Jeffrey McElyea's Zombie Compilation

by Jeffrey McElyea

  11:15 a.m.

  There are more zombies in the area than I thought. I destroyed ten. After finishing off the water from the toilet and scouting around outside, I saw more than thirty of those things come limping around the corner. Taking care of ten was scary enough. I freaked out again. The sound of hundreds of those things moaning wasn’t bad because I had earplugs in most of the time.

  Hearing thirty or so of them give the evil moan and groan finally made me realize how bad of a situation I am in. The full reality of this fearful pandemic has hit my nervous system like a truck.

  2:30 p.m.

  Still nothing from Roger. Tried contacting him. No reply. Speared through the heads of five more outside the right barricade before getting on the roof. I could see that his front door was open. I think he gave up and let them in or tried to run.

  3:45 p.m.

  Roger was one of them. Having to lure his undead body to the barricade and watch as he stared at and reached for me was so sad and terrifying. He was a good friend. Now, he’s dead. I can’t imagine how traumatic it would be for anyone who has had to put down a loved one. I wouldn’t be surprised if many didn’t have the heart to do it. Not sure if I’d be able to if I was put in that position.

  I’m glad I have lots of firecrackers. The noise attracts more of them, but it keeps me from having to walk outside the safety of my barricades. I’m going to search Roger’s trailer. He had ammunition, food and other supplies.

  9:42 a.m. December 13th

  I got stuck in Roger’s trailer for a while. I was under siege for two days. I had to shoot my way out. I know it attracted more of those monsters. Many are probably slowly limping their way towards my location. My little town had a population of barely over two thousand.

  I’ve killed six living people and too many monsters. Their numbers are endless. Every time I thought the zombies were going to stop coming in and it was safe to run out, more came in. The only way I could get out of there alive was to open the door, let them in and open fire on all that came inside.

  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remove the boards from the windows. I couldn’t get the nails out. If I had a crowbar, I could have just kept shooting one after another as they came to the window.

  After examining what I had to work with and mentally preparing myself, I shot as many as I could and ran for it. It was complicated and frightening. After shooting so many undead, the doorway was clogged with corpses. I remembered to reload and recollect myself before moving corpses out of the way and thinning out more of them. I don’t know how so many undead came into the area so quickly and quietly.

  There’s no way I’m going to head down the mountain via the main roads. I’m glad I’m nowhere near a major city. Staying in that trailer for a few days may have thinned their numbers, but two days gave the undead in my area time to cover some ground. I found four cases of MRE’s, a few hundred rounds for my assault rifle and a .357 magnum with eleven rounds. I’m surprised he didn’t have a military issue pistol. Roger didn’t leave a note or say goodbye. He had a bullet hole in his chest. The magnum was missing a round. I guess he didn’t want to shoot himself in the head.

  After searching trailers and finding the keys, I moved and parked Roger’s truck and a few other vehicles to add to my barricade. I’m strengthening my barriers more and more. I don’t know how many undead are going to come through here. Wish I had some concrete walls.

  12:35 p.m.

  I started working on the fence. Every few seconds, I’ll do a three hundred sixty degree turn to examine my surroundings. The fence of furniture will be five feet from the barricade of vehicles. Not all of the zombies moan. I’m not taking any unnecessary risks. I’m going to need more furniture or materials to finish the fence.

  Before all of this started, there was a construction site nearby. There should be a goldmine of building materials. Concrete blocks, 2x4’s and nails. Maybe I’ll check there. It’s cold as ice. It’s only a matter of time before it starts snowing. I can melt the snow for water. Only good thing about the cold.

  5:00 p.m.

  Freezing rain. I have to stay inside. I can’t afford to get sick. Not like I can go to a doctor. I hoarded a lot of antibiotics. I’d sometimes go to the doctor’s office and act like I’m sick to get antibiotics so I wouldn’t have to go there when I did get sick. Everybody loathes that. Glad I did it. One of the smartest moves I ever made. Medicine’s far more valuable than gold or diamonds now. I was going to finish the fence using materials from the unfinished house. The freezing rain had to ruin that plan.

  Before the rain came, I moved most of the materials here with a conveniently placed wheelbarrow. Thank you, construction workers! I’m going to keep adding to the barricades to box myself in, to prevent those monsters from getting too close. If I survive for long enough, I’ll have this entire trailer park blocked off.

  7:00 p.m.

  It’s snowing and extremely cold. I’m using every blanket I have that isn’t being used to block off unused areas of the trailer. I have to conserve heat. I’m not sure if the latrine or one of those dead walkers smells worse. Nope. I take that back. The dead smell much worse. I don’t smell so great, either. In fact, I smell kind of rotten. I’ve never smelled this bad.

  7:20 p.m.

  I taped off more sections with sheets. The more heat I conserve, the better chance I’ll have of not getting sick. I’m wearing three pairs of socks, two pairs of underwear, socks on my hands, gloves over the socks on my hands, boots, a pair of insulated track pants, jeans over the track pants, one undershirt, two long sleeve shirts, one down jacket, a scarf I made out of an undershirt, a hunting mask and two beanies. I look like an overly puffed up marshmallow. It’s harder to move around, but I don’t think I have to worry about running any time soon. I made some coffee and oatmeal with some bottled water atop the kerosene heater. Really wanted some hot food to help keep me warm. The canned stuff can wait.

  10:00 p.m.

  Has to be colder than twenty degrees. I don’t have enough kerosene to do this throughout the winter season. I’ll eventually have to build fires to keep warm.

  11:00 a.m. December 14th

  It’s too cold to work on the structural defenses. All I can do is take care of the occasional straggler. Trying my best to stay warm. Not too hard to do with the kerosene heater going and keeping the bedroom door shut. At some point, I’m going to have to use an alternative source of heat. Wood is the only other option I can think of.

  Not sure how I’ll be able to have a fire going in my bedroom without inhaling too much smoke or setting my home on fire. I guess I’ll just have to cut a few holes in the trailer, hope I don’t inhale too much of the smoke and try not to freeze to death.

  3:00 p.m.

  I cut up the carpet from the bedroom floor. Call me stupid, but I carved a hole in the floor and cut a few small holes in the bedroom ceiling for ventilation. I can see the ground below the trailer now. I’ll be able to build fires down there. I’ll have to block off much more to prevent heat from escaping. This will work.

  The area below the trailer can serve as a panic room. From down there, I’m sure I could somehow crawl outside of the trailer if I needed to. Going to start putting a lot of my inventory down there. Still snowing outside. Until I finish this project, I’m going to keep the kerosene heater going.

  8:00 p.m.

  Had to block off more than I thought to keep the place insulated. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it before. When I’m beneath the trailer, the only bit of protection I have are thin pieces of metal. I have a lot of spare insulation to block off the air pockets. Smells down there. Never should have relieved myself in the hole so many times but it was cold and I was scared. If any living person were to try to get in from beneath, I’d be in trouble.

  I cut up the carpet from the bedrooms and used them to further insulate the area beneath the trailer. I built the fireplace using decorative rocks from the Hineon family’s lot. I have everything I need
down there now. I made a comfortable spot down there with the mattress, pillows and blankets. I’ll feel safer sleeping down there.

  9:17 a.m. December 15th

  Someone knocked on my window around eight o’ clock this morning. She looked terrified. At first, I thought was she was infected. I then thought she was going to attempt to trick me into letting my guard down or lead me into a trap.

  Before the woman arrived, I thought of what I’d do in a situation like that. At the very least, she probably attracted zombies to my location. She was fully clothed and looked healthy. She had to have come from a group. They either sent her here or she got cut off on her way home and sought out help. Pretty sure she was sent here.

  As crazy as it sounds, I made her strip before letting her past the porch door. I’m not about to risk letting someone who is armed or infected in here. I kept her at gunpoint until she handed me all of her possessions. Very carefully and with gloves on, I examined her body and searched her belongings for anything out of the ordinary. Just a knife.

  I let her put her clothes back on and allowed her inside. I maintained all precautions. I blindfolded her and ordered her to not make any sudden movements. I also told her I wouldn’t hurt or kill her as long as I didn’t think she was a bad person. I’m just trying to survive. I shut her into the bathroom with me. Though she tried to hide the fear, she was frightened by the shotgun barrel in her face.

  I removed her blindfold when we got inside the bathroom.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Sarah.”

  “Last name?”

  “Does that really matter?”

  “Where did you come from?”

  “Somewhere.”

  “I’m not going to stop pointing the barrel of this gun at your face until I find out your intentions and other information.”

  “Hurry up and ask then. I’m freezing my ass off.”

  “Hold out your hands and keep them as still as you can.”

  “Kinda hard to keep em’ still when I’m freezing to death.”

  “Freezing or not, I’ll be able to figure something out. Do it.”

  She did as I ordered. No unordinary shaking or twitching for reasons other than the cold. I couldn’t tell if her eyes showed maliciousness. As far as I could tell, she wasn’t mentally unstable. So, no cannibalism or psychotic tendencies. But, that didn’t mean the people who may have sent her here aren’t.

  “Good,” I said. “You’re not one of them.”

  “One of what?”

  “Who sent you here?”

  “I’m by myself.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I noticed on the spot that you’re healthy and not starving. You don’t look worse for wear. Not hard to figure out you’re holed up somewhere not far from here.”

  “How do I know you’re not some freak? I don’t know you.”

  “If I was some freak, I’d have already done something crazy.”

  “Okay, so what’s your deal?”

  “I’m the one asking questions. You’re the one who showed up on my doorstep.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Cut the bullshit. I know you came from a group. You came here for a reason. Whenever you’re ready to tell me what I want to know, I’ll let you out of this freezing cold bathroom.”

  “Wait… ok.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I came from a group.”

  “You’re telling me something I already know. I just wondered if you were going to continue to lie. What I’m trying to figure out is if I can trust you or your group. So far, I’m thinking not because you lied to me.”

  “How do we know if we can trust you?”

  “Well, I haven’t hurt you. I gave you a chance.”

  “True.”

  “For all I know, your people intend to kill me. Like it or not, it’s your job to convince me that your people are good people.”

  “I’m pretty sure words alone aren’t going to convince you.”

  “You’re right. Words are all you have, though.”

  “What are you writing in that book? Are you writing down the conversation we’re having?”

  “Yes,” I said as I sat on the toilet seat, legs crossed and loaded shotgun in one hand.

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to.”

  “You’re weird.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twenty.”

  “What did you do before this happened?”

  “I was a student.”

  “From around here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which college?”

  “The community college a few miles from the city.”

  “Same here. What was your major?”

  “Nursing. If I did well, I was going to try to climb the ladder and get into pediatric medicine. What was your major?”

  “Criminal Justice.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I was just one class away from graduating. Then the world ended. Thanks for pausing to give me time to write this down. I wouldn’t have been able to remember the words exchanged between us.”

  “You’re welcome. Everyone has their own way of coping.”

  “How do you cope?”

  “I like to think I can have a fresh start if the infection is destroyed or cured.”

  “You had problems?”

  “Didn’t we all before this?”

  “Yes. What kind of problems did you have?”

  “Abusive boyfriend, no money and so on.”

  “Where did you come from? Where is your group?”

  “They’re not far from here. They’re holed up in the grocery store down the street and around the corner.”

  “How many people are in your group?”

  “Nine, I think.”

  “Describe them.”

  “Five men, three women, one kid.”

  “They didn’t want you to tell me this. I can tell.”

  “We’re looking for a safer place to stay. We can’t survive without shelter. The grocery store isn’t safe. People are always going there to look for food and cause problems. We’ve already had fourteen deaths.”

  “Describe the members of your group. Don’t leave out any details.”

  “There’s an old married couple, a guy with his girlfriend, three rednecks and my little sister and I.”

  “Why did they send you?”

  “I look like less of a threat and was the only one willing to go look for help. I was scared but had to try for my little sister. We have lots of water but no food. The grocery store was already looted when we got there. Can my group come here or not?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  “No, you go.”

  “What?”

  “Go to your people. Tell them I said if they have good intentions, they are more than welcome to come here. I’m not going to leave this place. For all I know, your people are right outside and ready to shoot me as soon as I walk out. You could be leading me into a trap. If everything you said to me is true, you’ll leave and come back with the rest of them. I’ll be able to spot you all from a good distance away. If you and your people don’t plan on killing me and taking what I have, you and your people won’t have anything to fear from me.”

  “How do you think I’m going to make it back through the cold and zombies along the way?”

  “How many of them are there?”

  “There’s always one or two here and there. Can I get a gun or something? And some warm clothes?”

  “Yeah. Stay right here. Don’t leave this room before I come back. If you do, I’m going to assume you’re a horrible person and trying to kill me. Just being safe and watching my ass.”

  11:36 a.m.

  Before I let her go, I gave her some warmer clothing to put over what she had on. I gave back the knife I found on her, the fully loaded magnum and Roger’s other radio. She left about fif
teen minutes ago. She doesn’t know what supplies I have but knows I’m alone and have enough to spare a firearm.

  I’m just waiting on the result from letting her live. Told her to get her people to bring as many vehicles they could and keep the keys if they got stuck in the snow. If any of the vehicles get stuck, we’ll be able to retrieve them after the snow melts.

  As long as they don’t try to kill me, they’ll live in the trailers surrounding my two. I’ve decided to stand atop my trailer and wait. I’m ready to kill them if I have to. If all goes well, all I’ll be worried about with them is more mistakes and a power struggle. If I’m killed and this journal is found, I was killed by them. I’ll write again if and when I can.

  1:52 p.m. December 20th

  She was telling the truth. So far, everything has worked out. The only concerns I have are them wanting my supplies and whether or not I can trust them as much as Sarah does. We did establish some rules via radio before they made it here.

  Rule number 1- No one is allowed in either of my trailers for any reason. Entering my trailers or going past my inner barricades will be seen as a declaration of war.

  Rule number 2- If we need to make a decision as a group, we will vote on it.

  Rule number 3- Everyone must do what they can to contribute. I contribute by allowing them to live in the trailers surrounding mine.

  Rule number 4- Unless I say otherwise, my supplies are off limits.

  I had each individual agree to my rules before they got here. Only five of the nine vehicles made it here. The others got stuck in the snow. I let Sarah and her little sister live in Cathy’s trailer. Chris and Rachel live with the rednecks in the trailer left of Cathy’s. Boris and Lucy didn’t like the idea of being alone. They stayed with Sarah and Carrie. I can’t say I blame them.

  We’ve settled in. There’s a small gap between the barricades. A vehicle fills the gap at all times. We used concrete blocks and five vehicles to guard the least fortified areas. We have a little community. It was a lot of hard work.

  As we worked, we all got to know each other a little better. I never turned my back to any of them. Can you blame me? Hell no. As another gesture of good intent, I gave a bit of food to everyone.