ME: Worked out well, that’s for sure. Good thing they found us cause we sure as hell weren’t able to find this place.
REGGIE: The middle school. Horrible.
ME: Half the houses we had to search. Also horrible.
REGGIE: Especially the woman who locked her infected kid in the basement.
ME: Won’t ever forget that either. Or most of the others.
REGGIE: When they found us, man…I was fuckin’ scared as fuck. I thought, did we survive all that, the Bolter horde and the winter and all of it, to get taken out by some assholes in a truck?
ME: Can’t lie, I had the same thoughts. I was ready to just start shooting and say hell with questions. But then I relaxed when I started thinking rationally. They weren’t hauling ass toward us and just pulling into the drive casually. It was obvious they weren’t there for a fight. They saw we were armed as they approached obviously. We were aiming right at them. They were just as nervous as us.
REGGIE: Such a relief. Glad they came back for us. Especially for Kelly’s sake…she needed it.
ME: She did.
REGGIE: It all ended well. Shit was great until the threat from the Head Hunters.
ME: When we first got a far away glimpse of them I had hoped it’d be the last.
REGGIE: So wrong we were.
ME: More stakeouts…and this time for the living.
REGGIE: One stakeout that got me fuckin’ shot!
ME: Here we go…
REGGIE: You’re fuckin’ right. That shit hurt, Jack!
ME: I know.
REGGIE: No, you don’t know. You know how I know you don’t know? Let me see…oh, yeah! You ain’t never been fuckin’ shot!
ME: I’m sorry [laughs]. It wasn’t my fault!
REGGIE: Laugh it up motha fucka. I got a scar and shit…I should shoot you so we’re even. People probably thank me since you’re all up in their shit like a tabloid asshole.
ME: They like it!
REGGIE: I’m sure some told you to fuck off at some point.
ME: Only a couple. And they didn’t word it like that. They politely declined which is understandable.
REGGIE: No shit.
ME: I’m surprised at how many actually did speak to me.
REGGIE: Me too. Cause you suck ass.
ME: We’ve come far. We’ve done well.
REGGIE: Better than I ever imagined we would…that’s for damn sure.
ME: So…want to go find someone to take next shift? Or you wanna talk till dawn for old times sake?
REGGIE: Talk till dawn, brother. Just like old times.
ME: Sounds good to me…
**
Yeah…we came far. The odds were stacked against us from the start; mostly from having no clue what we were doing or what was going on. We made a thousand mistakes that could have turned fatal…and some would have had we not thought ahead on things. Like the safety outposts for example. We began a journey with only four of us, that turned to five and then six. And then dozens.
Tragedy and loss brought many of us together. Others, the bonds of family. We all have different stories and took many paths to get here…
Together we will carry on. We will continue to endure and grow and thrive and survive. We never gave up.
We never will…
The Dead Lands Diary [Vol. III] Page 12
