by Poe, S. B.
“It is. We have a decent water source. Some good supplies and we don’t get bothered a lot.” Charlie said.
“You’re going to have to tell me all about what’s happened since I left. By the way where’s Amanda?” Josh asked as he looked over the group again.
Charlie straightened his back. His expression bounced between regretful and quizzical. Finally he shuffled his feet below him and absentmindedly rubbed the healing wound under his shirt.
“Yeah. There’s a whole lot we have to tell you about.” Charlie said.
The Journal of Cameron Day
Oct 17
NJFD8- Ohio- predicts OSU wins football champ. Ha ha ha
LN8UN VK LI-6161 Comet watch in Australia – cool!!!!!
Oct 19
K5JN4 VK GL – 8116 Virus in Madagascar. Rabies?
7GHN6 KK *8- Medical conference call ??
Oct 20
LN8UN VK LI-6161 AUS Rabies outbreak Same as Madagascar ??
UNI88 – Rabies outbreak Somalia ???
NN79M – Rabies outbreak Iraq ???
WTF is happening with all this rabies?
Oct 21
Spain.
Radio Log
JRD2S 10/19 5995 VK 30 Ohio – Large Railhead MIL VEH Columbus RR Yard
Oct 23
NJF3D 7095. VK 30 NY – Military cordon erected NYU Hospital
Thing is spreading across the whole country. Named Marionette. Time to hit grocery store.
Oct 24
Caravan of sorts came flying by the post office. Two buses and a couple of cars being led by a big SUV. They looked like they were in a hurry. The buses were from South Springs Schools. They drove north. Most folks I had seen at once in days.
Oct 28
The military bombed Atlanta, Baltimore and Kansas City. The radio chatter said all the cities and towns are falling. They also said the military action did little to slow it down. I heard a guy talking from Atlanta. He was stuck in a radio station downtown. He had managed to get the generator of the building running again and stayed on the air until
Oct 29
Sorry. Couldn’t finish yesterday. I need to process this. I don’t know what to think. Is all this real? Did they really destroy these places? Is this really happening?
Oct 31
FTF3D 3395. Maritime contact
Not doing to well today. I am still listening to the chatter on the radio. It isn’t getting any better. Last night I was able to pick up a transmission from some Navy ship trying to make port in Greenland. The port wouldn’t let them come into the harbor because they hadn’t been cleared as infection free. Sounded like Greenland was infection free. Then I lost the signal.
Nov 4
Never did get the Greenland signal back but I listened to a couple of kids talking to each other last night. One of them was from Ohio and the other was in California. Ohio said that they were stuck in a farmhouse but they had a generator and plenty to eat. California was somewhere outside of San Francisco and was in a garage with his sister. They were trying to find their way to Washington State and found the radio. They had hoped to reach some local help. Ohio was obviously not local but he did try to help. He explained to them what he called the “zombie rules”. I wrote them down.
Kill the head
Don’t get bit
If you get bit you will turn into one.
If you die you will turn into one.
Run or die
He said that if you hit them in the head there will be popping sound. That’s how you know you got it. He called them poppers.
Ohio’s signal faded out. I never found it again.
Nov 9
I listened to a replay of the VP statement that was being played on some loop from New Mexico. Just over and over again.
Nov 11
Today was a big day. I had a visitor. His name was Toles. I can’t remember his first name. Some initials I think. JR? JW? Anyway he came looking for the smell that started the other day. He said his group was camped on the Watson place. We talked about the things had been going on. He had seen it up close. By the time he left I had too. It’s all real. That night the woods to the north lit up in flames. It came from the direction my visitor went. I don’t think I want to go check on him.
New day
I lost track of the date. I think it is the first of December but I can’t really tell how that matters any more. It’s cold.
The radio is silent. I need to clean the panels again. Or maybe there’s no one left.
New day
I am just going to just label everything new day from now on. Food is going to be running out in another week or so. I may not be able to hide much longer.
New Day
Decided to venture out today. The first time I have gone farther than the post office in months it seems. Should have paid attention to the car battery a little more. Walked the two miles over to the Holman farm. I found the Holmans in the barn. Found a horse in the pasture. The horse lives in the post office now. I left the Holmans where I found them.
New Day
Well today is the day the food probably runs out.
New Day
It’s been two days of living on the can of tuna fish I found in my old lunchbox. I either have to leave to find food or sit here and starve. Decisions decisions.
Afterword
This is the fourth book in the Marionette Zombie Series. I feel like I should speak a little about this series now that a few folks have started to read it.
I started this series because I have a story in my head. The first four books represent the first “season” of that story. As far as the rest of the series, I mostly know where we are going. Eventually.
I think I know some of the folks who will make the journey with us to the end. But I don’t really. Some have already gone that I didn’t think would leave and some have fought to stay. They are all trying to survive, even in my head. I intend to give them all a fighting chance.
As the echo of Marionette still rings out, we’re just getting started.
Music for The Dead of Night
The Dirty River Boys
Thieving Birds
The Band of Heathens
Lee Dewyze
The White Buffalo
St.Paul and the Broken Bones
Passenger
Joe Pug
Rock Plaza Central
Jamie N Commons
John Moreland
The Wailin Jennys
Lead Belly
Bones in the Road
Marionette Zombie Series Book 5
By
SB Poe
Arrives March 1 2019