Looking back on my articles before I explained Zero Hour, I see in retrospect that they were not exactly sunshine and lollipops. Admitting that I wanted to die was probably not the best of postings. And it certainly may not have left you with a lot of hope. Truth be told, we have it pretty good in here, even if we are locked down in the store.
Still, I have a theory and we are using the whole team to test it. What we are about to attempt is extremely risky but I feel it is justified. We are going to test a theory on the nature of zombies because I need to know if they are warm-blooded, cold-blooded, or no-blooded. Proving this will let us adapt our plans for the future. I guess if this is my last entry, you will know something went horribly, horribly wrong…
So, here is the deal.
From what we can tell, these zombies do not function like us. It is not a normal human being that can have his legs torn off and keep crawling after you. We have seen these things take decimating wounds and still keep coming. I have literally seen a zom cut in half and its top half crawls with his arms across the parking lot looking for food. Even with all the blood poured from its body, this thing still crawled on.
We have never been close enough to examine one of these properly but these things must not have a heartbeat, blood, or need oxygen to survive. Now, granted, this causes the massive cellular degeneration that we have seen in their rotting flesh. But it seems that feasting on human flesh manages to sustain them somehow and slow the degeneration process. This must be why they are so intent on feeding on anything they can get their hands on.
So let’s say that they do not have a pumping heart, blood, or organic functions to regulate their body or their body temperature. And if that is the case, whether they are undead or not, they still have to be susceptible to the laws of physics. And quite simply, all dead tissue will freeze if it gets cold enough. I have seen frozen road kill last on the side of the road for a week during particularly brutal winters when the temperature does not rise above freezing. I guess the microbes don’t break down dead flesh in subzero temperatures.
And if that is true, then that means zombies can freeze. And frozen tissue does not shamble along very well. These guys are slow and lethargic now and we are a stone’s throw away from being hip deep in the dog days of summer.
So what happens this winter? Granted, Oklahoma is certainly no Wisconsin or Michigan but winters over the last few years here have been pretty brutal. What if all these maggot bags start freezing? Dispatching them then would not be easy but it would certainly be easier.
Of course, proving this theory in June is a pretty difficult thing to do… unless you have a large, walk-in ice cream freezer like we do. And that is why we are going to lure one of the zom’s inside.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day 48 – Zero Hour, Part V
Two of our survivors are Lance Wiggins and Hunter Woolsman. They are both high school kids but I could not be happier to have them with us.
Lance goes (or was going to Vo-Tech) to get his electrician’s license. Lance goes to Ketchum High School but if you are in the Vo-Tech program, you go to that school in the morning and then show up at school after lunch for your regular classes. But Lance was such a go-getter that he finished with his course on May 1st. So he didn’t have to show up to school until after lunch. Not one to just sit around the house and wanting money, he finagled his way into coming in and helping us set up the produce department before leaving for school. May 1st was his first day of helping us out. And I am thankful everyday that he is here.
Hunter… well, let’s just chalk his survival up to dumb luck. Hunter goes to Vinita but spends as much time out of doors as he does in. He is always hunting or fishing or working on his pickup. He is a first class welder (taught by his father since he was nine). And on this day of all days, Hunter decided he would rather spend time fishing and sitting in a classroom. So he was skipping school when zero hour began.
Working a lot of evening shifts together, Lance and Hunter became fast friends and drinking buddies. (Gasp! High school kids drink? Beer? Oh the humanity!) So thankfully, Hunter was pretty quick on Lance’s speed dial when things started to go south. Thankfully the cell service had not quite collapsed yet. Being out on Grand Lake, Hunter got to the store relatively easily and I thank God for that because he and Alex rolled up to the store at the exact same time.
Hunter carries at least two weapons with him at any time. He keeps his hunting rifle in the back window of his pick up in the gun rack and a pistol under his seat. And clearly, Hunter came charging in with guns blazing and with no compunctions about putting bullets in some zom heads. Clearly, he saved Alex and got him inside the store with me. So to Hunter, I owe a debt of gratitude that I don’t know I can ever repay.
With Alex inside, I started to turn my attention towards barricading the store. I know several people tried to get others inside but Alex and Hunter were the only successful steals into the store. Then, we started securing all the windows and started building the barricades that I told you about earlier. This took several hours to get the initial barricades built. Okay, we did some fast barricades to keep the zombies out initially but they we kept constantly improving them to the point that they are at now.
Today, my theory is that if the zoms were going to bust through, they would have by now. So I think we are pretty darn safe.
After we were secure, Kasondra thought of the roof access hatch and we went up to the roof to do some zombie watching. To see all these things milling around, the screams of people echoing across the wind…
I will tell you this, this may not be Hell but we can see it from here.
Lance goes (or was going to Vo-Tech) to get his electrician’s license. Lance goes to Ketchum High School but if you are in the Vo-Tech program, you go to that school in the morning and then show up at school after lunch for your regular classes. But Lance was such a go-getter that he finished with his course on May 1st. So he didn’t have to show up to school until after lunch. Not one to just sit around the house and wanting money, he finagled his way into coming in and helping us set up the produce department before leaving for school. May 1st was his first day of helping us out. And I am thankful everyday that he is here.
Hunter… well, let’s just chalk his survival up to dumb luck. Hunter goes to Vinita but spends as much time out of doors as he does in. He is always hunting or fishing or working on his pickup. He is a first class welder (taught by his father since he was nine). And on this day of all days, Hunter decided he would rather spend time fishing and sitting in a classroom. So he was skipping school when zero hour began.
Working a lot of evening shifts together, Lance and Hunter became fast friends and drinking buddies. (Gasp! High school kids drink? Beer? Oh the humanity!) So thankfully, Hunter was pretty quick on Lance’s speed dial when things started to go south. Thankfully the cell service had not quite collapsed yet. Being out on Grand Lake, Hunter got to the store relatively easily and I thank God for that because he and Alex rolled up to the store at the exact same time.
Hunter carries at least two weapons with him at any time. He keeps his hunting rifle in the back window of his pick up in the gun rack and a pistol under his seat. And clearly, Hunter came charging in with guns blazing and with no compunctions about putting bullets in some zom heads. Clearly, he saved Alex and got him inside the store with me. So to Hunter, I owe a debt of gratitude that I don’t know I can ever repay.
With Alex inside, I started to turn my attention towards barricading the store. I know several people tried to get others inside but Alex and Hunter were the only successful steals into the store. Then, we started securing all the windows and started building the barricades that I told you about earlier. This took several hours to get the initial barricades built. Okay, we did some fast barricades to keep the zombies out initially but they we kept constantly improving them to the point that they are at now.
Today, my theory is that if the zoms were going to bust through, they would have by now. So I think we are pretty darn safe.
After we were secure, Kasondra thought of the roof access hatch and we went up to the roof to do some zombie watching. To see all these things milling around, the screams of people echoing across the wind…
I will tell you this, this may not be Hell but we can see it from here.
Day 48 – Zero Hour, Part IV
Imagine this. You are a fourteen-year-old kid. It’s Monday morning around 9:00. You are home sick from school, on the backside of recovering from the flu. It is not a serious illness but you are pretty ticked off that you wasted a weekend in bed when you should have been going to a friend’s birthday party. So your dad is gone to work and your mom is off running some errands down in Tulsa. So you are chilling on the couch, watching television, wrapped under blankets, and you get a call from your dad on his cell phone. But this is not just a check-in call Ferris Bueller style to see how you are doing. He is barking orders and from his tone you can tell that there is no room for discussion. He tells you to look outside and see if anyone is around. You live out in the country and your nearest neighbor is several hundred yards away. When you tell him no, he tells you to pack a bag of supplies – clothes and essentials only – and then hoof it over to your grandparents house that is right next door.
Dad demands that you stay on the phone the whole time. You know where your grandparents hide the key. After all, you have been going over there to put out food for their dog in hopes of scoring some extra allowance money for a video game that you want. Dad’s demand is very curious. Go to the strip where Granddad keeps the keys. Get the one to his blue Dodge pickup. It is sitting unused in the garage while they are away on vacation down in Tunica, Mississippi.
This is where it gets really strange. He has you go to Granddad’s gun room. Yep, he has an entire room dedicated to his guns. Welcome to the home of a right-wing conservative living in Oklahoma. Dad tells you to load up all the guns and ammunition that you can. Put it in the back of the pickup that is in the garage. When you begin to protest, Dad tells you that you have a five minute clock. And you have to stay on the phone the whole time.
So you do as you’re told. Ammo is heavier than you think and your arms are burning by the time the five minutes is up. Then, he tells you to look outside through the garage door windows and make sure no one is outside. You confirm you are alone.
Now, get in the pickup, start it and have it in drive when you open the garage door via the remote control Granddad keeps clipped on the sun visor.
“Dad, I don’t even have my learner’s permit.”
“You’re learning today, son…”
Instructions are simple, drive to Highway 69 and cut across. Do not go into Adair. Go through Strang. Head into Langley from the south and cut down that side road next to the donut shop where we got donuts that one day. Make the first turn to the left on that paved road. Come up to Reason’s through the back service road. Come to the Produce Dock. Stay on the phone the whole time. Do not stop. Do not talk to anyone. Do not stop for anyone. Plow through Strang. If people are in your way… run over them.
You begin to protest, wanting to know what is going on. One word. Zombies. You can scarcely believe it. But you have two choices: Believe and live or disbelieve and die.
So you do as you are told. Thankfully, you don’t see any cars, even when you cross the highway. Strang is all but abandoned but it was not like it was a populated town to begin with. They couldn’t even keep a convenience store afloat. All they have is a post office, a volunteer fire department, and a few churches. Do they even have a cop?
Speed is not an issue. You put your foot down as fast as you dare to go. That 22 minute trip, you cut down to 16 flat. But once you reach Langley, and specifically the store where your Dad works, it is a nightmare like out of one of your video games. These things are wandering around in the parking lot and the engine on Granddad’s pick up is not quiet. So they come chasing after you. Dad is still on the phone guiding you in. Still, at fourteen, most of your driving skills come from XBox. And you crash into the Produce Dock, pinning your driver side door against the dock itself. So the only way out is through the passenger side door, out the driver side window or the sliding windows in the back. And none of these options seem appealing when zoms are swarming over your truck.
Then, from out of nowhere, there is a savior. A guy that your dad works with comes pulling along side you in a 4X4 pickup outfitted with a gun rack in the back window. He splatters the three zoms banging on your passenger window with the front brush guard of his pick up. Then he backs up, gets out, and starts blasting away with weapons of his own. Clearly, he is not in disbelief about the zombie apocalypse and has zero compunction about putting a bullet in each one of these maggot bags’ heads. Given the camouflage design on his dashboard and steering wheel and all the weapons in his truck, it is almost comical that his name is Hunter. But, sure enough, he more than lives up to his name. Clearing a path to the produce dock door, he kicks on the door, yelling for the door to be opened. Thankfully, you are still on the phone to your dad. The door opens, there he is, and he yanks you inside.
Somehow, defying all odds, you make it to a refuge inside a grocery store and you are safe with your dad.
This is the story of Alex Ryan Mathews and how he made it to Reason’s Foods in Langley, Oklahoma on May 1st, 2011. This is how my son survived to be with us. And I thank God every day for it. I just wish his mother was with us too…
Dad demands that you stay on the phone the whole time. You know where your grandparents hide the key. After all, you have been going over there to put out food for their dog in hopes of scoring some extra allowance money for a video game that you want. Dad’s demand is very curious. Go to the strip where Granddad keeps the keys. Get the one to his blue Dodge pickup. It is sitting unused in the garage while they are away on vacation down in Tunica, Mississippi.
This is where it gets really strange. He has you go to Granddad’s gun room. Yep, he has an entire room dedicated to his guns. Welcome to the home of a right-wing conservative living in Oklahoma. Dad tells you to load up all the guns and ammunition that you can. Put it in the back of the pickup that is in the garage. When you begin to protest, Dad tells you that you have a five minute clock. And you have to stay on the phone the whole time.
So you do as you’re told. Ammo is heavier than you think and your arms are burning by the time the five minutes is up. Then, he tells you to look outside through the garage door windows and make sure no one is outside. You confirm you are alone.
Now, get in the pickup, start it and have it in drive when you open the garage door via the remote control Granddad keeps clipped on the sun visor.
“Dad, I don’t even have my learner’s permit.”
“You’re learning today, son…”
Instructions are simple, drive to Highway 69 and cut across. Do not go into Adair. Go through Strang. Head into Langley from the south and cut down that side road next to the donut shop where we got donuts that one day. Make the first turn to the left on that paved road. Come up to Reason’s through the back service road. Come to the Produce Dock. Stay on the phone the whole time. Do not stop. Do not talk to anyone. Do not stop for anyone. Plow through Strang. If people are in your way… run over them.
You begin to protest, wanting to know what is going on. One word. Zombies. You can scarcely believe it. But you have two choices: Believe and live or disbelieve and die.
So you do as you are told. Thankfully, you don’t see any cars, even when you cross the highway. Strang is all but abandoned but it was not like it was a populated town to begin with. They couldn’t even keep a convenience store afloat. All they have is a post office, a volunteer fire department, and a few churches. Do they even have a cop?
Speed is not an issue. You put your foot down as fast as you dare to go. That 22 minute trip, you cut down to 16 flat. But once you reach Langley, and specifically the store where your Dad works, it is a nightmare like out of one of your video games. These things are wandering around in the parking lot and the engine on Granddad’s pick up is not quiet. So they come chasing after you. Dad is still on the phone guiding you in. Still, at fourteen, most of your driving skills come from XBox. And you crash into the Produce Dock, pinning your driver side door against the dock itself. So the only way out is through the passenger side door, out the driver side window or the sliding windows in the back. And none of these options seem appealing when zoms are swarming over your truck.
Then, from out of nowhere, there is a savior. A guy that your dad works with comes pulling along side you in a 4X4 pickup outfitted with a gun rack in the back window. He splatters the three zoms banging on your passenger window with the front brush guard of his pick up. Then he backs up, gets out, and starts blasting away with weapons of his own. Clearly, he is not in disbelief about the zombie apocalypse and has zero compunction about putting a bullet in each one of these maggot bags’ heads. Given the camouflage design on his dashboard and steering wheel and all the weapons in his truck, it is almost comical that his name is Hunter. But, sure enough, he more than lives up to his name. Clearing a path to the produce dock door, he kicks on the door, yelling for the door to be opened. Thankfully, you are still on the phone to your dad. The door opens, there he is, and he yanks you inside.
Somehow, defying all odds, you make it to a refuge inside a grocery store and you are safe with your dad.
This is the story of Alex Ryan Mathews and how he made it to Reason’s Foods in Langley, Oklahoma on May 1st, 2011. This is how my son survived to be with us. And I thank God every day for it. I just wish his mother was with us too…
Day 48 – Zero Hour, Part V
Two of our survivors are Lance Wiggins and Hunter Woolsman. They are both high school kids but I could not be happier to have them with us.
Lance goes (or was going to Vo-Tech) to get his electrician’s license. Lance goes to Ketchum High School but if you are in the Vo-Tech program, you go to that school in the morning and then show up at school after lunch for your regular classes. But Lance was such a go-getter that he finished with his course on May 1st. So he didn’t have to show up to school until after lunch. Not one to just sit around the house and wanting money, he finagled his way into coming in and helping us set up the produce department before leaving for school. May 1st was his first day of helping us out. And I am thankful everyday that he is here.
Hunter… well, let’s just chalk his survival up to dumb luck. Hunter goes to Vinita but spends as much time out of doors as he does in. He is always hunting or fishing or working on his pickup. He is a first class welder (taught by his father since he was nine). And on this day of all days, Hunter decided he would rather spend time fishing and sitting in a classroom. So he was skipping school when zero hour began.
Working a lot of evening shifts together, Lance and Hunter became fast friends and drinking buddies. (Gasp! High school kids drink? Beer? Oh the humanity!) So thankfully, Hunter was pretty quick on Lance’s speed dial when things started to go south. Thankfully the cell service had not quite collapsed yet. Being out on Grand Lake, Hunter got to the store relatively easily and I thank God for that because he and Alex rolled up to the store at the exact same time.
Hunter carries at least two weapons with him at any time. He keeps his hunting rifle in the back window of his pick up in the gun rack and a pistol under his seat. And clearly, Hunter came charging in with guns blazing and with no compunctions about putting bullets in some zom heads. Clearly, he saved Alex and got him inside the store with me. So to Hunter, I owe a debt of gratitude that I don’t know I can ever repay.
With Alex inside, I started to turn my attention towards barricading the store. I know several people tried to get others inside but Alex and Hunter were the only successful steals into the store. Then, we started securing all the windows and started building the barricades that I told you about earlier. This took several hours to get the initial barricades built. Okay, we did some fast barricades to keep the zombies out initially but they we kept constantly improving them to the point that they are at now.
Today, my theory is that if the zoms were going to bust through, they would have by now. So I think we are pretty darn safe.
After we were secure, Kasondra thought of the roof access hatch and we went up to the roof to do some zombie watching. To see all these things milling around, the screams of people echoing across the wind…
I will tell you this, this may not be Hell but we can see it from here.
Lance goes (or was going to Vo-Tech) to get his electrician’s license. Lance goes to Ketchum High School but if you are in the Vo-Tech program, you go to that school in the morning and then show up at school after lunch for your regular classes. But Lance was such a go-getter that he finished with his course on May 1st. So he didn’t have to show up to school until after lunch. Not one to just sit around the house and wanting money, he finagled his way into coming in and helping us set up the produce department before leaving for school. May 1st was his first day of helping us out. And I am thankful everyday that he is here.
Hunter… well, let’s just chalk his survival up to dumb luck. Hunter goes to Vinita but spends as much time out of doors as he does in. He is always hunting or fishing or working on his pickup. He is a first class welder (taught by his father since he was nine). And on this day of all days, Hunter decided he would rather spend time fishing and sitting in a classroom. So he was skipping school when zero hour began.
Working a lot of evening shifts together, Lance and Hunter became fast friends and drinking buddies. (Gasp! High school kids drink? Beer? Oh the humanity!) So thankfully, Hunter was pretty quick on Lance’s speed dial when things started to go south. Thankfully the cell service had not quite collapsed yet. Being out on Grand Lake, Hunter got to the store relatively easily and I thank God for that because he and Alex rolled up to the store at the exact same time.
Hunter carries at least two weapons with him at any time. He keeps his hunting rifle in the back window of his pick up in the gun rack and a pistol under his seat. And clearly, Hunter came charging in with guns blazing and with no compunctions about putting bullets in some zom heads. Clearly, he saved Alex and got him inside the store with me. So to Hunter, I owe a debt of gratitude that I don’t know I can ever repay.
With Alex inside, I started to turn my attention towards barricading the store. I know several people tried to get others inside but Alex and Hunter were the only successful steals into the store. Then, we started securing all the windows and started building the barricades that I told you about earlier. This took several hours to get the initial barricades built. Okay, we did some fast barricades to keep the zombies out initially but they we kept constantly improving them to the point that they are at now.
Today, my theory is that if the zoms were going to bust through, they would have by now. So I think we are pretty darn safe.
After we were secure, Kasondra thought of the roof access hatch and we went up to the roof to do some zombie watching. To see all these things milling around, the screams of people echoing across the wind…
I will tell you this, this may not be Hell but we can see it from here.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Day 47 – Zero Hour, Part III
If you look on our map, there are several entrances in the rear of the store. On the far west end of the building, there is the main dock where semi trucks back up and unload their pallets of merchandise. Near this dock, there is an emergency fire exit. There is no handle on the outside of the door and this thing is made of pretty solid steel. At the time of Zero Hour, a semi truck was backed into the dock, plus is stands a good five feet off the ground so that area is not really breach potential. There is the produce dock with a scissor lift ramp for our produce trucks to unload but I explained on my last entry how that area was secured. But not all vendors make deliveries in semis. Frito Lay, Coke, Little Debbie, Budweiser, all these companies bring their stuff in on pallets or on hand carts and they wheel them up a ramp entrance into the main section of the backroom. That ramp makes it easy for vendors to wheel in their product. It is also a straight shot for two zombies that made it into the store just before Kasondra called out for the lockdown.
And it was these zombies that incapacitated the two girls, Toni Peters and Lisa Paulson, who were working in the receiving office. So imagine Charles’ surprise when he comes walking from one of the freezers, carrying a box of product, as he heads back to the meat department.
As Charles tells the story, he was walking back to the department, when the call went out. It was at that time when Toni and Lisa were attacked. They managed to barricade themselves within the Receiving Office but the office has two thin-paned windows that the zombies smashed through quite easily
To be honest, I don’t know what lucky star Luke was born under but he managed to incapacitate the two zombies that were punching their way through the window. He rescued both the ladies, speared one through the bottom of the jaw with a piece of the shattered glass (thus brain injury, thus death) and then shoved the other zombies outside before shutting the door without managing to get bit.
Now, if you have not recognized the names of Toni Peters or Lisa Paulson, it is because they were not counted amongst the survivors. With their cars parked out back, both Toni and Lisa decided to make a run for it after assessing the situation. These are both family women with children and grandchildren and the last place they wanted to be was away from their families. Before escaping out of one of the security fire doors, the last we saw, they made it to their cars and drove away. What has ever become of them, I have no idea. Maybe they made it to their families and maybe they made it to a safe zone… but we don’t even know where a nearby safe zone is…
Still Luke locked down that rear entrance and probably saved us from letting an endless mob of those zoms from getting in here. But this is when we came to the hard part. I was not just concerned about getting all of the zombies out of our store. I was concerned with getting one person in…
And it was these zombies that incapacitated the two girls, Toni Peters and Lisa Paulson, who were working in the receiving office. So imagine Charles’ surprise when he comes walking from one of the freezers, carrying a box of product, as he heads back to the meat department.
As Charles tells the story, he was walking back to the department, when the call went out. It was at that time when Toni and Lisa were attacked. They managed to barricade themselves within the Receiving Office but the office has two thin-paned windows that the zombies smashed through quite easily
To be honest, I don’t know what lucky star Luke was born under but he managed to incapacitate the two zombies that were punching their way through the window. He rescued both the ladies, speared one through the bottom of the jaw with a piece of the shattered glass (thus brain injury, thus death) and then shoved the other zombies outside before shutting the door without managing to get bit.
Now, if you have not recognized the names of Toni Peters or Lisa Paulson, it is because they were not counted amongst the survivors. With their cars parked out back, both Toni and Lisa decided to make a run for it after assessing the situation. These are both family women with children and grandchildren and the last place they wanted to be was away from their families. Before escaping out of one of the security fire doors, the last we saw, they made it to their cars and drove away. What has ever become of them, I have no idea. Maybe they made it to their families and maybe they made it to a safe zone… but we don’t even know where a nearby safe zone is…
Still Luke locked down that rear entrance and probably saved us from letting an endless mob of those zoms from getting in here. But this is when we came to the hard part. I was not just concerned about getting all of the zombies out of our store. I was concerned with getting one person in…
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Day 46 – Zero Hour, Part II
I cannot remember how long I had been working at Reason’s when Zero Hour hit. I want to say seven years. In that span, I had two different bosses running the department. My first boss was literally the best boss I had ever had. He was my friend, he kept me insulated from all the corporate crap, and we would have lengthy conversations about absolutely nothing. So, when he decided to move on, it was a pretty rough day for me. Even now, I have to assume that Dave has been lost to this apocalypse. I would go and see him often on lunch when I wanted to get away from the store (if he wasn’t at school) and we would discuss World of Warcraft. He only lived a few minutes from the store by car. I would think most people would consider this place one of the few refuges in Langley so if he hasn’t made it here by now… he is not going to.
My second boss – Dave’s replacement – had some big shoes to fill. But I liked Holly and over the last year, she had performed quite well. My biggest complaint about Holly was that she was a smoker. Smoking killed my mother. I have no doubt that it caused her cancer and robbed me of years with her. I don’t know how many times I told Holly and those guys from the Meat Department to quit. It is easy for me to say having never been a smoker but because of Reason’s Breathe Easy program, smoking was not permitted on store property. So the smokers would head off property to smoke, generally right at the property line. It is not so far that you are not within shouting distance but it is too far a distance to run when a shamble of zombies emerge from around the corner…
When Kasondra’s call went out to lock down the store, I was in the produce cooler so I was the first one to the roll up door that leads out to our back dock where we unload our trucks. When I poked my head out of the plastic flaps that keep the air conditioning in to wave Holly inside, I emerged just in time to see her being overpowered and drug to the ground by three of these things.
I have to admit that I froze in my tracks. I mean your mind can barely comprehend what you are seeing. I mean I have seen all kinds of zombie movies and Alex plays that zombie level on Call of Duty but you never imagine that you are going to get thrown into that nightmare. I mean this is the kind of horror story that you only see in the movies, right?
But when those things turn their dead, yellow eyes on you, reality sets in pretty quick. If not… well, I wouldn’t be writing this. So I saw Holly drug to the ground and these guys are sinking in their teeth. I am sure that doctors can tell you (or at least they wouldn’t be surprised by this) but the human heart is a miraculous machine. And the force at which this wonderful vessel pumps our blood… I say this because on that day, I was shocked by how far blood squirts out when zombie teeth get sunk into an artery. That is what I remember most. I remember that blood spray. Thankfully, when Holly was hit, she went down fast and these monsters jumped on top of her so that I could not see her eyes. Truth be told, I am not certain if I even remember her screaming. She was gone so fast and there was nothing I could do.
I wanted to rush out there and save her but when I screamed her name, one of the three looked up at me, blood running down his chin and a savage look in his eyes. Then he jumped up and charged at our produce dock. I am ashamed to admit it but I was frozen solid in fear. Thankfully Lance responded fast to Kasondra’s call. He yanked me back inside and has the wherewithal to shut the roll up door. Thankfully, that door slammed down a split second before that zom collided with it.
We lost our manager but produce was secure.
My second boss – Dave’s replacement – had some big shoes to fill. But I liked Holly and over the last year, she had performed quite well. My biggest complaint about Holly was that she was a smoker. Smoking killed my mother. I have no doubt that it caused her cancer and robbed me of years with her. I don’t know how many times I told Holly and those guys from the Meat Department to quit. It is easy for me to say having never been a smoker but because of Reason’s Breathe Easy program, smoking was not permitted on store property. So the smokers would head off property to smoke, generally right at the property line. It is not so far that you are not within shouting distance but it is too far a distance to run when a shamble of zombies emerge from around the corner…
When Kasondra’s call went out to lock down the store, I was in the produce cooler so I was the first one to the roll up door that leads out to our back dock where we unload our trucks. When I poked my head out of the plastic flaps that keep the air conditioning in to wave Holly inside, I emerged just in time to see her being overpowered and drug to the ground by three of these things.
I have to admit that I froze in my tracks. I mean your mind can barely comprehend what you are seeing. I mean I have seen all kinds of zombie movies and Alex plays that zombie level on Call of Duty but you never imagine that you are going to get thrown into that nightmare. I mean this is the kind of horror story that you only see in the movies, right?
But when those things turn their dead, yellow eyes on you, reality sets in pretty quick. If not… well, I wouldn’t be writing this. So I saw Holly drug to the ground and these guys are sinking in their teeth. I am sure that doctors can tell you (or at least they wouldn’t be surprised by this) but the human heart is a miraculous machine. And the force at which this wonderful vessel pumps our blood… I say this because on that day, I was shocked by how far blood squirts out when zombie teeth get sunk into an artery. That is what I remember most. I remember that blood spray. Thankfully, when Holly was hit, she went down fast and these monsters jumped on top of her so that I could not see her eyes. Truth be told, I am not certain if I even remember her screaming. She was gone so fast and there was nothing I could do.
I wanted to rush out there and save her but when I screamed her name, one of the three looked up at me, blood running down his chin and a savage look in his eyes. Then he jumped up and charged at our produce dock. I am ashamed to admit it but I was frozen solid in fear. Thankfully Lance responded fast to Kasondra’s call. He yanked me back inside and has the wherewithal to shut the roll up door. Thankfully, that door slammed down a split second before that zom collided with it.
We lost our manager but produce was secure.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Day 45 – Zero Hour
It has been long enough. I guess I need to talk about this. Zero Hour. How this all began. I wish I could tell you that I have all the answers. Compiling our story with information that I have learned from Shannon working as a dispatcher, I have tried to piece this thing together. This is what I believe happened…
Migrating in from some unknown location, possibly through some worker, maybe through a visitor, I believe our local Patient Zero showed up at the Reedy Retirement Community, which is located about half a block from Reason’s. I say this because of the number of elderly people that were involved in that first wave of zombies that hit the store. Imagine one zombie loose in a nursing home especially amongst those with mental dementia. The place would be a damn smorgasbord.
I think this was the scenario. Someone was infected but was still not on their way to being incapacitated by the disease. They go to visit their nana in the home. Nana pats them on the face and the infected visitor responds with a bite that breaks the skin. Shocked by their behavior and not feeling well, the person apologizes and goes home to rest or maybe to a hospital. But now Nana is infected. When she starts to show signs of an infection, the responsible orderlies tend to an ill resident. Nana bites Orderly X in a fit of rage when they are trying to administer medicine. Orderly X chalks it up to some lady acting crazy. Nana is sedated and all seems fine.
Orderly X goes home after his shift. His girlfriend is there. The two have relations. Now, Nana, Orderly X, and Orderly X’s Girlfriend are all infected.
That night, Nana with her weakened immune system succumbs to the disease while under sedation. No one notices. She “awakes” at 3 a.m. How many people could she bite and infect within the midnight hours. The skeleton crew of orderlies and other overnight workers are quickly overrun. And now this whole host of zombies is just milling about bumping into each other when the day shift arrives.
As this is happening, Orderly X and his girlfriend have also died painfully but unnoticed in the midnight hours. They rise from the dead and suddenly their apartment complex or trailer park becomes a simultaneous hot zone. Now, zombies are popping up into locations – one north, one south – and these two groups of zoms converge in the center of town… which is right where Reason’s is. And suddenly, we are caught in the middle.
So, as I mentioned in a previous entry, zombies feature herd mentality. But they also use scouts. It is almost like they have some sort of psychic link with one another. A few of their shuffling brethren will wander away from the pack, looking for food. And if a big enough food source is found, it is like they put out a pheromone and the rest of the zoms come shambling.
So the first zom to show up on our doorstep was a scout – a wanderer – looking for food. What he encountered was a woman putting groceries in her car on the far west side of the parking lot. Now, you have to keep in mind. No one is anticipating some sort of zombie apocalypse. These guys are recently turned (within 12 hours) so they are not decaying or withered or even slightly resemble walking corpses. Patient Zero just looked like a sick, homeless guy. Granted, I have never seen a homeless guy in Langley but there are all over the place in Tulsa.
There were two managers on duty when the outbreak began. They were Kasondra Taylor (our assistant manager) and the store director Charley Montgomery. So some customer is bitten by a crazy homeless guy in the parking lot. This was witnessed by our CSM (Customer Service Manager) Becca Sutter. She pages for Charley to come to the front and go aside to make sure the customer is okay. Kasondra arrives at the front of the store (at the register) and stays inside to run the store as Charley goes outside with Becca.
As Charley and Becca are trying to help this customer, the zom goes to attack Becca. Charley defends her and the customer getting into a wrestling match with the zombie. Again, if this seems out of the ordinary, remember, they are not leaking blood out of their eyes or reeking of decayed flesh yet. Charley is just trying to help a customer and protect his CSM who is twenty two years old and has a baby boy that is only one year old…
And by the time they figure out that something is really wrong, a shamble of other zombies (Kasondra said they numbered at least twelve) lurch up onto the west side of the parking lot cutting Charley and Becca off from the west entrance. Now, this group that emerged, they seemed a little less than human and Kasondra had to make a hard choice. I know she has had nightmares regarding her decision but I thank her everyday for it.
Kasondra closed and locked the west entrance. She then got on the store intercom system and screamed – I mean literally screamed – for the store to be locked down. What she did not know is that two had already made it inside through the back entrance…
Migrating in from some unknown location, possibly through some worker, maybe through a visitor, I believe our local Patient Zero showed up at the Reedy Retirement Community, which is located about half a block from Reason’s. I say this because of the number of elderly people that were involved in that first wave of zombies that hit the store. Imagine one zombie loose in a nursing home especially amongst those with mental dementia. The place would be a damn smorgasbord.
I think this was the scenario. Someone was infected but was still not on their way to being incapacitated by the disease. They go to visit their nana in the home. Nana pats them on the face and the infected visitor responds with a bite that breaks the skin. Shocked by their behavior and not feeling well, the person apologizes and goes home to rest or maybe to a hospital. But now Nana is infected. When she starts to show signs of an infection, the responsible orderlies tend to an ill resident. Nana bites Orderly X in a fit of rage when they are trying to administer medicine. Orderly X chalks it up to some lady acting crazy. Nana is sedated and all seems fine.
Orderly X goes home after his shift. His girlfriend is there. The two have relations. Now, Nana, Orderly X, and Orderly X’s Girlfriend are all infected.
That night, Nana with her weakened immune system succumbs to the disease while under sedation. No one notices. She “awakes” at 3 a.m. How many people could she bite and infect within the midnight hours. The skeleton crew of orderlies and other overnight workers are quickly overrun. And now this whole host of zombies is just milling about bumping into each other when the day shift arrives.
As this is happening, Orderly X and his girlfriend have also died painfully but unnoticed in the midnight hours. They rise from the dead and suddenly their apartment complex or trailer park becomes a simultaneous hot zone. Now, zombies are popping up into locations – one north, one south – and these two groups of zoms converge in the center of town… which is right where Reason’s is. And suddenly, we are caught in the middle.
So, as I mentioned in a previous entry, zombies feature herd mentality. But they also use scouts. It is almost like they have some sort of psychic link with one another. A few of their shuffling brethren will wander away from the pack, looking for food. And if a big enough food source is found, it is like they put out a pheromone and the rest of the zoms come shambling.
So the first zom to show up on our doorstep was a scout – a wanderer – looking for food. What he encountered was a woman putting groceries in her car on the far west side of the parking lot. Now, you have to keep in mind. No one is anticipating some sort of zombie apocalypse. These guys are recently turned (within 12 hours) so they are not decaying or withered or even slightly resemble walking corpses. Patient Zero just looked like a sick, homeless guy. Granted, I have never seen a homeless guy in Langley but there are all over the place in Tulsa.
There were two managers on duty when the outbreak began. They were Kasondra Taylor (our assistant manager) and the store director Charley Montgomery. So some customer is bitten by a crazy homeless guy in the parking lot. This was witnessed by our CSM (Customer Service Manager) Becca Sutter. She pages for Charley to come to the front and go aside to make sure the customer is okay. Kasondra arrives at the front of the store (at the register) and stays inside to run the store as Charley goes outside with Becca.
As Charley and Becca are trying to help this customer, the zom goes to attack Becca. Charley defends her and the customer getting into a wrestling match with the zombie. Again, if this seems out of the ordinary, remember, they are not leaking blood out of their eyes or reeking of decayed flesh yet. Charley is just trying to help a customer and protect his CSM who is twenty two years old and has a baby boy that is only one year old…
And by the time they figure out that something is really wrong, a shamble of other zombies (Kasondra said they numbered at least twelve) lurch up onto the west side of the parking lot cutting Charley and Becca off from the west entrance. Now, this group that emerged, they seemed a little less than human and Kasondra had to make a hard choice. I know she has had nightmares regarding her decision but I thank her everyday for it.
Kasondra closed and locked the west entrance. She then got on the store intercom system and screamed – I mean literally screamed – for the store to be locked down. What she did not know is that two had already made it inside through the back entrance…
Friday, June 10, 2011
Day 40 – Zombology 101: Herd Mentality
To try to deal with my growing depression, I have been trying to find a way to vent my anger. Some people might punch a heavy bag or break things. I have found that putting a bullet between the eyes of these walking monstrosities is wonderfully cathartic. Now, the rule with the zoms is to put a bullet in the head. Destroying the brain destroys the zombie. It is the only fool proof way to put them down. But this is harder than it looks. I know horror movies show their heroes running through the streets shooting at zombies trying to block their path and scoring shots right in the middle of the forehead with every bullet fired. This is much harder than Hollywood makes it look. Even with a steady mounting, a powerful scope, and a slow moving, unsuspecting target, this is not an easy shot to make. But in sighting in these shambling horrors, I have been studying them more and more…
Before all of this happened, I was a country boy. Well, I liked air conditioning and I could tell you more about programming HTML language than tracking down whitetail bucks. But when you have 120 acres as your backyard, you are not exactly “citified.” I had a riding lawnmower because my lawn was too big to push mow, I would dodge snakes when running out in the back pasture. I could lie in my bed at night and hear the coyotes howl. (In Oklahoma, they are pronounced “kai-oats” not “kai-o-tees.”) And Alex and I would often go down to the creek to measure how high the water rose after heavy rains. I’ve separated cows into their herds, banded a few (don’t ask), bottle fed a small handful, and helped my father-in-law put out feed. Again, I would say I qualify as more country than city.
As I mentioned, I would often run in my back pasture. But being a big guy, it is embarrassing to run on the road. I don’t want what few neighbors I have to see me attempting to exercise and when you are from a small town and people see you walking on the side of the road every other car will pull over to see if you need a lift home.
So I would run out in the back pasture where the cows would graze and I saw my fair share of “herd mentality.” In many ways, zombies are not too different from cows in their behavior. They utilize a herd mentality.
I don’t know how the decided who the alpha is but if you can get one or two headed in one direction (say chasing someone) then it is not too hard to get all the rest of them shambling in that direction. They can be lured. And if they can be lured, that means they can be lured away. That is a huge advantage for us… and I think that it is time we start exploiting that advantage…
More soon.
Before all of this happened, I was a country boy. Well, I liked air conditioning and I could tell you more about programming HTML language than tracking down whitetail bucks. But when you have 120 acres as your backyard, you are not exactly “citified.” I had a riding lawnmower because my lawn was too big to push mow, I would dodge snakes when running out in the back pasture. I could lie in my bed at night and hear the coyotes howl. (In Oklahoma, they are pronounced “kai-oats” not “kai-o-tees.”) And Alex and I would often go down to the creek to measure how high the water rose after heavy rains. I’ve separated cows into their herds, banded a few (don’t ask), bottle fed a small handful, and helped my father-in-law put out feed. Again, I would say I qualify as more country than city.
As I mentioned, I would often run in my back pasture. But being a big guy, it is embarrassing to run on the road. I don’t want what few neighbors I have to see me attempting to exercise and when you are from a small town and people see you walking on the side of the road every other car will pull over to see if you need a lift home.
So I would run out in the back pasture where the cows would graze and I saw my fair share of “herd mentality.” In many ways, zombies are not too different from cows in their behavior. They utilize a herd mentality.
I don’t know how the decided who the alpha is but if you can get one or two headed in one direction (say chasing someone) then it is not too hard to get all the rest of them shambling in that direction. They can be lured. And if they can be lured, that means they can be lured away. That is a huge advantage for us… and I think that it is time we start exploiting that advantage…
More soon.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Day 37 – Depression, A Kind Hand, and Bullets
I have been sleeping a lot lately. I am trying to function and stay strong for Alex but we are pretty darn secure in the store now. People are actually starting to get into routines and our living conditions are tolerable. There are not a lot of improvements left to be made. Sure, we are sleeping on pool air mattresses and the showers are not exactly optimal and we need to seriously address the clothes situation very soon but we are living. It means downtime and as I am struggling with the inevitable loss of my wife, I would rather sleep than face the reality of my situation.
Despite my best attempts to hide this from the group, apparently I don’t have much of a poker face. I guess this is pretty evident to the group because Jennifer came to me quietly while Alex was up on the roof with Lance, Kasondra and Brad. Having full access to the pharmacy, she handed me a prescription bottle filled with these blue capsules.
She wants me to get on an antidepressant. I guess knowing me from before the zombie apocalypse and seeing me now – this shell of my former self – she wanted me to get back on even keel. I am not anti-drug and I am sure they helped millions of people every year. I know they tremendously helped my sister-in-law. But I see medicine for depression being effective when it is anxiety or depression that cannot be explained. “I just won the lottery… and I want to kill myself.” You should be happy as all get out. And if you are not, then something must be wrong and maybe medication is best for you.
But I am not depressed because of some chemical imbalance. I am depressed because my best friend and the love of my life might be wandering around as a flesh eating zombie. Or a shamble of these things are pounding on the front door right now trying to get at her and I cannot save her because I am trapped in here.
Lance seems happy as a big in slop because he spends a considerable amount of time on the roof picking off zombies and bragging about head shots. Maybe I need to turn my attention towards something productive. Still, I look at the pictures I keep in my wallet. I look at the pics I used as my wallpapers on my cell phone. I look into those eyes and I think I will never hold her again. I will never kiss her again. I will never smell the aroma of her shampoo fresh from the shower. I will never feel her breath on the back of my neck as I sleep.
And I think about all the stupid, asinine fights that we had over the years. I regret every missed opportunity to show her how much I cared and loved her with all my heart. And now, for all I know, she is gone. For all I know, she looks down on me from heaven with my mother. And it hurts. It hurts so much it is like I want to tear my own heart out of my chest. And I just want to sleep. Even now, I want to lie down. I just cannot take it anymore.
I need to be strong for my son. After all, he has lost a mother and I know exactly how hard that can be. So I cannot let him see me weak. But I don’t even want to wake up in the morning. Truth be told, with her gone, I want to die too…
Despite my best attempts to hide this from the group, apparently I don’t have much of a poker face. I guess this is pretty evident to the group because Jennifer came to me quietly while Alex was up on the roof with Lance, Kasondra and Brad. Having full access to the pharmacy, she handed me a prescription bottle filled with these blue capsules.
She wants me to get on an antidepressant. I guess knowing me from before the zombie apocalypse and seeing me now – this shell of my former self – she wanted me to get back on even keel. I am not anti-drug and I am sure they helped millions of people every year. I know they tremendously helped my sister-in-law. But I see medicine for depression being effective when it is anxiety or depression that cannot be explained. “I just won the lottery… and I want to kill myself.” You should be happy as all get out. And if you are not, then something must be wrong and maybe medication is best for you.
But I am not depressed because of some chemical imbalance. I am depressed because my best friend and the love of my life might be wandering around as a flesh eating zombie. Or a shamble of these things are pounding on the front door right now trying to get at her and I cannot save her because I am trapped in here.
Lance seems happy as a big in slop because he spends a considerable amount of time on the roof picking off zombies and bragging about head shots. Maybe I need to turn my attention towards something productive. Still, I look at the pictures I keep in my wallet. I look at the pics I used as my wallpapers on my cell phone. I look into those eyes and I think I will never hold her again. I will never kiss her again. I will never smell the aroma of her shampoo fresh from the shower. I will never feel her breath on the back of my neck as I sleep.
And I think about all the stupid, asinine fights that we had over the years. I regret every missed opportunity to show her how much I cared and loved her with all my heart. And now, for all I know, she is gone. For all I know, she looks down on me from heaven with my mother. And it hurts. It hurts so much it is like I want to tear my own heart out of my chest. And I just want to sleep. Even now, I want to lie down. I just cannot take it anymore.
I need to be strong for my son. After all, he has lost a mother and I know exactly how hard that can be. So I cannot let him see me weak. But I don’t even want to wake up in the morning. Truth be told, with her gone, I want to die too…
Monday, June 6, 2011
Day 36 – Trying to Deal With Mood Swings
I’ve always considered myself to be a pretty positive person. Ask anyone that knew me (if you can find one still alive), I always enjoyed being the life of the party and making people laugh. And I have never really had to deal with depression. But this is Day 36 and there is an unshakable reality that I find myself having to deal with more and more every day.
My wife is probably dead.
Now, if she did in fact make it out of Tulsa, if she did make it home, and if she is safe inside our house or her parents, then there is a legitimate chance that she is still alive. Her mom and dad are the stereotypical grandparents. Their freezer and deep freeze are stocked with food. Her dad is this ultraconservative right winger which means he is fully stocked with guns and ammo. Even with Alex grabbing the weapons he did, I know the guns we have were only a small part of Dennis’ collection.
But it has now been a month. The worst part is not knowing. Right now, I hope that she is alive but I have to assume that she is dead or transformed into one of those hideous creatures. I am afraid I have lost my best friend. If I knew that she was, in fact, dead then I could move on or truly start the grieving process. Alexander Pope once wrote “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” But I am guessing he never saw everyone he knew or cared about transformed into walking flesh bags intent on devouring said breasts.
For that reason (and because I am tremendously influenced by pop culture), I am reminded of The Shawshank Redemption when Morgan Freeman talked about hope being a dangerous thing.
Still, Kasondra had hope. Her and Brad were reunited. But by them having their storybook ending does that mean that all the happiness juice was used up and now there is none left for me? I am still hoping that my wife is alive and fighting to get to me. But, like they say in the movies, hope is a dangerous thing.
I think everyone in here is hoping that we are going to survive this. And while I will never admit this to everyone locked inside Reason’s with me… None of us are going to make it out of here alive. We’re all going to be recruited into that army of the damned that is shuffling around outside banging on our windows and doors.
We’re all going to die…
My wife is probably dead.
Now, if she did in fact make it out of Tulsa, if she did make it home, and if she is safe inside our house or her parents, then there is a legitimate chance that she is still alive. Her mom and dad are the stereotypical grandparents. Their freezer and deep freeze are stocked with food. Her dad is this ultraconservative right winger which means he is fully stocked with guns and ammo. Even with Alex grabbing the weapons he did, I know the guns we have were only a small part of Dennis’ collection.
But it has now been a month. The worst part is not knowing. Right now, I hope that she is alive but I have to assume that she is dead or transformed into one of those hideous creatures. I am afraid I have lost my best friend. If I knew that she was, in fact, dead then I could move on or truly start the grieving process. Alexander Pope once wrote “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” But I am guessing he never saw everyone he knew or cared about transformed into walking flesh bags intent on devouring said breasts.
For that reason (and because I am tremendously influenced by pop culture), I am reminded of The Shawshank Redemption when Morgan Freeman talked about hope being a dangerous thing.
Still, Kasondra had hope. Her and Brad were reunited. But by them having their storybook ending does that mean that all the happiness juice was used up and now there is none left for me? I am still hoping that my wife is alive and fighting to get to me. But, like they say in the movies, hope is a dangerous thing.
I think everyone in here is hoping that we are going to survive this. And while I will never admit this to everyone locked inside Reason’s with me… None of us are going to make it out of here alive. We’re all going to be recruited into that army of the damned that is shuffling around outside banging on our windows and doors.
We’re all going to die…
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Day 31 – Eighteen vs. Thirty-Six
So to honor Memorial Day and to remember those that we have lost (family, friends and such), the crew decided to deplete a few reserves of our beer stores. So for the first time in a very long time, I got plastered. Not proud of it and this is why my blog entry is late today and probably going to be pretty short.
I am not against drinking or anything. I am the farthest thing from an alcoholic. The truth is I have the bladder of a woman than is nine months pregnant. If I drink one beer, I am pissing three. So it is not often that I tie one on. And the body of a thirty-six year old guy does not rebound nearly as quickly as that of an eighteen-year-old. But the grills were going and we all spent some time on the roof in the sunshine. If you kept your angle low and didn’t bother to look over the side, you could almost forget we were in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.
It was a good time for everyone. Thanks to Oklahoma’s rather stiff laws regarding alcohol, 3.2 beer is all we have. There is a liquor store next to the convenience store that we share a parking lot with but it is a pretty tough run to score some hooch.
Still, today the temperatures have started to reach into the nineties for the first time of the season which is leaving us with a rather pungent problem. We have a number of bodies littering our parking lot. Many of these are zombies that Lance and Brad have been taking out from their sniper positions on the roof. Once those bodies start to ripen and cook in the heat on the asphalt, we could be in for some serious stench issues, not to mention the health risks.
So we are going to have to figure out how to dispose of these bodies. Burying them does not seem very practical. The time to dig the graves, place the bodies, and then cover them back up would leave team members pretty exposed. Burning them seems to be a pretty viable option but I don’t really know how to start…
Ugg. My head hurts and I am in serious need of some Gatorade. More tomorrow…
I am not against drinking or anything. I am the farthest thing from an alcoholic. The truth is I have the bladder of a woman than is nine months pregnant. If I drink one beer, I am pissing three. So it is not often that I tie one on. And the body of a thirty-six year old guy does not rebound nearly as quickly as that of an eighteen-year-old. But the grills were going and we all spent some time on the roof in the sunshine. If you kept your angle low and didn’t bother to look over the side, you could almost forget we were in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.
It was a good time for everyone. Thanks to Oklahoma’s rather stiff laws regarding alcohol, 3.2 beer is all we have. There is a liquor store next to the convenience store that we share a parking lot with but it is a pretty tough run to score some hooch.
Still, today the temperatures have started to reach into the nineties for the first time of the season which is leaving us with a rather pungent problem. We have a number of bodies littering our parking lot. Many of these are zombies that Lance and Brad have been taking out from their sniper positions on the roof. Once those bodies start to ripen and cook in the heat on the asphalt, we could be in for some serious stench issues, not to mention the health risks.
So we are going to have to figure out how to dispose of these bodies. Burying them does not seem very practical. The time to dig the graves, place the bodies, and then cover them back up would leave team members pretty exposed. Burning them seems to be a pretty viable option but I don’t really know how to start…
Ugg. My head hurts and I am in serious need of some Gatorade. More tomorrow…
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Day 27 – A Semblance of Normalcy
I just found out that May 18th was Hunter Woolsman’s birthday. (I snagged this image of Hunter and Lance together from a pic he had on his phone. Hunter is the one in the green smock. I know, two soulless gingers in a single photo? I am actually amazed they even showed up on film...) He turned 18 on the 18th. When I asked him about why he did not say anything, he told me that he didn’t want people making a fuss. Plus, he and his dad always had special birthday rituals going back as far as he could remember. Not strange “let’s sacrifice a goat to Baal” rituals but little things like his dad would always make him blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Hunter got to choose which restaurant they went to that evening. Most of the time, he let him take the day off school. His dad did things to make that day special…But I am reminded of the Seinfeld episode when they talked about birthdays. “It’s a bad day. You’ve got all these people in your house. You’re looking around. You’re thinking, ‘These are my friends?’” Truth be told, I have never really felt comfortable about my birthday either.
I always wanted the day to be special but I didn’t like the idea of people making a fuss over me. I mean my idea of a perfect birthday is a nice but not out of the normal breakfast, not having to do any of my daily chores, and a good dinner, finished off with a romp through the garden of earthly delights… if you know what I am saying.
But often times, a party is not so much for you as it is for the people around you. People love a good party and we missed an opportunity to celebrate a pretty big milestone… especially if you consider that we all might not live to celebrate our own next birthday.
So I think we need to really go all out for people’s birthdays. Not just for them but for everyone. We have a fully functioning bakery with all sorts of decorations for a professional icing. We have everything for great birthday parties. We need to implement that. I need to assign someone to be the official “party planner.”
Day 27 – Chain of Fools
I commented before on how we have this eclectic catalogue of music. It is really amazing how different everyone’s music collection is. The sheer variety is astounding. So, this morning, everyone was going about their morning routines. I cannot go so far as to say that I enjoy cleaning the bathrooms but I certainly do not mind doing it. I think it is more that I like to poop in cleanliness. There it is, really. I mean, it is the end of the world but that does not mean we have to live in filth. And we have an entire aisle in the store dedicated to cleaning supplies, so we have plenty to go around…
So, I was wheeling the mop bucket and my variety of cleaning supplies and I passed by Janet Chambers as she was going about with her morning routines. So I am wheeling down the aisle and Janet is doing her thing and as we make eye contact, Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” comes over the intercom music thanks to Kim. It was completely random, totally spontaneous. What happened? Janet and I started dancing. Just flat out, two white people dancing like white people to one of the most soulful songs ever produced. And through the whole thing, you could not have sandblasted the smile from my face. Hers either.
Amidst the absurdity of this insane world that we now live in, you have to find moments of entertainment. Of levity. I am a big book reader and I like to watch movies. But you need some sort of entertainment where you are forced to interact with your fellow man. We already eat together but we need more. We need to play games together. We need to set aside specific times where EVERYONE has to join in and we all interact with one another. Even the wallflowers. Because of our showering situation, there is really not much left to be embarrassed about.
So Janet has suggested Dance Party Thursdays. And I think it is a fantastic idea….
So, I was wheeling the mop bucket and my variety of cleaning supplies and I passed by Janet Chambers as she was going about with her morning routines. So I am wheeling down the aisle and Janet is doing her thing and as we make eye contact, Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” comes over the intercom music thanks to Kim. It was completely random, totally spontaneous. What happened? Janet and I started dancing. Just flat out, two white people dancing like white people to one of the most soulful songs ever produced. And through the whole thing, you could not have sandblasted the smile from my face. Hers either.
Amidst the absurdity of this insane world that we now live in, you have to find moments of entertainment. Of levity. I am a big book reader and I like to watch movies. But you need some sort of entertainment where you are forced to interact with your fellow man. We already eat together but we need more. We need to play games together. We need to set aside specific times where EVERYONE has to join in and we all interact with one another. Even the wallflowers. Because of our showering situation, there is really not much left to be embarrassed about.
So Janet has suggested Dance Party Thursdays. And I think it is a fantastic idea….
Friday, May 27, 2011
Day 26 – Nightmare Storms & Once More, Miss Opportunities
Today should have been the kick off of Memorial Day. It is typically the second biggest weekend on Grand Lake (second only to Fourth of July) when all the Tulsa yuppies would come up to their lake houses and tool about the lake before retiring for a nice supper at the local yacht club… while I would drive home in my pimped out 2003 Honda Civic to eat Hamburger Helper and day old bread. As you can tell, I am not bitter or jealous at all. But all that changed when Patient Zero showed up at Grand Lake… Memorial Day barely seems a blip on the radar. I do appreciate it because it gave us flags that we still have hanging upside down from the roof… but holidays just don’t seem to have any real meaning anymore.
But as for current events. So for the last several evenings, we have been battered by terrible storms. You don’t live in Oklahoma for 20+ years and not learn to take thunderstorms seriously. It is called “Tornado Alley” for a reason. Of course without the local weathermen breaking into your favorite TV shows with raging hard-ons to show you all their fancy radar data, we have to just kind of wing it as far as bad storms. We had to almost drag Lance and Brad down off the roof from their sniper positions. Lance is practically living up there now. Could be an issue later.
Still, when you see those storm lines come rolling through with the dark swirling clouds, well, it makes your butthole pucker a bit. And there was a pretty terrifying moment when we had a brown out. It might have been just a tree limb hitting a power line or the winds whipping about. But thankfully, we do still have power. But it did provide me for an interesting bit of information.
When weather got bad at my house, the animals always sought shelter. Whether we are talking about the semi-wild cats or our dogs that we could never seem to hang on to, they knew when the weather was getting bad and would seek shelter.
Here is the thing… Zombies do the same thing.
They actually sought shelter from the storm and cleared out from the parking lot. Tornado or rains be damned, we used the time to our advantage. You would be surprised how quickly a group of people can loot through front pockets and discarded purses to find keys. Damn near every vehicle has a keyless entry system these days and the parking light flash when you hit the unlock key. So we started parking big pickups and vans up against the glass doors. This now gave a second exterior barricade to keep the zombies from hitting the windows and doors directly. We chanced using the parking lot lights. A few shots needed to be fired but the high winds and heavy winds really muffled the noise and everyone was back inside with only a few close calls. Nothing to write home to Mom about.
But this made me look at the zoms in a different light. We thought that they were just wandering mindless creatures but they seem to have some sort of inherent instincts still hardwired into their mushy brains. I have heard a theory about “genetic memory” where you have instincts at birth. Too many of our ancestors did not fear that slimy tube of flesh crawling through the muck and decided to pick it up. We would later learn that a water moccasin was something to be feared. And because of all those encounters, today, we just know it instinctively.
If this theory holds true, then maybe zombies have some base instincts hard wired in. I say that but I have seen these guys run smack dab into a chainsaw hoping to chew on the flesh of the operator. So, I am not Carl Jung. Sue me.
Still, this gives me hope for a future plan that I have been postulating. I am still kicking around this plan but I want to test a theory. Are zombies warm-blooded or cold-blooded? Because if they are cold blooded, we could gain a real advantage in the winter…
But as for current events. So for the last several evenings, we have been battered by terrible storms. You don’t live in Oklahoma for 20+ years and not learn to take thunderstorms seriously. It is called “Tornado Alley” for a reason. Of course without the local weathermen breaking into your favorite TV shows with raging hard-ons to show you all their fancy radar data, we have to just kind of wing it as far as bad storms. We had to almost drag Lance and Brad down off the roof from their sniper positions. Lance is practically living up there now. Could be an issue later.
Still, when you see those storm lines come rolling through with the dark swirling clouds, well, it makes your butthole pucker a bit. And there was a pretty terrifying moment when we had a brown out. It might have been just a tree limb hitting a power line or the winds whipping about. But thankfully, we do still have power. But it did provide me for an interesting bit of information.
When weather got bad at my house, the animals always sought shelter. Whether we are talking about the semi-wild cats or our dogs that we could never seem to hang on to, they knew when the weather was getting bad and would seek shelter.
Here is the thing… Zombies do the same thing.
They actually sought shelter from the storm and cleared out from the parking lot. Tornado or rains be damned, we used the time to our advantage. You would be surprised how quickly a group of people can loot through front pockets and discarded purses to find keys. Damn near every vehicle has a keyless entry system these days and the parking light flash when you hit the unlock key. So we started parking big pickups and vans up against the glass doors. This now gave a second exterior barricade to keep the zombies from hitting the windows and doors directly. We chanced using the parking lot lights. A few shots needed to be fired but the high winds and heavy winds really muffled the noise and everyone was back inside with only a few close calls. Nothing to write home to Mom about.
But this made me look at the zoms in a different light. We thought that they were just wandering mindless creatures but they seem to have some sort of inherent instincts still hardwired into their mushy brains. I have heard a theory about “genetic memory” where you have instincts at birth. Too many of our ancestors did not fear that slimy tube of flesh crawling through the muck and decided to pick it up. We would later learn that a water moccasin was something to be feared. And because of all those encounters, today, we just know it instinctively.
If this theory holds true, then maybe zombies have some base instincts hard wired in. I say that but I have seen these guys run smack dab into a chainsaw hoping to chew on the flesh of the operator. So, I am not Carl Jung. Sue me.
Still, this gives me hope for a future plan that I have been postulating. I am still kicking around this plan but I want to test a theory. Are zombies warm-blooded or cold-blooded? Because if they are cold blooded, we could gain a real advantage in the winter…
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day 25 – Honoring a Last Request
After Keith’s untimely loss, one of our survivors, Judy Myers, had a wonderful suggestion. Everyone took a sheet of paper and wrote out their final request pending “contamination.” Their request was then sealed in an envelope with their names on it with the expressed intent that they only be opened in the event of being bitten by a zombie.
If this happens to you, there are four possible outcomes:
1. A person of your choosing can walk up, with you see it coming, and shoot you in the head.
2. A person of your choosing can walk up, without you seeing it coming, and shoot you in the head.
3. You can wait to turn as a result of the virus and then be shot in the head.
4. We can give you a pistol and you can handle the situation yourself.
Now, no one had to reveal their choice. And truth be told, there is no right or wrong answer.
Is it suicide to take yourself out? If you have the virus, you are already dead. On the other hand, what if we wait for you to turn and something goes wrong? What if a person misses the shot and gets bit? Now, because we let you live to your last breath, we have condemned someone else to the exact same fate. But don’t you want every last breathing moment? Are you kidding? Who wants to go through the unbearable pain that turned Keith into a fireball of rage? But what if you off yourself and, five minutes later, the CDC arrives in the parking lot with a cure and a host of .50 caliber machine guns? Wouldn’t you rather the last thing you see in this world to be a friend that is willing to end your suffering? What if your transformation goes faster than anticipated? What if you turn quick? How can you selfishly put my 14-year-old son – and everyone in this store! – in jeopardy?
So everyone had to decide what they wanted their final request to be. We then locked the collection in the store office with the intention to only open them “in the event of…” And I truly hope I never have to read a single letter.
And while these decision have been fairly tough, I cannot imagine the disagreements that could arise if we encounter stranded refugees. Every extra person we bring in lessens our overall resources and risks us to potential exposure of the virus. Then again, what is the alternative? Leaving them outside to die?
I am afraid that this is a subject I am going to have to bring up with the group…
If this happens to you, there are four possible outcomes:
1. A person of your choosing can walk up, with you see it coming, and shoot you in the head.
2. A person of your choosing can walk up, without you seeing it coming, and shoot you in the head.
3. You can wait to turn as a result of the virus and then be shot in the head.
4. We can give you a pistol and you can handle the situation yourself.
Now, no one had to reveal their choice. And truth be told, there is no right or wrong answer.
Is it suicide to take yourself out? If you have the virus, you are already dead. On the other hand, what if we wait for you to turn and something goes wrong? What if a person misses the shot and gets bit? Now, because we let you live to your last breath, we have condemned someone else to the exact same fate. But don’t you want every last breathing moment? Are you kidding? Who wants to go through the unbearable pain that turned Keith into a fireball of rage? But what if you off yourself and, five minutes later, the CDC arrives in the parking lot with a cure and a host of .50 caliber machine guns? Wouldn’t you rather the last thing you see in this world to be a friend that is willing to end your suffering? What if your transformation goes faster than anticipated? What if you turn quick? How can you selfishly put my 14-year-old son – and everyone in this store! – in jeopardy?
So everyone had to decide what they wanted their final request to be. We then locked the collection in the store office with the intention to only open them “in the event of…” And I truly hope I never have to read a single letter.
And while these decision have been fairly tough, I cannot imagine the disagreements that could arise if we encounter stranded refugees. Every extra person we bring in lessens our overall resources and risks us to potential exposure of the virus. Then again, what is the alternative? Leaving them outside to die?
I am afraid that this is a subject I am going to have to bring up with the group…
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Day 24 – Ghetto Bastards Gettin’ Their Groove On
It’s funny the things that can make you laugh in even the most horrible of situations. And trust me, it doesn’t get much worse than the zombie apocalypse. So back during that first week, I was working on our renovations to the store and listening to my MP3 player. Thankfully, I always keep my MP3 player at work to keep me entertained during boring lunch hours.
I graduated high school in 1993 – Go Warriors! – so I still really enjoy the ‘90s rap songs. So up in my queue was Naughty by Nature’s “Ghetto Bastard” – which some of you remember as the radio edited version called “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” The story in the song is just freakin’ horrible about this kid who just lives in terrible circumstances but the chorus is a sample from this happy song that sings several times, “Everything’s gonna be alright.”
So I am dancing on the aisle while I am working and thinking to myself, “Everything’s gonna be alright.” Surrounded by the undead. Don’t even know what tomorrow will bring. But this song made me laugh as I thought the same thing Trech asks, “Why me, huh? Why me?”
But it gave me a fantastic idea.
Ask anyone that works in a store that plays Musak, employees hate it. Especially if it is the same songs over and over again. Modern musak is not just a hit song performed by a small section of classic instruments anymore. Now places have all these promos and junk that just drive you batshit insane and makes you wish the zombies would break through and end it all. It took us about three days to disconnect the satellite system that broadcasts the Musak. We thought about keeping it up to see if they would do any broadcasts but that was a no go.
For a few days, we just ran silent. But a grocery store is a pretty big place and when the power goes down, it gets a lot quieter than you would think. So I had this idea. Kim is a really big music fan and she has the best iPod I have ever seen. So using the USB cord from my aircard, we cannibalized (pun intended) every iPod, iPhone, MP3 player and music storage device we could find. Thanks to the video department, DSD, and the employee training centers, we have quite a few computers in this place.
So we set up one computer and freed up all the memory we could and transferred every available song to that hard drive. The store is set up with an intercom network. So we grabbed a phone, dinged the trigger that activates the intercom and wedged a folded segment of paper in it to keep the trigger depressed. Placing the receiver next to the computer speakers, we now broadcast music that we actually like to listen to over the speakers.
Kim went through and set up all kinds of playlists. She selected all the mellow songs and set them to play at night while we are sleeping. The thing with MP3 and the mix of people and all their different music tastes, we have a pretty eclectic mix of music. And then when Kim puts her playlists on shuffle, it becomes even more awesome.
It is not very often that you get to hear Lady Gaga followed by Hank Williams Jr. followed by Eminem followed by Michael Buble. Still, the music really helps people. We keep it at a low enough level so as not to attract the zombies but not so low that you have to strain to hear it. Surprisingly, spirits have really lifted since we brought this plan on board.
And now we can afford to sleep without earplugs. The zombies are more active at night and they let out these moans that seem to slice through the air. It happens at random intervals but sometimes I swear they use them as some sort of call to one another. They are like wolves howling in the night and if one lets out an odd scream, they are all going to. The music has helped drown them out quite a bit. It at least makes the nights more manageable.
I graduated high school in 1993 – Go Warriors! – so I still really enjoy the ‘90s rap songs. So up in my queue was Naughty by Nature’s “Ghetto Bastard” – which some of you remember as the radio edited version called “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.” The story in the song is just freakin’ horrible about this kid who just lives in terrible circumstances but the chorus is a sample from this happy song that sings several times, “Everything’s gonna be alright.”
So I am dancing on the aisle while I am working and thinking to myself, “Everything’s gonna be alright.” Surrounded by the undead. Don’t even know what tomorrow will bring. But this song made me laugh as I thought the same thing Trech asks, “Why me, huh? Why me?”
But it gave me a fantastic idea.
Ask anyone that works in a store that plays Musak, employees hate it. Especially if it is the same songs over and over again. Modern musak is not just a hit song performed by a small section of classic instruments anymore. Now places have all these promos and junk that just drive you batshit insane and makes you wish the zombies would break through and end it all. It took us about three days to disconnect the satellite system that broadcasts the Musak. We thought about keeping it up to see if they would do any broadcasts but that was a no go.
For a few days, we just ran silent. But a grocery store is a pretty big place and when the power goes down, it gets a lot quieter than you would think. So I had this idea. Kim is a really big music fan and she has the best iPod I have ever seen. So using the USB cord from my aircard, we cannibalized (pun intended) every iPod, iPhone, MP3 player and music storage device we could find. Thanks to the video department, DSD, and the employee training centers, we have quite a few computers in this place.
So we set up one computer and freed up all the memory we could and transferred every available song to that hard drive. The store is set up with an intercom network. So we grabbed a phone, dinged the trigger that activates the intercom and wedged a folded segment of paper in it to keep the trigger depressed. Placing the receiver next to the computer speakers, we now broadcast music that we actually like to listen to over the speakers.
Kim went through and set up all kinds of playlists. She selected all the mellow songs and set them to play at night while we are sleeping. The thing with MP3 and the mix of people and all their different music tastes, we have a pretty eclectic mix of music. And then when Kim puts her playlists on shuffle, it becomes even more awesome.
It is not very often that you get to hear Lady Gaga followed by Hank Williams Jr. followed by Eminem followed by Michael Buble. Still, the music really helps people. We keep it at a low enough level so as not to attract the zombies but not so low that you have to strain to hear it. Surprisingly, spirits have really lifted since we brought this plan on board.
And now we can afford to sleep without earplugs. The zombies are more active at night and they let out these moans that seem to slice through the air. It happens at random intervals but sometimes I swear they use them as some sort of call to one another. They are like wolves howling in the night and if one lets out an odd scream, they are all going to. The music has helped drown them out quite a bit. It at least makes the nights more manageable.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Day 23 – Status Update
Just a quick update. We are able to communicate via our Intranet with the Reason’s store in Claremore. Still no contact with the Tulsa locations. Claremore has been completely overrun and I can only imagine what Tulsa would be like. I can only hope that my wife did not drive smack dab into the center of an outbreak hot zone. We are trying to decide how to get the Claremore crew rescued.
Things are still too infested outside to bury Keith so we have placed his body in the ice cream freezer.
Brad’s arrival from ACE has caused us to rethink our situation. With the right teams, training, and gear, I think we could actually begin to venture outside. I am still not 100% sold on this plan. After all, do you know the best way to avoid getting bit by a shark? … Don’t go in the water. 0% of shark attacks happen up on the beach. So if you never go in the water, you are not getting bit. Still, there is a motel and a small private resort not too incredibly far away from us. Real linens and mattresses would be streets ahead over the inflatable pool mattresses we have been using. And, the underwear situation is kind of starting to become a real issue. There is a Dollar General right next door to ACE Hardware which would have clothes and other sundries that we do not have being a grocery store.
Also, we share a parking lot with a convenience store and a liquor store. While I can claim that it is for medicinal purposes (sterilization and such), I think people could use a little more liquor in their lives. We have our beer but Oklahoma liquor laws prohibit the sale of liquor in grocery stores and while people have been doing “beer rationing,” there is enough liquor in that one store to keep us all tanked until rapture…
So we need to start training sweeper teams…
Things are still too infested outside to bury Keith so we have placed his body in the ice cream freezer.
Brad’s arrival from ACE has caused us to rethink our situation. With the right teams, training, and gear, I think we could actually begin to venture outside. I am still not 100% sold on this plan. After all, do you know the best way to avoid getting bit by a shark? … Don’t go in the water. 0% of shark attacks happen up on the beach. So if you never go in the water, you are not getting bit. Still, there is a motel and a small private resort not too incredibly far away from us. Real linens and mattresses would be streets ahead over the inflatable pool mattresses we have been using. And, the underwear situation is kind of starting to become a real issue. There is a Dollar General right next door to ACE Hardware which would have clothes and other sundries that we do not have being a grocery store.
Also, we share a parking lot with a convenience store and a liquor store. While I can claim that it is for medicinal purposes (sterilization and such), I think people could use a little more liquor in their lives. We have our beer but Oklahoma liquor laws prohibit the sale of liquor in grocery stores and while people have been doing “beer rationing,” there is enough liquor in that one store to keep us all tanked until rapture…
So we need to start training sweeper teams…
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day 22 – Zombology 101: Migratory Patterns
I know this is pretty pathetic. I am a slave to pop culture. And when all this was starting to go down, during the quiet time of Week 1, Charles and I slipped off and had a DVD viewing party. We watched movies like Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead to try to understand what we are dealing with.
I really like Zack Snyder’s take on zombies with all the running and the savagery and it was a really good movie. However, in their version of zombies, they all just clustered at that mall wanting to get at the humans inside. It made for a thrilling escape and was a great movie finale. Thankfully, that is not what we are dealing with. This is one of those instances where Hollywood made a great movie but they got the reality wrong.
Back in the first week of this blog, I discussed alligators and crocodiles. They are opportunistic hunters. Thankfully, zombies are the same way. Case in point, not all of the same zombies that popped up in the area on Day 1 are still in the area. Several of those transformed in those first few hours came along initially and banged on the windows and doors. Truth is some still do that now.
I have this theory that a lot of these zombies are “locals” and have it engrained in their subconscious that Reason’s translates to food and they are showing up on some intuitive level. But they all seem to react the same way. When they realize that they cannot get in, they move on to look for greener pastures. We’ve worked very hard to cover up our visual and auditory presence. In the movie I Am Legend with Will Smith, he often covered up his scent by using some chemical. (Bleach maybe?) I need to look and see if that movie is in the video department. (Yes, I know technically those were vampires but the theory is still solid.)
So the zombies come looking for food. Perhaps they can sense that we are in here and they come up moaning and banging and when they realize that they cannot get in, they shamble on down the road, looking for easier prey.
Therefore, by these observations, I think we can say that zombies are migratory. How do they know where to migrate to? Of that, I cannot be certain. Why do birds just know to fly south for the winter?
Still, it seems clear that zombies’ sight is not nearly as sharp as it is in life. Their hearing appears to be about the same. If I didn’t know better, I would say their sense of smell actually improves (at least when it comes to hunting). Not really certain about touch and taste. But I often wonder if zombies have some sort of ESP to be able to detect flesh and that is why they keep coming up and banging on the doors in the first place.
I really like Zack Snyder’s take on zombies with all the running and the savagery and it was a really good movie. However, in their version of zombies, they all just clustered at that mall wanting to get at the humans inside. It made for a thrilling escape and was a great movie finale. Thankfully, that is not what we are dealing with. This is one of those instances where Hollywood made a great movie but they got the reality wrong.
Back in the first week of this blog, I discussed alligators and crocodiles. They are opportunistic hunters. Thankfully, zombies are the same way. Case in point, not all of the same zombies that popped up in the area on Day 1 are still in the area. Several of those transformed in those first few hours came along initially and banged on the windows and doors. Truth is some still do that now.
I have this theory that a lot of these zombies are “locals” and have it engrained in their subconscious that Reason’s translates to food and they are showing up on some intuitive level. But they all seem to react the same way. When they realize that they cannot get in, they move on to look for greener pastures. We’ve worked very hard to cover up our visual and auditory presence. In the movie I Am Legend with Will Smith, he often covered up his scent by using some chemical. (Bleach maybe?) I need to look and see if that movie is in the video department. (Yes, I know technically those were vampires but the theory is still solid.)
So the zombies come looking for food. Perhaps they can sense that we are in here and they come up moaning and banging and when they realize that they cannot get in, they shamble on down the road, looking for easier prey.
Therefore, by these observations, I think we can say that zombies are migratory. How do they know where to migrate to? Of that, I cannot be certain. Why do birds just know to fly south for the winter?
Still, it seems clear that zombies’ sight is not nearly as sharp as it is in life. Their hearing appears to be about the same. If I didn’t know better, I would say their sense of smell actually improves (at least when it comes to hunting). Not really certain about touch and taste. But I often wonder if zombies have some sort of ESP to be able to detect flesh and that is why they keep coming up and banging on the doors in the first place.
Day 22 – Survivor Profile: The Chambers
If you have never worked in a small town environment, I highly recommend it. I know a lot of people would look down on multigenerational employees (think Jakob Dylan or Randy Orton) as saying that these guys only made it to where they are because of their fathers (Bob Dylan and “Cowboy” Bob Orton respectively). But multigenerational employees are often a staple in small town stores like Reason’s. Truth be told, when Alex was old enough to drive, I looked forward to introducing him to our Resource Coordinator and getting him a job.
One of the biggest success stories is The Chambers. First off is Janet Chambers. “Mama Janet.” “Janet the Invincible.” She is known by many names. Okay, so Janet was one of two “original” employees from when Reason’s opened its doors in Langley. The only other one was our store director who was lost to us in the opening salvo of Zero Hour.
Janet is this little spitfire of a woman. She just celebrated her 50th birthday and had worked for Reason’s for over 32 years. That really showcases her loyalty and dedication. I cannot imagine doing anything for over thirty years. Still, Janet ran the show in there. She is this little woman who has an indomitable spirit packed into a frame that is far too small. She has this wonderful spiritual presence to her and for one of the older ladies in our little funhouse of horrors we are living in… Janet has it going on. I bet she was a slice a pie back in her high school days.
She worked in the office managing all the money and all the paperwork that goes on in there. Stuff way over my pay grade.
Note: It was not a mistake that I put “worked” in that sentence above. I think it is pretty safe to say that the Reason’s company does not even officially exist anymore…
Janet reminds me a lot of my mother. I know that makes the slice of pie comment earlier seem down right creepy. But I could just see Janet and my mom sitting at a kitchen table pounding back glasses from a box of wine talking about their kids. I wish they could have met.
So, getting back to my multigenerational thread, when the time came, both of Janet’s children picked up jobs at Reason’s. First was Brad.
Brad Chambers led the show over at ACE Hardware and helped his crew get over here to Reason’s. However, before he worked at ACE, Brad did a fairly long stint at Reason’s. Brad and I would always talk movies when we worked together and even wanted to make his own army film. He loves Sylvester Stallone and is fascinated with all things military. I think this is part of the reason why he was attracted to Kasondra because of her involvement in the National Guard. And, admittedly, there is nothing sexier than a woman that has fired a .50 caliber machine gun from the roof of a Hummer.
So a few years ago, Kasondra was promoted to manager and her and Brad were dating. This was going to cause a conflict of interest as she was going to be Brad’s boss. So Brad decided to move across the road to work at ACE Hardware. (And I am sure all the survivors over at ACE thank God for that fact.) You all know the story of his harrowing escape to get back to Reason’s and his lovely bride-to-be. Kasondra and Brad were supposed to be married this past weekend but the whole Zombie Apocalypse kind of put the kibosh on their plans. That really is the most aggravating thing about zombies ending the world: They have no consideration for your personal life…
Brad is a bit of a momma’s boy… but in the best way possible. He loves his mother very much and I would say it was probably about 55/45% Kasondra/Janet motivation for Brad to get over here. However, Kasondra has confided in me that post-apocalyptic Brad has remained much more clothed than pre-end of the world Brad. And I kind of thank him for that. Apparently, the extent of Brad’s wardrobe consisted of boxer-briefs once he got home from work. Still, he is man pretty…
Now the third leg of this race is Kim. Kim works in the pharmacy and aside from our conversations about music or me pretending to fend off her constant sexual advances towards me, I have to admit, I don’t know her that well. I mean we have exchanged all the pleasantries when we go about work but I don’t know her hopes and fears. Not like a Kasondra or a Lance. If I were going to officially label us, it would be “buddies.” I would stop and say hi to her if I saw her at Walmart. I would definitely stop to help her if her car battery died. But we were never one to hang out on a Friday night. Where as Charles shows up at my house regularly and Kasondra has come over to play Rock Band and poker with me.
I need to get to know Kim better. And I want to. She seems like a nice enough girl. We just never really connected much before all of this. Still, there is that nagging feeling in the back of mind because of what happened to Keith. Maybe I should distance myself. Maybe I shouldn’t get too close to anyone. After all, statistically speaking, there is a percentage chance that I might have to put a bullet in her head.
Still, with the familial unit that the Chambers have up here and with Brad and Kasondra reunited, in a way, it gives me hope…
One of the biggest success stories is The Chambers. First off is Janet Chambers. “Mama Janet.” “Janet the Invincible.” She is known by many names. Okay, so Janet was one of two “original” employees from when Reason’s opened its doors in Langley. The only other one was our store director who was lost to us in the opening salvo of Zero Hour.
Janet is this little spitfire of a woman. She just celebrated her 50th birthday and had worked for Reason’s for over 32 years. That really showcases her loyalty and dedication. I cannot imagine doing anything for over thirty years. Still, Janet ran the show in there. She is this little woman who has an indomitable spirit packed into a frame that is far too small. She has this wonderful spiritual presence to her and for one of the older ladies in our little funhouse of horrors we are living in… Janet has it going on. I bet she was a slice a pie back in her high school days.
She worked in the office managing all the money and all the paperwork that goes on in there. Stuff way over my pay grade.
Note: It was not a mistake that I put “worked” in that sentence above. I think it is pretty safe to say that the Reason’s company does not even officially exist anymore…
Janet reminds me a lot of my mother. I know that makes the slice of pie comment earlier seem down right creepy. But I could just see Janet and my mom sitting at a kitchen table pounding back glasses from a box of wine talking about their kids. I wish they could have met.
So, getting back to my multigenerational thread, when the time came, both of Janet’s children picked up jobs at Reason’s. First was Brad.
Brad Chambers led the show over at ACE Hardware and helped his crew get over here to Reason’s. However, before he worked at ACE, Brad did a fairly long stint at Reason’s. Brad and I would always talk movies when we worked together and even wanted to make his own army film. He loves Sylvester Stallone and is fascinated with all things military. I think this is part of the reason why he was attracted to Kasondra because of her involvement in the National Guard. And, admittedly, there is nothing sexier than a woman that has fired a .50 caliber machine gun from the roof of a Hummer.
So a few years ago, Kasondra was promoted to manager and her and Brad were dating. This was going to cause a conflict of interest as she was going to be Brad’s boss. So Brad decided to move across the road to work at ACE Hardware. (And I am sure all the survivors over at ACE thank God for that fact.) You all know the story of his harrowing escape to get back to Reason’s and his lovely bride-to-be. Kasondra and Brad were supposed to be married this past weekend but the whole Zombie Apocalypse kind of put the kibosh on their plans. That really is the most aggravating thing about zombies ending the world: They have no consideration for your personal life…
Brad is a bit of a momma’s boy… but in the best way possible. He loves his mother very much and I would say it was probably about 55/45% Kasondra/Janet motivation for Brad to get over here. However, Kasondra has confided in me that post-apocalyptic Brad has remained much more clothed than pre-end of the world Brad. And I kind of thank him for that. Apparently, the extent of Brad’s wardrobe consisted of boxer-briefs once he got home from work. Still, he is man pretty…
Now the third leg of this race is Kim. Kim works in the pharmacy and aside from our conversations about music or me pretending to fend off her constant sexual advances towards me, I have to admit, I don’t know her that well. I mean we have exchanged all the pleasantries when we go about work but I don’t know her hopes and fears. Not like a Kasondra or a Lance. If I were going to officially label us, it would be “buddies.” I would stop and say hi to her if I saw her at Walmart. I would definitely stop to help her if her car battery died. But we were never one to hang out on a Friday night. Where as Charles shows up at my house regularly and Kasondra has come over to play Rock Band and poker with me.
I need to get to know Kim better. And I want to. She seems like a nice enough girl. We just never really connected much before all of this. Still, there is that nagging feeling in the back of mind because of what happened to Keith. Maybe I should distance myself. Maybe I shouldn’t get too close to anyone. After all, statistically speaking, there is a percentage chance that I might have to put a bullet in her head.
Still, with the familial unit that the Chambers have up here and with Brad and Kasondra reunited, in a way, it gives me hope…
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day 20 – Contact in Claremore
As the days continue to pass by, the zoms clearly own the outside world. However, we have been given some flashes of hope. Kasondra knows the sound of military helicopters better than anyone and while we have not seen any, we have heard them roaring in the distance. So, I believe there are safe havens out there somewhere.
Reason’s works on an intranet – which is this closed internet where you can talk with one another via the computer system and access certain approved websites. So we are all extremely excited that we have made contact with the Claremore store. We are talking with an individual named Tommy Holt.
Claremore is a midsized American city with a large enough population and a small enough police force to quickly be overwhelmed and overrun. Tommy and his crew did not do so well securing their store and it took them quite a while to reclaim their turf. But they are now back up and operational. And just like us, they are looking for contact with the outside world. Unfortunately, there are only five of them left and they do not have the luxury of the weapons that we do. So we are going to vote on a fairly big decision.
Should we go and get them?
Reason’s works on an intranet – which is this closed internet where you can talk with one another via the computer system and access certain approved websites. So we are all extremely excited that we have made contact with the Claremore store. We are talking with an individual named Tommy Holt.
Claremore is a midsized American city with a large enough population and a small enough police force to quickly be overwhelmed and overrun. Tommy and his crew did not do so well securing their store and it took them quite a while to reclaim their turf. But they are now back up and operational. And just like us, they are looking for contact with the outside world. Unfortunately, there are only five of them left and they do not have the luxury of the weapons that we do. So we are going to vote on a fairly big decision.
Should we go and get them?
Friday, May 20, 2011
Day 19 – Zombology 101: Contagion
First rule of warfare: Know your enemy.
THIS IS JUST A THEORY. WE ARE DOING OBSERVATIONS TO PROVE THE VALIDITY. BUT WE COULD BE WRONG.
Thankfully, we have a roof hatch access inside the store. We had to pry off the pad lock to use it but it is positioned above the ice cream freezer in the northwest corner of the store. With all of the windows blocked off and now barricaded, it is pretty hard to get a true sense of what is happening outside, so we have been using the roof. (Lance has some plan that he has been talking about where he is going to rewire the security cameras but I cannot tell if he is full of crap or not. Still, he was taking electrician classes at Vo-tech when all this went down so…)
Given that our structure would probably be the equivalent of a three story building, we cannot fathom any possible way that the zombies can reach the roof. They can climb stairs but when it comes to the physical coordination required to actually climb a hand-over-hand ladder, they just don’t have it. So from that aspect, we are pretty safe on the roof. And it is from here that we have done a lot of observations.
This is what we have extrapolated given what we have seen as a first hand account of victims. This is pretty gruesome stuff but people need to be told the truth. So bear with me.
Somewhere out there is Patient Zero – the one who started this whole epidemic. Truth be told, we may never know who that is or was. But obviously it got up here somehow. Patient Zero must have bitten someone else and that is where it all took off.
Unless this is some sort of doomsday contagion, this thing is not naturally occurring. It is not airborne or waterborne which is why we feel pretty safe using the tap water. If it was in the air or the water there would be no escape and we are just delaying the inevitable. Might as well slit our wrists now if this thing can be contracted by drinking water.
So we are fairly confident that this is how it works. The virus is transferred via body fluids, which means if you get bit, you have it. If you are fighting these guys in melee combat, slashing at them with chainsaws and get their blood in your eyes, mouth, or an open wound, you are in trouble. Fingernail scratches are dubious.
Now, as we were discussing this, someone joked about having sex with a zombie. Obviously disgusting but my theory is that this thing started (at least in our area) in the Reedy Nursing Facility. [More on that later.] Before they realize what the virus was, crazy Ms. Glick bit Orderly Sam. Just a bite, no big deal. They may have thought she was delusional. Sam finishes his shift and heads home. His girlfriend meets him at the door for a quick round of hide the salami. Bam. Infected. They both wake up the next morning with a hankering for human flesh. And suddenly, you have two spawning zones for the zoms. So it is not tremendously far fetched. I am not saying that is what happened but it certainly could have.
I am by no means a veterinarian but you hear stories all the time about dogs contracting rabies and they have to be put down. I remember shortly before all this happened about a police officer putting down a rabid squirrel in a school yard because they were afraid it might attack the kids. This is what these things seem to be like. They are rabid. They are mean, aggressive, and just want to eat.
So let’s say this is some form of mutated rabies or it at least shares the same qualities. As near as I can figure, filmmakers in the past must have consulted doctors and such when they wrote their scripts and all the theories and postulating has just happened to turn out to be correct. The zombie must carry a virus strain that is transferred by fluids. It acts like most other pathogens. (Is that the right word?) Keith’s wounded started to show signs of serious infection within a few hours. And it was like he was hit with a double dose of anticoagulant because we could not get the bleeding to stop.
If it seems like dying from a few bites seems unrealistic, look at what a hungry man can do to a steak even without utensils. Combine that with five of these things surrounding you, chomping furiously, a few doses of the anticoagulant that they give you and a major artery. Add all that together and you have a deadly combination…
Okay, so, you encounter a zombie and you get bitten. You don’t automatically turn and start eating human flesh. It starts off as a virus in your system. I don’t believe that an antidote could reverse the effect and amputation would be very risky. If you get bit on the ankle, could you cut off your leg fast enough before your blood circulates up from your leg to your brain? I doubt it.
Now, the virus gets in your bloodstream. It immediately starts attacking your organs and systems because it wants you to die. That is the whole goal. But at this point, you are just sick. You are not a zombie yet. Eventually, the fever burns you out, your organs shut down and you die. Once you die that is when this virus really goes to work.
I have not had enough exposure to infected test subjects to do a true scientific analysis but I am guessing it takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours and then the virus kick starts your brain. You sit up and become like poor Orderly Sam from earlier in this blog entry.
My theory is that if you die by the virus, reanimation is a matter of minutes. I say this because before we blacked out the windows, we saw a customer get hit outside by a pack of these things. She was loading groceries into the back of her van when several of these monsters jumped her. All we could do was watch.
Now she did not die from the virus. She died from blood loss and the fact that her guts were chewed out by these monsters. Her body was sprawled out in the back of her van for over a day. Then we watched from the roof as she reanimated and limped around as best she could on limbs with bites taken out of them and meat chewed away. [The happy ending to this story is that Lance put a bullet in her head and ended her unlife.]
So in theory, if your immune system is compromised, you are stressed out, extremely old, or something along those lines, the virus burns through your system pretty fast and death is pretty quick. It also takes very little time for your body to “reanimate.”
Now, one saving grace is that the dead are not popping up out of the cemeteries. It does not work like that. Corpses are not busting out of their caskets and running around. You have to be infected to reanimate. So this is a viral outbreak. Either there is a cure somewhere in nature or we just have to outlast it.
I keep going back to that scene in the movie Outbreak with Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, and Cuba Gooding Jr. In that, the very lethality of the virus was actually a benefit. It killed everyone so fast it did not have a chance to spread. Do we have that option here? This works in conjunction with our One Year Plan. If we can just outlast these beasties, we can wait it out and be part of those last vestiges of humanity that will inevitably reclaim the world.
At least, that is the plan. I just hope to God that it works.
More soon…
THIS IS JUST A THEORY. WE ARE DOING OBSERVATIONS TO PROVE THE VALIDITY. BUT WE COULD BE WRONG.
Thankfully, we have a roof hatch access inside the store. We had to pry off the pad lock to use it but it is positioned above the ice cream freezer in the northwest corner of the store. With all of the windows blocked off and now barricaded, it is pretty hard to get a true sense of what is happening outside, so we have been using the roof. (Lance has some plan that he has been talking about where he is going to rewire the security cameras but I cannot tell if he is full of crap or not. Still, he was taking electrician classes at Vo-tech when all this went down so…)
Given that our structure would probably be the equivalent of a three story building, we cannot fathom any possible way that the zombies can reach the roof. They can climb stairs but when it comes to the physical coordination required to actually climb a hand-over-hand ladder, they just don’t have it. So from that aspect, we are pretty safe on the roof. And it is from here that we have done a lot of observations.
This is what we have extrapolated given what we have seen as a first hand account of victims. This is pretty gruesome stuff but people need to be told the truth. So bear with me.
Somewhere out there is Patient Zero – the one who started this whole epidemic. Truth be told, we may never know who that is or was. But obviously it got up here somehow. Patient Zero must have bitten someone else and that is where it all took off.
Unless this is some sort of doomsday contagion, this thing is not naturally occurring. It is not airborne or waterborne which is why we feel pretty safe using the tap water. If it was in the air or the water there would be no escape and we are just delaying the inevitable. Might as well slit our wrists now if this thing can be contracted by drinking water.
So we are fairly confident that this is how it works. The virus is transferred via body fluids, which means if you get bit, you have it. If you are fighting these guys in melee combat, slashing at them with chainsaws and get their blood in your eyes, mouth, or an open wound, you are in trouble. Fingernail scratches are dubious.
Now, as we were discussing this, someone joked about having sex with a zombie. Obviously disgusting but my theory is that this thing started (at least in our area) in the Reedy Nursing Facility. [More on that later.] Before they realize what the virus was, crazy Ms. Glick bit Orderly Sam. Just a bite, no big deal. They may have thought she was delusional. Sam finishes his shift and heads home. His girlfriend meets him at the door for a quick round of hide the salami. Bam. Infected. They both wake up the next morning with a hankering for human flesh. And suddenly, you have two spawning zones for the zoms. So it is not tremendously far fetched. I am not saying that is what happened but it certainly could have.
I am by no means a veterinarian but you hear stories all the time about dogs contracting rabies and they have to be put down. I remember shortly before all this happened about a police officer putting down a rabid squirrel in a school yard because they were afraid it might attack the kids. This is what these things seem to be like. They are rabid. They are mean, aggressive, and just want to eat.
So let’s say this is some form of mutated rabies or it at least shares the same qualities. As near as I can figure, filmmakers in the past must have consulted doctors and such when they wrote their scripts and all the theories and postulating has just happened to turn out to be correct. The zombie must carry a virus strain that is transferred by fluids. It acts like most other pathogens. (Is that the right word?) Keith’s wounded started to show signs of serious infection within a few hours. And it was like he was hit with a double dose of anticoagulant because we could not get the bleeding to stop.
If it seems like dying from a few bites seems unrealistic, look at what a hungry man can do to a steak even without utensils. Combine that with five of these things surrounding you, chomping furiously, a few doses of the anticoagulant that they give you and a major artery. Add all that together and you have a deadly combination…
Okay, so, you encounter a zombie and you get bitten. You don’t automatically turn and start eating human flesh. It starts off as a virus in your system. I don’t believe that an antidote could reverse the effect and amputation would be very risky. If you get bit on the ankle, could you cut off your leg fast enough before your blood circulates up from your leg to your brain? I doubt it.
Now, the virus gets in your bloodstream. It immediately starts attacking your organs and systems because it wants you to die. That is the whole goal. But at this point, you are just sick. You are not a zombie yet. Eventually, the fever burns you out, your organs shut down and you die. Once you die that is when this virus really goes to work.
I have not had enough exposure to infected test subjects to do a true scientific analysis but I am guessing it takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours and then the virus kick starts your brain. You sit up and become like poor Orderly Sam from earlier in this blog entry.
My theory is that if you die by the virus, reanimation is a matter of minutes. I say this because before we blacked out the windows, we saw a customer get hit outside by a pack of these things. She was loading groceries into the back of her van when several of these monsters jumped her. All we could do was watch.
Now she did not die from the virus. She died from blood loss and the fact that her guts were chewed out by these monsters. Her body was sprawled out in the back of her van for over a day. Then we watched from the roof as she reanimated and limped around as best she could on limbs with bites taken out of them and meat chewed away. [The happy ending to this story is that Lance put a bullet in her head and ended her unlife.]
So in theory, if your immune system is compromised, you are stressed out, extremely old, or something along those lines, the virus burns through your system pretty fast and death is pretty quick. It also takes very little time for your body to “reanimate.”
Now, one saving grace is that the dead are not popping up out of the cemeteries. It does not work like that. Corpses are not busting out of their caskets and running around. You have to be infected to reanimate. So this is a viral outbreak. Either there is a cure somewhere in nature or we just have to outlast it.
I keep going back to that scene in the movie Outbreak with Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, and Cuba Gooding Jr. In that, the very lethality of the virus was actually a benefit. It killed everyone so fast it did not have a chance to spread. Do we have that option here? This works in conjunction with our One Year Plan. If we can just outlast these beasties, we can wait it out and be part of those last vestiges of humanity that will inevitably reclaim the world.
At least, that is the plan. I just hope to God that it works.
More soon…
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Day 18 -- Nightie-Night, Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite.
I can’t remember the last time I had a bed time. Still, it was the consensus of the group that certain rules and procedures need to be followed if we are going to last a year in the store. I have yet to find a conch for speakers to hold during our meetings. For some reason, seashells are kind of difficult to come by in a landlocked state. Who knew?
Still, everyone has agreed on a set bed time. Truth be told, once you cannot watch The Colbert Report or Conan, there is not a lot of reasons to stay up uncomfortably late. The other side of this coin is that with aluminum foil covering the windows, we have little sunlight in our lives. We need to make adaptations for that.
Still, we have all established that it is Lights Out at 10:00. Generally speaking, people start winding down around 9:30 and begin to go to their respective corners. It is a nice quiet time. Some of us are still old enough to get the joke, “Good night, John Boy.” And that gets called out about once a week.
But people go lights out at 10:00 pm and we do between a 6:00 and 6:30 am reveille. I really thought Kasondra would be the one to lead this charge but Lance’s gung-ho spirit is typically the one that gets it going. Rather than go from person to person, he likes to call out over the intercom system to get people going.
I know that a bedtime may seem kind of childish to an outside observer but there is actually pretty good reasoning behind it. Whenever Reason’s would do their wellness screening for employees, it seems like one of the comments that most people got on their form answers was that they needed to get more sleep.
A solid eight hours of sleep keeps you healthy and alert. It improves your immune system – which I feel is pretty darn solid considering there is a killer virus floating around out there. And statistics have shown that a drowsy driver can be even more dangerous behind the wheel than a drunk driver. I just keep thinking back to Hicks in Aliens. “I want you two patrolling the perimeter. But stay frosty... and alert. We can’t afford to let one of those bastards in here.”
I need everyone frosty. Mad Eye Moody preached, “Constant vigilance!” (Maybe two movie references in a single blog entry are too much…) Still, that is the situation we are dealing with. And you have to stay at the top of your game at all times, especially in this hellscape that we have been thrust into.
So if you are out there, if you are a survivor, and if you are reading this, then get your beauty sleep. It is more important than you realize. You can’t run on fumes forever. That gas tank does run out. So get somewhere safe and recharge those batteries. The life you save may be your own…
More soon.
Still, everyone has agreed on a set bed time. Truth be told, once you cannot watch The Colbert Report or Conan, there is not a lot of reasons to stay up uncomfortably late. The other side of this coin is that with aluminum foil covering the windows, we have little sunlight in our lives. We need to make adaptations for that.
Still, we have all established that it is Lights Out at 10:00. Generally speaking, people start winding down around 9:30 and begin to go to their respective corners. It is a nice quiet time. Some of us are still old enough to get the joke, “Good night, John Boy.” And that gets called out about once a week.
But people go lights out at 10:00 pm and we do between a 6:00 and 6:30 am reveille. I really thought Kasondra would be the one to lead this charge but Lance’s gung-ho spirit is typically the one that gets it going. Rather than go from person to person, he likes to call out over the intercom system to get people going.
I know that a bedtime may seem kind of childish to an outside observer but there is actually pretty good reasoning behind it. Whenever Reason’s would do their wellness screening for employees, it seems like one of the comments that most people got on their form answers was that they needed to get more sleep.
A solid eight hours of sleep keeps you healthy and alert. It improves your immune system – which I feel is pretty darn solid considering there is a killer virus floating around out there. And statistics have shown that a drowsy driver can be even more dangerous behind the wheel than a drunk driver. I just keep thinking back to Hicks in Aliens. “I want you two patrolling the perimeter. But stay frosty... and alert. We can’t afford to let one of those bastards in here.”I need everyone frosty. Mad Eye Moody preached, “Constant vigilance!” (Maybe two movie references in a single blog entry are too much…) Still, that is the situation we are dealing with. And you have to stay at the top of your game at all times, especially in this hellscape that we have been thrust into.
So if you are out there, if you are a survivor, and if you are reading this, then get your beauty sleep. It is more important than you realize. You can’t run on fumes forever. That gas tank does run out. So get somewhere safe and recharge those batteries. The life you save may be your own…
More soon.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Day 17 – Our Official Plural Listing
Okay, fish swim in schools. It is a pride of lions. A pod of whales. A heard of cattle. A pack of dogs. We are officially referring to a collection of zombies as a SHAMBLE. It is a shamble of zombies.
Zombies shamble along. They don’t pick their feet up. Maybe they don’t have the strength. But they only run if a food source is near. So this is just our word for a group of them – a shamble of zombies. For anyone still alive in the trademark or patent offices, that is our phrase. Can you trademark a phrase or a word? Well, if you can, that is what we are doing here.
Unfortunately, Urban Dictionary is down. This is unfortunate because I used that website to learn what an “Upper Decker” was. But it also taught me the difference between a Cleveland Steamer and a Cleveland Steamroller. It is a HUGE difference. Well that and an Alabama Hot Pocket. Eww.
(For those survivors who happen to be reading this, I hope this offered you a moment of levity…)
I’m off to bed, kiddos. Sleep tight.
Zombies shamble along. They don’t pick their feet up. Maybe they don’t have the strength. But they only run if a food source is near. So this is just our word for a group of them – a shamble of zombies. For anyone still alive in the trademark or patent offices, that is our phrase. Can you trademark a phrase or a word? Well, if you can, that is what we are doing here.
Unfortunately, Urban Dictionary is down. This is unfortunate because I used that website to learn what an “Upper Decker” was. But it also taught me the difference between a Cleveland Steamer and a Cleveland Steamroller. It is a HUGE difference. Well that and an Alabama Hot Pocket. Eww.
(For those survivors who happen to be reading this, I hope this offered you a moment of levity…)
I’m off to bed, kiddos. Sleep tight.
Day 17 – Supply Status: Dairy
Today, officially, our milk went out of date. On May 1st, the oldest dated milk in the store was officially today. Audrey has been doing a wonderful job with our rationing and dating of supplies. She has even recruited Kelsey and Amber into helping her to make them feel more integrated to the group.
I know this is the “sell by” date. It is not like all the milk immediately spoils on the day that is stamped on the jug. And we have been making sure to drink the closest dated milk first. Truth be told, we knew we were going to run out eventually. And secretly, I really thought we were going to lose power (knock wood) and lose our refrigeration anyway. So we have been doing a lot of cereal eating for the morning breakfasts.
One unique thing we did very early on was stake claim to certain cereals. The store features probably over 100 different brands of cereal but everyone got to choose their favorite to be their private stash. After that, things just kind of went up for grabs. We had a full draft where everyone drew numbers for their selection order.
Hey, when it came time to choose I was happy because Cocoa Krispies were still available. Suckers. They don’t know what they are missing. Alex got his Cap’n Crunch so he is stoked. One fool actually chose Total as their draft pick. I won’t say who but LOSER! You wasted your draft pick on a kicker when you clearly could have taken a linebacker early and the kicker probably would have gone undrafted…
Some cereals like the Chex varieties and the other Rice Krispies have been held back for things like Chex Mix and Rice Krispie Treats – recipes that do not require milk.
Now there is that military ration milk-in-a-box that is highly pasteurized and has dates that go well into February. And we do have that powdered milk for when things really start to turn desperate. My theory is that we will use that for cooking down the road once we deplete our supply or it turns sour.
We have also been eating a lot of sandwiches and sliced deli meats for lunch as those have a limited shelf life too. Our bread only lasted about two weeks before it started to get really stale. Thankfully, we have a baker that can literally make us fresh bread with all the flour and yeast that we have on hand.
So we have really been smart about watching our dates. Produce is almost gone (as we expected) and Sharon has really been working overtime with Charles to smoke, cure, and dehydrate or meat supplies so that they do not go to waste. I have never really liked jerky but I guess I am going to have to learn to like it.
We are also going through as much of the frozen foods as we can (again, because of the fear of losing power and thus refrigeration). This will leave us with only canned foods left but I still believe that with proper rationing, we can make it a year. Our supermarket is a pretty big place, even with twenty-two people living in here. The canned food aisle (soups, beans, potted meats, etc.) measures 68 feet in length and stacked five shelves high. And that is just one side. With rationing, we will make it. Still better safe than sorry…
I know this is the “sell by” date. It is not like all the milk immediately spoils on the day that is stamped on the jug. And we have been making sure to drink the closest dated milk first. Truth be told, we knew we were going to run out eventually. And secretly, I really thought we were going to lose power (knock wood) and lose our refrigeration anyway. So we have been doing a lot of cereal eating for the morning breakfasts.
One unique thing we did very early on was stake claim to certain cereals. The store features probably over 100 different brands of cereal but everyone got to choose their favorite to be their private stash. After that, things just kind of went up for grabs. We had a full draft where everyone drew numbers for their selection order.
Hey, when it came time to choose I was happy because Cocoa Krispies were still available. Suckers. They don’t know what they are missing. Alex got his Cap’n Crunch so he is stoked. One fool actually chose Total as their draft pick. I won’t say who but LOSER! You wasted your draft pick on a kicker when you clearly could have taken a linebacker early and the kicker probably would have gone undrafted…
Some cereals like the Chex varieties and the other Rice Krispies have been held back for things like Chex Mix and Rice Krispie Treats – recipes that do not require milk.
Now there is that military ration milk-in-a-box that is highly pasteurized and has dates that go well into February. And we do have that powdered milk for when things really start to turn desperate. My theory is that we will use that for cooking down the road once we deplete our supply or it turns sour.
We have also been eating a lot of sandwiches and sliced deli meats for lunch as those have a limited shelf life too. Our bread only lasted about two weeks before it started to get really stale. Thankfully, we have a baker that can literally make us fresh bread with all the flour and yeast that we have on hand.
So we have really been smart about watching our dates. Produce is almost gone (as we expected) and Sharon has really been working overtime with Charles to smoke, cure, and dehydrate or meat supplies so that they do not go to waste. I have never really liked jerky but I guess I am going to have to learn to like it.
We are also going through as much of the frozen foods as we can (again, because of the fear of losing power and thus refrigeration). This will leave us with only canned foods left but I still believe that with proper rationing, we can make it a year. Our supermarket is a pretty big place, even with twenty-two people living in here. The canned food aisle (soups, beans, potted meats, etc.) measures 68 feet in length and stacked five shelves high. And that is just one side. With rationing, we will make it. Still better safe than sorry…
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Day 16 – Let The Sun Shine In….
As we are now in Day 17 of our life inside our little grocery store, I have to admit I have seen a change in some individuals and I think I know the reason. We had a major flaw in our plan with the aluminum foil over the windows. We originally blacked out the windows using aluminum foil for two reasons:
# 1) We believe zombies hunt by sight so we wanted to remove external stimuli. We did not want them to be able to see the food walking around inside here and come smashing through the windows. (Granted, we have them reinforced and when things thin out a bit, we are going to do an even better job. Still, why tempt fate?)
# 2) We did not want to broadcast our presence during the night time hours. Unfortunately, like most businesses that are open 24 hours, Reason’s set up is a freaking beacon of light on a hill. The gas station next door is the exact same way. You can see it from miles away so that it is inviting at night to people who need a fill up with gas. Unfortunately, that is also like ringing a dinner bell for these walking dead. Combine that light with sounds like gunshots and the zombies come a runnin’.
So, almost from night one, we tripped the breakers that control the parking lot lights and the exterior lights for the store. (The store front sign and the illuminated signs on the side of the building that say things like “bakery” and “video.”) I can only imagine but at night, this place has to look just like a hole in the world to the zombies.
There was not much we could do about the convenience store next door or the Sonic restaurant across the street. But we have a theory that if those businesses are lit up and the zombies stay over there the better off we are.
To those that still have use of their cerebral cortexes, they will see zombie bodies littering the parking lot (from the ones we have taken out), the windows all boarded up, and we are locked down… Yeah, we probably do seem like a pretty strong fortress of solitude. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen anyone with a functioning medulla oblongata for days. [I don’t even know what those sections of the brain actually control but there were the only sections I could remember from my 9th grade science class. It was a long time ago.]
But, our big problem is that if you take aluminum foil and cover your windows, zero light gets through. Zero.
And believe me, it gets pretty freaking dark. I have worked the night shift before and said that as long as you didn’t look outside, you didn’t really notice what time it actually was. But I want us to have some semblance of normalcy. We need to see at least some small section of the outside world from time to time. We can’t just live in Jodie Foster’s panic room. What kind of life is that?
So with that in mind, we are amending the aluminum foil plan. We are still going to keep it up but we are developing a system where the bottom two-thirds of the windows will remain covered at all times. But we are making sections in the top third of the windows (above the pallet reinforcements) that we can open up to allow light inside. Then we are going to assign people to start closing the “shades” at sundown.
And I was pretty proud of this idea. One thing a grocery store has plenty of is cardboard. With all the boxes that cereal and mayonnaise and canned vegetables that used to come in, we usually bailed up one pallet load of cardboard per day, sometimes even twice a day if we were really busy. We worked together and rigged up these cardboard booths that you can sit in and look through peek holes at night without light shining out through the aluminum foil. It’s pretty effective.
But we do need more outdoor activity. I could have sworn I read something one time about lack of sunlight causing a vitamin deficiency. There was an episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns blocked out the sun and Homer joined a posse to tear the machine down. “I’ve had it up to here with these rickets.” I don’t know what rickets are but I am fairly certain I don’t want them.
So we are going to work on projects that will get us up on the roof. Lance loves to go up there and shoot zombies. There is a ton of free space up there that we know is zombie free. We have seeds in packets in the Produce Department and there are pallets of potting soil outside. We need to start our own garden. Everyone could be involved. Fresh vegetables. It’ll be like Little House on the Prairie up in this mug.
I guess I list this to show you that we are not always perfect in our plans. We have to make modifications. And you will too. The only difference is that if we make too big a mistake, people can die. And that is a pretty scary thought.
# 1) We believe zombies hunt by sight so we wanted to remove external stimuli. We did not want them to be able to see the food walking around inside here and come smashing through the windows. (Granted, we have them reinforced and when things thin out a bit, we are going to do an even better job. Still, why tempt fate?)
# 2) We did not want to broadcast our presence during the night time hours. Unfortunately, like most businesses that are open 24 hours, Reason’s set up is a freaking beacon of light on a hill. The gas station next door is the exact same way. You can see it from miles away so that it is inviting at night to people who need a fill up with gas. Unfortunately, that is also like ringing a dinner bell for these walking dead. Combine that light with sounds like gunshots and the zombies come a runnin’.
So, almost from night one, we tripped the breakers that control the parking lot lights and the exterior lights for the store. (The store front sign and the illuminated signs on the side of the building that say things like “bakery” and “video.”) I can only imagine but at night, this place has to look just like a hole in the world to the zombies.
There was not much we could do about the convenience store next door or the Sonic restaurant across the street. But we have a theory that if those businesses are lit up and the zombies stay over there the better off we are.
To those that still have use of their cerebral cortexes, they will see zombie bodies littering the parking lot (from the ones we have taken out), the windows all boarded up, and we are locked down… Yeah, we probably do seem like a pretty strong fortress of solitude. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen anyone with a functioning medulla oblongata for days. [I don’t even know what those sections of the brain actually control but there were the only sections I could remember from my 9th grade science class. It was a long time ago.]
But, our big problem is that if you take aluminum foil and cover your windows, zero light gets through. Zero.
And believe me, it gets pretty freaking dark. I have worked the night shift before and said that as long as you didn’t look outside, you didn’t really notice what time it actually was. But I want us to have some semblance of normalcy. We need to see at least some small section of the outside world from time to time. We can’t just live in Jodie Foster’s panic room. What kind of life is that?
So with that in mind, we are amending the aluminum foil plan. We are still going to keep it up but we are developing a system where the bottom two-thirds of the windows will remain covered at all times. But we are making sections in the top third of the windows (above the pallet reinforcements) that we can open up to allow light inside. Then we are going to assign people to start closing the “shades” at sundown.
And I was pretty proud of this idea. One thing a grocery store has plenty of is cardboard. With all the boxes that cereal and mayonnaise and canned vegetables that used to come in, we usually bailed up one pallet load of cardboard per day, sometimes even twice a day if we were really busy. We worked together and rigged up these cardboard booths that you can sit in and look through peek holes at night without light shining out through the aluminum foil. It’s pretty effective.
But we do need more outdoor activity. I could have sworn I read something one time about lack of sunlight causing a vitamin deficiency. There was an episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns blocked out the sun and Homer joined a posse to tear the machine down. “I’ve had it up to here with these rickets.” I don’t know what rickets are but I am fairly certain I don’t want them.
So we are going to work on projects that will get us up on the roof. Lance loves to go up there and shoot zombies. There is a ton of free space up there that we know is zombie free. We have seeds in packets in the Produce Department and there are pallets of potting soil outside. We need to start our own garden. Everyone could be involved. Fresh vegetables. It’ll be like Little House on the Prairie up in this mug.
I guess I list this to show you that we are not always perfect in our plans. We have to make modifications. And you will too. The only difference is that if we make too big a mistake, people can die. And that is a pretty scary thought.
Day 16 – A Message For My Wife
This entry is really more for me than for any historian or member of the government that might stumble across this. As I mentioned before, I emailed this blog address to my home and I am hoping that she might see it…
Amy, I hope that you have made it home and are safe. I know we had lots of food at the house and your Mom & Dad’s place is like a fallout shelter with all of their groceries that they buy from Sam’s Club. Still, with every passing day, my hope diminishes a little more. Are you safe? Did you even make it out of Tulsa? God forbid, are you shambling about as one of these horrors?
We have been studying these things for sometime now and I honestly believe that if you can get into a car, Langley has thinned out enough to where we could get you in the store. Alex took a number of your dad’s weapons and ammo but he said he did not take them all. I only had him unload one of the safes. So there is plenty of ammunition and pistols lying around. Combine that with the speed of your Mustang and you should be fine. Just go through Strang and come through the backside of Langley.
I miss you, honey, and I truly hope you are reading this. I hope you are still alive. I feel that you are. I hope. I love you…
Amy, I hope that you have made it home and are safe. I know we had lots of food at the house and your Mom & Dad’s place is like a fallout shelter with all of their groceries that they buy from Sam’s Club. Still, with every passing day, my hope diminishes a little more. Are you safe? Did you even make it out of Tulsa? God forbid, are you shambling about as one of these horrors?
We have been studying these things for sometime now and I honestly believe that if you can get into a car, Langley has thinned out enough to where we could get you in the store. Alex took a number of your dad’s weapons and ammo but he said he did not take them all. I only had him unload one of the safes. So there is plenty of ammunition and pistols lying around. Combine that with the speed of your Mustang and you should be fine. Just go through Strang and come through the backside of Langley.
I miss you, honey, and I truly hope you are reading this. I hope you are still alive. I feel that you are. I hope. I love you…
Day 16 – Survivor Profile: Ryan Mathews
Admittedly, the group is trying to move forward after the loss of Keith. It has not been easy. Still, everyone seems to look around at each other quite differently, as if sizing them up and wondering how the group would handle the loss if this person or that person gets bit next. So we just have to make sure not to let that happen. With that said, let’s move on…
If this is going to be a record for history, then history needs to know about the wonderful people that survived this horrible event and, truth be told, they are some wonderful people. Then there is also my ego that hopes that if you have been reading this from the beginning, you might be wondering who the other person on the end of this blog really is. Stroke a man’s ego, ladies. That is how you get him to pay attention to you.
So if I am going to tell you about the survivors, who better to start with than me? Unfortunately… I don’t really know where to begin. Normally, I am my favorite subject. ;-P
At the time of this writing, I am thirty-six years old. I worked in the Produce Department at Reason’s. This was actually my old job back in high school and the plan was for me to work here while my wife went back to school to get her RN license. We could really use her medical training right now. Don’t get me wrong, Kasondra is great. The army has trained her well but I kind of get the impression her medical training is more about patching holes and keeping soldiers alive. And Kim and Jennifer know which medicines are for which ailments. Still, a bona fide nurse would be a tremendous addition to our ragtag team… But rather than have her nursing skills, I miss her more as my wife.
Amy and I’ve been happily married for 14 years. (Note: I may speak about my job and society in the past tense but I still consider my marriage ongoing. She is out there somewhere. I know it.)
The greatest thing in our marriage is our son, Alex Ryan Mathews. He is with me here in the store. He safely navigated his way here from home during Zero Hour of the outbreak. Quite a feat considering Alex will turn fifteen in October and his only real time behind the wheel is either on the Xbox or out in the cattle pasture with his grandfather. (Note: During the only time he drove Granddad’s pickup, he did sideswipe the pickup with the trampoline.) Strange but I am happy he was too sick to go to school that day and I got him here with me. Don’t freak out. It was the flu. He was really on the mend and probably could have gone to school but I wanted him fully rested. He was getting all A’s anyway so I figured he could use an extra day of video games and lounging around the house since his illness did cost him a weekend.
But when I called the house, Amy had already left. She was going to Tulsa that morning and I am afraid that Tulsa is a hotspot of zombie activity. For all we know, all the major cities are. There is no telling where all this has spread from.
So Alex is my son. He is a good kid. I know all parents say that but he really is. Even at 14, he has one more growth spur and he will be as tall as me. I volunteer coached for his football team this year and at the end of the year, Alex had all his coordination going and got everything working in consort. He left bruises on me and the fellow coaches. He was also the biggest kid in his class. But at a charity basketball game earlier this year, one of his female classmates told me they call him “The Gentle Giant.” Part of this is because of his size but I think it is because he takes after his old man and roots for the New York Giants.
Still, he is tremendously protective. He sticks up for the little guys and was always encouraging of the underclassmen. It also made him a great offensive lineman. And he has a heart of solid gold. I could not be more proud. Still, I know the thoughts about his mom, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… It is all weighing heavily on him.
I have to wonder what the future holds for Alex. I am going to talk with Kasondra and have her begin Alex’s training with firearms. The bigger the better. He plays the Nazi Zombie levels of Call of Duty. It is time for him to go beyond a game now.
If this is going to be a record for history, then history needs to know about the wonderful people that survived this horrible event and, truth be told, they are some wonderful people. Then there is also my ego that hopes that if you have been reading this from the beginning, you might be wondering who the other person on the end of this blog really is. Stroke a man’s ego, ladies. That is how you get him to pay attention to you.
So if I am going to tell you about the survivors, who better to start with than me? Unfortunately… I don’t really know where to begin. Normally, I am my favorite subject. ;-P
At the time of this writing, I am thirty-six years old. I worked in the Produce Department at Reason’s. This was actually my old job back in high school and the plan was for me to work here while my wife went back to school to get her RN license. We could really use her medical training right now. Don’t get me wrong, Kasondra is great. The army has trained her well but I kind of get the impression her medical training is more about patching holes and keeping soldiers alive. And Kim and Jennifer know which medicines are for which ailments. Still, a bona fide nurse would be a tremendous addition to our ragtag team… But rather than have her nursing skills, I miss her more as my wife.
Amy and I’ve been happily married for 14 years. (Note: I may speak about my job and society in the past tense but I still consider my marriage ongoing. She is out there somewhere. I know it.)
The greatest thing in our marriage is our son, Alex Ryan Mathews. He is with me here in the store. He safely navigated his way here from home during Zero Hour of the outbreak. Quite a feat considering Alex will turn fifteen in October and his only real time behind the wheel is either on the Xbox or out in the cattle pasture with his grandfather. (Note: During the only time he drove Granddad’s pickup, he did sideswipe the pickup with the trampoline.) Strange but I am happy he was too sick to go to school that day and I got him here with me. Don’t freak out. It was the flu. He was really on the mend and probably could have gone to school but I wanted him fully rested. He was getting all A’s anyway so I figured he could use an extra day of video games and lounging around the house since his illness did cost him a weekend.
But when I called the house, Amy had already left. She was going to Tulsa that morning and I am afraid that Tulsa is a hotspot of zombie activity. For all we know, all the major cities are. There is no telling where all this has spread from.
So Alex is my son. He is a good kid. I know all parents say that but he really is. Even at 14, he has one more growth spur and he will be as tall as me. I volunteer coached for his football team this year and at the end of the year, Alex had all his coordination going and got everything working in consort. He left bruises on me and the fellow coaches. He was also the biggest kid in his class. But at a charity basketball game earlier this year, one of his female classmates told me they call him “The Gentle Giant.” Part of this is because of his size but I think it is because he takes after his old man and roots for the New York Giants.
Still, he is tremendously protective. He sticks up for the little guys and was always encouraging of the underclassmen. It also made him a great offensive lineman. And he has a heart of solid gold. I could not be more proud. Still, I know the thoughts about his mom, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… It is all weighing heavily on him.
I have to wonder what the future holds for Alex. I am going to talk with Kasondra and have her begin Alex’s training with firearms. The bigger the better. He plays the Nazi Zombie levels of Call of Duty. It is time for him to go beyond a game now.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Day 14 – No Entry
No entry today. We are still alive but I cannot talk. Too consumed about what happened to Keith. Maybe tomorrow…
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Day 13 – Making the Hard Choices
I watched a man kill himself today.
I want you to take a moment and let that really sink in. Keith Morris was a twenty-year-old kid who was going to school to be a professional welder. He split time working for his dad’s dock building business and ACE Hardware. He had a girlfriend and a little dog named Spooner. He liked to ride his motorcycle and the music of Gary Allen. Apparently, he also had a bit of a hetero man crush on Mark Wahlberg. (Hey, who doesn’t?) He was a good friend of Brad Chambers and was supposed to be in the wedding party for Brad and Kasondra’s wedding. He helped Brad take control of the situation at ACE when Zero Hour struck. And, quite unapologetically, Keith had the intestinal fortitude to put down quite a few zoms that breached their defenses. If it wasn’t for him, the five other members of his party would not be with us.
Brad parked as close to our produce dock as possible and Keith was freaking hustling to slide all of their acquired supplies inside: ammo, weapons, tools, things we would need for our survival. The zombie that tagged him was hidden underneath our scissor lift dock. There was no way our spotters could have seen it. It got him on the calf, breaking skin with its fingernails and taking a bite from his leg. But he had the wherewithal to shoot that beast in the head three times and then limped inside.
After that, my whole quarantine plan kind of went out the window. Before they made it over, everyone was healthy. They all breathed the same air, drank the same water, and ate the same food. Then, Keith got bit and one hour later started showing symptoms. The five other survivors agreed to a total 100% strip search and examination for wounds by same sex examiners. Everyone came back clean.
So apparently, the movies have it right. This virus is transferred via bodily fluids. You get bit, you have it. There is no cure. You are dead. It is only a matter of time.
After one hour, you could see the clotting of his wound begin to turn necrotic and the veins nearby turning purple and sickly.
Keith starting showing more signs quickly. Pain, nausea, stiffness. I could only watch as his temperature rose to 103-degrees in what seemed like a blink of an eye. He tried to remain calm but he had this aggressive streak. He would snap angrily at simple questions. He just wasn’t himself anymore. He grew increasingly irritable even when people were trying to help him.
Everyone began to whisper, wondering what we should do.
So, without any aggrandizing here, he asked and Brad provided. He asks his friend for a pistol and he took the decision out of our hands. For those that may look down upon this, Keith made it quite clear. In his eyes, this was not suicide. He was dead the second that zom bit him. And his argument was that we might not have “the stones” (as he put it) to put him down after he changed. So he said he was doing all of us a favor.
We fully intend to give him a proper burial in the field we have out back behind the store. Until we get a clear enough section, we have put his body in the ice cream freezer. But I don’t want to talk any more. I just want to sleep and try to forget about this nightmare world. I think I am going to hit the pharmacy and see if I can find a Xanax or a sleeping pill or something.
This sucks. And as much as I hate it, I know this will not be the last time we will have to deal with this…
LOST MEMBER: Keith Morris* – 20, Disney, OK
I want you to take a moment and let that really sink in. Keith Morris was a twenty-year-old kid who was going to school to be a professional welder. He split time working for his dad’s dock building business and ACE Hardware. He had a girlfriend and a little dog named Spooner. He liked to ride his motorcycle and the music of Gary Allen. Apparently, he also had a bit of a hetero man crush on Mark Wahlberg. (Hey, who doesn’t?) He was a good friend of Brad Chambers and was supposed to be in the wedding party for Brad and Kasondra’s wedding. He helped Brad take control of the situation at ACE when Zero Hour struck. And, quite unapologetically, Keith had the intestinal fortitude to put down quite a few zoms that breached their defenses. If it wasn’t for him, the five other members of his party would not be with us.Brad parked as close to our produce dock as possible and Keith was freaking hustling to slide all of their acquired supplies inside: ammo, weapons, tools, things we would need for our survival. The zombie that tagged him was hidden underneath our scissor lift dock. There was no way our spotters could have seen it. It got him on the calf, breaking skin with its fingernails and taking a bite from his leg. But he had the wherewithal to shoot that beast in the head three times and then limped inside.
After that, my whole quarantine plan kind of went out the window. Before they made it over, everyone was healthy. They all breathed the same air, drank the same water, and ate the same food. Then, Keith got bit and one hour later started showing symptoms. The five other survivors agreed to a total 100% strip search and examination for wounds by same sex examiners. Everyone came back clean.
So apparently, the movies have it right. This virus is transferred via bodily fluids. You get bit, you have it. There is no cure. You are dead. It is only a matter of time.
After one hour, you could see the clotting of his wound begin to turn necrotic and the veins nearby turning purple and sickly.
Keith starting showing more signs quickly. Pain, nausea, stiffness. I could only watch as his temperature rose to 103-degrees in what seemed like a blink of an eye. He tried to remain calm but he had this aggressive streak. He would snap angrily at simple questions. He just wasn’t himself anymore. He grew increasingly irritable even when people were trying to help him.
Everyone began to whisper, wondering what we should do.
So, without any aggrandizing here, he asked and Brad provided. He asks his friend for a pistol and he took the decision out of our hands. For those that may look down upon this, Keith made it quite clear. In his eyes, this was not suicide. He was dead the second that zom bit him. And his argument was that we might not have “the stones” (as he put it) to put him down after he changed. So he said he was doing all of us a favor.
We fully intend to give him a proper burial in the field we have out back behind the store. Until we get a clear enough section, we have put his body in the ice cream freezer. But I don’t want to talk any more. I just want to sleep and try to forget about this nightmare world. I think I am going to hit the pharmacy and see if I can find a Xanax or a sleeping pill or something.
This sucks. And as much as I hate it, I know this will not be the last time we will have to deal with this…
LOST MEMBER: Keith Morris* – 20, Disney, OK
Friday, May 13, 2011
Day 12 - Miracle Across Highway 82
It took a pickup truck and a collection of firearms not seen outside of a military convoy but Brad and his crew have arrived and made it to the store. I wish I could say that it is all good news but one of their members was bitten in the exodus from Ace to Reason’s. We are all struggling on how to deal with this.
So first, the good news. Brad and his crew made the jump early in the morning after the zombies had kind of settled down after wandering about at night. We had the early morning light on our side. As per Brad’s request, we had shooters on our roof looking to cover their escape and clear a path. As it turns out, Brad and the group left a pair of chainsaws revved and locked on at full throttle. They then took the chainsaws and dropped them inside metal trashcans and wheeled them out in wheelbarrows outside the front of the hardware store. That awful noise brought the zombies running. Then, they took their pickup in the opposite direction. As the chainsaws drew the attention of the zombies in the area, they made the mad dash to the back of the store. But I understand their confidence in their plan… Her name is Shannon Fox.
Shannon works as a police dispatcher at the sheriff’s office. This means she operates the radio and tells officers where to go. This means she was working at the ground floor level when all this broke out. I full intend to go through a “debriefing” with her to figure out what happened in Langley on May 1st. But more over, shortly before her office was overrun, her and a fellow deputy were loading up all sorts of ammunition and weapons into a pick up. Her deputy did not make it out of the station but Shannon did. And she saw signs of hope at Ace Hardware in Brad and Keith so that is where she stopped. Now, thanks to her, we have a plethora of weapons from which to defend ourselves. I am not savvy enough to tell you exactly what all the weapons are but they are like something you see in a Schwarzenegger movie.
So Brad brought with him Kelsey Cameron. Kelsey worked the register at Ace Hardware. He also brought with him Shannon Fox (as mentioned above), two customers shopping at the time of the attacks – Ashlynn Clary and Dawn Smith – both locals, and fellow floor employee Keith Morris. Unfortunately, between exiting the pickup and getting inside, Keith received a bite on his leg from a zombie that was under our scissor lift ramp that we use at the Produce dock to unload semi-trailers.
We kept the Produce roll up door closed until the very last second and given the vantage point of our “snipers” on the roof, no one could have spotted the thing. But now we have a serious situation on our hands. I cannot believe that I am typing this out. We are going to have to kill Keith…
UPDATED SURVIVOR LIST
Audrey Blair – 22, Female, Langley, OK
Jennifer Brown – 25, Female, Langley, OK
Kim Chambers – 25, Female, Adair, OK
Janet Chambers – 50, Female, Langley
Dillon Hernden – 18, Male, Ketchum, OK
Kanen Kraig – 19, Male, Jay, OK
Nolan Lang – 20, Male, Vinita, OK
Charles Lucas – 27, Male, Jay, OK
Sharon Massey – 59, Female, Locust Grove, OK
Alex Mathews – 14, Male, Adair, OK
Ryan Mathews – 36, Male, Adair, OK
Judy Myers – 37, Female, Langley, OK
Jean Nibert – 49, Female, Langley, OK
Judy Savage – 55, Female, Strang, OK
Kasondra Taylor – 22, Female, Langley, OK
Lance Wiggins – 18, Male, Spavinaw, OK
Hunter Woolsman – 17, Male, Vinita, OK
Newest Editions
Kelsey Cameron – 23, Female, Spavinaw, OK
Brad Chambers – 21, Male, Langley, OK
Ashlynn Clary – 33, Female, Disney Island, OK
Shannon Fox – 33, Female, Afton, OK
Keith Morris* – 20, Disney, OK
Dawn Smith – 24, Female, Langley, OK
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Day 11 – Quarantine Zone Completed
We have officially finished the Quarantine Zone. I have to admit, if someone is going to be isolated in here for a few days, we have made it as comfortable as possible. The area is fairly large and we have six bed stations set up. We took stacks of pallets and set them up with air mattresses and blankets to serve as bunks and blankets.I swiped a pretty good cross section of movies from our video department along with some books and magazines.
I mean, there is a heck of a lot more room than a prison cell. It is not going to be too bad. Now we just have to get those six souls from over there to over here. It is not far. It is maybe 500 yards away but we really don’t know how the zombies are going to react to this fresh meat.
Whatever Brad’s plan is it better be a good one…
Day 11 – An Apology For an Altercation
So today has not exactly been a good day. Kasondra is a friend of mine and Janet and I have had far too many conversations over the years to not consider her a friend. So I had to explain to Janet, Kim and Kasondra my plan involving the quarantine zone for Brad and his group. Friday is coming faster than you can imagine and I had to let them know.
Kasondra is not happy with me. I understand her frustration and I want to sympathize but I will not risk exposing Alex to infection. I refuse. The argument got rather heated. Kasondra asked me if I would implement the same safety protocols if Amy was part of that group. I have to admit, I paused. And she used that as an opportunity to assert her side of the argument. Emotions took over. I tried to remain analytical and I can do that because Amy is not part of that group. Her fiancé is 500 yards away and that stress is wearing on her. So when we took our argument to the next level… she took a swing at me. I landed awkwardly and there was no real malice behind the punch. The crew separated us and got the two of us away from each other. I did not retaliate in any way. Kasondra is about to crack and I can completely understand why. Still, I kind of lost my temper when she could not see my point of view and I called her something. I think I might have used the word “stupid.” I didn’t call her stupid but said she was being stupid. I think there is a big difference.
Still, Sharon stepped in. (Again, thank God for her.) She was able to use that Grandmother tone that I just do not have and was able to settle everyone down. I am even writing all this to kind of blow off steam and keep my perspective. But everyone has agreed to the QZ plan. But all this is for nothing if Brad and his group don’t get over here safely tomorrow. We are still trying to decide when they should make their run.
In theory, the cover of darkness would give them an advantage but it also cloaks the zombies. They could be running into a crowd of them and not even notice. Broad daylight gives us plenty of vision but also keeps them highly visible. Maybe if I discuss this with Kasondra, it will show that I care about their survival and will give us common ground to focus on. But we have to hurry. The clock is ticking…
More soon.
Kasondra is not happy with me. I understand her frustration and I want to sympathize but I will not risk exposing Alex to infection. I refuse. The argument got rather heated. Kasondra asked me if I would implement the same safety protocols if Amy was part of that group. I have to admit, I paused. And she used that as an opportunity to assert her side of the argument. Emotions took over. I tried to remain analytical and I can do that because Amy is not part of that group. Her fiancé is 500 yards away and that stress is wearing on her. So when we took our argument to the next level… she took a swing at me. I landed awkwardly and there was no real malice behind the punch. The crew separated us and got the two of us away from each other. I did not retaliate in any way. Kasondra is about to crack and I can completely understand why. Still, I kind of lost my temper when she could not see my point of view and I called her something. I think I might have used the word “stupid.” I didn’t call her stupid but said she was being stupid. I think there is a big difference.
Still, Sharon stepped in. (Again, thank God for her.) She was able to use that Grandmother tone that I just do not have and was able to settle everyone down. I am even writing all this to kind of blow off steam and keep my perspective. But everyone has agreed to the QZ plan. But all this is for nothing if Brad and his group don’t get over here safely tomorrow. We are still trying to decide when they should make their run.
In theory, the cover of darkness would give them an advantage but it also cloaks the zombies. They could be running into a crowd of them and not even notice. Broad daylight gives us plenty of vision but also keeps them highly visible. Maybe if I discuss this with Kasondra, it will show that I care about their survival and will give us common ground to focus on. But we have to hurry. The clock is ticking…
More soon.
Day 11 – Cleanliness is Next to Godliness
Okay, sue me. In my last entry, I talked about the Meat Department coolers when I realized that I hadn’t even explained our sanitation solution. Sometimes we have too much stuff going on and it is difficult for me to decide what all to report on. But given how we are surrounded by the undead, I don’t think anyone would be surprised to hear us say that cleanliness quickly became an issue.And I think how we solved this problem is pretty darn genius.
Highlighted in red are our bathroom facilities. We have a total of 5 toilets and one urinal which has been more than enough for everyone thus far. The bathrooms have been established just for “waste extraction.” People get ready for their day in separate areas just to keep the congestion down. And if you ever have to follow Charles or Lance after a Mexican TV dinner, you want to find somewhere else to shave. (I can say that because Chucky is my battle buddy and I love him.)
We knew from the very beginning that the Produce Department and the Meat Department had limited shelf life. (Even now as I write this, the Produce Department is down to almost nothing and it has only been 11 days. We are still transforming it into our QZ.)
Charles disconnected the cooling units in the Meat Department cooler that you see highlighted in blue on the map. This area has concrete floors equipped with drains and features stainless steel walls and ceiling. The meat guys used to hose out these coolers every night to clean them so it seemed only natural to transform this area into our shower area. We have hot water and plenty of hose length.
We modified the aluminum racks and plastic trays used in the department to make shower stalls with shelf space for shampoo, conditioners, bars of soap and all the showering needs. Then we used length of bailing wire from our cardboard baler, elephant clips from the office and plastic table cloths to make shower curtains to provide a small level of modesty. The bailing wire really allows the curtains to slide back and forth very easily.
The cases where the vegetables and fruit are stocked in the produce department have this mirrored acrylic that we have disassembled and mounted in the shower stalls for shaving. It works pretty darn well.Both Jennifer and Kim are kind of clean freaks (hard to believe considering they both worked in Pharmacy) so they went through and assigned flip flops for everyone to wear in the shower. They sized everyone and used Sharpie pens so everyone would know which pair is theirs. It is a very cool system. And thanks to the fact that the store was gearing up for the summer season, we had plenty of beach towels and flip-flops on hand. The towels are not very thick and pretty scratchy but it is better than drying off with paper towels.
We are working on a scheduling system to keep everyone happy but it quickly has degenerated down to a locker room mentality. Men try to avoid the women and vice versa and I think everyone just kind of pretends not to look. Speaking of the flip-flop dispensers, it’s pretty tough if Jennifer is in there and Kim’s fake boobs don’t make it easier either. (I thank goodness Janet doesn’t access this blog. Note: Kim is the one in the sunglasses.)Personally, I’m way too self conscious about my weight so I pull the curtain on the stall first. Some are more modest than others. But the pendulum swings the other way too…
Case in point, Kanen barely keeps his clothes on period and he will just let the sausage swing regardless of who is in there. But he works out constantly and I think he has a tapeworm so he has nothing to be bashful about. (Want proof? I had Kim pull this pic off his cell phone. Cannot even be certain he is wearing pants in this pic.)
Most people just pretend not to notice or they try not to encourage him. There was one time where last Tuesday, I think Sharon had had enough and held like a twenty minute conversation with him in the shower while Kanen was in the buff. It was like a naked version of a Mexican standoff. Funniest thing I had ever seen.Still, with an entire store stock to pull from, soap, shampoo, conditioner and all those beauty aids are just up for grabs.
It may be the end of the world but we certainly do not smell like it…
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