Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Bloody Hills

Well, we got our first few zombies this morning. They came over the eastern hills right at dawn, which was fortunate for us since they were nicely outlined by the rising sun. There were only about twenty of them, a small group, and between three of us firing arrows at them and three of us using bladed weapons, they were a quick job.

This does move our timetable up considerably. I've already sent messages to the compound requesting they send us a bus and whatever other transports they can to get these people out of here. We'll just have to preserve as much of the food as possible and try to haul what we can. I'm hoping to hear back from Patrick in the next few hours. I need to know what they're sending us so I can try to plan out our escape.

It's a testament to these people that they aren't panicking or freaking out. Everywhere I look there are pregnant women working right alongside the men with feverish energy. Everyone, even the few children that are here, works with focused intent. I saw a kid no older than ten kill and begin plucking a chicken just a few minutes ago. He was crying while he did it in a way that makes me think he had treated that bird like pet.

When he was told to kill it, he didn't hesitate a second.

That's how everyone here is. It's by no means a perfect place. People argue and there aren't magical little butterflies floating around on tides of happiness. I suppose it's just that I'm seeing a group of people who haven't been fractured by division and conquest. There are less of them, and that means it takes a lot more teamwork to achieve their goals.

Even though the problems at the compound are understandable given what we've had to endure on top of the zombie plague, I still feel envious of these people. This is how we were early on. It's just human nature for societies to stratify and grow new tensions when old ones fade.

I've got a lot of work to do today, so this one will be short. If I have time to post something else later, I will. Though it seems like every time I say that I end up not having time.

Now to go finish cleaning up the bodies of all these dead zombies.

2 comments:

  1. Wow - after finishing LWtD:The Bitter Seasons, I have caught up with Josh, Jess, Pat etc in three months of exciting and compelling blogs. I tried to wait for the next six months to come out on Kindle, but I was just too interested to see how things were going at the compound.
    Josh's writing gets better and better - while some Z fiction is all gore, Josh makes you feel what it's like to live with the dead: the terror and hope, the frustration, despair, the imagination and determination.
    I am enthralled by this story, and so impressed with the characters and situations. Kudos, Josh, good storytelling must have begun in dark caves with bisons painted on the walls, and you make it survive the zombie plague as well in these blogs.
    DeeWNY

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  2. Thank you so much! I'm always happy to get compliments on my work, rare as they are.

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