And of course, the bridge at Eagle Valley Rd was down, too. The next one at Bridge Lane was more than a mile southwest of me. I wasn't going to walk to any more broken bridges. I was going to do what I didn't want to do: cross that creek. I estimated it was about 200-250 feet across. No problem if you can swim, but I can't. I had to come up with something.
I went back to the country club to see if there was anything else I could find, but along the way, I noticed a Peters Marine just across the street. I went in to see if there was a small rowboat or something that I could I lug back to the creek, but it was rioted. All the boats had holes purposefully smashed in them. I don't understand why people feel the need to destroy things they can't take that could ultimately help someone else out...
I did find an inflatable raft tucked all the way in the back of store. Some bit of luck. I grabbed it and instead of going all the way back to Bald Eagle Creek, I decided to try to cross Fishing Creek. Not only was it closer to me, but it was about 100 feet narrower. I pulled the cord of the raft and let it inflate and then put it in the water and very awkwardly got in. Already, I felt panicked as water was all around me, but I forced myself to remain calm.
My bat served as a makeshift oar and I did my best to paddle across. There was virtually no current, so I just kept paddling until after a few minutes, I was across, although not without catching my foot in the rocks and splashing face first in the water. Everything got wet, and the comforter bag only soaked up more water and became ruthlessly heavy.
I took off all my clothes to wring them out and then began to wring the comforter dry as best I could. And of COURSE, when I'm completely naked, a freshie decides to jump me. I didn't even here him coming until he was right behind me as I turned around. He literally made no noise, like he was running on a road of pillows and not growling, something that betrayed everything I knew about them. He crashed into me and took me down, my head still sore from last night's thud, striking a rock on the way down.
I didn't hear the crack of the rifle, just the crack of my head hitting that rock. Took me a few seconds to blink away the stars, and then I realized someone upstream shot the zombie off of me. As I focused to make out who this figure was, I realized I was stark naked and scrambled for my clothes. He shouted at me what was I doing here, and I said I was trying to get to Lock Haven hospital, that a friend of mine had been hurt, struck by a car. He asked me if it was a short young woman with red hair, and I enthusiastically said yes! Yes, it was! It was Kat!
We began walking to the hospital, which was just a little more than a mile down Eagle Valley Rd. He said his name was Dustin Sanders. He was the one who blew up the bridges after they had another attack of zombies at the hospital. He said he was trying to secure the area from any zombies crossing the bridges, just like I figured. I asked him where he got the explosives and he said he used to work in demolition. I also held my tongue, because I was going to criticize him for making so much noise. I know his intentions were good, but it was a rather lousy plan when you got to thinking about it.
He apologized for hitting Kat and explained that it was a serious mistake. He said she was walking with a limp and mistook her for a zombie and decided to hit her, but at the very last second changed his mind and tried to pull away but still clipped her. When Dustin heard her yelling in pain, he realized she wasn't a zombie at all and came back to get her. I asked him with immediate concern in my voice if she was ok, and he said she was, just banged up a bit. I really wanted to bash his head in with my golf club for being so stupid, but he did take responsibility and drove her to the hospital.
As we got closer to Lock Haven, I began to see people in the streets. Not undead people moaning about looking for their next meal, but real live people. There was a small community here. Dustin explained that he knew it was a drastic move to blow up the bridges, but once there were more than just a few of them he took measures to try to keep everyone safe.
I started speeding up my pace the closer to the hospital I came. Once inside, he took me to her room and I opened the door slowly, not to startle her. That was the last thing I wanted to do to her after what happened before. She saw me and I half-expected her to start screaming bloody murder, to get away, but she said, "Martin? MARTIN!" and held her arms out to me like a child wanting its favorite teddy bear. I ran to her, propped up in her hospital bed, and hugged her tightly.
You have no idea how good it felt to hold her. Riddled with guilt, believing she was dead, and now feeling her warm body in my arms, smelling her hair, staring into those sparkling brown eyes. Upon seeing our reunion, Dustin excused himself and left us alone to catch up. We just kept hugging tightly until our cheeks rubbed against each other and we kissed. The stress in both of us just melted away and we lost ourselves in each other's embrace.
She's holding me now, me sharing what little room she has in her bed. She apologized so much for reacting the way she did, leaving me stranded on the interstate, and I apologized for losing my tempter the way I did. I didn't blame her at all, just glad to see her again after searching for so many days.
Going to end it here. There's a lot more to talk about it, but juice is getting low, so I'm thankful, more than ever, that there was a tomorrow, and I eagerly look forward to the next!
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
September 29th, 2021
I woke up around 3:30 in the morning to hear yelling outside of the hut. I figured it was a zombie who stumbled across Greggo, buried up to his head, and was having his brains eaten. So long as I was in this hut, I was perfectly safe, so I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. When I woke up and went outside, I found something completely different.
Paul Greggo was not eaten by a zombie. Instead, a warning for me was carved in his forehead, overwriting the torture marks I left on him. It said, "LEAVE" and had two knives sticking out of him, one in each eye socket. Trust me, whoever you are, I have no intent to stay here. What I would like to know is why you didn't kill me instead. Maybe Greggo failed to uphold some kind of thieve's code. Maybe his penalty for being humiliated was to be killed and his body to serve the purpose of warding me off. Maybe you don't believe in killing outsiders, yet your twisted sense of honor would have you kill one of your own, or maybe this is nothing more than a real estate reclamation and you want to scare me off instead of take a chance confronting me. Well whatever the case, it's your lucky day. I'm leaving, but definitely not because I'm scared of you.
I gathered up my things and left the hut roughly around eight in the morning. Once I got a good thousand feet away from the forest, I sat on the side of the road and consulted the map. There was a Universal Community Behavioral Health center roughly 13 miles from where I was, but I doubt that's where Kat would be. Just four miles north of the mental health facility was Lock Haven Hospital. If anything, that's where she would be, but that's wishing that the driver was even taking her to a hospital at all. And it would be taking me off course from continuing west on I-80. I just had to give it a shot. I really need to find Kat again.
After about four hours of walking, I made it to the mental health facility. It was completely abandoned. No vehicles in the parking lot, and no other signs of anyone being in the building for some time. All the windows were intact, so I'm guessing the residents of the building evacuated immediately after hearing the news of the outbreak. I tried the front door, and it was unlocked, so I wouldn't need to give the building its first broken window. I listened carefully for any movement as I patrolled its hallways. After feeling it was safe, I began to yell hello just in case anyone was hiding from me thinking I was a zombie. I yelled a few more times and not getting any responses, I decided to leave and head up to the hospital.
Of course, nothing's easy. As I was traveling north on HWY 220, the bridge crossing Fishing Creek was out. Because of the heavy rain the other day, the creek's water level was higher than usual, and it was flowing pretty well. I'd estimate it was least a hundred feet across, and now I'm going to give you a survival tip. Learn how to swim. This is something I never did, so I hope you do. It could have saved me a lot of time.
There was a road just west to me, Nittany Valley Drive, that went up north along the creek, so I took it, but when I wanted to cross the next bridge at Main Street after Nittany turned into South Water Street, it too was down. I decided to inspect this one, and there was burnt rubble everywhere, Someone was blowing up bridges. They were most likely doing it to prevent people from crossing the creek and further spreading infection.
I continued on South Water St. when I came across the bridge at Church St. Down. Peale Avenue, down. Hogan Boulevard, down. How the hell does one have so much explosives? At this point, I reached a golf course, so I decided to take a break and go into their country club. I found a vending machine that wasn't trashed, so I rectified that by taking a nine iron from the reception's desk and doing my best Tiger Woods impression. I opted for the oatmeal raisin granola bar and scarfed it down. I took another, at it more slowly this time to taste it, and grabbed a few more and put them in my pack. I was tempted to grab some M&Ms, but remember, whenever you have a healthier option, take it. You need your calories to count.
Armed with a new club, I went off to explore the golf course when finally. FINALLY!, my luck changes. A GOLF CART! MOBILITY! Solar powered! Oh, but how cruel a bitch Lady Luck is. Of course, there's no key in the ignition. I went back to the club house, and of course, can't find the fucking key for it! Frustration got the better of me and I let every inanimate object have it with the club. The TV got Hole 1. The brochure stand got Hole 2. The reception computer, Hole 3. Hole 4, 5 and 6 were the glass coffee tables. 7 was the potted fern handing from the wall in the corner. An old-fashioned gumball machine was Hole 8, where it rained gumballs all over the floor, and Hole 9 was nothing but whiff after whiff as I tried to drive each and every gumball 400 yards. After adding close to 30 strokes to my game, I slipped on one of the gumballs and hit my head rather hard. It's throbbing right now, so I'm hoping I don't have a concussion, but that fall is what I needed to take the fight out of me.
I'm just resting on the lounger right now, just so fucking tired of shit. Looking at the map didn't help either. There are two more bridges that are probably blown up as well before Fishing Creek feeds into a much wider Bald Eagle Creek. Bald Eagle Creek hooks up north than comes back down and goes west where there's a bridge at Eagle Valley Drive. Hogan BLVD actually turns into Eagle Valley so I'm tempted to not even bother checking the two bridges up north. So, that will be plan for tomorrow. Head down Eagle Valley and hope to God to that bridge isn't taken out as well.
Until tomorrow. That's it for now until I think of something better. Until tomorrow.
Paul Greggo was not eaten by a zombie. Instead, a warning for me was carved in his forehead, overwriting the torture marks I left on him. It said, "LEAVE" and had two knives sticking out of him, one in each eye socket. Trust me, whoever you are, I have no intent to stay here. What I would like to know is why you didn't kill me instead. Maybe Greggo failed to uphold some kind of thieve's code. Maybe his penalty for being humiliated was to be killed and his body to serve the purpose of warding me off. Maybe you don't believe in killing outsiders, yet your twisted sense of honor would have you kill one of your own, or maybe this is nothing more than a real estate reclamation and you want to scare me off instead of take a chance confronting me. Well whatever the case, it's your lucky day. I'm leaving, but definitely not because I'm scared of you.
I gathered up my things and left the hut roughly around eight in the morning. Once I got a good thousand feet away from the forest, I sat on the side of the road and consulted the map. There was a Universal Community Behavioral Health center roughly 13 miles from where I was, but I doubt that's where Kat would be. Just four miles north of the mental health facility was Lock Haven Hospital. If anything, that's where she would be, but that's wishing that the driver was even taking her to a hospital at all. And it would be taking me off course from continuing west on I-80. I just had to give it a shot. I really need to find Kat again.
After about four hours of walking, I made it to the mental health facility. It was completely abandoned. No vehicles in the parking lot, and no other signs of anyone being in the building for some time. All the windows were intact, so I'm guessing the residents of the building evacuated immediately after hearing the news of the outbreak. I tried the front door, and it was unlocked, so I wouldn't need to give the building its first broken window. I listened carefully for any movement as I patrolled its hallways. After feeling it was safe, I began to yell hello just in case anyone was hiding from me thinking I was a zombie. I yelled a few more times and not getting any responses, I decided to leave and head up to the hospital.
Of course, nothing's easy. As I was traveling north on HWY 220, the bridge crossing Fishing Creek was out. Because of the heavy rain the other day, the creek's water level was higher than usual, and it was flowing pretty well. I'd estimate it was least a hundred feet across, and now I'm going to give you a survival tip. Learn how to swim. This is something I never did, so I hope you do. It could have saved me a lot of time.
There was a road just west to me, Nittany Valley Drive, that went up north along the creek, so I took it, but when I wanted to cross the next bridge at Main Street after Nittany turned into South Water Street, it too was down. I decided to inspect this one, and there was burnt rubble everywhere, Someone was blowing up bridges. They were most likely doing it to prevent people from crossing the creek and further spreading infection.
I continued on South Water St. when I came across the bridge at Church St. Down. Peale Avenue, down. Hogan Boulevard, down. How the hell does one have so much explosives? At this point, I reached a golf course, so I decided to take a break and go into their country club. I found a vending machine that wasn't trashed, so I rectified that by taking a nine iron from the reception's desk and doing my best Tiger Woods impression. I opted for the oatmeal raisin granola bar and scarfed it down. I took another, at it more slowly this time to taste it, and grabbed a few more and put them in my pack. I was tempted to grab some M&Ms, but remember, whenever you have a healthier option, take it. You need your calories to count.
Armed with a new club, I went off to explore the golf course when finally. FINALLY!, my luck changes. A GOLF CART! MOBILITY! Solar powered! Oh, but how cruel a bitch Lady Luck is. Of course, there's no key in the ignition. I went back to the club house, and of course, can't find the fucking key for it! Frustration got the better of me and I let every inanimate object have it with the club. The TV got Hole 1. The brochure stand got Hole 2. The reception computer, Hole 3. Hole 4, 5 and 6 were the glass coffee tables. 7 was the potted fern handing from the wall in the corner. An old-fashioned gumball machine was Hole 8, where it rained gumballs all over the floor, and Hole 9 was nothing but whiff after whiff as I tried to drive each and every gumball 400 yards. After adding close to 30 strokes to my game, I slipped on one of the gumballs and hit my head rather hard. It's throbbing right now, so I'm hoping I don't have a concussion, but that fall is what I needed to take the fight out of me.
I'm just resting on the lounger right now, just so fucking tired of shit. Looking at the map didn't help either. There are two more bridges that are probably blown up as well before Fishing Creek feeds into a much wider Bald Eagle Creek. Bald Eagle Creek hooks up north than comes back down and goes west where there's a bridge at Eagle Valley Drive. Hogan BLVD actually turns into Eagle Valley so I'm tempted to not even bother checking the two bridges up north. So, that will be plan for tomorrow. Head down Eagle Valley and hope to God to that bridge isn't taken out as well.
Until tomorrow. That's it for now until I think of something better. Until tomorrow.
September 28th 2021
Found me he did. Unfortunately, he's not as good a fighter as he is an opportunist. Survival tip for YOU! Learn how to fight. I mean, he had the bat and everything. So here's what happened.
After this Paul Greggo guy steals my bag, I get out of the car and start looking for him, but like he so rudely (and horribly) typed in my journal, it was still dark and raining. I couldn't do much else but go back to the car to get out of the rain, but the back driver's side window was broken, so it wasn't really safe. I was just hoping that whoever took my bag was happy with what they got and wouldn't bother coming back to the car.
I didn't sleep at all. I just laid down in the back seat listening to the rain pound on the roof of my car, pissed off at how stupid I was to be victimized like that. As you read in the entry he wrote, I made a vital mistake by using the tablet in the dark. As the rain let up, the sun also rose. I wasted no time trying to find him.
Fast forward several hours and I have no idea where I was. I just sat by the creek taking a breather when I heard a tree branch snap. I turned around and there Greggo was, running at me and swinging the bat. It was all I could do to get my arms over my head, where the bat connected to my elbows with a clang and me yelling out in pain. I stood up and he swung again, but I ducked. The next swing, I turned my body and let my back take the blow while I brought my arm around the bat. Before he could do anything, I twisted my waist to the right to throw him off balance and did a left kick to his temple where he let go of the bat completely.
He went down hard, but of course, he tried the old grab a fist full of dirt and toss it to blind tactic, but I turned my head away as I raised my shoulder, bat already primed, and swung backhanded to connect with his jaw. The sound of a jaw breaking is one of the most painful sounds I've heard. I then swung at his head again, coming down right on top of his skull, but not hard enough to kill him. I just wanted to knock him out, and I succeeded.
He's tied up now. He had 20 feet of extension cord coiled around him. My guess is that was intended for me. We're in his hut right now, and it's actually pretty impressive for an improvised shelter. Like he wrote, it blends right in with the surroundings and even has a fire pit where smoke rises through a PVC pipe in the ceiling.
Spent most of the afternoon and evening talking with my new best friend Paul Greggo. He's from New Jersey, done time for stealing cars. That would explain his penchant for pilfering, but I can't really hold that against him. I could have very easily resorted to thievery myself. Who enforces laws these days? I just happened to not lose most of my morals when the world lost all of its sanity.
I made him answer my questions through a broken jaw. Whenever he didn't want to talk, I cut his forehead with my pocketknife. I know, it's torture, but when you need to get information out of someone and they won't cooperate, you're left with little choice. He only has three cuts in his forehead so he's being cooperative, for the most part.
I asked how many more of him there were, and he said at least a hundred, but he could be embellishing. I don't doubt there are more of him, but a hundred was stretching it. In fact, I actually doubt there's more than a few. I covered a lot of ground looking for him, and didn't come across a sign of any other people in this forest.
But you know the worst part of having someone tied up? The smell. He said he needed to go to the bathroom, but I told him he could just go where he was. I instantly smelled urine when he finally decided to go, but that's the price I'm willing to pay to ensure that he stays where he is and doesn't try to break free when I help him go.
I of course asked him about Kat, what direction the car went when the driver picked her up after hitting her, and he wouldn't tell me. He knew that I cared about her and really needed to know, so he was going to be as defiant as he could. So I pulled out the pocket knife and he laughed, saying he doesn't care about being cut anymore. I had to get creative. I dragged knife over his face and ran it under his nose, inserting the blade in his nostril enough to tickle hairs and cause him to sneeze. He made sure he sneezed on me. For that, I instantly poked at his crotch, stopping just before the knife plunged into his pants. That got a reaction out of him. He tried to scootch back away from me, and then he started whimper. He finally told me he saw the car traveling west, and swore that's all he knew. Then my nose scrunched up as I smelled the odor of shit. Great. I have to deal with that, too.
Most of my food and water's gone. He must have stashed it somewhere else, but he's clammed up now. Paralyzed with fear of what I'm going to do to him. Yeah, some "tough son of a bitch" he turned out to be. Bet you he'd be a pushover as a zombie too. Ah well, no big deal. I've found food and water before and I can find it again.
I actually want to stay the night in his hut, but I have one obvious problem. How am I going to trust him? He is tied up, but he is a thief after all, and I'm not going to underestimate his ability to wiggle free and kill me in my sleep. What I'm going to do is bury him neck high outside. He won't have any leverage to break free that way. Plus, if a zombie comes along, he'll be one less problem to deal with.
I'm going to try to figure out tomorrow where the car that took Kat might be going and then head out. I also don't want to spend another night in this hut just in case there are others and they decide to pay him a visit and find me in it.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow. (I have to agree with him, though. It's time to find a new sign off)
Saturday, September 27, 2014
September 27th, 2021
this guy. this fuckin guy. claims hes a survival expert or somethin. some kinda max brooks. well let me give YOU a survival tip. dont be sleepin in a abandoned car out in the middle of nowhere where guys like me can smash a rock threw your window and reach in and grab your shit. dont listen to this guy, this fuckin moron. hell end up gettin you killed.
and if you wanna be hangin out in some car like mr martin fowler here, dont be doin nuthin to draw attention to yourself like righting in a tablet where anyone close enough to see you can see the glow on your face. werent for that id probably wouldnt even know he was in this car. oh and he tried to grab his bag when i reached in and snatched it but he was too slow. was still dark and rainin and im a great runner! no way is he finding me in the woods!
you want another survival tip? you wanna stay in a camoflauged hideout cuz the zombies aint the ones you need to worry about. its people like me. were opportunists. thats how we survive. we prey on the strong, the ones who made as far as they did and got what they got. were like vultures but we dont wait for the animal to die. we pick it clean while its still movin. i say we cuz were a group of bandits. we also got the smarts to not camp together cuz if one of us gets seen, were all at risk.
my hiding spots in plain site but youll never know it cuz it looks just like everything else. like i said camoflauged area. i actually have a pit dug into the hill and i got a door i made out of some pallets i found long time ago. attached a few bushes to it and my door blends right in.
im only writin in this journal cuz i think its fuckin amusin. this guy, hardblooded killer he is, writin in a journal he found in a GIRLS BEDROOM. doesnt that strike you as....................... A PUSSY?! i should find this guy tomorrow and see what he made of. maybe i can have him get me more supplies. by the way, i got his bat. from readin this journal it musta seen a lotta action. bet you i show him some action and hell cry like a little girl and do whatever the fuck i want. speakin of girls i saw his girl the other day. only red head i saw on this highway so had to be her. she got hit by a car, the dumb bitch. wasnt over far enough and the driver wasnt payin attention or somethin but didnt kill her. instead he got out and put her in the backseat and drove off. so yah another tip for you. stay off the goddamn street!
you just watch. tomorrow, i'm gonna look for him. gonna have me some fun. this guy, pretty damn fuckin amusin. always endin his shit with "until tomorrow if there is a tomorrow". melancholy overdramatic asshole.
oh yeah and my names greggo. paul greggo. prey you dont find this journal on me as a zombie cuz i promise you ill be a tough sonuva bitch to kill.
and if you wanna be hangin out in some car like mr martin fowler here, dont be doin nuthin to draw attention to yourself like righting in a tablet where anyone close enough to see you can see the glow on your face. werent for that id probably wouldnt even know he was in this car. oh and he tried to grab his bag when i reached in and snatched it but he was too slow. was still dark and rainin and im a great runner! no way is he finding me in the woods!
you want another survival tip? you wanna stay in a camoflauged hideout cuz the zombies aint the ones you need to worry about. its people like me. were opportunists. thats how we survive. we prey on the strong, the ones who made as far as they did and got what they got. were like vultures but we dont wait for the animal to die. we pick it clean while its still movin. i say we cuz were a group of bandits. we also got the smarts to not camp together cuz if one of us gets seen, were all at risk.
my hiding spots in plain site but youll never know it cuz it looks just like everything else. like i said camoflauged area. i actually have a pit dug into the hill and i got a door i made out of some pallets i found long time ago. attached a few bushes to it and my door blends right in.
im only writin in this journal cuz i think its fuckin amusin. this guy, hardblooded killer he is, writin in a journal he found in a GIRLS BEDROOM. doesnt that strike you as....................... A PUSSY?! i should find this guy tomorrow and see what he made of. maybe i can have him get me more supplies. by the way, i got his bat. from readin this journal it musta seen a lotta action. bet you i show him some action and hell cry like a little girl and do whatever the fuck i want. speakin of girls i saw his girl the other day. only red head i saw on this highway so had to be her. she got hit by a car, the dumb bitch. wasnt over far enough and the driver wasnt payin attention or somethin but didnt kill her. instead he got out and put her in the backseat and drove off. so yah another tip for you. stay off the goddamn street!
you just watch. tomorrow, i'm gonna look for him. gonna have me some fun. this guy, pretty damn fuckin amusin. always endin his shit with "until tomorrow if there is a tomorrow". melancholy overdramatic asshole.
oh yeah and my names greggo. paul greggo. prey you dont find this journal on me as a zombie cuz i promise you ill be a tough sonuva bitch to kill.
September 26th, 2021
Not much to talk about today. It's been raining mostly all day. When it wasn't raining, it was cloudy. There wasn't much sunlight to charge my tablet, but thankfully, I did manage to charge the spare battery the other day, so I have enough juice to write a little tonight.
I try not to think about being depressed, because depression is a very dangerous state of mind to be in during these kinds of times. Normally, I'd just keep walking, hunt for supplies, search houses and buildings, do something productive and physical, but I've been in this car mostly all day. I could have walked in the rain, but another survival tip for you. Don't do that. Don't get wet if you can absolutely help it. A cold won't kill you, but it can definitely can make it easier for you to be killed. I once heard of a guy who had a sneezing fit and alerted a freshie. Just try your best not to get sick with anything.
And Kat keeps running through my head. I did dream of her. I dreamed that I found her dead and naked, bitten all over. It disturbed me quite a bit. Guilt is really getting to me. I was hoping I'd have a nice dream about her, like we finally found each other again and were having a picnic in a non-zombie infested forest.
I searched the glove box and found nothing but an owner's guide and a pack of playing cards. I lowered the backseat down so I had some surface space and I started playing solitaire, but then stopped after losing 10 games in a row. You got to be some kind of idiot to lose in solitaire 10 times in a row! So, I resorted to reading the owner's manual. I was that bored.
When the rain was falling down at its hardest, I watched the rivulets coming down the windshield. Patterns would form then get washed away as new patterns rushed in to replace them. The wind would sweep them up and make new designs of their own, until it would blow the other direction as if it changed its mind and shook the windshield like an Etch-A-Sketch.
I nearly shit my pants when a big crack of thunder boomed directly over my car. It was so violent, I felt it in my chest. It rattled the rear view mirror and rumbled on for a few seconds afterward. Several times it would clap, just slightly further away from me each time. I saw a brilliant white flash off in the distance, and it looked like a lightning bold struck a tree in the forest.
When the rain let up, I got out to relieve myself and damn near tripped over a body near a bush I was going to. I don't really know why I was bothering with a bush. No one drives this interstate anymore. The body looked to be of a 40ish year old woman, rather heavy set. She was on her back with her head on its side facing me. She had a short sleeve shirt on with a skirt that was offensively too tight for her. I don't know, maybe it was the bloating. I don't know much about forensics, but if I had to guess, based on the state of decomposition, I'd say the body was roughly five days old, maybe a week at most. I leaned over to inspect her, and saw nothing unusual. No bite marks, cuts or bullet wounds. I turned her head over with my bat, and that's when I saw the cause of death. A wedge-shaped pit was in the back of her skull, maggots busily working away trying to filling that recess. If I had to guess, she was hit in the back of her head with an ax. No bite marks anywhere I could see, so maybe she got infected with a blood borne strain and was killed before she could turn. I'm guessing she was riding with someone and then they stopped, got her out and then whacked at her with the ax.
That's the ugliest part of having to survive; recognizing someone turning and then taking care of them before they have a chance to turn and become a serious threat. Johanna was shot for that very reason. I was so angry back then because I thought she could be saved. I wasn't even sure it was the vivensmortua that was making her sick. I know now there isn't a cure. If there was, there would be an army going all over the country curing everyone. But what kind of government would leave their people sick unless there were no corporations around to benefit from the cure?
I was tempted to move on after I finally took a piss after examining the body, but I looked at the clouds and it just didn't look promising. Plus, the wind was kicking in heavily, and the temperature must have dropped 20-30 degrees from yesterday. It was getting colder. Fall's here in full force. At the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to make it to Colorado before it starts snowing. I don't want to be on the road when it snows. I need to think about maybe finding a temporary shelter that I can spend the winter in. Then again, the sooner I get to California, the sooner I can be with my family.
I'll talk about my family some day. I'd do it tonight, but all this rain hasn't helped my mood. I've just been too tired and mopey today. I just want to sleep now. Too bad this wasn't a satellite tablet, because as far as I know, satellite internet is still up and I could check my weather app. For now, I'll just have to hope that the sun is out and stays out tomorrow....
... if there is a tomorrow.
I try not to think about being depressed, because depression is a very dangerous state of mind to be in during these kinds of times. Normally, I'd just keep walking, hunt for supplies, search houses and buildings, do something productive and physical, but I've been in this car mostly all day. I could have walked in the rain, but another survival tip for you. Don't do that. Don't get wet if you can absolutely help it. A cold won't kill you, but it can definitely can make it easier for you to be killed. I once heard of a guy who had a sneezing fit and alerted a freshie. Just try your best not to get sick with anything.
And Kat keeps running through my head. I did dream of her. I dreamed that I found her dead and naked, bitten all over. It disturbed me quite a bit. Guilt is really getting to me. I was hoping I'd have a nice dream about her, like we finally found each other again and were having a picnic in a non-zombie infested forest.
I searched the glove box and found nothing but an owner's guide and a pack of playing cards. I lowered the backseat down so I had some surface space and I started playing solitaire, but then stopped after losing 10 games in a row. You got to be some kind of idiot to lose in solitaire 10 times in a row! So, I resorted to reading the owner's manual. I was that bored.
When the rain was falling down at its hardest, I watched the rivulets coming down the windshield. Patterns would form then get washed away as new patterns rushed in to replace them. The wind would sweep them up and make new designs of their own, until it would blow the other direction as if it changed its mind and shook the windshield like an Etch-A-Sketch.
I nearly shit my pants when a big crack of thunder boomed directly over my car. It was so violent, I felt it in my chest. It rattled the rear view mirror and rumbled on for a few seconds afterward. Several times it would clap, just slightly further away from me each time. I saw a brilliant white flash off in the distance, and it looked like a lightning bold struck a tree in the forest.
When the rain let up, I got out to relieve myself and damn near tripped over a body near a bush I was going to. I don't really know why I was bothering with a bush. No one drives this interstate anymore. The body looked to be of a 40ish year old woman, rather heavy set. She was on her back with her head on its side facing me. She had a short sleeve shirt on with a skirt that was offensively too tight for her. I don't know, maybe it was the bloating. I don't know much about forensics, but if I had to guess, based on the state of decomposition, I'd say the body was roughly five days old, maybe a week at most. I leaned over to inspect her, and saw nothing unusual. No bite marks, cuts or bullet wounds. I turned her head over with my bat, and that's when I saw the cause of death. A wedge-shaped pit was in the back of her skull, maggots busily working away trying to filling that recess. If I had to guess, she was hit in the back of her head with an ax. No bite marks anywhere I could see, so maybe she got infected with a blood borne strain and was killed before she could turn. I'm guessing she was riding with someone and then they stopped, got her out and then whacked at her with the ax.
That's the ugliest part of having to survive; recognizing someone turning and then taking care of them before they have a chance to turn and become a serious threat. Johanna was shot for that very reason. I was so angry back then because I thought she could be saved. I wasn't even sure it was the vivensmortua that was making her sick. I know now there isn't a cure. If there was, there would be an army going all over the country curing everyone. But what kind of government would leave their people sick unless there were no corporations around to benefit from the cure?
I was tempted to move on after I finally took a piss after examining the body, but I looked at the clouds and it just didn't look promising. Plus, the wind was kicking in heavily, and the temperature must have dropped 20-30 degrees from yesterday. It was getting colder. Fall's here in full force. At the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to make it to Colorado before it starts snowing. I don't want to be on the road when it snows. I need to think about maybe finding a temporary shelter that I can spend the winter in. Then again, the sooner I get to California, the sooner I can be with my family.
I'll talk about my family some day. I'd do it tonight, but all this rain hasn't helped my mood. I've just been too tired and mopey today. I just want to sleep now. Too bad this wasn't a satellite tablet, because as far as I know, satellite internet is still up and I could check my weather app. For now, I'll just have to hope that the sun is out and stays out tomorrow....
... if there is a tomorrow.
Friday, September 26, 2014
September 25th, 2021
I headed to the gas station first thing this morning and there was no sign of Kat. There was a sign of looters, however, as the store was trashed. Shelves were tipped over, and the cash register was yanked off its mounting and hanging from the counter by its cables. Most of the windows were broken, and not a single display was left standing. Obviously, no gas cans were in sight. I went out to the pumps and tried one of them, but nothing happened. There were eight in all, and systematically, I found the same results. My guess is they're computer controlled and when the grid went off line and the gas station lost power, the pumps locked away the precious gasoline. If only I knew how to open the lid on the ground that led to the tank.
I did my hardest push today, walking almost 25 miles without stopping. Along the way, I came across a child's car seat in the middle of the road. Out of curiosity, I walked to up it to see if it was occupied and I jumped back, more startled than I've ever been. In that seat, buckled in and everything, was a zombie toddler, probably no more than two or three. Zombies are horrible things, but when they're that young, it makes is so much harder to bear. It was such a gruesome scene, I'll save you the details
But seeing an undead child wasn't what was really horrible. What was horrible was why that zombie child was put in the street. It was a trap. While I was stumbling backwards from the scene, a couple of live humans came running out of the bushes between the two sections of interstate in an attempt to mug me. I raised my bat, waving it around like I was expecting a pitch, a clear warning sign to them that they were going to be hurt if they pressed closer.
They must have been the child's parents. They were destitute; dirty; disheveled; starved thin as skeletons. The man had a gun pointed at me, but I've seen this bluff before. I was pretty sure he wouldn't have any ammo, considering the state he was in with his wife or girlfriend or whoever. For them to live this long, I'm sure they've had spent their rounds long ago fighting off whatever draggers and freshies they came across. I'm not really a gambling man, though, so I made no moves and waited for their play.
"We don't want to hurt you, but we will! We want your food, your water and anything else you have!" The man had a seriousness in his voice that was betrayed by the trembling in his gun hand. Whether or not it was from anxiety or malnutrition, I don't know. I felt immediately sorry for the both of them, but I wasn't going to let these two just up and rob me. I need my things just as much as anyone else.
"You aren't TAKING anything from me. I would gladly SHARE what I have with you though." Apparently, that was something to be laughed at. What did he call me? Trying to remember the exact verbiage. I think it was "inbred cock sucking shit log mother fucker." They wanted everything I had, and he thrust the gun at me close enough that it was in swinging range, so I made my move. I took a step forward and leaned into the swing and batted the gun clear out of his hand. breaking a couple of fingers at the same time. His cry of pain triggered his woman into action and she charged at me. I sidestepped her, grabbed the back of her neck and flipped her over. The man was holding his hand and bellowing in pain too much to see his girl spread out over the ground. She got up again, this time wielding a knife, and I swung low, taking out her kneecap. She cried out, flinging expletives at me like daggers.
"You won't hurt me, because you can't hurt me, but as you can see I can hurt the both of you." The man tried to get up, and I gently tapped his head with the bat. Told him that wouldn't be a good idea, and I looked at her, and she remained still cradling her knee. I asked him about the child and sure enough, it was theirs. I told them to stay where they were and I walked over the gun I batted away and picked it up. I opened the chamber and removed the clip, and sure enough, it was empty.
Desperation brings out the worst in us. It makes us do things we would never think to do. Survival transforms us, makes us think unnatural things. Using their undead child as bait? Robbing people with an empty gun? Part of me wanted to end these living creatures that very moment. I now understood why people felt the need to "cleanse", to get rid of people like these. I wanted to put that zombie child out of its misery, such a ghastly thing to keep around.
I asked them if they saw a red-headed woman pass by on this road and I was told to "sit on my fucking bat until I fucked my guts out with it." Colorful. I figured I wasn't going to get anywhere with them, so I just walked away. Until the woman yelled at me, "She your whore? Yeah, we saw her! We tied her up and had our way with her and then ate her!" I turned around, feeling enraged and took a couple of steps towards them, but that only made them laugh. These people were insane. I didn't know if they were telling the truth, or just trying to get a rise out of me, but after that that last statement, I wanted to kill them both. I let the anger flow through me to the point where I almost lost control, but then I heard the high pitched screech of a freshie met in kind with at least four or five coming from the woods.
The couple heard it, too, so they got up and the man put his woman's arm around his neck and they hobbled off. I shouted at them, "Yeah! I hope those fuckers have their way with you and then eat you!" I didn't stay to see them run off, but I as I passed by the car seat they left abandoned, I thought for a while that as unpleasant as it would be, it needed to be done. Not going in detail about what I did, but I'll just say I did it. I was a half mile down the road when I heard a woman scream out in pain, then a few seconds later, a man did as well. It brought me no joy.
I can't stop thinking about what they said. Was there any truth to that at all? Did they trap Kat the same way they tried to trap me? Could they really have eaten her? I just... oh God.. if that's what happened, then it would have been my fault! The thought of that, I'm crying so much right now. It took away what energy I had left, so I found the nearest car and just crashed. All I can do is think about Kat now....
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
I did my hardest push today, walking almost 25 miles without stopping. Along the way, I came across a child's car seat in the middle of the road. Out of curiosity, I walked to up it to see if it was occupied and I jumped back, more startled than I've ever been. In that seat, buckled in and everything, was a zombie toddler, probably no more than two or three. Zombies are horrible things, but when they're that young, it makes is so much harder to bear. It was such a gruesome scene, I'll save you the details
But seeing an undead child wasn't what was really horrible. What was horrible was why that zombie child was put in the street. It was a trap. While I was stumbling backwards from the scene, a couple of live humans came running out of the bushes between the two sections of interstate in an attempt to mug me. I raised my bat, waving it around like I was expecting a pitch, a clear warning sign to them that they were going to be hurt if they pressed closer.
They must have been the child's parents. They were destitute; dirty; disheveled; starved thin as skeletons. The man had a gun pointed at me, but I've seen this bluff before. I was pretty sure he wouldn't have any ammo, considering the state he was in with his wife or girlfriend or whoever. For them to live this long, I'm sure they've had spent their rounds long ago fighting off whatever draggers and freshies they came across. I'm not really a gambling man, though, so I made no moves and waited for their play.
"We don't want to hurt you, but we will! We want your food, your water and anything else you have!" The man had a seriousness in his voice that was betrayed by the trembling in his gun hand. Whether or not it was from anxiety or malnutrition, I don't know. I felt immediately sorry for the both of them, but I wasn't going to let these two just up and rob me. I need my things just as much as anyone else.
"You aren't TAKING anything from me. I would gladly SHARE what I have with you though." Apparently, that was something to be laughed at. What did he call me? Trying to remember the exact verbiage. I think it was "inbred cock sucking shit log mother fucker." They wanted everything I had, and he thrust the gun at me close enough that it was in swinging range, so I made my move. I took a step forward and leaned into the swing and batted the gun clear out of his hand. breaking a couple of fingers at the same time. His cry of pain triggered his woman into action and she charged at me. I sidestepped her, grabbed the back of her neck and flipped her over. The man was holding his hand and bellowing in pain too much to see his girl spread out over the ground. She got up again, this time wielding a knife, and I swung low, taking out her kneecap. She cried out, flinging expletives at me like daggers.
"You won't hurt me, because you can't hurt me, but as you can see I can hurt the both of you." The man tried to get up, and I gently tapped his head with the bat. Told him that wouldn't be a good idea, and I looked at her, and she remained still cradling her knee. I asked him about the child and sure enough, it was theirs. I told them to stay where they were and I walked over the gun I batted away and picked it up. I opened the chamber and removed the clip, and sure enough, it was empty.
Desperation brings out the worst in us. It makes us do things we would never think to do. Survival transforms us, makes us think unnatural things. Using their undead child as bait? Robbing people with an empty gun? Part of me wanted to end these living creatures that very moment. I now understood why people felt the need to "cleanse", to get rid of people like these. I wanted to put that zombie child out of its misery, such a ghastly thing to keep around.
I asked them if they saw a red-headed woman pass by on this road and I was told to "sit on my fucking bat until I fucked my guts out with it." Colorful. I figured I wasn't going to get anywhere with them, so I just walked away. Until the woman yelled at me, "She your whore? Yeah, we saw her! We tied her up and had our way with her and then ate her!" I turned around, feeling enraged and took a couple of steps towards them, but that only made them laugh. These people were insane. I didn't know if they were telling the truth, or just trying to get a rise out of me, but after that that last statement, I wanted to kill them both. I let the anger flow through me to the point where I almost lost control, but then I heard the high pitched screech of a freshie met in kind with at least four or five coming from the woods.
The couple heard it, too, so they got up and the man put his woman's arm around his neck and they hobbled off. I shouted at them, "Yeah! I hope those fuckers have their way with you and then eat you!" I didn't stay to see them run off, but I as I passed by the car seat they left abandoned, I thought for a while that as unpleasant as it would be, it needed to be done. Not going in detail about what I did, but I'll just say I did it. I was a half mile down the road when I heard a woman scream out in pain, then a few seconds later, a man did as well. It brought me no joy.
I can't stop thinking about what they said. Was there any truth to that at all? Did they trap Kat the same way they tried to trap me? Could they really have eaten her? I just... oh God.. if that's what happened, then it would have been my fault! The thought of that, I'm crying so much right now. It took away what energy I had left, so I found the nearest car and just crashed. All I can do is think about Kat now....
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
September 24th, 2021
I must have slept wrong, because when I woke up, I had a serious twinge in my shoulder blade. It's been bothering me all day. My arm also has a nasty bruise where I blocked the bat the freshie swung at me with. I felt like crap, really. I just wanted to sleep more, but there's too much distance I still need to cover.
I walked roughly another 10 miles when I saw a sign for a Wal-Mart, so I got off the Interstate and headed to it. Draggers everywhere, along with lots of abandoned cars. I used the old rock trick trying to set off the alarms, but they either had none or the batteries were too dead to set them off. A couple spotted me, and came towards me, and at that point, I gave up trying to distract them. Instead, I herded them around the parking lot, gathering the entire crowd with me and once I was pretty sure I had most of their attention, I ran to the Wal-Mart's automotive side and hugged the corner to break their line of site. I then looked for a hiding spot, and found a delivery truck. I climbed between the cab and the trailer and worked my way up the ladder until I was on the trailer and then laid flat.
Draggers can be easily confused. They will chase you until they see you break their line of site, and then they'll keep heading towards the direction they saw you going. If you hide quickly enough, they'll pass you by and keep moving until who knows when they decide to stop. Now freshies, that's a different matter They're smarter. If you break their line of sight, they'll chase you in that direction, but once they don't see you, they'll start probing. They'll look around obstacles and poke their heads into nooks and crannies. Like I said before, if they never decayed, they would eventually hunt down every last one of us.
After most of the zombies were well clear of my truck, I rolled along the top, checking both sides to make sure there were none in my immediate vicinity. There was one, however, right underneath me, so I got up and jumped off the trailer, landing on him to break my fall. He snarled and I got halfway up and brought the bat down on his crown to shut up him. I looked back to make sure none of the draggers still chasing nothing turned around to see me. I was good.
I bounded around the corner and ran right into another, taking it down before it had a chance to gawk at me. A few were off in the distance but posed no threat, so I ran quickly to the front doors. They were shut, but that didn't stop looters from shattering the glass.
Whenever you come to a giant place like Wal-Mart, you always hope you're going to find a lot of supplies. It's practically a warehouse, but don't underestimate just how many people think the same thing. Also, many people have vehicles when they come to loot. I don't. All I can hope for is some scraps. I went down to their grocery department and their produce shelves were bare, picked clean. Anything left would have spoiled months ago. Refrigerated sections weren't entirely empty, and whatever boxes of food weren't in the refrigerators were strewn across the floor, opened and crushed with their contents spilled everywhere.
As I made my way to the dry goods, that's when I saw the bodies. Many, many of them. They were slaughtered from the looks of it, riddled with bullets. There was no discrimination. Women, men, elderly, children. Shell casings were all over the floor like a kid's Legos. None of these bodies looked like they were zombies before they were killed, so it suggested they were alive when they were shot. I could only attempt to piece together what happened. Somebody, or a group of somebodies came in to loot the place and saw others doing the same, but they wanted as much as they could get even if it meant killing others. They were obviously prepared to do it with the sheer number of casings all over the floor. Just absolutely horrible. Or maybe it was someone trying to do a "cleansing", someone who thinks they're doing the world a favor by killing people either before they turn, or by eliminating the zombies' food source. This isn't the first time I've seen a cleansing, but it is the first time I was viewing the aftermath without seeing it happen...
Lucky for me, there was still dry goods. There were some bags of corn chips, pretzels and even some licorice. Every single bag of flour and sugar was shot to shit. Not like to I could bake a cake anyway. All bottled water was taken, which must have been a lot of work, because the pallets were all empty. There was plenty of soda left, which made me wonder. I headed down the soda isle and grabbed a Sunkist. I opened it and took a long pull from the bottle. Because it was warm, it was extra fizzy and it took me by surprise. It backed up my nasal passage and I spewed out what I didn't swallow and coughed to clear my lungs....
... and that got the attention of the dragger... which got the attention of the freshie, which got the attention of three more freshies. The most I've ever taken on at once was seven, but I actually had a gun back then. All I have now is a bat and a serious urge to run, but I didn't. I was being stared down. The dragger kept walking towards me, but the freshies stayed still. When the dragger came within swinging range, I let him have it. The freshies remained further still. The one in the middle left made a gargling clicking noise and looked at the other three, and they moved down the isles adjacent to me. I knew what was happening. I was being flanked. They're pack hunting, a behavior I never saw before.
I wouldn't let them surround me, so I took the offensive this time and charged what I guess was the alpha standing across from me, and it lept back a full five feet as I went to swing at him. I just kept the momentum up and baseball slid into him, knocking him off his feet. We got up at the same time, but I was swinging in an upward motion as I rose and connected under the zombie's jaw staggering him back and I followed through with a downward bash. At this time, the three zombies realized their flanking wasn't going to work and doubled back and rushed me together. I bolted to the left and fled down as fast I could. I wasn't confident in my abilities to take on three at close range with just a bat.
They were on me, angry and hungry. No way could I outrun them, so I had to outmaneuver them. I reached out and grabbed the end of a shelf and jumped, swinging a hard 90 degrees and slammed into the shelf, and kept my back against it. I listened for the stomping feet and when they were close enough, I took a blind swing and was rewarded with a crunch that reverberated down my bat to my hands. The one behind him lashed out to claw me but the one behind HIM crashed into him and they both tumbled into a bargain bin. Now was my chance. I whacked at them while they were trying to get back to their feet. I'm sure if there was any other freshie in here, they'd be coming to where I was now, I just decided it was too dangerous to stay and search for more supplies, so I left.
Five more miles down I-80, I ended up finding the LeSabre. Out of gas. I looked around the car, didn't see any blood or signs of struggling. Kat's pack wasn't in it and I looked in vain for any kind of note she may have left for me. I was relieved to not see her body in the car, but at the same time worried because God only knows where she is now.
I saw on my map that there's a gas station about a half-mile down from where I am, but I'm just too tired right now. I don't feel like walking down to it, fighting off more zombies and then finding out there's no gas to be had. I wonder if Kat found the gas station. If she did, then that means either of two things. 1) She got killed there or on the way back or 2) she found no gas and didn't bother returning to the car.
My shoulder's really killing, so I'm just going to rest in the car. This time I got the comfy backseat that Kat had the other night. Kinda stupid to say this, but I think I can actually smell her. I wonder if I'll dream about her. I really, really hope she's ok....
I'll look for her tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
I walked roughly another 10 miles when I saw a sign for a Wal-Mart, so I got off the Interstate and headed to it. Draggers everywhere, along with lots of abandoned cars. I used the old rock trick trying to set off the alarms, but they either had none or the batteries were too dead to set them off. A couple spotted me, and came towards me, and at that point, I gave up trying to distract them. Instead, I herded them around the parking lot, gathering the entire crowd with me and once I was pretty sure I had most of their attention, I ran to the Wal-Mart's automotive side and hugged the corner to break their line of site. I then looked for a hiding spot, and found a delivery truck. I climbed between the cab and the trailer and worked my way up the ladder until I was on the trailer and then laid flat.
Draggers can be easily confused. They will chase you until they see you break their line of site, and then they'll keep heading towards the direction they saw you going. If you hide quickly enough, they'll pass you by and keep moving until who knows when they decide to stop. Now freshies, that's a different matter They're smarter. If you break their line of sight, they'll chase you in that direction, but once they don't see you, they'll start probing. They'll look around obstacles and poke their heads into nooks and crannies. Like I said before, if they never decayed, they would eventually hunt down every last one of us.
After most of the zombies were well clear of my truck, I rolled along the top, checking both sides to make sure there were none in my immediate vicinity. There was one, however, right underneath me, so I got up and jumped off the trailer, landing on him to break my fall. He snarled and I got halfway up and brought the bat down on his crown to shut up him. I looked back to make sure none of the draggers still chasing nothing turned around to see me. I was good.
I bounded around the corner and ran right into another, taking it down before it had a chance to gawk at me. A few were off in the distance but posed no threat, so I ran quickly to the front doors. They were shut, but that didn't stop looters from shattering the glass.
Whenever you come to a giant place like Wal-Mart, you always hope you're going to find a lot of supplies. It's practically a warehouse, but don't underestimate just how many people think the same thing. Also, many people have vehicles when they come to loot. I don't. All I can hope for is some scraps. I went down to their grocery department and their produce shelves were bare, picked clean. Anything left would have spoiled months ago. Refrigerated sections weren't entirely empty, and whatever boxes of food weren't in the refrigerators were strewn across the floor, opened and crushed with their contents spilled everywhere.
As I made my way to the dry goods, that's when I saw the bodies. Many, many of them. They were slaughtered from the looks of it, riddled with bullets. There was no discrimination. Women, men, elderly, children. Shell casings were all over the floor like a kid's Legos. None of these bodies looked like they were zombies before they were killed, so it suggested they were alive when they were shot. I could only attempt to piece together what happened. Somebody, or a group of somebodies came in to loot the place and saw others doing the same, but they wanted as much as they could get even if it meant killing others. They were obviously prepared to do it with the sheer number of casings all over the floor. Just absolutely horrible. Or maybe it was someone trying to do a "cleansing", someone who thinks they're doing the world a favor by killing people either before they turn, or by eliminating the zombies' food source. This isn't the first time I've seen a cleansing, but it is the first time I was viewing the aftermath without seeing it happen...
Lucky for me, there was still dry goods. There were some bags of corn chips, pretzels and even some licorice. Every single bag of flour and sugar was shot to shit. Not like to I could bake a cake anyway. All bottled water was taken, which must have been a lot of work, because the pallets were all empty. There was plenty of soda left, which made me wonder. I headed down the soda isle and grabbed a Sunkist. I opened it and took a long pull from the bottle. Because it was warm, it was extra fizzy and it took me by surprise. It backed up my nasal passage and I spewed out what I didn't swallow and coughed to clear my lungs....
... and that got the attention of the dragger... which got the attention of the freshie, which got the attention of three more freshies. The most I've ever taken on at once was seven, but I actually had a gun back then. All I have now is a bat and a serious urge to run, but I didn't. I was being stared down. The dragger kept walking towards me, but the freshies stayed still. When the dragger came within swinging range, I let him have it. The freshies remained further still. The one in the middle left made a gargling clicking noise and looked at the other three, and they moved down the isles adjacent to me. I knew what was happening. I was being flanked. They're pack hunting, a behavior I never saw before.
I wouldn't let them surround me, so I took the offensive this time and charged what I guess was the alpha standing across from me, and it lept back a full five feet as I went to swing at him. I just kept the momentum up and baseball slid into him, knocking him off his feet. We got up at the same time, but I was swinging in an upward motion as I rose and connected under the zombie's jaw staggering him back and I followed through with a downward bash. At this time, the three zombies realized their flanking wasn't going to work and doubled back and rushed me together. I bolted to the left and fled down as fast I could. I wasn't confident in my abilities to take on three at close range with just a bat.
They were on me, angry and hungry. No way could I outrun them, so I had to outmaneuver them. I reached out and grabbed the end of a shelf and jumped, swinging a hard 90 degrees and slammed into the shelf, and kept my back against it. I listened for the stomping feet and when they were close enough, I took a blind swing and was rewarded with a crunch that reverberated down my bat to my hands. The one behind him lashed out to claw me but the one behind HIM crashed into him and they both tumbled into a bargain bin. Now was my chance. I whacked at them while they were trying to get back to their feet. I'm sure if there was any other freshie in here, they'd be coming to where I was now, I just decided it was too dangerous to stay and search for more supplies, so I left.
Five more miles down I-80, I ended up finding the LeSabre. Out of gas. I looked around the car, didn't see any blood or signs of struggling. Kat's pack wasn't in it and I looked in vain for any kind of note she may have left for me. I was relieved to not see her body in the car, but at the same time worried because God only knows where she is now.
I saw on my map that there's a gas station about a half-mile down from where I am, but I'm just too tired right now. I don't feel like walking down to it, fighting off more zombies and then finding out there's no gas to be had. I wonder if Kat found the gas station. If she did, then that means either of two things. 1) She got killed there or on the way back or 2) she found no gas and didn't bother returning to the car.
My shoulder's really killing, so I'm just going to rest in the car. This time I got the comfy backseat that Kat had the other night. Kinda stupid to say this, but I think I can actually smell her. I wonder if I'll dream about her. I really, really hope she's ok....
I'll look for her tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
September 23rd, 2021
Remember when you were doing something hoping for results, and you would do it repeatedly and nothing? The one time you don't do it, that's when it bears fruit. That's exactly what happened this morning. We woke up around eight o'clock and left the car. We've been in such a habit of searching every abandoned car for keys and trying the ones that had them but they never started. That's when we found the LeSabre, we didn't even bother.
We just treated it as a shelter and nothing more. We were about a half mile down I-80 when Kat said, "You know... wouldn't it be stupid if that car was the one that started?" I honestly didn't want to go back to the car, but it was worth a shot, so we returned to it. I checked the glove box, the side compartment and finally the visors and when I opened the driver's side visor, I was greeted with the clicking of keys as it fell into my lap. I looked at Kat gawking, and she returned the stare with a smug look on her face.
"Don't get cocky," I told her. "We don't even know if it will start." She said it would. She said this would be our lucky break. We were owed this if there was a God, because "He can't keep dumping shit on good people!" Some day, I'll write an entry in here with my exact feelings about God.
So, I put the keys in the ignition and turned it, and I heard the "Wurrr...wurrr...wurrr..." We never even got that from any of the cars before! I felt my whole body tense up with excitement, and my stomach bottomed out from anxiety of trying again. I tried once more, and let it go even longer. "Wurr....wurrr...wurrr...wurrr....wurrrrrrrRRRROOM!" It came to life and we screamed in celebration, but Kat's high pitched yell nearly shattered my ear drums!
I couldn't believe it! FINALLY! A car that WORKS! We can make real progress! I checked the electrical, popped the hood and looked at the engine, but I don't know why. I don't really know anything about cars so I had no idea what I was look for. I leaned in anyway. Maybe something obvious would stick out, until I got scared half to death when the horn went off! I ended up hitting my head on the hood and yelled at Kat. She giggled and apologized and said she couldn't help herself, but still furious, I chastised hereven more saying, "YOU WANT TO BRING US ANYMORE FUCKING ZOMBIES?! Don't honk that horn again!"
That was the stress talking. I never used to be so quick to anger, but I really lost it and I saw instantly the damage my outburst did. There was an intense look of fear in her face, and I suddenly remembered just yesterday, I told her I killed someone out of anger. I held my hand to my face and pinched my nose, and tried my best to apologize but she started tearing up, frightened of me and she looked the doors. I asked her to unlock the door, but she wouldn't. I kept telling her I was sorry for the outburst, promising her I wasn't going to hurt her. I was pulling at the handle, and I guess that's what finally triggered her flight response. With my hand still on the door, she slammed on the gas peeling out, pulling me forward a few feet where I lost my grip on the door and landed face first on the pavement. My forehead and nose are pretty scratched up right now
I just laid flat on the ground and watched Kat drive off. I didn't care that I just lost the car; I lost her, someone whose company I was just starting to appreciate. She was only joking around, trying to have a little fun when fortune finally favored us, and I blew it. I honestly can't blame her. I was aggressive towards, and her survival instinct took over. I probably would have done the same thing.
Just before the car approached the vanishing point, I saw the break lights come on. I was hoping maybe she realized what she was doing and was going to turn around, but I heard the door open and slam, and then she took off again. I got up, dusted myself off, took off my shirt, and began dabbing at the road rash on my face. My nose is pretty damn fucked up right now. It's a deep gash, maybe needing stitches. I just held the shirt to my face and started walking again.
I saw why she stopped before. My bag was on the road. At least she had the decency to do that. The most important thing in that pack was the journal. The food, the water. I could find all that again, but this tablet, writing into it. It really does help. But, I need more help than just writing in a journal. I wonder if I can find a therapist who hasn't been eaten yet.
I took out a bottle of water and poured it on a clean patch of my shirt and wiped my face as best as I could without triggering every nerve ending in my body. I took a roll of bandages out and wrapped it around my face and tied it behind my back. No mirrors around, so I couldn't see how ridiculous I looked, but no people around either, so it didn't even matter.
All I can do now is just keep walking. I walked roughly 10 miles or so, just not even having the heart to try anymore abandoned cars. I knew I was passing up on opportunities, but I just didn't care. I came across Erdman Nursey and Landscaping. I was actually surprised to see a freshie come out of from behind the main building. He charged at me, but he picked the very wrong day to attack this guy. My bat was primed, held at the ready like a batter waiting for the pitch. Just as he reached out for me, I swung the bat right into his head as it passed clear through the top of his skull spilling his rotten grey matter all over the parking lot. This brought another, and it was back to back home runs. I listened for any more, but didn't hear anything.
I approached the store's front door when it happened. A freshie fell on top of me from the roof. It was all I could do to get my bat up to my face and I did it in the nick of time. He bit at me, and bit the bat instead, and I heard the sickening sound of teeth shattering. I used this opportunity to push the bat forward, butting him in the head, but he wasn't fazed. He actually pulled the bat away from me, and I held on with one hand when I saw him go for it. I let go just as he bit where my hand was. He tasted nothing but air, and lost his balance falling backward when I let go. I got up, but he was quicker and now he had my bat. He did something I never seen any zombie do before. He USED it against me! He swung at my head like I've been doing to zombies all along and I raised my arm to block. I'm guessing the zombie didn't know what to really do with a weapon, because any human would have swung again right away. I used his hesitation to grab the bat from him, but he was already lunging at me when I took it. I ducked and let his body sail over me and I came up and flipped him over me on his back. I drove my bat down on his head like a piston, and then raised it over my head and brought it down hard for good measure. I then check the store for any others. Not finding anything, I decided to bed here for the night.
Before I sign off, I just want to say two things to you.
We just treated it as a shelter and nothing more. We were about a half mile down I-80 when Kat said, "You know... wouldn't it be stupid if that car was the one that started?" I honestly didn't want to go back to the car, but it was worth a shot, so we returned to it. I checked the glove box, the side compartment and finally the visors and when I opened the driver's side visor, I was greeted with the clicking of keys as it fell into my lap. I looked at Kat gawking, and she returned the stare with a smug look on her face.
"Don't get cocky," I told her. "We don't even know if it will start." She said it would. She said this would be our lucky break. We were owed this if there was a God, because "He can't keep dumping shit on good people!" Some day, I'll write an entry in here with my exact feelings about God.
So, I put the keys in the ignition and turned it, and I heard the "Wurrr...wurrr...wurrr..." We never even got that from any of the cars before! I felt my whole body tense up with excitement, and my stomach bottomed out from anxiety of trying again. I tried once more, and let it go even longer. "Wurr....wurrr...wurrr...wurrr....wurrrrrrrRRRROOM!" It came to life and we screamed in celebration, but Kat's high pitched yell nearly shattered my ear drums!
I couldn't believe it! FINALLY! A car that WORKS! We can make real progress! I checked the electrical, popped the hood and looked at the engine, but I don't know why. I don't really know anything about cars so I had no idea what I was look for. I leaned in anyway. Maybe something obvious would stick out, until I got scared half to death when the horn went off! I ended up hitting my head on the hood and yelled at Kat. She giggled and apologized and said she couldn't help herself, but still furious, I chastised hereven more saying, "YOU WANT TO BRING US ANYMORE FUCKING ZOMBIES?! Don't honk that horn again!"
That was the stress talking. I never used to be so quick to anger, but I really lost it and I saw instantly the damage my outburst did. There was an intense look of fear in her face, and I suddenly remembered just yesterday, I told her I killed someone out of anger. I held my hand to my face and pinched my nose, and tried my best to apologize but she started tearing up, frightened of me and she looked the doors. I asked her to unlock the door, but she wouldn't. I kept telling her I was sorry for the outburst, promising her I wasn't going to hurt her. I was pulling at the handle, and I guess that's what finally triggered her flight response. With my hand still on the door, she slammed on the gas peeling out, pulling me forward a few feet where I lost my grip on the door and landed face first on the pavement. My forehead and nose are pretty scratched up right now
I just laid flat on the ground and watched Kat drive off. I didn't care that I just lost the car; I lost her, someone whose company I was just starting to appreciate. She was only joking around, trying to have a little fun when fortune finally favored us, and I blew it. I honestly can't blame her. I was aggressive towards, and her survival instinct took over. I probably would have done the same thing.
Just before the car approached the vanishing point, I saw the break lights come on. I was hoping maybe she realized what she was doing and was going to turn around, but I heard the door open and slam, and then she took off again. I got up, dusted myself off, took off my shirt, and began dabbing at the road rash on my face. My nose is pretty damn fucked up right now. It's a deep gash, maybe needing stitches. I just held the shirt to my face and started walking again.
I saw why she stopped before. My bag was on the road. At least she had the decency to do that. The most important thing in that pack was the journal. The food, the water. I could find all that again, but this tablet, writing into it. It really does help. But, I need more help than just writing in a journal. I wonder if I can find a therapist who hasn't been eaten yet.
I took out a bottle of water and poured it on a clean patch of my shirt and wiped my face as best as I could without triggering every nerve ending in my body. I took a roll of bandages out and wrapped it around my face and tied it behind my back. No mirrors around, so I couldn't see how ridiculous I looked, but no people around either, so it didn't even matter.
All I can do now is just keep walking. I walked roughly 10 miles or so, just not even having the heart to try anymore abandoned cars. I knew I was passing up on opportunities, but I just didn't care. I came across Erdman Nursey and Landscaping. I was actually surprised to see a freshie come out of from behind the main building. He charged at me, but he picked the very wrong day to attack this guy. My bat was primed, held at the ready like a batter waiting for the pitch. Just as he reached out for me, I swung the bat right into his head as it passed clear through the top of his skull spilling his rotten grey matter all over the parking lot. This brought another, and it was back to back home runs. I listened for any more, but didn't hear anything.
I approached the store's front door when it happened. A freshie fell on top of me from the roof. It was all I could do to get my bat up to my face and I did it in the nick of time. He bit at me, and bit the bat instead, and I heard the sickening sound of teeth shattering. I used this opportunity to push the bat forward, butting him in the head, but he wasn't fazed. He actually pulled the bat away from me, and I held on with one hand when I saw him go for it. I let go just as he bit where my hand was. He tasted nothing but air, and lost his balance falling backward when I let go. I got up, but he was quicker and now he had my bat. He did something I never seen any zombie do before. He USED it against me! He swung at my head like I've been doing to zombies all along and I raised my arm to block. I'm guessing the zombie didn't know what to really do with a weapon, because any human would have swung again right away. I used his hesitation to grab the bat from him, but he was already lunging at me when I took it. I ducked and let his body sail over me and I came up and flipped him over me on his back. I drove my bat down on his head like a piston, and then raised it over my head and brought it down hard for good measure. I then check the store for any others. Not finding anything, I decided to bed here for the night.
Before I sign off, I just want to say two things to you.
- Do your best to keep your emotions in check. People are important to have around with, and you never know how fragile someone is. They might leave you in a moment's notice, or if they have the capacity, they could kill you just to improve their survivability by eliminating who they believe to be a threat. They can also be great to just have around and talk to and help raise your spirits. I miss Kat already.. .
- Don't think you know everything there is about zombies. They can still surprise you. I've never, ever seen a zombie use a weapon before. I doubt the draggers would be able to use one, but the freshies I believe have the capacity to learn; to analyze. It could be part of their hunting instincts. It's a good thing their bodies rot, because if they didn't, and they continued to keep their heightened strength and speed while also growing smarter, none of us would have survived by now. Always stay on your toes.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Monday, September 22, 2014
September 22nd, 2021
No matter how ugly our past, we can't keep it hidden forever. I woke up early in the morning to find Katerina reading my journal, face illuminated by the tablet, and I snatched it out of her hands. I started yelling at her for not only wasting what little charge was left, but for also going through my private thoughts. She sheepishly apologized like a 12 year old girl, and I immediately felt like an asshole. I told her to forget about it, said I was sorry for snapping and to go back to bed.
We were up just past dawn, and the first thing we set out to do was patrol the mall. There was a popcorn shop with its gate open, and we tried one of the packages of kettle corn, but it was awfully stale. Still, to have something sweet that wasn't chocolate from trail mixes and Power Bars was a nice treat. There was a computer store that reminded me of the games I used to love playing. Ironically, the banner for Zombie Survivor VII was still prominently displayed above the opening. I went inside to see if I could find anything, and to my wondrous surprise, I found an extra battery for the tablet. I wanted to get it charged in the sun immediately, so I left Kat for a sec and ducked down an access hallway to get the tablet in the sun.
When I came back to the computer store, I saw Kat looking concerned. She apologized again for reading my journal, but then asked if she could ask me a question. I already knew what she was going to say, and I said no. That didn't stop her. She asked again, and this time I barked back "NO!" Then, she threw some logic at me. She said that she needed to know for her own survival, like I needed to see her in her underwear to make sure she wasn't bitten. If I didn't answer her today, she'd just ask again tomorrow.
I told her, and so now I'll tell you. I began dating a girl named Johanna shortly after I started my DJ gig in Beaver Cove, ME. She was a night owl, thus she became a fan of my show. I played a mix of everything from jazz to hip hop to country to even metal. I got the job at the station because my producer enjoyed how I could make great playlists out of just about any genre. Johanna loved that, too. She'd stay up until four in the morning when my shift ended. After a few days, she got up the nerve to call and made some requests. She also complimented my voice, saying it was pretty damned sexy. I obliged her requests, and thanked her for the compliment and the next day, she called again. The day after, again. The fourth time she called, I told her to stay on the line while I programmed in the next playlist. We chatted and I asked her if she'd like to come down to the station and meet and we could get the cliche cup of coffee. She actually hated coffee and I laughed, because I hated coffee too.
From that point on, we clicked. Physical attraction, compatible personalities, same likes and dislikes. It was no wonder we had sex by the end of the first week. Normally when I would sleep with someone, I'd actually sleep afterwards, but I'll never forget that morning with Johanna, because we didn't sleep at all. We talked more, snuggled more, had sex more, all that mushy stuff you see in movies. She was the one, and she felt the same about me.
I don't need to tell you all the back story between her and me. Let me just speed it up to when things went wrong. People were becoming sick left and right as vivensmortua moved in to Beaver Cove. The airborne strain was spreading, but we didn't know what it was yet. We thought it might have been a new bird or swine flu. Right around the time the outbreak was announced on live TV, we started noticing the dead coming back. Panic ensued and many people got in there cars to leave, and we decided we were going to as well, but remember what I told you about mass exoduses? Interstates get jammed and suddenly no one can go anywhere.
While we were stuck in the car, Johanna had a massive coughing fit and after close to a minute, she held her hand away from her mouth and saw blood. I saw it as well, but the look on her face was horrifying. She knew that very instant she was sick with whatever that thing was that was killing people. I told her we needed to find a hospital right now, so we had to get out of the car and try to get help. She fell on the ground and had another coughing fit and when I went to help her up, I heard a door open behind our car, and a man got out. I asked him to please help and I thought he was going to, but before I noticed what he was doing, he pulled out a gun and ... and shot her! He shot my beloved Johanna in the back of the head! He said he had to do it, that she was going to be one of them, but at that point I wasn't listening to the man. All I felt was seething rage. This stranger shot my Johanna before she even had a chance to be cured! I know there's no cure, but .. maybe it wasn't vivensmortua. Maybe it was something else. Bronchitis or something!
Covered in her blood, I felt sick to my stomach as well as infuriated. I didn't know whether to throw up or charge the man, but the rage overcame the nausea and I ran into him with such force, that it knocked his gun away. Still driving forward, I picked him up and then rammed him into a car and began punching him as hard as I could in the face. He tried to block with his hands, a white flurry of fingers but I batted them away as I battered him. Not realizing I already knocked him out, I grabbed him by his ears and began slamming his head back on the windshield. I did it again, and again, oblivious to the cracking of the windshield, the small pieces of glass flying everywhere until... his head sunk into the glass. At that moment, I let go and the driver of the car came out with a shocked look on his face, his jaw hanging lower than a necktie.
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
Hearing that snapped me out of it.
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
I... killed him. I was so lost. I just lost my Johanna and now I took a man's life. I backed away from the car, numb. I honestly couldn't feel anything. I was oblivious to the concrete under my feet, the head of the sun on my face, the rustling wind through my hair, the smell of Johanna's blood on my shirt. I stumbled backward and fell, and then... the vomit came. I saw the gun in the adjacent lane of where I attacked that man, and I picked it up. The man who witnessed my murder immediately put his hands up and yelled "NO NO NO! DON'T SHOOT ME!" and ran off. I just held it at my side, blank expression on my face, and raised the gun to my head and pulled the trigger. It clicked, but it didn't register with me. I just kept pulling the trigger, it going "CLICK CLICK CLICK" with each pull.
After 10 or so pulls, I finally realized it wasn't going to happen. I pulled the mag out of the gun, and sure enough, it was empty. He had one bullet in his gun. ONE FUCKING BULLET! IT WAS HIS GOD DAMNED SUICIDE ROUND! He used that fucking bullet on my Johanna! That only made me more furious and I returned the dead man and gun butted his already unrecognizable face until there wasn't a face anymore, just a fleshy pulp with bits of bone. I slid off the hood of the car, collapsed to the ground and wept. I wept harder than anyone's ever heard. I wasn't even aware that people were getting out of their cars, surrounding me and taking in the horror show that just happened.
I told all this to Kat and she said, "I'm going to be sick." Told her I already was. I looked at her face, and I saw the distrust growing. She slowly inched back from me and I got up to leave. I told her, "I understand. You're with someone who killed a man, and now you can't trust me. All I can tell you is that's only time I killed out of anger. I lost my mind. I don't like killing. All I can give you is my word that you're safe with me. If you want to go, go. I won't follow you."
She just stared at me remaining quiet. Well, sometimes it's not a good idea to keep bugging someone to share their past. You may not like what you're going to learn.
Anyway, I wasn't going to stick around in this mall any longer, so I grabbed my pack and my bat and I left the store. I still wanted to hit I-80 today, and that was at least 10 miles. I didn't bother looking back at Kat, but before I left the mall, I heard the clopping of feet on the dirty tile flooring, and she yelled, "WAIT!". I just kept walking, letting her catch up.
We walked in silence almost all the way to I-80 and then she spoke up. She said she was really sorry she kept asking about my girlfriend and had no idea how much pain I went though. I turned around, and she hugged me and my first instinct was to push her away, but then I hugged her back. Before I knew it, I started to cry. She pulled back, and then I turned away embarrassed, when she grabbed me by the shoulder and brought me to face her. She blotted my eyes with the sleeve of her shirt and hugged me again. Two strangers, just hugging each other in the middle of an abandoned highway with zombies following us. What a sight...
We're on I-80 now, but the sun was going down and we were too far away from any buildings to camp in. We found a car on the side of the road, a Buick LeSabre. I gave her the backseat, because I felt she'd be more comfortable, and I leaned my seta back as far as I could without taking away any of Kat's space. We put the blankets over ourselves and talked quietly, waiting for the zombies that were following us to tap on our car. We remained silent and still and they moved on. We talked a bit more, and then said good night. The grind continues once again at dawn.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
We were up just past dawn, and the first thing we set out to do was patrol the mall. There was a popcorn shop with its gate open, and we tried one of the packages of kettle corn, but it was awfully stale. Still, to have something sweet that wasn't chocolate from trail mixes and Power Bars was a nice treat. There was a computer store that reminded me of the games I used to love playing. Ironically, the banner for Zombie Survivor VII was still prominently displayed above the opening. I went inside to see if I could find anything, and to my wondrous surprise, I found an extra battery for the tablet. I wanted to get it charged in the sun immediately, so I left Kat for a sec and ducked down an access hallway to get the tablet in the sun.
When I came back to the computer store, I saw Kat looking concerned. She apologized again for reading my journal, but then asked if she could ask me a question. I already knew what she was going to say, and I said no. That didn't stop her. She asked again, and this time I barked back "NO!" Then, she threw some logic at me. She said that she needed to know for her own survival, like I needed to see her in her underwear to make sure she wasn't bitten. If I didn't answer her today, she'd just ask again tomorrow.
I told her, and so now I'll tell you. I began dating a girl named Johanna shortly after I started my DJ gig in Beaver Cove, ME. She was a night owl, thus she became a fan of my show. I played a mix of everything from jazz to hip hop to country to even metal. I got the job at the station because my producer enjoyed how I could make great playlists out of just about any genre. Johanna loved that, too. She'd stay up until four in the morning when my shift ended. After a few days, she got up the nerve to call and made some requests. She also complimented my voice, saying it was pretty damned sexy. I obliged her requests, and thanked her for the compliment and the next day, she called again. The day after, again. The fourth time she called, I told her to stay on the line while I programmed in the next playlist. We chatted and I asked her if she'd like to come down to the station and meet and we could get the cliche cup of coffee. She actually hated coffee and I laughed, because I hated coffee too.
From that point on, we clicked. Physical attraction, compatible personalities, same likes and dislikes. It was no wonder we had sex by the end of the first week. Normally when I would sleep with someone, I'd actually sleep afterwards, but I'll never forget that morning with Johanna, because we didn't sleep at all. We talked more, snuggled more, had sex more, all that mushy stuff you see in movies. She was the one, and she felt the same about me.
I don't need to tell you all the back story between her and me. Let me just speed it up to when things went wrong. People were becoming sick left and right as vivensmortua moved in to Beaver Cove. The airborne strain was spreading, but we didn't know what it was yet. We thought it might have been a new bird or swine flu. Right around the time the outbreak was announced on live TV, we started noticing the dead coming back. Panic ensued and many people got in there cars to leave, and we decided we were going to as well, but remember what I told you about mass exoduses? Interstates get jammed and suddenly no one can go anywhere.
While we were stuck in the car, Johanna had a massive coughing fit and after close to a minute, she held her hand away from her mouth and saw blood. I saw it as well, but the look on her face was horrifying. She knew that very instant she was sick with whatever that thing was that was killing people. I told her we needed to find a hospital right now, so we had to get out of the car and try to get help. She fell on the ground and had another coughing fit and when I went to help her up, I heard a door open behind our car, and a man got out. I asked him to please help and I thought he was going to, but before I noticed what he was doing, he pulled out a gun and ... and shot her! He shot my beloved Johanna in the back of the head! He said he had to do it, that she was going to be one of them, but at that point I wasn't listening to the man. All I felt was seething rage. This stranger shot my Johanna before she even had a chance to be cured! I know there's no cure, but .. maybe it wasn't vivensmortua. Maybe it was something else. Bronchitis or something!
Covered in her blood, I felt sick to my stomach as well as infuriated. I didn't know whether to throw up or charge the man, but the rage overcame the nausea and I ran into him with such force, that it knocked his gun away. Still driving forward, I picked him up and then rammed him into a car and began punching him as hard as I could in the face. He tried to block with his hands, a white flurry of fingers but I batted them away as I battered him. Not realizing I already knocked him out, I grabbed him by his ears and began slamming his head back on the windshield. I did it again, and again, oblivious to the cracking of the windshield, the small pieces of glass flying everywhere until... his head sunk into the glass. At that moment, I let go and the driver of the car came out with a shocked look on his face, his jaw hanging lower than a necktie.
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
Hearing that snapped me out of it.
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
I... killed him. I was so lost. I just lost my Johanna and now I took a man's life. I backed away from the car, numb. I honestly couldn't feel anything. I was oblivious to the concrete under my feet, the head of the sun on my face, the rustling wind through my hair, the smell of Johanna's blood on my shirt. I stumbled backward and fell, and then... the vomit came. I saw the gun in the adjacent lane of where I attacked that man, and I picked it up. The man who witnessed my murder immediately put his hands up and yelled "NO NO NO! DON'T SHOOT ME!" and ran off. I just held it at my side, blank expression on my face, and raised the gun to my head and pulled the trigger. It clicked, but it didn't register with me. I just kept pulling the trigger, it going "CLICK CLICK CLICK" with each pull.
After 10 or so pulls, I finally realized it wasn't going to happen. I pulled the mag out of the gun, and sure enough, it was empty. He had one bullet in his gun. ONE FUCKING BULLET! IT WAS HIS GOD DAMNED SUICIDE ROUND! He used that fucking bullet on my Johanna! That only made me more furious and I returned the dead man and gun butted his already unrecognizable face until there wasn't a face anymore, just a fleshy pulp with bits of bone. I slid off the hood of the car, collapsed to the ground and wept. I wept harder than anyone's ever heard. I wasn't even aware that people were getting out of their cars, surrounding me and taking in the horror show that just happened.
I told all this to Kat and she said, "I'm going to be sick." Told her I already was. I looked at her face, and I saw the distrust growing. She slowly inched back from me and I got up to leave. I told her, "I understand. You're with someone who killed a man, and now you can't trust me. All I can tell you is that's only time I killed out of anger. I lost my mind. I don't like killing. All I can give you is my word that you're safe with me. If you want to go, go. I won't follow you."
She just stared at me remaining quiet. Well, sometimes it's not a good idea to keep bugging someone to share their past. You may not like what you're going to learn.
Anyway, I wasn't going to stick around in this mall any longer, so I grabbed my pack and my bat and I left the store. I still wanted to hit I-80 today, and that was at least 10 miles. I didn't bother looking back at Kat, but before I left the mall, I heard the clopping of feet on the dirty tile flooring, and she yelled, "WAIT!". I just kept walking, letting her catch up.
We walked in silence almost all the way to I-80 and then she spoke up. She said she was really sorry she kept asking about my girlfriend and had no idea how much pain I went though. I turned around, and she hugged me and my first instinct was to push her away, but then I hugged her back. Before I knew it, I started to cry. She pulled back, and then I turned away embarrassed, when she grabbed me by the shoulder and brought me to face her. She blotted my eyes with the sleeve of her shirt and hugged me again. Two strangers, just hugging each other in the middle of an abandoned highway with zombies following us. What a sight...
We're on I-80 now, but the sun was going down and we were too far away from any buildings to camp in. We found a car on the side of the road, a Buick LeSabre. I gave her the backseat, because I felt she'd be more comfortable, and I leaned my seta back as far as I could without taking away any of Kat's space. We put the blankets over ourselves and talked quietly, waiting for the zombies that were following us to tap on our car. We remained silent and still and they moved on. We talked a bit more, and then said good night. The grind continues once again at dawn.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
September 21st, 2021
My day started off with a startle. I woke up in the morning to find Katerina sleeping next to me. I damn near pushed her off the bed. As I jolted awake, it awoke her too. She apologized for getting in my bed, but she said she wasn't comfortable sleeping alone in her room knowing that there was someone else right across from me. She said she tried to wake me to ask me if it was OK, but I was out like a light. She thought she'd be up before I was. I told her not to worry about.
To be honest, I don't like her being so close to me. It's not that I don't find her attractive or anything. She does remind me of someone I used to date in high school. It's just, my recent girlfriend is too fresh in my memory. I don't really want to go into detail, but let's just that it's been.... a long time since I've had a girl in my bed, even though nothing happened.
Of course, there was no running water in the hotel, so we weren't taking showers this morning. We ate more trail mix and Power Bars for breakfast, but our meal was cut short when we heard a bang on the door. Katerina yelped out of surprise, but I grabbed her and put my hand over her mouth, hoping it wasn't too late. It was. The zombie, hearing a response, began pounding harder on the door, moaning louder. That forced us to check out early, so I told Katerina to grab the packs while I opened the window. Good thing we took rooms on the ground floor. Lesson for the day. Always stay on the ground floor, because you don't want to be stuck several stories off the ground.
I was really hoping it would be easier with Katerina around, but now it seems to have gotten harder. She's OK with the feet draggers, but she isn't strong enough to handle the freshies. We came across two of them in the parking lot behind the Holiday Inn as we were trying to escape. It's alarming how animal-like the freshies are when they hunt. They sense weaker prey, so of course, the two went right after Katerina. I ran at one of them, shoulder ramming it knocking it over while I swung at the other one, which already reached Katerina knocking her down and falling on her. I only landed a glancing blow, but I had such force in my swing that it threw me off balance, and I landed on top of the zombie, which now grabbed Katerina's foot as she was trying to kick away. It bit at her shoe, she yelled out of fright and I yelled out of anger, as I raised the wrench over my head and let it slam down. Still on the ground, I rolled over and threw the wrench like a tomahawk at the other zombie who was just getting it up. It connected just off-center between the eyes, but was a lethal enough blow.
My attention immediately turned to Katerina, who now got her foot out of her shoe, still in the zombie's mouth. I looked at her, and she looked at me, and then I immediately grabbed her foot and pulled her sock off. Nothing. All the zombie got was the tip of the shoe. I pulled the shoe out of its mouth and was getting her ready to give it to her when she lunged at me and knocked me down, planting kisses all over my mouth and face. I told, "Easy, easy! This isn't the time!" and gently pushed her off me. What really worries me, though, is part of me wanted to start kissing her back.
Another survival tip. Manage your hormones. Don't ever give in to lust in the middle of a dangerous area. Don't make out; don't have sex; don't even spoon. If you aren't in a safe area, and you're paying someone else attention, that's attention that isn't going to your surroundings. There's a reason why most horror movies usually have teenagers kissing in a car or in a tent; it makes the predator's job that much easier. I know I saved her life, twice now, but now's not the time for thanks.
After we got up, we kept moving out of the parking lot, and the commotion drew the attention of just about every dragger in a city block. It would be no problem for me on my own, but I had to make sure Katerina was right behind me. I took her hand and practically yanked her along as we walked fast, not spending the time to kill any of them. We just let them shuffle along behind us and Katerina asked, "Shouldn't we kill them?" Not if there's that many. You only expend energy.
You know what I dislike most about zombie TV shows and movies? The unnecessary expenditure of energy and ammunition. Unless you're backed in a corner or trying to secure an area, you shouldn't waste your energy killing the slow moving ones. The fast ones, yes. Take them down by all means. They will pose a threat to you until you dispose of them. But if you're traveling and a crowd of draggers are following you, leave them be.
We made it back to I-81 heading south. While walking, I pulled out the map to look for the next point of interest, and I saw there was a Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, so we headed there. First, we had to ditch our fans. We broke line of sight by going into an office building, waiting until we heard their moans and then went out the back and returned to the interstate. We checked abandoned cars along the way, but the ones we found unlocked had no keys. Katerina found a truck that had the key in it, but of course, the battery was dead. We grabbed a flashlight out of the glove box from a minivan and I found a baseball bat in the back! I was so excited, because I wanted a real, trust worthy bludgeoning weapon, and they just don't come better than aluminum bats. I handed the wrench over to Katerina as it seemed to be easier to wield than the crowbar she hung onto. My excitement quickly dissipated after I saw a box of junior league uniforms along with kid size catching mitts. I don't want to think anymore about that.
We hit the medical center about two in the afternoon, and by now we're both getting sick of trail mix and Power Bars. We need some good honest food soon. The zombie population around the medical center wasn't that bad, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I grabbed a rock from the side of the road and chucked it at the most expensive car I saw. I missed as it hit the street by the front tire. I tried again, but hit the hood. I grabbed another rock when Katerina held her arm out in front of me and said, "Let me try." She hurled a rock and it hit the passenger side of the windshield putting a nice spider-web crack into it, setting off the alarm. I looked at her and she said, "Used to pitch in college."
As the zombies moved towards the beeping and honking car, we gave them a wide berth, moving in the opposite direction. When the number of zombies were sparse enough, we made our way into the medical center. I got to put my bat to quick use as I bashed in every zombie I saw. We systematically checked every room in the center, and we found no medicine at all. It was completely raided, except for bandages. They really wouldn't do much good without disinfectant but we took them anyway, about five rolls worth. We found a refrigerator in the staff kitchen, but power was out. Any food in there was spoiled long ago. Kat (going to start calling her that for short now, although she seems to hate it) found some grape jelly that appeared to still be good, so we took that.
After being rather disappointed not finding anything, we got ready to hit I-81 once again, but the car alarm stopped long ago, so the draggers returned to wandering around. We just ran past them. Just west of us was the Wyoming Valley Mall. It was getting close to five, so we headed there next. More zombies. More distracting them so we could get in. More finding just about everything useful already taken. That's the problem with not leaving with everyone else. You're subject to their leftovers, slim pickings. However, you are subject to get bit far easier if you're grouped with too many people. The less people you're with, the lower your odds. Something to keep in mind.
It was actually Kat's suggestion to hole up in the toy store just so that we're around things that looked fun. It sounded like a good idea, so that's what we did. After we got the shutter down, we went through the shelves browsing for anything that might interest us. She ended up taking a purple Care Bear and I took a wooden puzzle. She hugged her bear tightly and I opened the package of the puzzle, let the pieces fall out and went to work putting things back together. We talked more, and I asked her what she went to college for. She said she wanted to be a graphic designer, making websites and commercials and whatnot. She asked if I had a wife, and I said I was never married. I didn't bring up my girlfriend, even though she asked if I had one. Just not ready to talk about it now.
We're going to explore more of the mall in the morning and then just keep heading southwest. I'd like to try to make it to I-80 and start heading towards Ohio. I can't stop thinking about Katerina though. I honestly don't want to, because the more I do , the more I start to care about her. You know, the worst thing about this apocalypse is not the zombies. It's losing people you care about. All I want right now is to be back with my family. But... it is nice to have someone to talk to again.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
To be honest, I don't like her being so close to me. It's not that I don't find her attractive or anything. She does remind me of someone I used to date in high school. It's just, my recent girlfriend is too fresh in my memory. I don't really want to go into detail, but let's just that it's been.... a long time since I've had a girl in my bed, even though nothing happened.
Of course, there was no running water in the hotel, so we weren't taking showers this morning. We ate more trail mix and Power Bars for breakfast, but our meal was cut short when we heard a bang on the door. Katerina yelped out of surprise, but I grabbed her and put my hand over her mouth, hoping it wasn't too late. It was. The zombie, hearing a response, began pounding harder on the door, moaning louder. That forced us to check out early, so I told Katerina to grab the packs while I opened the window. Good thing we took rooms on the ground floor. Lesson for the day. Always stay on the ground floor, because you don't want to be stuck several stories off the ground.
I was really hoping it would be easier with Katerina around, but now it seems to have gotten harder. She's OK with the feet draggers, but she isn't strong enough to handle the freshies. We came across two of them in the parking lot behind the Holiday Inn as we were trying to escape. It's alarming how animal-like the freshies are when they hunt. They sense weaker prey, so of course, the two went right after Katerina. I ran at one of them, shoulder ramming it knocking it over while I swung at the other one, which already reached Katerina knocking her down and falling on her. I only landed a glancing blow, but I had such force in my swing that it threw me off balance, and I landed on top of the zombie, which now grabbed Katerina's foot as she was trying to kick away. It bit at her shoe, she yelled out of fright and I yelled out of anger, as I raised the wrench over my head and let it slam down. Still on the ground, I rolled over and threw the wrench like a tomahawk at the other zombie who was just getting it up. It connected just off-center between the eyes, but was a lethal enough blow.
My attention immediately turned to Katerina, who now got her foot out of her shoe, still in the zombie's mouth. I looked at her, and she looked at me, and then I immediately grabbed her foot and pulled her sock off. Nothing. All the zombie got was the tip of the shoe. I pulled the shoe out of its mouth and was getting her ready to give it to her when she lunged at me and knocked me down, planting kisses all over my mouth and face. I told, "Easy, easy! This isn't the time!" and gently pushed her off me. What really worries me, though, is part of me wanted to start kissing her back.
Another survival tip. Manage your hormones. Don't ever give in to lust in the middle of a dangerous area. Don't make out; don't have sex; don't even spoon. If you aren't in a safe area, and you're paying someone else attention, that's attention that isn't going to your surroundings. There's a reason why most horror movies usually have teenagers kissing in a car or in a tent; it makes the predator's job that much easier. I know I saved her life, twice now, but now's not the time for thanks.
After we got up, we kept moving out of the parking lot, and the commotion drew the attention of just about every dragger in a city block. It would be no problem for me on my own, but I had to make sure Katerina was right behind me. I took her hand and practically yanked her along as we walked fast, not spending the time to kill any of them. We just let them shuffle along behind us and Katerina asked, "Shouldn't we kill them?" Not if there's that many. You only expend energy.
You know what I dislike most about zombie TV shows and movies? The unnecessary expenditure of energy and ammunition. Unless you're backed in a corner or trying to secure an area, you shouldn't waste your energy killing the slow moving ones. The fast ones, yes. Take them down by all means. They will pose a threat to you until you dispose of them. But if you're traveling and a crowd of draggers are following you, leave them be.
We made it back to I-81 heading south. While walking, I pulled out the map to look for the next point of interest, and I saw there was a Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center, so we headed there. First, we had to ditch our fans. We broke line of sight by going into an office building, waiting until we heard their moans and then went out the back and returned to the interstate. We checked abandoned cars along the way, but the ones we found unlocked had no keys. Katerina found a truck that had the key in it, but of course, the battery was dead. We grabbed a flashlight out of the glove box from a minivan and I found a baseball bat in the back! I was so excited, because I wanted a real, trust worthy bludgeoning weapon, and they just don't come better than aluminum bats. I handed the wrench over to Katerina as it seemed to be easier to wield than the crowbar she hung onto. My excitement quickly dissipated after I saw a box of junior league uniforms along with kid size catching mitts. I don't want to think anymore about that.
We hit the medical center about two in the afternoon, and by now we're both getting sick of trail mix and Power Bars. We need some good honest food soon. The zombie population around the medical center wasn't that bad, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I grabbed a rock from the side of the road and chucked it at the most expensive car I saw. I missed as it hit the street by the front tire. I tried again, but hit the hood. I grabbed another rock when Katerina held her arm out in front of me and said, "Let me try." She hurled a rock and it hit the passenger side of the windshield putting a nice spider-web crack into it, setting off the alarm. I looked at her and she said, "Used to pitch in college."
As the zombies moved towards the beeping and honking car, we gave them a wide berth, moving in the opposite direction. When the number of zombies were sparse enough, we made our way into the medical center. I got to put my bat to quick use as I bashed in every zombie I saw. We systematically checked every room in the center, and we found no medicine at all. It was completely raided, except for bandages. They really wouldn't do much good without disinfectant but we took them anyway, about five rolls worth. We found a refrigerator in the staff kitchen, but power was out. Any food in there was spoiled long ago. Kat (going to start calling her that for short now, although she seems to hate it) found some grape jelly that appeared to still be good, so we took that.
After being rather disappointed not finding anything, we got ready to hit I-81 once again, but the car alarm stopped long ago, so the draggers returned to wandering around. We just ran past them. Just west of us was the Wyoming Valley Mall. It was getting close to five, so we headed there next. More zombies. More distracting them so we could get in. More finding just about everything useful already taken. That's the problem with not leaving with everyone else. You're subject to their leftovers, slim pickings. However, you are subject to get bit far easier if you're grouped with too many people. The less people you're with, the lower your odds. Something to keep in mind.
It was actually Kat's suggestion to hole up in the toy store just so that we're around things that looked fun. It sounded like a good idea, so that's what we did. After we got the shutter down, we went through the shelves browsing for anything that might interest us. She ended up taking a purple Care Bear and I took a wooden puzzle. She hugged her bear tightly and I opened the package of the puzzle, let the pieces fall out and went to work putting things back together. We talked more, and I asked her what she went to college for. She said she wanted to be a graphic designer, making websites and commercials and whatnot. She asked if I had a wife, and I said I was never married. I didn't bring up my girlfriend, even though she asked if I had one. Just not ready to talk about it now.
We're going to explore more of the mall in the morning and then just keep heading southwest. I'd like to try to make it to I-80 and start heading towards Ohio. I can't stop thinking about Katerina though. I honestly don't want to, because the more I do , the more I start to care about her. You know, the worst thing about this apocalypse is not the zombies. It's losing people you care about. All I want right now is to be back with my family. But... it is nice to have someone to talk to again.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
September 20th, 2021
Seems I'm traveling with someone now. Her name's Katerina and I bumped into her as I was exploring the terminal. Well, more like saved her life. I heard a screech from a freshie, a freshly made zombie as I call them, followed by the shriek of a woman. Normally, my gut would direct me away from the yells, but I had a sudden urge to play hero, so I ran to the source of the distress. There she was, backed up against a trashcan in the food lobby, fighting back a zombie with a crow bar trying to bite her. He lept on top of her and grabbed the crow bar pressing it down on her, cocking back his head to bite when Mr. Goodwrench said hello. I had to apologize to her as bits of zombie skull and hair splattered on her shirt.
I looked her over quickly, seemed to be in her early 20s, red hair, brown eyes. Usually, red heads have freckles on their faces, but hers was spec-free. Couldn't tell how tall she was with her laying on the ground. I held a hand to help her up, but she was reluctant. I asked if she was bit, and she shook her head without saying anything. I thrust my hand forward again, introducing myself as Martin Fowler, and she finally took my hand, saying her name was Katerina Holmes...Howell... Howard... always bad with names.
Now that she stood up, she was about a half foot shorter than I was, so I'd put her at 5'4", no taller than 5'5". I told her we needed to get back to the shop where I was staying it, because we had about 20 seconds before the rest of the zombies would come to investigate. She stayed close to me as we sprinted back, and once in, I closed the gate. I wanted to make sure she wasn't bit though, because I've been in situations where I was helping someone who was bit, but hid it from me and then turned while we were sleeping and damn near got me . I still have the shirt where he managed to tear the collar off.
So I asked her to strip down, and of course she got offended. She accused me of being some kind of pervert, and yelled at me what kind of asshole would have a woman strip in the middle of a zombie infested airport. I urged her to lower her voice or she'd alert them to us, and she caught herself, but her look of distaste did not leave me. I insisted, and stated my reason why. I said I couldn't trust her, and that I wasn't some kind of pervert. She could keep her underwear on, but I had to make sure that no bites were on her body. It was the only way I could trust her. I promised her I wouldn't do anything and I'd stay ten feet away from her. I gave her my wrench and told her she could swing it at my head if I got close.
She stood there, staring at me for a long time, and I kept eye contact with her, meaning I was dead serious. Finally, she pulled her off her shirt, an iron-on of a band I never heard of, and she instinctively covered her chest with her arms. I told her I wasn't interested in seeing her breasts; just interested in seeing if she had any bite marks. Reluctantly, she lowered her arms to reveal a pattern-less cotton bra. It was unstained with blood. I told her to turn around and she did so, again reluctantly and again, no bite marks. I told her to move her shoulder length hair away from her neck. So far so good.
She asked if I was happy, but I said only halfway and she immediately guessed that I was going to ask her tot take her pants off. She cussed at me and said she wasn't going to play any more of my games and that she was going to leave. She didn't need me and I had to remind her that she already did need me. She was more than welcome to leave and try to survive on her own, something she already failed to do, but there was no way I was trusting her - will trust anyone - who says that they weren't bitten unless I looked them over. I told her about my situation back in Vermont when a person I was staying with lied to me, died in his sleep, turned and nearly ripped my throat out.
So she asked me, "Alright, well, how do I know YOU weren't bitten!?" and without answering I stripped down to my boxers and turned around for her. "Well, you could have been bitten on your crotch. How do I..." Before she could even finish the question, I pulled my boxers down, my humility exposed to this woman I've never met before. She glanced down, eyes wide, not believing I'd gone buck naked in front of her so quickly, but when she looked up at me, she was more shocked to know that I was still focused on her eyes. She looked down again, I guess double checking that I wasn't being aroused by staring at her bra and after wasting several minutes, finally realized I was not only serious, but not trying to be perverted about it. I was being professional, and I honestly wish I didn't have to resort to going Full Monty to demonstrate it.
She undid her belt and zipper, and pulled her jeans down, revealing yellow panties, like the bra, unstained with blood. I took my attention off her face so I could examine her legs, and she turned around without being asked, and her backside was clean, too. The one thing that I noticed about her body is that she was rather thin, almost malnourished. I told her that was enough and she could put her clothes back on. I did the same. I apologized to her for asking her to do such a thing, but she actually ended up forgiving me, saying she understood. She said it made sense and now that I was able to trust her, she should trust me.
I offered a bag of trail mix and a bottled water that I took off the shelf, and opened up another nasty Power Bar for myself, and we hunkered down across from each other and began talking. I asked where she was from, and she said Ottawa. She was on a roadtrip to Florida to meet her grandmother right when the outbreak happened. I asked if she was still headed to Florida, and she said she didn't know. She was just trying to survive now. She also heard that the retirement home her grandmother was living in was attacked. It sounded pretty important to me that she keep heading down there to find out, but she told me she pretty much believed she was dead.
She asked about me, where I came from and where I was headed. I told her I moved to Maine, but after the outbreak, I was going to try to reach California. She actually asked me if she could come, and I was hesitant at first. I've been used to traveling alone for a while, and I don't like the idea of worrying about someone slipping up where I wouldn't, but it would actually be nice to have someone to talk to, so I accepted. She ravaged the bag of trail mix and I gave her another one, not commenting on how I noticed she hadn't been eating much lately. She tore into this bag as well, but eventually slowed down and began to savor the nuts and raisins and chocolate candies.
I couldn't find much else in the terminal that the souvenir shop didn't already provide, so I grabbed some more water and food, and gave some to Katerina as well. I told her I'd be right back. Just needed to grab my tablet that was charging in the sun outside. She never seen of one these before, a tablet with solar panels, and I told her I didn't either until I found it. I was extremely lucky that I did. This journal's really helping me keep my thoughts together.
I told her we needed to leave tonight. There was a Holiday Inn just down the terminal road that I felt might be a bit safer, so that's what we did. We had a couple of scares along the way, with a freshie running at us from behind a terminal bus, but to my surprise, Katerina killed it with her crowbar before I even raised my wrench. Maybe she isn't as helpless as I thought. If the both of us can remain focused, then I'm sure we'll be perfectly fine.
We reached the Holiday Inn and entered from the back, as there was a lot of feet draggers congregating in the front. I told her that is usually because they think there's living humans inside, and they're waiting for them to come out. If we found any zombies inside, we had to kill them as quick as possible. We did find a couple in the hallway leading to the concierge, but for the most part it was clear. I wasn't going to bother looking for keys to any of the rooms because hotels like these use card keys and you need to code them, but since there's no power, that shouldn't be a problem. We should be able to get into any room we wanted, and we did. We stayed on the first floor, and I took room 128, and she took 130 across from me. We said good night, and I told her to be ready to be up early. I wanted to get a head start on the day.
Bed's calling. Been a rough day today.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
I looked her over quickly, seemed to be in her early 20s, red hair, brown eyes. Usually, red heads have freckles on their faces, but hers was spec-free. Couldn't tell how tall she was with her laying on the ground. I held a hand to help her up, but she was reluctant. I asked if she was bit, and she shook her head without saying anything. I thrust my hand forward again, introducing myself as Martin Fowler, and she finally took my hand, saying her name was Katerina Holmes...Howell... Howard... always bad with names.
Now that she stood up, she was about a half foot shorter than I was, so I'd put her at 5'4", no taller than 5'5". I told her we needed to get back to the shop where I was staying it, because we had about 20 seconds before the rest of the zombies would come to investigate. She stayed close to me as we sprinted back, and once in, I closed the gate. I wanted to make sure she wasn't bit though, because I've been in situations where I was helping someone who was bit, but hid it from me and then turned while we were sleeping and damn near got me . I still have the shirt where he managed to tear the collar off.
So I asked her to strip down, and of course she got offended. She accused me of being some kind of pervert, and yelled at me what kind of asshole would have a woman strip in the middle of a zombie infested airport. I urged her to lower her voice or she'd alert them to us, and she caught herself, but her look of distaste did not leave me. I insisted, and stated my reason why. I said I couldn't trust her, and that I wasn't some kind of pervert. She could keep her underwear on, but I had to make sure that no bites were on her body. It was the only way I could trust her. I promised her I wouldn't do anything and I'd stay ten feet away from her. I gave her my wrench and told her she could swing it at my head if I got close.
She stood there, staring at me for a long time, and I kept eye contact with her, meaning I was dead serious. Finally, she pulled her off her shirt, an iron-on of a band I never heard of, and she instinctively covered her chest with her arms. I told her I wasn't interested in seeing her breasts; just interested in seeing if she had any bite marks. Reluctantly, she lowered her arms to reveal a pattern-less cotton bra. It was unstained with blood. I told her to turn around and she did so, again reluctantly and again, no bite marks. I told her to move her shoulder length hair away from her neck. So far so good.
She asked if I was happy, but I said only halfway and she immediately guessed that I was going to ask her tot take her pants off. She cussed at me and said she wasn't going to play any more of my games and that she was going to leave. She didn't need me and I had to remind her that she already did need me. She was more than welcome to leave and try to survive on her own, something she already failed to do, but there was no way I was trusting her - will trust anyone - who says that they weren't bitten unless I looked them over. I told her about my situation back in Vermont when a person I was staying with lied to me, died in his sleep, turned and nearly ripped my throat out.
So she asked me, "Alright, well, how do I know YOU weren't bitten!?" and without answering I stripped down to my boxers and turned around for her. "Well, you could have been bitten on your crotch. How do I..." Before she could even finish the question, I pulled my boxers down, my humility exposed to this woman I've never met before. She glanced down, eyes wide, not believing I'd gone buck naked in front of her so quickly, but when she looked up at me, she was more shocked to know that I was still focused on her eyes. She looked down again, I guess double checking that I wasn't being aroused by staring at her bra and after wasting several minutes, finally realized I was not only serious, but not trying to be perverted about it. I was being professional, and I honestly wish I didn't have to resort to going Full Monty to demonstrate it.
She undid her belt and zipper, and pulled her jeans down, revealing yellow panties, like the bra, unstained with blood. I took my attention off her face so I could examine her legs, and she turned around without being asked, and her backside was clean, too. The one thing that I noticed about her body is that she was rather thin, almost malnourished. I told her that was enough and she could put her clothes back on. I did the same. I apologized to her for asking her to do such a thing, but she actually ended up forgiving me, saying she understood. She said it made sense and now that I was able to trust her, she should trust me.
I offered a bag of trail mix and a bottled water that I took off the shelf, and opened up another nasty Power Bar for myself, and we hunkered down across from each other and began talking. I asked where she was from, and she said Ottawa. She was on a roadtrip to Florida to meet her grandmother right when the outbreak happened. I asked if she was still headed to Florida, and she said she didn't know. She was just trying to survive now. She also heard that the retirement home her grandmother was living in was attacked. It sounded pretty important to me that she keep heading down there to find out, but she told me she pretty much believed she was dead.
She asked about me, where I came from and where I was headed. I told her I moved to Maine, but after the outbreak, I was going to try to reach California. She actually asked me if she could come, and I was hesitant at first. I've been used to traveling alone for a while, and I don't like the idea of worrying about someone slipping up where I wouldn't, but it would actually be nice to have someone to talk to, so I accepted. She ravaged the bag of trail mix and I gave her another one, not commenting on how I noticed she hadn't been eating much lately. She tore into this bag as well, but eventually slowed down and began to savor the nuts and raisins and chocolate candies.
I couldn't find much else in the terminal that the souvenir shop didn't already provide, so I grabbed some more water and food, and gave some to Katerina as well. I told her I'd be right back. Just needed to grab my tablet that was charging in the sun outside. She never seen of one these before, a tablet with solar panels, and I told her I didn't either until I found it. I was extremely lucky that I did. This journal's really helping me keep my thoughts together.
I told her we needed to leave tonight. There was a Holiday Inn just down the terminal road that I felt might be a bit safer, so that's what we did. We had a couple of scares along the way, with a freshie running at us from behind a terminal bus, but to my surprise, Katerina killed it with her crowbar before I even raised my wrench. Maybe she isn't as helpless as I thought. If the both of us can remain focused, then I'm sure we'll be perfectly fine.
We reached the Holiday Inn and entered from the back, as there was a lot of feet draggers congregating in the front. I told her that is usually because they think there's living humans inside, and they're waiting for them to come out. If we found any zombies inside, we had to kill them as quick as possible. We did find a couple in the hallway leading to the concierge, but for the most part it was clear. I wasn't going to bother looking for keys to any of the rooms because hotels like these use card keys and you need to code them, but since there's no power, that shouldn't be a problem. We should be able to get into any room we wanted, and we did. We stayed on the first floor, and I took room 128, and she took 130 across from me. We said good night, and I told her to be ready to be up early. I wanted to get a head start on the day.
Bed's calling. Been a rough day today.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
September 19th, 2021
I woke up this morning and heard the moans. Well obviously, they didn't lose interest like I was hoping. The garage was still secure, but I had no idea if any of them got inside the dealership itself. Well, I sure wasn't going to stay in this oily garage, so this time, I was going to come out swinging. Remember how I told you in my first entry to stay fit? This is one of the reasons why.
Right of the bat, a zombie was on the other side of the door and I swore he was more surprised to see me than I was of him, because my lug wrench came down on him before he could blink his half-hanging eyelids. When you fight zombies, of course you know to aim for the head. If you have ammo, great. That will get the job done perfectly, but remember what I told you about gunshots. The reports will most likely bring more of them to you. If you somehow have silencers, even better. Most likely than not, though, if you're fighting them, you're doing what I'm doing: bashing their heads in one by one.
Another zombie was down the hall to the lobby where I came in from the office. I watched him to gauge his movements, and he was shuffling. This pack of zombies appeared to be a couple of weeks old. That's good. Hopefully, all of them move this slow. That makes them manageable. As he crept towards me, I charged him and drove the wrench down like I was hitting the lever to ring a bell at one of those carnival games. It sunk right through.
Interesting fact. The reason why it's so easy to cave in a zombie's skull is after a few days of their expedited metabolism, their bones lose calcium. It could be that the virus itself uses calcium to further metabolize, or it gets eaten away from some kind of toxic byproduct produced in the marrow. Their heads are so mushy, the older ones can kill themselves by falling from a 15 foot drop.
I look through the glass front doors, and there are three zombies standing roughly five feet apart, their backs toward me. I slowly opened the door and snuck up behind them. Now, when you're fighting zombies, don't feel embarrassed to use martial arts if you know some. You might look silly, but if it's effective, use it. I cocked back to swing at the zombie at the right and as I clobbered the back of his skull, I immediately leg swept the woman zombie in the middle, and as I rose to meet the third zombie - who's now turning around - I brought the wrench up in a backwards swing to the side of his head. As the tripped zombie began to sit up, I twisted into a crouch on one knee and gave a backwards swing to her head as well. Honestly, I'm not trying to be some action movie hero. I just believe in moving as efficiently as possible. You know what, though? All this bludgeoning has me in a mood to find a bat.
Why does destroying their brain kill them? They have no actual circulation or respiratory systems. They'll come at you with their guts spilling out. You damage a zombie as much as you want, and they feel no pain, or at least shrug it off, yet hurting their brain, any part of it, stops them dead. Well, undead. Or.. deader? I dunno. The human brain's hard enough to understand when it's alive, but when its dead it takes on entirely new properties. I remember hearing of a child about 10 years ago who had half of his brain removed, and for the most part, was able to live a normal life. Yet, you nick the side of a zombie's brain, and it shuts down. Everyone has their theories, but mine is that it's like a circuit board in a computer. You cross any one circuit on that board, and the entire thing shuts down. This suggests to me that the vivensmortua virus reassembles the neural network of the brain into one simple yet delicately connected system. If any neuron is severed from its neighbor, the entire grid goes offline.
Anyway, I'm not going to bore you talking about all the zombies I brained. Let's just say that it was a lot of them. With them all disposed of, I was going to leave the lot and head on down to the airport when I suddenly remembered to check the manager's office for the key box. I went back in, found the box, but was dismayed to see that it was locked, and the box was pretty solid as well. Of course it wouldn't be THAT easy.
So I continued to walk down HWY 11, also known as Birney Avenue. I saw the occasional straggler. They saw my occasional wrench swung at their heads. I passed another restaurant and then came to an on ramp for I-81 and took it. Shortly after, I came across Spring Brook, headed down to it and took a break. I kicked my shoes off and just listened to the water, while also listening for anything else. I decided to take off my clothes, grabbed a bar of soap from my pack and then waded into the brook and washed myself. The water looked clear and I was thirsty, so I cupped some water with my hands and drank. It tasted clean, so as I got out of the water and dried myself off with the comforter, I took out my water bottle and filled it up. Remember, always take advantage of water sources. Do not feel embarrassed to wash in them. Stay clean. It's an important part of surviving.
Clothes back on, feeling much better now, I returned to the interstate and pressed on. You know, I've seen zombies crowed homes and restaurants, universities and car dealerships, but would you believe me when I said that I didn't see a single one in the St. Peter and St. Paul cemetery that I passed? That made me smirk. Irony finds itself in the most amusing places. The airport was about a half mile away from where I was, and I made it there today, finally.
Roads were clear and no zombies were walking around in the drop-off and pick-up zones, but that was no indication that the airport itself was free of them. I went in the main terminal, and sure enough, there were some inside, but too many to bash in one night. I honestly didn't feel like doing anymore work today. I just wanted to find a place to hole up and rest. There was a souvenir shop across the terminal, but there was at least 15 dead things in the way, and I didn't see it possible to sneak past all of them. I saw a baggage cart next to the check-in booth and fetched it, very slowly rolling it to the edge of the wall I was hiding behind. I backed up a bit, and then ran with the cart and pushed it down the terminal as hard as I could, stopping just short of the end of the wall. I hugged it, and watched.
The cart - thank God the wheels were good - rolled straight as an arrow, but also made a good amount of noise as it did. As I planned, the noise drew the attention of the zombie party, and they chased it. My path now clear, I darted to the shop. The very first thing I did was pull the security door down, careful not to clang it on the floor. It was opaque paneling, not the steel gate variety, so unless I wasn't putting on a shadow puppet show, they wouldn't see me. I did a quick scan of the shop, checking the isles and behind the counter and satisfied it was clear, I unloaded my things and looked for something to eat. I hate Power Bars. I think they're some of the nastiest things on earth, but I will tell you, I would rather have much needed nutrition right now versus a brick of processed sugar.
They had a universal charging station that passengers used to Quick Charge their devices before they got on their flights, and out of vain, I plugged in my tablet. No power. Airports have back up generators, but I'm guessing the juice from those guys was spent long ago. I have no charge left, so the first thing I do when I wake up is get this thing out in the sun so it can charge as much as it can while I explore more of this airport.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Right of the bat, a zombie was on the other side of the door and I swore he was more surprised to see me than I was of him, because my lug wrench came down on him before he could blink his half-hanging eyelids. When you fight zombies, of course you know to aim for the head. If you have ammo, great. That will get the job done perfectly, but remember what I told you about gunshots. The reports will most likely bring more of them to you. If you somehow have silencers, even better. Most likely than not, though, if you're fighting them, you're doing what I'm doing: bashing their heads in one by one.
Another zombie was down the hall to the lobby where I came in from the office. I watched him to gauge his movements, and he was shuffling. This pack of zombies appeared to be a couple of weeks old. That's good. Hopefully, all of them move this slow. That makes them manageable. As he crept towards me, I charged him and drove the wrench down like I was hitting the lever to ring a bell at one of those carnival games. It sunk right through.
Interesting fact. The reason why it's so easy to cave in a zombie's skull is after a few days of their expedited metabolism, their bones lose calcium. It could be that the virus itself uses calcium to further metabolize, or it gets eaten away from some kind of toxic byproduct produced in the marrow. Their heads are so mushy, the older ones can kill themselves by falling from a 15 foot drop.
I look through the glass front doors, and there are three zombies standing roughly five feet apart, their backs toward me. I slowly opened the door and snuck up behind them. Now, when you're fighting zombies, don't feel embarrassed to use martial arts if you know some. You might look silly, but if it's effective, use it. I cocked back to swing at the zombie at the right and as I clobbered the back of his skull, I immediately leg swept the woman zombie in the middle, and as I rose to meet the third zombie - who's now turning around - I brought the wrench up in a backwards swing to the side of his head. As the tripped zombie began to sit up, I twisted into a crouch on one knee and gave a backwards swing to her head as well. Honestly, I'm not trying to be some action movie hero. I just believe in moving as efficiently as possible. You know what, though? All this bludgeoning has me in a mood to find a bat.
Why does destroying their brain kill them? They have no actual circulation or respiratory systems. They'll come at you with their guts spilling out. You damage a zombie as much as you want, and they feel no pain, or at least shrug it off, yet hurting their brain, any part of it, stops them dead. Well, undead. Or.. deader? I dunno. The human brain's hard enough to understand when it's alive, but when its dead it takes on entirely new properties. I remember hearing of a child about 10 years ago who had half of his brain removed, and for the most part, was able to live a normal life. Yet, you nick the side of a zombie's brain, and it shuts down. Everyone has their theories, but mine is that it's like a circuit board in a computer. You cross any one circuit on that board, and the entire thing shuts down. This suggests to me that the vivensmortua virus reassembles the neural network of the brain into one simple yet delicately connected system. If any neuron is severed from its neighbor, the entire grid goes offline.
Anyway, I'm not going to bore you talking about all the zombies I brained. Let's just say that it was a lot of them. With them all disposed of, I was going to leave the lot and head on down to the airport when I suddenly remembered to check the manager's office for the key box. I went back in, found the box, but was dismayed to see that it was locked, and the box was pretty solid as well. Of course it wouldn't be THAT easy.
So I continued to walk down HWY 11, also known as Birney Avenue. I saw the occasional straggler. They saw my occasional wrench swung at their heads. I passed another restaurant and then came to an on ramp for I-81 and took it. Shortly after, I came across Spring Brook, headed down to it and took a break. I kicked my shoes off and just listened to the water, while also listening for anything else. I decided to take off my clothes, grabbed a bar of soap from my pack and then waded into the brook and washed myself. The water looked clear and I was thirsty, so I cupped some water with my hands and drank. It tasted clean, so as I got out of the water and dried myself off with the comforter, I took out my water bottle and filled it up. Remember, always take advantage of water sources. Do not feel embarrassed to wash in them. Stay clean. It's an important part of surviving.
Clothes back on, feeling much better now, I returned to the interstate and pressed on. You know, I've seen zombies crowed homes and restaurants, universities and car dealerships, but would you believe me when I said that I didn't see a single one in the St. Peter and St. Paul cemetery that I passed? That made me smirk. Irony finds itself in the most amusing places. The airport was about a half mile away from where I was, and I made it there today, finally.
Roads were clear and no zombies were walking around in the drop-off and pick-up zones, but that was no indication that the airport itself was free of them. I went in the main terminal, and sure enough, there were some inside, but too many to bash in one night. I honestly didn't feel like doing anymore work today. I just wanted to find a place to hole up and rest. There was a souvenir shop across the terminal, but there was at least 15 dead things in the way, and I didn't see it possible to sneak past all of them. I saw a baggage cart next to the check-in booth and fetched it, very slowly rolling it to the edge of the wall I was hiding behind. I backed up a bit, and then ran with the cart and pushed it down the terminal as hard as I could, stopping just short of the end of the wall. I hugged it, and watched.
The cart - thank God the wheels were good - rolled straight as an arrow, but also made a good amount of noise as it did. As I planned, the noise drew the attention of the zombie party, and they chased it. My path now clear, I darted to the shop. The very first thing I did was pull the security door down, careful not to clang it on the floor. It was opaque paneling, not the steel gate variety, so unless I wasn't putting on a shadow puppet show, they wouldn't see me. I did a quick scan of the shop, checking the isles and behind the counter and satisfied it was clear, I unloaded my things and looked for something to eat. I hate Power Bars. I think they're some of the nastiest things on earth, but I will tell you, I would rather have much needed nutrition right now versus a brick of processed sugar.
They had a universal charging station that passengers used to Quick Charge their devices before they got on their flights, and out of vain, I plugged in my tablet. No power. Airports have back up generators, but I'm guessing the juice from those guys was spent long ago. I have no charge left, so the first thing I do when I wake up is get this thing out in the sun so it can charge as much as it can while I explore more of this airport.
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
September 18th, 2021
Didn't make it to the airport. Didn't get anywhere close. Remember how I said all it would take is one zombie to see you one time to ruin your day? Well, that's exactly what happened. When I woke up this morning, I grabbed my gear and got ready to hit the road. As I usually do, I poke my head out to make sure it's all clear before I open the door all the way. I left the diner's lot no problem. Everything was quiet for a while until a zombie stumbled out from behind an overturned jeep, saw me and then ratted me out. Thank god these zombies were weeks old. If they were fresh, I'd have been chased down before I could make it to the Kia dealership that was just down the road from where I got spotted.
I turned the corner of the dealership to break my line of sight with them, and I saw the windows were already smashed in. I hopped over the windowsill anyway and immediately flipped over a desk and put it up against the open window to try to cover it as best as I could. I sat down, pressing my back to the wall, and listened. So far, it was just my heartbeat, but then I heard the shuffling of the feet and the low groans. They were in search mode. They knew I was somewhere around here, just not exactly where.
The desk suddenly tipped forward, startling me as a zombie reached in and saw me sitting next to the wall. I consider myself blessed knowing that I have incredible reaction times, so the first thing I did was stand up, grab the zombie by his head and fling him inside the building. The last thing I needed at this point was other zombies seeing this guy finding me in here. I readjusted my hold on the zombie's head, grabbing him under the chin and pulling him towards me to force his mouth closed as I looked for something from the overturned desk to use as a weapon. And well, as much as I didn't want to use it, the snow globe with a princess and her father would have to do. I grabbed it by the base and hammered it into the zombie's crown until I heart it crack, and then drove it once more until the zombie went limp in my arm. Pushing the corpse away from me, I slammed myself against the wall again, this time moving towards the door of the room. I was leaving myself open to be spotted by another zombie through the window, but it was clear I couldn't stay in this room.
I quietly opened the door of the office and crouched down the hallway, careful of exposing myself to anymore windows. I saw a door at the end with a sign that said Service Garage and I smiled to myself. Surely, I'd find something to use in there, so I kept low and made my way to the garage. I opened the door, and what I saw was such a mess. Everything was in disarray. Tools were strewn across the floor. Tool chests were knocked over. Windows of cars being serviced were broken. As I was eyeing one Kia, I heard a groan on the other side. I walked around and I jumped back a bit. A mechanic was trapped under the rear tire. He turned, by the look of his face, I'd say no more than a week old. Seems like he was trying to fix his car, when he got startled and kicked his jack out from underneath. I didn't see any bite marks, though. That was odd. I found a socket wrench and bashed him in the head. Poor guy... trapped all this time under a car, not even allowed to roam as a zombie.
A few zombies tapped on the garage doors, but I remained silent. Not hearing any responses, they moved on. Although, they didn't move completely on. For whatever reason, they aren't moving any farther than the lot. They've got the building surrounded, just like the zombies at the university did. I don't quite know what's going on here, but all I know is that it's too risky to try to make it to the airport right now. So this is where I've been most of the day, trapped in this dealership's garage. I'm just hoping they lose interest in me overnight. I really wish I knew what they were up to, though....
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
I turned the corner of the dealership to break my line of sight with them, and I saw the windows were already smashed in. I hopped over the windowsill anyway and immediately flipped over a desk and put it up against the open window to try to cover it as best as I could. I sat down, pressing my back to the wall, and listened. So far, it was just my heartbeat, but then I heard the shuffling of the feet and the low groans. They were in search mode. They knew I was somewhere around here, just not exactly where.
The desk suddenly tipped forward, startling me as a zombie reached in and saw me sitting next to the wall. I consider myself blessed knowing that I have incredible reaction times, so the first thing I did was stand up, grab the zombie by his head and fling him inside the building. The last thing I needed at this point was other zombies seeing this guy finding me in here. I readjusted my hold on the zombie's head, grabbing him under the chin and pulling him towards me to force his mouth closed as I looked for something from the overturned desk to use as a weapon. And well, as much as I didn't want to use it, the snow globe with a princess and her father would have to do. I grabbed it by the base and hammered it into the zombie's crown until I heart it crack, and then drove it once more until the zombie went limp in my arm. Pushing the corpse away from me, I slammed myself against the wall again, this time moving towards the door of the room. I was leaving myself open to be spotted by another zombie through the window, but it was clear I couldn't stay in this room.
I quietly opened the door of the office and crouched down the hallway, careful of exposing myself to anymore windows. I saw a door at the end with a sign that said Service Garage and I smiled to myself. Surely, I'd find something to use in there, so I kept low and made my way to the garage. I opened the door, and what I saw was such a mess. Everything was in disarray. Tools were strewn across the floor. Tool chests were knocked over. Windows of cars being serviced were broken. As I was eyeing one Kia, I heard a groan on the other side. I walked around and I jumped back a bit. A mechanic was trapped under the rear tire. He turned, by the look of his face, I'd say no more than a week old. Seems like he was trying to fix his car, when he got startled and kicked his jack out from underneath. I didn't see any bite marks, though. That was odd. I found a socket wrench and bashed him in the head. Poor guy... trapped all this time under a car, not even allowed to roam as a zombie.
A few zombies tapped on the garage doors, but I remained silent. Not hearing any responses, they moved on. Although, they didn't move completely on. For whatever reason, they aren't moving any farther than the lot. They've got the building surrounded, just like the zombies at the university did. I don't quite know what's going on here, but all I know is that it's too risky to try to make it to the airport right now. So this is where I've been most of the day, trapped in this dealership's garage. I'm just hoping they lose interest in me overnight. I really wish I knew what they were up to, though....
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
September 17th, 2021
I said if there was one secret, there was most likely another. So, when I woke up this morning, I did a scan through the entire house, looking for anything else that might be stashed away. A hidden compartment underneath the sock drawer in the master bedrooom held a bag of marijuana. A box of nails held a baggie of oxycontin. A sewing kit had a rather oddly shaped spool of thread, which undone, revealed an empty hypodermic needle. What the hell kind of family was this? Substance abuse everywhere, in a house with a little girl living with them...
Enough. I had to leave that house now, knowing the things that were done there. Who knows what else I DIDN'T find. I only hope that girl was never harmed by their parents, but considering the complete lack of trust in the household, I can't be hopeful.
I grabbed my suitcase along with my other gear, and I slowly creaked the front door open, inching it farther the safer things looked. Sticking my head out, checking both to the left and right, it was all clear. I opened the door all the way and dragged my suitcase with me. Once the wheels rolled along the cracks of the sidewalk, I realized I was making a severe mistake. The click-clack and thrumming rolling of the wheels on the pitted surface of the concrete was announcing my arrival to any zombie within earshot.
I lugged the heavy suitcase back to the house and reentered. I opened the suitcase on the couch in the living room, and took out the giant comforter I had rolled up in my pack and laid it on the floor. I took all the supplies out of the case and dumped it in the middle of the sheet, gathering up the corners and tying it into a makeshift sling pack. I put my backpack back on and slung my new sling pack over my shoulder and left the house again.
I walked down several streets in the neighborhood looking for cars that I could get into, hoping I'd come across one that was left unlocked. I also made sure I kept my eye out for zombies, and my other eye out for any paths I could run down and try to hide from them. You'll keep that in mind when you're traveling from one spot to another. I couldn't find any unlocked cars. I had the option of breaking into one, but of course, there was the chance of setting off an alarm, and if that happened, I might as well just shout, "COME OUT AND EAT ME! I'M A STUPID IDIOT WHO DESERVES TO DIE!" Cars are tempting, but breaking into them is a gamble that could get you killed. And besides, will you even be able to start it? Will the car even have enough gas to get you anywhere?
So onward down the road I went. I pulled out my map to see what the closest highway was to me. It was HWY 11, which passed University of Scranton before heading southwest to I-81. I was about five miles from the University, so that's where I immediately headed. My intent was to search their parking lot for an unlocked car and try to find a way inside the university and look for supplies, but as I got closer to the university, I heard the groans of zombies off in the distance. I took backstreets and alleyways, trying to keep as much distance from them as I could while also making sure I didn't walk into any surprises. I hid behind rusty dumpsters and broken down city buses. Cars parked along the curb, their parking meters long expired, provided ample cover to move right along the street where the university's gates were. I kept expecting to come across a straggler, but nothing. They were all congregated on the campus. It was very unusual. They don't stay in groups like that unless... they found food. There must have found some students hiding in there. Staff. Other survivors. Whatever the case, that school was now off-limits. The parking lot wasn't that infested, but all it takes is one zombie spotting you one time to ruin your day. So, I kept moving down HWY 11 checking every car on the side of the road I could. All locked. Why is that? Why do people feel they need to lock their cars when they abandon them?
I'm about a half mile from I-81 now. I found a little restaurant called Terry's Diner, one of those retro dinners. Thankfully, people don't seem to lock buildings when they abandon them. First thing I did when I entered was close the blinds on all the windows, checking underneath tables for any dead things before I leaned over the booths. I went back to the kitchen looking for food, and of course, nothing. Cleaned out. The only thing left was condiment packets. I tried the water, and was surprised that it worked. Also surprised that their stove worked as well! I pulled out a box of pasta from my comforter pack and put it in a pan full of water and let it boil. After the noodles were cooked, I drained the water and dumped it on a plate. As much as I'd kill for actual pasta sauce, seven ketchup packets would have to do. It actually wasn't that bad. When you don't eat much every day, you find that you really aren't all that picky. I'd kill for a beer, though. Hah, root beer. Had you going, didn't I?
So as I was eating my Noodles a la Heinz, I consulted my map again. There's an airport about two miles down I-81. Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport. That's going to be an interesting place to explore. I probably could have made it there today, but I haven't walked this much in a week, and my feet are absolutely killing me. I'm going to spend the night in this diner and then try to make for the airport tomorrow morning. I just HAVE to find something there!
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Enough. I had to leave that house now, knowing the things that were done there. Who knows what else I DIDN'T find. I only hope that girl was never harmed by their parents, but considering the complete lack of trust in the household, I can't be hopeful.
I grabbed my suitcase along with my other gear, and I slowly creaked the front door open, inching it farther the safer things looked. Sticking my head out, checking both to the left and right, it was all clear. I opened the door all the way and dragged my suitcase with me. Once the wheels rolled along the cracks of the sidewalk, I realized I was making a severe mistake. The click-clack and thrumming rolling of the wheels on the pitted surface of the concrete was announcing my arrival to any zombie within earshot.
I lugged the heavy suitcase back to the house and reentered. I opened the suitcase on the couch in the living room, and took out the giant comforter I had rolled up in my pack and laid it on the floor. I took all the supplies out of the case and dumped it in the middle of the sheet, gathering up the corners and tying it into a makeshift sling pack. I put my backpack back on and slung my new sling pack over my shoulder and left the house again.
I walked down several streets in the neighborhood looking for cars that I could get into, hoping I'd come across one that was left unlocked. I also made sure I kept my eye out for zombies, and my other eye out for any paths I could run down and try to hide from them. You'll keep that in mind when you're traveling from one spot to another. I couldn't find any unlocked cars. I had the option of breaking into one, but of course, there was the chance of setting off an alarm, and if that happened, I might as well just shout, "COME OUT AND EAT ME! I'M A STUPID IDIOT WHO DESERVES TO DIE!" Cars are tempting, but breaking into them is a gamble that could get you killed. And besides, will you even be able to start it? Will the car even have enough gas to get you anywhere?
So onward down the road I went. I pulled out my map to see what the closest highway was to me. It was HWY 11, which passed University of Scranton before heading southwest to I-81. I was about five miles from the University, so that's where I immediately headed. My intent was to search their parking lot for an unlocked car and try to find a way inside the university and look for supplies, but as I got closer to the university, I heard the groans of zombies off in the distance. I took backstreets and alleyways, trying to keep as much distance from them as I could while also making sure I didn't walk into any surprises. I hid behind rusty dumpsters and broken down city buses. Cars parked along the curb, their parking meters long expired, provided ample cover to move right along the street where the university's gates were. I kept expecting to come across a straggler, but nothing. They were all congregated on the campus. It was very unusual. They don't stay in groups like that unless... they found food. There must have found some students hiding in there. Staff. Other survivors. Whatever the case, that school was now off-limits. The parking lot wasn't that infested, but all it takes is one zombie spotting you one time to ruin your day. So, I kept moving down HWY 11 checking every car on the side of the road I could. All locked. Why is that? Why do people feel they need to lock their cars when they abandon them?
I'm about a half mile from I-81 now. I found a little restaurant called Terry's Diner, one of those retro dinners. Thankfully, people don't seem to lock buildings when they abandon them. First thing I did when I entered was close the blinds on all the windows, checking underneath tables for any dead things before I leaned over the booths. I went back to the kitchen looking for food, and of course, nothing. Cleaned out. The only thing left was condiment packets. I tried the water, and was surprised that it worked. Also surprised that their stove worked as well! I pulled out a box of pasta from my comforter pack and put it in a pan full of water and let it boil. After the noodles were cooked, I drained the water and dumped it on a plate. As much as I'd kill for actual pasta sauce, seven ketchup packets would have to do. It actually wasn't that bad. When you don't eat much every day, you find that you really aren't all that picky. I'd kill for a beer, though. Hah, root beer. Had you going, didn't I?
So as I was eating my Noodles a la Heinz, I consulted my map again. There's an airport about two miles down I-81. Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport. That's going to be an interesting place to explore. I probably could have made it there today, but I haven't walked this much in a week, and my feet are absolutely killing me. I'm going to spend the night in this diner and then try to make for the airport tomorrow morning. I just HAVE to find something there!
Until tomorrow, if there is a tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)