by Brown, TW
“What do these elders want?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you say so in the first place…or at any time during my questions?”
“Because, I think the elders are wrong, and to say so can get me exiled. I think you are nothing more than a half-breed …nothing special.”
“Don’t hold anything back,” I huffed.
“Okay.”
I guess she didn’t understand sarcasm…or maybe she was just looking for an excuse. Whatever the case, she told me what she thought about me. I was full of hate and anger. I was not mature enough for any real responsibility. And apparently, my eyes display nothing but sadness. Once again, apparently I lack any ability to hide feelings or emotions; even from total strangers. I decided to try another tactic.
“Okay, so you have no idea what these elders of yours want with me. But don’t you even have a guess?”
“Yes, but I will not tell you. If I do and you reveal it once we arrive, it could mean trouble for me.”
“I don’t imagine I could give you my word.”
“How much do you know about the history of my people?” Kai sat down on a rock.
“Just what I learned in school. They didn’t really cover much to be honest.”
“Then, if we survive this, perhaps you should try to find a library…some books. When you do, you will understand why I will not simply take your word.”
We made camp, and now I am standing my watch. Something that Kai said has stuck with me since that little exchange. How much of our history has been wiped away? I wonder what sorts of important things are gone. If we are so intent on survival, what are we losing because our focus is so fixed on that one thing?
Saturday, June 18th
I love my boots.
Wednesday, June 22nd
While I would not say that Kai and I have become friends…we actually shared a fun moment today after a particularly nasty afternoon.
So, wherever we are, and I mean that I truly have no idea any more, it is brown for almost as far as the eye can see. The world looks dirty and dusty and is covered in sand. LOTS of sand. If you have ever been someplace like this, then perhaps you can commiserate. I have had sand in places where it should not be…and it is VERY uncomfortable.
So, we followed what I must assume had to have been a road. As we walked along, I honestly could not fathom what form of machinery could carve out paths through mountain in order for a road to be built. This just reiterates my thoughts from earlier about wondering what sorts of things in Old World History have been forgotten. Seriously, there are probably lots of things that people just don’t see as important now that have faded and will never be replaced simply because they will never rate high enough on anybody’s list.
I recall Meredith’s journal mentioning something about one place she visited where they played a game called baseball. I have no idea what that is and I guess I never cared enough to ask. It was a game. But if those sorts of things used to be important…is it okay that we have let them fade from our world?
Tribes along Corridor 26 adopted colors and images from schools, but did they still participate in the games that those images once acted as totems for? I have so many questions. But I doubt many of them will ever be answered.
But back to today…
We were walking along like any other day; every once in a while, we might see a walker, or even a small pack. That is one thing that is very different from back when Sam or Meredith wrote their journals…zombies just are not a big deal unless you are about to die because of one…or a few thousand.
We were cresting a dune when we saw them. Of course we’d heard them for most of the day and I was not excited to discover what could create such an incredible noise—not to mention that we could feel the vibration in the ground from almost a mile out!
This arroyo cut through the area and it was seething…with zombies. It should be noted that we had seen and crossed more than a dozen of those carved out trenches in the past few days. I also have to admit never having seen one before and I initially thought it was some sort of old roadway. Kai explained how these things came to be and I was amazed. For one, considering how dry it is here, for that much water to come at one time with enough power to carve a trench in this hard ground is impressive.
This particular arroyo stretched on in either direction for as far as we could see; and it was wall-to-wall zombies for just as far. There had to be hundreds of thousands; maybe millions.
“So how do we get past this mess?” I admit it was a pretty stupid question.
“They weren’t here when I came, so perhaps they will pass by in a day or so.”
That didn’t really seem like a good plan. The longer we waited, the more likely General Carson went on the offensive against…
And that was when it hit me. Why us? What about our little group was so important? There were other communities and settlements. Hell, if you believed the rumors, Vegas was a walled city with electric power! Of course it was also supposedly one of the most lawless and dangerous places to live, but my knowledge is based solely on rumor. I do know that we stopped seeing any traders or caravans from that area about ten years ago.
I also know that it is rumored that the military moved in and took over the place. Supposedly they built fifty foot high walls and then brought in a bunch of dignitaries that had been sequestered in some super-secret underground complex and then closed the gates. If you believe these crazy rumors, it has also been told that the undead were drawn to the place and that they act as a defensive buffer almost a mile deep all the way around the walls. But then these are just rumors. Back to mine and Kai’s little adventure.
We decided that we would need to head south at some point anyways, so we might just as well turn that way now and try to get around the leading edge of this raging river of undead. And did I mention that a cloud of bugs hovered above this nightmare in such density that it actually provided a degree of shade?
Even from over a hundred yards out, we still had to bat away at the buzzing, stinging pests. I could not begin to fathom what the bottom of that trench must look (or smell) like.
Kai set a pace just a bit faster than a jog and after almost two hours, I was starting to think that we might never see the head of this mob. When we did, I felt my heart flutter more than just a little bit.
We were at the top of a long, gradual slope. At the bottom was a huge lake, but it was about halfway dried up. The zombies were being pushed out into this muddy, gooey, slimy mess. In the middle of the partially dried up lake was…
Even now I struggle to really describe what I saw. It was like a large town built on these big metal barges that were all lashed together. I think that the people out there had to believe they were safe. After all, zombies can’t swim.
What they can do is pile up. I have seen them make it over small walls and fences just because the ones in front start to fall and eventually become a ramp of rotten meat and bone.
There is really no way of knowing how long this procession had been on the move, or what their numbers might possibly be; however, there were enough so that the ones coming kept forcing the leading edge into this lake. The further out they went, I imagine they began to fall. In any case, it is obvious that they began to pile up until they actually reached a point where they could climb on to the barges.
The people out there never stood a chance after that.
I guess the zombies must have just reached the point where they could start to pour onto this floating town in large numbers. As Kai and I crested the horseshoe-shaped ridge that bordered the other three sides of that lake, we heard the first of the screams.
The two of us continued to jog away. Mercifully, as we reached the bottom of the hill going away from that nightmare, the land acted as a bit of a buffer for the sound. It did not take too long before we were draped in blessed silence once more.
I guess we were both wrapped in our own thoughts as we continued along for the rest of the day. And it
was probably that reason why we did not actually notice the large red dome until we were almost right on it.
It was just more of the bizarre.
Sitting beside the road, literally all by itself with nothing else—not a sign, or any means of transport to indicate how it got here—was a large, red dome. It had mesh windows on three sides, and a flap at what was the entrance. There was this contraption on the back side that hummed like some sort of engine or something and had six solar panels connected to it; that is why I am pretty sure it was a power supply of some sort. We probably walked around the thing a dozen times before I just decided “to hell with it” and climbed in.
The floor was…squishy? I don’t have a better word for it. When I tried to stand up, I think I fell four or five times before I could actually figure out how to stay on my feet. Then Kai climbed in and I fell over again.
It seemed that the more we tried to get to our feet, the worse the ground pitched and sent us falling. I made it up, and I could not resist. Just as Kai looked like she was going to be able to stand…I jumped. That caused everything to jiggle and shake.
Kai went tumbling and ended up on her stomach. By now, I was starting to get the hang of this thing. The more I jumped and bounced, the more Kai flopped around like a fish out of water.
When she kicked my feet out from under me, I had that single instance where I thought I was going to hurt myself pretty bad. Then I landed…and bounced about two or three feet off the floor.
Now it seemed it was Kai’s turn to make me do some flopping. I had a heck of a time, but I finally was able to direct myself into position so that I could kick her ankles when she came down.
I have no idea how much time we spent in that damned thing. Probably would have wasted most of the night if it wasn’t for the stupid zombie that wandered up and stuck its face in the open flap.
It was as if our laughing switches had been flipped to the ‘OFF’ position in an instant. Then the stupid zombie tried to climb in.
Kai and I had both scooted to the back. All of our gear was sitting right outside…yeah, careless, I know. Don’t judge me.
Just as it pulled itself in, we made our way to our feet, holding each other’s hands. She looked at me and I knew exactly what she was thinking. We both sort of bobbed a couple of times, and then went for the roof. When we landed, the floor was like a wave and it sent that stupid zombie right back outside.
The two of us hurried to the exit, my fear was that this was just the first of a bunch. Maybe that giant mob had caught us.
Nope.
Just the one.
I went over and smashed its head with a rock about the size of a cantaloupe. Unfortunately, the magic was gone. We grabbed our gear and headed on down the road. Just about three hours before sunset, we found this lazy little river to pull up beside. After a good bath, I made the fire while Kai went out looking for rabbit. She was more than a little surprised to return to camp and discover four big fish cleaned, and roasting over the flames.
Hey, in the EEF, one of the first things you learn how to do is to make a travel kit. That kit needs to be small enough to carry on your person and not in your pack. Never know when you might lose your gear.
Kai looked at me funny when she took that first bite of fish. Since I hadn’t eaten any myself, I was suddenly worried that it might be nasty tasting. I don’t really know much about fish other than you eat what you catch. I mean, I know that there are all different kinds, and that some are better than others, but I didn’t even know what I’d caught, so how could I know if it was any good…or even worth eating.
“What did you put on the fish when you cooked it?” Kai finally asked.
“Just some stalks from wild onions and a bit of the sage that grows pretty much everywhere. I always pluck stuff when I walk. Never know when it might come in handy. Plus, I still had a few ounces of salt that I’ve been carrying forever. It was starting to get clumpy, so I figured best to use it now than have it go to waste.”
She smiled and nodded. That was pretty much it, but it was more conversation than we have had since we set out together that didn’t involve name-calling, arguing, or me asking a question and her saying she doesn’t know.
Friday, June 24th
This time of year, you always have to watch out when it comes to weather. I don’t know anything about what causes it or why, but lightning is a nasty, nasty thing. It is one of those things where you have absolutely no control over. And when it comes after a long, dry stretch of days, you can bet that you will see fires popping up.
I don’t know how they dealt with that sort of thing before, but these days, you just hope it does not happen anyplace near where you are, or where you might be headed. And that is why we are having to hook north instead of south right now.
After last night’s storm, we woke up and knew well before we saw anything that there was a big fire nearby. We’d just gotten back into the foothills and spent the night on some sort of bridge that crossed a river that was easily a couple of hundred feet below. There was a long rusted out bus on its side, and that is where we camped. It didn’t smell the greatest, but it kept us out of the worst of the rain.
When I finally dozed off, it was out of exhaustion more than anything else. We’d had to keep at a jog most of the day as we found ourselves running into several small groups of zombies. I guess when they get funneled into an area like this, it is probably not in their nature to go and climb the hills. They stick to where there used to be roads; the ground is easier to navigate.
So we made our way up this particular hill and saw a wall of smoke right in our path. It was a few miles off, but there was no way we could go south. The hills were just too much.
So, north we go.
Monday, June 27th
We are taking a day to sort of recover after some very intense hiking. Oh, and we are in a settlement.
The people seem nice. You always have to be on your guard, but one of the best indicators when it comes to entering a strange settlement is to look for children. Then, observe their behavior.
If they are playing games that involve beatings, hangings, torturing animals or effigies of people…that is usually a bad sign. (And yes, that is actually a tip from the EEF manual.)
We were welcomed and even invited to stay for a meal with the mayor of this settlement. I guess I didn’t realize how jumpy I was until somebody came up from behind. It is pretty embarrassing to respond to an offered berry pie by pulling a weapon.
The good thing was that they totally understood. In fact, they were more than a little surprised to discover that it was just two women. Then they apologized for implying that we might not be capable of taking care of ourselves.
So, once all of the welcoming was over, they showed us the traveler’s lodge where we were able to soak in these huge tubs of hot water and scrub with scented soap and coarse cloths to get all the dirt and grime off our bodies. After that, we dried off using some of the softest towels I think I have ever felt.
Nothing had been said during our introductions, so I guess I thought I might be safe as far as people not knowing who my parents were. Nope.
That evening, I went into a small building. The doors were open and I heard some bluesy guitar playing from within. Inside, I discovered a small stage in the center of a bunch of book shelves that were in a sort of octagon shape in concentric circles. The shelves were lined with hundreds of books. I could tell by the wooden covers on most that they had been produced post-apocalypse. Then I noticed tables setup along the walls. At each table, I discovered teams of two.
Here is what they do. They take books and copy them word for word by hand. I later found out that there is an airtight vault used to store any original copies that this town possesses.
The books are of just about every sort. There are old text books that teach math and science. Cook books that have pictures of food that are simply impossible to imagine ever being able to create…much less how something like that would taste.<
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And then there is the section simply labeled: STORIES.
It was here that I discovered copies of my father and Meredith’s journals. Somebody had even given them a clever title.
ZOMBLOG.
Thursday, June 30th
So here is what we learned. These people have never heard of the NAA. They have dealt with the occasional raider, but nothing like a concentrated army. They were more than a little surprised to discover that Dominique was not only alive, but actually a real person. It seems that some folks thought the journals written by Sam and Meredith were dramatized.
The revelation that both were real people sparked some interest, but nothing too crazy. Nobody even made the connection in regards to my identity.
There are four other settlements in about a ten mile radius from this one, and they all trade back and forth. This is actually the smallest of the settlements and is like the educational center for the cluster. I guess each of these settlements has a specialty. For instance, this one is all about school.
When I say school, perhaps I should be clearer. This is where people come to learn once they are older. I guess you could equate it to the Old World concept of college. They teach medical and construction courses here. One of the settlements is like the military. Those folks train in survival and combat. The people from that outpost ride the surrounding area and keep it safe. At least that is how I understood it.
When we left, they actually gave us a bunch of supplies. We were nice enough along The Corridor, but I sure don’t recall us just loading up passers-through with food and making sure that all of their weapons were in top shape and cleaned. They even gave me a better sheath for my long blade that I wear on my shoulder.
As we walked today, I reflected on the whole situation. I guess if this were Meredith’s journal, there would have been some suspicion, doubt, and probably a little action. The most action I had during the stay was helping this poor woman who was trying to get her five children to behave while she did some trading with the folks who ran the produce stand. One of the little boys wanted an apple REALLY bad!
