WARNING - WATCH YOUR WATER

Marjolaine Fournier
Montréal - Quarantine/Survivors camp
Rain again

GUYS GUYS. JUST A HEADS UP. CONTAMINATED WATER MAKES PEOPLE TURN INTO SCREAMERS! PROTECT AND TREAT YOUR WATER SUPPLIES.

Alright, had to get that out to you guys, as quick as possible.

So with so many people, water has been a concern. I'll be honest, I haven't been around camp for more then a few hours since the last time I wrote to you all. I've been scouting for supplies, exploring the underground tunnels and generally trying to keep myself occupied and away from the rest of the survivors, or else I'd go bunkers. So what happened, I am telling you sound head. One of the guards, Emile, was the one who told me about just an hour ago. I ran off to sneak into the offices were I've been finding computers and the internet as soon as I can to warn you all.

We've had so much rain lately that we installed a few rain catching barrels. Water is not limited yet, but the idea was not to take any chances and run out of drinking water. This quarantine is rather large now, with well over 1000 people, with more still showing up every few days.

I'll give you an overview of our situation when I have a bit more time.

The barrels were mostly attached to the roofs, with rain filling them directly, but a few were placed under dips in the concrete structures allowed a steady stream of water to accumulate. Those barrels fill up quick and need to be brought in often. Now, you have to understand, water that runs off the Biodome and the Stadium tastes a lot like soot and dust. This is city rainwater, and even after all this time you can still taste the smog in the air. So the odd flavour was not immediately a concern. Those barrels were rolled to a corner of the compound where about a half-dozen families had access to them. Within 5 days, the barrels were 1/4 drunk, and the families went completely mad. It started with odd twitches and drooling, but quickly one of the children bit a cook's aide who handed them their meal and everything spun out of control. The families turned screamer right in the middle of the camp, and it was mayhem. People running, people shooting, an old man trampled to death.

In the end, they were all killed, and the death count is about 40 people. It's hard to tell how much of that number are actually monsters, and how many were bystanders. I pity those on kitchen duty, who have asked me to try and find more bleach.

It took a few panicked hours to figure out how they got sick, but one of the climbers (those whose rock climbing experience is now used to climb the infrastructure around camp and set up watch points) spotted a badly decomposed groaner on the roof, with it head shoot clean off. No one knows how it got there for now, but the rain has been n making bits of it run off the east side of the roof for a while now. All water is to be treated with purification tablets, and a lot of the barrels have been dumped.

We are having a bit of a wake tonight, in my corner of the camp. Some survivors and I will mourn the old man, Jerry Leduc. He was gentle and kind, and played the accordion when we were all feeling blue. I don't know if anyone else here can play the accordion, but I hope someone does. I hate seeing his instrument gather dust. Music is the last bit of humanity around.

Take care, stay safe. Keep music alive were you can.

Priez pour nous, pauvres âmes maudites. Sans la force de la prière, notre vie est insupportable.

Jo

P.S. Dan, I'd thought you would like to know that religion is playing an odd role in the comfort of the survivors here. Monseigneur Lépine is among the survivors in the camp here. He is the archbishop of Montreal. I haven't been to any of his sermons, but some folk think that he is playing a large role in keeping the calm in camp. Doesn't stop people from raving that this is the apocalypse (justly deserved) or that having the cynical claim that religion is just burying your head in the sand. But after the mob incident it seems he was key and making sure that a flock of people didn't run off into the city, and to their probable deaths.

Where are all the Screamers coming from?

Pastor Dan
Fox River Valley QZ
Eastern Wisconsin

Last night might have been the roughest I've had since the Compound.

The alarm was sounded at about 1 am... the low thrumming that doesn't seem to call groaners but let's us know that all able-bodied citizens are needed to repel an attack. At first I thought it was a mistake... the walls and gates are pretty strong, nothing a team of groaners could ever get through, but the moment I stepped outside I knew.

I knew because I could hear the screaming.

The guns were already going, but the screaming...

We're not sure how many Screamers there were, all in all. We didn't wait around to see if any would become groaners. But they're different.

Most of you will know this already but for those who don't... the Screamers aren't dead yet, technically. They still have full use of their bodies and, according to a government medic who checked the injured, a whole triple heaping dose of adrenaline. Five Screamers could tear through a barricade that would hold back a horde of groaners indefinitely in hours.

And last night we had more than five.

The Gate was new, put in a few weeks ago as a way to get big vehicles in and out by ways other than airlift. It was our weak point, and they... they just hurled themselves at it. Eventually our gunners handled them, but the damage was scary. They COULD have broken through, and then we'd be in a melee, with who knows how many groaners pouring through after them.

The weird thing is... where did they come from? There isn't another QZ for hours of travel by road, and they're all still standing. Screamers are freshly infected... none of these are first wave, or even second wave. It's like a whole small community got infected and rushed us overnight, out of almost freaking nowhere.

So keep your eyes open, people.

And if you hear screaming... run.

I almost shot Emily tonight.

Jason Duncan
Loose in Central Florida

My nerves are more screwed up than I thought. She's been sleeping in the bus. So when the door of my truck got opened unexpectedly about an hour ago, I woke instantly and I snatched my rifle off the floor board. She screamed and ran off. I haven't gotten her to come out of the bus and talk to me. I probably scared her worse than she did me. No, I'm sure I scared her worse.

I'm such a moron. Zombies (I finally fucking said it) don't open doors. My body reacted before my brain kicked in. That's supposed to be a good thing in survival situations. It almost cost me the one person I've found still alive in a county that used to have nearly a million people. Now I can't sleep.

While I'm logged on here, I'll share a bit of news and some advice. It'll get my mind off almost killing the closest thing I have to a friend.

News: I saw another air plane this morning. Well, it was at extremely high altitude. I saw a contrail. It was flying East to West. At that altitude it made me think intercontinental because there's nothing far west of here of any significance. Just a hunch. Also, this laptop was turned on and booted up when I woke up this morning. Emily still doesn't know about it, and it was right where I left it last night. I think someone on "the other end" powered it up. I don't know what that means, if it means anything. Hell, maybe I bumped the power button in my sleep.

Advice: Emily had a great suggestion this morning. She rummaged through some of the vehicles on the overpass and found a hefty stack of magazines and some duct tape. She asked me to gather some heavy weight pants and long sleeve shirts or jackets from anyone I could find laying around. She can't bring herself to go near the truly dead people up here. They don't stink as bad as I'd have thought. I suppose I should throw them off the overpass too. Anyway, Emily had me put on a leather bomber jacket and some paramedic type pants I found. She then wrapped the forearms, elbows, and shins with magazines and duct taped them in place. I'll be damned if I want to find out, but the shit feels like it'd be bite proof. Add some gloves and some kind of shoulder and neck protection and I think I could walk through a crowd of the things without dying. Maybe. I hope I don't have to test this theory.

Will check in later. Best wishes.

Explanations

DZ - Colombia

Guys, I'm sorry I scared you with my abrupt ending last time. I'm still alive and uninfected. Thank you for your prayers. I feel an explanation is needed, hopefully without all the rambling I managed to write last time.
Things here are not as organized as in your countries, there are no such things as quarantine zones or the like, at least that I know of. Our government was almost as useless as yours seemed to be, and I haven't got any news from it since January. It doesn't matter now.
The cities fell, I was there when it happened.
Reading your accounts I realize we all have been through things no one should go through. I thank God I haven't had to see some of the things you describe, infected babies for example. But I hope this thing we have going on here will help us survive, even if it's just a little longer.

These last few weeks I've been living in a town on the Cauca Valley. My brother was one of the practicing doctors out here. When I got the chance I came looking for him, but it's been almost a month now and no one knows anything. I still haven't given up, but I'm staying here so I can do a little reading in his library, trying to find something about this disease.

Infected people haven't been overwhelmingly numerous so far. There are a few families staying together in this town and they have been able to repel the sparse attacks we have had. Still there are always a few lost souls on the streets, and without proper weapons we are in constant danger. So I had been sneaking in to my brother's house to read, and two weeks ago a miracle happened. We got electricity back! It was only for a few hours, but thanks to that I found you guys, and this site has opened my eyes to the magnitude and reach of the infection.
So last time I was taking my time to write some of the answers I though I had about the disease, and suddenly I hear this groan on the front door. I had to change my figurative pants right there because that freaking thing scared me. I think it found me by my smell. I guess it was as decayed as your stalkers, Allice, because indeed it reeked and I still can't believe it could sniff me out with its own odor hanging around it like its very own stinky cumulus cloud.
So I had to go. I grabbed my "peinilla"(It's the way people here call a machete-like weapon that I still can't learn how to properly use) and made my way out of there through the rooftops. It followed me, but it was one of the slow ones, so I managed to escape.

Anyway, electricity here has been fluctuating, and I have no idea how is it even back on, or why on earth do I have internet access here, but it is a blessing, and I can only thank God because I know He's the one looking after me. Speaking of which: Dan, tocayo, don't give up. I know these are hard times, but it's in times like these when God needs his ministers to minister his house. Whatever you have to do, do it as unto the Lord (Am I seriously lecturing a pastor? God, I've always been crazy)

I don't want to extend myself too much, so I hope next time I will finally be able to tell you what I've concluded so far about all of this.

Best wishes
DZ

Thank all the gods.

Sarah Evans
QZ Zone, Central California

Hi.

It's been a few weeks. I'm sorry. We had...a situation.

I want to talk about it and then I don't want to talk about it? But I think if I don't talk about it I'll go utterly mad, and I can't talk about it with people here because they're all just as shocked and devastated as I am.

Well...most of them are.

Alice, I now know why you never want to see another zombie baby. And heads'-up. If any of you have pregnant women in your midst, watch them carefully. We let a VERY pregnant survivor inside, when she and her husband made it to us somehow. She was breathing heavy but seemed to be largely okay...not very chatty but not exhibiting any of the signs of a Groaner, you know? (I like that term for them.) Just pregnant, and kind of sick, and tired, and so we let her in because we felt bad for her, because I mean, fuck, hi baby, welcome to the fucking apocalypse.

That baby came out beet-red and screaming bloody murder. Not the normal cry a baby gives when it's being born...no. This was a howl of pure rage and pain, and even when it was still attached to its momma it tried to bite at the people helping her give birth.

(It's easier for me to call her an it. It's easier for me to dehumanize her. Instead of remembering that she had a thick head of dark hair and was totally perfect...and practically dead before she drew her first breath. Like having a stillborn, only the stillborn's screaming...)

...

Sorry.

We had to kill it. The mother lost her mind with grief. We don't think she was actively sick but we're really not sure. She got shot in the face when she flung herself at the Captain. Her husband...

We're still not sure about him. He's here but...he's not coping so great. I think he might leave, soon.

At least we gave them a grave.  At least it wasn't worse.

But I watched that whole family crumble and I can't help but think about my own family. My sister had cancer, before. She beat it, but--would it make her more susceptible? Did they even make it out of the city? Are they alive out there...somewhere? I can't cry here. The kids I watch wouldn't even know how to handle that.

I want you all to know that even though I don't know any of you in person, I love you all. You're my beacons of hope that someday, when things get better, we can be connected in person. I will buy every single one of you the drink of your choice, when that day comes.

...But speaking of. Has anyone heard from DZ, down in Colombia? He hasn't posted anything...I really hope he's okay. I hope you're all okay. Stay strong. Keep writing. Remember that humanity is here, and it is living, not dying.

Much love.

So much for Spring.

Pastor Dan
Fox River Valley QZ
Eastern Wisconsin

You know, for a week or so there, I thought things were finally really warming up again. But I've seen snow off and on all week. The locals tell me that's actually pretty standard for April in Wisconsin, and this guy who used to be a meteorologist said that with all the burning happening... well, everywhere, that it was to be expected to get worse before it got better.

It's odd that I actually welcomed the cold snap, though. It slows the groaners down. And I've been on a few runs lately.

I'm not gonna lie to you guys, sometimes I don't know why I keep on. Not why I haven't swallowed a bullet, or anything like that, but why I keep trying to be... well, Pastor Dan. Instead of just Dan.

When we got here (and they let me out of solitary) they did that thing they do where they rank your usefulness based on skills. Our "fitness for duty." Our hunters did pretty well... they were all put on wall guard. Our farmers were treated like royalty, and any mechanics or electricians got high marks as well.

I didn't really have any of that. There wasn't a lot of call for theological training, or creative writing. At least I still had a fit body, but as far as the Commandant was concerned that made me a grunt, around for heavy lifting and runner duty. Hence all my running. He decided not to make me stop preaching, but refused to allocate space or make allowance for time. I would do it in my spare time, in any spot I could stand, and people could sit and listened if they liked.

From basically running the Compound to being a useless irritation in the QZ.

I didn't really mind it too bad, though. I can't say that I particularly LIKED having life and death decisions on my plate. And my people still respected me as a preacher, even if the others in the QZ were almost as wary as the Commandant.

Another change was, as a pastor, I was no longer the only show in town. We also have two Lutherans, a group of Catholic priests, a Rabbi, a Methodist and even an Imam who had been lecturing in Milwaukee when everything fell apart. We all just kind of find some space and do what we do. My people mostly stayed with me, though, and so I had the biggest crowd.

Up until Easter.

I was pretty stupid. Easter was always so joyous, so magical. You could get a congregation to do anything at Easter time, you always got your biggest crowds and best energy. Not this time. Christ was risen from the dead, and that put him in a company of, by best estimates, several billion. It wasn't good news anymore... and so the spell was broken.

The people listen now, for the most part, because there isn't much else to do. There are a few true believers yet, and I think they're the ones I keep doing it for. The ones who use it to keep their heads up. I can't let them down. But sometimes I want to.

It's not that I don't believe any more, really I do, but it would be easier to just be the brute force labor, to hold back and not always have the Commandant looking at me, waiting for me to start preaching poisoned kool-aid.

I really should try to be more up-beat in these things.

I got interrupted, Sorry

I was trying to detail how eventful my week had been when it became eventful yet again.

First: I'm no longer alone. I haven't told her about this yet because the trust thing isn't there yet. She's asleep so I snuck on here. We're holed up on my elevated overpass oasis. She is in one of the buses at the end of our redoubt. She says it's so she can get away if it hits the fan. Oh yeah, her name is Emily. Emily says she's from Tampa originally. She's 28. Was a grad student. She's for shit with a gun and panics pretty bad when things go sideways. I don't know how she survived this long but if we stick together I'm certain I'll be pulling her weight and my own. Unsure as yet how I feel about this.

So, to continue from last time: I never figured out what that second explosion was caused by. I am still venturing out and creating caches throughout the outlying areas of Tampa. I'm not going down town unless I absolutely have to. I found a second vehicle and I've stashed it near my overpass and it's full of goodies in case I have to make a quick escape. Included in my cache building, I've decided to start planting some seeds on top of some flat roofed buildings around here. I will need a bigger food supply eventually and I have no doubt I'll run out of the pre-dead supplies at some point. Plan ahead, etc. I have to find some seeds first, and some suitable locations. This is more of an idea at this point than an actual, in-operation plan.

Before my last post, part of what kept me so busy, was scouting. I'm still doing lots of scouting. I'll tell you one thing: the refugee areas of Tampa are an absolute wasteland. It looks like they got overrun while still in the setting up process and somebody cleaned house. I heard there was a big shelter being established at the football stadium so I decided to check it out last week when I was in that area. The Air Force or Navy dropped some serious ordnance on that place. The levels of damage done, the craters, the missing sections of the stadium, that's all way beyond what small arms or light vehicles can do. I saw two tanks, both burnt up pretty badly, but they were facing away from the stadium so I don't think they did the damage. From what I've seen in the past, on the news and whatnot, this looked like air dropped bombs. Napalm too. Napalm makes sense if you're trying to wipe out a crowd. It was a fucking nightmare in there. I won't go into too much detail. I'll simple leave it at, there is no one and nothing left there worth me going near it again.

I found Emily hiding on the 2nd floor of a shopping mall near the stadium. I haven't seen much sign of looting around here. I think the area fell too hard and too fast for all that. The mall was barely touched. I got some stuff there to add to my stash but there's plenty left.

Emily says she hid with her family on a boat near channel side right in the beginning. That's about all I can get out of her though. She somehow made it through down town to that mall though. I want to know how. I'll keep at it until I find out.

The further into the summer we get, the more anxious I get. The rains are coming. This part of Florida really does have something of a monsoon season and it's going to make life out here that much more miserable.

The humidity might be affecting the dead somehow. The ones that aren't really dead yet, the faster ones, they don't seem to be slowing down at all. In the very beginning, when the humidity was lower, I heard people in my refugee center in St. Pete talking about the "live" ones start falling apart after a few weeks. The humidity might be keeping them more lithe now. I don't know. I'll keep an eye on it and fill everyone in when I know more. The really dead ones don't seem to be affected by much. I've noticed they are a little more likely to congregate in shady areas as opposed to milling around in direct sunlight. I'm no researcher so I can't say for sure. Maybe it's not a pattern, who knows.

For now, I'm reasonably safe, well fed, and no longer alone. Until next time boys and girls.... Bye

(EDIT: I should read what everyone else posted since my last post, before I make a new post)

Sunny and Busy Skies!

Tyler Collins
South Atlanta QZ/ARTCC, GA, US
^I like adding a tag, it's easier to keep track of everyone. Good call, Sarah and Dan.

It sounds like everyone had a rough time this past week. Things were no different in GA.

Locally, we got over five inches of rain and the entire Southeast was off-and-on bad weather the whole week. We powered up for a short time every morning in preparation for traffic and got the stand-down signal each time. If any of you are in those areas that gets regular drops, I'm really sorry that nothing went through. I know that several QZs in the more remote areas basically live week-to-week by those drops. I hope it wasn't terrible for you, but this week's big lift is clear enough to happen, thank goodness. It's been busy these last couple of days in the ATC room, lots of Herks, especially on the north side.

We went back to the QZ for the weekend since we knew it wouldn't clear up. Those trips are generally uneventful, but some of the roads were flooded and we dared not go through Locust Grove. It's seventeen miles by bicycle to our vehicle drop south of Jenkinsburg, normally, but our detour was significantly longer. It only poured on us once during that ride, but that was enough to soak right through our clothes. No contacts, living or otherwise, likely due to the drop in visibility right as we passed I75. We prefer to keep it that way.

To make matters worse, five inches of rain really added up on Jackson Lake, where the QZ is. The rise in water, washed-out paths and roads, and poor construction of the temporary housing made everything pretty nasty. I was extra busy with digging channels, emptying 'habs, organizing a relocation, and the like.

The lake, as you can imagine, is pretty gross by now. The emergency shelters have been up since January and everyone who owned a boat brought it when they fled to the QZ. Combine that with bad enforcement of waste disposal guidelines and now we have a giant, acidic, oily cesspool completely emptied of anything edible. I still can't believe that the bosses didn't believe Eddie (our health guy, from the Fulton Co. Health Dept., I help him out when I'm behind the fence) when he said that we'd need new fresh water sources within five days of setting up the QZ. Well, at least now they believe us.

Rainwater is generally as clean as the vessel you use to collect it, so it's pretty safe. We still filter and treat ours because of all the fires in Atlanta (I highly recommend you do too, wherever you are). I'm worried about heavy metal content, though, so much that I almost want to ask for an expedition over to Gordon. With a generator and some standards (easy enough to make), I could get some info on our water quality with their instruments. I could also raid their stockroom and get a ton of useful stuff, if it hasn't been emptied or burned to the ground. Of course, GT would be better, but there's no way in hell we're going back into Atlanta.

I don't like staying in the QZ for long, it's always busy and people bug you a lot for information or stories beyond the wall. Frankly, we do what we can to avoid the interesting stories and this blog is the only non-official communication that we do.  I'm always a bit on edge when we're out but coming back in is way more stressful. Leaving Monday morning was a relief. The trip back was less wet, but we did have to lob off two or three groaners (it feels weird to call them that). I let the military guys do that part as much as I can.

When we powered up on Tuesday, we found out from friends at Peachtree City/Falcon Field that they got an S-band radar working again, but the signal strength is way low and the computer software isn't working properly. I guess it's better than nothing.

I feel like there's so much more to tell but I also feel like I'm rambling. Let me know if y'all want details on stuff, or think I need to stop being so wordy.

Stay safe, everyone, and keep praying for clear skies.

I am so confused.

Lianne, Maastricht

I am so confused.

Sorry for not posting for a while but rediscovering that the internet in some form survived caused quite a stir here. We only have access to two laptops (phones can’t seem to get the signal, is that similar to where you are?) and we spend a lot of time trying to access information or send messages to others. 

So far with little luck. If only google had survived; I am too spoiled when it comes to internet searching! The strange thing is though that even on the websites that still exist we can’t find anything. I mean, if there is internet, surely the government would use it right?

I mean… if I can communicate with people all over the world, the proper authorities must do this as well? I really want to find some answers but so far… nothing. And it bugs me! If you can help in any way, please fill in some of the gaps for me, it’d be greatly appreciated here. 

Too be honest I haven’t shared this blog with the rest (yet). I am not sure why. I guess I cannot give up the idea to have something private, something that is special. I grew close with the group we live here with, and I guess we’ve become somewhat of an extended family, but I miss privacy. 

For obvious reasons we share everything and everything we do is for the common good. I get that. But having some things just for yourself. Or even to have private moments with those you’re closest too. That stuff makes me feel like I'm still human. 

Alice, I kinda understand what you meant, but to be honest my experience is the opposite. I was on my own and in my own head a lot before the outbreak but now… I am never by myself anymore, or even just with a few friends. There are always at least 10 people around. Whether I am eating, sleeping, running a mission, do chores; ALL THE TIME. It’s making me feel like I’m on edge all the time. 

Internet duty (I guess a new chore now) is mainly just Dirk and me, because he knows technical communication and I own the laptop we search on. It feels like such a relief. Anyway, back to work. We are trying to set up a rudimentary email system between our two computers so that we can perhaps use it to stay in touch with travelers that pass through the area. It’s not that easy, because we have to do everything outside (obviously no signal in a bunker XD) which causes a security issue as well. For now just daytime, within side of the main entrance guards, while the scouts are out. I’ll tell you about that system some other time I guess. 

Talk to you soon and stay safe everybody!

Liannne

The Worst Thing

Alice Webb
Outside the DFWQZ
East Texas

Hey gang.

I'm tired today, but I'm feeling the need to talk, and I don't have much else to do. Dad and the boys are out running rounds - rounding up stray animals, checking abandoned houses for supplies, that sort of thing. Mom's napping. She says her eyes hurt. We were about to order new glasses when the outbreak hit, so we're both stuck with a few pairs of contacts that are right and glasses that aren't right. Mom's are these weird bifocal ones that she hates because she can't really focus on anything. Mine are just blurry. I'm pretty tall, and my eyes didn't grow with the rest of me, so every year it gets a little worse. The doctors used to say that when I'd stopped growing I could get Lasik but that's never going to happen now. It scares me for the future. I can barely see without my glasses now. Things get blurry just a few feet away. What am I going to do when I can't see WITH my glasses? Worse, what if they break? I'll be be useless. I'll be more than useless, I'll be a liability. But I guess that's something I have to worry about later. For now we're just trying to survive.

We had a zom attack last night. It wasn't many of them, but it was scary enough. There was a big storm Saturday, and a lot of trees fell. There was a big oak tree that fell right across the highway. The boys found it when they went out this morning and had to turn around. It was too big to go around. We're going to have to figure out a way to clear it so we don't get trapped in, but it's going to be difficult. No chainsaws, too much noise, and only one or two people working on it at once. I wish dad would let me help but I'm no good with the axe yet.

Anyway, we think the storm is what stirred up the zoms. They came sniffing around the farm last night. We watched them through the windows above the bunker. I'll have to draw a diagram sometime, see if I can show you guys. If they were as smart as their instincts we'd be in real trouble, but as it was they smelled easier meat and moved on. We've got what my oldest brother has dubbed the "sarlacc pit". We basically just dug a huge hole in the ground and lined the bottom with sharpened stakes, a few feet apart. We hang an animal over the top every now and then-mostly goats, sometimes roadkill or something diseased. It doesn't have to be fresh, just hold together. They smell it and walk right out on the air. I guess it could be a problem if we ever had a horde, but so far there's just been one or two, and it works great to draw them away from us. After all, there's dead things all over the place.

We've had a couple of sniffers every now and then for the last few months-zoms partly decayed. They can't move very fast, and they aren't coordinated or anything, but you can see them sniff. We haven't seen any of the fresh ones. It's Texas, after all; it's still too humid and hot even in the spring for dead bodies to stay around very long, and we've got plenty of scavengers that'll take a bite out of the zoms. The vultures are looking particularly fat lately. The zoms will lose leg function or fall and the vultures are on em like, well, vultures. It's definitely a help to know they're getting cleaned up by nature. We just have to be careful and not get bit.

I think the worst part of the attack isn't the actual zoms. They're scary, but you have a plan in place, and you know what to do, and you know what to look for. Plus adrenaline kicks in and you think so clearly. I think the worst part is after. You lie awake for hours, and every little noise sends you bolt upright, heart pounding, ready for the worst. They've found us, there's thousands, they're getting in, we're all going to die, and you stare at your family, the people you love, and think that they will never live a happy, normal life again, because this is life now. It's the terror and the fear and all the time leading up to the next time. I look at my nephews sometimes, these beautiful little boys, and I think about what their life is going to be. I think about their clothes, these remnants of crushed dreams: baseball jerseys and Iron Man onesies and tiny Converse sneakers. We bought them just a few months ago, thinking how cute they were. But CJ is never going to watch a Marvel movie. Isaac is never going to see the Rangers play in the stadium my brother's been going to his whole life. I still have my books, at least; I can read them Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and Shakespeare. But how long will that last? Are we ever going to live like we did? Or is it always going to be a before and after, and we're stuck on the after side?

If I sound like I've been overthinking this, forgive me. I've had a lot of time on my own, with nothing much to do. I never imagined the apocalypse could be so mind-numbingly boring. I've gotten exceedingly neat, something I'm sure my mother is grateful for. I do the dishes unasked, I make my bed (well, I clean up my cot). I put things away. I sweep, I mop, I water plants and venture outside when my dad gives the all clear, to help or just feel the sunlight for a few minutes. All of this takes maybe an hour, in our little space, and I don't know what else to do. I read as much as I can. My paperbacks are starting to fall apart already. I write some. Mom used to tease dad and me about hoarding office supplies because we'd stock up every new semester. We have boxes full of spiral notepads, mechanical pencils, pens, just because we liked having empty ones on hand. Now I'm so glad we did that, because I can spend hours writing whatever comes into my head and it only fills up a few pages. It's gotten to where I just want ways to pass the time. Playing with the babies is always good, but there's only so many toys we could bring down to entertain them, and they surely aren't going above ground. I've only seen one zombie baby. I hope it's the last one I ever see.

If I was older this wouldn't be such a problem, because the boys and my sister's-in-law have much more freedom than I do. They're still careful, they still have to go in pairs, but they can at least go out without the whole family around them. I'd say my brother's girlfriend, too, but she won't leave the bunker for ANYTHING. She's too scared. I know I should be more understanding, and maybe grateful for her company, but honestly she's getting on my nerves. We never got along much before the outbreak, and now...we aren't even family. I don't even like her, and she doesn't like me. And since she's here all the time, I spend a lot of time in my head, trying not to talk, because we'll just end up in an argument. I hate it, because I really could use someone to talk to. She's not that much older than me; in theory we could be great friends. In practice? Ugh. Not so much.

Before you start lecturing me, I did try. Since there's only so much you can talk about with your family, and we're not exactly in a place where I have friends I can go hang out with, she's pretty much my only option. So when we first moved in here I made a huge effort-I tried to talk to her about shows we used to watch, books we used to read, anything we might have in common. Nope. Nata. Zilch. It's like we're from different planets.

I gave up. Now I spend a lot of time wishing someone would show up on our doorstop seeking refuge. Maybe someone who could be a friend. Someone my age, who likes the same things I used to. Or even just likes the same things I do now, who can help me get out of my head and make the most of this awful life. Because I should feel lucky just to be alive; but I just feel trapped. The days are so lonely.

No, that's the worst thing, the thing I was so totally unprepared for. Not the fear, not the boredom. The crippling isolation. Feeling alone, and lost, and sad every day and every hour. Maybe it breaks for a few minutes, when the family comes in for the night, or when you can sleep and dream about the life you used to have. But in the long hours between sunrise and sunset, all you have is yourself.

Maybe that's why I'm so glad I found this, whatever "this" is, my lifeline to the rest of the world. Even if I'm alone here, I know someone, somewhere can read my words, and maybe they understand exactly how I feel. Maybe they want a friend, too, even at the end of the world, when that really should be the last thing on our minds. It's funny; maybe this will all end tomorrow, or maybe all you other people will blink out, one by one, or maybe tomorrow we'll be overwhelmed and I'll never get the chance to write to you again. But right now, in this moment, I'm happy for the first time in months. For the first time, I don't feel so alone.

Keep safe, friends. My thoughts are with you, wherever you are.

Alice

We had a hard week in Montreal

Marjolaine
Montreal Quarantine - Olympic plaza
Day 130 after isolation
Rain today

Hello everyone! I am so glad to see that there are so many of you, around the world, still surviving.

Your stories give me hope.

I've had precious little hope lately.

It's been, a hard week, my follow survivors. I can't talk about it with members of my camp, moral is bad enough as it is. People around look up at me for reassurance. I've always been someone rather unfazed by things, who keeps a cool hand under pressure, who is supremely logical. For their sake, I can't let that mask crack. Because mask it surely is.

I've been weeping, strangers. I've been weeping and yelling and hitting things, in secret, far from everyone. I am not as hard as I project. I am not the girl of stone cold intellectualism even my friends see. I am not the ice queen unkind lovers have thought.

I've killed again this week. Again and again. I joke that I don't remember how many, that there have been too much.

There has been to many to count. I remember every single one.

My armor is cracking, and I can't afford a nervous breakdown I wish I could have. I can't sleep this plague away.

Montreal has had a very cold winter. Very cold. This was very difficult for the survivors, but our quarantine area, in the Olympic plaza, or rather UNDER the Olympic plaza, is geothermal-heated, much to my surprise. They really thought of everything when they build this bunker in the 70s.

The cold was very bad for the Montrealers that didn't spend the winter with us. Survivors have been pouring in for a week, many of them with scars of frostbite and hallowed cheeks. The empty look in their eyes almost made the guards shoot the first ones that showed up 10 days ago. But we brought them in and locked them in a room for a few days, which proved to the guys ruining the quarantine that they weren't sick. That they weren't coming to spread the plague. How they are sure, I don't know, they won't explain to me when I pester them.

So far, about 50 news arrivals have joined, emerging from the thawing city. They weren't the only ones.

I guess I have to be thankful for the time we had to prepare. I realise now that the winter didn't kill off the sick, these "Groaners" that you call them. They were just frozen in place. But now, summer is coming, spring is here, with a vengeance. I think that may be following us back to camp. We may have been careless. The outsiders may have been careless as well. But they are coming for us now.

When I ran, when all of this started, I had barely any contact with the sick. I made to the Olympic safe camps without getting our group into trouble. Then, winter settled in, and we waited for rescue.

We hadn't realized then that the city had been left for dead. I've had no contact with the outside world till early April, when I tried this blog.

I see now you are all as trapped as we are. What happened to our governments?

When we started to be low on food, in late December, I approached a few of the older men and women who seemed to have taken somewhat charge of the camp. I had a proposal. I've already been foraging around, and wandering through the underground Metro tunnels. I've always been restless, and the nervous flittering in the camp was wearying. The Metro Green Line: the darkness and chill like the great cavern of a beast, a labyrinth under the city, leading to many unexpected places. During my rather recent hooligans years, I acquired two things : an understanding of these great many tunnels, and a handful of keys. One of those keys, acquired quite legally I might add, led to the Biodome, and the vast freezers used to store all of the food for the animals in that indoor zoo. I knew for a fact that there were thousands of tons of fish, because I had helped bring in the crates near days before the first outbreak of the plague. I knew how to get that food. One of the men, Jérôme Tremblay, was in favor of a leading a retrieval group.

He told me he used to be a police officer, and he handed me a handgun. I don't believe he was, but you don't question a man with weapons. The thing was heavier then I imagined, and I couldn't quite hide my nervousness when I fastened it to my belt, because he laugh and just told me to point in the direction of any sick.

"You want me shoot at the plague victims?" I asked in alarm. At that time, even after everything that led us to hide in a quarantine camp, I was still under the impression that those afflicted were still to be cured, to be saved. Aren't they working on a cure right now, in the rest of Canada or the States or Europe? Fuck was I naive.

Tremblay turned serious at this. "You don't hesitate. It's you or them, and better be ready to face that truth. Or you'll be dead en tabarnak" I nodded grimly. But then, I still didn't think I'd have any cause to fire on anyone. How I wish that was true.

The first thing I remember is the smell. A sickly, sweet smell, like rotting flowers, tinged with a strong metallic element that tasted like rust in my mouth. At first, we thought it was the zoo itself, that was already starting to decay in the absence of caretakers. But around a corner, she surprised us. It surprised us, I should say. It was slumped against the wall, bathed in shadow. The beige of its uniform stained and frayed. One moment, we thought it was a bundle of rags, the next instant she, it, sprinted in our direction. I had barely the time to notice the gleam from our headlamps, a weeping, crimson wound from her neck and left shoulder. I shot. The recoil hurt my arm, but the pounding of my blood through my ears was all I could feel. I damn lucky shot, it hit her in the hip and she topple to the ground. Tremblay and another man named Simon were quick to bash its head in with the broken broom handles they carried. A bit of scalp and hair stuck to the wood. The hair was short and gray. I knew who she was. Who it used to be. I have to remember that they are not human. I'm sorry Anne.

(We wore face masks, but really, are they necessary to protect ourselves from the plague, I ask you? I don't think so.)

Anne was my first kill, but not my last. With the thawing of the city, there have been a lot of Annes, lately. A lot of monsters. I've grown a reputation as someone who doesn't falter at the trigger. If only they knew how the death pains me.

I can't talk to Paul, psychologist he may be. I don't need reassurance that I am doing the right thing. This will never be the right thing. God, please, if you are out there and you are able to help us, please come and save us. I can't take more killing. I can't take more death.

Summer is coming. They keep coming.

J'espère que vous restez vivant un peu plus longtemps.

Jo



P.S. Dan, your quarantine is using runners to divert the monsters away from camp. I don't know if it will work here, but I'll suggest it. Seems like a good idea, if it's working.

It's been a difficult and productive week

I haven't had an opportunity to get on here this week. The first few days were very hectic and I was getting a lot done. The last two days were filled constantly with moments I thought would be my last.

I'm just now getting settled down. I slept a few hours but my nerves are still absolutely on edge. I'll try to keep this chronological. Forgive any ramblings please.

Some time last week, I don't know maybe 5 or 6 days ago, I saw another huge explosion at the south end of the bay. That's about 35 miles as the crow flies which is well over the horizon, so it was a big blast. Thinking about it now though, maybe it was on the water not over land. That might change things. There are fuel barges and bulk transport ships that used to use this bay, maybe one of those blew or something. Regardless, it was huge. It woke me up in the middle of the night. I was racked out in the back seat of the truck. I sat up pretty quick and hit my head on the window. My luck.... because there was one of them outside. One of the not-so-dead dead guys. He heard or saw me, and started banging on the door trying to get to me. I had backed the truck into a very narrow alley. It was barely wider than the truck. This asshole managed to squeeze between the truck and the wall somehow. Stupid luck. So, I scrambled up front to get the hell out of dodge because he was making a LOT of noise. I got my foot caught between the front seats, and fell. I landed on the horn. The horn still works, did I mention that? The asshole that tricked out my nice big house sized truck also replaced the horn with one of those train horn type horns. I drew in every dead son of a bitch from about a mile in every direction. I got the truck started and barely got out of dodge in time. I drew in what might be the biggest crowd of the things I'd seen to that point. I did the slow roll trick and got out without any damage. Not sure the head count, I was kinda panicky. I got up onto the elevated portion of the interstate which is pretty well intact. There were some vehicles blocking the lanes but not many on the extremely narrow shoulder. I carefully pushed those out of the way and then backed into them to push them back. This pretty effectively closed the door behind me.

This leads me to what might be the best stroke of luck yet. The particular elevated section of interstate is over a mile long and three lanes wide for its majority. There were a lot of vehicles stuck up there and more than a few dead shambling about. After I drove the length of the overpass I found a hefty blockage at the other end. There were two buses locked together after some sort of crash. They made a nice V-shape that blocked all three lanes and both shoulders completely. It hit me at that point that I had a nice piece of real estate all to myself if I could clear and secure it. As I'd driven from one end to the other, most of the mobile dead had followed me. I was just a bit ahead of the first of them so I backed up and crushed the ones in the open. I then parked the truck right up against the concrete side rail at an angle with them at the wide end and me at the narrow end. I wanted to funnel them to me so they couldn't come from more than one direction. The gap was so narrow they had to squeeze through to get to where I was standing, with my back almost to the buses. As they squirmed through, slightly off balance, I just gave them each a little shove with a shovel I found and they fell right off the overpass. The 30 or 40 foot fall to the highway below was enough to kill or incapacitate them all the the point I wasn't worried. Thoroughly pleased with myself, I began scavenging through the abandoned vehicles. There I found a few of the dead, still buckled into their seat belts or otherwise trapped inside. They can't open doors. I don't know how much of what I put on here is obvious or old knowledge to everyone else, but until someone suggests otherwise, I'm going to keep sharing most of what I learn and what keeps me alive. I'm still not going to give exact details of my location yet. At least not where I currently am.

I added a few dozen gallons to my water supply. I found a car with 3 cases of military MRE meals in the trunk. I found some assorted ammo, a few firearms, and some other food. I then used the truck to push the vehicles out of the central span of the overpass. I spent the whole next full day doing this and searching through the vehicles more. I used to play a lot of video games and I was always that guy that solves all the puzzles and searches all the rooms to get all the loot. I collect all the coins or rings or lego pieces because it bugs me not to have everything. I was destined to be a hoarder maybe. So, in the bed of one of the other trucks I gathered all the water bottles. In another I put fuel containers. I'm mostly keeping diesel because that's what my found truck uses but I'm saving gas as well just in case. In one of the cars, I filled the back seat with food and covered it with clothes and shoes that were scattered around.

A bit of a rough patch.

Sorry I've been gone the past couple of days, it's been rough around here with the rain. It hailed yesterday and the day before which knocked out a lot of the little power we have but I've pretty much got it fixed now, fingers crossed it stayed that way, at least for a little while.

Last week was also the year anniversary of my brother's death. My parents and I went to the spot he's buried and had a little... Service, I guess? They don't really talk about him much anymore but he was my best friend.

Nowadays the camp is small, like, scary small. Maybe 10 of us in all, but we're fairly self-sufficient.

I learned to shoot a gun last week on the fly, because our camp got attacked by some runners (that's what we call them around here, the ones that aren't dead yet). I'd never shot anything before, not even the dog we couldn't take with us when we left where I grew up. 

It's getting hot now, Sunday was 90 degrees and so we're having to find shelter more quickly now and we can't stay out as long. On the plus side, since it is so hot it's easier to tell when the moaners are coming because they REEK.

Anyway, I've got to go. Doing a play for everyone! Talk soon!

~Kit

Feeling Kinda Tired

Pastor Dan
Fox Valley QZ
Eastern Wisconsin

Man, I'm tired. A smallish horde (I can't believe I wrote that phrase unironically) caught our scent and the Commandant sent me and a couple of runners to see if we couldn't pull them due west of us. It worked, and we're all home, but I feel like I get picked for these missions more often than others.

As you might have guessed, my relationship with the Commandant has been... strained... to say the least. At least he hasn't tried to cut off computer time.

So, back to the story. Those of us at the compound, faced with massive groaner migrations from the Milwaukee area, agreed to relocate to the Fox Valley QZ. It wasn't just that easy, though. They'd sent a chopper to inform us of our "choice" but couldn't airlift us back. If we were going, we were going on foot, every blessed one of us.

It was going to be about a thirty mile hike, and between us and the QZ lay a few towns that had gone unprotected when everything had fallen apart. There were sure to be a few holdouts, but that also meant groaners... and possibly even a few screamers and droolers.

I sat down with the Elders and we made a plan. We had a day, maybe two, before the first of the new Horde arrived, so there wasn't much time for deliberation. Our hunters, who had been so effective holding our weak spots, were going to be spread around the group, while those of us who weren't shooters but were in decent shape would scout ahead and around, drawing off as many zombies as possible away from the main group.

The biggest key was that we absolutely had to keep moving. The big group behind us, and several smaller ones that were not in our path at the moment but could get there at a moments notice. Luckily the terrain wasn't bad, just a few hills and a lot of farmland.

It ended up being one of the longest days of my life.

It was only March and we still didn't have the daylight we would have liked to have had. The hunters dropped the stragglers while the runners pulled off the larger groups. That got... pretty hairy, sometimes, especially when someone (like me) didn't know the lay of the land as well as others. There were a couple of times I thought I was screwed, trapped between several zoms and a fenced in area that wasn't supposed to be there.

I got through it, though. Most of us did. We lost two runners, and another died of a heart attack on the trip. I'm glad I wasn't the one who was there to order the people to leave him be... I would have. But I'm glad I didn't have to.

When we arrived we were all coded according to our usefulness. They said all the QZ's were doing it... is that true? I got "red flagged," though, and went straight into a cell until my people made enough of a fuss that the Commandant let me out. It was at least a few days.

I should have guessed why a lot sooner than I did. There were, apparently, a lot of other compounds like ours, led by clergy. Some were fighting the government, some were "sacrificing" non-believers to the zombies... I heard of one where the QZ folks arrived and found everyone already dead... poison in the kool-aid.

Not everyone who did that sort of thing was religious, of course. But enough of them werethat our Commandant was taking no risks with me. But the people pointed out that I had never tried to demand faith, that I tried to help everyone. He didn't trust me, though. Still doesn't.

So now I'm nothing. One of a few thousand people, only a few hundred of which think anything more. I do my time as a runner, or as a heavy laboror, and if I want to preach on my time off I'm allowed so long as I "watch it," according to the QZ's enforcers.

Speaking of which, I've been at this too long. I hope to read more from you all later.

Answers?

DZ - Colombia

Well, it's obvious this isn't the internet we knew. I was just hopeful someone out there would know something about this, but I guess we're all in the same boat.

I believe I should introduce myself. I'm usually very careful about revealing personal information on the Internet, but given the fact that the world has fallen into chaos, I suppose it doesn't really matter.
As I said in my previous post, my name is Daniel, from Colombia. But I think it would be better if I gave you an introduction to my country so you can understand what I'm talking about.

Colombia is a south american country, located in the northernmost part of it. The Andes mountain range cuts through it and separates it in 5 different regions. I was born in the northern and second most populated region, the Caribbean coast. There is also a pacific coast, an amazonian region, a plains region and the one I'm currently in, the central region. This last one is the most populated one and home to the capital, Bogotá. It consists of three mountain ranges separated by two rivers.
I used to live in the arguably second most important city in the country, Medellín. It is located in the central mountain range, and contrary to what movies may show you, life here is as busy as anywhere else. We're not a hot dusty town with chicken on the middle of the roads.

I was a medicine student, on my last year of studies, and I was busy, with a lot to study and not much time for social life or anything else. Still life seemed good, and improving. I lived with some fr
OH GOD ILL POST LATER GOTAT GO

This is a certainly a surprise...

Wow. This is not what I was expecting.

When Dirk finally got the antenna up, we were hoping to use short wave radio in order to broadcast a message of our survival. Instead we found Wifi.

Wifi.

Off all the things that survived the apocalypse I did not expect Wifi to be one of them...

Anyway, not much seems to have been added to the internet since the last time society was still kind of a thing, but after quite a bit of searching I found you guys! Or at least I am inclined to believe that these posts are actually from after the outbreak.

Hi by the way. My name is Lianne and I am from Maastricht in the Netherlands. For those who were unaware: mainland Europe is a mess.

The Netherlands and the areas of Belgium and Germany close to us were super densely populated and the zombie virus (plague?) basically swept the area in 24 hours. I was at work at the time (as a tourist guide in the local caves) and my boss basically ushered everyone into the tunnels to the old bunkers. They proved to be a huge blessing. It’s kind of fitting I guess that these centuries old tunnels (which protected people from world war 2 bombings and were used to build nuclear fallout shelters) are now used for protection again. Turns out zombies cannot crawl and skretch through 3 inch steel doors and the difference entrance areas are perfect for zombie traps.

We are with about 40 people in here right now and while it wasn’t our intention we have become somewhat of a marauding gang. We go on a lot of scavenger missions. Because we went underground pretty much immediately we never got the first government messages. Turns out the closet miltary safe zone is about 3 hours from here, but because of all the towns and cities we’d have to travel through to get there we never even tried. 3 hours might not seem very far in American eyes, but here it’s literally the far other end of the country ;).

I think we made the right decision though, we haven’t heard anything from the safe zone in quite a while. And although it was difficult in the beginning i guess there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and surviving the zombie apocalypse is one of them, to paraphrase one of my favorite authors.

Anyway, I have to go. I will try to keep in touch with you guys as much as possible. If anyone in the area reads this please leave a message, we are hungry for outside news!!

Life Before the QZ

Pastor Dan
Eastern Wisconsin
Fox River Valley QZ

Wow. I am starting to become tentatively convinced that you all are actually seeing this which is... well... it's just great. Even though I am sad to hear about the QZ's falling in Florida (I had some friends who might have made it to the Saint Petersburg QZ) Just knowing that anyone at all is still going strong out there makes me feel better.

The Commandant of the QZ has been giving me some odd looks, lately, and has been seen watching the Computer Schedule. I told him the Internet was back up, and he didn't believe me. He says that it CAN'T be, that we shouldn't be able to get a signal. And yet, it's being tested, and any device with WIFI has a signal. It wasn't there before. It's strange and that has him nervous, but I made him nervous anyway.

Hopefully he doesn't try to cut off my access. And I do mean try... because I am NOT going to just give this up.

Anyway, back to the story I was telling.

Myself, my wife, my church, and a few hundred others had set up a compound not far from Weyauwega, the little town I lived in when everything collapsed. It wasn't a perfect physical protection but it was close... with only a few weak points that my people knew and guarded. We had night watchpeople, an embarrassment of ammunition and it seemed like we were ok.

Our problems were mental. We didn't dare shoot all the groaners... that much gunfire only attracted more. If we saw a screamer or a drooler we dropped them fast, or if a groaner got near a weak point, but otherwise we knew we couldn't handle them all, and our best info said that most of Milwaukee was still shambling south, and we wanted to keep it that way.

Also, from time to time, there would be newcomers. That was a bit tricky, but we would often try to lure the groaners away from a segment of wall to let newcomers in, if we could. Sometimes we couldn't. Sometimes, we saw them get pulled down as they tried to reach us. That still keeps me up, some nights.

My sermons and services kept going. They were not, at all, mandatory, but people tended to show up just for something to do. I give a good sermon, and I was the only show going, so even though they weren't technically a captive audience, they might as well have been. I tried to honor that, recognize that we had diverse beliefs, and I focused on supporting each other and the like. That might have saved my life, later.

Then we got the word over the radio from a guy who'd fortified his hunting lodge a ways south of us. Government spooks were operating around Milwaukee to try to pull the hordes north. And it was working. His groaner count had gone from the teens to near ninety a day nearly overnight, and they were heading our way.

We couldn't hold off those kind of numbers forever. And that was when the Helicopter arrived. It carried a man in a black suit. No insignia. He explained the QZ project. He explained that if we could make the thirty mile journey we'd be safe, and to bring all the supplies we had.

More than a few of our people were nervous about it. Anti-government types, you know? But he also had images of the horde that was heading our way, and we knew our little compound couldn't take it, and that nothing we could do in the time we had would change that. When we reported our decision, one of the Elders called me "reverend," and the agent gave me a LOOK.

We had a journey to make, though, and I set about organizing folks to make sure we made it. As he took off, he was still watching me, though.

Of course, I had no way of knowing what was happening elsewhere in the country.

(Hey, you're in the Twin Cities QZ? Keep your eye out for James and Jess. They have a little girl named Lily.)

Air traffic control guy!!!!

Something flew over Tampa bay early this morning. I thought I was hallucinating. I didn't think the birds would be back up. I can't be on here long, I'm onto something big.

There was a TV station here in Tampa. It had a huge golf ball on top of a square tower. Is that a radar? How much power would it need? I can get to it in the next day or so. Can it run itself and relay the information? It's in a pretty rough part of the town right now so I won't be sticking around.

Before all this I had a radar app on my phone. The radar said it was in Ruskin which isn't far from here. It had a massive range. If I can get it turned on or something in the coming weeks maybe we can work something out. It depends if they're automated or not and how much power they'd need. I'm not tending generators. 

Also, Dan, if you're reading this, don't count on anyone in St. Pete. I put some telltales on the bridges and nobody alive has messed with them in three days. I suppose if there are survivors they went south instead of north but there's only one bridge out going south and it's a huge obvious target. Don't get your hopes up brother. 

Weather Woes in the Southeast

Quick post, because two emergency flights from North FL are finally able to get through today.

A bit on what we do:

The Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC, we call it 'arr-tick') used to control all the aircraft going into, out of, and through a big chunk of the southeast, including all of Georgia. Since it all fed to Hartsifeld in Atlanta, it meant that this facility was also one of the busiest centers in the US.  It's a big building with all sorts of equipment.

There's a generator, thankfully, that we use to power the largest transmitter and connections to some remote beacons. There's a bit left over, which we also use for some form of communications with the west. I am running this computer with the same excess. Why waste it?

All in all, this building's job hasn't changed. We use it to handle the relief airlifts that come from God-knows-where to the west, maybe Scott AFB, but that's awful close to St Louis...?

The weather is playing havoc on our mission. We really hope it clears up by the Thursday rush. There's a lot of people that depend on the weekly airlifts from the safe zones in the west.

There isn't anything operating east of the Mississippi to give us weather info, and any of us here would kill for a working weather app right about now. The best we have is a few retired pilots with CB radios scatted around giving us daily reports but it isn't enough.

If any of you somehow power up a NWS remote weather station or magically get your hands on a Doppler radar, let me know,

I'll be back on if/when the weather clears up. Obviously we only power up when there are planes to direct, to save fuel.

Finally

Hello, internet. Oh, how I've missed you. My name's Aspen. I've been trying to make this damn blog post for two days. I heard a whispered rumour from a client that the internet might not be totally gone. I've got more than enough energy ration cards to check it out a bit more thoroughly. This is all I've been able to turn up though. And even then, it's sporadic. For two days I've been fighting with this damn computer to connect at all. Dunno if it's the site itself or just the internet connection here is shoddy/unreliable. Probably both.

Anyway, on to the important stuff, introductions I guess. Again, I'm Aspen. I'm residing in the Twin Cities Quarantine Zone. Originally from Fargo, ND, I moved here a couple years ago, before the outbreak. I hear Fargo's got a QZ too, but I don't think I'll be headed there. God knows the flooding every spring is inevitable and that can't be good for a QZ. Having to worry about sandbagging the damn river while also trying to keep the biters out? Yeah, right.

I haven't heard from my family since this all went down. The day the outbreak reached Fargo, my mom called me to tell me they were leaving. Her, my stepdad, my sister. My stepdad's a survivalist type, even has his own forum about it. I wonder if it's still up. They fled north, to Canada, with the hopes of securing some land and making themselves a self-sufficient farm or something. I don't know if they survived.

Dan, I hear you said your family would have headed for the Twin Cities QZ. I don't usually do people favors, but I could try and check in on them if you'd like. I've got my ways, I'm sure I could sneak a peek of the list of survivors here.

Conditions in the QZ here are... not the brightest. We're safe, for the most part. It was a long battle to secure the area, as I'm sure you can imagine. Heavily populated areas tended to be the worst ones hit, so it's no surprise the fighting went on for several months. My boyfriend and I... well. We owned our house at the time and so when shit went down, we barricaded ourselves in. Boarded up and blocked the windows and doors, kicked the staircase of our enclosed porch on the top floor out. The biters aren't necessarily very smart and have difficulty figuring out things like climbing ropes, so we used a rope off the porch to go out for supply runs. We lasted as long as necessary. Finally when word that the inner cities were secure, we braved the infected to get there. We got separated. I don't doubt if I could survive, he could, but he's not here. I don't know if he's still alive or where he could be. It's just me now. I didn't know anyone here prior to the infection and I don't know anyone here now.

I don't think anyone important from my area is going to be reading this, so I feel confident enough to tell you all what I do. I'm a smuggler. You want to trade weapons for drugs with someone across the QZ? Give me some ration cards and I'll make it happen.

The QZ is sectioned off into smaller blocks for safety. That way, if someone sneaks out and back in and got infected in that time and an outbreak happens, they can just lock off all the doors and handle it without infecting the rest of the Zone. It makes it really difficult to carry illicit goods, though. For the most part, guns aren't allowed. They think they're keeping us so safe that we don't need them unless we get put on duty to clear out the biters around the barricades. Drugs are banned because they make people do stupid things. Alcohol isn't banned per se but is heavily regulated. It's mostly saved for the hospital zones these days, and sometimes if there's a shortage in a district, if you're carrying any they'll confiscate it.

So, in exchange for ration cards (and sometimes ammunition, as I managed to secure a weapon for myself), I'll smuggle your goods for you between the districts. There are closed off buildings that, if you can manage to find a way in, can lead between the districts. There's no guards stationed within because they think that people are too scared to even attempt it, and they think they've done such a good job sectioning all the empty buildings off. Boarding them up, sometimes using steel bars if available. Dumping huge piles of junk in front of entries and exits. But some of us are smart, and we're not scared. We'll find a way.

It's funny, because before the outbreak happened, I was probably the least adventurous person out there. In fact, I suffered from agoraphobia due to a number of situations that have occurred in my lifetime. I would go to work at my minimum wage job and I would go home and play video-games with my boyfriend and our cat (who is still with me, by the way - pets, especially "useless" ones like cats, are generally forbidden, but Bast is good at hiding when strangers come around). Now, I guess I've stopped giving a fuck. It's so boring around here I don't think I'd survive if I didn't find SOMETHING dangerous or illegal to do.

Still, even so, sometimes it's scary here. There were a number of kids and teenagers who managed to survive the outbreak and the absolute chaos that was the Twin Cities for awhile. I hear in other QZs kids are basically given free reign to run around and be kids. I wish it was like that here. But nope, we've got a boarding school for kids and orphans now. Well, I wish I could say it was a school, anyway. It's more of a military training center. Sure, there were a couple people who survived that could teach math and basic shit like that, but mostly, kids are taught how to survive. That's a good thing. But they're also taught how to fight, and when they're old enough to join the rest of us adults basically being lazy bums until we're assigned cleaning/killing zombies/hospital duties, they're pretty much expected to join the government forces that keep us all in line. Funny the way that works, isn't it?

Most of the kids still have a couple years before they'll have to worry about it. But I've seen a handful of older teenagers who have been bribed and essentially forced into joining the "military". And I don't like the hardened, empty look in those eyes. Not one bit. I wonder what happens to them in those schools.

I've gone on for far too long, long enough to have spent probably 3ish energy ration cards, whoops. Sorry. I get long-winded. I wanted to be a writer before this all went down, I guess some things never change.

If you're out there, please respond. This can't be a dream, right?

Heads up

I'm not sure the point of this thing. I found it and I'm going to use it for what I can. I hope someone is able to make use of it and maybe survive a little longer. I got really really REALLY lucky today. More on that in a minute.

1. There is no longer a feasible safe zone in St. Petersburg Florida. It's a ruin and overrun. Tampa didn't last any longer. Do not seek long term refuge here.  

2. I'm not a survivalist or a prepper like people used to joke about. I had a few guns because I liked shooting. I lost most of them in the chaos so it wasn't that useful to have them to begin with. I have since picked up and lost a few others. Look around, there are plenty laying on the streets these days. Ammo too. Don't try and carry too much. It will weigh you down. Weight costs speed. Speed keeps you alive if you're in the open. A blade or blunt object is worth more than its weight in ammo. It doesn't need reloading. It can't jam. It's quiet. One of my few possessions that I've managed to hang onto through all this was a lightweight camp axe I actually joked about being perfect for the zombie apocalypse. I'll never really believe how right I was. If you can, get one. If you're going to carry a gun, know how to use it, and get one that uses fairly standard ammunition so you're more likely to be able to replenish what you fire from some poor asshole who doesn't need his anymore. I've got a pretty nice Colt M4 with a few accessories some unlucky shit left in the trunk of a car. Ammo came from a mostly dead national guard soldier. I think she was a she before somebody set her on fire.

3. If you're out and about, find a vehicle. The gas won't last long. It degrades over time without additives to preserve it. Diesel lasts a little longer but same problem. I figure what's around will only last a few months. Everyone looted the grocery stores, sporting goods places and drug stores. Nobody hit the parts shops or boat repair places. They all have fuel stabilizer. Grab it if you can. It will be more valuable than gold by next year. Hell gold is useless now. What am I talking about?

Vehicles. Get something sturdy. Don't worry about fuel economy. Doesn't matter anymore. What's around is free if you can get it right? A sturdy vehicle is why I'm alive right now. Really lucky too. I was able to charge this laptop's batteries from some guys big 4x4 diesel truck. I just wanted to sleep in it because it's out of easy eyesight of the dead and it was parked near a good escape route over some low buildings. I've learned to look for escape routes out of every place I set foot. Inside the truck, I noticed the LED on the stereo was on. After checking the thing out, I found a solar charger mounted on the roof to keep the batteries alive. The truck turned over first try. The owner took care of his truck and I thank him for that wherever he may be now. A/C worked. I haven't felt cold air since this all started.

STURDY VEHICLES! I'm having a hard time staying on track. Forgive me this is the closest I've come to talking to anyone in two weeks. I drove for a little while looking for a nice safe spot to call home for a while. The noise of the truck is it's only big drawback and it brought out a lot of dead from the buildings along the street. I didn't want them following me. I don't know where the idea came from, maybe a movie, but whatever it worked. I put the truck in reverse, and let it idle backwards. Maybe five or eight miles per hour max. I probably killed thirty or forty of them in under a minute. Just eased backwards and they walked into the back of the truck like they could run it over. They fell under the wheels or got hung up in the suspension until it pulled them apart. It made one hell of a mess but it was a truly dead mess. I've seen the remnants of a lot of semi-dead stuck in the hoods and windshields of a lot of cars. Speed is not your friend. If you are going to hit them with a car, remember your highschool physics. Speed gives things mass. The body of one of the dead is pretty soft and pliable and your car is pretty tough. If you go fast, that soft body does more damage to your tough car and eventually kills the car. Run them down slowly and your ride survives. They don't. You also won't slide out of control and kill yourself against a telephone pole. After my initial success I cranked the A/C and took a ride until I found a nice spot to hold up for a bit. I won't post where it is until I know who can read this. During that ride I'll conservatively say I ran down two hundred or more of the things on the surrounding streets. It was absolutely cathartic.

I'm going to see what kind of supplies I can add to my stash. Good luck.

Allo? Il y a quelqu'un? Please be real.

Marjolaine, in Montreal



I can’t believe it.

I still can’t believe it. I had to walk away and come back, I thought I had finally cracked and gone insane.

But nope, you are out there, this is working, I can read your messages. There are people out there!

Amazing.

This better not by an elaborate prank, because I will find you and I will hurt you. Bad. I’ve learned how to that. I had to learn to do a lot of things.

I don’t have time to explain for now. This is the end of my outing and they’ll start to worry if I come back late. They’re always worried. And anxious. Can’t say I blame them.

I should be back soon. But if this thing, whatever this is, goes offline again, I just want to say a few things:

My name is Marjolaine Fournier. I am alive and well for now. I have food and shelter. Maman, David, Camille, Sophie, all of you, I hope you find this. Because that would mean you are alive, and you would know that I am alive. Please be ok…

Montreal has been sealed off, and the winter has been so harsh. But we are surviving, hundreds of us at the Olympic camps, and I’ve heard of many more people on the rest of the Island. With the cold finally abating, I might go and try to find some of them.

Look at me, still here, still rambleling. It feels like a million years since I’ve typed, since I’ve written, and now I can’t stop. I was so focus on being safe, I can’t believe it’s only been 4 months.

I have to go, stay safe, all of you.

Est-ce qu’il y a des québécois qui lisent ceci? On est encore vivant à Montréal. Je ne sais pas ce que les nouvelles ont annoncé, mais nous ne sommes pas tous infectés, tabarnak! On est encore en vie ici! Ne nous laissez pas crever comme des osti de chiens!

Si vous venez ici, armés vous bien!

Si vous croisez ma famille, dites leur que je les aimes.

Jo