Journal Entry # 12

People don't really change. It's a topic I've mulled over most of my life. But even more so now I feel like it's a fact. If a total cataclysmic event killing a large bulk of the human population, one that stops most functional life as we know, and has completely rearranged our daily living, doesn't change someone then really what will.

Cory remains overly aggressive. Tom and I know it to be a mix of his protectiveness and his matter-of-fact style of thinking. He lets his guard down with Arrayah and I. We get to see the softer side of him on occasion. But he's smart, hard working, and impressive with a gun. 

Tom is Tom. Simply how it's always been. Good guy, good natured. A bit of a procrastinator but always the ambassador of the group.

Ian is the nice guy. Classic. Forgetful, nutty professor type. Prone to forgetting stuff or missing the obvious, but brilliant math and tech skills. Always in a good mood and always up for an adventure.

Arrayah is happier than ever but still the same anxious but happy and loyal pup who pouts when she doesn't get enough attention. But she is rarely, if ever, on a leash. If zombies get to roam free, so does my dog.

Brien is still reserved and quiet. Though I get the feeling this who post modern society was a secret dream of his.  He keeps coming up with unexpectedly useful survival tricks. Thoughtful mostly, occasionally boisterous. He still seems sad occasionally but he drudges on like a trooper and works very hard.

Suzanne is the one I empathize with most. She and I think similarly. I was very happy when she showed up. She's very knowledgeable, a great planner, occasionally nervous but always composed and soft spoken. 

There are so many other people who we knew and haven't found yet. I stay hopeful that we'll find them tucked away safe and secure in some bunker or warehouse.

Journal Entry # 11

Quarantine ...continued.

I'm a pushy guy. I blame my East Coast upbringing or perhaps my red headed mother. But the truth is that it probably came from some survival need. As a kid I was terrified of everything. Even as an adult I'm afraid most of the time, but it's masked under composure and assertiveness. So now I act as the sort unofficial decision maker.

When the time came to decide on how to address quarantine procedures, I was at a loss. Really Arrayah guided most of the process.

Step 1: Visual / Behavioral check - This is the "duh" check. A zombie is easy to spot.
Step 2: Response Check - Zombies don't speak. Occasionally they make noises that can make you doubt the fact, but they don't speak. So we ask questions. The person must be able to articulate responses of some kind regardless of language or method.
Step 3: Sniff Test - Arrayah checks them out. The signs are clear. When a typically friendly, jovial, playful yet quiet dog starts avoiding contact, won't approach someone and growls or barks, it's time to pay attention. If they pass the first two, and Arrayah gives the ok then we move on to Step 4.
Step 4: Lockdown - Person in question is lockdown somewhere visible but secure. Food and water and regular social contact is provided both to be humane and to watch for shifts in behavior (rechecks of Step 1 and 2). Lockdown is no shorter than 5 days.
Step 5: Release and Observe - If 5 days pass with no visible signs of change or unexpected reason for concern they are released and left to function under heavy observation for at least another week.

It seemed like a sensible plan. Everyone was on board. It also helped stop some of the more trigger happy members of the group from obliterating every human we run across. Plus there are rules. I like rules. They help me cope.

-Adam

Journal Entry # 10

A few of us like to scan the radios. Occasionally for music, other times for hope of hearing news or a government broadcast. But mostly for something to do. Government issues warnings have either become automated recordings or stopped all together. Many radio stations are on a loop. Just playing old music lists over and over. Most of the rest went silent. But recently we've started to catch clips of something different. It started with just over hearing what sounds like a crazy radio caster. The broadcasts are unscheduled, sporadic, and sound like they are being hosted by some one on the verge of being out of their mind.

But, any safe contact is good contact and you can't get much safer than a one-sided radio broadcast. So now we have a radio set up just to listen in. It's been silent mostly. But it's there with a strip of tape over the power button that reads "Mad Scientist" in dull sharpie ...just in case.

Journal Entry # 9

Quarantine.

We've developed a rudimentary and relatively primitive method of evaluating people we encounter. It's only really been tested once but the methods we use are based on observations. First there is the dog test. Arrayah, in all her sniffing glory, seems to be able to pick up the smell of contamination. We only have guesses about what she smells. Maybe it's a hormone change. Maybe it's the smell of the victims body succumbing to the zombie wound. Maybe she even smells the origin, like some cancer sniffing hospital dog. We aren't scientists, we just trust it to work. The next is time. A bit victim succumbs. Every time. Our guess is that the average person's system converts in 3-5 days. Converting really just means that the body dies and then re-animates. We have yet to find an exception. I wish we would. It would offer some hope that a cure or vaccine might be possible but even my typically idealistic brain dismisses that one quickly. So we wait. Being holed up in a zoo has it's perks. We can contain things. Trap them. And wait.

Sadly, waiting is what we seem to do the most of.

Journal Entry # 8

Like most things in life you expect to become accustomed to new challenged. Every hardship is supposed to be laced with some hidden curve...a threshold for when it gets easier to deal with. It hasn't gotten easier. Zombies don't get easier to deal with. I spent most nights dreaming of horrible events. My sleeping habits have been riddled with nightmares. Even as a kid I was plagued by images of monsters, zombies, gremlins...terrifying things of all sorts. But now my mind has fuel. It has real life images to hone it's terrifying skills. My days and nights are now filled with zombies. Death. Rotting flesh. The smell of bodies.

I feel exhausted.