The Dead Lands Diary (Book 1)

by Staggs, S. David

  And aside from that?

  Aside from that, it's still fuckin' creepy. But I won't deny it has it's charms. Such a huge contrast to the city. Hearing buses and assholes yellin'. Course, when the power went off, that stopped. So I was already getting used to that...but I will say the night out here is relaxing. I've never much seen these lightning bugs. The stars are a nice distraction...until you hear some freaky shit that snaps yo ass back to the fucked up reality we livin' in.

  I guess after awhile even that shit will become common place.

  I donno if I could ever get used to those fuckin' Calls. Chills your blood. Sends the shivers.

  Can't deny that.

  Jim and Kelly seem to be adjusting nicely out here, though. Haven't heard any complaints.

  I think both of them at one time or another were from country areas...as kids, I think. I can't remember. I thought Jim said at one time he lived in Middlefield for awhile as a teen.

  Where's that?

  Not far from here, actually. Twenty minutes give or take outside of G-Ville. Amish country.

  Shit, they were already used to living without electricity. Guess they didn't have to adjust as much as us.

  Yeah...but the disadvantage is that they never witnessed all we did at the start. They didn't have news reports. They wouldn't have known until it hit their areas. When the dead were at their doors.

  Didn't even think of that. That'd be much worse, shit. Least we had a slight warning system. Tell me more about G-Ville. I wanna try and visualize it before we go. Know what to expect.

  Well....like I said before, it's a pretty small town. Not as small as Mantua, which I hope turns out to be useful to us....Mantua could prove really useful.

  How so?

  Just the small size. Supplies, less infected. It was full of friendly people...we could possibly even find some others to join up with us.

  Safety in numbers and all.

  Exactly.

  So G-Ville....getting off topic here.

  Right....well, outside of the busy area there is a little plaza. Sky Plaza. There we got...let's see...Sky Lanes Bowling. Spent many summer days there. Great place.

  Never been bowling.

  Really? It's fun. There's a laundromat. Can't see what supplies we would find there. There's a grocery store and a little discount store. A doctors and dentist office.

  Hate going to see a dentist.

  You head into town, you find a lot more...there's the old Mill on the river. Has one of those giant wooden wheels you see going through the water....Water wheels! Thing was built...way back in the day. 1800's. It's a restaurant now...has been awhile. Main Street Grille and Brewing Company. It's a great place...was...before the world fell. Wish I could sit there again and eat.

  I'm gonna miss the hell out of food places. Miss it a lot when we get to slim pickings.

  Yeah....one more thing I don't want to think about. Oh, we have the cinema. Me and Tim were there a lot as kids. It's a quaint little cinema. It was perfect for us. Lots of memories there...was perfect for my Uncle too....got us out of his hair for a couple hours.

  You're starting to depress me. We ain't ever gonna sit at a restaurant and eat again. Never gonna watch movies on big ass screens. I never used a laundromat but now I sure as fuck ain't gonna have an option to. Same with bowling. Fuck!

  Well, I guess technically we could cook stuff inside a restaurant and eat there....have some lantern lit bowling [light laugh]

  Mhmmmm. Guy's got fuckin' jokes, now.

  Hey, you're the one that asked for this virtual mental tour of town.

  As you were...

  A library. Nothing useful to us there. Spent time there a lot, too.

  You a reader?

  Used to be. Oh, and the Roller Hutt!

  What now?

  A skating rink....shit, Tim and me were there almost daily during the summer. Even as teenagers. That was always the place to be.

  I never been skating.

  You ever done anything?

  I'll let you know when you mention something. Skating always scared me...wheels on shoes...ain't natural, I tell ya. Why I wanna go fall and bust my ass for? Just doesn't sound fun to me.

  [laugh] It's fun once you actually learn how to do it. Falling sucks but that's part of the process. Maybe some lantern lit skating lessons sometime, too.

  Fuck off.

  Like I was saying...great place. Great owners. Family ran. Beside the place is the Fortress of Fear.

  Say what, now?

  It's a haunted attraction. Best one around here during the Halloween season. Actually, it was rated one of the best in the state. I'd have to agree. They even had this maze...with a slow strobe...place was well done.

  Never been to a haunted house. Why I wanna pay money just to shit myself? I just don't get it. And before you even say it, I ain't takin' a motherfuckin' lantern tour!

  [laugh] you've missed out on a lot of shit.

  Yeah.

  [audible Dead Call in distance]

  Fuck...

  There's a couple bars. Chinese restaurant. Off hand, that's about all I can think of.

  Well....should be an interesting, horrible day tomorrow. What time you thinkin'?

  After we get a decent amount of sleep. I'd say around 1:00 or 2:00 we'll go. I'm dreading the hell out of it.

  Guess that's to be expected. Like you said, try not to think and dwell on it.

  I'm more worried about Tim. If we find Ken shot and killed, he'll be crushed. If we find him torn apart, that'll be worse. If we find him infected and have to put him down....that'll be the absolute worst. If we don't find him at all...he'll always wonder...never knowing. Fuck, that's actually the worst.

  Yeah....yeah, it is.

  End of Recording.

  The night went on slowly. Time seemed stopped. As we talked on to keep ourselves distracted I still, on that night, never mentioned anything Reggie had actually done.

  When the east began to show it's light, we crawled back in through the window to wake Jim and Kelly. I left Tim to sleep as long as he could.

  ***

  I had woken around noonish and startled; unware of where I was at first. I was so used to waking up in Akron and seeing the same setting each day.

  Reggie was sitting at the kitchen counter with a cup of instant coffee he heated over a three wick candle. He smiled wearily. When I asked about Tim, he said he was still passed out. That was good. He'd been so deprived that I'm just glad no serious incident took place before we had gotten here. He'd have been in no shape, mentally or physically, to deal with a lot.

  Though I didn't want to have a late start, I allowed Tim to sleep until 2:30. Part of it was my own dread and I know that now, looking back. My gut had churned ever since I had gotten off the couch. I didn't even want any of Reggie's coffee....not even a cigarette. Which says something. I did light one up standing in the yard as we prepared to leave. I was down to four. Maybe I'd see a pack while we were out. Depending on what we discovered, I'd need them.

  We took the SUV. Tim sat in the back. Nervous and quiet, picking at his nails. Something he's always done since we were kids.

  As I had backed up into the yard to turn around, Jim had called out a "be careful." Kelly had offered a light wave of her hand, looking scared. Which made sense....what if we as well never returned? They'd be on their own. They didn't like this anymore than the rest of us.

  Under other circumstances I would suggest we never split up. But the house needed watched...and we weren't going that far. We'd be back well before sundown. Long before. The sky also had looked like trouble as we left. Darkening clouds on the horizon and 80 some degrees. The luxuries we took for granted....like weather forecasts. Weather now is more dangerous than it ever was....a storm could make a surprise at the worst of times. As one did on that day.

  We skirted around back roads, making sure most or all were clear in case we had to make split decision turns in a panic. The roads were clear from all angles around G
-Ville. We came the way of the high school. Slowly we drove toward town.

  I pointed out the Roller Hutt and Fortress of Fear to Reggie as we crept past. It wasn't as he imagined it. Things seldom are, I suppose. We became more alert as we approached the once busy section of town. I didn't need to point out the old mill as we got near...Reggie seemed intrigued by it.

  We stopped in the road adjacent to the mill. I put the vehicle in park and turned off the engine. I thought it was smart to just stop and watch from here. Look for any sign of activity...any movements, be it dead or alive. On the sidewalk to the left, a way down from the mill, where the hill started, lay a body. A middle aged looking woman from this distance. Blue jeans and a white tank top that was saturated with blood.

  She was face down on the cement; wind blowing her bloody blonde hair gently. Her head was clearly cracked partially open. Her right arm outstretched beside her was a horror to see. The flesh and muscle from her forearm were gone...just bloody bone remained, eaten away by infected. She was also missing a tennis shoe. Why I recall that I have no idea.

  Reggie stared at her a good few moments....I never asked his thoughts. I glanced in the rear view mirror at Tim. He was looking out the window to the right. I couldn't tell if he was lost in thought or simply monitoring the streets for any sign of life.

  The stores we walked past during so many summers were trashed. Shells of what they had once been in a fine community. Windows busted and shattered. Clothing items hanging from one stores glass shard framed window. Everywhere, people had looted for material things. How many of them didn't bother with food or water? How many were actually still alive?

  The view was more depressing than I could have imagined...and more of that was to come later in other places around the county.

  I squinted when I saw a figure. Someone was down the hill at the intersection...soon I realized it was a Roamer. Just one that I could see. I pointed it out to the others. Tim stared uncaring. Reggie squirmed slightly in his seat.

  Just one. Of course there were more....but so far there had been no large groupings.

  At first I hadn't the slightest clue where to even look. Where would he have gone? He ventured here a week ago. At that time the number of infected would have been much greater than what we were seeing. I know him....as does Tim, of course. We both agreed he wouldn't have went down that hill into town. Not alone, anyhow.

  We decided to back up and take a slight right, followed by another, in the opposite direction toward Sky Plaza. The plaza was a little ways from town and was never as populated as downtown.

  He may have checked the grocery store on the far end or more likely the smaller discount store next to it, for safety reasons. Of course, he would also had made his way to the other end of the plaza to the little doctors office next to Sky Lanes.

  We surmised the likelihood that he would have checked the smallest location first, so we moved slowly across the mostly vacant lot looking for his truck anywhere.

  It had been nowhere on the hill, that was certain...and we weren't going to go into town unless it was absolutely necessary to look there. Hell, someone could have stolen his damned truck for all we fuckin' knew. Then we saw it. It sat atop a small hill where a second parking was for Sky Lanes. We parked in front of the hill. A staircase on the left of us outside led up to the doors for both the doctors office and Sky Lanes.

  Tim was pale and sickly looking. No one ever told me, but I feel I looked very much the same.

  Before opening our doors we looked around quietly for a few moments. No hordes. No Bolter packs. I stepped out and checked my pistol. Safety off...but I'd only use it if I had no other choice. If I fired a round we'd have to make it back to the SUV as fast as we could move ourselves. A Roamer horde would take more time to reach us....but a pack or more of Bolters nearby would arrive within minutes, maybe seconds, if close enough.

  I reached for the middle console and retrieved Stan's crowbar I had placed there. At least the son of a bitch had been good for at least one thing. I tucked it into my belt.

  Reggie held an ash baseball bat, but also had a 1911 .45 on his hip.

  Tim carried a machete...a .38 snubnose in a holster on the back of his belt.

  We looked at each other solemnly and made our way silently up the cement stairs. At the top, to the left, was the glass door to the doctors office. The glass was shattered. It may have, and most likely was, shattered by looters weeks ago. However, there was the off chance Ken had smashed it. Maybe attracted some infected while doing so.

  Had that been the case, he could have barricaded inside a room...whether at the dentist office directly upon entering, or the doctors office steps away in a waiting room.

  But how long could one hide in here? Flimsy wooden doors on multiple rooms down two different hallways. Enough Roamers against one of these doors....or any door, for that matter, would eventually give. Against a Bolter pack....even sooner.

  Had infected been alerted, he could have shot over to Sky Lanes. He'd have known there were much better, and more places, to hide within there. Once he heard a Dead Call, he'd have to make a split second choice....offices or bowling lane.

  Considering his truck was here, this is where something went down. He wouldn't have walked across the large parking lot to the discount store. He wouldn't even had ran that direction if chased. That would have been sheer suicide. If he had needed to get away from the offices and lane, had infected come from that direction, there were closer places to run to. Down the stairs and down the sidewalk on the left led to a restaurant. Too many hypotheticals to consider....one thing at a time.

  The smallest to check were the offices, so that was where we began. It took us several minutes of whispered conversation to climb through the glass. Discussing where to run should shit hit the fan once inside. Finally....we just shook off the fear to the best of our ability and made our way slowly through the shattered glass, careful not to slice ourselves. Bolters could smell blood. Smell anything....witnessed them sniffing the air enough times to know. We stood up inside, our eyes slowing adjusting to the darkness.

  Outside, a distant thunder rolled.

  ***

  You come across things in this new world that can only make you wonder what happened. What was the story? For instance...the doctors office will make a good example.

  Quietly, after our eyes slowly adjusted, we looked around with tense nerves and full alertness. I took a small light, we all did, from our pockets...I clutched the crowbar firmly in my hand. There was a large crack in the front desk window. Shining the light inside I saw a glimpse of my face...seeing my reflection so alarmed frightened me a little bit more than I already was.

  The room beyond the glass was empty. Papers strewn about. I led the way into the hallway left of the windows and made my way back slowly, Reggie in tow, Tim taking up our rear.

  The room to the left was empty. Dental chair feeling even more ominous now in the flashlight litten dark. Dust was starting to collect on everything. Everywhere we went was the smell of dust. And much worse on many occasions.

  The next room was also clear...the whole dental area was clear. We backed quietly into the main office area and into the waiting room. The front desk window of the doctors was intact. Smudgy and dusty. The door leading to the hall of patient rooms. There was a low groan from behind the door that stopped us dead in our track. My breath caught and my heart raced. I turned and looked at Reggie and Tim....I imagine I looked as they had; terrified more than any of us probably ever had been. At least since Anne and Rebecca. Going into Stan's had been bad...but this...this was much worse.

  I gestured to the door. Reggie, as done before, pursed his lips. Tim just lightly nodded.

  I raised my crowbar and reached out to the door, ever so silently, trying to keep a good distance between me and the soon to be open hallway.

  I turned the knob....horrified at the thought it may squeak. It didn't...nor did the door creak.

  Midway down the hall was an infe
cted. It was laying on the floor, it's face pushed against the long hall rug. It's eyes were closed as far as I could tell. It wasn't alerted to our presence. No Dead Call. This one would most certainly had yelled one. Bolters almost never did. Roamers fifty-fifty. Shamblers, nine times out of ten. But Stagnants....always. He wasn't decayed from lack of food...it'd only been a bit over a month. No, his legs were broken. I could see in the low light his shins were snapped. One of his arms were as well. His left one....he couldn't even pull himself anywhere. Not that it would have mattered with the hall door closed.

  He wore a light blue dress shirt. It had many darkened stains around one shoulder. He had slight stubble on his face. His hair a dirty blond, once surely nicely styled, now disheveled and wild.