Zombies are attacking New York

[Charley]

7-14-04

Birmingham, Alabama

I hope this post gets through. Cable access here has been a bit shaky today. I checked the CNN headline, and I had to check it again. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. There's some kind of outbreak in New York. At first, they thought it was some kind of hemhorragic fever, like Ebola, but that isn't right. This is something else, almost like rabies. The infected are mad, scratching, clawing, biting, and seem to have lost all intelligence. If nobody's bothered to check the news today, don't bother. Just start right now and PREPARE!

Cell phone service has been dodgy all day. I guess everyone's trying to call up friends and family. I finally made it through to my parents at work, and they're coming home right now. I called Akrabbim, and we're trying to discuss what to do. Hopefully, we're acting fast enough to make a difference. I've bought $300 in groceries from Winn Dixie, and I asked Akrabbim to do the same. The generic stuff. Crackers, canned tuna, fruit, veggies, bottled water, whatever we can buy for cheap and will keep for a long time. I've still got a spare box of MRE's left over from April's Gooncamp, so that's something, I guess. I've also got some food from college stashed somewhere downstairs. I'm about to load up my truck and do some inventory.

Good thing I picked up my Romanian WASR-10 yesterday! Got it for a good price and all. For $500, I walked out with an AK-47, a pair of hi-caps, and 1000 rounds of 7.62x39mm. I got it for plinking at Akrabbim's farm, but I guess it's gonna have to be put to more practical use now. Off the top of my head, my guns & ammo inventory breaks down like this:

WASR-10 AK-47, 1000 rounds
Springfield XD .40 service pistol, 600 rounds
Marlin model 1894 Henry action 30-30 repeating rifle, 100 rounds (currently jammed, will fix later!)
4 Remington 12 gauge semiautomatic shotguns, 200 rounds
1 Remington 20 gauge semiautomatic shotgun, 30 rounds
1 Remington 30-06 semiautomatic rifle, 60 rounds

Its not much, but it's a start. Akrabbim should be here within the hour along with s'Ilancy, and they have even more to consolidate:

Bushmaster AR-15, 1000 rounds
Beretta Storm Carbine 9mm, 700 rounds
Glock 26 subcompact 9mm, 700 rounds
Remington 30-06 bolt action rifle, 1000 rounds
Mossberg tactical 12 gauge pump action shotgun, 200 rounds
Beretta Neos 6 inch competition .22 pistol, 3000 rounds

In all, I think we have our temporary ammunition needs covered. We'll take final inventory when he comes to my house.

From here, I don't know.

I'm posting here, and at the Firing Range at Something Awful to invite any & all who are around the Southeast, and who can contribute to their self defense to MEET UP IN BIRMINGHAM. Currently, I am located on a steep hill, in a very defendable position. I anticipate being able to hold out for several weeks at the worst. I expect a few SA posters from Auburn to arrive within days, and they'll add their weapons to our defenses, and we'll be able to improve our watch capabilities.

From Birmingham, I think we can drive an armed convoy out onto Interstate 20 east, and in an hour or two (depending on traffic), we'll reach the United States Armory at Fort McClellan. I'm pretty sure we can make a solid defense here.

Please respond to this message. I don't know how long my cable is gonna be cooperative, and I'm hoping that it'll clear up soon. Whatever you can carry, bring it along, but be quick about it. I think we've caught this at the outbreak, so we should have a day or two before hell really breaks loose.

If somebody has James's (Silus) phone number, please post it here. I'm not sure how often he checks the internet these days, and I really need his help to coordinate a move east toward McClellan.

If you're living in the northeast, around any major cities or interstates, please get the hell out of dodge, ASAP. This is seriously bad news. Long Island is being declared a disaster area, and they're mustering up the NY national guard. GET OUT!

If anybody needs to reach me, (if cell phones still work) here's my number:

(205) 515-6113

If you're looking to find my house, it's here:

2832 7th St NE
Birmingham, AL 35215

Put it into mapquest, and find the quickest route here. I'm expecting at least a dozen, so there should be room for you all.

My prayers go out to each of you.

[Shawn]

7-14-04

Miami, Florida

Wow. I can't believe it finally happened. I'm not really sure whether to be elated or dismayed. I do know that I feel kind of queasy, either way.

I just got off the phone with Charley and he confirmed that it's really happening. Frelling zombies. Well, I'm not sure if they're actually the walking dead or just some rabid maniacs, but what difference does it make? They're zombies all the same. I've got like three different news stations going right now... It doesn't look like the plague (or whatever it is) has gotten this far south yet. Still, I don't harbor any doubts that it will. These are the makings of a judgement day, right here.

I'm at my parent's house right now. I got here to find my step-mother closing all of the hurricane shutters over the windows; My father left work and is hauling butt home. He's got his piece on him, so I'm not too worried. The traffic is probably going to be the worst thing he'll have to face, for now.

--

Apparently, there's rioting going on. That's about par for the course in this city. My dad showed up about half an hour ago, the back of his truck packed to the brim with canned goods and the like. I didn't bother asking him how he got all of it. He's in the garage now, digging up the ammo cans he's had sitting in there for years. He hasn't said a word yet, but I can already hear him gloating about how he's been "prepared" for this sort of thing all along. I'm not really sure how long the food and ammo will last, but I think we've got everything covered, for the moment.

There really isn't much to do now, except sit and wait. I've got some water jugs filling up in the bathtub. This whole thing kind of reminds me of how it was like after Hurricane Andrew. Except that - no way. I think I just heard one of the neighbors scream.

[Charley]

Shawn, are you waiting it out down there? I know its a long drive up to Birmingham, but if you guys can make it, we could really use a few extra hands. How defendable is your position?

[Slayn Cloak]

My cell wont work, but my cable's still up, I can't get shawn on the phone; I'm just going to head over there. It should only take me fifteen mins or so to get to his house from mine in cuttler ridge.

[Shawn]

We've got this place as fortified as it can get. I'm anxious to try and meet up with you as soon as we can, but I'm not sure that's really an option at this point. All of the roads are jam-packed and I think we're starting to see the first signs of the infection down here. I doubt we'll be able to stay here forever, though...

I don't think we're going to be taking quite such a, uh, philanthropic stance. We're only letting people we know stay with us. We just don't have the supplies to take in stragglers.

[Charley]

Originally posted by Shawn
We've got this place as fortified as it can get. I'm anxious to try and meet up with you as soon as we can, but I'm not sure that's really an option at this point. All of the roads are jam-packed and I think we're starting to see the first signs of the infection down here. I doubt we'll be able to stay here forever, though...

How is it already down there????

CRAP, this is happening too fast. I figured on at least 24 hours to prepare. Do you have any idea about how it got down there?

I've pretty much kept to the house today, with the exception of a few runs to the store. So far, I haven't seen too much in the way of panic. The lines were pretty long at Winn Dixie, considering its Wednesday morning, but nothing's gotten pandemic yet. I haven't strayed near downtown, so maybe I'm just deluding myself. I'll turn on the radio and see what's going on locally.

I'm about to head to the store for some batteries, and see if Wal-Mart still has some ammo. My dad just passed me $300 to blow over there, so I've got a laundry list of stuff to grab. Him and my next door neighbor are keeping watch while I'm gone, with one on the front deck and one on the back.

I've got my Springfield with me, so if I run into anything bad, I'll at least have something. Anyway, I'll be back later. Post here with any updates.

[Shawn]

I don't know, man. All I've got right now is hearsay. We've got rafters coming in by the dozen. You'd think that, with all of this mayhem, they'd want to stay out of the states. My only guess is that it's hit them, too and they thought they'd be better off here.

Consider yourself lucky that you can still make store runs. I haven't seen much in the way of the undead, but the rioters here are worse than ever. Cars burning in the street, people shooting guns into the air... it's a madhouse.

You can say we're jumping the gun a bit, but we're only poking our head outside long enough to get an idea of what's going on. I think even that's going to have to stop before too long.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I heard on the local news that the British government representatives have begun talks with other nations, from across Western and Eastern Europe, in an emergency summit in Berlin. Nothing has been confirmed, but some rumours are already spreading. People say that they are considering a last resort option of deploying bombs of some kind (I don’t really know much about this stuff) to try and stamp out the infection before it spreads across the ocean. I guess we just have to hope that its ended quickly and without much more death or bloodshed.

As a side note, you all seem to be getting more coverage on this than me – how mobile are the ‘infected’ people? Is it likely that they would be able to man a ship or plane? Can they swim? I have a horrible feeling that even if the answers to these questions is no, they’ll still find a way to bridge the gap to the rest of the world.

Good luck you guys. You are in my prayers. :(

[Shawn]

They can't seriously be considering fire bombing already... can they? :( As far as I can tell, the disease (or whatever) hasn't yet taken hold here. Yet.

Edit ~ Slayn just got here. Looks like he's had a rough time, but he seems to be mostly intact.

[Slayn Cloak]

Fire bomb... If I can survive this, I want to. I don't think I speak for myself on this one. The last thing we need is a huge F*** fire ball to run from also.

It was hard enough just to make it over here.( I'm on anouther one of shawns computers) I came up old cuttler road headed toward Shawns, but the closer I got, the more congested the road was. I mean there's normally comuters out there but not at this time, the closer I got to US1 the more rioting I saw. The shops at sunset place where a mess. US1 was to hard to navigate but I took it as far as Granada Ave, that's where I had to walk from. There was a freakin garbage truck over turned on US1, it blocked my way, and I could've found anouther way except someone hit me. A freaking jeep eagle plowed right into my little 300zx. I got out and just ran the rest of the way.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Oh God this is awful! Cell phone service just went down here - there isn't any signs of infection or zombies, but it's eerily quiet. I'm trying to get off work early, but I can't get a hold of the district manager, and the mall hasn't released anything about closing.

I'm so scared. :cry

[Charley]

I'm back.

Well, I think its finally starting here. Wal Mart was absolute chaos. The windows in the front of the store were all broken out, and people were swarming through the doors. It was a fight in both the grocery section and sporting goods. Nobody paying for anything, people just smashing and grabbing. All the Wal Mart employees were nowhere to be found.

I got kicked around fairly hard, but not before I was able to scrounge a half dozen boxes of .40 FMJ, and a dozen boxes of 12 gauge 00 buckshot. It was hell on earth trying to get out of the store, and back to my truck. I've got a pretty bad cut over my left eye, and no telling how many bruises from plowing through people.

I made it back to the house in more or less one piece, but I'm really exhausted now. Dad wants me to help him board up our windows, but I'm just out of it at this point. I'll probably hop to that in an hour.

Still no sign of zombies/infected/whatever.

[Shawn]

Slayn isn't doing so well. Between the car accident and rioters, he's pretty scratched up. We've been giving him painkillers and trying to clean him up with some peroxide and antibiotic creams, but I'm not sure if that'll be enough. I hope we don't have to try and take him to the hospital... I'm not even sure if there's anyone there.

[Charley]

s'il's in a bad way.

She's apparently stuck at Patton's, and she says there's one of them over there.

:(

[Razielle Shadana]

There's no infected in NC, that I am aware of? But there are mad riots. Makes me thankful I am way the heck up in the woods. If anyone else is in the NC area and hears anything let me know..

[Lilaena De'Ville]

OMG OMG

Okay so i just fiddled with our Musak thing ( it can recieve TV audio as well ) and it sounds like it's here in the pac NW now. What do I do!? There was a plane from NY that crashed into PDX, totally wiped out part of the terminal, and it sounds like chaos from what they're saying on TV. I poked my head out of the store door and the freeway sounds like a mess already.

THey're recomending staying in your houses, but I don't know what to do!! Ty dropped me off at work, we were supposed to go camping today after I got off work. I can't call him, cause cell service is down.

I locked our doors, although the whole front of the store is glass. The airport isn't that far away. . . all of my employees and I are sitting int he back room, huddled around the desk. I've got a two foot metal pole that we use in displays in the store, but no guns.

I think this might be the last post I get to make on the forums. Please pray. Has anyone heard from Ryla???

God bless you guys and keep you safe. :( :hug

[Jared Mriad]

07/14/2003
Ninety-Six, South Carolina.

I'm hitching up the trailers to the trucks, got a Timberwolf ATV and two Yamaha dirt bikes on them. Ain't heard a lick from any of my family members, and my cell's off line too. Haven't seen any zombies... or anything for that matter – Highway 34's been quiet all morning. I'm really starting to get a little nervous.

I broke open the shotgun cabinets and threw a few into the trucks, not much to say for ammunitions though. Enough for a good defense while we run. A couple of buddies of mine are on their way still, I pray to God they get here before anything starts up. Tried to contact some other folks through IM, but they're not responding...

I'm going to go pull the ATV out and secure it, throw a few coke crates of cans into the beds, and try again. If the infection or whatever this is gets closer and gets bad, we're tailing it to the mountains. My grandfather has a summer retreat up near Kings Mountain, the only way up is by the roads. I figure we could stand our ground for awhile.

[Charley]

Holly, call Ty immediately. The sooner you guys can get out of there, the better.

Do they have any foodstuffs at the store? Grab what you can and go with him. You guys will probably have a good chance camping in the wilderness.

[Ryla Relvinian]

Mike called me from work in a huge panic. I can tell when something is bad around there, because he gets quiet, really quiet. He said his manager was thinking of sending them home in a few hours, since the phone lines are going down across the country like a wave. Something is rolling towards the west coast. He said he called someone this morning in Boston about their past due bill and someone broke into the house while he was on the phone. He said he heard everything, but he wouldn't tell me what. In fact, I'm not sure I really want to know.

People here are still out washing their expensive SUVs. I don't think they've heard the news yet.

Hol, you should just go, get in your car and drive, get home and find a gun. Do you know how to shoot? I've got my dad's Beretta out and I hope I don't have to use it. I'm not sure ho fast this is going to spread over here... Maybe as early as tonight, I don't know.

[AmazonBabe]

Man, and I didn't think security could get any tighter here at Raytheon! And I've NEVER seen the security guards here with side arms! The whole place is practically locked down! I thought it was all odd when I drove in ntil I heard it on CNN (they have TV's throughout the building's break rooms playing it). O_o

Everyone's trying to keep a professional air about them and go about their daily business with the customers, but you can see it in their eyes that they're scared brainless. I'd have opted out early today if it weren't for the fact I'm taking care of a meeting for the president of the company.

And something told me when I woke up this morning I should have called in sick. Next time, I'm listening to my gut.

Cell phones haven't completely died here, but all the same, I haven't been able to get a hold of my hubby. It's making me sick with worry. :(

Thank God the internet and email systems are still working... though for how much longer, only God knows.

EDIT: Just saw what Holly said! Good God! If it's in Oregan, it'll soon be in California!!! This is one of those times I wish there'd be the BIG earthquake to seperate SoCal into an island to get away from this horrific madness!!!

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I CAN'T CALL HIM

He's only got a cell phone, and I don't know the home number to call my brotherin law, who's a cop and has lots of guns, like you, Charley.

Hopefully they'll get smart and pick me up anyway. And the only food we have is like chocolate - good for a quick pick me up, but not much more. I figure if we get away to our campground we should be okay, as long as Mike brings his guns. Maybe we can wait it out. :\

Edit: Thank God you're okay Ryla! I don't have my car here... :( Or I'd leave, like my employees just did.

It's really getting crazy here. I just hope I get out before the looters come or the zombies (WTF zombies WHY ME) do.

[Ryla Relvinian]

Yeah, it's here. PDX is completely shut down, but the streets are still crowded. Where else can we go? I'm not going to Lincoln City, that's going to be insane. Coast guard has set up an indefinite halt on any ships leaving here... God this is so scary.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Just remember to stay calm everyone. More people could be hurt in this by riots and panic than the actual problem itself. I know this probably sounds pretty bad from someone who has an ocean keeping the problem at bay, but... yeah. I'm reluctant to go to sleep tonight, for fear of missing some important news bulletin on what's going on over there :/


Coast guard has set up an indefinite halt on any ships leaving here.

Oh thank God.

[Ryla Relvinian]

At least on the west coast, around us. My dad said that all his shipments are stopped, so that means that it's not in Hawaii yet or heading towards Australia. I don't know about the east coast, though, but it seems like they would have done that already.

Just checked- My cell's down too. I hope Mike is ok!

[Charley]

I've lost cell service. I can't call s'il anymore.

Christin, if you're reading this, please be safe!

[Jared Mriad]

Christ.

I just caught a 404 and I think a multiple 30s on the police band in Greenwood. Most of the other CB chatter is too bogged up to hear, Paul and David should already be here by know. :(

[Charley]

Originally posted by Jared Mriad
Christ.

I just caught a 404 and I think a multiple 30s on the police band in Greenwood. Most of the other CB chatter is too bogged up to hear, Paul and David should already be here by know. :(

What does that mean? What's going on?

[Jared Mriad]

404 is a riot call, 30s is homocide by shooting.

I'm giving them another half-hour before I'm moving somehwere in the open, there's too many trees around here. If zombies show up, I won't have much of a warning.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Ty just called on the land line - that still works thank GOD. He's on his way, but he's in bad shape - he was in a grocery store doing some before camping shopping when things started to get crazy.

He and his brother are on their way. From what he said, the Jeep sounds like the A-Team's van, at least in terms of firepower. Ryla I hope Mike get's in touch with you soon!!

s'Il, if you read this, love you honey. Be safe! :(

edit- The windows outside just broke. I can't

[Dasquian Belargic]

someone get over to Hollys place right now

[Slayn Cloak]

I really just can't belive this happened all of a sudden. I'm feeling better thanks to shawn, just a little bruised up, and my vissions a little blurred.

Poor hollies, I hope she's ok.

[Dasquian Belargic]

My mom just got a call from my grandmother. Her sister, my great aunt Cathline, has just come back from a two week stay in the US. She was visiting her daughter, Hayley, in New Jersey, like she does most every month. Apparently, she flew in some time early this morning and has had to be hospitalized because of a bug of some kind. According to what I overhead of my mum telling my stepdad, she spent a good hour or so vomitting before just passing out. She woke up an hour later, around later afternoon, and just isn't acting like herself. She's under observation at the moment. My mum said it's just food poisoning or something, but I can tell from the tone in her voice and her reluctance to talk to me abotu this that she doesn't think this is a simple case of eating something dodgy.

[Charley]

All's quiet here. I hear police and fire sirens every few minutes or so, but my neighborhood is more or less quiet. Some guy went tearing through the streets at about 60 mph, squealing rubber all the way down the road. Nothing since then.

We're tearing the deck boards off our back deck and using them to board windows right now. We got all the ones in the back boarded up. Mine and my sister's bedroom are left in the front, as well as our large A -frame windows in the living room, which are gonna be hard to cover.

My mom checked out the cut over my eye. She says I need a few stitches. Since I really don't want to go to the ER for anything so minor, she's gonna do the job to me with some sewing thread and a little scotch. My mom is :cool


Originally posted by Dasquian Belargic
someone get over to Hollys place right now

need an update here.

[Charley]

double post

[spada]

Its crazy...everythings happening fast. Too fasdt. I haven't even been able to to to the store to get any/ supplies. I have a bat, but it probably won't do good. I heard that New York was hit, and It scared -the frell outta me. I live in Jersey, its jus0-t too close. 9

I couldnt sleep [last night knowing that those monsters are even out there. Last night;,. I saw it happen. I heard some wierd stuff goin on a few houses down and saw some things go into the house. I heard some screams, but thats about it. After that i threw as much stuff in the basement as i could and rigged cans on a string to the doorknob and blocked up entrances and windows in case those tings try to get in. I got my labtop downhere, but its dark

its too dark. only ligh is the computer. thank god internets still working, i guess the bastards don't know about power lines.

I don't know about anyone else here but getting some looters here would be a lot better than those things

I just hope these thingss arentgroup smart enough. either way im not going to let them take me. i have been praying for hours now i need strength


If anyone knows what's up, tell me-

EDIT-i hear thing out

the cans oh god the cans i can't do it please god theyre trying to get in

[Charley]

GOOD NEWS:

I heard on the radio that the Alabama National Guard has been mobilized, both to stabilize the looting situation AND to defend against the infected. My dad was at the local chevron in Center Point (about a mile from our house) picking up gasoline for our generator when he saw a military checkpoint being set up, not far from our house.

Its at the Wood Dr. / Sweeney Hollow Rd. intersection, within walking distance of our house. Looks to be a platoon of infantry, and about a half dozen humvees. They're trying to keep the road clear at the moment, and regulating traffic, which has gotten pretty heavy suddenly. I wonder if they've shut down one of the major roads like the Parkway or Springville Road then?

At any rate, I'm just glad to see that help is nearby.

[Travis North]

Going to buy a shotgun now.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Great to hear your news, Charley. Let's hope these precautions will be helpful.


Its crazy...everythings happening fast. Too fasdt. I haven't even been able to to to the store to get any/ supplies. I have a bat, but it probably won't do good. I heard that New York was hit, and It scared -the frell outta me. I live in Jersey, its jus0-t too close. 9

You're in Jersey? And there's problems there? Well, I guess that means my great aunt is screwed. Good luck, man. Good luck.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

UPDATE:

Made it to Charley's finally. Ak and Charley are unloading all the guns and ammo Ak and I brought with us, and I ran in to let you all know I'm not a zombie.

Somebody somehow get a hold of Holly!! Please!! I've tried calling her and all the lines are dead - even her landline.

[Shawn]

I've got some bad news. :(

For the first time in my life, I had to kill another human being. I'm trying to tell myself that's not what he was anymore, but it's still making me feel sick to my stomach. He was looking better for a while... then he started to throw up non-stop. He just kept vomiting until he dry heaved. I left him alone in the bathroom for a while and... the next thing I knew, he came bursting through my bedroom door. I didn't know what to do. He was on top of me, trying to grab me. He was still covered in vomit and I managed to slip out of his grasp long enough to grab my .380. I shot him twice in the head and he - it - stopped moving. Guys, Slayn is dead. I killed him. :(

[Pierce Tondry]

Dammit to hell. Virginia's in bad shape. The entire city of Richmond is in complete chaos. Everything was normal this morning, but then around lunchtime I got a call from a friend who was checking up on me. I turned on the news and that's when I began to see all the reports of infected rolling in.

All nearby security forces have been deployed to protect key operational centers like D.C., the Pentagon, and the Norfolk naval base leaving everything west of the fall line unsecured. My brother's at JMU and my dad is still out. I hope they're both okay.

I have to sign off. My friends and I have banded together with one of my neighbors who has a truck. We're trying to make a supply run and gather enough food to last us. Anyone who's in the area and has extra bottled water please meet us at the I-64 exit with it, because our local purifying station's been overrun and the water in the taps is a disgusting red and brown ooze.

Power might go at any time. I'm taking my brother's laptop to maintain communication with the rest of you.

Everyone, be careful. These things are monsters

[Tiberius Anar]

There's just been announcement on television and radio: all international flights are grounded this side of the pond. Apparently the RAF have deployed to shoot down anything attempting to reach us and the Army is mobilising to lock down the airports. The Prime Minister's calling for calm- easy for him to say: he's got a fast helicopter for the north standing by.

How will this end?

[Jared Mriad]

We're holding up at my house for now, there's to many of the things running loose outside. They're crawling all over the blasted trucks. Couple of them got inside before we could get in the attic, and by Lord they're... hellish. I don't know what to do now except wait... perhaps, by God's grace, that they'll forget about us and leave - if they do... I'm gonna become a preacher.

Going to try to get down the stairs for my phone, it may still work.

[Kelt Simoson]

I dont know what it's like up north Jen but down here its a little different. BBC news has just reported that Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' are filling with people with some kind of unknown infection.

Apprently there are no more beds to support the majority of people rolling into the London hospitals and many voluntery medical staff are working over time to set up make shift tents in Hyde Park to use as a field hospital.

The citizens of Reading and places outside London are quite okay right now, they said that their setting up a quarenteen around the outbreak in the City, lets hope noone slip through the nets, huh?

I'll keep you all posted.

[Charley]

We've moved.

The National Guard presence got VERY thick suddenly, and there was probably a full battalion strength in Center Point an hour ago. Patrols have gone through residential areas, and we're being escorted from our homes. I've filled my truck to the top with supplies and weapons, and my dad's truck is twice as full. My sister and my mom are pulling rations and other essentials, and we left s'il and Akrabbim's cars at home, since they didn't have that much carry capacity.

We've been relocated about five miles south to Trussville, and the National Guard battalion is linking up a mobile wi-fi, so we can maintain communication and correspondance. Everybody can thank Akrabbim for bringing his laptop along.

I'm really not sure what's going on. I think they're trying to depopulate the Greater Birmingham and Metropolitan area, and evacuate civilians to safe zones. We're parked on the entry ramp to I-59 right now, and from the looks of all the humvees ahead of us, we seem to be attached to a military convoy. I'm riding shotgun while Akrabbim drives. There's a lull in action, but I've got my AK-47 slung under the seatbelt, just in case.

Heard some helos beating through the air ten minutes ago. Couldn't see too well, but they look like Cobras, heading down the parkway. Looks like they're gonna try and raise hell in Roebuck.

I don't want to think about what's happening back home. I wouldn't be suprised to come back to a smoking crater, if we come back. The talk right now is that the National Guard regiment we're attached to is going to start a rolling convoy east, towards Fort McClellan.

Still no major signs of infected nearby. Plenty of stories from other civilians though.

[Charley]

<a href=http://jkcinema.com/front.htm?i=0&REFFERAL.CNN-backupserver-BREAKINGNEWS.np.cs.TDL>cnn.com</a>

[AmazonBabe]

Dammit! Sorry I've been silent for so long. They had us all moved in towards the center of the building, and it took me forever and a half to find someone with a laptop that was hooked up to a net connection (thank God it's still working), and then I had to wait in line for my turn.

They're not letting anyone in or out due to reports of infected showing up in the LAX regions, which is all of about 15 minutes from here (how they got there is still unknown... the news reports we're watching on the small TV set they have down here is sketchy on details and on how the infected spread so quickly from New York to here).

They've rationed all food supplies and water from the main cafeteria, so there's enough here to hold us over for awhile. I don't know how long they'll keep us locked in. They say it's for our safety. From a conversation I heard from some security folks, they're basically using this as a saftey zone due to it's ability to be locked down tightly with high security protocals in place. I'm finding out a lot of things about this building regarding to securities I didn't know it had.

Still haven't gotten a hold of Joe, but being in the center of the building, it's very unlikely I'll be able to get any cell phone reception. They're attempting to set up several landlines right now for ppl to call loved ones and let them know they're ok, but other than that, I'm stuck.

And now I'm being asked to let other ppl have a turn at the computer. I'll see about getting on later, but from the looks of the line, it may be a very very long time until I get back on.

[Razielle Shadana]

fghkj55555555555555

[imported_Callista]

7/14/2004

Denver, Colorado


I completely thought this original post was a hoax when I woke up this morning and got an AIM message from Sanis. Went to college class as normal, sitting in class and -bam- the door slams open and a faculty member rushes in telling us all the news. Class was in the Penthouse Suite at the very top of the building (school looks like an office building) so we got to witness the craziness of downtown Denver from up top. Complete chaos in the streets.

I have the good news of reporting it's not here yet...but seeing as how its been spread everywhere else so quickly...I don't doubt it shows up soon. Right now we are kind of in a lockdown situation so I'm stuck at school, but I do have access to computer labs so I'll be able to see how everyone is doing all over.

Good luck to you out there!

[Pierce Tondry]

Oh God I hope Eve is safe.

I'm posting from the house of one of the infected to let you all know my dad is dead. He stopped by the house of this woman he knows after work to talk some business. When word got back to me where he'd headed, I had to go check on him. He'd been dismembered and partially eaten by the time I got there- in fact, the screwhead was still feeding.

I couldn't stand the sight and blew her head off with my friend Mike's shotgun. Then I cremated my dad's remains and said a small prayer. I'm going to miss him so much.

My brother thankfully I was able to get in touch with. He's joined up with a small group of people and they're just outside of Richmond. My group and his will be hooking up shortly, and then we're going to travel to the shore en masse. It's like a giant refugee party, where everyone's just grabbed what little blankets, clothes, and food they can carry and headed out.

Well, I have to get back to the group. I don't want to stay out in the open alone for too long.

[Morgan Evanar]

Does anyone know how my family is? :(

[Charley]

I haven't heard anything from down there, Chris. All I've heard is what happened to Slayn :(. Hopefully Shawn will recap soon.

Anyway, I finally got the laptop back. We're at a staging area outside of Anniston, close to Fort McClellan.

The trip over was not enjoyable.

Finally saw my first of the infected. As the convoy was pulling onto I-459 from I-59, they started pouring off a nearby overpass, trying to jump onto the slow-moving vehicles. We were a few dozen cars behind the lead humvees of the convoy, and it was like something ungodly to hear them open up. Ma Deuce .50 cal machine guns sound like some kind of demon. By the time we rolled past the scene of the firefight, we could see broken bodies scattered in the emergency lanes, torn to hell by machinegun fire.

It isn't like Hollywood. It looked like roadkill or hamburger. I wanted to be sick. The convoy picked up steam again, but near the first exit off I-20 east, we hit a mass of zombies, right around Leeds. They were coming from the overpass and from the Chevron station, and poured down at us from both sides. The National Guard gave them hell, but they started turning toward the civilian vehicles in the convoy. There were plenty of armed people there, and they opened up on the infected as well. I was leaning out my truck's window, spraying at a bunch of them with my AK. I don't know if I hit any. Everything just went like a blur. When it was all over, I had a pile of shell casings in my lap, and my truck reeked of gunpowder. Somebody's honda got gutted with fire. I heard a few people in the back didn't make it. I'm just really shaken up. I've never fired at anybody before. I don't ever want to again.

Right now, command at McClellan has us in a holding area, "under observation". I guess they're wanting to make sure none of us are infected. I can't blame em for that. They've maintained the wi-fi positions, but its gotten pretty tight-fisted. I'm not able to access major news outlets anymore, due to the military's firewall not allowing it.

I'm really tired right now. The cut above my eye is swelling and giving me a four alarm headache. I really could use a drink. :(

[Marcus Telcontar]

This is making me wonder why the power went out here last night. We're running okay now, but oddly, no word. Entire North West Sydney was hit.

[Charley]

Marcus, what's the news down there? The military firewall won't let me get any of the news sites anymore. I'd really like a sense of whats happening.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Absolutly nothing. It's like nothing is happening - no news updates online and just the usual bland radio. TV reception is worse than usual, which aint saying much as it sucks at the best of times. Just an explosion and the power grid dropping out for two hours.

The military planes are flying more than usual - wiat, there's a FA-18 leaving Richmond. That's unusual. I might just have a look outside.

[Jared Mriad]

I'm still alive and kicking, so far. The local National Guard is moving off to Fort Jackson in Columbia, I'm not sure which highway – if any – they'll be taking. About an hour and a half ago they picked us and our equipment up, killed off the bastards keeping us up too. Guess I owe God a little servitude now, but I'm sure he'll understand if I wait till this whole hell is over. David brought his laptop with him, that's how I'm doing an update.

The convoy itself is about seven hummers and two of those long bed trucks, my truck with the ATV and bikes, and David's mustang. Everything has been smooth so far, thankfully, but I'm not sure how much longer we'll have this luck with nightfall coming. Still haven't heard a word from my family.

As far as I guess, we're about forty-five minutes out of Saluda with Newberry about ten minutes to go – Columbia is a good half-hour away with good traffic. But with these infections, who knows how longer it will take for us to get there. We had to by-pass three lane-wide wrecks.. I see fires out on the highways bends. I need to head off, it'll be my luck Paul wrecks my truck.

[Charley]

Delousing powder sucks, by the way.

It burns like alcohol on a fresh shave...all over your body.

How do I know this? Because we've all been rounded up like cattle by the National Guard and the US Army at McClellan, and given the business in quarantine. I'm dressed down in a pair of GI skivvies and a white t-shirt, as is everybody else that got evacuated out here. Our clothes are out in a field half a mile away, soaked full of gasoline and burning.

The soldiers we see now are US Army, mostly. From what I've overheard, they're MP's attached to USAMRIID, which is some kind of medical unit, I think. The MP's are all wearing biocontainment suits. I don't really think anybody knows whats going on right now. Why would they need containment suits? The virus couldn't be airborne, could it?

Whatever rations and supplies we've brought have been confiscated by McClellan's supply regiment. I guess they're looking at holding out for the long haul over here. Our personal belongings and firearms were cordoned off, but we were re-issued to us in sterile footlockers. I can't find my deck of playing cards though.

They've set up long blue tents, with enough cots to house 200 in each. There are row after row of them, and a defensive perimeter set up beyond that, with a prefabricated barbed wire fence. Every 50 meters, there's a manned position on the perimeter, with blinding lights that sweep the area. Beyond that, I see humvees and Bradley troop carriers frequently.

On one hand, I'm grateful to be somewhere I don't have to worry about zombies. I have no doubt in Fort McClellan's ability to defend against the infected people. On the other hand, I feel like I'm in a herd of cattle. Being quarantined is a very dehumanizing experience. I wish I could find my damn playing cards. I need something to pass this night. I feel like I'm going insane, penned up here.

Hope you guys are doing better out there. Stay safe.

[Morgan Evanar]

They should be alright, I guess. Hurricane glass and several weeks worth of food. Mark isn't back yet, though. I hope he left the keys to the Forester behind.

[Figrin D'an]

Sorry I couldn't post earlier guys. Things went all to hell earlier today, and I had all I could handle just to get away from the city and to a safe location.

I'm okay though. Barely. The group I joined up with had a few close scrapes, and we lost a couple of good people along the way, but most of us made it.

As soon as I heard about what was going on in the big cities, I bolted for home and started packing as much camping and survival gear as I could. I emptied the cupboards of all the non-perishables I could find, and I figured I'd make a quick stop at the grocery store on the way out of town to add to the supply. I grabbed my hunting rifle, an old 12 guage I haven't used in ages, and my sidearm (my .45 P-series Ruger), all the ammo I could find, and hastily packed up my Explorer.

I decided to make one last quick check online to see how everone else was doing, and it's a good thing I did. As soon as my IM client booted up, I got a message from Dani (Nav/Dale). She said she was at home, totally freaked out, and was trying to figure out what to do. I told her to pack whatever essentials she could into her car, and get out of the Chicago area ASAP. She was still pretty panicky, so I grabbed my cell phone and called her to talk to her directly. She said she wasn't sure where to go, so I told her that, if she could make it up to Milwaukee within a couple of hours, I'd make sure she got to a safe place. She was nervious about driving on the interstate between two big population centers, but she agreed. I told her I'd meet her at the Park & Ride station near the airport, and hung up.

I got the grocery store, and to the hardware store without too much trouble. Lots of looting already starting by that time, though. I just took what I could. As I was on my way out of the parking lot, I bumped into a friend of mine who was doing the same thing I was, just trying to stock up and get out of the city. He's in the Army Reserves, and he said he and his buddies already had a caravan put together, and were going to head north. He asked me if I could join up with them, and I quickly accepted. Safety in numbers and all. I told him about Dani, though, and said I promised I'd wait to help her get to safety. My friend just said to meet him at the I-94 onramp at Hwy 18. in Waukesha by 2PM at the latest, saying they weren't going to wait any longer than that.

By this time, I had also been in touch with my family. They called me on cell, and said they were already on their way to get my grandparents, and head for the hunting cabin near the U.P. (that's the Upper Penninsula of Michigan for those that don't know... really backwoods and secluded). My mom was pretty freaked, but I told her not to worry, that I would make it. I said I wasn't sure I would be able to meet up with them, but that I'd be safe with the Reservist group, and I'd go wherever they were headed.

Time seemed to fly by as I prepared for the worst. I tried to call a lot more of friends, but by noon, most of the phone system seemed down. I just tried to concentrate on getting where I needed to be at the right times. I finally got the airport, and waited for Dani to arrive. I had my hand on my sidearm the whole time. There were a few people there waiting, like I was, for friends or family or whatever, but it was mostly deserted. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw Dani's silver Malibu pull into the parking lot. She wanted to follow me in her car, but I insisted that she come with me in my Explorer. I was a good thing to, because just after she got in and we started to leave, we saw the first of them bursting out into the streets. They were mindless, and weren't particular about their targets. I hit the gas, and we got away, but I ended up running over one of them. I tried not to think about it for the rest of the drive, but it was kind of hard with the bits of flesh and blood stuck the hood.

I flew down the freeway at about 100 mph, weaving around as much traffic as I could, until we ran into a traffic jam, and I was forced to take the city streets. Fortunately, I know my way around them pretty well, so it was only a matter of time before we got around the traffic backup and we're moving again.

We got to the rendevous point just in time. My bud and his Army Reserve friends were already there, and they were loaded for bear. We headed out, travelling west towards Madison, then northwest towards Ft. McCoy. We figured it would be the most fortified postion around, and that's were all the Reservists were supposed to report anyway. North of Madison we ran into another hoarde. They had swarmed a freeway overpass and were starting to overflow on the freeway itself. I think just about all of us spent some rounds taking out as many as we could, and we put the larger trucks in front to plow through the rest. I gave Dani my sidearm to use, and I have to admit, she held her own pretty well. At least we made it, though. A few in the group weren't so lucky.

We finally made it to Ft. McCoy. They have things locked down pretty tight, although we haven't gone through the quarentine stuff that Charley has talked about. They have some computers set up in a room just off of the main mess hall for us to use, so at least we can try to keep up on what's going on.

There's a line behind me to use this machine, so I'd better go. I'll try to keep everyone updated on our situation. For now, though, we're okay. I hope everyone else is safe.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Thank god for WAP capable phones - it's all gone to hell in a handbasket. it just happened so fast, it's mindboggling. One moment I'm walking near the store, the next there's this frikking zombie screaming and coming for me. I havent scaled a wall so fast in all my life. I'm on the roof of a pub right now, looking down at what appears to be a loose group of zombies roaming around, looking for victims. There's a big crash not far from me too, it looks like one of the three main exits are blocked. Thankfully, most people look like they have had the sense to stay indoors. I want to get back home, but theres about 3 kilometers and zombies between me and that. There's a gun store not far from here and a motorcycle sully shop. I think if I can make both, I can get armed and also armoured - most good bike suits are kevlar. I think we're seriously up poo creek, there no big army bases that a good defensive perimeter can be made. We'll have to go for the mountains and I dont like the chances of that. Helen's safe for now, that's one good thing. Chris, use the RX-7, not the Forester. The RX7 has a tougher front end and zombies if you hit one are likely to slide off the bonnet. I'm going for the Honda dealership. Keys are on the bench. I dont like my chances, but there's not much more I can do.

[Kale]

Anybody heard anything from Mitch? His cell must be down, because he's not answering, and I don't have the number for his new place. I know, the phones are probably out in the Seattle area anyway.

Things are still really quiet around western Ohio, far as I can tell. I'm still home with my family, but we've been packing. I don't know where we're going to head if it's already south, east, and west of us. I think my dad was saying something about Canada, but I don't how we're going to get up through western New York. I've got family in the Pittsburgh area--clear there, last I heard.

We're preparing, anyway. I've only fired a gun once before in my life, but yesterday my dad introduced my brothers and me to his armory... a .44 mag, two Berettas, two Winchester hunting rifles, and a 12-gauge shotgun. If something happens, we'll be getting together with some church friends (fellow Ohio deer-hunters).

This just doesn't seem real to me. I'm hoping it won't come our way, but there's probably no guarantee of that. Anyway, there've been a lot of planes flying in and out of Wright-Pat AFB, and the dogs have been barking their heads off. Our Belgian sheepdog wouldn't go outside today.

Thoughts and prayers to everyone in the South. I really hope Rhea and her family are all right; they're in Tennessee.

[Charley]

I woke to the sound of mortar fire. Its about a quarter after 1 right now. I don't know how long I've been asleep. There's nothing to do here, so time's kind of become a blur. I bartered away my old kenwood CD player for a pack of smokes from one of the perimeter guards. Somehow, I feel like I got the better end of the deal. Still wish I had my playing cards. If I find the jerk who took them, I'm gonna crack a skull.

Back to the mortar fire. Its been going for the past 10 minutes. THUMP THUMP THUMP...THUMP THUMP THUMP. I see flashes of light over the foothills. I can't see a damn thing else beyond the searchlights.

Akrabbim and s'il are both asleep next to me. I don't know how they can snooze through all this. There's an occasional burst of machinegun fire to go along with the mortars. Its funny, but its almost casual now.

I smoke and BS with the perimter guards at the end of every hour when they change positions. They're every bit as out of it as I am, it seems. Nobody knows how long we're stuck in the quarantine cooler. I hope its not too much longer.

My cut really hurts. I'd ask the camp medic for something to dull the swelling, but I'll just wait till morning. What I really wish I had was a drink. The supply battalion ponied up all the hooch, along with the food. That's one subject that none of the soldiers care to talk about. Damn mooches.

Two cigarettes into this message. I don't think I can sleep right now. Just doesn't feel right. I'm gonna see if anybody has any playing cards.

[Jyanis Scorpion]

Kale, if I were you I'd debate about coming up to Canada even if you think you can make it. Seems like alot of other people had that idea and they brought more than their cars with them. Most of the incidents are pretty isolated but nobody is leaving their homes here in Nova Scotia. We have no place to go really. I was talking to some buddies of mine and we're thinking of going to Prince Edward Island. I just hope to God the ferry is still running. If the military has any smarts too they'll blow the Confederation bridge.

<smallfont color=#999900>-Censored-</smallfont> this is crazy. The government is trying to play this down, saying they have it under control and not to panic. <smallfont color=#999900>-Censored-</smallfont>. I've got three .22 rifles for small game and a thirty for deer. Don't know how much good they'll do compared to my buddies' shotguns, but I have an old wooden Louisville that ain't leaving my side. If you live in the northeast states you can try and make it up here, just find an island as quickly as possible. God help us all.

[Pierce Tondry]

My brother and I got separated over the night. We ran into trouble and the older gang stayed, myself included to deal with it. We don't want the young getting a gun in their hands when they're trigger-happy from fear, right? I can only hope they outran the zombies, which is a safe bet I think. Zombies are shambling things, or most of the ones I've seen are. They just don't drop unless you peg something vital, like an artery or spinal cord.

I got in touch with my mom's family, and they're mostly alright (my grandmother died of a heartattack from seeing a zombie). She (my mom) works at a hospital, but hasn't been seen for a couple weeks. Maybe she was one of the first infected? I can only guess.

We've run into other groups of people and tried to join up with as many as possible. The more the merrier, or in this case, the more people around who can watch our backs. I keep asking if anyone has seen someone from my brother's group so maybe I can get word of him. So far no luck.

The hope that he is alive is what keeps me moving down the Interstate. I cannot reach Norfolk soon enough. I think we will make it by daybreak.

[Kelt Simoson]

News from Southen England.

Remember that net i was talking of? It seems that net has a little hole and in panic of catching the infection a few people fled London before the blockade was established. Problem is that these people had early signs of whatever the hell this infection is, they headed north apprently.

God knows whats happned to them because their cars were found just north of Luton (A town a fraction north of London) empty and without trace of their owners. Bio-Officers trust that advanced stages of the infection kicked in with some of their party and they went to find help. They never turned up.

Unfortuently guys it seems that this infection has just vacated the confines of London and is free within southen parts of Britian i just hope to god these people are found before this infection gets anywhere near me, im barely 60 miles west of London so im praying to a god i dont often pray to to not let it come this way.

We dont have means of defending ourselfes with guns here in Britain so if this outbreak reaches us, we fight hand to hand and use a hell of alot of luck.

Back later.

[Tiberius Anar]

Charely I'd speak to a medic NOW about that cut. It seems pretty dodgey. As for the rest of you I hope you're all OK.

We just got to the Territorial Army Garrison at Preston (a small town in the North West of England). About two hours ago the activation call went round for Dad's (he's army reserve) series so he got in the car and headed off. Then he came back, grabbed me, my mum and my brother and took us with him. Now we're sitting with the families of about fifty other people in the main hall of the HQ. Everyone's pretty worried- more for the people out there than in here. We're behind high walls and metal gates and a battalion of soldiers, which will keep the infected out, but it's not going to do anything for the rest of the people in the area. So far there's no sign of the infection this far North. I'll keep you posted.

[DrakeWrell]

Western Pennsylvania

It's okay here. I live just a little bit north of Pittsburgh in Butler County and so far it's been quiet but it's kind of an awkward silence. The local officials have not made any statements about the infection and I'm doubting they will until it's already here. All they say is to remain calm and local authorities will take care of us.

My relatives moved from Pittsburgh up to my place. I live in a fairly large house so we had enough room to take em in. It's my Uncle and his wife, Cousin, Aunt, my other Uncle, and my Grandfather. My brother and his wife should be on there way either later today to tomorrow. They're all bringing there weapons so this is what we have.

.308 Browning 400 rounds
.30-06 Springfield 200 rounds
10 Gauge Remington 25 rounds
12 Gauge Browning 100 rounds
20 Gauge Remington 50 rounds
AK-47 300 rounds
Mini-14 250 rounds
Two 9mm Ruger Pistols 250 rounds
.22 Long Range rifle 100 rounds
.357 Remington Magnum 40 rounds

I think that's it. I'm glad I was born into a family of hunting so we should be able to last. We still have canned rations from the Y2k threat so we're moving that from our old house into our new one. My other brother is off into Japan with his girlfriend and I hope they're doing fine. He has to return in a month but if he finds out about whats going on here I doubt he'll come back. Hell, who blames him?

I think that's it about Butler. I live in the country on a big hill which has a nice defensive stance if anything gets messy.

[spada]

I can't believe I'm still alive. I thought for sure those things had me when they came through the door. I figured a zombie would be slow, but these things came at me like a bat outta hell. The fight is kinda blurry, I don't know if there were 2 or 3 of them, but one things for certain, they are cannibals. The first one came at me and I gave the strongest swing I could towards his head. The impact took it clean off his shoulders and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

I braced myself for the 2 or 1 zomblie but they didn't attack me. they started to eat the dead zombie I had just killed. I was pretty scared, so I was stuck in my spot. I brought myself together and wound up as much as I could. i hit another one in the back and it cracked. I have never hurt someone before, let alone decapitated someone or broken another person's back.

After that i sort of collapsed i think and i dont know what happened next. All I know is when I woke, the 2 dead zombies weren't there anymore. It gave me the jibblies so i stuffed food in my backpack and set off on my bike since all the cars aren't home. Oh man I never realised the rest of my family is out there. I hope there ok.

Anyway I had to take my bike, which scared the hell out of me. I rode it down to Route 9, a fairly close highway to me and expected to find a lot of traffic.

Noone was on the road.

I found a few deserted cars and me being the kid I am, I took the Z4 which thankfully had keys in it, and when i sat down I saw in my rear view mirror the mutilated body of the man who most likely was driving it

Stifling my vomit, i actually had to take the body out. I hope the bodies do not infect people. I also realised that I was covered in blood from the little fight in my basement. I was pretty shaken up that the body i found was what would've happened to me.

I filled up the car with gas, luckily the deserted gas station gave it to me for free. I have stopped to write this, because I have no idea where I can go for sme protection. I need help. I don't have much food. And I can't take seeing another zombie or dead man for a long while.

[Razielle Shadana]

Hey guys.. I wasn't as safe in my house in the woods as I thought. It happened so suddenly I'm lucky I got out of there with my kids and the keys. I was in a such a total panic it seemed like the logical thing to do to drive to the area hospital for help.

They disabled the elevators and the stairs are guarded by armed local security, police and whatever military types lived in this area that have offered to help. Everyone came here and its the only safe place, but very crowded. Fortunately we still have our cable conncetions, for people to try and reach their families.

My kids are up on the top floor with the rest of the children that have made it in safely. They were asking anyone with any medical experience to volunteer in the time of crisis. I'd say five years in cardiac intensive care and two in maternity units qualifies me. So I've been working all night on admitting people, mostly trauma and anxiety attacks that we have sedated now. We're running out of beds fast.

The good news is, me and the kids are safe. The bad news is, I don't know where the rest of my family is, if they are ok, or if I'll ever see them again. The outbreak has definately hit the Smokey Mountains, guys..

I'm trying to act like a rational, life saving adult. But I really just want to go up and huddle with my kids and cry.

There's something else. They have one of those things here. Locked in the psych ward in solitary. Supposedly it can't get out. It was someone they brought in eariler to evaluate, but he just went insane and they locked him up. You should hear the screams and moans. I'm two floors up and I can hear it..

Please, be safe guys...

[AmazonBabe]

Talk about the most sleepless night I have EVER had in my life!

Raytheon being who they are and having close costumers with the naval base next door cut a deal. Somehow they were able to evacuate the entire building to one of their ships stationed at the San Pedro port. It was incredible to see so many people on the deck of the destroyer. I've never been on one before, or even been this close to one. My fear of the zombies rivaled my fear of one of the large guns I ended up standing next to to keep the cool wind from cutting through my thin sweater.

Their plan was to get us to Catalina, which thankfully hadn't been infected yet due to it's ability to remain independant of the mainland. It would only take us 2 hours to sail to the island. But before that we had to go through an excrutiating 10 hours of screening to make sure no one had the zombie infection. My screen ended up being clean (thank God), along with rest of the Raytheon group due to everyone being locked up in the Raytheon building for so long we effectively guaranteened ourselves when news of the infection having reached CA was revealed.

After the 10 hours of screening, we made the short trip to Catalina. On the way there, I managed to squeeze my way trhoguh the crowded deck and find a sailor. I asked him if there was any way I could use one of their communication devices to contact my husband, who I still hadn't heard from. He told me a high powered communications tower had been set up on catalina at their base, and each individual would be able to make one call. This left me in a bit of a dilema. Sure, I'd be able to call my husband to find out what his status was, but I also wanted to know how my family was.

When we got to Catalina, I immediately b-lined it to the communications tower. There was long line. After another 2 hour wait, I made my call. Joe's cell phone was still working by some miracle, though it was a poor reception. I was able to make out that he was ok and had joined up with a group of marine reservists that had been passing through New Port Beach to John Wayne Airport (Joe's work is literally next door to the airport). I told him where I was and asked him to see if he could find a way to get here. He said he'd try. Just before the shatter on the phone got to be unbarable, I heard his last words to me before we were cut off by the poor connection: "I love you". I didn't even get a chance to tell him I loved him back, but I think he knows.

After the call was over, I pleaded with the security guard in charge of communications for just one more call to my family. He shook his head sternly and merely told me "only one call per person". I was on the verge of tears. As I walked out of line, an elderly, yet still somewhat burley, gentleman standing maybe 5 or 6 people behind me saw my distraut look and asked me what was the matter. I told him how I was not able to contact my family because I had used my one call to contact my husband. He smiled and told me I could use his call. I blinked and asked him what about contacting his loved ones. He told me he really didn't have anyone to contact. He'd never gotten married, never had children, didn't have anyone he was seeing, and no siblings. He told me he was beyond retirement age, yet he kept working at Raytheon due to nothing else to do. He'd been at the company for almost 50 years. Astounded he'd been at the company that long, and incredibly grateful for his generousity, I took up his offer.

I again got to the front of the line and the same security guy gave me a frown and repeated his previous words. This was when the old man stepped in and sternly told the young guard he was giving his one call to me. The guard frowned even more, but shrugged his shoulders, "It's your call, sir. You do with it as you wish." So I made my call and was able to contact my parents. I found out my sister had gotten out of work early due to a dance class. the class had been cut short and everyone was told to go home due to the news. My sis had made it home, along with my dad, who came straight from work. My mom was already home. So, they were at home and safe. They'd used some boards they'd recently purchased to redue the deck to nail against the windows. They didn't want to leave due to their pets; 5 cats and 2 German Shepards. Talk about great time to need guard dogs. But news was that PV hadn't been hit due to it's remote location, and things were pretty quiet. I was satisfied they were safe and told them to attempt to call me on my cell if anything happened. I also informed them where I was.

After the call, I profusely thanked the kind gentleman. He smiled and told me it was worth to know that he was able to help someone with a family. I swear i'm gonna get that guy something really nice if I get out of this alive.

So, here I am now. Found my way to a small library on the island (along with several other hundred people) and had to wait in another line to use the net access. At least there are several computers here as opposed to the one we were using back at raytheon when we'd been herded into the center rooms of the building.

Hope everyone's doing everything they can to be safe.

Which reminds me... Fig, you better ditch your car. With all that zombie goo on your car, well, it's infected stuff. I don't think you want that anywhere near your group. Just a thought.

[Malcolm Trippen]

I'm starting to wish I hadn't stayed home this week. My dad went to Wales. Wales gets everything last. But now I'm sat on the major road and rail routes towards the north. And they're heading my way...

Kelt is right. We don't have guns round here. The best thing I could possibly get my hands on would be one of the .22s that the Caded group I used to be in has. But they probably won't do all that much. The only other "gun" I have is the HERF gun I made with a friend because I was bored...doubt that'll do much good either. I'm screwed, basically.

Both of my sisters are down in London...neither of them are answering the phone. I hope they're alright...my girlfriend too. Anyone know what it's like around Louisiana?

[Charley]

I woke up early today. It stinks here. Looking to the northern foothills, its not hard to figure out why. The Army's burning bodies. Big heaps of them, maybe about 1000 or more. This noxious smoke is turning the sky grey. It makes me sick to my stomach, so I have to put it out of my mind. I know the bodies are of the infected, but they were people like me at one point. The world's gone and stood on its head.

They set up a mess facility this morning, and doled out breakfast, which consisted of runny oatmeal and powdered eggs. Not exactly Cracker Barrel, but it was okay. I'm just glad we're getting that much. Maybe I'm just being a pessimist, but this all seems a stone's throw away from Auschwitz. In the light of day, one gains a new appreciation for the detainment facility. Its amazing they were able to set this up on such short notice. There are thousands of us inside, maybe tens of thousands. How did they do it? Its almost like they were planning on it.

People are grumbling, but I guess people will always grumble. It sucks to be locked up in here, but we're fed well enough, given clean clothes, medicine, showers. Its less like a concentration camp and more like a mandatory camping trip. Those who came into camp armed still have their guns. The ammo was policed up by the supply battalion of course, but they could've cracked down on us more than that.

I went to the camp aid station, and got my cut looked at. Minor staph infection, they said. That's good. I was worried it might be worse. They gave me a penicillin shot, and took a few blood samples. They've been calling all detainees in for inspection. To my knowledge, everyone's giving a blood sample.

The day passes slowly, and boredom is a killer. I was bored enough to play charades with a couple of baby boomers, who likewise had nothing to do. It was a good diversion. Akrabbim's been waxing philosophical with a fellow inmate, talking about which incarnation of the Green Lantern was the best. S'Il slept late. She always sleeps late. She missed breakfast, so I filled up a mess tin and set it beside her cot. Cold eggs are better than none. I've gone up and down the line, asking if any of the soldiers have a little bit of hooch or some playing cards. Still nothing.

Its almost midday. There's a foggy haze from the smoke, making it look a bit odd for July. The stink's still there, but its almost faded into the background. I'm about to sign off now, they're calling all detainees up. I think the USAMRIID commander is about to talk to us, which could be a good thing. I'm hearing a lot of blackhawk helicopters moving south. I wonder what's going on. Hard to ever tell in here.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Newcastle, England

I had trouble sleeping last night. Lately, I’ve been restless. I used to have to sleep with music playing, to keep me from listening to the sounds the house makes a night, and I’ve been doing that this week – but last night I stopped. I wanted to hear the sounds. As I crawled into bed and pulled myself beneath the covers, as though the linen would protect me from what was outside, I listened for anything – any small movement or sign of something out of the ordinary. The last thing I can remember is the sight of the clock on my VCR reading 4:25am. I fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

When I woke this morning, my stepfather had already left the house. He normally leaves early, so no change their, but his van was still outside. My mum told me that he and a friend are car pooling, to conserve fuel. We sat down to eat breakfast and turned on the news, finding – much to our surprise – that there was no mention of what had been yesterdays hot topic. The reporters were glossing over the topic of the War, how it was unjustified and so-forth. No mention of the war on the undead.

My mum and I headed out to work at about half past eight. The roads were pretty quiet. Most schools here are out for the summer, so it’s logical that the traffic should be lighter, but not this light. I spent the whole day in isolation from everything, mindlessly inputting data, before arriving home little under an hour ago to some awful news.

My grandmother had arrived on our doorstep a quarter of an hour before we got home. My stepfather had let her in – she was in floods of tears. Apparently, the General Hospital is in chaos. Something is sweeping through the patients, picking them off one by one. The staff have had to lock down the maternity ward. All of the newborns and their mothers are confined there until something is sorted. They say that the ward is clean, but that the surrounding wards have a chance of being infected.

My great-aunt, who I mentioned in my last update, was in one of the wards that they think is ‘dirty’. Doctors told my grandmother that late this morning the link between the main communications desk and the terminal in her ward went down. In laymens terms, this meant that the monitors hooked up to each patient were inaccessible. They weren’t sure, for a while, what the condition of everyone there was, but when they turned up to check on them, a few were gone. They could hear some of them, though. They were in the toilets, vomiting like my aunt had been. She was nowhere to be found. They still haven’t found her.

I think it’s safe to say that its spreading through the Hospital here. From what I’ve heard, staff are doing everything they can to try and keep people from getting out and keep anyone else from getting in, but people are panicking. People with genuine complaints and injuries need treatment, and already the waiting rooms are clogging up. They’re totally ripe for being infected. If one carrier was to get in the vicinity of these people, it could spread through a whole community in a matter of hours. You’ve got people from every walk of life in the city there, God knows how long before its out in the wild. I’m just glad we live a fair bit away from there.

Anyway, I’m going to go give Kelt a call. As always, keep safe guys.

[Tiberius Anar]

This day has been dragging on forever. I've spent it trying my best to keep the smaller children happy just so I have something to do. It is very hard to just sit around knowing that something terrible is going on out there. At least it isn't happening to anyone I love- all my family live in Carlisile on the the Scottish Border and so far there hasn't been any indication that the things have got anywhere near there.

We're pretty lucky here. The Garrison is well equipped. It probably doesn't measure up to your Forts in the US and, if there is an attack, wouldn't last long but at least we have food, water and electricity. There have been blackouts all over the country in the last few hours- the South has been the worst hit and that can't be helping the situation.

The hospitals are a problem. I hope the guys in uniform realise that.

[Jared Mriad]

07/15/04
Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

We finally got here not less than four hours ago, the interstate was hell getting through with those big barracks trucks. So far, there's a good many refugees here and several units of the Army and NG reserves. We got the lice treatment, clothes burning, and sit treatment. They let me keep my truck and trailer, thankfully, so I plan to sleep in it whenever I can. On that note, I'm frelling tired. There's machine gun fire right now, I'm guessing those zombies are being stupid.

Jackson's too close to Columbia and there's no telling how many freaks are in that city. I don't think I should stay here, but the GI's insist that we're 'safe and alright'. I'm not believing a word. Anyway, the medics are going around and checking up on us, and I noticed a few were escorted off into the facility. It's running 2:00PM, and I'm running on less than 24 hours without sleep. Wonder if those medics have anything...

Charley, you hear anything about a com line between the forts? A lot of technicians are running around here preaching about it.

Keep safe, keep armed, and keep alive, guys.

[Ryla Relvinian]

07.15.04
Clackamas, Oregon

I don't know how long this connection will work before it goes down again, so I'll make this update quick. The family is all safe and fine, Mom took her mother in the truck and grabbed as much canned foods and whatnot that they could from the Safeway down the street. It was aparently a madhouse of people scrambling to stock up on stuff but they got out ok. No sign of any infection around here yet, but the panic is real, the fear is almost tangible in the air and I hope to God there isn't anything else in the air with it.

Dad and I are up at Scouter's Mountain, which is the local boyscout camp but it's been turned into a sort of fortress. Some of the neighbors are bringing lumber from their fences and boarding up the windows of the main lodge, and I hooked up a computer in the scoutmaster's cabin, but the connection has been really, really crappy. There's just too many people coming, too many children. I heard that some of the families went to the elementary school too, but that's just full of windows and I don't know how they think they'll do there. I think we'll have some better luck. Not much, but some.

I'll update in a bit, I've got to go check on the supplies. One family showed up with about seventeen 4-packs of the frappuccino drinks... I don't think anything has really sunk in for them yet.

[Charley]

7-15-04
Anniston, Alabama

The Army at Fort McClellan now has a face to put it to. General John Merrifield. He looks the part of every R. Lee Ermey wannabe I've seen. Salt and pepper high & tight hair, leathery face, etc. He stood on a makeshift stage and addressed all of us.

It's now clear of how serious the situation is. Fort McClellan isn't well manned at all. Quite the opposite. Most of the fighting strength of the Fort was deployed to Iraq. The staybehinds here are mostly green trainees, no more suited to combat than we are. The one good thing about McClellan is that it houses the United States Armory. They have more combat firearms than they could ever care to count. The trouble is, they don't have enough people using them.

General Merrifield is head of the chemical warfare division located on base. He's attached to USAMRIID, supervising cleanup of all the nerve gas stores here. He's treating the zombie pandemic like a biohazard incident, fighting with quarantines rather than search and destroy. From what we've been told, Merrifield's soldiers have managed to extend a safe enclave around the Fort, and have hardened the perimeter.

Now, the bad news. I've been conscripted, as has every able-bodied person 14 years old or older. Its not negotiable. General Merrifield has threatened to shoot anyone who fails to comply with orders. He's more willing to kill us rather than turn us loose and risk us becoming infected.

The mood's pretty bleak here. We've all been issued surplus fatigues and boots. The ones with firearms have been given an alottment of ammunition. The ones without them are drawing from the armory pool, which are mostly old M-1 Garands and M-14 rifles. I drew a Colt 1911 from supply to supplement what I had. Its not too much weight to carry, so I figured it would help.

It's kind of surreal. We're all getting a crash course of Military 101. They've set up a makeshift firing range on the eastern perimeter, and we're target shooting on zombie corpses.

Akrabbim and I are optimistic, but there are a lot of people here who are taking it pretty hard. Its almost like Vietnam, and getting drafted. Some people are crying. Some just go quiet. I just wish I had a drink, or a deck of playing cards.

My dad's been pulled to work in the supply pool, because his knees are bad. My mom was pulled into working for the 10th Guard Battalion medical ward, which is setting up a third camp for incoming refugees.

The rest of our friends, s'Il, Josh, Melissa, Mat, etc. We're all being formed into volunteer infantry. Not sure what's so volunteer about it.

Right now, I'm sharpening up my old Ka-Bar. Should be getting mid-day chow soon. I imagine they'll have something for us to do as early as tonight. Everything seems so hurried.

Before I sign off, does anybody have access to any news? The military wi-fi network is very tight on whats coming in and out. We haven't had news in almost a day. I just want to know whats happening in Birmingham. If anybody finds out, please let me know. Just glad to see that swfans is still up. I need some way to know there's still a world out there.

Jared: I haven't heard anything about that. McClellan has wi-fi, so I know they've got some kind of communication. I'm assuming that they can somehow communicate between bases, but I just don't know right now.

[spada]

July 15, 2004
Washington DC

I've been driving south for quite a while now, but I think I go tthis driving thing down. It seems strange that all these responsibilities are now placed on me so quickly;

I have never even driven before, and unfortunately the only car i could find with the keys in it, the Z4, had to be a manual. After driving south for a while I hit some more traffic, but noone cares that I'm not old enough to drive. I don't look like it anyway. The Police have been doing their best to move traffic south without many stops, but its a madhouse. They've closed off the northbound highways and have turned them into southbound to untie the mess, and my idea of driving to DC has failed.

National Guard and Police are telling drivers not to stop at any time and to continue south until we reach some of the military bases down there. Maybe I'll make my way down to Fort McClellan, I need some chow and a weapon. By the way traffic looks ill probably reach there sometime early next morning.

Every once in a while I drive by and see a dead zombie or dead person. A few times I've seen a firefight between national guardsmen and the zombies. I just hope I have enough gas to reach the Fort

[Figrin D'an]

7.15.04
Elroy, WI
Fort McCoy


It's been about 24 hours since our group first started out to get away from the big cities, and now that some of the adrenaline rush has passed, everyone is started to really talk about the seriousness of the situation, rather that just relate travel stories. Everyone is worried, that goes without saying, but there hasn't been any real panic yet. The base is under solid guard. A huge convoy of people arrived around 3 AM (I watched it come in, since I couldn't sleep), and with them came a lot of Army Reserves and National Guard folks. I feel bad for the military people, since they were driving all night, then got put work right away by the base commander. But, I suppose its necessary to make sure we can protect ourselves. A lot of us civilians are doing what we can to help out, but we are being limited as to where we can go.

All the supplies everyone brought with them went into a community pool that is being "managed" by the base quartermaster. In other words, it's now military property, and they're going to ration it. I suppose it's to be expected though.

We all finally went through decon washes, just as a precaution. I'm glad I had changes of clothing with me. Some people didn't think that far ahead when packing, and are now walking around in surplus military fatigues. Oh, and Rie... all vehicles, private and military, went through decon washes, too. So, I won't have to ditch my vehicle. I think they want to keep as many cars around as possible, just in case we have to start moving people again.

We all had to submit to physical exams, and give blood samples, again as a precaution. To my knowledge, we haven't had anyone test positive for the infection. At least not yet. No one seems to know how long of a gestation period this thing has, or even if it can be detected in it's early stages, so we're all a little jumpy about it.

We haven't been "recruited" into the defense force, although something tells me it may only be matter of time. We've been told that the outbreaks in the Midwest haven't been nearly as strong as on the Eastern seaboard or in spots in the South. I guess those areas are getting it the worst. I doubt it'll stay contained for long, though. I heard a rumor that they might start dropping air-fuel bombs on some of the worst outbreak areas to help containment. I don't know what to think about that. If there are still people left in those areas... the collateral damage could be astronomical.

I've been spending most of time either helping out the engineering corp reenforce barriers and set up defensive positions, or shooting the bull with those I know. I think keeping busy is about the only way to stay sane. Nothing makes sense anymore.

[Mu Satach]

July 15th, 2004
Salt Lake City, UT

Yesterday was basicly a state of quiet shock around here. Then around 11:30 PM last night all hell broke loose. All night long you could hear the sirens and gun fire. This morning the valley was covered in smoke from multiple raging fires and Gov. Walker has declared a state of emergency. The National Guard is everywhere.

Right now myself and some friends are on the roof of the South Medical Tower. News and life flight helicopters keep flying overhead, the new channels keep reporting that so far all the chaos is due to looters, but the news crews covering the road blockades at the boarders have gone silent.

I have a feeling it's only a matter of time before they arrive. Hill Airforce Base is to the North, but the freeway & highways are a mess. We're trying to gather as many people as we can, especially those that have trucks & 4x4's. Worse comes to worse we can head up into one of the canyons.

Here comes another helicopter to the hospital, it's coming in at a weird angle, they're losing control!!! it's... its... it's just crashed into the apartment complex below us, can't quite make out if there are any survivors... wait... yes, there's someone moving down there.

[Jared Mriad]

We can't hold here much longer, even through the marines and army folk are doing their best - this was just a training camp, not a highly defendible point. And it's too close to the infested city too boot, come midnight they plan to start moving folks out. The zombies are flooding by the dozens, like some sick Starcraft joke.

My truck is all packed and ready to go, we're going to leave as soon we can. I printed out mapquest directions on the base computers and we're going to head for McClellan. I don't know how many other folks are heading in our way. It'll take us the night to get down there, seeing the traffic and all.

Hope everyone else is holding tight.

[Silus Xilarian]

I would say where Im at, but I won't be here for long. Don't fight. Just run. I hope to see you guys later.

[DrakeWrell]

It's still quiet here, I'll update when more news is available.

[Dan the Man]

7-16-04

Somewhere around Talladega, AL

We've been on patrol for a day. This is the only chance I've had to access wi-fi, so I'll probably be short. At any rate, they've taken the civilians and formed conscript patrols. We're attached to a National Guard battalion, and we've moved into Talladega. We set up a command post at the superspeedway, and are fanning out from there.

Got our second taste of zombies here. We've seen a ton of them walking up from the railroad tracks. So far, we've gotten the jump on them each time. This time I didn't miss. Some lady, in her 30's I'd guess. She went down hard. Sprayed with my AK, and blew her rotten brains out of her head.

This afternoon, we march to the rail station downtown, and set up a second perimeter. Not sure what to expect come sundown, but it'll probably be a firefight. Merrifield's moved a couple of 105mm howitzers onto the superspeedway racetrack, so I guess we'll have support. Akrabbim seems gung ho, and so does s'Il. I'm ready for whatever, I guess. Not that it matters, I'm sure it'll come whether we're ready or not.

The worst part about all this is that we haven't run into too many refugees from here to Talladega. If they're here, they're not coming out for anybody. I hope we can pull some survivors out of downtown tonight.

[Darth Viscera]

7/16/04
Outside Bethesda, MD

Life has been tough the past few days. I woke up Wednesday to find that the alarms at the neighboring NIST compound were blazing, and before I knew what was what I had been picked up and carted off to the NIH. They ran a battery of tests on us, told us we were clean and free to go. Many opted to stay. I myself volunteered as soon as I could find a recruiter, and now I find myself in Baker Company, 5th Regiment, Maryland National Guard.

They issued me a worn-looking uniform which doesn't fit, an old-style helmet which might have seen service in Vietnam, and an M16. No word yet on body armor - they say there's a severe shortage. I spent that first day on target practice. There aren't any Zombie corpses in the NIH compound to practice on, so we just lined up some extra styrofoam medical coolers outside the cafeteria, taped targets to them and started firing.

Yesterday I woke up to the sound of choppers. Lots of choppers. Lots and lots of choppers. This was seriously a "Flight of the Valkyries" moment. I asked what was up, and my Sergeant told me that was the 8th Marine Regiment from down in North Carolina airlifting itself in. I guess that with NIST, NIH and USUHS to hold down, we needed some extra manpower. Don't get me wrong, the 5th MD Nat'l Guard is a crack outfit, but we're not Marines. They issued me an NBC suit and a gas mask, stuck me in an M2A3 Bradley, and we rolled up past the NIH and USUHS, towards Bethesda proper but stopping just short of it. Bethesda is crawling with Zombies, and the 25mm chaingun ensured that I saw no further sleep Thursday night, so I've been up since Thursday morning.

Early this morning a few M-109s rolled up and parked themselves maybe 400 yards behind us. The IFV commander yelled at us to put on our NBC suits and our gas masks, even though the Bradley is supposed to be air and gas tight (guess it's better safe than nerve gassed, if that's what they're using, though), and a few minutes later the Paladins behind us opened up, firing shells into Bethesda. The explosions we heard weren't very loud, confirming my suspicions that those artillery pieces were firing some chemical or biological payload into the city, rather than just plain high explosive. After half an hour of this, I heard the Bradley commander talking to the driver about how it looked like a fog bank had sprung up over the city.

The Bradley is moving again now (probably into Bethesda), and the chaingun is firing again, so I'd better get going. I'll post again once we come out of this - both USUHS and NIH have extremely reliable net connections, and tens of thousands of computers. Guess they might have been working on something other than Cancer Biology too all these years, what with all those chemical or biological shells.

There goes a helicopter overhead. I hope to God that Zombies don't like nerve gas, or whatever the heck it is we're firing at them. Wish me luck. I'll try not to wind up dead.

[Tiberius Anar]

Another set of announcments on Tv and Radio- these have got me really scared.

The first one came from "A secure location"- presumably a bunker or similar installation. The PM made a short statement that was, for the most part, meaningless. He called for calm and asked everyone to stay indoors as much as possible and to avoid contact with anyone. "Precautionary measures" he siad.

About an hour later the radio, which we have on 24/7, rattled off a series of codes. They were sequences of numbers that I couldn't understand but they had a wierd effect on everyone in uniform. They all became very quiet, like someone had died or something.

After about thirty minutes of this inexplicable quiet the Garrison commander, a friend of my Dad's from his regular army career came into the hall. I've known him for years but I have never seen him so pale and tired. He told us that the codes meant that the Emergency Government Procedures had been put into standby. These procedures are hold over from the Cold War- if the government in London goes down, regional officials take over control and try to put things back together. If the Central Govt. is prepping to hand over control then things are bad.

[Mu Satach]

7/16/04 - SLC, UT 9:52 PM

I've never been so scared in all my life. I've hooked up with a set of armed security guards, but we're trapped inside a lab at the University Hospital. I'm posting this from the technician's desktop computer.

I've lost my friends, they're gone. We tried to help the helicopter pilot, that was a mistake. There's a stench that's indescribable... I... I don't know what to do. I can hear them in them roaming the hallways outside. The doors are metal and there's no way they can get in, but... we can't stay here, there's no water, no food and every once in a while muffled screams filter through the air vents. I hear much more of that I'll go mad.

The guys are trying to figure out a way to escape the Hospital using the underground utility tunnels... I don't have much hope though, the hospital is crawling with them. Tons of people in the early stages of infection came here and now they're all... well, they're all here. For the rest of you out there, stay away from the hospitals, STAY AWAY! Get away as fast as you can. I don't know if we'll survive the night.

[Dan the Man]

7-16-04

Downtown Talladega.

We're surrounded, and ammunition is low. Hindsight being 20-20, we should've stayed back at McClellan. Talladega crawls. The infected poured out of houses, buildings, manholes. The last time I saw this many people was at a City Stages concert.

We made it three blocks, and set up a perimeter before sunset. They hit us hard and we pulled back. It was everything I could do to tuck tail and haul it back to the rail station. We would've been done for if it wasn't for the artillery.

I think somewhere along the way of playing soldier, we got a little cocky. We've got guns and they don't, right? Tonight, we're stuck with reality. There's only so many bullets. Akrabbim's still got four mags, easy. Same with s'Il. I'm running low. Mag and a half left. Once I'm dry, I've gotta drop my AK and scrounge another rifle.

The worst part of it all is seeing the ones who get nicked. A bite here, a scratch there. Infected blood in the eye or mouth. They catch it, and you can see the fear written on their faces. Once we know, they're done for. Its horrible killing somebody that you've previously been fighting with. I put down a guy named Brian, some lanky Guardsman who caught a scratch on the forearm. He was scared as hell, but he took it in the end. Seeing him get ready for that bullet was horrible. Putting it in him makes me feel a little less alive.

I'm filthy and exhausted. I haven't slept in 20 hours. I probably won't sleep for another 20. We've got to hold this position. Word's out that we're expecting a train, but I wouldn't put any faith in that. I'm more interested in getting resupplied and reinforced. Hopefully it'll come in the morning. Till then, I'm back on the line, watching the artie rounds beat the hell out ot Talladega.

Goodnight, and good luck.

[Darth Viscera]

We're pulling back.

I'm not quite sure what we're pulling back from, mind you. Our Bradleys rolled right into downtown Bethesda today, and Baker Company got a chance to get out and take a look. There were corpses everywhere, infected and non-infected slumped throughout the streets and sidewalks. They seem to be bigtime metropolites, the infected, which leads me to believe that infection rates are far higher in densely populated areas. Our Bradley driver would just run the corpses over, too many to try and go around. I wonder how many of these people died from the infection (or the madness that follows), and how many got it from our gas.

We're back outside USUHS now, waiting. The dead city is right in front of us, completely unlit at night, which is very eery. Orders from on high have been consistent, we have to take back Bethesda so we can move on Washington D.C. Things are quiet, something big is about to happen.

I'm sure the supply situation will improve once a vital transshipment point is back in human hands. Say, Atlanta. At the 5th MD armory, there are supply trucks lined up, waiting for the indication that the roads are safe enough to send a convoy through.

Here in my little stretch of Maryland, at least, the infected are having their butts handed to them. I guess they don't much fancy going up against armor and gas. I talked to a Marine from the 8th about that during chow, asked him how this mess was similar to what's going on in Iraq. He snorted, and replied that here the guys who're trying to kill you don't run at you with satchel charges, or lay down mines or IEDs, they just stupidly run at you unarmed and mad as hell, and get filled with holes.

Something else happened at chow tonight. I was in the chow line when in came a guy wearing an army jacket and flanked by strict-looking suits. "I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere," the President of the United States said, smiling, and we cheered him. He sat down to eat with a few guys at another table, and I swear, pot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy and string beans have never tasted so good.

[Jared Mriad]

07/17/04
I don't know the location.
Another twelve hours without sleep, and I think I might've gotten less than an hour back at Jackson. This whole crackhouse of a infection's just got me too nervous to do anything else by keep looking over my shoulder, I suppose. We're just out of the AL/GA Border, and it's been hell getting through from of Columbia. Our reserves of ammo, including a few mags for a carbine we lifted from Jackson, are running low because the zombies are all over the roads near the cities.

I'm grateful we got that cattle pusher rigged up on my truck last month, it's been a big help keeping the front end from bein' torn to hell from pushing the dead cars out of the way. We found another truck, a Chevy Silverado earlier today that was in good enough condition for a backup – Paul has that one until we stop again to rotate. David's got this shift till five, then I switch with Paul for the Chevy while he sleeps. Which is what I should be doing, but we're too.. we're all too scared, honestly. My CB's been quiet for most of the journey, we tried paging anyone, but it's not getting through too well. I'm hoping we get to the Fort quickly.

Charley, keep an eye on your back man.

Hell, we've got another blockade of zombies, I need to sattle up.

[Kelt Simoson]

Sorry for my absence guys but Reading just got whacked.

The town center is in total chaos with people raiding shops and market places theres little to do than keep away from them. I dont think the infection has come here yet but people are going crazy in preperation

I saw, out of our window that over looks part of the town from a hill, 5 or 6 fires raging away in the town center and you can hear the shouts from the center for miles. Just a moment ago i saw a priest and his staff past our house walking towards Reading town center no dubt doing their praying thing.

Dad says we need food so were gonna go join the crowed down at the old supermarket...lets hope we barely get a crust of bread.

I'll post when im back.

Take care all.

[DrakeWrell]

I hear the president has found residency in a nuclear fallout shelter. I've also heard they're accepting as many civilians as they can. So if any of you live in that area you may want to try and find out how to get to it.

Other then that my part of PA is still really calm. It's very weird. I have a feeling there's something to this calmness that isn't right. Either there's something that kills them in this area or the government has it completely sealed off for some reason. I did earlier see a convoy of army trucks and two M1A1 Abrams go up the road. They might be holding a perimiter around the Pittsburgh area but god knows why...

[Lilaena De'Ville]

7-17-04
Moses Lake, WA

Sorry to leave everyone on such short notice 4 days ago!!! The glass breaking that I posted about was Ty's jeep crashing through the windows out front of the store. It wasn't exactly necessary, but in the heat of the moment testosterone does funny things I guess. My mother and sisterin law were following in our new truck, loaded up and covered lopsidedly with a tarp. Turns out ty and mike took a hand in looting G.I. Joes and Albertsons on the way over.

We had already packed for camping on Tuesday night, so with Mike riding shotgun we headed over to my sister's place, just five minutes up the road. They hadn't heard any of the news, and it took some convincing to make her believe that there were actually zombies coming in from the PDX area. But I turned on the TV and there was a news bulletin flashing instead of The View.

Her husband had the day off work, otherwise we probably wouldn't have seen him again. It took about twenty minutes to throw all 10 kids in the van, and all of their canned and dry food that we could throw into garbage bags. It was like evacuating an orphanage - I've never heard so many of those kids cry all at once.

But with my brother in law Dave driving their 15 passenger van with my neph. Josh riding shotgun (shotgun courtesy of Michael) we convoyed out to highway 84, heading east.

The best plan we had was to continue on to Moses Lake where we were meeting up with friends who were camping. And we made it, but not without incident. The freeway was pretty clear, not a lot of traffic, but when we turned up to go to WA, there seemed to be some problems at one of the dams. We passed two, I can't remember the names. But if one of those breaks - well, Troutdale will practically be washed away.

Tri-Cities area was pretty much ransacked. It looked like a war zone. I don't know how long it takes for this infection to gestate, but it doesn't appear to be very long here. I can't even guess as to how it got there, but we had to stop for gas, which was terrifying. lol we charged it, it was the only way to get the pumps to work.

Since I've shot a .22 before, Mike had me guard one side of our convoy while he and Ty and Josh watched the other sides. Dave and Vickie, my mother in law, filled the cars while we watched. I was looking down the street, with a shotgun that was NOT a .22, but I don't know what it WAS, and I was terrified. If a zombie had jumped out at me, I'm sure I would have died of a heart attack. As it is, we got filled up, and back in the cars when the convienince store doors opened and this man came out, all wobbly.

He was oozy and foaming at the mouth, and I *know* I wasn't the only person who screamed. Michael shot him in the head, and he dropped to the ground. We didn't stick around to see if there were more.

Bathroom breaks were tricky, but thankfully we had TP, and there was a lot of highway with nothing around. Bushes suck.

My time is up - to make a long story shorter, we made it to Moses Lake, although the town itself is getting worrying. The lake itself is full of islands, and we've made a pretty good camp on one of them. There's about 40 people in all, and we've got three boats, and two laptops. It's been so crazy with kids, and tents and mosquitos (don't even start with the "what if you catch it from a bug bite," because believe me, paranoia is ruling here and we've already discussed that one to death) that I haven't had a chance to check the boards.

Cell phones still don't work - I have had no contact with any of my extended family. My older brother Jesse is in Tigard, I have no idea how it is there, but I'm hoping he's okay. If anyone sees Johnny (jaideliete@hotmail.com, or johnnyhydralisk [AIM] ) online, PLEASE post here. I'll try to check back tomorrow.

Christin and Rie and everyone - so glad you're all okay!!!!

[spada]

July 18, 2004
Just outside Fort McClellan

I've finally made it to the fort. Not knowing where I was going, it took me longer than expected. I've decided to write this in seeing how they limit useage inside the fort. The traffic on the roads thinned out and eventually became nothing. Instead all I found on the road were abandoned cars and the corpses of both infected and uninfected. This disease must be spreading exponentially; just a day ago the streets were packed.

I filled up the car with a full tank and have some extra gas cans; i figure the base coud use it. I also raided a supermarket i found that was abandoned. Still haven't found a gun or anything, I stopped in one store but it was cleaned out. I'm just about to reach the blockade, so I'll be in the fort shortly.

[Rhea Kaylen]

This can't be happening, guys. This kind of stuff doesn't really happen, right?

Northeastern Tennesse is not safe anymore--mostly because this isn't something that can be blocked by mountains, like a tornado. We tried to go into Knoxville again, today--it was all clear last weekend. But the traffic was so choked we had to turn around and come back. Listening to radio reports, it sounds like the University of Tennessee has become a makeshift shelter and overflow hospital for people coming upriver from the south.

Not that the hospitals are much good, in the traditional sense. But there are so many, many people who fear the infection and flock to doctors to be tested...though, there's nothing the doctors can do for them if they have caught the disease. According to news reports, the hospitals are running out of Pentothal.

My family cannot decide on the best course of action. We've been praying a lot, Fox News is constantly running on TV, and my dad is sitting at the kitchen table bent over the radio, listening to local broadcasts. The disease seems to be emanating from local hollows and backwoods areas; perhaps inhabitants thought that this--thing--could be fought the same way they've always fought perceived enemies, with guns and natural ferocity. They've become extremely dangerous victims.

Wait: my dad just turned up the radio. Oh, heaven help us, please...Chattanooga has gone completely radio silent. No...no news reports or sirens...or refugees, anymore. It can't be...

I don't know why I'm posting this. I suppose it's an inane human desire to have someone listening, somewhere, who can understand. Besides, we've already shut up the house, taped and blocked windows. All the knives are laying on the table and countertop; we have no gun. We're sealed inside, for now. But if we decide to leave, it'll have to be for good, and in a hurry.

Until then, I'll post. There's no sound from outside. There seems to be no infection in this immediate area, but it is very close from what we can tell.

Andrew, I'm glad to hear you're safe. My phone lines are not down; call if yours haven't failed. Eastern Ohio's lines are down, and I can't call Vee or Christina--I need info, there's nothing about Ohio on the news.

My mom wants me to fill water bottles, in case the mains or pipes are damaged. I'll be back later for news. Be safe, please, and pray, everyone.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

I don't know where to start...

We thought we would be pretty safe in rural Southern Illinois. We had two freezers full of meat, a pantry full of canned goods, and some fire arms. I figured that we could probably stay in the basement tear down the steps and use a ladder to get in and out of the basement.

Problem was I only had a weeks supply of insulin and Cathy was still up north.

My mother begged me not to leave, she cried and screamed at me. Told me Cathy would be fine and not to go. I should have listened I guess, I love my mother, but Cathy was going to be my wife.

Lord, I have to use the past tense now don't I? I thought that my diabetes was God's big trial for me, a test of my faith. But if I'd known what it really was I would have asked for cancer.

I drove to Mattoon, it wasn't that bad, I've got an SUV, 57 wasn't too crowded going North. Everyone was trying to get the hell away from Chicago I guess. Or maybe people just were trying to get South, it doesnt' really matter any more.

She's gone, well kind of, Lord how do I put this... she's bound and gagged in the closet in her room.

I heard her screaming from the parking lot when I got there. When I ran in, I saw this guy on top of her. First thing that came to my head was some bastard from up North was taking what he wanted from her. I ran up and grabbed him from behind and threw him off of her. She was covered in bites and scratches, blood was everywhere. I spun around to kick the son-of-a-bitch for doing this to my wife, but it wouldn't have mattered, he was dead, I had cracked his skull on the wall when I threw him. But when I looked at him, it wasn't the fact that he was dead that made my blood run cold, it was the fact that he too was covered in scratches and bites, much older, scabbed over abrasions.

She was crying, said she was so sorry, she was just waiting for me to come for her. She knew I would come for her and take her away from all this madness. She was sorry he came through the window, there was nothing she could do. She sobbed and cried. I tried to hold her and comfort her, but she told me to leave her, she was shivering.

She knew, I couldn't accept it though..

I tried to get her up, to get out of this place with me, I told her about how we were going to secure the house and just wait it out. She smiled at me, she ran her fingers through my hair telling me about how beautiful our children would have been.

I told her they still would be, that everything was fine, I begged her to pretend that she wasn't getting sick, she begged me to leave her. Neither of us could do that though. Our children would have been so beautiful.

I can hear her you know, she's gotten the gag off obviously and is making some kind of awful moan. Its terrible and beautiful at the same time. I know she's still alive, but it really isn't her is it?

Oh Lord what can I do, our children would have been so beautiful..

The alarm for my insulin pump has been going off for the last few hours and I'm not really feeling all that well. When DKA sets it, you start to get sick, sleepy and depressed. Champaign's only a 40 mile drive, but all the gas stations are closed down, I could steal a car, but then I would have to leave her.

I don't ever want to leave her.

Maybe I can protect her, keep her safe from the others, from the army, from herself. Maybe it will just go away in a few days if she doesn't get any blood or flesh. There has got to be some other kind of cure other than a sharp blow to the head.

I've been suprised that her howls haven't called more of the things to her. Maybe the lord is protecting me, I've always heard that he defends children and fools.

We would have had such beautiful children.

She's ramming herself into the door now, lol. I've got the big wooden entertainment center backed up against the door and my back is pressed hard against it. She was a strong little lady, but not that strong.

I let the pets go, hopefully Taffy and Sophie have more luck than Cathy and I.

Maybe when this is all over they'll come back.

Oh well...

I'm so thirsty, my head hurts, my eyes are heavy, I'm sick to my stomach and I have to pee. I forgot how awful DKA was...

Well I guess I don't have to worry about finding a job any more. We were going to get married as soon as I had one. I wouldn't let her take care of me...

I wanted to be strong for her... to be a good provider... I wanted to give our children the kind of home my father and mother had provided for me.

We would have had such beautiful children...

[Master Yoghurt]

The media in Norway have been surprisingly quiet about these attacks. This morning though, at 10.13 am Central European Time something happened which may or may not be related to the above events. An 800 feet oil tanker which was returning from New York run full speed into the harbor of Stavanger, causing a terrible collision, breaching the hull and some 25,000 gallons of petrol class oil seeped into the water before the authorities could contain it. Luckily, the tanks were only filled at 10% capacity as it was scheduled to refill later this afternoon.

When the harbor traffic guards and fire department came aboard, they found the ship had been entirely abandoned. Not a sign of life aboard, no crew or captain. The police are investigating the incident, but are reluctant to reveal any details to the media what might have happened.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't have much time online, we're trying to conserve batteries, but has anyone heard from any of the guys/gals at Ft. McClellan?

[Dasquian Belargic]

I don't have much time to write. I just thought I'd let you guys know I'm safe. Most of my family have... gone missing, so I'm staying with a friend of mine (hence the lack of time, they only have dial up so want to keep the phone lines free for calls) until we move on to France on friday. From what we hear, the infection hasn't spread that far east yet, although there's no telling how long it will be before it actually does. Good luck you guys. Everyone pray for me and my family (god I hope they're okay). I'm praying for yours.

[Vampyre Dalamar]

7\29\04 Bakersfield, Califorinia

Would you believe it someone tranported a load of illegal immigrants in a truck. When he opened the doors upon arrival. They where Zombies every one of them. They had thought the screaming and yelling was from the heat. Poor fool never had a chance...


I have only a small pistol and a butcher knife to protect me. I was shopping when I saw them out in the parkling lot. It was scene out of a horror movie. People screaming and bleeding trying to get to there cars. Some of them where suprisinly fast.

Im in my room but they scratched and clawed me pretty bad. I feel like a I have a fever. My arm where they clawed me looks infected. I don't want to die... Please, someone tell me they have a cure. I hear them scracthing outside I think they smell the blood from the cut. I can't stop sweating, Im pacing back and forth to keep awake. My hand wont stop shaking Im nervous as hell. Is anyone out there is anyone left. I only hear the moaning of the things outside. Phones are down my monitor hums on and off I don't even know if anyone is receiving this..

There hammering on the door I have to go. No!!! stay away STAY AWAY!!!!.....



I killed it, I think it was my neigbhor Howard and his son. I did what I had to do, I feel sick now If anyone is getting this please answer....