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

by Crystal, Tiffany

  Whatever. We’ll have to see what happens. Hopefully this passes quick. I’d like to see how far we can get with these cars. Most of the windows are shattered, but it’s not like we’re gonna get pulled over for that shit, so, yeah.

  Goodnight for now.

  * * *

  June 11th

  2:58 pm

  Today has been...interesting. The storm was mostly past us this morning. It was just drizzling when everyone woke up, so we went out and assessed the damage. We already knew the cars were busted to hell and back, but the wagons got it even worse.

  The boxes we used to pack everything back at Mike and Karla’s were cardboard, so yeah, they’re ruined. What little clothes we had packed are soaked, as are the sleeping bags and tents. The tents we used the most all have rips and tears in them. One of the tarps is gone. The other one got tangled up in a tree, but Ben and Dave were able to climb up and get it down. We scrounged around and managed to find some plastic tubs to move stuff into, but ugh. A lot of the food is no good anymore. Most of the cans of formula are ruined, so I have to make the one I put in my backpack last as long as I can.

  The boxes some of the food was in were trash, and even some of the packages of ramen are no good. It looked like they got torn open, and then the rain got in there, so….yeah. Soggy noodles. Yuck. We saved the foil packets of flavor though. I figure we can use them to flavor other stuff, or maybe just as a soup, you know? Especially if any of us catch a cold after this bullshit. Yay for warm broth.

  We cleaned out the cars of all the glass we could, and used plastic bags from the store to line the seats so we don’t all end up with wet asses. We figured we’d take them as far as we could. Turned out not to be all that far, with all the trees down and everything, but still further than we would’ve gotten by walking. Knocked at least a day off the trip, so yay!

  We’re at a house now. We have to make it to a bridge on the other side of this town we’re at, but I’m not entirely sure how we’re gonna do this yet. Ben, Scott, Dave and Josh are all checking out the town.

  Mike came up with the idea of taking screens off of windows, connecting them together and making a cover, kinda. He wants to stretch it out over the top of the wagons, underneath the tarp. That way, if we run into more shitty weather, the supplies will have a bit more protection. Abby and Jason are helping Mike with that while we wait for the guys to get back. Karla and Melly are sewing up the rips in the tents. We have the sleeping bags hung up to dry….pretty much everywhere we could find to hang them.

  Now, we wait.

  * * *

  8:12pm

  Ha. Now we wait some more. And now we’re thoroughly creeped out on top of everything else, so yay!

  We’re in...well, it claims to be a used car dealership, but there’s not much here. There’s a bunch of little shed type buildings across the street from us though that look beat to shit and back...and yet cozy at the same time. Not sure how that makes any sense, but yeah. They look almost like the playhouse my dad built me when I was little.

  But anyway. Right after I got done writing earlier, the guys came back. They think they know where everyone in town is holed up at, and they found a couple stores to stock up at. They gave us a place to meet them at, then left to go scavenge some more while we went the long way round.

  They’re raiding the houses near us now. Trying to get blankets and stuff for us to use while we wait for the sleeping bags to dry out. Maybe even some food if there’s any there.

  As soon as they get back, I’m gonna move us into a house, instead of this building. It’s too cramped and it smells all musty. I don’t like it.

  * * *

  9:19pm

  These boys have timing down to an art. We’re in one of the houses across the street from the car place. Scott filled me in on what they found, and Abby and Karla are re-packing the wagons. Mike already tore out the screens on the windows, so him and Jason are back to work on his little project.

  There’s a little...college type thing? It looks like a mix between a high school and a college, I don’t even know, but it’s a building. A nice sized building, at that, and Scott said it looks like everyone in town is hiding out there. Not a bad idea, really. Big kitchen, cafeteria, grounds to start a farm, and big enough for everyone to have their own space. Not bad at all.

  The boys weren’t able to find a lot of food from the stores, he thinks the people at the school already went through them, but they did get a bunch of plastic tubs….WITH lids! The ones from the store had those flap things that wouldn’t be much help against rain. We’re keeping them anyway, though. We’re just putting stuff in there that water can’t really damage.

  Scott said, from what he saw, it doesn’t look like we’re in any danger tonight, and we should all get some rest. They checked out the road ahead and it’s a long one. He said it was packed with cars, but they were able to move most of them off to the sides of the road, so we’re gonna try driving some more tomorrow. Dave’s already picked out the cars he wants to use, but we still have to get to them, and we’re not sure how far we’ll be able to make it once we get them going. He didn’t get a chance to check the fuel gauges or batteries, which annoyed the hell out of me. What use is it if you pick out a car, but you don’t know if it will even work?! We also have to clean out the glass before we go, because, of course, they’re bashed up. The storm really did a number on the area.

  But whatever. Even if the cars only get us 10 or so miles, it’s still more than we’re going walking, so yeah. Time to stop complaining. Tomorrow is a new day and all that shit.

  * * *

  June 12th

  10:03pm

  Well, we’ve got food again, and we went a pretty good distance today. This time we had to ditch the cars cause the roads were just too crowded. We managed to avoid most of the downed trees by going around them, but the cars...couldn’t really do that. Especially not with the wagons. But hey, whatever. The sleeping bags are mostly dried out. We’re in a house, so we didn’t have to worry about using the bags anyway.

  Benefits of going through a big-ish town: lots of gas stations to raid (and even a Food Lion, hell yeah! We’re stocked back up on all kinds of food and formula).

  Downsides to going through a big-ish town: a LOT of trolls and flashbacks to the last big town we were in. We spent almost as much time scanning the sky as we did watching the groups of trolls. Had another run in with some survivors. Kinda.

  They were in this massive truck, and came speeding down the road, plowing right into a group of trolls. A couple guys jumped out and started really going to town on them with bats and crowbars, it looked like. When another group of trolls started headed their way, they jumped back in the truck, reversed and got outta there.

  Not sure if they’re trying to take back their town or what, we didn’t stay long enough to ask. We finished our raiding and left. We got as far as we could without using the roads, but after the third fucking time of having to push the tires out of the mud, we kinda just said ‘fuck it.’ We ended up following the highway til nightfall. We’re in a little farmhouse off of Hwy 95, if any of you know where that is. It’s not huge, but it’s big enough, and we plan on checking out the sheds out back in the morning.

  Mike’s already stripped the screens off the windows and is adding it to the rest. He think this should be enough to cover the one wagon. He’s gonna nail it to the posts so it won’t fly off like the tarps did. We probably should’ve done that with the tarps too, but hindsight is 20/20, and all that bullshit.

  We’re having four people on watch tonight. We’re in a wide open area, and the highway is entirely too close for my comfort. Karla and Abby are going through all the crap we grabbed today, sorting it out and doing some general cleaning up. They’re abusing the fuck out of the bungee cords. Everything is strapped down super tight. Karla took the shower liners out of the past couple houses and used those to cover everything until we can find another tarp.

  There’s more that happened t
oday, but I can barely keep my eyes open. I’ll try writing tomorrow or something. Goodnight.

  * * *

  June 13th

  9:23pm

  I remember what it was I wanted to add yesterday! It was about when we stopped at Food Lion. The place was ransacked, of course, but we found formula, dog food, and seeds! We took pans and bowls from the last place and filled them up with dirt so we can get some planting going on. It probably would’ve been better to use one of those big bags of soil, but we have to work with what we have, and what we have is good ol’ Virginian dirt.

  Actually, wait. We’re in North Carolina now. So good ol’ North Carolinan dirt. Whatever. We stayed on the highway and found a couple more gas stations to raid. Only one of them had food in it, but that worked out for us. We managed to snag a couple more tarps and Mike suggested taking the bags of barbecue coals with us. He thinks he can do the dakota fire thing from those videos we downloaded, and the coals will make it a lot easier to get the fire started. We also took all of the lighters we could find. We had kept our matches in a ziplock bag, so they didn’t get wet in the storm, but we figured it’d be a good idea to keep the lighters on hand too, just in case.

  We’ve actually made camp at one of the gas stations off the highway. Not my first choice, but we were all tired.

  I looked at the map, and we’re gonna try and snag some more cars. Otherwise we’re gonna still be walking in fucking August. It’s hot enough as it is, it’s gonna be killer here in another month. Scott wants to hold off though. Said it would be better to collect all the gas cans we can find and start siphoning gas from every car we come across. He wants us to find a couple pick up trucks, rather than just grabbing a couple cars. If we get a couple trucks, we could throw the wagons in the back and go a lot further/faster, instead of having to go slow to avoid losing them. Karla suggested getting one truck and either a couple cars or a car and an SUV. We could pack the supplies in the trunk of the car, put the wagons in the truck, and most of us could pile up in the SUV. We’re gonna see how it works out.

  Right now there isn’t much point in even trying it, with all the cars piled up on the highway, but I dunno. Josh suggested grabbing cars and taking them offroad, but I think he’s forgotten how many cars we’ve seen abandoned on the shoulders. Even if we had a truck capable of going offroad, it’d be a struggle, and following it with a car? Yeah, I don’t think so.

  For now, we’re stocking up on shit like stop leak, fix-a-flat and radiator fluid. It’s making the wagons heavier, but if we get ourselves a vehicle, it’ll be worth it.

  Alright, gotta let Lucky back in (Scott let him out to do his business) and then get some sleep. I have dawn watch. Goodnight.

  * * *

  June 14th

  11:29pm

  FUCK. How did I live here for so long and NOT realize that NC is almost as bad as fucking Virginia with the swamps?! Sonofabitch. We tried to go offroad today, but we always ended up right back on the highway because of one mudhole or another.

  Ugh. We found a truck. Only one, and it only had half a tank of gas, but we threw both wagons in the back, then found a couple cars and followed. Found a lot more gas stations, but most of them were picked clean of everything but chips and soda. We’re in a hotel right now. No power, but some of the doors to the rooms were stuck open, either with bodies or random shit people apparently dropped on their way out, so we slipped in and made ourselves at home. I’m taking first watch tonight. The guys want to get lots of sleep tonight so they can explore the town tomorrow morning. We’re surrounded by abandoned cars and trucks, so they’re gonna try and pick out a few good ones and get them ready to go.

  We actually hadn’t planned on stopping here. We were all piled in on top of each other in the cars, but we figured we could make it another couple miles. Ben and Dave saw the cars around the hotels and insisted we stop. We made the most of the leftover light and got settled, then they disappeared for a while.

  Bah, I say disappeared, but they just went out to the parking lot. We were keeping watch for them. Things were a little hairy at first. A couple of the cars had the windows down, but the boys kept their eyes open and avoided the flailing arms. One of the trolls actually managed to fling itself out of the window and tried chasing them. Dave and Ben split between the cars and damn near took its head off with their bats.

  It was...interesting to watch, but Scott cussed his brother up one wall and down the other when they got back. Accused him of not taking things seriously, and putting himself in unnecessary danger. Dave walked away mid-bitchfit which, needless to say, did not go over well. We all kinda retreated to our rooms and let them sort it out between themselves. It’s quiet now, so I’m assuming everything is okay, but who knows with those two. I don’t remember the last time I saw Scott so pissed off. Especially with Dave. We’re all a little touchy right now though, too much death and whatthefuck, but all things considered, we’re handling it pretty well.

  Anyway. Time to get to watching. Yay.

  Goodnight.

  * * *

  June 15th

  1:22 pm

  Have you ever noped the fuck outta town? We did. Today. Not sure if the running away from NYC counts as noping the fuck out, but this one definitely did.

  We didn’t realize how close we were to Rocky Mount. We turned a corner, and holy fuck. It’s fucking leveled. Parts were still smouldering. We got so turned around and lost trying to get back to the highway until Scott apparently thought, “hey, fuck the traffic laws!” and got us the hell outta there.

  I’m not sure what was more disturbing: the smoking ruins, or the trolls just standing around, staring at the damage.

  We didn’t stop again until we were well out of town, and even then, it was just a quick, “Okay, you guys saw that too, right?” and then we went back to noping.

  We’re stopped now, the guys ran over to check out a couple stores by the roadside. I think we’re gonna go for another hour or two and then try to find somewhere to stop. By car, with a full tank of gas, and if we weren’t having to make our way around the other cars in the way, we’d only be about 2 hours away from my dad’s place. We only have about a quarter tank left though, one of the trucks is down to an eighth, and the SUV isn’t much better.

  Oh, right. Um, We have two trucks, a car and an SUV (a Kia something, I forget what). Forgot to mention that. The wagons are in the trucks, Ben and Dave are driving one, Scott and Roger are in the other. Karla, Mike, and the kids are in the Kia, and Abby and I are in the car with Lucky and Bridget (Ha! I remembered her name right this time!).

  I was driving, but when the boys stopped, Abby and I switched places. They’re back now, so I’m done.

  * * *

  9:37pm

  Another bonus to being in cars: much easier to get the hell outta dodge.

  The boys got done with their raiding, and we got further down the road before we decided to stop for a break. Everything was going well til Chloe said “Who dat?” Turned around and, oh, isn’t that just bloody wonderful.

  A troll.

  We all went quiet at first and just watched. It was a couple hundred yards away, and it wasn’t headed directly towards us, the angle was all wrong, but we weren’t taking any chances. We began packing up our lunch stuff and moving towards the cars as quietly as we could when Jason tapped on my shoulder. I thought he was gonna ask if he could ride with Abby and I this time, but then he pointed back towards where the troll had first appeared.

  There were at least 20-30 more (probably a lot more, to be honest), and they were headed directly for us. We ditched stealth for speed and got everyone in the cars and took off. Roger and I were in the car with Melly, bringing up the rear (we lost a little time giving Bridget to Abby to carry in the Kia), when we heard barking.

  We had forgotten Lucky. We look back, and he’s following us, running his ass off, and the trolls have started to….not run, but they had a nice jog going on.

  Roger was driving, so he screeched to a h
alt, and Melly threw open the back door and whistled. Good lord, that girl could shatter ear drums, but hey, it got Lucky moving. He really put on the speed, which is a good thing, cause so did the trolls. Apparently they can run now, folks, isn’t that just fucking wonderful? Ugh. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, with everything else they’re picking back up. I had just kinda hoped we’d be lucky, and they wouldn’t relearn that particular skill.

  If they start talking, I’m out.

  But back to the dog. Got him in the backseat, Melly slammed the door and we took off again. We had been driving on the shoulders of the highway, the best we could, but Scott was in the lead, and he took us offroad. We managed to make it, oh, about halfway across the field to the other road before we hit something, or maybe we got stuck, I’m not sure. This part is kinda blurry. Roger thinks it might be the concussion, but I remember us stopping, really quick and getting out to run…and then I woke up.

  From what I’ve been told, Dave saw us running away from the car, and threw on the brakes so we could catch up. Ben got Lucky in the front of the truck, and the rest of us climbed in the bed of it, next to the wagon.

  The unsecured wagon.

  Yeah, I think you can guess where this is going. Truck took off, we all went different ways, and the wagon went the only way it could go. If it wasn’t for Roger’s quick thinking, I’d probably be dead. As it is, he’s got himself a messed up shoulder. We’re not sure if the wagon broke his shoulder blade, or if it’s just a really bad bruise, but we broke out one of the few first aid kits that survived the storm and got him set up with a cooling pad...thing.

  We’ve stopped for the night. Josh and Ben are on watch. Tomorrow, we’re gonna try to find another SUV or truck, instead of the car. In the meantime, I’m not allowed to drive. I’m not sure where we are either. Scott said he just got us as far from the highway as possible. There’s a bunch of trees around us, and a giant shed looking thing (maybe a trailer?) out back, but other than that, I dunno.