A Little Back Story on L.T.

L.T.'s place is quite secure. It's a few miles out of town and all the doors and windows are reinforced. I make it sound like a prison but it actually looks very nice. The metal bracing on the doors is all encased inside nice wood work. There are metal shutters that come down over the windows but they are contained within the exterior walls and go completely unnoticed until they're deployed. Which they are. Every night.

That's probably why I felt comfortable enough to sit down with L.T. and share a bottle of scotch after Bianca had gone to bed. I didn't realize it until this morning when I awoke with a massive head ache but that scotch was the first alcohol I have had since the original outbreak in L.A. It hit me pretty hard. But I am going to try and relay some of the conversation I had with L.T.

L.T. started talking to me about when Bianca and I were brought in to the holding facility after trying to breech the military barrier around L.A.

"We brought you guys in to the processing area. Bianca was already awake. I couldn't bring myself to hit her very hard and she was fully awake before we even got her into the truck to take her to base. Anyway, after processing we started to move you into one holding area and her into another. She lost it. That petite little thing started screaming, 'You can't take him! You can't take him!' Before I could cross the room she had broken one guards nose and kicked one so hard between the legs she ruptured one of his testicles. I grabbed her from behind and lifted her off the ground in a bear hug. I started shouting to her that we would put her in the cell across from you. She would see you the whole time. That got her calmed down. I tell you that girl probably would have killed somebody if we had tried to get her in a cell where she couldn't see you. If they did get her in she probably would have chewed through the damn bars!"

"She's been through some things. We've been through some things." I looked, probably unnaturally long, at my scotch before changing the subject. "So you were a lieutenant?"

"No. Nope. I am a Gunnery Sergeant."

"So why L.T.?"

"My names Luke Thomas. Two first names always seemed creepy to me. Sort of serial killer esque don't ya think? Anyway I just always went by L.T."

"Were you in combat? I mean before all this?"

"I was. Deployed multiple times." At that point he looked down at his scotch for an unnaturally long time.

"So you a little worried about break-ins?"

"What? Oh the shutters and doors. No. I was a security consultant for the past few years. I used my house as a showcase for new products. I worked with..."

At that point things got a little fuzzy. I don't remember much else other than being helped to my bed and then seeing L.T. walk out of the room with his rifle over his shoulder. I think we'll be safe here. Maybe we'll even be able to help some others too.

We made our first scouting trip into the nearest town. It was much like all the other places I have been since this all started. What wasn't the same was what we where after on our trip.

Before we headed into town L.T. hooked a large tank and pump trailer to the back of the humvee. When we got into town our first stop was behind a strip mall. Bianca looked around with confusion. "Why are we stopped back here? Isn't it going to be easier to get in from the front?"

"When we go in the stores we can go in through the back entrances. I have keys to all of these shops. I own the strip mall. But what we're after first is right under our feet. Keeps your eyes open." L.T. stepped out and walked back to the pump trailer. Bianca and I took up positions to cover him. He opened a hatch in the concrete and ran the hose from the pump trailer in. Walking around to the nearest store door L.T. said, "That's the used cooking oil from the restaurant at the end. I make biodiesel out of it. I can run my generators, truck, and this hummer on it."

We entered the first store. The shelves were stocked with auto parts. L.T. handed me the keys. "You and Bianca go through the side door there. It will lead you into the next shop. It's a Thai grocery. Grab anything useful. I am going to gather up supplies to convert the hummer to run on bio or S.V.O."

"What?"

"Straight vegetable oil."

"Oh." Bianca and I headed for the door.

"And grab me some fish sauce while your there." L.T. said as he headed for the shelves of parts.

Bianca and I stepped into the adjoining store with our guns at the ready. Everything seemed quiet. We began to fill the packs we had brought in with supplies. When I got close to the front counter I noticed a hand written note. It read: L.T. We stayed as long as we could but we decided that it was time to find our families. Thank you for all that you did for us. If you are reading this than you must know what is going on. We have locked one of the things in the bathroom. God bless and keep you.

When we headed back to the auto parts store L.T. was at the counter He was reading another small note scrawled on a receipt. He was obviously affected. I put my hand on his shoulder. "L.T. there was another one in the grocery." I handed him the note. After a few moments L.T. turned toward the door.

"Let's blow this popsicle stand." Swinging the door open we discovered a pair of undead shambling toward the humvee. I don't know where it came from but L.T. drew a huge knife and charged the pair. With two fast swipes he halved the head of one and almost completely severed the head of the other. He wiped the knife on one of the corpses and went to stow the hose from the pump truck. Without a glance in our direction he said, "Mount up."

We rode home in silence.

L. T., Bianca, and I stocked up before we left the base. We scavenged as much supplies as we could fit into a military Humvee and set out. We tore through whatever city it was the base was stationed in (I never bothered to ask). Out the windows of our Humvee we could see the chaos in the streets. People looting as others were attacked by the undead. There was a building on fire. People came staggering out. "Stop!" I found my self shouting. The Humvee came to a stop. I reached for the door handle but felt a stone hard grip on my arm.

"Look," L.T. said pointing to the burning figures. A man came running toward one of the figures with a blanket. The burning figure latched onto it's rescuer and began tearing at him with it's teeth, setting the rescuer ablaze as it devoured him.

We spent that first night in the Humvee at a campsite off the main road. That's where I wrote my last post. From there we continued to L.T.'s house; more of a stronghold really; situated a couple miles from a neighboring town. It is stocked with supplies to which we added what we had brought from the base. L.T. says he has enough supplies for two months by himself. Figuring in what we brought from the base we should have enough for almost a month for the three of us. Our plan is to wait things out here for one to two weeks. Hopefully things will have quieted down in the towns by then and we can begin regular scouting for supplies...and survivors.

It's Happening...Again.

Bianca and I have been imprisoned since my last post. We've been literally behind bars constantly questioned and examined by medical teams. Despite this it was an amazing feeling to again have a shower and hot meals regularly. However regular life is all coming to an end once again.

The day following my last post; I'm not even sure how long ago that was; Bianca and I began scouting the military fence line for any place we could get through. After several days and nights of observation we found an area that only seemed to be patrolled every few hours. The fence there ran over a section of dirt. We planned to dig underneath of it and then fill it back in to prevent any undead from getting through after us.

With our supply packs, weapons, and a small military style shovel we headed to the breach point. We waited several minutes after a patrol passed on foot. I had Bianca stand guard about 25 yards from where I was digging. Frantically tearing at the earth under the fence I was making faster progress than I thought I would when mid-stroke with the shovel I heard it, "There's one on the fence line. It looks like it's using a tool!"

I swung around just as a soldier came into view and raised his rifle. I tried to speak but as I raised my hands I heard the gun shot. The soldier's head opened up and he fell to the ground.

"Keep digging." Bianca said as she stepped from the shadows.

I was dumb struck. I stared at her and the soldier on the ground in front of her. She had just killed him. She kneeled next to me.

"He would have killed you James."

Just as she said it a soldier, older than the others I had seen, stepped into view behind her. I saw him strike her with the stock of his rifle and she fell to the ground. I raised the shovel and then everything went black.

When I awoke I was in a cell. Bianca was in the cell across from me. Before long the old soldier, L.T. is what he said to call him, came in to check on us; something he did almost everyday we were there.

There was a constant stream of doctors and military investigators testing us and questioning us. The only person that treated us like humans was L.T. He told us that the outbreak had been contained and that orders were to maintain the perimeters by any means necessary. To maintain those perimeters they had called almost all retired military personnel back into service which is why he was there. He had served in combat most of his career. He had disobeyed orders and brought us in alive; an act that got him put on base duty instead of perimeter patrol.

The testing and questioning began to wane until one day it stopped completely. So did the meal service. Bianca and I went almost two days without seeing anyone. It was looking desperate. I couldn't think of any way out of the cells. After everything we had survived we were going to starve to death in cages. I was ready to give up.

"Let's blow this popsicle stand." L.T. stepped into the hallway and unlocked the cells. "The perimeter has been breached. The outbreak is spreading again. I figure you two are my best resource for survival at this point."

He handed each of us a rifle and a tactical vest loaded with pistol and supplies. "Thanks L.T." was all I could manage to say.

We've been on the move ever since. I hope this is still getting out there to others who are surviving. Keep fighting and keep checking back for more information.

A way out?

It has been a rough month. We have been on the move since my last post and we've covered a lot of ground. I was not going to stop for a post but something has happened that I had to report.

We were looking for supplies; Bianca refuses to stay anywhere since her abduction and insists on scouting with me; when I saw something in the distance. We climbed to the fourth story of a building to get a better vantage point. Through our binoculars we saw them. Soldiers maintaining a blockade! They had trucks with US military markings and the same haz-mat suits I saw soldiers in my neighborhood wearing when all this started. There was a fence extending from both sides of the blockade that was manned every 100 yards or so by armed soldiers.

"Look." Bianca said as she pointed in the opposite direction I was glassing.

I swung my binoculars to bear on the guard post she was pointing to. A car was making it's way through the rubble in the street toward the post. The car stopped about 30 yards short, stuck in the remnants of a fallen building that littered the street. The occupant stepped from the car shouting and running toward the post in a obvious state of relief and excitement. The guards raised there rifles and fired until they were certain he was dead.

Bianca lowered her binoculars and calmly stated, "We need to get back to our hide. It will be dark soon."

We are holed up about a mile from the blockade and fence. If they are that determined to create a border and willing to go to such great and cruel lengths to maintain it than it must be safe on the other side. But how can we get there? How do we break through the barrier without getting caught - killed? Without contaminating the other side?

Getting Her Back

Kevin and I went out the day after I returned from the scouting trip to search for more water filters. When we returned that evening we were unprepared for what we saw.

There were a couple of bodies in the front yard and a lot of blood. We made our way inside and found Jan lying face down in a pool of blood in the living room. She was dead. From the look of her and the bodies out front she definitely went down fighting hard. We searched the house but Bianca was nowhere to be found. Neither were most of our supplies. I went to the bodies out front and searched them for any clues to where they might have taken Bianca. When I rolled the second body over I recognized the face. I had seen him with the Servants when I was scouting the camp. One of them must have followed me home when I left. Those bastards killed Jan and took Bianca.

"What are we gonna do?" Kevin said from behind me.

"We're going to get her back."

I led the way back to the camp as night fell around us. I wasn't sure how but we were going to get Bianca out of that place even if it killed both of us.

When we arrived at the camp they were wrapping up what looked to be a big celebration. They were dividing up the spoils from our hide out. From the look of the cage they had also had some games. There was a thorpe and a dragger being rounded up from the cage by the wranglers. It looked like they were chewing the remains of the loser...I just hoped it wasn't Bianca.

Kevin and I took up a vantage point that was well concealed behind a stand of park bushes. From there we scanned the camp through our binoculars searching for Bianca and trying to formulate a plan to get in and out of the camp.

"It's her!" Kevin hissed. "There by that central tent."

I looked to where his finger pointed. It was Bianca - and she was being led into Leader's tent. A servant walked Bianca into the tent and then came out alone. Leader's tent was right in the middle of the camp. There was no way we would be able to sneak in unnoticed. Then it hit me.

"Kevin follow me."

We ran as fast as our lungs would let us to the zombie storage building. We made it just a few minutes before the wranglers arrived in their truck to unload the zombies from the nights games. When they stepped from the truck Kevin shot the driver and I fired at the two passengers. We rushed them firing as we ran. They managed to get off a couple of shots. I was on top of them swinging my SPAX. I killed one of the passengers with it and the other one was fading in and out of consciousness from the gun shot wound I had inflicted on him. The struggle on the drivers side had subsided as well and I stepped around to find Kevin holding a hand over a bloody wound on his side. He kicked the lifeless body of the driver as he rose from the ground.

"It's not bad. Let's load this truck and get moving." He said as he pulled the keys from the ignition.

We threw the one passenger that was still clinging to life in the back of the truck as bait to draw in the the zombies. With the truck in position we flung open the door to the building and the de-barked zombies poured into the truck and devoured the screaming wrangler. With as many zombies as the truck could hold and the weapons taken from the wranglers we headed for the camp.

The truck smashed through the outer fence with no trouble at all. Kevin made a few wide circles of the camp running down as many servants and pleasures as he could before he brought the truck to a jarring stop. He lept from the rig guns blazing and flung open the back door letting the zombies pour out like angry bees from a torn open hive. The camp was in chaos. All the inhabitants were running and screaming. The de-barked zombies that were once there entertainment had now become their silent killers. Kevin fired until his guns ran dry then he drew a knife and club and continued his rampage.

I entered the camp from the side opposite where Kevin had driven the truck in. I made my way straight for Leader's tent, killing anything that got in my way. I lifted the flaps and stepped inside. Bianca was in the corner. Her clothes were torn and she had been hit multiple times about the face. I rushed to her and gently clutched her shoulders.

"Bianca - it James. Bianca, I'm going to get you out of here."

She didn't respond. She just teetered in place with a blank expression. I looked down at her torn clothing and battered body and noticed a belt around her left arm. Lifting it closer I could see a needle mark.

"What the fuck do you - "

I turned and charged Leader before he could finish his sentence. Tackling him to the ground I started swinging the SPAX with both hands. The world blackened to a narrow tunnel and all I could see was Leader's hands as they tried to fend off my blows. Then I could only see blood.

My vision slowly began to return as I started to hear screaming in the distance. After a few more moments I realized the screaming was coming from me. I was still swinging the handle of the SPAX into the bloody pulp of human flesh that I had pinned to the ground. The head of the SPAX had broken off in the flurry of blows. I threw the handle down and went to Bianca. Wrapping her in a blanket from the nearby bed I lifted her in my arms and rushed from the tent.

I stepped outside to find most of the camp on fire. People were running and screaming as the zombie swarm took over. The truck skidded up next to the tent.

"Hurry! Get in here!" Kevin shouted from the drivers seat.

We sped away out of the camp. Kevin drove us as far as he could. He began to waver after about thirty minutes. He had been shot at least once more and had to many other injuries to count. He was dying. I tried to stop some of his bleeding but it was just too much. I couldn't help him. He looked to me as I frantically tried to put pressure on one of his many wounds.

"It's okay man. Just go. I'm fine. Well not fine but - you know. Take Bianca. Get her somewhere safe. Just go."

"We're not gonna leave you Kevin. You saved Bianca. You saved me"

"That's why I want you to go."

Kevin extended his hand. I grasped it and he smiled as we had our last handshake.

Bianca has come out of the effects of whatever drug they gave her. I am recovering from all the wounds my adrenaline didn't let me feel at the time. We are holed up in a small apartment for right now. I was able to get an emergency generator in the basement of the building going so that I could post this. I am not sure what to do next. We will have to keep moving. We can't risk being found again by anyone from the camp. We need to get as far away from them as we can. Bianca has already retreated far away into her mind. She's not a little girl anymore. I'm not sure I'll ever get her back.

Let the Games Begin

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.