From a letter found in Aspen duing a
scavenging mission. The letter was written by Hope Lincoln, a very
weatlthy housewife living in the upscale Aspen area with her husband
and four children.
June 9, 2017
To whoever finds this letter:
Why, oh why, did I not pay more
attention to all the reports around the country? My name is Hope
Lincoln and I know what I was thinking. Nothing like that can happen
to us in Aspen. Like we were better than the people who lived in
other places. Like our money would shield us from whatever causes the
dead to come back. Like there was a force field, or something, that
would keep any infected or undead out. I was such an idiot and it's
cost me everything.
The news started reporting about the
pandemic in January, but it was in California, not Colorado. As the
days went on, reports were coming in or it spreading and spreading
fast. There was speculation that it was in everything from fresh
fruits and vegetable to being in the water supply. It wasn't until
the TV went off that it started to sink in that this was serious.
By then, Andy, my husband, had already
made a couple of Costco trips and we were stocked up on canned and
dehydrated foods, as well as condiments, spices, and bottled waters.
A month ago, I sent him back for another trip and told him to stop at
the sporting goods store and get more ammo for our firearms. Before
he left, I gave him a list that included sleeping bags, camping gear,
flashlights and water purifying tablets. He was gone for two days.
I was frantic and scared and didn't
know what to do. So, I just kept to the kids schedule and acted like
there was nothing wrong. I know they didn't believe me, they were all
acting out because of the tension. The four of them are usually so
good, but Ellen, our oldest and just barely 11, threw a fit worthy of
any teenager because she couldn't go online. Alice and Alexander, our
8 year old twins both refused to go to bed that first night and threw
a fit in harmony, which drew our 6 year old, Jessa, into the fray.
She started crying loudly and trying to climb up my body. I had to
pick her up, which is not something she asks for anymore.
When I saw our Highlander pull into
the driveway, I rushed to get outside and see Andy, practically
pushing my kids out of the way to get there. He looked like he'd been
run over or trampled or something. His clothes were torn, dirty and
smelled horrible. He was pale and shaking and fell into my arms as
soon as I got close enough. He was exhausted and told me that Costco
was ok. People were rude and in a hurry, but still acting mostly
human as they scurried around for their supplies.
It was at the sporting goods store
that it went off the rails. While he was there, people at the front
of the store started shooting at something, which turned out to be a
group of ten undead. What no one knew was there were others all
around the store and they had gotten in through a back door as well.
Andy ended up having to fight, with everyone else in the store, just
to live through it. But he got bit in the process and barely made it
home.
I know now that we should've talked
about it and made a different decision. We should've said our
goodbyes and then Andy should've killed himself. Or I should've
killed him. Either way, I never should've taken him upstairs and
tried to nurse him back to health. He turned two days later and
killed Alexander and Ellen right away, tore out their throats and
took chunks out of them. Alice and Jessa ran screaming for me and I
lost it. I had started carrying the pistol I owned in a holster the
day Andy came home and I used it to take out his brain. Then, I sat
on the floor with my dead children and lost my mind for a few minutes
while holding my live daughters.
It was probably only an hour or so
before Alexander and Ellen started to twitch and come back. Alice
thought her twin was still alive and before I could stop them, both
girls had hugged him and gotten bit. God forgive me, I had to shoot
my babies in the head! All of them! I took care of Alexander and
Ellen right away. I almost died of heartache right then, but I
comforted them and hugged them. I told them we were going to pray and
had them get on their knees in front of me. Then, I shot Alice and
Jessa in their heads. Bang! Bang!
I can't do this anymore. I can't live
with having to kill all of my kids and my husband. I just wanted to
let whoever finds us know, I didn't go crazy and just kill my family.
I had to.
God, please have mercy on my Andy and
my babies. And if you have any love for me as well, please forgive me
for what I have done and what I am going to do.
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.
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