Living With the Dead: This New Disease (Book 5)

by Joshua Guess

  Sunday, May 6, 2012

  Storms

  Posted by Josh Guess

  Over the last few days mother nature has decided to make us completely aware that we're now dealing with summer. Multiple and frequent thunderstorms roll in across the sky at random, and they've been constant enough that they've driven moving zombie populations this way.

  With the bridges across the river destroyed in Franklin county, we don't have to worry about that from our eastern flank, of course. The west is quite enough all on its own. They come across the bridges from Indiana and Illinois, from Tennessee to the south, and because at least in this part of the state they have to use bridges, they come in big clumps. A few narrow passages across the rivers makes them tend to clump together. Which leads to swarms.

  Which makes us unhappy. The folks in Louisville are reporting a vast increase in zombie movements this morning. Hundreds of them hitting the highways together as the storms overnight finally let up. Of course, many will disperse as they move along. Some will head this way, others toward the Louisville crew, some out into the wilds to search for animals that might be easier prey than men.

  What this means for us in practical terms is the seasonal rise in combat, though we've already been hard pressed this year. Not an overwhelming problem if we're careful and manage our resources cleverly. But it's not our problems that have been the subject of an emergency meeting this morning. It's the Louisville crew that has to worry.

  We've taken a lot of risks in going out to fight the New Breed as they gather in the countryside. Our folks do a masterful job of hitting them and running before the undead can bring in reinforcements to overrun them. Thanks to Becky and her chemistry skills we've got an effective and repeatable method of taking down a lot of them at one time, so we aren't freaking out over having to fight more.

  But again, not about us. Because those initial victories against the New Breed wouldn't have been possible without the help of the Louisville people. And as you may recall, they've got a massive swarm of undead brewing there. The number of zombies gathering at the zoo isn't as bad as it could be thanks to the tireless efforts of the many small groups in Jefferson county, but they can't kill all of the stragglers coming in. Especially not in numbers like we're seeing cross the river now.

  We're faced with two distinct problems. In the long term we have to make the choice between ease of travel and trade by deciding what to do about the bridges that connect Kentucky with the rest of the country. Yeah, our southern border isn't impassable due to running water, but that's the long way around for anyone trying to get here. Taking out the bridges all along the Ohio river, which represents the majority of our border, would eventually mean drastic reductions in zombies. Maybe, after enough time, we'd see the end of swarms as more people moved here to defend the southern half of the state and eliminate the undead as a threat.

  Long term, that would be great. But it would essentially kill trade and travel, meaning we'd be cut off from most places. Not really an option.

  Short term, this influx of zombies means our friends in Louisville are in serious trouble. We promised them help since they showed brave hearts when we needed theirs. They lost people in that fight, good folk who made the choice to aid their neighbors in a time of need. Now they're seeing hundreds if not thousands of zombies pour across the bridges, many of them following the scent markers that lead to the large group at the zoo. The numbers there will swell as they always do with swarms. Once it reaches critical mass, they'll move out toward any target they can find.

  Our friends and allies are in trouble. They've sent out the call for help. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't stand tall with them as they did for us?

  Monday, May 7, 2012

  The Blitz

  Posted by Josh Guess

  We were going to wait until George and his team get back to send a group to Louisville, but the situation there has deteriorated faster than anyone expected. The Louisville gang reported to us last night that the New Breed have begun sending out small clusters of zombies from the zoo. They travel in rough patterns as they move. It's much easier to see the intelligence behind the New Breed version of scout parties in a city--they're searching for food. People.

  The biggest problem Louisville faces is that they've got no central location to defend. Spread out as they are in various hidden spots, they have no capacity to easily come together should any of them be discovered. Making their homes hidden and modular is great for staying safe unless a large enough swarm comes together to make movement outside impossible.

  Which is what's going to happen when the New Breed scouts (I hate calling them that. I think it gives them too much credit. I think of them more as mindless feelers hoping to luck across something that sets them off) begin to find them. The only option left to the Louisville crew is to take that swarm down.

  Thing is, no one has any intention of giving them a fair fight. Our folks left out this morning to form a strike team to hit the zoo. I don't know what the exact plan of attack is going to be since I wasn't involved in setting it up. There are enough people around here with practice in logistics and combat to manage that without me.

  What I can say for certain is that our folks are bringing enough firepower with them to make a difference. It's not so much a question of how much, really, as what weapons they're taking. We don't have an unlimited supply of heavy weapons, and I don't consider this being a violation of our rule to use them for defense. It's not like we're gonna blow up people with them.

  Besides, there aren't a lot of options. We can't muster the number of people it would take to fight so many New Breed in open combat, and even if we could it would cost hundreds of lives we can't afford to lose. In a perfect situation we'd just invite the Louisville crew to come live here, but there are a lot of them, more than we could handle by a long shot. Not that they want to leave their homes.

  Ultimately we have to take care of ourselves as well. We need enough people here to man the walls and do the work that needs doing. Many of the medicinal herbs and plants Jess collects to bolster our dwindling medical supplies are ripe for a first harvest, and that can get tricky. Timing is really important for some of them, and others need to be dried properly which means we have to prepare them as quickly as possible. There are a lot of small projects like that we need people to handle. So many people.

  And that's not even considering the Exiles. They've finished work on that massive wall of canvas that keeps us from seeing directly into the fallback point. It isn't perfect, of course, since our people have the height advantage by a long way, but secondary screens block most of the back end of the place. Our watchers get glimpses of activity but nothing concrete. We know they have some kind of access to this blog, that they gather information that way. That's alright, I'm not giving away state secrets.

  We've got enough people here to hold New Haven against them should they decide to try anything. Our watchers act as an early warning system, so they can't make any big moves without us knowing. Not to mention the huge number of traps we've set in a wide circle around New Haven. We aren't morons. We don't trust Scar any more now than when he and his people were just faceless villains out on the road. Hell, probably less. The Exiles aren't likely to attack soon if for no other reason than they're farming their asses off. They clearly need sustainable food supplies before they do anything to break the truce.

  We'll be ready when they do.

  Tuesday, May 8, 2012

  Killing Time

  Posted by Josh Guess

  In just a few minutes our people and the Louisville crew should be starting their attack on the zoo. I intend to break my regular schedule and write tomorrow as well to give you news on that. I realized when I woke up this morning that I was looking forward to hearing the details of the fight. In fact, I was looking forward to the day's workload as well, which comes in 'help finalize designs for the expansion's housing and defenses' flavor. Sounds boring. Probably is boring to some people.
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  And that thought right there is when it hit me. I mean, freight train to the brain pan powerful.

  I've spent a lot of time writing about how The Fall has affected us all. Like snowflakes, each of us has been uniquely shaped by the forces around us, every survivor (and marauder, and every other convenient label you can think of) finding some personal way to cope and some point of reference to hold on to. We see and do many terrible things--our minds need a stable handhold to keep us from breaking down.

  Generally speaking, mine is work. Doesn't really matter what kind of work so long as it's useful. I've always had the attitude, even before the zombies rose up against us, that doing a good job really is its own reward to a certain degree. I know that sounds hackneyed, and it is, but for me it's also true. My purpose in work was never to do anything glamorous or ground-breaking. I took great joy in being able to provide, and to do the absolute best I was capable of. I loved testing that boundary and trying to expand it.

  For a long time, that was true. In my early twenties I began to see the stupidity in the world around me as I worked for bigger and less personal companies. The more money I made, the harder it was to make those above me understand that the people doing the labor had good ideas. When I worked at the factory, that meant using processes that could have been made vastly more efficient even after explaining in excruciating detail to my bosses how they could be improved.

  After, as a nurse aide, that aspect wasn't so bad. I really liked that job, but the physicality of it was so brutal and damaging that I found myself in constant pain. My back and shoulders hurt all the time, often to a point where I'd be at work counting the minutes until I could leave. Not because I hated the job itself or the people I took care of--I loved both. But because I was being physically broken down. Nursing is hard business.

  I'd go home and sprawl for a long time, trying to relax enough to get the worst of the tension out of my muscles so I could fall asleep. Then I'd wake up and do it all over again. I loved making those folks, my patients, smile. There's something magic about being the person that helped them when they needed it most. I could go on with the examples, but the short of it is this: the pain and injuries were more than worth the satisfaction the job gave me. If I spent energy hoping for time to speed up, it wasn't to get away from the people I cared for on a nightly basis, but to get home so I could rest enough to do it again.

  The realization? I'm happier now than I've ever been.

  Not in the overall situation, obviously. If I could choose between the world that is and the way things were, it's no contest. I've lost most of my family just like everyone else has. We've all been through hell a dozen times over. I'm saying I wanted any of that nor would I choose the struggles we'll face down the road.

  But see, that's the thing. We don't have a choice. I didn't ask for this world or these circumstances, but I'll be damned if I let guilt keep me quiet. I'm happy with my life as it is right now. I work my ass off trying to make our home a better place for those that share it with me. I work as hard if not harder than any time in my life, and I feel joy. Because I'm doing a job that has clear purpose, that creates tangible and measurable good.

  I can't change the circumstances we're in. If I could magically kill all the zombies on earth I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I can find pride and happiness that in these awful times I'm one of many who strive for better. There isn't much call to kill time anymore. Instead of watching our lives tick by like we're waiting for something better, we instead lose track of the hours in our frenzied efforts to continuously build and improve.

  This fight that's about to happen--that is creating good, adding to the total positives in the world, just as much as anything. Removing threats to living people in battle is something to be lauded. It takes bravery and commitment and will give the people of Louisville a chance to thrive. I've been in those kinds of fights before, so I can say with absolute assurance that if I were there waiting to charge in and kill the New Breed, I'd be looking forward to it. Not waiting nervously for it to be over.

  Just as important? I'm completely okay with the idea that I can be happy with my life, even as bad as things are. Much like the man who fell over the cliff and dangled from the single strawberry plant. The roots could not support him and were tearing away from the earth. He couldn't climb up. He was doomed, but he smiled when he snatched that strawberry and ate it.

  An old story, one I've mentioned before, but never more apt than now. God, it feels good to be alive. To be living for more purpose than simple biology. Most of us search for meaning and some of us find it. Turns out mine was obvious and present all along. Almost scary how blind I've been.

  Wednesday, May 9, 2012

  Cage Match

  Posted by Josh Guess

  The New Breed are smart, but it's important to remember they're only smart for zombies. Basic problem solving is within their grasp, such as using simple weapons and tools, but their understanding of complex situations and objects is severely limited. When it comes to things that exist as part of predatory behavior, the New Breed are brilliant. Good tactical and strategic thinkers when it comes to familiar situations.

  Complete morons when faced with something new.

  To their credit, they were smart enough to keep themselves in the back of the zoo to escape cursory inspections. When the assault team showed up to hit them, the place looked deserted. That was an advantage since it gave them time to set up the defenses Dodger and Will came up with.

  One thing that's actually really easy to make is a cage. More specifically sections of cage that can be loaded onto a truck in stacks and put together in about five minutes using interlocking hinges held together with simple steel rods. The cage itself was designed to be wide enough to block the front gate of the zoo completely and tall enough to prevent any easy climb over it. The thing has a top as well, making it practically impossible for the undead to get to the people inside.

  A door section was left open, our folks milling about in front of it right in the danger zone. Exposed inside the belly of the beast. Two teams of two rode off into the zoo proper on motorbikes to get the attention of the milling horde of New Breed in the back. As you can imagine, the people acting as bait didn't have a hard job at all. Dangerous, but not rocket science. A few tasty human beings represented no threat to the vast swarm they ran into.

  Those people came back to the gate and brought the party with them.

  Preparation is a big part of every major assault. Our folks laid out some nasty surprises before sending out the bait teams. When the swarm hit, our people (and I mean everyone--the Louisville crew are 'our people', living people) hit them with some weak attacks, mostly arrows and a few bullets. They backed into the cage, the back wall of which was lined with better weapons.

  Then they closed the door. Secure in their steel haven, reserve fighters on the outside of the zoo climbed to their spots on the cage top and fired magnesium fuses into the back of the zombie swarm. Undead that had stepped in the thermite gel our people left for them caught fire and fell, creating a mild barrier to the zombies in front of them. The sudden flares had the excellent side-effect of pushing the main mass forward toward the cage, packing them all into a relatively small space.

  The people inside the cage unloaded on the ranks before them with handguns, then shotguns, then a variety of military-grade heavy guns. That was just to thin the herd somewhat, easy to do since every person behind those bars could pick and choose their shots at will.

  Up top, the artillery began to fall. Grenades were chucked into the swarm, again at the back. I doubt they killed many zombies outright, but the grenades caused a lot of panic and did a good amount of damage. The idea wasn't to kill them with explosions, but to confuse and disable as many of them as possible. I expected them to use heavier weapons, but the tactics involved made rocket launchers too dangerous and in the end unnecessary. By forcing the New Breed ever forward against the bars, the whole structure butted up against the trucks that carr
ied it to the zoo, the killing was actually pretty easy.

  The entire task force was about fifty people. Not many when you think about it, but each of those fifty were calm and rational, either protected by the cage or on high ground. Each of them could choose their targets, aim their shots, and I'm told most shots were also kills. Even so, our folks didn't kill them all. That wasn't the point. The idea was to destroy the ability of that swarm to attack in numbers, the same idea we use in our assaults on the New Breed here. There had to be enough of them left to make any new arrivals wary of coming against human beings.

  A few dozen new breed were left to wander, hopefully spreading the fear scent that warns other zombies not to fuck with the people in that area, at least not without overwhelming numbers. Just as an example to the other zombies there, our team decided to leave alone every disabled zombie that could barely crawl. Sure, the disabled that remained truly dangerous were killed. But there are more than a hundred burned and dismembered undead at the zoo, moaning and vainly thrashing as they struggle against the hunger and the damage to their bodies.

  Let a zombie come across that, and I'd bet anything they decide to seek their dinner elsewhere.