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.