Writers note: New computer is here and getting set up. New posts coming soon! thanks for your patience.

Note to readers:

Due to a computer failure i will un able to update The ZD for some time. my apologies to all readers, and i wil try to get back up and running ASAP. Thanks for your patience!

We suited up the next morning and headed back to the job. the first house had all its tape intact so we were good to go. However several others had broken seals. we picked one and fell into standard entry position and Alice breached the door. When she pulled it open dead heads spilled out like cockroaches. Jay Held the trigger back on his FPW and cut them down like a lawn mower. I fell into position behind him and he rolled out of the way when his FPW ran dry. I fired in short bursts at the few remaining targets. We pulled back and assesed out options. There were more of them in there, of that i was sure, but how to draw them out. Jed was standing on top of the barricade and yelled down for us to wait a minute. he hoofed it back to the house and returned with a boom box from my basement. He set it on the barricade, cranked the volume to the max and pressed play.

hardcore death metal screamed from the speakers. Matt winced, Alice started dancing, Me and Jay were basically impassive. until the dead heads started pouring out the door. We formed a firing line and started cutting them down. They came after the music like flies to honey. Alice's shotgun ran dry and she pulled both pistols, one in each hand. Dual wielding pistols was nearly impossible to do with accuracy but she cut down dead heads with aplomb. We slowly pulled back to the cattle panels as we were running low on ammo. the dead heads piled up in front of us.

Anyway back to the sweep and clear. the next morning we suited up. We dressed in denim jeans and close fitting heavy shirts. gloves, laceless boots, and denim balcavas finsihed the cloth. We had scrounged some bits of riot gear from the police station for shins, elbows and knees and i broke out several fritz helmets from my stash. Clear goggles finished the ensemble. we taped every seam with duct tape and then donned our tactical gear. So we could tell who was who we taped name plates front and back on our helmets. Me, Jay, and Matt carried our FPWs and Alice carried her 870. i had fitted it with a breaching muzzle break the night before. She was our door kicker. She had a wild disposition when dead heads were involved. Jed covered the house exterior and barricade.

We first wrapped each house with a complete line of tape. that was our indicator of coming and going. One at a time we entered. If the door was locked, Alice blew the locks with her shotgun and jay covered the door while she opened it. We left no corner unsearched. we had been through these houses before, scavenging but it was cursory at best. cupboards to toilet tanks we left nothing to chance. Basements were the worst. dark, dank, some with water in them. Matt taped a flashlight to the forearm of his FPW and led the way with Alice at his side. She had put a surefire light on the foreend of the 870 for visibility. the first house was the worst, as it was a learning expierince. it took a full day to clear. We were sweaty and tired by the time it was 100% cleared. we taped everything for later inspection and in case we had a problem later. All the windows and doors were shut and taped so we knew if anything entered or exited the house.

That night we scrubbed and racked out without much fanfare. We were beat. And there was more to come.

"I was in some littel dump called Hoover with a flat tire on my car when the outbreak hit. Another carload of tourists were there inside this crappy littel gift shop that had a gas pump and a small repair shop. i heard a large commotion inside the shop and stuck my head out the shop door. I nearly got clipped by a 45 slug that bounced off the doorsill. i took cover and the gunfire continued for more than a minute. The mechanic got hit by a stray rifle round and was down. I took cover behnd some oil barrels. when the shooting stopped i peeked out and saw no movement. I was wearing high heels and was in no shape to wander around. then i spotted fluids running out from under my car. the engine had caught a shotgun slug and was mortally wounded. the other car was already burning. I cursed my bad luck and stepped into the gift shop.

it was an ugly mess. apprently there had been someone who had turned in teh back room and had broken out. THe shopkeeper opened up with a shotgun and apprently one of the shoppers had been armed with a pair of 45s. no one survived. I helped myself to the weapons and some better clothing and boots. i found a few boxes of shotgun ammo under the counter and three spare clips for the 45 in the waistband of one guys pants. not much, but enough. No wheels were to be found except a crappy riding lawn mower. I can walk faster than that piece of crap drives. I was afoot. i dug through the shop and found some food and drinks i stuffed in a schoolbag i found in the shop. it was cold out so i grabbed a heavy coat from the rack as well. it was at least 50 miles back to the nearest stop so i walked farther north. After several hours walking I spotted a farm some distance ahead. the farmhouse was burned out but teh barn and machine shed were intact. the vehicles were gone but they had overlooked a Ford 4000 tractor. It took me a bit to figure it out but i got it running and filled it with diesel fuel from a tank i found. It was slow but 25 MPH was better than walking. I gunned down several dead heads along the way and for some reason i decided pierre was the place to go. I ended up there after a couple days of driving and i acquired a taste for killing dead heads along the way. the rest of what you see, came from killing dead heads and work in pierre."

The four of us sat around the table drinking whiskey and listening to her story. It was a hell of a tale for sure.

God i forget how bad the hangover after a two day bender can be. Well lets get this all written down. it may take a couple days worth of entries but ill get it done.

The first day the mechs were still around and they helped us crusha nd lay in cars for the barricade wall. we cordoned off an area two blocks square by stacking the cars about eight feet high down the center divider. we made a alleyway to the area we cleared for the mechs trailer. kind of like a lopsided dumbell. we put up simple cattle panels to block access.

That night the governor called us on the radio and we filled him in on our plans. After a moment of silence, he said "i have someone who will want to help you." We were a littel confused but we'd take all the help we could get. our unknown assitant would roll in with the truck drivers on the last loadout of equipment.

We were curious to say the least. the absolute last thing we expected to drop off the running board was a 5'11" strawberry blonde with a colt 45 on each thigh and a remington 870 marine magnum slung across her shoulder. She reached in a pulled a duffel bag out of the cab and thanked the driver for the ride. We were standing there gawking like a bunch of schoolkids. Dressed in british DPM camo and a bright red beret she was a sight.

"Close your mouths boys. Bug might fly in there." Jeds mouth snapped shut with an audible "clop" sound. She strode over with a saunter. "heard you boys were going head hunting. Mind if i join in on the action?" Matt made a sound like dying fish. "Names Alice. It used to be something else but the first guy i came across after the outbreak swore i looked like the chick in that movie "resident evil" that was named Alice. Being as everyone i ever knew was dead, i decided it was time for a change."

I nodded. She carried herself like an Amazon warrior. She'd do just Fine. I stuck out my hand and introduced myself and rest of the crew. Matt and Jed both were still standing there like mimes with the switch pulled. She walked over put her finger under jeds chin.

"Not a chance littel man. But think about this when you're spankin' your monkey tonite." then she french kissed him full on the lips. Matt about passed out. She then looked matt in the eyes and whispered something in his ear. Significantly obscene im sure. Both of them were seemingly in shock. I grinned and motioned for her to come to the house. "lets get you bunked in." i grabbed her duffel in some sort of gentelmanly attempt and its weight about tipped me over.

"Careful. thats heavy." she glanced over her shoulder at me and grinned. "I have more toys than what you can see." I LIKED this chick. Jay looked at me and started laughing his ass off.

"Dude your face is a red as a 55' corvette." I was the subject of some well deserved ribbing for a few minutes. I Led Alice into the house and set her up in the front entryway. Its tight and it gets cold in teh winter but for now it works. Alice dumped her stuff and helped us load the trucks. We filled her in on our plans for the sweep and clear. She took it all in and sat back for a while. She nodded her assent. After that we chatted a bit and she filed us in on her past. it was quite a tale.

Sweep and clear of the first sector is complete. We're going to take the weekend off and party till we drop. Its been a long slog and we need some downtime. Come monday ill put it all down here.

Summer work is going hot and heavy. the sweep and clear is almost complete. i havent been writing much as im busy and tired. typical summer i guess.

I dont really know how to commemorate memorial day in light of our current situation. I am a vet but out of our small group the only one. both of the boys are too young and Jay never served either. everyone is a vet of the dead head wars, but that is more about survival that anything else.

With no better ideas I simply raised a flag this morning and gave er' a sharp salute.

Still working on the sweep and clear. ill write out a full detailed descrition of it when im not so tired out.

been busy with the sweep and clear. we got the trucks loaded and out yesterday inbetween pushes. ugh, im SO tired, plus we lost the mechs as they went back to pierre with the last truckloads.

Spent all day setting crushed cars. im beat.

Got the last of the equipment rolling and ready to go today. the mechs are packng up and geting ready to head back to pierre. They are going to help us set up the first sweep and clear barricade before they go. that will be tomorrow and wedsday probably.

took today off. not feeling very well. its windy outside again so is a good day to veg out in the house.

Well we got all the trucks loaded up and rolled out. the drivers had a letter from the governor with a list of remining equipment the wanted. most of it we dont have. they were looking for a asphalt burner, sweepers and other oddball stuff. The only thing we have left on the list is a couple of farm tractors. there are plenty of fords and new hollands out at lindskovs we can get rolling. The drivers said thye'd be back next friday to pick them up and take the mechs back with them. It should only take a couple days to get them ready to go so ill have them help set up the first sweep and clear barricade before they go.

storm tuesday did a crapload of damage. lots of shingles missing, couple broken windows and the hail beat the shit out the trialers the mechs are living it. the equipment came through OK for the most part. bust trying to get everything patched up before the next blow comes through.

Storms' coming. Been muggy and hot all day. Usually the mosquitos are out in force on a day like this but i havent been bit by one since the outbreak. same with flies, and most small insects.

anyhow dark, dark clouds in the west. gonna be a gully washer for sure. i told the mechs to batten down the hatches. thier trailers probably arent eh best cover for a strong thunderstorm.

Got about all the cars we need crushed for the sweep and clear today. the mechs helped again and we plowed along all day. Jed mad eus a treat for lunch, he found a jug of powdered lemonade and fixed up almost two gallons of it. we drank until we nearly burst. I think tomorrow we'll work on equipment again. Pierre was on the radio this morning saying they'll be sending a convoy of trucks on friday. We have several pieces of equipment ready and we're abotu done with what pierre says they need. Ill be sorry to see the mechs go. they are good help around here.

the boys do a good job but they really arent capable of a full mans workday just yet. They never had time to grow up fully because of ht eoutbreak and poor nutrition afterwards has kept them thin and wiry. Matt is about ready to start running large equipment but for now ill keep him in the smaller stuff. id hate to see the kid lose control of the 688 cat and plow a hole in something important.

More sunshine, plenty of work.

we're starting to crush cars again for our sweep and clear plan. the mechs crush them and me and Jay move and place them. Matt and Jed watch our backs for dead heads and scout cars for us. Lots of work but we've almost got one sector blocakded and ready to sweep.

Really busy the last few days. good weather outside has led us to long days of hard work. Tired as heck from building upkeep and repairs and worig on equiment. at least the dead heads havent been bothering us.

time to think about gardening. Jed tilled up about 200 feet or more to get started. i scrounged him seeds from the hardware store and some garden implements. hes got plenty of gusto and i hope he keeps it up.

windy today. like sand blowing, not get anything done wind. We begged out in the house for the most part. I fired up my laptop and dug out a few old Star Trek TNG discs. The mechs showed up with popcorn and iced tea and we had a bang up good time. the wind is down now so maybe ill head out and round up the lawn mower. the gras is getting kinda tall already.

Ugh im tired. we moved several pieces of equipment around today and ended up replacing one of the tracks on an excavator. my back is about shot.

had a large group of dead heads move in this afternoon. Jed was on watch at the barricade and rang the alarm bell. he scavenged a 18" gong bell somewhere and hung it inside the barricade to use for alarms. The mechs all have M16s and Me, Jay and Matt all had our FPWs. there was about 30 of them, in fairly good condition (considering) that came out of the east. It took close to an hour to get all of them and another couple hours to clean up the mess afterwards. I hope this isnt a harbinger of the sumer to come.

quiet day. teh mechs took the day off and goofed around with rimfire rifles we loaned them most of the day. it rained in teh afternoon for aocuple hours and me and Jay played chess for a while. nice quiet, relaxing day.

SW

Beautiful weather this weekend. spent most of the time outside working. We got another excavator and a truck ready to go. i dont know when the drivers will come back for another load but we're working hard to have loads ready.

the dead heads make thier presence known from time to time but they are more of an annoyance now. we still keep a watch for them, night and day in the warm weather. usually Matt or Jed. those two boys have a natural knack for spotting and sounding dead heads. its uncanny how far away they can pick them out.

The truckers came back for another load today. Matt rolled in with them. His hand is wrapped up but he said its fine. The doc said to keep him off strenuous duty for a while till his hand heals up. We loaded up the two excavators and a 5 ton truck to go back. They didn’t plan to stay. Just before we left I asked them to come down to the shop with me and I gave them the table and dart board. They were stoked to say the least. They loaded them up and with much thanks pulled out.

Jed did a little fishing today. He ended up draggin up two dead heads off the river bottom and no fish. Sigh.

The governor himself came on the radio today. He thanked us for the equipment and said he would send the trucks back for more and send a fuel tanker as well. We were getting short of diesel.

The mechs worked all day on another excavator. Basically the same problems as the first except both tracks were seized and there were electrical problems with this one. It seems sitting outside for over a year with zero maintenance isn’t exactly easy on equipment.

Me and Jay mostly worked with the mechs. Jed held down the fort. The kid is growing up fast. He plans to put in a large garden and wants to start a fish farm too.

The river is open now so fishing may be an option. Id KILL for some fresh walleye fillets.

Heavy rain kept us inside most of today. the mechs came over and we played cards for several hours hoping it would slack off but it was steady all day today. Meh, just another lost day i guess.

The mechs helped us set up the radio this morning so we could get in contact with Pierre. After contact was established and verified, we asked about Matt. The doctor said while he couldn’t save the finger, He had sewn up the stump and given some time would be fine. He said Matt was in good spirits as well.

We all breathed a little easier after hearing that. An injury like that can be a killer in this day and age.

We worked hard today and got the excavator fixed up and ready to go. The mechs don’t know it but im fixing up a surprise to send back with them. I went down to the old shop and fixed up a pool table and dart board to send back with them. They said none of the bars survived the outbreak and there wasn’t much to do for entertainemnt unless the governor invited you in for a movie night. I thought some pool and darts would go over well. Jay helped me get it all ready.

A few dead heads showed today, but they are getting pretty ragged. Given another season i don’t think there will be too many left barring a fresh outbreak somewhere.

Bad day today. Matt lost a finger when we were loading the trucks. His hand got caught in a load binder and pinched off the pinkie finger on his right hand. The driver felt awful as he was on the other side adjusting his chains and had cuased the binder to jerk. He and Matt immediately loaded up and headed for Pierre. That kind of injury is beyond my abilities and the driver said they had good doctors at the capital. I put together a pack for Matt and handed his FPW to the driver. They moved out ASAP. The remaining two trucks finished loading, we shook hands all around and the left. The mechs decided to stay and keep working on equipment.

Spent most of today working on the equipment. The bulldozer and front end loader were easy. The took right off as soon as we had fresh fuel in the tanks and the batteries charged up. The excavator proved a tough nut to crack. The left track was seized and we had to rock it loose, then several hoses on the boom arm split when we tested it. it’s a mess. We got some of it fixed but we’re short on hydraulic parts. The radio gov Rounds sent back with us hasn’t been set up yet so we cant ask. The mechs made the call to leave it for the next trip and move onto something else. They chose two. A light duty backhoe and a pavement chipper. The chipper choice I thought odd until they explained their main source of concrete had been old concrete they tear up and re-use. The chipper would make it easier to dig up. Those two were running in a short tiem as well. We had ot change the back tires on the backhoe as they were badly weather checked and poor. We’ll load everything tomorrow and get the truckers on their way.

We found a nice trailer for the workers today. 40 foot long deluxe bueaty. Sleeps 8 according to the books we found in it. Good thing the folks that owned it don’t need it anymore. We set it up inisde the secondary barricade and now have the house to ourselves.

We went down to the sand and gravel outfit and assessed what we could get going. The mechs decided to prep and return with a D8 bulldozer, hitachi track excavator and a caterpillar front end loader. It should be relatively easy work to get them rolling. Fresh fuel, charge the batteries and air up the tires on the front end loader. A little priming and grease here and there and they should be good to go.

Well we got everyone together and made our plans this morning. We will build a second barricade, contiguous to ours to house the trucks and equipment. Matt also forwarded the idea of moving in a trailer of some kind to house all the workers while they are here. (It is getting crowded in the house) We decided to enclose a section to the east of us. Matt pulled the party poppers out and the mechanics made short work of crushing and stacking the cars needed to build the walls. The gate was constructed the same as the original barricade gate. Several dead heads made their preence known as the project consumed the day and we made short work of them. The mechs and drivers proved themselves excellent shots. We finished the project in a single day except for housing. We’ll leave that for tomorrow

We drove down the main drag in Pierre and saw no one and nothing that moved. We figured if anyone was alive it would be around the capital building. We weren’t wrong.

There was a military checkpoint about two blocks from the capital built into a dirt and debris berm, topped with steel sheeting and concrete. The checkpoint was manned by SD national guard troops. Jay opened his viewport and spoke to them. He told them who we were, and where we came from, and that we were looking for his family. The guard nodded and waved to the gateman. The gate swung open and we drove indside the compound.

Our arrival made no small amount of commotion. We handed Ed and Mark back their weapons and bid them goodbye. They thanked us for the ride and left. The guard troops were suspicious of us and kept us discretely covered all the time. A man came up and asked who we were and what we were here for. We explained ourselves and asked if Jays family had made it. The man said hed check into it but in the meantime Governor Rounds had requested the visitors be brought to him.

We trooped inside the capital building where the guards requested we turn over our personal weapons. There were some small moments of tension when we both refused and said we would leave if required to be disarmed. Then a booming voice from the end of the corrdor silenced the guards.

“You let them boys by! If they made it this far they certainly arent going to go gunning down anybody who don’t need it!”

Apprently Gov Rounds still had his rather cavalier attitude about life. He invited us into his office. A M-16 leaned on the desk and he had a 1911 .45 pistol on his belt. Pretty much everyone we had seen was heavily armed.

“You boys drink?” we both nodded and he poured a stiff drink for us. He stood and offered a toast.

“To meeting new faces.” we clinked glasses and drank. It was mightly smooth ill say that. Packed a wallop too. He sat and leaned back.

We filled him in on the events that had transpired in the months since the outbreak. He seemed quite disturbed when we told him about the dead head horde that besieged us. When we finished he mulled things over for a bit and then spoke.

“well id say you boys did one hell of a job keeping yourselves alive. Putting together your barricade and that mighty dangerous looking vehicle speaks to your ingenuity. We have around 450 people here now. Most are state workers and military but some are civilian. We evacuated the civilians south in the first stages of the outbreak. There is a large tract camp in the dry lands in new mexico that is secure and most of the refugees are there. “

Jay asked about his family at this point and Rounds called for his aide. Jay gave him all the names and addresses he had and the aide left.

“We’ll do our best to find your people but you understand records and communication is spotty at best.” Jay nodded . “I just want to know more than anything.” Rounds nodded back. “ I know the feeling.”

“Heres the deal. You boys are just fione where you are and with what youre doing. Hell its far more than most people have accomplished. Most people just hid out in their basements until someone showed up to get them. You boys have a functional, defensible and most importantly heavily armed fortress. Plus you have plans to expand and pacify. We have the same plans but lack enough heavy equipment to do so. Heres what we need to do: you guys have acces to a bunch of heavy construction equipment. If you can get it running and functional we’ll get it here. We can get you whatever supplies, fuel, weapons and ammo you need. We’ll send trucks and operators when you tell us you’re ready. We NEED that equipment in short order. Our defenses here is rudimentary at best. If a horde like you describe would come here we could be over-run.”

“Let me and my partner here talk about this for a bit.” I answered. We retired to an anteroom where there was food and drink. We ate a bit and discussed. This would put us back time wise on our plans for expanding the barricade but the return of fuel ammo and supplies would far offset it. We put together a proposal and wrote it all out.

We returned to the governors office with our proposal.

“Here is what we can do and what you need to do in return. We will head back to Mobridge and we want you to send the follwing with us.

3 semi truck lowboys with drivers and a full fuel loads for a trip there and back
5 fully qualified mechanics to assist us with getting the equipment running
Fuel, oil and misc shop supplies
Food
Ammo
Body armor

And the trucks needed to transport said suuplies and equipment. We’ll house and take care of the people and keep them safe inside the barricade when they are not working. We will keep them there as long as you keep us in fuel, ammo and supplies. We will provide you with whatever heavy equipment there is to be had save what we need for our own use. “

Rounds mulled it over and stuck out his hand. “You got a deal.” We spent the remainder of the day picking out supplies and equipment. We spent the night in the governors mansion in the guest room. We had a DELICIOUS supper of locally grown vegetables and venison steaks after which Rounds played a movie neither one of us had seen before in the entertainment room and the cooks even made us popcorn. It was ahell fo a good night.

SUNDAY

Most of the day was spent preparing the convoy for the trip back to mobridge. The drivers and mechanics would ride in the three low boy trucks and the two remaining mechs would drive two five-ton supply trucks. We loaded down heavy with dehydrated food, 7.62 and 5.56mm ammo. We did take time out to go to church as well. It was a rather bizarre affair that was a mixture of almost every religion. We sat through it for the others sake. Afterwards we were approached by several people wanting to ride along. They had the look of leechers to me and we told them no, maybe next time. We made sure to tell gov rounds that unless he authorized them to go we didn’t want any extra people except those we required to come. There wasn’t enough supplies as it was.

Late in the day the governors aide showed up and talked to Jay for a time. Jay seemed happy and sad at the same time. He came back and talked to me. He said his folks had made it to the camp in new mexico. His dad however later died from a cholera epidemic that swept the camp. His mother and sister were there and in good health. The aide said he would send word to them the Jay as alive and well. Jay said he was happy thye made it but sad he couldn’t see them. I knew the feeling.

MONDAY

We left pierre early Monday morning. The hard part of the trip would be getting the trucks over the road we had blown. No roadblocks, gunfights or anything else deterred our trip. It had rained heavily it appeared as we got cloder to Mobridge. We halted at the bottom of tower hill and we rode death metal forward to inspect the road. Surprisngly, the hole was possibly passable. The rain had washed the edges down and made a ramp into and out of the hole. The trucks could cruise right through if they took it slow. We went back, appraised them of the situation and took it slow. We all made it through with no problems save some sweaty palms.

Matt and Jed were on pins and needles (and manning the M-60s) when we rolled up with a convoy of trucks in tow. They whooped and hollered when we started unloading the supplies we brought. We got everyone squared away and bedded in and let Matt and Jed in on the plan.

Jay Drove over to his family’s house. There were the FEMA markings on the door but we didn’t understand them. The door was ajar and we entered cautiously. The carpet was rotten and squished under our feet. I was unfamiliar with the layout and kept tight on Jay’s back. The ouse was stripped of any valubles or supplies but Jay found a few pictures and some odds and ends to take back. When we left I could see the dissapointment in his eyes. I put my hand on his shoulder.

“lets see if we can scrounge some fuel huh?”

Jay nodded and We drove back to where the two men lived and asked about gas. They said to try the stations. Most of the fuel was still there but they couldn’t find a way to get it out. We had brought along a pump and hoses so we were set.

The conoco yielded plenty of high octane and we filled all our cans and tanks. We also scrounged six five gallon gas cans, filled them and lashed them to the back bumper. Night was getting close and we needed tp find a place to laager up for the night. We picked the city park. Jay set up the cans and wires to alert us to intruders and we buttoned up for the night. We ate some chow and I bedded down in the cargo area while Jay took the first watch. I slpet until 2AM when Jay woke me and I took his place.

The night was uneventful for the most part. A group of skunks strolled by about 6AM just before the sun came up. I was surprised to see them as they were the first small mammals I had seen in nearly a year. I woke Jay around 7AM.

Saturday

We pulled up and stowed the alarm cans and we were warming up the engine when Jay spotted the two men heading towards us on pedal bikes. They aske to ride along with us. There were few supplies here and they had no transportation save the bikes. Jay and me talked about it for a bit and decided they could ride along but they would have to surrender their weapons to us first. They nodded, relived they would be allowed to go along.

Me and jay had discussed our plans for today before we did anything else. We made the decision to drive pierre to see what we could see. I couldn’t deny Jay the chance to find his family. We had plenty of fuel and supplies and it was only another 50 miles or so.

We drove south on 83 past Onida and Agar. Both were seemingly deserted. We sped by both without stopping. We could check them out on our way home if we were so inclined. We turned onto 212 without incident and drove into Pierre.

Well we made it back. Ill try to recount the event of the past few days as best i can. its been a flurry of action and writing in my journal has been the last thing on my mind.

FRIDAY

We pulled out early in the morning about the time the sun was coming up. Jay was driving and i manned the 30 cal in the top turret. the boys watched us from the barricade as we pulled out. Matt blocked the gate back up as we left. The boys could handle themselves. We headed east up old highway 12 twoards the river road and our blast crater road block. Heavy rains and runoff in the last few weeks had turned it into a lake. we headed south down the ditch and up past the old cell phone towers. It was all Jay could do to keep death metal on its wheels. the drop off ws just ahead."Hang on tight!" he yelled as we dropped over the precipice. it was about a eight foot drop at an 80 degree angle. wicked rough. I banged my head hard on teh butt of the 30 cal and saw stars for a moment. "now i know why tankers wore helmets." i thought ruefully. Jay wrestled the wheel and worked the pedals like a pro as we skittered down the backside of the greasy hill. It finnaly leveled out by the old Simms place and we got back on the highway. Glenham was just ahead.Glenham appeared to have burnt to the ground not long after the dead heads took over. mostly just crumbling foundations and the occasional solitary chimney stood. Hoagies bar was still partially standing but looked long abandoned. Jay asked if i wanted to stop. i told him no, to keep going. Selby was another 18 miles ahead.


Selby was in much the same condition as Glenham. mostly burned ruins. the courthouse was the lone exception. The windows had been fortifed and it appeared to have been a stronghold. the walls were scarred with smoke trails and dismembered deadheads were in a shallow ring around it. I yelled to Jay to stop so we could scope it out. We shut off the engine and only silence greeted us. Jay said he would go out if i covered him with the 30 cal. I cranked the turret around, handed him one of the handheld GMRS radios and gave him the go sign. Jay popped out with his FPW ready and advanced on the courthouse. I cranked the turret around while keeping a sharp eye out teh back viewport. He did a fast 360 around the building and called the all clear. I grabbed my FPW and pulled the keys. I exited the rear hatch and closed it. Jay covered my six as i quick stepped to the Door.

"Its empty by all signs. No noise, no movement. If they're playing possum. they're pretty good at it." We made out way to the fortifid front door. Unsurprisingly it was solid as a rock. We worked our way around the outside and found a broken window to the jail visitor room. Jay looked at me with knowing eyes. We crawled inside and lit it up with out flashlights. Old scenes of carnage greeted us. Blood dried black splattered the walls and rotting skeletons littered the floor. the door to the main hall stood ajar at the far end of the room. Jay covered me while i cut the pie and called clear. We ented the main hallway and swept
the room with our lights. more carnage, bullet holes, spent shell casings, and empty M16 magazines litered the floor. several of the skeletons were wearing the rotted remains of desert camo. One of them wore the tarnished bars of a captain. I flipped it over to check the weapon underneath and the name was still legible. Andserson. Didnt ring any bells. His jacket had mostly protected his M16 so i slung it and helped myself to teh four remaining magzines in his web gear. Jat had policed up a pair of beretta M9s in serviceable condidtion and a handful of mags. A fast search of the rest of the remains yeilded another half dozen magazines of 5.56 but no more serviceable weapons. Most of the corspes here were civilians.

Through the scattered light of the boarded up first floor windows and our lights we cleared to the front staircase and healed for the second floor. the stairs were heavily carpeted with spent 5.56 cases an empty M16 mags. jay policed them up. he had scrounged up a semi clean duffel somewhere and was piling our finds into it. the second floor yeilded more corpses, more carnage and more scattered supplies. Jay scored a mint M203 that was propped in a corner and i found a case of well preserved MREs and canned peaches. Most of the bodies here were soldiers with dead head scattered amongst them. there was very little ammo left here. jay picked up around two dozen mags of various stripe. the office doors hung ajar and all were empty save the last office before the third floor stairs. It was packed with bodies, and one semi rotted dead head. Jay shredded him with his FPW. the office was a charnel house. blood splatter and body parts lay in a jumble. the occupants had apprantly been cut off from the stairs and died there. the third floor was much cleaner than the first two. most of those still alive had been killed by this point in the fight it seemed. A string of 40 S&W cases led across the hallway to the roof door. several dead soldiers were by the front window, all having died by thier own hnads it seemed. One still had a rusted M9 between his jaws. We follwed the trial of 40 S&W cases onto teh roof where we found a lone corpse under the overhang of the A/C condesors. It still wore the tattered leather jacket and tarnished star of the our county sheriff. at least 30 dead heads littered the roof, surrounded by spent 40 caliber shell cases and empty magazines. There was an empty Glock in each of his hands, slides locked back, magazines empty. He had died hard. Duane was an old fart when we had elected him but he still had plenty of guts when the chips were down. He had a bullet wound in his sternum and a broken thigh bone. He had fought like alion to the end, succumbing only when all of the dead heads were vanquished. Jay walked up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Theres a shovel in the back of death metal. I think he deserves better than rotting on a roof."

After buying the sheriff Jay found a heavy piece of plastic fencing to use as a grave marker. We set it deep and i wired his glock pistols and his badge to it. I found his name plate in his office a wired it on as well. We rocked his grave over well and went on our way. I hesitated before i got into death metal and Jay looked at me questioningly. I turned and gave the sheriff a sharp salute. The way a warrior honors his comrades. Hed bought his chair at the table in valhalla.


There wasnt anything else we deemed worthy of searching in Selby so we headed south out of town. the railroad overpass had been blown so we rocked over the track crossing on the south edge of town. We got back on the highway and headed south to the interesction. The road was in terrible condition. We could manage maybe 30 MPH at best. Most of the bildings were burned or falling down at the few farms we passed. We hit the roadblock just before the turn to Hoven.

It was situated in a valley in between two steep hills. we topped the hill and spotted it. Jay yelled a warnign but bullets were already pinging into the front armor. I snugged the M-60 into my shoulder and held the trigger back. A stream of 30 caliber projectiles tore into the cars used to block the road. Jay yelled to hang on and i felt him floor the gas. i continued to spray the shooters with lead. When we got close i cranked the turret around backwards and waited the for the impact. Jay rammed one of the cars right in rear quater panel and flipped it out of the way like a toy. As soon as we passed i liad a stream of fire into the now exposed shooters. They danced like marionettes as the heavy FMj ammo tore them to bits. Jay topped the next hill and i called clear and told him to keep his foot on the gas. I popped open the cover of the M-60 and loaded a fresh belt. i then linked it into the old one fro the ammo bin and was ready to go. i cranked the turret aroudn front and dropped down. jay had dropped back down to 30 MPH. His foot beat a tattoo on teh floor from adrenalin shakes. "you good?" i yelled. he nodded and waved me back to the turret.

The road was getting better the closer we got to Gettysburg and Jay had picked up the pace a bit. The interestion to highway 212 was just ahead. Jay slowed to turn onto it and the left front tire blew. Jay got it stopped and we got out to asses the damage. Jay jacked up the truck and changed the tire while I covered him from the front glacis. We had one more spare and I hoped we didn’t need it. I didn’t relish driving on rims. Jay got back behind the wheel and we resumed our journey.

Gettysburg had a large billboard just outside of town proclaiming: “GETTYSBURG Where the battle wasn’t”. Someone had scrubbed out the “wasn’t” and painted on “ rages on” in bright red spray paint. I nudged Jay with my foot and pointed. He nodded. I looked over the town carefully with binoculars and didn’t see any oblvious threat. There were several burned out cars scattered around the visible streets and some houses were damged by fire but otherwise the town was in good shape. I spotted a flurry of movement on one side street and called out “BOGIES two o’clock!” Jay backpedaled the truck into the parking lot of a hardware store and sought cover behind a rolled over semi trailer. We were bulletprrof to most small arms but there was enough anti-armor gear floating around I didn’t want to be in the open with unknowns out there.

Jay eased the nose out until he could spot the figures. “dead heads” he pronounced. “You wanna take em or leave me be?’

I grinned ferally. “take em”

Jay roared out from behind cover and I readied the M-60 We left black marks across the pavement as Jay swung death metal through turns. The dead heads loomed in front as he made the last turn and I let them hae a stream of 30 caliber. Jay let out a rebel yell and rammed into the throng of zombies. I was firing point blank into a mass of bodies as they crunched under our wheels. Jay had a grim-reaper grin on his face and As the bodies thinned out I stopped firing to let the barrel cool as Jay turned around.

Two men had come out of a building and were firing pump shotguns into the much thinned mass of deadheads. They were exposing themselves way too much and the dead heads had the jump on them soon enough. I let loose a stream of rounds and cut them down before they could reach the frantically reloading men. They had taken cover behind a stack of used tires and were pumping rounds into the mass fast and furious. The zombies were getting thin by now and we mopped up from the safety of death metal.

The two men warily kept their shotguns pointed in our general direction as we rolled to a stop. Jay poked his head out as I covered them with the 30 cal.

“Well that was a corker eh?”

The two men looked at each other and busted out laughing. Jay grinned and I crawled out the back hatch. They came up ans shook my hand. Their names were Ed and Mark. They thanked me for getting them out of the tight spot they were in. The dead head throng had gathered arounda tree where family of squirrells had nested. The noise was like a magnet the men said. Unfortuantly their house was right in the same yard as the tree. They had been trapped for nearly a week.

When asked about the remainder of the town they shook their heads.

“right after the outbreak FEMA came In here and evacuated everyone to a camp in Kansas. It wasn’t a neat and tidy evacuation either. They just shoved people in the back of trucks and semis and pulled out. If you couldn’t carry it, you left it behind.”

They said that they had hid in the basement of the grocery store under stacks of pallets while the soldiers searched. When they left they painted signs on the doors marking how many live, how many dead head and if the home had salvageable goods. Jay nodded. The two men looked uncomfortable at each other and asked if we had any other weapons. Jay warily asked why. The men said FEMA stripped the town of every weapon they could find before leaving. They had found their shotguns behind the seat of wrecked pickup that was locked in the body shop. They were short of ammo and supplies.

Me and Jay had a short confab behind death metal and deicded to give them the M16s and M9s we found in Selby. Jay got the duffel with the weapons and supplies and gave it to them. When asked what we wanted in return, They were astounded when we said not to worry about it. They hungrily slurped up a can of peaches each as we watched and I showed them how to strip and clean the M16s and pistols. There wasn’t a lot of ammo but we gave them what we found a few extra spare mags.

Jay asked about his family and the men shook their heads. They didn’t know them and supposed they were hustled away with the rest of the evacuees. They had heard they were going to pierre to get flights down south somewhere but niether knew the route they were taking nor the final destiantion of the planes. Jay noddd his thanks and we were on our way.

My hands are tired from writing. More tomorrow.

well the weather looks good for pulling out tomorrow. everything is ready so we'll head out fairly early in the morning. ill take my diary along but i dont know if ill get time to write or not. i guess we'll see.

Well me an Jay made our plans. if the weather holds through tomorrow we're going for our east run to gettysburg. Matt and Jed both dont want to go and we figure they can hold down the fort.

This wil be shorter than the west run as its only around 160 miles round trip. we planned two days out, two days there, two days back. We went through death metal and finished up all the littel odds and ends. Matt and Jed are actualy kinda stoked to be on thier own for a few days.

Jay's mood has improved CONISDERABLY since we made the decision. I know i spent many nights wondering, and i have an answer. Jay does not.

Another nice day today. i could get used to this.

we cleaned again today for most of the day. the house is pretty dingy after the long winter so we mopped, dusted, sorted and trashed the day away. Matt worked the barricade, policing up brass and other odds and ends while the rest of us worked the house and grounds.

thangs have pretty well dried out (thank god) and the mud is mostly gone now. Me and Jay talked this evening about taking the trip east in a week or two. death metal is still prepped and ready to roll, so we can go about whenever we decide to.

Better weather today. lots of sunshine, warm breeze too. Jed pickd off the lone dead head of the day with his 20 ga. Me and Jay cleaned weapons and linked 308 for the M-60s most of the day.

Sunshine helps the depressing mood. intermittent clouds give us breaks over the courseof the day. we continued planning for the sweep and clear of town.

Guess what? it snowed again. gid i hate this white shit. this is just as bad as 96-97 was. heavy wet hard to shovel white shit. fuck im depressed.

well no snow today but i bet its coming. the yard drained a bit and things have made an attempt at drying out.

we cleaned house a bit today too. all four of us pitched in as we've been a bit lethargic of late. the lousy weather and cabin fever have made us all sleepy mroe than usual and the lack of dead heads to entertain us has left our minds empty.

when we were done cleaning we discussed some future matters. I promised Jay a trip east and he will get it. Period. Then when we're back from that we will commence a sweep and clear of as much of the town as we can. we talked about the moving wall method and decided it has its merits for clearing but we need to erect a barrier around the reminder of the town that isnt mobile. im in favor of shipping continers filled with rubble and debris but there arent that many around town. Jay firgured on a reinfoced dirt berm but we'd need way more fuel that i think is in town for that. Our short term plan is to block out around a five square block area with cars to begin with and after that is cleared see where we are at. the original barricade woudl act as the castle keep and the rest of the area could be put to seed growning veggtables and some small grains if i could find some. i have several boxes of seeds from the farm and fleet store to plant this year and plenty of canning supplies too.

i think spoilage is going to be a bigger and bigger problem as tme goes on. the lack of rodents has been a godsend for supplies staying unmolested, but alot of things are past the use by date. this summer will be the efining time for self sufficency for us. we have enough short term food supplies for this summer and next winter and i think that will be about it. we can supplant that with supplies we find in buildings but those are getting thin.

Fuel is another thing. some of the gasoline now has streamers in it (ethanol not so much). we have everal E-85 cars so we could set upa still to make alcahol to run them on but you need gas to mix it with. if we had more people we could put together a convoy and start gathering supplies from farther away. thats another thing we're going to scope out on our way east. if selby is deserted, we'll strip it bare.

same bullshit, different day. the snow melts some and now the clouds are building on the horizon again. the yard is a LAKE 3 inches deep or more. shit i dont think any dead heads could even move around with all the mud and water thats hanging on.

Guess what? It snowed some more. Like another 3 inches of heav wet snow. I swear the roof was creaking from the weight of the snow but Jay just laughed at me.

It kept us inside all day, even Matt got ran off teh barricade by the snow, wind and sleet.

Ugh im tired of winter. Cabin fever anyone?

heavy clouds on the horizon. i will be PISSED if its more snow after we just got everything melted down.

Another nice day today. hit the mid 40s. All four of us fired up two trucks and waded through the morass of snow, slush and snirt to alco to provision up. Jay also got a lucky shot on a deer so we have fresh meat tonite as well. GOOD EATIN'!

Storm has passed but left another foot of snow behind. God im getting tired of winter. just enough warmth to clear everything off and then it dumps more. This time the temps hung right around freezing so the dead heads are semi frozen but still mobile.

Also starting to run short on supplies in the house. the snow has kept us away from all the stores for some time now. I think me and Matt may fire up the sleds and make a run to alco tomorrow.

Jay is especially depressed as he was hoping to head east when the weather cleared. Death metal is still ready to roll, though it would be a cold ride if we went now. the constant freeze/thaw cycle this spring has left the ground ina bizzare state of semi frozen slush down to several inches. sucks vehicles down like quicksand if you hit it wrong with a tire.

I cant remember a winter like this since 96/97. that ugly bitch was worse but not by much.

Still storming. its depressing.

Well first it was rain, then it turned to sleet and then it became snow. Its right under the freezing point so the dead heads that have thawed are still mobile until maybe tonite or tomorrow if the cold holds. Its pure hell cause you cant see the damned things until they are right on top of you. Matt switched over to my cold weather gear and Browning autmotic shotgun. He got two today. Oddly one was wearing a heavy winter coat. Most of them are semi naked now as their clothing is rotting off them. either hes been wearing it since the outbreak or these things are getting smarter. I dont want to think about that.

thunderstorms today. lots of rain. if there was any snow left there isnt now. Jay nailed the sole dead hear of the day with my 45-70. solid 400 yards, right between the peepers.

i found a tin of Nats littel cigars today. not in bad shape, dried out but i can rejuvinate them. my cigar stash dwindles more all the time. the big boys are long gone, and even my stash of favored king edward and swisher sweets is starting to shrink. i hate to think of a world without a smoke now and then. at least the liquor is holding out.

warm weather. more dead heads. i think the cold is behind us now. Matt capped three today. water is everywhere. im sure the storm sewers are plugged up and its running in the gutters ankle to knee deep.

Well, its been an interesting day.

we got to play cowboys and indians.

FOR REAL.

The horseman and his buddies came back, dressed in buckskins and wearing feathers. they found a way across the river and charged. ballsy, but stupid. Matt (as always) was on the barricade and hit the sonalerts to warn the rest of us. He was already dropping rounds around them with the M-60 when we hit the ladders. The horsemen were at least 1500 yards out and Matt was dropping rounds all around them. "the kid is good." i thought to myself. Jay was already firing sinlge rounds from my 45-70 and he kocked the horse right out from under one of them. He went flying over the horses' head and smashed his noggin. the rest kept charging. Matt hammered one in the chest and he went flying. three to go. they were close enough now me, Jay and Jed engaged with our FPWs. three hundred rounds at 1200 RPM shredded the remaining three like a blender set on frappe. What possesed them i'll never know. Matt and Jay cleaned up the mess. we had to shoot all the horses, thier injuries were too severe. I would have loved to have kept one but it was not to be. ugly day overall. not even nice weather can aleviate the sadness of pointless wanton slaughter.

back is a little better today. jay worked me over pretty good and i think what was out got popped back into place. real sore and stiff, but on the mend i think.

Matt saw the horseman again. alone this time. it gets weirder and wierder.

tripped and fell and hurt my back BAD today. can barely walk and with no chiropractor im in a bad way. Jay is going to try and work on it later. im soaking in the jacuzzi with water from the stove keeping it hot. when it loosens up ill give it a try.

Warm and sunny today. no wind at all. Snow is melting fast, lots of small rivers of meltwater everywhere. mud is ankle deep in the yard. i cant wait for this mess to dry up. its a hard slog to even make it from the house to the barricade. i laid out planks to walk on but they sank in before many trips over them. oh well.

warm again today. i broke the thermometer yesterday when i was hanging it up so i dont know exactly. the snow is deep enough we cant get very far on wheels, so a trip to the hardware store is out for now.

the horseman was back, with company. there were four of them today. three nice sized paint ponies with riders carrying what looked like SKSs, all dressed in buckskins. i dug out the 1200mm zeiss spotting scope and mounted it in the west FP to get a better look. they are natives for sure Matt says.

Everyone is back to 100% or close to it. we spent severla hours cleaning and scrubbing averything in the house today. The dust and crap had accumulated quite heavily in the week or so we were sick.

mid 50s today. the dead heads are sure to be back in force soon if it stays this warm. Matt is even more wound up than usual. i worry about the kid. he's like a tightly wound coil spring of late. Jed is back on his feet again. hes still alittel pale around the edges but hes back up and going.

no horseman today.

more nicer weather today. things are melting again. everybody but Jed is back on their feet and going. Jed is still pretty run down though.

the horseman was back again today. open water prevents thier crossing now though. Matt had been able to identify the character as an indian and he appears to be wearing leather buckskins like its the 1800s or something. bizzare to say the least.

almost back to 100% today. clear weather, a littel melting, all around good day. i cleared out teh accumulated ash from the furnace from when we were all sick and split some bigger logs. we're starting to get down to the bottom of the firewood pile so i hope spring comes soon. if not ill be cutting firewood again. The horseman was back again today. him and Matt appeared to be having a staredown for a time. im curious as to whom he is.

finnaly up and about. man what a killer. jay and jed both are still out for the count but me and matt have bounced back some. i dont know whether it was some rouge flu strain that drifited in on the wind or food poisoning. either was it was pure misery.

Matt said he saw someone on horse across the river early this morning. the river ice is rotten from the warm weather and wouldnt send a dog across it, let alone a horse. the guy was looking at town through field glasses and Matt looked right back through my old spotting scope. the two saw each other about the same time and Matt said the guy looked things over and then rode away like he owned the place.

i hope he doesnt come back with freinds because we'd be in a bad way. two men down and most of out weapons are stored indoors to protect them from the cold. i had matt dismount the M-60s and bring everything inside after the last blow. one of the 60s was frozen solid with ice and took two days to get running right again. the FPWs are good to go but they chew through ammo like theres no tomorrow and its not like we can order any up off the internet. I gave matt one of the AK-47s we have for winter use as you can freze them solid and still blaze away. we'll see what tomorrow brings.

the snow is piled almost to the top of the barricade in places and its hard enough to walk on. bad juju if we get company of the ugly sort.

beter still today. this shit really wipes you out. Jay is still throwing up bad, Jed just leeps and Matt (while sick as well) still keeps watch. it snowed another foot last night and today so i doubt the dead heads will be out and about but the kid is ever vigilant.

getting better a little. still throwing up alot. i think it may be food poisoning. i knew it would happen sooner or later.

severely ill. bad puking, running out the other end as well. all of us have it. i hope its over soon.

another warm day today. it rained a bit last night so everything was ice this morning. mostly im tired. i havent been sleeping well of late. Dont know why. Bugger.

weather is warming back up a bit. quiet around here for the most part. we finished prepping Death Metal but Jay and i discussed it and we decided ot wait until the weather settles. this warm day/cold day stuff wont work for us if we're in uncharted territory.

We finished our tourney with a day long, marathon two on two 9 ball slugfest. Me and Jed topped Jay and Matt by a slim margin of three points for the entire days play. it had swung as far as 50 points one way or the other as the day progressed but got tight as our skill increased. By the end of it i was flipping some tricky double bank shots and jump shots too. We ended the day by having a round of drinks and a toast to absent companions.

Continued with our tourney today. Much fun was had by all. Matt won today, and spanked Jay pretty hard at it. I found him a trophy upstairs and made a new plate for it. It didnt really matter that guy on top was bowling. i glued an 8 ball over the NBC logo on teh base and engraved his name with a dremel. He was stoked.

the weather was better today and being as cabin fever had gotten the better of us, we went down to the shop, drug out two pool tables and had us a round robin pool tournament. Yes i know you cant have a proper tourney with four people, but who cares? Jay by the way won, in a shoot off with Matt. Maybe tomorrow we'll drag out a dart board or two.......

Yet more snow fell today. at least six more inches. its fucking cold as hell outside. th wind is blowing and the furnace is barely keeping up. cabin fever is beginning to look like a reality.

Snowed in hard. More thana foot of snow fell between last night and this morning. we just hung out indoors and watched it snow and blow.

mild day today. not mcuh wind but it is clouded over. the horizon is dark and i think there might be another storm on the way. Justa guess though.

I havent been feeling well for the last couple days. probably too much welding fumes i guess. Just tired more than anything. Im going to nap a bit in the afternoon today and then see what things look like.

warm today. it started out cols but ended up in the high 30s. Sigh. I was hoping for another couple weeks of sub freezing temps to keep the dead heads frozen. we'll see what tomorrow brings.

We decided today that me and Jay would go east and leave the boys in charge of the fort while were gone. They've proven themselves trustworthy and able. were pretty much packed and ready to go, but we want to see if the cold weather holds or not. if not we have to wait until all the snow is melted. i dont want to deal with mud and the possibility of getting stuck besides the dead heads.

more snow, more wind, more cold. we've spent most of the last two days prepping death metal. im beat.

As we planned, we took today off. it was bitter cold most of the day anyway. Jay is stoked about the trip ahead and spent most of the day poring over maps and making checklists for items to take. Jed and Matt werent around much. we let them have the run of the place so they do as they see fit. Jed spends alot of time digging through my book collection, reading. Matt seems preoccupied with walking the barricade, ever vigilant for an attack, even though the dead heads are refrozen for now. We taught him how to shoot the M-60s and the M-203s we have so he is well prepared. As for me, i relaoded some 12 ga rounds and took a nap after lunch. my back hurts from all the work from the last few days.

Well all the exterioir work is complete. Jay finished the lights and bracketry and i finished welding on all the deflection fins and odds and ends. Its a beast. Jed insisted on painting a styleized skelton clutching a guitar in one hand and a glock in the other with "DEATH METAL" emblazoned above it on the back door. the rest is basic black. Im dog tired and Jay is right there too. I think we'll take tomorrow off and rest up and them finish the interior in a blitz over the weekend. the temps are hovering in the mid 20s and i want it in the 30s before we head east for any duration of time.

Finished up the heavy welding on the exterior plates today. We're eating up a ton of fuel running the welder but its a nessesary expenditure. Matt and Jed have rounded up a good parts kit for us, belts, hoses, fluids, and spare parts we may need. also two spare tires. We founda set of four run flat radials in gas n' goodies shop plus i welded finned skirts over the wheel wells to deflect small caliber bullets. Jay built on a lighting package for the turret and also rigged a 12v winch to act as a turret motor. we left the hand crnak as a backup.

I added in a spare fuel stowage tank thats seperate from the fuel system but can be interconnected to either operate the vehicle off of or transfer to the exisitng tanks. i heavily armored the fuel tanks, them being a weak spot. Jed insisted upon adding a sound system as well. Kids.

Well it now offically has a name. we call it "death metal". bizzarre, but what isnt nowadays? anyway, we spent the day welding again. about half of the plates are done. two or three more days and we wil have it licked. Ive had Matt and Jed scrounging spare parts for the run east. its cold enough the dead heads have pretty much refrozen so no worries on that front for the time being.

spent this morning welding on plates. we're trying to come up with a semi-appropriate name for this beast. still havent made any progress. We currently refer to it as "it" being its the major discussion point of late. I smashed my hand with the lift crane arm about lunch time so we called it a day. nothing broken (i think) but its swollen up pretty good. im soakin git in abucket of cold water so we'll see.

Well its valentines day. the day we used to waste money on flowers, candy and all sorts of clap-trap just to get laid. Ancient history. If anyone remembers valentines day now its a friggin' miracle.

Jay was really down today. probably because all the snow is gone and i dont think its coming back. So i figured it was time to show him what i had been working on. Hes been depressed enough he hasnt asked me about it at all. Bad sign. I told him this afternoon i had something ot show him. He seemed rather lethargic but i drug him out of his chair and we drove over to G&R.

It isnt done yet, but i got almost all the heavy work done. I had found a 1979 Ford bronco in a garage across town that had been modified for heavy off road service. extended suspension, beefed frame and hopped up engine. I took a chop saw and cut back all the body except the firewall and floor pan. I then built a steel cage around the remainder, elimnating all the side doors and adding a hatch in the rear like a Merkeva IFV. The is a hand rotated turret ont he top with a mount for a M-60 and a ports the our FPWs all around. i took the armaglass from the 7-11 and cut it to make bullet reistant viewports for the driver passenger and turret gunner. there were also sliding ports on the sides. it could seat 4 plus driver, co pilot and gunner. there was also cargo room. I beefed the front with an extra leaf in the front springs, and added a heavy front bumper make from 4" pipe just right for smashing dead heads. I needed help to weld on all the side plating and the composite armor i had come up with.

I knew it wouldnt stnad up to big calibers but i had tested it and it would keep anyhting up to about a 308 out. i took mild 1/8 steel plate and laid it oerlapping like fish scales first. then i layered in thick 10 mil plastic to help make it waterproof. Then i put on a 3/4" layer of fiberglass matting and resin. i planned to weld 1/4 inch steel plate over the outside but the pieces were too heavy for me to lift on my own. i needed help with them, that part of why i showed it to Jay. I had all the fiberglas work done, and the struts to weld the plates on were ready.

He had a grin on his face like i handt seen on months. "Son of a bitch. Armored transport." I had also mapped out a potential route around our roadblocks and craters.

"I think we'll need about a week to finish and test it. then we can head east." I said. Then Jay did something completely out of chrater for him. He hugged me. I swear i saw a tear in his eye but i couldnt say for sure. He clapped me on the back and said

"Sounds good."

we headed back to the house with our heads full of plans and a new kind of hope for the future.

nice day today. mid 30s, nice and sunny. just a couple dead heads today. nothing special. i worked part of the day on Jay's surpise and slept part. this oncoming cold is starting to kick me pretty hard. i think our diet may have something to do with it. i take vitamins but i always worry about scurvy being as we have littel to no fresh fruit.

Cold, wind, snow. semi frozen dead heads that are hard to kill. im on a bit of a downer. i cannot figure out how but i seem to be getting a head cold AGAIN! bugger.

rained some more, snbowed for awhile, rained some more and now its starting to freeze. welcome to spring in SD. only a couple dead heads today. these were out of the oridinary though. one was fairly well tangled up with fishing line and the other was implaed with a chunk of driftwood. i think they may have drifted in on the river under the ice and popped up through the holes that have opened in the last couple days. im thinking we need to work up a better river defense then just the tangle fence we have up now. i hate to think about another major project like a river wall.

if we had more people we could start thinking about a "castle wall" system around the whole town. we have enough cars and rubble to do it i think. use cars and house walls on the outside and and bank dirt and rubble on the inside. crude, but effective. im thinking a "mobile wall" of sorts. build a wall of cars around a given area and clear it. use materials from the cleared area to expand the wall around another area and clear that. using the original barricade as "the castle keep" and fallback position, expanding outward. you could eventually take the whole town back that way for good. god to think of all teh fuel and manpower that woudl take. id need thousands of gallons of fuel, maybe half a dozen guys on loaders and clearing crews. bulldozers, scrapers, dump trucks not to mention maintenance of equipment and breakdowns. we have plenty of operable earthmoving equipment within reach but no qualified operators. maybe i should priorotize the trip east and try and recruit some hands.

speaking of which i worked for a few hours on the surprise for Jay. ill write more on that later.

rain, rain and more rain. it rained all day. probably over an inch id guess, there is water everywhere. soggy dead heads do maek for fun targets though. they have a tendency to splat like a water baloon if you hit with a big enough caliber. i pulled out a .375 H&H mag and popped the several that showed up. like water grenades going off. cheap thrills.

Jay is really down. after my trip he was really looking forward to going east. i have some ideas but we'll see what the weather brings. ive been working off and on, on a project in the old G&R body shop. i think Jay will like it when i get it done.

storms a comin'. there is small rain drops falling, and im betting it will freeze later tonite. Jay has been really quiet tonite. i just left him alone, he seems kinda down. Matt and Jed were on edge as well, having several spats over the course of the day. i stayed in teh basementloading 12 ga ammo. no dead heads showed even though we kept a watch on the barricade all day. overall not a great day.

overcast, cloudy and cool domonated the day. there is a storm coming, i can feel it in my shoulders. when i was a young'un i had a gate bar smack me across the shoulders when i lived out at the farm. ever since ive ben able to tell storms coming by how stiff and sore my shoulders are. its a comin'.

only one dead head today. Matt picked him off at just a hiar over 800 yards with my 8mm mauser. it was one hell of a shot. That kid would have made a fine sniper in another time. We started making plans for restocking this summer. firewood is low, as are fuel supplies.

Jay still wants to go east but unless we get more snow to drive the sleds on and colder temps to keep the dead heads at bay, that may be out of the question. i sincerly feel for the guy as he wants in the worst way to know one way or the other. its only around 80 miles to gettysburg and we could make the trip in a long day and another day back. Hard riding too. we'l see what the weather brings.

rough day today. The dead heads showed up in force. around twenty of them kept us hopping for most of the afternoon. Matt and Jed both showed thier mettle under fire and both proved themselves able fighters. Me and Jay manned the M60s and handed off our FPWs to teh boys. we piled em up like cordwood on the east side of the barricade. to me and Jay it was a turkey shoot.

Otherwise a nice day. mid 40s, lots of melting snow. After Jay cleaned up the mess with the payloader, we talked about his east trip. if the snow was gone, it would be harder and more dangerous to move that way. We decided to put it on hold until we saw what the weather was doing. it was dark in the west most of the afternoon so a storm could be brewing over that way. we'll see what tomorrow brings.

ive caught a head cold that clggin me up bad. cant even think straight. ugh.

today was mostly recovery from the trip. Jay and me talked at length about him going east to gettysburg to see about his family. he seemed rather apprehensive about it after what i found on my excursion. thats his cross to bear i guess. Jed had built a rather impressive heroscape map in our absence and was content playing with it most of the day. i had the feeling he was relishing being alittle bit kid again and i sure wasnt going to steal that from him. i even wandered down to alco and the hardware and rounded up several sets of technic legos for him to play with. He seemed excited at first but soon went back to the heroscape map. he had a robots vs. monsters battle going and was quite absorbed. Matt was wiped out and spent most of the day asleep. I found a couple paperback books to read and spent the day in the sun napping and reading. Jay wandred the barricade off and on as he felt lke it. The recent cold snap had re-frozen the dead heads for a few days at least.

we pulled back into mobridge today. Jed and Jay were on the barricade wating. We ran the sleds inside the barricade and went into the house. We filled them in on all the goings on in parts west and brought in the cheese pork and other things dad had given us. We had a good evening meal and everyone went to bed just a little bit more excited aobut the future.

there was a few tearful moments this morning when we got ready to leave. Dad of course puddled up like he always does, and i wasnt exactly dry eyed either. hugs and handshakes all around. Monte gave me Beccas wedding ring and Lil's sunglasses. He had saved them specially for me. i tucked them away in my inside shirt pocket where they were safe. Dad thanked Matt for coming with me on a dangerous journey. Matt blushed and shook his head. Mike and Bill were going to ride with us as far as Hettinger as they needed supplies.

We pulled out and made our way to hettinger I wanted to check on my cousin and an old friend. Eds house was deserted like all the others. Duanes home looked lived in semi-recently but no one was around. I did find his treasured IMI uzi under the bed in the back room, covered with a patina of rust. I helped myself. we said our final goodbyes to Mike and Bill and headed east.

When we got close to lemmon the shit hit the fan. Matts windshield dissapeared in a spray of plastic. My sled gathered three bullet holes. The bullets came from a defilade to the side of the road. We both sprayed it with our FPWs. The 1200RPM rate of fire chopped into the plywood shields and shredded them. The occupants were cut to riibons. We blew though lemmon proper at full throttle. Matt got clipped by shotgun blast and I lost my hat. I was pissed, but not as much as Matt was. He wanted to go back in guns blazing and wipe them off the map. I convinced him otherwise. After bandaging his shoulder we both did however expend an entire magazine into the town from a distance. That seemed to satiate his deisre for revenge. We camped tonite a short distance from walker. Gunfire was heard in the west during the evening.

today we just kind of hung out and swapped stories. I gave monte the guns I found in freds house as they rightfully belonged to him. He seemed surprised I found them. He said he had searched the house before leaving and found nothing. It was odd.

Also today we had the first fresh milk since a few days after the infection. Dad had captured and slowly tamed one of the neighbors milk cows. He had fresh milk, and they had learned how to make cheese as well. Me and Matt decided to stay the day and night and pull out in the morning. Dad gave us several wheels of cheese they had made in the fall and fresh pork from a pig they had butchered. We asked about rolling through hettinger. Dad said there wasnt anyone alive that he knew of, and they made weekly trips for supplies. I wanted to check on a couple guys I knew there. We packed up everything and spent our last night shooting the breze and drinking some fine iced tea made by aunt June.

this morning I felt much better. I hadnt slept much but I felt I was past it now. The world we live makes you a hard person. Feelings are expensive and you keep them in check. If you dont, it can cost you your life. You lock them up in a tiny corner of your mind and only let them out when its safe to do so. Dad had saved several chickens so we had eggs, ham and fried potatos for breakfast. Me and Matt both ate heartily. We spent most of the day recounting our lives since the infection. Dad was quite choked up after I told the story of the dead head horde that nearly did us in. He said he would like to meet Jay sometime.

Dad talked about the first summer and the sickness. It was bad. Nearly half the survivors were wiped out by it. Once it had passed, it was gone. There had been other travelers and none of them had gotten sick. Kim and Monte had deicded to leave Lemmon after the sickness as people there started acting strange and some of them started living a communal lifestyle in the school gym. They said it was a bizarre existence with nightly wife swapping and other odd behavior. Matt told of the religious people he had run into. Dad said there occasional church serivces but none since the sickness. Monte then took me aside for a while. He said we needed to talk. I noticed he was wearing one of the 9mm pistols I had left at dads house. He had always been kind of a fudd when it came to guns. Only hunting style rifles, no semi-autos etc. I wanted to play told-you-so in the worst way but I thought better of it. He said my wife spoke of me after the outbreak and the fact my planning ahead that so many of the family made great fun of me for had probably saved all their lives. He said that all the ammo and weapons I had laid in had helped drive off dead heads and a group of bandits that attacked the farm. He apologized profusely for all the sport thye had of me in the past but I waved him off and told him not to worry aobut it. Petty shit like that doesnt fly in this world. You put aside stupid differences and plow on if you want to survive. That night we all had a drink and toasted to absent companions.

Well we made Lemmon today. I had high hopes when I saw smoke coming from the high school. They were dashed when a few stragglers walked out to greet us. The only person I recognized was the owner of the bowling alley in town. He didnt seem to know me until I told him my name. I asked about my family and he said he knew nothing. His body language said otherwise but I couldnt get anyhting out of him. We rode over to their house. It was a basic ruin. Part of the roof had caved in and it was obviosly uninhabited. I searched where I could and found nothing. There wer the remains of paper notes on the fridge but thyere unreadable. All the weapons I had stored were gone (not surprising) but the gun cases were intact and not broken in. I had hopes they had been taken by my family when they left. We checked the grandparents houses and found the same. Neglect and decay of a year with no repairs. I did find several guns in grandpa freds house and cased them to take back with me. They were nothing special but I wanted them anyway. We stopped back at the high school but none seemed interested in us. We had been there less than an hour and decided to pull out for my parents farm in lodgepole.

we went cross country to avoid any posible problem crossing into ND. It took a little longer and some complicated navigation but we got there. the farm looked just like it always did. Everything was kept up and in good shape. We rode up to the house not expecting much. I was totally dumbfounded when Dad walked out. We kind of stood there for am awkward moment and then hugged hard. Matt walked over and I introduced him. Dad invited us in. I was blown away when I walked in the house. There was both of the parents in law, my uncle Vaughn, aunt and uncle Bill and June and my brother in law Mike. The absences were quite conspicuous. Mom, my wife and daughter, aunt Gene and sister were all missing from the equation. Dad motioned for me to come outside. In the backyard where the apple trees were were their graves. Dad said that the first sumer after the infection, some kind of sickness tore through the area. No one knew what it was or how to stop it. If you got sick, you died within hours. It was random who it took and who it didnt. You simply feel into a feverish coma and never awoke. It was a crushing blow for me. Dad held me for a while, and I needed it. We walked back into the house and the other had some food ready. Potatoes, meat and some greens. I didnt feel much like eating but mechanically fed myself. Dad had built a fireplace on the south side of the house and it had a merry fire burning away. Matt asked me if I was OK and I shook my head. I needed a littel time.

Im writing tonite from a tent near Morristown SD. One of our sleds broke down on the trip to lemmon. It was a simple cracked fuel line, but we had to leave the sled and scrounge a chunk of line from morristown and the light was gone by the time we got it fixed. We decided to camp in a small copse of trees about half a mile off higway 12. the trip was bascially uneventful until the breakdown. We saw several burned out cars and trucks along the way. We hope to push through to Lemmon in the morning.

Not much to write tonite. Me and Matt worked all day laying in supplies for the tirp. We've decided to run two sleds for the trip for several reasons. One to eliminate the need to pull a sled and two if one of the sleds broke down we could tow it with the other. We found a nice twin track wheel horse sled in a garage across town that had a lrage cargo compartment. Perfect for us. We loaded down and got ready to move out in the morning.

We spent most of the day discussing my idea and this is the plan we came up with. We have roughly eight to ten weeks of time before the river ice breaks up. This is my time frame to go west. Me and Matt will gear up tomorrow and tuesday and head west on wedsday. One day to lemmon, one day there, one day to lodgepole, one day there (if needed) one day back to lemmon, one day back to mobridge is our minimum time frame. Add a day for problems and you get a week. Maximum is 21 days. After that Jay and Jed would mount a rescue mission and come after us. We worked up a provison load for 14 days. If we needed the full three weeks we'd either be cut down to minimum rations or scavenge food. We would both carry similar weapons so ammo loadout would be compatible and interchangable. We gave Matt a FPW for this. His M4 already used the same magazine and we gave him extra. We also cased and took along a 30-06 bolt action with scope for long range work. We also packed up plenty of camping supplies in case we found no one and had to make do for oursleves.

Ive been thinking. now that Matt and Jed are here, one or two of us could leave to check up on the outside world and our families and still have two back here to guard the fort. I know Jay wants to head east to check out his clan and i want to go west to lemmon and lodgepole to check my family. you could make the ride in one day to lemmon, granted it would be a hard day but you could do it. another day to go to lodgepole and and a day back on each leg. its doable. we'd have to pull a good sled with supplies and gear but we could do it. we'll discuss this all tomorrow and come up with a plan.

it was cold again today. the sun was out but it was minus degrees all day. we mostly hung around the house and shot the breeze. Jed found my old heroscape toys and fell in love with them. i guess they were just what the kid needed as he played with them all afternoon. he fell aslep for a bit and then bounced right back up and back onto what he was doing. Matt found my bookshelves downstaris and i told him to help himself. he spent the evening burind in my copy of "harry potter and the deatly hallows". Jay kept to himself most of the day. i kinda got the feeling he maybe was having a bit of the "meloncholies" as i put it. Those feelings we get now of what was and lilely will never be again. it get to a guy after a while. you learn to cope with it, but somedays it really bugs you that rides at disneyland will probably never move again, we'll never see another bottle of good french wine and sadly, we'll never see another new epeisode of NCIS.

The boys slept late. i think it was past ten when they finally woke. they ate some chips and other odds and ends. Matt wanted to get his sled ready to move and i went outside with him. I told him there was nothing left in peirre and if he wanted he could stay here. Me and Jay had talked late after they had gone to bed and worked something out. I told Matt they were welcome as long as they pulled thier share, with the caveat we could askl them to leave if something happened. Matt agreed.

Jed nodded his assent when informed of the agreement. we gave them one of the back bedrooms and took them around town to get any gear the might need. Both were short or clothing and helped themselves at alco and andersons. we also loaded in some extra chow and other supplies. I asked Jed if he wanted a better weapon and he refused. he said he was comforatble with his shotgun.

that night i dug out the last can of hersheys syrup, some condensed milk and malt and made "dead head milkshakes". the boys loved them. it was bit like i had my family back.

whew its been a big two days. first of all the biggest news. two survivors from Bismarck ND arrived yesterday. Two brothers, Matt and Jed. they rode a snomobile down the frozen river all the way here. we'll take it from the top.

it was late afternoon and Jay was up on the barricade popping rounds at a dead head that had wandered up and started hollerin for me. i thought maybe he needed help and came a foggin' with my FPW. Instead of a dead head he had spotted a snomobile. i grabbed a flare gun from the nearest firing point and shot a red multi star in the sky. the sled slowed turned and headed our way. Jay relaoded and i flipped off the safety. We had no idea. the sled pulled up and two kids got off. One couldnt have been more than 11 or 12. they were well armed. both had glock pistols, the taller of the two had a M4 and was dressed in desert camo. the younger had a cut down youth 20 ga pump shotgun and both had packs. the sled was loaded heavy with ammo cans and a long gun case. the two dismounted and the older walked up to the barricade. jay lowered the ladder and i climbed down.

"Howdy."

"Hello. Um, can we trade for some gas? we're about dry."

I grinned. "theres plenty for the asking. You guys hungry?"

the younger of the two perked up at this. I waved them over to teh ladder.

"What about our sled?"

I motioned for Jay to open the barricade. "run er' in and Jay will close up behind you."

"can we keep our guns?"

"Heck yeah. this aint no place to be unarmed."

Jay fired the cat and moved the barricade. the older of the two ran the sled inside while the younger covered him. these two had been around the bend a time or two by the look of things. the younger had a predatory look about him that belied wisdom beyond his years. the older looked as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. All too common now.

He killed the engine and climbed off. the younger looked at me and Jay hard. "come on boys. we got plenty of chow. Jay fire up the genny and we'll cook." Jay nodded and went to crank it up.

We cooked potatoes, ham and tomato soup. the two boys ate like wolves. the older looked at us a littel self conciously and i smiled. "Eat your fill. Theres more where that came from." He smiled and laid into his plate. when they were finished we cleaned up and retired to the living room. There was a balnket across the top fo the couch and the younger asked if he could borrow it.

"ill one up you. theres a made bed in the back room. its a littel cool but help yourself." his eyelids were heavy and he plodded off to bed. The older nodded his thanks. Jay brought out a bottle of schnapps and three glasses. He poured three glasses and handed them to us.

"To us. to being alive." we clinked glasses and drank. it was a good moment.

The young man sipped his drink. "well i guess i best fill you in. its been a hell of a year eh?" We nodded our assent. "I lived in bismarck for the last ten years. mom and dad both worked in management and my sister worked at home depot. i was a junior when the shit went down. Jed was just a kid. he had to grow up mighty fast." He grimaced and took a swig. "there was a group of about 15 survivors that shacked up in a third story apartment complex. Mom and sis got cught up in the first infections so all that was left was Me Jed and dad. it was...ugly there in teh first weeks. Dad had to shoot several survivors who tried to riad our apartments. it was a war zone. after about a week the water gave out and we had to forage for more. Dad got wounded in a gun battle with bandits. i ended up doing most of the scavenging with Jed. then a group of religious people showed up and took over the fourth floor. mormons or something liek that. they spent alot of time praying and such. Im not much of a church person i guess. they shared what food and supplies they scrounged and we kept the zombies at bay. they were anti gun i guess cause they had no weapons and refused the few we tried to give them. little by littel the zombies got them all the first summer. one of the women went whacko and jumped off the roof. that was messy. Dad wouldnt let jed look at it. they moved away after that and we never saw them again. a group of mixed people replaced them after a couple weeks. they were drunks. Bad drunks. they partied every night. one got drunk and came after me and Jed shot him with his shotgun. i took his M4 and his uniform. he may have been a soldier, i dont know. anyway things basically went on like that until three days ago. we had smelled something like gas fumes for a day or two. the refinery was shut down of course but there was still plenty of stuff around there that was flammable. Dad got worried and found the sled. he packe dit up and locked it int he downastrais garage.

the next day dad went out to dig around. about three hours later a huge explosion shook the whole frickin' city. We waited and waited for dad but he never came back. fires burned in the entire half of the city that was near the refinery, im assuming from buring debris. they got worse and worse over the next day and ahalf or so. when the block next to ours started burning, Me and Jed pulled out. we just made it to the river when another large explosion happened. we ran past the edges of town a full throttle with burning debris falling around us. it was unreal. i figured dad must have been killed in the explosion since he didnt come home. he was smart enough not to screw around with anything that might blow up but you never know now. We had enough fuel for around 200 miles but when we stopped at Fort yates to scrounge some extra chow, someone started shooting at us and punctured one of our spare fuel cans. we're just about bone dry now. My plan was to head for pierre as it was the capital i thought any type of structure would remain there. crappy idea but it was the best i could do."

He grinned then emptied his glass. Jay lifted the bottle and he nodded. Jay refilled his glass and he knocked it back. I cold see the kid was worn out hard.

"Theres another bed in the other back room if you're tired." he nodded.

"ill rack out with Jed. Help keep him warm." I nodded. There was a few nights id've liked a warm body to snuggle up to as well. "you guys keep a watch?"

"Not yet." i replied its still cold enough the dead heads are frozen at night. they need the sunlight before they thaw. gets a bit wormer we'll start running a night watch. the barricade is pretty much impenetrable but we do a perimiter run twice a night."

"If you need a watch, wake me." he siad.

I nodded. "Sleep. it looks like you could use it."

more tomorrow im tired, and a littel drunk.

inaugeration day. the day when we put our new president into office.

right now i dont think we have a president. i have heard nothing of any existence of a governemnt since the outbreak, besides the faxes i wrote aobut earlier. i monitor shortwave once in a while and have powered up a ham radio to listen globally but didnt pick up much past garbage. im not naive enough to belive that we are the only survivors, but we are few and far between, thats for sure.

yet another beautiful day. and it was despoiled by my first dead head sighting of the year. apprently the 35-40+ degree temps were enough to thaw out the ragged bastards for another year. i was feeling particularly pissed off at this interloper so with Jay covering my back, i went out and had me an old west hook and draw showdown. i found an old Colt SAA in a house across town complete with a gunfighter style fast-draw holster rig. there isnt much 45LC around but i found enough to fill all the loops in the belt and the gun. I (of course) had to yell out several classic western one liners (there isnt room in this town for the both of us etc.) before drawing and fanning the Colt like a wild west outlaw.

And after completely missing all five shots, and flipping Jay the bird for laughing his ass of at me, i finished the dead head with a second cylcinder full.

heres hoping for another frost or two.

very nice day today. the temp was up in the high 30s and snow was melting everywhere. no dead heads yet but the time is coming.

did i mention this is the weekend we held our dart tournament and i dont miss it a bit? i even took out my rimfire pistols and did a bit of plinking at empty pop cans today.

garbage is a continuing problem for us. we have a large steel dumpster but when it fills we have to fart around hauling it to the dump. over the winter we've been just throwing it in the back of the dump truck and when its full driving over to teh edge of town and dumping it. our scraps feed the birds and maybe we'll get some squirrels or some other small critters to show. eventually it will get to be too much but we've been doing that for over a year now and its still not much so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Now this is one weekend i dont mind the world having ended. This was the weekend we always held our regional dart tournament. it invarably ended in bar fights, arguments over dart scores, and lots of drunk morons. i can sit back, enjoy a 35 degree day, and soak up the sun.

finnaly started to warm up today. things started to melt, the roof thawed off and the sidewalks are showing through. we replaced the winter barricade gate with the regular one as we have ot start worrying about dead heads again. the Cat loader fired right up as it had been in the sun all day.

wicked migraine today. kept me down for most of the day. lots of aleeve and dark quite time is about the only cure. i feel a bit better now but im going back to bed shortly.

Do you remember that show "House"? You probably dont. it was a show about a doctor who diagnised all these bizzare diseases and maladies. Pretty good TV. it killed time. thats a big deal now. killing time.

in the winter we have nothing but time. time, time, time, time, time.

staring at four walls. we've read and re-read the books in the house over and over. you can only sit in front of the reloading press for so long before the monontony gets to you. No internet, No TV, No radio, no tunes (for the most part) i do fiddle around with a guitar i found but its BAD. guitar hero skills DO NOT transpose into a real guitar. i always wanted to learn how to play a bagpipe but never did.

lots of things i think about that i never did. never flew to rio for a weekend full of high dollar hookers and blow, never climbed mt everest or K2, hell never even went to disneyland or knotsberry farm for pete's sake.

woke up to heavy snow, high wind and bitter cold. God i miss the weather forecasting system.

im mostly over the flu but the remnants are still there. ugh.

ate the last of canned peaches in town today. That i can find anyway. i like peaches, they're one of the few things i can eat when sick and keep down. there are still pears and mandarin oranges but no more peaches. another "end of an era" moment. itll be many many moons (if ever) before we see peaches in this part of the world. we can grow apples and most types of berries here but no fruit like that.

Sigh.

Got enough juice to go outside for a bit today. Cool but not cold, light breeze and lots of sunshine. jay was busy with odds and ends around the house and yard. not much else to add.

still sick but getting better. ugh i hate the flu. i kinda wonder how it got here in the first place?

Ugh. I caught the flu Jay had a while back. Not fun. most of the gatorade is rancid but we have a few bottles left. it helps. cant hardly keep liquids down and no solids at all. abject misery.

We moved and chopped wood all day today. im tired and my back hurts. that is all.

nice day today. high 20s, no wind. i shoveled for several hours and cleared the walkways around the house. other than that i read a couple books, and hung out. I also compiled all the data on the outbreak i was albe to put together.

i read through the faxes i found at the clinic. they basically said that a new strain of extremely commuicable "virus of unknown origin" was sweeping unchecked across the country. the virus could be spread by body fluids of any kind, including sweat, saliva and tears. infected subjects were to be quarrantined and hospital personnel were to have no contact with them whatsoever for any reason, including lifesaving measures. Apprently efforts to revive infected subjects in other hospitals had resulted in infected hospital personnel. they re-animated shortly after and spread the infection through bites, and other means. several major hospitals had been completely lost due to lifesaving efforts.

the government had shut down all the major traffic routes in and out of the country and closed the interstate highways to all traffic to prevent the spread of the infection. in later stages of the day of infection they dropped bridges, shot down unresponsive aitcraft and destroyed ships and small watercraft with missiles to prevent the spread. Armed forces manned roadblocks also shot up cars and trucks that refused to stop for searches and used LAW rockets on any cargo vehicles that didnt stop. as the governemtn lost control of areas they attmepted to cordon off the completely infected areas with little effect. The speed at which the virus spread baffled all communicable disease experts, and defied any means of eradication or sterilization. the only effective means of detroying it was heat. 135 degrees farenheight generated 95% mortaility and 170 degrees farenheight generated 99.9% mortaility. 200 degrees created full 100% mortaility in test subjects, but it also killed the human hosts in all testing. the fax didnt say anyhting further on the virus and just gave a bunch of standard viral safety precautions and some beuracratic BS as well. there were also half a dozen pages of gibberish that were faxed from the FBI to the hospital administration office. the gibberish could have been a coded fax sent to the wrong machne or just random gibberish. i have no clue which.

there was a fax i found in the sherriffs office detailing the international efforts to control the virus, it also contained a global SITREP. this significantly out of the ordinary and i can only surmise it was disseminate information as far as possible before the communications system fell aprt. the chinese, indians, pakistanis, russians and the south africans all resorted to the use of tacitcal nuclear weapons to attempt control. al efforts failed and resulted in the deaths of millions of uninfected people. china used several strategic nuclear devices in the rural northern areas of the country to cut off the norther populace (which was heavily infected) from pushing south into the populated areas. Russia detonated one, a 300 megaton plus "super-bomb" in the heart of moscow, which at that time was heavily infected. The government lost most of thier stalitte assets after the EMP from the massive explosion wiped them out. Before one NRO sat died it transmitted two pictures of the moscow crater. They depicted a landscape wiped clean of anything and a viod in the ground that rivaled the grand canyon. the shockwave was felt across the entire planet and the fallout covered the entire asian continet and hte majority of the pacific ocean. Luckily for the US the material used in the bomb were heavier than normal fallout and sank out of the atmosphere more quickly than normal.

Despite that, the enitrety of indo-china, southeast asia, most of ausitrailia, japan and all of southern china were heavily irradiated. the only portion of china to escape was a small section of the northern area where mostly nomadic Tungusic people lived. the fact it survived was that a freak loop in the jetstream pushed 99% of the radioactive materials south and east, covering japan. the kamchatka peninsula survived the radioactivity but was completley infected after a cruise ship beached itself near a military naval port after becoming infected and the captain (in his dying moves) aimed the ship twoards the nearest landmass. All human eminations ceased within eight hours.

According to the fax, besides the south african nuclear efforts, africa itself was a black hole of information. Complete lack of anything. South america degenerated into a mass of warring factions in a matter of hours after the infection began. Littel data was availble but what there was indicated massive infrastructure damage and almost total infection. As of 1800 hours that day, all human eminations ceased. the central american countries fared much the same.

the odd duck out of the bunch was panama. the last ELINT (electronic intelligence) DHS got out there was the defenses were holding and the canal was secured. Infection was holding steady and the infected areas were in the process of being "sterilized", (your guess is as good as mine on how they did that). According to satalite images taken several hours later, security permiter walls were in place around governemtnal buildings and the canal secuirty zone was holding. the last images taken of panama before the DIA bird fell to the russian blasts EMP field was of panamanian troops securing naval facilities on the eastern coast and the atlantic end of the canal with troops securing it.

Alaska and canada with thier naturally colder temperatures saw the virus spread as fast as any other area but not the massive collateral damage that resulted in warmer climates. the population suffered the same masive die off as any other area but the dead heads froze solid within a coule of hours.

the middle east was a massive blur of violence. the entire region dissolved into a writhing orgy of death and destruction. Many US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan loaded onto planes (some hijacked) and headed home. most of these aircraft were shot down upon reaching US airspace due to fear of infection and lack of proper clearnce codes. ground assests were mostly destroyed. Nuclear detonations were detected in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Syria, turkey and Jordan. Reports of Chemical warfare filtered through just before all communications ceased when a large EMP device blanketed the entire region with electrical energy, detroying almost all electronic devices. Satalite photgraphy was minimal over the area and only a few images made it back. those depicted massive infection, burning oil wells, and a huge oil spill that covered a third of the medditerannian.

Militarily the entire planet was wiped out. the russians irradiated the vast majority of thier hemisphere with the massive moscow blast. the naval asests that werent irradiated in the pacific (mostly sub fleets of various nations) sank each other in sub on sub warfare after command and control failed and sub captains moved on their own initative. Most of the atlantic surface assest were recalled by thier home contries and any surviving US assets were commanded to return to Norfolk Naval Station at flank speed. Several altercations between surface craft of various nations operating in the atlantic resulted in more than a dozen ships sunk and the SOSUS nets indicated limited sub warfare. Shortly after the Norfolk recall order a nuclear weapon of unknown origin detonated at the main gate of norfolk. After that, Cheyenne mountain assumed command and control authority and told any surviving surface or subsurface naval assets to report to Guam (it escaped irradiation by a narrow margin and as of the report was 100% infection free) through the panama canal If possible. If not possible the captains were to assume command of thier vessels and "defend the coasts of the United States, and attempt to control the spread of infection at any cost". Shortly thereafter NORAD ceased transmitting.

Mount weather was infected shortly after the beginning of the outbreak by a civilian employee and the Continuity of government plan fell apart. The president never made it to any of the aircraft designated for his use as the infection took over the air base where they were waiting for him before he reached it. Nightwatch crew launched thier aircraft after all ground personnell were infected and attempted to access the aircraft. Air Force One was infected on the ground and shortly thereafter caught fire and exploded on the tarmac. The president escaped mount weather shortly before the facility was sealed and at last report had dissapeared into the virginia mountians near Blumont. It can be assumed that he either had a classified secure location there to hole up in or it was a last ditch panic move by the secret service to aviod infected people.

According to the report at this point all other COG personnell were either missing, infected or dead and command and control ceased to exist. The DHS command center in washington complied the report, transmitted it to all stations and federal offices, and ceased operation. All local DHS offices were to assume local command if possible and to minimize effects of infection. All surviving military forces were to defer command to the local DHS agents in charge unless a officer of Colonel rank or higher was still in command. All federal agencies were to defer authority to the DHS or military command in charge of the local area. Police and private security forces were to follow the orders of thier chiefs or employers respectivly and to do anyhting nessecary to prevent the spread of infection.

At this point the fax degenrated into a mass of random letters, numbers and characters. I assume this hapened due to massive overload of the telecom system. it continued for seven pages, none of which was readble. the last twenty pages of the fax were satalite photos, infection and death estimates and recovery projections. None of it was good. The recovery projections showed that unless a COG certified person could take governmental control within one year of the start of the infection, there was less than a 5% chance the US would survive as a country.

Its been a year. No government. Bye bye USA. Depressing aint it?