Saturday, July 12
Took a pair of deuce-and-a-half trucks and rolled out early this morning. It was a bit of déjà vu. I hope this run is not as ill-fated as the Noxon run. Supply runs are actually sorta fun. It is like shopping with an unlimited credit card and somebody else pays the bill. Now before you start stereotyping me as just-another-girl-who-likes-to-shop, I will say in my defense that I only did it back in the pre-zombie days when my best friend Corinne Flotsky wanted me to go. And whether you’re a guy who went to Home Depot or a gal that had to get her Macy’s fix …shopping is shopping.
So there.
Snoe led us to a relatively deserted road called East French Gulch Road where we were able to drive into this walled- in private golf course. She said this was the best staging point. From here we can cross under I-90 and sneak into Coeur D’Alene then, in teams of four, all equipped with two-way radios, we can fan out in search of supplies.
I teamed with Derrick Arndt, Gene Tasker, and Cera Lee. We hit a hardware store for tools and such, then a sporting goods place which turned out to be a total bust. Looters—as well as zombies—have taken or ruined so much. Our luck was better in private residences. We found plenty of abandoned weapons, often with ammo supplies in reach. Lots of shotguns and hunting rifles as well as handguns. Strangely, clubs, bats and that sort of thing are not as common. Maybe people started to catch on that shooting should really be a last resort unless you’re in a position where drawing a bunch of attention isn’t going to greatly increase the chance you will be bitten. Basically anyplace high up or without windows.
Food is another matter. It is getting almost impossible to find anything you can actually consume. Even a lot of dried foods are turning moldy now. Stale corn chips and crackers are okay, but salsa and dip are off the menu. We are unwillingly becoming vegetarians, and, as the junk food has begun to turn, we are left with canned soups, ramen noodles, and the Hawaiian favorite…Spam. Or, as I’ve divided them…condensed liquid salt, dry salt, and jellied, greasy, meaty salt. The only things that taste good anymore are the stuff from the gardens.
Oh…there are also various powders and such from the stores that used to cater to those perversely obsessed workout types. So’ I’ve described our dietary staples. We are fully stocked with a variety of that junk—minus fresh garden veggies—guns, tools, generators, and fuel.
I am noticing that a lot of places are sporting a spray-painted “X” which is our sign that the location has been thoroughly sacked. We are having to venture further into town with each trip. We had enough “company” during our run today. Nothing we couldn’t handle, but pretty soon we’ll be going in where the zombies are thick.
Something to consider.
Sunday, July 13
Spent today with Joey and his new family: Colleen and Tim. We hung out down at the river. I might as well enjoy wearing a two-piece while I can. In a few months, not only will it be getting chilly, but I will be getting rounder.
I’m pretty sure that nothing I do now will cause any problems or complications. Who knows, if the Noxon compound is nice, maybe I’ll stay there to have the baby. Best not get too worked up about things until I know I’ll be alive to see it through. After all, that is the reality we live in.
Am I cynical? Maybe.
Monday, July 14
First time we’ve seen the zombies at our complex. Sure, it was only one. But one zombie, when you are just not expecting it, can wreak havoc. Even after our report about that migrating herd we encountered, nobody, myself included, expected to see anything out here in the middle of nowhere. To make matters worse, it was a creeper.
That zombie caused a lot more trouble than the usual horrid death here at good ole Irony, USA.
It happened this morning at about five. It was the first scream that told everybody one of them had found us. Of course, initially, we had no idea if it was one, or a hundred, or a thousand. I was up and running, crossbow in hand, before the sleepiness had even cleared my brain.
I ran down the main—I guess it is nothing more than a really wide path—avenue and before I got to the rope ladders, Snoe, Derrick, and Larry Bonn were right there with me. We were climbing down when the second scream sounded…a bit different in pitch, but obviously the result of somebody being torn into by a zombie. It was coming from the other side of the stream, which was a good sign. That was the last bit of good news for us today.
Crashing through the brush, we burst into a clearing to see Greg Chase, that thirty-two-year-old, African-American… black…hell, does it matter anymore…anyways, that guy has this creeper by what is left of its torso and he is pounding it on a rock. Only, two things; first—he is buck-ass naked and bleeding bad from one arm, second, curled up in the fetal position, covered in blood, is Marissa Blaney, one of those kids (she was fourteen) also naked.
Snoe simply walked up behind Greg, put a bullet in the back of his head, then turned to Marissa and, while the girl was looking at me as I put a crossbow bolt in the zombies head, shot her in the temple. I guess we’re not waiting to see if they’ll turn anymore.
By now, thirty or so people are catching up. Any chance of containing this vanished with their arrival. There can be no disputing what was going on with Greg and Marissa. Also, the folks at Irony now know that no place is safe from the threat of the undead plague.
At dinner, the main conversation was who is having sex with whom. What should be done about it…and how will it be enforced.
I’ve never been happier to be leaving this place. These next three days can’t go fast enough. Until the 17th, I’m going into hiding and, unless it has to do with my team or the trip, I’m not coming out.
Thursday, July 17
Early Morning
I’ll be surprised if Irony is still in one piece when I—if I—get back. Once more I’ve left the rugged Cougar Peak area and the relative, if not falsely relied upon, security of the community known as Irony, USA. Once more I set out for the Noxon/Trout Creek area and an abandoned religious sect’s compound. The thrill of being out in the uncertainty has me actually giddy with anticipation.
Maybe I am an adrenaline junkie.
Evening
We made excellent time today. Tonight we are camped beside a beautiful blue river surrounded by pine trees. As the sun sets, it is almost completely silent. I did see a bird, a really big one, gliding in the cloudless sky.