Now put two and two together here Mr. Journal. I saw undead at the wall where this figure was seen twice now, and Abby and James saw undead in the spot where they saw this figure run before.
Major League creepy, right?
No one knew exactly what the fuck it was. Ghost? Youngster? Recon from a nearby settlement? You know we still haven’t gotten to the root of the group of people that attacked MGR while I was out… I sit here writing this just after dinner time and all I can think about is people standing silently deep in the woods, watching our buildings, and the walls at night. I can see them hiding just far enough into the trees so that we can’t see them, and they can still see everything. Some of them have camo face paint on, and others have sunken, hungry faces. Sometimes when I sit here and think about it, they are armed better than we are, and they’re just waiting for a good time to strike.
I think my imagination is just getting the better of me. I can’t think of how any group could be better armed than we are right now. I mean, I guess there are military bases all over the world that are still surviving this with their ammo stockpiles and stuff, but for civvie groups, we’ve got out shit together pretty tight right now. We’re past the soup sandwich phase, and moving into the “right as rain” portion of organization.
Anyway, enough patting myself on the back. Our plan to figure out who the fuck or what the fuck this thing on the camera feed is pretty simple. Observe, and keep a crew of people right in the vicinity of the rear gate to respond the moment she shows up on camera. I can’t recall if I ever clarified or not, but the rear gate is actually down the hill a bit near where the maintenance shit is. It was the most sensible place to put it at the time, and it also conveniently gives up a place to hide for this project. We’re also building a tower there right now, so that area will be under heavy observation during the daylight hours.
If we see this person, we are going to attempt to capture them. Assuming of course they’re alive, and not actually a creature of the night that can walk through walls. Let me tell you this Mr. Journal, from looking at that video, it certainly looks like whatever it was just walked through the back gate like it wasn’t even there.
Major League creepy. Uncool as well. Major League uncool.
If we have to, we’ll chase it down and shoot it. Assuming it can be killed.
I don’t like all the variables here. There are far too many moving pieces for my liking. I have a shit feeling about this, and I find myself finding more and more reasons to just… ignore this, and I know that’s not right. I haven’t vocalized this level of discomfort to anyone yet, because I know they’ll look at me like I’m growing a tail or something, but I really feel on many levels we should just… let this bullshit fly.
And then I think about how this could be our food thief, and I get all riled up again. It doesn’t matter. I committed us to this course of action, and we’ve already started our watches. Kevin and Joel are down at the garage tonight pulling security when and if it ever comes back. Kevin also dug into his endless bags of goodies, and issued out a handful of new comms sets for those of us who are likely to get into a fight. He has throat microphones, and higher power military transmitters that operate on frequencies only available to the same gear. Now we can communicate while outside (or inside) the wall, and not tie up radio traffic between MGR or the factory, or non combat communications. Besides, it always seems to start a panic when folks hear that things are going bad on the radios somewhere. It’s better this way. Incidentally, I got a radio. Kevin also said when I was feeling up to it, he’d hook me up with more gear that would, and I quote, “Give me a 110% chubber.”
I got three quarter wood just thinking about what that might be. Two whole inches. The man had access to SF unit armories and gear tanks, and I bet he’s got some pretty fucking nifty gadgets. Knowing that we’ve got three Air Force para rescue guys here too makes me sleep better at night. It’s a good feeling.
Not sure what else matters to talk about right now. Two towers are completed, the third is almost done, maybe another day or two. That’s the one down in the maintenance area, near the rear gate. Food is stable, not really changed. Locking that set of doors vigilantly has been a real game changer. I asked the other folks in the dorms to keep close eyes on their food stores as well, and they are reporting back with no changes.
Our clothing and blanket situation is good. We’ve got adequate supplies on hand to deal with major cold weather, which is a relief. We had it all on hand too, which was nice. No wasted effort.
MGR is well. Stable. Right now it is being staffed by Renee, Mallory, Quan, and Ethan. Ethan is the most skilled shooter/spotter Air Force guy, and having him on watch there helps dramatically. He is also sharing his skill set to anyone who listens, and that is a tremendous boon.
The Factory seems to be stable. We had to make a water run to them this morning, and to be honest, we probably didn’t have to if it wasn’t for the weather. It’s been brutally cold the past few days and they weren’t prepared for it. Most of the water they had collected on the roof froze solid, and with no snow and just huge blocks of ice, they were a little worried they wouldn’t be able to melt it all in time for their needs. Some of the guys made a quick three vehicle run over there to drop off about twenty gallons of h2o.
Michelle will have the school’s first day in Hall B in three days, a day behind her schedule. For the moment, the kids are super fucking excited. They want to be social, and they want to learn things that are exciting, which is the majority of what we’ll be teaching now. Many of our previous school subjects are just not important anymore. Plus we’re having a class dedicated to shooting, and that’s just terrific. The kids love guns, even the girls.
For now though, the majority of our attention is focused solely on the phantom at the back gate. Whatever it is, it bothers the fuck out of me.
-Adrian
December 15th
Three of the five towers we’re trying to build for security purposes are finished. Earlier today the work crew down near the maintenance area/rear gate completed that tower. Like the other towers the stairs aren’t finished, and we have a roughed out ladder so we can climb to the top. Once the full five towers are done being roughed, we’ll go back and install the stairs.
I got the call over the radio by Martin to come check the brand new tower out. I was out and about doing some jogging to build my stamina back up, so I just headed right over. I forgot how satisfying it was to run with my rifle across my chest. I used to hate running, but moving along at a good clip in the cool air and bright sunshine while feeling… tactical was nice. I felt like I was back in Iraq when Kevin and I did laps around our bases. Granted, it was hot as a hooker with Chlamydia there, and it’s cold here, but you get the association.
I’ve been pushing myself hard too. Lots of pushups, lots of sit ups, and a lot of jogging. When I crawl into bed at night it’s all I can do lately to swing my legs up and under the fucking sheets. The soreness is good though. It is the feeling of withered muscles making their comeback. I forget my age though. I’m not 21 anymore, and my body does not recuperate like it used to. I mean shit, even in the shape I was in before I went down I was still a slower healer than I was when I was a kid.
Old age is a motherfucker. I wonder how long I’ll live? Will I fade away into old age, sitting on the porch of Gilbert’s home, sipping some home brewed cider, telling the kids about how we fought back the waves and waves of the dead? More likely I’ll die soon of violent means. This world is not a world for the old, or the weak. Only the strong survive, and as strong as I am, luck will eventually run out.
Morbid? Yeah. But at least I am a realist.
Anyway, my imminent death aside, right after Martin radioed, I jogged down the hill to maintenance and congratulated everyone on their hard work, and how great the tower was. Like the others, it is about three stories tall, and has a platform on the top with a slanted roof. We are cannibalizing shingle supplies we have accumulated over the pa
st year to cover these new roofs, which is a nice use of re-tasked supplies. It’s not like there are fucking shingle factories still in operation.
I climbed right to the top of the tower where Kevin, Blake, Kyle, and Martin were taking in the surroundings, and I gotta say, the view is pretty awesome. You can see the hills all around at the back base of campus, and the angle to the rear gate is perfect. You can also see the entire large parking lot area where the maintenance buildings are, and there’s no easy way to sneak up on the tower.
I did notice, and did not approve of how frigging close the trees are to the rear wall. We have perhaps ten feet between the wall and the first few trees, and any sneaky motherfucker could move from tree to tree and get ridiculously close before anyone knew it. While talking to the guys, we all decided that one of our next courses of action would be to cut those trees down. We need the lumber anyway if we can keep roughing it out.
Our next and immediate course of action though was to figure out who the fucking hell or what the fucking hell is on the video cameras. Cutting down the trees might send a message to a living trespasser that we are on to them, so we really didn’t think that was a good idea at the moment.
Hal and Abby are burning the midnight oil to stay awake all night with eyes on the cameras. I also know multiple people got laptops so they can monitor the feeds as well, which means the overall level of sleep here on campus is shit. I’ve been up late, sore and unable to do anything but fall asleep with the feeds in my face, and I know others have been there with me, across campus.
So far, we’ve seen shit. Kevin and his crew have been stationing someone in the maintenance garages at night in the event something is seen. They are skulking down there carefully, trying to be unseen so that whoever it was we saw doesn’t know we have two armed men waiting.
No luck yet. Not much else new here. Ideally, Michelle starts school tomorrow right after lunch. She is going to host a small luncheon at Hall B for the kids, and their parents or guardians, or whatever the fuck you want to call the folks here that take care of the kids that have no more parents. After the food, they’ll get what amounts to an introduction to what the school will be, and what they’ll learn. It’s a big deal, and many of us are super excited.
Huzzah for not raising morons. Our world did a shit job of doing that the past few millennia. Hopefully we can break that fucking cycle.
Off to bed. School tomorrow.
-Adrian
December 16th
I recall vaguely saying the other day that the gift of communications equipment from Kevin gave me serious wood, or something to that extent. His gift today put semen on the ceiling. Never mind having an erection, I put Adrian chowder through pants, and into the ceiling.
Kevin gave me an M4A1, with SOPMOD.
Mr. Journal, if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t know shit, the M4A1 is superior to my current weapon in one huge way; instead of the three round burst option on the fire selector, it goes from semi, straight to full auto.
Boo yah!
My man Kevin came through in the clutch! I guess when he was back in England at that base with the PJ guys, they more or less raided the hell out of whatever they could find for when they had to leave. That’s why they have MREs and crates of ammo, and gun oil, and spare parts, and anti tank weapons, and etc etc. They’re loaded for bear, bigtime.
Now because the PJs are technically special operations guys, they had access to the SOPMOD kits, which are for all intents and purposes, Legos for military guys. You can modify your M4A1 to have lights, grips, grenade launchers, new stocks, suppressors, scopes, Aimpoints, etc. Basically, you take a high quality weapon, and customize it to your liking, or needs.
Of course Kevin kitted it out the way he thought I’d like it, and shit, he did it perfectly, but when he gave me the rest of the gear in the kit, he clearly omitted the M203 grenade launcher. Now I felt this was a huge oversight on his part, and I brought that to his attention while he was drinking a tea (of all drinks), and told me in not so many words, that I simply didn’t need it.
Like it’s about NEED at this point. The fucker has grenade launchers in a case somewhere, and I want one. I don’t NEED it. I just WANT it.
He did bring up the point that with my body still coming back from my gunshot wound I was probably too weak to carry around a handful of 40mm fragmentation on me all the time. They aren’t that heavy, but a handful of them does add up. As they say, ounces make pounds, and pounds make pain. The less we can carry the faster we move, and the less energy we expend, and blah blah.
It pisses me off that he makes sense. I hate it when people make sense and I take it in the pooper as a result. Oh well. He and I basically agreed that perhaps shortly down the road, I could get the M203 and some 40mm to go along with it. I’ll just have to be patient, and continue to work on getting back into shape. My constant running and workouts are paying off already, and I’m almost back to a fully capable condition. Sore all the time, but getting better.
I think I spent twenty minutes breaking that thing down and putting it back together again before I realized that I had to go to the grand opening of the school.
I got there right as the last bits of food were being eaten, and Michelle was doing her two penny song and dance for the kids and families, and parents, and gathered folks. Pretty much every person who wasn’t NEEDED somewhere else was there, as it was a goddamn exciting moment.
The various “teachers” went over what they would be teaching, and where they’d be teaching it, and the small group of teaching aides announced who they were too. Michelle and Kim and Melissa did a great job rearranging everything in the bottom floor, moving some classroom desks in, and some of the furniture out. It looks an awful lot like one of those old home on the prairie school houses. Everyone seemed really pleased. Legitimately really pleased.
I congratulated her after all the people left, and she seemed incredibly nervous, even after the whole presentation. She feels the weight of restarting the education system fully on her shoulders. Funny that someone with a PhD that has done speeches at conferences, and traveled the world can feel so much pressure to succeed in so small a venture. I think she’s making a mountain out of a molehill. Right now, we need basic education that’s age appropriate, and life skills for a world these kids were thrust into. We can work out the details as we go, the best we can.
My short pep talk seemed to brighten her up. It was nice to see her smile. She hasn’t smiled a whole lot since she arrived here. At least not around me. As I said once, I am fairly sure she thinks I am a weirdo. It was nice to get some positive time with her. We’re supposed to be in this whole Trinity thing together, and I suspect we’ll need to work together very closely to “save mankind.”
The more I think about it, the more I think doing stuff like this, is what was meant when the burden of saving humanity was pressed upon us. Not just some epic battle with the Devil, but a prolonged restarting of humanity. Pulling us out of the darkness of despair and greed, and moving us into a new generation of a better civilization.
Reinventing the human condition might be our way of saving mankind.
No sign of our trespassing… thing. No footprints, no video footage, nothing stolen, and no signs of anything at all. We’re still posting sentries nightly at the maintenance garage, and we’ve still got two eyes on the video feeds 24 hours a day. More than that really. I know folks are up late with me.
Not much else new really. We’re still working on the new towers as of tomorrow. Nothing has been happening outside the walls lately, as we’ve had enough supplies to get all of our current projects up and running. Cold weather lately too has been a bit of a hurdle, and as we watch the ice spread on the lake, the feeling of that wall across the back end of campus makes me very happy.
We’re going to have to build some roads here soon. Hm. Anyway, Otis is bopping me in the arm with his head, and that means I need to get to bed. I also need to strip my new weapon and put it back toget
her again, for no reason. Adios amigo.
-Adrian
December 18th
I received the green light a few minutes ago from Kevin to join him on a night sentry shift. I am SO EXCITED!
Nothing else really matters, to be honest. I’d talk about the school, or the events here on campus, but to be honest, they are boring as fuck, and I am getting to stand watch with one of my best friends of all time, Kevin motherfucking Whitten. Warden of the Trinity, and epic asskicker.
I really am speechless. We’d been running through guys pretty heavily on the night shifts out at maintenance and we were about to look and ask for volunteers when I mentioned my own name. I’ve been working out, running, doing exercise and all that bullshit, and Kevin and Roger both agreed I’d be fit for a short operation right here on campus. The likelihood I’ll have to show any real stamina should anything happen is fairly low, and I more or less just need to stay vigilant. If the shit really hits the fan, I can always tap out and one of our other folks can come running over.
However, I am not a quitter, and there is no way I am tapping out of shit.
God, so stoked! I’m excited to have uninterrupted hours with Kevin too. He and I haven’t sat down and shot the shit for some time. Like, years and shit. It’ll be great to reminisce and such.
I gotta get my shit ready. New rifle needs to be touched in a loving manner, and I need to get my tactical gear ready. I haven’t had to do that since… Well.
Since I got shot. Suddenly… really quite nervous. I hope nothing happens tonight. I’d like a few nights of just relaxing with my friend to get back into the swing of things.
Adrian's Undead Diary (Book 7): The Trinity Page 31
