Oct. 06, 2009 - 11:44pm

- Transmission from Raptor

Drak-

Good news and bad news.

The good news is we've managed to double our group size. I came across two of my buddies from school while out scavenging this past weekend. We've decided to movie into my house, since it's the best fortified position. We've also managed to (temporarily) solve our ammunition crisis. Our arsenal now consists of:

-AR-15 carbine w/ 1000 rounds .223
-Belgium-made AK-74 w/ 1200 rounds 5.45mm
-Mosin-Nagant 91/30 w/ 500 rounds 7.62x54mm R
-Mossberg 590 w/120 rounds 00-buckshot
-SIG P220 w/350 rounds .45 ACP hollowpoints
-Glock 19 w/200 rounds 9mm hollowpoints
-S&W Model 64 w/ 120 rounds .38 Spl semi-wadcutter hollowpoints
-Walther PPK w/ 80 rounds .380 hollowpoints

Bad news is we've managed to double our group size. The 3+ weeks worth of food we had stored up was just effectively halved. We're down to just over a week's provisions. We've been out scavenging pretty much every day. One pair goes out while the other pair stays back and guards the house. Unfortunately, food has become incredibly scarce around here. We've discussed heading west, since there's farms about forty minutes by car in that direction, but we figure it'd be futile; they were all probably picked clean weeks ago. On the other hand, this area has also been picked clean, and we're encountering more and more Zeds too.

Depending on how things pan out, this might be my last transmission for a while. If you haven't heard from me in two weeks, assume the worst.

Keep pulling, everyone. As Morris Mandel once said, "The Darkest Hour has only sixty minutes."We [i]will[/i] survive this. The human race [i]will[/i] continue. This horror [i]will[/i] end. Until that day comes, and it [i]is[/i] coming, be careful, shoot straight, and don't ever give up hope.

-Raptor

- End of transmission

Oct. 04, 2009 - 12:20am

Oct. 04, 2009 - 12:10am

- Transmission from Jeff Murdock

Good to see that others in the southern states are surviving this epidemic. The situation in Oklahoma is not that great, though I have managed to get to and secure land that my family owned before this "Outbreak" occurred. Fortunately for me due to my uncle's hording of old cars and shittery, I'm in fairly good supply of mechanical items and in supply of a goodly amount of fresh water and wood. This is due to the fact that we back up onto some flood plains that the government used to own (I doubt the government is even in control anymore at this point)that has a nice plot of woods and it also backs up to a river system, I have managed to piece together a rainwater collection system from clean pipes and some 55 gallon drums to provide myself with fresh,clean and safe water as well as using a charcoal filter system built from a couple of Tupperware tubs and some pipe fittings I found in the garage.

I've also made a make shift fence around a garden area inside of which I have planted some winter wheat, carrots, peas and some beans. Tomorrow I hope to test out my gasification system if successful I will attempt to convert a vehicle to run on a smaller version. Spirits are still high here as my ammo and canned foods are still in good supply.

Rommel (The dog) and myself await further communications from the outside world via the failing internet services, I wonder if the amateur radio bands will light up once the internet goes down for good.

- End of transmission

Oct. 03, 2009 - 11:49pm

Fitted a rain catch to a huge Rubbermaid tub today. An idea given to me from Jeff Murdock posted above, very clever. Spotted the tub on our way back from our salvage run to the supermarket. Kept a keen eye out for anything that could be useful, always with our heads on a swivel. It took the day alone just to bring it back.

I noticed any trip taken outside pays with the cost of ammunition. Im going through more ammunition than I would ever have expected, but I am still good for now.

Damn, I still have to write down our about journey. In all this it was surreal, It was longer than we expected. My mind is still trying to grasp the images seen out there and that was just in my neighborhood. Let alone this county, state, region, continent, world.......

In my own time, our own time, I will explain it all.

Our story of experiences must be told, so that our children, our children children will know how we fought back and survived starting with this country.

I would just like to say I am proud to be an American. God bless the USA.

Sept. 28, 2009 - 10:10pm

- Transmission from Lilmoose0

Darkness, it’s amazing how bright pitch black can be. The only other time I’ve seen the stars like this was after hurricanes Katrina and Gustav. The night would go smoother if I could see even a little. When the full moon is out I feel a little better, but that brings the living out. Sometimes I think they are worse than the dead. They shoot back and they can think, they’ll try to trick you if they can. If it were a full moon tonight I’d worry about loosing my natural night vision staring at this screen, but it’s so damn dark out, the blurry spot in my eyes gives me something to look at.
My little girl is finally starting to sleep throughout the night again. I know she has nightmares. Poor thing, she’s too young to even talk yet. I wonder what the future holds for her. I wish I could hold her and sleep with her too but I can’t. I have to keep watch. Keep watch of what? I can’t even see my damn hand in front of my face. I hope there are no shots tonight; I want her and my wife to sleep well. It’s been some time since we had comfort like this.
I ended up having to put my two dogs down earlier this week. They were only trying to warn us, but their barking attracted more attention than anything. The dead would have just walked by if the dogs wouldn’t have barked. Now I have no home. Brutus knocked over the lamp when he charged to the door to get at them. I might have had a fighting chance to put the fire out and fend off the attack but I had to get my wife and daughter out. The flames kept the dead busy while we escaped out the back. Now I’m low on ammo, food, and water except for what I can find here and there. I’ve learned to carry what I need on or near me at all times. From what I saw from the tree line, I may have only lost half of my home in the fire. I don’t know. Maybe the MRE’s in the closet are ok. I know the ammo’s gone. I could hear the rounds cooking off as we ran. Maybe tomorrow I’ll go back to see what’s left. Any way there are two wooden crosses in the cane field marking Brutus and Caesar’s resting place. I wish I didn’t have to but I just can’t have something like that happen again. I just can’t take that chance.
I was able to find a small farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere. The house was built 12 feet off the ground because of the flooding there used to be in the 1800’s before the levees were built around the Mississippi river. There is a 500 gallon tank of diesel about 600 feet from the back door. There’s a small garden, a couple of goats and about a dozen or so chickens. There’s enough feed for the animals to last through the winter. When that’s gone, I guess chicken & goat will be on the menu. There was enough dried blood on the front porch and wall for me to guess what happened to the previous owner. I’ve been gathering water and hunting up what animals I could with a pellet gun (I’ve got to keep it quiet). The eggs from the chickens are nice. I had forgotten how eggs tasted. I wish I had a little bacon to go with them. I found three boxes of 12ga. buck shot, but no shotgun to put them in. It doesn’t look like the house was raided. Probably some old guy lived here. There are newspapers from the 20’s and 30’s in the attic. They give me something to read. I found a couple of aluminum ladders and have since torn down the front and back steps so no one or “no thing” can come in too easily. I put the ladders on the front and back porch, that way my wife can lower them down when I need to get back up. I think this would work for the dead, but it’s the living I’m more worried about. I’m using the wood from the steps to burn in the fire place at night and to cook with. We hung thick drapes in the windows to keep the candle light in. At night I stay perched up in the attic or up here on the roof. During the day when I’m in the yard or garden, my wife is up here on over watch.
What’s my next step? I’ve got to find somewhere better, but I don’t want to go near town again. I wonder how the rest of my family is doing. Ever since the masses of the dead migrated here from New Orleans, I haven’t been able to check on anyone else.

……agh!!! I’m getting sleepy. I need to walk around or something. I need to conserve the batteries anyway. I wish Brutus & Caesar were here. Come to think of it, Brutus was a present for my daughter. What have I done? What kind of father am I?

…..I gotta go, I’ll check in later. Man it’s dark out here.

- End of Transmission

Sept. 28, 2009 - 9:08pm

Epex, do not lose hope brother. We are all in this together. Your message brings important news for all of us. This is the first contact we have received from outside our country, let alone Sweden.

- Transmission from Epex

Date: Sept. 23, 2009
Time: 1030 hours
Grid: 59.247015,18.230093

Good to see that humanity is still alive and kicking, I was beginning to lose hope.
I have some news on the situation the US is not the only one that's been infected, I'm located in Sweden and from what I have read so far is worse here than in the US and in all likely hood it´s because of the lack of guns among civilians, I really wish I had some kind of rifle or something right now.

Anyway I should start at the beginning.
On the 20th of September I woke up like any other day, my mom had all ready gone to work and I was alone in the apartment. So I tried to turn on the TV, nothing happened, I tried with a lamp, no power, I thought to myself “That's strange?”.

That's when I looked outside and saw the smoke and the fires, so I tried the phone, dead. I then realized that this was more serious then I first thought.

I ran into my room and started gearing up, I´m glad that before all this I read a lot of survival books and prepper books. First my belt-line kit and then my AWOL bag then some real combat boots.

My place is a death trap to try to defend against anyone so I had to leave, I didn't know about the zombies at this time, just that the power was out and there where fires burning and I knew that there is a civilian emergency shelter not far from me and by the looks of things not a lot of people where out in the street.

So I went out, everything was so quiet.
I got about half the way when I saw a man standing in the road, correction he was wobbling more then standing. I cautiously tried to approach him but I didn't get very far before he started running and he was hauling ass, I have never seen a man run that fast it was inhuman. He flew on to me and we fell to the ground and then he tried to bite me. We rolled around a bit and after what felt like an eternity I got on top of him and started bashing his head against the asphalt, I didn't stop until he became still. By that time I had blood all over me and I knew that I had to get out of here, so I ran the rest of the way.
When I got to the shelter I was shaking from my encounter, I got in and closed the door. The inside was empty, no one was there.

I sat on the floor and cried, I´m not a soldier, I have never killed anyone before, I got some duds blood all over my hands and I´m all alone, I don´t know where my family is or if they even are alive.

That was three days ago I have been eating the MREs from my AWOL bag and drinking my bottled water but I'm running low, I need to find some more food and water.

I´ll try to fill you in.
Epex

- End of transmission

THE BLOOD OF THE DEAD IS LETHAL.
TAKE EVERY PRECAUTION NOT COME INTO CONTACT.

Valuable news, it took the infection a little over a month to break the international quarantines (if there were any left?).

My God.

Sept. 28, 2009 - 7:30pm

As I power back up, the last of them have been put down. for now.

More late mail has come in from the failing servers.

- Transmission from Dan P.

Sept. 22, 2009

Damn! I feel like I slept for days....even though its been a couple of hours. I dont hear the motorcycle idling anymore probably ran out of gas. It was only a matter of time. Oh Well I aquired a few useful items from my shopping endeavor.

• 2 collapsible potable water containers
• 1 case of surplus MRE's
• 8 3-volt lithium batteries
• high powered range finding binoculars
• 2 motion activated wildlife camera units
• ATN 1st generation nightvision monocular
• Lansky multi-stone knife sharpening kit

Too bad I never met my neighbor, by the looks of his apartment and the supplies I took we probably would have got along well. The big score was the NV monocular, although rudimentary by today's standards it is perfect for what I need. I did spot what appears to be a Stack-On gun locker in a closet, but didnt want to make any unnecessary noise jimmying it open. I'm definitely going back there with proper tools to quietly breech the safe. Its time for a nice U.S Military ham slice MRE.

- End of Transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 8:54pm

We have no choice, we are going outside for supplies tomorrow. Together.

Weighing our options, the GIANT Supermarket is down the street about a mile, outside our development. It is the closest location and our best bet to find the supplies we need. Going on fargo007' advice, we will be visiting the pharmacy section for critical antibiotics as well. Please post comments on any other things to keep an eye out for.

I spent the day making a makeshift cart from an old beach cruiser bycylcle and miscellaneous parts found in the garage. Got to say, I am proud of how it turned out. must find time later to post pics. It is amazing what you can build if you only apply yourself.

I know I could easily take the Highlander SUV parked in the driveway, but I may need to gas for when I REALLY need it. The attention a vehicle will cause would be far to great as well, as I would surely be the only one driving on the road . I will only use it for a last resort who knows what the road condition is 1 mile down. The cart will be silent and steady.

We are now prepping for our journy tommorow. Going over our kit. Among other things, I have to plan for us being out longer than expected. Food/water/medicine/ect. Thank god I took the time to make a BOB a few years back on the suggestion from my friend Diego. For the Daylight journy my wife will be sporting lighter STAG m4 with 120 rounds. I will be taking my Bulgarian SLR-107 with 500 rounds(plus an additional 250 of 5.56 for my wife) .

Protection to our entire body from bites is absolutely critical. If i can find anything on our journy that will help us in this regards, Ill take it.

Right now I am double and triple checking everything. All the rifles are cleaned. Ammunition loaded. The cart is solid. The kit is set. Depending on how long I will be out. Expect to hear from my within 24 to 48 hours.

I left a hit counter running.

Sept. 21, 2009 - 11:48pm

The modified generator is holding up fine. Although it is slightly louder then the previous engine.

As I type this a "full-on" dead runner is raging around our street. It is not natural for any human to make a noise like that. I could hear it approach as I was reading through the last email.

They enter and exit the vacant open hopes around us as they please. The windows and doors have long since been beaten in or just simply left open. Who knows how many can be infested around us. I havent dared to go into them yet. Although it could come to that, our supplies are become "Danger Close" to being depleted.

I am overwhelmed from your responses. It is contact from the outside world, that keeps us sane and to feel human.

Thank you all. The Light within each of you cannot be measured.

It is finally time to power down for the night,

DrakinClaw out.

Sept. 21, 2009 - 9:30pm

- Transmission from Ryan

Sept. 11, 2009

Looks like Drakinclaw might be in trouble. No updates in over a week. Hopefully he will pick things up soon. We are holding up fairly well out here. Living on elevated terrain and outside the city limits has proven invaluable. I am down to just under 1000 rounds for my M4, but the stream of infected and would-be looters has lessened considerably. What's left of the neighborhood has banded together. Working to fortify what's left and compile supplies. Wish more had followed church council to store a year's worth of food. Still, living in Utah has had its advantages. As the neighborhood gun-nut I have been elected a kind of defacto sheriff. A few guys are pretty squared away, so I am finally getting some sleep. Generators are low on gas, and I don't want to siphon everything just yet. Looks like we need a hunting party to drop down into the valley and see what we can scavenge. I'll let you know how it looks. Good luck drakenclaw, wherever you are.

- End of transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 8:48pm

- Transmission from mjporreca

Sept. 15, 2009

Last night we heard gun fire off in the distance. At first it was sporadic, rifle, .308 maybe 30-06. As for us, we had two guests arrive just after before dark. The first tripped the alarm strings running across the street. We had been teaching Jason, the son of the family who’s dog got killed, how to shoot. We let him fire off some .38 rounds from a revolver to get a feel. We have very few .38’s between us and I have plenty of supplies for reloads. He’s a natural. Maybe because he’s got young eyes and good hand eye coordination, or maybe video games really to help, either way he’s a decent shot. We decided, if he was up for it, this was a good chance to give him some live fire practice. The shot was only about 30 yards. He braced on the hood of an F-150, pulled his father’s Remington 700 up against his shoulder and sighted. I stood next to him, “Breath in, let it out slow, hold it, sight picture, squeeze.” BANG. The corpses head looked like it popped open and the body fell to the ground.

“That was for Buster,” he mumbled while still watching through the scope.

The second of the zombies showed up about 10 minutes later. We had all calmed down from the first one, and Jason had gone back to the barricaded house we were all now calling home. Five of us were discussing options. At this rate it seemed like we could hold out for weeks. If it really came down to it, there were supplies in other houses that we would be glad to replace after this whole situation was over. But at the moment we didn’t need to worry that. The zombie then stumbled out from behind one of the houses next to our main house. We hadn’t heard any alarms and the thing hadn’t moaned. If it had been darker, it may have gotten the jump on us. I’m very glad we got to learn this lesson without paying for it. All four of us with firearms pumped two shots at the thing. We had been working on fire discipline and although we all shot, we didn’t go crazy. Two people pulled on the long heavy work gloves we have, put on the asbestos filter masks and moved the bodies down to the embankment we threw the others over.

In the morning we dumped a few more wheel barrows of dirt and Clorox down to cover them. It’s not a good long term solution, but it’s been working so far. The rest of the day we spent on the defenses again. We’ve been moving cars to block the paths between houses and taking apart our fences to help shore up those blockades. If we decide to stay I want to try to create a funnel for anything coming up into one field of fire. I won’t completely leave my guard down in other directions, but it will add some comfort. 4 more zombies came during the day. No one living has been by. Some of us think we need to start looking around.

I wonder about the bodies piling up at the firing we’ve been hearing. Tom setup his backyard telescope on his roof and we spotted the source. It’s actually the police station just on the other side of the river. We have a nice view of it, about 2 miles away. There’s a steady stream of corpses coming from all the directions. On the roof, it looks like a few officers and some national guard. They seem to be holding out pretty well. The dead, or redead, are piling up. We watched them all day, we’ll see how much light have now that the sun is going down again.

- End of transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 8:36pm

I hope this is not a sign of the servers starting to go down. The email from Raptor was sent on the 30th. But in my entry box it was marked as received on the 10th.

You are not alone.

-Transmission from Raptor

Aug. 30

Thank God. Someone else is still out there.

This last week has been hell. Dad went to work and never came back, Mom and my Grandmother went out for a walk even though my brother and I said not to. We heard screams. I'm pretty sure they're both gone.

Thank God I went out and bought guns, ammo, food, and a generator when I heard the first reports. We've got about a month's worth of canned foodstuffs left, but we're running lower than I'd like on ammo. Looter's have actually been more common than undead, which is surprising; I'm still shocked how brutal suburban soccer moms cam be when the stuff hits the fan.

Drak, do you think we should stay put or bug out? I'm thinking stay put, seeing as how we still have plenty of supplies and neither of us know anything about wilderness survival. On the other hand, we're using up ammunition faster than I'd like, and few people in my area own (owned?) guns, since it's a very liberal, anti-2A area. Barring that, should we search for other survivors, bring them into our house/fort or move into theirs? Also, any idea on how to recognize someone who's been infected but hasn't died and reanimated yet?

Whatever happens, Drak, I thank God that I found your blog; radio and TV stations went dead around here two days ago and I'd begun to lose hope. I wish you and your wife the best of luck, and I hope and pray that you both make it through this.

Godspeed,

Raptor.

- End of transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 8:11pm

So much to think about.

But for right now, its contact with the world we desire.

Back to reading.

Sept. 21, 2009 - 7:56pm

- Transmission from lordiego

Sept. 10, 2009

Words cannot describe the joy that little green blinking light brought to me as my eyes caught its constant flickering among the rubble of this one time popular coffee-shop..
It could only mean that the wireless router was indeed working off an active internet connection. Instantly I knew that meant news and communication with the rest of the world,
as well as an active outlet from which to charge my now defunct laptop. My mission is accomplished, I set out 4 hours ago to find exactly this. Its been one week since I've heard from another living soul that's not my wife nor my dogs. The infected seemed to have consumed everything in my immediate area, there are a random few here and there, but the bulk of them seemed to have headed north. Hopefully in pursuit of the groups of looters that have chosen to make a terrible situation worse.
Going back to the beginning, I could have sworn I was more prepared than the average Joe to deal with these types of situation... having lived through two South American economic collapses and having dealt first hand with rioters and looters. But nothing that I've seen in my life could possibly prepare me for what has gone down this past two weeks...
I remember it was nice sunny day, and I stopped by my usual gas station to fill up the tank and pick up a pack of cigarettes on my way to work, when out of the blue, two dirty homeless guys came out of nowhere and attacked the lady on the gas pump next to me. I went around to help her, hoping I could stop what looked like a violent mugging, when one of the "homeless" guys lifted his head to look at me, hanging from his mouth were pieces of flesh from the woman they had just attacked, who now laid on the ground, bleeding and unconscious, half her face having just been consumed by these animals. After a few seconds of shock, I kicked into high gear, jumped into my car and headed to work. I dialed 911 but the lines were busy. I turned on the radio, and there were reports of rioting, random violence, and cannibalism on the streets. I knew then and there things would turn real bad, real quick, I made a 180 and headed home.
We spent the rest of the day securing our residence, boarding up windows and reinforcing doors. With plenty of food and water, I knew we could hole up in our house for a couple of months at least. But when the power went out a week ago, I knew I had to go outside to assess the situation, lest we turn out like those Japanese soldiers who lived for over a decade hiding in the jungle because news that the war was over never reached them.
We are now alone on our street, (except for one house that I believe to still be occupied) everybody else either packed up and left (probably had to abandon their car on the mess that became of the highway), succumbed to these creatures, or was overcome by looters.
I will now leave my laptop in this coffee shop, charging its battery. I will attempt to make contact with this blog every 48 hours.
2 People, 2 dogs. Well stocked. For now.

LorDiego over and out.

- End of transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 7:48pm

- Transmission from Master Shake

Sept. 9, 2009

I wasn't in the city, but my aunt lives just on the Jersey side. We holed up in her house, just watching the waves of refugees pass by. The smoke was heavy and sporadic gunfire could be heard at all hours. Fighters screamed overhead almost hourly, then slowed. Now we only hear a large plane a few times a day. No traffic from the commercial airports.

For three days there was a non-stop exodus of people fleeing on foot. Some on bycicle, but cars were not going anywhere. A few people broke off from the main artery and "scoped out" our neighborhood looking for food or water or whatever. Most were firmly herded back to the freeway by the old timers weilding shotguns.

On the fourth day there were nothing but stragglers, a few dozen at most. The gunfire increased and we could see more and more of the stumblers on the overpass. We assumed the infected (or whatever we should call them) were following the people fleeing the city. A trickle turned into a mob, and they were so thick on the overpass we could see some of them knocked off the side. One landed near the top of our street. It began crawling back towards the freeway, trying to crawl back up the wall. A few of us went out to see it. When it saw us it began crawling for us, but with two smashed legs and a shattered pelvis it could barely move.

It looked like it had been doused with bleach, or acid almost. Hair clung in tufts, and most of its exposed skin was pure white, though the blackness lurking beneath the white skin was the worst part. Part of the exposed skin was blistered, and the thick chemicle smell coming off its clothes told us that it had been doused in something. Under the chemicle smell was death, rotting meat. We didn't want to get too close. Its eyes were milky and scarred, like it had sand poured into the eyes but no tears to whipe them away. It couldn't see us, but it could hear us as it crowled around swiping with its one good hand. Trying to grab at us.

The rumors were true; they dead really were walking (crawling?). Rather than risk the noise of a shot, we smashed it with a sign post and made out way back to our houses.

We have a lot of food compared to most folks, and a fair amount of water. The pipes are still working so we have been filling up anything we can. We've cleared out the food from the neighbors who have left, so that helps. There are six of us with my Aunt. She's old and in a wheel chair, we can't leave her.

I'm picking up a wireless signal from somewhere, and the generator is still going strong. I'll post more as I can.

- End of Transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 7:20pm

- Transmission from miken40

Sept. 4, 2009

Drak, I don't know if you'll get this or if you've moved on but this morning when I walked into cell range to use my Blackberry, I actually got an e-mail. In the from column it simply said "USGOVERNMENT." My first instinct was to say "oh great, spam" then I was like, "Dude are you crazy? Nobody is sending you spam!"

I've attached the e-mail so you can share it with anybody else that's reading. I'm also forwarding it to everybody on my Blackberry contacts list in hopes that someone will get this.

Oh I almost forgot to tell you I saw my first one of "them" when I was hunting in the woods near a logging road yesterday. He must have been a tourist or a birdwatcher once or something because he still had these fat binoculars around his neck. I guess he wandered up from the main road. Scared the shit out of me cause I hear this phlegm kind of noise behind me right before I'm getting ready to take a shot at a turkey. I swing around and this fuck is like five feet from me. Boom, boom, boom goes the 12 gauge. At five feet even I couldn't miss. Shame about the binoculars, but there's no way I was touching that shit.

The family is doing OK although food is starting to run pretty low. My wife gets pretty freaked out when I hike down here to check in with you so I'm gonna go back now. I'll try you again in a few days if all goes well. Be safe.

- End of transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 7:12pm

-Transmission from mjporreca

Sept. 4, 2009

I meant to write in the morning, but things haven’t slowed down until now. It’s funny, before this happened I would have thought that people would be busier at night. But, there is more to in the daylight. Gather, build, recon, plan. And the dead don’t care if its night or day, they come when they come.

That first night we had our tripwire alarms set and the cars pointed in every direction. Six of us stayed out on guard. Most of the wives and all kids were in the one house we could board up the best. We expected a hoard. The plan was simple, if we stay alive out here, they stay alive inside. I wouldn’t be able to live if the people in that house didn’t survive the night. So for me, there really was no choice, and I know I wasn’t alone in that. At around 10 pm the first trip wires went off. As soon as the rattle of the pebbled filled tin cans started, Janet ran to the Honda minivan that was pointed down the street and flipped on the lights. The creature just kept trying to walk forward. Not realizing it had heavy twine wrapped around both ankles. We all watched him…it. I almost felt like it would be rude to shoot before it figured out what happened and as able to come towards us. Everyone else must have felt the same, or were too terrified to shoot. That’s when Buster came out. Janet and Tom’s Lab something mix. He bolted out from their backyard. Buster was all snarls and teeth. I’d never seen him like that. He charged straight at the corpse, sinking his teeth deep into the neck. Janet screamed, “No!” and tried to call him back. That’s when we all learned what these zombies could do. Instead of flailing in pain or collapsing like a normal person; it darted both hands back in an unnatural way. Then it stood. It raised straight up with a 50 pound dog hanging on its neck like Buster wasn’t even there. Then in a way that looked like it should have dislocated its shoulders it lifted Buster over its head, breaking the dogs grip and taking out a hunk of neck and shoulder. The zombie, quicker than I thought it could move, bit right into Buster’s side. Ribs, fur, and muscle didn’t slow it down. It ripped Buster open then with tore him in half. Blood dropped out of the torn body as thing began to feast with both hands full. Taking gulping bites like a great white shark. I only heard Janet’s scream for an instant. I filled the night with shot from my PTR-91. The .308 round left only a sliver of shoulder holding up the zombie’s right arm. The second shot missed completely. The third, took off the right side of its head from the ear up. I’m starting think my 3rd shots really are the charm. While the creature fell everyone else opened up. We must have wasted 50 rounds between on that first one. Looking back, we need to learn some discipline, or we won’t last long.

Janet was done for the night after that. Tom took her inside and their 17 year old son took over the headlight job. He said to some degree he felt like it was payback. We didn’t mind, as long as it helped him. Five more came that night. We didn’t hesitate on one of them.

The sun came up. I thought I’d be tired, but it energized me. We felt safer, less alone with the sun up. On some level I know we aren’t, but I’ll take it. We restrung the alarms and strengthened some of the barricades. We have plenty of food, water, and supplies to last a little while. We are all grateful for that.
The sun is down again. We hear firing in the distance and see flashes of light out near the elementary school. There is not enough light to know what’s going on. I’ll cling to the hope that we will know more tomorrow.

- End of transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 6:50pm

- Transmission from fargo007

Sept. 3, 2009

Hey Drakin, how you doing up there on the hill? Things are okay down here, and we're still buttoned up pretty good.

The whole family across the street is sick, and they have little kids. Ordinary germ sick that is. These days we have to specify don't we.... I'm a precision rig guy. That's what I do best, but there couldn't be a poorer choice for a fast haul for 1.5 miles with only defensive engagements in mind.

Glad I decided to buy a suppressor for the 5.56. I'll explain.....

With the 308 it doesn't matter because you're firing one shot, and usually driving them shitwise instantly. If they manage to scream and howl, others begin to arrive shortly.

The CVS is about 1.5 miles away as the crow flies. I'm on my way at 5am this morning, thinking that the cold of night has slowed them down some. It has. If they are not directly in my path, I evade them by hopping yard fences, dodging in and out of trees, you know. Once they lose sight of you and you get a quarter mile away or more, they can't follow anymore, or seem to lose interest.

Shit - I used to run that 1.5 in 9:37. My 41 year old attitude writes checks these days that my 41 year old knees cant cash. I had three at the traffic light by W. Trenton Rd. that weren't moving. I stayed in the trees and crept up on them about 200Y away. I did a 360 scan, went prone, and got my breathing under control. Feeling the trigger, I let the 200 stadia line in the ACOG come to rest gently on the top of the nose of the only one facing in my direction. The others wouldn't see the shot this way. I was slung up tight, and the crosshairs moved only vertically as I breathed.

The trigger broke. Red spray, and it's head snapped back violently, the tendons in the spine elastically propelling the head forward again as it lost voluntary control and collapsed almost straight down, like a sack of rotten chicken shit.

My left leg slid down about an inch, and my NPOA came to rest on number two. He still hadn't turned his head, but he'd never get the chance. He lurched forward and hit the ground face first and motionless.

The third one was turning the wrong way to try and find some context clues. I took advantage of the broadside head shot, and found his right ear with my 200Y stadia line. The 75 grain bullet really knocked the corn out of his shit. His skull flung sideways and came crashing down on his left shoulder, tearing muscle and tendon visibly on his right side before he toppled and lay motionless against the curb.

As I'm laying there breathing again.... playing it back. What, three seconds? Nah.. 2.5....

WHO THE HELL CARES???

I heard shuffling on the pavement to my right, and I turned ever so slightly to see what it was. An older man who had turned quite a while ago was headed toward the intersection. They had made some kind of sound and drawn him or something.

He was focused on them, and didn't even see me. I lay motionless as he went by. Perhaps 15 yards away from me. He was going so slow I didn't waste rounds. I went through some backyards to get ahead of him and arrived in the CVS parking lot. I wondered how many more in the area would have been alerted if I wasn't suppressed....

The doors were smashed open. I cleared it, noting that batteries, camera film, and all the food was gone. Expected. I quietly made my way to the pharmacy area. Tweaks and junkies had been there, and succeeded in beating the lock off the controlled substances locker. They left all the antibiotics there. Dumbasses are already dead I bet.

Amoxycillin, Zithromax, levaquin, all the good stuff. I put all I could in the ruck. Rubbing alcohol, bandages, everything I could grab. I went to open the storage room door, and a right hand lunged out and tried to grab me. I still had the rifle slung across me, but the ruck was behind me now. About 35 years old, dark hair that looked almost green and matted down, average build. Skin was gray, and his eyes were lifeless and void. Did I know him from this store? It charged forward fast, trying to bite me. My heel caught the ruck, and I felt myself going down backwards. I got my left hand under its right elbow as I fell, and took it with me, moving its head away from mine, and by fortunate coincidence driving its right eye socket into a sharp corner of the step stool that was there.

I got up, and turned around ready. I realized I was much more coordinated than the body of this poor soul. I could have shot it, but for some reason, I didn't. I knew my training was a weakness now because I instinctively waited for a deadly force cue rather than taking the initiative. It lunged again with a right hand for my throat.

I seized its right hand against my chest with my own right hand, flipped the wrist over, using my chest as the foundation for the lock, grabbed its elbow with my left hand and cranked HARD. I could feel the tendons in the wrist giving way and the bones grinding unnaturally together with a sickening and grotesque sound. I knew its wrist was broken, but it didn't seem to care. It actually leaned further INTO the wrist lock to try and bite me. This caused its forearm bones to separate and twist against eachother.

Realizing teeth were about 9 inches from my face, and that pain wasn't on this thing's radar, I had to bargain that leverage was. I had dealt with people high on PCP before, and I knew what worked and what didn't. I stepped back fast, tugging the wrist out, and straightening the elbow. I retained control of the wrist, as my left hand slammed on the elbow joint. I spun back and right, and drove its head once again downward into the same damn footstool. I stepped on the shoulder, rested the suppressor on the back of its head, flicked off the safety, and jerked the trigger.

It hadn't scratched or bit me, but I realized that there are different rules with these things.

The trip back was much harder thanks to all the effort I expended. I took one out about a half mile out of the CVS. It came out of a church and ran right towards me. A Woman. When it was about 75 yards away I put one in its hips, causing the pelvis to split, and its legs buckled. It was immobilized, and I figured if it howled, it was far enough away that It would draw them away from my street. I took to jumping fences again.

Now the best part of the story. I hear a dog barking. I head that way and see a german shepherd type dog circling two Z's and trying to get a piece of their ass without getting too close. It looks like a police dog or something. A couple rounds later the problem is solved and he starts running along side me! Like the fucker's known me for years.

Renee drops the ladder at the house as I arrive, and I climb up and toss the ruck and the rifle in to her.

The kids are there looking and watching the dog. A hopeful expression on their faces as I climb back down.

They were overjoyed as I came up that ladder, with the dog nervously perched on my shoulders in a fireman's carry.

Since he was busy getting his 'Zombie on' when I found him, the kids want to call him "Zoon."

Fine with me. He's a belgian Malinois. I hope he's a good guard dog, because those things are just too damn tough to eat.

--Fargo007

- End of transmission

Sept. 21, 2009 - 6:36pm

We can finally rest now, but I will not let my guard down. Even the sounds from outside seem to be muted. It is the quietest around twilight, as the sun sets or rises. Maybe because of the shifting light?

Time to go through the backlog of mail.

The hope for humanity lies in the light of the survivors.
Be safe, and watch your six.

Sept. 21, 2009 - 3:45 PM

THE GENERATOR IS BACK ONLINE


Dear God, at Sept. 1st 12:02am. The Husky 5000w generator finally failed on us. Running 24-7, I knew it was only matter of time.

I was going through the inventory from my excursion outside a few days before. Suddenly *Blink* the lights turned out, and I heard on of the loudest sounds of my life, the generator powering down. It made this low oscelating electric pitch that shifted lower and lower untill it was silent.

I stood there in the garage, pitch black darkness around me. It took some time in that blackness to fully comprehend the ramifications of my situaton.

Without power all normal life ceases to exist. It took me 30 days (nights are useless without power) to rebuild what was broken. A simple piston ring, a $24.99 part, put us back in the dark ages. After 2 weeks of trying to repair a impossible task, I knew we had to develop a new solution. It was my beutifull wife who came up with the stunning idea of trying to convert the engine from my "Toro" lawnmower into the engine for the generator. Without her, I would be nothing.

The Dead are rampant in the streets, and the endless drone they make pierces our walls, into our ears and almost into our very souls. That underlying smell of death. They line the streets like cancers cells flowing through human veins. Pounding and bumping into whatever they wish. Some are fresh, others... God, it is almost to much to describe.

There are some that can full on SPRINT fast. I have seen a number of them. Those are the ones that haunt my dreams and my reality.

As well as trying to fix the generator, I have had to deal with them. The dead that do not stray away from our house. I do not wish for my wife to have to stair down the sights into one of those things, it is a burden I want to bear for as long as possible. The images those things burn into your mind do not disappear. I CANNOT afford them knowing we are hear. It did not take me long to realize, it is the destruction of the central nervous system that can only take these down. but why? why are they even here?

It is in the dead of night in which it must be done. Silent as I perch from the rooftop across the street, they did not notice me. The Eotech glowing red softly, only to my own eyes, in the night as I aim the barrel of my Stag m4.

1 shot, 1 of them drops. The others look around to the general direction of the sound. Some drift toward my location. But I am but a shadow in the night. Eventually they drift back to whatever state they were in.

1 shot, 1 of them drops.

Power in the night.

Aug. 29, 2009 - 9:28pm

Battery is critical. Last post before I sign off for the night.

- Transmission from Lblair57

Oh god.

Some of the refugees are saying that NYC was bleached to try and stop the spread of the virus. They’re relaying reports that all of the major cities are infected. I wonder if Trenton or Philly will be next…….

Things continue to get worse and chaos is the only constant. My band of people are freaking out! It’s been days with no power and very little news. Food and tempers are running short. Most of us are suburban marshmallows who never thought our world would change….. Fortunately, we’ve got a couple of people with tough balls and some experience. They’ve reconned a stone house a few miles away. Good fields of fire but no escape route. Have not seen any of the living dead yet but the smoke and red glow is getting closer. Some of the parasitic looters have been thinned out with FMJ lead poisoning and only the liberals have any remorse. Eight of these animals arrived in a pick-up and kicked in the door of the neighbors house. It was just getting dark and the neighbors had their generator running. We were laying low in the dark watching it unfold. We’d already picked our targets. The parasites weren’t looking for food or water, that we could have understood. No, these low lifes went straight for the booze and started busting stuff up. These animals were looking to inflict pain and suffering for fun. We watched as they started kicking the living shit out of the husband. The first blivits* head disappeared into a red mist before his next kick landed and he dropped like a sack of fecal matter. At a little over a 100 yards, on a calm evening, it wasn’t a real impressive shot but the ballistics of a 168gr soft point were devastating. The others stopped in mid step and looked around. We dropped two more before they realized what was going on. The survivors grabbed the screaming wife and daughter and tried to escape. They came tumbling out of the front door running for their pathetic lives, dropping their loot and tripping over themselves. If they been organized or trained they might have broken left and right out of the door and maybe had a better chance of survival. Instead they all headed for the truck. We dropped four more of the sick bastards with four well placed shots. The wife and daughter ran over to our house. The lone surviving parasite made it to the pick-up before we all opened up and vented our anger on the sorry piece of crap. We left them there. In this heat they’ve already started to bloat with maggots…….

We’re moving out tonight. Heading west-north-west in a couple of RV’s looking for a safe and defendable place. Anyone of a like mind can join us.

- End of Transmission

(* A bivit is a 5 pound sack stuffed with 10 pounds of shit.)

Aug. 29, 2009 - 9:26pm

- Transmission from mjporreca

I meant to write in the morning, but things haven’t slowed down until now. It’s funny, before this happened I would have thought that people would be busier at night. But, there is more to in the daylight. Gather, build, recon, plan. And the dead don’t care if its night or day, they come when they come.

That first night we had our tripwire alarms set and the cars pointed in every direction. Six of us stayed out on guard. Most of the wives and all kids were in the one house we could board up the best. We expected a hoard. The plan was simple, if we stay alive out here, they stay alive inside. I wouldn’t be able to live if the people in that house didn’t survive the night. So for me, there really was no choice, and I know I wasn’t alone in that. At around 10 pm the first trip wires went off. As soon as the rattle of the pebbled filled tin cans started, Janet ran to the Honda minivan that was pointed down the street and flipped on the lights. The creature just kept trying to walk forward. Not realizing it had heavy twine wrapped around both ankles. We all watched him…it. I almost felt like it would be rude to shoot before it figured out what happened and as able to come towards us. Everyone else must have felt the same, or were too terrified to shoot. That’s when Buster came out. Janet and Tom’s Lab something mix. He bolted out from their backyard. Buster was all snarls and teeth. I’d never seen him like that. He charged straight at the corpse, sinking his teeth deep into the neck. Janet screamed, “No!” and tried to call him back. That’s when we all learned what these zombies could do. Instead of flailing in pain or collapsing like a normal person; it darted both hands back in an unnatural way. Then it stood. It raised straight up with a 50 pound dog hanging on its neck like Buster wasn’t even there. Then in a way that looked like it should have dislocated its shoulders it lifted Buster over its head, breaking the dogs grip and taking out a hunk of neck and shoulder. The zombie, quicker than I thought it could move, bit right into Buster’s side. Ribs, fur, and muscle didn’t slow it down. It ripped Buster open then with tore him in half. Blood dropped out of the torn body as thing began to feast with both hands full. Taking gulping bites like a great white shark. I only heard Janet’s scream for an instant. I filled the night with shot from my PTR-91. The .308 round left only a sliver of shoulder holding up the zombie’s right arm. The second shot missed completely. The third, took off the right side of its head from the ear up. I’m starting think my 3rd shots really are the charm. While the creature fell everyone else opened up. We must have wasted 50 rounds between on that first one. Looking back, we need to learn some discipline, or we won’t last long.

Janet was done for the night after that. Tom took her inside and their 17 year old son took over the headlight job. He said to some degree he felt like it was payback. We didn’t mind, as long as it helped him. Five more came that night. We didn’t hesitate on one of them.

The sun came up. I thought I’d be tired, but it energized me. We felt safer, less alone with the sun up. On some level I know we aren’t, but I’ll take it. We restrung the alarms and strengthened some of the barricades. We have plenty of food, water, and supplies to last a little while. We are all grateful for that.
The sun is down again. We hear firing in the distance and see flashes of light out near the elementary school. There is not enough light to know what’s going on. I’ll cling to the hope that we will know more tomorrow.

- End of Transmission

Aug. 29, 2009 - 9:21pm

- Transmission from Dan. P.

Damn! I feel like I slept for days....even though its been a couple of hours. I dont hear the motorcycle idling anymore probably ran out of gas. It was only a matter of time. Oh Well I aquired a few useful items from my shopping endeavor.

• 2 collapsible potable water containers
• 1 case of surplus MRE's
• 8 3-volt lithium batteries
• high powered range finding binoculars
• 2 motion activated wildlife camera units
• ATN 1st generation nightvision monocular
• Lansky multi-stone knife sharpening kit

Too bad I never met my neighbor, by the looks of his apartment and the supplies I took we probably would have got along well. The big score was the NV (night Vision) monocular, although rudimentary by today's standards it is perfect for what I need. I did spot what appears to be a Stack-On gun locker in a closet, but didnt want to make any unnecessary noise jimmying it open. I'm definitely going back there with proper tools to quietly breech the safe. Its time for a nice U.S Military ham slice MRE.

- End of Transmission

Aug. 29, 2009 - 9:14pm

- Transmission from OutOfNamez

Hi world or what's left of it.

I sit here in front of some girl who I dont knows kitchen table with my best friend looking at
what "I" no what "WE" have left to keep "US" alive.

And the list reads as followed:

• MY 1954 TULU Russian SKS with 10 rounds of wolf FMJs,
• MY SIG P6 9mm pistol with 4 8 round mags of HP ammo,
• MY PA 63 9x18 mak Back Up Gun with just 1 mag of HPs
• And last but not least a 2liter of Coke

But to be fair "I" got my self into this. "I" should have known better then to listen to him and "MY" second brain and go halfway across town for some easy tail. Now look at me stuck in the middle of the hood with barely enough firepower to get out on a normal day and I should know
I grew up here.

Well no use crying over spilled milk or since I don't drink either. Man it has been one hell of a week and Ive learned alot about myself, people, this city,this world even and most importantly this outbreak.

Yes I know something and its not rumor or something a friends babymamas brother told me it came from a member of the US national guard doing house to house searches who I know is "in the know". But Ill save that for later, I have to go, the battery on this is about to die
and I just wanted to vent, and before you say it, I know I am an asshole.

If I dont get home alive, I sent my brother a copy of the last 7 days of my life and he should already be posting it up for you to read.

"Alright man Im done grab your shit"

(you mean the Coke)?

"Yea and the SKS Ill drive so I got the pistols"

(what about the computer?)

"Fuck it I got one at the house"

(can I drive?)

"You drive the RT? I told you when HELL froze over not when the world ends"

So till next time,
Namez

- End of Transmission

Aug. 29, 2009 - 9:08pm

- Transmission from Ren

Drak… As far as your gas situation goes, we have already caught more than one person trying to steal gas out of my truck. I have it parked in my back yard along with my wife’s SUV. We have them blocking in the back deck so it will be harder to enter the house. Plus we can keep and eye on the vehicles easier. I’ve also put up my Hurricane shutters to better secure us as im not sure whats going on with all of this rain and deteriorating environment. Im wondering if a Hurricane is coming or if a severe low pressure system has parked on top of us. As far as the people trying to steal fuel, Im assuming its for their generator as well. After brief negotiations with myself and a 12 gauge (Don’t worry no shots were fired) and they clearly didn’t feel like fighting in the middle of a monsoon. I gave them a few gallons to try and keep my community together. I don’t mind because my boat holds 42 gallons and it safely locked away in the garage….and siphoning some out is not a problem. Out of sight… out of mind. Luckily though the electric has been ON about fifty percent of the time, so when its on everything is pretty much operations normal, everybody hurries and takes a hot shower and we even try and get a load of laundry done! Kinda funny… it seems like the end of the world and were doing a load of laundry, gotta stay clean I guess! We could go outside and wash ... umm...screw that!.... and again…. We would like to maintain a low profile.

When the electricity is off im surprised on how long my battery backup keeps my router and switch up for my internet access. I have timed my laptop battery to three and a half hours so I know about how much I can use before needing a charge. Now I wish I would have gotten the bigger battery option when I was ordering it. Once again, hindsight is 20/20.

I am starting to get concerned. It hasn’t stopped raining since I got home on the 20th. Im beginning to wonder if I should stop taking gas out of my boat? My house is up kinda on a little hill… probably a whopping 17 feet above sea level. I am starting to get a little worried as the ditches and roads are awash with water… maybe two to six inches deep in some areas.

So here I sit, wasting time and hiding out, not only because its raining down pours outside, but we all have agreed that we should try and keep as low of a profile as possible. So far I have accumulated a few survivors. A few from church, a few family members and a marine corps buddy of mine thats out now. As soon as the rain slows, hopefully we will be able to scavenge for some food and some 12 volt batteries that I spoke about earlier. People have been trickling out of here a few families at a time, but to what avail? Where are they going, what will they find when they get there… and who are they in touch with and how? The only means of communication so far and any news has been this blog. So I guess this advice goes out to you MIKEN40. Stay put and stay out of sight. If your running into the infected… they will be half your trouble ( I have had only two encounters with them thus far). The other half are the ones still alive, that think they own everything that passes in front of them. Hence my new self taught lesson… there is nothing worse than trying to fight your way home. Only do it if you have too. I had too, I had my wife waiting for me. That’s how I got all banged up…… Good luck all, and keep your powder dry.

-End of transmission

Aug. 29, 2009 - 8:52pm

I was outside for 9 hours.

The objective I set for myself in finding fuel for the generator was a success. However the situation outside has changed.

In the morning twilight, thinking hard on my options as I opened my 36 gun safe, I chose my STAG AR because of the illuminated reticule of which the Eotech 512 offeres in low light conditions. The rifle is solid and has proven to be a very reliable AR. I should get around to posting a picture of this stick. God bless this Country and the right to bear arms, for without which my family would be absolutely defenseless right now.

I left my home the same way as before, with the same ritual. call me superstitious. My wife shouldering the full stacked AK-107 over her back like she would with one of her Prada purses, as she sealed the window. Instantly I was under open sky, my senses went into overdrive with the influx of adernaline. Kneeling next to the window I looked up through the crack, wispering one last time to my wife.

"I love you Baby. I will be back as soon as I can."

Then I took off jogging lowto the ground into to the small township fields behind my house, then across in the neighboring street back yard of row homes. Hugging the treeline and homes to hide my movement as much as possible, heading towards my first objective. Fuel. Since the begining off all this my gut senses have told me be as silent as a shadow, and to not attract attention. I was right. This was my first lesson, and the first mistake I made.

There are bodies EVERYWHERE. I did not notice them at first, as I headed on my course. I did not notice them untill I made my first auidible sound.

My first objective, was to find Gasoline. I found this at the traffic light intersection at my house.

All the cars within my neighborhood are either torched or have driven away. Probably chocking the highways abandoned, or worse. A few wrecks line the streets though, but they are FUBAR. On my first recon, I noticed a massive 10 car (at least) pile up. A massive 4 way intersection collision. Most cars, some SUV, and one large flatbed heavy duty truck. Looks like when the power went out, so did this accident. Which must have been one of the many explosions we have heard since then broadcasting across the sky.

Some of the cars have already been tapped. Every drop of gasoline syphoned out. But not every car was empty on gas. Most of the vehicles interiors where empty, but a few, ....god ....help us all.....I cannot describe in words the carnage inside those crushed metal cabins. Im not a surgion and have never seen major truama like that before, but from what i could see they looks like they have been feasted upon. My god those poor souls.

Whatever I found scavaging outside, I knew I could not bring back to my house directly. It would cause to much attention to the specific location of my home. I would have to stash it close by in a hide and come back for it in the middle of the night to bring into the house.

I carried along with me the two 5 gallon gas cans I had. I was worried it wasnt going to be enough to take back. I resolved this issue in finding a large black 55 gallon drum the flatbed truck was carrying. Most importantly was the fact that the inside was clean and free from debry. Apart from a few dings and scratches from the collision, it was peftect for what I would need.

55 gallons of Gas is to heavy for one person, so I had to roll the drum back to a safe stash location. Then I would fill it up 10 gallons at a time with my two red cans.

On my last trip, as I topped off the last gas can, I made my first critical mistake.

I was so overjoyed with what i had accomplished a laughed for the first time since all this happend. I made a sound.

This is where it all turned to hell.

As my back was turned, the first of the Dead came at me...

I must let the batteries charge now. But before I do it is essential i get these next few transmissions out.

Aug. 28, 2009 - 12:50pm

This is Drakin's Wife.

He left the house at a crack of dawn. The clock says its past noon...i am freaking out...where is he?


- Transmission from Dan P.

Finally! Some time to write....or relax. whatever. Well I have exhausted my supply of timber, fasteners and energy! Its been tense sneaking around and trying to fortify this hell hole. Upon my travels and observations these rotten "former" humans come in mass towards loud sound and assholes.....sorry, the guy WAS a dick! Well I mean the poor bastard in Bldg S with that annoying ass motorcycle. His own ignorance led to his own demise, although it helps me out a ton.
I snuck out my room to the vacated unit across the hall looking to scrounge up anything I could eat or drink or otherwise put to use. While scanning the room near the the kitchen window I hear ungodly yelling and banging from his balcony towards the end of the bldg. So this douchbag has his roommate in a dominating rear naked choke and is dragging him out the door to the balcony like a bouncer from a bar. The shambling corpses came in droves to the activity, moaning constantly and thrashing their hands or whatever appendages they had left at the commotion above. The asshole biker tries to launch his strangled friend over the railing so hard that he goes over too! The roommate is torn to shreds before he is even close to the ground! UGH what a nasty way to go, oh well..The prick somehow lunges himself away from the deceased mob below like a Heisman winning running back and unbelievably hits the ground on his feet and bolts to his bike across the parking lot. Some of the dead break free from their feast and lead chase, moaning loudly and flailing about. Suddenly the motorcycle came alive with a mechanical roar and instantly squealed across the lot towards the break in the buildings. He sped wildly around the curve with the ensuing mob behind him.....and AWAY FROM ME!!!! But, bad news! I now have noticed some of the undead must have been marathon runners because those son of a bitches sprinted after him VERY FAST. They looked the freshest killed of the bunch. I heard the sound of the bike open up on the main road..... the sound swirled quickly, then became a stationary idle. The screams in the distance pretty much explain themself. Bye Bye asshole! Sorry no remorse for the ignorant... anyway the bike was still idling and hopefully attracted the mobs.
That was my chance to quickly loot what I could from who I thought had anything of value....or nourishment. I left the unit across the hall and made a mad dash to the S blding entrance with Glock in hand. I slithered through the front door and tip toed up the steps..never know who or whats around every corner...I refuse to let my guard down. I grabbed the door knob of S-207. My lucky day! Unlocked! Noticing the renters truck with NRA stickers and a slew of hunting camo accents wasn't in the lot led me believe he was gone. Luckily no one or thing was in there with me! I went shopping! Still havent inventoried what I took.... after I snuck back here to my place.
Oh hell, enough of this. I'm supposed to be relaxing now and thats what I'm going to do!

- End of Trasmission

Aug. 28, 2009 - 5:05am

Highest priority

• Find gasoline for the generator

Im am forced to go outside today. It is imperative I find more fuel. The wife knows this and wants to come but it is just to dangerous outside. There is so much I would like to get off my mind and down into this journal, yet I am restricted by my power consumption. The food must stay cold among other things. I could do so much more, if I only had the power. I must find a more reliable source.

I can just feel the power draining from the battery of this Netbook.

Such little time.

Almost all the neighbors have packed up or have disappeared from sight. They could be hiding in there like us, but no one has taken the time to board up any of windows though. I am the only home on this culdesac of rowhomes that has taken the time to do so. Im glad I did that early on, there is no way i could risk the exposure to our home right now with the current state outside.

Those of you that have posted here, I wish you all God Speed in this dark journey that has become a battlefront for us. Watch your six, as Ren would say. Seeing what is out there, if you let it, The Dark can creep into your soul, but reading what is posted here from those of you who are riding out this mess, I see The Light. This is essential. Be cautious, but know that others who are GOOD are out there. We stand together or we fall alone.

The sun is about to rise, I just finished my cup of black coffie.
Time to get geared up to go outside. At least this time I know exactly what is in store for me.

It kills me to leave her alone.

Aug. 28, 2009 - 12:36pm

The strong survive.

- Transmission from miken40

Drak, what a huge relief to hear that others are dealing ok with all this. I’m in our cabin up in the Poconos with the wife and kids and we were caught completely off guard. First some reports on the radio, then we lost power, now nothing. We’re isolated up here so charged my Blackberry off the dynamo flashlight in the cabin and I took a chance hiking further down toward town to see if I could get a signal. I’m glad I found your blog ‘cause news on the web is either old or spotty and I don’t know what to believe. So far we haven’t seen any of “them” but I feel pretty good about our short term security because I brought along my 12 gauge to do some shooting. Now I’m conserving shells though because I may need it to hunt or fight. We were only supposed to be up here for a week so we only have a week’s worth of food, maybe more if we conserve. Water’s fine for now. Not sure what to do. Do we stay put or make a try for home? Starve here or risk running into “them” closer to civilization. We haven’t told the kids yet what’s going on. Why freak them out. I’ll try to stay in touch but the hike to a cell signal is about three or four miles and I don’t know if the signal will be here next time I come. If you have any advice, please post it here. Good luck.

- End of Transmission

Batteries are dangerously low. I used the last of the gas filling the generator. I have an idea on where I might find some fuel too keep the lights on.

I will reply to you all, I promise.

Aug. 28, 2009 - 12:36pm

- Transmission from Ren

Drackinclaw… thanks for chatting with me the other night, Ill look for a Ham radio so maybe we can talk. I gotta say…..your neighborhood looks terrible! We are no where near that bad of shape, but im not close to any major cities either. Do you think those fires are being set on purpose, or a by product of fighting of some kind? Also how is your generator holding out? Im worried about running mine too much because of the noise in attracting “them” or other “guests”. I think I will try and scavenge some 12 volt batteries like maybe 6 or 7 and just top them off now and again. That way I can at least have some lights and keep my little 12 volt cooler/fridge running, and it would be a lot quieter.

As far as me having to leave the chat so abruptly yesterday…. Ive heard of the term, “F$#@ me running in the rain”. I guess now it brings on a whole new meaning. It was raining so hard I couldn’t tell who or what was chasing….. I will guess, and say a woman, because I couldn’t clearly see down the street, it was coming down so damn heavy I couldn’t really tell what was going on… but by the time I was able to get out to help they were already out of sight. So I don’t know if “they” got her or not. It sucks that I couldn’t help fast enough. My leg got wrenched in the “accident”, if you could call it that, trying to get home a few days ago. My heads also got a severe gash in it, so my wife has now given me a buzz cut so we can keep an eye on it. All those years of sitting behind a desk has taken its toll too. Im really, really feeling out of shape, and it almost cost me my life getting home… but Ill go more into that later. Its time for me to check on the flooding situation…. Its still pouring out. Hang in there all of you, and watch your six.

- End of Transmission

Aug. 28, 2009 - 12:06pm

OK. There it is. Christ, this LED headlamp I bought has proven to be
priceless to us.

My Fathers radio is an old Collins KWM-380. This thing is built like
a tank and weighs almost 50 pounds. He had it all set up for Field
Day with a couple of 12V leads and battery clamps.

I hauled the old beast upstairs. To power it, I pulled the battery
from the new Toro riding lawn mower in the garage. Somehow, I not real
worried about the lawn right now and I'd rather not run the generator anymore than
absolutely necessary.

I grabbed about 6 feet of old lamp cord and inserted it into the
antenna jack on the back of the radio. Not good for transmitting,
but it is OK for receiving if I remember correctly.

When I powered up the old rig. I was greeted by the familiar glow
of the display. I cannot describe the feeling of freedom we had.
It meant a possible new form of communication. REAL TIME God 
miss cell phones.

So I tuned around a little to see if the BBC was out there. Hell,
I'd would have even settled for one of those religious stations
right then.

I got Nothing.

Guess most of these stations have moved on to satellite or
internet radio or something.

Then I thought about the HAM bands. There's gotta be somebody
out there flapping their jaw about what's going on.

Weird. There was nothing but some kind of odd warbling noise.
Even if someone were talking, I couldn't hear shit over that.

Ah well, it was worth a try. I guess this old radio really is
shot after all. May as well quit farting around and get back
to reality.

Suddenly, I heard something. It is faint and I almost missed it.

I tuned the dial to better pick up the faint station I was
hearing on 11.545 Megahertz.

Listen.

Aug. 28, 2009 - 7:43am

Still no contact with the family. The wife's or mine. Iv reached out in every way possible or at least every medium that still functions. Which is fundamentally just the net. Could they be in a worse situation than I am?

I'm very worried.

• water is being consumed faster than expected
• Nearly almost out of gasoline

Aug. 26, 2009 - 11:16pm

There are others out there.

- Communications from an RRC Chat with Ren

I was doing some searching on the internet on what the hell is happening and found your blog. Thank God there are other people out there attempting to keep in touch. With everything going on in the news I started taking my AR to work with me, leaving it in the truck of course….LOL… I cant imagine the looks from co-workers I would get dressed up in a suit and tie with an AR-15 draiped across my chest. Its my little bushmaster that I put together with LMT stock and eo-tech 552 on a larue riser. I just put a Daniel Defense backup iron sight on it as well. It also has a Midwest industries 4 rail hand guard with a black Tango Down for grip. Its not a bad blaster, but not as accurate as a nice bolt gun by any means. I started taking it to work with me back a few months ago when the stock market was diving down 300 to 500 points in a day. It would suck to have all my gear at home and be miles away if rioting started, and no way to protect myself. I didn’t really want to take time off… yea … I know… dumb move on my part, but I didn’t know if all of this was just media garbage or really happening…. Now I know it’s the latter. You know what they say, hindsight is 20/20.

I don’t know where all you ya’ll are from…. But down here in sunny florida its been raining A LOT. Lemme be the first to tell ya… It seems to act as an amplifier to every bodies panic down here….. this state is being chocked off I think…no food trucks… publix is ….. shit… gotta go … theres someone screaming outside….. brb.

- End of communications

Aug. 25, 2009 - 10:05pm

Before I log of, here are some uploaded pictures of what I could take clearly, while I was out on the 24th. I did not want to linger in one spot for to long.

Aug. 26, 2009 - 9:56pm

The more I read, the more cautious I get around the windows. The wife had a good idea to cover all of them with heavy drapes to cancel any light pollution from leaving our house at night. The last thing I need to deal with is attracting one or many of the dead.

Read this.

- Transmission from mjporreca

Containment in the city broke and news spread like a wildfire in all directions. We all thought the smart ones went east into New Jersey because not as many of the creatures were crossing the bridges. But when word got out that New York and Baltimore quarantines had collapsed too all those people had the ocean on one side, and literally a sea of bodies, alive and dead, on the other. I’m glad we are out West of Philly. The “experts” are saying major cities will have the biggest concentrations, so people should avoid them. The internet is now full of reports and information about the dead coming to life and feeding on the living.

For right now a bunch of us have banded together with weapons and are gathering supplies. Our neighborhood has a nice view all the way down to the Schuylkill River. We stood around for hours asking each other if this was really happening, or was this some new War of the Worlds hoax. One neighbor said she got a text message from her brother who had locked himself in his house. She heard constant pounding and wailing in the background. He was terrified. She was convinced it’s all real, but we were all still having trouble accepting it.

That’s when we saw the first one. A man came shuffling up the street. He was 50 or 60 yards away. We thought he was just tired and struggling up the hill. None of us recognized him. My neighbor’s daughter was the first to notice anything wrong. She asked, “Mommy, why doesn’t that man have a chin?” She was right. As the thing’s head bobbed up and down, she had the best view. Its jaw was completely missing, tongue, chin and a hunk of the throat all gone. The black shirt we thought he was wearing was really white with dried blood. Some of us were frozen; staring in disbelief. The rest screamed and ran, grabbing any children that happened to be there. The moaning started. That blood curdling moan that you feel in your spine. It snapped me out of the trance I was in. Reached back and pulled out the .45 I had on my belt. The 1911 boomed loudly as I fired 3 rounds. The first hit square in the dead man’s chest stopping his step. The next a little higher, in what was left of his gaping mouth. The shot sprayed out behind his head. The third shot, the bull’s-eye, square in the forehead. The zombie’s head snapped back, and the rest of him followed like a falling tree. For a minute no one moved. Then slowly, pistol pointed at the creature, a few of us moved towards it. The rest went to get weapons of their own.

We haven’t seen any contacts recently, but I’m sure they’ll be here soon. I’m worried about how much light we’ll have tonight. The plan is to run tripwires with cans, bells, and whatever we have as an early warning system. Then use our car headlights to see what to shoot. I wish we had more time. Hopefully we will be ready to move in the morning and have a plan on where to go.

Between us we have over 10,000 rounds in various calibers. Run, stay, neither option seems good at the moment. I’m amazed how focused everyone is. No one is tiring, no one is stopping. Windows are being boarded, food is being stacked. Water, gasoline, tools, first aid kits are getting set aside for whatever it is we are going to do. About the half the neighbors fled. Traffic was a mess. I’m praying for a quiet night, and some answers in the morning.

- End of Transmission

Aug. 26, 2009 - 7:46pm

- Transmission from mjporreca

I've been trying to find out what's going on since the order for people to stay in their homes started. From what I've been able to find online, a lot of people are without power, I guess in that regard we're lucky. The T.V is showing nothing and the 24 news channels are off air.

Around noon I noticed the police starting to knock on people's doors. They were moving house to house, so I had a while before they got to mine. Stories of the Katrina aftermath came back to me. I’ll sacrifice a few for the good of the many. After about an hour, A National Guard Humvee pulled up and handful of guardsmen started assisting the police.

Finally, the knock came. I cracked the door. The first thing I noticed were the black circles under the officers eyes, which were even more pronounced because most of the color was drained out of his face. He coughed, trying to clear his throat, but seemed to relax when took a good look at me.

Finally he got his questions. He asked if everyone who lived here was home. I told him yes, myself my wife and my son. He asked if any of us were sick, or overly tired, or seemed out of sorts. I told him no, but could tell he really didn't care about the answers.

I asked him what was going on, and why we were being told to stay inside. He said, there is a state of emergency declared and information will be given as soon as it's available. I pressed him for what the emergency was and waited for the rehearsed lines in response, but they didn't come. He leaned in close and whispered to me. The officer told me he didn't know exactly what it was, but something happened in the city, and it had to be bad. A lot of people must be dead. He said he wasn't supposed to say this, but to pack up and get the hell out when we got the chance, and if I had any guns, keep them loaded.

That all happened 5 hours ago, now the sun is going down. Since then I've seen every theory imaginable posted somewhere. Terrorist attack, biological weapons, aliens have landed, but I fear the worst. I think this might be the one thing every hard working, God fearing, country loving American fears.

Let's hope I'm wrong.

- End of trasmission

Aug. 25, 2009 - 11:35pm

News from the outside world, but it is not good.

TV station that had been showing the color bars test pattern has
gone off the air along with all the others. Even though it was
useless for information, there was something oddly comforting
about being able to turnon the TV and at least see something on
the screen. Now it's all just useless static.



All the AM news stations are also off the air, but there's one
FM station that's still broadcasting. Unfortunately, it's
playing an endless loop of obnoxious '80s music and
advertisements for sales that ended days ago. If I hear
"Walking on Sunshine" one more frickin' time. Ill use the
radio for target practice to sight and tune in my RPK.
I opened the 720rnd.spam can of Brown Bear 7.62x39, which I
never thought I would open.

I just wish I could figure out what's going on out there
and how widespread this aberration is.

Wait a minute. What an idiot I've been. What about my
Fathers old HAM radio?

Read this article that made me remember I had one all along.

- Transmission from an anonymous writer
Back when I was a kid, my Dad did everything he could
to get me interested in HAM radio. He was hardcore.
Only Morse Code ('CW', he called it) for him. Anyone
that used a mic and actually talked to other people
was a second class citizen, as far as he was
concerned. I studied for the tests and actually
passed them, but I could never get the hang of Morse
Code so I never got my license.

Dad tried to keep me interested by using his radio to
tune into all sorts of shortwave broadcasts from
around the world. I used to listen to the BBC World
Service, Radio Free Europe and Radio Afrika
International. I'd think of the exotic places these
radio stations were reaching and the folks that were
listening in. It distracted me from my mundane
suburban existence, at least for awhile.

Just before my Dad passed away, he was gearing up to
work another "Field Day" with a bunch of his HAM
buddies. He did this every year and told Mom that
it was all about "being prepared". I suspect it was
as much that as it was an excuse to go camping
with some buddies, play with his radio toys and maybe
drink a beer or two.

Right. Enough nostalgia. Back to the situation at hand.

Let's go see if I can bring it back to life.

Aug. 25, 2009 - 7:42pm

- Transmission from fargo007

“TARGET”

I'm momentarily reminded of how much I enjoyed watching her tiny but precise fingers form guitar chords when I taught her to play. Now, even in these dire circumstances I still feel that same pride as I see her tiny fingers rotating the large elevation knob on the NightForce 3.5-15x50, as she counts off 3.25 Minutes of elevation.

“Got it Dad.” She exclaims, as we watch the edges of the lonely glow on the ground, cast there by the only remaining street light. I Milled the stop sign right next to it. It is exactly 350 yards away.

“Keep that bolt up until we have a target kiddo. Got that?”

I'm looking through my own Nightforce down the same alleyway of houses that leads to a more populated street. Both rifles are condition 1, with a round in the chamber, and each sporting a fat AICS mag of nine 175 Sierra Matchkings underneath. This distance is a joke for these rigs, but the cases of water and canned food downstairs remind me we're paid to be here, people are depending on us, and we need to follow through on what we promised we would do.

“Ughhhh!!!.... Dad... you don't have to keep telling me every single .....”

“TARGET. “

350 yards, 11 o' clock, left edge of the intersection, no wind, slow mover, center hold is fine!”

I had tuned out her pre-teen diatribe, as Dad's are apt to do.

I hear hear “prepare” breath escape gently as the bolt knob of the FN SPR slowly and precisely drops into place. I recognize the faint sound of shuffling as she finds her natural point of aim.

“Shooter Ready”

“Send”

“Sending”

The rifle barks loudly, and the recoil causes her 11 year old frame to slide to the rear about a half inch on top of the series of dressers that we have set up as a shooting platform next to the window. This is foreign on so many levels... Ordinarily I'd be in the back of the room, shooting through a hole I'd gouge into one of the dressers or other furniture. It's not like that this time. We don't have to worry about light discipline, a barrel being spotted, or any other target indicator. I've not grown lazy. These issues don't matter, and that's good, because I haven't had a chance to work with her on them yet.

“HIT!” I exclaim, the cheerful excitement of a father in my voice as I watch the shock from 175 grains of hurt smash hard into the high torso of the humanoid figure, almost bending it 90 degrees back from the legs in an grotesque contortion before its head slammed into the ground with significant force.

I turn to congratulate her on the shot only to be pelted in the cheek by hot brass, as she smartly resourced the rifle with her eye still on the glass, and the target still in the crosshairs.

“C'mon Dad....... You're goofing off again.”

I can see it still writing, but only from about the shoulders upward.

“Should we hit it again?” She wondered aloud, her eye still rock steady on the Nightforce. "I've got a clear outline of the head against the curb now.”

“Holy Mackrel!!!” I roll my eyes, as I drop back onto my own glass. The McMillan A5 feels like home to my shoulder as I tuck tight into the rifle glass the area for other threats. Finding no other, and knowing she's ready to show me something, I catch her cheek straining a wry smile as I give her exactly what she's been waiting for.....

“TARGET.”

- End of Transmission

Aug. 25, 2009 - 3:12pm

- Transmission from lblair57

All hell is breaking loose and people are freaking OUT!. There are now mobs of refugees filling the roads. SUV’s, pick-ups, RV’s and cars with bundles of crap tried on top and on the sides and the trunks dragging low from the weight of whatever they could take with them. It looks like a mass exodus from Bombay. Some of them are on foot. They are dazed and dirty with smoke blotched faces and torn clothes. They just wander around aimlessly trying to keep moving in the same direction as the mob. The more coherent ones say that the army was keeping the populace from moving west, but the army has been overrun. They say a virus started in NYC. They think is was the jihadist. The virus kills living flesh and then energizes the central nervous system basically creating walking dead. The sole purpose of these decomposing corpese’s is to feed on and infect other carbon based life forms.

- End of Transmission