Living With the Dead: Year One Read online

  A note to the reader:

  This collection of Living With the Dead contains two eBooks, “Living With the Dead: With Spring Comes The Fall” and “Living With the Dead: The Bitter Seasons”. Please be aware before purchasing this volume that it is a special edition that collects those two works, which together comprise the first year of the story. If you have already purchased “With Spring Comes The Fall” and aren't interested in the bonus material that is included with this book, you can find the second six month collection on the Kindle and Nook stores (“The Bitter Seasons”).

  This eBook represents countless hours of work from a number of people. Please respect the time, effort, and love herein by not sharing this file.

  Acknowledgments, And a word from the author:

  This collection, which pulls together the entire first year of “Living With the Dead”, would not have been possible without the support of a great number of people. They are, in completely random order: Patrick Rooney, Aaron Moreland, Jackie Minton, Courtney Hahn, Treesong, Annetta Ribken, Lori Whitwam, David Adams, The entire Monaghan clan...and Juanita Monaghan especially. Thank you, mom, for always being a critic, a fountain of good ideas, and forgiving for what I did to the fictional you in these pages. You're a sport.

  Before you get any further, dear reader, please remember a few facts as you go forward. Living With the Dead is an almost daily blog, told in real time. At times, you will find the way it is written jarring. That's intentional. In keeping with the spirit of the mad dance that is life in the zombie apocalypse, I've left almost every post as it originally was on the blog—errors and all. The same goes for the formatting: the second half of this work is formatted differently than the first, again with purpose. Change over time can be shown in many ways...

  If you're still reading, and you want to move into a world that diverges from our own and lose yourself in the daily struggle, read on. You will find many things in the days and months contained in this volume—Laughter, Hate, Violence, Love, Hope—among many other states that define the human condition. As you read, you may begin to do what I did when I wrote the words ahead.

  Put yourself in the shoes of a survivor, and ask, “What would I do to survive?”

  Enjoy.

  Living With the Dead

  Year One

  With Spring Comes The Fall

  March to August 2010

  A note:

  These entries have been preserved in their original form, unedited in any way. We consider them a vital resource in understanding the events that led to and followed the collapse of society in the year 2010. To students of history, your critical eye will note that there are times when the author(s) may state contradictory facts, or engage in what may seem to you needless fatalism. The goal of this project, the collation of the historical document (in this case called a “blog”) is to give the current and hopefully next generation the tools required to understand where the world we inherited came from. What follows is a glimpse into the everyday affairs of those who survived the initial disaster in a rural corner of the world.

  Or, in the words of the author, “Herein lies a chronicle of my life in a world overrun. This is about life and living in a land destroyed by the dead.”

  Tuesday, March 2, 2010

  Scary news

  My wife gives me a lot of crap for being such a freak for zombie movies, zombie comics, zombie t-shirts, and pretty much anything with a bloodthirsty, shambling corpse on it. Today is not a lot different, really, except that now she's rolling her eyes at me as a write this because of something I saw on TV today.

  I only write about it here because I always told myself that I of all people would see the zombie apocalypse coming, it's something that my friends and I have joked about for years. So imagine how i felt when flipping through the channels today, and saw a news report about some strange violence in Cincinnati. Not that violence in Cinci is anything out of the ordinary, in fact a guy from here in Frankfort was shot there a few days ago. But man, the type of violence is what sent shivers up my spine. I'm a zombie nerd. When I hear crazy shit about a bunch of people going around biting people, maybe trying to eat them, I get the willies.

  So here I am, telling myself that I'm just being stupid, that there is no such thing as zombies, walking dead, what have you. Which is how people always react in the movies.

  My wife is reading this over my shoulder and laughing at me. I want to laugh a little too.

  But all I can do is think that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go to the store and grab a few things.

  Just in case.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 2:40 PM

  Now I lay me down to sleep...

  Yeah, shit just got weird.

  I ran up to the store, and I was in the car listening to the news. Turns out that mob of people in Ohio have started a riot, or that's what they are calling it. The city called in all off duty officers to deal with it, but the news report said that the crowd keeps on growing. Whatever is going on, I want Jess and I to be safe and ready for anything. I just blew about three hundred bucks on canned food, staples like salt, flour, and sugar, that sort of thing. I think early tomorrow we're going to make a trip to the the hardware store and get some things to try and make the house a bit more secure.

  I can tell you, the dogs are getting chained up outside tonight.

  Glad I took out that new credit card, because if this isn't just my ridiculous imagination getting the better of me, I think we're going to need every penny to shore up the house. I have to get some sleep, I got off work at seven this morning and I usually go to bed like four hours ago. But I have to talk to mom, she lives right around the corner. She's got to have heard about this, she's a news freak. I hope she listens to me. It would be a first.

  Suddenly, I am very glad for my collection of swords, knives, and various other pointy things. Hopefully this is all just me being dramatic, but boy scouts taught me well. I'd rather be embarrassed than dead.

  Anyone know any good gun shops here in town?

  Posted by Josh Guess at 5:32 PM

  Wednesday, March 3, 2010

  It thickens

  Woke up at three this morning to a text from my friend Patrick, telling me to turn on the news. Wish I hadn't.

  Cincinnati has gotten worse, and now word is spreading that outbreaks of similar violence are cropping up in the suburbs surrounding it. news crews have stopped trying to get in, because so many of them have been attacked and gone missing.

  Now I'm pretty sure there is something to be worried about. The military hasn't been called in that I am aware of, but it's only a matter of time. Jess texted me from work to tell me that people there are acting like nothing is wrong, but I am pretty sure she is starting to get worried too.

  My mom wasn't so responsive yesterday. Hoping that I can convince her to take some precautions in case whatever this is spreads here. Funny, I always thought I would be some heroic zombie killing machine if this ever happened, and now all I can do is try to prepare, and worry like hell for the people I love.

  The wife will be home soon, and then we'll be taking a trip to the local home improvement warehouse. God bless the man who invented them. It's like a zombie protection outlet in there.

  More to come later today.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 8:29 AM

  Stocking up for the long haul

  I am avoiding the TV as much as possible. I know that's childish, but I really don't need the constant stream of bad news to tell me what I already know. I was hoping to be wrong, but now there is zero doubt. It sounds crazy, hell, it sounds impossible, but there are
zombies coming this way.

  Not that the media is saying that. They are calling it a virus, a plague, a hundred different things that all have the same symptom: People are being attacked, dying far too quickly, and getting up afterward. So yeah, we stocked up.

  We maxed out the credit cards buying various things to reinforce out house. A load of 3/4 inch plywood is being delivered this afternoon. A big load. With it is an entire pallet of 2x4's. We already bought a lot of nails, some rebar, some 5/16 strips of steel plate, thirty feet of aluminum duct, a small outdoor wood burning stove, a trunk full of hand tools, several rolls of insulation, and a few crowbars. That's not even half the list just from Lowe's.

  Also went back to the old super-center to get some more supplies, and we'll be back for less vital things tomorrow. Today was all about survival...we got a bunch of water purification tablets, cold weather clothing (the crazy warm stuff in sporting goods), fishing poles, hooks, coolers, a bunch of tarps...you get the idea. There is a place in Versailles that sells all kinds of solar powered stuff, green gadgets, wind turbines, and crank generators. I think we'll be stopping there soon as well.

  Water will eventually be an issue, but we have an idea, more about it later. I am going to keep updating when I can, and save these to upload when I can'. I hope that this all blows over, but it isn't looking good.

  No one in Kentucky is infected yet. With luck, we will have time to really get ready.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 12:48 PM

  Thursday, March 4, 2010

  The List

  This will vary depending on what your plans are, but here is a basic list of what everyone should have. Mine is much larger, since we are staying at home, but the basic list is what you should have as a minimum, regardless whether you are staying put or traveling. It goes:

  FOOD: a variety of calorie rich nutrition bars, water purification tablets, a container with a grain based food mixed with proteins, such as granola. A densely packed container of dried meat, such as jerky, some waxed cheese wheels (pocket sized), and a

  dd in anything you have room for that fits in a small area (NO CANS!) Make good use of plastic sandwich bags, but make sure to purge the air from them to increase the time that your food will stay fresh.

  CLOTHING: For the sake of storage and utility, keep it simple. Three pairs heavy socks, one pair light socks, Two pairs cargo pants (military issue would be best, very durable, and some of them zip off into shorts...) One pair shorts, Two long sleeve thermal shirts, one short sleeve shirt, one heavy coat (removable liner best for medium weather), one pair all-terrain shoes (suggest new balance), one pair waterproof steel toed boots, One enormous backpack, One wide brimmed hat, one pair sunglasses, one pair leather gloves, two pairs underwear, one towel, one washcloth, one water bag/water skin (gets smaller as it empties, unlike a jug or canteen)

  SHELTER: Best to find a small, thin tent that sets up and packs up easily. Three thin fleece blankets, one subzero rated sleeping bag, one dowel rod or collapsible pole, at least four feet long (in case you have to make a shelter if you lose your tent...)

  WEAPONS/TOOLS: One small hatchet (folding if you can find one, single forged if not, AVOID wooden handles, it is a lost hatchet head waiting to happen.) One crowbar, sized appropriately for your frame and strength, two heavy knives (non-folding), one mutli-tool, one set of fishhooks, one roll of fishing line (heavy test), one rifle (for hunting/long range shooting), plenty of ammo.

  MISC: one roll toilet paper, one pouch with toiletries, one 10X10 tarp (with edge grommets), one 50ft length nylon rope (thin), One 50ft length nylon rope (thick, can hold your weight x2), one piece of steel, one striker, one waterproof can of char cloth, one small magnifying glass, one pair binoculars, one belt (because if you carry all of this while walking, you will need it.)

  That's pretty much it, guys. For a more comprehensive listing of what you may need for your home, please keep reading. I will probably be going into disgusting detail on our...home improvements, which I have to get back to. Be safe.

  Maybe add a wagon to haul this stuff in...

  Posted by Josh Guess at 8:46 AM

  Friday, March 5, 2010

  Under Construction

  Sorry for only posting once yesterday, but we've been working hard trying to fortify the house. The windows are now covered with two layers of plywood, two by fours across them at one foot intervals, with heavy nails studded all over to make them stick. I beat on one for about five minutes as hard as I could, and didn't even bend it. Planning on bolting sheet metal to the outside of the house to cover the windows completely, but we're getting low on time.

  The outbreak in Ohio has gotten worse. Cincinnati is a war zone, the national guard is mowing down anything that doesn't stop on command. It's nowhere near enough. Reports are coming in from all over the place that smaller outbreaks are occurring all over the Ohio valley. In ones and twos, people are bitten, and as they flee and die somewhere far away, the cycle starts again. The military is maintaining a tight quarantine on the bridges to northern Kentucky, but the damage has been done.

  So far central Kentucky is safe. No reports that I have found, but it is only a matter of time before someplace with a decent population gets hit, like Lexington. Louisville will go soon too, and Frankfort, where I live, is the nut between the hammer and the anvil. But travel would be even more risky, so we're making a stand here.

  Windows done, doors reinforced with wood and locks, bars across them and heavy backstops. We cut an escape hatch into the floor so we can get out through the crawlspace if needed, and knocked a few new holes in the foundation and put some doors on them. Patrick (my best friend) is going to stay with us, and probably check in on my mom for us a few times a day. He's in the crawlspace now, digging a hole to store things in, and we've even talked about making a tunnel, though I don't know how feasible that is.

  Thank god it is getting to be spring, we won't have to worry about the wood burning stove for a while, and that's a modification we can do from inside the house. Cooking will be an issue once the power goes out, but the mod we made to the side deck should help out there.

  We built up walls of plywood, eight feet high, topped with running boards that slant up and out to discourage climbers, and wrapped in barbed wire. the whole thing is banded with heavy planks, this thing is thick and strong. We will be cooking on the grill when we lose the ability to do it indoors.

  The back yard is pretty well protected as it is. The chain link fence isn't high, but we have other yards on all sides, and it slopes away from the house, making it easy to see the whole thing. Over time we intend to build as high a fence as we can all around it, but we can live inside the house for a long, long time without going out there if needed.

  The front deck is my next project. I plan to make it identical to the side, but with a few alterations. It will have a ladder to the roof, which we will eventually have platforms on, and another way into the house. The front will also house our only obvious entrance, which is going to be very, very heavily made. Maybe a walkway or two on the deck too, just to make firing weapons and keeping watch a little easier.

  Oh, yeah. I have finally seen footage of zombies. Sort of a forgone conclusion, but I do feel some small relief that I'm not insane. It is getting worse. I only hope that we can make this place strong enough to last.

  More tomorrow.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 11:26 AM

  Saturday, March 6, 2010

  A quick note

  This will likely be a multiple update day, and this one is going to be short. Just wanted to ask everyone who has confirmed info of outbreak locations to let me know. I will be working on a map, trying to work out movement patterns, maybe find a safe place for a large group of folks to gather.

  Also, a plea.

  Anyone out there that has a secure location, please keep your fellow man in mind. Trust is always an issue, and food will become a problem, but try to keep in mind that as this plague spreads, regular folks will become fewe
r and fewer. So do your best to help those in need. Safety in numbers.

  More to come later today, be safe.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 7:18 AM

  Weaponology

  The house is as safe as we can make it for now.

  Jess is out with Patrick, doing some last minute shopping, and I felt it was necessary to send the six foot three, two hundred eighty pound Alaskan with her, because it's getting crazy around here. The stores are being rushed, people are panicked, and while there have been only minor reports of outbreaks in Lexington and Louisville, those outbreaks mean the clock is ticking. For now I am more worried about actual riots and looters than I am the zombies.