Amnesty Day

Wow. Not being home has its disadvantages. I've grown used to the fact that I'm not in the middle of all the command decisions around New Haven anymore, but I still usually get a heads-up when big things are going down behind the scenes. What with all the zombies attacking and various outbreaks of crazy shit over the last few weeks, I've been out of the loop.

Part of this is because I have a big mouth, and I probably wouldn't have been able to keep this news to myself. Starting today, for one week, all marauders will be granted amnesty at any of the communities within the trade network we've established. Any prisoners they may have can be released peacefully with no questions asked, and the captors will be allowed three days of grace to move toward any distant community that will take them. For seven days communities all over the country will be allowing marauders an avenue to escape the horrible cycle they're locked in.

I have to admit, I'm kind of excited to see how it works. Word from home is that Kincaid and his people have adapted well to New Haven even with the restrictions they've been given. It's nearly impossible to live with the kind of group psychosis it takes to do the things the marauders have done. It must take a toll, and I imagine that many communities will impose punishments or restrictions of their own in exchange for taking in these men and women. I've also been led to believe that most marauders will accept them.

There will be a darker side to this. I don't see how it can be avoided. There will certainly be people who will not choose to accept a place with other survivors under any circumstances. I imagine this amnesty will cause a huge wave of turmoil among the more hardcore marauders. I can't begin to guess how that's going to play out. Hopefully without bloodshed...

I'm going to cut this short. There's still cleanup to do, and it looks like we'll be finished by early afternoon. The team and I want to get moving as quickly as possible, so it's time to finish up the job at hand, then pack. We'll be on the road by dinner.