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.

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.