Living With the Dead: The Bitter Seasons (12 page)

at 
10:27 AM

Posted by Josh Guess

I'm sitting in an SUV, waiting for my wife to get finished feeding our dogs before we head out.
Just have to say, with the cold weather around here lately, there have been almost no zombies to be found. It's strange to me, that lack of shambling (and occasionally running) hunger driven corpses at the walls around the clock. I became so used to them that not hearing the moans and wails is nearly uncomfortable. I just hope no one gets complacent with the silence.
Jess is almost recovered from her wounds, and though he disagrees with her decision to leave, Evans tells her that she's fit enough to go. There wasn't a lot of argument on my part--before she lost the baby, she had to stay safe, avoid danger as much as possible...which meant that often she had to watch her loved ones take risks on her behalf and only watch as many of us were injured or killed.
We are leading a team to Kansas today. We're going to get Rachel and her people out, with no blood spilled if at all possible. I don't know how long it's going to take us to get there, but I will update if possible along the way. We're taking a mixture of hybrid cars for light maneuvering and armored vehicles for assault and carrying supplies. The large amount of fuel we're taking with us is being carried in a modified pickup truck with a five hundred gallon tank in it that Roger made for us. That, along with the backup tanks all our vehicles get when they go out should give us way more than enough for the trip.
The election results were interesting, at least to us. Roger has been elected leader, and his second in command is a woman named Judy Starks that I don't know well, other than she works making chainmail and other handcrafted goods. She wasn't one of Jess's original students, but has been trained by others that my wife taught.
Roger almost declined the job. He would have, actually, if the council hadn't given him guarantees that he would be able to continue his work and other pursuits. He's been promised an assistant who will help him sort through most of the daily work of being leader, and who will hopefully be able to give him concise summaries of major decisions that need to be made.
I think he's flattered, myself. He should be. Everyone around here respects the hell out of the guy, and he deserves to get recognition for his good work and intelligence. I wish him well, though I find it difficult to wish that job on anyone.
Ok, here comes the wife. I'll try to post as much as possible about our progress. I know that we can make it at least to southern Illinois fairly safely. We've made that trip a few times and the highway's clear. After that, though, it's an unknown until we get within thirty miles of Rachel.
Off we go.

at 
12:49 PM
 

Posted by Josh Guess

There isn't much to talk about today. We've made it farther through Illinois than any time since the zombies destroyed society, about three hundred miles from home. We decided to stop about forty miles on the other side of interstate 57, at a rest area of all places. It has a cell signal, I guess because these little spots are designed to be self-sufficient. There's clean water, power, and some food left in the vending machines. Not to mention a bunch of abandoned cars, and we never leave home without a siphon...
Talked to Courtney this morning, who is working with my brother right now to learn about what he and I do in our posts as planners. She says that everything at home is calm, though there are some signs of zombie activity because of the warmer weather. Nothing our folks can't handle, but they will keep a close eye regardless.
Rachel and her people seem to be doing well for the time being. The marauders seem to have slacked off a bit in their raids into town. Maybe they think they've managed to find everything of value. I really, really hope that's the case, because while we're armed and ready to fight, we don't have the numbers to defeat a large force.
There are many ways we can look at and deal with the problem. Our first choice is to be as stealthy as possible and spirit her people out under cover of night. Right behind that is taking them away under a cloud of confusion and chaos. The last and least desirable option is one that I can't really discuss. It's something I have to keep under wraps. I hope it never needs to happen.
Jess and I are riding in the same vehicle on our way there. It's been a long time since we've both been healthy and together with no one else around for any length of time. We've been talking about so many things we've been through in the last eight months, and it's kind of amazing to me that our relationship is still as strong as it is.
Through the fall of society, the brief period when she was dosing me with narcotics to keep me stable to losing our child, we've been strong together. When you truly love someone, you love them for who they are, every flaw and mistake. You forgive and learn, work through what you can and tolerate what you can't. And I can't imagine anyone else putting up with my flaws. Hell, I don't know how she does it...
Going to snatch a bite to eat. I hope to make it to Kansas by late tomorrow, but from here on out the road ahead is at best a mystery. Our thoughts are focused on the task ahead, but our hearts are with you all, at home and abroad. Be safe.

at 
2:08 PM
 

Posted by Josh Guess

We're in Missouri, and things are not going well.
About thirty miles into across the state line from Illinois we ran into a huge swarm of zombies. The warm weather is only lasting for about six hours during the day, but it's enough to cause no end of trouble for us. We had to detour south for a long time until we found a rest area with maps. We're working on alternate routes, and alternates to those to use as needed. There is so much destruction here that only maybe one in five exits from the interstates are open, making it incredibly difficult to plan ahead.
The good news is that we haven't run into any other living people. It's not that we would normally be averse to networking among other like-minded survivors, but our goal is speed and not drawing attention. We're doing our thing here right now, siphoning gas from abandoned cars and raiding any supplies left here. I doubt that we will be getting much sleep tonight, since we're behind schedule and farther away than we should be.
A lot to do. We're alive and well, and still on the way.

at 
5:23 PM

Posted by Josh Guess

We've just finished setting up base camp. We're some distance away from Rachel and her people, and today we will begin the process of trying to map out the location(s) of the marauders around here. If we can case them properly, we'll have a good chance of getting Rachel's group out of here safely.
We're in a copse of old trees in the middle of a giant corn field, giving us a level view around us. We decided that visibility was key since the warm weather the last few days means that there is a higher chance of zombie attack. I talked to Courtney a while ago, and the nights at the compound have been increasingly warm since we left. Our scout teams have been working overtime to break up the gathering swarms of zombies before they can begin to beat at our walls.
It's weird how when I was stuck at home, I felt guilty at letting others go out and do the fighting. Now that I'm out and about a few states away, I feel guilty for not being there, as if I have abandoned them. I mean, between Patrick and his volunteers leaving out this morning for another run to the factory, us out here trying to bring in Rachel's group, trade resuming with Jack's compound up north, and the continued scout missions we send looking farther and deeper for supplies, it seems like the compound is empty.
It's not, of course. We keep track of duty rosters and numbers on the wall, never sending out more people than we can spare. It's just an irrational feeling. I know that. Our defenses and weapons improve all the time, cannibalized from those who have attacked us. We have some surprises in store for anyone who dreams about conquest, I guarantee that.
Will is doing his part in that area. He assured me before I left that he would be working hard to build up our defenses. He knows a lot about military equipment, and our easy access to the national guard base across the road means that if we can move it and set it all up, we'll be ready for just about anything.
Enough worrying about home. We have a job to do here, and Jess and I need to head toward Rachel's location. We have to start the work of coordinating a retreat from this place, designing a plan based on any and all of the info our lookouts gather over the next few days. If the marauders are working their way in a given direction, we need to know about it.
I intend to get everyone out of here safely and efficiently. Can't think beyond that right now.

at 
10:39 AM

Posted by Josh Guess

The winds are blowing, drops of rain patter harder and more frequently against the roof of our car, and on the not too distant horizon lightning flashes.
It's all kinds of ominous, which pretty much fits the mood around here right now. The scouts we've brought with us have spent the last day studying the movements of the local marauders and the news isn't good. There are a good lot of them, and while they aren't moving toward us or Rachel's hideout, they are apparently settling in. Everything the scouts report seeing indicates a large number of them moving this way, gathering supplies and setting up base.
We spent a lot of time with Rachel's people trying to work out a plan to escape. The large numbers of marauders moving toward this town are making it difficult to move about unseen. This storm is going to help, though. Very soon it will be over us, darkening the sky and obscuring us with rain. Then we can move out, getting some of the vehicles Rachel's group have prepared to take out of here set up a safe distance away. We'll also start moving her people out of the danger zone in small groups.
If the storm can give us even two hours, we can manage a lot. The vehicles are far enough away from the main marauder camp that we feel safe moving them all at once under the cover of rain. The people are a lot closer, well within the area the marauders patrol. So on that front it's going to be a lot riskier.
Time isn't on our side. The number of enemies will only increase right along with the danger.
The storm is moving faster now. It's almost time.

at 
12:13 PM
 

Posted by Josh Guess

We managed to get Rachel and her people out of their building yesterday thanks to the massive storm. It lasted for almost six hours, and was strong enough to make us worry about being blown over. The good news is that we managed to get them to our hiding spot, though not yet to their own vehicles. The bad news is that a few of us were seen, which caused the marauders to start looking around for us.
I don't think they'll find us before we leave, but they are currently searching between us and the cache of RV's that we need to get our new friends to. There are several plans up for discussion right now as to how we can distract them long enough to get out of here.
That's where we stand at the moment. As soon as this sweep is done, we'll sneak around them and create a diversion.
Back at home, things are very bad. We received word very early this morning that a big zombie attack came yesterday. The storm reached even there, and the walls were hit hard under cover of rain. It wasn't the zombies that were the problem, however, but a second attack that came at the same time, using the undead as a distraction.
I'm telling you what I have been told, and trying to keep myself calm while I do it. Bear with me.
Ten men in military gear struck the southwestern wall of the compound yesterday, having come up through the farm located outside the walls. Somehow they managed to avoid being seen by any of the folks out there working. They came in two groups, both using heavily armored and modified hummers. They had to have crept toward the compound until they were close enough to take a strong run at us, the sound of the engines drowned out by the rain and thunder.
They did come, though, and punched a hole in the wall fifteen feet across. We had several guards and lookouts in that direction, and every one of them were taken out from a distance before the soldiers made their rush. Suppressed rifles, if you can believe that.
At any rate, they burst through the defenses and immediately spread out in two squads, trying to figure out where the armory and clinic were. We found this out by capturing the last surviving member of the squads, and...inducing him to explain.
We were caught off guard, of course. We suffered a few serious blows, one of them Roger. He was shot several times, and is currently riding the line between life and death. It would have been so much worse without some very good thinking on Will's part.
He knew that some day a group would try to take us over. The obvious targets were the armory, our clinic, our council hall...any place, basically, that holds items or people that we would have a hard time sacrificing for the greater good. Though in truth, it would be difficult bordering on impossible for us to give up anyone or anything without a fight.
At any rate, Will has spent a good amount of time setting up some nice defenses for those weak points. He himself was on guard duty at the clinic when one of the squads came there. Will saw them coming, had just enough time to get to the hidden gun platform.
Fifty cal machine gun -vs- five armored soldiers? No contest. They were cut down before they could fire a shot at the clinic. The other group was hit near the armory, two of them falling into a pit trap, two getting electrocuted from a trap I helped design, and the last one captured.
The prisoner has told us a lot. Will has been able to verify a lot of what our people are being told, as he apparently knew all ten of the attackers. That didn't stop him from killing them, of course.
Richmond's soldiers have finally made a move. That they dedicated ten percent of their numbers to this attack scares the shit out of me. It has to mean something bigger will come. And what if they have managed to gather more soldiers?
It's something I will deal with when we are home and safe.