Zompocalypse Diaries (QUICK edit finished)

December 1, 2012

Dec. 1, 2012

We almost made it to Oregon today, key word- ALMOST. There were road blocks set up near the border, complete with uniformed officers.

The three of us started our trek to Oregon in the early morning hours again. We could have been there already if we'd started at night but we all figured it best to walk during the light hours. At least in the day we could see the terror coming at us.

As we walked down the mountain roads we came upon a small town nestled in the trees. It was quiet, abandoned. Carrie wanted to stop for a rest and to look around the town. She had only started her journey with us the day before, so she wasn't used to the walking and boredom that came along with it.

"Please," she begged, pleading with me through her eyes, "I'm so tired, I'd really like to stop for a bit. Besides, what if we find something we could use?"

"Ya, come on Bre." Jordan piped in. "Give the girl a break, you look like you could use one yourself."

"Fine, let's not stay too long though. I want to get to Oregon soon. We still have a lot of walking to do from there." I turned off the road that we'd been standing on and walked into the town.

The others followed closely behind, giggling and joking at the sights around us. It was like a ghost town. Silent, except for the occasional eerie tinkling of wind chimes blowing in a slight breeze. The roads were dusty, the clapboard houses washed out and in sore need of repair. Windows were knocked out of the buildings, doors and shutters hung from their hinges.

We passed many houses with large yards and I could almost see happy children and their beaming parents as they ran amok through the neighborhood.

I stood silently in front of one house with a swing set and tree house, wondering what happened to the family that once lived here. I jumped as I felt a hand come down on my shoulder.

"Sorry." Carrie apologized. "Are you okay?"

I took one look at her red rimmed, swollen eyes and cracked a grim smile. "I could ask you the same. You just lost your Dad and your home."

"Papa wouldn't have wanted me to stay there on my own." She said, looking at the ground. "He took care of me after my Ma died, all by himself. I was just a baby when she got sick and he took it all in stride. He would be happy someone else is able to help me out now. I just wish I could have helped him."

"I'm sorry, for what happened." I pulled her face up to look at me. "Your papa would be proud of you for staying so strong after what you saw."

"I know..." She trailed off before changing the subject. "We found some shops, I left Jordan picking through one. We should go back to him and raid the rest of the town."

"Good idea, can't trust Jordan by himself and we may just find something valuable in this run down place." I hooked my arm through Carrie's and we were on our way.

She led me to an old pawn shop where we found Jordan with a smile on his face, turning the knobs on what looked like an old radio. I crossed the room to him, taking in the various goods strewn randomly about the shelves. Toys, books, jewelry, old video games and clothes, so many things in such a small store. It was like Grandma's attic in here.

"What do you have there?" Carrie leaned over his shoulder. "A radio?"

"Yup, and it's one of the crank ones, you just crank up the lever here and it's good to go. No batteries needed." He demonstrated, giving the lever a good turn, pushing a few buttons and it crackled to life. "So far there's only static but I think it's a good find. Oh!" He bounced in his seat. "I got some walkie talkies too! Those take batteries of course but they go up to a ten mile radius, we could use them for sure."