Outbreak II

[Tater Raider]

21:30

The sun has set and despite my best efforts the truck is stuck. I am not heading back to town at night so I'll be sleeping in here. Left my meds with the Mrs. so I'm not going to be very fun to live with tomorrow should I survive the night. I'll head back in the morning and hope for the best.

In case I don't make it:

Kids,

I've done all I can to teach you guys how to think for yourselves. I've let you guys make up your own minds when I could and it was a rare event when I pulled rank on you guys. I'm hoping that talking aobut things like this happening has given you the tools you need to make the choices you face. I pray you are safe and looking after your mom, step-dad, and brother. He faces special challenges being autistic but never feel you have to justify his value to society. You guys will do right by him I know.

I wasn't always the best dad, but I always did the best I could. That was pretty crappy a lot of times but you guys know as I looked after my health that it improved for us. If we never meet again and this finds its way into your hands know I did the best I could at all times with the info I was given.

I have my own family unit to look after and leaving Mason was a hard decision to make, but I had a little girl who called me Daddy and you guys brothers and sister that needed looking after too. You guys are women and men now, so do the best you can and live your life without regret. I'll look after your sister here and hope I do right by her.

Stay away from the cities, and look after each other.

Your dad.

---

Little girl,

I've done as best I can to give you a good life. I've had fun knowing you and know that whatever else happens I'll watch over you as your life goes on. I'll be waiting with Grandpa and doing what I can to keep you safe.

Daddy

---

Mrs. TR,

There have been times I've counted the seconds I've spent with you as a blessing and days I've cursed ever meeting you. I know I'm a hard man to deal with and you have been a handful yourself. Just remember that even when I didn't feel in love with you I loved you, looking out for what was best for you and doing little things to try and help. I've done some pretty big things here too and not all of it has worked out. I wish I'd done a better job and been a better man for you, but I've done my best. If you find this know that I died trying to look after my family, putting you guys ahead of my safety. It may not have been the smart thing but to me it was the thing that needed doing.

head for the hills. Go to the Ozarks and keep away from the cities. Your only hope is to find an area you can defend and to do so, grow a garden, and learn those things you said you wanted to. Find other people trying to survive this as soon as you can because without a future for Little Girl there is no future to fight for.

TR

---

I've locked the truck and am sleeping on the floor. This ain't comfortable but I'm too damn tired to care plus I need to stay as safe as I can. I'll be holding that shotgun tight because it is a club at least.

Needs: Hope

[DarkAxel]

23 June Late evening.

I must have fell asleep on the couch. I was woke up by a loud banging on the front door. It was the ex, and I'd accidentally locked her outside. She hadn't been standing out there long, but she was furious. As soon as I opened the front door she burst in with and gave me a good reminder of why we got divorced. She raised up and began a long-winded scolding that fell apart when I picked up my keys and jingled them.

"They've been laying on the end-table all night," I said calmly, "could've taken them with you. End of discussion". A not so subtle reminder that I wasn't the man she had married, and I wouldn't be ran over by her out of control emotions any longer. It did the trick.

She brought home a good number of useful items. The best was the bag of seeds. They were hybrid varieties, but they would go a long way toward replacing what had been destroyed. Extra clothes for the youngun'. Extra meds for Mom and my brother. Canned goods. In all it was more than I hoped for.

Sometime around 8:30, everyone in the neighborhood gathered around the pile of corpses, said our prayers for the dead, and began turning the pile into a pyre. By nightfall the pyre was made and set alight.

[Jcan282]

Day 5:
People: 9 people (Males=4 Females=5)
Pets: 5 (Dogs=4 Cat=1)
Weapons: 11 (4- Handguns 3 -Carbines, 2 -.22 LR, 2 –Shotguns)
Food and Water: 3 weeks worth of food, water is still flowing
Power: Still on with no interruptions
There was not much change for day 5 we set in the house watching the news and calling friends and family. My buddy and I stayed up all night checking the perimeter of the house. One of the houses that was not occupied was taken over by a family that was stranded when their car over heated. My wife decided to pull the FOR SALE signs from the homes next to us so they appear to be occupied and some drifters don’t take up residence. After a little mishap with my mom, I realized that I just handed a bunch of weapons to untrained civilians. I spent the next few hours going over gun safety and operation with each person on all weapons in the house. My mother has been telling people that we are safe but let our location slip to a few. I have no doubts that we will soon get some more guest.

Day 6:
People: 9 people (Males=4 Females=5)
Pets: 5 (Dogs=4 Cat=1)
Weapons: 11 (4- Handguns 3 -Carbines, 2 -.22 LR, 2 –Shotguns)
Food and Water: 3 weeks worth of food, water is still flowing
Power: Still on with no interruptions
News on the TV does not look good. Realizing that we may be in here for a while we are starting to think about supply runs. My mother and father are going to go out along with my buddy to check and see if any of the local stores are open. They took cash, jewelry, and some ammo to use in trade along with the 2 way radios. I went with my wife to check on our nearest neighbors which is 1 block away. A few knocks on the surrounding neighbors’ doors reviled that most of them had bugged out. We did however find one old lady at home who said that she is not leaving her home. She told us she had plenty of food and offered us some leftover she had in her fridge. Wife is worried about her but who am I to move an old lady, we told her to lock up and cover her windows. The family that took refuge in the vacant home moved on after they filled their radiator with fresh water. Mom and Dad were gone for over 5 hours. I nearly lost my shit waiting for them last check in was 2 hours ago. But in the end they made out well. A corner grocery store owner was selling stuff outside the back of his shop for trade. Dad traded a Hi-Point 380 with a box of ammo for a nice list of supplies and some meat. My mother also stopped to pick up my uncle at his house. He has no training and no food to offer, but some coffee and a few tubes of Pringles (True during IKE) we are all relieved that he was okay. His tenant left him alone, she opted to bug out.


Day 7:
People: 10 people (Males=5 Females=5)
Pets: 5 (Dogs=4 Cat=1)
Weapons: 10 (3- Handguns 3 -Carbines, 2 -.22 LR, 2 –Shotguns)
Food and Water: 2 months worth of food, water is still flowing
Power: Still on with no interruptions
With the extra food and 1 more man in the house I am feeling better and better. Ammo is the only thing that I would like to get more of. Watching the news and seeing that things are getting worse on the roads I am glad we decided to bug in. Checked the neighbors again today, still just the old lady. She told me she was able to get in contact with her son in Colorado and he advised her to sit tight. He would not be able to risk his families lives to come and get her. I thought the news would devastate her but she seemed more relived by the fact that she knew her son and grandchildren were alive. If the other neighbors are not at home tomorrow I may plan a scavenging trip in their homes. I have to be 100% sure before I go in. I don’t want to get shot or bitten walking into a home. May just throw one of the dogs in first thru the window, the little yappy one. All is quiet on the home front for now. There is no way in hell people in Texas will be handing over their weapons and ammo.

[Mr. E. Monkey]

We have a couple of visitors in the neighborhood.

I've been watching them for the last half-hour, as they wandered through the drainage canal, across the field behind the house, and are headed north, past us. We're quiet as churchmice here, and so far they haven't noticed us.

With all the ruckus going on earlier in Sierra Vista, what is so interesting to them that they are headed away from that?

Are there more headed our way?

[Tater Raider]

24 June 2010
00:30

Past days have made sleep hard. I'm tired but the nightmares of Mason, St. Louis, and Scott City will not leave me be.

[Heimdall]

We have been on the road for at least an hour or two now, I never really cared for time keeping before the outbreak so why start now. Tripwire has the con, I'm navigating with the maps I was able to save on my Toughbook before the Internet craped out. From the scattered HAM radio and other varied sources it sounds like there is a Zombie infestation going on, and people thought I was nuts, HA. So far we have avoided all contact but with a further 5 hours in front of us, I'm sure that will change soon enough.

We made the final decision two nights ago, theres no way they will survive if we don't get them out. After a bit of planning we decided flying was a bad idea, just in case the Gov is still in any effect we would be in deep kimshe if an F16 showed up, not to mention we would fail in the mission. It was finalized Tripwire and myself would take the Cutlass and go for it. We have the best odds with just the two of us, and were the most highly trained of the group. Mrs Wire was, well upset, ok we thought she was going to pop Mr Wire in the leg with her 9MM. Girls want to have fun to I guess. I spent the day prior to our leaving checking our gear, and re checking the perimeter security put in place earlier in the week. We topped off the Cutlass and gave it a good looking over as well. The cutlass was chosen for its range, in normal use it will get 450MPG, we argued over it for a wile and finally settled on expecting 350MPG under the circumstances. We will figure out the fuel as we go. We have three canteens, and 2 2liters of water, and 4 MREs, betwene us. Our usual weapons, ammo, and our basic packs with us.

"Hey look over there." I say, "What, what is it?" Trip responds, "More corn." I reply in a smart tone. "Fuck you." "Well you said you'd hit me if I asked are we there yet again, had to say something." I replied. "So where are we at?" Trip asked, "Still on County 7" I said, No words, just a look from my driver, that I really want to hit you look. "Were going to come to a turn East, then back south, 17 is int far after that." "Thank you, all I needed." Trip replied. Yea but its not as funny" I replied.

"Theres 17 ahead, lets hope we can get across the bridge." I say as a creepy thing happens, "What the crap!?" Trip exclaims as the car ceases to go vroom. "Shit, its electrical." I say at the sudden stop of the motor.

We stop and pop the hood, after trying and fiddling with things, I finally go with the old hold the spark plug boot wile the motor cranks trick. wirrrwirrr "Nothin, nothin at all. We got no spark." I say "Were hoofin it. Well might as well, I mean were just two guys, lookin like mall ninjas with guns, just waltzing in to town... were gonna die." I say with a laugh. " Now don't be so optimistic, we will probably get capped by a farmer before we even get to town." Tripwire replied.

We grab out weapons and packs. I'm armed with my trusty AK 74 with 12 mags of 5.45 goodness, my Beretta M9 with 6 mags, .40 Witness polymer with 6 as well, and my snubbie 38 with one reload, don't leave home with out her. Should I drain them I got my blade and machete. Tripwire still has my PSL with 6 mags, I think hes attached now that hes use to the trigger, an AR 15 with a beta and 10 mags and Dad's Ruger 45 with the spare clip, and Granddads blade. I hope we all we run in to is Zombies, people are a little crazy these days.

Sparland looks pretty tore up but theres still life there, and they look like the shoot first kind of lives. Well find another route, the Toughbook has 4.5 hours of battery left, I should a got a spare. We decide to head south along the river to Chillicothe township, maybe we will find a car along the way. If not we will have to swim across and try our luck on the other side.

We sneak in to the township using the woods by the river for cover, theres a lot of gunfire close and to the West. We approach what looks to be the remains of an army unit evacuating people from the town off the roof of a building by the river. We hear people coming to our rear and see three soldiers approaching us fast, "Don't shoot were friendlies!" Trip yells. "Theres a pack behind us. There they are!" the solider yells to us, we all open fire wile retreating to the group at the building.

We hit the barricade set up, the guy in charge sees us and said "Who the Fuck are you!?" "Were humans, with guns, just like you" I reply. "Good enough... try to hit them in the head, FIRE!" he orders. After a volley of gunfire the last of the civilians are on the bird. "Get aboard, theres a way to the hole in the roof inside. Ya cant miss it." the commander yells. "No sir, we'll cover you, and once you take off cover us, we got places to go, people to save." Trip wire tells the commander. "Your insane." the commander replies, "You'll die with just the two of you out here." Trip replies "No he's insane, I just have different grasp of reality, were a team like that." The commander replies, after a pause "Good luck then, well give'm hell for ya, MOVE OUT!" he orders to the remaining troops. We make our brake for it as the chopper takes off, he wasn't kidding, I think even the co pilot was poppin off a few with his cap gun.

We round the corner to the south of the building when we spot the lovely late 90s Fraightliner sitting there all prety and red with a silver stripe down the side, and a massive freakin cowcatcher on the front. "Oh yea!" I say, "No." Trip says, "Why not?" I say, "Can you?" Trip replies "Of course" I say, and with that we hop in.

We approach cautiously, but fast with a bit of the hoard still living, and hungry. We secure the cab, as the blood all over the driver's side of the door and tank made me a bit uneasy to what might be inside. "Oh look, we have keys." I say, "Yea and 50 some feet of trailer to. We need to drop that thing!" Trip complains. "Ask her to do it." I say, the zeds approach as I start the rig. Were pealing away as fast as I can throw em, black smoke billows from winding up the 11 liter and throwing gears as fast as I can. We out run the hoard pretty easy and cross the bridge at the North end of town, pushing a couple of abandoned cars out of the way, and splatting a Zed that was late to the party. "Love that Diesel engine baby!" Trip exclaims. "Are we there yet?" I reply.

We get safely to the middle of nowhere and drop the trailer. Unfortunately its empty, saddened that we weren't carrying an arms shipment,or a tank we move on. I have the con, and Tripwires navigating. We used up a couple of mags each in the fire fight, I hope we don't have to fight much more, but I know better. We have one full tank of fuel, and one is at a little below half so petrol is no longer an issue. Me and Grandpa have made Indy runs in the ol International with fuel to spare. Good thing he taught me how to drive a stick in one of these things.

More to follow, but for now we just drive, trying to keep a low profile on the way to Indianapolis.

[BassDrum]

More to follow, but for now we just drive, trying to keep a low profile on the way to Indianapolis.

Good luck keeping a low profile in that rig.

Backstory: Due to poor light security at night, a group of 'zombies' have spotted us and are trying to break in.

My friend and I are panicking. We don't know what to do. We have zombies knocking at the door (like we always imagined) except we aren't the bad-asses we thought we'd be. I'm about ready to piss my pants and Friend looks about the same. We finally decide that we'll flicker the lights on the front porch to attract any stragglers and then well take exit through a rear window. We'll sweep around the side of the house, try to take them all out and we'll GTF back inside and deal with the bodies in the morning. We're each armed with a 20g pump and our sidearms(mine a .40 and his a 9mm). We both have one extra mag for the HG and put some spare shells in a few phanny packs(the ultimate in tacticool gear) my mother had. We'll also have a Maglite each, but won't use it unless necessary. I load and check the .38 and give it to my mom. She starts to object but stops herself.

We exit through the window of my room. We make our way around to the front porch where my mother is flicking the lights on and off. I run first and sidestep to the left so we can be side-by-side. We see the first of 'em, poor bastards, they see us too and fall over the handrail coming for us. They must not have ANY higher brain function. I take aim to fire, but neither of us do. I'm scared shitless. How can I shoot another person, much less 15 of them? They're closing ground so I take the first shot. We unload, aiming for their heads as much as possible. I stop to reload while Friend covers me. He's almost out too, so I am trying to go as fast as possible. He screams that he's out and starts to reload. I cock once and take out a Z about five feet from me. There's about five left now. I glance behind me and become unnerved for the first time since I took that first shot. There they are, another 30 shamblers coming at us. The gunfire must have caught their attention. I yell to my friend and he looks, and we both immediately start running.

We run around to the other side of the house, around the five that were left, to where I moved our cars. He yells that he doesn't have the keys, but I have mine in my pocket just from habit. I pull them out while he take another two out. We get in and I crank up and tear my lawn a new one. I fly into the street and take off down the block toward the 'main' road out of the neighborhood.
"Call my mom!" I yell at friend, so he does and explains what happens. I can tell by his tone that she is flipping the fuck out, as she should be. I take the phone and try to calm her down, telling her that we're okay, and that she will be too. I tell her to board the window back up all the way(she left it partially undone to ease our re-entry) and wait for us to get back. I tell her that we will call when we're back and she should let us in or, if the phones are down, we'll fire two rounds in quick succession close to the house. She agrees and lets me get off the phone. I know she's trying to be strong. She'll have to be.

I put the phone away, turn to my friend and he says he has this idea:
"Why don't we go back and bait them?"
"What are you talking about?" I insist.
"I dunno man, we went through all of that and didn't even get rid of them. We just left them there, and their probably after your house and mom again now."
That's a heavy thought to process. "What did you have in mind?"
"We'll go back, reverse down to your house, make a racket and get them to follow us, then we'll just drive slow enough for them to keep up but not catch us and lead them away. Then we can just lose them and drive back and hole back up."
I don't say anything, but I turn around at the cross-street and speed back towards my house.
"What do you have left?" I ask.
"Uhh.....about 10 shells and still two mags for the 9."
"Alright. Lock and load my shit."

We race back doing 30 over, but I think the cops are a bit busy now.

More tomorrow.

[Tater Raider]

13:30

Underway on the river again with the wife and kid. Still keeping my eyes peeled for something like that truck I couldn't get unstuck.

[DarkAxel]

June 24

Spent this morning replanting, with the ex and boss overwatching with the SKS and M-16 respectively. My boss had managed to get up to his farm with the NG pulled back to Hazard, but someone had ravaged his crops and killed off his livestock and the last renter on the property. He managed to get his tractor back to his house, and lent it to the crew that the preacher put to pulling the vehicles off of the road. I earmarked one of those vehicles as mine: a NG marked Chevy Suburban 4x4.

The preacher has done a good job at getting the neighborhood organized. Hard to imagine, really. Most of these folks wouldn't even speak to each other before the crisis. I just hope the preacherman doesn't have any evil intentions in all of this. I distrust people who seek leadership positions.

The greasy smell of burnt flesh still permeates the air. The pyre burned most of the night, attracting zeds by the handful. Three were banging on the door and turning the doorknob when I woke up this morning. Thank God for deadbolts. Since sunrise I personally re-killed seven, but the pile of bodies on the ashes of last night's pyre was getting larger. I'd guess that there were around thirty-nine bodies stacked up there.

Someone came by around noon: The preacher is holding a meeting at his church, and my presence was requested, specifically. No explanation was offered. Kinda puzzling and worrisome at the same time. The meeting was to begin at 4 this afternoon. Gives me time to get cleaned up and eat a bite before leaving.

[Tater Raider]

15:45

I'm a stranger in a strange land.

Saw a houseboat heading upstream. Mrs. had the paddle and started making for them. I was yelling at her to head to shore. I'm more than a bit unhinged, I know, but my instinctive distrust of anything and everything has asserted itself. It was pointed out to me that zombies don't drive boats. I didn't care. It was then pointed out to me that she had the paddle and would whack me over the head with it if I didn't shut up.

I sulked but relented.

Eveidently I'm not the only distrustful person out there. These folks, an elderly couple with thick Southern accents (I imagine we had a thick midwestern one to them) kept us under the gun the entire time we were alongside. We told them what waited for them up north and they didn't care. I took exception and told them it was their life and cast off without gaining any info from them.

About an hour later I realized I had the 9 mil. Maybe my mind is protecting me. I dunno.

Okay, here is why we left Cairo: The town was quiet, empty, and it had me jumping at shadows. The closer I got to town without seeing the Guard the more careful I got, staying in the treeline and what not. I had this overwhelming sence of doom so I made us leave what may have been the safest place we will find in this brave new world.

Mrs. and I are now taking shifts, 4 on and 4 off, to keep our boat in the water 24/7 and on our way to where we are going. If we were in the van pre breakout we could make it in 3 hours or so, instead I imagine it will take us anywhere from 5 to 8 days despite it being at or near flood stage because of how the river meanders in this area. We should only have 1 day over land on the bicycles provided I find an air pump. Otherwise maybe it's a 2 day walk from the river to my brother's place.

Mrs. and I are only talking enough to get done what needs doing. Neither of us is dealing well with this internally and so we are pulling back into our own little worlds.

Little girl is mad at me too. She wants to know why I didn't have a boat before because she likes it and thinks this is the greatest trip ever since we got on the river. She wants to live on it now that she saw a houseboat up close and personal.

Thank God for little kids. She is grounding me and the Mrs. both.

Time to keep the boat in the river channel. I'll write more after.

[DarkAxel]

24 June

Just got back from the meeting. The church house was full. I didn't think there were that many people in my community left, but the word had spread all up and down the road, and people from outside the community had come. Standing room only.

Early on, I found myself dragged up in front of the crowd. It seems a few people had paid attention to my Zombie Squad whoring. Damn. I had to explain to them the true mission behind ZS, and that zombies were the lure, prepping was the message. Now that real zeds were roaming about, everyone expected me to be an expert. I think the lightest moment in the whole meeting was when I told the assembly that "We've talked about this on the Internet, that's about it". A few laughed.

I did explain what I knew of epidemiology to them, and how the virus or bacteria or prion or whatever the hell was behind this might have ended up here in Breathitt County, far away from other heavily infested areas. Even in the mountains people are mobile. Hell, half of the people at the meeting had been out of town when the news began spreading about the "Flu", and some of the people there had bugged out from other places and came back here where they were raised.

I explained the importance of community, the need for clean drinking water, sustainable food supplies, and heat sources that didn't rely on electricity. I told them the power could go out at any moment. The city water being pumped out here was running on borrowed time with the fires still burning in town. The government might try to come in and reclaim the county. But right now, for all intents and purposes, we are alone. Safety lay in numbers, but with those numbers came increased risks. I suggested that everyone stand up, introduce themselves, and state any skills they might have to help out. Then I surrendered the floor to the preacher.

He began with a prayer and a little sermon about the early church, how everyone brought something to the storehouse. Things that sounded good to desperate folks who had little to get by on. Then he opened up the floor to people with news and questions. The Q&A/News session took up the rest of the meeting. I learned a few things, like Hazard was being evacuated by the NG and the KSP. Lexington was operating under curfew with a shoot on sight order for those out after hours. National food banks had been set up. Military and Law Enforcement were forcibly disarming civilians. Ham radio operators trying to spread news were going off the air, their frequencies being replaced by the staticy warble of jamming or the plain static of just not being there any more. Phone service was out all over the county, maybe even the region. All over the air broadcast television was off of the air, except WLJC, who were broadcasting what news had reached them. The main news, though, came from a face I remembered from my time in the Guard. He stood and told the assembly that individual guard members were deserting. He himself had deserted after the breakout from the hospital in town, and his Mil-issue radio was still picking up snippits of conversation, like the order to shoot deserters on sight.

The meeting wrapped up with a declaration from the preacher. Anyone who wanted could donate food and such to the church, and any who needed could come to the church for donations. Yeah, I can see that working out well.

After the meeting broke up I came back home and rested. The pyre was burning again. I'm pretty sure whatever happens that's going to be a common sight for awhile. Time to rest up. Still got more planting to do in the morning.

[Tater Raider]

20:40

Tired. I've discovered muscles I didn't know I had.

Showed Mrs. what we needed to do to navigate safely and what to watch for on the low dam things built out into the water. They don't go al the way accross, just halfway sometimes. I think it's to keep the channel deep enough for barges to use and it strikes me as smart but it's a navigation hazzard for our little boat.

Told her to stick to keeping us in the naviagtion channel between the bouys. Barge traffic is dead anyways.

I still cannot hake that creeped out feeling I got in Cairo. I talked to Mrs. about it and explained what the deal was. She thinks, and I agree, that we could have bugged in there, but I want to get with my brother and the not knowing would eat me alive. She gets that now I think because she is feeling that way about her mother.

Sun is down now so we are navigating by moonlight, and it's lees then half a moon so it's going to be difficult. Mrs. knows to find an island and head for it or wake me up if she cannot handle night navigation, but knows to risk it if she can because the less time we spend out here the fewer resources we will have to scavange.

Make no mistake, we have to scavange tomorrow. I'll forgo sleep twice to make landfall and deal wtih finding water again and hope we find more containers and more water to salvage for ourselves. I wouldn't trust the river water with all the farm runoff in it unless I could distill it and that's out of the question atm.

Tomorrow's list:

• Water
• Oars
• Another boat or a bigger boat
• Another vehicle?
• A tarp for shade/sail
• More rope
• Sunscreen
• Ammo

We are hiding under clothing from the sun when we can. Everyone is a bit red but no one is looking like a cooked lobster and I want to keep it that way.

[Tater Raider]

The dam things are called wingdams but I did not know that at the time of the disaster hitting so I don't know it in this story. They partially block the flow or water, causing the navigation channel to get "scoured" by the flow or water so that it doesn't require dredging. Just thought I would share. If the water is just right (barely covering the wingdams) it creates a very dangerous situation for folks in small craft so please be aware if you bug-out route uses a river with these things on it.

I imagine folks living in this area already know this but thought I'd put the info out anyhow.

[Biggin]

VERY late arrival. I will try to break it down day by day of what I would do in just this post. SORRY ITS SO LONG.

Baton Rouge, LA. Just off LSU's campus.

Day 1...

I go to class at 0815. I usually miss the news and might check USAtoday on my phone while not listening to the foreign calculus teacher, but I get no local news.

Get home from class around 1100 and take the dog for a walk around the complex. Head back in, waste some time. I hear the news about the white house attacker, but think nothing of it considering the way the world is today. As far as I am concerned, it's just another crazy like the guys who robbed the bank in 1996.

I turn off the tube, snuggle up to my doggy, and call it a night.

Day 2.....

I don't hear about the plane crash in New Mexico until the morning when I am sitting in calculus doing my normal routine of reading USAtoday. At the same time, I read another article about the possible bio-hazard in metropolitan areas. This gets me a little nervous because I am always wary of these sorts of things by nature.

On my way home, I shoot a call to my dad. He's in work, I leave a message for him to call me back (1115). The next person in my line of contacts throughout the day is my brother. I know he is at work, so I send out a text and ask him what he knows about the bio-hazard. He texts back that he is not able to talk about it because it has yet to go public, but to tell dad to get the house ready. I get really nervous after this last text... I call my dad again.

I get off the phone with my dad, somewhat reassured. He told me the gas cans are all filled (35 gallons total) and the gen is ready to rock. I go home, check my BOB, guns, and finally get the water from my old apartment.

LSU's emergency text service sends me a message. It reads: Infirmary closed indefinitely. A highly contagious virus has been detected. All students are advised to seek medical assistance from different outlets.

1400: A state of emergency is declared in Louisiana. Classes are cancelled. I call my girlfriend and tell her to get her gun and drive over to my apartment (we are actually in the same complex). I ready the truck in case we need a quick exit. I put 4 gallons of water near the door to be grabbed on our way out.

1700: A call comes in from my brother. He is audibly shaken. He says while driving through DC he saw some crazy stuff. He doesn't want to talk about what he saw or what he hear from work. He is going to get his dog and gun and drive through the night to Louisiana. He is expected to arrive at 1200 the next day. I tell him that it might be best to just stay put... he tells me, "no, Robert, this is not safe at all. We all need to get home ASAP and get ready... this is going to get worse."

1830: I call my dad again. We talk for about 15 minutes and I decide that I am leaving first thing in the morning with Hanna. He tells me that he and my mom have plenty of food and he has stocked up on bottled water. He spent the entire day bopping from store to store collecting what he can. I scold him for not being a prepper like me. We treat the situation much like a hurricane. In mid conversation, the call drops. Stupid AT&T... I try to call back... call failed. I try again... call failed. I check my bars... 4 bars. Damn.

I flick on Fox News and see the news about Virginia being closed off and all of the craziness up there. I think of my brother again... I hope he got out ok.

I meet my girlfriend in the apartment. I tell her about the updates of the day trying not to worry her. She tells me she called her dad earlier but the call got dropped. I don't tell her about my dropped call as not to worry her but it stays on my mind throughout the night. Before bed, we lock up everything and turn off all lights in the apartment aside from the one in the bedroom. I give her an overview of operations on the AR-15 as a just in case thing, but in her usual way she tells me I am scaring her so I have to stop. Silly girl. For now, we are officially bugged in. It's not a very secure bug in, admittedly, but we are trying to be as "quiet" as possible as far as our visual and audio signatures go.

Day 3....

0100: Spike starts growling. I was dreaming about my brother and some past experiences we've had. I wake up VERY disoriented. I have to remind myself of what all went on yesterday. Still confused, I look at Hanna. She is still asleep. Spike continues to growl softly... he is looking at the bedroom window. My dresser is in front of the window so I have to squeeze by head between the window sill and the dresser to peek through the blinds. I see a shape moving near the pool... I can hear the distant cry of sirens. I squint and try to look a little closer. The shape is back-lit by a flood light so I cannot make out exactly what it is. I feel a knot form in my throat and the hair on my neck stands up. I don't know what that is, but it is bad. I shush spike and walk to my cell phone on the night stand. Hanna stirs, "Robert? What are you doing?" "Nothing, don't worry about it, it's not a big deal, I just have to make a phone call." "A phone call to who?" "911, don't freak out, but there's something going on outside. I just want to stay on the safe side." Before she can say anything else I put the phone to my ear... call failed. I try again... call failed.

Hanna picks up the remote to turn on the TV. Before I can stop her, the blue glow of the TV lights up the room. I rip the cord out of the wall and Hanna looks at me with contempt, "What the heck are you doing." I put my finger to my lips and tell her to hush. She starts to talk again and I tell her she needs to be quiet and listen carefully to what I say. I look back out the window and the shape has changed. I realize that something was eating something. I cannot see exactly what is laying on the ground, but I can see the red sheen of pooled blood under the flood light and dripping into the pool. The lump in my throat is like a bowling ball. I tell Hanna to get dressed. Sleep time is over for now. I tell her no lights, she has to work by natural night vision. I throw on some pants and a T-shirt. I make sure the bedroom door is locked and stick my G21 on my pants. I am thinking of all the worst case scenarios... I 've go to stop. I'm psyching myself out. I hear banging. My heart drops, its at my door. It's not soft knocking either, someone is trying to get in.

I hear my neighbor walking down her stairs... oh shit... I don't want to yell, but I have to warn her... too late. I hear her door beep and she screams. Hanna runs from the closet and has a look of terror. I grab her and cover her ears. The screams and crashing continue for another minute or so.. forever... then silence... I get my shotgun and sit on the bed. Spike is visibly changed... he is not sure what to think. Hanna is softly weeping. We have to get out of here.

0300: Hanna has been sleeping for the last hour or so. I have quietly strapped up all my gear and I have everything ready to leave. It's about a 10 foot sprint to my truck. I filled up recently, 265 miles of gas in the tank, enough to make the trip to Alexandria and beyond.

I wake Hanna up. She is a little groggy and asks me if it was a dream.. I tell her no, and we have to leave. It's not safe. I hand her the Glock 34 and tell her to hold onto it with her life. We walk to the door. I remember that the door chimes every time we open it.. shit... I tell her to stay at the front door... she starts to panic and tell me not to leave her. I grab her and tell her to wait, I will be back. Run to the truck when I say run. I sling up the AR and un holster my glock. I give her the keys and tell her to start unlocking the car as she runs to it. When she hears the shot, run.

I walk across the living room to the back door. I open the door... it chimes. I hear grass crunching in the pattern of what seems like a jog. A young woman comes into view, I fire a shot and slam the door. My heart is bangin out of my chest, my ears are ringing. I barely remember to reholster the glock. I sprint across the living room and out the open front door. I see Hanna is already tugging the door to my Tundra open. She jumps in and slams the door as I round the tailgate. I jerk on the driver door.. .its locked. I beat on the window, Hanna realizes its me and unlocks the truck. I get in and slam the door shut. A middle aged man smacks his face against the passenger door... his eyes are drawn, his mouth bloodied, skin pale. I take the keys from Hanna. She is in full fight or flight mode, as am I. I jam the key into the truck and crank the engine and peel out towards the gate. I stop at the gate and check the rear view... someone is running up from behind, maybe 20 yards away. Another person appears in the throw of a street lamp maybe 50 yards away. The gate is about half open, I pull forward and push it open with the grill guard. It creaks and snaps open... broken. I speed off towards the interstate.

0330: I am almost to the interstate when I see lights ahead. I shut off my lights and stop in the middle of the road. I don't like the looks of what's ahead. It looks like a roadblock. I remember the stories from Katrina about the local PDs taking people's guns. I turn on my GPS and put it on the "minimize interstates" setting and set it for home. It takes me back the way I can and down a long road then onto an old two lane highway I recognize immediately as the Old Baton Rouge Highway. It will increase the trip about 30 minutes, but it should get us home without problems. The only people who still use it are drunks and rednecks.

0430: Me and Hanna haven't talked since we got in the car... she is just staring ahead out the window. I am driving with no lights, but the OBR Highway is away from any large towns so the stars and moon are plenty to navigate by. "Are you ok?" she nods. "We should be home in like an hour... try to sleep a little." She nods. I take this as my cue to just be quiet and let her think.

0540: I am just realizing how tired I am... 15 miles to Alexandria... I can't wait to get home.

0600: After some name dropping with the local cops and a little chit chat and story telling, they let me into the city. I can never be thankful enough for my girlfriend's last name. It seems like Alexandria is as of now unaffected aside from increased security. A huge change from Baton Rouge. I pull into my driveway. The garage doors are closed. I open the front door and it beeps. Of course, my parents haven't regularly set the alarm for about 8 years now... not even in an outbreak of riots and disease. I walk in and start calling out to my mom and dad as not to startle them. I walk into the master bedroom, the door is open. They are not there... the dogs are not there... I open the garage door. My mom's car is there but my dad's truck is gone along with the gen and all 7 gas cans. I go back to the master bedroom and check the safes. Both are open, several guns are missing along with other important documents. My parents bugged out.....

0610: I get back into my truck and tell Hanna the news. She says we should go to her house, I agree.

0617: I pull up to Hanna's gate and punch in the code. It swings open and I drive in. To my relief, my father's truck is here.

Hanna's house is a fortress by the way. It is set about 200 yards back into the woods. There is a large iron gate that must be opened with a code to go down the gravel driveway. All of the property (about 10 acres) is fenced in. The house itself has a keypad entry for the garage, all doors, and has a full alarm system complete with 5 video cameras watching the pool area, the driveway, the gate, front porch, and side opposite the driveway.

0620: We get inside and start calling out to our parents. Hanna's dad and my dad come down the stairs, each with a gun in hand and robes on. We greet each other and recap everything from the past days. Turns out my dad didn't waste any time in heading to Mr. Wes's. It just made sense to get both our families in one fortified place. I ask him about my brother and he says he hasn't heard from him since the outbreak. I tell him that he left Virgina yesterday afternoon and if he was still on track should be in Alexandria by 1200 or 1300.

0650: I bring in my gear and crash on the couch... it's been a long 24 hours.

1100: I awaken to the sound of sizzling coming from the kitchen. I walk in, very groggy, and smell the wonderfully familiar smell of fried deer. Mr. Wes always has deer somewhere. I learn from him that he and my dad had been busy over the last day slicing and dehydrating the remaining deer meat in case the power goes out.

1130: My dad walks in from outside fully dressed in work clothes. My dad hasn't done manual labor in years so it is kind of funny to see him in something other than button ups and slacks. He tells me that we may need to go back to the house and wait for Daniel who would never think to go to Hanna's.

1200: My dad and I arm up and head back to the house to wait for Daniel. He carries the CZ-58, me the AR-15 and Glock 21. We go into the house and carefully secure it. We sit down in the den, guns nearby, and wait.

1400: No sign of Daniel, but I am not too surprised. The traffic was probably horrible getting onto the interstate. We decide to wait until he shows up or the sun starts to set.

1530: Still no sign, cell phones have long since crapped out. There is no way to reach him at all. We are praying.....

1700: We are on the edge of losing hope when the headlights a blue mini-van pulls into the driveway... we don't know anyone with a blue mini-van... My dad and I grab the guns and head to the front of the house. We post up on either side of the door and watch through the small windows on either side. I swing the door open as I see Daniel step out of the van. He looks terrible. He has no shirt, his slacks are ripped up, he has scratches all over his chest. I notice the handle of his Glock 19 in his waistband. Bandit, his German Shepherd, hops out behind him. My dad and I both hug him, he winces. "What the hell happened???" My dad asks.
"It's a long story, this shit is crazy. I'm not sure whether I can talk about it, but as of now, I no longer work for trinity so I will share. First of all, before we get into how I made it here, I am going to tell yall exactly what is going on. People are eating each other. It's not riots, or civil unrest, they are eating each other and the only way to stop them is by destroying the brain. When they told us that at work, I decided then and there I was getting the hell out of the northeast.

Now as for how I did that, it was hard. I made it to the ramp onto I-95 and that is where the problems started. I spent an hour or so trying to go 13 miles then finally got onto I-66 and made it to I-81 by 9pm or so. I traveled for a few hours, there were abandoned cars everywhere. As I was going, I saw a group of men standing amid some headlights. My first thought was National Guard. I slowed down and started to pull closer to them. They lowered their guns at my car and I slammed on the brakes. Bullets started flying and I got out of the car as fast as possible, I suppose the glass is where a lot of these cuts came from. Bandit tore off into the woods. They focused on the car and I managed to escape into the woods along the side of the road. I started walking, then went to a light jog for about 3 miles. I was way clear of the idiots on the interstate by then. I had no idea where bandit went. I moved back to the shoulder of the road. I passed multiple abandoned cars on the road. The drivers were just gone... nowhere to be seen. I noticed a wolf-looking thing in front of me and I yelled "dito?" He turned and hauled ass back to me. We had a little reunion on the interstate. I saw a light bobbing in the distance and a pair of people were approaching from the opposite lanes. Bandit started to growl a little and I quieted him and watched them approach As they got closer, I saw that the couple was an older man and woman. I approached them slowly and told them I was friendly. "We aren't worried young man, we just want to get to a decent place to pitch our tent." The woman seemed a little crazy, the man seemed like he knew she was crazy. I asked where they came from and they said a few miles back. The road was so congested they had to abandon their van. I just casually asked them for the keys and they told me to have at it, they were in the ignition. They described the van to me and said it was mine because they had no use for it. I thanked them and offered to take them here but they just wanted to keep going.

That's how I got this van. After that first encounter, I drove the rest of the way on adrenaline, avoiding anything I wasn't sure about through exits and stuff. Most smaller towns were fine.. had gas and everything... bigger cities on the other hand usually had checkpoints. I would exit before I got to them and drive around trying to find ways to not have to go through them. I'm exhausted... where are we going?"

"We are staying at Hanna's. Do you have any stuff?" I asked.
"You're looking at it!" He said, waving his arms across his body and at Bandit.

We loaded up and went back to Hanna's. The rest of the day was spent watching the endless news loop and Daniel retelling his story over and over.

Day 4....

Nothing too special today. We monitor the news for any updates.. nothing really. Sirens can be heard periodically in the distance. My dad, brother, and I head to the house to collect the remaining ammo, dog food, and clothes we may need. Most of the day is spent checking and rechecking the gens, cars, weapons, and food supplies.

Day 5....

The smell of burnt rubber is in the air. We are pretty cut off from the rest of the city. As of now, we have no reason to leave and haven't had any problems. I noticed maybe one or two cars speed by the front gate, but that's it. We heard the president is doing an address tomorrow... this should be interesting.

Day 6....

The presidential address was not much more than what we expected. If we can beat 3 hurricanes, we can beat a little outbreak... Confidence is pretty high despite there being 9 of us in a 5 bedroom house. We are still eating well and luckily the power and utilities are working fine. We are living day to day and trying to have fun where possible.

[Mr. E. Monkey]

We decided to try to take advantage of the relative lack of zombie activity to put up a fence. We got most of the posts set in place, and were getting ready to roll out the fencing when my wife spotted some movement to the south of us. Before we headed back inside, though, my brother in law had an idea--he strung up some paracord along the fence posts, about 4 feet off the ground.

No, it's not the ultimate zombie slaying tool. No, it doesn't keep them away from the house.

But it is kinda funny to watch the zombies come trotting along and clothsline themselves.

It didn't do anything for our survival, but I think it is good for our morale. From what I've been hearing, it's bad out there. Real bad. I just thought I'd share, maybe it'll help someone get through the day.

Anyway, we've been seeing a lot more of them for the last day or so. I think they're from Huachuca City; probably fanning out to find more prey. I wish there was more we could do about it, but I don't want to attract too much attention. And right now, any of their attention is too much.

We still have water, but the electricity is off and on. I wish I'd gotten those solar panels.

[Mr. E. Monkey]

Well, several more cargo planes flew to and from the airfield again today. I haven't heard any artillery, so I'm beginning to think they're pulling out.

I wonder where they are going.

A convoy of military vehicles just rumbled down the highway, headed north. Yup, looks like they're pulling out. Several of our "visitors" headed toward the highway, I think they were drawn to the sound of the convoy.

I just hope they don't lead more of the Sierra Vista infected our way, like a twisted Pied Piper.

[Biggin]

It's mid afternoon, there have been gun shots echoing throughout the city... lots of sirens. Most radio stations are just fuzz. We are doing rotations of watching the front entrance. So far we had one car cause a bit of a ruckus. It pulled in front of the gate and sat there for a good 10 minutes before backing out and leaving. It was pretty hair raising.

We decided to take some chains and fortify the gate. There isn't much to it so we figured adding some more metal to it will help. Mr. Wes used his tractor to fell some trees across the driveway. We are pretty much locking ourselves in. He parked the tractor in front of the gate with a chain attached to each tree as a sort of quick escape. Hopefully it doesn't come to that....

It's been a lot of the same the last few days. No cell phones working. TV is still working, but there isn't much new to be heard. A lot of the same... they don't go down to shots to the chest, have to hit the head. I am still wondering who "they" are... or what "they" are.

[DarkAxel]

25 June

Another morning of replanting. A couple more days of this and I'll be done, though without any seed potatoes I'm still going to be hurting sometime early next spring. The boss took his tractor and plowed most of his backyard up. He forgot his set of disks at the farm, but a few of the neighbors are helping him to chop up the biggest clumps with roto-tillers and hoes.

The ex and I are starting to get along better, but I'm afraid Mom is letting her depression get the best of her. She hasn't done much in the last three days but set on the couch and stare at the tv. She breaks out weeping from time to time, and I can't get her to eat much. Darkaxel JR is enjoying all the time he can get with me. He even helped out in the garden this morning. This evening I'm going to take him out back with one of those .22 pistols and see how he does.

The boss and I are getting ready to go take a look at Jackson. I know quite a few old logging roads and backwoods trails that don't get used often. I figure if we're careful enough we can get there and back. The ex wanted to argue again, but I'm set on this course. We'll be taking my "requisitioned" 4x4, and a couple of men from the church. I hope we're not making a huge mistake.

[Tater Raider]

25 June 2010
14:00

We are in Tiptonville, TN. Well, just downstream of it. I'm about to conduct an solo scout and salvage op. Keeping my fingers crossed because we are out of water.

[IceWing]

Day 6 (Sunday, June 20)

Wake up to the sound of the phone's alarm. Normally I sleep in on the weekend, but given everything else, I decide I need to use as much time as I can. I may have plenty of time to rest soon enough. Plus, I'm making a BIG dent in my To-Do list. Reach for the remote but I see that the power is out from the lack of an LED on the TV. Joy.

Swallow some Advil and go downstairs. Water is still working and there's still hot water. Power comes back on before the hot water runs out.

Weather looks like it's going to get warmer (hot) later in the day, so I decide to do a little more work outside. Check carefully outside before letting the dog out and feeding the cats. They're now on half rations. Hopefully it'll get them hunting even more.

Zero in the new rifle and scope. Doesn't take too many shots. The recoil isn't as bad as the 12 gauge, but it's noticeable. The dog runs down to the basement. I make a note to not make her stay near me when I'm shooting. Hurts her ears I think.

Wife makes a nice hearty breakfast. I'm starving. Using a LOT of energy the last few days. Feeling achy, which means I've been pushing it really hard. Oh well, that's how we've been getting stuff done on the house anyway. Turn on the TV while we eat. Something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark. Sounds like downtown Cincinnati, going up 75, has just gone insane. Wonder how the old house is. Guess I'm not heading up there today. The roads are now closed in Butler county as well. Call up one of my buddies, confirm him and his relocated to their BOL. He told me that it was a bit of a pain to get to, since the bridges were closed. He remembered the private bridge I'd found on google maps that was part of quarry and made it across there. We settled on a common frequency to use on the handheld radios in case he had to head my way.

I debate on trying to get the solar panels up on the roof, but I figure it can wait till tomorrow. I get the saws out and install the three extra windows on the second floor, two to allow access to the roof via the dormer wall, and the bay window in the as of yet unfinished bathroom. All will allow more light in. Make sure to caulk them really well. Hang a white pillowcase over the deck railing, just in case anybody official comes looking.

I get two of them done before the afternoon storm hits. The last one takes me until the evening.

Am completely worn out by the time the sky goes dark and am asleep almost immediately (I took Advil before I went to bed)

Day 7 (Monday, June 21)

Wake up, turn the alarm off, fall back asleep for another hour. Am REALLY sore.

Get up, turn the news on. One of the local stations is no longer broadcasting, even on the satellite. All the other channels are working. I check their website via the phone and it hasn't been updated in hours. Last news article mentions really bad fires downtown Cincinnati and ongoing mob attacks.

The other channels actually mention that the channel 5 building and transmission tower are gone. The tower, when it fell, went down across I-71, blocking the entire interstate. It's been like that for three hours now and no government officials have even gotten on-site yet.

My first thought is, well, that'll make a nice bridge across the highway for a little while. And since the bridges are closed, there's no real hurry to get it cleared.

Power cuts out midway through breakfast. Fortunately, we've got the cooking done already and showered. Comes back on a few minutes later. One advantage of being close(ish) to a power plant with buried lines.

Finished up the remaining trim on the windows inside. Wife can now finish making and putting up curtains. We have to use PVC pipe for a couple of the curtain rods on the smaller windows. I think there may be a couple more curtain rods somewhere, but I need to reorganize the basement and find them.

Put spray foam in the small gaps around the back door and get the door trim up as well.

In the afternoon, we get a major storm front moving through. Just sit on the porch and enjoy watching the rain. Lightning strike within a quarter mile of the house, but no issues with the electronics a reboot doesn't take care of.

Am debating on trying to make a trip out of the house, maybe heading away from town, but right now, I'm thinking I can't justify it on a risk\benefit analysis. We're well set for food and water. Ammo, well, you can never have enough... She's doing the laundry every couple of days, just to keep it down. I'm starting to seriously wonder if this is a 'wheels are coming off' scenario. I also think I may be going crazy, since the more I watch this stuff on the news and the net, the more I'm starting to think reality has managed to do a crossover with a zombie movie.

The problem with it being just me and the wife is, once we finish up the to-do list, it's going to be a bit boring. We've got some board games, but two person monopoly gets boring. Hell, with two more people, we could play some better games or even do some table top RPGing. Oh well, doesn't matter, we've still got work to do.

Day 8 (Tuesday, June 22)

Well, I'm supposed to be back at work today, but there's still a closure of the roads in Hamilton county. And, oh yeah, downtown is on fire. Minor issue. No call from the phone tree though. I go ahead and try to call in, but get that the call cannot be completed as dialed. Send email to my boss and team lead. Hopefully this thing will blow over and I'll still have a job. Mind you, given what I'm seeing on the TV, I may very well be able to get a gig as a project manager on one of the construction\rebuilding projects that's going to HAVE to happen when all this settles out. Or maybe IT at one of the infrastructure companies.

Of course, that's making some pretty big assumptions. But, I'm still optimistic.

Heard a flurry of gunshots in the distance earlier, couple more a few minutes later. Sounded like one weapon, based off the reports.

The pile of trim is actually almost gone down in the basement. Started putting the floor trim in as well. That stuff goes in quick, between the nailer and the miter saw. Think we do have enough for the whole house.

I'm glad we're knocking this stuff out... I'm once again sick of working on the house. But, it looks better, and, frankly, we've got some more space now that the trim is up and out of the basement. I knew it wouldn't take more than a few days to get this stuff done. Wish that civilization burning wouldn't have been what gave me the time to do it.

Got the RO system out of the box and hooked up as well. It's a good thing I screwed up early on and bought EVERYTHING we'd need for the house projects. Although they do (did) take up lots of space, at least this way I have them on hand.

Pasta and advil for dinner. Sleep right after that.

I managed to get onto UPS's site and put in the tracking numbers for my orders... What sucks is, they're up at the Sharonville distribution center, both the ammo and the greenhouse. No idea if or when they'll be delivered.

Day 9 (Wednesday, June 23)

Wake up. Not quite as sore today. Still take some Advil.

Turn on the news and am somewhere between stunned, furious and hilariously amused.

An Executive Order to hand over guns and ammo to the national guard to help contain the situation. Really? As far as I know, that's an illegal order, as Executive Orders cannot supersede the constitution. I have to wonder how many troops are actually trying to enforce this one. Not to mention, where the hell would they PUT all of them? There's like 200 million of them, not to mention the ammo...

Kitchens are being set up to help? And 'representatives' will be sent around to collect 'extra' food, as well as guns and ammo? Let's think on this one... Given how screwed up the CENSUS was, how do they think this is going to work... I have a suspision that between graft, outright theft, poor logistics, and, oh yeah, what seem to be, for all intents and purposes ZOMBIES, that people aren't going to go along with this. And, frankly, the ones who would, aren't going to be in my neighborhood.

And number three? Travels passes are revoked and people asked to return home? How's that going to work? If you're already AWAY from home, and you cannot travel, how would you get home?

Hell, there hasn't been a car on our road in the past two days.

What idiot came up with this crap? Oh yeah. It came from the Feds... The same people who brought you the Katrina aftermath.

Regardless, I think I need to move some things around. Just in case somebody comes to visit. Needed to move shelving around anyway.

I'll do that this afternoon. While it's cool, I spend the morning caulking outside. The afternoon is rearranging storage and helping the wife tend the garden.

I'm seriously contemplating pulling the mailbox and street number. You can't see the house from the street and the driveway looks a bit washed out, so with light discipline, we're invisible at night.

Day 10 ( Thursday, June 24)

Power is out again when we wake up.

Although annoying, we're okay. Means I may want to get those panels up on the roof soon.

Water is still running though.

Get the panels up on the roof and mounted, running the wiring down the conduit I'd installed. Everything seems to be working well. Wonder if I could pass an electrician's test with all the work I've done in the past 18 months now. Might be good certification to have, although, given the way things are going, I've got the feeling that practical application and proof is going to trump paperwork for a while.

I run the other side of the 80 ft aerial out and rerun the wiring through the second conduit, on the other side of the house, away from the power line.

Spend the afternoon cleaning up the basement work area and reorganizing my tools.

Power comes back on around dinner time, then cuts out just before dark.

As long as the power is coming back on, even intermittently, things aren't that bad.

It's when the lights STAY off I'm going to worry.

Day 11 ( Friday, June 25)

Woke up to two gunshots this morning, not all that far away. I do a GOOD look around before letting the animals out. The cows are on the other side of the fence this morning, with all three calves. They wander off soon after I come outside. Wonder if I should get the salt lick out for them. Or for the deer.

Bait *grin*

The blueberries are a lot sweeter today reports the wife. Not mealy at all.

Check the perimeter of the property. Looks clear. I'm still careful.

Take the morning off, relax with the wife. We note the air smells a bit odd. We suspect it's Cincinnati burning. No worse than being on the freeway during rush hour though.

Power comes back on around lunch.

Spend the afternoon finishing up the network jacks and the getting the comms antennae connections done... Am debating on where to set up the radios up permanently now that I have options. Leaning towards upstairs, which tells me which wires need to be redirected to the battery bank.

By my calculations, today is the day a LOT Of people are going to start running out of food and food like substances. I'm not really one for prayer, but I put it out there that this whole thing gets under control fast, otherwise it's going to get REALLY bad. I can't even imagine what New York or LA are like.

According to the net, the packages are still in the warehouse, so I go ahead and pull the street number and mailbox before dark. I can always put them back on Monday.

[BassDrum]

Backstory: Zombies+poor light discipline=Zombies banging on the house. Mom stays inside, my friend and I take them out in a sweep from the back to front of the house, get jumped by a group of thirty, decide to bait them away from the house by driving slowly enough for them to follow.

Back to business:
We're driving along and we decide to head towards the gas station I assumed was the source of the explosion the other day(it's directly adjacent to a small substation so I want to see if it's okay). It's night time, but I have to use my headlights since I'm in the country and can't see a lick with out them. We lead the group down a curvy ass road with a river down one side(one of those carved into the side of the mountain roads) and lose a few, then we cross the river and lead them downstream away from the bridge about a mile. We decide that they'll have a time getting back across so we lose them and turn around to head for the gas station.

While we're driving, I can't help but notice what's going on. Noone's lights are on. Noone seems to be home. Cars are parked everywhere; in the road, on the side of the road, in lawns, crashed into ditches. The few streetlights in the area are out, and I can see the sky more clearly than I ever have before.

We round the corner and I can see that the gas station did indeed suffer a huge explosion, and even the parking lot is shredded. It resembles a crater in the ground since the tanks lit up and exploded/collapsed. I can also see that the power station is damaged, but it looks like someone came through and did some repairs, and poorly reconstructed the damaged fence as well. Good. At least they repaired it. I would have assumed they would leave it off at a time like this.

We head back to my house and pull around the side once again, and fire into the air twice(the signal). We see the boards coming down from the window, and we crawl back through and try to get some sleep.

[Mr. E. Monkey]

Glad to hear you made it back home okay.

[DarkAxel]

25 June

That has got to be the dumbest idea I have ever had in my life. "Yeah, got take a look at town" I said. "Use the back ways, you'll be safe". Ha! Never stopped to think that other people knew those same back ways. Hell, people even LIVED on one road I wanted to take, and driving around in an NG truck didn't guarantee anything. The folks on that road were mad! I heard em screaming at me through the windshield glass: "You ain't takin' my food!" and "You want my guns, come'n getum!" was the main message they wanted to send. The bullets they sent our way were just the exclamation points. We were running a gauntlet of steel and lead. I floored the gas and fishtailed off the road into a field, headed to what I hoped was the logging road. I jumped the ditch, landed and slid into a tree, but they were still shooting and I wasn't stopping.

I stood on the gas, and winced at the fingernail-on-the-chalkboard sound of the Suburban's metal collapsing as it scraped the bark off the tree. Good, I was on the logging road, headed toward town, outrunning the shooters. The last bullet flew overhead and I slowed after almost wiping out on the next bend. Through the haze of my adrenaline, I could hear the godawful screams of one of neighbors. He'd been gut-shot. I don't know if it was his screaming, the gunfire, or the sound of an engine that brought on the next threat, but zombies came running into the road straight at us. I smashed right in to the first one. It still tried to climb up the hood toward us, but it's feet caught on something and it disappeared under the front of the vehicle. I heard it thumping against the bottom of the truck and then I was over it. A few more got smashed on the way out, but I managed to keep us full throttle long enough to get away.

Just as I was about to abandon the trip, I crested a mountain and slammed on the breaks at the sight before me. The entire downtown area of Jackson was an inferno, and a line of burnt out vehicles smouldered along Highway 15. The City School complex was gone. The County High school was gone. The courthouse, the judicial center, everything. Just gone. Only rubble marked where they once stood. Ash from the fires had coated everything a pale deathly gray. I'd seen what I had came to see. Time to go home.

The trip back almost as bad as the trip out. By the time I'd manged to bypass the road where we got shot at, I'd smeared about ten zeds, and my boss put another five down with his shotgun. Hits, don't know about kills, but we weren't about to stop and find out. When I hit the highway that led to my house, the front of the suburban was a wreck, and the temperature gauge was rising. Ever hit a deer before? Imagine hitting about twenty of them.

The Suburban's engine finally locked up with the power substation near my house in sight. I put it in neutral and coasted the rest of the way, downhill, and when the truck rolled to a stop we were surrounded by neighbors wanting to know what we had seen. Three folks pulled the injured guy out of the truck and carried him toward the church, along with the news.

A few zeds had managed to follow us, and came running down the road as fast as they could. Must've looked like a Vegas buffet to them. About sixteen or so, put down before they got halfway by a couple guys who had been hunting since they were five, or so they said at the meeting yesterday.

Now I'm home, and tired as hell. Tension wears a man out as much as hard work. I thought about my passenger, who would probably die unless he could get to a hos... Yeah, he's gonna die. Another face to haunt my dreams.

[Tater Raider]

16:00
Made it to town.

Tiptonville isn't bad off, relatively. It reminds me of Mason City right when I left with everyone pretty much boarding themselves into their own houses. I was greeted by a roadblock so wasn't able to get into town proper but they were more than willing enough to provide us with some of what we needed to get us on our way so long as I stayed outside the town. I cannot blame them for trying to stay safe. If anything places like this are going to be what we rebuild on once this outbreak is done.


18:00

So here is our haul:
12 gauge 2¾” – 5 rounds buckshot, 5 rounds slugs
9 mil – 25 rounds
Tarp
Oars (well worn)
6 gallons of water in old milk jugs
Sunscreen (SPF 15)
Bug Spray
Pocket knife

I didn't have anything to offer them for trade other than news, but they drank that up greedily enough. I told them my story in detail I haven't written down and they hung on every word. Maybe it was a fair trade after all, but I think half of that stuff was just to keep us moving on our way. The description of Cairo and why I left led to a lively discussion of what could have caused everyone to leave town. My opinion is the town has been dying for a long, long time now and the outbreak just finished it off. I'm guessing that people wanted to be anywhere but there.

They appreciated the news and had nothing for me other than they had seen some of these critters come up out of the water like they had walked across the river. So long as I stay in the navigation channel the water should be too fast and too deep for them to get at me though because they tend to sink for some reason. Maybe because their lungs fill with water? Other info was that they are attracted to noise and movement, those are no brainers, and they can see in the dark maybe so night is definitely not safe.

I was told the ammo is all reloads. I don't know if that will be a problem or not but I am happy for the ammo. I'm happy for all of it really. We needed the stuff and a couple of those things I didn't know I needed.

They also gave me a couple of 2x2's that I used with the tarp to make a travois to drag the stuff back to the boat. The water alone weighs in at close to 50 pounds so this makes the most sense to me. I was given some twine to tie it all down with and make it work so long as I'm careful. Rope was a more than they could part with and I can understand that.

They have to look after themselves and I'm not part of the community. They can't put themselves at risk on my behalf and I-55 is just across the river from here so that could be a major vector for them. I told them to check downriver tomorrow because I'll have to leave some stuff behind and I don't want it going to waste.

Heading back now. This has been interesting.


18:50

Back at the boat and scratching my head to figure out how to get this all in.


20:00

Sorted through the clothing and repacked everything. Bathed in the river as well. Half the clothing we brought along with some of the food we salvaged is sitting in a trash bag up by the road with a bright t-shirt tied to it on the outside. Hope they pick it up. The clouds look like we could maybe have some rain tonight so I'm going to row a little and find us an island to camp on.


21:00

It's been difficult to navigate tonight because of the weather, but we are on an island and I've rigged something up with a tarp and the rope to keep us dry-ish. The boat handles rowing a lot better than paddling and Little Girl enjoyed steering the boat using the paddle as a rudder.

Rowing is a natural movement for me, mostly me finding a rhythm to rock back and forth but my arms and shoulders are burning something fierce. I did discover I can row against the current fairly well but I still end up going downstream unless I'm rowing fast and hard enough to make me wish I was dead in 2 minutes flat. Even then I'm barely holding my own, maybe.

For the record, cold camping sucks. We haven't had a fire since we got on this river and if I have any say on it we won't have one until we are someplace safe and with more people than is in this group.

Mrs. has first watch, shotgun is loaded with slugs, and Little Girl and I are going to catch some sleep.


10:40

Scared the crap out of Mrs. I was having nightmares and was screaming in my sleep.

We are now watching for zombies with everything we have, eyes, ears, noses...