Arrivals

So far, three groups of envoys from other communities of survivors have made their way here. I have to assume our extra patrols and watches along the routes into town have done what we intended, as there have been no zombie sightings or attacks from the exiles. So far, so good.

Trading isn't going to begin until all parties have arrived. That's a change from what we'd planned on doing, but everyone we've talked to has agreed. We all feel that the interests of everyone are best served by creating as open and even a playing field as possible. After all, we're trying to establish some kind of economy here. It helps that we here in New Haven have more to offer than we originally thought--there are lots of calls for fuel trades, but not gasoline. They want ethanol to mix in. Turns out we aren't the only ones to use flex fuel vehicles.

Lucky for us we have way more of the stuff than we can use. In fact, we're even looking into different sorts of wild plants to ferment to make more. We've certainly got the facilities for it. Chalk one up for Frankfort being a huge booze capital of the south. That's long term, though. Right now there are tens of thousands of gallons of alcohol just waiting to be distilled down into a purer form. We won't run out any time soon.

In a world filled with the walking dead, the last thing you'd think we need is another daunting stress factor hanging over us. We've got one with these new trade agreements. It's a good stress, because we're innovating and encouraging others to do so, and everyone gets to walk away better than they started. The stark truth remains: the more you build, the more you have to lose.

Today is going to be an even busier one than yesterday, so this post will necessarily be short. We're in a short window between arrivals, but Jess and I are going out on scout duty in about twenty minutes. The soldiers from North Jackson are helping bolster our numbers, but the majority of them stay behind to protect the folks still working like mad on the outer wall. It's shaping up very well. We've run through an insane amount of diesel fuel managing it, and we've scoured every drop we could find in town, but we should have enough to finish the rest of the project. There are a lot of empty gas tanks out there now...

Guess we'll have to send people out to scout for more diesel. Not a priority, but we should at least plan for it. Fuel may grow to be a major trade item for us. That gives me ideas.

Fifteen minutes to go. I need to grab a snack and make sure my armor is sound. There might not be too many zombies out, but that's always when they hit you in the movies: when you least expect it! I won't be caught off guard.