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.