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)