Callie pulled the van into the development adjacent to the wooded area that housed them. Without the foliage on the bushes and trees the perimeter of their house was visible. Anyone in the neighboring development could see their shelter. Julia made a mental note to get those windows covered and to keep the lights off at night. They'd be invisible through the woods if they went dark. She parked the van at the curb and they unloaded out onto the street. They split up, half going to the right and the other half going to the left.
Julia stopped Hayley when she went to turn the knob on the front door. Instead Julia rang the door bell and waited. She peeked through the window beside the door, seeing no one she signaled to Hayley to try the knob. Locked. Julia busted the small window on the door and reached in to unlock it. As they entered, they closed the door behind them. "Hello." Julia called. "Anyone?" The house wasn't alive, but it wasn't dead either. No odor of death met them as they head to the kitchen. Julia found what they needed in the laundry room. They unloaded the freezer into the basket then looked in the fridge. The edible food had spoiled. Hayley opened the cabinets, but Julia stopped her. "Freezers today. Food tomorrow." Hayley did as she was told, glad she had something to focus on rather than dwelling on the obvious. It kept her awake at night and gave her nightmares during the day. She hadn't said much to Julia since Jay brought her and Kevin back. She wanted to, but didn't know where to start or whether to start. So she remained silent, emptying out the freezers on a block full of houses. Before leaving each house, Julia checked out the basements. She looked for large freezers. If she found one, she'd mark the door with an X and they'd return with the box truck to remove it. So far they'd found one and it was full.
"Jackpot." Hayley whispered as she and Julia peered inside. Julia marked the door with an X as she waited for Hayley to come outside. "Hey, Julia. Look." She called from the living room. Hayley stood by the easy chair with magazines in her hands. Julia stepped back inside. "This guy was a gun enthusiast." Hayley said.
"Let's look around then." Julia nodded. They went through the house, starting with the master bedroom. They looked through the closets and they found the footlocker inside the closet on the floor. When Julia opened it she found a couple pistols and bullets for them. They carried the whole foot locker to the van.
"Where is everyone?" Hayley asked. "They been in there awhile." Hayley pointed at the house caddy corner to them.
"Let's go look." Julia said, opening the foot locker. She handed Hayley one of the guns and she took the other. "Quietly."
"You ever shot a gun, Jules?"
"There's a first time for everything."
Julia led the way to the yard, then ducked around the bushes and gradually stood to peek through the front window. Cass, Callie and Kevin were standing in the living room and a man in his 50's held a gun on them. "Shit," Julia muttered.
Julia went to the front door that was ajar. "Hello." She called. "Sir, hello."
"What?" He hollered at the front door.
"What's your name?"
"Bob," He called, "What you want? You want my stuff. I don't have nothing."
"I want my people, not your stuff, Bob." Julia called. "If we entered by mistake into your home, I am sorry for that. It was an honest mistake-"
"They busted through my door. They had weapons on me." He called.
"Did you take their weapons, Bob?"
"No, the black fella has his gun on me."
"Bob, if they lay the weapons down, will you let them back out and leave?"
"My door."
"I don't have a door, Bob. You'll need to nail that shut." Julia called. "Bob, I think you just want us to leave and not come back, is that right, Bob?" Bob was thinking so hard, Julia swore his thoughts could be heard. "That's what I'd want. Is for them to leave and not have any problems."
"I- I- don't have anything."
"Neither do we. We're all just trying to survive, Bob. We have stuff, Bob. Let my people go and I can help you out."
"He's still holding the gun on me."
"Kevin, put the gun down." Julia called.
"I put it down." Kevin called.
"Bob, escort them to the door now." Julia shooed Hayley down the steps and off Bob's porch. She backed away slowly as well. "Would that be ok with you?"
Cass, Callie and Kevin backed slowly out the door. Bob stood in his doorway, gun still raised. He looked at Julia and had to lower his aim. He was scared and had nothing. He looked tired as well.
"Bob, I'm Julia. Would you like me to leave or would you like me to help you?"
"What are you going to do for me, girly?"
"My name is Julia. And I only offer my assistance once. What do you need in there, Bob?"
Julia set her gun that she didn't know how to shoot on the door mat, then kicked it away from them. Bob lowered his weapon. "If you want, we can go inside and you can make me a list of things you need. When we go through these houses, I will bring you what you need."
Julia and Bob went into his house, which made the others nervous. "She's fucking nuts." Kevin said shaking his head.
"She saved our asses cause Bob was gonna shoot us." Cass mumbled.
Bob's home was dark and dank. Bob hadn't slept or cleaned in a while. He lived alone, his wife never came home from work one day. He set at the counter in the kitchen with a pad and a pencil, writing his needs. Top on the list was toilet paper. "I'm going to give this to Kevin and he'll get you what you want. When he returns, don't shoot him. And he'll help you secure your door."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I don't want my people dead. I want them alive." Julia answered. "And one day I might need help."
"I need help!" Chess screamed as he rounded the farm house. He ran as fast as he could, dodging the blasts from the shot gun as the farmer and head of household fired at him. He changed directions as the bullets exploded the ground near his feet.
Tavin raised his weapon to return fire, "Don't hit him, just scare him." Jay yelled as Tavin fired a bullet at the man. It hit the house, shattering the siding and wood beneath around the farmer's head. He ducked and hid, which gave Chess time to make it to the vehicle. Jay held the door open for him and he dove head first inside. Tavin fired up the engine and floored the gas out of there, the tires kicking up dirt as he drove down the farm road to the main drag.
"Fuck, Chess. I told you to run." Jay yelled at him. "Are you hit?" He asked his cousin as they drove.
Chess was out of breath, having just run for his life. He gasped for air half from fear and half to catch his breath. He shook his head no.
"This is the second time we been shot at today, fellas. Let's pack it in." Tom urged.
Doug seconded that as he swore that the cabin was looking better and better. "These farm bred men don't fool around."
"We forgot to ask him for milk." Tavin smirked, letting out a disgruntled laugh.
Jay burst out laughing, thinking his girlfriend was not going to be pleased. He was trying to spill blood.
"There's got to be an easier way to do this, guys. Think."
"How bout some surveillance? Good old fashioned sitting and watching and waiting. If we see them, then we know to leave."
They continued to drive, sulking at their failed search for their next home. They all felt let down. "Wait. Stop. Turn back." Tom called as he gazed out the rear window. Tavin slowed and pulled a U-turn in the road and drove slowly back till Tom told him to turn. Tavin stopped inside the open gate, hesitant to advance for fear of taking more bullets directed at his ass. "Keep going, the fence is open, not closed."
"So what? Is that a welcome mat or something?" Chess grumbled. They pulled right up to the main house. None of them dared to step out of the vehicle. The vehicle rounded the house, eyeballing the rear of the main house. Behind the structure was a small barn and a small coop enclosure. This farm had seen better days. It was dilapidated in spots, needed some elbow grease according to Tom. A carpenter in his previous work, he saw promise here. The farm also had land and just enough for their needs.
"Animals, man. I don't see anything alive here." Jay said, peering through the windshield.
"That's not important right now, but look at the field. It's fenced in. We'll have to reinforce it. We could even add on a couple rooms and such off the back of this main house."
"Really?" Tavin asked, stifling a laugh.
"I think Julia would agree with me." Tom smirked, opening the rear door and stepping outside onto the ground. Tom went to the back door. He gave it a good push then withdrew his gun off his hip. He called out to the living or the dead before heading into the kitchen. A wooden table sat by the window. The cold air and the draft made the house feel haunted. The floors creaked. He pointed across the room. "Hearth. Wood stove." He opened a door in the kitchen, "Pantry and root cellar." He clicked on the flash light and followed the stream of light into what would be their dining room. A main sitting room directly to the left which held a massive fire place. That room continued to a wide stair well that led to the second floor. There were 3 bedrooms upstairs. There was no electricity and there was no bathroom. It was bare bones and the bare minimum. It had been built a century and a half ago of stone and wood. It had been patched in areas, but would be totally livable. It was empty and dusty. Hell, it was dirty. It would need a complete cleaning and overhaul. Tom led them back outside, talking the whole way about how structurally sound the debilitated farm was. Tom led them through the coop, then over to the barn. Harnesses and farm tools were hanging in the barn.
"This was abandoned before the end of the world." Chess said, looking at the farm tools. He checked out the stalls where horses should stand, a small enclosure for? A cow or 2? Chess had no idea.
Tavin followed Tom back into the December afternoon cold.
"I'm not sure this is what Red had in mind, man. But it's definitely on the list." Tavin said. "I don't think we should be starting renovations."
"It's the only one that hasn't shot back at us today." Jay added.
"It is not a lot of work." Tom told them.
"There's no bathroom, Tom."
"Chess, it's right over there." Tom pointed at the outhouse a hundred yards or so off the main house.
"Well, I have never done that before. I'm gonna do it right now." Chess jogged to the outhouse and upon opening the door, began squealing like a girl, falling back over his feet. As the walker fell out of the outhouse on top of him, Chess jabbed it half through the head with his blade. He rolled the half naked walker off of him and got to his feet. "I didn't know whether he was gonna eat me or fuck me. Jesus Christ. I am so tired of this shit." Chess walked back to the outhouse to take a piss.
Tom ambled to the house, pointing to the addition that was most recently added. "This probably started out a long time ago as a couple rooms all on one floor. See here where they added on. I could take down this wall and make a simple addition. It'll be sturdy and warm. Add another wood stove. Plenty of them around. "
"That's a lot of work." Tavin remarked.
"For one man, sure. But I have you fellas." Tom reassured him. "We need to show this to Julia. See what she thinks. I think she'll see the potential for this."
Julia and Hayley sat by the van and watched as Bob and Kevin secured the front door. Kevin had set a couple boxes of supplies on the porch that he'd requested. Cass mumbled, "How long does it take to fix a door?"
"I'd like to know how you wound up in a house in an armed standoff with our buddy Bob over there." Julia shot at her. "Did you all check the house before you went in?"
"Yes, Boss, we did. He didn't answer, so we thought it was clear." She answered sarcastically. " It's not what we planned on doing today."
"Thanks for not killing him."
"Wasn't my idea. Kevin had the gun. It was his choice." Callie said, moving herself to the driver's seat of the van.
Julia walked over to the porch when they were done securing Bob's front door. Kevin offered to take the boxes inside and Bob said he'd do it himself. Kevin extended his hand to Bob, which he took and shook firmly. Kevin went to the van and got inside. "Hey, do you plan on staying here forever?" Julia asked him.
"I haven't thought about it."
"We have a group. You met some of them. I'm offering if you want to join us."
"No, thanks." He answered, looking around the road nervously.
"Three houses down. It's clear and we left the back door unlocked. If you need supplies, go there. If you need safety, you can go there. It has full cabinets and a freezer in the basement that's full."
Julia stepped off the porch and joined the others in the van. Bob went back inside his house.
Note to self: you can help those in need.
"But it's Christmas!" Alex screamed, looking out the window into the woods. He pointed at the fir tree outside the fence and tugged at Andy's shirt.
"I see it." Andy said, detaching the boy's hand from his shirt sleeve. Rey stepped beside them with the rest of the kids.
"Hey, what are we looking at?" Jess asked, carrying in a couple boxes of Christmas decorations. She set them on the floor by the fireplace and joined the others at the window.
Alex pointed excitedly, "Right there. See the Christmas tree, Jess?"
"I see it, yeah."
"The kids want us to go chop it down." Rey laughed. "With an axe."
"Let's go then." Jess said.
"No way. We can't leave here."
"It's right there, guys. Over the fence, not 10 feet away." Jess argued.
Leah and Madison agreed with her. "No prob," Leah said boldly.
"You fools have never cut down a tree." Andy argued, "Not a good idea."
"It's not Christmas without a tree." Kelly added, opening the decorations' box. She started corralling the kids, involving them in putting up a few decorations they'd found in a crawl space upstairs. Jess relented and continued to help decorate inside.
Leah and Madison sneaked outside, crept through the back yard and into the shed where they found the axe and then opened the gate to go after their tree. Alex spied them first through the window. He watched as the girls swung the axe. He watched them struggle, whacking at the tree base. They'd never cut down a tree before. The girls laughed and joked as they chopped at the tree, and with each strike, it reverberated into the woods, each strike sending soft thudding vibrations through the forest floor. Distracted by the tree, they failed to notice it drew the dead from their crevices. Led by the noise of metal thwacking wood, they crept their awkward gait into the woods and through the woods toward both girls.
"Jess!" Alex screamed. His voice shrill with a fear that she'd not heard before. She hurried to him thinking he was hurt, but when she looked out the window, her stomach flopped.
She ran to the front door and opened it to scream at the girls to run, but that door opened to a crowd filing through the gate that was open. She slammed the door shut. Telling herself to keep calm, she felt nothing but panic.
"Everyone! Upstairs! Now! Kelly, get the kids into the attic and pull the door up. Quickly! Move!" Jess screamed over the sound of kids. The adults in the house hurried to the living room. Audrey, the girls' mother, ran toward the front door and Jess tackled her before she could open it. "Damn it they're filling up the yard. DO NOT open that door!" Jess screamed in her face.
Audrey tossed Jess aside and defied her despite the fact that the dead were through the fence. She pulled the door open anyway and met one face to face. She shoved past it to get to her girls and she was successful, but she left the door wide open. Jess had the presence of mind to close the door behind the infected that entered. She drew it into the living room near the fireplace and grabbed the poker from the rack.
"Andy, Rey," She whimpered, trembling as she swung the weapon.
Rey dove at its feet and tripped it, but hit his head on the base of the mantle and knocked himself out cold.
"Hit it! Jess, hit it!" Andy squealed.
She swung the poker until her arms hurt. She swung till its head cracked open on the rug in the living room.
She was terrified. Andy stopped her mid swing, telling her it was dead. He dragged her through the living room into the kitchen. They hauled ass upstairs, crying and panicked till they got to the attic door, which they had pulled up like they were told. Andy pulled the cord on the steps and met with Luz face when the steps dropped.
"Is everyone up there? All the kids?" Jess cried.
"Yes," Luz answered. Jess handed Luz the poker.
"Anything dead pulls this cord, you stab it in the head. Can you do that?"
"Yes, where's Rey?"
Jess closed the door. She led Andy to the stairs that led to the kitchen.
"You think there are anymore in here?"
Jess shrugged unsure. They peeked around the stairwell and looked into the downstairs. Rey still lay on the floor and they saw no more dead. Only one had got inside, but there were more at the door. Jess and Andy heard the scratching and scraping at the door. Both doubted it would hold. They had no weapons, Andy whispered. Jess slipped quietly to the fireplace mantle and pulled the weapons down. "What the hell?" Andy gasped as she handed him a hunting knife. He stared at the blade's length wide eyed. Jess yanked down a machete. "Chess told me about these." She replied quickly. "They wanted them stashed just in case. And now is just in case."
"Where are we going?" Andy asked as they head to the back door.
"We need to barricade this door. We need something heavy." Jess said hurriedly. They set their weapons down and they struggled to move the China closet in front of it. It's funny how when you're scared adrenaline takes over and the unmovable can be moved. As the back door was secured, the front door started to give way. They sprinted with their blades across the house and both leaned with their backs against the door, holding it with all they had in them and praying.
"What are we gonna do, Jess?"
"I don't fucking know. What would Julia and Jay do?"
"They'd fight."
"We can't just open the door and starting kicking ass." Jess groaned.
Both started calling out to Rey who was starting to stir on the floor. He had blood coming from a gash on his head. He had no clue what was going on.
"Rey, look out the window. How many are out there?" Jess called as Rey got to his feet slowly.
"Bout 5 just on the door." Rey answered. "We should go upstairs and get in the attic."
"We fight. We don't run." Jess growled. "You are hurt. You go up. Me and him. We got this. They aren't coming in here."
"I'm not leaving you guys." Rey said, jamming his back against the door.
It seemed like an eternity they held the door against the weight and hunger of those at the door. They heard them gradually fall away from the door and just as they were about to lose the battle against their foes. If they'd gotten inside they would have fought like hell against them, but they were thankful they didn't have to face it. None of them had ever killed anything. They had been protected till that point and everyone in the group had done a good job protecting them, but on their own they were inexperienced and terrified.
They heard banging on the door and Jay's voice calling from the outside. They crawled away from the door as it swung open and they sat in a scared and crying heap on the floor. They were covered more in Rey's blood than the walker's they had killed. "You alright?" Jay asked them. The three nodded yes. "Where is everyone else?"
Jess pointed the machete toward the ceiling. Jay went up the stairs. He called to them to stay put till they were told different. Jay came back downstairs a moment later. Tavin, Chess, Tom and Doug came inside and closed the door. Chess grabbed Jess and pulled her off the floor.
"We didn't know what to do." She cried. "We held the door."
Chess took the knife from Andy and the machete from Jess. "I'm glad I told you where they were." He said, hugging her.
"Seriously, Chess. Are you fucking kidding me? We were scared to death. We didn't know what to do. We didn't-"
"You did the right thing, Jess." Tavin said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Before I let them come down we need to get that out of here." Tom observed, pointing to the dead one in the living room.
Jay went in with his brother and they started rolling up the rug from in front of the fireplace. They started to carry the man outside. Jess went into the kitchen and started mixing up some hot water and dish soap to clean the room the dead man was killed in. She and Andy scrubbed the room clean while Tavin tended to Rey's head wound.
"Anyone wanna tell me what the fuck happened here?" Jay asked.
"Those girls." Andy muttered shaking his head.
"What girls? Who?"
"Leah and Madison, they-"
As Jess began to explain her sentence was cut off by the horn honking out front by the gate. Jay got to his feet and went outside. The infected formed a line in front of the minivan, which was already blood splattered on the street. Jay went to the gate and shot the half dozen infected that circled the hood of the van. Callie drove around them and pulled into the driveway. Jay quickly closed the gate again.
Julia jumped out before the van came to a complete stop. "What the hell, Jay? What happened here?"
Her eyes scanned the yard as dead lay all around them. It looked like a scene from a bad Halloween movie. The rug from inside the house was rolled up just outside the door. "Jay, is everyone ok?"
"Yes and no." He answered. "Come inside."
Jay brought everyone inside the house and closed the door. Jess dumped the water they'd used to clean the room and then mixed bleach and water to disinfect it. She and Andy scrubbed and talked at the same time. Julia didn't know what to say or how to exactly respond to what she'd been told.
"You did the right thing, getting everyone upstairs and safe. Why didn't you 3 join them?"
"I didn't want them in here. They would have destroyed this place. We would have to move one more time." Jess answered.
"And Rey was knocked out down here in front of the fire place." Andy added.
"So let me get this straight, the girls went outside to chop down a Christmas tree and they left the gate open that let them into our yard? And then their mother went out there after them and that's how the dead guy got in the house."
"Basically, yes." Jess answered. "They sneaked out of here, Julia."
"She told Audrey not to open the door."
"I tackled that bitch to keep her away from it, but she got out anyway and left the door swinging wide open. I closed the door with only the one inside. We could barely handle that one. Rey dove underneath it and tripped it and when it fell down over Rey I beat the hell out of its head till it wasn't moving anymore."
"So there's 3 dead." Tom said sadly.
"It could have been so much worse. If these 3 didn't do what they did. How on earth did you move that China closet?"
"I don't know." She answered, dumping the disinfectant water down the drain. She then scrubbed the sink with undiluted bleach. The gloves they'd used to clean and the rags went in the fire place.
Julia went to the window. Rey stood looking at the fence and the woods and the tree that got them in hot water with the infected. He pointed it out to Julia. The axe lay on the ground next to the tree.
"Well, they chopped it half way down." Julia sighed. "Hey, Jay, want to go get the tree?" Julia laughed.
"Ok, just gimme a minute to let them out of the attic." He answered.
Julia looked at Rey and shook her head. "I was kidding."
"Yeah, the little kids just wanted a tree. We told them not to go."
Jay brought everyone back downstairs. It was a great moment of happiness and true rejoicing when they all reunited. Jay took Julia out the front door. Most of the walkers had wandered off and there were a scattered few left on the street. "How you wanna do this?" He sighed, having lost all enthusiasm for the day. She told him she was kidding when she suggested they actually fetch the tree.
"Fuck that, let's do this. "
Chess followed through the doorway next. "Can you believe them girls? What were they thinking?"
"They weren't thinking about drawing in a swarm of cannibals that's for sure." Jay replied.
The three went out the gate and rounded the fence. Jay put down the infected. Chess started chopping, then the two of them grabbed the tree and tossed it over the fence. They dragged it in the house, set it in the stand they'd found with the decorations.
As Luz started dinner the atmosphere inside gradually returned to the new normal. The dirty and bloody formed a line outside the bathroom door and the quickest showers were taken by all. They had to preserve what hot water they had and it was strictly in and out. No one had suspected when they began their day that they'd wind up blood splattered and dirty. Couples went in together if they chose to in order to save time. Those that were not filthy had to wait till the hot water built back up.
Jay and Julia went to their room after going first. They dried off and redressed in silence. She got her book from the bed where she'd left it, then they returned downstairs. Before she could sit and write about her day, she helped Haley and Kevin unload the food from the van. They'd already started unloading and Cass had started putting things away. Luz directed what went where and Rey inventoried their stock. Julia tried to put things into perspective, but it was all for naught. She had too many things going through her head, so much to document about her day with her group, Jay's day with his group and then the disaster that occurred at home. How to prevent that from ever happening again? She wracked her brain. Keep a person posted at all times at the gate? She hated the idea of losing three people, but she also had three less mouths to feed. She needed to sit with the kids. Use this as an example. Stress the fact that there are dangerous things outside now and let Leah and Madison be an example of what could happen to them if they went out unprotected without an adult. She felt responsible for what happened at the house. She felt that she'd somehow let everyone down.
"You can't be everywhere at once, Julia. You're only one person." Hayley reminded her as they carried in the last of the freezer food. "People will die, Julia. It's just how it is. It's a miracle any of us are still walking." Julia nodded her agreement. That was possibly the smartest thing she'd heard Hayley since she'd joined the group.
A somber mood hung in the house. Her people sat quiet, each thinking about their day. They sat at the table and through the living room watching as the kids decorated the tree. The fireplace crackled. The kids laughed as they decorated and sang Christmas carols. Luz started cooking an Italian dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli's, dinner rolls. Callie brought two bottles of wine out of her back pack and sat them on the table with a cork screw. Tavin worked the bottles open and passed around the glasses to those who wanted a drink. Tom passed on the wine, admitting he was an alcoholic. He took a seat next to Julia. "Well, I'm not so fill me up."
"You old enough to drink?" Tom chuckled.
Julia rolled her eyes, "Ok, dad."
Tom cracked open a can of coke, "Can we talk?"
"Absolutely, yeah."
Tom gave her a head's up on the farm house and land they found. He have her a rundown of what they'd have to do to get it up and running, the positives and negatives. If they were plunging into the 1800's, then they may as well take the full plunge. They'd need building supplies and lumber, but he said there are a handful of construction sites around that halted when the shit hit the fan. They'd load up a couple truckloads from the sites, the trucks were already there at the sites. Within a few days they could have an addition and the place would be livable for everyone. They'd need to start with the fencing around the house, make it sturdier to ensure the walkers stayed out, but they could go medieval on the walkers with spikes and traps. Julia drank her wine and listened to Tom's plan. They had an able bodied work crew.
"You want to build an addition onto a house in a couple days?"
"Julia, in the modern world you need work permits and insurance and pay and all that modern shit. In this world you need 2 days and strong kids like you have sitting around here. The Amish raise a barn in less time."
"I want to see it."
"Yes. I have another idea, too."
"Let me hear it, then. You have my undivided attention."
"Solar power." He answered quickly. He detailed the hook up of solar panels onto the roof of this farm house, the basics of how they work and that it would be possible to run the freezers they have on the solar panels. That would take them through the rest of the winter and then into the growing season. They could run other appliances as well.
"Ok, now I need to see this place. Can you take me in the morning?"
"Sure can." He paused. "I wanted to tell you about this because I don't think they're on board. All they see is the amount of work that it would take to get it going. I just want you to see my side of it."
"If we were to do this, I think the solar panels would take some priority here. Keeping the food edible and frozen is a priority. I don't want it thawing out." She paused. "And keeping the dead out. We've crammed into smaller spaces and we'd survive that part, but security and food are our priorities."
"Ok, I got it and I agree." Tom said.
Julia slid the book across the table on front of her and wrote down the details of the farm he'd found.
She had a feeling there was more he wanted to say, but kept to himself. She didn't push him. He'd continue when he wanted to.
"Did you find anything else out there?"
"We found men who shot without asking questions. We checked out four places. Three of them shot at us. And one I told you about. We'll keep going for sure."
12-25:Feral fucking humans. Tell you what I know for sure about them. First, they move slow. Second, they move fast. Unpredictable, like their human predecessors. They don't think at least as far as I know. If they do, then they have a one track mind and its focus is hunger. They seek to satisfy that hunger. They have only that one single, solitary motivation. They shuffle along at an innocent gait, appear uncoordinated and aimless, but don't underestimate them. Though they are not stealthy hunters of their prey, they hunt nonetheless. They do not hide. They do not plan.
It began with an infection. It cropped up in major cities, first being Washington D.C., which leads me to believe it is or was a biological weapon. It could have been exploded easily enough in a bus or a subway or in an airport. A dirty weapon of mass destruction that was set off among an unknowing population. It spread slowly enough in the beginning with symptoms that mimicked the flu. In November and December, no one gave it a second thought. People continued their lives with a cold or flulike illness and no one thought it would be dangerous. It's puzzling why some got infected and some didn't. I believe that the virus lost its potency once out in the air. Eventually every thing dies. It lived a certain amount of time, infected a lot of people that initially came in contact with it. Maybe there were bio-weapons set off in different cities around the country at the same time. The secondary phase of infection came when the people died, then reanimated into walking death. Their bodily fluids are highly infectious. More so if bitten, their mouths containing the saliva that carries the disease and that gets into your blood stream. I spent time talking about this subject with Tavin who saw the infection spread through Pittsburgh. He was on the front line as EMS and first responders. I've never witnessed a death and reanimation, but he has and he said it doesn't take long. It varies from person to person, usually 20-60 minutes. I still don't know how it works for sure and it doesn't matter to me. All I do know is that I lost people, we all lost people. I'm grateful I remained among the living. My life was inexplicably spared.
On this day, I choose to remember those that lived and died.
Julia Jillian Fry
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