Neighborly

I haven't gotten into the different signals we use to alert the citizens of New Haven about things, mostly because it's not that important and is actually kind of boring. I've mentioned that we ring the bells a given number of times based on how many zombies we estimate are coming at us but haven't gone much past that.

So you know, a constant ringing bell means incoming people. The living kind.

We have ways to differentiate between hostiles and friendlies, and this morning I woke up to the sound of a single bell ringing steadily for ten seconds. It was expected, since today is a trade day. What none of us saw coming was the large number of people that came with the caravan.

We've been in touch with the folks we trade with to let them know what kinds of things we'll be looking for as we work on the expansion. Franklin county has a lot of resources we can salvage for the new section, but some items are a bit harder to find. We've also made it clear that given our recent troubles there might be some small delays or shortages in shipments. So, with the explanation that they're just protecting an investment, a dozen of the groups we trade with sent people to help us out.

There are sixty of them, and they'll be here for several days. Normally the caravans only stay a short time, but this one is large and vitally important: a huge supply of homemade gauze and topical antibiotics, the first large order of the spring. Lots of people have had as hard a time with zombies as we have, and there are many injured who need dressings and medicine. It's worth the wait for them to make sure we've got enough product ready to meet their needs.

In practical terms, this means that we've got enough people to ensure our readiness for the arrival of George and his people and manage everything else in the pipeline. Our goods can be produced, our walls patrolled, and all the other details that need to be seen to don't have to suffer from lack of manpower. It's going to be busy and difficult to organize, but we'll make it work. We'd be idiots to screw up free help from folks who're willing to put in long hours out of the goodness of their hearts.

That, and I'm sure they really do want to make certain we don't all die and stop trading with them. Completely reasonable.

It's going to be a busy morning. I'm in charge of the group preparing our dock site where George and his people will be unloading, as well as organizing fuel and disposition of our heavy machinery, which we'll need to haul and place the shipping containers.

If all goes according to plan, they'll be here tonight. It's not that long a trip by river. I haven't been entirely honest about the timetable, mostly because I didn't want anyone to get ideas about looking for George's group. Misdirection is the best way to make sure attacks don't happen when you suspect assholes may take advantage of transitions.

The number of assholes in the world today is pretty damn high, too. I don't doubt for a second that there are people out there who would have hit George's group like the fist of god if they knew his people would be distracted and frantic with executing their trip here.

If we can get all this work done without any major incidents, we should be set for the near future. There aren't any other big projects to go on about, and the new wall made of shipping containers will make work inside the expansion safe and much easier than we planned. I'm excited. Everyone here is.

Our sincere and infinite thanks to every volunteer who came here to help. Whatever your reasons, you're fine people for doing it, and I love each of you now.