Wayne Gray

Yesterday, I visited my tattooist. I had given him the parameters for a new tattoo. I wanted the inclusive pride flag, tattered and marred but still flying. And with it, the symbol of the Social Democratic Party of 1932 Germany. The Social Democratic Party was the only real opposition to Hitler and the nazis (the only party to vote against the Enabling Act responsible for the authority Hitler gained to send people to their deaths in concentration camps). Though ultimately defeated, they fought hard, and I'm proud to bear their mark. Plus, it's just a badass tattoo.

Oh, suuuuure! That's what all the handsome Italian men say!

Thanks for the great message. Writing from a journal or diary requires a shift in tone and perspective, and I understand the sentiment concerning the dislike of those constraints. I don't necessarily like them in most cases, either. But for this story, it's necessary. It won't become apparent why until the very end, but it will. I know ... not very illuminating, but them's the breaks. lol I will speak to a few of your other points, too. Garrett may be believable because I have met him—more than one, actually. Growing up in Kentucky, I was in the Scouts, and we took our scouting seriously. I was friends with a kid who mirrored him almost perfectly. His name is Eric, and he's still kicking around eastern Kentucky. He raised a hell of a tomboy who now does all of the things he used to do (survival camping for fun, hikes, foraging, homemade bows and arrows, and learning to shoot them WELL, etc). You have to remember that these people are Kentuckians. They are rural and rough, and if anyone can survive without modern amenities, it's them. Daryl Dixon from TWD is only a SLIGHT exaggeration. Really. You should tell your husband this story exists. 😉 The group needs expertise it doesn't possess. And no, I won't make one person a magically capable and savant-level individual. As in real life, each has their skills and talents, and they use them for the good of all. Dr. Jake and Wayne are the odd men out with advanced degrees and training. Buck, too, considering he has a master's in agriculture. The rest are mainly self-taught, but make no mistake, those skills are essential, too. Mark and Wayne had to hunker down for a while and figure out what they were doing. Yes, they assumed at first that the government would come riding in to rescue them. But once they heard the message about the spread and that the government encouraged citizens to take up arms against the threat, they knew they were on their own. At that point, they went into high gear. And yeah ... Garrett is a tough kid. But everybody has their limit. And putting an arrow through the head of his dad, even if he was gone, was just too much. Zombies are what they are. We don't need to invent new ways for them to exist for them to be a threat. Innovating in that case can be a way to spice things up when the plot is what needs some work instead. That said, fast zombies are terrifying. But the science-minded brain in my head can't rectify the lack of fully functional bodily systems and Olympic-level sprinting zombies. No ... mine will remain slow but inexorable. And that's terrifying enough. I'm glad you're enjoying this take on zombies. Stick with me, and we'll find out where our little band ends up.

Ohhh … now that’s delicious. lol. I hope you’re impressed with the man sharing your name. 😏

Absolutely great to hear. An author can improve, and they can sharpen skills and such. But ... there's a distinctive "voice" or style to every writer. While I can't speak for others, I don't think I can change mine. It's there, like a current under the surface and buried within the mechanics of the language used. People will either like that voice or they won't. The rhythm you spoke of is a part of that, too. I guess the short of it is - I'm glad you like the style, because I can't change that. While the mechanics of the writing can improve, that voice remains.

Ah, thank you. Please, don't judge my Italian in the story too harshly. I used Google Translate for it, so it'll only be as good as the programming is. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the rest of the tale!

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