Living With the Dead: Year One Page 6

  The challenges we face are greater than most of us could ever have imagined, and yet, life is simpler now. But fate, or kismet, or god, or the random roll of dice (however you may see it) is blind to how the rhythms of daily life have altered. Our group looks at each other, every day, cherishing the moments we are together in ways impossible before, because the stark truth has taught us to know, deep within where only the hardest facts can live, that we are all at risk.

  Any moment, any time, one of us could die.

  My friends, my mother, my wife, my old flame...even my pets, whose affection has been one of the few carryovers from what used to be my life, keep me grounded. These are the things I value, and love, and shed tears for in the blackest parts of night, in anguish that they might suddenly be gone.

  I may go find Jess. I think it's time to stop all this maudlin talk and have ourselves a little reaffirmation of life.

  Be safe, all, and watch each others backs. Never go out alone, and never leave each other in anger.

  Always say I love you.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 3:34 PM

  Friday, March 26, 2010

  Points on a Map

  I was to have spent last night on watch, according to our schedule, but two factors changed things a little. One is that my mom and Gabby have decided that my shoulder is healed just enough for me to use my left arm for more than typing. Not that you should take that as a statement meaning that I am hale and hearty, only that it's unlikely I will hurt myself further at this point.

  The other factor is some information Little David shared while our newest arrivals slept. We were worried that there might be other looters out there, and apparently we were right. The reason that Darlene and her siblings were always hiding or on the run, and especially why they were always ready to shoot, is because there are a lot more looters out there than we had imagined possible.

  That more of them haven't come here isn't luck. While he was being held captive, he learned a lot. They came and took him because they had heard about us while a couple of looters chatted just outside their hiding spot. They have a healthy respect for us, fueled by a lot of fear after we burned a bunch of their friends to cinders.

  That's what rapists and murderers get.

  So after hearing this intel from Little David, the entire group held a sort of council. All of us, newcomers included, talked about it, discussed plans, and tried to work out some scenarios. The new four had a lot to add, and were able to give us some valuable information about locations where the looters might be staying, places they frequently visit, and the like.

  What it came down to was a decision that since we know they go inside and sleep at night, with little or no lookouts, that nighttime would be the best time to spy on them. Most folks wanted to draw straws, but what it came to was Patrick and I making the point that many of them had never had to fire a gun, much less do some of the more disturbing things we had been through to survive.

  Pat and I have a few years of martial arts under our belts. We have experience with weapons of all sorts, from swords to guns. We know how to be cautious outdoors, and how to avoid being seen. We have between us a surprising variety of skills and talents, not the least of which is our recently discovered will to brutally act in our own best interests.

  So last night we roved around. We decided to take a car, though no headlights. The noise it made was a necessary trade off for the speed it would give us if we had to run. Though there was no need for that this trip. None of the places we checked out (and yes, we left the car a hundred yards away and hoofed it up close to our targets) had any obvious signs of habitation, but that doesn't really mean anything. Tonight was about mapping out the areas, making sure there are ways in and out, as well as taking a measure of the zombie situation in those areas. We accomplished a lot, I think. We certainly have a better grasp of what potential threats are out there.

  And of course, there are the zombies.

  We always see some, but this trip was informative for many reasons. There is a buildup going on. I think the looters must have tried to pen off areas, but in doing so have created pockets where huge herds are gathering.

  Just south of the US 127-Interstate 64 junction, there is a horde of them that has to be in the hundreds at a minimum. They are only about a mile away from what we think is a major hideout for the looters, possibly a sort of depot for all the supplies they stockpile.

  I am planning on taking a nap, and being sneaky as I make my way to a location close to that depot, to watch them all today. I am taking Elizabeth with me, as she has expressed a desire to learn some survival skills, and how to be a sneaky bastard in general. She's also the backup, to get back home to let the group know what we have seen, in case something happens to me. I haven't forgotten her and Jessica's idea, but right now, it is the last thing I worry about.

  I don't know if I can keep calling us "the group" and our home "the neighborhood". The me that always wanted to be a writer feels a strong urge to rename these things, to make them unique...maybe by the morning I will have though of something with a bit more panache.

  Wish me luck.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 9:06 AM

  Waiting Game

  They are in a hotel across from us, about a quarter mile away. Elizabeth and I are hunkered down inside a restaurant with tinted windows. Damn place was full of zombies when we got here, and we had to kill them without bullets. Elizabeth sort of freaked out at first, but she calmed down and joined in the fun when she realized I wasn't going to run and leave her, or get myself killed.

  This is being sent out from my phone, so I will have to keep it short.

  The hotel is being used both as a depot and a base. It's a big place, and these bastards are doing all sorts horrible things. We've seen a few women dragged in, and mountains of supplies. They have to be traveling pretty far out of town to get some of this swag.

  Tomorrow, I am going to make a run for some more specialized stuff myself. I almost got bitten, and while we were waiting here, watching for the looters to come outside, Elizabeth and I came up with a good idea for some bite-resistant clothing, and some armor. And we're planning on some basic swordplay classes, so I need to get some good blades for cutting. Katana (decent ones, anyway, not crappy knock-offs) are perfect for efficiently taking out zombies.

  Until tomorrow.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 11:49 AM

  Saturday, March 27, 2010

  Countdown

  There is a place just off the interstate toward Louisville that used to run a huge flea market every weekend. Mostly family run things, but with the occasional wholesaler running a local shop out of there on the cheap.

  It was untouched. The whole damn thing.

  You could probably have guessed that here in Kentucky, places like it are full of vendors that sell everything from hunting knives to police batons, furniture to building supplies. We were interested in all of it, but the immediate need for us was a specific vendor that I had hoped hadn't been able to pull out in time. He found out a long time ago that there is a serious martial arts presence here, and he capitalized on it.

  Clearly, he wasn't able to make it. We found everything we need. Single and double knit Judo GI, tons of belts (handy for a lot of reasons), several dozen sharpened Iaito of decent quality, five high quality Iaito, a huge number and variety of other weapons, and best of all....Kendo armor. Full chest armor, face baskets, and arm protectors. I grabbed a bunch of hakama as well, for the extra layer of protection over the pants.

  We're hoping to find somewhere that has some real armor, riot gear, kevlar vests, and if we can hit the national guard depot, maybe some flak jackets. But that's in the future. Right now it's vital to our plans that we all be bite proof above any other consideration.

  Elizabeth and I watched them for a long time, and we are almost certain that we know their routine. A few of you have expressed your concern that I am sharing too much of our activity, enough to give us away should one of the looters ch
eck out this blog. I'm not worried. None of the ones we've seen even have cell phones, and the hotel doesn't have any power. But even if they do...I don't think that any of them will be able to see where we're watching them from, because we do move around.

  But to be safe, I won't be telling you what our plans are, or when we're going to enact them. I am pretty sure that the looters outnumber us by a large number...so we're going to be doing something unexpected.

  Everything else going on in the compound has taken a break. Yep, that's the name we decided on. We all talked about it, and it fits. Our neighborhood is getting to be a compound now, it's so closed off and fortified. All we need is people to fill it out.

  Our group is still just called the group, I guess. It would be cool to call ourselves something like "the wolverines" from Red Dawn, but that might be taking it a little too far.

  Elizabeth has moved in our house, as Little David has moved out into a place on the other side of the block with Darlene. I saw that coming a mile away.

  We're tense, and excited. Tonight is going to be a game-changer, any way it goes. Wish us luck.

  We will take all we can get.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 9:23 AM

  Sunday, March 28, 2010

  Misdirection

  Well, I might have lied a little bit.

  I thought maybe that somebody was passing information from this blog to the looters, and I was right. They expected us to do something last night, using the cover of darkness to make up for lack of numbers. What I was hoping for was far more simple: outnumber them.

  I just had to go find the numbers.

  It took a while to gear everyone up. Jess, Pat and I were the only ones who had ever worn a GI before, and it took a while to get them fitted onto all of us securely enough that we could be sure zombies wouldn't be able to pull them off. All of us were covered, head to toe. We needed to be, when we made our way to all of the penned off areas we could reach.

  We were already gone when my post hit the internet, cutting fence and leading the zombies where we wanted them. Our observations gave us a god idea of where they went, what routes they took...which told us exactly which routes to lead the zombies toward them. From half a dozen locations, we teased them on. By the time we had them within sight of the hotel, the zombies were moving of their own accord, already seeing the mass of people around it.

  In the big groups we were pretty much invisible to the looters. We all peeled off from our herds of zombies, killing the few that followed us with hammers, axes, and the like. You know, silent weapons.

  The idea wasn't to kill them all, because it had become clear to us that they were keeping captives. We wanted them outside and fighting, distracted, while we made our way into the hotel. If they did die--fine. But our goal was to help those that they kept inside.

  I can't believe it worked. We figured the reason they kept the area by the highway fenced off was to escape town quickly if they needed to, as they parked all of their vehicles pointed that way, and it turns out we bet the right way. When they fled, that's the way they went.

  Right into about a thousand zombies. Mom and the second group had timed it just right. Only a few looters were left at the hotel, and they were no problem to take care of. More than fifty men, murderers and rapists for the most part, and no great loss to the human race. Even those that weren't either of those were at least complicit in the acts, so I have no mercy for them. Any shred of guilt I might have felt vanished when we found the captives.

  All told, we now have an additional twenty women living in the compound. Five men were also found, fellows who had joined up for survival initially, but had refused to commit some of the less tasteful acts that so appealed to the others. Barely alive, but happy to join us right along with the womenfolk.

  The bonus for us was that watching them bring in truckload after truckload to the hotel gave us the right idea: the place was stocked to the gills with everything you can imagine. Weapons, of course, but it looks like they hit big places, places we had planned to go, like the police stations and the national guard armory. Not to mention the out of town targets, lumberyards and masonry supply outlets, every sort of thing you could imagine. There are ten of us still working just to catalog all of it. We expect it to take several days.

  This isn't the only group of them out there, but we are fairly sure this was the main camp, and the biggest one. As soon as we can, we'll move all of the stuff we want to keep to the compound, and stay there for the most part. We still plan on grabbing equipment when we need it, but Pat and I cleaned out the large equipment rental place down the road, so most of what we need, we have.

  This place will truly be a compound before too long. My block is getting a makeover, all of the backyards on it combined into one, mostly for farming, though we will have a practice area for firearms, and one for martial arts and hand held weapons, a play area for any kids we can bring in. All of it will be surrounded by a wall eventually, sort of a central keep within the larger compound. Every fantasy geek's dream, if only realized in world fallen to someone's vision of hell. The houses on the block stay, but all will be connected, a great circle defined by the wall, or so we plan.

  I want to feel bad for driving those men to their deaths, of for no other reason than the loss of genetic material in what is a pretty small pool of DNA hereabouts. But after watching them, and hearing the tales of the rescued prisoners, none of us, not even my gentle and nonviolent mother, have any guilt at all. None of those filthy excuses for men should have fathered children, and in the world we live in now, such people deserve no mercy whatsoever.

  If what you are is what you do when crisis comes, then they were monsters, worse than the shambling dead that surround us at all times. And monsters deserve no hesitation.

  We are here, and we are stronger every day. With the food we have already hauled in from the hotel, we can feed double our current number for at least six months. More is being found in every room. So anyone out there that feels as we do, come and join us if you can. Our doors are open.

  If you have ill intentions, then go in any direction but this one. Men and women who would do the things these looters do will only find disaster here.

  Fair warning.

  Posted by Josh Guess at 11:49 AM

  Monday, March 29, 2010

  Consequences and Repercussions

  We've found five looters in the compound since yesterday, with signs that we have missed many more. I don't know how many of them are out there, but we've had to put sentries out all over the place.

  Jess and I are keeping tabs on the area around our house, since it is the most obvious target. We have folks posted in houses all around, trying to keep track of them, and stop them if we can. Apparently the rest of them have gotten desperate now that we have taken such drastic actions against them. So far it looks like they are trying to gauge our strength, map out our locations, basically gather data on us. We're doing all we can to obscure the facts, but it's draining.

  It's good that we rescued the folks from the hotel, and not just because of the deed itself, but because many of them have been able get in touch with friends and family. We have more folks coming, and while we are eager to bolster our numbers, I do have my doubts about allowing many more people here that I don't know. So far all the folks we have brought in have shown us nothing but good intentions, but I just don't know how many we can take in before we get bad seeds.

  Having to kill an intruder bent on rape and murder is something that almost everyone can agree with doing, even though they don't like it. But having to kill a person who has worked beside you, defended your land and family, because circumstances hadn't yet allowed their flaws to come to the fore is another matter entirely. You never know if a person will snap until the moment comes. It worries me.

  But there is a silver lining. A small one, but something that makes me smile nonetheless.

  While we were freeing the captives, Patrick let one woman out, and had to kill one of the f
ew looters left in the hotel, to protect her. She has taken to following him around, spending all the time with him she can manage. He's a little dense when it comes to knowing that women fancy him, so it's adorable to watch. She's with him now, keeping watch.

  After his divorce last year, and all that has happened to the world in the last month, he needs some sunshine. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to know that someone else outside of our group of friends can see what a great guy he is.