The Other Side of the Apocalypse

[WildWest]

Part 7

Each truck had a dozen adult runners, freshly chilled. Fabian watched them from one of the portals. He yelled to Sean and Evelyn to close and lock the lower one fast. They jumped down to the lower container and locked the steel plate in place. The runners wouldn’t get into the wall through here. The two went back to the upper container and helped Fabian shoot as many of the runners as possible through the firing ports.

Renee and Jack were in the left of center bunker covering the neighborhood to the south. They watched a wave of pirates come out of gates and advance from the houses at that end of the neighborhood. They could see about ten, but there could be many more since they couldn’t observe the entire area from their position. Renee grabbed her radio and called it in as Jack started to fire. He hit three before they got under cover. They didn’t move too fast. They were weighed down as they ran.

I launched my RC helicopter after Fabian told me about the runners and Renee told me about the advancing pirates. I needed to see the battlefield if I was going to make choices about how to fight them off. The helicopter had a video camera transmitting to an LCD monitor in my command room, otherwise known as the garage. The picture wasn’t the best, but I got a good idea what was happening.

A couple dozen pirates had set up some sort of stands in the lawns of the southern neighborhood. Zombies were massed at the Fletcher barricade by the hundreds. The Lincoln Bridge was the same. Scattered zombies were coming up Batavia, but the pirates were thinning them out with trucks and gunfire. I moved the helicopter near the river to see a cargo truck backing up towards the wall, but it was still a hundred feet away. Kelsey and Mark were in that bunker firing their M4s at it to keep the pirates occupied. Then an explosion knocked the helicopter out of the air.

A missile team from across the river launched one at the wall, hit it high and mangled the top container. This was two containers back from Kelsey and Mark so they were uninjured. Mark dropped down to close off the hatch on that side while Kelsey got out her big surprise. Vicky had built a platform for the fifty cal so it could be fired accurately from the bunker. The machine gun was placed here because it was the only weapon, besides a sniper rifle, with the range and power to be combat effective across the river.

Richard reported to me what had happened. This was it. We either lived or died now and I didn’t know which it would be. I yelled into the radio “Bunker, bunker, bunker!” This was the signal to make sure every living person in our group was in the wall bunker system and the hatches were all closed and locked. Angela and Maria had already taken the small children into the inner wall and sealed it behind them. I would be the only person out in the open.

Black and red masses of flesh started soaring over the wall. They moved slowly through the air, not launched with the power of cannon. They would drop to the pavement or on the grass with a sickening plop and start to scurry across the ground.

It was Angela that spotted them through a firing portal. She called it out on the radio. The pirates were using a new weapon now. They had put thought and experimentation into this evil attack. They captured zombie and trimmed them back to see how far they could go and still have them combat effective. They got the best speed and coordination from the young teens after they had been chopped down to little more than head, chest, and arms. When chilled, they could move at jogging speed. They could also climb, especially with the tar coating their hands and arms.

After Angela warned of the new crawlers being hurled over the wall a second explosion happened at the river side of the outer wall. The lower container started to buckle, but didn’t give way entirely. It was still a substantial blockage to most zeds as long as they weren’t runners. No more missiles came at the wall after that. Kelsey saw the launch site and was able to tear it up with the fifty cal. Mark called out “Runners on the river front!” as the back of the cargo truck opened and dozens of runners flowed out of the back.

[WildWest]

Day 135

Part 8

The ground shook as a large explosion ripped apart the barricade blocking the zombies on Fletcher Avenue. Thirty seconds later, another explosion ripped apart the Detroit wall on the Fletcher Avenue entrance to the neighborhood. A third explosion devastated the road along the river where the canal passed under it. A fourth small explosion knocked down a section of the wall that separated the southern neighborhood from the access road behind it.

The pirates launching the crawlers hesitated but did not stop. Fear kept them working at their job of launching the crawlers with their enormous slingshots. They had more ammunition and were under orders to launch them all. The first one or even ten to stop would be dead by tomorrow. They heard the smoke detectors go off around them, but it was already too late.

Runners from the riverfront sprinted toward the pirates as they launched the crawlers. The pirates tried to flee but most never made it more than a few feet. Those that did ran east and into the arms of the shambler horde coming in from Fletcher.

Smoke started to waft over the streets and buildings south of the neighborhood. Tire fires helped with oily rags had been remotely set of. This was nothing new for the pirates and they were ready. They put bandanas over their faces and started to retreat into their trucks. They wouldn’t be caught in the open this time. They had already won anyway.

Samaritan station’s barricades and walls had been breached. Runners and crawlers were all over their base and outnumbered the residents by a fair amount. Finally a large horde was wandering in and would make it impossible for any of them to resist. Then the pirates saw a model airplane buzz overhead, heading south.

[kaijafon]

excellent. I'm hoping all is not lost for the sanctuary. pirates celebrating their "win" are vulnerable to say the least. I wonder how those in the station are fairing.....

thank you for the story, I can't wait to see how it all goes!!!

[WildWest]

Day 135

Part 9

I launched the plane because it was the last thing I had in my arsenal. I wasn’t expecting it to make this a victory for us. It was actually meant as a spoil sport attack even if we lost. The RC plane had its normal receiver, but also a separate transmitter. This transmitter sent a signal to the last of our little surprises in the neighborhoods south of us.

Small explosions started to pop like popcorn, growing fainter the farther the plane went. I had very limited range on the plane and I knew it. I also knew the transmitter was strong and a little bit of altitude would help it a bit. I pushed it full throttle and climbed forty-five degrees, then leveled off. It went out of my range, but the pops continued. The plane would hold its control surfaces in position until the wind pushed it off course and made it crash. I finally heard the large explosions I was waiting for. Katella! The wind was out of the north today.

The pirates knew the truck drivers were dead, that had been expected. They knew the crawler squads were dead. That was possible and acceptable. It was time to move out. Ten reinforced cargo trucks carried about forty of them off the battlefield, or so they thought. They found the roads before them heading south were impassable. The poles and wires that had collapsed on Batavia were now littering the streets on their egress routes. At first it was just an inconvenience, but every street had these poles. They were often tangled up with fences and vehicles, impossible for them to move. This slowed their exit considerably. The smoke slowed it even more.

They wanted distance from the runners behind them. Zombies were starting to get thick too. Only shamblers were about, but it made them nervous with so many road obstructions. Then they saw it. A huge horde massed at the intersection of Batavia and Katella, and a tremendous crater in the road. The first truck charged the crowd and headed over the sidewalk to pass, the engine gunned the entire time. The cargo truck clipped the post for the traffic light and slowed down too much. It stalled out in the sea of zombies. The others turned around and went back to a side street, making their way for Main Street.

Main Street had been blown as well. This time they didn’t try to force the issue with the horde in the intersection. They turned around again and the lead truck found an exposed section of fence line leading to the river trail. The cargo truck smashed through the iron fence but lost both front tires on the iron barbs the fence was sporting. It lost control and tipped over the side of the river bank, coming to a stop. The other trucks made the left turn, but stopped short after a few moments. The bridge over the river was now occupied by thousands of zombies heading their way. The way was blocked. The rear trucks hesitated, but eventually turned around and headed north along the river. Three made it out as the other five were overwhelmed by a sea of zombies, too thick for their trucks to press against.

The last three trucks found the railroad tracks and split up. One turned west and was not able to push the zombies out of the way as it attempted a bridge crossing on the tracks. The left rear wheels slipped off the tracks and the press of zombie finished the work, killing the occupants in the fall.

The two remaining trucks headed east on the tracks and made it made it out of the combat area. They travelled along one of their cleared routes all the way to Westminster before they had a surprise. A runner leaped into the windshield of the trailing truck as they tried to cross through the main shopping district. The passenger unloaded his Glock 21 into the enraged zombie, but it didn’t matter. The driver pulled the wheel sharply to the left when the zombie reached through the shattered windshield for him. The truck hit the corner of a reinforced retaining wall at thirty miles an hour. The blood fest was over before any of them could get their bearings.

[WildWest]

Day 135

Part 10

“Get out of the bunkers and seal their hatches.” I whispered into my radio. I was in the attic.

I haven’t been in the attic in months. I almost forgot what it was like. Small! My world isn’t as small as it was in the beginning. I know what’s out there now and I know how to kill it. I just have to be patient. These new monsters are quick and good climbers. I have to stay out of their sight until my family and friends can make themselves safe. Then they can bait them and pick them off.

Fifteen minutes later I got word that they were safe. I whispered that I’m turning my radio off and leaving it off until they come to the attic to get me. I didn’t get rescued the last time I was I the attic. This time I would wait for the cavalry.

Will took charge in the wall and set people to work. Fabian was taken back a little by it, but let it go. Will did have a knack for winning a fight. The children were moved to a container in the outer wall for now since Will needed shooters to move to the inner wall. They set up on the east side, away from the water trucks so they would have a clear field of fire. Most sounds outside had faded by now so they could talk and shout to bait the crawlers.

Just like any zombie, they obeyed the call for lunch. Seventeen of them came and seventeen were destroyed. More shooters were at the firing ports facing the outer compound and were dropping the runners at a frantic pace. They baited for another half hour in case they had a slow mover. They baited on the west side too, in case they had one hard of hearing. Finally they sent in a fire team of four to clear the houses. This took the rest of the daylight, but they were clear. I was rescued, we grabbed more food, water, and ammunition, then went back into the wall which was our bunker.

[WildWest]

Day 136

Dark and dusty, that was the morning. Everyone was awake at dawn. That’s because few had any sleep with the pounding on the outside of the containers.

Dozens of runners will still against the wall through the night. They pounded away as they circled the wall, from the outside and between the two walls. We couldn’t tell how many there were, just that it was a lot. Hundreds and maybe thousands of shamblers were outside the outer wall, the barricades and gates were demolished, letting them flood into our little world.

Terror had returned to the eyes of everyone. We were alive after the attack, but our sanctuary was broken. War had entered it with a hatred and brutality that was difficult to imagine. I felt broken now. Hiding in the attic reminded me of how fragile our life here really is. Sitting in the dark corner of this container I felt the hopelessness creep in. It was the feeling of being tossed about by a giant wave, on the verge of drowning. The only thing I knew how to do was give up.

I didn’t give up by surrendering to the giant wave of despair and drowning my hopes and that of my family. Nor did I give up by sinking into a depression that would cause me to take my own life as I’m sure others may have done in such times. My giving up was more about giving up my focus on what I could do, to the exclusion of what God has and could do for us.

I turned my head to the wall and prayed. It was difficult for me to pray. My head did not want to form the thoughts. My mind was wanting to succumb to the deceitful comfort of surrender, embracing the death of our community. Somehow, someway, a simple phrase formed in my thoughts, “I’m sorry I left You.”

“I’m sorry I left You Lord.” A tear flowed down my cheek, falling on my arm. It was cool. I sat stunned for minutes, my mind refusing to move from the struggle between despair and this simple apology I was offering to God. Then I think I understood.

Deep down I realized that I had drifted away from my God that had been the bedrock of my sanity this nightmare of a world that we are living in. My thought and actions became more about what I could do to make things happen. It was my work, my drive, my preparations that was going to see us through. Now I see how silly that really was.

We didn’t survive that first month because of my preparations. They helped in their way to be sure but most who prepared some supplies were still just as dead after the first few days. It was purely by the grace of God that my family survived. Through the following months we had tremendous blessings in putting together the elements necessary for a community to thrive through the generations. We had been given gifts beyond imagination, beyond what almost everybody else in the world had

It would be easy for a person to shake his fist at God and say “Why have you done this to me!” It takes faith and courage to say “This is difficult, but thank you for what you have given to me.”

In my mind I drifted into a litany of the destruction within and around Samaritan Station. I snatched back those thoughts and prayed again. This time more focused than before. “Thank You Lord for keeping us alive. Thank You for giving us this sanctuary. Thank You for keeping us safe last night. Thank You for keeping the shamblers out of the compound. I’m sorry that I lost my focus on you. I understand again how I have no hope to live through this world if I do not live for You. You are my hope, abba Father. May today bring You glory.”

I sat quietly for a few minutes pondering what had just happened in my heart. I was tired, but my hope was restored. I actually felt new again. I smiled a big smile and started to take stock of our situation.

I was in the bunker of the inner wall with Angela, Maria, Doc, Susan, Vicky, and the younger children. All four of the access ports were locked, to either containers on the ends, the tunnel to the outer wall, and the portal to the inner compound. Checked on Angela and Mickey to make sure they were okay. I gave Angela a hug. She asked me “What now?”, and reminded here to trust in God, of course. She understood. She got confidence knowing that I was doing that very thing myself.

I knelt down to Doc and checked on him. I asked him to follow behind me and check on any medical needs for anyone in our group. I would be tending to them too, but I was tending to their hope. After radioing the outer wall and carefully crossing through the tunnel, Doc and I continued checking on everyone in the outer wall.

Still early in the morning, I asked Angela to organize meals and cleanup for everyone.

I called a meeting with Will, Richard, Fabian, and Kelsey.

We were going to take back Samaritan Station!

[maldon007]

But MOAR!

[WildWest]

Day 136

Part 2

Marco was pleased with himself. In a single day his power has been assured for his lifetime. Sure he lost most of his people, but that didn’t really matter. In fact, it made things even easier for him now. With only twenty-four men and women under his command, he was still the leader of the most powerful group left in Southern California. Nobody could oppose him from outside.

Nobody would oppose him from inside either. He saw to that this morning. He lost his lead general to the mob on Katella, but the second in command came back. That was enough. He congratulated the few survivors of the attack for their bravery, and then he had his general crucified. The charge was treason. It was always treason. This time the treason was for needlessly losing too many of his men.

Marco had to hold back his own laughter when he announced the charge and punishment. The irony was not lost on him. Never the less, he needed to assert his authority while trimming down his general staff. Demotions were too dangerous and he already had another general that made a better boot-licker. He also had the need to reassert himself with the smaller group. He would always be their ultimate authority. He had to stay on them and keep them under his boot using his unique leadership style.

Once the morning ritual was complete, he had his boot-licker get on the radio to make an announcement. He told about their tremendous victory over the fascist police in Westminster and the deranged survivors of Samaritan Station. He went on about how those threats were now gone due to the bravery of Marco, their courageous leader. Marco was also extending his protection to any who would desire it. Everyone in range of the broadcast was to make for the Long Beach shipyard to seek shelter for the winter. Patrols would soon be dispatched to ensure all survivor groups comply.

Marco liked his new promotion strategy. His slaves would feel like they got a promotion if he brought in new slaves for them to abuse. He laughed inside his head again, “so long as all of them are my slaves.”

[Bearcat]

So there was an attack on the police station as well? I figured with 84 people left they would focus on just one. What happened to the police?

[wile e. coyote]

So there was an attack on the police station as well? I figured with 84 people left they would focus on just one. What happened to the police?

+1

[WildWest]

At first I figured they would attack in series, police station first, then Samaritan Station. When I thought about the strategy I figured I would never do that myself. I would lose all suprise on the second target, Also, they might get a message out about the weaponized zombies and a defense might be devised to reduce their effectiveness.

Remembering that the police group is smaller and lacks heavy weapons to control the approaches, a smaller strike team would probably be necessary. The pirate strategy relies on breaching the defenses and letting the zombies do the work, again requiring fewer soldiers.

I'll be covering that part of the conflict in the next few posts.

Thanks,
WW

So there was an attack on the police station as well? I figured with 84 people left they would focus on just one. What happened to the police?

[Bearcat]

At first I figured they would attack in series, police station first, then Samaritan Station. When I thought about the strategy I figured I would never do that myself. I would lose all suprise on the second target, Also, they might get a message out about the weaponized zombies and a defense might be devised to reduce their effectiveness.

Remembering that the police group is smaller and lacks heavy weapons to control the approaches, a smaller strike team would probably be necessary. The pirate strategy relies on breaching the defenses and letting the zombies do the work, again requiring fewer soldiers.

I'll be covering that part of the conflict in the next few posts.

Thanks,
WW

So there was an attack on the police station as well? I figured with 84 people left they would focus on just one. What happened to the police?

Well hurry up then! MOAR!

[maldon007]

At first I figured they would attack in series, police station first, then Samaritan Station. When I thought about the strategy I figured I would never do that myself. I would lose all suprise on the second target, Also, they might get a message out about the weaponized zombies and a defense might be devised to reduce their effectiveness.

Remembering that the police group is smaller and lacks heavy weapons to control the approaches, a smaller strike team would probably be necessary. The pirate strategy relies on breaching the defenses and letting the zombies do the work, again requiring fewer soldiers.

I'll be covering that part of the conflict in the next few posts.

Thanks,
WW

So there was an attack on the police station as well? I figured with 84 people left they would focus on just one. What happened to the police?

Hmmmm... thats quite interesting, but what about the um... MOAR!

[WildWest]

Day 136

Part 3

No power, no light, and no way out. That is the situation officer Gabriella Herrera found herself in. Locked inside the armory, she was taking her turn on watch. The two other officers in the room also took turns on watch. They weren’t entirely convinced it meant anything, other than having something to do and giving them a reason to keep track of the hours.

Food and water were relatively plentiful in here. This was the most secure room in the station. The door was solid steel, opened from the outside by a combination lock. The walls, floor, and ceiling were reinforced concrete. They even kept their reserves of weapons and ammunition, such as they were, inside here.

It was inconvenient maintaining this room, but Sergeant Bridges had insisted. He wanted to have a panic room for a fallback position. The pirates had almost taken them out in the last attack and there were so few officers left. He wasn’t sure they could withstand them in a direct battle again. The late Sergeant Bridges was right.

It all happened in a moment. Explosions rocked the police station on both the north and south walls of the central building. Twenty seconds later, another explosion hit the south wall at the second floor and the east wing. Sergeant Bridges ordered sniper fire to hit the missile teams, but they faded back and didn’t launch any more missiles.

They launched something worse. A five-ton cargo truck barreled down the street and stopped at the main lobby. We didn’t have a clear view of what came out of the truck, it was a bad angle. Runners started to smash their way into the station moments later. We were faster than them and retreated to near the armory on the Sergeant’s orders. He took the rest of the force, five officers in all, to pick off the runners and to take any shots of opportunity at the pirates.

I could hear the flash bangs they used to draw them runners out of the station. They were hurling them down the street. A huge horde was forming by this time and starting to surge into the area. Sergeant Bridges thought the pirates were backing off now, and they probably did. We were in bad shape and might not have been able to hold the perimeter. Then we lost the Sergeant.

One of the other officers, I’m not sure which, screamed into the radio for us to lock down inside the panic room, that we needed to lock down for a good long time. We heard the screams. They were all dying really fast. They should have held out for at least a couple minutes against the runners, even if things went bad. We had one transmission from Officer Erickson a minute later. He just said in almost a whisper of a voice, “All dead. Runners and something new. Only arms and heads, the rest chopped off. They move fast and can climb walls. Came down from the roof.”

The transmission stopped when we heard the faint shots from upstairs. At least we didn’t hear the screams.

Gabriella cried again, as she had so much already this last day.

[WildWest]

Day 136

Part 4

Careful and methodical, that is what we were. We had cleared the inner compound the day before, but I didn’t trust it after those crawler monsters ha d been set loose on us. We went to clear it again, but we were more thorough.

To start with, a three man team with security support took the southeast bunker and the one to the west of it. They cleared the bunkers and verified they were intact. After clearing, the security teams sealed the hatches from below and the spotters sandbagged the portals they were not actively spotting through. From there they could watch each other, the entire top surface of the outer wall, and the entire top surface of the inner wall. This gave us our first boundary that defined what we could secure.

We were then able to do another clearing action on the inner compound. This time, we were more patient using the music to bait any zombies before entering a structure. All doors, cabinets, and closets were opened, and then closed again after the house had been declared clear. We seal the house and move to the next. This went on from ten till three in the afternoon.

The wall spotters had been busy the entire time we were clearing the inner compound. Runners and walkers had made it into the out compound and onto the wall periodically. The wrecked containers kept the entire horde from moving in, but the more energetic ones could navigate through and over the twisted metal and climb the sides with some success. Their total during this time was forty-five zeds. One of the nasty crawlers was spotted and destroyed by a bunker crew. The good thing was that it had slowed down quite a bit and was slow to climb up the side of a container.

We checked the water and it was still flowing. The pipes had not been damaged, probably just because the sandbagging crew had covered them with sandbags during our final preparations.

The bunker crews were switched out every two hours so their eyes stayed sharp. After the third switch, we made first move on the outer compound. Music bait was used on the east wall that overlooked the narrow section close to the outer wall on Batavia and the containers damaged by the garbage trucks. The horde of shamblers surged, but couldn’t make it into the compound except for the occasional runner.

Once we verified the narrow section was cleared near the inner wall we placed spotters atop the inner wall to keep them clear and moved the bait to the open north-west corner. We brought in and ended twelve in the next five minutes. No more came in the hour after that.

Next, we needed to test the missile damage on the containers to the west. This was going to be a risky mission. I sent a three man bunker team with a two person security team through the outer wall to the southwest bunker. From there, they started the music and brought out over a dozen runners from the river side. They had an easy time passing over these containers, but the shamblers couldn’t. Also, the garden fencing seems to be intact.

Our security condition is pretty clear. The outer wall functions like a barricade now and has the same security as the north part of the neighborhood outside the wall. The inner wall is secure. We can do a daily clearing of the outer compound in the short term. In the long term, we need to repair the container walls. Our initial estimate is that seven containers need to be replaced. We can’t do this with the hordes against the walls.

We have two hours of daylight left and two important missions to complete. I first assign teams of snipers and fast runners. The snipers provide cover against any runners that pop up while the fast runners get to water the garden. It’s hot and we can’t afford to lose the crop. With the basic clearing done this turns out to be a quick duty. The spigots get turned on and water flows through our irrigation system. Half an hour later it gets turned off. This was done on the walled section first and then the northern section behind the fence.

Finally, we provide cover for everyone in groups to clean and retrieve personal items for use in the bunkers tonight. We’ll stay another night just to be sure the crawlers don’t suddenly return.

[maldon007]

Thanks for moar

[WildWest]

Day 137

Marco decided he definitely wanted to have some more slaves. There were only three women left in his group that were interesting to him, but he wanted more. He could enslave these three without too much problem. The men would be fine with it as long as he tossed one their way. The other four women would be fine with it too since they were jealous of them and would like to see them taken down on the social ladder.

He would have a small team go out today and see what they could find inland. Maybe they could locate someone in Playa Del Rey or near LAX? They had been doing expeditions before the battles on occasion and would bring in survivors. Usually by offering them supplies, safety, and a place for living a good life. It would work again. Then we would have fresh entertainment once more.

[Bearcat]

Was their livestock destroyed by the runners?

[WildWest]

No, but I probably should have added a bit of detail in here. There would have been some inthury, but probably not too much loss. The animals are faster than people sprinting and naturally skittish. I would expect injuries on a few though. The runners in this story don't specifically target all living things, just those that would make significant noise. Cows aren't too noisy and the sheep were too scattered to be destroyed wholesale.

The chickes would have been interesting. Their coop would have been hit by the crawlers, but ever try to catch a chicken with your hands, not an easy task.

I'll edit in some detail on this, but I may leave out a detailed account of the chicken chase.

Thanks,
WW

Was their livestock destroyed by the runners?

[WildWest]

Day 137

Part 2

“Steady and by the numbers.” Was the phrased I used when Vicky asked how we were going to go about fixing the walls. We would do it steady and by the numbers. We already had a proven process for clearing the barricaded areas and would do this for all the open areas that had intact barricades. We could do this relatively safely and with lookouts on the walls, we could have two teams working at a time. That is just how we did it and we had these areas cleared by nine in the morning.

We posted a pair of guard in bunkers on opposite corners of the outer wall, the southeast and northwest. We were getting good at guard duty and had frequent rotations in our schedule. The kids were allowed back into the inner compound for the day. They had plenty of clean up to do. Kevin and Vicky helped and took care of the bodies, or rather body fragments inside. Doc and Susan had a similar task in the outer compound while Jack and Renee tended the animals.

The animals had been hurt in the incursion, but not decimated. Fortunately they are naturally quicker than the fastest people and zombies aren’t very bright, just persistent. The cows fared best, probably because they were quieter than the rest. We lost one cow and two calves to the zeds. Two other cows had injuries, but they weren’t bad. The sheep were in worse shape. They weren’t as skittish of the zeds and let them come in too close. We lost six outright and will probably lose two more from injuries.

The chickens were an interesting adventure. Runners can sometimes be a little clumsy and I’m sure they had trouble trying to get the chickens once their coop was smashed. We lost only one chicken, but the coop is in bad shape and the chickens are leery of coming too close to people now. I guess they’ll be free range chickens for a while.

Will and Kelsey came with me to go over how to repair the wall. We surveyed both walls and made a map of the zed locations and densities. They were still a horde, but had thinned out considerably. The section blasted by the missiles and the one hit by the trucks were the only two that needed repair. Three containers and four were needed respectively to repair the damage, seven containers total. The river section was in much worse shape and would allow more walkers inside. It would have to be first.

Having done this before, we knew how to take care of the wall quickly and had a plan to manage the zeds. The storage lot had enough containers remaining for us to do the task and we could have Fabian prep as best he could for removal of the damaged containers. We would start after lunch and hope everything went as smoothly as we hoped.

[WildWest]

Day 137

Part 3

Fixing the river wall turned out to be more of a trick than we thought it would be. We started at noon to get the containers by doing the dump truck smash on Batavia. This took a lot more time than we expected because they zeds had to flow in from the southern neighborhood and the river front with the barricades knocked down. The garbage trucks strewn across the road also created a problem with visibility and maneuvering the dump truck. It worked itself out after three hours of smashing and a six inch deep slush of goo on the road.

We had to use the bulldozer to create drifts of guts on the sidewalks to get the forklift through to plug the barricades after that. It took over an hour for that. Then we were able to block off the Fletcher barricade, Fletcher Detroit wall into the neighborhood, and the Batavia barricade, another hour used up. We stacked cars over the gap in wall between the southern neighborhood and the access road to the sandbagging depot which took half an hour. By this time it was clear we wouldn’t have time to get the walls repaired today.

Knowing we were running out of time, we set out to rebuild the barricade that was toppled and then blown on the river by the canal. This took a couple of hours because of the additional smashing needed to placate our grumpier neighbors from the south and to cover for the damaged fencing and new pit caused by the explosion. At least no enemy vehicles would be making it through to us from that route again.

We called it a day after that and stowed our vehicles. We felt a little safer after getting the outer barricades functional again. We slept in the bunker anyway. There’s nothing like having two sets of walls for protection against runners. I also worried that some crawlers might be around and not have wound down yet. Those things still gave me the creeps.

[WildWest]

Day 138

Clearing the neighborhood was quicker today of course. The barricades make a big difference. Not having to spend more than a couple of hours with clearing, we were able to repair the river wall in six hours. Most of the time was spent cutting the bolts and anchors for the mangled containers. Once they were clear, we were able to use the crane to set it down the river bank. Who knows, maybe it will become a descent fishing spot one day.

The wall on Batavia went even faster since Mark was able to start the cutting while we were still at the river. Tonight, we have our walls back! It’s a good thing too. We are into September now. In Southern California that generally means Indian summer and Santa Ana winds from the desert. It’s pretty warm but can turn to a cold spell any week now.

The possibility of sudden cool weather has sobered me even more than the attack from the pirates. We have harvest time coming soon. If we are going to stay healthy eating fresh foods, we need to bring in as much as possible, as quickly as possible from the more exposed portions of the garden. We have to double check our supplies and make sure we haven’t forgotten anything critical that we will need through the winter when the zeds wind up. We also need to decide if we’ll peek our heads out and try to help others to our sanctuary, or lay low, hoping the remnants of the pirates don’t find us.

I may be an idiot about such things sometimes, but I have my opinion on the subject already. I just don’t want to force this one on everybody. It needed to be a group decision. We were going to sleep in our homes again tonight, though making sure we had alert wall guards. That would be after we had a community meeting. Decisions needed to be made and they needed to be made now.

[WildWest]

Day 138

Part 2

“I love the spoils of war!” thought Marco to himself. His patrol made contact with a group in Compton, hiding in an abandoned warehouse used to supply lunch trucks for job sites. Two couples had hidden inside of lunch trucks within the sealed warehouse for all these months. The patrol spotted their sign in the windows asking to be rescued. It was easy to get them to come out.

One of my men spoke Spanish to them, telling them of the endless supply of food and the high walls at the docks that would protect them. What sealed the deal and had them come along eagerly was the way he talked of their Mexican savior, Marco, the man that saved them from countless attacks by zombies and fascist government forces.

It worked out well right from the beginning. Welcoming them into the camp with open arms, I immediately shot their unofficial leader in the head while the others were held at gunpoint. They surrendered themselves to their fate in an instant. We put the more timid man in chains and four of my men spent the day subduing him, making it clear where he stood as a slave. The two girls were also immediately chained. One, I tossed to my soldiers as I kept the other for myself. It was interesting day indeed.

I’ve decided that we will keep looking for survivors and extend our hospitality to as many as possible. I set my general to the business of calling them on the radio, inviting any and all survivors to come join us in our new paradise by the sea.

[WildWest]

Day 138

Part 3

The meeting was heated. Our community split, mostly on gender lines. The men were defiant toward the pirates and wanted to broadcast again and even go out on rescue parties to find survivors. The women wanted no part of it, just to stay put, rebuild, and last out the winter.

Susan became their strongest advocate, saying that we didn’t have the ability to save everyone. We didn’t really have the ability to save ourselves. She felt, and many of the women affirmed, that if we were to live, we needed to hide.

Richard became the chief spokesman for the men wanting to find more survivors. I framed the question around just broadcasting to welcome survivors here, Richard, with Will at his side, argued for much more. They wanted continued broadcasts with parties sent out to locate survivors that had no radios or means of travel. It became heated and hysterical at times.

Debate lasted for an hour before we put it to an open vote. As a community, we were split on the issue, but a clear majority decided. Angela and Kelsey split from the women to support broadcasting and also sending parties out looking for survivors. The decision had been made.

I knew my wife’s mind on the issue. She feared the wrath of the pirates, but feared more the wrath of our God on our eternal souls if we willfully abandoned those in need because of our own fear. It was one of the greatest examples of courage and sacrifice I have seen, since she was a mother, and expecting another baby.

Kelsey had a different reason for supporting the measure, a more practical reason. She wanted to help our community grow in terms of fighting members. She wanted to go after the pirates for what they had done to Jared and Rachael. She wanted revenge for the fear they had imposed on her and her family. She was embarking on a personal war.

This attitude troubled me deeply. I’m afraid that it will cause her to act rashly and get her or someone else killed. There was a fire in her eyes when she told me this. On the other hand, her logic regarding more fighting adults couldn’t be argued. We had been grossly outnumbered and we may not remain safe as long as we are the smaller of the groups.

In any case, broadcasting began again. Kelsey did the honors of opening up the nightly broadcast with our description of the pirate battle. I let her take some dramatic license with the details of the battle and how we fought them off. I’m familiar with the ideas regarding information warfare and welcomed the uncertainty it would cause the pirates regarding our strength, resources, and willingness to take the battle to them. I think the fire in her served us well tonight.

After Kelsey’s speech, we continued the broadcasted recordings as we had before. Nobody has come to our sanctuary on their own for a long time now. It was so long ago when Rex, Vicky, Sarah, and Jackson arrived. They were the last ones to make it on their own. Now I was convinced that we should go out and try to rescue survivors.