Wayne Gray

I hate baby-sitting adults. I recommend avoiding supervision at all costs. LOL They are becoming a community. They're moving from survival to comfort and doing things to retain their humanity. To me, that is the mark of a successful group, not one struggling to survive. Make no mistake - the zombies are still a considerable threat. But thanks to trusting and leaning on one another, they're managing. I will say this ... we will see that bulldozer again. 😉

Indeed. Thanks for reading.

They have grown again, yes. And you mention the kids as a double-edged sword. I suppose that's true. If they will lean more toward assets or liabilities remains to be seen, but also depends on the folks at the farm. We'll find out how that develops. I wouldn't have wanted to be in Russell's shoes. He felt he didn't even make a choice - that he just RAN. But looking back, he knows it was the only way one of them would return alive from that encounter. That? That's why he was able to carry on. Still, he hurts. I don't see how it couldn't. The watch tower is rising. Now that the cabin is done, they can focus on it. Mr. Buck is an excellent carpenter; with all the willing hands on the farm, it is going up fast. Garrett will have a fine view up there, and their fence will be a bit stronger in that corner of the settlement. But yes - we're already seeing people growing desperate and taking bigger risks to acquire basic things needed for survival. That's only going to get worse. Thanks for reading and commenting. More to come.

He did, indeed. Maybe it didn't come across, but he is still sick with guilt over losing Trisha, so he has a strong protective instinct for the two remaining. That governs just about everything he does now. Imagine it ... promising your best friends you'd keep their kids safe, only to lose one. I try to get inside every character's head, and Russell is hurting a lot. Jake is gaining experience and with that confidence. He's trying because he knows he must do this for the group. Nobody else can. At least, not yet. And Becky. Yeah, that sweet little scene rings true in my mind. She lost everything a month ago, and now she gets a birthday cake from strangers in a walled compound in the woods - perhaps the only place left on the continent with power. Perhaps the only safe place left there is for miles. And at eight years old, it had to be emotional for her. Thanks for the comment and for reading.

Thanks for the comment, Tony. There are still quite a few unlooted houses in town and at the various stores—you just need a team or a big machine to get to those supplies safely. At this point, our survivors are a well-honed machine. They know one another well and are getting better fighting at the elbow of one another all the time. No bulldozer needed for their supply runs. But ... a dozer. And now they have a professional driver for both dozers and forklifts. Hmm. Keep strong and live well despite those who'd see us erased. Make a noise and be unignorable. And if necessary, when presented with fascists in power, be ungovernable.

Thanks, Estiveo. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. There's more to come.

Yeah, I've had enough of that for a lifetime now. Thanks, Daddydavek.

August 03, 1993 Monday 8PM It has been a few days, but we're done. Well, we're done with the cabin walls and the structural portions of the roof. We spent the last three days logging, debarking, notching, and fitting logs into place until the external walls of the cabin were complete. Then, we put a simple shed roof on it. We've yet to get the metal sheeting on, but that's next, along with the windows and door. Then, it will mostly be dried in. This was our primary focus, and it paid o

The single lever left to reign in trump worked, and forced the administration to rescind the executive order freezing all programs using federal funding. Disaster is averted for another day. But he'll try again. And again. And again.

Yesterday, my clinic system had an emergency meeting. That's because we're an FQHC - Federally Qualified Health Center, and about 40% of our patient population has Medicaid as their coverage (insurance). Medicaid is how these people pay for their healthcare - everything from vaccinations to pregnancy care to emergency visits. Medicaid literally saves millions of lives from preventable deaths every year. The trump administration attempted to freeze all federal grants yesterday. And for a moment, it did. Even though he exceeded his authority granted by the constitution, the GOP in the legislative branch merely watched as this order trickled down from their despotic orange messiah and caused utter chaos in the nation. Headstart programs couldn't fund their teachers, hospitals, and clinics couldn't pay staff, VA loans stopped being approved or cut off mid-process, VA benefits for students ceased, SNAP benefits stopped (their cards stopped working and people couldn't buy food), Pell Grants for students stopped, housing assistance went unpaid, FEMA claims went unpaid. The memo detailing this overreach of executive power called out many of the programs that were affected. The memo said they would NOT be. However, what we saw did not line up with the message. Every Medicaid portal, one for every state, was offline (that's how institutions get paid by Medicaid). These are not on a single system either, each state has their own, so this was intentional or incompetence on an incredible scale. Either is unforgivable. Now, Idaho House Republicans have passed a resolution urging the Supreme Court to overturn marriage equality. I'm watching videos of "Latinos for Trump" cry because their spouses were rounded up by ICE and deported. I'm watching the GOP try and pressure Costco and other privately owned corporations to give up their DEI programs. Small government indeed. I hope that when trump takes away life-saving medical care, food, school funding, the capacity to buy a house, and deports loved ones, that those who voted for him know their place in all of this—you FAFO. Now, we all get to pay.

Jake is a bit of a wimp. He's very much the stereotypical nerd in this respect. The guys have taken it upon themselves to fix that, though. So we'll see how that goes. But yes - more to come!

Thanks for reading and commenting! And welcome back to the reading world. Yeah, a lot of this story is like that. Sad, but bright spots within the sadness. I think they're doing the best they can. See you next time!

Are you being compensated by the government for housing such a delinquent? If not, I think you should explore this option.

The Foxfire books are a treasure; you can bet this crew will use them for all they're worth. I love my copies. I often page through them, reading, rereading, highlighting, and reinforcing things of interest. I particularly like the chapters focused on building and crafting things - of which there are many. But hide tanning and cabin building will likely be high on our heroes' list. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment. 🙂

If they can figure out that line from Jake, "...We still don't understand how, but after a short dormancy, these cells all reawaken." Well ... then that looks like a possibility. Because if you can figure out how something happened, you're far more likely to know how to reverse/stop that thing from happening. Interesting thought.

Yes. The further someone is from the front lines of work, life, or repercussions associated with a decision, the more hubris there can be. And General John McGrew was (is?) a man who barked orders and expected them to be obeyed. Even with that low of a survival rate, large metro areas would still have quite a few people alive—at least initially. Could they band together to eke out an existence? Maybe. They could learn to signal one another without sound and technology. Flags fluttering from a highrise apartment balcony. Signs painted on buildings. There are ways. A family of survivors could find another family, like them. A family that has lost one parent (it's exceedingly unlikely both parents would have the same mutation to pass along to their kids), maybe becoming a bit stronger by banding with another. There's hope, yet. Though it is tenuous. The base is ... ah, I'll wait on that. Jake has much more information related to the base; we'll hear more about it later. Thanks for reading and for the comment, centexhairysub!

That may be in the cards because you're right - work at the level of a cure would likely require a complex, high-functioning laboratory and all that goes with it. We'll have to see about "lifespan" for the zombies. The longer our folks survive, the more information they'll have on that aspect of their enemy. Thanks for writing and reading. 🙂

It would be terrifying as hell for our little crew. I can imagine the knowledge washing over each person as it sinks in. An average of 1 out of 250 people survived. How crazy that must be. Many of those "lucky" families will probably think they're the only people left—if they have time and luxury to think about such things. Hehe. You may be on to something concerning repopulation efforts. That's a worry for another day, but it will come up should our group survive much longer. My muse is quite slippery. It avoided me for a long while, so I fear it may also skirt around your retribution. 😉 LOL Thank you for reading and for the comment. There's more to come.

Mmm. Yeah. That'll do it. LOL

Read on to see if you're right. 😉

Hehe. Yes, this is veeeery different. The game is Project Zomboid, and it's a horror/survival game. Essentially you play a character trying to survive a newly started zombie apocalypse. I've changed some things, but that was the base inspiration for this story. I hope you enjoy the ride. There will be dark bits, but some brighter days too. Thanks for giving it a shot.

Thanks for reading and commenting, CincyKris. We, the readers, are not sure yet about their longevity in any capacity. Maybe Jake knows more about that, but they've yet to ask, and it hasn't occurred to him to say anything. That may be because it can't change the situation, or it may be that they've not gotten to that question. But yes ... humanity teeters on the knife-edge of an extinction event. We'll have to see how they fare, and if this little crew can make a difference. See you next time.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Daddydavek. Yes - that's what Buck was trying to wrap his head around when he interrupted Jake. It's also why the world has collapsed. Even if the virus affected 3 of 4 people, we could probably recover from that. We have technology, vehicles, tools, weapons, etc. We'd have enough surviving expertise to use it too. A single person in a bulldozer could kill hundreds of zombies in an hour - no problem there. But with a 0.33-0.5% survival rate? No. Those remaining would have to hide. They'd have to try and find one another to lean on. They'd be hunted by the mindless masses around them. Yeah. That's some grim stuff. It leaves this little pocket of Kentucky the most populated place in the world. And the world's best hope.

I appreciate that you'd give it a try, Tony. I totally understand the reluctance to read something in this genre if you're not a fan. I'd probably feel the same way! Thanks for giving it a shot. I like how the characters fit together and how they don't. Jake is the odd man out right now. Will that change? We'll see. Good question concerning their water. Wells depend on local water tables, and digging/drilling another nearby wouldn't necessarily help. They'd likely be pulling water from the same aquifer, and so not dealing with a new source of water. If that's the case it'd not help. However, there's plenty of fresh water in Kentucky. They just have to find it. See you next chapter!

Thanks, kbois! I had to do a little Google-fu for this chapter. Jake is just a touch (lol) more intelligent than I am, so I have to take the luxury of time and tools of the digital age to make up the difference. They do need their own space, and so does Erin. Since their population keeps climbing, they're not planning to stop with the cabin and Garrett's tower. Having little cottages along the edge of the wall would also do great things for their security; a section of fence is not coming down if a building supports it. Thanks for the comment. As for giving your muse a call - I would, but I don't even know the number for mine. It shows up when it wants and disappears for months on end. But good luck with yours, and get back to writing soon!