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.

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.