It's past midnight again, but this time we didn't get in until late, and I need to do something to calm down a bit before trying to sleep.
As you'll have gathered from the flashback post a couple of days ago, nothing much happened after the episode with Molly. We had a pretty standard day, rotating through a few watches while picking off some of the slower moving stragglers still wandering in from Molly's screaming and the gunfire. It always takes a while to get things in this area back to a state of calm. We're just close enough to major zed population centers that some of the outliers tend to come over. Thankfully most of the larger swarms stay away, most of the time anyway.
Today started far too early with an alert from our proximity alarm and our scout on the roof. I heard my radio crack and Brian scream for us to wake up, just before the alarm itself went off. We maintain radio silence at night, but in case of an emergency, we leave them on on, turned up, and right next to our beds, just in case.
I picked up the radio and called to Brian that I was on my way and that he should report on the situation as I headed out. He called down that a group of 10 zeds were amassing outside out gate. He hadn't seen them coming from his vantage point (it's a good one, but there are some areas we have trouble with), but the first couple had arrived just now. Our gate is pretty sturdy, and can hold off a few zeds for more than long enough for us to make it back from a run, or get outside to deal with them. More than half a dozen stands a decent chance of pushing through it if left unattended for too long though. Granted they can't then get in to the building that way, but it's messy to clean them out once they get inside.
I got to the stairs and signaled Brian I was going down. Ian and Alec called in that they were grabbing their guns and would be along shortly. I told them to run with silenced pistols only. Nighttime is too quiet for loud gunfire. During the day you can hear peals from various parts of the city, so it's likely zeds will be drawn away again, even after they hear fire close by. At night though, it's dead silent these days.
I got out back to see the gate starting to sway a bit as the rest of the zeds started pushing against it, drawn even more by their sensing my presence. I started down slowly, and was joined in short order by Ian, Alec, and Crista. We worked our way down and when we got within range to make our .22s effective, we took careful shots at each of them.
It can take a while when using a silenced .22 to get the job done. There are certain drawbacks to them. The closer range needed for the bullet to stand a chance at breaking through the skull is a big one. However, they're quieter, there's a lot of ammo and parts available for them, and once a bullet does go in, it will usually ricochet around in the brain cavity rather than exiting the other side.
We dropped them all in short order, then opened the gate to inspect our kills and remove them from the immediate area. Clean-up is never a job I will grow to enjoy, but keeping them cleared out helps with morale, makes new ones (especially if they're dragging themselves along) easier to spot, and keeps the smell down.
After we radioed up to Brian to check to make sure no more were on their way, we checked that the gate was in good working order and closed it securely. I went up to relieve Brian from his watch, and the rest of the group went back to the apartment to catch what sweep they could.
The sun came up a couple of hours later and Ian came up to bring me some coffee and take over watch duty. I sipped lovingly and thanked him, and then went down to stow my weapons and take care of a few small projects. When I finished my coffee and some of the delicious breakfast Alec had thrown together, I went down to hit the bicycles and go through my daily workout routine.
The day went on pretty much as they all do until early afternoon when Crista called down on the radio to let us know that two members of Molly's survival group were coming down the street toward us. Ian and I geared up and went out to meet them. It turns out it was Molly's roommate Sarah and her brother Tom. It seems they were out looking for some wiring to fix their generator, and when they got back, they found Molly and the other roommate, Rachel I think, holed up in a fire-fight with a couple of dozen zeds. They're pretty sure the zeds must have been close, so when Steve started up the scooter they were going to use to make the run, they must have been drawn to the noise. Sarah and Tom had walked over here so as not to lure any along with them, which we were thankful for. They said their ammo supply was running low, and that they didn't know if they could make a sweep before they ran out. Ian radioed up to Crista and the rest of the team that we would be heading over with them to help them clean up the mess, and that we'd be back later that day.
When we got over near their base, there was a distinct lack of gunfire, so we drew our weapons as we approached. There were still a little more than a dozen zeds left trying to find a way in to their base, apparently as more had wandered over, drawn by the fire. We asked Sarah and Tom to draw the zeds in to two groups closer two us, as we prepared to make quick work of dispatching them.
It took a little longer, and the zeds got a little closer, than we would have liked, but we were able to take them out. Then we helped them move the corpses away and waited around a while to make sure no more were going to wander over. After a good bit of silence, we left them with what ammo we could spare, keeping just enough to get back safely, and headed home.
The sun was just going down as we got back. After cleaning up a bit, I went in to the kitchen to do my best at making dinner. Everyone claims it tasted good, but it certainly wasn't my best attempt. I must be more tired than I think.
When I had finished eating and cleaning up the dishes, I came in here to check on things and I found something I certainly hadn't expected. It seems my childhood best friend Jaco, who is down in the Philadelphia, PA area, has also managed to survive. I had hoped, but there's been no real way to contact him. When I saw his e-mail I nearly jumped with joy. I yelled for Ian to come in here so he could read it to.
Jaco, it seems, has been managing to survive as best as he can, even if he's not as well equipped as we are here. He's been able to find some connections to the internet still up here and there, and when he saw our site, he took the time to get in touch. I've asked him to start contributing to the site whenever he can find a connection and the time, in hopes that we can get some news pouring in from outside the Boston area. He's going to pop in whenever he can, so look out for him.
Reconnecting with Jaco has me far too excited to sleep. I may not get any chance to tonight. We'll see. In any case, that's all the news I have to report for today. More soon, and look out for the first of Jaco's post in the not so distant future.
- B
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