We got Amanda back in the RV and headed for a place on the map called Cabbage Hill. We found an open area on top of a bluff and are waiting until sunrise to head out.
Friday, March 7
This morning Amanda was up with the sun. She is all smiles and carrying on like the world is normal. I didn’t need Julia to tell me that she is masking some pretty deep pain. We’ll need to keep a close eye on that girl.
After a breakfast of canned peaches and peanut butter crackers with instant coffee, we hooked north on Route 11. The plan now is to cross over into Washington and keep heading north until we reach I-90. From there, the idea is to head to Montana or one of the Dakotas. Someplace with minimal population. We’ll be moving slow so we can scavenge as much as possible.
We are reaching Pasco now. Funny thing as we cross the Blue Bridge that spans the Columbia River, the water is beautiful. In just over a month, it seems that nature is washing man away.
Evening
A day that began so perfectly has quickly taken a turn. I’ve been separated from the others.
We stopped on this long, straight road that cuts through a rural farm area. The plan was for us to split into teams and check houses. I paired up with Reggie, Samantha and Rodney teamed, and Tim, Antonio and Julia (she insisted) formed a group. Greg stayed in the RV with Joey and Amanda.
Everybody chose a house and set off. The zombies out here are spread out, so we didn’t even need to run. You can see them staggering towards you from forever away, so, things seemed simple.
We were almost to the house we had chosen to search when these big trucks came hauling-ass down the hill opposite us and right at the RV. Greg tried to take off, but they boxed him in. It was like, whoever these folks were, they had this trap set and waiting. There was a lot of shooting, but I have no idea if anybody was hit. Reggie and I made it to an orchard on the backside of the property that the house we were heading for sits on.
It was in the orchard that we made another discovery. There are zombies hung from several of the trees. If you run through this area haphazardly, you’ll likely run right into one. Running through this at night would be certain death.
By the time we reached the other end of the orchard and came out to a big open field and rolling hills, the shouting and gunfire had stopped. We found a dry creek bed and have followed it for most of the day.
The sun has been down for several hours. There are no signs that anybody is chasing or following us. Out here in the middle of nowhere, the zombies are seemingly non-existent. Still, Reggie and I will sleep in shifts.
Saturday, March 8
You never realize how cold it gets at night until you’ve spent the night outside, huddled under a muddy coat with just yourself and the person shivering beside you for warmth. Reggie was shaking so bad at one point that I thought she was having convulsions.
The gray morning finally dawned and we walked for most of it along the ditch that we spent the night in. Occasionally I climbed out to take a look. Finally I spotted a ranch house.
It is amazing. With the houses in these parts so spread out, how did this terrible event reach the most remote of places? And where are the animals? This place had what looked like one of those mechanisms that you hook a horse up to so it can walk in circles. But there are no horses in sight.
There was a man and woman in the house. Reggie and I put them down after getting them to follow us outside. No sense having to haul a body if it has the courtesy to follow you outdoors and to a big open barn.
After throwing a bunch of hay over the two corpses, we went inside and cleaned up as best as we could. The water was freezing, but once we were clean and found some warm, dry clothes, things were a lot more pleasant.
At one point we heard distant gunfire. There is no way to tell if it was from the same folks who attacked us. I can’t believe it happened so quickly. I mean, one moment we are simply foraging for food and supplies, not hurting anybody, and now….
We’ve taken up in what seems to be the master bedroom. Reggie is sleeping and I am walking to and from this room and the other couple on this floor, keeping lookout.
Nothing will be able to sneak up on us without plenty of advance warning.
Sunday, March 9
I saw a plethora of reasons today illustrating why we need to scavenge what supplies we can and get out of this house.
All day we saw those never-sleeping, always-on-the-move, walking corpses. Sometimes just one. But usually they came in groups. All Reggie and I could do was stay absolutely silent.
We learned a valuable lesson about their senses…they can see shadow movement. At one point today, we were watching this lone straggler—a boy in his early teens by our guess—pawing at a tree in the backyard. He wasn’t eating the bark, but we figured he was feeding on bugs. He was acting like a monkey grooming another monkey. I mean, he’d claw and pick, then bring his hand to his mouth, so it seems like a logical conclusion about the whole eating bugs thing. Reggie moves up closer to me so that she can see better because, frankly, it was kinda interesting. Now the zombie was sorta standing with his body turned, putting us directly on his left. As soon as Reggie moved, that thing froze! Its head turned in that bird-like way they have and it tilted its face up more towards us. Next—and this was creepy—it seemed to scan the whole side of the house. When it got to our window…it stopped. Then, its arms just shot up and it made this wet mewling sound as its whole body turned and it started for us.
I had to run downstairs with my bat and get to it as quick as possible. I sure as hell didn’t want it breaking a window or pounding on a door. Sound really carries now in all the silence. I waited for it to get in range…
It’s odd. I looked at it without seeing that this thing was a person once. Somebody’s son. A child really. His sickly blue-gray color made his blonde hair stand out in stark contrast. He had a really nasty bite on his left forearm like he had thrown it up to fend off an attack. Since that was the only bite, I’m guessing he got away…then died. Slowly. Painfully.
It took seven swings to crush his skull.
We’ll leave tomorrow a couple of hours before sunrise…around 5 a.m.
Monday, March 10
Early morning
Lots of gunshots today. Coming from back the way we came. I am guessing that it is the same folks that got my group. They probably ambushed another unsuspecting party passing through.
I wonder if this is what humankind was like in ancient, or even medieval times. Roaming bands…all at war with one another over nothing.
It is amazing how truly primitive we are as a species.
Evening
Reggie and I have decided to creep back towards where we lost everybody. It isn’t that we feel we owe anybody, or that the two of us can pull off some dramatic rescue. It is simply that we need to know what happened.