The Survivor Chronicles | Book 1 | Say No! To Zombies

by Crystal, Tiffany

  She’s closer to the stairs, so we’re using her place as the new HQ. I brought over my second suitcase since hers doesn’t have wheels. The boys both have overnight bags for when they stay with their dad, so they’re already good to go. The oldest one is 10, and the younger is 8, so there’s not too much they can carry but they can carry enough to be useful.

  Also: they’re both in little league. Baseball. So yes, baseball bats. We’re still somewhat screwed, but at least we’ll go down swinging (oh shut up, I’m hilarious).

  Dinner time.

  * * *

  8:10pm

  I’m writing this while Abby’s getting the kids ready for bed. As soon as they’re settled, Abby and I are going to see about raiding upstairs. She wanted us to do the downstairs apartments first, since the trolls can’t climb stairs very well, but I pointed out that 1) we haven’t heard any thumping around upstairs, so it’s more than likely empty, and 2) the trolls are shit with doors anyway, so even if we did have to run, as long as we make it to the stairwell, we should be okay. It’s better than risking downstairs, where we have no idea if there are trolls or not, you know? I mean, yeah, we could make that run to the stairs, but why put ourselves in that kind of danger if we don’t have to yet?

  Still going to try and make a run for it on Monday. That gives us two days to make sure the kids are ready, and we are ready.

  Just have to call dad and let him know about the new development. And to suggest running back into town for things like milk and eggs. Perishable food first, dad! Gonna remind him to pick up seeds and stuff, too. If he’s going to build a wall, they’re gonna need to be somewhat self-sustainable. That means growing their own food. He has enough land it shouldn’t be a problem to set aside a good part of it for farming. Course, knowing him, he’s probably already working on it.

  Real quick note: news thing came on while we were eating. Apparently the whole “destroy their heart” business is a bust. It does a lot of damage, but it doesn’t kill them outright.

  Still don’t know if it affects animals.

  * * *

  12:14 am

  Abby and I raided upstairs. On the upside, I was right and it was deserted (also, the stairwells were empty. I’m not looking forward to going down 8 flights of stairs, but I’m not trusting the elevator), so we managed to score a lot of useful crap. One of the apartments had a bike. Another had a whole carton of cigarettes, not even opened yet.

  Abby looked up some nearby bike stores. I mentioned possibly stealing a cart out of an alleyway or something, and using it to cart our stuff. She suggested getting one and jerry rigging it to a bike so we can pull it along behind us. Not sure if that’ll work, but if we can find bikes for all of us, even if we can’t jerry rig them, we can still use them to make really good time, and they would give us a speed advantage over the trolls.

  We’ll have to see though. She found a store not too far from the ferry, but we’re not sure how the roads are going to be, so we’re not sure if it’s worth the risk. I’m hoping we’ll find some abandoned ones along the way so we don’t have to worry about it. I’m more interested in the pharmacies between here and there. Antibiotics are going to be really important, especially with the kids. She also checked to see if there was any news on what streets were safe (not many), if the ferry was still running (no), if the subway was still running (HARD no).

  Aside from that, the reports are kinda good? It appears most of the trolls are focused on the bridges and tunnels. There’s a bunch on the far north side, and the far south side, too though (we’re right in the middle). Abby said she’s been watching the streets since this whole thing went down, and she hasn’t seen that many walking around the past couple days. The theory is that most of them are either stuck in the buildings, or because everyone panicked and ran, there were less people here to turn into the trolls. Either way, it makes things a little easier on us. We only have to make it a couple miles to the harbor, and once we’re across the bay, I’m going to try and keep us away from the roads.

  Abby is balking hardcore at the hiking idea, but if we stay away from roads, that means less humans. Less humans = less trolls. We’ll still have to make supply runs every once in awhile, but if we’re smart about it, we should be fine.

  On a side note, one of the apartments had art stuff in it. We grabbed a couple bottles of turpentine and paint thinner (I always thought they were the same thing, but I guess not?), and a bunch of cleaners. Gonna try our hands at making molotov cocktails.

  We also possibly found a way to make the suitcase wheels be a lot less noisy on the sidewalk. The artist guy/girl/whatever had a hot glue gun sitting out on their counter (unplugged, thankfully). Abby says she has some shoes the boys outgrew (another issue we’ll have to work around eventually). We’re going to cut the soles into strips and hot glue them around the wheels. It’s going to be a pain in the ass, but noise is a concern for me, so as far as I’m concerned, if it works, it’ll be more than worth it.

  It’d be even better if we could get one of those shopping carts and bring it inside so we could do the same thing with it before we leave, but somehow I don’t think it’d be quite as effective. Too much metal clanging around. Unless…if we wrapped the metal parts with blankets or clothes, that might help keep the sound down.

  That supposes we can even get our hands on a cart. I mean, it should be easy to do, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much. In the meantime, I’m making a “shopping” list of stuff we need before we take off. Or at least, before we get out of the city.

  Stuff to get:

  ● more duct tape (can never have too much)

  ● medicines, even just over the counter stuff would be good

  ● SHOES. with all the walking we’ll be doing, we’re going to need good shoes

  ● Sunscreen + bug spray

  ● ROPE!

  ● map/road atlas (printing off google maps, but it would still be better to have an actual road map on us)

  ● more baseball bats/hammers/weapons in general

  ● bleach/gasoline/etc. Flammable stuff.

  ● Fruit ?

  ● Some kind of wagon/sleigh thing we can carry all this stuff in once we get to the woods/offroad.

  ● saw

  ● ax

  ● another tent (Mine will fit 4, and we found some tarp we can jerry rig into another if we have to, but it’s always good to have a spare.)

  ● hats

  That’s it for now. I’m sure there’s something I’m forgetting, but I need sleep. I’ve been up since around 11, and it’s after three now. Abby says the kids usually wake up pretty early. She’s been working on them though. Having them practice being really quiet, grabbing their backpacks and running to hide in the bathroom. Things like that.

  They’re really good. If they do half as good on the road, we might actually survive this crap.

  April 22nd

  8:45am

  We’re all gonna die. Not only do we have THREE new people, TWO of them are dumbasses, and the third is a four year old! Seriously, we’ve gone from “we might actually survive this” to “let’s just tie a bloody steak around our neck and swim with the fucking SHARKS.”

  Jason (the oldest boy) woke Abby and I up around 6:30 because he heard a cell phone RINGING. In the HALLWAY. I looked out the peephole, and yup. Movement. No dragging sound like the troll had made, but there was definitely something out there. I sent Jason to hide with Timmy, grabbed my knife belt and the crowbar while Abby grabbed the molotovs.

  Our door was locked and we had the couch pushed in front of it but I could hear the people talking. I had hoped they would pass us by, but then they started talking about the footprints in baby powder and the X’s on the doors, and ugh. I could’ve kicked my own ass. I had forgotten about that. I had sprinkled babypowder on the floor before I found Abby so I would know if there was anyone else out and about, and we used lipstick to mark the apartments we already cleared so we wouldn’t waste time going through them aga
in. ALL of the doors were marked except for mine and Abby’s...combine that with the baby powder footprints ending at our door, and yeah. UGH.

  I’m not going into the long of it. Not right now when I’m still pissed off, but yeah. New members of the group. We’re up to seven. Maybe it will be a lucky number?

  Yeah, and maybe monkeys will fly out of my ass.

  * * *

  HE WANTS TO LEAD?! He couldn’t even remember to TURN OFF or at least SILENCE his phone, and he wants to fucking LEAD?!

  * * *

  Oh, he’s so fucking precious. He should be leader because he has a gun. Mmhmm. Who has the FOOD, motherfucker? WHO has the person who knows how to drive the ferry? WHO actually has a PLAN? WHO HERE IS SMART ENOUGH TO PACK MORE THAN BEER AND RAMEN?!

  * * *

  1:45pm

  I love Abby. Scott was waving around his gun and yelling and being a dumbass. Abby didn’t even say a word. She just handed me one of the molotovs and a lighter.

  The fellows are now “babysitting” while Abby cooks us some lunch.

  * * *

  4pm-ish

  Okay, I’m in a much better mood now, so I guess I should explain. I didn’t expect the couch to hold the door very long, and I was right. They broke through it pretty quick.

  Quick standoff, they had a gun and a crowbar. We had baseball bats and molotovs.

  Cue tumbleweeds, wild west music, the whole nine yards.

  Then this little girl’s voice pipes up “I’m hung’y daddy.”

  Dave’s alright, but he’s shit when it comes to planning ahead.

  Oh right. Dave is “daddy”. The little girl is Chloe (she’s fucking adorable. Blonde hair, brown eyes, looks like a little cherub. Abby’s little boy is in love with her), and the dumbfuck with a gun and loud ass ringtone is Dave’s brother, Scott.

  So, for those of you keeping track, we now have:

  Me, Abby, Jason, Timmy, Dave, Dumbfuck Scott, and Chloe.

  Yeah, good luck keeping them all straight. I keep calling Jason and Timmy the wrong names, and I have to remember not to call Scott “dumbfuck” outloud, no matter how funny it is to see him glare.

  So. After lunch, we all sat around and had ourselves a mature discussion about leadership and whatnot.

  Scott has a gun, which is great, except that it’s noisy as hell and we don’t know how that will translate out there with the trolls. So the gun is shelved for now.

  Since I’m the one with a plan/goal/brain/etc, I will be in charge of logistics. Scott will be in charge of shooting what I tell him to shoot. Abby has the most experience with kids, so she will be taking care of them and managing our supply levels (letting us know when we’re starting to get low on stuff). Dave is in charge of keeping Scott away from me so I don’t kill him.

  We also set some ground rules:

  No yelling/screaming/arguing/making noise on the streets or in buildings that have not been thoroughly checked and/or near windows and doors.

  No doing anything stupid that will get us all killed (you’re allowed to get yourself killed, as long as you don’t take anyone with you).

  If anyone does anything stupid that puts the rest of us in danger, Scott is allowed to bash their head in.

  Two people are to be awake and on watch at all times. We’re working out a schedule for that.

  No checking to make sure a body is actually dead. If they’re on the ground, they’re beyond our help.

  No ASSUMING a body is dead. If it’s on the ground, it could be playing possum. Keep watch, keep your distance, and keep moving.

  Rations will be split up evenly. Extra rations will be given ONLY as needed.

  I’m sure we’ll come up with more later. We were just trying to get the basics out of the way.

  What else...

  Dave and Scott did some scavenging on the lower levels, and managed to dig up a couple bookbags, but their supplies are just...no. Seriously. Beer and ramen. Dave at least thought to grab medicine crap and a crowbar.

  We moved our base(?) downstairs to their apartment. Dave’s lived here for a while, so he knows the area pretty well. Scott moved in to help out when Dave got custody of Chloe last month, but he’s lived in this area for a while, too. (Not sure what happened with the whole custody thing, and I don’t particularly care, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of us surviving this shit).

  We went through the apartments on their floor again and got the guys some real supplies. Chloe’s princess backpack now holds a pink sleeping bag, instead of coloring books (seriously, Dave?), and a couple bottles of water.

  We also now have a working plan. We’re all going to eat well tonight, and get to bed early. First thing tomorrow morning, Scott and Dave are going to scout the stairwell and the other hallways. If the way is clear all the way down, Abby and I will load up the elevator with the kids and the suitcases and stuff instead of us trying to cart everything down seven flights of stairs.

  There’s a pharmacy on the way to the ferry, so we’re going to try and make it there and see what we can scrounge up. There’s also a couple gas stations between here and there, so maybe they’ll have a map or an atlas thing there. One of those road maps for all the states, you know what I mean?

  Right now Abby and I are putting the finishing touches on the suitcases. Dave and Jason went back upstairs to get the boys’ baseballs. Scott actually had a GOOD idea: if we need to distract the trolls, we can use the baseballs to set off car alarms. The sounds should draw their attention away from us. I’m not entirely sure it will work since dad said the sound from his shotgun didn’t seem to do anything to the trolls he ran into, but it’s worth a shot.

  Scott said there’s a sporting good store not too far from the ferry. He wants to stop there and see about picking up fishing supplies. I told him it will depend on the streets. It’d be good to have fishing stuff, but not if the risk is too high. He wasn’t happy, but he saw my point.

  I showed them my “shopping list” and Dave suggested tying extension cords together for ropes. We also went through and cut the power cords from all the vacuum cleaners we could find. Between it all, we have over a hundred feet of rope now. We’re still going to try and get real rope, but this will do for now.

  Getting a cart is even more imperative now. Chloe is sweet and adorable, but she’s also tiny. There’s no way she’ll be able to keep up with us for long, and we’re not going to be able to carry her the whole way. Bikes are also out. There’s just too many of us, and we can’t risk one tipping over. Especially with Chloe. We’re keeping the one we have for just in case, but the bike shop isn’t in the cards anymore.

  * * *

  8:35pm

  Chloe and Timmy are in bed. Jason should probably be in bed too, but we need him.

  We…might have a problem. The streets on my side of the apartment have been pretty clear. I saw maybe 3-5 trolls an hour. The streets on the other side of the building? We counted 7 in half an hour. The lobby doors don’t open to either side street (our building is strange, and we’re at the end of the block), so there’s no telling how that road is going to look, and we’ll still have to make it from the front door to the road that is clear(er).

  The guys and I are going to do some scouting tonight. See if there’s a way around this, and if there are any carts nearby. We’ll be on conference call with our phones on hands free (bluetooth headsets, A+ for this kinda shit), Abby and Jason will keep us updated on movement on the different sides of the building. I’ll be watching from one of the windows in the stairwell. We won’t have eyes on the backside (haha), but there’s nothing we can really do about that.

  * * *

  9:45pm

  Good news: We have a cart. It’s crappy, and it doesn’t really have a place for Chloe to sit, but it’s a cart. We’re just waiting for the hot glue to cool off, and then we’re loading it up so it’s ready in the morning.

  Bad news: Scott is a fucking idiot.

  Okay, so the halls were all clear of trolls. Yay, right? T
hen we get to the lobby, and oh look. Five of ‘em. And right outside the front door? Another three. Scott and Dave wanted to get rid of the lobby lurkers, but I pointed out that it would be a dead giveaway that there’s living people here, and the last thing we need to do is call attention to our presence, y'know?

  But then Dave saw the cart. It was right outside the doors. We think someone must’ve dropped it and ran when this whole thing started. We talked it over, and agreed that it was worth the risk. So the three of us got rid of the trolls in the lobby, and while the guys were taking out the ones outside the door, I grabbed the cart. I had to fight with it a little bit, there was a bunch of crap that didn’t want to dump out easy, but I finally managed it.

  It’s one of those folding ones, so we didn’t bother with the elevator.

  And okay, fine, I’m a fucking idiot, too. Dave and I were already four floors up before I realized that Scott wasn’t with us.

  Looked out the window on the landing, and dumbfuck was darting across the street, headed right for the street with all the trolls. I know there’s a corner store over there, but there are also PLENTY of other stores on the way to the ferry, and at least then he would have backup, but noooo, he has to go now. And we can’t call him, cause we don’t know if his dumbass remembered to turn off the ringer, and we can’t risk calling attention to him.

  If he survives, I might just kill him myself. Abby and Dave are watching out the side windows, I’m watching from the stairwell. We don’t kn

  * * *

  11something pm. I’m not looking at a clock.