I was hoping it would have been a long, long time since I'd have a nightmare again, especially since Rhinelander feels so safe, but I ended up having one last night. I was under some kind of anesthetic, but it began to wear off and when I came to, I was lying on an operating table. Saint Anthony was bent over me, cutting something out of me. I don't know if it was a kidney or a liver or some other vital organ. I didn't feel any pain, but I felt the pressure of the surgical tools holding my skin apart. I don't remember seeing any kind of equipment next to the table. Just him and his tools. He carefully put whatever he took out of me into a blue case, kind of like those Igloo ice chests. Then, he got up, peeled off his gloves, and grabbed the case telling me, "Rhinelander thanks you for your donation," and walked out of the room.
At least I'm waking up from nightmares not screaming anymore. I don't know what to make of that, but it's clear that my subconscious doesn't trust something about this town, and today hasn't made it any easier. Calista McCoy and her four year old daughter Chloe were exiled from Rhinelander tonight. I was taking a jog around the perimeter enjoying the cold night air when I saw Theresa and a deputy escorting them out. Of course, when I asked, I was politely told that it wasn't my concern; it was police business. I started arguing with her, saying she's feeding them to the wolves out there, that's it not safe. I objected saying she couldn't do that, but Theresa put a hand on her gun and ordered to me to stand down. I just held up my hands and kept jogging.
When I talked to Kat about it, though, she had a look of worry on her face. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me that Chloe exhibited flu-like symptoms in daycare this afternoon. She told Margaret and she called Chloe's mother Calista, but Kat also noticed her calling someone else. She didn't know who. I began to become concerned as well. The first thing that jumped in my mind was that Chloe somehow came down with vivensmortua, but that couldn't be it. Everyone in this town was cured. Could it be that they simply don't want anyone even having the flu to make anyone else sick? Kat also brought up the point that we don't know Calista at all. She may have done something terrible to people here in the past, and it was just a coincidence her child getting sick on the same day Calista's past caught up to her and they were thrown out. I don't know... this really bothers me
Thaddeus came through and got me an electrician to help fix the transformer at the station and after a couple of hours, we got the station online. I was ordered by Thaddeus to keep broadcasting down to a two hour minimum, because transmitting was sucking up a lot of power. That was fine by me. The good news is that I actually DJ'd today. The bad news is that not very many people own radios. After the last radio station went off the air many months ago, most people didn't bother hanging on to them. When word got around that Rhinelander has a radio station again, people began going to their neighbors, or to restaurants and other places of business that had radios to hear my broadcast. I didn't really know what the people of Rhinelander liked to listen too, so I told them as I was playing to call in (oh yeah, we have phones, but can't dial out of town) and request. I started playing some 80's rock, some 90's hip hop, even some classic music like Mozart and Chopin. A few people called in and their requests were pretty varied. They wanted to hear everything from country to metal and even some... ugh... Nikki Minaj. I was so happy to hear the news when she got eaten last year. I've missed DJing so much. I just love playing music for people.
We spent a bit of time at our neighbor's house, Charles and Glenda Tabernacky. They actually grilled us steaks and I simply couldn't believe it. I asked where on earth did they get the meat, and they said they trade with a settlement that farms cattle. They get batteries and we get meat. They keep the steaks in the freezer and only pull them out for special occasions, like today. That made Kat and me feel special. I really appreciate neighborly gestures like that. After dinner, we played a couple of board games, including Boggle, which I'm relentless at.
We talked about what they did for a living. Glenda's in charge of the town's finance and Charles works on upkeeping the solar panels, does trash collection and helps run the water filtration plant. I wanted to talk to them about what they thought of Thaddeus and Saint Anthony, but I thought better to open a can of worms. I did talk to them about how I wanted to use a car and go down to Terre Haute and get our friends, but they mentioned what Thaddeus had already told us, that we're not allowed to leave. I don't care how nice of a town Rhinelander is; if I can't leave when I want to, it feels like a prison. They did mention that they have an electric car that I could use, but I'd have no way of taking it out of town. Every gate along the wall is guarded, and they'd never let me out without Thaddeus's approval. I'm going to need to think on that.
The town has a mascot as well, whom I was very fortunate to be able to pet. Corey the Cougar was found by Sarah Ferdinand, who arrived to Rhinelander near the beginning of the year. The poor thing was orphaned when hunters killed his mother in the forest. Corey's about a year and a half now, with a beautiful tan and brown coat, and his friendly personality belies his predatory nature. I'm such a cat person, and Corey sensed it, coming to me and brushing all over me purring loud as loud could be. I've never seen a cougar outside of a zoo and to have a cougar rubbing against like any old domestic cat was a uniquely awesome experience. I was even told that Corey has killed his fair share of zombies. I asked how zombies managed to get past the wall, and then they went silent, until someone mentioned that sometimes they would sneak past the gate as it was opening to let someone in. That's another red flag. Someone's hiding something.
Kat wants to take me to the indoor pool that's in their recreation center tomorrow. She's insistent on teaching me how to swim. I have to be honest, after almost drowning in the Illinois River, I'm not looking forward to getting in the water again, but I realize that this is something I simply have to do. Plus, Kat says she's really excited about wanting to teach me something as most of the time, I was always teaching her. She even went into the bathroom to change and came out wearing a skimpy two-piece bikini that she got from the clothing store today. I stammered asking if that's what she was wearing tomorrow, and she nodded, putting a finger down the front of her bikini bottom as she walked towards me, nudging me backwards to the bed. I fell backward on it with Kat climbing on top of me where she proceeded to give me my first lesson of CPR, among other things.
But I can't let myself get intoxicated by this town. I have to keep focused here. Our friends, Hector Temperance and Wallace, need to be moved up here. Even with occasional shady things happening here, it's a hell of a lot safer than back there, especially with winter rolling in. I also need to try to figure out just what went on with Calista and Chloe. I don't know how I can go about doing that. I can't trust Teresa; she was ready to shoot me. Saint Anthony ordered guards to shoot me if I left my tent that first night I arrived. Thaddeus won't let me leave. I don't know who I can trust here. All I know is I'm stuck behind a wall that keeps deadly creatures I know how to deal with out by people I don't know at all. I'm not sure which is the better trade off, honestly.
Until tomorrow.
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