Zompocalypse Diaries (QUICK edit finished)

December 14, 2012

December 14, 2012

Dear Journal,

We've left Grants Pass, Carrie is keeping up the best she can with her injuries and the lack of J.Js companionship. She still hasn't said a word to Bruce but she does realize it had to be done. We're currently camped just off the road a ways outside of Roseburg. It took a full day of walking and a wild animal from Hell but we're nearing our destination.

Bruce woke us before dawn this morning to get out of town. We'd packed everything up last night so we just had to dress, have a quick breakfast and be on our way.

Jordan stuck close on our way out of town, hand latched to mine, pulling me closer to his side on occasion. The sun was still just barely breaking over the mountaintops and it made for very little light to see by. We kept our ears strained and eyes peeled for any undead threats but all was quiet in the freezing, early morning air.

We were planning on stopping in Roseburg for the night but with the rate Carrie was moving at, I knew we wouldn't make it that far.

Bruce tried and failed numerous times to take the bag she carried or to help her around obstacles but she just kept pushing him away, refusing help and ignoring his conversation. He gave up after awhile and hurried ahead to silently walk beside Jordan and I, leaving Carrie to lag behind and dwell on her own thoughts.

We stuck to the road once we got out of town, risking being more easily seen but also keeping clear of the newfound dangers of the forest around us. With the new threat of animals being infected, I don't see how we're going to find anywhere that's safe.

We walked through the rising sun along an interstate filled with abandoned cars, not stopping to check for survivors or supplies. Anyone that may have been left here would be long gone by now. Either of their own free will or eaten by the infected passing through, we'll never know but we weren't willing to stop and find out.

It was nearing noon by the time we stopped, Bruce was pushing us to keep going but between our grumbling stomachs and Carrie's occasional bursts of pained breath, he was outnumbered 3 to 1.

"We're only stopping long enough to eat and for Carrie to catch her second wind." He told us as we sat just off the road on a flannel blanket, sharing some cans of soup and boxes of crackers.

We all sat quietly in our own thoughts, the silence broken only by the occasional slurp from a can or the crunch of a cracker. I was about to ask Carrie to pass the bottle of water she was nursing but was cut off by a loud snort from behind some bushes situated to our left.

I jumped to my feet, the others following in quick succession and reached for my pistol but before I could even pull it from my waistband a full grown black bear, standing on its hind legs at about five feet tall, looking to weigh close to 400 pounds, burst through the bushes.

Jordan stepped quickly in front of me, pushing me back toward the road as the beast ahead advanced on us. I looked to my right and saw Bruce, machete raised, also pushing Carrie toward the road.

"It's infected." He said. "Get back while he's still moving slowly."

I looked around Jordan at the slowly rotting bear coming towards us. It's eyes were the endless void of the undead. Foamy spittle ran from his jaws and down the front of his chest. Bits of fur and flesh were missing from his body, some of it falling off as we watched. The smell was overwhelming, causing me to raise my free hand to cover my mouth and nose.

I finally managed to unstick the pistol from my waistband, I really needed a better place to put it, and reached around Jordan, firing blindly at the menace and hoping it, like any of its still live counterparts, would flee. A pained scream resonated through the woods around us, seeming to shake the very earth itself and sending birds scattering through the air above us.

I saw a trail of blood arc through the air from where I hit the bears shoulder as he dropped to all fours. Jordan let out a yelp and chided me for my utterly wrong move as the bear charged. He gave me one last shove, sending me flying back onto my rear and my gun flying over the bears head. He jumped forward and ran to one side, teasing it and hoping to get his attention off us other three.

He barely spared Jordan a glance as he ran towards me, swiping his huge paws through the air right in front of my face. It was a life and death game, me scooting back, not having time or the chance to jump to my feet, him snorting, grunting, snapping his massive jaws just inches from my legs.

I could vaguely hear Carrie screaming in the background and Jordan yelling my name but my mind was swimming with thoughts of my imminent death.

'No.' I thought to myself. 'I'm not going out like this.'

I continued pushing myself back, watching the bears movements, waiting for the right moment. Then it came. As the infected raised his left paw, ready for another swipe, I rolled, barely missing the claws as they came down through the air, just centimeters away from my face.

I jumped up just as the bear's paw made contact with the ground I'd just been lying on. I wasted no time in rushing to my gun but by the time I turned back to fire, Jordan was already on him.

He'd somehow gotten a hold of Bruce's machete and was now swinging it wildly at the bear, cutting through its flesh and sending chunks of rotted meat flying in every direction. My stomach turned as one particularly large piece flew into my side, reminding me to move out of the way, we all saw what happened to Maggie.

I stepped farther back and over to Bruce and Carrie, pulling her shaking body to mine, rubbing soothing circles into her back, hoping to calm her. I watched over her head as Jordan finished off his deadly opponent. His chest heaved as he swung at the bear, his breaths came in short gasps, he was quickly tiring.

Finally, after having seen enough, I took the pistol in hand and fired. One, two, three shots before the beast dropped, tongue lolling as he rolled a bit down the slight incline we were on.

"Well." I started. "I think it's about time we get back onto the road."

"Ya." Bruce whispered, taking Carrie by the elbow and leading her back towards the road. He grabbed his machete from Jordan along the way, offering him a small nod.

I hurried after them, grabbing Jordan by the hand on the way, not minding the bloody mess they were covered in. We had to stop and clean up as soon as possible.

It now looked to be late afternoon, no one had a watch so there was no way of telling exactly. We had been walking for hours, since before dawn and it seemed like we weren't getting anywhere. Everyone was quiet, their spirits low and it made the long walk ahead of us drag by even slower.

"Come on guys." I said happily. "We're almost there, just a few more days and we'll be safe."

"Isn't this place in a forest?" Jordan asked from beside me.

"Well, ya but-"

"Then we aren't safe. Not with any animals around." He grumbled.

I pulled my hand from Jordan's after that and walked farther ahead, ignoring his protests and keeping quiet. What's the point of trying to keep spirits up when you have people like Jordan around?

We walked on for hours, passing cars, trees, random houses scattered off the road. Not once did I hear a spoken word, no encouragement, no hope. Everyone was getting edgy, irritable. After almost a month on the road everybody was down, hopeless and I couldn't wait until we made it to our new home and could finally relax, rest.

The sky grew darker, the sun dropping back behind the mountaintops. We were almost to Roseburg and we were tired, dirty, and very hungry. It was time to stop and sleep for the night. After finding a pretty open clearing in the woods, we set up our tents and took turns keeping watch. One last thought entered my mind as I drifted off.

"Just a few more days."