Diary of a Zombie Apocalypse: December 2017

Saturday, December 30, 2017

From the journal of Rebecca Martin, May 5

May 5, 2017

I have been traveling with James for almost a full week now. It has been good for both of us to not be alone anymore. He has been really nice and very helpful. We are somewhere close to Huntington and the going is getting a little tougher. We have run into more and more places that are just impassable with cars and you have to be really careful when getting throught them because there are zombies in some of them.
Two days ago, we were using the rig to push some of the cars out of the way. I was the one getting into the cars, when needed, to steer them out of the way. James, being the only one who can drive a big rig, was pushing the cars to clear a path. He had just pushed this little Mazda Miata out of our path, then he yelled at me to go to a little truck and get it ready to move. I did what I always do and walked up to the drivers door and was reaching for the handle when a face appeared in the window. I jumped back about three feet and froze.

The thing inside the truck had been a teen girl, probably pretty, too. But it was really hard to tell. Her hair was blonde, but looked darker from the blood and other bodily fluids caking it. The left side of her face was almost perfect, except for the bite on her cheek. The right side of her face was shredded and strips of flesh were hanging off her jaw. Her neck was missing most of the skin and her right arm was missing from the elbow down. Her stomach was a gaping, empty hole and pieces of her intestines were strewn around the cab like festive ribbons at a party.
Beside her in the passenger seat at a zombie kid that was not much older than five before she turned. She was in much better physical shape than the teen. The little girl was also a blonde, and from what was left of the older girls face, I would guess they were sisters. The child was dressed in a pretty pink dress and she was wearing little patent leather dress shoes. The dress was now covered in blood and bits of her sister and she had a wound on her left hand that could have been a bite.

The teen was eaten on the side where the passenger sat and the child wasn't eaten like her sister. I would guess that the little girl was bit before they got into the truck, maybe by a parent back at home. They got as far as the traffic jam and the girl probably turned and attacked her sister.

James saw me jump back and climbed down from the rig to see what was going on. I passed my hand over my face and told him it was ok. He walked over and saw the girls in the truck and just shook his head. We worked together and got them out and put out of their misery. Then we moved the truck and the day went on.
I don't know why, but those two girls have been in my nightmares the last two nights. They keep coming after me and I can't seem to get away! I don't know why they have stuck in my head like this, no one else I have seen has so affected me.
I mean, I watched Alice turn after she was scratched. That was really horrible and disturbing thing to see. But for some reason, these girls haunt me. Hopefully, with time, the memory of them will fade. I really hope so.

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From the journal of Charlie Fast Fingers Pearson, May 3

May 3, 2017

It has been a really hard five days. We spent the 29th getting the little we were taking with us ready for transport and gathering some food and water. The scouting party said it looked like the fruit became scarce when you start down the mountain. We made a couple of sleds out of pieces of the plane and used vines as ropes to pull with. Marty had us all do a last check of our camp for anything that might be useful and then we settled down to rest until the morning.
I used my time to prepare a stick to help me walk while sitting by the fire that last night and thought I was ready for the trek. I was so wrong. It's been hell walking day after day with little rest and not just for me. Melanie is being pulled on one of the sleds because her leg is still broken in too many places. She moans with every bump and is in a lot of pain. But she doesn't complain. Buck is also still in pain from his probably broken ribs. He is walking, but is white as a sheet and makes little pain cries with every step. So far though, the worst complainer is Will. I know his head was really hurt in the crash, but he doesn't have any broken bones and says the dizzyness has mostly gone. That hasn't stopped him from complaining, fucking endlessly. He doesn't have a lot of lackies left to jump at his every command. Of the five that were with him when we got stuck in the VIP room, only two are still alive, Shane and Travis. And they are getting real tired of jumping for their old boss. He used to be a real important man in the music industry, but now, he's just a nobody like the rest of us. Actually, he's even less because he is more fucking useless than anyone else in our group!
I am glad we took the time to collect a bunch of fruit before we started down. The scouting team was right that the farther down the mountain you go, the less fruit there is available. I wonder if the natives had planted fruit trees closer to the village, or if they used to go up the mountain to get fruit. It seems like a really long trek for fruit, but if that is your only option, then you do it. I guess we will find out.

The mountain is steep and has lots of trees and bushes and vines. Not all of them are very nice either, some of them have huge fucking thorns that rip and tear into anyone who gets too close. As it is, I fucking trip every other step and have to grab at a tree or anything to steady myself and hald the time, I feel the thorns tear into my body. I know the others are doing the same, I can tell from the sound of their footsteps, stumbling through the forest. Yesterday, we came to the edge of the cliff and Marty says at the speed we're going, it will be at least two more fucking days of walking before we see the end of it. That will be where the trail leads back down instead of sideways and we will find a big, mountain stream with the freshest water to refill our make shift jugs. At least, there's a trail that goes along the top and it's far enough back from the edge that no one has to be afraid of falling.
I can't wait until we get to the village. They have to have had some kind of animals. At this point, my mouth waters at the thought of any kind of meat. Chicken, pork, lamb, even goat! Anything except fruit! Shit, I hate fish, but would gladly eat a whole plateful right now. I would even eat them raw if I had to!

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

From the journal of Sean Glover, April 25

April 25, 2017

The last two days have been heaven. Having the others around have made my world a brighter place. I knew I was unhappy being by myself, but I didn't realize how much I missed other people. Being in the foster system is lonely, but you are hardly ever alone. There are always other foster kids, foster families, or counselors around. It was almost impossible to get even five minutes alone my whole life, and then I was alone for months. I always thought being alone would be the best thing ever, but when it happened, I realized that I really wasn't a loner type person.

We have watched movies, eaten, soaked in the indoor hot tub, watched more movies and basically lounged around the last couple of days. We all know that with more people being here now, we will have to go out to scavenge for more food. But, we have just been enjoying getting to know each other for the last few days. Luckily, I had found lots of food before they got here, so we have this grace period to hang out.
They told me about the how they ended up together and it has made me really glad that I ran into them and not some horrible group like they ran into. I know that people will go to that dark place, but it has only been a few months since the shit hit the fan. I thought more people would hold out and help others for longer than this. I mean, I know from watching the Walking Dead that people will make the choice to turn into mutant bikers, but so soon? It took the people in Terminus getting taken captive and abused before they turned. Yeah, some just were bad before shit started, but damn.
I saw some people like this when I was ditching the rest of society right after Shelby ate the rest of my foster family. I saw a group of men holding down and raping a couple of young girls, I saw people shooting other living people for stuff they had, and I saw a couple of teenage boys beating an old man to death with a bat for his car. But ambushing people? That is low.
I am just glad that Carol was out there and was able to save Margaret, Elisabeth and Eric. I just wish they were a little closer to my age. The girls are just that much too old to see me as anything other than a kid. Sucks, too. I will just have to keep my fingers crossed that others will come to join us and there will be a girl closer to my age.

Carol found the library today. It is on the third floor and near the back of the house. I have never really been a reader, except for comics. I found it when I first got here but forgot about it. The movie theater is more my thing. But she was really excited at all the how to books that she found on things like electrical systems, solar power, water pumps and stuff. Who knew it would make a woman happy to be able to read about keeping systems running. She has been carrying around at least one of these books every minutes since then.
Well, off for a night of the Godfather movies. We have popcorn, soda, candy and company. Sounds like heaven to me

From the journal of Marie Costa, May 1

May 1, 2017

We have come up with a plan to get the doors close, in a way. Frank, who worked in the back receiving the loads of food, suggested that we make stacks of pallets and push them to the doors with the pallet jacks. Then, we can put stacks of food, mostly canned goods and drinks, behind the stacks of pallets to add weight behind the barricades. But, while this is going on, the rest of us are going to have to either distract or take out the ones here in the store. It is going to have to be synchronized with four people using the pallet jacks to block all the doors at the same time. Frank and Will have given a couple of the others we found, Andrew, who was a butcher and Alex from produce, how to use the pallet jacks really well. We are going to put the plan into action tomorrow.
Tonight, we are finding and refining our weapons. We took a few brooms and sharpened the wooden handles into a point to us like spears. We also collected all the large knives from the Produce Cut and Meat departments. We ended up with seven really big ones and around ten fillet knives. The smaller ones are just for a last defense but we have almost fifteen of them. We should have enough for everyone to have a spear and at least one large knife. Hopefully, it will be enough.

I have never been so happy to see canned meats as I have been the last few days. It is protein and I love it. Spam, Vienna sausages, smeat, sardines, and ravioli with meat filling in meat sauce. They all taste like heaven after week of mostly vegetables and cheese. Especially with the veggies going bad and us having to pick through them. The last few days were slim pickings and everyone in the cooler really only a bite or two of cheese and a bite or two of mostly spoiled veggies and fruit. So, even cold, canned meats and pasta were glorious!
Since we survived in our cooler, I keep wondering if it is possible for other to have survived in other parts of the store. Once we get into the main part of the store, who's to say we don't find others. At this point, the more the merrier. Time to sleep and be rested for the adventure tomorrow.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

From the journal of Sean Glover, April 23

April 23, 2017

Today, I decided to go back to the sports store downtown. I hadn't been there since I first got here and I remembered it was a really cool place to spend some time looking around in. I drove the Porsche I had found at one of the houses I scavenged yesterday. I never thought I would get to sit in one, let alone drive one. Score one for living during the apocalypse!

I had been in the store for about a half hour when I hear another vehicle pulling up outside. I hid quickly and quietly, so I could watch and see who had just gotten here. I saw 3 girls and one guy get out of an official looking truck and walk up to the unlocked doors of the store. They came inside and I watched them for at least a half hour. They talked nicely to each other and helped each other. I liked seeing that, so I decided to come out of hiding. I cleared my throat and stood up from behind the clearance rack I had been hiding behind. They all pulled guns and pointed them at me and I put my hands up.
I said something like "Hey, it's just me. My name is Sean Glover. How are you?". I guess some of the manners the foster system tried to pound into me actually got through. That's when I found out their names and we started talking, still with me standing hands up and them standing guns out. It took about 20 minutes before they felt comfortable enough to put their guns down. I waited and talked another couple before putting my hands down, slowly.
We spent an hour just talking and then, I told them about the house I had found. It has a wall, solar power, hot water and everything. We got everything they had chosen and the stuff I had stashed and they followed me back to the house.

They looked around and I could tell they were in shock, a little. Carol, the older lady, started laughing in the kitchen, when they saw the fridge and freezer, fully stocked. The others joined in and I couldn't help myself, I joined in, too. Then, I thought they were all going to cry when I showed them to one of the bathrooms upstairs and turned on the hot water. I showed the others to other, I guess they would have been called guest suites, or something snotty like that. I showed them that there were lots of clothes in all the rooms and they all found something that, at least, kinda fit. I told them I would make some food and to take their time. I didn't see them for over an hour and when they all slowly wandered down, they were a lot cleaner.
We spent the rest of the day eating and watching movies. I know they felt like it wasn't real, but they will get used to it. I am just happy to have company and hear voices, that aren't mine and that don't come from a movie. Thank you, apocalypse!

From the journal of Carol Evans, April 23

April 23, 2017

It is so nice not being by myself anymore. We've spent hours just talking to each other. Talking about life before the pandemic and since, movies, books, art, anything! I love hearing a voice that isn't mine and isn't just a growling and moaning zombie. It doesn't matter what is being said, just that it is being said. Margaret, Elisabeth and Eric are really nice and fun people.
We almost lost the truck yesterday when we stopped at a ski and sport shop about 20 miles outside Aspen in Snowmass. It was really ritzy looking and big, so I thought it was worth stopping to take a look and everyone else agreed, so we stopped.

The doors were closed and locked. I used the butt of my gun to knock on the glass, but no one and nothing moved inside from what we could see. We decided to walk around the building to see if there were any other ways to get inside, without having to break the glass in the front doors. We would do it if we had to, but then there would be no way to close it behind us, to protect our backs while we were inside.
There was a door on the left side and up a flight of stairs. From the way it looked, I told the others that it probably led to the administration part of the business. When we got to the door, there was a set of keys hanging half out of the lock and a puddle of blood with bits of person on the landing. We hadn't seen any undead while walking around the building, but it put me on higher alert. I tried the door, but it was still locked. I motioned for the others to be ready and then I used the keys and opened the door. Eric was standing centered with his gun aimed at chest height, but there was no one in the office.
We moved in and completely cleared the office, checking every door from left to right. The last door we checked turned out to be the stairs leading down into store below. It was dark and there was the smell of stale air drifting up. The stairs were covered in a layer of dust and no one had been down them recently. Eric grabbed his flashlight and started down to the store, we all followed single file.
There was a door at the bottom of the stairs and he tried the handle, it was locked. I handed him the keys that I had pocketed and he unlocked, then opened the door. I had my gun aimed over his shoulder, ready in case some undead lurched at us. But again, the store seemed empty. We filed out of the stairs and stayed together to clear the entire store, dressing rooms and all.
Once we were sure we were alone, we split up and started collecting the items on the list we had decided on. We piled the items near the door to the stairs and continued collecting.
It was about an hour into our scavenging, we heard a car come screeching into the parking lot and I ran to the windows to see what was going on. Two men jumped out of their car and started trying to open our truck. When they found it locked, they started walking to the bed to go through our stuff.
Eric and I agreed immediately that we needed to stop them. We all pulled our guns and stood at the windows and doors. We shot through the glass and took down the two at our truck. The car fishtailed as it tried to speed away and make the turn to leave the parking lot. We concentrated our fire on the car and it didn't make it far before the tires were popped and it crashed into one of the light polls. The driver didn't move, but the front passenger got out and tried to run, while returning our fire. He also didn't make it far before falling down and not moving.
Eric and I went to make sure that the men were all dead, while Elisabeth and Margaret piled our collected gear into baskets and pushed them to our truck. The driver was still alive when I got to him, but I could tell he would not last long. He tried to bring his gun up to shoot me, but I pushed his arm aside and put my new hunting knife through his head. He was gone. I turned and saw Eric doing to same for the guy on the ground while the girls were making sure the ones by the truck would not come back undead.

We hurriedly put our new supplies into the bed of the truck and secured the tarp. We needed to get away from this place before the undead in the area came because of the noise we had made with the guns. It was getting late, so we found a secure looking house far enough from the ski and sport. We made sure the truck was hidden, the house was secure and we had all eaten something, before settling down for the rest of the evening and night.
This morning, there was no one and no undead in sight when we went outside. We are going to make it to Aspen today. I hope we can find a good place to stay, I am really tired of being on the road. I was also hoping for solar power and hot water. Here's hoping!

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

From the journal of Marie Costa, April 29

This journal entry was written by Marie Costa, a women who worked in the produce department at a large chain grocery store. It was brought to me with the Greenbriar Hotel information stash, which came to us around seven years after the virus caused the apocalypse, with other East Coast sources. It shows the resilience of people and what lengths they will go to, just to survive.

April 29, 2017

We have finally gotten out of the produce walk in after three weeks of freezing and rationing any food we could find. I found this notebook in the file cabinet in our area and have decided to write about what has happened and happens to us from now on.
We were able to survive on the food in the walk in. With Produce Cut using the same walk in for our ingredients for preparing the pre-made salads and other fruit and vegetable items. Besides using the produce in the walk in, we also had several cheeses for stuffing mushrooms and making seven layer dip, cream cheese and bacon bits for the stuffed jalapeno's, deviled eggs that came in a package of boiled eggs and pre-made sweet relish egg mixture, and yogurt for the parfaits. There was also a few other items, like the soy meatless products, that are in most produce departments. These all help keep us alive, although all of us were craving meat.
When the zombies attacked the store, we were having a short safety meeting in the back produce area. Alice, one of the Courtesy Clerks, had just walked through our swinging doors when screaming started in the front of the store. Paul, our manager, told us all to wait there and went out to see what was going on. I watched through the window in the door and saw him walk through the department and peek around the corner towards the registers. He turned and ran back waving his arms for us to stay there and behind him, I saw something I couldn't believe at first. Dead people, walking towards us. There was this one, he must have been no more than 20 when he died, or turned, or whatever. His face was still perfect, except for the blood ringing his mouth. He neck though, it was mostly gone, his spine shining through the raw meat remains of his throat. His flannel shirt was covered in gore and there was a big whole where his stomach should have been, but his abdomen was empty, except for a small pile of his intestines.

Paul only made it halfway back when another group of zombies came down the next aisle and followed the sounds of heavy breathing and running footsteps. He stopped running and looked around before dodging through the produce tables. But he didn't have a chance. More of the undead surrounded him and the last thing I saw before looking away, was Paul being pulled to pieces and being consumed by the group around him.
Jake, one of the guys who worked in Produce, pulled Linda and I away from the doors and suggested we all go into the walk in and used the pallet mover and put pallet of watermelons in front of the swinging doors. Next, we stacked the heaviest boxes of produce on top of that to form a wall of produce. The undead would have been able to push the doors in without it, but they weren't smart enough to try to pull the doors the other direction. We stayed really quiet and listened to the people in the store being killed and eaten by the zombies. We left a small spot to look out and saw a couple of the meat department employees being pulled apart and eaten.

We all spent hours huddled together, ate small amounts to make our food last as long as possible. We watched the area immediately outside our walk in and after three weeks, the area was quiet enough for us to venture out. Over the last three days, we have taken some of the areas in the back receiving area and have enjoyed eating other foods, canned meats and sardines, beans and dry cereal. We have found four other employees hiding in the back and have stayed together since. The store itself, only has around 15 undead wandering around it, but the doors are open and we could see shadows occasionally pass by the one set we can see.
Now, we have to decide when to take the rest of the store, how we are going to secure the doors and do it all as quietly as possible. Yeah, that's all.

From the journal of Sarah Richards, April 24

April 24, 2017

The flashes of gunfire stopped last night and we haven't seen any since. The Towers is now just a dead hulk of our town full of undead. There is no way for us to go back and look for anything now. We will have to make due with what we were able to smuggle over here. We did find a couple of stashes here in Buckner and we will watch them to see if anyone comes to claim. If no one shows up within a couple of days, we will add them to our supplies. Mandy and I were only able to search a couple of the floors, so there might be more to find. I hope someone else is still alive from the Towers. If they come here, we can have more people and more is better when going up against zombies.

Most of the undead seem to be staying in the Towers, so far. We have only seen a few here at Buckner, stragglers, that seem to have wandered away from the horde before they headed to the Towers. We take them out, quietly, and then throw their bodies down into the basement. There haven't been that many, so we haven't filled up the space yet, although the smell is just horrible! We stay away from there unless we have to dump someone or something. It doesn't help that we are using it to dump our honey bucket, too.
We had a meeting last night and set up a schedule for keeping watch. There aren't many of us, so we need to make sure someone is always watching. That way, we will have some warning if anyone or anything comes creeping up on us. If we know, we can be as ready as we can be, with only one man, two adult ladies and three teenage girls with only two rifles and two pistols between them. Of course, the guns would be a last resort. The sound would draw undead to us and that is not smart. We can handle a couple at a time without having to use the guns, but if too many come at once, we will have to use them and deal with the consequences.

We have talked about going into the port town to see if we can find any supplies, but it was decided to wait until the supplies start to run down, then we'll go. The undead from the cruise ship walked through town and we don't know how many stayed in town. Again, staying quiet will be necessary, so we don't draw more of the undead to where we are. I guess we will have to wait and see. I told Mom that me and Mandy should go down the tunnel to the port and keep watch for a few days, just to see what we see. But she thinks it's too dangerous. If the undead in the Towers find the way into the tunnel, we would be cut off. Mandy and I agree that we still might try and just not tell Mom.
For now, we will wait a few days before trying anything. That should give the zombies a chance to follow the scent of humans to entrance for the tunnel, if they are going to. Of course, the scent trail might be too old for them to smell if over the smell of they give off.
Time for me to go take watch.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

From the journal of Jenna Bless, April 28

April 28, 2017

We made it out of the Lowe's sometime early this afternoon. It took a while to get everything re-organized and loaded. Not everything that we already had in the vehicles and everything we had taken fit, so we ended up leaving some stuff behind. Most of us had personal stuff that had sentimental value, but no use now. It was hard, but we all left most of it behind. Photo albums, family heirlooms, artwork, all useless now. I left pictures and a box of mementos from my childhood. The kids were asked to choose from their toys and only keep the ones they really had to have. One little girl, Dawn Webb, had bags of stuffed animals, dolls and doll clothes. I know how hard it was for me to just walk away from the few little animals I had, and I am old enough that I was done playing with them. Dawn cried for hours and every time she looks at Linda and Aaron, she sticks out her bottom lip and glares daggers at them.

We didn't make it out without loss. First, we sent on the pairs to take out the zombies between the front doors and the cars. After five minutes of everyone working in unison, something happened, Nick Carter was killed by three zombies and then one of them bit his partner Henry Mason before anyone else could get to them. Henry did put his machete through the zombie that bit him, but the damage was already done. He now has a choice to make. Does he go on for as long as he can and suffer really horribly, or does he just end it now. Or have someone else end it for him. I don't know what I would do. For now, he was put in the back of Linda and Aarons' SUV with Doctor Ben to see to the bite on his right calf.
It was later than anyone wanted to leave when we finally got on the road. The first plan was to get out in the morning and head all the way to Aspen, something like 45 or so miles. But since we got out so late, we headed to Basalt instead, a little under 30 miles. The rest of the day went by in an endless blur or roads, traffic jams to clear, and the occasional undead moaner in our way.
Everyone is exhauster and sad because Nick was really funny. He could do stupid magic tricks, like the coin behind the ear trick. Before all this zombie stuff started, even the little kids would have just rolled their eyes. Now, that stupid stuff really was magic, even for me. Not so much because of the trick, but because the little ones really light up and laugh. Everyone will really miss him.
Henry and Doctor Ben are now set up in a tent. Amanda and her crew are making a really late dinner. The kids are tired, sad and quiet. No running around chasing each other and laughing. Not tonight. Most of them are sitting on their mothers laps, or cuddled up right next to her.
Once we eat, the kids will be put to bed and there will be a meeting where Doctor Ben will tell us how far along Henry is. And I guess, Henry will probably talk about what he wants to do, if he's already made up his mind.

Tomorrow, we will be in Aspen. I have been dreaming about what might happen. Sometimes, we get there and everything is great. We find the perfect place and make it home. We have power, running water, food, and room to play. We plant food and other good people start showing up. Other times, we get there and there are a ton of zombies, like there was a festival or something. Once, we got there and there was a huge biker gang that killed all the men. Then they started doing really bad things to the rest of us. I woke up sick, sweating and crying.
Well, we will know tomorrow when we get there. I bet I have more dreams tonight about Aspen and I wish they would all be really good ones. But, we have all seen what some people have become since this stuff started.

From the journal of Charlie Fast Fingers Pearson, April 28

April 28, 2017

Last night was fucking miserable. We huddled together and tried to cover up with the material from the few seats still attached to the piece with the cockpit in it. I think the people in the passenger section had better luck because they had more seats to strip. We only had the seats in the cockpit and two rows of seats, but we made due. We closed the door between the two areas and all of us pressed together in the corner. It was still so fucking cold, no one slept more than a few minutes.

This morning, we made a plan. The people who weren't hurt started trying to strip anything that could be used as a weapon from the plane. Parts of the seats that could be used like a spear, strips of metal from the inside of the plane, anything. Then we all stripped down to our undies and tied our clothes together, with the seat covers, and made a couple of ropes that would hold someone. Both groups chose a couple of their members and tied the ropes around their waists, then suspended them above the zombies. They used whatever they had found in the pieces of the plane to start bashing or stabbing through the skulls of the undead. We had to do this several times because the knots would start to go loose and the people holding the ropes would need a break. None of us were used to anything like this, and both groups had a couple people who were unable to help because of healing arms.
It took several hours and were all tired, cold, covered in sweat and ready to be on the ground by the time we finished. Then we left our safe places and made our way back to where our fire had been burning. Everyone drank water and ate what fruit was still ok while the fire was started. We put on the blankets and clothes that were left here and then we washed out the clothes that had been used as ropes and hung them up to dry, at least a little bit, before the afternoon showers came.

The rest of today, we cleaned up the bodies of the native undead. Then we stayed by the fire and rested, while staying warm. The scouts told us how they had found a way down the mountain on the morning of the second day and ran into the native zombies stumbling up the mountain. It looked like they had been slowly making their way up since the day of the crash. We were just lucky that there were so many trees and the ground was really steep in places, otherwise, they would have been in our camp much sooner.
We are going to try to get all of us and the few thing we scavenged, down the mountain and to the village, hopefully now empty of undead. If we were really lucky, there would be some kind of livestock for us to kill and eat. Maybe some other kinds of food, too. Anything besides fruit.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

From the journal of Charlie Fast Fingers Pearson, April 27

April 27, 2017

We woke up this morning on the eighth day since the scouting party had left to drizzle and mist. Everyone pitched in and we had breakfast gathered and prepared in a short time and had just sat down to enjoy our tropical fruit salad when we heard loud running through the forest. I jumped up and was trying to figure out which way it was coming from when I heard Sally start yelling for us to run and crawl up into the cockpit or other parts of the remains of the plane. Then I heard Marty yelling "Zombies!" over and over. We all jumped up and started for the crash site.

Some of us headed for the cockpit and some for went for what was left of the passenger area. It's a climb to get into either, so I was hoping we would be safe from the undead. It was really fucking painful for me to get up into the cockpit, but it was life or death, so I did it and dragged Melanie up after me. It was probably as painful for her as it was for me, but it had to be done.
When I was up out of reach of undead hands, I looked around and saw that everyone who had stayed behind was up in a piece of the crashed plane. Sally, Marty, Terry and Frank plowed through the edge of the clearing and kept running towards the pieces of the plane. I have never seen Marty move that fast, not even when he brought us the recording contract to sign. I didn't think he had it in him, but wow, can he move when his life in danger.

It only took about 30 seconds for the undead to appear behind them. They were obviously the local islanders and they were obviously undead. Men, women and children stumbling along behind our people wearing sarongs and no shoes. Some of them were not looking so bad, but most of them had chunks missing and skin hanging from bites. Three of them were missing arms and one was crawling on the ground, missing both legs from the knees down. They were making that weird growling, moaning, animal sound and reaching out, like they showed in the movies. It was almost funny, if they hadn't wanted wanting to fucking eat us!
The scouting party made it safely off the ground and into the cockpit with us. We had no guns, only make-shift weapons and no idea of what to do next. The food and water is down by the fire and our blankets and other clothes are there, too. It is going to get cold tonight and we are all going to get hungry fast. But it's the water that is the fucking kicker. Without it, we won't last three days and whoever dies first will turn, if no one takes care of it, and we will all be almost dead ourselves. Who is going to be able to do anything at that point but fucking die!
We have been yelling back and forth to the passenger area, yelling out ideas and then fucking arguing about them. We might make a decision sometime next month at this rate. We have been at it for at least four hours and I am so fucking tired of it already. We have to figure out how to take out the undead islanders and we need to do it soon. It was warm now, but the afternoon rain hasn't hit yet. Once we are all damp, the temperature will start to drop and there is no fucking chance of getting all dry by dark without the heat from the fire. And without the added clothes and blankets, it will be a very fucking cold and very fucking miserable night.

From the journal of Nathan Sanchez, April 25

April 25, 2017

Last night we had another family meeting. It turned into the argument from hell! I brought up needing outside blood and the need to watch for people who might fit in and everyone hit the roof! The yelling incoherently over each other lasted for about a half hour before Uncle Ramon could get everyone to shut up. Then he calmly agreed with me. He told the family that he had already been thinking out it and was going to bring it up himself, if not at that meeting, then in the future.

Consuela went purple in the face and was livid. She kept trying to spit out what she wanted to say, but she stumbled over the first word over and over again. When she finally got it out, she was totally against bringing anyone else onto the ranch. She wanted us to get the stuff to build the greenhouse.
Fernando said we could do both, since we would be concentrating on our list of possible targets and just keeping an eye out for anyone we could watch. He said we would not go out of our way and would only start surveillance if, and he stressed the if, we saw anyone alive. And only if they didn't act like mutant bikers.
Uncle Ramon changed the subject to the proposed targets and we put the first five in order of the importance of what they could provide. We also decided to send out two man teams of the lookouts and snipers to watch multiple targets. The teams would be changed every six hours. The local building supply store was chosen as number one and the local medical center was made number two. Some of the older family members were getting low on their needed medicines. It was not critical yet, but why wait until it got to that point.

Points of defense we next up for discussion. This went quickly, since everyone was all for anything that might make us safer. Then talk turned back to the topic of other people. The yelling started again and took almost 15 minutes for Uncle Ramon to bring to order again. He suggested that we all think about it and talk to each other informally for the next couple of days, then meet again to discus it again. Everyone agreed and the meeting was ended.
Darren and I went for a walk and just wandered around the nearest fields. We both agreed that it was frustrating that most of the family that was immediately against the idea of watching for outside people already had spouses. They had someone they could be with, while the rest of us were just shit out of luck. I decided I am going to talk to as many of them as I can in the next couple of days and point that out. Maybe, if some of us in the singles group can talk to the other, just maybe, we can change their minds. It's worth hoping for!

Saturday, December 9, 2017

From the journal of John Archer, the Archivist, April 27

April 27, 2017

This morning we finally saw the end of the horde. It will probably take until this afternoon or evening before the main body of the horde passes us. Living inside the Lowe's wasn't too bad. We gathered anything that would make us more comfortable, mostly patio furniture, and set up a camp by the command center. A schedule was set so there was always at least two people in all our lookout locations: the front entrance, the back receiving area, and the roof. Everyone worked at keeping themselves and the kids as quiet as possible while we all waited for the horde to pass.
Once the end was sited, we had a group meeting and decided to wait until morning to pack up to leave. That way any stragglers will hopefully be gone already and it will be safer getting the supplies to the cars and everyone situated to continue. There still aren't too many zombies that got through our car barricade, only a dozen or so. We would have to take them out before we could even get to the cars, but at least it wasn't a hundred.

Linda and Aaron have got everyone not assigned to one of the doors looking for a list of supplies that will come in handy. They also gave us orders to bring back anything else that we thought might be handy. The kids have added all the boxes of junk food that were left in the back to the pile in the hope that we will take it because it is food, or a sort. There are flashlights, batteries, sledgehammers, saws, and multi-tools. I made sure to get all the water and drinks. I wish we had found a sporting goods store instead, then we could have gotten sleeping bags and camping gear.
We are going to have quite a pile of stuff to go through and parcel into the vehicles. We might even have to decide to leave some behind if it won't all fit. The kids should be happy, though. The adults all agreed that any kind of food is worth taking because in a pinch, it will keep us alive, just like the sugary drinks. Luckily, there was also five cases of bottle water. Those are like gold now, even though they all taste like plastic. Maybe we can find some powdered drink mix, lemonade or Kool-aid. Something to make the water taste better. It might help us get the kids to drink more, once the sugary drinks run out.

Most of us are going to relax this afternoon and evening to be well rested for tomorrow. Gary ad Steve are making a plan for taking out the undead between us and the cars. They have chosen people who are used to taking on the zombies when we run into them and pairing them with people who are less used to doing the dirty work. That way, there will be at least two people assigned to each undead. The idea is to not use the guns because the noise could bring the end of the horde back our way. But there would be a backup group armed and ready in case of an emergency.

From the journal of Carol Evans, April 21

April 21, 2017

I have made pretty good time. There is around 50 miles left to go and I haven't run into anything I couldn't handle. I made sure to stayed out of any towns or cities and it hasn't been easy to detour around some of them on country roads. Although, I have seen some pretty country on my detours, I would have been happier if I could have driven a more straight route.
Luckily, gas stations and mini marts have already spread across this country like this zombie virus. There are enough of them at crossroads, even in the country, that I have not had any problem finding food and water. Some of them were rather dinky, but they always had candy, chips and processed foods. I would give anything for a salad or anything green and crisp! Oh, the thought of fresh, warm bread. Or any freshly baked dessert, like pies, cakes or cookies. Something without preservatives and ingredients no one can pronounce.

Yesterday was an interesting day. I was using binoculars to look ahead at a traffic jam. I always stop and watch, just in case there are a bunch of undead in one. Then, I know not to try to get through, but to go around. I saw him move and at first, I thought he was a zombie. When he turned around, I saw that he was still alive. He was dressed in jeans and a red parka with a black backpack. He was trying to stay low and use the cars to keep him hidden from the road I was driving down. This made me suspicious, so I decided to watch him for a while and pulled the truck off the road behind some bushes. I perched in a tree and made myself comfortable.
He stayed in the cars and about 20 minutes later, I heard another vehicle approaching. Seeing how he interacted with whoever was coming would be a good way of finding out what kind of person he is. I stayed in my tree and watched the compact car drive up to the traffic jam. Two girls and a guy got out. They obviously didn't see the other guy because they were talking loudly and jesturing towards the cars.
Red parka man stood up suddenly and had a gun aimed at them before they even knew he was there. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I watched as the three people put their hands over their heads. Red parka man whistled, loudly, and five more men walked out from the trees on the other side of the traffic jam. They walked over to the group and tied up the man, making him kneel by their car and putting a pistol to his head. One of the guys opened the car door and started searching through the backseat. The two girls were surrounded by the rest of the men and I knew what would happen next. I moved from my tree to my truck as fast as I could, started the engine and pulled onto the road. I drove to within 10 feet from the group and opened fire with my first target being the guy who had been holding the gun on the girls companion. I hit him in the head and he fell to the ground.
They hadn't been prepared for someone to drive up on what they were doing. I was able to shoot four of them while the last two ran into the forest. I yelled out my window for them to get in their car and follow me! We raced out of there and they followed me on the second alternate route I had already marked if the road I had been on didn't work out. After about an hour, I stopped my truck in a wide spot beside the road and got out to talk to the people in the car.

I found out their names were Margaret, Elisabeth and Eric. They were friends who had all just graduated from junior college together before the pandemic hit. They had been looking for somewhere to go where there were other people who hadn't become evil parasites since the world went down the tubes. Just their luck that some of the first people they ran into were Red Parka man and his friends. I told them about myself and we decided to keep traveling together. We decided to leave their car and take their stuff in the truck. I was really glad the truck has a king cab and we all fit inside the cab with our stuff in the bed under a tarp. We talked about my plan of going to Aspen, and they said they had been headed for Vale, but would stick with me instead.
We spent the rest of the time we were driving telling stories and memories of life before and since the undead had taken over. We laughed and cried and got to know each other. I am so glad that I found these people to travel with. After months of hearing nothing but my own voice, it was almost overwhelming to have three other people to talk to, all at once. Life is looking up now that I am not alone. Even if there is no one in Aspen, I will have these three people to survive with.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

From the journal of Nathan Sanchez, April 19

April 19, 2017

It went as smooth as silk. We spent the last week watching our first choice target. It was an agricultural supply center and we watched it and made sure no one was living there. We also watched to make sure that no one was coming and going through there on a regular basis. After seven days, we decided we knew enough and that night, we planned out our scavenging mission. All the teams followed their orders and we made it in and out with no one hurt. We found lots of shit that we needed. We found some of the root vegetables still edible in the cellar area, although I think the most exciting find was the seeds for crops. We got sorghum, soy beans, potatoes and several other vegetables and even some herbs. We also got some feed for the horses and other livestock we had collected in the early days like the chickens, goats and sheep.

We found food for the dogs and cats as well as new clothing, shoes and boots for members of the family. Kids still grow like weeds, even during the apocalypse. Emilio even found some malt and other supplies for making beer. There was even a small selection of locally brewed beer on sale from the stack of boxes in the corner of the cellar. . There were also other locally made foods, like preserves, pasta sauces, and pie fillings.

When we got home this afternoon, I thought Consuela and Maria were going to have heart attacks from all the excitement they showed over the seeds. They immediately started planning which crop to plant where and where the vegetable and herb gardens were going to be planted. They were not even upset that we found all the plants already dead, which is why we took all the seed, even though we didn't have enough room to plant it all at once. It would give us a couple of crops worth of seeds and by then, we could collect some seeds for the plantings after that.
Within an hour, they were planning out the floorplan of a green house, so they could start as many plants as possible. Fernando and the rest of us had also started planning out a mission to a building supply business right away. Luckily, we had one on our list of possibly targets and we will start our surveillance tomorrow morning. It appears we need some supplies to make some new outbuildings. A greenhouse and some kind of storage area for our crops. Uncle Ramon says that a root cellar would be best, but our basement is already in use to house people. It might require a trip to the library to research how to build one best.
DInner tonight was a real treat. The women cooked up some of the vegetables we had brought back and we broke out some of our precious supply of frozen meat. The solar system has been working great and we have been able to keep all the food we found with it nice and frozen. We have been very careful with it and have kept it for special occasions. We broke out the beer we brought home today and it was a true celebration of our finds at the agricultural supply center.

Life is good right now. The only thing that could make it better would be finding a bunch of people we could trust who weren't related to us. Or maybe, just a couple of women. All the ladies here are a cousin or married to one, and so, off limits. I know that the women feel the same way, we had a great conversation about it after the older generation went to bed last night after drinking all that beer. We are going to have to keep an eye out for regular people, at least if we want to have any more children born. But not people like the bikers who came here to attack us. But, in order to make a larger population, we need non related adults. We will have to be careful and watch them even longer than we plan on watching any of our current targets. Shit, I guess I will have to be bring it up at the next family meeting to be cussed and discussed to death, before we start looking for people to consider. Just what we need, a subject to talk about that I already know will cause a huge argument before being settled. Shit.

From the journal of Correctional Officer Steven Williams, April 25

April 25, 2017

We got stuck in Glenwood Springs and have been here for most of the last five days. When we pulled into town on the evening of the 20th, we found the Lowe's Home Improvement store with a mostly empty parking lot. We circled up the vehicles at the far end of the lot from the store, since there was no time to clear it of undead before dark.
The next morning, we pulled all the vehicles towards the building and sent in a team to see how many undead we were going to have to deal with. They went in and came back with news that there were less than 15 in the store, which we could handle easily. We made a half circle of the cars to protect the entrance, placed sentries and sent in most of our people in groups of three or more to take out the undead. A store like this is a gold mine of supplies for surviving and we were planning on getting what we could.
It wasn't even five minutes when the sentries came in and brought all the kids and anyone else who had been outside. Aaron and Linda had set up a command center at the customer service area and asked to know what was going on. Steve, who was in charge of the sentries

outside, put his finger to his lips and pulled everyone away from the doors. He then explained that a horde of zombies was pouring into the area and they had to get everyone inside and everyone needed to keep real quiet.
Aaron called Gary on the walkie talkie and had him come back to the command center. They told himwhat was going on and he got the word out to the teams that they needed to be real quiet and if they didn't already take out their undead, to do so really quietly. Then Steve and Gary made sure the doors were secured and then covered, except for a small space to watch through. By then, all the teams had taken out the undead inside with us and had returned to the command center. We all settled down, stayed quiet and waited.
A couple of hours later, Gary sent Steve over with an update. The vehicles were keeping most of the zombies away from the area immediately by the entrance. The rest of the horde was moving through and following the majority of the group. There were a few, around seven, who had made it through the vehicle barricade and were milling around aimlessly inside the semi circle the cars made. These we would be able to handle once the rest of them have moved on.
But, the undead just kept coming. We thought there were going to be somewhere up to a hundred or so zombies in the horde. That was the largest group we had seen outside of the Denver International Airport, so far. Yet, they just kept coming and coming. Hours went by and still there was no end in sight. It was decided that Gary, Steve and Aaron were going to try to find a way to get on the roof for a better view. Nick, Daniel and I took over keeping watch at the entrance. We set up a group at the back receiving area to watch as well: Henry, Ed and Stewart.

It took some searching, but they did finally find a staircase leading to a roof access door in one of the back offices upstairs. We thought they would be up there a few minutes, come down and tell us it would be over soon. Instead, it took them a good hour to come back and when they did, they looked like someone had walked over their graves. We all gathered around and were told that this horde had thousands, as far as the eye could see in every direction. Even the Colorado River was not free of them. They were on both sides and floating in the water so thick, someone could almost walk across their heads and not get their feet wet. We were stuck and no one could say for how long. Our only saving grace was that they didn't hear us or smell us in here, so they were just flowing around the buildings like rocks in a stream.
That was four days ago and even though we routinely send people onto the roof to check the progress of the horde, we still can't see the end yet. At least there is enough junk food and water in the store and the back to keep us all alive for another couple of weeks. It just isn't the most nutritious and gets old really fast. At least, for the adults. The kids don't seem to mind eating like this.
Hopefully, the end of the horde is getting near and we can make it out of here before anything else happens. We need to get to Aspen and find a compound to set ourselves up in. We are so close to be stuck like this. I want to find a place with solar power, working water, a large enclosed area so we can plant food crops, and a really good wall or fence to keep us safe. Please, let us get there and find such a place.

Saturday, December 2, 2017

From the journal of Rebecca Martin, April 29

April 29, 2017

I woke up this morning to the roaring of a group of motorcycles. When I looked outside, I could see seven motorcycles with ten men and one woman riding on them. They had pulled up right outside the Jaspar County Circuit Clerk building and were looking at the building.
We had boarded up all the windows and doors when we cleared out the zombies, so I know they could tell that someone was in here, or at least was, at some point. It makes the building look really secure and would be a good place for them to rest. I have to decide what I am going to do, hide and wait or stop them from coming in altogether. I had the weapons and ammo, so I decided to stop them from coming in. I am really glad that I had booby trapped all the doors and windows on the first floor after Alice passed. I know I can't cover them all, so I made sure they would be really hard to get through and it will make a lot of noise.
The largest, hairiest man, the one with the woman on his bike, stepped forward and yelled out asking if anyone was inside the building. I responded that there was someone there and visitors were not welcome. He said they just wanted a safe place to rest for a few hours and would them move on. I told him to go to the Post Office and stay there.
That is when their guns came out and they started to split up to surround the building. I yelled out a warning that "we" would shoot anyone who tried to get inside, trying to make them think there were more people here than just me. I also fired a warning shot and broke a window right by Mr Hairy. They spread out and I knew I would have to try to take a few of them out before they got to the building. Mr ad Mrs Hairy took shelter behind the dumpster next to the building across the street while his men did their work.

I went to the back into one of the courtrooms and looked through the peep hole I had left. Mr Sweaty was moving towards the window and thought the plants and trees offered him enough cover, but I could still see him. I had never killed a real, live person before, but I had no option. If any of them got in, I was screwed. Literally, probably, whether willing or not. I have no illusions about what can happen to a female alone in the world as it is now. I aimed and pulled the trigger. His head exploded and he fell to the ground. Another good thing about shooting them, it would draw undead from the area around the building and hopefully, the zombies would help chase off these bikers.
I ran back to the front and yelled out that one of my people had just taken out one of their men and they should just leave while they could. Mr Hairy yelled back that I was now in for it, real bad. He pulled out a bull horn and yelled for his men to "get 'em good"! I ran to the left side of the building and saw a couple of the guys moving towards the security entrance. I took aim and it took five shots, but I got them both. The return fire from them hit the stone building and I was not hit.
I then ran to the other side and saw another man running for the basement windows. Again, I fired, but this time I missed and he turned and ran back to the large tree about 30 feet from the building.
Then, I heard one of my booby traps start to make noise. This one was on the lower window in the second courtroom and I ran to that room. One of the bikers was stuck in the wires I had strung like a spiderweb across the windows and had added cans to the hanging strings. I pulled out my gun and aimed from the doorway. I killed him with two shots and left him hanging as a warning to the other men.
I ran back to the side with the guy behind the tree and saw him skulking back towards the front and his leader. I ran back to the front and yelled out that now four of his men were gone and they needed to leave. I saw that they had all regrouped by the dumpster and were talking and looking at the building. They got behind the dumpster and started pushing the dumpster towards the front entrance. With them behind it, it was doubtful I would be able to take any of them out.
They made it halfway across the street when I heard an air horn and saw a red big rig barrelling down the street headed right for the bikers. Mr Hairy and his woman ran for their bikes while the others just froze. The driver of the truck aimed really well and hit the bikers but just missed the dumpster. Mr and Mrs Hairy reved up their bike and squealed the tires when they took off.
The big rig pulled up in front of the Jaspar County Circuit Clerk building and stopped with a hiss. A large man stepped out of the truck and asked if we needed any help. I don't know why but I knew I could trust him right away. I ended up letting him in and telling him what had happened to me so far. James shared what had happened to his wife, where he was headed and offered me a chance to either stay or go with him. I know there is nothing but trouble for me here by myself, so I decided to go with him.
We ate lunch and then packed up all the supplies that were left in the Clerk building. Then we headed out. There was no way to know if Mr Hairy had more men outside of town and no way of knowing if he was coming back with them.
We have been on the road all day and made it to Grayville this evening. James pulled the rig behind a big warehouse, just in case Mr Hairy decided to follow us. It has been nice having someone to talk to again, and his little dog, Tricksey, is so loving. I really think I made the right decision in coming with him.