Sloane: Mission Failure

This week was not a good week.

The compound leader, Esmeralda, had a mission for us. There’s a sporting goods store in town and they need weapons desperately here. I warned her there was a good chance it’d be cleaned out, but she seemed pretty certain there wouldn’t be any problems finding stuff to use.

We took a route she suggested, that had the hair on the back of my neck raised too damn much. It was a lot of narrow alley ways that could easily see us bottlenecked, followed by dashes across empty space. My nerves were just about shot by the time we made it to the rooftop we were supposed to use to find a route in.

As soon as we got to the roof, I could see precisely why Esmeralda was so sure there would be stuff inside. The outside was completely surrounded with zombies, just walking around in circles or standing there. I didn’t see any movement inside, but there was no telling what was in there.

“She said it’s been like this since the beginning- that a group of survivors tried to hole up in there,” Scat muttered. “Think they’re still alive?”

I doubted it. If they were, there would be a lot more interest on the inside.

“How’re we gonna get there?” Female Lucks asked curiously.

“We’ll either fight our way through or try to get up onto the roof via other roofs,” Scat decided. I exchanged glances with Lucks. She caught it and frowned. “Something the matter?”

I told her no, it was just near impossible to get to that roof, and also I didn’t like going into a place blind.

She hesitated at that. “We don’t have much of a choice,” she pointed out.

“We’ll be fine,” Lazarus said with a wide grin, standing up and levelling his rifle at the zombies. I slapped it out of his hands before he could fire.

“Are you stupid?!” Scat hissed, yanking him down to sit beside us. “You idiot, you could’ve gotten us swarmed!”

May’ve slapped his head for good measure. He’s stupid, he deserved it.

It took us maybe 15 minutes to come up with a plan. Once that was finalized, we put Lazarus on the roof and warned him if he shot before we gave him the signal, we’d be pissed. Then Scat, Lucks, the dogs, and I all crouched in an alleyway and waited.

Once we were in position, Scat gave Lazarus the signal. We waited for a minute and nothing happened. Scat scowled and went up the ladder to see what was going on. She came back down, steaming mad. Turns out he didn’t remember the signal.

Was about ready to ditch him right there, but Scat convinced me to calm down. She gave him the signal again; this time, we heard the rifle shot and then nothing. Then another rifle shot, and this time an explosion.

That attracted all the zombies in the parking lot, of course. Now, though, we could hear banging on the windows of the sporting goods store, from the inside. Scat cursed at that. I agreed with what she said.

We waited until the majority of the zombies had been lured away before sprinting across the parking lot towards the store. When we were close enough, I jabbed my staff at the glass of one of the windows. It wasn’t the shatterproof stuff you normally see. This stuff just kinda exploded, allowing a horde of zombies out of the shop.

The dogs and I stayed outside, keeping them occupied, while Scat and Lucks went in and raided it for stuff. Things were going well. It was too easy.

Everything went south so fast it’s hard to process. I’m not even completely sure what happened. I remember someone screaming inside- I think it was the female half of Lucks. The zombies started swarming at her scream, trying to overwhelm me and the dogs. I got out unscathed, thanks to crouching down and having the dogs surround me, but when they’d passed, I knew something had gone wrong inside.

There were probably thirty zombies inside. As good as the dogs are, I knew I couldn’t fight my way through. I signaled to Lazarus to wait and retreated back a bit.

The hardest part was just waiting and not knowing what was going on. Wanted so badly to go in and see what was wrong, but it was too dangerous.

Scat stumbled out after a few minutes, shoving through the zombies, the female half of Lucks right behind her. The male half of Lucks was in her arms, limp and covered with blood.

Don’t think I need to explain what happened. Don’t want to, but I will anyways.

We didn’t know the layout of the store. It was a mistake. Lucks got caught in a dead end. Zombies overwhelmed them. The male half got bit protecting the female half.

All of us raced back to the compound, but we all knew it was too late. Male Lucks… he got bit. Took a chunk out of his arm.

As soon as we got back, Scat told me to take female Lucks and get her away from male Lucks. I took her away to get her supply bag emptied out. Her bag was full, but it came at the price of her brother’s life.

Lazarus came and found us, told us Lucks wanted his sister to be there. She practically sprinted away towards the infirmary. I just kind of watched them go.

What can I say? I…

I can’t say any more.

Terron: Glad to hear you and your group’re doing ok.

Anonymous: Coward.

Terron: Bandits

Terron here

So, we’ve gone a long time without encountering any form of bandits. It’s been rather nice.

Right up until we were knocked off of the road by a small convoy of trucks. Houston ended up manning the turret, and took a shot to the arm. Lewis did a pretty good job of covering for me. Also, aiming with one arm is a bit more difficult, but I’ve gotten better at it on the spot, given as my pistol is not all that big to begin with.

In all to report:

-No casualties
-Brennon managed to scavenge some supplies after the skirmish
-Houston is temporarily out of commission, though he is making a rapid recovery
-I’ve managed to hold my own with one arm.

All in all, it could have gone much worse. The Humvee took some damage, but it’s still up and running, and we’re approaching the Oklahoma border. Progress has been slow due to the snow.

 

Ingrid: I have given it some thought, and I think it would be better than nothing, so why not? I’m willing to try it.

Crowe: Stay safe

Sloane: I’ve been alright, busy as you can tell. How about you?

---

*edit*

I hate to barge in

Do you? You didn’t even wait for me to finish. -T

You were taking too long.

So, what do you want? -T

I just see a couple of poor fools floundering about an apocalypse and I’m curious as to where it goes.

So, are you going to help us? -T

No.

Then why are you here? -T

Because if Crowe isn’t there to look after you, someone might as well do it.

And yet you’re not helping us? -T

No. Just watching.

Who are you, exactly? -T

---

 

…… Just going to leave on that note, are you?  Coward.

Sloane: Nicknamed

Scat has a nickname for me. I told her it seemed a little fast, but she just shrugged and said it was easy, once she watched me for a bit.

She says my nickname is now Alpha, since I’m the alpha female of my little pack.

I like it. I may be vain, but I think it suits me.

Everyone doing ok? ‘s awfully quiet.

Sloane: New Compound

I don’t know how many miles we could pull yet, because I found a compound yesterday. It’s in an apartment complex, kind of like the one with Mika and Magdalene. They’re a little wary with the dogs, especially Killer, but I ignore them and he ignores them, so we’re all good.

They have a mechanic that can fix my bike, and they need the coats, so we managed a trade. I’m staying in a guest room until they fix it and I can leave.

Mama and the puppies were welcomed with open arms. They’ve asked if I can leave them here- they think it could be an asset to have dogs. I don’t disagree, and I’ve told them as long as I get Stella, they’re welcome to them.

There’s a few more ‘scavengers’- that’s what they call people like me- staying here. Scat’s one- she used to be a long-distance runner, so she’s survived a long time out there. She’s nice, polite. She likes the dogs. Zetta is her favorite- she’s from up north, and she used to have a Husky. While Zetta, so far as I know, is an Alaskan Malamute, they’re close enough that Scat tries to love on her. I say “tries” because Zetta doesn’t really like anyone and ignores Scat. I had to let her know that it’s not her- Zetta barely tolerates me.

There’s also Lucks, which is funny, because it’s a brother and sister, collectively referred to as Lucks. They’re inseparable, so while it’s strange, it’s nothing too weird.

Then there’s ‘Lazarus’, who is a shady guy that looks about my age. He’s got black hair with gray hairs here and there, tall and lanky, and has the biggest ego I’ve ever seen. Evidently he thinks he’s hot stuff. Keeps trying to impress any woman over the age of about 18.

I didn’t realize it, but scavengers give each other nicknames. Scat got her nickname because she’s fast and can ‘scat’ away from trouble. Lucks have escaped from trouble so many times there’s no way they should still be alive. Think Lazarus gave himself his nickname. He wants people to think he’s impressive.

Scat wants to give me a nickname. I’m going to leave it up to her. I don’t care what anyone calls me, really. I’m part of the pack, and I’m a Ladner. Those are the two most important labels to me.

Morgan: Be careful. Stay low. Don’t get cocky, don’t get caught.

Morgan: Still Here

Sorry for the lack of posts. We’ve been traveling. Nothing much to report as we’ve been traveling. I found a grocery store that actually had a little food that was still good, we found a new abandoned vehicle since the last one broke down (a cold couple days walk till we found it), and we ran across a few zombies, but no collared ones thankfully.

The last couple days have been more interesting though. I found a building with that logo on the doors. It looked similar to the building I found months ago that was almost zombie proof. It looked challenging to get in. Between the logo and the likelihood that it would be zombie-free, I was about to try to break in when I realized there were lights on on the upper floors.

I retreated and watched for a while. There are definitely people in there. I can see people in the upper windows. They almost look like they’re just regular workers, like this is the one building where the zombie apocalypse never happened and they’re just going about normal life. I’m keeping my distance and keeping an eye on the place. I’m not going to say any more details in case they’re watching the blog.

Anonymous Poster: What do you want?

Sloane: Dogsledding

I’m an idiot.

I was watching Zetta ford the snow like a pro and realized something- we’re in snow. She’s an Alaskan Malamute (I think). Can’t they pull dogsleds?

Figured it was worth a try, so I hitched up a system out of some ropes I scavenged. Zetta, shockingly, loved it- she was prancing around as I got her into her harness, and I even managed to pet her head, which she barely ever allows. Ears seemed somewhat interested, and Killer looked a little resigned to the fact that he’d be stuck in this thing.

I put myself in the empty spot, put Moose and Priss in the trailer with the pups, and we started pulling.

Things were rocky at first. We had problems finding a decent pace, one that wouldn’t be too fast for me but too slow for the dogs. Eventually, we managed to find our pace, and from there, things went a lot better.

I think we managed to cover 15 miles today, instead of the 9 or 10 that’s normal, and we didn’t even dogsled the whole day. Thinking we may be able to pull a 20 mile day tomorrow.

Ingrid: At least you found a solution without bloodshed. Watch your people. If the bandits killed anyone, their families may be out for revenge.

Ingrid: The Bandits’ Fate

It’s been a stressful week. I put it to a vote, and the population decided to put the bandits to work. They’re going to be on the frontlines a lot now- saving us from the worst of any fighting we may have to do.

We’re doing pretty well. I’m going to take a census soon- we’ve had more people coming in from the North- they’re saying there was an enormous snowstorm that dumped snow for a solid day or two. They say the zombies moved much slower in the snow, which is what I expected.

I’m no doctor, but I still want to know how, exactly, they can move when they’re dead.

Aren’t they?

Crowe: First, look for a church bell tower. If you can see it, get up high on a roof and point a flashlight at the tower. Someone’s always on watch, so I’ll tell them to be on the lookout for you. It’ll be much quieter than a flare, and probably won’t attract as many zombies.

Sloane: We took your advice. Thank you!

Reno: We did the same with your advice. I figured you may be a little angry if we killed other bandits. You’re welcome!

Crowe: Good and Bad News

Crowe here

 

So, I’ll get the bad news out of the way. I think that organization is still looking for us for some reason.

We heard a vehicle approaching and quickly hid ourselves. A white van drove past, going way faster than I felt it should have. I just managed to catch that same logo on the side of it as it went by. There were spotlights in the windows scanning the sides of the roads as it went by, but it didn’t see us.

We stayed there for about ten minutes, not wanting to move. And sure enough, right when we were about to move…The van came right back down the road, still scanning with it’s lights.

Oh, and those sprinters…saw just one more of them, not entirely sure why…but I think it may have something to do with how old they are… it’s a really high jump, but I watched one run until it fell over and stopped moving completely.

The good news is… I think I can see Ingrid’s place from here. I’m not entirely sure, though. I see dim lights in the distance, but I think I’ll wait to observe it from a distance first. I’d prefer avoiding getting shot if I can help it. We’re also going to wait to see if that van shows up…

 

Anonymous Editor: No, I didn’t. You may not be openly causing harm, but you had better start explaining yourself.

Sloane: I may never understand how you manage to handle so many dogs… but by this point, I am not surprised. I wish you luck.

Terron: Hang in there.

Ingrid: If you need me to, I have a single flare in my bag I can light to indicate my presence.

I imagine everyone is still a bit twitchy from the bandit thing… so I’m in no extreme rush.

 

 

—————-

*edit* I don’t really feel like explaining anyway. Point is, I’m watching.

 

Reno: Just Another Day

Top of the morning to ya.

I seem to have miss placed the journals so no entry this time.

Im still alive. Jet and I are staying in the same room now. She decided to move in I guess. I most certainly am not complaining.

I went to my room the other day. No one had touched the bodies of my parents since I sort of chopped their heads off. I have been working on cleaning it since. Its rather gross.

The farming is going decently. My back has started hurting, its rather annoying but its mostly just unused to the work.

Sloane: You better watch how many dogs you drag along with you. You arent going to be able to use a bike all the time if you get too many. They will weigh it down and that causes gas consumption to go up.

Ingrid: well I’m a bandit so I can sort of sympathize with them. I would say make them workers. I guess it would be kind of like slavery only no selling. Make them do the hard work.

Reno’s Riding out.

Sloane: The Cold

We’re on the move. I’m heading south farther. Hopefully I’ll be able to pass through the desert in the dead of winter, when the heat will bother me far less.

Also hopeful I’ll find a place that will trade something for bike repair. Walking the bike through snow is getting old, fast.

The puppies are all huddled together in their nest. Mama sleeps with them most of the day. The other dogs like helping me ford the snow. Moose doesn’t, of course, and neither does Prissy, but they’re not big enough to be of any real help.

Everyone else all right? No one’s talked in a while.