me, if it were at all possible. At least they are behaving, for now. I should have enough meat to last a few days, before whatever is left goes bad. When I slaughter the next one, I think I will try to make jerkey out of some of the meat.
   

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.

From the record kept by the twins Jenny and Barbie Crow, April 27

April 27, 2017

     There hasn't been anything to write about lately, just the same old, same old. But Jenny and I went to check on our plants this morning and there are little buds on the tomato plants and even little nubs on some of the others where we hope buds will appear. We are going to have fresh veggies! Not a big variety, but fresh is fresh! I can't wait to bite into some home grown, or in this case pool deck grown, tomatoes and cucumbers! We are even going to have lettuce.

We can make a salad! Maybe we can find some powdered ranch in one of the apartments and make some up with the fat free dehydrated milk we have. It won't be as good as ranch dressing used to be with full fat milk, but it is better than none at all. I wish I had thought to buy the dehydrated buttermilk. That would have been awesome!
     We have been taking pieces of furniture down to the administation area and are almost ready to set up our defensive posititions to take on the zombies. It better be worth all this effort. We better find some good stuff. We found some furniture movers in one of the apartments on the 5th floor and it's been a little easier since then. It's just the two of us, so we are able to get more and larger furniture than when we started. We have been placing it the way we planned it out and it shoud work to give us places to be safe but able to take out the zombies. There are even more of them than we thought. Once we started to bring stuff to the entry way and make noise putting it in place, more undead began to come to the doors. We could tell there were more because the banging got louder and louder with more hands behind the sound. We thought there were around 10 of them in there with what looked like the entire security force. But there must have been other administration people in their offices when whatever happened in there happened.
     From how much the noise got louder, it sounds more like 20 people or more. We are going to have to make sure we can move behind the barriers so we can use one spot to kill some and when it gets overrun, we can move to another and start again. With the hallways being so narrow, that is going to be a little difficult. We are going to have to try to narrow some of the areas for the zombies so we can make trails behind for us.
     Once we have gone through the administration area, we are going to try to get into the other tower and see if there's anything good there. We still have some floors to go through here but the apartments are bigger and were more expensive than the ones in our tower. They might have better stuff. We might even find some gourmet food in cans to enjoy with out fresh veggies.
     One of us will write about what happen when we hit the admin area. At least, if both of us don't get eaten.

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.

   

From the journal of Sarah Richards, April 17

April 17, 2017

     I think it's a good thing that Mandy, Mom and I have continued to put supplies at our Buckner hiding place. No one in the Towers has come up with any ideas about how to take out the zombies or stop them from getting in our building. The banging hasn't stopped and the undead keep piling up on the outside of the building so they get closer to reaching the bottom windows every day.

I told Mom we should try to burn them and see if we could stop them that way but the mayor and police chief didn't think it would work. They won't even try, stupid men. It's an idea and none of the adults have come up with anything else, but since I thought of it, it's not worth even trying. Well, if the building is taken over by the zombies without anyone trying anything, they will get what they deserve. Mandy, her family, mom and I won't be here by then. We will be in our secured hiding place.
     When Mandy and I went to Buckner a couple of days ago, we also went to the port end of the tunnel, just to check it out. There are way less zombies in the port area than there are around the Towers. I think the banging  from the ones here are drawing the others from the harbor. It's the only noise that can be heard outside. It's loud enough that we could here the noise from Buckner and from the port. That means we should be able to search for other supplies in the places around the port once we start to run low from what we have taken to Buckner.

     We have been making more space secure in Buckner. Mom has even come to help us take supplies and to help close in more room. We have been taking building supplies from other parts of Buckner and have been using them to make our hiding place bigger. We put cotton over the end of the hammer to help muffle the sound and we take out any zombies around the building when we first get there. Yes, more are there when we leave, but we have gotten good at avoiding them going back to the tunnel.We have a stash spot where we throw the ones we take out. Part of the basement is open on the first floor and it has been filling with water and parts of the building that has fallen in.  It also helps make it look like no one has been there for a few of them to be wandering around if anyone goes over there to check. Hopefully, no one will think to go up and check the floors. They might find our amateur repairs.  think that us kids did them before all of this started to make a place to hang out in the winter. I hope they think that us kids did them before all of this started to make a place to hang out in the winter.
     I just hope they don't think to really look in our hiding place. The supplies are under the floor and in the walls. We also had to hide some in other places. We have been taking little bits to the side tunnel as often as we can and hide them in an electrical tube that has a cover and comes out about five feet from the split in the tunnel. Then we take it to Buckner when we do the repairs. That way, we can get more over there without being obvious about it. It 's easier to sneek little bits into the tunnel than to take backpacks of the stuff and have people wonder why we leave with full packs and come back with empty ones. We try to not be seen when we go too, so no one wonders what we are doing.
     The zombies are close to reaching the bottom of the windows so we are going to start sleeping in our clothes. Mandy hasn't told her family yet, she is worried that her sister will blab and then our secret will be out and our hiding place will not be just ours. We have to be really careful now. People are starting to get scared and starting to snap at each other and fighting over little stuff. If no one does anything, the zombies will be in the building soon. No more than a couple of days and this building will be done. Mom, Mandy and I are going to go to the school today, and be obvious about it. So if anyone has seen us, they wil think that is what we have been doing all along. Gotta try to cover our bases. We are also going to see if there is anything we need or want over there and get it back to our spot. There might be books that will help us survive longer. So we are going to look.
     We will have to leave here soon. We don't want to still be in this building when the zombies come in. That would make it really hard to get out. The main entrance to the tunnels is on the first floor. But Dad did maintenance and he told us about an entrance on the third floor with a hidden staircase. Mandy and I found it a couple of months ago and if we didn't get out in time, that is where we will have to try to get out from. We will just have to hope the zombies are too busy going after people to turn and go into the tunnels.

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.