by TW Brown
Creepy.
Saturday, September 27
We’ll wait a bit longer before leaving. A series of fairly large explosions shook the place today. They were easily within a mile of where we are. Two big, black clouds are rolling sky-wards just to the west of us.
We have been watching for an hour now as hundreds of the zombies on the outer edge that surrounds us are peeling off, wandering in the general direction of the explosions.
Now that we are actually here, we have to decide what we want. We can see a hospital. It looks pretty tore up, but it’s close and we have a seemingly clear path to retreat back.
The plan is for us to try just as first light hits in the morning. Snoe, Caren, Tara, and I will make the run in the Bradley. We will have Brittany, Jenifer, and Dominique load into the RV, move it back so we can drive out, then seal the entry again. They have been told that under no circumstances are they to climb out and engage however many zombies may gain access while letting us out.
Right now, Snoe is swapping out all the batteries in each radio. We have a diesel generator that we are using for power. It is a bit noisy, but doesn’t seem to be drawing any more attention than we already have. I’m actually a bit excited and anxious for tomorrow.
Sunday, September 28
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised how insane the world is. I am on the roof of a four-story office building with Jenifer and Dominique. About a block away I can see the rear of the Bradley jutting out of what is left of a small, one-story cottage-style residence.
I’ve heard bursts of gunfire from that direction off and on for about three hours. About ten minutes ago, I heard a muffled single shot. The smoldering remains of the RV is half in and half out of that warehouse lot. I’m positive that I saw what was left of Brittany crawl out from under a rusted Pontiac Firebird. I swear if I had a gun, or my crossbow, I would have put her down.
A light rain is falling, and tonight promises to be cold. Somehow we have to find a way off this roof, but first…here’s what happened.
As planned, Snoe, Caren, Tara, and I loaded up on gear and after reminding Brittany, Jenifer, and Dominique to stay put in the RV unless a major emergency demanded: such as living raider-types, or we called for help on the radio and gave the codeword “Irony” (which would mean we weren’t taken prisoner and being forced to lure them out into a trap), we loaded into the Bradley and went after our first target: The Hospital.
We were turning onto the street that would take us to Gresham Trinity Hospital when a young boy no older than Jenifer darted out into the street right in front of us. The boy was screaming and waving his arms when bullet holes just seemed to appear all over his body.
Snoe swerved to avoid hitting him and careened off an unidentifiable convertible that had burned and sat on the rims. The Bradley blew through a wooden fence and into the front picture window dominated wall of a small house. Somehow we ended up cocked at a bad angle and couldn’t back up and out. With hundreds of those things closing in, and the ‘plink-plink’ of bullets glancing off the Bradley, we had no choice but to bail.
I’m positive somebody has been watching us since we arrived. Perhaps they wanted the Bradley. Or, maybe they wanted us. But when we climbed out, we had to scatter. This was far worse than The Dalles. There were hundreds of zombies, but it was the barrage of gunfire that was a bigger concern.
Snoe yelled for everybody to run for the hospital. That seemed the safest direction lacking both heavy zombie density and no gunfire coming from that way. I dodged between some hedges and burst out into an empty yard. I caught a flash above and to my right and felt a sting of pain on my neck from where the bullet struck a tree beside me, spraying bark and wood splinters. With no time to think, I grabbed one of the five grenades from my belt pouch, pulled the pin, tossed it and took off. I flipped up and over a fence and dove between two cars as the explosion sounded. Not waiting to look if I’d even hit my target, I scrambled up and ran.
To the left I saw Caren in a hand-to-hand fight with a mob of undead. Brittany had already tossed the rules out and her voice was frantic on the radio, asking us what was going on. About that time, Caren vanished under the mob and I heard “the scream”, Snoe is on the radio yelling at Brittany to shut-up and I’m dodging bullets and zombies.
Halfway across the parking lot, several windows in the upper levels of the hospital erupt with more gunfire. Obviously our target is occupied.
Veering away, I start warning everybody. I had two choices: a non-descript, four-story, brick office building, or try to fight my way back to the warehouse. The office building was closer.
Next thing I know, Snoe was telling Brittany to come get us. I tried to warn her off. All the gunfire would chew up the RV. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a word in.
Of course the RV got shot up trying to pull out. With no tires, it wasn’t moving. Before I could say or do anything, I heard Brittany yelling on the radio that she’s running for us. By the time I could finally talk, there was nothing. Nobody was responding.
I reached the building, but of course it was locked. With a couple hundred of those damn things right on my heels, I did the only thing I could. I shot out the nearest window and dove through. The only good fortune I had was that the building was empty. A few minutes later, I climbed up a hatch, and hauled myself onto the roof.
From my vantage point I spotted Jenifer and Dominique running through a series of backyards, climbing or jumping fences as they came to them.
That was when the big explosion came. My best guess is that something caught fire in the RV. That’s where all the grenades were.
It took some doing since neither of them had a radio, but I got the girls’ attention. They had to come from the back side of the building, but managed to break in. I climbed down and met them on the second floor. With my last rounds, I shot our way back up the stairs in a building now swarming with zombies and got us back onto the roof where we currently sit.
I have four grenades and a bottle of water. We are huddled together as night grows colder and darker. I have no idea where we’ll go from here, or how we’ll get down.
Monday, September 29
The crowd below is thinning. I’ve seen some movement in the area, mostly around the hospital. Whoever was shooting at us is currently making runs to the warehouse we initially stayed at. Not that they’ll find much. Most of our useable, scavenge- able stuff was in the RV which is now nothing more than scattered chunks of charred debris.
I’m pretty sure I saw flashlights over by where the Bradley crashed last night. Again, they won’t find much of use there.
I did give some thought to these survivors’ mindset last night while I was shivering and failing at all attempts to sleep. We rolled into town in a reinforced RV with machinegun turrets, a gas tanker, and a Bradley. They probably saw us as invaders. When we bee-lined for what looks to be their hospital sanctuary, perhaps they acted solely on perceived self-defense.
Anyways, we are staying out of sight as best we can. Periodically I check the crowd below. They are steadily being drawn away by the survivors in the area who are picking over our stuff.
Hopefully tomorrow we can think about getting away. I’m starving, and I know the girls are. Their stomachs are making plenty of audible protests.
* * * * *
Chapter 10
Wednesday, October 1
Jenifer, Dominique, and I are in a relatively nice two-story house at the end of a dead-end (no pun intended) street. The dead wander around in packs outside, the lone straggler is practically non-existent. We had to use two of my four grenades to get here, but at least we created enough of a diversion so that we got away from that building and to this house (which is only two-blocks away).
The girls seem relatively unphased by all this. I mean, they are sad that everybody is gone…but not shocked or surprised by it. Is this the way of the New Generation? Will death become so common-place that even when it is through violence, it is just simply accepted as �
�the way things are”?
We got in while it was still dark and found some canned goods in a pantry. We’re eating sparingly because we don’t have any idea how long this will be our home. Amongst the rotted food in the refrigerator we found a few bottles of water. They have a nasty aftertaste, but at least we can quench our thirst.
It is strange watching the dead wander past. Sometimes they wander up to the house, pawing at doors, slapping on windows, then drift away. There are so many. We still hear intermittent gunfire all around. It seems strange that there are potentially so many possible survivors, yet they all remain isolated from each other, preferring small groups to large ones.
Thursday, October 2
I don’t think we can risk staying here much longer. While the undead remain oblivious to our presence, I’ve noticed small “squads” of survivors poking around. They are usually in groups of three, and are obviously looking for something…more likely someone…err…ones.
I don’t think Dominique or Jenifer have noticed. These squads are good at staying in the shadows and out of sight. Also, I’ve noticed they move shortly after I hear gunfire from farther away. To me, that indicates coordinated movement. That would likely mean radio communication. That leads me to wonder if they were listening in on us.
Oh well. Can’t be helped now.
I want to take this time to make one thing clear. I don’t regret leaving Irony. That place was an illusion of living. We were just as much prisoners as Sam was back in that old compound he came from. We just replaced fences with cliffs.
Sure, things went bad, but we at least tried. We went out to see what is left. I will continue to fight until the end. And I will do it out in the world where I am truly free. Just in the little time we were out here, I have some amazing memories. And, you simply can’t put into words how peaceful and beautiful the sunrise is when you witness it and realize you may be the only human being for tens or even hundreds of miles in any direction doing so.
Friday, October 3
Evening
We found Snoe!
Saturday, October 4
We found Snoe yesterday and have been trying our best to keep her alive. I don’t know how she avoided being bitten in her state. She’s been shot up pretty bad. It doesn’t help that she’s been crawling on her belly for the past week. Her arms and legs are scraped raw.
We have washed her down, but to do that, we’ve had to sneak out a few times to nearby houses and rummage for alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and iodine…as well as rags that weren’t moldy. That has been quite a task since the only weapon we’ve been able to scrounge up is a pitching wedge.
Naturally, Snoe still had a Beretta 9mm and a magazine with three rounds. Of course we don’t dare use it for fear of bringing attention.
She is upstairs now. Sleeping. I don’t know if she’ll make it. She has no idea where she is and who we are.
If it weren’t for Dominique, it is likely we would have never seen Snoe. Yesterday morning, Dominique and Jenifer were going window-to-window, looking for a house that would be the easiest to raid. Since the ones on either side of us have been gutted, doors kicked in, windows broken, we decided not to even bother.
All of a sudden Dominique starts hissing to get our attention. In the side yard of the house across the street we could see somebody dragging themselves under some bushes. Apparently Dominique had seen the then stranger plunge a big knife into the temple of a zombie that had wandered over and lunged down for what it probably figured—if zombies figure—was an easy meal.
I was skeptical. My guess was that whoever it was, they’d likely been bitten. So, we waited to see if a zombie emerged from the bushes. After the afternoon passed, we saw whoever it was—we couldn’t tell it was Snoe yet—move out to allow the rain to come down into their open mouth.
Of course now we were sure it was a living person who was hurt and in need of help. When we snuck over just after dark, I was stunned to find Snoe, bloody, bruised, and unconscious. We were able to tweeze out most of the pellets from a shotgun blast that shredded her left leg. Another wound was clean through right under the collarbone. Then there was the bullet hole without an exit wound just under the rib cage. I poked around and found the bullet was relatively close to the surface. When I dug it out, she sat bolt upright for a second. Good thing we had her gagged because I’m sure that scream would’ve been loud.
I don’t know enough to tell if there is serious infection. I am comforted in the fact that there was a piece of cloth coating the bullet. I know enough from Discovery Channel to know that a fragment of cloth like that could have been bad if it was still in the wound.
All we can do now is wait. Wait. Hope. Pray.
Sunday, October 5
Snoe isn’t seeming to improve. We have made sure to get her awake enough to drink some water. Jenifer found some instant oatmeal and we’ve managed to get some of that in her also. Still, she’s just not doing well at all.
To make matters worse, something has the undead stirred up. We’re seeing more activity than normal, and in larger clusters. I watched a pack of them claw their way into a house that is kitty-corner to us. The place is unoccupied, but for some reason, the walking meat-sacks decided to fixate on the place. If that happens here, we are screwed.
We have to abandon this place for a more fortified location. Tonight, I will slip out and try to find a vehicle. That will be the easiest part of this whole thing. If I do find one, can get it started, then get back here…we’ll have to load Snoe into it. Likely we’ll have no shortage of zombies trying to take a bite out of us. Then, there are the survivors in the area.
And me with only two grenades left.
Monday, October 7
We are now hiding out in one of those multi plex movie houses. One really good thing about this place is that, except for the several glass doors at the entrance, this place is impenetrable. At least by the dead.
I managed to find a school bus about three blocks away. It makes me feel just a bit of satisfaction to know it belonged to the survivors holed up in that hospital. When I found it, there were two guys inside. I guess they were keeping guard. One of them had a radio.
Anyways, when I spotted the bus, I didn’t figure I could do anything since all I have is a pitching wedge and a pair of grenades. But, as luck would have it, the one with the radio came out while I was watching from behind a nearby car. I heard him tell the guy inside that he was gonna clear the handful of zombies that had just begun to cluster around them. That was when I noticed over twenty bodies littering the ground around the bus. It was easy to figure that they’d been parked at that spot for a while.
Taking time to be as quiet as possible, I crept up on the guy as he was jabbing a long, slender iron spike into the temple of the last zombie. Knowing I’d only get this one chance, I brought the wedge down on the back of this guy’s head as hard as I could.
In the movies, folks usually drop when such a shot is delivered. I had to swing twice more and then dive for cover as the other guy in the bus came to a nearby window and began shooting at me. I rolled under the bus figuring that I’d totally blown my chance. That was when I saw the butt of a pistol jutting from the belt of the guy I’d brained. Good thing he landed on his side or I’d have missed it.
I snatched the gun as the engine to the bus turned over. As fast as I could, I rolled out the side opposite the driver and scurried up to the door. The guy was looking away from me and never saw the bullet that blasted through the glass and caught him in the throat.
I forced the accordion-like doors open and stepped up as the guy fell almost right at me. His foot came off the clutch and the bus lurched forward and stalled. Unfortunately, I was only half in and got thrown across the concrete.
By now, I can hear the radio on the one guy squawking. That actually helped my cause as the few zombies that had arrived went for him. Lucky for him he never woke up as they began tearing into his body with their filthy hands. I staggered to my feet and limped to
where the bus had rolled to a stop.
The guy inside was still gasping, his hands trying desperately to hold the blood in that poured from the hole in his throat. I couldn’t just toss him out the door to be eaten alive, so I dragged him out, then shot him in the head.
I got back to the house. Sure enough, I now had a bunch of those things following. Credit Jenifer with really being on the ball. When she heard the bus rumble up to the house, she and Dominique were already carrying Snoe down the stairs when I burst in the door.
I had stacked what little food there was by the door. It only took one trip and we were loaded. When I saw the theater, I knew it was our best chance. I pulled us up so that the bus was almost touching the bank of entry doors. Then, I shattered the pane of the ticket booth window on the side that the nose of the bus was up against.
It wasn’t easy getting Snoe across the hood and eventually in, but we managed. Of course the dead are about forty deep now, but we’ve been able to retreat to a spot where they can’t see us. We can watch in case the occasional zombie manages to stumble in. It was unfortunate that I had to kick the door in that led to the lobby from the ticket area, but it couldn’t be helped.
