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!

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.