Sunday, December 25, 2011

Feeling Better

I just wanted to let you know that I am still among the living. They all did a real good job of taking care of me. They won't give me any details other than to say that there were a few zombies hanging around and they had to blast them. (I have a feeling there was more to it than that but, for now, they are all sticking to that story.)

We were able to have a little Christmas celebration today. When they were at Walgreen's getting medication for me they picked up some puzzles, games and candy for the kids. We sat around and told our favorite Christmas traditions. That life seems like a distant dream now.

We've had a little bit of snow - nothing major. The plan is to get back on the road in a day or two.

Roger, I hope you, Shawn and Corey are having a good Christmas and to let you know that we are all thinking of you guys. May we all find some peace in the new year.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Laying Low

We've run across a minor situation here. We had just gotten our stuff together and we were planning to o back to the compound when we started hearing gunshots. Not panicked, like someone was under attack--more like target practice. We've been debating on whether we want to try to find them or just get out of here. They've been firing off and on for quite awhile, which probably explains why there is almost no zombie population to speak of around here. We've decided to stick around for a little while and enjoy the break--we've found plenty of food from the strip mall around the corner. If the shooters show themselves, we'll try to contact them, but we're not going to go looking for them--who knows what their deal is?

Monday, December 12, 2011

Re-armed for the zombie apocalypse

We made it back to Cabelas, but the zombies are still thick out here. I don't know if we hit the Chicago wave of zombies or what, but it was almost as bad as right after the whole thing started. We fought for every mile to get to that store. Then we got there and found out that somebody else had looted it. We didn't even go in--we could see it was wasted from outside. No sense fighting the zombie horde for scraps. Instead, we went to the secret cache I made the last time we were there. We've got more ammo and food and are generally feeling better about ourselves. Matt, I took about 1/3 of what we left there, so if you ever need it, there should still be more for you guys.

Heidi, I hope you're feeling better. Now you know how I felt back when I caught the cold in June. Just rest up--those guys have got your back. For the second time, I wish you'd taken those antibiotics we had back at the compound with you. Just keep resting and drinking fluids.

We're heading back home to the compound in the morning. We're killing zombies wherever we go; it may as well be on our home turf.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Relapse

i am really sick nothing is helping. i survive almost a year of zombies and it's the flu thats going to kill me.everyone is beingsupportive but i want then to move on im holdingthem back.they keep teling me everythng is ok but i keep hearing gunfire.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place

We made it to the stores and found enough scraps to keep us alive for another week. We also wasted about half of our ammo killing the zombies between us and those scraps. I don't know if those were original Carpentersville zombies or if they were part of the "Chicago wave." Anyway, they're dead (again), but we're tired and this place stinks and we feel really exposed here. The only problem is that we don't think we have enough ammo to retake the compound and we don't want to risk going into more uncharted territory. We've talked it out and decided we're going back to Hoffman Estates, to hit Cabelas. We're probably going to hit the wave on the way, but hopefully we can just bust through it quickly and keep running, like we did on the way out. We're leaving tomorrow morning. I wanted to go tonight, but we're just not up to another fight. The next time you hear from us, hopefully we'll be re-armed and ready to kick some zombie ass.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Apparently people don't eat in Carpentersville

We're having some food issues. We apparently didn't take enough with us when we made our hasty retreat from the wave of zombies, and this area is empty. Even the vending machines are empty. It's not just empty of food, there's absolutely nothing of any use to anyone around here. The whole industrial complex--I don't know what the hell they used to make here, but they didn't even leave any raw materials that we could use for anything.

We're rationing as well as we can, but we're going to have to make a move. We didn't pack those lovely fishing poles I took such great care to rescue from Cabelas this summer, so we can't even go try our luck in the Fox River (although it's probably iced over anyway--it's been freaking freezing the last few nights).  I know down the road there used to be a Menards, a Woodmans, a Walgreens and some restaurants, but there's probably also pretty good zombie population. Probably better to face them now before the food runs completely out and we're weak from hunger.

We need to find a big score--somewhere that we can load up so that we can dig in for the winter. If the zombies aren't too thick down the road, I would love to find one of those houses in the woods around there and hole up. Hopefully the Menards has some propane heaters and gas generators left and the Woodman's has some food. If not, I don't know what to do. Maybe we head back to the old compound and blast our way back in--live comfortably or die horribly.

I wonder if this cold is slowing the zombies down at all. It was cold when the zombie apocalypse started, but they were "fresh" zombies and more mobile. Maybe now their tired old raggedy asses will freeze solid. Sorry, nothing pisses me off like hunger.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Good News, Bad News

We found a motel at the corner of I-94 and Hwy 50. The sign on the door said they were closed due to a family illness and the sign was dated January 3rd. (gee, I wonder what the illness was?)
So we broke into the managers office and took all the room keys. We checked out 6 rooms and they were fine so we divided up and unloaded some supplies from the vehicles. We set-up one as a common room for meals. We had a good hot meal and were really excited about sleeping in real beds as we had been sleeping on floors for almost a year. The next morning I woke up sick - I had the flu. It just figures that I would get the flu now when I never had the flu before (never even had a flu shot) There was a Walgreen's next door, so they sent a team over there to grab whatever they could to help me. I am still not too good yet, but I think the worst is over. I figure it will be several more days before I'm good enough to travel. So far nobody else has gotten sick - just keep your fingers crossed.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Pleasant Prairie Wasn't

Okay, so there is a Timberland store at the Pleasant Prairie Mall, it's an outside mall so I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to get winter gear from there. Also, this zombie thing began in the winter, so they should still have some winter stock. We drove around the parking lot, there were some vehicles, but we didn't see any movement. We backed the vehicles up to the door, got out and found the doors unlocked. Me, Matt, Jacob and Greg went in first to make sure the store was safe - it wasn't. Zombies started coming out the back of the store, we started shooting - we got 10 of them. As we continued to go through the store we heard shouting from outside. Apparently our gunfire attracted more zombies and they began spilling out of the other stores. So we had Sarah, Danny, Lynn and Julie get in the store and Louie, Paul and Karen grabbed their guns and joined the rest of us as we created a perimeter around the vehicles and the front of the store. Luckily Matt and Greg had Louie between them as they had to cover for him - Louie is a bad shot. When we were done the zombie count was at 60. Matt, Greg and Karen stayed outside on lookout while the rest of us grabbed what we could of clothing and boots. Greg spotted a van in the lot so he went over to check it out, nothing was inside and the keys were on the floor. It's a real nice 11 passenger van. We removed the back bench to have more room for storage.

We need to find a place to get some rest, none of us have slept much in the last 3 days.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Temporary Shelter

Hi again, Heidi, Matt, and all others who may be reading. I was able to jury-rig a car charger for my netbook thing, so I can write again. I imagine you're going to be in the same boat soon, so I'll send you a picture later if we ever find another download cable for the camera, but basically I just spliced the cable of a car charger for somecrappy coffee warmer or something with an adapter that fit the netbook. Of course, it would be easier to just pick up a generator or a power inverter if you've got the time. If you're still in Waukegan, there's a Radio Shack on Lewis between Glen Flora and Sunset--depending on how picked-over it is, they may have the power inverter or the stuff you need to splice a car charger.

We've moved a bit north. We're at this indoor baseball practice facility, I think in Carpentersville or Algonquin or something. I went to the place a few times before the zombie apocalypse--it was always quiet then, so I figured it still would be. I was right. It's an industrial building in an industrial park. Not many windows, but there's nothing but open fields around us for quite a distance, so we can see the zombie wave coming if it makes it this far. We're going to forage the other buildings for whatever we can get in the morning. We may stay here for awhile.

I may be crazy (Shawn says I am, anyway), but I want to go back to the compound. Not right away, but eventually. If it hadn't been for those idiots crashing the gate, the compound might have held up. We can fix that fence, burn the bodies and hole up there for the winter, hopefully with most of our supplies intact (we didn't fit much in the blazer with us). I'm hoping the stumblers can sense that it's empty now and have just moved on. If not, we'll have a zombie horde waiting for us when (and if) we return. I figure the wave of zombies is like an expanding circle--it will get thinner as it expands, so by the time it gets to us we should be able to break through pretty easily and go back "home."

Hope all is well with you folks up north. Keep in touch!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Casualties

Sorry to hear about John. If we'd still been in the compound, we could have locked him up and found some antibiotics--I heard a lot of people didn't turn when they got treated right away. It's hard when you're running for your life. I know how John felt about it...He probably would have made this choice anyway rather than take the chance.

We lost Justin in the compound. He and Corey were the fastest, so we sent them to get the blazer and bring it back to the garage while I covered them from the roof and Shawn worked the door. There were so many zombies! Even more than when you left. Corey made it, Justin didn't. I made sure he didn't suffer. It's strange, I should feel sick about being the one to put him down, but I don't--I guess I knew what the alternative was. I guess maybe I'm getting numb to all this.

I'm going to keep this short, since we don't have a way to charge this battery until we find a generator. We're moving west. I think we're in Carpentersville or Elgin or something now. Our best guess is that the zombies we saw were from Chicago, moving out to look for more food like a plague of locusts. That leads me to think that Chicago is dead. Completely. If you keep moving north, maybe the herd will have thinned out enough for you to handle them by the time they get there. Don't get comfortable! What we saw is probably coming your way, too!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Heading North

We were all so glad to finally hear from you. We started moving North 2 days ago when we noticed zombie movement. It's like they've had a communal call to arms.

We were staying in the Waukegan Oriental Store. It's a small stand alone store made of cinder block and had only one window in the front. The store had never been pillaged so it worked out great for us. (except for the smell of rotted sushi) The blazer and truck are now loaded with 12 50lb bags of rice, lots of canned meat (we left the canned squid - nobody was to keen on the idea of eating that) chili paste with garlic, canned vegetables and cases of bottled water. I'm hoping we will have the opportunity to use the rice to barter with someday.

We have had a casualty, John got bit during the attack. He showed Matt and I the injury after we had gotten settled in the store. He didn't want anyone to freak out, so we kept it quiet. He asked Matt and I to kill him before he turned, so the three of us left to check out the gun shop that was nearby. The store had been ransacked, but we managed to find one gun we could use, a few knives and some ammo. When we were done we went behind the store, said our goodbyes and then Matt and I both fired at him so that neither one of us had to bear the burden of killing him. John was incredibly brave. Matt and I spent a few minutes discussing what story we would tell the others . . . . we decided the truth was best. Everyone was real upset when we told them what had happened to John and what his wishes were. Once they had a chance to process the situation it was understood that there really is no other way to handle a zombie bite. Thank God John was able to be an example for the rest of us.

We are currently on I-94 heading towards Kenosha. We are going to need winter gear soon so that is next on our list.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Still Alive

Shawn, Corey and I are still alive. We're on the move. I'll explain more later but, but KEEP MOVING, HEIDI! The zombies are still coming!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Roger, are you there?

I'm still a bit hazy on some of the details, but I do remember a truck smashing through our perimeter fence and zombies swarming in. Matt and I started running to the hallway with the intention of securing the perimeter. We heard gunshots and saw the hallway door bursting open. George and Kyle (from the truck) were clawing their way in along with a huge number of zombies. We just started shooting at everything that moved. I know you, Shawn and Corey joined us at some point. As bodies went down we kept shooting at the heads that were appearing over the top of the pile. We ended up with a wall of dead zombies, no more coming in and no one going out. I heard someone shout "Get everybody to the vehicles!" We all ran to the garage and started loading the truck and van. I got in to drive the truck, Sarah and Danny were in the passenger side, Matt and Paul got in the back and the rest got in the van. As you and Shawn opened the garage door I jumped on the accelerator and got the hell out of there. When I looked back you and Shawn were closing the door, I choked back a scream because I didn't want Danny to get anymore freaked out than what he was already, but please know there was no way any of us wanted to leave you both behind. Matt and Paul fired away as I sped the truck through a sea of zombies. Greg was driving the van and managed to stay with me, although I don't know how he managed it, the truck was bouncing all over the place as we drove over bodies. The front end of the truck was tossing zombies around everywhere, the windshield was getting covered in zombie slime. Once we got half a mile out the zombie horde started to thin out and I just kept driving until we didn't see anymore for several miles. We stopped, did a head count and realized that Corey and Justin weren't with us, please tell me they are with you and Shawn. Once we checked for injuries and cleaned up the windows we got back in the vehicles and proceeded on. There are 12 of us. We have a few issues we need to deal with soon, but we are holed up in a safe place for now.

We are all anxiously waiting to hear from you.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Party!!!

Well, the partys starting to wind down. It was good. We probly made too much noise…We had music. Honets to God music—loud enough for everyone tp hear it. I hope it didn’t aatract any attention…Course, a lot of it was Matts death metal crap—it just sounds like zokmbies moaning, anyway. Still, it wa cool—our first zombie apocalypse going away party. We’re all going to be hungover tomorrow, except maybe Matt—I do’t think he drank anything. I didn’t have too much, either, but I dpn’t drink, so Ill probably still feelit in the morning. I’m going to bed now—the next time you hear from me, we’ll be halv a grou[p—Heidi and Matt and Sarah and everybody will be gone/ Crap, I gotta go—somebody hear’s a car.??

Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween

This used to be my favorite holiday, back before everyone in the world decided to put on a permanent zombie costume. I was thinking about doing some decorations, but I don't think anyone would have gone for it, except maybe Matt. Heidi thought to get candy and stash it for today the last time we hit the drugstore. I'm not sure what we're going to do when her group splits off--she's kind of like our den mother. She always remembers birthdays and holidays and all those little things that we need to remember to try to keep some semblance of normalcy, at leastas much as we can in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

We've divided up the gear, food, and weapons. Most of Heidi's group's stuff is loaded into the vehicles. They're taking a truck and a blazer, both 4WD, so they should be able to get where they're going even if we get early snow (which is feeling more and more likely, but it's hard to tell--I really miss weather reports).

For those of us who are staying, we're planning to do some more long-range foraging and maybe see if we can make contact with the other humans we think are hiding around here. We keep getting these little hints that we're not alone, but whoever else is out there is definitely shy. Whether we find the other people or not, we need to find more sources of supplies--it's not like the stores we're hitting are ever going to be re-stocked.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Knocking over a liquor store

We've had kind of a rule about alcohol around here--never keep enough in the compound for anyone to get drunk. Personally, I don't drink. Neither does Matt. Just about everybody else does. Back in the real world, a drinker could take a Friday night to go out with their friends, have a little too much to drink, call a cab and go home. The worst that happens is a hangover, an unexplained tattoo or a sexually transmitted disease. In the middle of a zombie apocalypse, having too much to drink is a great way to kill yourself.

If you think about it, al we have over the zombies is reflexes, coordination and intelligence--three things that we willingly surrender when we have too much to drink. I made a couple of soapbox speeches about the dangers of alcohol when we first got together, but I knew I was outvoted so I settled for the "Don't get drunk rule." For the most part, they've followed it (which is really incredible under the circumstances--there's been many a night I wished I could drink myself into another world).

Anyway, all that is going by the wayside, now. When we send half of our group out on their northbound journey, we're going to tie one on like it's the end of the world (pun intended). I might even have something myself (I think I can drink whiskey or something if I mix it with coke--I hate the taste of alcohol). To pull this party off, we had to hit the liquor store.

We weren't the first to hit the liquor store, as you would imagine. The good news is, nobody ever takes much--it's just not practical, so there was plenty left for us. The bad news is that a few guys aparently drank themselves to death right in the store, because there were three fresh looking zombies in there. The problem with multiples is the sound of the gunshots. We're not sure how sharp the zombies are, but Matt says that in the army the snipers tried not to fire twice from the same location, and never three times because it would give away their position. Even the roof patrols we instruct not to fire more than two shots at a time. Anyway, this creates a real freakin' problem when you open a door and three zombies are coming at you. It creates an even bigger problem when a certain dumbass who shall remain nameless misses one of them at point blank range.

The fact that none of us got killed was a flipping miracle. One of them did manage to draw blood on me, though. Not a bite, thank God, but a cut. I hacked the zombie with a machete and I got more shoulder than neck, so it was still coming at me. The blade was embedded and I used that to keep its head away from me, but the hing was able to push me into a shelf and I got cut, I think from a broken bottle. I got to see a real old west zombie kill--Shawn broke a bottle of whiskey over its head. Okay, we really killed it with the machete, but the whiskey bottle sure got its attention. The other two went down a little easier--shotgun and axe (after a missed pistol shot).

My cut's not bad, but these days anything could be fatal, so I got it cleaned up, treated and bandaged real well when I got back. We brought back enough booze for the party, too, so I guess it's mission accomplished. It's going to be the ultimate irony if I, the tea-totaler, die from a cut I got from a bottle in a liquor store.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Better Now

Hi, it's Heidi, since my last post things went down hill fast. I stopped sleeping - the panic I felt about experiencing those nightmares . . . let's just say I was starting to hallucinate. Shawn and Roger had a talk with me and they decided to take me off duty for a few days. They set me up in a small office space with some sleeping pills and even though I was real aggitated about sleeping they promised not to leave me alone while I was out. During my 48 hour sleep I remember being woken up for broth, tea, vitamins and to use the bathroom. When I woke up the 3rd day on my own they brought me some powdered scrambled eggs. I am feeling much better now.

Shawn, Roger, Matt and I had a long conversation about our situation here. We are safe, secure and we have plenty of supplies, but for me it feels like a prison and Matt agreed. We both want to move on - we will never know what possibilities exist for the future unless we start searching.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Zombie Currency

It's interesting to see how our little society has been resolving day to day issues. One of the big ones that we never really thought about was compensation. Obviously, money is useless, so we needed a new value system. We pretty much had a share and share alike mentality here when we were smaller, but as the group has grown we got into a lot more "How come she gets two bags of chips" and "He uses too much water to wash up." Well, we've worked out a ration system for the food and water and bullets and all, but there was still a need for barter, with people trading what they don't want for what they do. This led to the interesting development of a universal currency--labor. Everything here can bought by taking someone's patrol time or foraging time or latrine-digging time. It's funny because it's not like we've got great options of how to use our free time, but we still value our free time. I guess the natural human state is laziness and we always trend towards that., even in a zombie apocalypse.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Heidi's Nightmares

I've not been feeling well lately. Matt and I have been doing 16 hour shifts on the roof for the last few weeks and I have been having nightmares. The sleep deprivation has caused this fog in my brain which is creating a feeling of doom.

The nightmares all involve zombie attacks and my getting bitten, lots of blood, missing arms, legs, screaming. Sometimes I'm being chased, trip and fall, other times it's a surprise attack like the one I had in the school bathroom. I wake up in a cold sweat and can't go back to sleep. I won't talk to anyone about this because I don't want to freak people out - I can't shake this feeling that this is how I'm going to die.

I need to get back on the roof now.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Depression (PAZD)

I'm sorry I haven't been writing lately. I've coined a new term: "Post-apocalyptic zombie depression." Not to be confused with "Post-apocalyptic zombie stress disorder," which is what Matt (and maybe Heidi now, too) have. I've definitely got it (PAZD). I just look around and see nothing but death. I can't hear anything anymore except Matt and Heidi taking shots at zombies so far away that I can't even see them...That and the sound of those damn cats. The smell seems to be getting worse, even though everything around us should have decayed months ago. Sometimes, if the wind is right...It's enough to drive you crazy. I'm tired of canned food. I'm tired of rationing electricity and water. I'm tired of taking a gun with me every time I go to use the bathroom (figuratively speaking--where I go is far from a bathroom). This sucks. This whole thing sucks. I wish I would just wake up and be back in my living room watching a Bears game with...

Okay, I'm going to stop that line of thinking right there before I really do go crazy. Let me go back to what I do best--practicality. It got cold here last night--really cold. None of us have really come up with an answer to the question of what we're going to do when winter hits. We've talked about electric heaters and kerosene heaters and woo stoves and all that, but for those to work, we're going to need to get in a much tighter space. And we're going to have to start getting them together--and fast. I don't know what the heck Heidi is thinking--taking her group further up north just in time for winter. I guess it's partially my fault. She wanted to leave over a month ago, but I kept finding reasons for her and "her group" to stay around. I feel like Luke's Uncle Owen from Star Wars. It's time now. They'd better go or we're all going to end up holed up in here all winter and we'll probably kill each other. We're going to need to have some sort of a going away party or something, though. I guess we'll need to go shopping again. I wonder how late the liquor stores are open these days?

Sunday, October 2, 2011

The Sound of Silence

Living in rural Wisconsin the evenings were fairly quiet. Sure there was the occasional dog barking, crickets, owls, chickens, cows and the neighbor coming back from bowling league - the usual evening farm sounds. When I was 15 the family moved to Janesville to be closer to Dad's job. We lived about half a mile from I-90, it took a long time to get used to the constant hum of traffic. When I lived in Chicago I was 2 blocks away from a hospital - that was definitely worse.

When the zombie attacks first started happening the noise was horrendous. Car crashes, weapons being fired, sirens, screaming, horns honking, gas explosions. It was what I imagined being in the middle of a war was like. But now it has become silent. No traffic noises, no sounds of humans or animals, no white noise like the hum of electric lines, just silence. It's been months since we've heard a vehicle. We've become acutely aware of how loud our voices are, so now we whisper and use hand signals when outside so as not to draw attention to ourselves. Every day that passes makes me feel more isolated. I really hope we move on soon.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

I Hate Cats

You know what I'm seeing a lot of lately? Cats. I've got a theory on that. Dogs, being loyal, faithful, loving creatures, probably stayed with their owners to the bitter end, sacrificing themselves in the process. Cats, well the minute there's trouble a cat is pretty much on to the next meal ticket. And a living human usually can't catch a cat, so the odds of a zombie catching one, well, forget about it. Now that humans aren't around to spay or neuter those little whiskered psuedo-pets, they're breeding like crazy. At least we may have found a renewable food source, assuming they don't turn into zombies when we shoot them. I'll have to make sure Heidi takes all the cat lovers with her when she goes.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Very Curious

It's Heidi, I'm inside trying to warm up. We have been thrust into Fall, much cooler temperatures and thunderstorms. It's been so cold, windy and rainy on the roof I can't feel my gun anymore. The storm is making it very difficult to see properly. We can't tell what we're looking at half the time.

Something curious happened this afternoon. Roger, Corey, Greg and I were doing our shift on the roof, when Corey motioned for us to come over. He pointed at 3 zombies heading our way, but when the lightning started up they stopped moving. We couldn't figure out what was going on - they looked like statues. We don't know if the irregular light throws them off or if the lightning scares them. We ended up watching them for about half and hour while the storm was raging. It was decided that since they weren't going to be moving anytime soon we ought to take them out.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Heidi Get Your Gun

There is something very empowering about having a gun. (Well, duh!) You have to understand, I had never fired a real gun pre-zombie, so this is all new and exciting for me. When I was growing up in rural Wisconsin my Dad would hunt pheasant, duck and deer for food - it was a guy thing. (Yes, we were one of those houses you would drive by in the Fall and see a gutted deer hanging from the swing-set.) The only thing I had ever fired was a BB gun that one of the other kids had. We would throw an empty Hi-C can in the air and shoot at it. I was the only girl in the group and the boys would get really mad because I hit the can more than they did.

If it weren't for the zombies I never would have picked up a gun, but if I'm going to survive I have to step out of my comfort zone. Some people are still squeamish about shooting zombies. I just keep telling myself that they are already dead and I'm putting them out of their misery. It makes me feel like I'm providing a service - doing something good for them . . . . Oh, who am I kidding - zombies are out to get us and I will do whatever it takes to make them really dead!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Zombies Are Keeping Us Busy

Hey, it's Heidi. We have definitely noticed an increase in zombie activity. Matt and I have been on the roof a lot, he's been giving me shooting lessons. I'm getting pretty good at the accuracy with distance thing. Between the two of us we've taken out 7 today. I am happy to have real shooting experience, but I'm concerned about why we are seeing so many zombies after weeks of quiet. On the other hand, Matt is thrilled to have the chance to take out as many zombies as possible. He's been pretty vocal about moving on and staying in one place this long has been hard on him. It's been good to see him have an outlet for his frustration.

The 'do zombies eat other zombies' question has been answered today. Matt and I were taking shots at a couple zombies - Matt got his, I missed mine. As I was getting ready to take another shot Matt told me to hold on for a bit since Roger wanted to know what would happen if a moving zombie came upon a truly dead zombie. As we watched through our binoculars we saw the zombie go over to the immoblie zombie, stand over it for a few minutes and then move on. I guess he was making sure the other one had truly ceased to be. So it looks like even zombies won't eat rotten meat. Anyway, Matt gave me the go ahead to take him out and I did.

We have broken up the roof watch into 4 - 6 hour shifts, with 4 on a shift. Some of us are doing 12 hour shifts to cover shortages - Matt is doing 18 hour shifts. We are a bit concerned about his state of mind. Roger, Shawn and I are taking turns checking in with him. We figure as long as he is eating, sleeping and talking to us he should be okay.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

The Zombie I Almost Dated in High School

It was bound to happen I suppose. You live through a zombie apocalypse, I guess it stands to reason that sooner or later you're going to run across some long lost friend or acquaintance in zombie form. This was a girl I knew back in high school--I probably would have asked her out if I had been a normal sort of kid who actually asked girls out in high school. I'll not mention her name to protect the innocent. Besides, what if this message really is going back in time and she sees her name and learns that she's not going to survive?

I'm surprised I recognized her, actually. I guess it was the sunken eyes. She always wore way too much eyeliner in high school, so she had kind of an undead look to begin with (I thought it was really sexy at the time). We had a few classes together and I always kind of liked her, although I can't for the life of me remember why. I hadn't thought of her in more than a decade though, so it's kind of surprising that I recognized her--I saw her in the home depot when I went to get some more solder in case I need to do more work on the solar panels. She'd gained a few pounds, which I guess we all had before the zombie apocalypse hit. She looked older, too, and a bit decayed. She also had a big chunk missing from her neck and some big old blood splotches all over her clothes. I was stunned. Shawn wasn't. He pretty much liquefied her with the 12 gauge before I even had time to remember when I had seen her last. He always had a way with women.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Power Outage

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile (in case anyone is reading); we had our first "solar incident" a few days ago. One of our solar panels came down in a thunderstorm and ripped out a bunch of wiring. Everybody looked at me because I had been bragging about having studied electrical engineering in college. I tried to explain that when you leave engineering school after the 2nd year, all you've really learned is raw math and science--nothing practical. Nevertheless, when the storm rolled out, I found myself putting on some thick rubber gloves and going up on the roof to try to patch things together. I wish some other facets of the internet had survived the zombie apocalypse, since I'm sure I saw a few articles on how to build and repair solar panels at one time or another online.

There were a few panels that were cracked beyond repair, but I got the rest patched and soldered (yes, I have a soldering iron in my tool box--doesn't everyone?). I was pretty scared when I made that last connection, but I'm still here. I couldn't help but notice Matt standing close by with his hand on his .45--I guess he had thought it through that if I got electrocuted, they would have zombie to deal with in the middle of our compound. Anyway, I'm not sure what effect the cracked panels are having on our total load capacity--it's not like we're running a lot here to begin with. I imagine we might see a problem if we get a few overcast days in a row.

Matt popped two more zombies on his watch last night. I think that's five this week. At least he's hitting them far enough away that they're not attracting more attention to our compound. He said it looked lke one of them might have been getting ready to eat another one that he shot, but he hit it before it had the chance. I wish he had let it go for a minute or two--I'm really curious about that. When we shoot a zombie, does it just become "meat" to other zombies? How do they know not to eat each other before we shoot them? Things to ponder during the zombie apocalypse.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

September 11th

September 11th. It's weird, that day was so important, so significant before the zombie apocalypse. Now it's faded away with the rest of civilization. But yet when the date arrives, I still get that welling of emotions. Maybe it's because it's a tangible point in history--a day when everything changed. The zombie apocalypse is not nearly so condensed. It started on a day nobody is quite sure of and it's still going on now. It ends...When? When the last human dies? When the last zombie decays to nothingness?

I remember September 11th, 2001. The day started strangely. I was sitting at home, checking my email and preparing to go to work when my dog (my stepdog, really) came up and put his head on my knee. He looked at me with such sad eyes, as if to say "Bad things are going on out there, you better stay home." It was strange because he had never really shown any particular affection for me before; we were kind of like college roommates--polite, respectful, cordial, but not really close, at least not at that time. He must have known something, somehow. I wish he was still around when the zombie apocalypse hit--he could have warned us.

Anyway, the first plane hit while I was driving to work, listening to Mancow Muller, a local radio talk show host. I don't know why--I hated talk radio and wasn't very fond of him particularly. I thought it was a joke when he said the plane hit the World Trade Center (he was the sort of radio talker who would follow up serious political discussion by calling some random person and making farting noises in the phone--real high brow entertainment. I wonder if he's a zombie yet?). By the time I made it to work, the second plane had hit, I had checked other stations and it had become clear that we were at war.

Now we have a different kind of war. No terrorists, no airstrikes, no speeches--just waves and waves of former humanity out there somewhere waiting to feast on us. Zombies or terrorists, I'm not sure which is worse.

What Heidi Misses

Every once in a while we get on the topic of what we miss. I know, it's sort of like rubbing salt in a wound, but misery loves company. Of course there are the ones who miss their family, friends, pizza, long walks on the beach - Allan misses his job. He was pulling in upper six figures and divided his "work" between talking on his Blackberry and playing golf, so we ignored him.

What I miss are books. I was a reader. Never went anywhere without a book. So, yeah, I have a book with me, but after re-reading it a hundred times in the last 9 months I've lost interest in it. Janie has a book with her, but it's one of those trashy romances and no matter how desperate I get I won't read it, I have principles.

Shortly after the apocalypse began we noticed fires burning. They were scattered around and rather large. What we discovered when we were on food runs was that people had been emptying bookstores and libraries thinking that the fires would scare the zombies away. Once again, like the flashlight, the fires acted like a zombie dinner bell - this time with hot food.

So as we prepare for our travels looking for survivors I will be looking for books. I'd like to think that Clive Barker, Jim Butcher, Stephen King and Dean Koontz would know how to survive a zombie attack and that they are out there right know kicking zombie ass!

PS It just occured to me what today is . . . I do remember.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

My 49th Year

Hi, it's Heidi and yes, today is my birthday. We have tried to create some pre-zombie normalcy by celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and holidays as best we can. It's helpful having these diversions from the day to day grind of surviving. These events turn into treat day - we make coffee over a fire (camp stove now), break out the Hostess snacks and get buzzed on caffeine and sugar. This one is kind of sad because it's the last one we will have as a group. Despite the challenges of the last 9 months we have become a family of sorts - all be it a dysfunctional one.

Roger, Matt and Shawn presented me with this ammo/utility belt that they created from pieces that were picked up during the Cabela's trip. It holds a 1911 pistol, machete, flashlight and ammo. Since I had my first kill they figured it was time to take the training wheels off. (see, some guys do know what a girl wants.)

It's been a really great day . . .

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Pizza Night

So last night was Tuesday. I usually don't keep track of that anymore, but it was kind of significant this time. You see, back before the zombie apocalypse, Tuesday night was my pizza night. I would go out with the same two guys I'd gone out with every Tuesday since 1989 and we'd get a pizza and some ridiculously unhealthy appetizer (the bacon cheddar fries were my personal favorite) and we'd shoot the breeze and complain about life and why everyone else was stupider than we were and if people would just listen to us the world would be such a great place...You know the routine. Anyway, a lot of us here have pizza high on our list of things we miss, and since it appears our group isn't going to be together much longer, I thought it would be cool to have a pizza night for my new group of friends.

So to make this miracle happen, I have been secretly squirreling away supplies when we've gone on foraging runs. The crust was easy--we've got plenty of flour, salt, oil, and even yeast (we've been experimenting with baking bread). Over the last few weeks, I've picked up a few cans of pizza sauce and lots and lots of parmesan and romano cheese (the only cheese I can find that doesn't seem to need refrigeration and lasts more than a few months). Yesterday was the day I put it all together, using the expertise I learned during my early days as a master pizza chef. Okay, I was a line cook for Pizza Hut, but at least I knew the basics. I took it all out back and grilled it and we gathered to have our first (and possibly last) pizza night as a group.

It sucked. Without a doubt the worst pizza I've ever had in my life. I don't know if the ingredients had gone bad if if you just can't make pizza with those cheeses, but UGH. So in case this blog is really being received in 2011, I need somebody to buy like 100 frozen pizzas, preferably from Villa D' Carlo in Kenosha, Wisconsin or Quonset Pizza in Waukegan, Illinois, pack them in ice, put them in some sort of solar powered freezer, and leave them where I am sure to find them after the zombie apocalypse hits. If I can find an old newspaper maybe I'll post some winning lottery numbers or something so you can afford to do it.

Friday, September 2, 2011

They Say You Always Remember Your First Time

I always figured my first kill would be a male zombie - killing a female was kind of disturbing. My first response afterwards was relief, I got her before she got me. Then I wigged out about who she was. Was she a teacher, cafeteria lady, custodian, a student's mom? It's probably because she was a "new" zombie and didn't look any different than me. That of course sent everyone moving, since if she was fresh that meant zombies were in the immediate area. Roger left Paul with me while the rest searched.

The thing that bothers me is that killing a zombie didn't really bother me that much. I guess that means the last vestiges of my old self are gone now. We've been training and talking through scenarios for so long it was a relief to finally get put to the test. I even feel more confident about moving on now.

Once Matt was told about the incident he and I were able to have a conversation about my experience. (Matt has some military training and I think he was checking on my mental state.) Since it was my first time he wasn't too upset about the wasted ammo. He said some people get so freaked out they will fire off every round in their gun, reload and keep shooting. He was really glad I didn't freeze up with fear, he said it showed I had strong survival instincts. Matt also warned me about being overconfident, as that is just as dangerous as being afraid.

All I know is I really want to kill some more zombies.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Heidi's First Kill

We went to get Heidi a laptop for her journey and we ended up getting her some much-needed experience in using guns and killing zombies, as well. We made it to the store with no problems, then on the way back we decided to take a detour through this school we found, thinking it might make a good secondary base or at least maybe have some more first aid supplies and stuff to scavenge (not to mention books--Heidi will stop anywhere that might have a book). Well, there's absolutely nothing of any use to anybody in there, but before we leave, Heidi decides she needs to use the bathroom. Keep in mind that we haven't had running water for awhile and we've found that undisturbed bathrooms usually seem to have one good flush left in them, so they're a bit of a luxury. Our mistake was to forget the lesson that any idiot who's ever seen a zombie movie knows--the zombie is always in the bathroom. We should have checked it first as a group. I guess having so few zombies around now has made us soft.

Anyway, she went in, opened a stall door, and there it was, just standing there staring at her. Not breathing, of course, not making a sound, just staring and waiting for somebody to open the door. At least Heidi had her flashlight in one hand and her pistol in the other. The way she described it, the thing just started calmly walking toward her the minute she opened the stall door, so Heidi screamed, backed up, and unloaded 4 shots into its head and neck at point blank range. If Matt was with us, he would have been really ticked about using the extra ammo. Anyway, I took a couple of photos for posterity.
The zombie was female, not too damaged (just bites on what was left of the neck and shoulder) and, somewhat disturbingly, not decayed at all. I've seen decay on all the others we've seen, so that means she had to be a fresh victim. We did a quick search of the school and couldn't find any other zombies. We found some blood, but that's about it.
I don't know--every time we go out, it's like another mystery. Anyway, Heidi is pretty shaken up about it. She might even be rethinking the split, now. We'll see. We all go through it the first time. Actually, I went through it just about every time. Academically, we know they're already dead. Emotionally, it feels like murder.

Friday, August 26, 2011

The Art of Healthy Living by Heidi

Ever since we got struck by the summer cold in June we have been taking vitamins. We quickly realized that the Zombies weren't the only thing we had to fear. The flu, a broken bone, a cut, things that were so minor before could kill us now if we weren't careful.

A few of us had some first aid training so we have been slowly gathering those supplies too. Practicing good hygiene and dental care as well as we can with limited water supplies. As careful as we try to be - accidents happen. We've been real lucky so far - if someone ever needs surgery we're screwed.

As long as we keep checking pharmacies we should be able to find most of the things we need - prescriptions will be a problem, since most of those got cleaned out pretty fast once the apocalypse started. One of the other issues is eventually these things will lose their effectiveness once the expiration date rolls around. So I will be keeping a look out for reading material on alternative medicines. (Yeah, I know, old school.)

Did I mention Roger and I wear corrective eye-wear? I figure I've got 3-5 years before these glasses are totally useless . . . . . Okay, I've got to stop with this now because I'm getting freaked out.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Gunshots

On the list of sounds you'll never forget, I think the sound of gunshots at night has got to be near the top of the list. I remember during the brief time that I lived in downtown Milwaukee I would fall asleep on Friday and Saturday nights to the sound of an occasional gunshot. I wasn't worried--I was in a secure building, but still I was a little creeped out. Of course when the zombie apocalypse hit, there was a lot of gunfire. And screaming...endless screaming. It seemed to last for months. Then it stopped. I guess the last humans were like us--hiding in the shadows and trying not to call attention to themselves. I imagine people were still dying, just dying quietly.

The reason I bring this up now is that as a few of us gathered on the roof to watch the sunset, drink some weak coffee or tea and breathe in the stench of death that assaults us day and night, we heard gunshots. Distant--I think southeast of here, but clearly gunshots. My first thought was of Geoff, maybe fighting for his life against a zombie horde with the last of the guns and ammo he stole from us, but now I'm not so sure. The shooting has been sporadic, but it has gone on for more than an hour now, sometimes closer, sometimes farther (although that could be a trick of the wind). If I didn't know better (and I guess I don't, really), I would say someone was out there hunting zombies. At least I hope it's zombies they're hunting. There's a part of me that's worried, but there's another part that's saying "Rock on! Pop one in the head for me, pal." All hail the new hero of the zombie apocalypse, whoever he is.  

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Okay, Heidi's Break is Over

The last couple weeks have been crazy. I've been learning how to get into the blog account, organizing the first aid supplies (more later) and making a list of what to look for once we get moving. I have found that if I don't make a list we get overwhelmed when in a store and start grabbing things we don't need. Seriously, stuffed animals? (Hey, it's free!)

Now the Geoff and Cynthia incident has caused some panic and distrust because we are now aware of how easy it is to take stuff and run. So we got a plan - I've been helping Shawn secure the food and Matt secure the weapons, I figure the more I handle the weapons the more confident I will be using them. We have a few closet type spaces that we've moved everything into and Roger, Shawn, Matt and I will be taking turns sleeping in front of the doors. We just don't trust anyone else right now and we can't afford anymore loss of property due to defections. Although I will say the Geoff and Cynthia exit was a wake-up call for some of our misguided citizens.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Zombies did our work for us

The guys came back a little later than we expected, but they came back alive, and with some of the stolen gear. They never found Geoff, but they found Cynthia, at least what was left of her. She had turned. I'm told that by the look of it, the zombies feasted on her pretty good while she was alive, which means either Geoff was dead or he ran off. Based on the fine character he showed by leaving with her in the night with a bunch of stuff that didn't belong to them, I'm betting on the latter. Oh well. One guy alone out there isn't going to last long. I know I sound callous, but we have so little around here, we don't have much patience with people who try to take more than their share. We got back one pistol, one shotgun and some shells. We're still mising one shotgun. They did find most of the food, but the stumblers had apparently torn into it so they didn't want to bring it back.

Back on the homefront, I think a split is unavoidable now. Heidi wants to go north and it sounds like Sarah and Matt and maybe a few others want to go with her. I told her she has to take Louie with her too, or she gets no food or guns. She thinks I'm kidding (Sorry Louie). I want this to be farewell, but not goodbye, or however the heck that goes, so we've got to work out some sort of long range communication plan. I had set Heidi up with her own account on here (although I'm not sure if she knows how to use it yet); I'm thinking we need to go back and snatch another one of these computers if we can. That will let us blog back and forth so we can stay in touch and hopefully reunite after they find whatever the heck they're looking for. It's going to be sad to see them go, but I guess I feel better knowing that we can stay in touch. There's also a part of me that's curious as to what things are like out there.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

20 People left alive--why do some of them have to be jerks?

Just when I thought things were settling down a bit, we get two idiots who risk the whole group. Geoff and Cynthia decided to leave early this morning, before most of us were up, and the A-holes took 3 guns and a bunch of our food with them! Matt spotted them from the roof--he didn't know what they took or he probably would have popped them right there. There was no time for a discussion or a vote or anything--when we saw the guns missing, we formed up a posse and they went after them. Matt, Shawn, Corey and Jacob went out right on their trail. I wanted to go with them, but then again, I didn't. I mean killing zombies is one thing, but what the heck are we supposed to do with these folks? They're just ordinary people, a young couple, right? Except they're armed, armed with guns they stole from us. If I went along, I would be the cooler head who is supposed to prevail--the problem is I don't feel very cool right now, and even if I was, I don't think Matt is going to be in any mood to negotiate (Shawn either for that matter--he has kind of become keeper of the food and he's taking this theft personally, too). They're coming back with those guns and food, no matter what, and I guess I'd just as soon not know what the "No matter what" is. 

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Zombies are irritating, but people drive me nuts

When we had our triumphant return from the outdoor store, I thought we were in pretty good shape. We had more food, more gear, and a lot more weapons. I come back to find out that some people had left and more wanted to leave. If there's one thing this whole zombie apocalypse has proven, it's the value of numbers. A dozen zombies can beat one guy with a gun almost every time, but when you've got 15 or 20 people and most of them are armed, well, you can take out a lot of zombies. I guess that was what I thought we were going to have when we got back--a big group, lots of guns--safety. Whether we stay here or move on, I felt like we were going to be read for whatever came at us.

Now people are leaving. Sharon, Stan, and a bunch of others left while we were gone. Geoff and Cynthia just got here and they're already talking about leaving. I'm hearing whispers from others. Even Heidi keeps talking about wanting to go north and look for her family. I'm sorry, I didn't like going to Wisconsin when there weren't zombies there--why would I go now? I just feel like this whole thing is falling apart. I keep thinking if I was stronger, if I was a "Rah rah" guy, maybe I could give some rousing speech to rally the troops and get us all pulling in one direction. That's not me. Hell, I'm not even officially the leader. People just keep asking me what to do because I kind of sound like I know what I'm doing and I've been here the longest.

The one  really worry about is Matt. He's been volunteering for two shifts a day on the roof, watching for zombies. He's not just watching for zombies, he's hoping for zombies. Before this whole zombie epidemic or whatever it is hit, I always joked that Matt was the type of guy who would end up on a roof with a high powered rifle someday. Well, the day has come. And he's got plenty of ammo.

Friday, August 5, 2011

One-Stop Zombie Apocalypse Shopping

Cabelas was in better shape than we expected. It had been looted, but whoever did it closed up afterwards--probably planning to go back. I suspect it may have been whoever was holed up in that shopping mall surrounded by zombies where we lost Mike. I think the looting happened early in the outbreak, though, because the stuff that was missing was kind of stupid. Lot's of clothes and shoes and high-end electronic stuff was clearly missing--like somebody thought they were going to pawn it or something. The display guns were gone, of course, but nobody even looked in the back of the store, where they keep the real stuff.

We tried to stick with calibers that matched what we had--12 guage shotgun, .45 caliber pistol and Matt's SKS--we struck out on that one and had to get a different caliber of hunting rifle. We came away with a couple of Remington 870 pump shotguns (just like the one Matt left with Shawn), four 1911 pistols (like the one Matt was letting me use on this trip, amazingly enough) and two classic Springfield M1A rifles (they don't use exactly the same ammo as Matt's SKS, but the damage is supposedly similar). We also grabbed so much ammo for all of those that I thought we would break the springs on the Blazer. I crammed in a couple of fishing rod and reel kits (the break-down kind), some binoculars for Heidi (with night vision), 6 absolutely badass machetes with 19 inch blades, a few flashlights, batteries, and sleeping bags, and (strapped to the top of our grossly-overloaded vehicle) 6 crates emergency food kits. Matt also insisted we make room for gun-cleaning supplies.

If hotwiring were a skill any of us had, it would have been nice to pick up another vehicle to replace our lost truck and load it as well--we left a lot of good stuff in that store. We did something abso-freaking-lutely brilliant with some of the extra guns and ammo in the store, if I do say so myself. I won't go into it here in case the wrong people are reading this, but I'm really proud of this one.

Another thing we did before we started back--we camped in an industrial building down the block and took target practice on a small cluster of zombies that came wandering down the street (they might have followed us from the mall). It was almost fun. I don't really care for the shotgun, but I think I can do some damage with the pistol and rifle. Matt was on--three kills with 4 shots from his SKS. Corey handled the shotgun pretty well for a smaller guy. Justin...Well, I think Justin might have to stick with the machete--he pretty much just wasted ammo. More importantly, we all kind of acclimated ourselves to the idea of being the hunter instead of the hunted. I'm kind of starting to feel like Matt--we've all lost so much to these things; maybe it's time to get some payback. After we dropped the cluster, we kept waiting for more to come, but they never did. We even thought about going back to the strip mall and cleaning house on those 100 zombies, but we were afraid we might be overrating our own abilities...And we didn't know how we'd handle it if Mike was one of them.

When we finally got back on the road, the trip started out pretty much uneventful. The roads were still clear. Well, almost. There was a blockage on Dundee Road that wasn't there before--it couldn't have been, or we wouldn't have made it. It was a school bus, a yellow school bus, overturned in the road with a couple of cars crashed around it. We're not sure how it got there, but we agreed it was bad news--Matt thought it was a classic ambush. Luckily we saw it far enough ahead that we were able to take an alternate route (thanks to Heidi's new binoculars). We actually took an extra night because we detoured up through Palatine and set up our own ambush, waitingto see if anybody followed us (we didn't want to lead anyone back to the camp). Nobody came, though. I still wonder where that bus came from. Anyway, we made it back acouple nights ago and nobody has showed up at our door (human or zombie), so maybe we're just paranoid. We're alive. These days it's one and the same.  

Thursday, August 4, 2011

In Memory of Mike-the Zombies Took Another One

Sorry for the coarse way in which I informed you of Mike's death--it's been a long week. I guess you didn't know him anyway so it probably doesn't matter. As you can imagine, we've become a little callous about death here--after the first 100 million or so, deaths start to lose meaning. It's been a while, though. We lost Kevin in the Sam's Club a month or two ago, but he had just joined us--nobody really knew him. Mike...Well, we all liked Mike. Mike deserves better.

I remember the day he joined us. It was still early in the outbreak; we were really just getting started. Most of the people who joined us were friends and relatives of the core group (Heidi, Shawn, Matt and I) and everyone was coming with their family photos and heirlooms and whatever survival gear they thought they'd need. Everybody brought bottled water, it seemed (thankfully). Nobody knew Mike or knew how he found us. He just showed up at our door carrying nothing but a box of doughnuts. I'm terrible with names, so for the first month, I just called him "Doughnuts." He never seemed to mind.  

So here's how it happened. We had toyed with the idea of making up some grand story about how he sacrificed himself to save us in some great zombie battle royale, but it doesn't seem right to make his memory a lie--besides, it seems like nobody really gets a hero's death during the zombie apocalypse. The truth is, we made it all the way to Hoffman Estates almost without incident. We had to clear a few cars and we saw some zombies along the way (some followed us, but we out-distanced them), but we made pretty good time and we were actually at the intersection of 59 and Higgins not long after nightfall on our second night (we mainly traveled at night--I still think the zombies mainly hunt by sight). That intersection is where it all went bad.

We were in two vehicles--three of us in the Blazer and two of us in the pickup. We've agreed not to say who was where, other than that Mike was driving the pickup. There's this little strip mall at the intersection (a Target, a Caribou Coffee, etc.). Well, we turn onto Higgins to head toward Cabelas and about 100 zombies come pouring out of the mall. Mike panics, hits the gas and flips the truck. His passenger made it out, but Mike was pinned with 100 zombies coming at him. I guess a hero would have made a stand and tried to kill those zombies and save Mike's life. There are a lot of dead heroes out there. We took off. You could argue that the person in the truck could have done more to try to save him, but the bottom line is that any one of the four of us would have done the same thing. You don't live this long by worrying about the people you have to leave behind. Matt fired a few shots to try to blow up the gas tank (pretty near impossible, I've heard, unless the tank is empty) and then he fired toward the driver's side to spare Mike from what comes next. Judging by what we heard as we drove away, I don't think he was successful.

The mission was a success--we're loaded on ammo and supplies now--but the cost was high. I don't think any of us who were on that trip are going to be able forget what we saw and heard that night. We did learn something, too. The zombies are starting to cluster--that's why we don't see so many of them anymore. They find a building with somebody in it and literally hundreds of them gather around. We suspected that was happening, but now we know for sure. I guess we did well to dispose of our watcher last month before his friends arrived. This makes me think maybe there were some other survivors in that strip mall where the 100 zombies came from. Maybe our distraction helped them to escape, assuming they wanted to escape. I guess now we know how to find survivors--look for concentrations of zombies.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

We're back

We made it. We got stuff. We lost Mike. The zombies are still out there. I haven't slept in three days. I'm going to bed . More tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Where Are They?

When Roger and the guys were getting ready to leave they figured it would take 5 days,
this is day 7. For the last 48 hours there has been a continuous lookout for them.
We’ve had to re-tape the binoculars twice. I have lost count of how many times someone
has shouted “I see them!” only to discover it was the wind blowing some shrubbery
around. I guess if you will it hard enough you can trick your eyes into seeing anything.

The real kicker is that Sharon, Dave, George, Stan, Amy, Nancy and Kyle took off today.
Shawn and I said fine, but you can only take with you what you brought. They started
to argue about how that wasn’t fair and they should at least be able to take some food
and water. We told them the food and water belonged to the group and since they
didn’t want to be part of the group they get nothing. So they stormed off with a lot of
shouts on how we were making a bigger deal out of this situation than what it was.
Shawn and I both agree we are better off without them.

So now there are only 12 of us left here. Luckily all the organizing and packing is done.
We exercise, do our shifts on look out and nap. Everyone has been pretty quiet, we are
all feeling isolated and afraid – the last few months have all been so unreal – I think it’s
finally catching up with us.

I have to go now, Shawn is on his way over to talk about what we should do if the guys
don’t come back. I do not want to have this conversation – maybe if I just keep
typing . . . please let them show up soon.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

It's Been Too Quiet

We haven't seen any Zombies. Days? Weeks?

For those that have been living in denial there is this excitement that they have made it. They're busy making plans to go back to their homes and pick-up where they left off. I wish them good luck with that. Delusions are only good if they don't get you killed.

Sarah and I have spent months trying to talk sense into those people and even when they could hear the screams of those who left it still didn't sink in for them. According to them it's all been a temporary set-back.

The rest of us are feeling a deep dread. Why haven't we seen any Zombies? Are they hiding? Did somebody else manage to kill them off? Did they just die? I'm just afraid one of these days we're going to go out on a foraging run and round a corner to see like 100,000 zombies. It scares the hell out of me.
So we continue with our plans, we continue preparing. We have to keep pushing forward, because the alternative really sucks.

Well this is day 4 - the guys should be back tomorrow. I can definitely feel the anticipation building. It will be fun to see what they found, it sort of feels like Christmas is coming!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Are you a zombie yet?


Heidi again. There is a subject we don’t talk about – ever, our families.
A few of the people in our group actually have their spouses and kids with them. The kids are great to have around, it keeps us reminded of what we’re working for. The flip side is that some of the people had to destroy their zombie friends and family. I’m grateful I didn’t have to go through that, but for those that did . . . well, let’s just say there are some haunted looks and screaming at night.
My whole family is in Wisconsin. I transplanted several years ago. Of course when this thing started I tried calling my family– no luck. Not long after we settled in here, back when cell phones still worked, I noticed this office tower that looked pretty close, so one night I snuck out to get closer.  Not the brightest thing to do, but I was feeling desperate. I left a “good-bye cruel world” letter on my sleeping blanket, just in case I didn’t make it back. I figured if I ended up as a zombie midnight snack at least the rest might feel bad about my demise instead of pissed off that I went out alone. Of course the tower was much further away than what it appeared at first. Once I started though, I just couldn’t stop. I stayed on all fours and just kept crawling. When I got to the tower my phone was showing a moderate signal so I called Mom and Dad. Their phone started ringing and my heart started racing – was it possible? After four rings the voice mail came on:
“Hi, we’re not home right now as my husband tried to kill me, so in self-defense I killed him. He didn’t get any better so I chopped off his head, because that’s what everyone else is doing. I don’t want to die and be a zombie so I am going to take the car and my husband’s body to the dump and I’m going to set us on fire. If our daughters hear this message please know that your father and I loved you both very much. Please be safe and survive this horror. Just remember to chop off their heads. Oh, and you don’t need to leave a message.”  (Mom always was the practical one.)
I sat at the bottom of the tower for awhile wondering how my sister and her family were doing. I figured I’d had enough “news” for one night, so I got down on all fours again and crawled back. I stopped twice because I smelled zombies, but I’m not so sure now as my mind was wondering a bit. I was able to make it back before anyone woke up, got rid of my “letter” and went to bed. I remember staring at the wall unable to sleep. By the morning I had almost convinced myself that it was all a dream. Maybe it was. who knows.
Whatever it was, real or dream, i made me think about all the tragedy around me. It was a defining moment realizing that I could give up – like some of our group, or be strong and do what needs to be done and survive.
I want to survive.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Guarding the Homefront

It's me, Heidi. We said “Good-Luck” to Roger, Matt, Justin, Mike and Corey today. They took off for Cabela’s. There were some heavy conversations about what supplies we would need. It was finally agreed that if it wasn’t “Survival” related we didn’t need it. The only thing I really wanted to add to the list was binoculars. We only have one pair here and they are existing only because we found some duct tape to hold them together. Louie found them shortly after we holed up here in this building. Unfortunately, he was so excited about the “find” that he dropped them running up the stairs to the roof to show us. (we don’t let Louie handle valuables anymore.) Once we hit the road binoculars will be vital in scouting out the area and any problems we encounter.

Anyway, Shawn and I have been left in charge of those staying behind. The first thing we had to deal with was the whining from those who wanted to leave. We did our best trying to talk “sense” into these people. Finally Shawn just told them that if they wanted to leave that was fine with him, but they had to wait for Roger and the others to get back first. No one was more surprised then me when they agreed. I have been quietly urging these people to see reason for months and all I got was dirty looks and rude comments. Well after today they won’t be getting anymore sympathy from me. As long as they are staying for now they will be useful. We have work to do on the vehicles we are taking when we leave this place, as well as cleaning the few pieces of clothing we have and organizing the food and water we have left.

Shawn and I are now working on a schedule for roof top surveillance. Keeping everyone busy will hopefully cut down on anxiety levels while the guys are gone.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Growing and Going

We've got two new survivors who joined us today--Geoff and Cynthia. They seem like nice twenty-somethings, a couple. It was one of those things we were wondering about--they were holed up in a building like 2 blocks from us, living on rainwater and rice. For some reason I have yet to understand, they must have had like 50 bags of rice--they're already okay in my book; I love rice. Anyway, we apparently shop at the same stores. We found them in the 7 Mart or whatever the heck it is while we were scrounging for power bars, batteries and water. I think we were the first non-zombies they've seen in a long time--they were really happy to join up.

Now it's almost like we know what we're doing. We've got supplies and even a destination. We want to hit a sporting goods store, hoping to grab some weapons and survival gear (I know, I know--maybe that would have been a good idea like 5 months ago). Heidi suggested Bass Pro Shops up in Gurnee because it has (or had) everything we need and because she knows the layout of that mall pretty well and could probably get us in and out of there easily. My issue with that is that it's in a mall. Every clown who ever saw "Dawn of the Dead" will be heading to a mall, and that's the biggest one in northern Illinois. It's been ransacked at best, at worst, it's full of zombies or whacked-out survivalists trying to start a new world order. No thank you.

I managed to convince the group that Cabela's in Hoffman Estates is a better bet. It's a stand-alone store in an industrial park, so the zombie count is probably low and I'm guessing not as many people thought to go there when this hit. I'm not expecting locked doors and a full inventory, but maybe we come away with a shotgun, some sleeping bags and a propane stove. I wish their website was still up--I would love to put together an accurate shopping list and get the layout of the store. We debated about whether to use a truck or golf carts to get there--it's kind of a haul. We decided to chance it with a truck, since at least it would offer us more protection than an open cart and it could hold more gear. That means I can look forward to  pushing cars out of the way all day--I can't imagine the roads are clear from here to there. If all goes well, we leave tonight. Matt's coming with me--he knows what to look for in guns, more so than I do. Shawn wanted to ride along, but I talked him out of it--we're bringing Corey instead. He's smaller and faster (and has two working knees, unlike Shawn) so he can scout for us. We're going to leave the computer here, so Heidi and Shawn will have to do the blogging for awhile (or forever, if we don't make it back).

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Creeping me out

Before this whole thing hit, I was somewhat of a "Zombie fan." I saw all the movies (Romero's original "Dawn of the Dead" being my favorite) and loved them. I saw the tv show ("The Walking Dead") and yes, I even looked at zombie webpages, places like zombiehunters.com and allthingszombie.com, but something has been kind of bugging me. More and more, I'm starting to think I've seen this blog before. I know it's a generic blog format and a million sites looked like this, but a million zombie sites didn't--they usually had black backgrounds with blood and all that other stuff that made the site look creepier.

What really got me was when we put the names at the top. I saw my name and had a total feeling of deja vu. I remember seeing this site and thinking "Oh cool, this guy is named Roger, too." I don't remember reading much of it, though. Maybe things are finally getting to me. The date stamp on this thing keeps taunting me. 2011. Could this blog actually be some kind of link to 2011? I must have watched too much Doctor Who. I'm going to have to figure out how to test this idea, though.

In the meantime,we're going to be doing a quick foraging run to get supplies for a longer trip. We've hit most of the local stores, but there's still one or two that might have something left--we really need some more bottled water and power bars and transportable stuff like that, not to mention flashlights and batteries. We haven't quite settled where the longer trip is going to be yet--Shawn wants to go toward Evanston, but I think that's suicide--the population is too high and it's too close to Chicago, but he thinks we have a better chance of finding survivors there. Heidi wants us to go up north toward Wisconsin (once a cheesehead, always a cheesehead), but she's probably not even going on this trip, so it's not up to her. I'd kind of like to go west, maybe toward Crystal Lake or Carpentersville, see if we could find some abandoned farm or something. Matt just wants to go. He's becoming more and more sullen and I think it's driving him nuts that we're not doing anything. More and more, I think he's starting to think he'd rather be out killing zombies than hiding from them. That kind of thinking got a lot of people killed--I hope we don't have to add him to the list. Everybody else in our group is just content to stay here--there's a lot of shell-shock, or PZSD (post-zombie stress disorder) as I call it. I hope they come out of it soon and start contributing, because right now they're just eating our food and drinking our water...Sorry. I've got to be more sensitive about these things.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

There really is more than one of us

Hi, this is Heidi.
Roger, the guy who has been documenting our tale so far, is busy with Matt, Shawn and the others.They’re trying to figure out where to go from here.  Good question.
There are 3 problems as far as I can tell.  First, we were lucky to happen upon a “Green” building. The solar panels have been a blessing, but we don’t know how much longer they will continue to work without maintenance and since no one has any experience with solar panels we are reluctant to tinker.
Second problem, we’re in Illinois so getting to a more temperate climate is going to be a journey on the scale of Homer’s “The Odyssey” or Frodo’s trip to Mordor. Life has become all about keeping our wits and being hyper alert.  Oh, yeah – food and water are a constant worry. That is a whole other issue. Let’s just say the zombie apocalypse thing never came up as a weight loss program before now. What with all the running around and lack of quality food, I will be the me I’ve always wanted to be in no time at all.
So, now for problem three.  This whole needing to move on has been all about continuing to survive. No Eagle Scouts in this group – we need power to run appliances. No one wants to deal with -30 below zero winters and high heat/humidity. That’s the reality. Are Zombies immune to temperature extremes? (it would be interesting to stick around here one winter and see what happens. Would they freeze up like popsicles? Would a few good whacks with an axe shatter them
like a plate glass window? Oh, well. . .) What about high or low altitudes? I guess we’re going to have to dig deep and start putting our limited science/biology knowledge to work. I see white lab coats in our future. . . .

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Zombie Apocalypse Stinks

The smell is something you never quite get used to. Imagine finding a dead animal that had been laying out in the sun for a few days. Now imagine several billion of those animals dying within a one month period. That's about what we're dealing with. We tried all kinds of things at first--wearing masks, wearing excessive cologne and perfume (I'm allergic--I'm glad we stopped that crap), and then there were the air fresheners. The last straw was when somebody who shall remain nameless insisted on putting some kind of aromatic pimp oil all over the compound. This place stunk to high heaven--we took a vote and decided we all liked the smell of death better. I guess you can adjust to anything. I won't tell you I can't smell it anymore, but I really don't think about it much anymore. It's actually a pretty good early warning system--when the smell intensifies, you've got a stumbler in the area. We actually thought we smelled something last night when a couple of us were up on the roof, but it passed. Maybe something walked by. Odd that we didn't see it. We're all getting kind of jumpy now, anyway--it's been awhile since we've seen anything.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

We're all starting to get a little stir crazy, now. We've been peeking out every window, we've even gone up on the roof at night and looked around. There is nothing but nothing out there. Is it still technically a zombie apocalypse if there are no more zombies? I know this is exactly what the hero does wrong in every zombie movie I've ever seen, but the urge to go and see what's out there is overwhelming. There are a few of us who want to move on, or at least go out on a real scouting mission, maybe go out a few miles and see if we can find some survivors. Or food.

The 1800 pound elephant in the room around here has always been food. We do our little foraging runs and we're doing okay, but the thing we never talk about is that sooner or later, there will be nothing to forage. Whether we're talking about our neighborhood or the world in general, there is a finite amount of stored non-perishable food out there. Even non-perishable is a misnomer--everything spoils eventually (except honey, as I recall--it last thousands of years. I have no idea why). This means that for the continued survival of our group or our race in general, we will eventaully face the same decision our cave-dwelling ancestors faced--hunt or farm.

I'm not even sure hunting is an option. We don't really see animals around here, except birds (I presume the zombies eat animals as well as people). If we were to kill an animal, I can't say with 100% certainty that it doesn't become an animal zombie of some kind. Can you eat a zombie, an animal zombie, I mean? Or does the affliction make it deadly to us the minute it "Dies?" This is all assuming that there are animals left out there. 4 billion flesh-eating zombies can put a good dent in the food chain, I imagine. Except fish. I bet there are still fish. Can there be zombie fish?

For that matter, I'm not sure what kind of an option farming is, either. I had a garden; I can grow carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and such, but how do you grow rice? What about wheat? If you grow wheat, how do you turn it into grain? Then what? Does anybody know how to build a good stone oven so we can bake like one loaf of bread with the wheat we spent 6 months growing? We were a society dependent upon the idea that other people and machines would do the work for us. Nobody knows how to do anything here. We're security guards, computer geeks, cashiers, salespeople--none of us have skills that apply to the world the way it is now. The fact that we're still alive is nothing short of a miracle. Of course, maybe we're alive because of who we are. When this thing hit, we had no delusions about fighting the zombies or saving our distant relatives downstate or joining the police citizen militias to help keep order--we just grabbed who and what we could and hid. Again, just like our anient ancestors--when the going gets tough, take to the trees and wait for the right opportunity to take over.