From the journal of Sarah Richards, May 1

May 1, 2017

We finally have everything smuggled out that we think we might need for going back to the port. Mandy and I are going to leave first thing tomorrow and see if we can find some water for our families. The lack of water is the only thing that is becoming an issue at this point. Mom and Maria, Mandy's mom, have been collecting the little bit they can from rain and fog, but it's just not enough. We are down to the last gallon of bottled water and that is so not good. We have been rationing water for days now, and the other drinks just are not as good. The few sodas we had are already gone. Pablo had a few beers in his fridge, but he drank those right away. We had a few iced teas in cans and a couple energy drinks, but those were gone after the first few days, too.

We have to find more water and there just isn't any way to get it here in the old Buckner building. I don't think we can ever collect enough for all of us, there just isn't enough rain or clean containers. There's also no way to get back into the Towers to get some from there with all the zombies filling that place. Maybe some day the place will clear out enough for us to search the apartments for more supplies. But we will have to be ready to kill any undead we come accross, and that could mean friends and neighbors. For now, the building is too overrun with zombies and is off limits.
I know Mom will not be happy with Mandy and me when she finds out that we are going back to the port. But she has to come around and understand that it is the only option we have right now for supplies. We are going to have to make regular trips to the port for water and eventually for food, too. Where does she think we are going to get the stuff we need to survive? Maybe we can try to get to the school, but who knows how overrun it is. It's pretty close to the Towers and who knows if anyone tried to run there when the zombies broke in. That would draw undead to the school and make it too hard to get into for supplies. Our only option is the port and there aren't a lot of zombies in the streets there. Now, it has some, but I think that Mandy and me can either avoid them or take them out, if we have to.

The plan is for us to say we are going to search apartments lower in the building and disappear into the tunnel. We hope we can get in, out and back in just a couple of hours. There are buildings really close to the end of the tunnel and even a warehouse should have tap water for employees to drink. We found a pile of old water jugs and we cleaned and bleached the heck out of them, so they should be clean enough. We have some water purifying tablets from when my Dad was alive. They expired a couple years ago, but are better than nothing. We can use them and boil the water before we drink it, just to be really safe. We so don't need anyone getting sick right now. None of us have any medical training and we only have the medical stuff that was in our cabinets. If anyone needs an aspirin or something for diarrhea, we have it covered, but anything more serious and we are in trouble.
Food is not an issue, yet. We smuggled out most the food in our apartment and Mandy's apartment before we left. That last day, when we left, we brought the last of the supplies and still have a good amount of food. Thanks to Mom, we even have preserved fruits and vegetables, which taste better than the stuff in cans. Don't get me wrong, we have the stuff in cans and will eat it when the good stuff runs out. But I really like Mom's preserved food better and the others agree. We have cut down on the amount we eat for every meal, but not so much it leaves us hungry. Besides, we are the lucky ones. We are still alive and have a chance to survive this disaster.
There hasn't been any sound or anything to make us think anyone is alive in the Towers for at least two days. No gunfire, no waving at the windows, just undead shadows and death. I think everyone is dead and can't really process it yet. All the kids we went to school with, all their parents and familes. The mayor, all the police and fire department members. The teachers, doctors, shop keepers. Everyone I have ever known, dead or undead. Which is better? To be eaten so much you can't come back, or to roam around undead, looking for something to eat? Either way sucks.
How do we come back from this? How does our world keep going? For all we know, there are only the six of us left alive in this whole area! What are we supposed to do now? I have no idea what any of the answers are and I don't think anyone else here does either. Do we stay here in Buckner? Would we be safer in one of the buildings in the port? Or should we leave here and try to find one of the cabins farther out and away from the undead? For now, all I can do is focus on going to the port tomorrow with Mandy and not worry any farther than that. It doesn't do any good, anyway.

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.