A Moment in Time

Have you ever felt like the world was holding its breath? Today's like that for me. Nothing is going on at present. No attacks by the exiles. Not even any sightings.

Not that we don't have some excitement to look forward to. There are people headed here for trade from several places, and we're setting up a section of the residential area of New Haven for them. Sort of a bazaar using the gathering area where our tiny theater resides. There are many interesting items coming that will surely prove useful for us over the long term. I'm jazzed to explore the possibilities.

We've been in touch with the folks in Shelbyville who left here a few weeks ago to settle in the small fortress there. They're doing well, and have discovered many more hidden caches of food and supplies. Their late-season crops are thriving, and as several of them are pregnant women, we've invited them here to receive as much prenatal care as Evans, Phil, Gabby and the medical staff are capable of providing. It goes without saying our docs and nurses will handle the births if at all possible.

Our visiting friends from North Jackson have received good news from home: large swathes of wild grain and other crops discovered near NJ. Well, relatively so. Within a hundred and fifty miles. NJ is doing well with food production and management considering the huge number of people they've got to provide for. They're looking to use this new boon of extra edibles for trade as well. The more, the merrier. I hope the representatives from NJ can harvest and get here in time. I'd hate to see such strong allies miss out.

Overall, the outlook is good. None of us have dismissed the threat the exiled homesteaders pose, but we won't live under constant worry, either. Well, yeah, we will be constantly worried about it. Hard not to be concerned with people who have guns, know how to use them, and think your head would look extra snazzy with a few new holes in it.

We just won't let them dictate the terms or our lives. The zombie swarms mean we already live in constant danger. We already worry about attack all the time. It's manageable if the proper attention is given to defense and keeping a keen eye open for danger. The exiles are just one more threat on top of a stupidly dangerous world.

So, life will go on. We'll deal with them when and if the time comes, but we won't let worry cloud our excitement over the ties we'll build with the other communities in on the trading. Not to mention the benefits of trading things we make for stuff we need. Until now, the barter system wasn't doing much for us. Transportation will be harder down the road, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes, too. For now we're happy to make friends, make profitable trades, and enjoy the sunshine while it's here.