From the journal of Kelly Vargas, June 2

This journal was brought to the archive by a Manny Stone's group, who had found the three surviving high school seniors from a littl Rocky Mountain town. Kelly Vargas is the one who wrote about their experience at the Prom, when the horde rolled through their town and right to the high school gym.

June 2, 2017

     It has now been three weeks since the Prom and the disaster that happened that night. We had been planning the Prom for weeks, like I'm sure most high schools do. When the night came, all of us seniors, and our junior compatriots, came to the school gym in all our Prom finery. The music was pumping, the food was decent, and the dancing was awesome! Everyone came, even the most dorky kids, and the chaperones were being pretty lenient, what with all the pandemic stuff going on.

     We had only had three people turn in our little town and all of them were people who commuted to the biggest city locally, about 40 miles away, for jobs in hospitals. Shelly Marsh, Janet Beakman, and Jason Hamilton all got bit at work and were sent home. Shelly and Janet had families and when they turned, they bit their spouses, but all the kids got away clean. Our police chief, Andy Brooks, was able to take care of the three undead and the people they bit were quarantined at Doc Hansen's house. Chief Brooks even left Deputy Danners at the Doc's and when the men turned, he took them out with no one else getting hurt. That was the end of the pandemic in our town.

     Then Prom night came. I don't know if we drew the zombies to us with the loud music and flashing lights. Maybe we should have covered the windows in the gym, so the light couldn't escape and maybe we shouldn't have had the music so loud. The teachers and parents were trying to give us this one, possibly last, normal night and it totally backfired.

     I don't know when the zombies got to town, or when the towns people started shooting at them. We couldn't hear the shots with the music playing and we just kept dancing. I know that about 10 pm Father Murdock burst through the double doors and slammed them behind him, grabbing chairs and trying to brace the doors. He started yelling at us all to block the doors and make sure all of them were closed, but it was too late. A couple of the back ones were wide open and the undead were already swarming inside. That's when the screaming started, and the aimless running.

     I grabbed my two best friends, Conner Rivers and Alicia Garcia, and we climbed the bleachers and went up the ladder to the scaffolding about the gym. We had all worked on different productions for the drama program and we had spent a number of hours setting up the sound, lights and sets up here. No one else even tried to follow us.

     What followed almost drove us mad. We couldn't help but listen and watch as all our classmates were killed and eaten, torn apart and eaten or just plain torn apart. Blood, guts and pieces of everyone was everywhere. The undead kept pouring in and snacking on pieces. Lucky for the three of us, the screaming didn't last very long, but the crunching and slurping went on for hours. We were stuck up in the rafters and had to stay still and quiet. We needed the zombies to not even know we were there, so eventually, we could get down and try to find out if our families were still alive or not.

     We were stuck up there for a day and a half. People we knew, the ones who weren't too torn apart or eaten too much of, turned and came back as the undead. We saw one other survivor come into the gym, looking for his son. Well, he found him and his son killed him and ate most of him.

     The three of us could probably have gotten down the next night, but we decided to wait for the next day so we could see where we were going. We also decided to check on our families together, starting with Alicia's house since it was the closest. Safety in numbers and all that. We took our principals car, since his keys were on the floor and he was going to need it anymore, there wasn't enough left of him to really identify.

     The town was pretty overrun with zombies and we had to drive very carefully. But once we got to Alicia's house, we turned the CD on loud and left the windows down, to draw the undead away from us and where we were going. We would have to get another car to go to the next house.      Unfortunately, all of our families were dead or undead. We didn't find one person still alive and still haven't. We spent the first night our of the gym at my house, since it was the last one we checked. My parents were gone, skeletons picked clean on our front lawn. I knew it was them because of the pieces of their clothing and the wedding rings still on their hands. We went inside, cried, and huddled together.

     Since then, we have just been surviving. Going from house to house, collecting anything useful. We turned the post office into our refuge. It's small, only has a couple of high slit windows, is made of brick and has solar power. My dog, Shiloh, is with us as well as Connor's hound, Hank. They seem to understand that barking is bad and have been really quiet, not drawing any attention to us. I know having them with us has given me comfort and I bet the others feel the same. We avoid the school, and especially the gym, like it has the black plague. In a way, it does have a plague.

     We don't know if we are the only people still alive, or if there are others out there. We don't know if we should just stay here or if we should try to leave. If we decide to leave., where would we even go? For now, we are just going to keep going and hope that something happens that is good for us and not really, really bad. God, I hope there are others out there who are still human and not evil.

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.

From the letter from Father Francis McGraff, May 6

This letter was brought to the archive with Manny Stone's group, as part of Kelly Vargas's journal. It was found in Father Francis McGraff's office at the Catholic church in town. This letter was found in the upstairs nursery where the bodies of the priest and eleven others were found in a circle. All of them had been shot in the head by one of the men, who then took his own life.

May 6, 2017

To whomever finds this letter,

     My name is Father Francis McGraff and I've been a Catholic priest since 1978. I know that I'm old and most of the kids, and even their families, have almost no use for me. My faith has always been strong, stronger than anyone else I've ever known. It has been the light that has shown me the way through every decision and every one of life's little bumps. That's why I don't understand what has happened.

     When the pandemic started, I listened and laughed at all the kooks who said it was God's retribution or the beginning of the end times. I thought they were all crazy and the Catholic church publicized that they agreed with me. After all, where were all the other signs we were told to look for in Revelations: the water turned to blood, the plagues, the Antichrist, all of it.

But now, I have seen Hell and it's minions. I have witnessed the destruction of my town, my people, my flock. Was I wrong? Is this part of the rapture? The dead are risen, just not in the way that our church had always taught us they would. Did my not believing right from the start of the pandemic mean my faith wavered and I never even knew it? At least, not until today.

     How could the loving God I have lived for all my life have let this evil loose on the world? How could he just stand by and let his flock, his people, be destroyed and devoured by these unclean beings? Where is the love, the compassion, I was taught to preach about? Where is the mercy?

I was on the front lawn of the church when I heard the first gun shot yesterday. I thought I was hearing things at first, but then more shots joined the first and then the undead came into sight. Horrible, unclean things, shambling down our streets, strips of clothes and flesh hanging from them. This unholy moaning and groaning coming from their unclean mouths. Dozens of them, walking and crawling, in a mass of evil, unclean, damned souls, undead.

     I quickly went into the church, closed and bolted the doors. I had always thought the giant piece of wood and brackets on the sides that we locked the doors with was just plain old fashioned and annoying, especially as I have gotten older and less strong physically. But yesterday, it saved my life. If the doors had a regular lock on them, instead of the brace made of thick wood, I would not be here right now and neither would the rest of us.

     I sat in our church and watched from the second story window as my town and my people fought for their very existence. I prayed as I have never prayed before, for the safety of my flock. But it was all in vain. No one heard my prayers and this morning, for the first time in my life, I don't know if there is a God and if there is, does he even care?

     Last night, I was able to let 11 parishioners through the back door and we are all huddled together on the second floor, in the nursery room. The undead pound on the walls and doors downstairs and have since they saw me let the last survivor in. Eventually, they will get through and we will be treated like all the other townspeople either lying dead or reanimating outside.

     Now the debate is what to do with those of us inside the church. Do we just let the undead come in here and kill us? Do we kill each other? Ourselves?

     The wood of the walls is creaking downstairs. We are doomed. Old man Warner has a pistol with enough bullets for all of us. We are going to vote and decided what to do. Can I kill myself if that is what is decided? Can I kill any of the others? I have spent so many years as a priest, believing with all my heart, in the tenants of my faith. Here at the end, I find that I have lost that belief but still don't know if I can just abandon a lifetime of teachings...

     It has been decided. Old man Warner is going to shoot us all and then himself but only if the undead get inside the church. May God, if he exists, have mercy on our souls for what we have decided here today. And if he does exist, may he forgive me my loss of faith.

Father Francis McGraff

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.

From the recovered journal of the Battle of the New Alamo, May 19

May 19, 2017

I am alone now. For the last week, Michelle has been slipping further and further away from reality. When we first made it over here, she started out spending all her time reading. We had brought the few western books we found in Samuel's things and then we found the small library in one of the offices. She stayed in that room, pretty much all day, from the first day we found it.
Then, about 6 days ago, I caught her talking out loud to a character in one of the books she'd read. Michelle wasn't reading out loud from one of the books, either. When I heard her talking, I snuck up to the doorway and peeked inside. She was just having a one sided conversation with someone who wasn't there. She was facing away from the door and was even gesturing with her hands like she would if she was talking to me. I walked back down the hallway and called out to her like I was just looking for her and hadn't seen her talking to nothing.
She responded like normal and she acted like nothing was wrong. At fist, I thought I had maybe just imagined or exaggerated in my mind what I had seen. But the next day, I heard a really loud voice and when I went to check on her, she was arguing with someone who wasn't there. I had to almost shout for her to hear me over whatever was going on in her head and she sort of snapped out of it once I got through to her. She apologized and said it wouldn't happen again.

But it did, just not as loud. That same day, I caught her in the kitchen talking someone through her demonstration of making stir fry. She didn't even see me walk in and I just watched her for a few minutes, then walked away. It seemed like every hour, she slipped farther away from me and into the world in her mind. There were more people there, she said some names like Jerry, David, Tony, Elisabeth and Lisa. I don't know if there were all characters in the books or if they might have been people she knew before the pandemic. I guess it doesn't really matter.
Yesterday, I tried to get her attention but she just couldn't seem to see or hear me. I yelled at her, I waved my arms, I'm ashamed to say I even pushed her. But, I'm just not in her 'reality' anymore, so she either really can't see or hear me, or she just ignores me.
Today, when I got up, I found a note scribbled on the desk in the office about going to the beach with her friends and she'll be back before dinner. She's gone. The doors were all closed, so she at least knew to close them behind her. I looked out all the windows and saw a group of feasting undead on the back side of the chapel office. I know there wasn't anything out there for them to eat last night, so I can only imagine it was her they were eating. Did she know what was happening? Did she come out of her delusion when they started eating her? Did she feel what was happening? I just don't know.
All I know is I'm now alone. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

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.

From the journal of Sarah Richards, May 15

May 15, 2017

We've been on the road to Buckner now for two days and we've only made it a quarter of the way. The road is overgrown and there are a ton of downed trees that have been rotting for years. It makes getting them out of the way a little harder because they turn to mush as you try to cut them up, or they're hard as stone and there's no way the chainsaw will be able to cut them at all. I think we might have been too optimistic about our chances of even getting close to Buckner on this old road. Sucks.
Matt said he thinks we should send out a scouting party for a couple of hours to see if there is an easier path to get through. He says sometimes when people clear trees for firewood, they can make clear paths that aren't really roads and so won't show up on any maps. He says there might be old logging or mining roads out this way too that might not be on any maps.
Mom says we'll talk about it tonight, after we see how far we get today. I'm think we should all go for a scouting mission. We shouldn't split up since there's only five of us. That way, if something happens and it all goes south, as Dad used to say, we're all still together and we only have to head for Buckner through the trees, not try to make it back to get part of out group. Maybe, we can try it first thing tomorrow, I'll talk to Mom about it today.

I can't wait to get everyone and everything ready and moved. We'll have lots of room and not be in a crumbling, drafty old building that stinks of mildew and rot. I know Mandy's family will be a lot happier since all her Mother and sister do is complain. They're alive, aren't they? So the place we stay for safety isn't ideal, it's worked so far. I know the place in town will be better in some ways, but will it be as safe or safer than Buckner? I don't know.
Being in Buckner has kept us just far enough away from the Towers and from the town so we went unnoticed by the undead from the cruise ship. Most of them are still in the Towers building and I don't know if they are smart enough to all get back out and look for live food in the wild. There are still some in the port, but not a lot that we've seen. I don't think anywhere is really going to be safe if the ones in the Towers get out or if another ship runs aground here. If that happens, the only thing to do will be to head into the wild and hope they can't follow you.
It's going to be weird being on the very edge of the port. There will be places to search for supplies and we won't have to go through the tunnel any more. I wonder if there are any other people left alive anywhere in the port? The guys said they didn't see anyone else, but if someone was really quiet and didn't want to be seen, they could probably do it. We're going to have to come up with a system for marking the houses and buildings as we search them. And we're going to have to make a list of what the houses have that we might need at a later date, like clothes or blankets. We don't want to weigh ourselves down with them, but we need to know where we can find them if we need them.
We should also gather all the medical supplies we find. We need to know what we have and have it available in case of an emergency. It won't do us any good if we need bandages and they're halfway across the port.
Wow, it's going to be a lot of work to get our place set up and stocked. Gotta go, time to start trying to clear the old road.

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.

From the letter from Marianna Frakes, April 13

This letter was found in a small town community college stadium. The building itself was old and ugly, but for the people in Shelbyville, it was supposed to be a sanctuary. The letter was found by James Cohen, Rebecca Martin and their group on their journey to the Greenbriar. It is included because it shows how fast a good situation can turn deadly.

April 13, 2017

To whoever finds this letter,

The people of Shelbyville thought they would be safe here at the Shelbyville Community College stadium. It was built in the early 80's and it is an eyesore, made of concrete and metal and looking like it belonged somewhere in the USSR instead of small town USA. But it's sturdy and has iron gates that can be closed and secure the stadium. We had a meeting in the auditorium for the whole town and it was decided that anyone who wanted to band together would meet at the stadium. It could fit 5,000 people in the seats and the field and locker rooms could fit at least another 4,000-5,000. Our community has somewhere around 14,000 but not everyone was still alive, around or interested.
We all went home and packed all the supplies we had to put in the pot for everyone and then we started showing up that afternoon to stay. There were more than 7,800 of the townspeople who came to the stadium for safety. The first week was ok, a little cramped, but since there weren't a bunch of undead around, we would go outside the stadium during the day and the kids would play on the lawn around it. People made trips to the library to get books and we sent a group to the store and cafeteria to get all the food supplies on campus.
Then the first small horde of zombies came. There weren't more than 150 undead, but we didn't have many people experienced in taking out the undead. We sent a group of 180 or so out, the people who seemed to know what they were doing, but it took them a really long time to take out the zombies and we lost at least 20 of them. But one of them had been bitten and didn't tell anyone. I don't know what he was thinking, putting everyone in danger like that. Before he got too sick, he moved himself to an equipment locker and that's where he died and turned.
The day he was let out started like all the days since we moved into the stadium. It was nice out and there was talk of taking out the 50 or so undead milling around outside and taking the kids outside. Breakfast was being served to the third group, since there were too many to feed in one service. The screaming started at the back of the field. People started running and no one knew what was happening.
From what I have figured out, talking to the few people who lived through the initial attack, a group of kids opened the door to the equipment room and were attacked by the now undead guy. The room is far enough in the hallways from the door that no one really heard them being bitten. One of the kids ran to an emergency exit and opened the door to get away from what was happening, but there was a small group of 25 or so undead right outside the door and he ended up letting them in. They swept through the group of kids and followed one of the hurt kids out onto the field. That's when the screaming started in the stadium.
Chaos followed and other people opened other doors and let other undead into the party. The screams were drawing more and more of the zombies from the surrounding streets and they came through the open doors to enjoy the carnage. I locked myself in the snack shack with a couple of other people and we hid and covered our ears, trying to block out the sounds of screaming, crunching and the moans of the undead.
It took hours for it to start to quiet down, hours where I was sure I would go mad from listening to the townspeople being killed and eaten. While I was huddled in the corner, covering my ears with my face on my knees, one of the people in the snack shack died from wounds she hid. I don't know how long it takes most people to turn, but she turned within an hour or so and started biting those of us in here. I ended her undead existence, but she bit all four of us in the struggle.
We know what is going to happen. We talked it through and since I was an English major, I was elected to write about what happened here. The others are already dead, and going to stay that way. None of us want to turn into one of those things, so we drew straws and I was the one who had to shoot them in the head, one by one, and then kill myself, after writing this down.
Whoever finds this, know that we tried and failed. We should have been way more vigitant about checking people for bites and we should have never had the doors able to just be opened, they should have been secured in some way. Please, don't blame us for our failings.
I hope you are able to survive and maybe, some day, if anyone survived this whole thing, maybe our experience will help them in some way, Be safe, be vigilant, be alive.

Marianna Frakes
Former English Major

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.

From the journal of Rebecca Martin, June 11

June 11, 2017

Today, we pulled into Shelbyville, Kentucky. It's a small town on the 64, which we made it back to a couple of days ago. We had taken a detour to stay away from the bikers, but thought it was probably safe to travel on the 64 for a few days. We're going to have to detour again before we get to Lexington, just like we did around Louisville, but we have been making good time.
The town is really sweet and we were enjoying glancing around and then we saw the stadium. There was a sign hanging on it that said "Alive inside" and we all talked about checking it out. It took us a half hour or so to make our way over there and then we saw that the sign was not in as good a shape as we thought from farther away.
We put it to another vote and it was decided that James, Jackie and I would go take a look, while everyone else stayed in the RV. It was a good thing we did this, Brenda, the receptionist from the care home, is really sensitive and wouldn't have been able to handle what was in there.

We entered through one of the entrance tunnels and it was really dark for a few steps. When we came back out into the light, the sceen was horrible. Bodies were decomposed everywhere, or at least, pieces of  bodies were decomposed everywhere. Arms, legs, heads, all chewed on and with not enough left to reanimate. There were a few undead who turned from where they had been just standing and waiting for something to stimulate them, but not so many we couldn't handle it.
There were cots, suitcases and bags of clothes sitting all around, on the levels of the stadium, in the halls, on the field. Women's clothes, men's clothes, kids, babies. There were toys, blankets, and all manner of personal possessions, all covered in blood and gore and strewn all around.
The three of us walked around, half in a daze, taking out the undead we came across. There must have been thousands of people in this place when the shit hit the fan. What happened? Where were all the people who had been here? Were they all dead? Undead? If they were undead, where were they?
We decided to check the kitchen and snack shack for any food that might be left and then get out of this little town, before we found the thousands of undead that could be around this town. The kitchen was a gold mine and we filled a couple of the wheeled town bins and rolled them out to the entrance where Melissa and Brad came and wheeled to the RV.
The three of us headed back in and straight to the snack shack where I tried to open the door. It was locked from the inside and James had to break it down. Inside, we found five bodies. One had obviously turned and had it's head bashed in by the others. But all four other woman had wholes in their heads. It looked like one of them had killed three of the others and then herself. She had an envelope on her lap and I took it to look inside later.

We found some food, mostly stale chips and candy, but it wasn't much so we were able to carry it back to the RV. Once we were inside the RV, we told everyone some of what we found, enough to make them understand we had to leave the town. We had originally been planning on staying there for the night, but there was no way we were staying now. We left town and pulled over about 10 miles later to look at the map and decide on our route for the detour. We've found an old gas station to stay at and tomorrow will continue on our way. Hopefully, we won't run into any of the people who turned in the stadium. I wonder where they went?

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.

From the journal of Nikki Feather, June 14

June 14, 2017

When I woke up yesterday morning, Jackson was sitting at the table, already drinking coffee. He looked like he had aged 10 years overnight. I know what it feels like, since both my parents were already dead before the pandemic began, so I got myself some coffee and sat across from him, without saying anything.
It took about 10 minutes before he looked up and said "We can't stay here. I can't stay here. I keep seeing him lying on the floor and I don't want to think of him that way every day. Besides, it's obviously not safe here."
I agreed and we sat in silence for a while before I got up and went to the truck to get the maps in the glovebox. I sat on the couch and opened the first map and spread it out on the coffee table. I found our approximate location and marked it with a pen. Then, I started looking all around us, looking for somewhere that would be easily defensable and a place we could get to in a few days, no more than a week.
Diablo dam might be an option. We could block off both sides and there is space inside where the generators are located. Hmm..

Jackson eventually came over and joined me. We spent a couple of hours going over various ideas of places to go. He agreed that Diablo Dam, or one of the others on the Skagit river, might be good places to go, but there is also potential for disaster. If no one is there to keep debris from building up on the dams, they could collapse and if we were living inside, we would be goners.
Well, then it was back to the drawing board for ideas. We finally decided to think on it and maybe just wing it. This cabin was not defensible because it is out in the forest with no wall or fence and is still close to a couple of larger towns. We needed to go farther into a National Forest or park, away from towns and anywhere people might have been living before this shit started.
We spent the rest of the day trying to make the area around the cabin a little safer. Jackson used a chainsaw to cut down ten big trees around us and made a barrier of them by how he got them to fall. Impressive.

I kept watch and took out the few undead that were drawn by the noise. There weren't many right now, but we needed to make decisions on where to go soon. We took all the cans and anything that might make noise and made some low tech alarms on the cabin side of the fallen trees and about  feet closer to the cabin. We made some stakes and dug a couple wholes that we put them in since there might be live people intent on hurting us out here too.
We spent hours getting dirty and setting up traps and alarms. By the time we stopped, I felt a little better about staying here until we figured out what we are going to do and where we are going to go. We went in and used the gravity fed shower for a couple of really quick, really cold showers and then ate some dinner. I was exhausted and I knew Jackson had to be the same, so I suggested an early night and Jackson agreed.
This morning, he looked a little more rested and we spent this morning checking over our defenses and quietly talking about our options. Hopefully, we will have a plan in a few days.

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.

From the journal of Nathan Sanchez, June 1

June 1, 2017

Well, it took a lot of talking and one bad incident, but we are all one group now with the band kids and we are all living on the ranch. Darren and I both told Consuela that she was dragging her feet and she just kept brushing us off while inciting the other older family members to say they need more time to think things through.

We met with the band kids at least five times between May 21st and the 28th. Then, when Fernando and our team went to check on them yesterday, we ran into an horrible and unexpected situation. They were still in the school they had taken over right after they lost the other bus and they school building they were in was surrounded by a group of men in all kinds of vehicles and they were being told to surrender and the men would be let go. Bullshit!
Fernando pulled us all back and we made a hasty plan to take out this new group before they hurt the band kids. Fernando turned on the radio we had given the kids one of and we let them know we were there. It took several minutes but Shiela finally came on and we gave her an quick and dirty outline of our plan. Then, we put the plan into action.
We worked quickly and quietly to surround them, right on the outside of the circle made by their vehicles. Stupidly, they were between the cars and the building, making them vulnerable. At the same time, the band kids moved quickly and quietly through the door at the back of the building and into the basement, out of the line of fire. Shiela gave us the agreed on signal of three clicks for all clear and then we sprung the trap. We let the men outside the building know we were there and then it all went haywire.
Time seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time. I saw everything so clearly it almost hurt my eyes. The men turned towards us and didn't even hesitate to bring their weapons to bear on us. Fernando gave the order and we opened fire. Bullets flew in all directions but we were safer because we were behind their cars while they were in the open. Their men started dropping down, either behind anything trying to find cover or because they'd been shot.
It was really only about five minutes before all that was left was the moaning of the injured and dying. We carefully made our way around the cars and began to check the bodies on the ground. Most of them were dead, one was starting to turn already, but a few of them were still alive and injured. We had already made the decision that none of them were going to live if it came down to the situation we found ourselves in. We took them out and made sure that none of them would turn, then we let Shiela know it was over.
Fernando sent a group of our people back to let people on the ranch know what had happened while the rest of us looked after the people who'd been hurt when the men first pulled up. They had caught several people outside and had beaten them and sent them back to the kids with a message telling them to surrender. Then, when they didn't get the immediate reaction they wanted, they shot a few 'warning' rounds into the building.
  The men sent back to the ranch were sent back to us with a message from Consuela to bring the whole group back to the ranch immediately. At least something good was going to come from this attack.

That was two days ago and we were still trying to get everyone situated and find places for everyone to sleep, as comfortably as possible. This is going to take some time and I think we are going to have to get more trailers or RV's.

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.

From the journal of Nikki Feather, June 12

June 12, 2017

It took us all morning to make it to Jackson's cabin. We ran into downed trees, small groups of zombies and one washed out bridge over a creek. Then, while cleaning up the second downed tree with the chainsaw, a group of five undead stumbled out of the surrounding trees. We had to stop and take out the zombies and it took a good ten minutes of working together to take them out. We were both out of breath and we had to rest for a good fifteen minutes before we could go back to cutting and cleaning up the rest of the tree. Once we were able to get through, we pulled through and continued on our way.
We finally pulled into the yard and my stomach fell to my feet. The door was open, the windows were broken and there were zombie bodies and blood on the porch. Jackson didn't wait for the truck to come to a stop before he jumped out of the cab and ran for the door, yelling for his father. I shoved the car into park and jumped out after him, as fast as I could.

He was through the door before I made it out of the truck and by the time I made it through the door, he was on the floor sobbing over a body. I slowed down and called to him gently. He told me it was his father and he was dead, shot himself in the head because he'd been bit. He turned to me and there were tears on his cheeks as he held out a note from his father.

Son, 
I'm so sorry that I won't be here when you get back. I should have been more careful and made sure to stay quieter. See, I was chopping wood and the sound must have drawn them. I know you told me to wait for you to do it, but I thought I knew better and that we needed more wood now. By the time I saw them, it was too late to just hide and wait them out. I was able to take out a few outside and got to the porch before they over powered me briefly and I got bit. 
I didn't want them to still be here when you got here, so I took them out before I had to fall down. I know it won't be long before I turn, I got at least ten bites. You've always been a fast learner and know how to survive better than anyone else I know. I know that anyone who ends up with you will be better off and will be safer with you. 
I love you and I am so proud of you. Be safe and stay alive. Don't let this defeat you, you're stronger than you know. 

We buried his father and burned the others, covered the windows and then I told Jackson I would clean up the floor while he made us some food. He didn't want to eat, but he went to make the food anyway. I cleaned up the blood from the floor and we settled in for the night. This might not be the best place to stay,  but I couldn't bring it up today. Maybe tomorrow.

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.

From the journal of Marie Costa, May 29

May 29, 2017

Well, we decided to send some of our people out in teams to check all the nearest houses and cabins. Most of them were empty, but three of them had undead in them and one had a group of bodies. The completely dead group had died in a suicide pact and they left a note about how they couldn't live in this kind of world.
I was on the team that searched one of the cabins with undead inside. When we stepped onto the porch, one of the boards groaned and we heard the zombie start moaning inside the cabin. Well, at least we knew there was at least one inside.
We spent a couple of minutes walking around the outside and looking in the windows. All we could see was the one in the living room and it was in a chair, struggling to and almost tipping itself over. We met back at the front door and we went in, quietly and slowly. I walked around the edge of the room and came face to face with an undead female in really bad shape.

She had been tied to the chair and savagely beaten and raped, probably more than once and by more than one man. She was covered in her own blood and her throat was a  gaping slash that puffed out with every moan. I know I gagged and had to turn away and that's when I saw the message smeared on the wall in what I thought was probably her blood..
"She was the best hostess and made us all feel right at home."
How sick were the guys who did this? We found out when we went into one of the back bedrooms. Inside, we found the bodies of three kids, an old woman and old man, and someone who was maybe the female zombies husband. All of them had been tortured and the kids looked like they had been raped before being killed. If I could have found the ones who had done this right then, I would have killed them myself.
We went through all the rooms and found a few cans of food, some clothes and undead a loose floorboard, a box of shotgun shells. It's sad how little was left in the cabin with the bodies of its former owners.
We are going to have to keep our eyes out so the people who did this don't sneak up on us. That means more patrols, more lookouts and tighter security around our place. We're going to have to push out our perimeter to give us more warning if someone enters our protected zone. This is going to take some planning and team work.
The others found about the same amount of supplies that we did in each place. Not much for the trouble we went through, but now we know that no one is living in any of these close homes. So, if we see someone or something around these places, we know we need to investigate. We are going to have to send occasional patrols out to these places to make sure nothing had changed and no one has moved in.

We came back together in our yard and had a meeting about what we found and saw. We discussed the changes in the patrols and about adding more lookout places around our new, father out perimeter, and agreed to think about it tonight and meet again tomorrow to go over any ideas and plan our moves. We have really come together as a group and have gelled into our rolls. Hopefully, this will keep happening and we don't run into any really bad people.

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.

From the journal of Nikki Feather, June 11

June 11, 2017

Well, we made it out this morning. When we checked the side towards Jackson's cabin, the trail of undead had thinned considerably. We moved back to our spot and talked it out. We decided that, yes, tomorrow there might be even less zombies, we were still going to get out today.
We ate breakfast and made sure everything in the truck was tied down tight. We both knew that the undead would try to hang on and we didn't want to lose anything we might need. I pulled out a tarp and once everything was secure, we covered it all with the tarp and made sure that it was also tied down tight.
Once we were as ready as we could be, we headed back down the dirt road and headed right for the undead, picking up speed as we went. The trick it to go fast enough to make it through all the little impacts, but not so fast that you lose control of the car skidding on a corpse. We both braced ourselves and watched the line of undead get closer by the second.

The first zombie we hit burst like an overripe tomato and covered the windshield in gore. I had to use the wipers and fluid to be able to see again and our view cleared right before we hit the next zombie. Each body hitting the truck caused the whole vehicle to shudder and shake. The wheel kept trying to jump in my hands and it was all I could do to keep us going relatively straight. It felt like it took an hour to get through, but it was really only a couple of minutes.
When we came out on the other side, the road was clear but the truck wasn't. We had picked up at least 10 undead passengers and had to stop to take care of them as soon as we felt far enough away from the remains of the horde. We had to figure out how to distract them enough for us to get out of the cab and get enough distance to turn and take them down. Jackson opened the glovebox and took out a flare before telling me he had done this once before.
He lit it,cracked his window and threw it towards the front of the truck and away from the door. Several undead on his side followed the heat and movement, shuffling after the flare like it was something alive. He opened the door and we both slid out and moved to make room to fight. We didn't want to use the guns, except as a last resort, because the sound would surely draw some from the horde our way. So instead, we used out machetes and knives.

The next 10 minutes were a blur of hacking, slashing and stabbing. I couldn't tell you how many I took out, how many men or women, young or old. I just went on auto pilot and did what needed to be done. We were both covered in black blood and bits of zombie by the time we had taken out the passenger zombies. I turned to look the way we had come and saw that a small group had broken from the horde and were coming our way. We both looked at each other and shook our heads, we were not waiting around to take them out. We got back in the truck and continued on.
We still didn't make it to the cabin today, though we are a lot closer. Jackson says it's another five miles or so, but it got so dark, we both agreed it was better to stop for the night. Tomorrow we should get to the cabin and hopefully, his dad is still ok and we can survive together. I feel like I should keep my fingers crossed all night.

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.

From the journal of James Cohen, June 7

June 7, 2017

We got back on the road today and I think everyone was ok with moving on. Last night, Jackie spent lot of time with the rest of our elderly people. We still have Walter, Marvin, Ralph and Ginger with us and they all talked about how they see things.

Marvin started it off by talking about a recent conversation he'd had with Esther. She had told him about her family and how she missed them. She said she knew she was on borrowed  time and was ok with dying, whenever it happened. She was enjoying the experiences we'd all been having since going on the road and said it was the most exciting time since she was in her 30's.
Ginger told Jackie that Esther was a realist, she knew what was coming. The more difficult it got for her to breath, the more water settled in her ankles, she knew. Without modern medicine and hospitals and such, her time was limited, and she was ok with that. She would get to be with her wonderful Albert again soon and any of her family that hadn't survived the pandemic. She was actually looking forward to it.
Ralph and Walter told her that all of them had discussed it and were enjoying the ride but were ready when the ride came to an end. But, they all wanted to share as much knowledge as they could before they left. Smart of them. It's been decided that we will spend our evenings once we are done traveling, with out elders and they are teach us stuff they think we should know, like cooking with wild edible plants and canning food to help it last longer. The guys are going to teach us the unarmed combat techniques they remember from their time in the war. I'm willing to learn whatever they want to teach.

We pulled out the maps today and figured out the next part of our route, still heading for the Greenbrier. I still think it's our best option and what else are we supposed to do, anyway? Everyone says that we should keep our eyes open for someplace we could make work on the way, but really, where else could be better? The Greenbrier has the bunker and the supplies for surviving. If the hotel gets overrun, we could close ourselves in the bunker and be safe and survive for however long it takes for the area to clear out. Eventually, even the undead will move on when their prey has completely disappeared, it just takes a long time.
So, for now, we are sticking with the plan and planning routes out as we go to take into account any detours we've had to take along the way. Please, let this be the right thing to do. I don't want to be responsible for the deaths of our entire group.

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.

From the journal of Charlie Fast Fingers Pearson, June 10

June 10, 2017

It has been fucking amazing to learn from the guys, John and Mark. They know how to survive on these islands. They've taken each group on different days and have started teaching us all how to do our jobs better. We all know it would take years for us to learn everything the guys know from growing up on this island, but we are all willing to learn whatever they can teach us.

The first day they took the group trying to catch birds. Jessie, Shane, Frank and Sally spent the day learning how to make  traps with the sticks and stuff in the general area where the trap is being set. Mark showed them how to see the trails made by the native ground birds and to see where the bushes and shrubs formed natural funnels since this is the best place to put the trap. John taught them how to spot the nests of the tree dwelling birds and how to climb up to get their eggs, but not all of them, or the birds will be extinct really fast.
The second day, they spent with both Dave's, Shelly, Travis, Meg, and Martin in the garden and orchard. They showed the group how to water each plant with the right amount of water, how to keep them trimmed back to get the most amount of fruit or vegetable, and how to take care of the trees brought down from the mountain.

The third day, they taught the patrol group how to move through the trees making as little sound as possible. Tracey, Marty, Terry and Amy learned to spot obstacles in their path before they get there.
My group was the last one and we got to learn how to cook with all the food being brought in by the other groups. Will, Mick, Melanie, Buck and I got to cook and eat a bunch of different meals while John and Mark gave us step by step instructions. They taught us about the herbs  being grown in the small garden near the huts. They taught us which herbs go with which fruits, vegetable and birds.
The guys have told us they want to start taking us in groups back up the mountain a little bit and show us what plants are edible and which ones will kill you. They said that we can get any medicine we need from the plants on the mountain and they want to teach us. I found an unused journal and plan on taking it with me when it's my turn so I can write down all the plants and their uses.
I know I am finally able to walk without too much of a limp and even less pain. All the others that were injured are mostly better now. Will still gets dizzy and has headaches, but his head injury was really bad. If he'd gotten the same one before the end of the world, he would probably have been put in the hospital. But he lived, so getting dizzy and having headaches is a small price to pay.
The day the guys decided to come check on this village was the luckiest day we've had since this whole this started. Well, I guess the day we made it to the plane was also a good day, too. They have made us all really want to live, not just survive. We should thank our lucky stars they came.

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.

From the journal of Nikki Feather, June 9

June 9 , 2017

It's been three days since we left my watch tower and we still haven't made it to Jackson's cabin. We hadn't even made it a mile when out path was blocked by a herd of the undead. Luckily, we saw them from a good distance off and were able to turn off the truck and not draw their attention. We sat there for two hours and they just kept going. Where were they going to? What got them started? Were they following something? Was there something alive at the front of the herd and that's what got them moving? Were they just following each other with no idea why?
We talked quietly about everything and nothing, from people we both knew to the places we both have visited all our lives. But, eventually, we decided the smart thing to do would be to go back to my tower. We turned the truck around and made it about a quarter of a mile before we were stuck again. Stuck between two herds of undead in a truck with Jackson. Hopefully, it was two herds and not one that had a split we were stuck in. Well, at least I wasn't alone.

That was two days ago. Thankfully, we still haven't run out of things to talk about. We didn't know each other well so we could talk about our entire lives. We knew some of the same people from growing up in neighboring towns. Our sports teams played each other and we would go to parties thrown in both towns when we were teenagers. But really, I only knew his name and he only knew mine. That left a lot of subjects we could talk about.
We keep checking both sides to see if either side is clear enough to get through, but so far, no luck. The herd does look like it's starting to thin out a little, but not enough drive through. We're just lucky that we took all the food from my tower with us, otherwise we would have been up a creek. Although, I must say, I'm getting really sick of cold soup and cold canned veggies.
I've not seen so many undead together, all at once. Even the horde that moved through our town and caused everyone to evacuate, wasn't this big. It was moving through our area for a week, but the horde wasn't as wide as either side is right now. We've been here two days and they are just starting to thin out today. Who knows how long they are going to keep us stuck here.
Hopefully, we won't be stuck here much longer. I'm sure Jackson's father is wondering where he is and I would love to be out of this truck for more time than just a bathroom break with my eyes peeled.

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.

From the journal of Marie Costa, June 3

June 3, 2017

We have made really good progress on getting our crops going. They are planted and we are taking care of them. Hopefully, they'll grow and provide us the food we need. The crops and the vegetable garden all have little plants sprouting an we have been having a hell of a time protecting them from the deer and wild horses.
Jake, Alex and Alice just got back this afternoon from a scavenging mission. They had been given a list of what our community needs. Medicines, medical supplies, vitamins, food and water, gas, clothes, books, and blankets. There is so much we need and even more we need to learn how to do for ourselves.
They spent a day at the library finding all the 'how to' books. We need to learn how to repair everything in the cabin, from the solar power system to the pump in the well. We also need to learn how to make stuff like soap, candles and the like. For now, we can still get the premade stuff, but eventually, that is all going to run out or go bad. We need to know what to do before then, so we are gathering all the information we'll need. I told them to get all the 'how to' books they could find, as well as some books for reading pleasure and for Miguel. Since he's 10, he needs different types of books from the rest of us.
While they were in town, they had to hide from a group of people they almost ran into. From what Jackie had written about the people who ended up killing them, Jake, Alex and Alice were all pretty sure they were the same people. Jake told us they had stayed hidden but had observed them for almost an entire day. He said they wanted to learn as much about the  group as they could, in case we have to deal with them or fight them in the future.
The group travels as a convoy and doesn't stay in the same place for long, even if they stay in the general area. They have 4 cars, 6 trucks, 3 box trucks and 5 RV's. There must be around 60-75 of them, mostly men. Most of the women are kept in the RV's and appear to be prisoners kept for the rest of the groups entertainment. They are only given minimal clothes and all of them have bruises and are too skinny. There are a couple of children and they are kept with the women and I don't want to think about if they are sharing in the entertainment duties of the women.

The men are big, dirty, smelly and violent. They spent the day drinking, smoking anything they could find, fighting and raping. They made the women make them food and serve them as well as take whatever the men wanted to do to them. They are the type of men I warned everyone about at the grocery store. I hate to think it, but Jackie is better off dead than being stuck with those men and a prisoner with the women.
Jacke, Alex and Alice made sure to get away without being spotted and were really alert the rest of their time in town. They got as much of the stuff on the list as they could find and bring back. Then they carefully made their way out of town, going out of their way to avoid getting anywhere near that other group. We are going to have to decide what, if anything, we should do about that group.
For now, we are as safe as anyone can be and have all the food, water and other supplies we need to get by for a while. We are really lucky to be in this good of a position during the zombie apocalypse and I know I'm really thankful.

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.

From the journal of Manny Stone, May 27

May 27, 2017

We pulled into another small town today, bigger than the one we all were trying to forget about. We've all been woken up by nightmares at least one night since we saw the remains of the women and read the letter one of them left. Marney was really reluctant to even stop and we had to talk her into doing so. We need food, water, ammo and lots of other stuff, so we can't pass up the chance to find supplies.
This little place has a real downtown area, probably already run down before  the pandemic hit, like lots of little towns around the country. The houses are off the main drag and most look like they were built years ago. Brick is the main facade of choice and two stories seem like some kind of building requirement since there are so many of them.
Marney stayed in the truck, keeping watch, while Alex and I went into the grocery store. We stayed together and checked aisle by aisle for undead before grabbing carts and checking to see if anything good was left on the shelves. Suprisingly, there was still a lot of food, mostly junk food, and a good supply of bottled water. This town must have been evacuated to an emergency shelter in one of the neighboring areas, otherwise, there wouldn't be anything left at all. We'd seen it, two days ago, when we pulled into this little town where all the shelves were empty, at the store, gas station, even the deli and restaurant. The houses had also been completely picked over and we didn't find anything to eat that night. Thankfully, we've built up a small store of food, but we have to constantly keep replacing and adding to it.
This time, we hit the jackpot. We put our supplies in the back of the truck and headed for one of the neighborhoods to find a place to stay for a couple of days. We've been on the move for full week and I know I'm tired and want to take a short rest. We don't want to stay too long, but a couple of days should be fine. We can search the houses and any other buildings we think might have something useful.

Again, Marney waited in the car once we'd chosen a house. Alex and I cleared it and made sure there wasn't any hidden suprises or horrors to be found. Then and only then Marney was ok coming inside. I know that the bodies we found really messed with me, more than I want to admit. But for Marney, I think being able to put herself in their place because of what almost happened to her, well, it has scarred her and will take a while for her to work through.
The house we chose is nice and is near the library. I plan to go there tomorrow, even if the others don't want to go. I'm looking forward to just spending some time walking through the aisles. I know I'd love a good book to read on our little bit of down time. I used to get books delivered to my old neighbor and he would bring them to me and I miss having something to take my mind off what's happening around us. While the towns people near my cabin thought I had cut myself off from the world, I really hadn't. They would've been suprised to see my library. Besides, with the internet, you can read about anything you want to read about and learn anything you want to learn.
Well, Marney's calling me for dinner and I guess I can write again later on. I hope this place is a good place to stop and rest. I also hope those men who were trying to find us in the mountains never found it and haven't tried to follow us. That's why we won't stay here for long and need to put more distance between where we came from and where we are.

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.

From the journal of Manny Stone, May 24

May 24, 2017

This morning, Alex and I decided to open the letter before breakfast and then we both wished we hadn't because we lost our appetites. I found some craft glue on the shelf and have decided to glue it and the picture that fell out of the envelope into this journal instead of writing about what we read

To whoever finds this letter,
I can't believe the situation I have ended up in. Ten days ago, this little town was probably the safest place still around since we had no one who got sick and no undead have come through here. We heard about neighboring towns being overrun, but the rivers on both sides of town with the bridges blocked kept us safe from them.
We were still living our lives mostly the same as before and were doing well. We all had solar and wind power so we still had running water and lights. I think the lights were actually our downfall. Those and the blockades on the bridges. The evil men who came knew we were here for those reasons and they came and hell came with them.
They had guns and were willing to do anything, including die, to take us all hostage. They toyed with our men for a day, telling them if they did everything they were told to do, we would not be hurt and they would be allowed to live. Our men did everything they were told to do, no matter how degrading, but it was all lies.
The next morning, they lined us all up outside and laughed while they told us what they were going to do. They killed out men and put them in one of the bedrooms in each house. Then they tied all of us women and girls up in the bedrooms. They raped us all, even little Connie Rickett who is only 11 years old. I have almost lost my mind completely, listening to them rape my daughters upstairs. They keep us tied unless they're feeding us or want us untied while they hurt us. 
It has been going on for 9 days now and I know they are planning on leaving soon. They took whatever they wanted from all of our houses out to their trucks and I heard two of them talking about a last night of fun. I don't think they are going to let us live when they leave, so I wanted to someone to know what happened to us here. If there was a way for me to take even one of them with me, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I know some of the men who came here were from neighboring towns and around the area. There was an emergency shelter set up about 20 miles from here and we were supposed to go there, but now I'm glad we didn't. From the snippets I've overheard, they did the same thing to the people there once the food started running out. Then they killed them all and left. They were in trucks from the National Guard and had FEMA blankets and such. I know I've seen some of them before at the local fair and when I went into one of the bigger towns for groceries before the pandemic.
If you read this, don't head south when you leave here. I heard them talking about heading that way next. That's all I can do to help and I wish there was more I could do. If you can, please, give my girls a decent burial. I don't care what happens to me, but they deserve that at least.
Good luck and may God keep you safe in this new, crazy world
Allison Keane

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.