There is a lot of activity at the park. It is a hot bed for a certain type of survivor in this desperate time. I made the trip by myself to check out the park. It was - I don't know what it was.
I took up a position about 200 yards south of the park. There was a maintenance shed with a window and a strong locking door. I brought along a spotting scope that I had found in a sporting goods store. It goes to 42 power so the 200 yards was a very doable distance for observation. There were a few draggers around the area but once they get within about 50-75 yards of the park they get captured (by some members of the crew that maintains the zombie storage) or the sentries at the park take them out. The ones that are captured are "de-barked" before they get put in the truck for transport. They just use a big ugly knife and go right in through the throat.
Inside the park is where the real cruelty and insanity happens. It was late morning when I established the observation point. Most of the people where just starting to rouse for the day. One side of the camp seemed to be getting up and enjoying some interesting things. They had a big breakfast and they also had at there disposal many different drugs and what appeared to be a group of women and men that were open for business of the sexual nature. Any business. The other part of the camp, which seemed to have more inhabitants, didn't have much to eat and definitely didn't have the distractions the other side of the camp had. They quickly began working around the camp and some were gearing up with weapons and empty bags. They ones that geared up left the camp in all directions.
One of them was coming right for my vantage point. I tucked my gear and myself in the darkest corner of the shed. It was a bright day outside but the shed only had the one small window so I prayed it would be dark enough to conceal me. I held my SPAX Axe tight just in case. He came right to the window of the shed and peered in. He cupped his hands around his face to try and see in better. His eyes were burning straight through me...then he turned away. I let out the breath I had been unknowingly holding. I started to rise.
BANG!
The door pulled against it's deadbolt. He had seen me! He's trying to get in! I stepped to the side of the door and raised the SPAX. The door pulled again - and again -
"AAAHHHHRRRGGG!"
The scream made my heart stop for half a beat. I leaned closer to the door. I could hear tearing, crunching, and gurgling. One of the undead had taken him while his attention was on the door. Nothing I could do for him now.
I turned my attention back to the park. Things were pretty quiet. The worker side of the camp seemed to be taking care of all the day to day operations. The "pleasure" side was treating the others like house servants from what I could tell. Some of the Pleasures (seems like a good name to me) went into some tents that were set up in the park and stayed in there for quite some time. I saw them exit occasionally and carry small bags to a tent in the center of the park. When they left the center tent they were always empty handed.
This activity continued all day. The Servants (those not on the pleasure side) worked and the Pleasures did what ever they wanted (with the exception of the few that seemed to be working in the tents). Throughout the day the Servants that had set out that morning trickled in. I was going to back up and head out but the attitude of the camp began to change towards the end of the day and into the evening. Everyone began to gather around the center tent. There was a clear line of separation between the Servants and the Pleasures. They all seemed excited about what was about to happen. That excitement infected me and I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation. Then it happened. It was like a cheesy post apocalyptic movie.
The flap of the center tent lifted and the crowd fell silent. A man, I'll call him Leader, stepped from the tent. He seemed to be a little older than the followers (who all appeared to be in their teens to thirties). He began to speak as he handed out little baggies to the Pleasures from one of the sacks that had been brought to him throughout the day. I'm guessing the Pleasures that went in the tents were cooking drugs of some sort and that's what they brought to Leader so he could hand them out at this meeting. It seemed to be a good speech as everyone was caught up in his every intonation. When he finished handing out the baggies he stepped back to the front of the crowd and gestured toward the Servants. The ones that had gone out for the day came up one by one and emptied their sacks at his feet. They each received a baggie after they emptied their sacks. When the last servant had deposited his goods Leader began speaking again. After a short speech the crowd fell silent again and they all scanned each others faces. They seemed to be waiting for someone to do something. Then two of the Servants raised their hands and shouted. The crowd went crazy with excitement. They hoisted the two, a young man and women, to their shoulders and surfed them to the front by Leader. Leader raised his hands and silenced the crowd. He shouted something and I can't be sure from that distance that I heard it right but I believe he said,
"LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"
At this the crowd made its way to a fully fenced court near the center of the park. They encircled the court and began cheering as the male Servant who had volunteered entered the court. Leader gestured to the crew from the zombie storage building. They opened their truck and brought out the biggest zombie I have ever seen. It must have been almost 7 feet tall! Two of the crew wrestled it into the court and pulled the catch poles off then ran for the gate and locked it behind them. The Servant in the cage danced around the zombie, doing his best Muhammad Ali foot work. He was unarmed. He began striking the creature in the head with hard blows and darting away before it could grab hold of him, looking to the cheering crowd between each blow. This went on for about a minute and it was obvious that the Servant was getting worn out. His footwork was fading and his punches weren't as strong as they had been. He turned to the crowd for approval and the zombie shot forward with a sudden burst of speed and grabbed hold of him. It sunk its teeth into the back of his scalp and pulled a piece off. He began to scream. It fell on top of him and began to tear at his back as he screamed, a scream you couldn't hear above the roar of the crowd. Three of the wranglers went into the court. Two of them collared the zombie and pulled it into one corner. The other went to the servant on the ground and rolled him onto his back. The servant was still alive. The wrangler put a hand one hand on the mans forehead and with the other he drew a knife from his belt and plunged it into the Servants voice box! The wrangler stood up and drug the twitching Servant to the truck and tossed him in the back.
The second Servant, the female, entered the court. The wranglers released the zombie and ran for the gate. The servant began shouting at the creature. She didn't take her eyes off of it as she moved along the fence feeling it with her hands. The zombie was approaching her. When she reached a fence post she started to climb the fence. The zombie drew closer as she climbed. She reached the top pole that supported the chain link ceiling just as the zombie reached the edge of the fence and made a grab for her. She grabbed onto the top pole and swung out away from the side by pushing off of the zombies head which caused it to fall forward into the fence post. The Servant then began to pummel the things head into the fence post with kicks as she hung from the top pole. The zombies head was losing its shape and its feet were faltering as she continued her barrage of kicks. The zombies head bounced of the bloody fence post a final time and it fell backwards to the ground. The Servant dropped from the top pole onto the zombies face crushing what was left of the head. The crowd went crazy. Leader entered the ring and raised the Servant's arm like a champion wrestler. He led her out of the court and began to walk her toward the pleasure camp. The crowds followed congratulating her along the way. She picked out a few baggies from the sack offered by Leader and selected a love slave for the night. She had won the right to be a Pleasure by killing a zombie bare handed.
The camp began to settle for the night. I didn't want to have to make my way back in the dark but I didn't want to stay any longer after what I had seen. I packed up my gear as quietly as I could. I took up the SPAX and unlocked the door. I slipped through into the night.
It was dark. The ground felt wet. I stepped into the night. Something grabbed my right foot and pulled it hard and I went down. Hands were pulling at my clothes ferociously. I swung my SPAX with one hand as I tried to pull myself away with the other. The SPAX sunk deep into something hard and the clawing hands stopped. I fumbled in my pocket for a flashlight and clicked it on. My pants were torn and one of my shoes had been pulled off and was still in the hands of the zombie that lay dead at my feet. It's throat was chewed through as were its legs and part of its abdomen. With the speed that the hands were moving it had to of been fresh. The Servant that tried to get in the shed earlier. I pulled my boot from it's grasp and pried the SPAX from it's head. I took a risk and decided to leave the flashlight on for the trip home. I hope the camp didn't spot me leaving.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Stake Out
We have been survielling the building that Kevin found. We headed there in the morning just before dawn. Kevin and I holed up in the second story of a building across the street. We barricaded ourselves in a room to avoid a run-in with the undead while we watched the holding area with binoculars. Kevin suggested we bring along a rope fire escape ladder that hangs over a window sill in case we needed a way out if the door was blocked. It turned out to be a great idea.
We were there almost 13 hours before there was any activity. At that point a small box truck pulled up to the building. Three men got out of the cab. After what looked like some jovial rough housing and weed smoking one of the men went to the back side of the building and started shouting obscenities. The two men at the truck then opened the box, which was facing away from us, and one of them climbed in and handed a pole to the man on the ground. The man on the ground then lifted the pole into the truck box where it was attached to something. After a little struggling, cussing and laughing the man then pulled a zombie from the truck. He went to the building, shoved the zombie in, and released it. They repeated this with five more zombies and then packed up the poles. From what we can tell they sent the man around the back of the building to distract the undead inside so they could put more in. The ones added to the building had the same voice treatment as the others. They are using some sort of modified catch pole to handle the undead. But why are they storing them? By this time the sun was on it's way down and shining in the window where we were watching. The men were sitting on the front bumper of the truck and talking. I raised my binoculars just as one of them looked my way. The sun hit the lenses of the binoculars and the man saw it! They sprang to action, grabbing a gun and some bats from the truck they rushed the building. Kevin quickly pulled the ladder from his pack. We could hear the men coming up the stairwell. We threw everything in the packs and flung the ladder down. Kevin went down first and I followed. When I was just a few rungs from the bottom I heard the door of the room burst open and when I was just one rung from the bottom the men from the truck started to pull the ladder up! I jumped as Kevin fired a round at the open window. I hit the ground running. Kevin started to head up the street that would take us to the house. I grabbed him and pulled him in the opposite direction, not wanting to lead the men to our hide out. One of the men came down the ladder after us and the others went back down the stairs.
We ran and made a couple of turns to get out of sight of our pursuers then we ducked into the nearest building we could find. It was an Indian restaurant. We worked our way though the tables trying to be as quiet as possible. We could here the men shouting to each other in the street. We made it to the the door at the back of the kitchen. There were no windows and it was dark in the kitchen so we couldn't see why it wasn't opening. Then we heard the moans. There were zombies in the kitchen with us. I turned on my flashlight just in time to see the beam glinting of the teeth of the nearest one. I instinctively fired my rifle killing it.
"Shit." Kevin grabbed me and pulled me toward the front.
"What are you doing?!" I hissed.
"The shot. They know where we are. We have to get out of here before they get in."
He was right. Damn it. What was I thinking? We headed out the front at a dead run. Just as we reached the end of the block and turned the corner I looked back to see undead pouring from the restaurant and the men rounding to corner. They spotted us but they had to deal with the zombies which gave us a couple of minutes.
"There." I said pointing across the street to an open manhole cover. We climbed down and I grabbed the manhole cover to close it. It wasn't moving. I handed my rifle to Kevin and grabbed on with both hands. It must have weighed 75 pounds or more! It took a minute but I got it over the hole; I hoped before the men had made it around the corner to see me. I came down the ladder and was greeted by a look of despair on Kevin's face.
"What?"
He shined his light around the sewer where we were. Every tunnel leading out of the chamber was blocked with a locked grate. We were stuck. We heard the man coming up the street now. Kevin turned off his light and we waited with or rifles pointing at the tiny hole of light coming from the manhole cover lift port. We could here the men searching. Several times they passed over the cover. Soon the light coming in started to fade. They gave up and left. Kevin and I stayed in the chamber all night. Taking turns at watch. Waiting for morning to make our way home.
We were there almost 13 hours before there was any activity. At that point a small box truck pulled up to the building. Three men got out of the cab. After what looked like some jovial rough housing and weed smoking one of the men went to the back side of the building and started shouting obscenities. The two men at the truck then opened the box, which was facing away from us, and one of them climbed in and handed a pole to the man on the ground. The man on the ground then lifted the pole into the truck box where it was attached to something. After a little struggling, cussing and laughing the man then pulled a zombie from the truck. He went to the building, shoved the zombie in, and released it. They repeated this with five more zombies and then packed up the poles. From what we can tell they sent the man around the back of the building to distract the undead inside so they could put more in. The ones added to the building had the same voice treatment as the others. They are using some sort of modified catch pole to handle the undead. But why are they storing them? By this time the sun was on it's way down and shining in the window where we were watching. The men were sitting on the front bumper of the truck and talking. I raised my binoculars just as one of them looked my way. The sun hit the lenses of the binoculars and the man saw it! They sprang to action, grabbing a gun and some bats from the truck they rushed the building. Kevin quickly pulled the ladder from his pack. We could hear the men coming up the stairwell. We threw everything in the packs and flung the ladder down. Kevin went down first and I followed. When I was just a few rungs from the bottom I heard the door of the room burst open and when I was just one rung from the bottom the men from the truck started to pull the ladder up! I jumped as Kevin fired a round at the open window. I hit the ground running. Kevin started to head up the street that would take us to the house. I grabbed him and pulled him in the opposite direction, not wanting to lead the men to our hide out. One of the men came down the ladder after us and the others went back down the stairs.
We ran and made a couple of turns to get out of sight of our pursuers then we ducked into the nearest building we could find. It was an Indian restaurant. We worked our way though the tables trying to be as quiet as possible. We could here the men shouting to each other in the street. We made it to the the door at the back of the kitchen. There were no windows and it was dark in the kitchen so we couldn't see why it wasn't opening. Then we heard the moans. There were zombies in the kitchen with us. I turned on my flashlight just in time to see the beam glinting of the teeth of the nearest one. I instinctively fired my rifle killing it.
"Shit." Kevin grabbed me and pulled me toward the front.
"What are you doing?!" I hissed.
"The shot. They know where we are. We have to get out of here before they get in."
He was right. Damn it. What was I thinking? We headed out the front at a dead run. Just as we reached the end of the block and turned the corner I looked back to see undead pouring from the restaurant and the men rounding to corner. They spotted us but they had to deal with the zombies which gave us a couple of minutes.
"There." I said pointing across the street to an open manhole cover. We climbed down and I grabbed the manhole cover to close it. It wasn't moving. I handed my rifle to Kevin and grabbed on with both hands. It must have weighed 75 pounds or more! It took a minute but I got it over the hole; I hoped before the men had made it around the corner to see me. I came down the ladder and was greeted by a look of despair on Kevin's face.
"What?"
He shined his light around the sewer where we were. Every tunnel leading out of the chamber was blocked with a locked grate. We were stuck. We heard the man coming up the street now. Kevin turned off his light and we waited with or rifles pointing at the tiny hole of light coming from the manhole cover lift port. We could here the men searching. Several times they passed over the cover. Soon the light coming in started to fade. They gave up and left. Kevin and I stayed in the chamber all night. Taking turns at watch. Waiting for morning to make our way home.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Damn Generator
The generator quit on us! We've all been searching the surrounding neighborhoods for another one. After a couple of weeks with no results I went to a bookstore in a small shopping complex by our house/fortress and looked for a couple of books on small engine repair. I read three of them cover to cover and I felt somewhat less confused about how everything worked. After disassembling the generator I made a list of things that we would need to fix it. Kevin and I set out in two directions to get the necessary supplies for the repairs. When we returned we both had something to report.
Kevin was headed to a hose and fitting shop south of our location. Everything was going smooth. There were only a few draggers and he was making good time when he spotted a truck across a parking lot that caught his attention. The back window of the truck was covered in stickers from gun manufacturers so Kevin thought he should see if there were any gun related items in the rig. He approached cautiously as the truck was parked close to large metal building. He could hear muffled noises from inside the building as he drew closer to the truck. He peered through the drivers side window. He eased he hand onto the door handle and gave it a pull.
CAR ALARM!
The horn started blaring and the lights flashed. Kevin ran for cover at the nearest corner of the building and turned just in time to see a young man, probably not more than 20 and very "rough" looking as Kevin described him, rush to the truck. The young man sheathed a bloody knife he was holding, drew a pistol and began a sweep of the area. Kevin pulled back further behind the building to stay out of view. As he backed along the wall he felt something move at his shoulder. He turned to see Fingers sticking out of a grated window. He peered inside to see a swarm of undead in the building! The one at the window appeared to be trying to moan. Kevin looked closer and saw that it had a deep wound on it's neck. As he looked in he saw that all the zombies he could see in the room had the same wound. Someone was collecting and "de-barking" them. But why? He wasn't going to hang around and ask the young man about it. Moving at a steady run, Kevin got the fittings and came back to the house using a different route.
I discovered an equally disturbing scene on my trek to an auto parts store just to the east of Kevin's find. I made it to the store without any issue. I was gathering up supplies for the generator rebuild when I noticed faint music. I put the supplies in my pack and stuffed in a bunch of hand towels to keep the tools and parts from rattling so I could go out and investigate the music without being heard and without leaving the bag behind. When I got outside the music seemed to be coming from the direction of the park just past the store. Cautiously I crept closer. In the center of the park was a fenced in multi-purpose arena and that is where the music was radiating from. From a perch about forty yards away I pulled my binoculars from the pack and scanned the arena. What I saw I couldn't believe. It was full of people! As I watched I was confused about what they were doing. I scanned for a few minutes before I realized just what was happening. Almost all of them were doing drugs of one kind or another or were involved in some sort of orgy or a combination of the two! The music played loudly and the mass of bodies writhed in rhythm. It was - unspeakable. I packed the binoculars and made a very rapid return to the house.
We are planning to investigate these two locations further in the upcoming week. We are gathering supplies and studying every map of the area we can find to determine what will be the best approach for both locations - and how many ways we can get out if we need to. I will keep you posted on what we find. I suspect the two sites are related somehow.
Kevin was headed to a hose and fitting shop south of our location. Everything was going smooth. There were only a few draggers and he was making good time when he spotted a truck across a parking lot that caught his attention. The back window of the truck was covered in stickers from gun manufacturers so Kevin thought he should see if there were any gun related items in the rig. He approached cautiously as the truck was parked close to large metal building. He could hear muffled noises from inside the building as he drew closer to the truck. He peered through the drivers side window. He eased he hand onto the door handle and gave it a pull.
CAR ALARM!
The horn started blaring and the lights flashed. Kevin ran for cover at the nearest corner of the building and turned just in time to see a young man, probably not more than 20 and very "rough" looking as Kevin described him, rush to the truck. The young man sheathed a bloody knife he was holding, drew a pistol and began a sweep of the area. Kevin pulled back further behind the building to stay out of view. As he backed along the wall he felt something move at his shoulder. He turned to see Fingers sticking out of a grated window. He peered inside to see a swarm of undead in the building! The one at the window appeared to be trying to moan. Kevin looked closer and saw that it had a deep wound on it's neck. As he looked in he saw that all the zombies he could see in the room had the same wound. Someone was collecting and "de-barking" them. But why? He wasn't going to hang around and ask the young man about it. Moving at a steady run, Kevin got the fittings and came back to the house using a different route.
I discovered an equally disturbing scene on my trek to an auto parts store just to the east of Kevin's find. I made it to the store without any issue. I was gathering up supplies for the generator rebuild when I noticed faint music. I put the supplies in my pack and stuffed in a bunch of hand towels to keep the tools and parts from rattling so I could go out and investigate the music without being heard and without leaving the bag behind. When I got outside the music seemed to be coming from the direction of the park just past the store. Cautiously I crept closer. In the center of the park was a fenced in multi-purpose arena and that is where the music was radiating from. From a perch about forty yards away I pulled my binoculars from the pack and scanned the arena. What I saw I couldn't believe. It was full of people! As I watched I was confused about what they were doing. I scanned for a few minutes before I realized just what was happening. Almost all of them were doing drugs of one kind or another or were involved in some sort of orgy or a combination of the two! The music played loudly and the mass of bodies writhed in rhythm. It was - unspeakable. I packed the binoculars and made a very rapid return to the house.
We are planning to investigate these two locations further in the upcoming week. We are gathering supplies and studying every map of the area we can find to determine what will be the best approach for both locations - and how many ways we can get out if we need to. I will keep you posted on what we find. I suspect the two sites are related somehow.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Move.
Sorry for the long delay between posts. The move has taken up all our time. We are getting established in our new stronghold - for now. We've been spending our days reinforcing our current dwelling and gathering supplies. We made the actual move fairly rapidly with a few stops along the way for supplies. There was a very close call though, with an interesting outcome.
After a lot of deliberation we decided we should try and get a vehicle for the move. I scouted around the neighborhood and found one that was suitable. A medium size SUV that started when I tried it. I then spent the next couple of hours syphoning all the gasoline I could from the other vehicles around the area. I was able to fill the tank of the SUV and have almost five gallons left over. We planned a route that would take us past some shopping areas on our way out of the city to a smaller suburb. We planned on grabbing anything we could from the stores we passed. Once in the suburb we would begin fortifying a free standing house.
We loaded the SUV (a slow process as we tried to avoid the amassing undead) and started out. The SUV was running fine and we were making good time. We had to crash through some debris and ride up on some sidewalks to get around some pile-ups but everything was holding together.
We made our first stop at a grocery store. That wasn't much left inside but we managed to scrounge a little. We left the SUV running with Bianca inside. Didn't want to chance it not starting if we needed a quick get away. (The car never seems to start in movies so we figured why chance it.) There was the usual amount of undead activity but they were all draggers so we evaded them without confrontation.
Our next stop was a hardware store about a half mile away. It was a small shop so I decided to go in alone. There were the usual wheel barrows, garden tools, and a couple of storage sheds out front. The area seemed to be very quite. I couldn't see or hear any zombies. I took this as a good sign and began looking through the store. As I gathered a good armful of kerosene cans I heard a noise outside the front of the store. I cautiously approached the front doors. As I stepped out I saw that one of the tool sheds out front was open and there were noises coming from the other. There was a shout from behind me. I turned and side-stepped - right onto a rake. It was like a cartoon. The rake flew up and hit me in the side of the head and I went down, kerosene cans crashing. As I went down I saw the other tool shed burst open and a thorpe come rushing out. I hit me head again on something when I went to the ground and blacked out.
The next thing I remember is waking up with the man who had tried to rob our last home hovering over me! I pushed him away shouting furiously. Bianca quickly came into view holding me and calming me. I was in the back of the SUV and we were moving. Bianca explained to me that the man (Kevin is his name) had saved me. He had been sleeping in one of the storage sheds when I went into the hardware store. He heard me and came out to see what was going on. He saw the SUV and began to approach it just as I came out of the hardware store. He turned and shouted a warning to me to not go near the other shed. That's what startled me and caused the run in with the rake. He shot the thorpe that came out of the shed and then dragged me to the SUV.
"Thanks for not killing me...I would have died for sure if you had just turned me out after what I did to you. You didn't have to. Thanks." That was all Kevin said for the remainder of the day. He spent the rest of the drive with his head down in a trance-like state. The next day he offered up that the Thorpe in the shed had been his girlfriend. She had been bitten. After a long discussion they agreed that she should be locked up in the shed if he wasn't going to be able to dispatch her because she couldn't kill herself.
Kevin has been working along side of us for several days now. I still don't fully trust him but then again I wasn't actually awake to see him risk his life for me. The headache from the fall is finally starting to go away. We have a pretty good house here. There is a strong 7ft chain link fence and all the first story windows and doors have been reinforced. I think we can hold out here for a while. I will have more details on our new location as they become available. Stay safe.
After a lot of deliberation we decided we should try and get a vehicle for the move. I scouted around the neighborhood and found one that was suitable. A medium size SUV that started when I tried it. I then spent the next couple of hours syphoning all the gasoline I could from the other vehicles around the area. I was able to fill the tank of the SUV and have almost five gallons left over. We planned a route that would take us past some shopping areas on our way out of the city to a smaller suburb. We planned on grabbing anything we could from the stores we passed. Once in the suburb we would begin fortifying a free standing house.
We loaded the SUV (a slow process as we tried to avoid the amassing undead) and started out. The SUV was running fine and we were making good time. We had to crash through some debris and ride up on some sidewalks to get around some pile-ups but everything was holding together.
We made our first stop at a grocery store. That wasn't much left inside but we managed to scrounge a little. We left the SUV running with Bianca inside. Didn't want to chance it not starting if we needed a quick get away. (The car never seems to start in movies so we figured why chance it.) There was the usual amount of undead activity but they were all draggers so we evaded them without confrontation.
Our next stop was a hardware store about a half mile away. It was a small shop so I decided to go in alone. There were the usual wheel barrows, garden tools, and a couple of storage sheds out front. The area seemed to be very quite. I couldn't see or hear any zombies. I took this as a good sign and began looking through the store. As I gathered a good armful of kerosene cans I heard a noise outside the front of the store. I cautiously approached the front doors. As I stepped out I saw that one of the tool sheds out front was open and there were noises coming from the other. There was a shout from behind me. I turned and side-stepped - right onto a rake. It was like a cartoon. The rake flew up and hit me in the side of the head and I went down, kerosene cans crashing. As I went down I saw the other tool shed burst open and a thorpe come rushing out. I hit me head again on something when I went to the ground and blacked out.
The next thing I remember is waking up with the man who had tried to rob our last home hovering over me! I pushed him away shouting furiously. Bianca quickly came into view holding me and calming me. I was in the back of the SUV and we were moving. Bianca explained to me that the man (Kevin is his name) had saved me. He had been sleeping in one of the storage sheds when I went into the hardware store. He heard me and came out to see what was going on. He saw the SUV and began to approach it just as I came out of the hardware store. He turned and shouted a warning to me to not go near the other shed. That's what startled me and caused the run in with the rake. He shot the thorpe that came out of the shed and then dragged me to the SUV.
"Thanks for not killing me...I would have died for sure if you had just turned me out after what I did to you. You didn't have to. Thanks." That was all Kevin said for the remainder of the day. He spent the rest of the drive with his head down in a trance-like state. The next day he offered up that the Thorpe in the shed had been his girlfriend. She had been bitten. After a long discussion they agreed that she should be locked up in the shed if he wasn't going to be able to dispatch her because she couldn't kill herself.
Kevin has been working along side of us for several days now. I still don't fully trust him but then again I wasn't actually awake to see him risk his life for me. The headache from the fall is finally starting to go away. We have a pretty good house here. There is a strong 7ft chain link fence and all the first story windows and doors have been reinforced. I think we can hold out here for a while. I will have more details on our new location as they become available. Stay safe.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Report.
I have now completely read through the report obtained from the facility. I couldn't understand all of he scientific information but I understood enough to know what happened.
Three months before the outbreak in Los Angeles the United States Department of Defense had made a discovery in a cave deep in the mountains of Afghanistan. On a routine raid of a cave thought to be a hiding place of insurgents a team of soldiers encountered a group of unarmed men. They were stumbling about and appeared to be eating raw animal flesh of some sort. Upon spotting the soldiers the men turned their attention away from what they were eating and began advancing on the soldiers while moaning incessantly. The soldiers fired upon the men but the rounds seemed to have little to no effect. The advance continued until one of the soldiers was set upon by several of the assailants. They immediately began consuming the soldier. In the ensuing chaos one of the soldiers discovered that shoots to the head were a sure way to put the assailants down. After a fast and bloody encounter the soldiers retrieved the lifeless body of their fallen comrade and they began the trek back to base. At the halfway mark of the march the lifeless soldier began to move in his body bag. The soldiers having seen what they had just seen were careful to restrain the body before opening the bag. When they opened the bag the soldier inside was moaning the same moan as the men in the cave. The verified by his pulse that he was indeed dead. Restraining him thoroughly they hoofed it back to base where they reported their findings.
The next morning they along with their lifeless companion were airlifted back to a lab outside of Los Angeles. The fallen soldier was recorded as Patient Zero. From that point on the team that brought in Patient Zero was assigned to the research facility as subjects and guards. From there it goes on to detail experimentation with patients one through nineteen. Some of these subjects were animals some were people. Most of them were just exposed to Patient Zero by proximity. Some of the animals were injected with fluids from Patient Zero but showed no symptoms or reaction that would correlate to Patient Zero's condition. The experimentation went on for nearly three months.
Then it got interesting. Apparently many of the research staff lived in the Los Angeles area. After a weekend off one of the lead scientists returned to the lab early on Monday morning. She discovered blood soaked rags in a co-workers trash can. That worker had been tasked with drawing blood and saliva samples the Friday before. Reviewing the security footage the lead researcher discovered that the worker had been bitten on the shoulder while collecting the samples. Reviewing the incident report from the soldiers at the cave she became, as the document put it, "very concerned". She immediately tried contacting him at home but received no answer. After spending the rest of that day and half of the next trying to get authorization to go into city limits with a containment team she received confirmation that here request had been granted. The lab worker became Patient 20. The soldiers from the cave were tasked with guarding the lab while a special containment team was flown in. The containment team went in only to discover that the "infection" had already begun spreading. They quarantined neighborhoods but no matter how they tried it always seemed to slip beyond there barriers. The last entry in the file is from the lead researcher. She reports going back to the lab to collect equipment to relocate to the facility that I have reported on. When she arrived at the lab the team of soldiers from the cave were A.W.O.L. and patient zero had been executed with a single round to the head.
That's all the information that was not to technical for me to report. It's unsettling to think that this was all brought to our shores by our own government. We are going to go on the move now so it may be a while before my next entry. I hope this information can help all of you in some way.
Three months before the outbreak in Los Angeles the United States Department of Defense had made a discovery in a cave deep in the mountains of Afghanistan. On a routine raid of a cave thought to be a hiding place of insurgents a team of soldiers encountered a group of unarmed men. They were stumbling about and appeared to be eating raw animal flesh of some sort. Upon spotting the soldiers the men turned their attention away from what they were eating and began advancing on the soldiers while moaning incessantly. The soldiers fired upon the men but the rounds seemed to have little to no effect. The advance continued until one of the soldiers was set upon by several of the assailants. They immediately began consuming the soldier. In the ensuing chaos one of the soldiers discovered that shoots to the head were a sure way to put the assailants down. After a fast and bloody encounter the soldiers retrieved the lifeless body of their fallen comrade and they began the trek back to base. At the halfway mark of the march the lifeless soldier began to move in his body bag. The soldiers having seen what they had just seen were careful to restrain the body before opening the bag. When they opened the bag the soldier inside was moaning the same moan as the men in the cave. The verified by his pulse that he was indeed dead. Restraining him thoroughly they hoofed it back to base where they reported their findings.
The next morning they along with their lifeless companion were airlifted back to a lab outside of Los Angeles. The fallen soldier was recorded as Patient Zero. From that point on the team that brought in Patient Zero was assigned to the research facility as subjects and guards. From there it goes on to detail experimentation with patients one through nineteen. Some of these subjects were animals some were people. Most of them were just exposed to Patient Zero by proximity. Some of the animals were injected with fluids from Patient Zero but showed no symptoms or reaction that would correlate to Patient Zero's condition. The experimentation went on for nearly three months.
Then it got interesting. Apparently many of the research staff lived in the Los Angeles area. After a weekend off one of the lead scientists returned to the lab early on Monday morning. She discovered blood soaked rags in a co-workers trash can. That worker had been tasked with drawing blood and saliva samples the Friday before. Reviewing the security footage the lead researcher discovered that the worker had been bitten on the shoulder while collecting the samples. Reviewing the incident report from the soldiers at the cave she became, as the document put it, "very concerned". She immediately tried contacting him at home but received no answer. After spending the rest of that day and half of the next trying to get authorization to go into city limits with a containment team she received confirmation that here request had been granted. The lab worker became Patient 20. The soldiers from the cave were tasked with guarding the lab while a special containment team was flown in. The containment team went in only to discover that the "infection" had already begun spreading. They quarantined neighborhoods but no matter how they tried it always seemed to slip beyond there barriers. The last entry in the file is from the lead researcher. She reports going back to the lab to collect equipment to relocate to the facility that I have reported on. When she arrived at the lab the team of soldiers from the cave were A.W.O.L. and patient zero had been executed with a single round to the head.
That's all the information that was not to technical for me to report. It's unsettling to think that this was all brought to our shores by our own government. We are going to go on the move now so it may be a while before my next entry. I hope this information can help all of you in some way.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
New information.
We are gearing up to move. Since the incident with Tobias zombies have been congregating to close to our location. We are also having to go further and further for food, water and fuel. Prior to our relocation I wanted to make one more trip to the government facility. I had to see if their was anything else I could learn.
I prepped my gear for a quick and dirty run. I didn't want to be weighted down with much because I knew I would have to move quick the whole way to avoid the zombies that have amassed around the apartment. I just took my rifle, ammo, a flashlight and my SPAX axe. Exiting through the back of the apartment I made my way through the back yards of the neighboring structures. Draggers were mostly what I was encountering along the way. I did have a run in with one thorpe but the SPAX took care of that situation with ease.
I made good time to the facility. The extra cardio I had been doing in the apartment was paying off. That and the lack of burgers since the fall of the city. I approached the facility with the usual caution. The back alley with the basement window I had used to observe the testing earlier seemed like a good place to start. I crept into position and peered through the tiny opening in the paint. The tables and equipment were covered in blood and the walls were pocked with bullet holes! There didn't appear to be any movement but it was fairly dark inside. I scanned the room several times from my limited vantage point but could see no personnel.
Rising I went around to the far side of the building. I stopped at the door and listened. No sound. I grabbed the handle. It was open. I cautiously stepped inside with my rifle at the ready. More blood and bullet holes greeted me in the corridor. There had been a major fire fight in this place. As the door swung shut the hall became dark. Not so dark I couldn't make out shapes so I decided to go it without the flashlight so as not to alert any military personnel still in the building. I started down the hallway when suddenly my feet flew from under my body. I went down hard but kept my senses enough to swing my rifle and head around looking for my attacker. There was no one there. Looking down I realized that I had slipped on the empty shell casing that littered the floor. Scrambling to my feet I stood waiting. The noise of my fall would certainly have alerted someone to my presence. But no one came. No noise. Nothing. Pulling my flashlight from my pocket I continued on through the passages. Everywhere I went there were tell tale signs of gunfire and blood. The battle ranged through the whole facility. I was continually shining the flashlight to my feet to avoid another fall when it occurred to me: there are no bodies. Blood and bullet holes but no bodies. Surely at least one of them had been a head shot. This building had been full of soldiers who knew how to put these things down.
CRASH! What was that?! It came from down the corridor to my right. Taking a deep breath I turned and started down the hall. As I approached I saw a shaft of light growing and shrinking. A door swung back and forth on it's hinges, the lock work broken out of it. I stepped into the room and found that the window had been smashed and the wind was blowing the door. Moving to the window I looked down the street. Suddenly there was a hand clamped onto my shirt pulling me out the window! I pulled the SPAX from it's sheath and swung it into action. The first swing severed the hand that was pulling me out the window causing me to fall to the pavement. The dragger bent down to take a bite and I sunk the pick end square between it's eyes. It fell next to me still twitching. I climbed back in the window and resumed my search of the facility with a bit more urgency than I had before.
I made it down to the labs in the basement. In an office at the center of the labs I found a three ring binder. On the cover it said "CASE REPORT: PATIENT ZERO THROUGH SUBJECT 20". It was overflowing with information, all marked CONFIDENTIAL and TOP SECRET. I had to fight the urge to read the report. I didn't have time and this was not a safe place for some leisurely reading. I scooped it up and with it under one arm I continued my sweep of the basement.
I came to the last room in the farthest corner of basement. I stepped in and scanned the room with the flashlight. There were no signs of movement. Looking down I saw a military style pack. I grabbed it and hastily shoved the binder in and slung it over my back. In doing so I realized that it wasn't just a pack on the floor. There were clothes and other articles strewn about the room. There was also a smeared dried blood trail leading through the doorway to the incinerator against the wall. That's where all the bodies had gone. It also meant one or more people made it out of the facility alive.
I hoofed it back to the apartment as fast as I could. I now sit writing this as we prepare to spend our last day in this apartment. I have not yet made it all the way through the information in the binder. As soon as I do I will give you a full report of everything I learn. Stay safe.
I prepped my gear for a quick and dirty run. I didn't want to be weighted down with much because I knew I would have to move quick the whole way to avoid the zombies that have amassed around the apartment. I just took my rifle, ammo, a flashlight and my SPAX axe. Exiting through the back of the apartment I made my way through the back yards of the neighboring structures. Draggers were mostly what I was encountering along the way. I did have a run in with one thorpe but the SPAX took care of that situation with ease.
I made good time to the facility. The extra cardio I had been doing in the apartment was paying off. That and the lack of burgers since the fall of the city. I approached the facility with the usual caution. The back alley with the basement window I had used to observe the testing earlier seemed like a good place to start. I crept into position and peered through the tiny opening in the paint. The tables and equipment were covered in blood and the walls were pocked with bullet holes! There didn't appear to be any movement but it was fairly dark inside. I scanned the room several times from my limited vantage point but could see no personnel.
Rising I went around to the far side of the building. I stopped at the door and listened. No sound. I grabbed the handle. It was open. I cautiously stepped inside with my rifle at the ready. More blood and bullet holes greeted me in the corridor. There had been a major fire fight in this place. As the door swung shut the hall became dark. Not so dark I couldn't make out shapes so I decided to go it without the flashlight so as not to alert any military personnel still in the building. I started down the hallway when suddenly my feet flew from under my body. I went down hard but kept my senses enough to swing my rifle and head around looking for my attacker. There was no one there. Looking down I realized that I had slipped on the empty shell casing that littered the floor. Scrambling to my feet I stood waiting. The noise of my fall would certainly have alerted someone to my presence. But no one came. No noise. Nothing. Pulling my flashlight from my pocket I continued on through the passages. Everywhere I went there were tell tale signs of gunfire and blood. The battle ranged through the whole facility. I was continually shining the flashlight to my feet to avoid another fall when it occurred to me: there are no bodies. Blood and bullet holes but no bodies. Surely at least one of them had been a head shot. This building had been full of soldiers who knew how to put these things down.
CRASH! What was that?! It came from down the corridor to my right. Taking a deep breath I turned and started down the hall. As I approached I saw a shaft of light growing and shrinking. A door swung back and forth on it's hinges, the lock work broken out of it. I stepped into the room and found that the window had been smashed and the wind was blowing the door. Moving to the window I looked down the street. Suddenly there was a hand clamped onto my shirt pulling me out the window! I pulled the SPAX from it's sheath and swung it into action. The first swing severed the hand that was pulling me out the window causing me to fall to the pavement. The dragger bent down to take a bite and I sunk the pick end square between it's eyes. It fell next to me still twitching. I climbed back in the window and resumed my search of the facility with a bit more urgency than I had before.
I made it down to the labs in the basement. In an office at the center of the labs I found a three ring binder. On the cover it said "CASE REPORT: PATIENT ZERO THROUGH SUBJECT 20". It was overflowing with information, all marked CONFIDENTIAL and TOP SECRET. I had to fight the urge to read the report. I didn't have time and this was not a safe place for some leisurely reading. I scooped it up and with it under one arm I continued my sweep of the basement.
I came to the last room in the farthest corner of basement. I stepped in and scanned the room with the flashlight. There were no signs of movement. Looking down I saw a military style pack. I grabbed it and hastily shoved the binder in and slung it over my back. In doing so I realized that it wasn't just a pack on the floor. There were clothes and other articles strewn about the room. There was also a smeared dried blood trail leading through the doorway to the incinerator against the wall. That's where all the bodies had gone. It also meant one or more people made it out of the facility alive.
I hoofed it back to the apartment as fast as I could. I now sit writing this as we prepare to spend our last day in this apartment. I have not yet made it all the way through the information in the binder. As soon as I do I will give you a full report of everything I learn. Stay safe.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tobias
It's a beautiful sunny day. I am walking in a park. Children are playing and laughing. Parents chatter leisurely on benches surrounding the large swing set. It is serene. I sit down on a bench near a small pond with ducks criss-crossing it's surface. The sun warms my face. The children's laughter lulls my eyes shut. A dog barks in the distance. I slip my sandals off and feel the grass between my toes. I feel the moist caress of a tongue and I look down to see a cute blond retriever licking my toes. I scrunch my face with laughter. When my eyes open again and I focus it's not a dog I see.
I leap up from my bed. The dog has become a blond dragger and it's right at the foot of my bed. It has been licking my feet as they stuck out the bottom of the blanket. It would have bitten them but it doesn't have a lower jaw or a left arm and it's right one stops at mid forearm where other zombies have gnawed the flesh away. My hand flail's for my pistol as the dragger struggles onto my bed. My fingers clamp down on the cold and reassuring form of the Beretta. I swing it in line with the dragger and fire one round. I struggle past the lifeless mutilated corpse and grab the rifle leaning in the corner.
As I round the corner to the main room I see Jan reloading her shotgun with several dispatched draggers at her feet. I turn toward the kitchen just in time to draw a bead on a thorpe as it runs through the door way. I drop it in it's tracks and rush to the door as I shout to Jan, "Where's Bianca!"
"She opened the door and ran out before I could stop her!"
"She ran out! She's out there?!" I say as I instinctively slam the door closed.
"It was like she was possessed. She bolted from her room to the door mumbling something about a dog." Jan says as she racks a round into the chamber of her Mossberg.
"I'm going out after her." I say as I grasp the door handle.
"James,"
"Don't try to stop me. I-"
"Put on some shoes before we go."
I look to my bare feet and remember with sickening clarity the creatures tongue on my skin. I grab a bottle of bleach we keep near the door and collapse to the floor frantically searching my feet for any scratches or signs of a bite. They look clean. I drench my hands and feet with the bleach and pull on the nearest pair of boots.
Jan hoists me to my feet and grabs the door handle.
"Ready?"
I nod and she flings open the door. We step out and immediately open fire on the living dead. There are more zombies out here than I have seen any time before! What's brought them all? We fight our way to the street. We are both already running dangerously low on ammunition. We turn to start up the block as something whips around the corner. Jan and I raise our weapons -
"Don't shoot me!"
Bianca! She runs toward us holding the collar of a blond retriever. Jan wraps her arms around Bianca as she says, "What were you thinking?!"
"It's a dog! The monsters were after him! I had to help him, I had to. He needed me. He -"
"We need to move," I say as I grab onto Jan and start pulling them up the street. The dawn is just starting to come over the rooftops. The swarm of living dead moving up the street towards us looks like it is pouring from the sun itself. "Move. Move! NOW!"
I push them further down the block away from the apartment.
"Were are we going?" Jan asks with a worry that I have never heard in her voice before.
"We'll circle around the block ahead of the swarm and cut through the back yards to the apartment. Hopefully it will confuse most of them and lead them away." We run around the corner keeping ahead of the thorpes that are leading the zombies. We get to a chain link fence on the opposite side of the block from the apartment and I pull the bottom up for Jan and Bianca to crawl under. Just as I crouch to go myself a thorpe rounds the corner and spots me. My rifle swings into action almost as if it has the will to do so itself. I fire twice hitting my target on the second shot. I scramble under then fence.
"Keep him quiet." Jan whispers to Bianca. The young girl gently closes her hand around the dogs snout as we make our way slowly and quietly to the apartment.
All this happened last night. As I write this there are still a large number of zombies in the vicinity of the apartment. I am afraid we may have to relocate soon as the ones that hear us in the apartment will certainly summon more. The dog, who Bianca has affectionately named Tobias, is still recovering from his ordeal. He looks well fed so he couldn't have been out there long. He was spent physically from running but I don't think he could have kept up the pace for more than a couple of miles which means that there is or was other people alive and close by. Jan and I will begin a sweep of surrounding buildings tomorrow. If your alive and reading this we're coming to help you.
I leap up from my bed. The dog has become a blond dragger and it's right at the foot of my bed. It has been licking my feet as they stuck out the bottom of the blanket. It would have bitten them but it doesn't have a lower jaw or a left arm and it's right one stops at mid forearm where other zombies have gnawed the flesh away. My hand flail's for my pistol as the dragger struggles onto my bed. My fingers clamp down on the cold and reassuring form of the Beretta. I swing it in line with the dragger and fire one round. I struggle past the lifeless mutilated corpse and grab the rifle leaning in the corner.
As I round the corner to the main room I see Jan reloading her shotgun with several dispatched draggers at her feet. I turn toward the kitchen just in time to draw a bead on a thorpe as it runs through the door way. I drop it in it's tracks and rush to the door as I shout to Jan, "Where's Bianca!"
"She opened the door and ran out before I could stop her!"
"She ran out! She's out there?!" I say as I instinctively slam the door closed.
"It was like she was possessed. She bolted from her room to the door mumbling something about a dog." Jan says as she racks a round into the chamber of her Mossberg.
"I'm going out after her." I say as I grasp the door handle.
"James,"
"Don't try to stop me. I-"
"Put on some shoes before we go."
I look to my bare feet and remember with sickening clarity the creatures tongue on my skin. I grab a bottle of bleach we keep near the door and collapse to the floor frantically searching my feet for any scratches or signs of a bite. They look clean. I drench my hands and feet with the bleach and pull on the nearest pair of boots.
Jan hoists me to my feet and grabs the door handle.
"Ready?"
I nod and she flings open the door. We step out and immediately open fire on the living dead. There are more zombies out here than I have seen any time before! What's brought them all? We fight our way to the street. We are both already running dangerously low on ammunition. We turn to start up the block as something whips around the corner. Jan and I raise our weapons -
"Don't shoot me!"
Bianca! She runs toward us holding the collar of a blond retriever. Jan wraps her arms around Bianca as she says, "What were you thinking?!"
"It's a dog! The monsters were after him! I had to help him, I had to. He needed me. He -"
"We need to move," I say as I grab onto Jan and start pulling them up the street. The dawn is just starting to come over the rooftops. The swarm of living dead moving up the street towards us looks like it is pouring from the sun itself. "Move. Move! NOW!"
I push them further down the block away from the apartment.
"Were are we going?" Jan asks with a worry that I have never heard in her voice before.
"We'll circle around the block ahead of the swarm and cut through the back yards to the apartment. Hopefully it will confuse most of them and lead them away." We run around the corner keeping ahead of the thorpes that are leading the zombies. We get to a chain link fence on the opposite side of the block from the apartment and I pull the bottom up for Jan and Bianca to crawl under. Just as I crouch to go myself a thorpe rounds the corner and spots me. My rifle swings into action almost as if it has the will to do so itself. I fire twice hitting my target on the second shot. I scramble under then fence.
"Keep him quiet." Jan whispers to Bianca. The young girl gently closes her hand around the dogs snout as we make our way slowly and quietly to the apartment.
All this happened last night. As I write this there are still a large number of zombies in the vicinity of the apartment. I am afraid we may have to relocate soon as the ones that hear us in the apartment will certainly summon more. The dog, who Bianca has affectionately named Tobias, is still recovering from his ordeal. He looks well fed so he couldn't have been out there long. He was spent physically from running but I don't think he could have kept up the pace for more than a couple of miles which means that there is or was other people alive and close by. Jan and I will begin a sweep of surrounding buildings tomorrow. If your alive and reading this we're coming to help you.
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