ME: Oh, that’s weird. I spoke with Helen and that’s where she was trying to get to before she got stuck at The Retreat.
WAYNE: If that’s the case, she should be thankful. Toledo was a mess and I barely got out. Not to mention the way between here and there was hazardous.
ME: Helen said the same thing…that she probably would have ended up dead and maybe The Retreat ironically saved her life.
WAYNE: She’s probably exactly right.
ME: So what happened?
WAYNE: City went on lock down and road blocks were everywhere. Military set up checks and barricades in and around the city. Not that it stopped the infected. More and more started to show up, ya know? Plenty easily got inside and then people were becoming infected in the city. And it wasn’t just from the “human” ones, it was rats and dogs and everything else spreading it everywhere. Then there was knocking at my door. Pounding knocking. Was after midnight and scared the hell out of me. There was plenty of panic and rioting and looting, so I grabbed a baseball bat and felt dumb for never having invested in a gun. Always meant to and just never got around to it. Would have came in handy later on, naturally. But anyways, I went over to the door and looked through the little peep whole thing and saw Pam. The terror on her face…I won’t forget that. I opened the door and she rushed in, crying and in a panic. She had blood on her shirt and all over her arm. Her arm was gushing. I got a towel and wrapped it up real quick. Apparently, looters forced their way into her and her folks house. They shot her parents and shot at her but she managed to get out of the back and to her car. She headed this way to find me and when she was running to my building some infected dog came running up and latched onto her arm. A cop shot the thing and told her to get inside. I knew what it meant, of course. Pam was going to die and turn into one of those things. So close to safety and then that dog…son of a bitch. That close. She’d end up at The Retreat with me, but I know she’d have survived it, I know that. She was tough, Pam was. And then she’d be here with me. I stayed with her in my room until the time came she died…the whole time mentally preparing myself. I wasn’t sure if I could do it but I knew I had to. I wasn’t going to let her walk around as one of those things. To not only be one but to also potentially attack and kill others, no. When the time came, I rolled her over before she started to turn. I hesitated for several minutes but then she started to twitch and grunt and time was out. So, I plunged a kitchen knife up into the base of her skull. I collapsed onto the floor and kinda just sat there in shock. It all felt like a bad dream. Nightmare. So surreal. I covered her with a sheet awhile later, and then wrapped her up completely later on. All night I stared out the window and just listened to the chaos and watched the light flickering from multiple fires around town. Gunshots, screaming, growling, screeching. It was time to get the hell out of there.
ME: I’m really sorry, Wayne.
WAYNE: Yeah. Me too.
ME: How’d you make it out?
WAYNE: Creeped my ass down the corridor and stairs to the bottom with my bat. I was scared, won’t deny it. Took me about a half hour to get to the bottom and out the front door. I put the keys in my mouth so I could hold my bat with both hands. I wasn’t fuckin’ around. I could see my car. About twenty yards away but seemed like a hundred. It looked clear so I ran for it. I got there and as I was fumbling with my keys I heard those damn shrieks and shit behind me. I got my door opened and looked over my shoulder and two of those fuckers were running at me. I ain’t gotta tell you how terrifying that shit is!
ME: No, you sure don’t.
WAYNE: I got in, started the car and hit the gas. Even still, one crashed into the driver side window and was trying to tear me apart. I jammed a thumb in it’s eye while trying not to lose control of the car. It let go and fell and the other one tried to grab a hold but fell. I had to take side street after side street to find a way out of the city. The military was gone and it was just chaos. I saw people looting stores and sometimes the looters were being attacked by infected. I had zero idea where I was going. I got on the nearest clear road I could find and just went with it. Turned out to be heading east. I had absolutely no destination in mind, I just knew I had to get the hell out of there. I didn’t hear anything from my friends. They were either dead or out there somewhere trying to survive. Any family I had left were out in Utah and I thought about heading there, but not right then at that moment. I knew things had to calm down first before I could try a journey like that. But they live in an isolated area in the middle of nowhere so there’s a good chance they’re okay. I hope they are. And I will probably eventually try to make the trip. Once everything here is totally stable.
ME: Even now, that would be a very dangerous trip.
WAYNE: Yes it would be…but it’s worth the risk.
ME: I would too, so no argument from me, but maybe someone will go with you? Better chances.
WAYNE: Hey, if anyone volunteers then sure, why not? Back to what I was saying. The trip here was treacherous. Almost got carjacked at one point but managed to drive off before they could pull me out. Ran into plenty of the infected, as you can imagine. People shooting at me. After a few times of that I avoided anything that looked even residential. Stuck to the side roads and back roads. Less people but a whole lot creepier, I can you that. Infected here and there. I’d see them walking in a field or through some woods…send chills down my back. One day I came across a man standing on the side of the road with a backpack. As I was passing he kind of froze. He looked just a scared as I felt. I didn’t think him to be much of a threat. Truth be told, I was scared and I didn’t want to be alone anymore and he looked like he could use the same thing. I slowed down and pulled over. I looked in the mirror and he just stood a few yards back staring at me. He looked like he was ready to sprint into the woods. I carefully got out and lifted my arms. I simply told him I would give him a ride. Made it clear I meant no harm. I said, hey…if you don’t trust me I get it, I can keep driving. No harm, no foul. He thought about it and then trotted over toward me anxiously, ya know?
ME: Mhmm.
WAYNE: Told me his name was Conner. I extended my hand and he shook it. From there I just kept driving east. He was a good guy, late twenties if I recall. He had been at some diner where he and some others had holed up for a few days until it got attacked by infected. He and some others made it out but they got separated. Well, then one late afternoon we arrived at a gated place looking to maybe refuel or catch a few days rest and then we were taken at gunpoint. You know the story. Fucking Victor. I loved spitting in his face but if I could go back in time I wouldn’t have. Maybe Conner would still be alive today.
ME: Can’t put that blame on yourself. Victor killed him, not you.
WAYNE: Even still…ya still think about it, ya know? I’m the one that spit on him, not Conner. He should have thrown me off that building not him. He didn’t deserve that. Maybe he’d have been better off not getting in the car with me that one day.
ME: Or maybe he’d have ended up dead sooner if he hadn’t. He was alone and on foot. He had a better chance with you then on his own.
WAYNE: Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. I’m just glad in the end we won and that son of a bitch is dead. When I thought about returning here to rebuild and set up a true refuge, I did it for Conner. So others that end up here find the safety that we had been looking for. Look at it now? We’ve had many arrive and soon we’ll expand the walls like you have been at Haven. We have something special going.
ME: Indeed we do.
WAYNE: Thanks for listening to all that. Never told anyone that story.
ME: Thanks for telling it to me. I’m going to go and speak with some more people here. I appreciate it.
WAYNE: Anytime, friend. By the way…thank you. I just realized that I never thanked you. So many would have just walked away or turned their backs but you risked your lives and lost people to help us here. I won’t forget that and neither will the rest of them. Thank you.
ME: We could
n’t just sit back. We knew the risks and we all agreed. Us good people left…we have to watch out for each other.
WAYNE: That we do, Jack. But still…thanks again.
**
Valerie Yilks is a thirty something year old with striking features and dark eyes. When she was rescued from The Retreat, she looked like hell. Face grimy and clothes rags and tattered. Underneath all that grime was a beautiful woman and you’d have never guessed it. It just shows the deplorable conditions these people were forced to live in. She is humble but has a cut throat attitude and isn’t afraid to back down from a confrontation. In fact, the night of the battle, she was one of the refugees that took up arms and fought with us to liberate them. Today we sat in some chairs atop the roof of what was once Victor’s home. Today it serves as a weapons depot and watch site. She looked around thoughtfully and swatted her dark red hair out of her face from a sudden gust of cool wind.
ME: Sure is a nice view from up here.
VALERIE: Right? I spend a lot of time up here. Wayne says I got hawk eyes and I’m a good shot, so he feels better with me on watch.
ME: Just you that sits up here?
VALERIE: No, Jeff sits up here with me usually. Sometimes Wayne sits up here with me. He says I’m his “right-hand girl” and shit.
ME: That’s good, right? Means you’re like second in command around here.
VALERIE: Damn. Never thought of it like that. Better not let that go to my head. You been up here before?
ME: Just once.
VALERIE: During the fight?
ME: Yeah. The view is much better now though. Last time I all saw was the dead as far as the eye can see. All heading this way.
VALERIE: Glad I missed that view.
ME: So what did you used to do?
VALERIE: Before we retook this place? I just mostly did garden crap, canning food and whatever else they had us do.
ME: No, I mean before that. Before the plague.
VALERIE: Oh! [laughs]. I feel like a jackass now. I was in school and working part time at an animal shelter.
ME: School for what?
VALERIE: Dental assistant. I had been going for a few months. I loved the animal shelter so much though I was thinking about changing it up and going for vet.
ME: Live with parents?
VALERIE: My dad died when I was eleven. Work accident. Last year my mom moved to France with my aunt. That’s where they’re originally from. Paris to be exact. I really try not to think about it at all. I know Paris fell fast and I can only imagine what it was like there. Probably about the same as Cleveland…worse I’d say.
ME: Most likely worse, yeah. Sorry…
VALERIE: It’s alright.
ME: So you were in Cleveland?
VALERIE: Yup. And it went to hell really damn quick. They did their best to try and defend the city but…come on, let’s be realistic. There was no defending against something like that. All it was was delaying the inevitable. And it sure as hell wasn’t delayed by much. Pretty pointless in the end. Many soldiers and police died trying to quarantine cities. They should have just left and fended for themselves. I’m sure plenty of them did…I would have. Surely some recognized that it was all lost.
ME: You live in downtown?
VALERIE: No. If I had I probably would be dead. That’s where some real shit went down. The looters trashed it all and then came the riot police and then the dead. It was just a massacre. Didn’t take long before the looters went from looting to biting. Then they firebombed the streets but it didn’t matter anymore.
ME: I wasn’t aware of that. I knew they tried to corral as many as possible into Times Square and then firebomb it though.
VALERIE: Yep. I saw that on the news. Didn’t do a damn thing either. They had a good thing going for about a week or two, can’t recall, in Manhattan though. You remember that?
ME: Yeah, I do! I remember hoping it would hold but as we know, it didn’t. I even remember sitting and thinking about it. Wondering if anyone made it out alive or how many. Hoping that some made it. I’d love to meet someone that did.
VALERIE: Well, you’re in luck then!
ME: What? Who??
VALERIE: Oliver, the newcomer that arrived here about a week ago. He came from Manhattan.
ME: You’re shitting me!
VALERIE: I shit you not, sir.
ME: You think he’d talk about it?
VALERIE: Seems nice enough, so probably. Beats me.
ME: Sorry, anyways…back to you! Where in Cleveland were you?
VALERIE: I was between the Cleveland and Strongsville areas. Jeff and I were living in an apartment complex.
ME: Oh, I didn’t realize you two had already known each other.
VALERIE: Yeah, he’s my idiot boyfriend [laughs]. We stayed locked up inside those first few weeks. We ate sparingly but it’s not like we were stocked up or anything. Water got low and we knew we had to keep moving. We went out with a hammer and some pepper spray [laughs]. I don’t know how we survived. I think we were a bigger threat to ourselves than anything else.
ME: That’s the best you could find? [laughs].
VALERIE: Yep. Sadly. We left at night and I was about to piss my pants. The halls were dark and we could hear noises outside and inside the building. We had to go down two flights of stairs to get out of the building. Some of the apartments we passed along the way…you could hear sniffing sounds and growling. I don’t know how many of our neighbors or fellow residents were infected or how they got infected. I felt surrounded and on the verge of total panic. When we got outside in the parking lot one of them came toward us. It was walking fast and starting to outstretch its arms. I almost screamed and somehow managed to realize that was a bad idea. I sprayed it in the face with the pepper spray. In hind sight I guess I can laugh even though I was scared shitless. It started clawing at its face and grunting. I ran over and kicked it over. When it tried to get back up Jeff clocked it good on the head with the hammer. It fell back over. I don’t know if that killed it or not. We ran like hell and got to my car and off we went. Slowly but surely, we creeped way out of the city areas and eventually found some old garage…like an old school gas station, ya know? We opened the door, pulled in, closed it and slept in the car. The next day we eventually ended up at The Retreat and the rest, as they say, is history. That’s where we stayed until you guys found us. Well, still there technically, but you know what I mean.
ME: Cleveland sounds absolutely horrifying.
VALERIE: It was, believe me. I loved living there, I’m a city girl, but now I’m getting used to country living. I know it’s safer now too. The cities now are full of those things. I’m sure there’s pockets of people here and there too, but I wouldn’t be in a city now.
ME: Nor would I. I was in Akron when it all went down.
VALERIE: How did that go?
ME: I can’t say it was as bad as Cleveland but it wasn’t far off. Or maybe it didn’t get worse till after we split. We were there for a bit though.
VALERIE: I’m assuming you’re gonna be hunting Oliver now?
ME: I may talk to your boyfriend first. I know he can’t tell me much else, you guys have the same story, but I’d like to hear his perspective. Then I’m going after Oliver, yes [laughs].
VALERIE: Wanna finish watch with me up here first?
ME: Yeah, sure. That sounds nice. Hard to say no to such a view.
VALERIE: Stop flirting.
ME: Huh? No, I meant the view from up here-
VALERIE: haha, I’m just fuckin’ with ya. Now tell me your story.
ME: Okay…it’s a long one though.
VALERIE: Ain’t got nothing but time these days, buddy.
**
Jeff Bell was tanned from the summer and his semi short brown hair was combed back. He is a shy man but not withdrawn and has gained plenty of confidence in himself.
ME: I had no idea you and Valerie were a couple and were together at the start of it all. That’s really nice.
ME: That’s awesome.
JEFF: I can’t explain how happy I am now. That we are. I thought the remainder of our lives together were going to be spent inside this hell hole. I mean, when it was hell hole. Not now. We owe you for that.
ME: It wasn’t all me, pal. It was a lot.
JEFF: Right, yeah. I know, just saying. Thanks. I know I’ve said it plenty of times but never seems like enough.
ME: Well, you can stop. You’re welcome. We’re all safe and stable and that’s what matters. So Valerie told me the story but I’d like to hear it from your point of view if you don’t mind?
The Dead Lands Diary [Vol. III] Page 2