The Event,

The Gospel According to Matthew, Margo and Lance

By

Thomas W. Larson

Copyrighted © August 2014 by Thomas Larson

All rights reserved

Cover Illustration

By

Ariana Patterson

Acknowledgement

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have helped in the creation of this work.  It has been a rewarding and challenging effort.  First of all a thank you to Marianne  Stefanov and Ariana Patterson for being involved in the project.   Also Beth Burke, a big thank you for the help in proof reading and keeping me from going too far astray in the story.  You all were so much help.

This is the disclaimer:

Although a number of locations in this story are real, the people involved in the story are all fictitious and do not really exist except in my mind, and now maybe yours.  Any similarity to a person living or dead is strictly coincidence.

Feb 1st

Hi, I’m Margo, your typical 15 year old girl at the end of the world. I guess I can say that because when the world still existed, before the whole meteor thing, I was a pretty normal girl, a freshman in high school. I was kind of good in the sciences and math. Yeah, I leaned toward the Goth side, and was a fan of Anime and Steam Punk, but a lot of us were like that. Then this sickness came along and the world changed.

I am still with our group, but it is just me now, I mean family wise, I lost Mom to a Zom attack while she was doing some research trying to figure out if they were bug borne contagious.  My Grandparents are dead.  My real dad, (biological dad) is dead, although he was gonna kill me so I guess that is a not a big loss and then there was Tom, he was sort of like my step-dad; actually, he was the only dad I ever really knew.  And he left me, alone, but that is a story for another day. He hurt me.

I’ve killed Zoms, we all have, and I’ve had to kill humans, I have two pelts, but it wasn’t like they didn’t deserve to die.  The first was Brother Gabriel; he was a religious nut, and a dangerous one.  I took him out with a single shot.  He was gonna kill Tom and I couldn’t let that happen. He was about a quarter-mile away and when the 50 cal. round hit him, he just exploded.

Yeah, I was nervous at the time, but I had to do what I had to do and I had one shot at it.  Sorry, I guess I have Tom’s sense of humor, old habits die hard. Anyway, we found out later how evil that guy, Brother Gabriel really was.  It kind of made it a little easier to accept what I had done, what was necessary.

My second pelt was a biker.  He was part of a gang that had raided Hinsdale, and hurt some of the people we knew, the survivors.  The bikers were on their way to mess with us. It was Charlene that really started the fight; she was pissed because the bikers had messed with her man, the Major.  But really, it was all self-defense. I had to take on the driver of the Hummer that they stole.  It was an easy shot, and really, no big deal.

Right now life in the camp is pretty boring, tedious, and well, like a rainy day at summer camp, too bad to play outside.  I mean there are some good times, and some fun stuff, but really, how often can you play trivia, or cards, or watch the same old movies, it kind of sucks.

When we scavenge we always try to find some new movies, or books, or something to add a little something to this place.  I think that this may have been why Tom kept a journal; it gave him something to do.  And that is why I am starting to write stuff down too.

Feb 2nd

The weather is still cold, and we have had a lot of snow over the last few weeks.  Our food supply is good, Tay (Taylor) and Nick watch that and says we’re good to April at this point.  Del, Code and I haven’t had to do much hunting but then with the snow it would not be much fun.

I am tired of being cold. We live in these little 10 by 16 summer rental cabins.  Yeah, we insulated them, and added wood stoves but it just seems that we are always cold; the cabins don’t hold the heat that well, and it’s just always freezing.

On the business end we have not seen or had any contact with Zoms for quite a while.  Mom had always figured that the cold would slow them down, and that their population was shrinking due to decomp.

Feb 3rd

I had breakfast with Del, Code and Captain Emo this morning.  Lance is Captain Emo, we call him that because of his black clothes and hair.  He is kind of the tech nerd of the camp, and he and Del have a thing.  Talk about two opposites, but it works.

“I need to run into Hinsdale for some computer junk, anyone up for a little adventure?”  asked Captain E.

“Count me in, somebody got to watch your skinny ass,” smiled Del.

“What about you two?”  Emo looked at Code and me.

“Sure, we can look for some anime or something, when we going?”  I said.

“Tomorrow morning?  Early?” suggested Del.

“Not too early” said Code with a frown.

“Yeah, not gonna happen there slug-a-bed, we’re on the road by 8:00.”  I said, and felt a little twinge, Mom and Tom used to use that term to tease each other, and for a few seconds…Why did they leave me alone?

Captain Emo said he would check with The Three, our leaders, but felt it was not going to be a big deal, things have been quiet.

Most of the rest of the day was spent just hanging around and listening to music.  We should probably hit a music store when we’re in town tomorrow; I am bored with ‘Death Cab for Cutie’ and ‘Imagine Dragons’.  It is sad that there will be no more new music, a loss to humanity, but after our first Karaoke night it is pretty clear that few of us had the talent to fill that gap.

Feb 4th

It was snowing today so we didn’t go into town. Captain E said that the stuff he needs can wait so we hung out for the day and will try for tomorrow.

Del, actually Delany, is my BFF.  She is a little older than I am, but intense, and hard. As I said, she and I do most of the hunting for the group, but the food situation was good so we’re staying close to camp.  It makes no sense to just kill for the sake of killing and then have the meat spoil.

When we hunt we let Code, Cody, come along, he is not the best tracker/hunter in the world, but he is my BF and a good guy. He has wicked curly hair, and it is long. He was one of the people we rescued when we were at Peru.  He’s like an old pair of jeans, a little thin in spots, but comfortable and that is what is important. Sometimes we get snuggly, but he scares me, everyone I was ever really close to has left me, they have died, or gone away and I am just afraid that…..I don’t want to be alone.

I am kind of into myself, it happens periodically if you know what I mean.  Code has figured it out and he tries to be cool about it. He knows that perhaps a little “space” is a good idea.

Feb 5th

Yup, “Auntie Flo” showed up last night, and I am miserable, I don’t want to write.

Feb 6th

Scavenging mission is on hold due to the weather, just as well, I am not sharp today and that is not good.

Feb 7th

SHIT, I HATE THIS!  I want to crawl out of my skin.  I want to hide, I was wicked mean to Code today and I know he was trying, but I couldn’t help it.  I’m sorry.

Feb 8th

The weather finally broke today and we made the scavenger run.  It was the four of us, Del and E, Code and me.  We were on the road just after 8:00 and be in Pittsfield by 9:00.  It took longer than usual because the roads were still snow covered.  I drove, and I think I kind of like the Coyote, it’s a big ass Ford pick-up truck that was Tom’s and not much can stop it.

Back in the summer Tom had taught me how to drive, and I have the KIA as mine, but this trip needed a little more space so we took the “big” rig.

“So we are looking for what?” asked Del.

“I need a couple of external hard drives for storage, and while I am looking, if we can find a few more video camera units that would be good,” replied E.

“What are you looking to do?” she asked

“Okay it may not work, but I am thinking, remember how Tom used to keep that journal of his, and Tay keeps track of our inventory, and Doc (the Major) keeps track of some of the medical stuff?”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know about the medical stuff” She said.

“So what happens if one of their machines breaks, all that stuff is lost. I want to create a data safe that everyone can back up to.”

He went into further detail on his idea; his plan was to build a kind of network hub in his lab. It would allow any of us with laptops to connect with the hub and load our files into a series of big hard drives.  We each would have a big 2 T(terabyte) drive to put stuff.  That way if our laps broke we would still have the old stuff and could recover it.  And if something happened to one of us, he would be able to get to our files to share, if necessary.

“I’m not sure everyone will like the idea of their personal stuff being out there for everyone to see, but there is some merit to the idea,” said Code, sometimes he is Mr. Paranoia.

“True, but it would be password protected to prevent that, and only a couple of us would have access to the passwords, and then only in worst case scenario, otherwise they are sealed in an envelope and locked away,” replied E.

I had to think about that one a little bit, it made sense, and I really don’t have that much of a problem with it.  It would be a good thing to save Tom’s journal, just in case.  But there was time before the thing, the network, would be up and running; so I am good for now.

“Remember to look for some games and movies and stuff, we’re kind of bored with what we have.”  I tossed out, to change the subject.

When we arrived, Del and E went one way, Code and I went the other, we had radios, so we could keep in contact. They headed toward Best Buy and Circuit City, we headed toward the FYE and the mall.

“Have you read his journal yet?” asked Code.

“Yeah, no, not thinking I’m ready for that yet.”

“Yeah, I guess,”

“I mean I want to, kind of, but ….Code, why did he leave us? Leave me?”

“I don’t know.  But he always was there for us, and I can only guess it is because he felt he needed to go along with Azz.” He said looking down at his feet. “But he’ll be back soon enough.”

“Yeah, I know, and by then, maybe I won’t be mad at him anymore, I hope. But he left me, us, dammit.”

The scavenging itself was pretty normal, we found a few things, some movies and video games that we could use, and packed them up.

We met back up with Del and E at the truck and drove back. I noticed E had a CVS bag, must have been time to restock on hair color and eyeliner, got to keep the image going.  The rest of the day was quiet.

Feb 9th

One of the things that we have noticed at night is that there seems to be a lot of little lights in the sky off to the west.  They aren’t shooting stars, but more like satellites or planes or something.  I heard the Major talking to E about it.  They both seem a little concerned.

At breakfast this morning I heard the word “drone” mentioned by one of The Three, Teckla, I think. The Three is our leadership council, they kind of run the place, we elected Teckla, Henry and Charlene to that job.  They are good people.

I’m bored, I want spring to come back so I can get back out into the woods, at least there is a quiet out there that lets me think.  This staying inside is killing me.  I mean you look at Nick, and Grace, they always have something going on with the cooking for the group.  I even heard that Nick is putting together a survival cookbook in his spare time.  Tay keeps herself busy with counting stuff.  Some of the others all have things that they dabble in to keep them going.  But I am a hunter, huntress, I do not belong trapped in a cottage with nothing to do.

Feb 10th

I would have been a freshmen this year if there was still school.  I wonder what that would have been like.  Now I guess I have to wonder if there will ever be school again, I am sure there will, I think there will be.  I mean with Heather and Stephen having the baby and all, and I am sure that eventually Jan and Fred will too.  And there will be a time when it is my turn.  What will they, we teach, or maybe the better question is who will teach?  Mom would have been a good teacher, I think.

Feb 11th

Biter and Lucy (the coyote) had their puppies today, 6 of them, cute little things.  There are already people looking at them to see which one they can pick out.  Lucy is kind of possessive about them so far everyone is just looking but not touching.

I have started drawing again.  Today it was just some pencil sketches, it was kind of fun, and I missed having a pencil in my hand.  I got so carried away with it that Code came in about 12:30 to see if I was going to lunch.  I just forgot.

E was telling Del that the lights in the sky seemed to be getting closer.  He was not sure how close.  Ethan was doing his usual freaking out about aliens, or meteors and doomsday stuff.  He means well, but gets so animated. Ethan is a college kid, and tends to be a little nervous.  He was an environmental student or something and is always thinking “big money conspiracy” that has come back to bite us.

Aliens, I wonder how Tom and Azz are making out with the QUalz, the little lizard guys. I wonder what he will see, what it is like out there in space. Did they really have to go?

Feb 12th

Another cold, cloudy day staying inside.

So what is happening with the rest of our band of merry campers?  Not much actually, we have all pretty much settled into a routine.  It’s like a little village and we all have our place.

Grace is funny, she is such a chatterbox, and a gossip, she knows everything about everybody, and is more than willing to share what she knows.  Of course, most of it’s wrong, but it is fun to hear.

Heather is doing okay with the baby, she is about 4 months along and she is showing.  I am happy for her.

Del has pretty much moved in with E, so I have the cabin to myself.  Okay, not really, Code spends a lot of time there.  It is good to have him around.

Feb 13th

At lunch today Captain E announced that he had successfully created his computer storage unit and that anyone who wanted to back up their laps (laptops) could do so.  He has laid down some rules for us.  Those rules are:

1.) Your information is your own, and you can password the storage if you want to, but you need to seal the password in an envelope in the event of emergency.

2.) If you find someone has an open drive you should not read it, unless permission is given.

3.) Don’t write in someone else’s space.

4.) You should back your laptop up every week to ten days.

It is all pretty easy and basic, and everyone seemed to be on board with it.  Most of the group will not use the space, but like Tay and the Doc, and some of The Three will.  I think Nick may, he has mumbled about writing down his recipes.  (I hope he loses the deer stew recipe!) I think that I will put Tom’s journal on there, and make it available to all.  Maybe I will read it before that.  I still haven’t read it, I don’t know why.

I guess I should talk about Laps, (laptops) there are a number of them in the camp.  I have the one Tom passed on to me.  Captain E has one in his lab, and there is one in the kitchen for food inventory control.  The Three have one for council stuff and Doc has one for medical records and I think he has some old medical journals and information on it too.

The laps are not running all the time so they do not put that much a load on our power grid. Most of our electricity comes from the windmill generator or the solar panels that were at the camp when we got here.  We have the back-up generators, but that is for the times when the natural power sources are not working so well.  We try not to run the generator to save the propane that powers it so we can have hot water to wash clothes and showers or for the gas stoves and ovens.

Feb 14th

I woke up to find a little red paper heart on my pillow; Code can be such a jerkface sometimes.  Valentine’s day, gotta love him.

Ethan was all wound up this morning.  He must have spent some time last night watching the lights.

“There are two types of lights, bigger ones and little ones, and they are getting closer,” he said.

“Okay,” answered E.

“And they are getting closer!”

“Okay”

“They’ll be here soon” he added, getting more and more panicked.

“Ethan, what can we do about it?” asked Del.

“I, ah, we have to be ready!”

“Ready for what, Ethan?” asked E, staring intently at Ethan.

“Them!”

“Oh boy, here we go” mumbled Code.

Ethan ranted on for another 15 minutes about the aliens and how they were coming to get us.

A little later, when the four of us were alone, E said that he was concerned about the lights but not that it was alien, he thinks they are military.

“I want to talk with the Major, we should maybe go back to the Arsenal and get the Sat-Comm link.” He said.

“Really?”

“Yeah Code, I think the military is doing something, and Ethan is right, they are getting closer.”

“But why the Major and not The Three?” Del asked

“Well, I think if the Major and I propose the trip they will go along with it, if it is just me, I am not so sure.”

“Makes sense,” mumbled Code

E and the Major pow-wowed later in the day.

Code and I spent a good part of the night sky watching.  There is something out there.

Feb 15th

After breakfast, E and the Major pitched their idea to The Three and I guess it was not a hard sell because E gathered us together for a ‘secret’ meeting.  Really it was secret just to keep Ethan from going nuts.

The plan was really pretty simple, Stephen flies us in, we grab the Comm thing and then fly back home, an hour, maybe a little more, and that is it.  Del, E and I go in, Stephen keeps the engine running, Code is our outside protection, if we need it. But with the cold and decomp, the Zoms are pretty much a non-issue.

We go in two days to give time for Stephen to get the chopper checked out; it has been a while since it flew.  Stephen was a cool guy, he had been a pilot over in Iraq or Afghanistan with the army.  He was a little weird when we first met him, but he put together or refurbished or fixed this helo that he found at one of the airfields nearby.

Snowball fight in the afternoon, it was almost not cold.

I am really starting to dislike Deer Stew.  Nick does a great job of making it, and changing it up a little, but after all these months for either lunch or dinner, it is getting old, the taste, not the stew.

Feb 16th

Big stir in the camp this morning, and I think it actually is a big deal.  Last night Captain E and Del were watching the lights off to the west; we have been kind of all taking turns at it.  But this time it was different.  One of the lights blew up.

“It was kind of weird, we usually see one out there, but last night there were three, and it almost seemed that one of them was attacked.  It was like two of them were chasing the little light,” explained E.

“We told the Major, woke him up actually, and also filled in The Three,” added Del.

Ethan overheard and he was off and running, “They’re coming for us, there is an alien war going on, our jets are up and fighting them.”

“OMG! Ethan, stop, just stop, we don’t know what it is, and it is still far away.” growled E.

“Yeah but…”

“STOP!”

And as often the case, Ethan stormed off muttering.

“Guys, we have to get that Comm link, and have to do it today, the Major and I talked about it.  If it has anything to do with the Air Force, we need to hear what is going on,” said E in a low voice.

“We can leave in an hour,” said Stephen who had walked up behind us during Ethan’s brief rant.

“Let’s get our stuff together then and do this!” said Del.

We all nodded and went to get ready.

The chopper lifted off about 45 minutes later and really it was an easy mission, in and out, fifteen minutes ground to turn around.  We had the link, and a few other items that we thought might be interesting from the communications room.  We also looked around for the ammo, but there was not much there, looks like the troops cleaned it out before they left the building.  We were back at camp by noon.

When we got back, E, Cody and the Major immediately huddled away in E’s lab and began to work on getting the device set up.  The hope was just to be able to monitor what was going on, maybe find some automated signals with some warnings or information that might tell what the lights in the sky were.  We all pretty much felt that the “alien” idea was crazy, if it had been a threat, then the QUalz would likely have given us a warning and maybe even some type of weapon or advice. Whatever the case, the guys are working on it.

Del and I talked, Charlene joined us, and pretty soon there were about 10 of us talking, and speculating, kind of a hen party; but it was just that, speculation, and just kept us busy.

Ethan was actually kind of funny in this. He had some very wild ideas of Zombie pilots who had evolved and were hunting down the living and then somehow communicating the information to ground Zoms that fell upon the living like a plague of locusts.

About 5:30 or so the guys came into the dining room and joined us for dinner.  Did I mention I really hate deer meat?  Anyway, they said that they have the link up and running.

E said, “We have found a little bit of stuff but it opened the door to a lot of questions and I am going to have to do some more looking around.  The good news is that it is not aliens, exactly, but there may be some AI involved.”

The Major added, “There is still some military out there, and it appears they are on our side.”

That set Ethan off, “Then that means there is a war going on!”

“No, it means that they are not trying to kill us or trying to wipe out little groups like ours,” replied the Major.

“Then why the explosion in the sky last night?” asked Nick.

“We’re not sure yet, and are working on trying to find out,” explained E.

“At least for now everything seems to be at least 100 miles from us, so for now we’re safe,” added the Major.

After dinner was finished, the boys went back into the lab and continued to work.

Code came in about 11:30, he tried to be quiet thinking I was asleep.

“Well?”

“We have some info, but it isn’t clear yet.  We have been able to access the military web, but it is a slow process, the only thing we are certain of so far is that there are drones, and maybe a few fighter planes, but why and what they are doing we don’t know yet,” He said.

“Are we safe?”

“As far as we can tell, right now, yes.”

“Is there a ‘but’ in there?”

“Yeah, we are not sure for how long, it seems like they, whatever they are, are getting closer and we don’t understand what they are doing yet.”

Feb 17th

Del and I headed out this morning for a little hunting trip.  We were gone for most of the day while the boys were huddled in E’s lab playing with the Comm thing.  We got back about 4ish.  It is staying light later and later each day.

We stopped in to see how they are doing and the faces did not give me a good feeling.

“We have the thing up and running and are getting a lot of loop recordings from the channels we have been able to search and find,” said Ethan.  He seemed to be a little bit more normal, I think not hearing transmissions of ongoing alien battles has him calmed down.

“There seems to be two types of recurring messages.  The first are Broken Arrows and the other are Fort Apache. But we are still looking at what we can find for frequencies and messages,” added Code.

“We need to talk with the Major and see if he knows the meaning of the loop messages, but I want to hang on for a little longer to see if we find anything else,” said E.  “I have an idea what the Broken Arrow thing is about, but not sure about Fort Apache.”

Del glared at him, “You gonna share?”

E looked at her, then lowered his head, “I think Broken Arrow indicates that the base or source location was over run.  The Broken Arrow message is a warning.”

“Well, why not just put that out there for all of us to hear?” I asked.

“Well, the messages would be only for those who have the Sat Comm links, other military units, so it would not help.  My guess is that there is some form of message out there for the rest of the world on a more localized means, like the old am radio, like you would get the weather or highway warning.”  Said E.

“But we never heard them at Waterviet,”

Code piped in, “Well, that may be because we never really were looking, it may have been there, may still be there.”

“Anyway, before we get too carried away I want to scan some more channels.  I will talk with the Major tomorrow when we hopefully have some more results.” said E.

I could tell he was distracted, kind of bothered by this.  I think he was hoping that we would find someone or something.

“Did you guys eat today?” asked Del.

Ethan looked at the other two and said, “ah, no, we kinda got busy.”

“Good, well let’s go eat, I hear there is a new Deer Stew on the menu tonight,” said Del smiling, she winked at me, and gave the puke signal.

“God I hate deer stew” I thought to myself.

Feb 18th

Actually, the stew was better than usual, I am not sure what Nick did to change it up, but it was almost good.

Code wandered in last night about midnight.  He was exhausted and about all I could get out of him was that they found more of the same as far as message loops.

The boys were back at it early and that left Del and I with not much to do.  The weather was not great so it was a drawing and reading day.  We need to expand the library; I am running out of first time books.

During lunch E and Code came in.  They took the Major aside and then headed back to the lab.  Del and I wandered over.

“You’re right about the Broken Arrow, which is a message code that means that the base or lines were overrun.  It was a standard term that had been in place for a lot of years,” Major Barkley said calmly.  “We had pretty much figured that had been the case early on.”

“What about the other terms, Fort Apache and Lakota 3?” asked Ethan.

The Major dropped his head, and you could tell that he was bothered by these terms.

“I know that Fort Apache was the message word for an internal takeover, they weren’t overrun from the outside, but from within.  Someone inside the base became infected and the disease spread that way.”

“So those locations are infested, no help there,” said Code, more asking than telling.

“Yep, you got it,” said the Major. “I mean the bases may have cleaned themselves, the Zoms became so decomped that they are no longer an issue.  But if we don’t have to risk it, there is not much sense in even trying to get there. But Lakota, that is odd.  I don’t know that one.”

“Well, we still have a lot of area to cover on the transmission band, maybe we can find something else.”  E replied, I could see the wheels turning in his head.

“It is probably better if we clear out and leave you guys to it.”  I offered.

“Yes, Thanks”, said Code.

I kissed Code on the way out, he smiled. I knew it was going to be another late night.

Feb 19th

The boys are looking a little bedraggled this morning.  Code never even came home last night.  Over coffee they just sat there and I thought back to Tom on our trips to Atlantic City, he was a grumpy bear until he had his coffee and that was the good stuff, what we have now is kind of an herbal type drink without a lot of caffeine.

“You cheatin’ on me?” Del asked E as we joined them at the table.

“Huh?” E replied with a start.

“Humor alert, I was trying to lighten the mood”

“Oh, sorry, not firing on all cylinders.” He said.

I asked, “So what did you find?’

“Nothing, or nothing new, just Broken Arrows, Fort Apaches and a couple more Lakota 3’s” grumbled Code.

“I just don’t get the Lakota thing,” said Ethan.

Henry had wandered over and joined us.  “Well, what is the Brainiac Squad working on this morning?”

Ethan filled him in on the business of the Comm Link, the messages and The Three magic words.

“So we know what Broken Arrow is, and we know what Fort Apache is, but Lakota, now that is the challenge,” said Henry thoughtfully.

“Yep.”

“Okay, it is all old west stuff, makes sense, cowboy movies, cavalry westerns, makes sense.  Cheyenne Mountain was the big command center.”

“Yeah, and Cheyenne is now a Fort Apache, overrun from within,” was E’s response.

Okay, well, what do you think it means, Lakota 3?

“Our thought is it is a status code, and indicator of a base’s situation is our best guess.” Said E.

“Maybe, but that does not really make a lot of sense.  If it was a status, it should be connectible.  I mean, if the base was safe you would be something like High Ground or Teepee.  If it was a case of a retaking a transmitter location, one would think Cavalry Charge or Charge would be it,” suggested Henry.

“I remember that Tom used to get these goofy dream catchers from a Lakota Sioux School out in North Dakota,” I said half to myself.

“A location?  A place, in the area of an old Native American Tribe?  Custer, beaten by the Sioux, I……..We got to go! I have an idea!” Shouted E as he raced from the table.

Code shot me a smile as he followed, “I will see you later.”

Del looked at me, and Henry, “and they are off,” she said with a smile

“Yeah”

The rest of the day was quiet for us.  We would poke our head into E’s lab every once and again but the boys were so wrapped up they hardly even noticed.

In the middle of afternoon we saw the Major and The Three heading toward the lab, Ethan was escorting them, they found something.

We started to head that way but Code stopped us at the door, “Not yet, we’re onto something, but not yet.”

“Damn”

I think I can understand what it was like hanging outside Saint Peter’s Cathedral waiting for the puffs of smoke that mean a new pope was elected.  Just sit and wait, the boys were maybe close to something, but we were in the dark.

Finally at about 3:30, they all came out of the lab.  “We are heading over to the dining hall, gather everyone up, we have news,” said Teckla in a loud voice.

We all shuffled in; there were lots of whispers and questions about what was going on.  I was surprised when it was the Major who took the lead.

“Lance (that is E) and Ethan have found something interesting and I will let them explain it to you, it has to do with the military, and maybe our future,” he said.

E looked uncomfortable speaking in front of the group and started out softly.  He explained that we had all seen or heard of the lights in the night sky and were concerned. As a result of it, a small group had headed back to the arsenal and recovered a satellite communications device that was there.  The thought was that we might be able to figure out who or what was behind what we had been seeing.  He went on to say that the lights were aircraft, not alien invaders, and the best they could determine was that the aircraft were mostly drones.

There was some ruffling in the crowd and Joseph asked, “What are the drones doing?”

“Now that part of it we have not figured out yet.  See, we have been able to break some of the messages that we’ve picked up.  They are general loop messages from the military bases around the country.  The majority of them are either Broken Arrow or Fort Apache,” said E.

The Major jumped in, “That is code for the location had been over run, either from the outside or the inside.  The last man standing sets an automatic beacon with the message, a warning.”

“But we have also found a number of other messages.  There is Seminole 2, Pequot 2 and Lakota 3.  We are still working on it but have an idea that these might be a signal directing us to communications line of an active military location,” added Ethan.

“How did you figure that out?” asked Fred.

“Well, it was Henry and Margo who helped break that, or at least pointed us in a direction.  The thought was that the tribe names were locators, the Seminole in Florida, the Pequot in Connecticut and the Lakota in North Dakota.  The number attached to them is a communications frequency,” said E.

“Have we, you made contact yet?”  asked Tay.

E, his head dropped a little “no, we have not been able to figure out the 2, or 3.”

Someone in the crowd asked what the notation of our base was.

“You mean the Arsenal?  That’s Mohawk 1, it was an army facility and…” started Frank.

“Seminole could be a Navy facility, Pensacola maybe and maybe the sub base in Groton, both have 2’s,” suggested Nick.

“And the Lakota 3, isn’t North Dakota old Air Force Missile silo territory?” added Stephen.

Charlene perked up, “Is it possible that the numbers are not a frequency code as much as a way to define which branch of the service?”

All eyes were on the Major; he looked around the room and shrugged, “I guess.”

E looked at Ethan and Code, “We have more work to do, but this sounds good.”

“Not tonight you don’t, R&R is in order for you all, you have been running too hard too long, you all need a good night’s sleep,” Said Teckla, and it was in the voice of a mother that you did not refuse.

“Yeah but…..” started Ethan.

“Yeah but nothing, you heard the lady,” said Henry.

We broke up the meeting for a little bit so Nick and Grace could put the final touches on dinner.  While that was going on Code grabbed a shower.  I could tell he was tired, running on nervous energy.  It would not be a late night for him.

Ah, dinner…..did I ever mention I really am tired of deer stew.  But tonight we did have a new creation with it, some kind of nut bread; actually it was kind of good, though dry.

Feb 20th

I have not talked about some of the other members of our group in a while, and I really don’t spend all that much time paying attention to them or what is going on in their lives.  But there are some things that go on that you can’t just ignore.

The best example is the baby, well not a baby yet, but Heather’s soon to be baby.  She is almost 5 months along and there are questions and concerns about that, like what will the baby be normal, or infected or deformed?  There is no way of telling, it is not like we have an ultra sound set up.  The Major, Doc Barkley and Charlene do the best they can to monitor things, but well, they just can’t tell.

One of the things that I left behind was church.  That really happened more when Meme died, she was the one who would make certain that Matt and Tanya would have a service every Sunday and was always on my case to attend.  Since she has gone it is ….well, not that important to me anymore.  I go every once and a while.

Matt and Tanya do a nice service.  They don’t ram God down our throat, but there is always the parable or lesson of the Lord that pops up in almost every situation.

Jan and Fred still seem to still be on their honeymoon, and they seem happy, but so far we have heard no baby stuff out of them.  I think that part of that may have to do with the situation with Heather.  Let’s get one born and see how it goes.

It’s funny how you start thinking about one thing and it leads you to another.  I wonder how Ron, is doing, he was off with that other group and they were heading toward Ohio.  It has been a while and well, I was just thinking about that because he was Fred’s best man.

The boys were back at it early again today, that is why I am going to do a little drawing, I’m bored.

Feb 21th

I wanted to load Tom’s journal onto the central drives that E created, but when I walked into the lab, it was a hornet’s nest and I figured it would be better to back out slowly.  From what I saw they had gone with the assumptions of military branch codes and were trying to reach other units.  They were doing the 1’s first, figuring that army to army would be the smart way to go.  But I was under the impression that they were not getting very far and weren’t very happy about it.

I guess I should start to read his journal, I think I will have some time for it.

Feb 22nd

I was up late last night with Tom’s Journal, it is an interesting read, I understand and remember some of it, but see it, saw it different than he did.

The Boys are beat, spent all day yesterday trying to reach different Sat-Comms listed in the contact list of the computer.  There is no correspondence to any particular base, so it is hit or miss and there are a lot of frequency addresses.

I want to draw a little and think.

Feb 23rd

1n reading Tom’s journal I just realized it has been a year that we have been out here, a year since the meteor started all this.

Got to run, the dinner bell is ringing, this is bad.

The bell is our “shit hit the fan” signal and the reaction was to head to the Dining Hall for instructions or preparation or whatever.  When we got in, Teckla quickly told us that it was not anything to panic over, but we needed to talk and we needed to do it quickly.  Then she turned it over to the Major and E.

E started, “We made contact.  There is still a military left, small, but they are out there.  We were right with the numbers, and the tribal locations.  The frequencies were just a case of finding someone on one of them and then we were given the key to the rest of the bases.”

“There are operational bases that are on the links.  The Air Force has one in Minot, North Dakota, Marines have one in Key West, Florida and the Navy has one in Groton, Connecticut.   We have been in contact with the Groton base, actually it is a submarine that is at the base for refit and was trying to get food and water supplies.  Then they are going to break for open water again.  There are a number of other naval ships out there, mostly subs that have not been infected.  Most were on deep runs when the meteor and infection hit,” added the Major.

Henry spoke up, “We are the first civilians with contact to the military, although we’re now considered militia; we’re not under orders or obligations to the military, beyond helping them out if we can.  We are not drafted, or anything like that. They consider us non-combatants, which is good.  But we are an intel source for them and they have opened up some resources of information to us.”

“And this is where it gets interesting.  We told them about the lights in the sky.  The good news is that it is not alien invaders that are coming to eat us, it is drone activities. The military has managed to get a small fleet of Predator A drones up into the air and is using them on hunt and destroy missions,” the Major informed us.  He had been allowed access to information after his rank and ID info was verified.

“But who are they hunting and destroying?” asked Ethan.

“Yeah, that is the problem, those are the other lights, Major, please continue,” said Charlene.

The Major looked thoughtful for a moment then started, “Well, a few years back the idea of a plague, was discussed and planned for by the CDC and the various health agencies.  In doing so, they enlisted the aid of the military for both a means to neutralize the threat, the infected with minimal risk to humans who were uninfected.  As a result, there was the development of two types of robotic machines.  There was development of the Hunter A and the Hunter G.”

Del whispered, “I’m not liking where this is going.”

“I know,” I whispered back

The Major looked at us briefly then continued, “It did not go well.  The hunters were based on existing technology with a couple of twists.  The Hunter A (airborne) was based on the Predator A.  The Hunter G (ground) was based upon what was basically a small robotic like vehicle that has been used for IED detection in Iraq.  That was not bad.  They had been retrofitted with special weapons and equipment.  They shot small ball bearings about the half the size of a marble.  Their guns were laser sighted and programed for headshots. In any disease situation that was the quickest, most effective and painless means for the kill, so far, so good.”

“The devices were designed to carry large numbers of ball bearings (like thousands) with the capability to automatically reload their magazines if they found refit stations that had some kind of sync software.  They were also solar powered which meant that as long as the sun was shining they were powering up, still not necessarily a bad thing.” He continued.

“The problem was, or is, in the detection software.  The CDC had somehow created a virus detection sensor that could sense the virus at a distance of up to 500 yards.  The how of the tech is not all that important, the problem was and is that we are all infected.  So even though we are asymptomatic, we are all valid targets in the “eyes” of the hunters.”

That created a stir in the group for sure.

“What can we do?” asked Joseph

“Before we get to what we can do, let’s talk about what is being done,” added Henry, clearly The Three had been briefed before the meeting.

“Right now, the lights we are seeing are the military Predator A’s and a few remaining military aircraft pursuing and shooting down any of the Hunter A’s that they find.  But there are not a lot of Predators and most are in the Mid-West.  What we have been seeing are some of the fringe activities that are in western NY and Pennsylvania,” explained the Major.

“Are they getting closer?” asked Ethan.

“Yes, they are and we might soon see some in our area, so we need to be ready,” he added

“What about the ground ones?” Nick asked.

“Those we think we’re pretty much okay with them, there may be a few on this side of the Hudson, but for the most part they would not be able to cross the river easily,” E told us.

Things pretty much wound down after that and we talked a little but nothing new or significant came out of it.

E and the Major did take Del and I aside, along with Matt and gave us some information that would help us use the 50 Cal sniper rifles against the hunters and also how to identify them from the good guy Predators.  The identifying was really easy, the Predators (Good Guys) had been painted up in a bright rocket orange, and there was no need to camouflage them.  So if it was a drone, and was not orange, shoot it down.

But shooting them down was not quite so easy because they were a moving target.  If you could get them while they are coming at you, it was a nice clean shot, but, they would be shooting back.  Taking them from the back was easy as they were flying away.  The side shot was the safest but also the most difficult because of the moving, you had to figure on leading them and shoot at where they would be, not where they were.

According to the information that was given by the submarine people you can kill these things by a hit on the engine compartment, or taking off one of the main wings, something a 50 Cal bullet can easily do.  Or you can render them blind and basically harmless by taking out the small sensor pod that is on the bottom of the drone in the front.

“Piece of cake” I thought sarcastically.

“We need to go back up to Hinsdale and revisit my old base,” said the Major, “We had some Kevlar helmets up there which should give some protection from the metal balls.  It may not stop them completely but will prevent the fatal head shot in most cases.”

“Del and I will head out within the hour,” I said

“No, we need to keep you two close by, you are our ace up the sleeve, as is Matt, We are sending Mark and Joseph,” said Henry.

“Oh, I bet Teckla is not happy about that choice,” I thought.

Feb 24th

Mark and Joseph left early this morning in the Hummer. It was supposed to be an easy trip but about an hour into the trip we got a radio call, they had found something and were asking for medical help and a few more people.  After a few more questions, the biggest one was who was hurt, things calmed down a little.  It wasn’t one of them that had been hurt.  They had found Ron and one of the girls that he had left with.  Ron was okay but the girl was not, she had taken a ball bearing to the head and was in and out of consciousness.

Fred, Charlene and Matt mounted up and headed on up to Hinsdale.  The Major wanted to go, but they felt it was too risky, and he is too valuable.  An hour later they were back in camp and the Major and Charlene were working hard to save the girl.

Ron was brought into the dining area and Henry and Fred asked him what happened.

“We never expected it, we were all just walking along and then these things, robots just started shooting at us.  They got Terry and Andrea right off before we even knew what was going on.  Karen, Jill and I started running, we hit the woods, the robots did not move so well in the woods,” started Ron.

“Where were you when this happened?” asked Henry who had kind of taken the lead in this.

“We were in Pennsylvania, about halfway through, we had been following the turnpike, figured it was the easiest going, and would cut time with the tunnels through some of the mountains.”

“So what happened from there?” asked Henry.

Ron continued, “We got to a little north of Allentown and were kind of hunkered down, our supplies were getting low and we needed food, badly.  We hadn’t seen any of the little tanks in days so we figured we were safe.”

“Hunter G’s, they’re called Hunter G’s” interjected Ethan.

“Yeah, well, we figured we were okay, so the plan was to grab some food and then head back here.  We scavenged a couple of snowmobiles. It went fine at first, but after we loaded up and started back toward here we ran into a couple more of those things, Hunter G’s?  We tried to get away but Jill took one to the head ….. we knew, …. she was gone.”

At this point Ron became kind of emotional, this part was hard for him.

“Yeah, we just found out about them a day or so ago, tech gone wild.” explained Henry.

After a few sips of coffee Ron went on, “Karen and I made a break for it on the remaining snowmobile, almost made it, she…..she took a hit. She had a helmet on, and that may have saved her, Jill didn’t.  I felt her shutter, she was on the back of the snowmobile, but she seemed to be holding on to me, so I rode, and rode for hours, until we ran out of gas.  We had taken to the woods so I think, thought we were pretty safe.”

There was another long pause as he relived the events and composed himself.

“When we stopped I got up, and she fell over, blood trickling down her face, she was breathing, I saw the hole in the helmet.  I….didn’t know what to do at first.  I took off the helmet, the bullet fell out and there was a hole, on the side of her head.  It was not a deep hole, but ….”

Matt stepped in here, and the compassion in his voice was amazing, “Ron, you have done the right things, you have helped her, and we will all pray and join together for her.”

“I know, it’s just…..”

“You are here, safe now, and they will help her,” added Nick.

“I carried her the rest of the way to Hinsdale, where Mark found me, us.”

The door of the dining hall opened and Charlene came in, “Does anyone here have type “O” blood?”

Several raised their hands, Nick, Fred, Jan, and a couple of others.

“We need to work on some transfusions, she is alive, but lost a lot of blood.”

They all left, and Ron just sat, with Matt and Tanya.

“If she live, God, let her live, I will be your servant till the end of time,” said Ron.

“Del, Code, we need to get ready, we need to keep watch,” I said.

“Yep!”

So with Kevlar helmets and flak vests we took up shifts watching.  It was not just the three of us, but everyone took turns, even Nick and Grace did shifts.

Feb 27th

We’ve all been at it pretty hard over the last few days, watching, and thinking about what the government had done to us.  It was on the surface not the worse idea ever and actually if it was not for that fact that we all had the virus or whatever it might have been a good plan.

We have seen the lights at night, and we have seen, or imagine that they appear to be getting closer. But we haven’t seen any more blowing up midair.  We are getting a storm tonight so it is unlikely that we will see much.

Karen is hanging on; she is still out, in a coma. The Major seems to feel that she was getting stronger and may try to wake her up in the next few days.

One of the things that someone brought up was the idea that there may have been some kind of anti-aircraft weapons systems like some hand-held missile thing in the arsenal somewhere.  But to find them we would have to search the place, and the general feeling is that wandering too far from home and especially on the other side of the Hudson would be very risky.  The only person who might know for sure, and make it an easy go-grab was out in space, and we don’t have a way to talk to her.

Feb 28th

A late season snowstorm, great, and it’s cold again.

At breakfast I was talking to E and Del about the missile thing.  It was Code who said, “Maybe we can talk with Asuna.”

We all looked at him as if he had two heads.

He kind of blushed and looked down, “Well, remember just before the Krezz showed up we had those clicking noises, and then the radio messages where she and the lizard guy talked?”

“I see where you’re going with this, but we would have to send a broad range signal, and it could take hours or even days before they heard it, if they’re even listening,” E said thoughtfully.

“We got nothing to lose by trying.” Code piped in.

“We could send a recorded loop message; say every hour, asking for a reply.  It might work,” offered E.

“You think it will work?” asked Del.

“Really? I doubt it, but like the man said, we got nothing to lose,”  E said with a smirk.

Later that day the message for contact began to be beamed into space, every hour, on the hour.  “Camp Romanica to Krezz, come in please, we need help. Must talk with Asuna.”

March 1st

There has been no reply from the lizard guys, but as E explained, the message we sent could take days, maybe even weeks to get to them and even longer to get back to us, it really depended on how fast they were moving away from earth.

Karen is awake, weak, but awake.  She seems to be okay, but the Major can’t tell for sure yet.  She is still restricted to bed and although she can talk, there was a lot of damage done by the ball bearing.  They had to remove her left eye, and some of the facial bones which were badly shattered.

The watching continues.

It has been cloudy the last few days so we have not seen much, we can’t tell if they are getting closer.

I am getting edgy again, not just because of the idea of the Hunters, but because…

March 2nd

I kind of jumped ugly with Code this morning, he said something stupid, and well, I just let go.  I apologized to him, and he understands.  He is good that way.

No word from space, Asuna, or the Krezz.

Not feeling like writing or sketching much today, just want to sleep, and my stomach hurts.

March 3rd

Feeling better today, not so puffy.

It was actually kind of warm so a little walk sounded good.  Almost forgot my helmet, Guess that will take some getting used to when we are outside.

E has sent a second message out to space asking if Asuna knew about any hand held anti-aircraft missiles or things in the Arsenal, still no word back.

Code and I sky-watched last night, we didn’t see any drones or lights.  But it was a full moon and that kind of messes with the chance to see long distance stuff.

Ate like a little piglet tonight, Nick changed up the deer stew to some rabbit, we had brought him a bunch that had been cured and tucked away.  It was awesome.

March 4th

Message from space, It was Asuna, she told us there were about 10 stinger missile launchers at the Arsenal and where they were.  I could hear Tom in the background

“Ask them what is going on, why do they need them!  I should never have left.”

She did ask the question but we knew they would not get it right away.

E explained what was going on with the Hunters in a return message but knew it would take time for delivery.

It looks like we have a mission, gonna visit the Arsenal.

It is going to be pretty much the same routine as when we went in for the Sat-Comm.  Stephen would fly us in, we go quick, get our goods and out the door.  That should be easy, but this time it was going to be a case of arming the chopper.  We need to be able to fend off the Hunters if we see them and we will be on the west side of the Hudson, so we could see both type.

Stephen will fly the mission, Mark, Joseph and Code are going in.  The door gunners are going to be Taylor and Henry.  Del and I wanted to go, but The Three wouldn’t let us, “You are our best home defense right now, we can’t leave ourselves defenseless.”

It made sense, I wonder, WWTD, it was being smart for sure.

March 5th

We met our first Hunters today, it did not go well, and we lost Henry. They were successful in getting the stinger missile launchers at the Arsenal, and figured we had it made.    As they were loading up a Hunter G was just there, it hit Henry before anyone realized it, it was kind of a lucky, well unlucky shot, got him in the back of the head.  The Major said the marble snapped his neck right at the base of the skull.  It was quick.  Tay killed the Hunter.

Quiet at the camp, Henry was a great guy, helped keep us alive with the food. We are going to miss him.

March 6th

Matt and Tanya did a great job in saying goodbye for us all.  That is the hardest part of the world now, we are all so close, so interconnected, and its like a part of you dies when we lose someone.

Code and I spent the day together, just holding each other and enjoying the moment, the time we had, one just never knows, we live on the edge of a knife.

March 7th

We started doing the morning run and sword work again, the weather has improved and the loss of Henry was a motivator.  I want my fighting edge back.  I never really lost it, but the focus was not there like it was.

Code and I were doing drills with the wooden practice swords and well, I think the frustration just snapped and we really beat each other up good.  There will be bruises, and there was blood.  Del finally had to put a stop to us fighting.

Tanya has taken Henry’s slot on The Three.  She is a good choice.  She fills in for the common sense and compassion side that Henry brought to that group.  Teckla was the muscle, Charlene was the negotiator and well Henry, was the soft side of reason.

Deer Stew with acorn bread for dinner tonight, but it was a quiet meal.

Code and I watched the sky tonight for a while, it was our turn.  I saw some lights and just wanted to shoot the shit out of them.

March 8th

Alarm bell early this morning, 6ish.  As we ran to the dining hall, thoughts were running wild.

“We have gotten a radio call a few minutes ago.  It was Tom’s cop friends from Winter Love.  They are on their way here, should arrive very soon,” said E.

“They are under attack and have lost some people, and some people are hurt,” added the Major.

There was a lot of muttering, finally, “Who attacked them?” asked Matt.

“They said it was airplanes, I think it may have been Hunter A’s,” said E.

“But they are being pursued by Hunter G’s also” added Teckla.

“I want me some of them,” I thought to myself as I looked over at Code, and then Del. They looked back and nodded with grim smiles, payback time bitches!

“How long, what direction?” I asked.

“We think they are about an hour out, coming from the North.”

“Okay, what is the plan?” said Matt standing up, ready to head for the door.

All eyes were on Teckla.

“We’ll try to help them the best we can, we have to take down the A’s as quick as possible, Nick, Frank, Tay, Mark, you get those stingers ready, we only have six so make them count.”

One of them said; “Got it”

“Matt, you and the Huntresses go after the G’s, and if you get a shot at an A, take it.  But remember, no heroics, we do what we can for them, but we take care of our own first.”

Matt just nodded.

“Let’s roll.”

We all raced to get our gear and get moving.  We, the 50 Cal crew figured that we would move out of camp about a half mile to the north.  This gave us a cushion to intercept and also would limit the mobility of the G’s.  Most likely the Winter Group would be coming down the main road to camp so we stationed ourselves figuring or hoping that the G’s would be following.

Code was mumbling, “The G’s can’t cross the river they said, they shouldn’t be a problem they said, Crap!”

It was about 20 minutes before the first pickup truck raced by; I could see a driver, and blood spatter on the inside on the windshield.  This did not look good.  I think there may have been someone in the back of the truck, but I was not sure.  A couple minutes later a second truck came through, driver, only a driver and it looked like a gun barrel sticking over the back of the tailgate.

As fast as the truck was going, the two G’s were close behind.  They seemed to have a lock on the target but a metal plate behind the driver was deflecting the marbles.  Whoever was in that second truck was running rear guard for the first one.

Matt and I fired simultaneously and suddenly there were two smoking, flaming G’s in the middle of the road.

We waited, and listened.  We could hear the sounds of trucks getting softer in the distance.  Then, there was nothing.

We waited, then a whirl, it was an A.  I lined up my shot.  It was Code who became the first to kill an A.  He took off the left wing and it crashed to the ground.

We waited.

Another G arrived shortly, but this one was pretty messed up, it had taken a lot of gunfire and had been unable to keep up with the other two.  When the remaining Hunter reached the two that had been reduced to burning heaps, it stopped.  It just went inactive.

“Perimeter, they are here, we have the trucks. Said they had two G’s and an A in pursuit. Status?” came over the radio.

Matt answered; “Two G’s killed, an A down, but we have a third G here, it is pretty busted up, and it just stopped when it reached the dead ones.”

“That is weird,” it was E.

“Yeah, it was like it just gave up.”

“Be careful, I don’t like this.”

“Tell me about it.  Should I kill it, or can we try to capture it?”

“Wow, good question, can you? safely?” asked E.

In the background I heard a couple of voices “Are you nuts?, no way!”

“Hold on, we are talking about it.”

Code piped in, “I think we can get it safely from the left side, and if it starts to get funky we can kill it before it can hurt us.”

Matt and Del gave him thumbs up.  I was not happy with this idea.

Code broke cover from the left and as he did so the G began to shake a little, like it was powering up, but before it could even move, a third truck from Winter Love hit it from behind and knocked it over.  Its weapon was pointed harmlessly into the air.

The guy in the SWAT suit got out of the truck and walked to the disabled Hunter, he pulled out his 45 and aimed.

“No, we need it!” shouted Matt, but too late, bang, sensor destroyed.

We broke cover and headed toward the truck and the SWAT guy.

“Did anyone get through to you?” he asked.

“Yeah, two trucks made it, not sure about numbers but two got through”, Del said.

“We wanted that machine, we wanted to examine it” said Matt.

“It and friends fucking killed 10 of my people, it was personal”.

It went downhill from there, but in the end, we loaded the G up onto his truck and Matt rode back to the camp with him.  Del, Code and I hung out for a little longer before we headed back.  We had no further contact with Hunters or Winter Love people.

March 9th

By the time we got back, yesterday, it, the camp, was in an uproar.  The Major and Charlene were trying to deal with the injured.  Let me back up a little.  In the first truck, it was driven by a woman called Langley. That truck had four people in it.  One in the bed of the pick-up was alive, and had taken a hit from a marble.  By some stroke of luck it had hit him in the face and only shattered a cheek bone.  The other person in the back of the truck was dead. The person in the passenger seat had been trying to get a shot off through the back window and took a hit.  There was nothing that could be done for him.

Both people in the second truck made it through okay and were un-injured.  Sadly, we found out that there had been two other trucks that had tried to make the run.  Both had been targeted by A’s and didn’t make it.  The last truck to get through was the one with a guy named LJ, he was the SWAT guy.  He was sort of the rear guard, but when he stopped to try to check on the two trucks for survivors the G’s got by him.  He was trying to catch up to the rest of the group. So of the group from Winter Love, only 5 made it, 5 out of 20.

What to do next.  Do we run, do we vacate the camp, or do we hunker down and wait to see what will happen?  LJ and Langley wanted to know where Tom and Henry were, they knew them from when the groups had met in Winter Love.  They were saddened by the loss of Henry and confused by the Tom thing.

“Space, he went into outer space with a bunch of lizard men and that Asian chick?” said LJ, shaking his head.

“It’s a long story” explained Teckla, “and right now, not one that needs to be told.  We need information from you, and quickly.”

“What do you mean?” asked LJ.

“How many Hunters were there?  How many A’s and how many G’s?”

“Hunters? G’s? A’s?”

“Robots, how many robots, ground type and air type” Ethan added, a little flustered.

“Oh, I think there were 8 ground types and 4 air types.  We thought that when we took out the leader it would stop.”

“Leader?  What leader?”

“There was one, it was flying around them, it seemed like it was trying to herd them, and we figured that it was their command drone and we focused on it first, we managed to shoot it down,” said LJ with pride.

E, with a sour look on his face said, “It was orange wasn’t it.”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

There was a collective sigh, and Teckla finally said, “That was a good guy, it was trying to save you.”

“What?”

E explained the differences between the different machines and what their purposes were.

“How could we know? I, it seemed, I mean” stammered LJ.

“I know, it is unfortunate, but I understand’” said Teckla.

LJ was left muttering to himself.  Langley took up the story about the events of the attack and what happened.

“It was about a week ago.  We had noticed the lights in the sky and wondered, we thought maybe the Air Force was back in action and was trying to make contact or help people out. We heard stuff on our radios but nothing specific.  It was pretty much business as usual for us.” She began.

“Then three days ago while they were out on a hunting party a couple of our people came across these tracks, like ah, little tank tracks in the snow.  They followed them and found a machine, it was not moving, it was just there.  It looked like a cross between Wall-e and a bomb disposal robot.”

“That sounds like a G’s for sure,” exclaimed Ethan.

“Yeah, well, we did not know that,” grunted Langley.

“So like a bunch of assholes we took our big ATV out there and picked the fucking thing up and brought it back to our camp!” said LJ.

“Oh, that was not good,” I thought to myself.

Langley continued, “We left it in the middle of the camp, thought nothing of it. And then when we got up two days ago, it had moved a little, and as Timmy G walked out of his cabin, it shot him.  It began to turn to another, Sarah, I think, she shouted, but it got her too.  But we were aware now, and were able to shoot it, kill it.”

“We did what we could for the two of them, but it was too late, both had taken head shots, we looked at the robot, and figured out it had that air-gun kind of thing.  As we were looking at it, the air robots showed up.”

“The A’s”, muttered Ethan.

“Yeah, and they started to do air to ground attacks on us.  We fought back the best we could, and took the orange one down first.  We were able to get a couple of more of them and then made a break for it in the trucks, those of us who could.” Said LJ

“We still had two air machines chasing us, as we drove, and about a half mile out of town we were attacked by the first of the ground machines, the Wall-e things” continued Langley.

“The G’s” said Ethan, everyone turned toward him with a look of just be quiet.

“Yeah, G’s, we saw 7 or 8 of them, and just drove like hell, we killed a few, and they hurt us, and in the end there were a couple of them that  just would not give up, and we had nothing left to fight them with.  We thought if we could make it to you it might, well, we might make it.”

“We radioed ahead, Dave, the guy next to me, did that, I……” she choked back a sob.

“We found you and you pretty much know the rest” said LJ.

There were many side conversations and meetings after that.  We needed a plan, just in case more Hunters showed up, and we needed to contact the Pittsburgh, and try to let them know what had happened.

“There weren’t supposed to be G’s on this side of the Hudson, what the hell were they doing here?” Muttered Ethan, a thought we all shared.

“Don’t know, I have to talk with someone, someone on the Sat Net” replied the Major.  He had clearly stepped up into the War Chief role.

“Lance, let’s make a phone call.”

He, E (Lance) and Teckla headed to E’s lab.  Some of us followed along but most just looked at the dead G.

Ethan decided it would be a good idea to take it apart and see what made it tick.  Maybe he could find some info on how it worked, or how to kill it more easily. Frank and Joseph decided to help and they dumped the thing onto the ground and rolled it into the garage shed to work on it.

Once contact was made with the Pittsburgh, which was the sub we had contact with, the Major started to talk with the XO, Lt. Commander  Gaines.  He had a little bit of a southern accent, and seemed nice enough.  The Major explained to him what had happened with the attack on the Winter Love people and the pursuit that followed.

“Is LJ with you?  I need to ask him a couple of things” said the voice on the Sat Comm.

“Yes, I am here,” no one had noticed that he had joined us and was in the back of the room.

“Okay, good.”  Said the XO. “When you first found this thing what was it doing?”

“Nothing, it was just sort of standing there.”

“Were there lights going or did you see blinking?”

“No, it was doing nothing”

“Was it in the sunlight?”

“Ah, no, it was under a couple of pine trees”

“Okay, that makes sense then. It had probably run down on power and was trying to recharge, but the trees were blocking the solar panels.”

LJ slumped, “So when we brought it back to camp…”

“Yes, it could recharge there, in the open.”

“Shit”, muttered  LJ.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself; you didn’t know what you had.  Anyway, there are some things to keep in mind about these things.  The first is that they are both simple and yet complex.  They have a system by which spare magazines of munitions are available to them.  The canisters are located at various military bases and have homing devices that are attached to direct the Hunters to them for re-arming.  You probably had some at Arsenal.”

“We never saw any,” said Stephen, “But then we weren’t looking.”

“Just as well, they are set up with a proximity system that in the event that a cluster of infected within a 25 foot radius they would explode, kind of acting like a Claymore Mine.”

The Major jumped in, “What about when they are in the machine itself? Can the canisters blow-up?”

“No, once loaded that sensor is overridden by the Hunter’s computer system.”

“What other surprises do the Hunter’s have that we should know about?” asked the Major.

“Well, there are several things.  Wait, why do you ask? You didn’t, you don’t……Fuck…..you do!”

“Yeah, but it is dead, I shot it in the sensor” exclaimed LJ.

“No, no it is not dead.  I mean it can’t shoot you, but you have to get rid of it, and quick.  Those things have homing devices, if it is disabled it sends out a signal, it tells the other machines where it is.”

“Get Stephen, fire up the Helo, quick!” shouted the Major.

“On it!” Said Matt as he raced out the door.

“Okay, that is good, just be careful, it has a self-destruct system. Don’t try to open it.”

It was too late; before we could get to them it blew up.  The garage was still standing but with small holes throughout the walls and roof.  There was very little inside that was not shredded.  Ethan, Frank and Larry were….. it was horrible.

The Major filled the XO in on what had happened.

“This is bad, I mean I am sorry for the loss of your people, but this is really bad.”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, when they started to disassemble the Hunter, it sends a kind of help me message to the other machines in the area with location.  It tells them there are targets, and that it is going off line.  The other Hunters then move toward the last known signal.”

Deflated, the Major asked, “how soon?”

“It depends on where and how many are out there, but I would not think more than a couple of hours before you could have a shitload of them in your area.”

“How many?” Asked the Major

“We don’t know, we have no way of tracking them or know how many were in the area when they went rogue,” answered Gaines.

“Suggestions?” asked the Major.

“Well if you can find the transmitter it might be possible to relocate it, it is a small black and yellow box about the size of a deck of cards.  It may trick the others to a new location, where ever you can drop it.”

“And if not?” asked the Major.

“Time to pack your tent and steal away into the night. Split into small groups and get the hell out of the area.”

“Great!” said the Major.

“Look, I will try to contact the air command and see if we can get some predators into the area, that may help, there was one in the zone, but it has gone silent.  We think it may have crashed.”

Eyes turned to LJ, who winced.

“Okay, we have to get moving here, we have some work today, and not much time” said the Major, a look of determination on his face.  I had not seen that look for a while, and it had usually been on Tom’s face.  The Major had a plate full of shit, and it was dinner time.

Orders, packing, and grieving, we had lots to do.  I will catch up soon.

March 11th

I missed writing yesterday, but we were busy.

While we were cleaning up the mess, and sending Frank, Joseph and Ethan to a better place Mark found the homing device, and it was quickly whisked away to the middle of the railroad bridge across the Hudson.  The idea was that the G’s would get stuck in the middle of it and become an easy target with a clear line of sight from the banks.  It would also expose the A’s to easy targeting as they buzzed the bridge.  But the question was whether it was too late, did we move it in time.

In the course of the day, we bugged out, well most of us did.  There are 27 of us. The plan was to split into three groups and relocate near, but not too near the camp.  The groups were split up between Peru, Hinsdale and Dalton.  My group has Del, Code, Captain E, Mark, Michelle, Alexander, Chelsea and me.  We drew Peru as our relocation point.  Dalton would be the new home of Nick, Grace, Matt, Tanya, Tay, Fred, Jan, and the Winter Love survivors, LJ, Langley, Paula, Rick and Bernie.

But that all changed, Teckla, broken with the loss of Frank, decided she would stay in the camp.  With her announcement Charlene and the Major decided that it would be better if they stayed too, Karen and Paula were both still in a bad way with their wounds and it would be better not to move them. Ron decided he should stay with Karen.  Chelsea, she just didn’t care, she had lost Ethan, and it no longer mattered.

E said that he wanted to stay at Romanica also, but Del would not hear it and that discussion ended quickly.

The group to Dalton decided to use Hinsdale instead figuring it was a known place and closer to the camp.

We would maintain contact the best we could, and give it about two weeks, if, and hopefully this would be the case, if no Hunter’s showed up we would all return.  It was a gamble.

We broke out around noon and headed toward our new homes.  It was sad. Matt led us in a prayer, and it ended with a “may we all meet again soon, Amen.”

It took a while for us to get the place in Peru, the old maintenance garage we had first stayed, warmed up and back into livable conditions.  It was strange being back in the place where it kind of all began.  Code and I shared the same room that Tom, Mom and I had.

We had some food supplies with us, and I did the best I could to make something warm for dinner.  Nick had given me a couple of his recipes to work with.  It was not very tasty, but it was warm.  I would kill for a bottle of Siracha sauce.

I am Matt, I have decided that it would be wise for me to add my journal to the collective.  We have seen how quickly things can go bad, and I do not want my thoughts lost.

We have left the nest today and God will be with us, this much I know.  We have sent those who have suffered so to a resting place in the peaceful hands of You, our Lord.  Tanya and I have been given His strength to deal with this, and we share that strength with our flock.  I wish that I could sooth the pain of my mother, and of those who recently lost loved ones.  In time, I will be able to help them, but for now we need to be strong, to survive and to spread His will.

March 12th

We all made radio contact just to check in and see how everyone was doing.  We are all settled in.  E talked with the Major for a bit and then Matt.

“I have started a journal while we are here, and that if all goes well it will add it to the collective storage.” Matt told him.

“Yeah, let’s keep our fingers crossed on that one” E replied.

“Our Lord will see us through”, said Matt, resolve in his voice.

I was fired as chef this morning, I messed up the grits, what do I know of grits?  It is ground corn, you boil it! WTF!

We stayed close to home today.  Del and I headed out for a little recon work but found no tracks, maybe, just maybe we were gonna be okay.

Mark did the dinner thing tonight, he is no Nick, but he is better at cooking than I am.  I think Michelle helped him through, but then, we used to have a Men Cook Picnic before the meteor, and he usually came up with some tasty items.  I could really enjoy a bacon wrapped jalapeno right now.

It is the second day of our deliverance.  The Lord has smiled upon us with the find of canned goods and fresh water.  All are well and His Grace is upon us.  Nick has blessed us with a tasty meal.  We have seen no Hunters or heard of anything foul, a devil’s toy, today.

March 13th

It is still quiet here in Peru, we have had no visits or signs of Hunters. E has been playing with the electronics equipment that we had left behind when we moved out last summer.  He has reactivated some of the old warning systems and cameras.

Bored, cabin fever….I have my drawing stuff, did some pencil sketches, Henry, Ethan, Frank…..I want to remember them, have us all remember them.

It is quiet here in Hinsdale, the Lord has given us peace, we do not want.  Okay I guess a warm shower would be an earthly delight right now, a hot shower, would be one step away from Heaven.  We are holding up well, and still no Hunters.  Blessed be His name.

March 14th

We had a call from Romanica this morning, all is quiet up there. Karen is up and moving around and Paula is on the mend.  The Major was asking E about some equipment issues and they worked that out.  The Major also said that he tried to contact the Pittsburgh this morning, but was unable to get any answer.  He was thinking about trying to reach out to Lakota or Seminole but held off.

Mark made the meal again, he is doing well.  He has also gotten the hot water on, Code helped. SHOWER TIME!....woohoo.

The way of the Lord is the way of peace, and yet, there are times when the sinners need be smitten mightily.  The Hunters are sinners, though they have no soul.  LJ, Langley, Tanya and I moved to the railroad bridge today to see if the Hunters have taken the bait of the homing device. We found about 6 G’s on the bridge and several A’s buzzing about like angry bees.  The sword of the Archangel Michael was mighty on this day.  They are no more.

March 15th

It was a warm and kind of foggy day, we stayed inside.  The fog is really eating up the snow.  The roads are clear.

We had radio contact with Matt and The Major, both their camps have had no action.  Matt told us about the Hunters at the rail bridge and how they were able to kill them.  It sounds promising, let them leave us alone and not be the threat they were to Winter Love.  We have learned, we know more of what they can do.

The Major has been in contact with the Pittsburgh, they had a little information on the Hunters and it helps some.  In doing some contacting with other remaining military units, the Pittsburgh found that there had been 10,000 of each Hunter type created.  Based upon their best intelligence about 6000 of them have been terminated or shut down.  That leaves about 4000 out there.  The vast majority of them are in the Midwest, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Dayton region.  They estimated that only about 300 are in the northeast.  And of those three hundred most are in the Boston, New York area.  Originally 25 were located and attached to the Fort Drum Command.

The Major and XO Gaines figure that we may still have about 10 out in the field that might be an issue for us and of the 10 most of them were G’s.  The rail bridge has saved us in a lot of ways.  The ones that attacked Winter Love had crossed Lake Champlain while it was frozen over.  Lucky for us the Hudson River near Albany has such high banks which acts as a barrier for us, we were for the most part safe.

E suggested that we should return to Romanica, but that was put on hold.  Matt and the Major had also thought about this, but they want to wait for another few days to make sure that the Hunters had not found the camp.

The Lord has seen fit to allow us to dispatch the evil, the mechanisms of Satan, and science.  We must, with His blessings, return to the bridge and send more of these machines, these bringers of death, to judgement.

Our future will be one in which such machines; these false saviors are shunned, and removed from the path of humanity, in His name, and with His blessings, Amen.

March 16th

Are the Hunters really so bad, I have to wonder, they have been assigned a task and they are doing it.  It was the guys who made them that messed up.  I mean we haven’t seen anything of the Zoms in a while, although that may be because of the weather, Mom always said they slowed down or stopped in the winter time.

Del, Code and E were talking today about the idea of taking the weapon system from the Hunters and maybe modifying it for us to use.  It sounds like an idea, but it’s risky.  We would have to try to disassemble the machines, and we saw what happened to Frank, Joseph and Ethan. And if we wanted to use the extra magazines that may be left in Arsenal, well, that could be tricky also.  Maybe it is best to leave them alone.

Few devils to slay today, only one flyer, and it is no more. I think that if the Lord is willing, we only need to spend a day or two more away from the camp.  If it remains quiet then we can return.

With time to spare I have thought about the code by which we live, the Lord’s Code.  We have loosely adopted the Biblical Laws, but maybe now, in light of 2000 years of change we should “adapt” the Bible.  There are things that no longer apply, and things that are different from the far past. Perhaps He will give me guidance.

March 17th

E was unable to make contact with Romanica this morning; he could get through to Hinsdale.  Maybe it is nothing, but maybe…

“E,” I said, “Del and I want to take a run up that way and check on them.”

“No, I don’t think that is a good idea, it may just be something simple.” He said.

“Or it may be that they are in trouble and need our help.”

“Yeah, but what can you two do that they can’t?” He glared at me.

“We, ah….” Del glared at him defiantly.

“I know, I am worried too, but we set this up so that even if one group was attacked the others could survive.  Give it a little time.” Said E.

E has become our leader, I don’t know how, or why, but he had taken charge. It is even more surprising considering that LJ had not tried to take charge. The way he acted when he first got to the camp would have made me think that he would have.  But I think that when he found out how we ran things and also that a lot of what he had done was responsible for the loss of many of his people, I think it messed with his head.

In a way, it makes me understand what Tom when through in the early days, when he was our leader, and how hard it hit him losing Mom.

The Major contacted us later in the day. They had a medical thing going on and as a result were kind of tied up.  Chelsea had tried to commit suicide, and they were sewing her back up when we called.  She took losing Ethan a lot harder than we realized.  It was a surprise really considering how much of a cheerleader type she was.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was light.  In the beginning were the lost souls, and wanderers, and He brought them together, and made them whole, and safe, and they thanked Him.  From Him, there came a community, a gathering, a church. It was not a building, but a family; they were and are as one.  Yet along the way the house of the church became more important than the family, the gathering and the way was lost to many.  He has brought this plague upon us to bring back to the family, to bring it nearer to Him. He has tasked us, and those like us, to bring the faith, the love, the family back to Him.

I once thought that it was the building that would bind us back as one; now, now I see it as the word.  Thank You my Lord, I will share Your will.

March 18th

Another day in Hinsdale, and we are under your protection Lord, all is well.  We have again gone to the rail bridge and to our delight we have found no new toys of the devil.  It is my belief that the scourge has passed.  It is time to re-unite the family.

It was quiet again today, nothing to report. Code and I revisited some of the homes and businesses to see if there had been anything we had left behind.  There was nothing that was of value to us.

Over lunch E suggested that we should start preparing to head back to Romanica.  If they had not been attacked by now, it is likely that they will not be.  He thought that we moved the homing device in time and that the machines had been tricked to go to the bridge.

March 19th

We got a call from The Major this morning, he and Matt are of the opinion that it was safe for us to return, E agrees.  The Hinsdale crew was able to get cleaned up and back to camp by about 2:30 or so.

We started packing up and taking some time to shut Peru back down to a standby mode.  In the afternoon the weather closed in and we actually got a late season snowstorm.  We stayed one more night at Peru.

“I think I am going to read Tom’s journal” I told Code as we huddled together that night.  We were protected from the weather, but it was not all that toasty warm.

“Why, what made you change your mind?”

“I never said I wouldn’t read it, I just wasn’t ready, and the shit of the last week or so has made me ready,” I answered.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I am, he did stuff and I think I would like to know how he felt about some of it.  I mean the thing with Mom, the getting us to where we were, I always just took it for granted and never really considered how it, how, he felt about it.”

“I understand, if you…” but I cut him off.

“I know you will be there for me.  I think that is part of it.  Watching what happened with Teckla, and Chelsea kinda opened my eyes, I know you can’t keep this promise, but promise me you won’t leave me, or die on me.”

He was quiet for a minute or so, then said, “I love you, and I promise.”

I realized, I loved him too, I mean, I knew it, but it was that moment when we changed.

We slept well, there was something different, a wonderful peace, and yet a terrible fear.

March 20th

We cleared out of Peru about eight this morning, it was a quiet ride for Code and I going back to Romanica.  Last night, in that little instant things have changed.  It is kind of scary, what do I say next.  We have formed, no really, kind of formalized our bond.  What can I say, I am 15 years old, I wish Mom or even Tom was here to talk to.

The world has changed so much, I think about back there before the die-off, we had all the time in the world, the biggest concern was what TV show to watch, or texting with my nerdling friends.  Now, it is surviving, eating, making it to next week.  It’s not fair.

We were back in camp about 9:00.  It was almost like we never left.  Nick had oatmeal ready and there was herbal tea, actually sassafras tea.  It is not too bad.  I miss Starbucks.  We settled into our cabin.  It is now no more visiting, Code is going to stay with me in my cabin, no more visits or occasional sleep-overs from the “boys’ dorm”.

The Lord has seen fit to allow us to return to our home.  It has changed us; this time away, we had become comfortable in our place, and in doing so neglected some things that we should be watching for.  We lost people because of it.  He is a hard task master and teacher; we seem to have gotten the lesson.

Tanya and I have done what we can to help my mother.  She is broken, but the Lord will help us and we will restore her.  Frank was important to her, and yet, she was strong before this all happened, and will heal.

I had once thought about building a church building, and at the time it was or seemed a good idea.  But now, now the Lord has showed me that it is not the building, but the people who are the church and he has tasked me to build them, make them the church.

March 21st

Things are pretty much back to normal, I guess.  But we all keep an eye over our shoulder wondering about the hunters.

Now that we are back, E has taken back his lab and is looking into things again.  His checks on the radiation have shown no significant changes or any serious threats so the sense that we have to move has taken a back seat.  We’re kind of good here.

We are all struggling with the deaths of Frank, Joseph, and Ethan, but there are some who are suffering more.  What do you say?  What can you tell them, or how do you talk to them, there is so much pain.  I remember it from when Mom was killed; there was nothing that seems to help.  It just is an empty hurt that we each deal with the best we could.  In Tom’s case, he went blank for a bit.  I had Meme and Gramp around and that helped.  But it was still an empty place where those people you loved once were.

Meals are quiet; there is still a funk hanging over the place.  I think it is only time that will fix that.

I spoke with Mom today; she is hanging in pretty well.  She is strong, and will be okay.  I think the shock of what happened has been hard on her.  I know that after all the years of knowing him I found that Frank’s death also impacted me.  He was a good man, and he made her happy.

I have also ministered to Taylor about the loss of Joseph.  She seems to have accepted what has happened fairly well, it is still a shock, and she suffers the pain of the loss.  But she has accepted that this is part of the new world and will move forward.

It is Chelsea that I am struggling with.  She has already tried to escape her pain in a wrong way trying to take her own life.  I had always judged her as almost bullet proof because of the cheerful exterior that she has shown over time.  Tanya has spent much time watching over her and talking with her.  I am not certain that she will recover from this loss.

It leads me to an interesting question Lord; that I need Your help with.  When is it time to let a soul go? When is it Your will that they be allowed to join You in that better place. By holding them to the earthly bounds are we following Your will, or is it a selfish act that has been taught to us by the philosophies of the old world?  I must consider this.

March 22nd

It was kind of strange; Code and I don’t usually attend Matt and Tanya’s Sunday Service.  But this morning it just seemed the right thing to do.  The dining/rec hall was full; I guess that with all that has happened we weren’t alone in that thought.  What is it about attending church that makes you feel good as you leave?  Today, I think it was just about the family, as it is, being together.

Nick put up a special spread for lunch today.  We had ribs (deer, yeah, I am getting used to it), with corn, and some of that new bread he has been making.

Tay and Chelsea are staying close to each other; I guess they are helping each other out through this.  Mark and Michelle are hanging close to Teckla.  It is sometimes awkward to talk with them, but everyone is trying.

Over lunch Charlene announced that Teckla was stepping away from The Three and there was a vacancy to replace Henry.  We will be holding an election on Wednesday, April 1st, to fill the spots.

Lord, my flock has suffered, they have seen and done things that are terrible to the eyes of the world and yet to Your eyes I am not so sure.  You have placed us here, in this time and space, and asked us to live.  I have taken this task and live for You.  Tanya, my helpmate has taken the task also.  We do as You lead us.

I was heartened to see so many of the flock this morning.  I realize that it is the result of recent events, but it was still something that made me realize that although many do not turn full time to you, they still have you in mind. We are a church, a family, and that is good.

Thank you Lord.

March 23rd

At breakfast I told E that I was kind of disappointed that we had not heard from the QUalz ship, okay, really it was more not getting any message from Tom and Asuna.

“Well, actually we did, or they did try, while we were scattered we received a message from them, kind of texting from space,” he said with a smile.

“What?  What did they say?

“Well, they asked how we’re doing, and if we were alright.”

“Oh. That was it?” I asked, feeling a little hurt.

“No, they are going through the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, that ship of theirs is fast, but not very controllable.  The problem is that once they get beyond the asteroid belt they may have difficulty in communications with us. We can receive, but may not have a signal strong enough to send back a message.”

“Oh,” I was kind of bummed.

It was kind of a nice day, so Code, Del and I went out for a run.  We were careful and cautious looking out for Hunters.  It was fine.  We also did a little sword drill today.

We talked about The Three as we ran.  None of us want the job, maybe in 5 years, wow, where will we be in 5 years.

Rats, back to deer stew tonight, did I ever mention that I really am not a fan of deer stew.

I spoke with Mom today, trying to talk her into staying on The Three.  It would be good for her, give her focus to move on, but she has declined.  She explained to me why.  It gave me insights into her, and the job, and for that matter what it must have been like for her and Tom in those early days of this new world order.  Leadership weighs heavy on a person; it can consume them and shackles them.  It makes me wonder if it is a task that I should seek to take on, or should I try to serve the group through Your will, acting as a buffer and a guiding light.

Taylor seems to be doing okay, and she is helping Chelsea out to move back beyond the void of sorrow.

March 24th

Code and I had a fight this morning; it was kind of weird, it just kind of happened.  I don’t think that either of us was really angry at the other at the start, but we got to talking about the cabin and how we had some projects to take care of, to update it.  He jokingly said something about how he had planned to do it, and I didn’t have to remind him every three or four months.  I blew up, and it just turned to poop.

Actually, after the initial hissy and the yelling, I suddenly thought to myself, “Damn, I sound like my Mother.”  She used to get on Tom for taking care of projects and, they did get done eventually and was it really that important for it to be right now?

I found him in the dining room sitting alone, I could see he was upset, and flushed.  I grabbed a coffee, well, what we call coffee, it is actually roasted ground acorns, it sucks, but it is warm and black, and joined him.

“Hey”

“I will get to fixing tha……

“Stop, it is fine, I was being kind of a jerkface about it and well, this living together thing is new.” I say staring in to the cup.

“Yeah, I know.  It is good, and bad, I mean, I…dammit…”

“No, I know exactly what you mean, I love you, but it is not easy having someone underfoot all the time.” I continued.

“What can we do?”

“I don’t know, but for now, let’s take a run, and just chill a little.  Tom always told my mom that everything works out, and he really believed it.  I, I think he may be right.”

We never got the run in, stuff happened while we were changing into our running clothes.

At dinner, E came over, he had a thumb drive with him that he put it in front of me.  It is kind of amazing that even after over a year in the end of the modern world we still have so much technology available to us.

“I was looking into that last message that the QUalz ship sent.  Besides asking if we were okay it told us that they would not be able to send messages for a while.  But I found this packet of data in a file that was addressed to you.  I, as much as I wanted to, I didn’t open it.  I think it is from Tom.”

“Thank you”, I tried my best not to lose it, but there was a quiver in my voice, I could feel it, not sure if they did. “I’ll check it out after dinner.”

Suddenly, I wasn’t hungry, but I mushed my food around and forced a bite down every once and again. I know there were conversations going on. I shook my head every so often, said “yeah” and pretended to be listening.  But I, my mind was elsewhere.

As Code and I walked back toward the cabin he stopped, “Are you okay?”

“No, not really, this message….Code…should I read it?  What’s in it?”

“I don’t know, what do you think?  What does your gut tell you?”

“Ah, that damned inner voice!” I grunted.

“Huh?”

“It is a Tom thing.  He always used to tell my Mom that she should listen to her inner voice when she had to make hard decisions.”

“And did she listen?” he asked.

“To which, him or the inner voice.” I kind of laughed.  “No, most of the time she didn’t listen to either.”

“So are you gonna listen to it?”

“My gut says I probably should, I am just afraid of what it might have in it.”

“You know what he would say if he were here don’t you.”

“Yeah, and you are really a jerk sometimes!  But a loveable jerk”, I took his hand as we walked back to the cabin.”

I should read to it, the little voice told me, but not tonight, I thought about the old days, and them, Mom and Dad.  I laughed and cried, Code thought…. well, I am not sure what he thought.

March 25th

Our Father, You have laid out bounty for us, and challenge us to live and thrive.  We have the chance to reconnect with You and what You have created.  What would You have us do?  I think that it is time for me to move away from the group for a while and to contemplate this.  A pilgrimage for Tanya and me, somewhere quiet and peaceful to find the new way for the new age, is what we need.  But it is too soon, Mom, Taylor and Chelsea are still suffering and until that is done we cannot go.

This is Lance Champlain, I adding my journal to the server I have created.  I am known as Captain E, or just “E” to my friends.  I am sort of the tech geek of the group, and to be honest, am very surprised that I am still living.  Before the end I had always figured I was outside of society, and have, had contemplated killing myself dozens of times.  Now, I see that I have a gift, and have a people that relies on me. I used to go to sleep every night fearful that the Zoms would get me, turn me.  Now I see this new world as a challenge, to beat whatever it is that has changed life as we knew it, and to make a new world, a world of science and rational thought.  I am not a great thinker, but I can help move us forward, and use the old technology to build the new world.  And to make these records easier to follow I am going put a name with the journal entries to keep it clear who is saying what.  Also, Matt will be in Italics and Margo and I will be in regular type.

(Margo) Code, Del and I took a run this morning, I am glad they were with me, I was still distracted by the mystery file from Tom.

As we moved along Del asked, “Well, what did he say?”

“I haven’t read it yet.”

“You gonna?” She asked.

“Yeah, soon, I, Del, I’m afraid, I mean what if he tells me I have a little brother or sister on the way, or that he is never coming back, that the QUalz lied and they can’t return them.”

“Yeah, maybe, but I am thinking that it’s more just a postcard from the Lobster Nebula.”

We all laughed.

I read the file after lunch.

“One of the things that is interesting about space travel is although there is so much to see, after a very short time, as your home world drifts away into the distance it becomes very boring.  Don’t get me wrong, there are days or even just hours where it is extremely exciting.  But for the most part it is boring, a black velvet painting with lots of little twinkly lights.  So it is not all that and a bag of chips.

One of the things that I have found out about the QUalz, the little lizard folks who are our host, is that as reptilian they tend to like it on the warm side.  The temperature on the ship is 95 degrees.  It reaches a point where you are sweating all the time.  Asuna and I are pretty much down to underwear or just wrapped in a little piece of cloth.

I wonder and worry about how you and the camp crew are doing.  You are in the middle of winter and even though you are, or were, well stocked with food, I hope you are okay.  I miss you all.

One never realizes how attached you get to the herd.  Most of all, I miss you Margo, you are my daughter and maybe I was wrong in leaving but I think what we are doing here on the ship is important to the future, to you, and to the remains of humanity.  We need to have a way to fight the virus, and this is the best way I could see.

Asuna and I are getting along, we have to.  It is very different, 24/7 together, not much space in space….Oh, I made a funny….Space is something that we all need, it was one of the reasons that your Mom and I never lived together before the meteor.  I miss her, I miss you, I love you, see you in December.

Tom”

I asked Code to leave me alone for a little while and had a good cry.  I did not look my best at dinner, eyes were kind of still red and puffy.

March 26th

(Margo) Code and I talked this morning, I told him about what was in Tom’s message.  I think it has helped both of us.  He is moving out, well sort of moving out.  He is going to go back to sleeping at the “Boys’ Dorm” for most of the week.  We will get to spend some nights together, but we need that away time.  I know it sounds silly maybe, but I am 15 years old, and well, I’m 15 years old.

Del and I went out for a little hunting this morning, I am thinking that if we have some success we can have rabbit, or squirrel, or some turkey, anything but deer stew again.  While we were out there we had a chance to talk.

“Are you and Code done?” she asked.

“No, we, well we’re young, we have time together, but I need space, so does he.”

“I understand, and if it helps at all, E and I have had the same talk awhile ago.”

After a little silence I added, “I do love him, it is just, well, being on top of each other, I mean, so close, in the cabin, it makes me crazy sometimes.”

“For sure, E is such a neat-nik….drives me nuts, a place for everything and everything in its place.”

“I know, right, Code is just as bad.” I choked back a laugh.

“No, E won’t even leave his clothes on the floor, kind of a passion killer, trying to get him undressed and he has to hang his stuff up, and even fold his friggin’ socks….Really!” She said.

We laughed about that for a few and it was good to have a little girl talk, we haven’t had that chance in a while.

As we crested the hill I stopped, there about fifty yards out was a deer, it was a buck, and a beauty.  Del started to target it.

“No, let him go, I don’t want deer meat again.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” She giggled, the deer looked at us and then turned and wandered off into the woods.

We did return to camp with about 8 rabbits and 6 squirrels. We begged and pleaded with Nick for a rabbit fry for tomorrow dinner.  The little suckers were kind of chubby so there would be enough for everyone.

(Matt) I talked with Tanya about the idea of the pilgrimage today, she had some doubts about the safety aspect of it, but she does she thinks it is a good idea.  We will wait until after Easter, so we can serve the group for that Holy Day.  It will give us time to gather our thoughts, and the things we will need, a tent, food, and things to survive.  Then, we shall be off on our own, to walk with You, my Lord.

The timing will also allow us to make sure that those who have suffered recent loss will be more at peace.  It is hard on them.  We all know that life is short, but it is more difficult when that end comes up so suddenly, and unexpectedly.  Science has done some stuff for us, but we have become too trusting of it, it has no soul, no gentle side, simply a cold hard thing that exists.

(Lance) E here, and I am thinking that I should join or try to join The Three, I think that I can bring some stuff to the group and have some ideas for the way we move forward in the future.  We could turn this place into a safer island in the storm.  We have a lot of the things that we need close by to expand upon what we already have.

March 27th

(Margo) It was kind of a nothing day for us all.  Things are normal, we have heard nothing from the QUalz ship or the Pittsburgh and we haven’t seen or heard anything from the Hunters, although we still go out and can see some lights off to the west and the south at night.  Sometimes there are bursts near the horizon that probably means another Hunter A has been destroyed, or so I hope.

Code and I had a night together, it was kind of nice and when those happen I think we both wonder if the living under one roof is the thing we should be doing, but then, one of us does something and well, you know.

E has not asked us for any more runs into Hinsdale or other scavenger sites; I think it has to do with the idea of the risks from the G’s.  We will probably have to face them sooner or later but right now, he thinks we can get by with what we have.

I am kind of curious who is going to run for the slots on The Three.  I am thinking that Matt would be a logical choice, he is a leader, and has a good head for it.  I would not be surprised by that one.  I am thinking that Fred or Ron might also make a run for the job.  Nick or Grace would be good also, I think.  Us youngers, me, Del, Code are too young.  It will be interesting.  The election is next Wednesday, and we will see who is running on Monday.

I drew that deer we saw the other day, he was beautiful, majestic.

(Matt) I spoke with Mom today, and explained to her that I needed to make a pilgrimage, laying out what I’m looking to do, and find.  I could tell that she was not happy with the announcement, but she said she understood.  I know that she is afraid that something will happen to me, or Tanya.  But really, something can happen to us in camp just as easily, as we have seen.

Tanya and I have talked more about what we are exactly looking to do on this pilgrimage into the wilds.  In a way it is kind of a Moses, Biblical type trip.  We have decided that we will do it on foot, or at least start out that way. He will give us transport if it is needed.  But I am thinking that it is not so much the destination that is important, but rather the time and chance to be unfiltered, away from the everyday things that will give us the chance to see His glory and greater plan.

In a way it is like looking at the sky in the open country rather than with the light pollutions from the cities, we will see many more points of light. We will leave April 1st for this trek.

(Lance) I looked in on the server today and found that there are three of us who are making journal entries.  I have not looked at the entries of the others, even though they are not protected.  It was part of the agreement that we made when we opened the server up. I also see that Nick is keeping a recipe folder on there, and Tay is doing inventory stuff.  Doc Barkley, aka the Major has a medical folder also.

I have checked the radiation levels and find that they are still in normal and acceptable ranges.  We have no incoming messages from anyone, so right now that is a good thing.  I have spoken with Charlene and the Major, they have sort of assumed the leaders role after the death of Henry and Teckla’s decision to step down.  I think that Matt and the Major will probably be the new additions to leadership, although I am not sure I like the idea of the Major and Charlene both in charge, kind of a two vote with one mindset thing.   Matt seems to be a good choice.  And I’m still considering whether I should put my name in.  Yeah, I know, Captain Emo, a leader, it just doesn’t sound right.

March 28th

(Margo) Oh great, the announcement came down this morning that our propane supplies are starting to get a little low and we need to look to conserve.  We will focus most of that energy resource for cooking, and cut back on the supplies of hot water for showers and washing.  The plan is to use, have, hot water available only on Wednesdays and Sundays and only available in the boys and girls dorms.  We will still have cold water to the individual cabins, but cold showers are not my favorite thing, but it is the apocalypse, so I guess we have to make sacrifices.

E kind of surprised us at lunch today, while Code and I were eating, he and Del joined us, they usually do.  But he quietly asked, “Should I run to a spot on The Three?”

Wow, that was out of the blue, and I didn’t know what to say.  “I, ah guess, where did that come from?” was the best answer I could give.

“Just thinking, that’s all, wanted to know what you thought.”

It was kind of a conversation killer. I am not sure I have an answer for that question.

Code and I talked about it after lunch.  We both think that he has some really good qualities and ideas, but he is young, and yet really we’re all much older than our years.  This thing, this surviving changes you, you grow up fast.

(Lance) Well, that did not go quite like I expected, but then springing the idea of my running for a board membership was a little out of my usual character.  I think that they handled it well; really, I had almost figured I would have had a response like “you’re kidding right?” or something similar.  They did not tell me no, so that is good.  Part of me really wants to do it, I think I have some great ideas and could be an asset to the future, but I am not sure I can make the hard decisions or choices that would be needed to be made.  I mean, could I really lead the group in a battle, or say, yeah we need to put someone down? I don’t know.

Del tells me I could do it, to be the leader, a leader, but I don’t know.  I remember something that Tom once told me when I wanted to be one of the Fly-boys.  “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it”. I need to think about it, maybe it is an ego thing, wow, me and an ego thing, which is something I never had to worry about before, and now, is that what this is about?

(Matt) I guess I need to start preparing for my service this Sunday.  I am going to tell the congregation about our pilgrimage, and our 40 days in the wilderness.  I want them to know that it is for them that we’re doing this and that I think it will bring us all closer to Him.  I hope that they will understand.  I think most will, or if nothing else, they will not care.  If Arcelia was still with us I would take some heat, but it is God’s work I am trying to do here.

Mom has told me that she is not happy with my going, and that she is worried that I will meet G’s or some group and we’ll be killed.  I tried to explain to her that I don’t believe that will happen and that we will be back in time for the spring planting, with Henry gone it will fall on me.  Kind of ironic that not only am I planting the seeds for our life with God, I will be planting the seasons for our continued life on Earth

March 28th

(Margo) Alarm bell this morning, it was a surprise, we have not had that go off for a while.  My first thought was to get out there as quick as possible and just as I almost got to the door I remembered about the Hunters.  I tossed on my helmet just in case, Code was coming across toward my cabin, and he did not have his helmet.

“Hey, where is your helmet?”

“I am trying to get to it, it is in our cabin”

“Oh”, I turned and looked inside, grabbed it and tossed it to him.

“What have we got?” I asked, I was scared.

“Don’t know.”

We saw Del running toward the flag pole.  We followed.  As we came around the corner of the dining hall we saw it, 25 or 30 Zoms.

“What the….” Exclaimed Code as he drew his sword.

“Yea, right, looks like early sword drill today,” I answered.

Between Del, LJ, Langley and the rest we ended the threat quickly.

“That was weird, we haven’t seen Zoms in months, what happened, why now?” asked the Major.

I think it was the same thought on everyone’s mind. It was a small horde and we have not seen that, well, ever here at the camp.  Why hadn’t we picked up on them sooner, with the cameras and all.  Why were they able to get so close.

After the attack we collected the remains and started to burn them.  One of the things that was frightening is that the Zoms were mostly military, looked like National Guard or Army uniforms.  After cleaning up, many of us went to the dining hall to talk about it.  We all were still on high alert and shaken by this sudden attack.

E was there with us.  “I’m sorry but I don’t know how they got into the area without our knowing it until the last minute.  I mean usually the Zoms are moving slowly enough that we had plenty of warning before they hit the fence line.  But this is different; I have to look at the playbacks.”

“I think we need to look at the tracks to see where they came from.  It is kind of clear that they aren’t from the Albany area.  That means that there may have been another base, or camp somewhere close by.  Westover maybe?” tossed out LJ.

“I doubt they would have traveled that far in this weather, it has been cold, so they have been dormant, I mean it could be that they were on their way and froze up over the winter,” suggested the Major.

“What should we do?” Asked Teckla, it was clear that her decisive nature was gone.

“I think we need to get some trackers out and see what we can find.” said LJ.

Ron looked up, he had been in deep thought, “Why didn’t the Hunters find and kill them?”

“Major, there are a lot of questions and we need answers, I want to take Code and Margo and go out to do a little looking around.” said Del.

“I think it is too dangerous, we should stay put!” exclaimed E.

“No, she is right, we need to get boots out of camp and on recon, we can’t be sure of what is happening”, said Ron, “I should take a team out too, Fred, LJ, you’re with me?

Both nodded.

“But the Hunters….” started E.

“The Hunters are not to be an issue right now, because the horde was not attacked by them.  If there were Hunters, they would have been on the Zoms.” said Charlene.

“I agree, we need to look around,” Matt said with a look that was both distant, and yet resolved.

“I’ll pack up some rations for you all,” Nick jumped in, “How many of you are going?”

“I think we start with two teams of three, Code, Del and Margo on one, Ron, Fred and LJ on the other.”  Said the Major, he had clearly taken charge of the situation.  Del, lead your people and retrace the route that the Zoms followed to get here. Ron, take your people and do a circle about a mile out of camp, see if it shows any other incursions. You should be ready in 30 minutes, which will give you 8 hours of daylight.”

“Got it,” Del and Ron said in unison.

“Matt, Mark, you two need to make sure that we are safe in the compound, I have a feeling that we may not be over this all yet.” added the Major.   “Stephen, I want to keep you in place here in case we need to make a rescue or extraction.  It probably would be safest to do this from the air, but our fuel supplies are not that great, and it may draw unwanted attention if you are up winging about.”

We got ready and were on the road or path at 8:45.

“He is unhappy with me for going” said Del.

“I know, he is worried about you” answered Code.

“Yeah, so you better get your ass back safely, and that goes for you too Code.  We have some things that we all need to do, in the meantime, situational awareness.” I added.

We were off.

(Matt) Lord, I have become complacent, I have found that we have been too comfortable in Your bounty and let our guard down.  I have focused on the questions and answers that will be out there for me on the pilgrimage and lost sight of the here and now.  I have failed my flock.  Thank you for that reminder, it will aid me in my quest.

I spoke with Mom today, after the attack. She isn’t happy with the pilgrimage, yet I am determined that the need is there.  My resolve is strong, thank you Lord.

(Lance) I have failed the camp.  We have been so good with the lack of problems, Zoms hitting the wire, I have become lax.  I wonder if I am worthy of trying to lead, failing could cost lives, and I have to wonder if that is a burden I want on my shoulders.

I really don’t, didn’t want Del going out on the recon mission.  In my heart I know she had to, but in my heart I also know she has become the center of my world.  I …..

Reviewed the tapes, I have them set up so that they cycle through every 24 hours switching between the two storage systems.  The Zoms just showed up, it doesn’t appear that they were led, or were herded, mostly it looks like a random movement.  They came from the southeast, so it may be that they are from Westover.

I need to think and develop more warning systems; I must keep Del and the rest safe.

March 29th.

(Matt) I have delivered a sermon today that was on the topic of uncertainty.  We have been living in a new world in which the old, much of the old, has been wiped away and that which remains is moving away from us.  We have supplies, and foods and fuels, but as time has marched on those things have become less and less plentiful.  We need to build, rebuild our place in this world and with Your help Lord, we will.  But I need to know, I need to see and feel Your hand guiding me.  In camp there is too much noise, too much going on for me to fully hear and grasp what is Your will.

I told the congregation this morning of my plans to make the pilgrimage.  Some received it well, others not so well, some came and talked to me warning of the dangers that frankly I already know about.  But this must be done.  Thy will must be done.

(Margo) I was surprised this morning when Matt told us about his plans for a trip into the wilds with Tanya.  I can kind of understand it, the clearing the head thing.  I am not sure what he will find or how it will help. I guess I kind of think they are nuts.

Our scouting trip yesterday was pretty uneventful.  We followed the trail back about 8 miles.  It seems the trail meandered toward us, so it didn’t seem that they had found us or were tracking us, more just they got lucky.  It appeared the horde had been there for a while, just standing, frozen in the cold but as the weather improved, they became active.  Any earlier tracks had been covered by storms but it would be consistent that they were from maybe Westover.  We found a few that had fallen and were stuck, some had army gear, some didn’t.  They may have been following the Mass Pike and for some reason changed direction and headed toward us.  We shared what we found with the Major and The Three, well actually, The Two right now.  Ron told them what they had found which was nothing, no tracks, no Zoms, and no Hunters.

Sunday dinner is usually a kind of fun thing, Nick tries to mix things up a little and make a special or different meal than the usual deer stew / chili / soup thing.  He actually broke out some of the stored corn on the cob we had, along with some fish that had been frozen back before Tom had left.  He and Frank used to spend time down by the little brook that leads into the pond catching trout.  He did kind of an interesting taste to the fish, baking it with goose fat and some herbs and spices.

“Nice job with dinner tonight” Stephen told him as we were sitting around finishing up an acorn coffee.

“Thanks, we are trying to use up some of the frozen stuff before it gets much warmer and spoils.” Nick said with a flush of pride.  “We try”

“Well, you should write some of these things down in case…..” Stephen caught himself before he finished the sentence.

“Actually, I have kept track of some of them and have a little stack of recipes in the event that someone else has to do the cooking someday.  But I am not planning to leave the kitchen anytime soon, Grace would kill me.”

Good save, but still kind of a downer thought.

Code and I stayed in the cabin tonight, it was comfortable, but it is getting to that time again, so we need to enjoy each other for a bit.

(Lance) Del is back safely, I worried the entire time.  This new world thing has changed me.  I would never have worried about someone like that in the past.  It was always about me.

I had an idea while I was here worrying about her.  What if I could create some kind of a device that repels or re-routes the path of the Zoms?  What I was thinking is a little device, a sort of noise maker that would attract the attention of them, and either keep them busy, or even lead them away from the camp.  The problem would be power, I could make a battery powered thing, but batteries are gold, must think.

March 30th

(Margo) Kind of a cloudy, overcast day, but warmer, spring is coming, and I can’t wait.  I am tired of snow, and cold, and being cold.  I want a hot shower more than once a week.  Why can’t we be back there, before all this happened, I just wish I would wake up from this nightmare and it would all be like it was.  I cried, and Code knows what that means.  He tries to help, but really, he can’t, but he is so good about trying.

(Matt) Tanya and I are almost set for the trip, we have our gear all packed up and ready. We have our tent, sleeping bags and tarps.  The packs are full, but we have tried not to travel too heavy, but still, it will be 40 days out there.

Nick has put together some food for us, some canned stuff, some packages of beans and grains, and some smoked meats.  We will have to hunt and gather along the way.  Water should not be a big problem for us with the abundance of streams and brooks as well as the snow that is left on the ground.

As we get closer to the time we are going to set off, I have still not decided in which direction we should travel.  I have not had guidance, a hint or sign to lead us.  The only direction that seems the most challenging would be to go west, we have to cross the Hudson River, and that would be by the rail bridge, and there may still have a Hunter or two hanging around it.

The idea of the 40 days comes from the Bible, it is the idea that Moses and the people of Israel were lost in the desert for 40 years, we will be lost for 40 days.  I believe that He will give us manna along the way and lead us to an understanding of how we get to the sort of Promised Land of understanding His way and will.

Mom is doing okay but she is still not happy with us going.  I know that she is fearful of losing more loved ones, but it is our destiny, our duty to do this.  It is her love that wants to protect me and my love for her and the group that makes this pilgrimage so important.

March 31st

(Lance) I’m still racking my brain on this warning system.  How can I make it safer?  We have things in place, but I want to do more.  I approached The Three about getting some batteries for devices but they won’t go for it, and I can understand it.  What I was thinking will only go so far and really does not add all that much to the perimeter distance.  I must think this through.

(Matt) We leave tomorrow morning, and I have yet to find guidance on direction. Any direction that we take we will eventually run into a larger city and in doing so face potential radiation issues maybe.  I have to talk with Lance about that.  My gut tells me to go south, toward New York City but we shall see, I place his in Your hands Lord.

(Margo) Cramps!

April 1st

(Matt) I had a dream last night.  I felt that You were talking to me, about this trip, this pilgrimage. All roads lead to Rome was the message. What has most gotten to me is the idea that You want me to go to Rome.  At first, this bothered me because Rome was the place where Catholicism has been based.  But to cross the ocean and well, that just cannot happen, even with the help of the Navy.  But as I saw the Rome you showed me in my dream, at first, from a distance I felt it was an ancient Rome, the seven hills.  But as we neared, I saw that it was not, it was a small contemporary city.  I understood, we are to go west, not south, there was where we will find our answer.

We left this morning and headed toward the Menard Bridge; it will get us across the river and into the Albany area.  We were going to hike it, but I am excited about the message and have accepted the ride offered by Mark and Michelle.  It will move us a day ahead in our trip, and it will give me a chance to visit with my brother before we make this journey.

He and I shared the time and spoke about the past, about growing up, and where we have come from.  When we reached the bridge we stopped for few minutes and in an awkward way said our goodbyes.  I knew I would be back, I knew that this is what was to be done. I am not so sure that he believed it.  We have seen so many terrible things, such pain and suffering.  I think that truth number one is simply that there will be suffering.

As we reached the far end of the bridge we stopped, and waved to them one last time.  We were on our way and had miles to go today before we could stop and rest for the evening.  Lord, thank you for this first day, and for the first truth.

We crossed over the north side of Albany by the end of the day and found a place to stay the night, somewhere safe.  During the walk we found a number of Zoms, no wait, I need to talk differently about them, more respectfully; it was not their fault that they have been victims of this illness. I must remember that they are changed.  Perhaps that is a better way to refer to them.

We found a small Henny Penny just west of the city, it is clear of the ‘Changed’, and we were able to secure it, so we can spend the night here.  We can stay in the little office area and close the door to prevent wandering eyes, if there are any out here.

There was little in the store that was edible, it had been emptied long ago.  We are not so desperate that the dog food is on our table yet.

(Margo) Matt and Tanya left this morning; Mark gave them a ride to the river.  In a way, I envy them, getting out of camp, and on an adventure.  But it is not something I am ready to do.  Perhaps someday, Code and Del and I will do something like that.  It might be kind of cool.

We did our run this morning, and also did a little sword work.  E was a little strange at breakfast this morning.  He seems to have a bee in his bonnet over something. He tends to get that way every once and a while.  He is working on something, and when it gets to be time he will tell us.  We could probably help him with it, and in the end, we usually do have to go out and find the things he needs to make his latest creation work.

Still feeling kind of icky, Auntie Flo and all, but not as bad as yesterday.

(Lance) Matt and Tanya left this morning, I was surprised that they took the ride from Mark.  I thought this was a spiritual pilgrimage and it was more about the walk.  I am not sure I get all that, it just seems to me that one could gain more from a book, or a teacher of some sort, just wandering around unguided, makes no sense to me.  I wonder if they will like meet Jesus or Buddha on the road.

Still thinking about the ways I can shore up the early warning systems without some of the resources I would like to have.  Power is an issue, portable power that is, we have the solar and wind thing going on and that takes care of the stable stuff, but we have limits on range and the amount of electricity that is available.

Our fuel (propane) situation is not so great either; we need to look for a source there too.  I guess we could switch to wood, a little low tech, but that is another thing I need to consider. I wish Ethan was still around; he had some good ideas, and was more of a bookworm that I am.  I miss him.

April 2nd

(Margo)What an awesome day, it was warm, like in the low 50s and the sun is out.  A couple more days like this and the snow will be gone.  I am so waiting for spring. Now that I think of it, the snow was heavier this year than last, and it seems to be staying longer.

Anyway, we did a little run this morning, and some sword stuff.

One of the things that has happened when we lost Frank, Henry and Joseph is that there is a gap in things getting done.  I never realized how much those three, and throw in Matt, did to keep this place up and running. It was little things, okay, some not so little, like the propane issue.  If Frank was still around he might be looking into finding another propane truck, or Henry and Matt would be planning to get the fields ready.  There are many things that we will have to look at and find a way through, and that is the job of The Three.

I forgot to say, the new Three.  Charlene is now the President, Grace is now the VP and Ron is the Prime Minister.  They have spent the morning working on getting up to speed.  The Major, Lance, and Mark have been in there with them also figuring out what we need to look at doing to keep the place running smoothly.

Code, Del, and I are sure to see some changes in our routine, I think that we will be out doing some scouting and scavenging shortly.  Since the Hunters showed up, and we split up, and all the things that happened, we have been out of the routine of the way we did things.  This could be bad, but at least we are not mid-winter.

(Lance) I probably should have run for The Three, The Major, Mark, and I have been sucked into their problems and we don’t even get a vote.  Since the Hunter blew up and we split up, things have kind of fallen through the cracks.  I don’t think any of us saw all the little subtleties.  We were so reliant on them (Frank, Henry, and Joseph) for the behind the scenes stuff, and now we need to play catch up.  Matt’s little field trip has not helped.

The good news is that the likelihood of us freezing to death is pretty much over.   The down side is that we need to start getting ready for restocking our food and fuel supplies.  It is going to take a lot of work; we are not in as good a shape for fuels as we were last year at this time. Our gasoline is gone, the kerosene supplies are down, and propane is just about gone.  We can probably find some more propane and kerosene, but gasoline is done.  As far as flying, that is also pretty much a thing of the past.  We still can get the chopper up for emergencies, but that thing sucks fuel like crazy and must be used sparingly.

We will see what The Three comes up with for a plan.  I am not optimistic.

(Matt) It was a good day for walking, we covered about 7 miles. It is going to be a long trek to Rome, but we can make it in, I am hoping, in about 2 weeks, it is about 100 miles that we need to cover.  I am hoping for 8 to 10 miles a day, but we’ll see. We are pretty much walking parallel to the interstate, just hoping that it gives us a little protection and cover.

Tanya and I talked today about what I think is Your first truth, that we all suffer.  It is part of the natural order, the way of all things living.  We talked about the suffering we have experienced and the suffering of others, things like the feelings as she saw her family killed, and her being raped and held in slavery by the bikers.  I talked about losing my dad, and the pain my mom has experienced with the death of Frank.  It was not an up-lifting experience, and in a way, suffering unto itself.

At about 5 pm we found a little house along the road.  We were able to get in and decided that this would be a good place to spend the night.  I am writing by candle-light and will transfer these thoughts to the server when we get back.

Lord, thank you for a good day, we move forward with You in our hearts and soul.  Amen.

April 3rd

(Margo) Pretty much the standard day, nothing exiting to report.  Biter and Lucy’s two surviving puppies, the Coy-dogs, have found home.  Fred and Jan took the big male, she calls him Champ and Stephen took the other who he named Jumper.  Mark has been Biter’s best buddy since after Gramp left us.  Lucy is not all that comfortable with anyone and kind of just hangs in the area.  She is not mean or anything, and will take food when offered, but she is still pretty much in the wild category although I have seen her kind of following me when I would wander out of camp on a hunting trip.  I have tossed her a squirrel or bunny that I killed sometimes.

I guess I should mention Skittles and Rosy, while we are talking about our furry friends.  Those two have become part of the kitchen staff, living in the dry food storage room.  They seem to be doing well; the hunting must be good for them.

Spent some time drawing today, just things, just to get the pencil in my hand.

Code and I spent some snuggle time last night, it is good to be back to normal.

(Lance) Lighter fluid, I think that may be the answer.  I can maybe use it to fuel a small RC drone with a camera on it.  We could use that to scope out the area.  I would have a range on it of a quarter mile maybe, if I can find the right model.  I am thinking a trip to the mall in Pittsfield might be in order.  I will talk to Del and Margo at dinner.

(Matt) We were on the road early this morning, a hand-full of nuts and some acorn bread to get us started.  We are into day three and our goal is for another 10 miles today.  We will stay off the Interstate, but walk near it.

It is so quiet, and peaceful, just the crunch of the remaining snow, although at this point it is gone in most areas.  There are birds, it is nice to hear them.  It is truly peaceful here, and if not for the knowing what had taken place and the dangers that hide on the road, it would be Heaven.

“Tanya, why do we suffer?” I caught her off guard with that question, and after I tossed it out there I kind of winced thinking about the pain that she had seen and suffered with murder of her family and her enslavement by the bikers.

“Because we love” she replied, it was not the answer I expected.

“What do you mean?”

“If we didn’t love or care about things, we could not be hurt by them when they are taken away.”

I thought back to my past, and thought about my grandparents and how when the Gram passed, Gramp just gave up on life, he grasped at something, anything to try to fill that void but was never able to quite grab the lifeline we tried to toss him.

I thought about some of the others that had been bonded pairs and how they managed when one of them died.  In the case of Burt and Mary-Lou, she kept them together in death rather than to try to go on alone.  Cyril held on to Arcelia with his daily visits to the grave side. Tom and Anne, he found a life line.  Chelsea, she was lost with the death of Ethan.  They have all suffered and yes, Tanya is right, it is out of the loss of love that we suffer. But I think that is only part of it.  There is more.  There is suffering from things, I think.

Thank you Lord for a good day, and Your protection.

April 4th

(Margo) Spring is here.  It is a warm, wonderful day and we were off for a little run this morning.  It felt good.  We haven’t seen any more Zoms or Hunters, so things are good.  I had not noticed it before but Lucy has been kind of following us on the runs.  She doesn’t get too close, she is just back there.

At breakfast this morning E and Del joined us.  They usually do, we are all buds.  But I had a bad feeling when I saw the look on his face.  He needed some new toys.

“So I was thinking about ways we can improve security around the camp”, he began.

“Nailed it”, I thought to myself.

Code gave me a look and then said, “How?”

“Well see, I am thinking that if we got some little drones, some RC types that could hold little video cameras we could use them to scout the area out about 1000 feet from camp.”

“Okay….”

“I know it is not much but it would be good to keep an eye on the area and watch for things getting too close”, he added, there was a spark of enthusiasm in his voice.

“And we can get these drones?” I asked.

Yes, I think we could find them if we go into Pittsfield.  There are a hobby shops or a Radio Shop there that would carry them.” E said, looking like a puppy that was begging for food.

“We have never really done a lot of exploring in Pittsfield; we don’t know what is there.  It has always been a big Zom population and there were the fires.  Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked, I was really not sure this was a good idea.

Del jumped in, I knew she would, “We probably should to go scope the place out at least.  We could find a propane truck or some other things that we need.  Hinsdale is pretty much tapped out, and Dalton, there has never been a lot of stuff we needed there.”

“Yeah, but there is likely a lot of the Zoms still in the city and we don’t know about the Hunters or their refill magazines that might be in the area”, Code countered.

“We would have to do a slow and go, take our time and really be careful, but I think we could do it”, said Del.

“I guess, what about The Three, are they going to let us do it?  And who would go?” I asked.

“I will talk to The Three, I think they will see the need for the trip, and they can decide who goes, I think we would be best, but they may want to add a person or two”, E was excited, his plan was coming together.

Del turned toward him, “We?  You never said that you were going.”

“I, well, of course I have to go, it is my plan and I know what we need, this is not just picking up some canned foods or something.  There are specifics that need to be met” he countered.

“Whoa, Code can do the picking, you are not a hunter, and you don’t scavenge!”

“Yeah, I could….” started Code, but I kicked him under the table, this was a fight not to get into, and I was not exactly sold on this plan.

“Look, I am not great with this idea, it has some merit, but first we have to get it by The Three, and then we need to figure out whom to take.  Let’s slow down and get the trip okayed first.” I said.

Fred who had been sitting at the table behind us with Jan turned around and said, “If you go, then you will need a couple extra people to lug stuff, or if we get lucky, drive a truck back.  I would good with going on the trip.  I can work on Ron and help sell it to him.”

Great, just great, another country heard from, I thought.

After finishing our breakfast bread it was back to the cabin.  Code and I talked about the idea, “I think it is a good idea, but, I just, well, with all that has happened I think it is risky” I said.

“I know, and you are right, but knowing E, he is going to figure out how to get those things even if he does something stupid like tries to sneak up there by himself.  You don’t see it do you?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“This is about trying to protect Del, this is about making Romanica as safe for her as he can.” Code explained.

“But that makes no sense, he wants to send her, and for that matter, himself and his friends on a high risk mission to make the camp safer?”

“Yep, it’s a guy thing, although I am surprised that he is putting her in the mix on this.  But yeah, that’s how we think.” He added.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid, would you do that to me?”

“I’m a guy, to protect you I would do about anything, so yeah, I would!”

Wow, I had never thought about that, and yet it has been around me all this time.  Tom did it for Mom, and all of us.  Matt, and Ron, and Fred, they all have done things that seemed reckless and stupid, and I just thought they were being dumb.  But the truth is it is what they do, guys…stupid guys.

(Matt) We spent the night in Rossleville, just on the outskirts of Albany.  It was quiet and the little house we stayed in had a few amenities.  Hot water was unfortunately not one of them.  But we have kind of gotten used to the idea of cleaning up in the cold.

I am still perplexed by the idea of suffering.  I was surprised at what Tanya had said, but it actually made sense.  But that would only cover the suffering for the loss of a person, or pet, or I guess to a certain degree a place.

But what is not answered is the suffering that comes from within.  There is the physical suffering that occurs with illness or injury.  Then there is the mental suffering that one can heap onto themself.  How do you deal with that? Something to think of on the road today, Lord, I thank you for the chance to see these things.

Our goal today is to continue west and walk along the side of I-90 toward Schenectady.  If we can get another 10 or 12 miles in today, we will have done well.  The route we have chosen is not a smooth and easy one, but it is much safer than being out in the open.

April 5th

(Margo) It was a warm day, and kind of a light rain, really kind of nice for this time of year.  Captain E was all into looking at his plan for the trip into Pittsfield.  He and Ron figured out the best way to get in and out and setting up who will do what.  Code was in there with them and I will get the details for the plan later.

I had an acorn coffee with Tay this morning. She and Chels are doing okay I guess.  It is a hard thing to lose someone close to you like that.  We talked about the food situation and we are still good for meats, and corn, and some of the canned goods, but she has a list put together for our scavenger trip if we find a grocery store or warehouse. She is looking for the usual canned goods, baking needs like flour, and over the counter meds like aspirin, or vitamins.  We actually got kind of silly over looking for fiber and laxatives.  I got her laughing so hard that she actually spurted coffee out her nose.

After coffee I was bored, Code was still tied up with Ron and E so I took a little run.  As I ran, I heard someone, or something running behind me.  I slowed down a little and as I rounded a corner tucked behind a tree, I popped out and scared the shit out of Lucy.  She was following me.  She stopped and stared at me.

“Hi, you following me?”

I didn’t expect an answer, she just looked at me.

“Okay, well, you can follow along.” And I started running again; she followed about 20 feet behind me.  I actually kind of like the idea, I had been kind of foolish going out alone, so it was good to have someone there with me. It was ironic that it is a coyote?

Code and I had dinner together and he filled me in on the plan.  We would be off early tomorrow and take the Coyote and Matt’s truck to town.  We had our shopping lists and once in town we would split into two groups.  E, Del and Ron were going to look for the drones; Code, Fred and I were scouting for fuels and anything else that might be of use.  We would be on the road at 6:30 in the morning and had to be out of Pittsfield by 5:30 at the latest so that we would not be in the dark driving back.

Early night then, Code is over in the Boy’s dorm tonight.  I did a pencil sketch of Lucy.

(Lance) Del gave me a great deal of grief about my going on this mission, but I know what I need, and I am doing it to keep her safe, and well, all of us safe.  It will work; she has to have faith in me.

(Matt) Another day of cold breakfast, we were on our way early.  Our goal was to get to the I-90 / I-890 split before we bedded down for the night.  The weather was not so nice today, it was kind of raw and the rain fell most of the day.  It wasn’t a pouring rain but just hard enough to make it miserable.

We did not really talk that much on the road today as we trudged on through the woods by the side of the Interstate. I thought about what Tanya had said about suffering and how so often we take a thing like an illness or disease and compound it by our dwelling on it in a negative way we add to the suffering.  But then what was the answer, how do you not let it get to you.

We found a little house off the roadway to stay for the night but in the end decided to sleep in the little shed in back.  There was a family that had lived in the house, and they had decided that their control of their destiny was important.  I felt bad for the kids, but it looked like they were sleeping all snug in their beds when mom and dad took the only option that they saw for the family.  We’ll burn the bodies in the morning.

Thank you Lord for a good day, it was not perfect, but yet it was fruitful.

April 6th

(Lance) We headed into Pittsfield early, and were in town by 10.  There were a few Zoms that we ran into, or in some cases ran over. Made me kind of wonder, did they even know that they are dead, or even that they were anything?

I kind of felt that way when I was growing up, empty inside, just moving, and eating.  I mean I did think, and really I buried myself in my music and books.  My folks were always so down on me for that.  “Lance, play sports” or “Lance, why don’t you have a girlfriend, why don’t you do things with people.” And now, I guess I am getting out, and I have Delany with me so they got their wish.

We found a couple of little drone copters at the hobby shop.  They were the Parrot BeBop model; they have a Wi-Fi range of about 1000 feet, so we can get live action.  We can also use a record mode on board if we need to go further, although the flight range from control is only about a half mile, still, it could work.

We all got back safe. So I am not quite sure I understood why Del was a little upset with me.  I am doing this all for her, to keep her safe.

(Margo) I like E, he is a good guy, mostly, but he is kind of clueless when it comes to being out of camp.  What a dick!  I don’t think he had any idea how risky this mission was, or how close he came to getting himself bitten.

We drove into town, and there were way more Zoms there than we hoped for or figured.  We should have turned around and headed home, screw the drones.  But he insisted, and we did need some of other stuff, propane in particular, so we stuck it out.

I had to drive through a horde of about 35 to get to the mall.  The mall was also still pretty much a hot zone.  But we got him to the hobby store.  He found what he wanted, but what a jerk, it was like shopping with my mom, “Well, let’s look at this one”, “Oh, this one has a better range”.  Finally, Del had enough and just yelled at him, “Grab the fucking things, we got to go!”

We got back to the Coyote and piled back in.  We had to still battle our way out, while he was happily reading the manual from the types that he had grabbed.

Code got on the radio and made contact with Fred; they had found a propane truck and were going to meet us at the edge of town.

“Hey guys, when we make it back, I’m thinking hot showers tonight”, I exclaimed, I was happy about that.  And that thought calmed me down about our little nerdling and his toys.

We were back to the camp just before dinner, and Mark worked with Ron to get the truck hooked up to the water heating unit.  It looked pretty easy to do.  Hot water, hot shower, oh, I can’t wait.  Even tonight’s deer stew tasted better than usual with the happy thoughts in my head.

There was a little loud discussion over at E’s office tonight, I think Del had a little venting to do, but he deserved what he got.

(Matt) By my best guess we have travelled about 16 miles today.  We are going along pretty well, and at least today the weather is a little better, it is cool, but the sun is out.

As Tanya and I talked about things like the experiences that we have been through, alone and together, I am getting better at understanding the idea of loss and of wanting.  I think that it is You, Lord that serve as the ointment that soothes the pain.  It is in our faith in You, that what has happened is part of Your plan and that in the end it all works out.

We found a small house that we stayed in tonight; there were a few cans of baked beans.  The expiration date had passed, but there was no bulge in the ends and they did not smell bad, so we ate them.

We must move on in the morning and we have reached the area of where I-88 separates from I-90.  There is a road; it is State Highway 20 that lays a little to the south of I-90. The original thought was to take 90 all the way to Rome, and as I examined the map, I thought that this was the path that we should take.  I cannot say why, it just seems what should be done.  Tanya agreed, and she felt we will be less exposed to danger if we take that route.

April 7th

(Matt) Cold beans for breakfast this morning and we were on the road by about 7.  I still carry a wristwatch; it is a wind-up type, thank you Timex.  As we walked, we kind of got silly, seems that magical fruit has caused us to toot and some being louder than others has resulted in a lot of laughs.  It has always been curious that we get such a chuckle out of bodily functions.

So we have decided or accepted that there is going to be suffering in our lives.  And we also agreed that it is part of Your plan, and that You can take the edge off the suffering.  But is there something that we can do on an individual level to help ease the pains.

“I think to start, it is the show of compassion and empathy” began Tanya.

“Yeah, but there is more I think, we all work well at the time of the suffering event, the loss of the loved one.  But it lasts only so long and then it is back to the scramble of just trying to survive.”  I added.

“True, our group has been good at helping each other over the initial hurdles, but I think that there are things we could be better at.”

“Like what?”

“I am not quite sure how to phrase it, we are there for the suffering, but are we there all the time for each other, the day to day stuff?”

“Hmmmmmm, Good point.”

We didn’t speak again until lunch, and then only about the road.  It is interesting how much thinking and sort of meditating that you can accomplish just walking along.

We managed to get to Route 20 and started west on it.  We got about 2 miles, and felt comfortable using the road itself to walk on rather than going parallel to it.  We found a little house to stay in for the night.

It had been interesting that since we began our journey we haven’t met anyone.  We also haven’t run into any Changed.  I am not complaining about that, just making a note.

We were a little luckier tonight; there was some spaghetti and jars of sauce.  We had dinner over candlelight and I kind of thought of the old movie “Lady and the Tramp”.  I sometimes forget how beautiful Tanya is both on the inside and the outside.  I am blessed that we are together.

(Lance) I have figured out the controls of the drones.  We can get them up and out away from the camp but I can’t get the things to link into the Wi-Fi.  We need to have a stronger transmitter.  I can use them to record video, but it has to be returned to the camp and played back rather than real time.

Del was upset with me last night; I guess I kind of deserved it.  I am so used to the comfortable life in camp I have lost touch with what is out there and the real risks.  She reawakened that reality for me last night.  I was doing this for her, to keep her safe, and like a dumbass I put her and the others at risk for a plan that may not even work out.

I have to make it up to her.

(Margo) Not much to report, Code and E played with the copter things all day.  Del was kind of off by herself, I think the thing with E last night has her kind of worked up.  I tried to talk with her, but she just wanted to be alone.

I took a little run this morning, but I was more careful, and didn’t wander as far from camp as I might have.  Lucy padded along with me, still not too close but it was good to have an extra set of eyes.

The lake has pretty much become ice free, and that is good.  We can start fishing again.  I wish that Frank or Tom had taught me how to fly fish; I like trout better than the bass or perch in the lake.

Wow, just wow. We sat down for dinner, Del, Code and me, and out of the kitchen pops E, dressed in a white shirt and tie with his hair greased back.  Then he does a whole Italian high class waiter thing putting a napkin in Del’s lap and pouring her ice water.

“Madam, welcome to Chef Neek’s Bistro.  I am Loonce, your waiter and we have prepared a special meal just for you this evening, would you like to see the wine list?”

Code and I are staring at him like he has two heads, and Del, well Del was like, blown away.

“Ah, yes, I guess a glass of wine would be nice.” She mumbled.

“Pardone, I will be right back”, as he heads to the kitchen.

Code started, “What the …….”

“I don’t know, has he lost his mind?” I said as I looked at Del

She blushed a little, a tear, a sob, and then said, “Yeah, I kind of jumped ugly with him last night and I think he is trying to make up for his actions at Pittsfield.”

E returned with a bottle of some kind of wine, it was red, and had a twist cap, he twisted off the cap and handed it to Del for her to sniff, then he poured a little glass and let her taste it.  She played along perfectly.  “Yes, that is very acceptable, you may pour, and for my friends also.”

“But I am only 15,” I started.

“Yeah, so what are they gonna do, take the liquor license?” Code said with a smile.

We laugh and a bell rang and E announced, “Ah, dinner is served, I will be right back. Toot sweet”

“Toot Sweet? What the….” I giggled.

I do not know how he did it, or what he did to get them to do it but moments later he returned with a pizza, A FRIGGIN’ PIZZA!

“Madam, I hope that you enjoy our special blend sausage and cheese pizza, Chef Neek has made it especially for you.”

“Aw Lance, you didn’t have to, ….you’re an idiot” and she broke out in tears.

“I know I am an idiot, and I had to do it, because, well because I am sorry, and well, you know.”

Wow, I think that there will be no yelling at Captain E’s place tonight, and there was not at my cabin either, it was a snuggle kind of night.

April 8th

(Matt) We got an early start today after our breakfast; it was pretty much the standard, cold cereal and some tea that we found in the house we stayed in, thank you Lord for providing for us.

We had gone about 3 miles down the road when we came to a road that split off the state highway; it was Sprakers Road, part of Route 162.  It hit me that I was to take that road.  I had to, there was something in the past that was up that road that I had to visit, revisit.

“Tanya, there is a place, part of my past that is on this road; it is somewhere that I have to go, somewhere that I have to visit.  I think there is a clue, a message that is to be learned.”

“How so? I thought you were from down south, Connecticut.”

“I am, I mean I was, but I went to school in this area, and, and well, my Grandfather had a place, a farm up that road.  I think I need to see it. The area where we would be going was a center for a lot of Amish farmers, they would have probably dealt well with the Changed, and well they are a community that could very well teach us some things about surviving, and about God.”  I explained.

We spent the rest of the day walking and we were actually making time getting toward Canajoharie.  I think that in part, because it was a nice walking day, and as we walked, I told her about the days when Grandpa had the place, the campouts, and the adventures we had when I was in my early teens.

“We would sit out on a summer night and just watch the stars, Mark, Teckla, Nick and sometime Uncle Tom.  It was so beautiful, and peaceful, and the sky.  We would tell stories, ghost stories or oh, we had this kind of round robin thing we would do where everyone would work on a story together.  Someone would start at the campfire and give like a sentence to the story, then the next person would add to it.”

“Sorry Matt, we didn’t have campfires where I was from, but that actually sounds kind of fun.”

“Yeah, we would go along, Nick was usually really good about his part of the story.  He would bring something interesting in. Oh, and I remember one time he was sitting there and it was kind of cold, so we were a little closer to the fire than usual and one of his shoelaces caught fire, it was like a fuse burning to his shoe, we laughed.”

“Wow, I wish I had memories like that, we, were in the city we never had that kind of a chance. How did the stories end?”

“Well, we would go along and usually on the second time around the group it would come to me and I would say ‘and a meteor fell and we all…..blew…..up.”

It was quiet for a while, I, it hit me, we walked on.

About 4:30 we came to a little farmhouse.  It had some canned goods, homemade canned fruit in mason jars. There were also a couple of chickens running around, but the place was abandoned.  It still surprised me that we had not run into anyone so far, alive, or dead.

“It wasn’t your fault Matt.” Said Tanya.

“I know, I guess I am just caught up in the irony of it, a meteor fell and……”

We made some small talk for the rest of the evening, but in the back of my mind I could feel that I was experiencing a pain, a twinge, suffering, but it was not because I was injured or had done anything bad.  It was from my thoughts, from events of the past. I stared at our little fire, and remembered.

(Lance) I think I have made some amends for my behavior in Pittsfield.  I talked, well actually, did a little wheeling and dealing with Nick and Grace to get them to make me a pizza.  It was not a perfect pizza, I mean it used some real flour, and they had to make a sauce out of some of the canned stewed tomatoes that had been put up.  It really was not that big a deal, I mean I have to set up a place on the computer for them so they can record some recipes, and then take the ones that they have written down and do the entry on them.

In this whole adventure of the last few days I think that we need to start looking for new ways of doing things.  I mean we have been lucky so far in being able to find fuels, and batteries and pre-meteor bits of equipment.  But as time goes on, that is all going to get harder and harder to find.  But before that happens I think we need to try to hoard as much tech as we can grab.  I need to talk with The Three.

(Margo) I was kind of surprised this morning, as I was getting ready for the run this morning, Tay and Chelsea came over and asked if they could run with me.  They had never really shown much interest in it.  They slowed me down but I think it was good for them.  I kind of enjoyed it too, it was girl time.  As we ran, they talked about wanting to learn to hunt and fish, and in general be more, what would be the term, survival oriented.  I think that is a good thing.

Heather is really starting to get big with the baby, and Stephen follows her around, watching out for her.  The idea of the baby is still one that scares me.  I know that eventually it will be my turn, a year or it will be years, but right now I just hope that their baby is normal.  The Major says it should be, he hasn’t found anything to show otherwise.  But we don’t have ultrasound or things so we don’t know.

Code and E spent another day playing with the drone things.  I think that it was not working out as well as they had hoped.  I asked Code when he came home last night and he said that there was still a problem with trying to transmit live signals.

Quiet night at home, alone tonight.  I wonder how Tom and Azz are doing.  I hadn’t thought of them in a while.  I wonder what they are seeing, and doing.  I wish they would send a message.

I tried to do a picture of him…..

April 9th

(Lance) The Wi-Fi is not going to work, I mean it will work for about 100 feet from my lab, but that is it.  I can’t figure how to extend the range.  All the work and thinking, but it is a failure, I have a couple of toys, shit.

I have been so focused on the drones that I have missed some stuff, in particular I have not been watching the radiation levels, they are up in the camp and we have no way of hunting down the source.  The airplane fuel is questionable, Ron says that they might be able to fly, but the fuel is iffy and could fail while flying.  Stephen said he could get up and try to do some scouting around and get some readings but his fuel situation was not good either, but for him it is just quantity, we are low on kerosene.

I need to talk to the Major and The Three about this.  It may be time to think about moving.

(Margo) It was a new day Lord, and I thank you for it. As I sat and stared at the fire last night, I realized that things that have occurred in the past can’t be changed.  You can atone for them and the best way to atone is to make sure that they don’t happen again.  From the suffering standpoint you really do no good in beating yourself up over things from the past.  You simply can’t change what happened years ago, let it go.  I know it sounds like a flawed logic, and as Tanya and I talked about it, she added that there were times that you could repair the damage, but that act is in the present, and the past is behind you. The past can be a cancer that eats at you.  She is right.

We covered a lot of ground today; it was sunny, and almost warm.  We were able to get to the Rural Grove and found a little farmhouse that was off the road a little bit.  As we approached the house, we were confronted by the homeowner.  He was a withered old man, bent with age.  His farmer jeans were dirty and worn and the flannel shirt had seen better days.  But most noticeable was the shotgun he had pointed at us.

“Hold it right there”, he said.

We raised our hands, “Peace be with you my friend, we are just pilgrims looking for a place to rest.” I said.

“Is it jest you two?”

“Yes, just us, and well, the Lord God watching over us.”

“I know you ain’t Amish, they don’t let her kind join them.”

“No, we are just humans, learning, God has tasked us to search for something that will help our group”

The farmer looked around nervously, “Your group, how many, where are they?”

“Oh, they are back on the other side of Albany in our camp. It is just the two of us on the road.”

“Huh, part of me says I should shoot you, part says I should send you away, and part of me says I haven’t talked to anyone in, ah, months”

“We will go along with whatever you wish, except for the shootin’ part.” Said Tanya, “We mean no harm or imposition”

He looked at us queer for a minute then lowered the gun.  “The Missus would have my head if I chased you away.  Come on.”

We walked, followed him into the house, it was a small place, and smelled kind of bad, it was an ‘old people’ smell.  I remembered it from my grandpa’s farm just before he died.

“Come on out back, let me introduce you to the Missus, Emma, her name is Emma.”

As we walked out the back door, we saw the little grave site and saw the sadness in his eyes.  Introductions were made.

“I think she would have wanted us to sit down and we all would have had coffee.  I have some, would you like a cup?”

“Yes, that would be wonderful,” said Tanya.

After the coffee was perked and poured, we sat around the kitchen table.

“This was how it used to be, how we would be with the neighbors, visiting each other on Sundays, ah, what day is it? I don’t keep track anymore, every day is the same, Monday, Friday, and it doesn’t really matter.” He spoke looking sadly off into space.

“Emma used to make little cakes for our church group, and she sang in the choir, she would be glad you are here.” He said, as he teared up.  “I’m sorry, it is just…”

“No, I understand, how long have you been alone?”

“They came in the fall, the leaves hadn’t fallen yet, there were about 10 of them, the Reverend Mueller was leading them, he was out front. At first we thought it was okay, and then we saw, we ran, got our things to stop them.  Emma, she got bit, it was slow, the sickness, I wanted to join her, to kill us both, give us peace but she told me that I couldn’t, shouldn’t die, she made me promise to hang on, and to live as long as I could.”

“I have suffered for that ever since, I have so often thought about it, a few times I had the gun in my mouth, and then she would tell me that I had to stay alive, to not die alone.  At times, I hated her, it has been Hell here, alone.”

We listened to him, in silence.

“You are a kind man, and a good one.”  I tried to give some consolation.

The rest of the evening he told us what it was like living as he had, watching his neighbors disappear, or turn and come to his door.  He talked about how Emma had been a kindly spirit before she died, helping neighbors and friends as they bit by bit blinked out.

He talked about the loneliness that he had since she passed, leaving just him.  It was heartbreaking.

“Oh, I’m sorry, you must be hungry, let me cook us up some dinner.” He offered.

Tanya suggested that she do the cooking as a small repayment for his kindness.

“That would be good, I think Emma would like that, a woman in the kitchen, it has been so long. Let me show you what I have that you could make.”

He had a healthy store of home-canned goods that included beans, tomatoes and other veggies that she (Emma) probably put up last September.

We had a wonderful meal, and after dinner sat in the living room and enjoyed a fire in the hearth.  About 9 pm, the stranger, he never actually told us his name, said he had a little headache, probably from all the excitement of actually having guests. He said he was going to retire, but before he did he showed us a guest room.

“Emma kept this room ready for guests; we did a little bed and breakfast thing sometimes.”

We woke next morning, it was cold and quiet.  When we headed down stairs we found him, he must have awakened in the middle of the night and went back to sit by the fire.  He was sitting in the big wing chair, he was smiling.  There was a note on the table; it just said “Thank You”

I guess not dying alone was what kept him going, and now, he was with Emma.  His name was Bob and he will not reawaken.  We reunited him with Emma; they sleep side by side, again.

We continued on that day, it was quiet between us, each lost in thought.  We took a few mason jars of the canned goods, but left most for other travelers that might wander by.

We reached Sprakers, it was a small town, and we could see from the hill overlooking the town that there was a barricaded area.  But there didn’t seem to be anyone moving about behind it.  We decided that perhaps a night outside the town was the best idea.

(Margo) Nothing to report, it is quiet, did a run.  Tay and Chelsea joined Code and Del and I on the run.  Lucy tagged along too.  We took the usual route.

Sadly, we have not yet run out of deer, so it was deer stew again today, I need to get out and find some meat, any meat, I am actually thinking if I found a skunk or two it would work for me.

E seems a little funny, deflated funny, like depressed kind of funny.

April 10th

(Lance) I told the Major what I had found on the radiation levels, they are a problem.  We can stay here and try to wait it out but the numbers are climbing, last summer they were at a point where it was really not going to be real dangerous. But now, they are getting close to the levels where they could do some harm to us.  We are still safe, but another few points and it could cause cancer, or make us sick.

I think we should move, I think we should head west, or north, that might get us out of the wind that was blowing this stuff onto us.  My best guess is that another nuke plant went up.  As time goes on, that’s going to be a recurring theme here in the Northeast.  We really should get out toward the other side of the Mississippi.

Delaney and I are okay again, I think.  I sometimes wonder how we hooked up, I mean, we are pretty different.  I can’t even say that it is the “opposites attract” thing.  We are not opposites, or similar, or anything, it just seems to work.  I am not sure I would survive losing her.

The Major wants to drag me in front of The Three on this radiation problem. I really don’t want to go.  I just want to hide in my little room, kind of like I used to, before all this started.  This is not fun anymore.

(Margo) We ran this morning, the usual suspects, Del, Code and me.  Tay and Chels started with us but turned back after a couple of miles.  It was a nice morning; the temperatures were not too bad.  When we got back to camp, it was warm shower time.  I love being back on the odd day, even day schedule.

There is really not much going on, just life as usual in the camp.  We have reset most of the things that were messed up when we all scrambled out during the Hunter scare.

Langley, LJ and the other survivors from Winter Love, Bernie and Rick have kind of fit in and are doing what they can to help.  LJ tends to be a little bit of a dick, kind of bossy, but he means well.  I think what happened to his people has messed him up just a little.

The guys from Winter Love moved into the Boy’s Dorm, so Code tends to want to stay with me more.  I kind of like it, but he still keeps most of his stuff in the dorm, we aren’t that good yet for 24/7.  Guess what we had for dinner? …….. again.

(Matt) The weather was in our favor again today, thank you Lord.  We were able to get to Canajoharie today, and found that it seemed empty of life.  Much of the city appears to have been burned, my guess is that there were fires set to cleanse the city, and the people that lived there had moved on.  We were able to walk pretty much unbothered by the Changed, most were burned so badly that if they could move at all it was just a little of the upper torso and head.  We found a few that were still moving.  We sent them to rest.

We were able to get across the Palatine Bridge and were going to start up NY Route 5, but then decided that the railroad tracks were a better and probably a safer way to go.

We walked for about an hour and a half after crossing the bridge and found a rail siding that lead off to the right, we followed it a little ways and through the trees and bushes we saw a grocery store, a Price Chopper.

It was getting late in the day so we figured that was as good a place to camp as any.  I did not think we would find much in food, but we checked and found a few cans of Beef-a-Roni. It was not much, but it was something.  We found some other useable items, candles, some water, and bug spray.

After we settled down, we reconsidered, the place smelled bad, most of the meat and fish and perishables had decayed to mush or had been half eaten by wildlife, but there was still a lingering stink.  We found a van in the parking lot and slept there for the night.

There was no enlightenment today, just walking, just trudging along in the moment.  Now that I think about it, focused on the moving along, I had not felt the heavy heart or twinge of pain.

April 11th

(Lance) I spent some time today trying to get the Wi-Fi working with the camera drones.  The thing is good for about 200 yards, but that is it, it is not enough, it hardly gets out of the camp.  I promised, I wanted to make this work, and I failed.  I am a failure, I am going to bed.

(Matt) It was cold cereal this morning, cold dry cereal, and a little water.  We could have had the canned fruit but are going to save it for a day or two.  We were on the road by about 7:30.  I don’t know why but we were in good spirits today, and the weather was good for walking; I was thinking that we had a good shot at getting to Fort Plain today.  I was excited about the prospect of visiting my Gramp’s old farm.  I could see the place, where we had the campfires, and thought about the old stories. I have been able to put the “and a meteor fell and everyone got blown up” behind me.  I was a kid and it was not like I made it happen.  Step one in the new order, live in the present, you can remember the past a little, but don’t let it eat you up.

About 4 miles up the road we came to a motorcycle shop, Christian’s Cycles, irony?, a sign from you, Lord, don’t know but we found a Gold Wing three wheeler that actually started and looked like it had some gas.  It took some persuading but I got Tanya to jump on the back of the bike.  She had never ridden before and was sure we would be killed.  But after a few slow spins around the parking lot she was good with the idea.  This pretty much insured that we would make Fort Plain and the old homestead by the end of the day.

As we rode along, it was an interesting perspective.  As the scenery zipped by, I noticed how much the weeds and grass had begun to move into the areas that had once been highways, or parking lots.  The houses that we passed that may have once had manicured lawns were overgrown and the corn and hay fields were now just weed patches.

One of the things that I like about riding, have always liked about it is the wind in the face and the smells.  Although I must say that the smells that are out there now are not that great.  There is still the smell of decay. We don’t have the flowers, or trees or things in bloom that really catch your attention.  An interesting point is that we are so used to the bodies that are occasionally on the side of the road we almost don’t smell them anymore.

We covered a lot of ground quickly and reached Oldick Road in the early afternoon.  As we rolled up on the farm it was changed, the old farmhouse had been taken down and a beautiful contemporary log house was in its place.  But the more interesting thing was the barn, it had been burnt to the ground, must have been lightening.

We hung around the place for the rest of the afternoon because we were well ahead of where we figured we would be and I wanted to give Tanya a chance to have a campfire and stare at the stars.  I thought it would be safe because we had not seen any Changed in the course of our ride.

In fact, we had seen no signs of life period.  It was odd though, as we drove up Oldick, and even before, there were scooters, not moped type scooters but real kid type foot on the pavement scooters.  The Amish use them for travelling; I remember my mom telling me about how the couple that had bought the farm in NY had actually taken a vacation and went down to visit family in Lancaster, PA on the things.  So why were they abandoned along the road, I have some ideas but they are not good.

We checked out the farmhouse and found that there were a few jars of fruits and vegetables in the cupboard, but for the most part the place was empty of food.  The inside of the house was actually very clean and orderly, the beds were made, and the trash had been taken out.  But there was dust; clearly no one had been in the place in months.

We found the root cellar out behind the house, but that was not much help, there were still some veggies down there, but after the year or so they had been down there they were pretty dried out or mushy.

We had our campfire and talked about things, about how we could help with our own suffering, and also to help with others pain and issues.  I understand Lord why you sent us on this trip, and see that although you were always there, and help us, that we need to do it ourselves, based on our faith in You.  We are Your tools to bring about Your will.

“Can we do a story?” asked Tanya.

“Sure, what kind?”

“One like you and your family used to do, the round-robin thing, you start.”

I thought for a moment and began, “Once a meteor fell…..”

“And some of us survived.” She added.

“Yes, yes we did, thank you Lord.” And we became silent, huddled together, smiling, and at peace.

Kind of a nothing day, run, eat, weather was nice.  I am not into writing today but I promised myself and Tom that I would try to put something down each day.

A couple of the sheep are very close to having little sheep, that is kind of exciting, I guess.  I wonder what it will be like to watch it happen.  I was talking to Code about it and we got silly talking about mutated sheep with big pointy teeth and purple wool.

E has been kind of quiet lately; he is back to his black eye shadow and fingernails.  He still joins us for meals, with Del, but there is something going on there.  Del seems a little off too.  I wonder if they are like, breaking up.

April 12th

(Margo) “Come on, we’re going hunting” announced Del over breakfast.

“Okay, that sounds like a plan” I said.

“Count me in too” replied Code.

“Yeah, ah, no, this is a huntress trip, sorry, no boys allowed.”

Oh, this was going to be a girl talk trip, and killing things is on the menu, run little animals. Del is on the warpath I thought to myself.

After breakfast we were on the road.  It was a good day, the sun was out, and the air was in the 50s.  We trudged about a mile with not much talking other than an occasional warning about a slippery spot or a “let’s go that way”. Finally, we came to a larger fallen tree and Del sat down, and looked at me.

“What the fuck is the matter with him?”

Ah, and now I know why it was girl time.  “You mean E?”

“Yeah, he is going back to being an emo kid, listening to shitty despair music, spending most of the day laying in his bed, and being a shit.”

“I don’t know, he has been different” I said, kind of confused.  I did not know what to think or how to answer.

“You see it, right?” She asked

“Yeah, he was kind of cool for a long time but he has kind of freaked out after we went to Pittsfield and you chewed his ass.”

“I know” she began to cry, “I know, and I think it is my fault.”

Listen, just listen, I thought to myself, let her vent.  That would be what I would want to do.

“Was I too mean to him?  Was I wrong, he could have gotten himself, or one of us killed.”

“No, I think you did the right thing, I would have jumped ugly with Code if he did something like that. But I am not sure that is the problem.  It may be something else.”

“Like what?” she said with a bewildered look.

“I don’t know, but well, I don’t think a little ass chewing would have done it.  There has to be something else.” I suggested.

“Maybe, but what?”

“I really am not sure, but maybe we can find out, I have a spy.” I said with a little grin.  “I think I can get Code to help us out here.”

“Would he?  Could he?  I have to know!”

“I think we can work that out.  It is a guy thing, they will talk, I will get on it when we get back.”

“But what if Lance finds out we are spying on him?”

“He won’t, He will never know, I promise. I will make it all about me.”

“Promise?  Pinky swear?”

“Double pinky swear!”

We sat for a little longer and then she perked up and smiling she said, “Hey, we better go kill something, or else we will look like we were goofing off or losing our edge.”

We got back to camp about 2 o’clock in the afternoon with about 4 rabbits and a couple of squirrels.  I am hoping that Nick will use those for dinner tonight.

Code and I talked tonight; I explained to him the weirdness of what was going on with E.

“Yeah, I kinda noticed it too.  But it wasn’t that Del ragged on him.  It is the failure of the drones.  He had this big plan to protect her, and all of us, but it has failed and he feels like shit about it, like it was his fault and he’s a loser.”

I was shocked, “You knew this and you didn’t tell us?”

“Mar, it’s a guy thing, we talk, but we don’t dwell or tell, I figured I would give him a couple of days of pity party and then I was going to get him back to normal, well as normal as he gets.”

“You really think you can do that?  Really make him get back from being Captain E?”

“Piece of pie, we are guys, we do stuff like this all the time.”  He said with a confident smile.

I doubt I will ever understand boys, guys.  At that moment, he reminded me of Tom, working his magic when Mom used to get wound up.  He would do something, talk to her, make a joke, do something goofy, and she would be fine.

“Hey, feel like a sleep over?”  I asked.

“Duh!”

(Matt) We slept on the second floor of the farmhouse after setting up a little alarm system on the stairs, a couple of strings with cans that would clatter if someone, or something tried to come up for a visit.  It was a real bed, with real sheets, and a comforter.  It is still cold at night, but well, it was not cold this night.

When I woke, I looked over at Tanya and for a moment, forget the badness the world had turned to and thought just about her, and the moment.  There was no pain or suffering, only peace, and her.  I just stared at her.

She awakened and looked at me. “What?”

“Nothing, just enjoying a moment, and was thinking how blessed I am.”

“Come here.”

We cleaned up ourselves and then the farmhouse.  The motorcycle had put us a little ahead of schedule, not that we really had a fixed schedule, but we could be in Fort Plain in less than a half hour.  I wondered who or what we would find.

We left the farm about 9:30 and as we rode toward town, it was strange, more foot powered scooters on the side of the road, and more burned barns.  I had first thought that only the one at Gramp’s farm had burned, lightening or spontaneous combustion, but it was farm after farm.  These barns were torched, on purpose, but why, by whom?

As we rolled into Fort Plain I expected to see the same little farm town that I remembered as a kid, there were still the same old brick buildings, and shops.  There was still the “Fort Plain Diner” at the corner of Main Street and Flower, I remembered having breakfast there with Gramp and Mark.  They had the best hash browns I had ever tasted, but there would be no breakfast stop today,

But the town it was a mess, well part of it was, broken store fronts, and trash strewn about.  As we turned onto the main drag there was a stretch of about 100 feet that was clean and clear of the debris.  In the middle of the sidewalks was a sign board “Real Estate Office Open”, in front of a store front.

We pulled up in front and stopped.  As we did, a short fiftyish woman, kind of chubby, walked out of the office.  She was neatly dressed in a black skirt and green blazer with a kind of badge on the breast pocket and a hair style from the 60s that matched the outfit.  She had a yellow scarf around her neck and a cup of coffee in her hand.

“Hi! Welcome to Fort Plain”, she said in a kind of whiny high pitched voice.

We walked toward her, kind of shocked that she was there, this was just weird.

“Hi” answered Tanya, “we were just passing through and we have not met many people in our travels.”

“Yeah, yeah, been kind of slow at the office for a while.”

“Would you like a coffee?  I can’t offer any milk, but I have some powdered creamer if you like.”

We looked at each other, then at her, “Sure.  That would be nice.”

We walked into the office with her, it was meticulous. She poured us each of coffee in Linda Harris Real Estate mugs that matched the blazer color and logo.  It was actually not bad coffee.

“Here, here, sit down, what brings you to town?  Are you looking for somewhere to move to?  It’s quiet here” said Linda.

“Well, no we are not looking, although the place looks interesting.  We are pilgrims on a trip to Rome, which is what the Lord has directed us to do.”

“Ah, I see, yeah, the Amish, the ones that survived all made a beeline for Lancaster area in Pennsylvania, a long trip in horse buggies and scooters.”

“We saw a few of the scooters dumped on the side of the road, did some of the locals not get away?

She looked down and shook her head, “No, a lot of them didn’t make it, when it all started they believed, well, the bishop wouldn’t allow them to hurt the re-awakened, he felt it was God giving the sick ones a second chance.  But then, they realized it was the Devil’s work and they did better about it. But by then, so many, so many had died, and come back.”

“Did they burn their barns?  Why would they do that?” Tanya asked.

“Oh, no, that was me, and my son, we did that.”

“Why?”

“Oh, well, see, we found that the best way to stop the groups of re-awakened was to lead them into the barns, lock them in and then set fire to the barns.  It worked well; the hay burned, and cleaned up the mess nicely.”

“Where is your son?  Is he at home?”

“No, no, he was in the last barn that I burned.”  It was so matter of fact and cold, it sent a chill down my spine.

“I’m sorry, it must of have been terrible.” Tanya said slowly.

“Well, yes, but it was okay, I did not want him to turn, to re-awaken.”

“He was bitten then?”

“Oh no, he was fine, but it was just a matter of time before the re-awakened would get us, and I did not want to see him suffer.” She said with a motherly smile.  “He was a good boy, kind of slow, you know, so well, it was better that way. I just locked him in the barn with the re-awakened before I set it on fire.”

I am sure that Tanya had the same sick feeling in the stomach that I had.  I wanted to puke.  This woman meant well, I think, but what she did, my God! Lord, forgive her.  Both Tanya and I set our coffees down.

“So you are pilgrims? Religious folk?  But why Rome?”

It was hard to speak or look at this woman, but I answered, “That is where the Lord has told me, us to go.”

“I see,” she said, still smiling.

“In fact, we should probably get moving along, we need to find gas on the way, and a place to stay for the night, down the road.” I said giving a side long glance to Tanya.  Her head was slowing nodding yes.  I wanted to get out of there quick, who knew what this woman was capable of.

“Oh, the Valero over around the corner still has gas, high test if you like.  We used it to start the barn fires. I have a little hand pump that works well, let me lock up the office and I will head over with you.”

“I ah, well, we can…” I started.

“No, no trouble at all, it is what we do, it is why I am the best real estate company in the area, been voted number one for the last three years.  I know that when you finish your pilgrimage you will come back here and buy.  It is a nice place, the people are friendly and warm, great school system.”

After we gassed up and were ready to roll off we thanked her for the coffee and gas.  As we climbed on to the Gold Wing, she gave us her business card.

“Remember me when you come back through, there are some great buys and I think I might be able to haggle a little reduction for you because sales have been off, it is a buyer’s market after all.”

We smiled the best we could and thanked her, then rode off; I am thinking we will not visit Fort Plain again.  It was scary, this is a disturbed woman, and yet, to her, it was like everything was as it always was.  But she killed her son…Lord, have mercy on her.

We rode out of town and along Route 5 for a couple of hours until we reached Beardsley Castle.  It was a restaurant / inn that looked like an old Irish castle.  We could have easily made Rome today, but after thinking about it we decided that this was a good place to stay the night.  It was empty, and had been sacked so we had to settle for our own food supplies, but that was okay.  Actually, the wine cellar was intact; we had a nice chardonnay with dinner, canned beans.  I think chardonnay goes with beans.

Lance) Spent most of the day in bed, don’t want to move, I just listen to my favorite group, Sunny Day Real Estate.  Their song ‘In The Circle’ just does it for where I am at right now. Someone has been knocking on my door, I think it is Cody, I don’t want to talk right now.

“Go Away!”

April 13th

(Matt) It is a rainy, miserable day, kind of cold and raw.  Here at the castle it is dry, and well, we have decided that it would be a good day to just not go anywhere.  We have food, and a fireplace with some wood and it appears to be safe.  It gives us a good chance to sit and think, talk, and even read.  They have a small library with some of the classics.

We talked over breakfast about what we have gotten out of it so far.  The suffering thing was the biggie, letting go, and living in the present.  But that opened up a discussion that has us starting to live in the future.  How can we, as a group, move toward an easier life?  What steps should we take to be better?

We figured that the idea of Your Ten Commandments was a good starting place.  One God, using Your name in vain, false gods, adultery, steal, covet, false witness (gossip), honoring mom and dad are all pretty clear cut and easy.

That would in itself give us a code of ethics and conduct that would easily work, although we need to modify one of them.  There was a couple that need adjustment. One was the “thou shall not kill”.  It was the Christian writers of the bible that changed it from “Thou shall not murder” to “Thou shall not kill”.  In the world we are in now we need to be able to kill, in some cases it was out of defense and self-preservation, and in others, it is killing something that is already dead.

The other is the no work on the Sabbath. But again that seems to be a Christian re-write.  We will remember the Sabbath, and hold it sacred; with services honoring You. And I think that you will forgive us for the need to tend to the crops and our livelihood.

“That is a good start!” Tanya told me as we lingered over the warm coffee that we were able to make with some of the meager supplies we found that had been left behind.

“Yes, I think it is.  But I think we need to expand a little.  I think that we should add the Golden Rule for one thing.”

“Do unto others, yeah that kind of works in the group, but what about outsiders?”  She asked.

“Well, until they prove otherwise, rule applies.”

“Makes sense, but it could be dangerous, remember the biker group.”

I thought about that for a moment, “True, but somewhere, somehow if we are going to move forward in rebuilding society, we’ll have to start somewhere and I think trying trust would be the good way.”

“I guess, I’m sorry, but what happened to me with them, the bikers, it is hard to let go of.” She added quietly.

“I understand, but we can’t change the past, only look to the future, it is not easy to let go of, and it still makes you suffer.  Trust in the Lord.”

“I try, I try hard, just sometimes I am weak.”

“We are all weak, it is His will that makes us strong, and helps us move forward. It is our task to help those weaker than we are and make them strong.”  I smiled at her.

We spent the rest of the day talking, and reading, and just living like almost normal people did before the meteor.

(Lance) Dammit, why won’t they leave me alone, I want to just sit here alone in the dark!

(Margo) Cody has failed so far, E is still hiding in his cabin.  Del is getting really pissed and wants to kick the door in and drag his ass outside.  Somehow the Major and Charlene have gotten wind of what is going on and they have talked to us about it.  They are concerned that he might be, that he might hurt himself.  If he is not over it by tomorrow evening, we are going to do what they call an intervention.  I think it is a nice way of saying we all go over, kick in the door and drag his butt out.

Code is kind of bummed that he has not been able to get E to open up.

We’re all staying kind of close to camp today, it is raining and yucky.  Nick has brightened my day at least with some fried rabbit with a kind of herb sauce.  I’m amazed at the things that he and Grace have created for meals, and I’ll even grudgingly give them credit for the deer stews.

April 14th

(Matt) I came upon a book called the Dhammapada, it is an interesting piece that is attributed to the Buddha.  I started reading it and found that it is about the ways to end suffering and be at peace with oneself.  In some ways it is very similar to the Ten Commandments with the basic tenets.  But it seems to break it down a little better.

The commandments are more a set of rules set in stone, oh, sorry about that.  Anyway, the Path is more a guideline to be considered and taken at your own pace.  It does not ask for blind faith but rather promotes self-discovery and change to a gentle awareness.

Now Lord, I am faced with an interesting challenge here, is the study of this path what you would consider a taking on of a false idol, or god?  Or is it You, the One God showing me a different way of doing things that is acceptable.

Tanya and I talked about this today as we had our morning meal, and as we moved on toward Rome.  I, we, need Your help here, this is a key issue, I would not call it a challenge to our faith, we will believe in Your word, but is Your word as written by the Christian or Muslim, or Buddhist man the only wisdom and way?  Help us.

We rode through Little Falls, and covered only about 40 miles today, we would stop often along the route to explore, scavenge, and mostly talk about the Lord and some of the things in the Buddhist book.  One of the first tenets of the path as it is called is that of Right View or Right Understanding. Itrelates to seeing the world and everything in it as it really is, not as we believe it to be or want it to be. I think that this applies and does fit with what You, would have us know and understand.

When I say, “I think”, it is actually what Tanya and I have talked of, and like a good Jesuit, as I understand them, distilled as the answer based in the facts that are before us.  So even in that regard we are following the first tenet of right view.

We arrived at a little B&B tonight, the Portabella Inn, it was empty, so we stayed.  Along the main roads we have found that most living had left, probably to hide in the hills or away from the towns, cities and main drags.  It makes sense since in the early days that is where the Changed would have been most prevalent.  We also have seen no indication of Hunters, A’s or G’s on the road.  But we have been watching, and make certain as we ride we wear our helmets.  I am not sure what the Snell/ DOT ratings on them would do against the metal balls the Hunter’s shoot, but I think we would be able to take a hit or two.

We found some canned goods at the B&B and were able to have a warm meal, and again, luck was with us and we found a couple of bottles or Merlot.  Perhaps not perfect with Spaghetti-O’s but it worked.

(Lance) The door again, can’t they just leave me alone?

(Margo) Well, E did not show up for breakfast, so Code may have misread him.  He has a little time before the big bad wolves come to his door.  Del wasn’t at breakfast either, and I know that this was because she is upset, and not a good time of the month for her to be upset.

Lucy and I took a run this morning; it was kind of different in that she ran beside me for a change.  Wow, that was so cool.

Just after lunch there was a little get together in The Three’s office.  The discussion was E, he has until 4:00 to get his act together or Ron and the Major are going knocking.

Anti-climactic, they knocked on the door, tried to get in and E told them to buzz off.  They are gonna huddle again and decide the next move.

Wow, just wow, or better, Bang and a lot of yelling.  Del kicked in the door at E’s cabin and the fight was on.  She was screaming at him, we could all hear it.  Some of us wanted to go help but Charlene said “Let it go”, and it did for about 45 minutes, then it got quiet.

April 15th

(Lance) Walk up call, Delaney got my attention last night, and it was not fun, or pretty.  Once she got through the initial calling me an asshole and a selfish little jerk, I tried to explain what it was that had me where I was.

“I have failed the group, I have put them in danger and I let you, and myself down.” I explained.

“Stop, just stop, you have not let anyone down, you tried something and it didn’t work, how did that let me, or anyone else down.  YOU ARE NOT FUCKING GOD, you asshole.”

“I, I’m not god, I am a dummy who had great plans and they turned to shit!”

“So because of that you hide under the covers in your fucking blanket fort like a 4 year old, and listen to shitty depressing music?”

“I, er”

“While your girlfriend and the rest of the camp is worried sick about you, that you might fucking kill yourself!”

“I, er”

“Listen Asshole, you got the best thing in the world standing right in front of you and all you can say is, “I, er”?

“I, er, wait, look, I love you, you mean more to me than anything, and I wanted to do something special for you, keep you safe, make sure that you live long and I FAILED!”

“You didn’t fail, you’ve done lots for me, and this camp, when we had to move, you made Peru safe again, before that you helped the Hinsdale people, helped them be safe, you have failed no-one!”

“I, er”

“One more “I, er” and I’m gonna punch you! You’ve got to pull your head out of your ass, stop the pity party and get your shit together.  Your best friend knocks on your door to help you out and you send him away?”

“I. er”  WHACK.

I stared at her a moment, she punched me, she actually punched me, and it hurt, a lot. I snapped, and tackled her and the fight was on.  Well, it started as a fight, then a ‘say uncle’ tickle contest and then clothes started coming off.

I don’t know what it was, but it all changed, my life changed, the black was gone, the loneliness was gone, it was changed.

We made it to breakfast this morning, both had some bruises, and scratches, but we were there, and it was okay.

Note to self: clothes shopping, need to get a new look.

(Matt) Another quiet night, and I must admit, I could get used to this.  We had kind of watery pancakes for breakfast; there were some syrup packets and honey.  They also had a jar of instant coffee tucked away.  I think that is something that the next travelers that visit the inn will not find.

Over breakfast we started to talk more about Buddhist thing.  They have a part about Right Intention.  Wow, this one is pretty obvious, it is Yourlaws,persistence and a passion for the journey, passion for surviving, and doing Your will.  If one focuses in the moment, not the future or past, much of the negative goes away

I think that both Tanya and I are getting excited about the insights the prophet from the East is giving us. There is a kind of universality to his message that certainly fits into the works that Youhave shared with us Lord.

(Margo) E and Del joined us for breakfast this morning, E is different.  I am not sure how I can describe it.  He is not Captain Emo anymore. They are smiling, and happy, but look a little worse for the wear, he has a hand print on the side of his face. Wow, she must have really nailed him, but then she has some marks on her also.

E started, “I‘m sorry guys, I put you through a lot of shit of last few days and I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay E” said Code. “We understand, we all have those days”

“I, er”, started E and shot Del a fearful look, “Please call me Lance or Lan, Captain E is well, no more.”

She kind of chuckled at the look, and then said “Can we get you two to drive us into Hinsdale; we need to do a little shopping.”

“Sure, we can do that.” Code and I exchanged a confused glance.

We piled into the Coyote after breakfast, but before we could close the door, Lucy jumped in and put herself in between Code and me in the front seat, that was kind of weird.

We ended up getting Lance, (that is going to take some getting used to) some new clothes, he skipped the Hot Topics store and went the Hollister and A&F route.  Well, I guess it is an improvement.  Code and I hit the Topic though and I found some Dr. Who stuff and a Survey Corp sweatshirt from Attack on Titan.  Actually, I got one each for the four of us.  We are in a lot of ways the Scouts.

While we were walking through the mall, Lucy started to growl, she sensed the Zoms before we heard or saw them.  We took the four out quickly, and quietly, Lance actually got one of them.  Maybe there was the new kid on the block.

I gave Lucy a little treat I had in my pocket.  I have been to keeping a few there to give her.  “Good Girl”

April 16th

(Margo) It was a good day for running, and the usual suspects, plus one, started off.  But it became pretty evident that some of us were going to be at a quicker pace than others and before the first mile was done we had three groups of runners.  Code and I were out front, then Chels and Tay were chugging along, and although she could have kept up with us, Del stayed back with Lance.  Hey, he was trying, and that is good.

Karen has pretty much recovered from her head shot.  There is still an ugly scar where her eye was, but things have pretty much healed up and she seems to have not suffered major brain trauma, although she does seem to get stuck on a word every once and again.  It frustrates her, and I am pretty sure that I can understand that.  She is lucky to be with us, and Ron has been so good to her.

I guess it is kind of interesting that there are sub-groups forming, and it seems to be kind of age related.  We have my group, The Scouts (Del, Code, Lance, and, to a lesser degree, Tay and Chels), there is Warriors,( Ron / Fred /Karen /Jan,) Mark, Michelle, Stephen, and Heather hang mostly with that group also.  There is the Elders, (Teckla, Nick, Grace, The Major, Charlene) and the Burlington folks, (LJ, Langley, Paula, Rick and Bernie).  The Burlington group associates mostly with Warriors.  And finally there is Matt and Tanya, but they’re sort of on their own but also interact with the entire group.

There is no real issue with the groups other than an occasional friendly rivalry.  We are all on the same page, survive and take care of what we need to take care of.  Sometimes the Warriors will go out and do some hunting, and if they come back with food, awesome, but most times we will bring back the dinner.  It is all about working together.

(Lance) Running sucks!  I am going to feel it tomorrow; I remember how much I hated gym class.  I felt like a slug out there running with Code and the crew, but it had to be done.  Del was so good about hanging back with me.  I so appreciate it.  It was nice to have support, not like when I was a kid and my mom used to make comments like “What are you saving it for, the fifth lap?” when I ran track and it was a 4 lap race.  It is interesting how the past sticks with us.

I spent some time checking radiation levels again today, it is not getting better.  I shared the data with Major Barkley, who shared it with The Three.  It may be a case where we will have to move if it continues.

We have been trying to contact the Pittsburgh to see what has been going on or what news they have, but we have been unsuccessful, they may be on a deep run or something.  We have heard next to nothing on the radios of late.  But then I have not really been listening much, while I was hiding in Blanket Fort Emo.

(Matt) Since the early days of the Event, we, as a group, have moved along and faced many difficulties.  Outside of the group, in the early days, we met positive people like Captain Lewis or Keith and negative people, like the bikers, Brother Gabriel.  In dealing with them there were communications things that made the difference in how those dealings turned out.

In looking back, could we have spoken with them differently to change the outcome, in the case of the bikers or Brother Gabriel, a way that would have prevented the violence?  I don’t know.

The idea of kind speaking, that is a tricky one, it is so easy for things to slip out, things said in anger. In the Dhammapada it talks about dealing with people.  I guess it is easy to speak right to a friend, or an acquaintance.  But as you find the individual more and more difficult to deal with, the idea becomes more difficult.

The control of angry speech becomes the difficulty.  Gentle speech is right speech most of the time.   I always thought about gentle speech as what one would do to avoid gossip, be kind, not lie or tell stories about people’s actions or weaknesses.  As I think of it, dragging someone down by spreading stuff about them is really also hurting yourself.  I hear much of these thoughts echoed in the Bible, and remember them from sermons so many years ago at Sunday School.

We continued on our pilgrimage to Rome.  Today, we were able to get through Herkimer, home of the Herkimer Diamonds, big pieces of quartz that formed, and were pretty clear crystals. It was not easy getting through town, there were areas where there had been fires and buildings had collapsed into the street.  We had to make detours as a result.   We also found that there was still a pretty good population of Changed in the area so we had to stay sharp and in some cases free them of their suffering.

Once we got to the west side of town, we pretty much had cleared the Changed and also decided that it was late enough to start looking for somewhere to spend the night.  We found a little AM radio station just off Route 5.  We saw there were lights on in the building so we were really careful about our approach.

Thank you Mr. Honda for making a motorcycle with AM/FM radio built in.  I fiddled with the dial and was able to find the station’s signal. It was not a live broadcast but rather a loop that repeated about every 2 minutes.

“Come to Rome, all roads lead to Rome.  We are a safe zone with no unclean walking in our home.  All are welcome, if you are not infected, come to us.  We offer safety, food, shelter.”

We stared at each other for a minute.

“What do you think?” I asked Tanya.

“It would be nice, but it sounds too good.”

“Yeah, but it is possible. I mean we survived, lived pretty well in the Camp and in Peru, why couldn’t a larger group?”

“I hope you are right, I so hope you’re right.” I said, but there was doubt in my voice.

“But then the fact that this place is still working means something, someone had to set it up, and the biggest issue in its favor was the generator.  It is running, it would not do that forever, someone had to refuel it.”

“True, but let’s be careful on this one, I just….there is something.” She added.

We found the station unlocked and went in.  It was dusty, and we saw no tracks in the dirt, it made no sense.

We bedded down for the night, but were able to explore a little before turning in.  It was quiet, no misadventures this evening.

Thank You Lord for another day of enlightenment and learning.  We are blessed by Your presence.  Amen.

April 17th

(Lance) Hurting, I think I have new muscles I never felt before.  Del made me hobble out with the group this morning for a run; once we started I did loosen up a little, but was way behind the rest of the runners.

The weather today was awesome; it was in the 60s, sunny, and just beautiful.  There are buds on the trees and I think we shall have leaves in another week or so.

I have come to the conclusion that although it was a good plan, the idea of the live transmission drone was doomed, not because of me, or anything that I have done.  With all the equipment and power from before the meteor I probably could have worked it out, but now, nope.

Over lunch we laughed, and for a while we were just a bunch of high school kids.  I wonder what it would have been like if all this didn’t happen.  I wonder if I would have ever met my “Delaney”.  Don’t know, don’t care, we are here now and that is cool.

(Margo) Just for something a little different Code and I ran around the lake, it is a couple miles, and it was kind of different in that there was on a trail or in some case just running in the woods.  We were about halfway when we found the Hunter.  It was a G type.  It was inert and seemed harmless.  It had fallen over and was face down in a bit of swamp near the lake.

When we got back, it caused a good stir with the camp.  Ron and LJ wanted to just blow the shit out of it.  The Major was not so sure that was a good idea remembering how the one blew up killing Frank, Joseph and Ethan.  But the concern then was would it draw other Hunters to it.

Lance tried repeatedly to reach one of the other Sat-Comm stations or the Pittsburgh but was unable to make any contact.  He is beginning to think that there may be something wrong with our link.  In the end, we figured that the best thing to do was to try to detonate the Hunter from a distance.  If we could at least blow up the magazine, it would be pretty much safe, not that we planned to play with it.

The plan was to build a little sandbag bunker about a hundred yards away from the thing and then just hammer the shit out of it with the 50 cal. until it when boom.  I actually kind of liked the idea, it has been a while since I got to fire the Barrett.

We had everything in place by about 4 and I started plinking, ok, kabooming away at it.  One to the head (sensory), nothing, one in, one in the neck, took the head clean off, no boom, then one in the ass (magazine area), yeah, that was the ticket, it blew up big time.  It was good that we had the sandbags; the explosion covered a lot of ground with marbles.  I actually had a few fall on me that had been blown up into the air.  They hurt a little, like hail stones, but not bad, and with the padding and helmet I was fine.  We will let it sit, and rot now.

We found the little signal sensor that called to its friends and destroyed it, then dropped it into the lake.

The camp was actually in kind of high spirits tonight with the sort of settling the score with a Hunter.  It didn’t bring anyone back, but, it kinda made some of us feel better.

(Matt) “Tanya, I‘m seeing some things here in the Dhammapada that will be good for the camp.  Although it’s funny, much of it is already things that we do, already taught to us by our Lord.” I said as we had breakfast, it was home canned fruit from a mason jar this morning.

“You’re right, it is.  I think that we have been on the right road for a while, and this just reinforces it. But where it will come to be important is where we start meeting other groups and expanding.” She replied.

So today we were planning to get to the outskirts of Rome, and see what the activity level is in the area before we just wander in.  I know that the radio says it is a sanctuary, but I just don’t know.

The Lord told us to come here, but he did not tell us exactly why, or what to expect and over time it has become clear that the obvious lesson was not necessarily the one that was to be taught or learned.  Tanya and I talked about this and she is of like mind.  Lord, what do you have in store for us, I trust in you, but my curious side is over- active.

We ended up stopping at another little AM radio station and like the last one it was up and running also.  This time we were able to see that the power for the station’s transmitter and lights were being supplied by a series of solar panels in the open area behind the station.  That would explain it, and it was a kind of game changer.  We had assumed that there was human activity regularly visiting the place to keep the stations up and running.  But now it may not be that, these transmitters have been on autopilot for a while.

It was warm, and we could secure ourselves in the building so it was a good place to stay for the night.  Tomorrow we will start exploring the area and see why we are in Rome.

Thank you Lord for blessing us with another day’s safe passage and wisdom, Amen.

April 18th

(Matt) We were on the road early this morning; we are within reach of Rome. I am excited to finally see what You had sent us down this path for.  I know that I was hoping for a great enlightenment and maybe, just maybe a community that would be based on all the goodness that You have to offer.

We were outside of town by 9:00 and took up a spot where we would be able to see the main road into town.  But just for safety sake we stayed on the north side of the Erie Canal and worked our way toward the downtown area.  We moved slowly, cautiously up East Dominik Street. There were no signs of living or dead as we moved along.  We reached a place where a bridge spanned a creek that fed into the canal.  But a road block had been set up that would stop cars, and also would make it very difficult for the Changed to move across.

We couldn’t take the Goldwing any further and set out on foot.  Along the way, we stayed in the front yards that lined the street; it did not seem wise to just stroll down the middle of the road.

As we turned a slight corner, we could see an old fortress up ahead of us.  It looked like something that you would see from the Revolutionary War.  A street sign pointed to it and identified it as Fort Stanwix National Monument. The park (?) surrounding it had a stone wall about 4 feet high and had been supplemented with barbed wire.  We could see smoke coming from inside.  Clearly this was a colony.

We worked our way closer, and then sat and watched.  At first there was no activity.  Then the main gate opened and a group of about 5 people, dressed in army fatigues marched out leading a single individual.  The person had some kind of sign around his neck, but I could not see what it said.

That solo person tried to make a run for it but wasn’t able to get far; he had a rope or chain that was held by the leader of the soldiers.  I will call them soldiers only because they were in uniform, I have no idea if they were truly military, but then based on some of the stories and information that Asuna and Major Barkley shared with us, it seemed likely that they were.

The person, in regular clothes, was brought to a pole near a small stone building and the chain was attached to it. Then, as the rest of the troop moved away, the leader went to the stone building, opened the door. He ran to the troops he had been with and they all quickly re-entered the fort.

Three Changed shuffled out of the building and just wandered around aimlessly at first.  The chained person stayed as motionless as he could, and they, the Changed didn’t seem to notice him at first.  But then someone on the parapet of the fort fired a shot at him.  It must have been a small caliber, like a 22.  It hit him in the leg, and as much as he tried not to, he screamed.  The Changed locked on.  They moved toward him.

We could see the people on the parapet pointing, and it looked like they were laughing.  They knew what was going to happen next, and they were enjoying it.

What to do, what would Jesus do? What would you wish us to do oh Lord. This was the test? Was this the lesson, or part of it?  We couldn’t save this soul, or, no wait, we could at least ease his suffering.

He had not quite been bitten yet when I took the shot.  I was able to get the head shot even at that distance.  The murderers on the parapet froze; it took them a moment to realize what had happened.  I was able to get a second shot off and hit the officer or guy in charge, the one who tied this guy up. He was a big black guy. I don’t know if I killed him, but it was a good chest shot.

“Time to go” I said to Tanya.

“Amen to that!”

We raced back to the bike and got out of the area as quickly as possible.  We found a route 365 and figured that heading North East at this time was a really good idea.  Sooner or later we could find a north-south and try to get back toward either I-90 or Route 5.  But right now it was distance that we needed.

We covered about 30 miles and decided to hole up in a little farmhouse. We hid the trike in the barn behind the house.  It was cold, with no fire, but we were not sure if we were followed, or if there were hunting parties out looking for us.

“What was the lesson, why did this happen?” asked Tanya.

“I’m not sure, that was messed up.”

“Why would you tie someone out to get eaten, mauled like that?”

“No one deserves that, no one, a quick kill for the most evil of acts, but to torture?  That is not right.” I said, shaking my head.

“Was God trying to show us that there was still evil in the world?  We knew that, what was the meaning?”

“I am not sure, maybe he showed us that killing the victim was an act of compassion, I don’t know.”

Neither of us slept for long that night, we took turns doing a watch, but really for the most part we just stayed awake and huddled together.  I think our faith was shaken a little.

(Lance) Running was a little better this morning, and I was able to last a little longer with the group.  But I have a long way to go.  I asked Del if we could try some sword stuff after the run.  I think that I need to know how to do that, hiding or counting on others for my safety is something I won’t do anymore.  I am part of something, something good, and I need to carry my weight, I mean I kind of did before, but this is different.  This is important.

(Margo) Sunny and warm, it is an awesome day, the run was good.  Code and I took to the trails again; hopefully we will not run into anything like yesterday.  But it is funny, as we walked out to the flag pole to start; each of us had a rifle with us.  We don’t usually carry them on the runs, but, it seemed like a good idea.  Besides, the extra weight will add to the workout.

Overall the day was uneventful, which was good.  We watched Zombie Land last night.  Wow, if only it was so easy.

Nick is trying to use up some of the frozen stuff from the ice house before it spoils.  It was BBQ deer ribs, actually not too bad, with some frozen corn on the cob.  The corn was a little mushy, but still, it wasn’t deer stew.

April 19th

(Lance) Wow, I knew I did not exercise much, but damn, Del killed me yesterday.  Part of that was my own fault, the male ego made me try to keep up and I overdid it.  But I did the run again today and we did a little more defensive tactics, stuff with the sword.

I am thinking about the drones still and I think that we can still find uses for them but not as I originally planned.  The other thing is that as we move further and further down the timeline we will find that we need to create our own new and simpler technology to survive.  Eventually, we run out of fuels and batteries and where are we then?

I checked on the radiation thing again today and although it is still “safe” it is not safe by much and we need to think about this.  Do we go or do we stay.  We need to think about that because we need to plan on whether we are planting crops or moving on.

(Matt) It appears that we have escaped the wrath of those at Fort Stanwix.  I am thinking that we have put enough ground between us that we are safe.

We were on the road early this morning, and managed to find a North/South route (12/28) and started down toward I-90, but the road split and we decided that maybe I-90 might be less safe than continuing east on Route 28.  Looking at the map we chose to head to Fairfield, off Route 29.  It is farm country up here and as such we were not doing well in finding gas for the trike.  But on the way we were able to find a couple of old abandoned farms and were able to find some fuel there.  What we had to do was to mix gas and diesel to run, and it did not make the Goldwing happy, but what else could we do.  We made it to Fairfield and were able to get some real gas.  We sucked some hi-test out of an abandoned Corvette.

We settled in to a small home in Fairfield.  There were a couple of Changed roaming around, and we sent them to rest.  But beyond that we had no human contact.

During the night we talked about a new aspect of the Buddhism, the idea of doing the right thing. This one was particularly interesting after what we had to do a day ago at the fort.  Was it the right thing to do in killing the subject that was staked out to be eaten by the Changed?  I think it was, and although sad, it was the best we could do for him.  I am not sure that the shot I took at the captain, or leader of the group that staked him out was the right thing to do.

So in looking at the Dhammapada, and the Bible they both have lists of precepts, they include not killing, (well, we messed up that one), not stealing, not lying, not abusing sex or drugs (and rock and roll? Sorry) both are so similar.

As we work with these ideas, we learn to live harmoniously and compassionately. So in that regard, our actions toward the guy who was really soon to be dead was one of compassion, a quick, painless death rather than being torn to pieces was an act of kindness and compassion.

When I think about this, I have to add the idea of WWJD, and really, short of His pulling a miracle, there was nothing that He could have done differently in our situation.

The longer we move on this journey the more we see that the philosophic similarities between religions, be it Buddhist, Judeo-Christian and many others that we have heard of or see information on are all very close, the dance was really the same, the difference is often just in the way the format of the steps taken.

(Margo) It was kind of funny watching Lance, he does not want to be called Captain E anymore, hobble in to the dining room.  You could see the stiffness and soreness in his walk.  But he was trying, and that is good.

As we had breakfast, he talked to us about the radiation thing.  He said he was finding that the levels are okay, but that they are higher than they should be.  I didn’t like it when he said that we may have to move.  I didn’t like it because I am comfortable here, we have a nice set up and I’m not sure that I want to be out on the road, camping, struggling to find food, water or a safe place to stay.

And if we move, what happens when Tom and Azz get back, how will they find us?  Code and I talked about this after breakfast, and I told him that if we all had to move, I won’t go, I would stay around camp.  He promised to come back and I was gonna wait for him. But for now it is not something I need to get all worked up over, but it is sitting there in the pit of my stomach.

It was a nice day outside and it was in the low 60s I think, Code and I just sat out in the sun, enjoying the day, talking, sketching, and thinking.  I guess you could actually say it was kind of boring.

April 20th

(Matt) It is Easter morning and maybe I should have planned a little better so that Tanya and I could have done a special service this morning, and yet, I felt that it was not Your will.  We were up early, and greeted the day.  I do miss the warm mush cereal that Nick put out for us each morning.

We were off by 7am and tried to start the Goldwing.  The battery was quickly killed before we could get it to start.  I think that the fuel mix that we had used has done damage to the engine.  Perhaps it was time for a little walking.  It did give us much more chance to talk and think about the pilgrimage, and the events that had taken place.

We set off from Fairfield and walked about two hours when we found the walking man.  I call him that because like us he was just walking along; well actually, he was standing when we came upon him.  He was about 35, I guess, my age.  His long flowing hair and beard fit seemed to him well. He was dressed like he had made a recent visit to Cabela’s and picked up a white cammo coverall and wore a white blanket draped over his shoulder.

“Good morning to you, sir”, I offered.

“Yes, yes it is, a blessed day” He answered.

“Where is your path leading you today?”

“I am just walking, I have no where I need be.  May I walk with you for a bit?” He responded.

“Of course, I am Matt, this is Tanya”

“Ah, then I think you are the ones I am supposed to meet.”

I was a little surprised by that.  “Oh?”

“Yes, I had a vision, that there would be two pilgrims that I would meet, and I should walk with them for two days, and then they would move on.”

“Okay”, it seemed strange to me, but perhaps there was a special meaning to this meeting and it is Your will, my Lord.

“So let us move along, I know we have miles to cover before the end of the day.” He said.

“Yes, it seems your vision has told you about us, and we still know nothing of you.”

“True, fair enough, I am, ah, Chris.”

The way he said it I was not sure that it was his real name, but it worked for now.  I never felt frightened or concerned about this man.  He was just there, and he just radiated a level of peace and comfort.  Had it been another person, I might have been on edge.  It made no sense, but I just felt good in his presence.

As we walked, we talked about things, we told him of our pilgrimage, our wandering off for 40 days to find more about God and where we should be in His grace.  I explained that I felt that even though we had missed giving a service for our group, being Easter morning that it was His will that we travelled as we did.

Chris did not say much as he listened to our story and to our tales of survival as we had made it through the last year.  It was kind of good to put all that out there, in words, to someone who was other than our group.  It helped me clarify many thoughts and in some cases doubts in my mind about our actions.

“I have been watching the events as they unfolded, and the results of plague that has cursed you, us, it has hurt me to see how man has reacted to all of this, and yet groups like yours have inspired me.  There is still goodness.” He said.

“Thank you, we have tried”, I was a little confused by his ‘watching us’.

“You have done well, others I have run into at times have tried to kill me, or enslave me, yet you walk beside me.”

In the back of my mind I am beginning to wonder about this guy, he has been out here for a while and perhaps he has lost it.  This is not your normal person wandering in the woods. Yet, as I said, I am fine in his presence.

We found a little gas station just before the Dogleville, on Route 29.  Much to our surprise, there were actually some canned goods still in the store.  A couple of cans of Beef-a-Roni had fallen from the shelves, we found them.  Perhaps it was foolish, but we had a warm meal that night after building a small fire to heat them up.  Just before we dug in, I stopped.

“My Lord, thank you for this meal, this warm meal we are about to eat.  And thank you for our companion and his company, Amen.”

Chris smiled and joined us in “Amen”.

(Lance) Feeling better, less sore and stiff.  I am thinking that a day or two more and I will be back to feeling good.  Del helped a little last night giving me a sort of massage.

I talked to the Major today and we are putting together some information to share with The Three about the radiation thing and what we need to consider in the next couple of weeks.  We need to get food planted soon if we are planning to stay, or get on the road to try to get somewhere where we can have a growing season of some kind.

Another nice day, it is again sunny and warm, the trees are really starting to bloom and very soon we will have leaf cover again.  I love this time of year.  Code and I did a little looking around the lake for anything unusual but found nothing strange.

While we were on the far side of the lake we found Ron, Fred and Stephen all working on the airplanes and helo.  We stopped and talked to them a little.  They seem to think that they have enough fuel, usable fuel to do some flying, the planes not so much, but the helo was good with the kerosene, that does not appear to spoil as much with age.  The gas for the planes, I was told was another issue.

April 21st

(Lance) I can move! I feel good, the stiffness is gone, and I can move.  I actually was almost able to last 2 miles before I had to fall behind the rest of the group.  Well, actually Chelsea and Taylor and I ran together, slowly falling behind, Del stayed with us, but we were better, much better.

She went light on me with defensive arts training.  I am starting to understand the principles behind it and in doing so getting more effective in my movements.  Nick came out and spent some time with us at sword drills this morning.  I had never realized that he was as agile and quick as he was.  His movements are so fluid, and smooth.  He showed me, actually both of us a couple of moves that seemed awkward at first, but once we practiced, very easy and effective.

I was thinking more about that radiation issue.  I think that we really need to make contact with either the Pittsburgh or with one of the Sat-Comm links and try to get some ideas and information on the whole power plant thing. They may be able to give us some ideas as to the exact nature of the radiation or what direction we can go in to escape the threat.

Code and I spent some time in the afternoon trying to make contact, but we had no luck.  I am trying to put some numbers together for the Major based upon what we have so far.  It would be a lot easier if we had the Internet because then I could see what types of radiation we are experiencing and what types we need to really be worried about.  I mean I know that the gamma and x-ray radiations are real bad, but the alpha type is something else.

(Margo) I woke up in the middle of the night; Code was over in the boy’s dorm so I had the place to myself.  I think Lucy woke me up because she usually sleeps by the door and I heard her moving around.

It was a fairly warm night so I took a little walk outside for a bit, just to look at the stars.  As I did, I saw there were those distant lights off to the west, the moving ones.  It was the Hunters. They are still out there, but a long way off.  I am going to tell The Three about it, but I think that we are okay.

It was another awesome day with sunshine and the warmth.  Not much else to report.  Code and Lance are busy trying to do something with the satellite thingy, boys and their toys.

Del and I talked for a while, she is doing better, and she says that she and E are getting on well.  I have to stop calling him that, E, he is Lance now, I think it will be easier when he doesn’t have the black hair thing going anymore.

I did a sketch of Lance, a side by side, the old Captain Emo and the new Lance.  It was kind of cool.

(Matt) We were up early and walking before 8 am.  As we moved along, Chris talked about himself for a bit.  He told us of some of his adventures on the road.  He has been like us in some ways, although he was more an itinerant, not really with a group.  But he had tried to spread a message and word of how the world should be now to those he met on the road.

He told us “I have been to Fort Stanwix and there I had been captured, and imprisoned.  The folks, I call them, the early Romans were once decent and kind people, but then a small group of soldiers came in.  They took over the fort and it was not good.  They raped, killed and just ran wild.”

Chris said “They would take those who did not fit into their plans, or angered them, or in some cases just have a random lottery in which the person selected was killed or tortured in horrible ways.”

“I think we saw the results of that, they tied someone to a tether and let the Changed, undead come after him.” Tanya told him.  “They were going to kill him, and let him turn.”

There was silence for a few moments as that scene sank in, as well being re-lived by Tanya and me.

“I was not there long but I had heard of that being done.  Usually they were a little less extreme in their killings; whoever it was that had been staked out was someone they really were upset with.”

“We shot him” I whispered.

“What?”

“I shot him, I killed him, I couldn’t let him go through being torn to pieces, and then being turned.”

“Wow, that must have been hard for you.” Chris said with amazement, yet there was no condemnation in his voice, but rather, empathy, and sorrow.

“It was, but we couldn’t let him just…..”

“Your action was a kindness.”

“But we, I was not so kind also, I took a shot at the leader of the soldiers.” I added.

“Ah, and you are having difficulty over that.”

“I tried to murder, the guy staked out was killed, because it was a kindness to him, but I tried to murder the soldier, there is a difference!”

“hmm, let’s think about that, the weight of the attempt…., did you kill him by the way?” Chris asked.

“Huh? ah, I am not sure.  But does it matter?  I tried to murder him.”

“Well, sort of, but were you trying to kill him or were you trying to stop an evil?  What was your intention?”

‘He was evil, and he was causing the death of another.  Although I did not think of it at the time, he probably had done this to others.  But mostly I saw this monster that had to be stopped.” I said.

“I see, so why is it that you are disturbed by your actions?”

“I feel that I fell away from the word of my Lord, that I have broken His Commandments, the one that says ‘Thou shall not murder’.”

“Okay, but your intentions, were they just? Were they noble? Were they right?”

“I” then I stopped and looked at him, I understood, that it was the intention that was important, not the act.  We are not perfect, and we are going to do things that are outside the exact code, but that it is what is in our heart that is important.

“But I was angry!” I said glaring at Chris.

“Of course you were, who won’t be, this guy made people do evil, he made people suffer.  Your actions were to the good of men, and to stop one evil man to continue to exist. The Father understands that, and forgives.”

That was really the end of the discourse and as I thought about it, I did see and understand.  I was quiet for a while as we walked.  Chris and Tanya talked a little as they walked along.

We found a place to spend the night in a school building on the east end of Oppenheim.  It was clear, and empty.  Again, we made no contact with anyone during the day, living, or reanimated.

I wonder about Chris, his point of view, his ways and mannerisms, he was so at peace and gentle.

April 22nd

(Margo) We started off a little later than usual this morning, around 8 am.  I am not sure why, well actually, it was a rainy, crappy day and I think none of The Three of us were looking forward to a trudge in the foul weather.  Much of the first part of the morning we walked along in silence.

“You two have come a long way, and discovered a lot of stuff about yourselves and about the Word. I think that the Big Guy would be pleased”, stated Chris with a smile.

I gave him a sidelong glance and thought to myself, “The Big Guy?”

“Well, we have, and I am not sure I could call him the “Big Guy” as much as the Big Concept”, said Tanya.

“In what way?” posed Chris.

“Well, while we have been walking and riding about we have met people, some more strange than others, some more evil than others. But we have all somehow survived the events.  And in all that time there has been very little talk of God, or religion with them.  But we have seen a code of ethics in many of those we have dealt with”, started Tanya.

“I see”.

I added, “And we have seen some of the known facts that had been the basis of our belief system shared by other belief systems.  There is a commonality to most of them in terms of certain acts or ideals, like generosity, caring, helping, compassion.  It is almost as if there is a common thread through both man and the religious tenets.”

Chris thought for a moment, and then said, “So are you saying that God does not exist and all of this is a creation of man?”

“No, not at all, what I think is that so many have come to the idea that God is this creature, this mystical being that has lived forever, and that may be the problem, or part of it.”

“In what way?” asked Chris thoughtfully

“Well, why are there so many manifestations of God? Why are there so many different images? Each one seems to adapt to the locale, Hindu Gods are based in Elephants, for example. Egyptian Gods were based in jackals and hawks.  Christian Gods were human in form, and Native American Gods were depicted in a different manner.  Yet they all seem to have certain threads, similarities.  Doesn’t that strike you as strange? You, for example fit the image that I would believe to be Jesus.”

Tanya gave me a funny sidelong look at that comment.

“Interesting point, but you might consider that many of the gods are related to the sun (light) and the moon (darkness)or elemental factors of earth, wind, fire and water”,  added Chris.

Tanya looked at him and quietly said, ”What if the manifestations are wrong, what if God is really the thread of survival, of something that has tied man together for as long as man has been around and that the entire concept of religion is just a means to educate people on how to most effectively survive. Think about it, the Jewish people and well the Islam don’t eat pork, why is that? Maybe, just maybe, it is the all about survival.”

“Then why do you pray to the Lord?” asked Chris.

Silence, we have painted ourselves into the proverbial corner.  On the one hand we seem to be saying there is no God in the sense of a being, yet we are conceding that there is a “God” in an inanimate form.  Either seems to control our existence.

“Well, let’s take a break here and have lunch,” suggested Chris, “Today, it is on me.”

He produced several tins of canned sardines and some cans of B&M brown bread.

As we ate, Chris looked at us and finally said, “Let me run something by you here, and it may help get you out of the corner.  Why can’t both scenarios exist, in unison?”

Tanya looked at him questioningly, “I don’t understand.”

“Okay, we see that God is perceived by humanity in a number of different ways, and much of the perception depends on where man is based.”

“True enough” I said.

“Now” Chris continued, “Have you or anyone you know ever seen God?”

“No”

“But you believe in Him, in the Lord.”

“Yes”

“Why?”

“Because I..”

Before I could answer Chris said, “That is a rhetorical question. And one that I want you both to think about before you answer.”

We walked on for the rest of the day, mostly in silence, I couldn’t speak for Tanya but I was deep in thought, why, why do I believe?

We reached Garoga as night was setting in.  There was a little auto shop, C&C Auto Works.  We camped there for the night.  They had a little wood stove so we got to dry out and warm up after the damp day. We talked, but it was not about God or the Lord, or much of anything serious.  Chris seemed quiet tonight, yet there was a look of satisfaction on his face.  I think he really enjoyed getting us thinking.

(Margo) Code spent the night, and at about 3 am we got up and looked at the sky, we did not get a long look because as we, did the clouds started to roll in, we were in for rain.  Looks like an indoor day.

We got back up for breakfast and then did a little run.  It was a warm shower for the girl’s day so life is good.

Not much else to report.

(Lance) Code and I tried to get through to someone, anyone on the Sat-Comm again today, nothing.  I know we’re not alone, it could be anything, we may be off a little in hitting the satellite, the Pittsburgh may be deep under water, weather, who knows.

I would like to make a run into either Hinsdale or Pittsfield and visit their libraries.  I am thinking that we could get some info on power plants and radiation.  It might be helpful in making our plans for the future.

I was watching a movie with the gang last night and had an idea; if we have to move, how we might be able to set up something that would be more effective against the radiation and also more heat effective.  Tom had played with an idea back before he left, and this is kind of akin to it.  But let’s get some books on radiation first.

April 23rd

(Margo) Breakfast this morning was interesting, Lance wants to go to the library, he was thinking about a visit to Pittsfield or Hinsdale to try to get some books on radiation and nuclear stuff.  He would not say why specifically but how bright do you have to be to figure it has something to do with the radiation levels we have been tracking over the last year or so.

“Okay, I can see making the run, and I am in.  But do you think a mall is going to have what you want?” asked Del.

“Pittsfield has to have a college or trade school, maybe that would be a better place to look.” added Code.

Out came the maps and we found Berkshire Community College on the west side of the city, just a straight shot up West Street.

“Good idea guys, can we go?” asked Lance, “I’ll clear it with the Major and The Three.”

“One for all and all for one”, smiled Code.

The plan was approved and we are going to head out in the morning, assuming the weather is good, and there is no reason to expect anything that would prevent the trip.

The rest of the day was quiet for me, Del and I got the Coyote ready for the trip.  We loaded a couple of 55 gallon drums on the back in case we saw a place to pick up some diesel fuel.

(Matt) Chris was gone.  He must have left early, before we woke up.  It was weird, but he said he would only walk with us for a couple of days.

I think that Tanya and I were both looking forward to giving our answers on the question he posed to us.  I guess we were meant to share them with each other.

In the area by the stove he had left us a couple cans of brown bread with a note, “Remember me”.  We will, we very much will.

The day was sunny and looked like it would be kind of nice.  We had some cold cereal rather than the gift left us.  Those cans were something special, the little voice in my head said they should be saved and shared with the whole group when we got back, if we could manage it.

“Should we check the cars and trucks and see if any of them will start?” said Tanya looking at me hopefully.

“May as well, I have had enough walking, if I can avoid it, that would be a good thing.”

We found a little Nissan pick-up truck that actually started.  It was not pretty, but it had a full tank, and the tires were not flat.

As we drove along on Route 29, we made our way into Johnstown.  The town had been burned pretty badly; it seemed common in a number of the bigger small cities that we passed through. We never were able to figure out if the burn was from a natural disaster or if it was intentional, to end the plague.

“So what is your answer?” I asked as we drove along.

“You first,” She said.

“Okay, I think that there is a God, I believe that He does have a level of control on our lives and what happens to us, and that he has a set of rules that if we follow them, our life can be meaningful and worth living.”

“But…..”  She said, “I sense a ‘but’ here.”

“Oh really, well, yeah, I think that the God is actually more a thought, an inner harmony than it is a being. The idea of the God Being is important to keeping the thread going, but I am not certain that he actually is a living, breathing one.”

It was silent for a couple of minutes as this all sank in. Then Tanya said, “Okay, I can sort of buy that line of thought, but I have some questions.  The biggie for me is who was Chris?  He just didn’t fit.  Here is this guy, shows up on Easter morning, hangs out with us for a couple of days, feeds us loaves of brown bread and fishes, talks to us about good and evil, then two days later is just gone.  Hello, does something ring a bell here?”

“Yeah, that is a tough one, I, ah, don’t know. It was strange that he seemed to be waiting for us, like he knew we were coming.  And when you think about it, I wonder if he might not have been more than just a guy on the road. Maybe, there are a lot of coincidences.” I said thoughtfully.

“Seriously?”

“So you think we just had a manifestation for God?” I asked.

“Or Christ, or Buddha, or Allah or one of the faces of the Divine.” She picked up my sentence than added, “You said he looked like what you believed Jesus would look like.  It is funny, I thought of the Buddha when I looked at him.”

A few moments of silence, “Really?”

“Yep” She said, “We saw the same person, being, in different ways, is that weird?”

More silence, then I shifted thoughts, “I, I, don’t know, I mean, why us, why now, that makes no sense.” I was struggling here, this was almost too much to fathom.

“Why not?  Why aren’t we worthy? And let me put this very simply to you, before we left on this pilgrimage we both felt, believed that He had chosen us for this task and that there would be a great learning in it.  Right?”

“Yes, well yes.” I answered.

“Then what do you believe, in your heart now?”

Silence, utter silence as my head spun, could it be, I just wandered around for a couple of days with God, eating sardines, and brown bread with God, talking to Him, just hanging out with Him. And the more I listened to the inner me, the more I knew.  He had been there; he had led us to this point. We each saw He a little differently in form, but not essence.

The answer, it is not about religion, it is not about the tapestries or images, it is about goodness and a thread of survival and yes, there was a manifestation of that goodness, and thread, but he is not the same as the one that has been shown us in the creations of man, the religions.  He is just a guy, one of us.  I thought back to that Joan Osborne song from years ago and the quote, “what if God was one of us.”

I started humming the song.

Tanya smiled and said, “You got it.”

(Lance) “Major, you have a couple of minutes?”  I asked as we were walking back from lunch.

“Sure, what is up?” he said

“Well, I wonder how much you know about the effects of radiation on the body.”

“Not that much, other than too much is not good, why do you ask?”

“Well, you know I have been tracking the radiation, and have been giving you reports.  And I know that the levels have been a little higher over the last little bit, but we don’t really know what impact that can have on us.”

He stopped and looked at me, “True, but what can we do?  Lead lined long underwear is not an option.”

I laughed, “No, but we have an idea of the origin of the radiation, what we don’t know is how bad it is for us at the levels we’re absorbing.  I have tried to make contact with the Pittsburgh, to see what they can tell me, but no luck.”

“And?”

“Well, I am thinking that if we are in a hot zone, or potential hot zone, we may have to think about moving.  But before we do that we need to know the real risks.  It is coming up on the planting season and if we are going to move we should do so soon to give us the chance to plant at the new location.” I told him.

“So what are you thinking here?”

“I need permission to take a trip into Pittsfield to get some research materials, there is a community college on the far side of town and I want to take Code and the Huntresses to scope it out and collect materials.”

“And you need me to sell it to The Three.”

“Yup”, I answered.

“Okay, but one condition.” He said.

“What?”

“Two vehicles, and Charlene and I go also; we could use the chance to collect some medical and holistic herbal type books at the same time.”

“Works for me. If they will let us go.”

The plan was approved, but it did take a little salesmanship on the part of Major Barkley.

April 24th

(Margo) We were on the road early enough and as I drove I thought to myself how the roads had changed, there were many potholes, and places were the grass or weeds have pushed their way through the pavement.  In some cases, trees had fallen into the roadway and it was a challenge to get around them.

We made the College by about 9:30.  It’s funny, time is, well basically divided differently. I mean some of us still have watches, and we can tell what time it is, although each of us has a little different time on their watch.  But we are all sort of within a half hour of each other.  We also tend to be very flexible about that.  If I tell Del I will see her for the run at 10 in the morning, it may be 9:45, or 10:10, I mean it is not like we are on a tight schedule.

But beyond that there are a few big divisions of time.  It is broken down into getting light, sunrise, morning, mid-day, afternoon, getting dark, and night.  All of those periods are subjective, and we might use like early or late tagged on to them  So right now, as we sat in the campus, it is morning, more mid-morning if you want to get technical.

Lance and Del headed to the library with Dr. Barkley and Charlene.  Code and I just stayed with the trucks, watching, guarding.  Lucy was with us and she was on alert also.  There was not much going on, we saw no-one moving around, no Zoms.  Only a couple of squirrels chasing each other round, a group of birds digging worms.  It was a nice warm, quiet day.

About an hour went by and we heard them coming back from the library.  They had a couple of cloth bags of books, and some odds and ends.

“I think we have what we came for”, said Barkley as he tossed his bag into the back of the Humvee.  Lance was smiling and also looked pleased with his bag.

“Okay, let’s head back, but we need to look for some semi-trucks along the way to try to drain some diesel fuel.” Code relied.

We were able to find a couple and filled the drums.  But on the second truck we had a scare.  As we were working on the passenger side tank, Lucy started barking, or yipping, or whatever it is coyotes do.  She was barking at the truck.

Somehow the Zom who had been inside managed to hit the door handle just right and splat, he landed right next to me.  I jumped.  Code mashed its head, but wow, scared me, and did he, I think it was he, stink.

We got back to camp just after noontime.  The smell from the Zom killed my appetite, so I skipped lunch.

(Lance) I was not stupid today, I did not put anyone at risk, we didn’t overstay our welcome and I got some books that I think will help me figure out how bad this radiation thing might be.  Our best case is to be able to stay where we are, but that, well we will see.

While we were at the college I talked to the Major, he told me that although we had asked permission from The Three it was not so much that we needed it; it was more a safety issue.  It let them know where to start looking if we didn’t come back, or if we radioed in we were in trouble.

I have some reading to do.  But before that I visited Nick, that sword thing piqued my curiosity.  I talked with him a little bit and discovered that like many of us he had some things that they had done before the meteor that had proven to be very helpful in dealing with the new world.  One of those things was his ‘ninja’ training.  It was kind of informal; I mean he was never really a “ninja”, but he did the sword arts and some of the training.   I asked if he would be my master, to teach me some of it.  All I got for an answer was “We shall see”.

(Matt) We will spend the night at Fulton Montgomery Community College.  We found that it, like so many other places, had been abandoned. I thought it kind of odd at first.

Then Tanya say, “Think about it.  It was not like this was a sudden surprise; the kids would have headed for home when the news of what was going on got out.”

“Good point, be with their families.  I wonder how many of them are still alive.” But I really didn’t want to think about that.

“Hey, let’s check the dining hall, maybe there is something good”, Suggested Tanya.

As we walked in, there was a little old woman with glasses and a bowl of hot spaghetti in front of her.  She seemed shocked to see us, and as she jumped up she shouted, “Say something!”

“Ah Hello?” I responded.

“You too honey, say something.” The woman said looking at Tanya.

“That smells good?”

“Oh thank God, you are alive, human, it has been so long, ah, let me see, how long…..ah…what month is it?  March, that would be 9, is it March still?”

”No, it is April, the 24th I believe.”  I said.

“Oh, oh my, it has been, well then, it has been 10 months, 10 months of just me, Sylvester, and my books.  I am really lucky, I have been able to read, and read, it has been my passion since I was a kid.”

The woman was a little messy, but then who wasn’t.  She was short, maybe 5’2” and thin, very thin.  She had thick glasses, and a tattered white sweater, a grandma sweater which fit her 60 or so years.

“We’re sorry to barge in on you like this, we are, were, travelling and needed a place to stay for the night, and we didn’t think we would find anyone at home.” I told her.

“No, no, not a problem, you’re welcome to stay the night, a few days if you like, it might be nice to have guests. SYLVESTER! We have guests, come meet them!”

“Are you sure ma’am, we don’t want to cause any inconvenience” Tanya told the lady.

“Ma’am, Ma’am…that is so formal, call me Helen, I was, am the librarian here at college.  When the dying started, pretty much everyone had left, the place was mostly empty.  I stayed because, I had nowhere to go, or no one I needed to be with, so I stayed, with my books, and Sylvester.   SYLVESTER get your mangy backside out here this moment.  We have guests!”

“Helen, thank you, we would love to stay”, Smiled Tanya.

“Oh good, young man, you are very lucky, you have a pretty wife.”

“SYLVESTER, I am going to tell you one more time, get out here or no kipper snacks for you tonight!”

Tanya and I looked at each other, then back at Helen.  As we did, a mangy old black and white tomcat walked out of the doorway behind her.

“Ah there you are you rascal, say hello to our guests.”

Cats are strange creatures; they are truly in the present, and on their own schedule.  They come when they want; leave when they want and have no fear of licking parts of their body at the most inconvenient time, which often causes their owners embarrassment. In this case, however, he merely walked over to us and brushed against us.

“Okay Sylvester, that is better, now let me get you a kipper snack.  Oh, OH, are you hungry?  I just made some spaghetti for myself, and I have some left over, I was going to keep it for tomorrow, would you like some while it is still warm?”

We followed her into the kitchen where we found a pot of spaghetti and some sauce, even some grated cheese.  We put together a couple of plates and then we all sat out in the dining hall.

Over the meal we told her of how we had started out from the camp, and our travels, some of those we met, and some of what we learned.  She listened and seemed to appreciate our company.

“Religious pilgrims you say, that is interesting.  We have a good selection of religious doctrines and writing up on the third level, are you looking at Christian, Eastern, Aboriginal or pagan kind of stuff.”

“Well, we are not sure, we have some ideas, and have recently been blessed with a visit by a fellow traveler named Chris.  He has opened our eyes to a lot of questions.”

“So it sounds like an all of the above.  Hmmm, well, I can show you the stack in the morning, it is too dark now, and perhaps you can find something to help your studies.”

We helped Helen clean up and then she showed us to a little office area with a sofa.  We slept soundly.

April 25th

(Lance) I spent a lot of time yesterday reading about radiation, the effects, and what we had to fear.  I found, for example, that we mostly suffered the most serious dose of gamma rays back on the day that the government bombed the cities.  Everything else has been of a low enough dose that it was really pretty much what we were getting before the world fell to shit.  So although we were reading numbers that were scary, or seemed to be, there was not the danger that we figured.  I was reading about varying numbers between 2.5 and 5.0 mrems (Millirem) we could safely take a daily hit of 6.5 mrems over the long term with no major issues.  Another book set a 5000 millirem per year guideline.  And although we all probably took over that 5000 when the bombs went off we probably all have been under that yearly number ever since.  (5.0 millirems x 365) so we should be okay.

We actually are getting less radiation today with the disappearance of cell phones and microwave devices.  So what we are mostly seeing is normal earthly radon and some residue from the power plants and medical machines when we are close enough to them.  This is good news, and I shared it with Major Barkley this morning.

I did the run this morning with the gang.  I am getting better at keeping up.  Del and I did a little sword work.  She is getting harder and harder on me.  Her attacks are getting more intense but I am getting better at fending them off.

I quietly visited with Nick, sorry, Master Nick in the afternoon.  I begin training tomorrow.

It looks like we can stay in camp, no move north or west.

(Matt) Helen showed us where the third stack was and we dug into the religious history and spirituality section.  We started by thinking about what or who to study.  Our best thought on that was to limit the ideas to a general overview of aboriginal gods (Native American),Buddhism, and Judaism.  But while we were discussing it, Helen wandered in with some warm tea and suggested that instead of Judaism that we might be better to look at Zoroastrianism.  She explained that it predated the big three (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) as well as had influence on Gnostic Philosophies.

We had already started with the Four Noble Truths, and the Eight Fold Path, so we had a jump start on that.  We had touched upon the basics, suffering, the cause of suffering, impermanence and the  path to ending suffering, the last being the Eight Fold Path.  So we figured that that would be the best place to continue, then move on to the Native American spirituality and finally the Zoroastrian.

“Helen, how long do you think we can stay with you?” asked Tanya.

“Oh, sweetie, as long as you like, I am alone here, well except for Sylvester, and it is nice to have company.”

“Can we stay for a week?”

“That’s all? Well yes, and if you need longer, that would be fine too.”

“We thank you, we have much to study, and although it would be wonderful to read all of The Three stack, we do have to complete our pilgrimage, and get back to our people”, explained Tanya.  “But if you are terribly lonely you could come with us, join us, our group, you would be welcome.”

“No, thank you, but I have my loves here, these tomes, and the ghosts of the great and not so great writers.”  She laughed, “I even have Stephanie Meyer here with me. Sparkly vampires, who knew…”

Both Tanya and I smiled at that, she was a sharp old bird, and really to have survived thus far, a tough one too.

We spend most of the day with the Buddha, the Sutras (lessons) and some comments by some of the contemporary Buddhist teachers and leaders.  It is a fascinating thing, the idea that they laid out.

I remember a little snippet that laid out the various religions, like in Hindu, ‘Shit happens, and it happened before” or Christianity, ‘Shit happens, and you deserved it.’ Islam, ‘Shit happens, it is the will of Allah’ and with Buddhism, it is “Shit Happens, but it isn’t shit.’

We had already covered half of the Dhammapada.  That left us with the final four,Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.  At this point, the Right Livelihood is kind of simple, we are not about to become arms merchants, bank robbers or assassins.  Although as farmers there may be a struggle with the idea of killing animals for food.

We talked about Right Effort, and that seems pretty clear also, simply put we do the right thing, move forward, be kind, helpful, not wasteful or malicious.  Clear cut, but not necessarily easy.

Right Mindfulness on the surface sounds kind of easy; just keep your head out of your butt. It almost sounds the same as Right Intent but reallyRight Mindfulness asks us to be aware of the moment, and of our actions at that moment. By being aware, we are able to see how old patterns and habits control us. In this awareness, we may see how fears of possible futures limit our present actions. This one could be a challenge.

Then finally there is Right Concentration, which implies that we select worthy directions for the concentration of the mind, meditation, perspective, seeing.

It is in these last two folds that real peace come, and it may be beyond many of us to follow these parts of the path.  But then this is just a starting point to who knows what we will find.  Tomorrow, we tackle the next part of the puzzle; I think that the Native American tribes will be interesting.  In many ways we are probably most similar to them environmentally now.

(Margo) Kind of a boring day, did the usual, run, clank swords, eat.  What was the old thing, SSDD…Same shit, different day.  But the weather is getting better and we will have to start the farm stuff and food gathering for next winter.

I wonder how things are out in space, ha, you can tell I am really bored.  I think of Tom and Asuna regularly but I am writing about thinking about Tom and Asuna, slow news day I guess.

That one message that he sent back said it was really hot on the ship, and after freezing my butt off over the winter, I am thinking it sounded kind of good.  But he never really told us what it was like in the ship.  I re-read it every so often when I get kind of down, and remember.

On one hand, I envy them, what they must be seeing, has to be just awesome, zipping along seeing stars and planets and just things that humans have not had the chance to see.  But at the same time, I wonder what it is like in the spaceship, it has to be pretty much like living in a rat maze.  I wonder if they have windows or places where they have gardens, or holodecks like in some space movies.

Anyway, they will be back in December, I miss him.

April 26th

(Lance) I talked with Major Barkley and it looks like we will be staying here at Camp Romanica, and that is good.  We have a good base, and things are working.  Maybe now it is time to start thinking about what we can do to improve the place.  We figure that we have some of the basics covered, a sort of basic infrastructure.  But we will need to expand on parts of it. The biggest issue for us over the long term is going to be power.  We still have access to propane, so we can heat water and use the gas stoves and ovens.  And we have some solar power modules so we are able to generate electricity.  We also have a small wind turbine that helps with the electricity.  But as time goes on we need to add to those generating capabilities.

We talked about the fossil fuels, it will be harder and harder to find or it will have degraded.  We are pretty much at the end of our supply for the airplanes.  The diesel and kerosene are fine for now, but we will need to keep that in mind.  One or two big flights by Stephen will pretty much put us out of business in that category, and in doing so put a big crimp on the use of the diesel powered vehicles.

I, oh wow, I am doing it, becoming the anal retentive guy.  I am worrying about future stuff, thinking about ways to expand our facilities, and supplies.  And I guess it is worse than that, I am running, I am learning to play with swords, and kill Zoms.  I am …..starting to fit in…..

(Matt) Well, Stack Three has a lot of information on the early Native Americans, some has to do with the historical part of it, the persecution and land grabs, and although interesting unto itself the part we are looking for is the reverence, the connection with the Earth.

I think that this is in part that there was so much of the Native Spirituality was based in oral tradition.  That is what we are looking for and much of what we have read is based in transcribed stories.  What they believed and how it led them to live.

In the end, it is really pretty clear, and simple.  The Earth gives you food, and warmth and abundance.  It is sacred and should be persevered and honored, waste nothing, and be thankful to the Earth, the Sun, the rain and all those natural elements that have given you life.

There are variations on the theme, similar spirits with different names, but it is mostly about the Father Sky, and the Mother Earth.  The bringers of knowledge, or gifts are often called by different names, usually related to a legendary creature such as the White Buffalo Woman, or the Spider Woman, or anyone of so many others named, but it always comes back to Mother Earth, and Father Sky.

Tanya and I talked late into the evening about this. In so many ways the path of the past has much to offer.  There were ceremonies, which was a big part of the learning and lore, much of it came from within the person.  It is about being a good person, and working with and connecting to others.

It is in ways similar to the teachings of the Buddha, who also pointed to what was inside the person, not in the tapestries of the religion or the laws of the book.

(Margo) Been watching the calendar, it is getting to be near that time again.  I think Code must count too, he is kind of funny, walking gentle the last day or so.  She has not arrived yet, but I know her footsteps.

There was a big announcement at dinner tonight.  Charlene told us that we had been watching radiation levels and that they had been a little higher than we thought was safe, but it is not as bad as we thought and we plan to stay at Romanica for a while, like forever.  I think that it is a good idea.  We are going to need to start farming soon.  It will be tough this year, with Henry gone.  Matt can do some of it, but he is not here.

I wonder how that pilgrimage thing is working out for them.

April 27

(Matt) We started in the Stack Three again this morning and tried to spend time working on the philosophy and religion of Zoroastrianism.  As we read, it was in many ways like forms of Judaism, Christianity and although I have never read much about it, Islam.  These religions are often thought of as the Big Three and they have many shades of variety from the cults, sects and divisions.  It was why we went with Zoro, it was considered the foundation.

There are many similarities, and in reading them it basically said the same things as the Bible, Torah and the Koran.  Be good, help your fellow man, if you were good God/Yahway/Allah was happy and gives you blessing and good fortune, but if you were not good then you would suffer and be turned away from Heaven.

About 10 am Helen came up to check on us and brought tea with her.

“Well, how is it going?  Find the answer to all the life’s great questions?” she asked.

At first I was a little annoyed in the way that she phrased it; it was kind of flippant of her I felt.

“We have found some good stuff, and are getting there, but there is something missing, there is an element, a piece that we can’t find”, answered Tanya.

“Oh, well, what exactly are you looking for?”

As we sipped our tea, we explained the idea of the pilgrimage, and that on the way we had found insights about people, about suffering, about how to live, but still, we needed something else.

“You were both Christian in your upbringing weren’t you?”  She asked thoughtfully.

“Yes, and in our travels we have questioned not the idea of God, but the idea of religion, the good and evils that have been done in the name of religion and what else might be a way, or a path for us.”

“I see Matt, well, you have bitten into a big apple and there is a lot to consider, I mean Stack Three is, as you can see very formidable, and there is lots of interpretation of the dogma and various ways.”

I grunted in agreement.

“Have you ever considered going back, way back and just winging it, create your own theory, your own religion that works for you, devoid of the commandments, the prayers, the rite?  I mean, all of this literature is good, and it has a place, or does it.  It had a place, but we are blessed with the opportunity to start over from the most basic level.”

Tanya looked at her for a moment, then slowly said, “Perhaps you are right here, I mean we have so much tradition ingrained in us, from our past, but this is a new era”

“Consider your study of the Native Americans; it has been the Earth or the Sky that have been their main god.  Consider that in Africa it was also the Earth or the Sky which are the main deity.  In these early times, the very planet itself was the god.  There are still those today who consider it such, calling the planet Gaia.  And to them, Gaia is a living, breathing thing that meets our needs by supplying our food, water, and home.”

“Yes, but, rules, behaviors, laws….” I started.

“Are all creations of man, to cope with and live in harmony with the Earth, Gaia. Think about it, so many of the rules you talk about are based in survival, not for the afterlife, but to get you from one day to the next. Don’t murder, don’t really piss off your neighbor or he may kill you, show respect, it is all about survival.”

“Helen, I, I don’t know, I mean really, I, it makes sense the way you present it, on the surface.”

“But you have thirty something years of Christianity beaten into you and God and the afterlife have always been a part of you.”

I was quiet for a few minutes and finally I mumbled, “I have to think about this. I….”

“Take some time, it is not easy.  But listen to the spirits here in Stack Three, let them talk to you, and give you both wisdom and answers.  I will see you both at dinner tonight; I have something special planned for dinner.”

After she left Tanya and I just stared at each other, maybe we were wrong in what we had been searching for.  Maybe the pilgrimage was not about how to praise God as much as it was to find Him/Her/It.  Perhaps it was about enlightenment, and how to deal with the present, and the future.

(Margo) Auntie showed up right on schedule.  I do not want to be around anyone today, we are having Deer Stew, I hate deer stew, I hate feeling like this, and I wish I was born a boy.

Code is hiding, I don’t blame him.  Even Lucy was a little skittish at first, but she is snuggled up next to me now, I want to cry.

Ah, I have a new best buddy for a couple or three days, Code is going to stay in the boy’s dorm, I am glad that Del does not go ‘tilt’ as bad as Margo.

(Lance) I am thinking that what I am going to do is to head out for a few scouting parties to see what I can find for solar panels.  I know I saw some in the outskirts of Hinsdale and Pittsfield.  If we can double the number that we have now that would be great.  It would insure that we would not have to sweat about the generators anymore.  Between the panels and the windmill, I wonder if I could find another small windmill, but then taking that down or apart would be pretty difficult.  I will put it on my wish list.

Stephen came to me today and was wondering if there were any little radios or anything that he and Heather could use as a baby monitor.  They are setting up their cabin with a nursery.  They are still about 3 months early to have to really worry about it, but in the world we are in now, it is not like we can just drive down to Infants R Us.  I guess we could, but it is a different place. I have some things that they can use.

I talked to Fred and Ron about the scouting, and LJ said that he wanted to help too.  We will start checking stuff out in the next day or so.  I told Del about it and to my surprise she said it would be good for me to go with them.

“You mean you don’t want to go?” I asked.

“If you want me to I will, but it might be good for you to get some experience under your belt without me there to watch over you.  Ron and LJ are solid, they will keep your skinny ass safe.” She smiled.

I was actually pleased about it, she trusts me.

Nick taught me how to walk today, with balance, keeping my center of gravity over my rock, a solid stance.

April 28th

(Lance) Ron, Code and I took a ride out this morning, we used Ron’s truck to see what we could find for solar or wind power resources that might be in the area and recoverable.  Stephen, Fred and LJ took a ride into Hinsdale to see what they could find for baby stuff and also to scout for power resources.

Our group was able to find a couple of houses with solar arrays that I think we can scavenge and get some good parts to add to our existing array.  There was also what looks like a little windmill turbine on the top of a silo on one of the farms close by.  I am not sure we can get it down, but maybe.

In the course of the trip we ran into a couple of Zoms.  Ron made me take the lead in the attack on them.  I think that Del would have been proud of me, I did good, but man was I scared, her training helped, I just did what I was taught.  It worked out.

(Margo) Inside day, and even I don’t want to be near me.  I am puffy, pissy and in general no fun, God forbid a Zom shows up at camp today.

The boys all headed out this morning for a scouting mission, something about electricity or something.  Code poked his head in quick, and told me.

Rick and Tay brought in a load of dried corn stalks from last year for the sheep to eat; we have someone make that run every couple of days.  The deer have been in the field too, which make for easy hunting.  I wonder why we don’t see any cows or horses.  Of course, they would be really hard to keep penned up over the winter; we couldn’t really do well at feeding them.

(Matt) Tanya and I are both a little groggy this morning, and slept a little later than usual. It had to do with last night.  Helen had a surprise for us and it was a biggie.  It seems that not only was she the librarian, but also a member of the Native American Church.  Sounded innocent enough, but the kicker was that they are into peyote ceremonies.  She had one with us.  I cannot detail all of the intricacies of the ceremony because it wasn’t the complete ceremony.  She cut it down because we were not members of the church, or the tribes.  What she did however, was to act as a guide to our experience.  I will try to recount the events the best I can, and am sure that over time forgotten parts for vision quest as she called it will come back to us.

It began as we sat around a small hibachi grill, with a fire.  We have no electricity so it was for light, and a little warmth.  As we talked she explained that we would be trying or using peyote to open our minds and to remove some of those filters that have been put into place over our years and years of conditioning.  The Native Americans have used this method for many centuries.

We settled in and she prepared a milky paste from the little mushroom buttons that she had.  She said that there were many ways that it could be prepared, or used.  We could smoke it, make a tea from it, just chew it, or as she was preparing it, to make a paste that was a mix with some water.

It tasted awful but we were able to get it down.  I think we both wanted to puke.

At first there was nothing, we just watched the fire and listened to Helen as she told us about the Sky Father and how he made the Earth; and how in doing so made the Earth Mother so that humans and animals could live and survive.

“In the old days Man and Animals often spoke and worked together.  In the beginning, there were certain animals that were special, the tricksters.  In some places the trickster was a raccoon, in others, a coyote.  It was somewhat dependent on the geographic area in which the tribe lived.”

As we listened, her voice seemed to move away from me.  She was talking about the Raccoon, and how it gave man fire.  I, I was suddenly alone; it was cold, and dark, with just the fire in front of me.  The fire shared its warmth.

“You like the fire?” a voice asked, it was one I did not recognize.

“Yes, it is warm, and the smoke smells so good.”

“It is sage and cedar, one of my favorite smokes.” The voice added.

As I stared at the fire, I saw a movement behind the fire, two glowing eyes.  As I stared longer, the eyes were surrounded by a face, a black feathered face.  As it saw me make eye contact, it smiled, I guess it smiled, and laughed.

“Well human, it has been a long time since I talked with one of you. It is not often I am summoned”

“I, I, ah.”

“It is okay, you have many years and many walls between you and me and you find me hard to fathom.”

“I, yes, this is very strange and very different to me.”

“It is fine, we are here for you.”

As I stared at the Raven, I saw that there were other creatures that were standing behind it, all in the little circle of the firelight. There were birds, hawks, eagles, and bears and moose and mice, and …..

“We are all here for you, and here to help you understand.  Each of us has a lesson for you, and each of us has a story.  But we will not tell them all tonight, some you will discover as time passes.  Watch Brother Squirrel and his story of how to prepare for winter will come.  Listen to Brother Hawk on the wind, he will give you messages.  Each of us, even what you often consider lowly, like the skunk has a lesson for you, it is his white stripe that is his reputation and protects him for others.”

As I stared at the animals, I saw one standing at the back.  It was Tanya, but it wasn’t Tanya. I mean it looked like her, but she was different, she was green, and wearing a mantle of moss and leaves.

“I am Earth Mother, I am from which all of the animals, all the humans, all things come.  I offer myself to you.”

Next to her was a smaller human, old, wizen, a crone, I think is the term.  I recognized the face though the body was gnarled and shriveled.  It was Helen, or at least her face was.

The crone spoke, “I am the bringer of knowledge; I am she who, with the animals, teaches about Earth Mother, and Father Sky. Listen, look inside yourself and you will find the answers.  Look to the plants, the animals and the sky and you will know the answers.”

“I will listen, and lear….”

Then behind them both was a light, a bright light! “I am Father Sky, I am the bringer of light, the beginning of all, the trusted one.  Stay with me and I will see you safe, and content.”

The light initially blinded me but as my eyes adjusted I began to see the form of Father Sky, and as he became clearer and clearer I saw, and understood, it was me.  The thing, the form, Father Sky I realized that it was not just me, the shifting image was every man, it was all of us.

I think at that point my mind seemed to just blink out.  I saw visions, and heard songs and stories flashing by at what seemed the speed of light; and then, darkness.

When I woke it was late, we were still by the hibachi but it was long burnt out, and it was light, dawn had come.  Tanya lay next to me, and Helen was just sitting on the other side of the circle staring at us, smiling.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?”

“I, we, questions, I have many questions.” I stuttered.

“I bet you do, but I have one first.”, she said

“Okay, I will try to answer.”

“Do you see?” she asked.

“Yes, and understood, I know where the answers are.”

Tanya who was now awake said, “Within, within us, that is where the answers are.”

Helen smiled.  “Rest now, take the day and build your strength.  Tomorrow it is time for you to return to your tribe, and end this quest to begin another.”

We lazed about for the balance of the day, and talked with each other.  Our dreams were very similar, the things we saw might have been a little different, like her changeling was a Jack Rabbit rather than a Raven, and I was the Father Earth, and she was Mother Sky.

April 29th

(Lance) Over breakfast we presented Stephen and Heather with a baby monitor, after doing so Del told me that we should have waited and we could have used it as a baby shower gift.  WTF, I am a guy, and kind of socially awkward, what do I know about baby showers.  In some ways, I guess I am kind of like Mr. Data from the old Star Trek series.

In the course of the conversation I was telling them about the items we found that could help with our electricity.  I mentioned the problem with the wind turbine we had found.

Stephen suggested that he could lift it off the silo and move it to another location.  But we would need to have somewhere to set it down, a new tower perhaps.  There is no rush, but that seemed like a workable idea.

Del and the rest of us runners, I still use that term loosely for me, made the run this morning.  After my kill yesterday, actually my first kill using the ninja techniques that Nick had taught me, I was prancing a little prouder and with a little more confidence.

(Margo) Getting back to normal again today, I feel better, still a little icky but better.  I really have to figure this stuff out.  If Mom were here I could talk with her about it, maybe Charlene, or Tay can give me some ideas on how to deal with the damn PMS thing better.

I ran today, with Del and the crew.  Lance seemed to be running better and there was something about him today, it was like something happened.  He has changed, became more, mainstream?

(Matt) For the most part of the day Tanya and I really didn’t talk much. I think that we both were sorting through the visions, the vision quest.  There was so much that flashed by, yet the message was so simple.  Still, I feel like I am missing something.

In the evening we packed our stuff up for the beginning of the return to Romanica.  I am excited about it because I feel that we’re onto something and need to share it with the rest of the camp.  It would be a few days before we were back and by then Tanya and I will have had the chance to sort through it all, and compare notes.  Although based upon what she did say, we are already on the same footing.

April 30th

(Matt) We were off fairly early this morning after spending some time saying goodbye to Helen, she is really a remarkable woman.  In the short time we knew her she’s taught us much.  It was almost as if she was the embodiment of the knowledge contained in the library.  It may have been because she had the time to read and learn over the years, but both Tanya and I felt there was more, there was a connection to the knowledge that lived in that building, a grounding.

As Tanya and I drove along we talked, and compared notes of our dreams and visions during the ceremony.  In talking about it, we found that the roles or players in the visions were similar, but were played by different creatures, or people.  That is except for Helen, she was the crone in both our dreams.  But the Changeling, I love the Changelings, they were played by different creatures.  In my vision it was a Raven, in Tanya’s it was the Jack Rabbit.  Certainly the Changelings have their bad moments, but they are the ones who bring the magic, the new ways, the needed changes to society.

“In a way, Tanya, I think we are the Changelings for our group.  It is our task to bring about some new ideas and ways for us to live.”

“I know, and it’s a little scary, I mean, we don’t even know what we are changing yet, or if the tribe will go with us on it.”

“I see some folks going along easily with us, it is pretty simple really, much of what we are going to be talking about, and doing is already being done, maybe for different reasons, but being done.”

She was quiet for a few moments and then said, “Do you think that people like LJ and Langley will go along with it?  We, the group, have been together for a long time, but those folks are new.”

“I think it will all work out, no, I know it will all work out.  Everything we have seen and learned on this pilgrimage says, don’t worry, in the end, it all works out.”

She smiled and took my hand, “You’re right.”

We continued to work our way east but avoided the major routes, it just felt right to travel on the back roads.  It was kind of slow going because in the year since the die-off the roads were still cluttered with broken trees, and potholes.  There were also a few cars and trucks along the way.

We reached Hagaman late in the afternoon.  It was a small town, probably akin to Peru.  It was northeast of Amsterdam. We checked the place out and scavenged what we could.  We found some canned goods, and some fuel for the old truck.

There was a little inn downtown, had to laugh, The Dew Drop Inn…Seriously!

(Lance) I looked in the mirror this morning, I like what I am seeing, but I am getting a little nervous, it won’t be long before I am not black-haired anymore.  I hope Del will be okay with it.

I spent much of the day trying to figure out how to build a tower so we can use that windmill generator.  I should probably focus on the solar panels more, but that windmill fascinates me.  For now that will be on the back burner, solar first.

(Margo) I’m back, Code is happy, Lucy is happy, I am happy.  I am going to talk to Charlene a little about this monthly mental mess I become.

The weather was awesome; the run was great, as Tom used to say, “It was the best day ever!”

May 1st

(Margo) The leaves are all out, and we actually have some flowers in bloom around the place. Chels and Tay got conned into doing some landscaping by Grace.  It looks good.

We did the run this morning, it felt good. Code, Del, Lance and I kind of got ahead of some of the others.  LJ and the militants, sounds like a rock band, that is LJ, Langley, Ron and a couple of others also did a run, but those guys are hard core, they carry backpacks filled with like rocks.

I never thought about it but Lance is losing the black hair, not going bald, but it is changing color, it is getting lighter.  Okay, there is not a lot to write about today and I’m just filling space.

(Matt) Our goal today is to reach Ballston Spa, this will take us along Route 67.  It is time for us to return to the camp, so we figure that our best bet would be to take this route and then pick up I-87.  We have had no contact with search or better, vengeance parties from Stanwix.

“When we get back we need to get going with the planting for the spring.  There are a couple of things that we might be a little late on, like peas if we decide to do them.  But the corn, beans, and other stuff should be fine.” I said as we drove along.

“Henry would have already been on it if …. you know.”

“Yeah, he was a good soul, and I miss him.”

As we drove on, we talked about the planting options and one of those options was creating an herb garden, some for eating, but also to expand our medical base.  So many roots and teas could help with the sniffles, or aches and things that we no longer have pharmaceuticals for.  I mean we do have some but as time goes on, the drugstores will run out or they will seriously go past their expiration date.

It was a pretty uneventful trip into town.

“Wow, I didn’t know that?” said Tanya with a little surprise in her voice.

“What?”

“There is the Abner Doubleday House; I didn’t know that he was in the Civil War.” She added.

“Me neither, I thought his claim to fame was that he invented baseball” I answered.

“Yeah, he apparently started the Civil War by ordering the first shots fired at Fort Sumner.”

“Shall we use his house tonight or……..nope!” I started, “We are staying there!”

In front of us was this huge house, the Verbeck House.  It was too interesting not to say there.  It was this big Victorian thing that was too good to pass up.  We found that it had served as a hotel or inn back in the day.

The town itself seemed empty, we saw no signs of life, and only a very few signs of death.  There were a couple of Changed roaming around, and we put them to peace quickly and quietly.

The house was roomy, and yet very quaint in a sort of Victorian way.  I am guessing Victorian; it was old stuff and old style.  It was a nice warm day but the inside of the house still had a little chill to it so we built a fire.

We checked out the kitchen and found some canned food, some corned beef hash, which works for dinner.  We also found bottled water, but it was not just your typical plastic bottle stuff, it was a mineral water that was bottled locally and was in glass.  It was actually kind of good.  We should probably make sure we take some back with us if we can find some more.

We talked more about the ideas of the natural state, the going back to a simpler time, philosophy wise.  As time passes we and our future generations would find the modern world becoming further and further a thing of the past.

(Lance) Did the run this morning, did well.  I am going to have to find a hat; the true hair color is starting to show.

Del said she would teach me how to fish.

May 2nd

(Margo) Everybody was called together this morning.  The Three wanted to give us an update on the state of the camp and the plans for the future.  I am guessing that the biggest issue that had been in front of us was since we’re staying we had to get going on food for next winter.   .

They talked about the plans for the gardens.  We are going to use the fields over in the area of Peru like we did last year, and Bernie and LJ have scoped out a couple of other farms where we can add some additional area for corn and beans and some other things.  They are talking about onions, beets and turnips.  I can pass on the turnips, but maybe we can get away from deer stew next winter.

They talked about medicine, growth, blah, blah, blah…I want to get out of here and go for a little run.

(Lance) Big meeting this morning the word is officially out we are staying put. I think this is a good place; it will give us the chance to get more and more prepared for next winter and the future.  We will never be back to where we were a year and a half ago.

As I look around the room it appears that most everyone seems good with the idea, although Margo looks a little antsy, and LJ seems a little unhappy about it, but then, I don’t think I have ever seen him happy with anything, except when he was killing Zoms.

After the meeting it was run time, and it was a good day for it.  I snuck away for my afternoon of sword training with Master Nick, the last few days have been spent on learning the sweeping and slashing motions from a standing position.

Del and I talked a little about the future, not so much our future as a couple, but about the group in general.  What can we do to improve the conditions in which we live? The power thing will be big.

“If we get a good crop in, we should be fine for the winter.” She said.

Yea, but we need to think about more than just food.  We have to consider things like fuel for the vehicles; the longer we go on the more that is going to be an issue.”

“But what can we do, we can’t make gasoline.” She countered

“True, but, and this is something I have been looking at, we could make some form of biofuels, kind of a biodiesel. It wouldn’t be a great supply, but we could run a tractor on the stuff and probably a couple of the trucks.”

“That or we could try to switch to electric cars.” She offered.

“Not a bad idea, but I don’t think we would be able to get them charged, at least not where we might find them.  I mean if we could get them to camp, with the solar panels, we might be able to get them going, but I just don’t know.”

(Matt) Our goal today was to get to Mechanicville, we followed Route 67 over I 87 and into Malta, New York, and then we headed south.  It should have been an easy run but things happened that changed that.  The first was that as we neared the crossover of I 87 we found an overheated car.  It was blocking the road and that did not seem good.

“Tanya, get ready, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I know, let’s keep the eyes open.”

As we moved slowly around the vehicle we saw nothing, and as we cleared it and started to pull away I saw someone in the rear view mirror, they were waving at us.  I stopped, maybe not the wisest thing to do, but we stopped.

A guy and a girl ran toward us.  He was average sized, I am guessing in his early 40s, she in her thirties.  They had rifles on their backs, and packs, but it was clear they were from the car we just passed.

“Stay sharp, there may be more.” I told Tanya as I got out of the car.  She got out on her side and we were both ready for action if it came to it.

“Hey, no need to run my friend, you have our attention.” I shouted to them.

They were close now, maybe 30 feet, breathing heavy. “Yes, I know, thank you, thank you for stopping.”

“What happened?” I asked.

He looked at me blankly for a couple of seconds, then said, “Oh, a hose, a hose broke, we were hoping to get in Malta and find an auto parts store to get another.”

“Are you two alone?” I asked.

“Yeah, just us.”   He replied.

I noticed the girl seemed a little frightened and kept looking around.  I had not paid much attention to her at first. She was a five foot five blonde woman, early thirties, attractive, slender, and what is the term FLBP, future lower back problems because she either had a boob job, or was just a very gifted young lady.

When the guy saw me looking at her he said, “Oh, my name is Keith, and this is Pam.  We are a couple, and have been on the road for a while; you’re the first folks we have seen in days.

Clearly he was staking his claim on Pam, but there was something in his tone that led me to think there was more to this story than a couple of travelers with a broken down car, especially with her nervously looking around.

“Well, let’s get into Malta and see if we can get a hose and get you up and running.” I said.

Keith and I rode in the front of the little king cab, Tanya and Pam in the back as we went in search of a parts store.  We were able to get the parts we needed, and some coolant and had them back running in about an hour.

“We are heading down toward Mechanicsville for the night, I am not sure where you’re headed, but we have a little food, and it would be nice to have some company for a change.” I offered.

Pam and Keith exchanged glances, and then agreed to follow us.

As Tanya and I drove toward our destination she said, “They are an odd couple, and they are definitely worried about something.”

“Yep, I am curious as heck about it.”

“So that is why you invited them along for the night?”

“Yes, I think they are harmless, to us, but they are, or at least, she is scared that something or someone is after them.”

Tanya thought for a moment, “Yeah, you’re right, she is spooked, not Changed chasing us spooked, but there is someone after us spooked.”

“Well, if that is the case, we should probably be careful tonight, ‘their someone’ may be close by.”

We arrived in Mechanicville about 4:30 and we looked around for a place to stay.  Tanya found a nice three story old hotel that gave a good view of the downtown area.  It was comfortable, but also defensible.

We eat cold food tonight, I was going to build a fire, and try some cooking, but just in case ‘their someone’ was close it seemed like a bad idea.

After dinner we sat down in the lobby of the hotel and just talked, nothing serious, just a little chat.  “So before the meteor what did you do” I asked Keith.

“Ah, well, I had a great little dental practice going, in the area of Rome NY.  I was making out very well, and then, well, dead folks don’t brush, and they don’t floss, but they don’t care much about teeth, unless they are ripping you open with them.” He said light heartedly.

“Nice, I, well, I had a much less interesting life, I was an organic farmer who by some strange series of events has become a sort of…” I looked at Tanya, “What are we now?”

“I would say sort of a cross between a shaman and a preacher.” She answered.

Pam has said nothing this whole time.  She had maybe whispered to Keith a couple of times, but nothing out loud.

“What about you Pam?  What did you do?” Tanya asked.

“I am not a nice person, I mean, I didn’t like kill people, or anything, but I am not a person I am proud of. Let’s just leave it at that.” She answered; she looked down the whole time.

The rest of us talked for a while and then I mentioned that I had been out to Rome, and had seen Fort Stanwix, it hit a nerve and they both kind of reacted, sat up a little, looked around.  Ah, bingo now we’re on track.

“Yeah, while we were there these military guys, we couldn’t tell if they were like really soldiers or just renegade, but these guys dragged some poor guy out, and chained him to a post.” I started.

“Kind of a tall guy? Red hair?” Asked Keith.

“Yeah, you knew him?”

“Marcus, his name was Marcus, he had helped us escape.” Keith said quietly, Pam’s eyes teared up.

“I think you need to tell us a little more about it, and about Fort Stanwix.  We knew it was not a good place when we saw them put Marcus out and they tried to feed him to the Changed, the Dead Folks as you called them.”

Keith went on to tell us that originally Stanwix was run by a group of about 50 people, they were good people, helpful people that took in strangers and fed them.  They had built a nice, safe place.  Then, one day a group of National Guardsmen showed up.

“We let them in, and at first things were cool, then their leader died, was murdered and this guy, a black guy, Womack, he took over.  It turned; it became a different place, they…..we were expendable, if we didn’t have anything to offer, well, I was a dentist, I had a skill, not that I could do much, an extraction or some minor stuff.  Pam, see, Womack liked big tits.  Marcus, he was a weasel, he knew how to get things. We were all safe for a while.”

“I see, it sounds bad” said Tanya.

Pam quietly started, there was bitterness in her voice, “It was, and what happened was that as time went on Womack made us all do things, awful things.  Before, I used to be a nurse, I had a skill, but he changed me, he made me a whore, his whore at first, then he started sharing me with his men.  I wanted to die.”

“That was when Marcus and I stepped in, we saw what was happening and we knew it was just a matter of time before we were not needed.”

“But you got away.” I said.

“Yeah, Pam and I did, Marcus was supposed to meet us a few days ago, but he never showed, I thought he might have gotten caught. You said the bastards turned him, left him tied up to be eaten and turned.”

“No, Marcus is dead, but he is at peace dead, he will not come back” I said and explained the events that occurred when we were looking at the fort.  “So we couldn’t save him, but we gave him a quick painless peace.”

We were all quiet for a while.

“We should probably turn in, it would be best if we were on the road early tomorrow, we have a lot of road to cover and the more distance we can put between us and Stanwix is probably good. You are welcome to come with us, to our camp, we have some good people there, and you will be safe.” I offered.

We set up a watch for the night, but we did not put Pam in the rotation, three hours each would get us through the night, I took the middle watch.  Nothing happened.

May 3rd

(Matt) We were up at the crack of dawn thanks to Pam, she was pacing like a dog that needed to go outside and pee.  She was freaked out.  We decided that it would be best if we ate on the road.  To get a little more understanding of these two, I suggested that Keith ride with me and Tanya and Pam lead the way in the other car.

As Keith and I drove on, we talked about Fort Stanwix.

“At first, I was kind of pissed you killed Marcus, he was a good guy, but the more I thought about it, I realized, you did him a favor, as much as killing someone can be a favor.”

“It wasn’t easy, I really did not want it to go down like that but with the soldiers on the wall, what else could we do, either let him get ripped to shreds and turned or make it quick and painless.” I responded.

We drove on for a little bit.

“Oh, that was one of the kinder things that Womack used to do.”

Then, Keith began to tell me more about the Womack and his group.  They arrived in the early part of December.  Keith said that the group inside the fort had put up food, not a lot, but with careful planning and effort they figured they could get through the winter.  The soldiers added 10 people to the fort population and it threw the rationing idea out the window.  They kept promising to go out and scavenge and hunt for food, but they never did.

He continued with the story. In the middle of January, Womack had muscled his way to the top of the food chain and the food situation was bad.  It started out as all the people in the fort were equal, but over time; some became more equal than others.

In late February we were getting desperate and Womack decided that it was time to make some people work a little harder for food, if they wanted to survive.  He invented a game, a survival game.  There would be a lottery in which all the males had their name in a hat and three names were picked.  Then, they were turned loose on each other with rudimentary weapons, if you lived, you ate.  It was bad, but then some of the men decided that they wouldn’t play.  Womack bumped it up a notch; he added the families into it.  If you won, your family ate, if you didn’t fight, your family didn’t eat.

“Who would let their family starve!”  Exclaimed Keith bitterly.

“What he was doing it made us sick, and maybe we should have just killed him ourselves, one of his guys tried it, killing him, it didn’t work, and that was where Womack decided that he would make a show for the masses, to insure that they behaved. He lined everyone up on the fort wall and made them watch as the soldier was led out and tied to the stake.  It did not take long before the Dead showed up.”

I just listened in silence, in my heart I hoped that I had succeeded in killing this monster.

“We, Pam, Marcus and I decided that we would try to get away, but it took time, we couldn’t get away until a couple of weeks ago.  Marcus had put together some food for us, and had the car waiting in a part of town that was not usually visited.  We snuck out at night, Pam was supposed to be my, ah, date for the night.  Marcus was supposed to meet us outside of town the following morning. He never showed and we figured things turned to shit, so we hit the road and have been running ever since, figured that sooner or later Womack would be after us, wanting his prize fluff back, and me…….dead, slow, and painful.” There was bitterness in his voice.

“I took a shot at Womack”.

Keith looked at me.

“I hit him in the chest, but I don’t know if I killed him. I figured it might help a little, they knew we were out there when we took the shot at Marcus. I was so angry at what they had done.  No matter what a person might have been or done, there is no reason to stake him out for the Changed to get.”

“I just wish I had a bigger gun, the 223 probably messed him up, but if I had my sniper rifle, he would have been pink mist.”  I said, with a degree of regret.

“Whoa, you’re the preacher man; you can’t be saying you are good with trying to kill him.”

“I am a preacher man, and I have killed evil before.  There was a need for justice, and a need to protect the innocent.  I see things a little different now, and I need to answer to those I save, not some concocted godhead. God is still alive, but the Pope is dead.”

It got quiet for a while and I thought about what I had just said, and felt.  It was right, it was the ways of nature, and the earth, and I am very good with this.

We reached Albany late in the afternoon and I knew a safe place for us to stay for the night.  We have long ago cleaned out and secured the arsenal.  We had left it set up that as long as we could get to the roof we could get in and there was no fear of the Changed.  It would also give us a secure place if any of Womack’s people were hunting us. Getting in was easy and we were good for the night.

Tanya and I talked a little, I told her about the information that Keith had shared and it was pretty close to what Pam had told her.  They had not had an easy time of it in Stanwix, and not a lot better when they were on the road after the escape.  I can’t imagine the degree of fear that they, especially her, had experienced.  If they were caught, Keith was meat, but her…

“She said that she kept a pistol with her all the time, if it looked like they were going to get caught she was going to do herself in before they could catch her.” Tanya told me.

“Based on what Keith told me, it was the smart thing to do.  Womack’s crew made the biker band we dealt with look like a Boy Scout Troop.  I think Keith probably had the same plan.”

“Yeah, good thing we didn’t wander into town.  I think that we have gotten away from them, and we are good, but what if we ever run into them, or they find us.”

“I don’t know; guess it depends on the nature of the meeting.” I offered. I was trying to candy coat what I knew was the reality of it.

“If we….just kill me, that is the only way, just kill me.” She said quietly.

We didn’t talk much after that.

(Lance) I found this stupid hat; it is kind of a tiger thing, with eyes, and a nose.  I am wearing it for now, sooner or later everyone will know, but for now it is my secret, I think Del kind of knows, but she has not said anything about it.

One of the things that is become increasingly apparent to me is that we are moving away from the realm of gadgets and back to an older, simpler time.  We still have our laptops, but they are really limited in stored data and programs.  We need to get back to books, and maps, and the tech from the old days.  It is sad that in this day and age so many people can’t read a map, or write cursive or do more than simple addition or subtraction.  But then who knew, who expected this would be our world today.

I am actually kind of excited about this.  It is a problem solver’s paradise, nothing easy, and lots of challenge.  We need to figure out how to take what we have and make it work, and keep us going.  I am excited.

Del and I talked a little about it as we ran.  She looked at me and smiled, “That is going to be your challenge brain boy, mine is to keep your skinned ass safe.”

(Margo) Code and I stayed outside last night for most of the night, we were sky watching.  We hadn’t noticed any of the moving lights in the sky lately and wanted to see if we saw any overnight.  It could be that the Hunter A’s are all dead or maybe not working anymore. We didn’t see anything that looked moving, other than a couple of meteors.

The sky at night, without the ambient light of the city is so awesome, you can see the stars, more stars than you could imagine.

“Code, I wonder how Tom and Azz are doing?”

“Or better, where are Tom and Azz, you miss them don’t you.” He answered.

“Yeah, I do, his stupid ass jokes, and puns, and sometimes his just being there.”

“Well, they will be back soon enough, Oh, a falling star, quick, a wish.” He exclaimed.

After a minute he asked, “What did you wish for?”

“Can’t tell, it would ruin it.” I smiled.

Lucy perked her head up for a minute, sniffed and then when back to sleep.  Having her around is really a nice thing, I always wanted a dog, and I have the best one ever now.  Of course, Mark would probably argue that Biter was better.

May 4th

(Matt) We took one last look around the inside of the Arsenal today just to make certain that we had not left anything behind that might be useful.  Keith found something, a small electronic device marked HD-141.

“I have seen one of these before, Womack had one, and he claimed the thing made it safe for us to be out and about in the camp.  It put some kind of umbrella over us that prevented the Hunters; he called them Hunters, from attacking us.” He said.

Tanya and I looked at each other, “Really!” I said.  “Did you ever see any Hunters?”

“No,” he kind of laughed, “They were mythical things as far as we knew.  We thought Womack just made then up to scare us, keep us in line.”

“Oh, they are not mythical; they are deadly, very deadly.” Tanya said and went on to explain what they were, and how they worked.

We took the device with us along with a few other odds and ends that we found.  Keith grabbed some dental stuff from the infirmary.  We were out of the building by 8:30 and on the road.  We would be back to Romanica later today.  We tried to give them a radio call once we hit Pittsfield to let them know we are on our way in but no-one was listening apparently, hopefully.

We pulled into camp about 2:30, the drive had been easy.  Mom was glad to see me, us.  And the Major was pleased at the prospect of having a medical man in camp.  Our little group was growing, and from where Tanya and I were standing there is a great potential for the future, it is kind of go backwards, to get to the future.  But that we shall see about.

Matt and Tanya are back, and they brought a couple of people with them.  The guy is an old dentist, not bad, he could help.  The woman, she is a little weird, kind of really like defensive, stand-offish, I can’t put my finger on it.

We all sat around the dining room tonight listening to the adventures that Matt and Tanya had experienced.  It sounded very cool, maybe Code and I should try that someday. I wonder what we would find.

When Matt started to talk about the peyote ceremony and what they saw I was interested, but also kind of shocked.  I had never considered that he would even consider such a…ah…trip?

There could be a lot of new thinking going on here and I am sure that he and Lance will get into it. Science versus hocus pocus, whoa, this could be interesting.

I am also interested to see the take by The Three, Charlene, well, I can kind of see it working, Ron, No way, and Grace, wow, she is the wild card in this.

(Lance) The Matt thing, now that is something new, okay, something old, and yet it kind of goes along the way I have been thinking of late.  It sounds like a very interesting trek he has been on and I really want to talk with him more about it, in private, I am tending to think he has a good handle on the future, our future.

That device that they came back with, the HD-141 as they call it, that could be huge, a protective element around the camp.  Tomorrow I have to try to contact the Pittsburgh again; they must know about the device and can maybe give me some spec info on it.  If I can’t raise them maybe another station can help out.  We have been really not been reaching out to see what is going on or who is out there of late.

May 5th

(Matt) I spent the day or a good part of it with The Three, the Major and Lance.  We talked about what we would need to do as far as farming for this coming year.  I suggested that we add Taylor and Nick to the discussion so that we could get a feel for how we had done this past winter in the food department.

We found that we were good as far as corn and goods like beets and beans that we were able to can.  What we need to do is to start looking around the area to see if we can find some orchards, or if not, try to find some small fruit trees that we can import into the camp.  And finally, we need to develop a food supply that is going to work out better for the sheep we have.  It is likely that we will have a few more in the flock very shortly.

I brought up the issue of the herb garden that Tanya and I had talked about.  It was one that at first was looked at skeptically by Ron, but Nick, Charlene, and the Major jumped on board with the idea.  So we will cut out a little area for that.

By the end of the day we had pretty much laid down a framework of when we would begin getting the fields’ ready, which will basically start tomorrow.  Beyond that we would be sending out scout teams to look for orchards, nearby farms that could be worked and additional fields that we could use as pasture land for the sheep.  We are good for basics but it would be nice if we could get some lettuce, or tomatoes or cabbage going.  All the more reason to search the area farms, perhaps some of the plants have self-seeded. The Earth Mother will provide.

(Lance) It is good to have Matt back, I was worried about the farming aspect.  I can see a couple of things that I can do to help make this all work for us.  I told them about the ideas I had for the solar panels and also the wind turbine.  It was more to get Matt up to date because some of us in the meeting were already aware of the plan.

Nick had some interesting input also.  He said that we need to start looking around the camp and in the woods; there are a lot of potential food sources out there.  We have been enjoying the acorns for example, which until I tried it; I always believed we couldn’t eat.  He pointed out that along the streams we would find raspberries, and in the woods, choke cherries, strawberries, mushrooms and other such things.  He suggested that he and Grace could give a little class to teach us what we should bring back for eating, or if on the road what we could eat.

In the afternoon it was off to the kitchen for a little ninja work with Master Nick. We worked on room movements, and unarmed to armed in tight spaces.

(Margo) Guess what day it is…. Yep, Auntie is here, and actually a little late, but she’s here.  I had that talk with Charlene and she suggested a couple of things that seem to be helping.  I had picked up some valerian root tablets on a scavenging run back a few weeks ago, and also some chamomile tea.  The other thing that I am trying is dandelion tea.  I was kind of grossed out with that last one, but the three things seem to help. I am happy, and Code is happy.

Big pow-wow today with The Three and some special guests, they are talking about our future, and where we are going.  I figure what we don’t get over dinner in the form of a general announcement I can get from Del, Lance will tell her and then I get to hear.

So it is hurry up and wait.

May 6th

(Lance) Ron, Mark, Fred and I headed out this morning to start gathering solar panels that we can add to the top of a few of the cabins.  It should have been a pretty straight forward task, but it was a little more complex and friggin’ Ron, or should I say Wreck’em Ron seems to be more of the mindset that slow disassembly is not the way to go, cut and hack, cut and hack.  He ruined two panels with his goon methods. In the end we were able to get 6 panels (instead of 8) which was still a good start.  The re-wiring and placement will take time, but it is workable.

I am thinking that we can also set up a kind of array configuration in the area near the flagpole, it would have to be something that we can twist to follow the sun a little but again it is a reasonably simple project.

(Margo) Code, Del and I are on scout/scavenger duty today.  Tay and Chels have asked to come along.  We are assigned to check out farms in the area and see what we can find for seeds, and other farm stuff.

We found a bunch of what I think might be tomato plants or maybe squash coming up at Henry’s old farm.  The question was whether or not we can move them, or if we try to let them grow where they are at.  Matt or Tanya will have to give us the word on that.

We also found a small apple orchard about 8 miles to the south of the camp.  I guess we knew it was there, sort of, Del and I had hunted the area last fall but never thought about it as a real good source for food.  Just goes to show how much we all are used to going to the grocery store.

Matt, Stephen and LJ are trying to get the tractors fired up and running, they have been sitting for a year so the batteries are dead and other issues like mice eating wiring all have to be attended to.  By the end of the day they had one running and one just about there.

(Matt) Wow, it is good to be back with the thing I love the best, hands in the soil, seeing things grow.  The Earth has always been good to me, and yet, I let it get away from me and got caught up with other things.  It is so obvious to me now that She, the Earth, Gaia, whatever you want to call it is the answer to so much.

I am hoping that we can get that other tractor fired up tomorrow, the wiring was pretty messed up. But we have replaced or repaired the damage and should be good to go.  The batteries are good for now but we need to keep in mind that sometime soon we need to replace them.  There is an auto parts place in Hinsdale and if the batteries did not have their acid pre-installed, well they should be fine.

I kind of like LJ, I never really had a lot of time to get to know him, but when you’re in the middle of knuckle busting with rusted bolts you kind of get a feel for people.  When he first joined us he came across as kind of a hard ass, but I think that was all the cop veneer that he put on.  He is different now and really kind of funny to listen to.

Tanya and Langley are working on the ideas for the herb garden.  And now with the possible tomatoes and squash plants that Margo and crew had found, space may be a little more precious.  Imagine fresh tomatoes, our deer bacon, and if we could only find some lettuce, wow, a BLT on acorn bread toast.

May 7th

We got the second tractor started and were off to start plowing the cornfields this morning.  It is funny, a year or so ago when Henry was doing this we had to send a couple people to guard him from Changed. We have seen so few of the dead since winter that it is no longer a big deal.  We run into a few here or there on scavenging runs to the cities, or like when Tanya and I were on our pilgrimage.

Focus on the food and getting ready to plant, that is my job right now.

(Lance) Another day of going out to look for and removing solar panels from some from the area homes.  We left Ron behind today.  It is amazing the number of solar cells available.  I think that by the time we get done we cold have probably about 20 or 30, not that we can use them all right away, but it will give us a supply to work with and some spares.

I talked to Stephen and we are going to take a ride out to the farm that has the wind turbine and see what it is we could do to get it moved to the camp.  I think that the turbine was not that critical in the summer, but when the snow falls it may be something that gives us a little edge for when the panels get covered.

(Margo) Del, Code, and I had to sit through hours of listening to Nick and Grace tell us about what to look for in the way of edible plants that we could gather.  I would much rather have been hunting, or running, or for that matter repeatedly hitting my hand with a small hammer.

It is all good, and all important…..but BORING!

May 8th

(Margo) Keith and the new girl, woman, Pam are settled in and Keith is fitting in well, he has already started to work on setting up a little area where he can play dentist.  It is going to be a simple spot, and mostly he can do cleanings, and tooth pulls. But it is another luxury of the days gone by.

Pam, now she has had a hard time of it.  I mean in some form or another we all have, but what I have heard is that she was basically a sex slave to the guys running that Fort Sandwich or whatever it was called.  She is stand-offish and very withdrawn, and I can see how that would happen.

Michelle has tried to talk with her, and she seems to be warming up a little, they have some shared experiences I think, with Michelle’s former career in holistic medicine and as an exotic dancer and then the getting kidnapped by the biker gang.  I hope it helps Pam out of her shell.

Code, Del and I headed out to look for more resources among the local farms and houses.  We found a couple of different types of fruit trees (more apples and some peaches) in some of the yards.  One of the houses checked out seemed to have been owned by a hoarder, there was stuff everywhere.  It was stacked like 4 feet deep with little trails through a maze to get from room to room, and each room had a center passage, but was stacked with things, newspapers, books, empty bottles and just all sorts of weirdness.  I think that we may have to empty this place out because I have a feeling that there are some treasures among the trash.

Not much else going on, last night Code and I sat out and watched the sky; it is so beautiful without the extra lights of the old days.  We just lay side by side on top of the blanket.  He is a good guy.

(Matt) Not much to report today, I spent most of the day plowing and we have the main cornfield ready for planting.  It is good to feel the sun on my back, the smell of the earth.  The work gives me time to think, and be grateful for where we are and what we have.

Tanya and I were talking tonight, it is Wednesday and she was wondering if we are going to start back up with our Sunday services.  That is a good question.  Part of me says that we should do some kind of enlightenment, or shared activity of kind of a spiritual nature, but I am not sure if Sunday is really a necessary part of it.  I mean now, every day is a blessed day, and it really doesn’t matter which we choose.

“Do you think we need to pick a day, or maybe would we be better to just take a little time, now that the warm weather is here and take a little time at sunset to have a little, like a campfire with sort of Vespers or prays at the end of each day?”  I offered.

“I think that would work better, we start it tomorrow night, we get the word out and just see who wanders by.” She suggested.

“Yes Earth Mother, you are on target!”

“Thank you Sky Father,” She smiled back at me.

(Lance) Mark, Fred and a couple of the others were out gathering more solar panels today.  Nick, who I discovered was a plumber before the fall, worked on starting to get the panels we had already collected ready for installation.  It is not hard work, but tedious.  I smacked my hand with a hammer today, hurt like crazy.

It is all moving forward, I actually think that if this goes the way I want it to we could use a few electric space heaters.  That would be cool, or should I say hot.  Oh crap, that was bad.

Del is giving me a hard time about always having that stupid tiger hat on.  I am not ready yet, I am not ready to let my secret out, and to her credit, and she has respected that wish by not trying to pull it off.

May 9th

(Matt) It was another good day getting an early start on preparing the earth to receive our seeds.  I am planting the corn today; Tanya is going to finish clearing an area for the herb garden.

After a little discussion on the herb garden they, The Three and some of the others, thought that it would be better to plant the herbs, and for that matter also the vegetables in the ball field across the lake.  It would leave it open for visits from the local animals, but it gave a lot more room, and it did have a chain link fence around it.

As I was finishing planting, something caught my eye, over against the stone wall.  I doubt I would have even noticed if that raven had been cawing on the stone wall.  I jumped down from the tractor and walked over, a hatchet, actually a little larger, it was a throwing ax.  It must have been dug up when we were plowing.

It was old, very old, and rusted.  The wooden handle, which was in need of replacement, was decorated with leather, and strings of beads, a gift? There was irony that a raven would cause me to find it, and they are one of the “tricksters” of this region.

That night Tanya and I built a little fire in the pit by the flagpole.  As we sat, just enjoying the weather, the quiet, the beauty, I worked on the ax, cleaning the rust off of it easily, and I sharpened it.  My thought was that it might have been left by one of the Native American tribes in the area.

The handle, I would need to be replaced, but in doing so I transferred the leather, and the beads. Actually I am not certain it is leather, per se, but might have been the hide from another animal, a deer, a bear, a badger.  I guess I will never really know.   Thank you Earth Mother, Raven, I shall hold this dear to me.

(Lance) Code and I were finally able to get through to the Pittsburgh, they had been in dive mode for a couple of weeks.  I actually spoke with the Captain, Tom Katzung.  I told him about the radiation issue that we had been so worried about and he said that it was not that big an issue which confirmed what I had kind of figured out.

We also talked about the HD141.  He had one of his minions, a Petty Officer Collins explain to me what the thing was and how it worked.  The device was a sort of scrambler deflector.  What it did was to send a message to the Hunter’s control target mechanism that basically blocked any reading of the virus for a quarter mile radius.  That meant that if we placed it in the camp near the east side of the lake we would have a half mile of safe zone. If a Hunter was in the area it would not bother us.  Awesome!

After Collins filled us in I spoke to Katzung a little more.  He said that he had heard of rogue groups out there, some were military; some were just a militia that was thrown together.  The reason that he knew they were out there was because like us, the rogues had Sat-Comms.  Just something to be mindful of I thought.

“We are going on another deep run and will be out of contact for about two weeks, we are heading down to the Gulf of Mexico to try to see what is happening at Pensacola. We will try to reach you when we are back in the area.  I figure about June 1st.” He said.

“Okay, be safe, and don’t forget to close the hatch when you dive.” I said.

“Ah Yeah, ah, right,” he laughed.

(Margo) Ah yes, here we are, Lucy and I, in the wild, armed only with high-powered hunting rifles and little cloth bags hunting the elusive wild but safe to eat mushrooms.  Yeah, that was my day; we found some, so that is good, but it is pretty boring.

After dinner, as it was getting dark, Code and I saw that there was a fire in the pit by the flagpole.  We joined Tanya and Matt and just sat and watched.  Matt told us the story about the old hatchet that he was cleaning.  It was kind of cool; I had not really thought about what the tribes, the Indians might have lived like in the area, or what they experienced.  But in thinking about it, we are kind of heading to some of those adventures, and that lifestyle.

May 10th

(Matt) It is Sunday, and back in the day, well, maybe about 5 weeks ago Tanya and I would do a morning service praising God and being thankful.  A couple of people asked us if we would be taking that up again.  And we will, sort of, but it will be a little different.  She and I have pretty much decided that we would do a nightly fire with sort of Vespers.  But it will be different than the old Bible stories, it will be about being in the moment, and about the wonders of nature, and how the Earth and the Sky provide for us.

The moral lessons will be very much the same, but just presented in a different way.  It will be more a group bonding session than a worship service.

Tonight was pretty sparse as far as those who joined us.  It was Cody and Margo, Teckla, and Mark and Michelle.  We just sat and talked about the old times before the meteor, and how we lived.  It was just a general get together, just community, kind of family, a new family, but family just the same.

(Lance) Nick and I had another day of electrical work on the solar panels while Fred and some of the others were out collecting more panels.  We have installed one cabin so far, it is taking longer than I expected.  But we have all summer, so that is not a problem.  At this rate, we will be done by the beginning of June.

No sword work today, but I focused on fluid movements and balance.

Del and I had a great night tonight, we took a walk out into the woods and just enjoyed the warm air, and it is nice to not be cold.  I still can’t believe that she has hooked up with me.

(Margo) Another day for the “Mushroom Hunters”, Del and I were LOL’ing about that as we stalked our elusive prey.  I know I make light of it, and really, what we’re doing is all part of who we are now.  Can’t go killing things every day, and besides, I would rather have a nice mushroom soup rather than deer stew.

Tonight Code and I joined the fire circle.  It was kind of nice; it is like being back in 4H camp at the end of the day.  We told stories, and remembered stuff.  I thought about Mom, and Meme, and Gramp and Tom, and all we have been through.  It was at times sad, and yet, being with the group, and Code, it was good, it helped.

May 11th

(Matt) LJ and I got the rest of the cornfield done today and now it is time to move on and get the smaller fields done.  Tanya had asked that we turn the ball field area so that they can get some things like squash, pumpkins, tomatoes and cabbage planted.  A raid of the Pittsfield Home Depot has resulted in many packages of seeds.   Yeah, they are GMO based in some cases, but who cares, I think that in the long run it’s unimportant, it beats starving.

We got a thunderstorm tonight around sunset.  We watched it roll in and it was breath taking, the lightening, flickering over the trees, and the rumble of the thunder. But when the rains came we moved into the dining room and held Vespers there.  I use the term Vespers, mostly because I think it is kind of a cool term.

It was the usual suspects again tonight, Mom, Mark and Michelle, Code and Margo.  We had a few others join in also, Taylor and Chelsea joined us and Keith came by, with Pam.

Pam, I feel so bad for her, she is so withdrawn.  It looks like she is going to cry at any moment.  I can understand her pain, and her suffering, I just don’t know how to get her to release it.

(Margo) Code, Del and I all headed out on foot this morning to scout the area for orchards or maybe some fields or farms that might offer additional food stuffs.  Lucy was right there at my side the entire time. She was not going to be left behind.

We figured that we would try going to the east a little bit, so when we left the camp we went to the right and picked up Michaels Road.  We would walk away from the camp until 2 pm and then start back.  That should get us home for dinner.

We followed Michaels out to Route 8 and took that north for about a mile where we came to Middlefield Road.  We took a right onto it and headed down the road.  The road, really all the roads, were definitely seeing the effects of not being used, there were plants and even little trees coming up in the cracks in the pavement.

About ¾ of a mile down Middlefield we came to a farm that extended across the road on both sides.  We began to check out the buildings on the south side of the road.  It was a standard farmhouse, kind of old, like one hundred years, white, shutters, you now the type. It kind of reminded me of Tom’s parents place in Canton.

We checked out the house and the barn. There were some things that we could certainly use.  There were seeds, and some farm tools, and a tank, probably 200 gallons with diesel fuel in it.  This was someplace that we would have to come back to with a truck to pick up the goodies.

We moved across the road and started checking out the buildings on the other side of the road.  It ran deeper into the woods and was the main part of the working farm.  There were some tractors, and different types of farm machines, I think one was for hay making, a Baler/Bundler maybe? And this really big thing that had some funny looking nose on it that looked like it was almost a scooper grinder thing that had a big pipe in the back to shoot out something.

We went further back and as we did Code stopped us with a single utterance.

“Horseshit!” he exclaimed.

“What? Huh?” Del said, sounding a little confused.

“Horse shit, there is horse shit on the ground and it looks fairly fresh”, added Code, pointing at a small brown pile.

We were excited, this was the first time we had seen any indication of larger animals other than deer in the area.  A horse, or wow, horses, what that could do for us. We looked around some in the fields and the area, and found lots of poop, but no animals.

It dawned on me that with Lucy there with us it could be scaring off the horses.  Or maybe they just aren’t close by right now.  But this was something that we had to explore further.

We checked out the big barn, and found hay stored there. And there were some stalls that meant that at some time there were horses kept there. We also found saddles, and bits and riding equipment. In one of the stalls, we found a mummified body of a horse.  But even so, we knew that we were onto something. We would have to come back and try to find these animals, or animal.  We would tell the folks back at the camp.

Over Vespers we talked about our day at the farm and what we had found.  Matt and Teckla were both very interested and Tay said that when she was younger she used to ride and work with horses.  As they talked, it became clear that they had some knowledge of the animals and that they may be the ones to go try to capture them.

Wow, horses, now that would be awesome.

(Lance) Slipped on the roof today and fell off, Doc Barkley says it is only an ankle sprain and I should stay off of it for a few days.  Del chewed my ass for falling, but it wasn’t exactly my fault, one of the panels just kind of got unsteady and knocked me over the edge.

Nick stopped by in the afternoon, looked at me and my taped ankle and grunted, “Well, I guess you are limited in your movements today.” So he gave me a lesson in “sitting Ninja”.

Del found me a couple of things I could use for crutches.  So we were able to go to the fire tonight, although we ended up inside because of the storm.  It was neat to hear about the possible find of horses.  That would be great, we could become even less reliant on cars and trucks.

I am getting a good feeling about the way things are going.  This is a good place.

Del was funny when we got back to the cabin tonight, she was fussing over me.  It was kind of nice.  She is wonderful.

May 12th

(Margo) Teckla and Tay went to the horse farm today to see what they could figure out.  They seem to think that they might be able to get the horses back in the barn. There are oats and food in there for the animals, so it might work.

Chels and Bernie went with them and they will pick up some lot of the smaller items that we had found yesterday. The fuel tank will have to wait for another day.  Or maybe they will just leave it and use it to fuel up there.

I wanted to go, but that idea was nixed because of the Lucy Girl.  She would cause an issue if the horses were in the area.  So as a result it was another day of ….The Mushroom Hunter.

It was kind of neat tonight at Vespers; Matt talked a little about spirit and animal guides.  He seems to feel that we each have one.  He claims that his is the Raven.  I never thought about it much, but then I realized that Tom had always related to the Coyote, and now I think I know why.  He knew, he had some connection with stuff outside of the regular stream of the world and seemed more grounded.

I think I want to learn more about this.  I wonder what my guide is.

(Lance) So, I am hobbling around, a little, like to meals, but that is about it. Del has me locked down and is threatening to sit on me if I get trying to walk around too much.   I mean the leg doesn’t hurt too much, but I guess it is best if I don’t push it.

We went to Vesperstonight, and it was interesting to listen to Matt, I love his stories, about the old Earth.  It sounds like a wonderful place, although I think that some of it is a little far-fetched.  Humans and animals talking together, I can’t go for that, but I do agree that we can live nicely within the framework of where we are now. My only concern is that other humans, with a different mindset will mess it up.

(Matt) Another day in the fields working on the vegetable garden that Tanya is planting.  I had to struggle with that a little because the ground had never been turned before and was very hard. But it got done.

I was on the far side of the lake, so I took a ride over to the horse farm to see if I could fuel up the tractor, they had that 200 gallon tank so it made sense.

Back at camp for dinner, mushroom soup, pretty good, someone had managed to catch some fish, pretty good, a salad of greens from the woods, not bad, and some acorn bread, that is getting a little old, but the sheep butter made it a little better.

Code and Fred were out looking for fields and pasture land that we could use for the sheep.  I think they found a place a couple miles to the west, it is a small field, like 10 or so acres, but it should work.  We can walk the animals out there each day and someone can play sheep herder.

At the fire tonight we talked about old Native American lore and about the animals.  In lore, the animals and the humans could and would talk to each other.  It was only later when man became more “civilized” that the connection fell apart. But even then, some maintained a connection with the animals, and often a particular animal would be linked to the human.

A year ago, I would have dismissed this, but now, I think I believe.  Between the things that I have seen, the peyote ceremony and the discovery of the throwing axe that was shown me by the Raven, I think I believe.  I have always related to the Raven going back to my trip the Pacific Northwest.  It is a creature that speaks to me.

In a way, the Raven is a trickster, but more than that he is one that is linked to magic. He is the one that leads to the exploration of the Great Mystery, the question of what is Life, what is it all about.  I believe that this all relates back to the pilgrimage that was taken, it was linked to finding the answers that Tanya and I have come upon, and now share with the rest of the group.  As a reward for my sharing of the knowledge, Raven has given me a gift.

May 13th

(Margo)It was a pouring down rainy day; the plan is, for Code and me, to stay dry. It is a good day to cuddle up with a book and later, do some sketching.  For the most part, that seems to be the general plan for us all.

Keith made an announcement this morning at breakfast that he would be available to anyone with tooth issues, or even just a general checkup, if interested.  I think I am going to go see him.

Lucy seems a little on edge today, not sure if it is because we are not doing anything, or she senses something.  I am in “Situational Awareness” mode.  It was something that Tom used to talk to me and Mom about.

“Keep your head out of your ass,” he would tell us.

“Yes, we know, situational awareness.” We would answer.  Mom, well, she was not so good at it sometimes.  Tom would tell us that when we were in a bad place, and had to go, Mom would always go “Why?”.  He often saw things that could be bad, and time to explain was not a really good option, so I generally just did what he suggested.  Mom still wanted to know why.

I wonder if that was what happened that day, when she didn’t come back.

(Lance) Hobble, hobble, this is no fun.  But it is a lousy day so it doesn’t really matter much; it is a stay in the cabin day.  I spent much of it playing with the little drone copter, flying it around and learning how to control it better in tight places.  You never know.

“If you fly that thing close to me one more time I am gonna break it!” exclaimed Del.

“Sorry, just practicing.”

I guess I was kind of being a spoiled kid about it.

Vespers tonight were in the dining room.  We skipped it, just not into it.

(Margo) Small turnout for meditation tonight, I think that the weather kind of has everyone down a little.  We have had such a great run of warm and sunny days I guess being trapped inside bummed some folks out.

It was just Tanya and me, and after a short time, when it became clear we were on our own we headed back to the cabin.  It was still good; we talked and meditated a little on our own.  Nothing earth shattering, just quiet time in the moment.

May 14th

(Matt) It is kind of funny, ironic funny.  When I was growing up, and with Gramp, it was always about farming.  He always praised the idea of the land, and the farm.  He pushed me in that direction.  He talked me into going to college for agriculture.  Before the meteor, I worked at a Tyrrell Farms, planting, harvesting, and pushing the organic lifestyle, but at the end of the day, I always went home, and visited the local grocery store for my meats and potatoes.

Gramp dabbled in it, farming, but really it was more a hobby for him, not a career, he was kind of a gentleman farmer.  I mean he had a couple of cows, and some gardens for veggies, and in the early days a few chickens, but really it was more just kind of a country living.  He never needed to grow stuff or raise stuff.

It was actually kind of funny, he always had “Farm Fresh” eggs for sale at his farm, but there was no a chicken there for years. He bought them up the road at the chicken farm and kind of misrepresented them as his own.

Now I find that I am really living the farm life, using the things that I have learned and making a difference in the future of our community, not just the spiritual side, but also the food side. Things have certainly changed, and I kind of like it.

(Lance) Well, I hobbled over to see Doc Barkley; he said that it would be okay if I started walking without the crutches, but that I should take it easy.  It is a little painful to walk, but it feels good to stretch the ankle out.

The weather today was nice, sunny and warm.

Tonight at Vespers, Matt talked a little more about Native American stories and the lessons that could be learned from them.  He told us an old Alaskan tail about two old women who were thought to be too old to continue to live with the tribe during the winter.  What the tribe did was to exile them or left them behind as the tribe tried to find enough food for the larger “more productive” members to survive.

The old ladies accepted the exile but were not ready to just fall over and starve or freeze.  They managed to survive and actually thrive, killing seals for food.  In the end the two found their old tribe, which had not been so successful and were on deaths doorstep.  The old women feed them, and warmed them, and in the end save the tribe.

Of course, Matt told it much better than my recap, but the lesson, and that is the important part, is that each of us has something to give to the tribe, and that we should not just cast someone out because they are old, or ill, or injured.

(Margo) Lucy and I hit the run early this morning.  Unlike Code, we had no specific assignments that we needed to work on.  As we ran Lucy seemed to be staying closer to me than usual.  It was like there was something in the air.  But it never showed up.

Tay and Teckla went back over to the horse farm again today, the plan was that since they cleaned out the barn they would stay there for a few days to see if any horses showed up and then try to get the animals in the barn.  They feel that if they do that they can get them back to normal, and ride able.

It was kind of cool tonight, the Vespers turnout was good, and Matt and Tanya told a story.  It is so cool the way he does it and it makes you think.  We are so much not in the world we once were, and so dependent on each other now.

Code and I snuggled, I am glad he is here.

May 15th

(Lance) Well, it is out, well not completely, but Del knows the secret I have been trying to keep.

“You mean you’re a ginger?  Really” she laughed as she looked at my hair.  She had finally caught me without my hat on.  The roots had grown out and although the ends were still black, the change was obvious.

“I, ah, well”

“Lance, stop, it is not a big deal; you could have green hair, its nothing.  I actually didn’t like you with black hair and make-up”.

“I, ah, really?  Why didn’t you say so?”

“Because we all need to be who we are, and I thought that was who you wanted to be.  I like you for what you are, and not what I might change you into.”

I just smiled, she is remarkable.

“But you do look like Ron Weasley” she laughed.

I am still hobbling, but getting more mobile each day.

I tried getting out on the Sat-Comm today, see if anyone was listening.  I do that every once and again, but it seemed that no one was listening, or at least no one answering.

(Margo) Well, now I know why Lucy has been acting up.  While we were out doing Mushroom Patrol I found some kitty tracks, big kitty tracks, it looks like we have a mountain lion or a bobcat in the area.  I would love to see it, but know that it is unlikely.

This information has created a little stir and concern, particularly about the sheep.  This may alter the plans for the pasturing of them.

I have been thinking about the animal or spirit guide thing that Matt and Tanya have talked about.  I am not sure.  I wish there was a way to figure it out.  I think they’re right, that we each have one, but what is mine.

(Matt) It was a routine day at the farm side but the word that we have a puma or a bobcat in the area is causing a stir.  We need to pay attention to the sheep since they could be a prime feeding opportunity for a big cat.

At Vespers tonight Margo asked us to talk more about spirit guides.  It is the first time someone has asked for us to expand on a subject.

I explained that each of us has traits and qualities that are unique.  Some of those characteristics are related to animal reputation or tendencies, be it hunting skills, or acts of selflessness, or gathering, or power and so on. In having those traits, the spirit animal shares those traits and helps you understand yourself and the path that you need to travel.

“The skunk for example is avoided because of its scent, it has the reputation for being capable of spraying its enemies if cornered or attacked.  But the rest of the time it is a gentle animal that really bothers no one.  But that reputation demands respect, respect of yourself, and in turn for others to respect you.  It is one that is very powerful, and can be very difficult to deal with sometimes.  But there are lessons, and the little furry shares them with all who will show respect, and all that fail to do so.” I continued.

The discussion went on for a little while, I think Margo understood.

The farm projects are all moving along well and with the big fields ready and planted we are more open to trying to catch up on other things, like we need to start thinking about firewood and getting those solar panels up.

May 16th

(Margo) Wow, it was kind of interesting at Vespers tonight; it appears that not everyone is on board the back to Mother Earth thing.  Ron got into a discussion with Matt about it tonight; it appears that Ron has a little more God and Country spirit in him that any of us thought.

It started out as a kind of friendly discussion, but as it went on it became more and more heated, at least on Ron’s part.  This is kind of bad because we have never seen any ripples in the group before, but this.  I just think it is more deep rooted than it need be.

Other than that, it was a quiet day in Camp Romanica.  Today, we were out collecting dandelion greens and some other natural kind of salady green stuff for the next few days.  But we’re keeping an eye out for Big Kitty.  Lucy seems okay, so I am thinking at least today the coast is kitty clear.

I am still thinking about the spirit guide thing.  I like the idea, I really do, but there is something, and maybe it is just the old days, the stuff before the meteor that makes me wonder.  Is this an idea like the horoscopes in the old newspapers, general enough to fit, and then you push the idea into the mold to make it work?  Matt and Tanya believe, Ron and a couple of others don’t.  I just don’t know.

(Matt) It was a productive day; we will have food for the winter unless there is a calamity.  The day to day operations seem to be going along well.

Vespers tonight was very interesting.  There was a bigger crowd than usual, Ron and LJ and a few of the others, mostly with the military or police background were there and kind of on one side of the fire.

“Matt, I understand the idea that you are talking about, we have lost our world of technology, and much of the ways we had of doing things.  But do you really believe that we should just go to this back to Mother Earth and live like the Indians?”  Asked Ron seeming to have his confidence bolstered by those sitting around him.

I don’t think Tanya and I ever expected that the ideas that we came up with during the pilgrimage would be accepted by all, and we really have tried to keep them sort of low key, or at least not ram them down peoples throat.  But Ron kind of caught me, us off guard.

I thought for a moment, then said, “Ron, there are many different ways of seeing where we are, where we’ve been and where we’re going.  I, we, Tanya and I cannot say our way is right for all, but it is right for us.”  I hoped that would put an end to it, but it didn’t.

“We have a God, my God, a living God and I like what he has done and I’m not giving it up.” Responded Ron, his backers seemed to agree with nods and ‘ruffles’.

“You aren’t being asked to Ron, I have been sort of the Chaplain to the group for a while. I see, and understand the differences in ways of worship. Tanya and I have no issue with that.”

Feeling a little invigorated by the compromised direction this seemed to be headed Ron declared, “I just wanted to be clear with you on that.  We have our God, and it is different than yours!”

At this point, I could have pushed the buttons with lines like, there is only one God, we just call him different things, or turned this into a bigger debate, but it seemed to be not something that would move the discussion, or the group forward, gentleness, that was the way to go here, we‘ll get there, to peace and unity I thought to myself.

“Ron, I appreciate what you’re saying.  If you wish, I can resume doing a Sunday morning gathering for you and your people, like before.”

“No, NO! You do not believe in our God, you’re changed, I don’t think it would be right that a non-believer ministering to us about our God. We will minister to our own.”

“Very well, I only offer because I think we are all creatures of God, in our case, we call on Mother Earth / Father Sky, in your case it is God, maybe elsewhere it is Yahweh or Allah, but in the end is about the moral guidance, and that is the true God.” I danced dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.

As Tanya and I returned to our cabin that night I felt strangely good, I believed that we, she and I had done the right thing, right action, right speech, truly, this God issue was one of moral compass, naming is not important.  For us Mother / Father is the form we choose, I believe it is the right form, and we shall live by it.

(Lance) I guess I missed the fireworks at the Vesper Fire tonight, I heard some stories that Ron and Matt had a blow-out over God.  I need to find out about this.  I like where Matt and Tanya have been going with the Vespers. Ron always has been a little hard headed and very focused, almost myopic in some of his thinking.

My ankle is much better and I may try a little slow, short jog in the morning.  I will join Master Nick for ninja work this afternoon, he has taught me some on overcoming my lack of mobility.

Del and I sat out tonight and did some sky watching.  There were the lights in the west again.  But they seemed different.  It was more like in the pre-meteor days where they simply were flying straight across the horizon, not like they were buzzing one location.  It was like it was when we used to have jet airliners going from city to city.  I need to talk with the Pittsburgh about this.  Maybe there is an air force again.

May 17th

(Matt) In the not for nothing category it’s Saturday, kind of nice that we are able to keep track of the dates and the days of the week.  The news from the horse farm is that Tay and Teckla think that they can have the horses in the barn in the next couple of days.  They have been leaving food out for them and the horses have been showing up in the barnyard.  The horses know that the two of them are there, and though still a little skittish, are getting more accepting that they are there.

It feels kind of odd, we have been back from the pilgrimage and that although we have the nightly campfire we don’t do a Sunday service anymore, I mentioned it to Tanya and she agreed that it did.

“Maybe we should do something tomorrow,” she said. “Not the typical hymnal type thing with preaching, like we used to do, but something just kind of meditational, prayers type stuff.”

“I like the idea, I think that it might work, but I am not sure how Ron and that group will take it.  I don’t want them to think that we are forcing our ways on them or that we are trying to compete with them.” I said thoughtfully.

“True, but we won’t be doing that, it would just be a general contemplate good things and think of how life is now, be thankful.”

“Okay, but I think that we should test the waters a little first.  Maybe you could talk with Langley or Karen and see how they think it would fly.” I suggested.

After thinking for a moment Tanya said, “That might be a good idea.  Let me work on them, while we are working on the herb and veggies gardens.”

We did have a fire tonight, and in the course of it I tossed the idea of some kind of a Sunday morning gathering for just prayers, general prayers, and some time for reflection.  The small group that we had, Margo, Cody, Lance and a few others seemed to think that it was not a bad idea.

“But I really like the Vespers, this fire thing a lot better, it is relaxed, it is a nice way to end the day,” said Margo.

“Oh, I agree, but I was just thinking that it might be nice to give those who don’t take the time to join us for the fire to have the chance for a little time for their spirit,” I responded.

It kind of died there for the night as we just sat, watching the sky and the dying embers of the little fire.

(Lance) I am still not able to get up on a ladder, and actually, I am kind of gun shy about climbing up on a roof.  Fortunately, Matt and Mark have picked up the slack and have managed to get a couple more cabins completed.  Fred and LJ have been pretty good at getting a few more panels back to the camp and we should be done with the project of having the new solar cells on the roofs in a couple more days.  Then we can look at trying to build a little array in the open area on the west side of the camp.

I sense that there is a little friction between Matt and Ron, nothing I can put my finger on but I am guessing that it has to do with the discussion the other day about the Sky Father, versus good old religion that they had.  It doesn’t seem to be too big a deal, but if there is a rift, it is kind of silly, we’re all on the same side and it is not like we’re being brainwashed to one side or the other.

I tried to contact the Pittsburgh today but had no luck.  I wanted to ask them about the lights in the sky.  If it is the Hunters, or is it something else, it would be good to know.

(Margo) A few of us went out on a run today, covered about 5 miles We headed west, and on the way back we headed thought the woods as kind of a short cut.  I always liked this route; it runs along a ridge of rocks on the west side of the path.  There are little caves in the rock wall.  The nice thing about this route is that for about a mile or so it is shaded between the tree cover and the ridge, it stays nice and cool.

About halfway through we found the remains of a deer, it stank bad, which was how we found it.  It was in a tree.  The guess was it was too big to have been brought up there by a bobcat so it mush have been a mountain lion had gotten it and taken it up into the tree to feed.

Beyond that it was a quiet day overall, weather was good, and nothing terrible happened.

May 18th

(Matt) It is Sunday morning so Tanya and I headed out to the Fire Pit.  We figured that we would try the Sunday meditation out there.  We, 9 of us, just kind of hung out for an hour or so.  In the course of it we took the first 15 minutes to think quietly about where we were, kind of a just get into your own head.  Then, I rang a little bell and we came back to the real world.

“I would like to share my thoughts from while I was mediating,” I said.  “I thought back to where we were back at the beginning of this new order, this new world and the suffering we have seen and each experienced.”

I looked around the group, Cody and Margo, Delany and Lance, Chelsea, Nick and Grace were all there, looking at me, seemingly at peace.

“It hasn’t been an easy time, and yet we have managed.  We’ve always seemed to find or be given what we needed.  It may not have been what we wanted, but we have been provided for.” I added.

I was surprised when Lance cleared his throat and raised his hand.  “Matt, I am not sure I believe in all of what you profess or told us.  But we have done pretty well, we’ve been lucky.  I’m certainly not the person I once was, I want to believe.”

The others pretty much remained silent, but then it was not necessary to speak, just to take a little time and assess. I thought to myself, Lance isn’t exactly a convert, but then, Tanya and I aren’t looking at trying to convert, we’re finding peace for ourselves and sharing what we’ve found.

As we were getting ready to finish up the meditation we heard singing from inside the dining hall.  Ron and some of the others had restarted the Sunday tradition as we had once had it.  I smiled, it is a good thing.

(Lance) I think I surprised everyone, including myself this morning at the Fire Pit.  I opened up to Matt and the group about my thoughts on what I felt about where I was spiritually.  I guess it had to do with thinking about the dark place I had dwelt while growing up.

For a long time I hated everything around me and considered killing myself so many times.  I’m not even sure why I didn’t do it back when the whole meteor die off started, I mean I really had nothing to live for, but now that I think of it, I really just liked being miserable.  I liked tormenting my parents and my friends with my being miserable.  I found my identity in being the emo - Goth kid, who felt he was so unique, like all the rest of the emo – Goth kids.

Then one day, in this camp, people started to not care that I was who, or what I was. They took me for just another link in a chain that we needed to survive.  I found a place, and a person that meant something to me.  I’m different, Del awakened that in me.  Others did too, but it was really Delany who cut through the bullshit I had thrown up and made me see. I had a mission, and a partner.

(Margo) Pam was kind of hiding outside the group at the Fire Pit.  She wasn’t really there with us, yet she was kind of on the fringe.  I watched her.  As we meditated I could see her face, she was crying, sobbing quietly, tears running down her cheeks.  She trembled.  I can only imagine that she was reliving the horrors that she had experienced at Stanwix.  I felt so bad.

After we broke up from the Fire Pit, Code, Lucy and I wandered to the dining hall.  When we walked in some heads turn to look at us, I sensed a little judgment in some of the faces, but most seem to be just curious or surprised.

“Welcome” said Fred who was kind of at the front facing the group. He seemed to be the leader.

We nodded and sat down.  It was basically a Bible study group and they were working on the Book of Revelations talking about the end times and how we were probably in the midst of the Tribulation.  Ron and LJ talked about how we needed to prepare for the armies of Satan and that in the end, the suffering, or noble efforts would rewarded with a place in Heaven.

The two views, that of Matt and Tanya and that of this group were very different, but really they’re both looking for goodness.  Funny though, they each are a little depressing, one side was saying that the Devil is at hand, but it was okay because we’ll all end up in Heaven and the other was saying that yeah, we’re gonna suffer but suck it up, cuz the Earth will take care of us.  I wonder if Tom would be walking around going “Best Day Ever” like he used to, even when we’re in the middle of a shit storm.

May 19th

(Margo) Keith has gotten a nice little dental practice going very quickly.  Mostly he is just doing cleanings, and maybe a few extractions.  He really can’t do fillings or anything like that.  I had my teeth looked at today and was given a clean bill of chew.

He is funny, what is it about dentist that make them want to ask you questions while they have their hands or tools in your mouth.

“So when was the last time you visited a dentist,” he asked.

“mummmmm, ti…..be….” was all that came out as I tried to answer.  It was a stupid question, the answer for most of us was, going to be two or three years ago.

“How do you like living here?”

”Hi rike it mine.”

It was just small talk, but what a pain.

The rest of the day was a good one, weather was good, Del and Code and I did a little run, Lucy tagged along, she seemed to be relaxed, so that is good.

Vespers tonight was fun, we did a chain story, it was Tanya’s idea.  She said that she would start the story and then we should fill in the rest.

“Once upon a time there was a magical land” she began.

“Where there were little lizard guys”, added Code.

“Who like to eat worms, fat juicy worms” and Del, laughing.

“But they really liked Deer Stew!” said Lance, pointing at me.

“And it was the best Deer stew in the universe” said Nick.

“Even better than the stuff Nick makes!” shouted Grace laughing wildly.

“And then…..Wow, look at the meteor!”  Matt pointed up, it was a bright one, and big.  We all looked, and gasped, talk about a buzzkill.

That simple little event kind of took the wind out of the sails.  We all thought back to the start of where we are now.  We all sat silently for a bit, and then started to head back to our cabins.

(Lance) Tried a little running this morning, did a little bit, but took it easy and it kind of hurt so I quit early.

Tried to reach the Pittsburgh again today, but no luck, they must still be down south or underwater.  I tried to listen to a few other frequencies to see if there were any others out there, but found nothing.

I remembered, I watched with fascination as the meteor over Russia exploded and blew out all that glass, and then the start of the die off.  I remembered heading to the camp by Lake Danahee with my parents, and watching them being grabbed and ripped to shreds by those things.  I, why didn’t I die too?

As I thought of them I cried, I have not cried in years, I didn’t even cry after it had happened.  I’ve changed.  I miss them; I wish I had one more chance to tell them I was sorry for being a dick and tell them that I loved them.

(Matt) Farm day, work, work, work.  Weather good, gentle rain in the morning, good for growing.

The fire tonight was kind of different, Tanya started a chain story and it was kind of fun, but when the meteor came over, it flashed me back to the old campfires in Fort Plain and the day this all began.  Nothing else to say.

May 20th

(Lance) Still no luck getting in contact with the Pittsburgh.  There is also no chatter on the Sat-Comm.  I guess that is a good thing.

I played supervisor with the crew on the roof, they were good with that, and I am good with not climbing up there.

Ron caught up with me today.

“Lance, I know that you attend the fires at night, and I don’t hold that against you. But I may need some help, and I just want to know that I can count on you.”

It caught me off guard, “I, wait, why would you hold that against me, what are you talking about?”

“No, I mean what you believe is your issue, I just don’t want you to think that I, we hold anything against you ‘Earthers’.  We all need to work together and I may have a project that needs your skills.”  He said

“Matt has never felt there was a divide over what any of us believed in, so why would we not be on the same page?” It was weird I thought, actually, fucked up sounds more like it.

“Yeah, this is not going the way I had hoped, I, well, maybe I should just drop it for now, we can talk more, later.” He said and walked off.

I was left confused, and concerned.  I should maybe talk to Matt, but first let me talk to Delaney.

(Margo) I was thinking about the study group that Fred and Ron had yesterday.  They seem like they are on a mission, it is like they want to face the devil and beat his army.  What army, what are those two thinking? The Zoms, they’re just a horde, and really mindless, what is up with this?  I guess they have some bee in their bonnet.

Teckla came into camp today to pick up some food. She and Tay are still living out at the horse farm.  She told The Three that they had gotten 4 horses into the barn and they were beginning to try to get them ready to ride.  That was good news.

Tomorrow it’s my turn to do the shepherd thing, I am a little nervous about it because of the mountain lion.  I am thinking that Lucy will be a good companion.  I would like to have Code come along too, but he is going out with the farm boys to look at the fields and scavenge for some building materials for some kind of stand for the solar panels.

(Matt) Is this possible, nothing of interest happened today?  I guess so, warm sun, nice day, thank you Earth Mother / Sky Father.

May 21st

(Matt) Keith caught up with me after breakfast this morning.  It started out that it was just chit-chat, but it became clear that he wanted to talk about Fort Stanwix.

“Matt, you’ve seen it, or at least a little of it.  Those people at Stanwix are in trouble; those militia guys are killing them, and doing a lot of evil there.” He started.

I am not sure he said evil, but close enough.  “I saw things,” I was not sure where he was going with this.

“There are only 9 of the militia guys who are doing all this, maybe eight if you actually killed Womack.” He added.

“You’re thinking we should go there and remove them, the militia?” I said slowing, I was not sure I liked the idea.

“I think about those people up there, they were, are my friends and it is hard on them.  I think we need to help them.  I want to help them, and I want to settle a score, for me, and Marcus, and Pam and a few other folks.” He sounded bitter.

“But you can’t do it alone.”

“No, but I think that with some of the people here we can do it.”

“Why me, why are you involving me in this?”

He looked at me for a moment, then, looked down, “You have seen it, you know what it is.” Then he looked up, and straight in my eyes, “You are a moral compass for the group and your support would help me win over the others.”

I thought about it for a moment.  “I will help, but we need to do it carefully, and there needs to be enough of us to do it right.”

“Thank you, I will work on getting some volunteers together and then we can talk more.” He said.

I am not a fan of war, and that is what this would be, but the people in Stanwix are in need, and it would be right to help them.  I’ll talk to Tanya about it and see if I‘m thinking right on this.

Fire Pit tonight, Vespers, I was quiet, thinking about what Keith had talked to me about.  After it was over as we returned to our cabin, Tanya asked what was going on, she sensed something was wrong.  I explained about Keith coming to me and about his thoughts.

“If you were in Stanwix and in the position of those people, what would you want to happen?” she asked.

“Yep”, that kind of answered the question.  She has a way of cutting to the chase.

(Lance) I am hat free, it is too hot to continue with that stupid hat that I have been wearing.  It is out, I am a ginger, a soul eating evil creature of lore.  Del and I walked into the dining hall and no one noticed, or seemed to care.

There is still no luck getting ahold of the Pittsburgh but I will keep trying.  We saw a contrail today out to the west.  That would mean that there was a jet out there, and flying very high.  Could we still have an air force?

The solar array is coming along and should be up and running in a week or so.  I am still not doing well with getting on the roofs or ladders.

(Margo) Something is up, there is something going on with Ron, and Keith, and LJ and a few others, but I’m not sure what.  They have been kind of huddling together for the day.  The Major is also in the mix.  It was like spy stuff or something.

Code and I started to walk out to the horse farm today, Lucy is saying home and she is not happy about it.

“Why are we walking?” Code asked.

“Because fuel is at a premium and we should be saving it for important stuff, like going to Pittsfield or Hinsdale.”

“I know that, but why are we walking?” he asked again.

“Well, dumbass, because we can’t drive.”

“Oh, I am the dumbass, but let me ask you this, why haven’t we ever considered or hunted for bikes?”  He said with a laugh.

“I, ah, never thought of it until now?  I never really bicycled as a kid and just never thought of it.”  I answered, I felt kind of silly.

“There are a couple of houses along the way, let’s check them out, we may find something that would work, even a kids scooter would be better than trudging along on the road.”

Wow, I thought, with all we have been through so many things have just drifted away, and there was so much “low” tech that we have just not exploited.

On the way we found a couple of mountain bikes, but they had flat tires.  We couldn’t find an air pump to fill them so we decided to pick them up on the way back.

When we got to the horse farm we were careful about our approach, just in case we might startle the horses.  Tay and Teckla were marching a couple of horses around the barnyard, getting them used to people again.  We stayed back so we didn’t spook them.

After they put the horses back into their stalls we talked.

“We have four in the barn and they are cool with us” said Tay.

“Awesome, this is going to be really helpful in moving around and saving gas,” exclaimed Code.

“Yes, it opens up a few options for us”, added Teckla.

“We hadn’t thought about it until now, but we found a couple of bicycles at a house back up the road, but they have flat tires.”  I said.

“Really, I didn’t think of it either,” said Teckla.

Tay added, “Hey, there is a hand pump in the barn if you want to take it with you, not sure what they used it for, we didn’t see anything other than a couple of broken ATVs with flat tires.  They wouldn’t start, so we left them.”

On the way back, we picked up the bikes, filled the tires and rode back to camp.  The general thought was “wow, what a great idea, why didn’t I think of that.” I think the answer is that we’ve still been thinking from a first world prospective on some things.

May 22nd

(Margo) Rain today, so we pretty much stayed in.  It was warm.  Spent the day reading, the “library” is kind a small, but I found a book of short stories by assorted authors.  They were mostly sci-fi.  It was interesting; there were a number of references to The Three laws of Robotics, 1.) they can’t hurt humans, 2.) they can’t let humans get hurt, and 3.) they can’t let themselves be hurt, unless it would violate the first two rules.  It is strange that the Hunters never seemed to act under those programming rules, just a thought.

(Matt) It was a good day for the crops, or if you were a duck, but not much else.  I spent some time talking with Tanya about the idea that Keith had about a rescue mission to Stanwix.

“It would be dangerous” she said.  “But those poor people, they are living in Hell.”

“True, but are we right in sticking our nose in to this?”

I got the stare, and knew what her take on it was.  We needed to help them out.  And really, she is right.

I will talk to Keith tonight, after dinner and maybe broach the subject at the Fire Pit tonight, although it may be an indoor event tonight.

(Lance) No outdoor stuff today other than running to the dining hall.  I wonder why we don’t use umbrellas.

Code and Margo brought back a report from the horse farm yesterday.  I guess things are going well there.  Horses could be really good for getting out on some scavenger runs.  It would ease our fuel needs.  We are still good with propane, but diesel is getting more and more scare and gasoline is pretty much a thing of the past.  If we can save the diesel for the helicopter that would be great, although even at that, we only have a few long flights left.

The other thing that Margo and Code did was to bring back a couple of mountain bikes.  Why we had not thought of that earlier, I guess we were so busy thinking about other things we just never got around to it.

Matt was kind of quiet at the evening fire tonight, we sat in the dining room because of the rain; there is something on his mind.

May 23rd

(Margo) Had the crap scared out of me this morning on the run, and it got ugly, I am still ticked off about it.  Lucy and I headed out like we usually do and were chugging along on the run.  As we came around a corner in the path a camouflaged figure jumped out into the middle of the path.  I freaked and Lucy when into attack mode, she had it on its back quicker than lightening.

“Wait, wait, it’s me, I’m a good guy” squealed the SWAT boy.

“Lucy, stop!” I screamed, and she did.  Wow, surprised me and LJ, the camouflaged guy on the ground.

“What are you doing asshole?”  I asked, I was ticked.

LJ, still on the ground looked up and mumbled, “Training”.

“Good job, training for what?”

“Sorry ma’am, its classified”, he said, hoisting himself off the ground.

“Classified? Seriously, and you can’t tell me because I am a spy?”

“Ron said that the Earther people are….. well, I can’t tell, maybe you can ask him”

I was pissed before; I think livid comes to mind now.  Lucy and I jog back to camp and I found Ron out in the middle of the campground.

“What the fuck are you doing?  And why the fuck are the ‘Earthers’ as you call us not being told about it?” I screamed.

Ron was caught off guard and stood dumbfounded.

The Major who was walking across the grounds walked over and could see how absolutely angry I was, looked at Ron.  “Well, it would seem a question is in front of you Ron, what is your answer.”

“I, I, we, oh crap, I guess we need to talk, let’s get everyone together.” Ron said, head down looking at this feet.  He was clearly caught between a rock and a hard place.

“Yeah, it is obvious to me that we have a problem, Margo, go ring the bell, let’s have a pow-wow” said the Major.

The bell, it is the dinner bell, warning bell if we get raided and in general, a signal that something is up and we all need to get to the flagpole area ASAP.  One ding for dinner, two dings for meeting, and three dings if there is a big problem.  I dinged twice.

About 10 minutes later everyone was gathered, LJ looking a little embarrassed and Ron was giving him a look that could kill.  The Major started out the discussion.

“Margo and Ron had a little falling out a few minutes ago, and it would seem there is a story behind it. Ron, do you care to share?”

Ron, clearly uncomfortable, stepped forward, “I have been training some of us military type guys for a mission. Margo was running with her dog, and LJ scared her. That is it.”

“Wait, what!” I screamed, “You forgot the part about the Earthers, as your asshole minion called us, what about that part?”

“I, ah, er, ….” But before he could finish Keith stepped into the middle of the circle and began.

“I think I am more to blame here than Ron.”  He turned toward Matt, and said “Matt, you remember the other day when I was talking to you about going back to Stanwix?”

“Yes, and I understood why, and kind of agree it should be done.” Matt replied, sounding a little confused.

“Well, I also approached Ron with the idea, and the Major, and The Three.  I hate seeing what my friends have been put through, and wanted to try to get a group of us together try to liberate them,” he started.

“I wanted to have enough of you on board to make it work, I am going back one way or the other, with Pam, and I had hoped a few of you would join in to even the odds,” he added, talking to the whole tribe now.

Matt spoke, “Tanya and I had already decided that we would go along and help. We know the area, a little, and saw what the militia guys had done to Marcus, your friend.  We were on board.”

Ron, still feeling foolish mumbled, “We were on board from day one, Keith explained it to us, and well, our God would want us to fight, it is part of the Tribulation, and Womack, a tool of the devil.”

Right about then Teckla and Tay rode up, wow, they rode up, on horses!

“We were out riding when we heard the bell, got here as quick as we could,” said Teckla, “What is going on?”

A recap was given to them and after a couple of moments of thinking Teckla asked, “Is this group a threat to us?  And how many of the militia guys are there?”

Matt, who had been to Stanwix said that he had seen about 8 to 10 militia guys, and that he was not sure if they had followed or tried to follow him and Tanya after they shot Womack, their head guy.  He added that they had met a couple of people along the way, Chris and Helen and they kind of knew the direction in which he and Tanya had been heading, so the answer was, maybe a threat.

Charlene jumped in here, and the discussion took a detour.  “I think we can talk about helping Keith out.  I think that we should, but it needs to be done right.  But I am more concerned about this Earthers versus Ron God thing.  That’s not right and it will do more harm to this group than any attack by outsiders.  We are one community, and we cannot have that bullshit.”

All eyes were on Ron, he looked around like a cornered rat, and at this point in my mind, and he was.  He had left us once, ran away to hang with another group, now this, I have to wonder where his head is at.

“Look, I, it’s just that, see,” stammered Ron.

“Ron, stop, just stop,” Exclaimed Fred, “You have been kind of a bully on this, and it is time to stop.”

Ron just stood there in silence, I am not sure if it was anger, or remorse, or what, but he was red, and shaking, then finally, “I am sorry, I am, I wanted to help, I wanted to do God’s work, like Matt used to do.  I wanted to be a crusader, God’s flaming sword. But, but I am not God’s hand, I am shit, a foolish little boy trying to play big.  I think even now, Matt, you’re still that hand. ”

Shock rippled thought the group, Ron crashed, and I actually felt bad for him, still don’t completely trust him, but felt bad for him. I think the killer move came next when Matt and Tanya walked over to him, and gave him a hug.  Wow, now that was some wicked compassion.

The Major looked at Keith and said, “I think we can help you out, but we need to think this through and plan it well.  We have time, and can do this right.

Lance coughed and shook his head.  “Maybe not as much time as we might like, I picked up something on the Sat-Comm yesterday on one of the frequencies.  There was a signal from a group, they were looking for information about other groups, aggressive groups in the upstate NY area, I didn’t respond, but if they hit up the Pittsburgh or some other station that knows we exist, we could be in trouble.”

“Well, I think that kind of decides it. Major, if you would lead the war council, we need to get moving on a plan.” Said Charlene; “Matt, Fred, you help the Major out. Keep Tanya and me informed.  I am appointing Teckla as the third member of The Three until we can have an election.  Ron, you understand, you messed up big time and we can’t have that kind of shit going on in the running of the camp.”

“I understand,” Ron said, quietly.

“I would still like him and LJ in on the planning of this, he messed up, but they both have skills to bring to the table”, said the Major.

“Are you sure on this?” asked Charlene.

“Ma’am, I agree with the Major,” added Matt.

After the group broke up there was buzz, lots of buzz.  I am not sure where this will go, or what part I will play in it, but I think it is time to clean and check my Barrett, he may be needed again.

(Lance) Well, that was a shit storm for sure. It is amazing how quickly things can get out of hand.  I did not see that whole God v Earth thing coming, I don’t think anyone did.

What can I do to help out in this upcoming battle, what can I bring to the table so to speak.  I certainly am not a warrior; not like Del, or Code, or Margo. I can’t shoot for shit, but even a mouse may have a few tricks.

(Matt) I felt bad for Ron, it had to be a terrible blow to be beaten down like that.  I can only imagine.

I think we each have our motives for going after the militia guys.  Mine, it’s the right thing to do, the people there need our help, and our compassion.  I am good with that.

Keith, I think that his motive is part vengeance and part saving those he knows who are still there, I am not sure I agree with the vengeance part, but the rest I am good with.

Ron, wow, I am not sure at all, part might be his need for action, part might be ego, and part might be that he feels it is the right thing. But most of all I think his motive was as he said; he wanted to be the hand of God.

I have come to understand, it’s not only the action that needs to be considered but the intent.  There are times that you need to do acts that aren’t nice.  There are times when killing is necessary, but it is all in the intent, was the intent noble and just, and was there no way to solve the issue with compassion and understanding, if so; you are justified in your actions.

May 24th

(Margo) I was not invited to the planning meeting this morning, so Code and I kind of slept in, and just had cleaned up when there was a knock at the door.  I opened it.

“Hey Asshole, what do you want!” I said, it was LJ, and I was still angry at him. I could see the hair on the back of Lucy standing up.  She was ready, if I gave the word.

“Look, I deserve that, and I want to apologize, I was a jerk.  I brought this for your dog.” He offered a bone.  “And well, I, Langley and me are going for a run in a little bit and wanted to know if you three would like to join us.”

Code who was standing behind me said, “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

I turned and glared at him.

He continued, “We are going to be in a bad place soon and we need to know and trust each other, this is a good place for us to start.”

He was right, and really, LJ has been productive, and except for the little thing the other day he played well with us.  I guess we, I guess I need to try to put that behind us.  Funny, I think that’s what Tom would have told me to do.

“Yeah, okay, flagpole in 10 minutes”, I grumbled.  I am gonna teach this guy about runs, push him until he drops, he is old and slow.

Sadly, I had forgotten that when we ran, we didn’t carry stuff with us other than a bottle of water and our sidearm.  LJ, that “old guy” used to run with a 30 pound pack on his back, and his rifle.  He didn’t have that stuff with him today and it quickly became clear he was in better shape than I thought.  After about 30 minutes I had to concede that he was not the fluffy old marshmallow I had figured.

“You kind of remind me of your Dad”, LJ gasped while chugging along.

“What do you mean?” I asked, “You worked with Tom?”

“Yeah, back in the day we were on the SWAT Team together.  I was on the tactical side and he was commander of the negotiators.  When it came to the team, he worked hard to make the two sides work together.  He defended his side, the negotiators, fiercely when some of the tactical guys would bitch.  But he also defended the TAC guys when it went the other way.”

“He never talked much about it.  I knew he did some special stuff for the police.”  I was also huffing and puffing, we had left Langley and Code behind, or maybe they let us run ahead so that we could talk.

“Maybe when this is all over you and me and Langley can sit down and I can tell you a little more about him, his work.  He was a good guy, respected.”

I was kind of stunned, “yeah, yeah that would be good, I would like that.”  Despite that stiff exterior I had a better feeling about LJ as we ran.

When we were settling in for the night Code asked me how the run with LJ was.

“You two let us run ahead didn’t you, you could have kept up.”

“Yep, busted.  It was Langley’s idea actually, but if you, we are all going to work through this raid, we need to be on the same page.” He said, a little red-faced.

(Lance) I was about to bring up a couple of maps the area around Stanwix using an old GPS program that had stored data on one of the lap tops.  I could print it and we could use that to get started at planning the assault of the fort.

Smoke, we may need smoke to cover some of our movements.  I checked with the Major, there is some back in the rail yard at Hinsdale. I talked to Del and we are going to take a ride up there tomorrow and see what we can find.  Maybe there are some other items that we can use in that warehouse, things that we had not considered before.  We need to stop thinking ‘first world’ and start going ‘native’, guerilla warfare, improvised weapons.  Wow, is this me?

(Matt) Planning is off to a good start, we all have a few ideas of what to do and how to approach the problem.  The biggest issue is that there is only one entrance to the fort.  It’s the gate that faces south. We need to get through that gate and that could be difficult.  The easiest thing would be to take the helicopter and just do an aerial assault.  But that is too risky, maybe if we had a couple of Gatling guns on the side doors, but we don’t.

Ron and Keith think the best course would be to try to lure as many of Womack’s men outside the walls as possible and just gun them down from there.  It is a little brutal, and really, I wonder how that would work.  If I were Womack I would hardly leave my place of safety to confront someone.  No, there had to be something better.

The Major says we’re in too much of a rush; we need to think, inventory our resources and think this through.  I agree.

We all got copies of the map, hand drawn, but it gives us something to play with, only Keith, Pam, Tanya and I have seen the actual lay out.

May 25th

(Margo) A day of pow-wows by the war council, Matt, Keith, Ron, the Major and a couple of others, Stephen was in there briefly, and so were Lance and Nick.  Huh, it was kind of funny, Lance walked behind and to the side of Nick, not next to him.  What is up with that?

After lunch, Lance asked Code and me to join him and Del, they were making a run up to the warehouse in Hinsdale for some army stuff.  He didn’t go into much detail, but I guess there are some things there that we can use.

It was an easy and quick run up there; Lance knew what he wanted and even where it was.  He gathered a few helmets, some flak jackets that the soldiers used to wear and some smoke grenades.  We had already cleared out the food and ammo, so we were good to go within about 30 minutes.

We had a fire tonight, but it was a small group.  Tanya led it because Matt was still working with the war council.

She is very different in a lot of ways from Matt; I mean they both believe in the same things, but she sort of sells it more from a Mother Earth rather than a Father Sky perspective.  I think that there is a difference in men and women, it is like men are from the sky, and women are from Earth.  She communicates, encourages you differently than Matt does.  I can’t really explain it, it just feels different.

(Lance) Nick and I were called into the planning group for a bit today.  I followed Master into the meeting in the proper position of respect.  Nick mostly listened, occasionally shaking his head in agreement.

I shared what I thought about trying to run the attack.  Did I ever mention that I was really into some of the on-line war games back when I was, Captain Emo?  That was where I originally got the nickname from, it was my gaming handle.

“One of the things that I can do is to try to make some smoke bombs to give us cover if we do an assault.” I offered.

“Good idea, but if I remember, we had some at the warehouse in Hinsdale, that would work better, if you could make the run,” answered the Major.

“On it”, I feel good, I am part of this, I may not be a proven warrior, in real battle, but I am part of this.

As Nick and I left the council he stopped me, “Well done.” He smiled, “Well done.”

I asked Del to make the trip with me and she suggested we take Margo and Code too, good idea.  As we drove I told them what I knew, which was not much, we were going to try to do this with minimal fighting, that is the basic plan, but there are a lot of subtleties that I don’t know.

(Matt) We spent most of the day having Keith lay out the inside of the fort for us to show what we would be facing, and a perspective in distances and safe approaches.

Keith told us that there were probably 8 to 10 militia men left and that they had all been with a National Guard unit. The unit had been whittled down over time until the unit’s sergeant took over, that was Womack.

Originally there had been a Lieutenant with the soldiers, but he snapped and shot himself in the head, or at least that was what the civilians had been told.  As events in the fort unfolded after that, Keith said that it seemed more likely that the Lieutenant was murdered.

“Do you think that any of his force is still loyal to the uniform and not him?” asked Major Barkley.

“There were maybe four that didn’t like the way things were going, but it was Womack’s rules or you went outside. I don’t know who is left of them, or if they would turn against him.” answered Keith.

“I see”, I could see the Major was thinking about something, but exactly what I didn’t know.

Ron, who had been quiet up until now spoke up.  “I have a question, what do we plan to do with Womack.  Are we going to capture him and turn him over to the civilians, or do we kill him first chance we get?”

Silence.

After a couple of minutes, “I think that the best case would be to turn him over to the civilians, the people in the fort. Let them decide what to do with him,” said the Major.

“Maybe, but I think that after the horrors that he and his men have heaped on them, they are going to tie him to the pole and let the dead get him” Responded Keith, rather matter of fact.

“Good point”, replied Ron, “He is a walking dead man either way.”

“Pretty much”, said Keith, there was a little touch of anger in his voice. “But I think having the folks in the fort decide might help them in the long run, regaining a little control, you all understand right?”

We all agreed pretty much with that thought.

“Okay, let’s get this map set up and see what we have,” The Major was back in charge.

We went on into the evening and finally broke up at about 8:30; I was beat and just went to bed.  There are some ideas, and some options that we will need to weigh tomorrow.

May 26th

(Lance) The four of us were on the road early to try to get the items that were left in the warehouse in Hinsdale. Margo drove the Coyote so we had plenty of room.  She suggested that we keep an eye out for diesel sources along the way, always looking to fuel up whenever the chance came along.

We went through the warehouse and the smoke grenades, two cases of 12, were right where the Major remembered.  We poked around a little more and found a case of MRE’s that we had missed and also, a couple boxes of belted 50 cal shells that would work in the Hummer’s top mounted gun.  Those could be a very nice game changer if we need to use them.  We had used most of the belted stuff back when we were dealing with the Hunters.

I looked around a little more in the place, we all did, but there was nothing that jumped out at us.  We loaded up and were back at the camp by noon.

Just a side note, it’s interesting, we have changed, evolved or become so desensitized to the Zoms that even though we encountered and killed about 5 of them, it was hardly even considered news worthy.  I guess if a horde or 20 or more showed up it would be a different situation, but for now, no big deal.

The afternoon was quiet, the planners were at it.  I slipped in briefly to give them the inventory of what we found.  The news of the 50 cal shells was good, they liked that.

I spent time training with Master Nick this afternoon, it was hard work.

(Matt) We started early on the planning again today.  It was still considered that the best case was to get Womack out of the fort and deal with him outside the walls.  But we’re not sure how to do it.  We had a couple of ideas tossed out.

The first was from the Major, “If I got all done up in uniform, it is likely that I could use the Hummer and just drive right up.  I can give them a story that we, I’ll take Ron and Stephen with me, were from Fort Drum and on our way to interrogate a couple of people that showed up at the Arsenal.  We would be picking them up and returning to Drum with them.  We had heard that that there were a couple of small units in the area and wanted to check to confirm their status and see if we could resupply them.”

“Okay, but think about that a little, Womack is suspected of killing his CO, that could be a problem.  And think even further, what if he suspects that the people you’re picking up are Keith or Pam and that they are going to tell about his behavior.  If I were Womack, Major or not, you would not be leaving.” countered Fred.

That created a ruffling in the crowd with discussion among the planners.

“The advantage to my plan is that I may be able to get into the fort, but I see the problem with the idea of the prisoners.  We could cut that part of the story out” offered the Major.

“That is an option,” said Matt, “but we really need to get some people into the fort before we go knocking at the door. How can we do that?”

Keith stepped up here, “Well, that might be workable.  We may be able to get a few people in, what we had done some time ago was to create a couple of big gardens for growing food.  Each day some people would have to go out and tend to them, weeding, and such.  Could we try to mingle a few of our folks into the field and get them inside, maybe a day or two before?”

“Wouldn’t they know who was out there?” someone raised the question.

“No, not really, it was not really a case where they were the same people assigned every day. And they are not really checked, it was a more leisurely effort than that.  The only issue would be if you try to wander away, then the wall guards might take a shot at you but even that was unlikely because to wander off from the fort was almost certain death.”

“But how could we get them to the garden with the guys on the wall?” Asked the Major.

That would be easy, see, here look at the map, there is a tree line to the rear of the fort, and it’s fairly close to the gardens. A lot of times the workers would wander off into the woods to take a pee.  We get our people into the woods and then in the course of the day have them join the workers,” added Keith.

It might work I thought, “But can we get them in armed?”

Keith looked at me for a moment, “Well, while I was still there they never checked anyone for guns; they had taken them all a while ago so the figured they had no reason to keep checking.”

The discussions continued for the rest of the morning and we decided that we would try to get some people into the fort.  We wanted innocent looking people, those who would fit in, and not attract attention, Delaney and Lance were good choices, Delaney was a firebrand and not to be messed with.  Lance, well, I am not so sure about in a battle, but he looks pretty harmless.  Mom is a solid choice and she could hold her own.  That gave us three.

“What about Langley? Said LJ, “she is police trained, and a tough girl.”

We all felt the choices were good and now we had to see if they will go for the gig.  After lunch we approached each and they all agreed.  Delaney was a little unhappy with the suggestion that we use Lance, but in the end, we had our four hiders.

That took care of the first part of the plan.  Now we need to talk about fire support.  With the two big sniper rifles we could cover a lot of the area.  Margo and Cody on one and I will have the other with Mark as my spotter.  We can set up in the area overlooking the front of the fort, where the entry way is.

LJ suggested, and I think he is right, that we have someone in the woods behind the fort just in case someone jumps the wall or there is a secret exit that we don’t know about.  He and Fred will cover that area.

That leaves the final issue, how to get Womack to come out, or do we have to go in.  That will need some thinking.  I have a couple ideas, but we shall see where this goes.  It is late and time to adjourn for the night.

May 27th

(Matt) I have added a map of Fort Stanwix below, it is not a great map and certainly not to scale, but we needed something to work off of.  We have set out the logistics to much of the plan, where we will hide the snipers, me, Margo, and LJ.  (S1, S2, S3) and we have determined who will go inside and how they can get to the crop fields.  It will require the inside folks to be in place the day before we actually show up.  The thought being it will give them a little time to scout the place out and maybe if Keith can give us some trusted names they can make contact.

I am not so sure I like the idea of them making contact.  I am concerned that since Keith had left the group even the most trusted of friends and allies might have been turned.  But that’s not my call.

Now all we have to do is make the plan of how the main force will get to the fort and face down Womack and his men.  And this is where the debate rages.

The Major has already suggested that he approach the fort as a military commander.  Maybe a plan, but it would need to be thought through.  If Womack is as evil as he seems to have shown I am afraid the Major would be at deadly risk.  Granted he would take along some others with him, who would improve the odds, and add to the legitimacy of his story, also the Hummer with the machine gun on top, now that would be a nice prize for Womack.  He would certainly want to get that into his fort, and his hands.

The second option would be to make a last run with the helo, and do an aerial raid, but as was said before, that would be a really risky one and perhaps we are wiser to save the helo for a different use, and day. Even at that there is the question of fuel.  We are not doing well with diesel and the chopper is a guzzler.

We talked about trying to find some heavier armored vehicles at the Waterviet Arsenal, and use them for a full frontal assault.  It is unlikely that Womack had anything that could stop them. The problem with that is fuel.  Stephen and the Major both pointed out that they get like 3 miles to a gallon of fuel, it would require a huge fuel supply to get them to the fort and it would be likely that even if we could get them there the chances of getting them back home were slim.

We debated this for hours twisting and turning the options and then finally, Keith spoke up.  “Look, I think that this is all good, and we have a basic plan to cover ‘the once he is out of the fort’ angle, but we need to get him out of the fort.  I think that the Major might do it, but let me toss this out. Part because I think it will work, and part because I don’t want to put anyone in more risk that we have to.  This is kind of my fight and I think that I need to step up a little.”

We all kind of looked around a little and finally Ron asked, “What do you have in mind?”

“There are two things that we know about Womack, first he is kind of a control freak, he wants everything his way, and will do just about anything to get it.  The other is that he is a vindictive bastard who loves to make people pay, and pay a very high price.”

“Yeah, okay” said someone, I am not even sure who.

“Think about it, Marcus crossed him and what did he do, he put him out to be eaten by undead.  That’s a little over the top.” Keith continued.

“Yeah, he is a sick motherfucker, so?” said Ron, kind of confused.

I think I know where this is going I thought to myself.

“Well, what are two things that he would like to do?  One is to kill me, for running out on him, make me a lesson.  But he is not going to just walk up and shoot me, or kill me from afar, no; he is going to want to make an example of me.  He will want me to feel the pain, and suffer every inch of the way.” There was a level of passionate hatred in his voice.

The Major looked at him, and said, “You are probably right; he would not just shoot you down.”

“But what is the other thing, you said there were two things?” asked Fred.

“Pam, he would want to torment Pam, in ways…well, it wouldn’t be good.” He added quietly.

“So what are you suggesting?” I asked, but I already knew.

“It’s simple, Pam and I walk up to the gate and try to get back in, well, actually stop about 100 feet before the gate and wait.”

The room burst into buzz and ruffle, ruffle, ruffle, everyone talking at once.  “No”, “Insane”, “That’s crazy” were comments I heard.  Only the Major and I sat quiet.  I am not sure about Major Barkley, but I think Keith was right, this would be the best plan, at least the first step of it.  If it went down, where do we go from there?  And that would be the wild card.

“Look, it is lunch time,” said the Major, “let’s take a break and get back together in an hour or so.  Keith, let’s talk a little.”

As we all started to shuffle out of the room, “Matt, could you stay?” asked Keith.

The Three of us sat, and it was quiet, finally Keith said, “I know you want to know where Pam is on this.  I talked with her about it and she knows and agrees.  Womack hurt her, broke her, and she wants her life back.  She is willing; no one wants to do this more than her.”

“Matt, your thoughts?” asked the Major.

“I saw what Womack is about, I have heard the stories from Keith, and Pam and I think that it is most likely the best way to go.  It is dangerous, but this whole thing is dangerous.”

“Okay, we go with this part of it.  Now we just have to figure out how to play the trump card and send in the cavalry.  Let’s grab some food.” said the Major, there was a cool control in his voice, it was both reassuring, and yet to a degree kind of scary, it kind of reminded me of Tom when he talked to me back at Otis that first night we were on the run.

We reconvened after lunch and developed the rest of the plan, but right now it is late, and I don’t want to write anymore, so I will save it for tomorrow.

(Margo) Hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait, I hate this, the pow-wow continues and I have no idea what they’re planning.  They all broke out at lunch, and we were able to hear bits and pieces of conversation.  It didn’t make me feel good, hearing things like ‘crazy’, ‘suicide mission’, ‘won’t work’.  Matt, Keith and the Major showed up, they were smiling, but there was a grimness that seemed to be at the edge of those smiles.

At the end of the day, I have no more knowledge of what is going on than I did this morning, I hate it.  Hurry up and wait.

(Lance) Del and I talked today, she is not crazy about me going inside, but then, I am not crazy about her doing it either.  But we are the best choices. Langley spent a lot of time showing Teckla and me how to conceal our guns, and close action fighting.

“Del, let’s take a walk”.

“Okay, where to?”

“Somewhere open, but without too many eyes around.” I said picking up our practice swords.

We found a little space behind one of the cabins and I tossed her one of the wooden sword.  “Here is the deal, you beat me, I stay, that simple.” I said.

She fought well, and hard, but it was over in about 3 minutes, she never even got close to hitting me.

“How, when,” she gasped.

“Feel better about me going now?” I asked with a grin.

She looked at me confused, and a little awed, “Yes, yes I do, but how?” she asked.

I just smiled, “Master said I should not say, yet.”

We are just waiting for the detail of the plan.

May 28th

(Margo) We are still in wait mode; there has been no final announcement of what is going to happen and who is doing what.  I am sure that I will be doing some kind of sniper observer, but the where and what my target will be is unknown.  I could be given a specific target or I may just have the duties of suppressing fire.  Time will tell and I am curious, hurry up and wait.

I have not written much about Vespers over the last few days, and there is a reason.  We have still had them, sort of, but it has been more a “wonder what is going on” session with speculation running all over the place.  If it wasn’t so serious, it would be fun.

Code and I talked last night, we will probably be assigned to the same post, and really, we will be out of the line of fire for the most part, but we talked about what would happen if one of us….. Don’t want to think about that; don’t want to be alone again.

(Lance) Del and I did a run this morning, she pushed me hard.  I know it is because she is worried about me, and what might happen with the raid.  I am worried about it too, and I am worried about her.  I know her, she is one of those people who will be in the deepest part of the shit if she can get there, and she will find a way to get there.

Everything is still on hold, we are all on pins and needles wondering, and in the planning room, the band played on.  Soon I hope, I just want to know, I need to know.  I can deal with what I have to do, Master has taught me that, but this waiting is crazy.

Teckla and I did some room entries and sweeps this morning under the watchful eye of Langley and Del.  We were actually pretty good at it.  But I can’t help but remember from my on-line combat gaming days, you don’t want to be the second person through the door.  They are usually the one to get shot.

(Matt) The final outline has been assembled and we have the plan.  I think it will work and it creates the minimum risk for all involved.  The greatest challenge will for Keith and Pam, they will have to stare down the devil and hope that he just doesn’t shoot first.

The time table is as following:

We move out day after tomorrow (5/30), which will allow us the time to get our gear together, load up the trucks, and most importantly, practice a few things.

The people that are assigned (volunteered) are:

Sniper Team 1                            S1                                          Matt / Mark

Sniper Team 2                            S2                                          Margo / Cody

Sniper Team 3                            S3                                          LJ / Chelsea

Intruder Team              Teckla, Delany,   Lance, Langley

Bait               Keith / Pam

Assault Team 1   (Hummer)              Ron, Fred

Assault Team 2  (Coyote)              Barkley / Bernie

Rescue / Medical  (Zoidberg Prius))              Charlene / Tanya

That means that we are leaving the camp pretty empty, we will have Nick, Grace, Stephen, Heather, Taylor, Karen, Michelle, Paula and Jan defending our camp.  Stephen will be in charge based upon his military experience but he will be on standby with the helicopter if we need it.

On the morning of the 30th, the intruder team will move into the woods and infiltrate the fort.  That will give them time to look around and get a sense for what is on the inside.  Besides their handguns tucked away on their person they will each have a back pack that will contain some snacks and water, some zip ties (handcuffs) spare ammunition, a disassembled M16 and two smoke grenades.  Once the situation begins to unfold they have about 2 minutes to get their M16s assembled and ready to fire.

Keith has given them some ideas as to people that they may be able to trust, and places that they can safely spend the night while they are in the fort.

The Sniper teams need to be in place by 8 am on the 31st.  This will give us a little time to scope out the area and have a good line of sight for the events that will hopefully unfold.

The two direct assault teams will quietly approach the east bridge (East Dominick St.) and park out of sight just around the corner. They will have radio contact with the snipers who will act as ears and eyes.  Keith will also be wired with a radio that will allow for us all to listen in on the conversation between him and Womack.   We will have ear phones so we don’t give ourselves away.

At about 9 am, Keith and Pam are going to drive out into the open and approach the fort.  They will stop about 200 feet from the entry gate.  They should be seen long before they get there but if not, they will yell to get attention from there.  The hope is that Womack will march out there and confront them.  Keith will admit that he made a mistake in running away and that they want to rejoin the group.  From there, it is a crap shoot.

Keith will have a hand and vocal signal that he will give if they find that the scenario is getting out of hand and then, it is over to the sniper teams and the assault teams to move it.  The intruders will act as a rear guard and neutralize any interior resistance.  Yeah, sounds very military, basically because that was how Major Barkley laid it out to us.

If all goes well this should be done by 9:30, with no injuries to any of us.  We shall see.

We present the plan tonight at dinner.

May 29th

(Lance) Quiet, thinking, getting lectures from Del about what to do, how to act, what to watch out for.  Even though I had showed her my new found skills I think she is nervous about this and this is her way of hiding it. I know that I am nervous, this is not like the old days of Captain Emo playing videogames, this is the real deal, there are no re-does or saved lives that you can revert back to.

Gonna hit the Fire Pit tonight, I think that will help.

(Margo) I am worried about Lance and Del, well, all of them that are going to be in the hot seat on this.  I just need to focus on my job, and get it done.  I have done this before.  I don’t like killing people, but there are times when it has to be done.

Code is good with what is going on, he has never spotted for me before, but he will do fine.  He is more there to protect me while I focus on what I need to do.  I take the guy to the right, closest to me, whoever it is.

Code and I hit Vespers tonight.  It was a pretty big turnout.  Even Ron and Fred were there and that kind of surprised me.  I thought they might be having their own kind of gathering.  It was kind of quiet, no theme, or lecture, just comradery, just being with friends.

It was funny, last thing before we broke up for the evening, and it ran later than usual, seemed no one wanted to leave, but Ron asked Matt if he would lead us in a pray.

Matt nodded, and began, “Our Father, who art in heaven……”

(Matt) Not much to say, packed, ready to go.  At the fire-pit tonight we were a family, at least for today.  Thank you for watching over us and bringing us together.

May 30th

(Matt) The ‘Intruders’ were off early this morning, at about 4:30.  It wasn’t light yet, but dawn was not far away.  It looked like the weather was going to be our ally, at least for today.  We figured it would take them about 4 hours to drive out to the Rome area.  They would park to the south of the camp, and have to hike in, taking position in the woods and then one by one join the group.

They dressed in normal clothes, ‘all the better to fit in with Grandma’, I thought.

The rest of us spent the day looking over our gear, checking our trucks, weapons, and thinking.

We did the Fire Pit and like last night, it was a good turnout, family, we are a community right now, with one thing to strive for.

It was an early night because we would be on the road at 3:00 AM to be in Rome by 4. The dance is supposed to start at 9:00.

(Margo) My gear has been checked, and rechecked.  We are ready to go.  I spent some time trying to do some drawing this afternoon, but the picture would not flow from the pencil.

Code and I snuggled, it is going to be an early morning.

May 31st

(Margo) Nick had coffee and hot food for us this morning.  There was both excitement and nervousness in the air.  Lucy knew something was up and was right at my side the entire time.  She knew I was going and I think she sensed that this time she was going to stay behind.

Code was a little grumpy bear this morning, at least until he had something to eat and a couple of cups of that stuff we call coffee.  Actually, Nick and Tay freed up a bag of real beans that we kept for special occasions.  It was vanilla bean flavored.  I forgot how good it tasted and that little buzz from the caffeine.

We were on the road by 4:00.  I rode in the Coyote truck with the Major and Bernie.  Code was in the back seat with me.  We didn’t talk much, just drove on along I-90 in the dark.  It was light when we got to Rome, no headlights to give us away.

Code and I were dropped off about a mile and a half from where our sniper post was.  We would walk, sneak in and be ready for 8:30 or so.

We had come in from the southwest side of the fort and before we got to the building in the northwest corner that we were supposed to sit on we found a great little spot in the woods that gave us the perfect line of fire on the front gate as well as the entire west side of the fort.  We hunkered down, ready, waiting.

(Matt) Tanya and I were up early, and we were ready to roll along with everyone else.  We both had our tasks for the day, and ours, would be not that risky, unless there was something unusual in the mix.

As we were getting ready to load up I called everyone in to a circle, “We all know our jobs today, and I sense that goodness is on our side.  We are doing a just act, for whatever your reasons or whatever you believe, it is right, have faith in that belief, and in yourself and your family.”

“Amen” echoed the group.

“Let’s roll” said the Major. And we did.

Tanya and I rode up in the Hummer with Ron and Fred.  On the way we talked about the early days, the rescue at Lake Danahee where Fred and Ron and some of the group were safe from the Changed, Zoms we called them back then.

We talked a little about the time we had to deal with the biker gang; I could feel this bothered Tanya a little and shifted the subject to other things.  She had suffered at the hands of the bikers, and it touched an old wound.

As we rode, I wondered how Linda, the crazy real estate lady or Helen, the librarian were doing.  On the way back we probably should check on both of them just to see that they are okay.  Womack may have sent scouts out, and well, just to check and see that they are okay.

Pam and Keith were next in the Nissan Pickup truck that he had been driving.  It had NY plates so he would use it to drive onto the property and it would look like it was just some ratty old truck he scrounged up.  But before he got to his staging area he had to drop off LJ and Chelsea.  I think they had the worst of the ride because they had to ride in the back bed of the truck.  I found out later that it was actually not that bad, they slept most of the way up, or at least LJ did.

The last car in the little caravan was the red Prius, the Zoidberg.  It was the medical car, and Mark drove it, it was kind of his vehicle going back to the early days of Peru.  We picked that one to take because it would be good fuel wise but also if we needed a low noise approach we could use that.  Charlene rode with Mark.  The trunk was packed with medical supplies which we hoped we would not need.

The others staged on East Dominick Street while Mark and I worked our way to the building we were setting up in. From the second floor we had a great view of the front gate and were easily within range.  I almost think that the 50 Cal rifle I had was overkill, but if this had to be done, a kill, and had to be done quickly so a 223 might lack the punch.

The radios were up and working, it was 8:30.  Soon, I thought.

I wondered how the situation was going in the inside.  I hoped that there were no issues. All seemed quiet, so I was guessing so.  Teckla and Delaney had radios, so if it was bad, they could call for support, unless….well, let’s hope that is not the case.

At 8:47 someone came to the gate and started to walk out.  It was one of the workers, the town’s people. Mark looked at him through the spotting scope, no, it was Lance.  He walked out, and over to the corner of the fort, gave a little peep around the corner, flashed a thumbs up and then walked back in.  I thought nice touch, there kid, you guys inside are okay, and that is good to know.

This was it; the next 15 minutes were going to be interesting I thought, seemed more like it was the next minute, everything seemed to go down so fast.

At 9:00, Keith and Pam drove onto the fort grounds and to about 200 feet from the front gate actually, probably closer to 150 feet.  They stopped, and got out of the truck.  I could see some scurrying on the top of the rampart.  Keith reached in and blew the horn a couple of times.  It was like kicking the ant hill, scurry, scurry.

“Show time” Keith said and we all heard on the radio wire he was wearing.

Three soldiers came out of the fort.  The big one in the middle was Womack, I remember him from when we watched him stake out Marcus. This was the guy I took the shot at.  I guess I didn’t do such a hot job.

As Womack walked up to Keith and Pam he laughed, it was a deep heavy laugh, one like James Earl Jones or Roscoe Brown, a deep richness to it.  “Well, Look who comes crawling back, not liking the outside world so much?” said Womack.

“No, it is not nice out here.  I want to come back home” answered Keith.

“I see, and you brought my favorite play thing as an offering, commendable.”

I am not sure if it was just a quirk with the optics of my scope or if Pam twitched a little at that.

“No, see that is not exactly what I am looking for.  I want to come home, but I want you to leave, to let us be.” stated Keith with a touch of edginess.

“Oh really, and you think that you are just going to come here, ask me to go, and I am going to say, ‘okay, my bad, we’ll leave’…..think again motherfucker.  You ran out on us, you betrayed us, your buddy Marcus has already paid the price, and now I think it is going to be your turn” Womack replied.

“Womack, I….”

“No, Motherfuck, that ain’t how it’s gonna fly, you are dead, you are eater bait, and your little bitch, well she is going to find her own suffering!” Womack screamed.

Keith stayed calm, glared at him for what seemed a minute, took a long slow breath and finally said, “Okay, one last time, is there anything I can say or do that will make you get with my program?” As he spoke, he held his hands out to his side and shrugged, kind of a gesture of questioning.

“What?  Hell No, You got……”

That was the signal, the soldiers to either side of Womack sort of exploded and fell as the 50 cal slugs from Margo and I found their marks.  The crack of the bullets being fired resounded almost as soon as the thud of the bullets hitting their target.

Womack was quick; he grabbed Pam and held her in front of him.  He kept moving, twisting, so a shot was not going to happen.

“Imma kill her, and Imma kill you,” as he started walking backwards toward the fort, dragging Pam with him.  He got a couple feet then dropped to his knees, holding his crotch.  He was screaming.

“You shot me, you fucking shot me in my balls!”

Pam turned toward him, in her hand was a little 380 pistol.  Wow, how she had gotten the gun out of her pocket and took the shot, I never saw it.

“Yup, I did!”  She said defiantly, with a rasp in her voice, “I’ve thought about that every day and night for a long time.  You ruined me, you treated me like I was your dog, you treated all of us like we were dogs, and you’re shit.  Every night before I would go to sleep, if I could go to sleep, I would think about this moment.” We could hear her through Keith’s radio.

By now the assault teams were rolling up ready to enter the fort, but it was not needed.  The intruder team had done their job and the remaining 6 soldiers were being marched out the gate.

Pam did one more thing that kind of surprised us, but in retrospect, I can understand it, not sure I agree with it, but understood it.  She shot him in the right side of the chest.  On the surface, I would not think a fatal wound, but she hit him in the liver, he had about 30 minutes of bleeding out before he died.  There was nothing anyone, the Major or the doctors in the fort could do about it.  Pam was a nurse once, and she knew.

“Make peace with the devil, you’re on your way to join him in Hell” Pam said, with both bitterness and relief in her voice.  She had control of her life again.

And so it went. Some of the people who lived tin the fort were now out with us.  Keith was a hero, he, they, we had saved them.  We all gathered up in front of the fort circled around the dying Womack, it was kind of surreal, we just watched as the black, dark blood seeped from his chest.

Charlene started to unload some medical supplies, to maybe help, but the Major shook his head.  “Nothing we can do for him.”

Soon Womack’s breath became more rapid, he had been muttering, cursing and ranting for much of the time.  But as the breathing became more and more rapid, almost panting, he became quieter.  Finally, he just said “Mother, help me” as his last few breathes escaped him.  He was quiet, and no longer the tool of the devil. We insured he would not re-animate. We burned the bodies of The Three that had been killed.

It wound down, and we began to pack up.  It was still early, but we were all exhausted, the adrenaline and the early start had taken their toll.  We were invited to stay with them at Stanwix for the night, it had been a long day, and we accepted.  We had food, and we shared.

June 1st

(Lance) I did not get the chance to write the last few days.  And I really don’t have that much to say.  Real war is so different from the on-line stuff.  In a way you feel more alive during, and after the battle, but is it scary, once you are in the middle, it is all, how do I describe it?  It is all just kind of automatic, you see, you sense, you do, and you don’t think about it, there isn’t time.  It was as Master Nick had taught me.

Del was the one who came up with the idea for me to walk out and let everyone know we were okay, she covered me.  We had gotten ready and had our rifles ready by the time Keith showed up at the front gate.

Teckla and Langley had worked their way up on to the rampart as the excitement and confusion of Keith’s truck pulling up.  They subdued the three soldiers who were there without a fight.  I think that their comrades being shot and the scene just shut them down.

Del and I had the remaining three neutralized also.  We began to march our captives out the gate. We all gasped in surprise as we saw Pam put one in Womack’s chest.

It was kind of funny, I think all but one of the inside guys we had captured were relieved that Womack was down.  One guy, a corporal cried out, and tried to run to him, but Del tripped him and he fell face first on to the ground.

By now the people from inside the fort were coming out the door.  They saw Keith, and Pam and were relieved, I think they were afraid at first that we were just another occupying group.

We turned the prisoners over to the residents; they locked them up, and would decide what to do with them.  I heard some talk among the locals and it seemed that with the exception of the corporal, the other 5 guys were actually pretty good dudes, in a bad situation, and that they would not be killed, and maybe even allowed to stay in the fort.  The corporal, well, he was not in a good place right now.

Del and I wandered the fort, it was not a bad place, it had a lot of good things, it was defensible, they had a pretty good food program going between what they were growing, and what they had scavenged from the area.

They supplied us with some rooms where we could sleep for the night.  I think we are heading back to our camp in the morning.

(Matt) “I have one question Matt, the other night, when you led us in prayer, you, you used the Lord’s Prayer, why was that?” asked Ron.

I looked at him for a moment, “It fit, it is a universal, be it the Christian God, or Father Sky, or Yahweh, it is all the same being, the same spirit, it is the Universal Good, and in that case, it fit, we all understood it, we all believe in it.”

He let it sink in, then said, “Thank you, you’re right.”

As we were packing up and getting ready for the trip back, I heard a voice behind me.

“You have done well my friend, you have learned lessons.  I am pleased.” It was Chris, the guy we had met on the road after our hasty exit for Rome.  He was still in white, although it was painter pants and a white shirt now.

I was kind of surprised to see him, especially here, and now.  I smiled, “You taught me a little.”

“Yes, and so did Helen,” he smiled back. “Will you thank her on the way back to your camp?”

“I was thinking that we should check on her and that crazy cat of hers. And while we are on crazy, probably visit Fort Plain and see how the Real Estate lady is doing.”

“That would be good.” He said.

“Just out of curiosity, how did you know about Helen, did she tell you that we were there?” I asked, I figured he must have bumped into her or visited the library after we left.

“Oh, no, I never met her, all I know is that she is a good person, and that you would find her, and she would help you.”

I let that sink in for a moment as I turned to toss a pack into the Hummer, when I turned around Chris was gone.

As I stood there, looking to see where he walked away to, Tanya walked up.

“Did you see where Chris went?” I asked her.

“I didn’t see him, was he here?”

“I was just talking to him.”

“Ah, no, I have been watching you for a couple of minutes, talking to yourself, but there was only a child there with you. That was why I came over; to make sure you were alright.”

“A child? I…..” I looked around some more, almost frantic, was I losing it?

“yep, I saw no one else,” She added.

I told her about the brief encounter I had with him, Chris.  It is something that will haunt me.

I asked around the fort, talked with a bunch of people, none of them had seen Chris, or even recognized the description, the long hair, the dressed in white.  I think they believed I was not all there with the frantic way I was searching.  Then it hit me, a voice, his voice, just said, “relax, you’re okay, you know who I am, who I was, and who I will always be.” I smiled, and looked at Tanya, she seemed to sense something else had happened with me.

“Tanya, I know you may think this is crazy, but I would like to visit Helen again on our way back to the camp.”

She looked at me briefly, and said “I think that is a good idea, we were thinking about that before, just to check on her, so yes, let’s do that.”

I spoke with the Major and we decided that I could take the Zoidberg.  It was too cramped for carrying 4 so it would work.     We had shuffled some supplies and people around to make it work.

(Margo) My task had been pretty straight forward.  I was to take the guy closest to me out, and I did.  But when Womack grabbed Pam there was no way I could take the shot.  He kept moving, and it was too risky, If I hit him wrong, she was dead too.  Then, he just went down.  I saw her hand go into her pocket, then heard the pop, and saw him on the ground screaming.  As much as I wanted to watch what happened next, I had to keep sweeping the rampart, making sure no targets popped up.

We got the all clear message and broke down our position and joined the rest of the group inside the fort.  There was a sort of celebration going on, excitement, people clapping each other on the back, and at the middle were Keith and Pam.  We did all the work, they got all the praise, I was I was okay with that, I guess.

A little kid, about 12 came up to Code and me, he was looking at the sniper rifle.

“Wow, that is a Barrett, Mk 82, 50 Cal….that’s yours?” he asked.

“Yeah, it is.” I answered.

“Did you use it today?”

“Yeah, we did.”  I was kind of annoyed with this pesky kid.

“Thank you, you were awesome!” he said excitedly.

I was shocked, and it hit me, we had done something good, something special, that kid put a face on it.  It changed everything.

“Thank you,” I said, feeling a little humbled now.

“Who taught you how to shoot? Someday can you teach me how to shoot?  I want to be a sniper, to save people.”  He went on.

I smiled, almost feeling embarrassed at the attention.  “Maybe, we can see what happens; it is up to your folks.”

Almost as I finished saying it I saw the bullet leave the gun, I couldn’t stop it, too late.

“My folks are dead, Womack killed my dad, and then my mom, she killed herself. “

“Oh, I, I am sorry.”  I kinda knew where he was coming from, I had lived through it.

“No, it is okay, well, not really, but I am okay, it hurts sometimes, I miss them.”

I felt the arrow in my heart too.  “I lost my mom and family too. And it was hard, but we keep going.”  I am not sure he believed me, but then every once and again I am not sure I believe me.  Thank God for Code.

His name was Charlie, but wanted to be called “Dead Bane C”, he was a small kid, typical black 12 year old kind of trying to be a rapper type kid with his hat on wrong, and his baggy pants.  He hung out with Code and me the rest of the day.  He showed us around, and talked constantly.  Actually, he talked or rapped constantly.  I liked the kid, he was kind of cool.

The undead be walkin’

But Imma not balkin’

Always ready to rock’em

And in the head knock’em

When I not chillin’

The undead I be killin’

And if they be willin’

The bitches I be thrillin’

He gave us a sample of his work, and I could only kind of chuckle, not my music, but he was not half bad.  He believed in himself.  And that was what you needed to get through where we are now.

That evening there was a big gathering, kind of buffet in the mess hall.  Nick does a better job, but then it was kind of short notice, and early in the food producing year. It was a little tight and noisy but it was fun.  We would be leaving in the morning to get back to camp.

For the most part we, the Romanica people stayed together, Dead Bane hung with Code and me, and we hung with Del and Lance. I hadn’t noticed it before but Lance had a katana strapped to his back.  That was odd.

We all, the Romanicans, stayed in one small area, except for Keith, he was sort of the man in the middle of everything.   Pam was with him, and she was looking more alive than I have ever seen her.  She actually smiled a little, and laughed.

The get together broke up about 10pm although some of the natives partied on until who knows when. We all turned in, tomorrow will come early, and I was exhausted.

June 2nd.

(Margo) It looks like we will all not be heading back to camp together, Keith has asked if Teckla, and the Major could hang out for a bit, he and some of the others wanted to talk to them about the Fort and what they might do in the future as a community.  Ron has offered to ride back with them and so has Fred.

Del, Code, Lance and I have all loaded up the Coyote, the big red truck, ha ha, just thought about that old kid series with the big red dog.  We left about 10.  Dead Bane helped us and hung out with us until we left.  As I said, I kind of like the kid, and I think that he will to be fine.  I told him that I would come back to the fort if we had a group coming up for a visit, or to help out.

We were back at camp by 4:00.  Mark, Langley, LJ and Chels all came back at the same time.  They were stuffed into the Kia that Teckla had driven out with the intruders.

It was good to be home.  Code and I talked a little about the events, and Fort Stanwix, but not much, it was good to know that they were there, and that we had friends kind of close by.  But we both think that unless there is some serious situation we will probably not run into them again.  I know I promised Dead Bane, but, fuel, and just trying to survive, I just don’t think we’ll get there, but one never knows, never say never.

Lucy was very glad to see me.

(Lance) We rode back with Margo and Code in the Coyote, it was kind of a fun road trip, we cranked the music, rolled down the window, laughed until our sides hurt and just tried to let go of all the stress of the past couple of days.  We did good.

It was good to get home, not much had happened there.  It was back to business as usual.  We even had the Fire Pit gathering tonight.  We talked about what had taken place, and told those who had stayed behind what had happened.  Really, we all had our little parts in the play, but it was Keith and Pam who were the main players.

Master Nick asked me how it went, at the fort.  I told him, it was not much of a sword situation, but I had done well.  He was pleased.

(Matt) We watched the others leave, the Coyote, the Kia, the Zoidberg, and it was almost time for us to go too. Keith gave Tanya and me the white pick-up he had been driving, he was home and he did not need it he said.  We had decided to retrace some of the steps that originally brought us out to Rome.  I really wanted to talk to Helen, the Library Lady.  I had questions for her about Chris.  I think she might have some answers.

We said our goodbyes to Keith and Pam; I knew all along that they would stay at Stanwix. That was what it was all about, this whole mission.  I knew that he would become their leader; actually, he had become their leader the moment he stepped out of that truck and blew the horn.  He was a good choice.  He is a good man.

Pam, well, she may have a tougher time of it. There was still a lot of baggage there from what Womack had done to her, and I have to wonder if the vengeance thing may not have added a wound that will be tough to heal.

Tanya talked to her before we left, I think it helped. I tried to get some insights of that discussion from Tanya, but had to be satisfied with “it was girl talk”.

We hit the road about 11:00 and made our way toward Johnstown and Fulton-Montgomery Community College just beyond it.  We took Route 5, the more direct route rather than the back roads like last time.  As we traveled along, we saw that we had the chance to stop at Fort Plain.  We debated a little and then it was the gas gauge that was the decider.  Besides, we really should stop to check to see if Linda the Real Estate lady was okay.

We hit Fort Plain at about 3:30, gassed up, without the help of Linda, then headed toward her office.  As we drove up there she was, outside the office on her cordless phone.  She had her green blazer with the logo and black skirt on. She waved, and with hand signals told us to wait a minute.

“Yes, yes, I will be in the office all day tomorrow, stop by any time, my calendar is open at the moment, I have some lovely properties to show you.  I think you will like it, no love it here.” She said into the phone.  “Good, good, I will see you tomorrow.”  And with that she hung up.

“Welcome back,” she said cheerfully, “I knew you couldn’t resist Fort Plain.”

“Actually, we are just traveling through on our way home and wanted to check to see that you were okay, we had some things happen up the road and were worried about you.” Tanya told her.  I just smiled and shook my head.

“Oh?  Bad things?  Close by?  No, no, no, that will not do.”

“Not that close, out in Rome, that was where it happened.”  I said.

“Oh, that is better, those people out there, they were always a little ah, different, I always thought that radiation leak all those years ago at Love Canal made them different.” She exclaimed.

I just looked at Tanya, we kind of shrugged and just said “okay,”  Love Canal was years ago, and many miles from Rome and chemical waste, but then we were dealing with Linda.

“We really just wanted to check to see if you were okay, we were worried some of the bad people may have come by here and, well wanted to check on you.” I stammered.

“That is so nice of you, I am fine. Would you like some coffee?  I just made some.” She offered.

Simultaneously we both said “No”.  Tanya continued, “No, we just wanted to check on you and will be……”

Linda put up her hand, clicked the talk button and then began to speak into the phone, “Linda Harris Real Estate, This is Linda, how can I help you?”

She put her hand over the mouth piece, and mouthed “Sorry, it has been like this all day, call after call.”

“Its okay” Tanya said, “We will stop back later when it quiets down.”

Linda nodded, and then spoke into the phone, “Yes, we have a number of wonderful farm locations listed, and some real show pieces.  I can show them to you any time tomorrow if you would like.”

We walked to the truck and drove off.  We made about a mile before we spoke.  “That is so sad,” said Tanya.

“It is, and yet she is in her own safe little world where everything is as it was, wonderful, and she believes that.”

“Still….” Said Tanya softly.

We got to Fulton-Montgomery at about 5:45, we parked and headed toward the library.  As we entered the building it was quiet, but there was a smell.  It was a wonderful smell, I felt like I was in an Italian Restaurant.  We followed the smell and found Helen in the little office dining area.

“Ah, just on time,” said Helen as she walked out of the kitchen area with basket of warm bread.

We stopped, and stared at her.  “How did you know?”

“We’ll get to that, I know why you’re here, and to answer the first question, yes, I am fine, thank you for checking on me.”

“I, ah, we, ……” I started.

“Better sit down, I’ll get the spaghetti, we don’t want it to get cold.  The sauce is a meat sauce, if that is okay.” Helen said.

“Yes, that sounds wonderful” answered Tanya, she always was a little better at the uptake than I was.

Helen caught me looking around, “No, Sylvester is in the kitchen not in the sauce” she said.  I felt a little embarrassed.

We sat down and ate.  I was like a kid at Christmas dinner waiting impatiently to be able to go and open my presents.  I so wanted to being asking about how she knew we were coming and what she knew about Chris.  But I held on.

We cleared the table and cleaned the dishes and then retired to the study room with cups of tea.  Sylvester was peacefully sitting on Helen’s lap, purring loudly.

“Okay Matt, begin the inquisition,” said Helen with a laugh.

I flushed a little and began, “How did you know?”

“Oh that was easy, Chris told me. He said you would be here for supper tonight at about 6:00 and that I should have something ready for you.”

“Chris, Chris was here?”  I said excitedly.

“Not actually here, but he told me to expect you.” answered Helen.

“I, I don’t understand.”

“Chris, yeah, he is a special one, he has powers, that one does,” she smiled.

Sylvester meowed and turned in her lap then settled down again.

“What do you mean powers?” asked Tanya.

“It is hard to explain, he, well, he is sort of not really in this world. Few can see him, and then only if he wants them to.”

“But we’ve seen him, we’ve talked to him, I saw him at Fort Stanwix just two days ago.” I stammered.

“I am sure you did, but did anyone else see him? No, you are special to him, you both are.”

That one sat for a few moments, what to say, what to think.  I didn’t know.

Finally, slowly, “Helen, who is Chris?”

“Does it really matter, who, or what, is it that important to know if he is Jesus, or Buddha, or Allah, Father Sky or just someone you imagine?” she answered.

More silence and a battle inside my mind, was it that important?  Does it really matter?

I laughed, “You’re not going to tell us are you.”

“Correct, because you already know the answer, you know the truth and I am not going to spoon feed it to you.” She said with a peaceful smile.

I sat back, I knew, Tanya knew, the answer was obvious, well, the two answers were obvious, the first was who, and that truly it didn’t matter, call Chris what you want, he was Chris.  Chris was goodness, all that is hard wired into our DNA specialness that made man his most noble, his best, his closest to God, whatever name you give Him. He was not the character that we see written about or interpreted in the Bible or the Koran or other religious texts. He was the real deal, plan, simple and unfiltered.

“Thank you, Helen, thank you.” I said.

“I have one question if I may” said Tanya. “You said that only some can see him, I guess what I want to know is, is if he is real, I mean, does he really have physical form?”

Helen smiled, “I don’t know, I have never had the chance to see or meet him here at the library.  He comes to me in my sleep, in my dreams. I just know he is there. What do you think?”

Silence, only the snoring of Sylvester filled the room.  Finally, Tanya said, softly, “I don’t think it really matters, we saw him, or something, and I believe it was ….. I am not even sure what.  But I saw something, someone, I felt a presence, but that is enough.”

We sat in the faded light, and then by candle light for a long time, just quiet, Sylvester snoring away, it was peaceful, it was warm, and it was good.

June 3rd

We spent the night at the library; it was good to know that Helen was safe and sound.  She had a small bowl of fresh berries for us each to have as breakfast.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

“Yes” we answered as one, and as I thought about it, it had been the best night sleep I have had in a long time.  There was peacefulness in this place.

“We will be heading back today, to our camp, our people.  Are you sure that you would not join us?” I asked, but as I did Tanya caught my arm.  I realized it was the wrong question.

“Matt, you know better than that” Helen said, “I belong here, and you can come here at need, but here is where I belong, me and this fat old cat, tending to the books and needs of travelers like yourself.”

“Do you think you will meet others?” I asked.

“Oh yes, there will be others, he told me so.”

“He?  You mean Chris?”

“Yes, he said there are others on the way, but they are still far off.” She answered.

So many questions, yet they really don’t need answers.  We know what we needed to survive, and to start building a new world.  Actually, we have been building it; this just gives us a little more to work with.  We had danced with religion, now, we dance with God, or should I say Goodness.

(Margo) Back to the real world, no war games, no excitement, just the simple day to day tasks of survival, a girl, a coyote and my BF.

I am a little not myself today, well, actually, I am my monthly self, but the things that Charlene has taught me, the herbs and such help in that regard.

I drew Keith and Pam today, they are people we may never see again and yet, they were part of us for a while.  I want to remember them.

(Lance) “Hey Red,” a female voice called out as I was walking back from breakfast with Del.

I didn’t make the connection at first then realized she was talking to me.  It was Langley.

“I just wanted to tell you that you did good the other day at the Fort. I had my doubts, but Delany sold me on you.  Then, well, you sold me on you,” she said.

I looked from Langley to Del, she had her head down a little, and was flushed.  “You sold me with that sword play the other day, I knew you could do it, and be okay, but don’t get cocky, I still gotta watch out for your skinny ass…..Big Red.”

Wow, I smiled for the rest of the day.

June 4th

(Margo) Teckla and Tay are heading back to the horse farm today; they had set it up with Paula and Karen to feed them while they were gone.  We have four horses in the barn and when they got back from the farm today Karen said that a couple more were hanging in the area.  This was way cool, I want to head up there and ride, I need to talk to Tay about doing that.  I spent the afternoon sitting in the sun sketching horses.

The Major, Fred and Ron have come back from Rome today.  That created a little flurry of activity and questions.  They have a kind of agreement of mutual aid with Rome.  We will help each other out and have a trade program.  They have a scavenging rich area and will exchange things that they have like a nice supply of propane for some of our food.  They also have a decent team of medical personnel and a small clinic that is much better than what we have.  Although the Major and Charlene do a great job, Rome’s facility was a place where some surgery could be done at.  The down side is it is about five hours away by truck.

We are seeing more fresh vegetables, greens mostly, at meal time.  We have also begun to take the sheep out to a pasture about a half mile from the camp.  We are still worried about the mountain lion that is out there somewhere, but so far he or she hasn’t caused any problem, and we take turns heading out and playing sheep herder.

(Lance) Not a lot to report today, kind of a same shit, different day kind of thing.  Only interesting part was that at the Fire Pit tonight, Ron told us that he was planning to move out to Rome with Karen.  It was kind of a surprise, but not really, he hasn’t been all that happy here over the last few months and after all that he and Karen had been through with the Hunters and such; I can kind of understand it.

(Matt) Crop status is good, so that is a load off.  The weather has been good, warm, mostly sunny but we have gotten a gentle rain on a regular basis.

Mom and Tay are out at the stable and working with the horses.  It appears that they have actually found the stables that Camp Romanica used for their riding programs.

Ron stopped by to visit with me this morning.  We had a long talk about a lot of thins, but mostly it was about his faith.  He is or has become very devote in his beliefs in God.  He leans toward the traditional Christian take, and that is good.  The key that we (Tanya and I) have found is that it’s not so much the format as the content.  The core belief, the idea of the universal goodness is the important link; you could worship the sacred turnip, as long as the turnip represents goodness.  He is heading the right way.

“Matt, I think I am heading the right way, with Him, with God, but I have another issue I want to talk to you about,” he started, it was kind a shift in gears.

“Okay”

“Matt, Karen, Karen still has some things going on with that head shot she took,” he continued. “She is doing okay, but there are some headaches and blurred vision that are still affecting her.”

The surprise was that he told me about what was going on with Karen.  She seems to have some medical issues that are or could be serious in the long run.  He and the Major had told the doctors up in Rome about them and those doctors felt there might be some things that they could do to help her.  But it would require her to be up there for a while.

“So you are thinking that you are moving up there with her,” I said looking at him intently.

“Yeah, but I wanted to talk with you about it first, for a couple of reasons, okay, a lot of reasons.” He added.

I was confused, why me?

“Matt, you are the spiritual leader of this group, and have a strong voice in those kinds of things.  I have dissed the group, or parts of it, and I have dissed you.  First, I am asking your forgiveness for that.”

“Ron, you were fine, you were learning, growing, we all are learning and growing.  It is a different world now.  But if it helps, I do forgive you.  You, we are okay.”

“Thank you, now, let me ask you this, am I doing the right thing moving to Rome?”

“What is in your heart, what does the little voice in your head say?” I asked.

“That I should, that it is best for her, and also for me.”

“Then why are you asking me, unless you are not sure.”

“No, I am sure, but I feel kind of bad about leaving you, I mean the community, we are a family.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but even in a family there comes a time for members of the family to move on, to wed and seek a home of their own.  Isn’t that sort of what the Bible tells you?” I offered.

“True, I, true, I just don’t want people to think I am running out on them, like I did in the winter.” The anxiety in his voice was quite loud.

“Then and now, different times, and really, it is all part of the path that has been put down for you.  I think the clan, the family will understand, and approve.  But if it will help, I will show support for you.”

“Matt, that would mean a lot.  You are a good man, and you have Tanya, she is so good, such a good person.  It is what I want, it is what I want to give Karen.”

I spoke up in his behalf at Vesper’s, kind of did a little sermon like from the Bible scripture thing about a man leaving his home to take his mate and moving on.

I thought about it after and as Tanya and I settled in for the evening I asked her.

“Tan, are we married?” I asked.

“Yup, in our eyes we are, in the eyes of the family, the clan, we are.  I bet in Chris’ eyes we are.”  She answered.

I smiled, and cuddled with her.  “You’re right.”

June 5th

(Margo) Ron and Karen are going to spend a little more time with us here at camp.  There are a few things that they want to finish up and to take care of.  But I get the feeling that there is almost something else going on there.  I am not sure if they’re not sure, or if they have some plan going.

Lucy and I went out for a run this morning, Nothing happened;

The meals are getting better with fresh veggies coming on line and the winter stores being finished up.

I drew the mountain lion today, or at least what I thought it would look like.

(Lance) Back to our simple little lives, and I think I like it.  The adventures out at Rome were exciting, but I like quiet, and the routine.

Roofs are done, next project, finish the solar array.  That should give us electric power with no need for the generator.  That will help with the propane issue.  We need to get out and find another tank truck if we want to keep the hot showers going.  I am still spoiled in that regard.  It is not too bad in the summer doing a cold shower, but come winter time it is just plain painful.  Ah, first world problems in the new world.

(Matt) Ron came by this morning to talk with Tanya and me.  He wanted to ask a favor, but also wanted to talk about the family.  The first request was easy, he wants us, Tanya and I to do a bonding ceremony for Karen and him.  Bonding ceremony, wedding, you know what I mean.  He liked what we had done back on the day that Fred and Jan got married.  I told him that we would do something for him, but that it would likely be a little different than the traditional Christian thing.  He was good with that.

Then we talked about the second thing.

“Matt, have you, ever considered or thought about moving?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I have been looking at this camp, and yeah, we have some crops, and a place to stay, and really it is a nice place.  But have you ever thought about moving into a city, or ….” He began

“Fort Stanwix?” I sort of cut him off.

“Well, yeah, it has some pretty good defenses.”

“That’s true, but for me, I like where we are.  It’s away, we’re alone but not really isolated.”  I counted.

“Yeah,” he said thoughtfully.

“What are you thinking that Tanya and I should go, or are you thinking that the entire community should move there?” I asked.

“I think that the entire community should move, or at least those who want to.” He said.

“Ron, I know that Karen needs to go there, and live for a while.  And that will be the best thing for her, and for you, you need that but I am not sure that we need that.  Why are you dumping this in our laps?”

“Matt, you and Tanya are a powerful voice here, and if you support it I think that it might sell.” He said, rather passionately.

“Ron, first, I am not sure that I am the one who should be approached, this is really a matter for The Three, and then to the family.  You might find some who would go for it.  I think that Stephen and Heather might go for it, with the baby and all.  But there are others who are very happy here.”

Tanya, who had remained quiet until now spoke up. “I can only speak for myself, but I like, no love what we have here.  I am not sure I would enjoy being closed in like that.”

Ron shook his head up and down.  “I see, and I guess that is why I came to you first.  I felt you would give me an honest take on what I was thinking.”

“As I said, think that there may be some who would join you, I am not sure who, but it is certainly something you could toss out to The Three or if you want try to sell at Fire Pit,” added Tanya.

Ron smiled, “I will, and thank you for your thoughts.”

After Ron left, Tanya and I talked.  We knew where he was coming from, but I am not certain it was the security, I think there was a feeling that he was trying to help us, and that if just he and Karen went to Rome, Stanwix, he would be out of his element, not fit in.

He did not mention it at Fire Pit, but he did announce that he and Karen were going to get married in a few days and asked that the entire family be witness to it for them.

June 6th

(Matt) The days are longer and longer, the crops are growing nicely and should give us plenty for the winter.  The sheep are getting out to the pasture and there are a number of soon to be mommy sheep in the pack.  I’m just kind of puttering around right now with no growing projects to work on at the moment.

I watched a Red Tail Hawk sitting in a tree today, watching over our fields at the old ball field.  He or I guess it could have been she, was just looking, watching, waiting.  Then he took flight, circled a little and dove, I don’t think the rabbit even saw him coming.

(Lance) After the events of Stanwix, it just seems that life has become very boring, or maybe it just seems so, but we haven’t seen any Zoms in a while, and we really live a nice way here.  I think that after seeing things at the fort, and if you were to compare, here is a good place to be.

Nick taught me a new move today, the Double Water Fall he called it.  It uses both the blade and the scabbard to sweep the opponent off his feet and then finish him.  It is not easy to master, but I will work on it.

(Margo) Code, Lucy and I went out for a run this morning.  It was a great morning for it, but if the day goes like the last couple it is going to be very hot this afternoon.

This afternoon I found a shady spot and did a few sketches.  I played with the idea of drawing the little lizard guys, I am not sure they would be happy with the outcome, to me, they are not pretty creatures.

Vespers today, just family being family, oh wait, Ron and Karen are going to tie the knot.  That is kind of cool, I wondered if she was preggers.  Maybe, I will have to check the Grace News Network, she has a way of knowing things, personal things about people.

June 7th

(Lance) Some days it is just hard to write about stuff, not that the topics are hard, I mean this is my personal journal and it won’t be looked at unless like I am dead or something.

I guess in today’s case it is just nothing happened that seems noteworthy.  I mean how often you can say…”Oh, did a run this morning, did katana practice, feel the weather is nice,” you know what I mean.

(Matt) Tanya and I met with Ron and Karen today to go over some of the details for their wedding.  I have tried to keep it as traditional as possible and they were very appreciative of that.  We picked out a few of the scripture readings, pretty much the standards you hear at every wedding, the one about what is love, without love just clashing cymbals and a man leaving his family to make his own family.  We all know them.

I asked them if they wanted to use their own vows and they did but were kind of at a loss for what to say.  Tanya suggested that she could work with them on it this afternoon after lunch.

It was a hot afternoon and we had thunderstorms in the evening, we moved Vespers into the dining room.  It was a full house and it turned into more just a social fest, which was what it was always meant to be.  In the end we did a little singing, I am not sure who started it but before long we were all singing silly kids songs, in rounds, Three Blind Mice, Hickory Dickory Dock….it was fun, and we were pretty bad at it.

(Margo) Code and I took the bicycles out to the horse farm today; I wanted to see how that was going.  We spent much of the day there.  I talked to Tay and Teckla and they have 7 horses in the barn now.  There may be one or two more out there but they are not sure.  They introduced me to a couple of the horses, to let them get used to new people.  I was thinking back to before the meteor I would go to summer 4H camp and always took the riding classes that they had.  I want to ride again.

Maybe we could start a riding program; it would be good to have some of us able to mount up.  I started to suggest it to Teckla, but she stopped me and said that they had already started to plan it and give them a week or so.

I spent some time in the afternoon sketching “Lemon Drop”, I am not sure that was what the horses name was, but that was what I called her.

Code just hung out, he was not as enthused as I was but he hung out.  We were back for dinner and it is looking like it is going to storm.

Grace is a whack job.  Near the end of Vespers tonight she starts singing, kid’s songs, and next thing, we are all doing it, in rounds.  Row, Row, Row Your Boat?  It was fun, and funny.  We do not have many good voices in the group.

June 8th

(Margo) A run this morning, just me and Lucy, Code was working on the solar thing with Lance and Mark.  Del was not in the mood to tag along, and I could find no one else to run with.

Lucy seemed a little more wary, alert today, I am not sure why, but that made me perk up.  Nothing happened, but as we were running along the part of the trail that had the rock ridges and caves I felt like I was, we were being watched.

The rest of the day was wicked hot, so not much movement.  In the afternoon a few of us found ourselves in the lake, it felt good.  It almost felt like we were actually in summer camp….if only.

(Matt) It is Sunday, and Tanya and I held a little sunrise service in the dining room before breakfast.  It was a non-denominational type “Thank you for all we have, and this day”.

In the afternoon Ron and Karen came over and we worked out the vow thing and finalized the wedding ceremony.  They have put together some nice vows, music choices and readings.  But I will save those details for next Saturday when it actually happens.

After lunch we saw a bunch of the tribe splashing about in the water, it looked very tempting.

“Tan, want to hit the lake?  The water looks great.”

“No” she said, kind of tersely.

“How come?” I asked, I found it kind of odd, she was usually not so short.

“I just don’t! You can go, but stop picking on me!”

“Okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pick on you”, I said while thinking that was odd, I was kind of at a loss.

A few minutes went by, we were still sitting in our cabin, and finally she softly muttered, “I can’t swim.”

“I, oh, I just.”

“Yeah, country boy, you just thought everybody knew how to swim, and everybody just lived like you did.”  She said.

It hit me, she was a downtown girl and like the campfire and some of the other things we had talked about over time I forgot, she grew up different from me, she had a different life.

“Tan, I’m sorry, I didn’t think, I just assumed, and well you know, assuming makes an ass out of me.”

She laughed a little, “That is not exactly how the saying goes, but close enough. It is just that I’m a little afraid of the water, we never did much in the way of the pool thing, and my Grammie, she won’t let us near the water.”

“How come?” I asked.

“It was her husband, Tyrone, he was fishing by the Housatonic River, and fell in, and he couldn’t swim, and drowned.  After that it was the water’s fault and we were kept away of it.”

“I see, I guess I could teach you, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to learn a little, to be comfortable, just in case.” I offered.

She looked at me for a minute; I could see the wheels turning.  “I think I could try, but can we do it when there are less people around, I, I would be embarrassed.”

I wrapped my arms around her, “Yep, it would be good, and maybe if you get comfortable enough we can do a late night full moon skinny dip.”

“You sir, are a pervert!” She laughed and hugged me back.

(Lance) Spent the day sweating like an Eskimo on a Caribbean cruise, but the solar panel array is done and wired.  We have a new source of electricity. Actually, we are pretty good on electric power now.  That is no longer a concern for us.  Now if we can work on propane supplies and try to figure out how to make some diesel or biofuel, we could be back into full mobility and daily, yes friends, daily hot showers, but one step at a time.

Del was a little quiet today, and kind of into herself, I think it may be the heat.

June 9th

(Lance) I took the day off today, well, sort of, it is not like we have real jobs, but I just didn’t do much of anything.  Del and I hung out, she seems a little tense, but I am not going to push it.

(Matt) Another scorcher of a day, I am guessing high 90s, and the humidity was up. Checked on the fields this morning and all seems okay with the corn and beans and the large crops.  But it appears we still have a little issue with the herb and tomato area where the old ball field was.  We saw a couple of rabbits running into the woods as we drove up.

This afternoon I got Tanya down by the water; we got her into the water up to her waist and just let her get comfortable with it.  I showed her a little bit of the swimming motion, but she is still not quite ready for that.

Vespers tonight were pretty quiet, usual stuff, just talking, being family. Ron and Karen were there, they seem happy.  They have started packing up their stuff for after the wedding.  That is going to be on Saturday and they are thinking of heading out to Stanwix on that following Monday.

(Margo) It was hot today, and not one that there was a lot of movement.  But then we really don’t have a lot of stuff that needed to be done.  We had the standard afternoon storm, and it cooled it down some, for a little while.

A lot of us are visiting the lake to cool off.  We have had some sunburn issues because we didn’t even think about suntan lotion, something for our next scavenger trip.

Heather is getting really big, she is about seven months along and soon, we think August.  It looks really uncomfortable for her.  Note to self, being big, pregnant, in summer time is not a good plan.

Del keeps looking at Heather, it is weird.  I hope that she is not thinking that she needs one.

Code and I hit the Vespers, he stayed over but it was too hot to snuggle.

June 10th

(Margo) This morning Code and I took the bikes out to the horse farm.  Tay and Teckla have been living out there for a while.  They sleep on the second floor just in case Zoms show up.  But we have not seen any in a long time, and with the horses in the barn they would probably get some warning.  Lucy was not happy about staying behind.

I actually spent some time trying to work with one of them.  It was “Lemon Drop”. She is a beautiful horse, white with light brown markings and tail.  She is not too big.  She seems to be getting used to me and that is great.  I may try to saddle her tomorrow.  Teckla seems to think that it might work, or at least we would start getting to a point where she could be ridden again.

We went back to the camp for lunch; it was mostly salad stuff, which was good.  It makes it easier for Nick and Grace and also with the weather; none of us are super hungry.

I tracked down Del to tell her about the horses.  I started to tell her but she seemed upset.  I finally asked her what was going on.

“I missed my period, I think, I think,” and she burst into tears.

I hugged her, wow, that would explain a lot.

“Del, I, it’s okay, we can get through this.”

“But what if it is a monster, a zombie thing, I am so scared.” She sobbed.

I had never seen her like this; she had always been the rock, the solid person that didn’t break.

“Does Lance know?” I asked

“No, no, you’re the first, I, I don’t know what to do.  Margo, help me,” a look of anguish and almost panic in her eyes.

“Okay, Okay, let’s slow down a little here.”  What would…I have no frame of reference I thought, what should we do…… “Charlene, we need to talk with Charlene.”

“Yeah, but, I, I am so scared.” She sobbed.

“I know, but let’s start there, it’ll be okay, just let’s slow down a little.  How late are you?”  I asked her.

“About a week, but I am never late, I just……”

“Okay, let’s go visit with Charlene.”

We filled Charlene in on what was going on, Del’s fears and thoughts.  Charlene was awesome.  She took it so in stride, listened and was really supportive and helpful.

“First, we need to find out if you’re pregnant.  I think we can do that easily enough, but we need to take a run to Hinsdale or Peru and find a drug store.”  She said. “Then we can get a …., we can go from there.”

As we drove into town, I thought about how many times Code and I, we hadn’t been so careful, and wow, that, this could be me.  It could be any of us. There has been lots of chances for all of us, and so far only Stephen and Heather….We need to be careful until we see what happens with their baby.

We found a CVS in Hinsdale.  We grabbed some pregnancy test kits and were going to bring them back, but Del had to know right then and there.  It was the longest couple minutes of her life I think.

Suddenly as she looked at the little white thing, tears welled up and it was like she started shaking and sobbing.  I looked a Charlene, then back at Del.

“Well?”

“I’m okay, I, I am safe…. I’M NOT!…..”

I think that a sigh of relief escaped us all at that point.

“Are you sure?” asked Charlene.

“Yes, but, let’s try a different brand, just to be sure.” Del said, she was already snapping back to the Rock I knew.

The results were the same.

“I think that maybe while we are here we ought to take some things that would help prevent this kind of thing from happening, until we see Heather’s baby.”   Charlene suggested.

Good idea, we cleaned that place out of every condom, birth control pill or device. As we drove back it was kind of funny, we got laughing about it a little because if the guys knew what we had done they would probably think, hope, that we were a bunch of sex maniacs with all the supplies.  Charlene will keep and dispense most of it, but I grabbed a little supply for snuggle time.

We never told Code or Lance about what had happened, that was girl stuff, pinky swears all around.

(Lance) Charlene, Del and Margo took off for the day, so Code and I hung out.  We talked a little.  Actually, we talked a lot.  This woman thing is kind of different.

“Code, does Margo ever get weird, like moody weird with you?”  Lance asked.

“Like clockwork,” he laughed, “although it is not as bad as it used to be.  She would get to the beginning of the month and it was like, I had a serial killer next to me.”

“Ah, yeah, I call it ‘keep your hands to yourself there Buster’ time.  I know it well.  But this time it was different, she was weird and it seemed for no reason.  She seemed sad, upset.”

“Every once in a while Margo will get like that; I think it is a chick thing.”

When the girls got back this afternoon everything was back to the old Del, weird!

(Matt) Tanya and I took a run over to the veggie garden today, the rabbits were at it, but it’s not a real problem.  They nibble but damage is minimal.  Of course, we have to keep in mind that the population will grow if we just leave them alone.  In terms of providing for each other, I think that we can work out something.  We will let the bunnies eat, but we will set some traps, kind of an exchange program.  They get some food, we get some food.  It is the balance of nature.  We are going to set up some traps, humane, as much as they can be.

It was hot as heck again this afternoon and I managed to get Tanya into the water up to her waist to start.  It has been slow, but we are working on it.  She surprised me in the end because finally she kind of scrunched down and had the water up to her neck.

Light turn out at Vespers tonight, but while we were there, the few of us, Charlene came over and told us that she had birth control items available if anyone was interested.  Not sure what that was all about and will have to check it out.  Maybe Lance heard something from the Pittsburgh about babies.  Don’t know.

June 11th

(Matt) Another scorcher, I wonder what the climate change people would say.  The good news there is they got their reduction in carbon emissions, though probably not the way they would have thought or wanted. Kind of leads back to the idea of the Earth being a living thing, having a fever to kill the virus, although in this case the virus may have been humanity itself.

Checked on the veggies, found a bunny in the trap, cycle of life, we feed them with our garden, they feed us.

More and more time has been spent in the lake the last few days.  Tanya is getting better about being in the water, although she is usually close to me, and still won’t put her face in the water.

At Fire Pit tonight we talked about the balance of nature and the existence of harmony between man and nature.  I guess I kind of got onto a roll with that.  I think it had to do with Heather tearfully commenting about the bunnies out at the garden.  I explained the idea that we humans and the bunnies were working together to help each other.  We were giving them something good in our plantings and will share with them, but in return they are giving us something in return.  As long as we share respect for each other, the harmony and balance will play out.

(Lance) Kind of a nothing day, it was way hot to do much.  I never thought I would say this, but I actually enjoyed a cold shower today.

Del seems to be back to normal, she was bitching at me about picking up and folding some clothes of her clothes from the floor.  Ah, life is good.

(Margo) Lucy and I were out for a run early this morning, we let Code sleep in.  He doesn’t get the same enjoyment of the run, the solitude that it brings.  Lucy was huffing and panting along side of me.

I was thinking about Lucy, and it might not be a bad idea to get her fixed.  We can’t be popping out puppies a couple times a year.  I need to talk with the Major about that, maybe he can spay her.

Code and I talked about going out to the horse farm, but it was so hot, I think an afternoon float seemed like a better idea.

Matt was in lecture mode tonight, Heather was crying about the “poor little bunnies” and how we were eating them.  But then, we, she has been doing that for a long time.  I think it may have to do with being pregnant.  She only has a little time left, a month or two.  She is big as a house and looks really uncomfortable, especially in this heat.

I poked Del, and started to say, “That could be…”

She glared at me and just said, “No, don’t even go there.”

We laughed, but I think we each knew, our time will come.

June 12th

(Lance) I am thinking about the fuel thing, and what we need to develop a means to keep ourselves in fuel for the trucks.  I think that we might be able to work out how to make bio fuels.  I remember there was a lot of talk about it back in the days before all this started, back when we were worried about running out of fossil fuels.  It was supposed to be an up and coming energy source.

I am not sure how we would go about that, making bio-fuel, but there has to be information available and I think that the best place to find it is at the community college library up in Pittsfield.  They may even have some equipment that we can use to make it in their science section.  I will talk with The Three tomorrow to see what they think and see if they will let us make the run up there to look around.

I told Del about the idea and she wants to come with me.  But she warned that it may be a hot spot for Zoms.  There had to have been a number of people in the classrooms and the buildings that may have been trapped and are still there. I reminded her that we had made the trip to the campus before and it was not that bad; but still we need to be careful.

(Margo) Code and I took the bikes out to the horse farm today; we hit it in the morning because I figured we will see another wicked hot day, and it was.  Lucy was not happy that she was not invited, but we aren’t ready for that yet, we are still trying to get the horses used to us.

I spent some time with Leman Drop and gave her a good brushing.  She seemed to like that, and when I was near her head she nuzzled me.  I think that is good.  I tried to saddle her, and she went along with it.  I let her get used to the saddle and bit; she was okay with it Tomorrow we’ll do it again and I will try to get up in the saddle.

In the afternoon I spent some time sketching, it was good.  I just sat in the shade, I played with some ideas, I even tried to do a little anime type characters.  I did some different versions of Nick, and Code, and Del.  It was fun, and funny.

(Matt) I didn’t want to panic anyone but when I was out by the sheep pen I noticed some very big cat tracks, it looks like our mountain lion has been checking things out. I noticed it as I took the sheep to pasture today. We usually are armed when we are out there, and today, I packed a little more firepower than usual.

It does kind of create a conflict in me. We talked about the bunnies last night and the sharing and all.  Most of me is okay with the idea that a lamb could be taken by the lion, and it would not hurt our food supply or ability to survive.  But I am also thinking that if it were to become a regular event it could be a problem.  We need to be in balance with nature, and the mountain lion has as much a right to the lambs as we do, but….

I shared my thoughts with The Three, and since there have been no direct attacks; it is so far a non-issue.  But they are clear that the shepherds need to know, and that when they take them out to the fields they may face some hard choices.

Two days left until the wedding of Ron and Karen. Tanya and I pretty much have our part ready.  They are going to do their own vows, and they have selected their readings, as well as the music.  Fred and Jan are going to be the Best Man and Maid of Honor.

Nick and Grace are going to take time to put together a little something special in the dining hall and Lance has volunteered to do the music / DJ thing.  It will be close to an old world wedding.

Did a little lake time late this afternoon, it was another very warm day.  We had our, now almost daily, dinner time thunderstorm.  Sadly, the storms do little to cool down the day or reduce the humidity.  I would have thought that being so far from the ocean or the Great Lakes that we would not have as much humidity.

June 13th.

(Matt) It is Friday, wow, Friday the 13th, had not even thought about that, or even about Fridays, it really doesn’t matter, I mean when you think about it every day is Friday, or Saturday, or whatever.  It is not like we have a 40 hour work week with OT and benefits.  It is get stuff done when it needs to be done, or do without. And doing without could result in bad things.

Checked on the crops today, did a little harvesting of the leafy greens and tomato from the smaller vegetable garden.

Hot again today, storm in the afternoon, not much else to write.

(Lance) I think we hit the 100 degree mark today.  A lot of us are hitting the water at the lake.  Work, other than absolutely necessary, has ground to a halt, not that there was that much going on.

Del and I hit a run early, like 6 am, and it was warm, but not that bad.  No one is real hungry at this point, salads and greens for meals.

I think we should consider making a run to like Best Buy or Walmart and see if they have any portable electric fans.  I think we would be able to run them with the solar panels.  At night that would be a problem, but it would help during the day.

I tossed it out to The Three and they are good with it.  We shall head off in the morning.

(Margo) It was my turn to watch the sheep today. I took them out to the pasture about 9 am, and found a tree to settle under.   It was warm and boring.  I sketched for a little while, and as the morning rolled on, the munch, munch, munch of the sheep, and the buzz of the bees, and the warmth, I fell asleep.

I woke up when the sheep got noisy, making bleating or whatever that noise they make is called.  They were nervous.  I looked around quick and didn’t see anything unusual but the sheep were all looking off to the northeast corner of the pasture.

I picked up my rifle and walked that way.  I was wishing I had Lucy with me; I can’t take her with me because the sheep freak out, even though she is good with them.  As I neared the wall that surrounds the field, something, something big, crashed off into the woods running.  I did not see it, it made no call or cry, so I have no idea what it was, could have been a deer, a coyote, or the big kitty, the mountain lion.

I stayed awake for the rest of the afternoon.  There were no further incidents or visits.

I told Cody about it after dinner; he said that he had also had times when it was his turn for pasture watch that he thought something was out there.  But he never saw it.

Vespers tonight started a little later than usual, we waited until sunset in the hopes that it would cool down.  Stephen and Heather joined in tonight and she looked uncomfortable, pregnancy in the heat must suck.

June 14th

(Margo) It has cooled off a little, okay it is in the high 80s, but it is better than it has been.  Today was pretty much a day off for everyone because of Ron and Karen’s wedding.

It is funny how when you go to a wedding, you always think back to some that you have gone to in the past, or you think about your own, even if it hasn’t happened yet.  I kind of wonder if Code and I will ever do it, I hope so, I would like to think that the world will calm down enough for us to have that special day.

(Lance) My day is going to be on the easy side.  I am playing DJ for Ron and Karen’s wedding.  I have their play list, a little heavy on country western for my tastes, but it is their day.  But I will sneak some old stuff in to the mix, a little Electric Slide, the Chicken Dance, and maybe even some real oldies.

This got me off the hook, because I was playing music I was not expected to dance.  But Del did grab me for a slow romantic ballad, The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody. It was a classic men’s two step shuffle/sway, but we got through it.

The gathering lasted until about 10 pm, but some of the crew hung out by the fire pit after.  It was one of those rare occasions when a lot of drinking was done.  I think LJ and Fred had made a special run to a package store somewhere and laid in a supply.

(Matt) It was a hectic morning, getting the final pieces of the wedding ready and set to go.  We had a start time for the ceremony of 2 pm.  That gave everyone a chance to clean up, get ready and have the set up done.

We did a rehearsal in the dining hall in the late morning just to make sure everyone was ready to go.  After lunch, Ron and Karen headed off to get dressed.  They actually went out and had gotten tuxedos and gowns for the event, Fred and Ron in tuxes, Karen and Jan in gowns.

At about 1:45 the bell was rung for all to assemble out by the flagpole, it was an outdoor ceremony, the weather had cooled enough to make it a nice day for it.

At 2:00, Lance started playing a recording of the traditional wedding march. Ron, and Fred were waiting with Tanya and me at the improvised alter.  Jan was also with us.  Karen was marched down the aisle by Nick, I am guessing that he was the oldest male, and was given the honor of “Father for a Day”.

The ceremony was really kind of short and to the point.  Tay and Mark read the passages and Michelle did a couple of songs on her guitar.  I never realized how good she was at singing.

The vows were exchanged and promises of love and devotion forever were given.

I don’t know why, but the ceremony, the day, it just didn’t have the same feel that it did the day that Fred and Jan got married.  I can’t put a finger on it, but it just seemed kind of bland.  Maybe it was the idea that they were leaving us, or maybe it is just a case of being in a different place from back then.

After the ceremony there was merrymaking, and dancing, and drinking.

Later that night, as Tanya and I crawled into bed she asked me why I was so quiet.

I tried to explain what I felt, “It seemed contrived, or just not quite right, maybe forced is a good way to say it.”

“I think I know what you mean, it was different from Fred and Jan’s, and with them leaving, and all we have been through, but it was their day, and if they are good with it, then so are we,” she smiled.

Jun 15th

(Lance) Code, Del, Margo and I were approved to make a run into Hinsdale to find an appliance store.  The plan was to grab some small fans for the cabins.  Found three 120 volt air conditioners. It would be good to have one in my computer area, to protect the equipment and a couple for the kitchen/dining hall.  It would be nice if we could get a small conditioner for everyone but the solar grid is just not going to be able to handle air conditioners.  The fans don’t draw as much energy.

The run went pretty smooth and in the end we were back just before lunch.

It was hot again today so the fans were an instant hit.  We also were able to get the AC units working by dinner time.  It seems like there are a lot of people hanging out in the dining room tonight.

(Matt) Off early to check on the fields and the veggie garden.  As I arrived at the veggie part, I saw a red-tail hawk swoop in and grab a rabbit.  Life, the balance of nature, it has always been in front of us, but I think we see it more now.

The crops are doing well, even in the heat.  After the visit to the fields Tanya and I took a run over to the horse farm to see how things were going over there.  Tay and Mom have 8 horses in the barn now and said that they have been saddling and riding all of them except one who just came into the other day.

There was a little illness among the more serious partiers from last night.  It has been a long time since I have seen people with hangovers.  I remember the feeling, there is not enough water in the world to put out the fire (thirst) or take the edge of that fuzzy headachy feeling.  I don’t miss it.

The Fire Pit was almost going to move inside tonight because of the air conditioning that Lance has gotten set up in the dining hall, but as the sun goes down, so does the solar output, so it would get really warm in the hall really quick.  We sat out under the stars, and after the sun went down, it cooled off enough, we had a gentle breeze tonight.

(Margo) Code and I went with Lance and Del to find some fans for the camp.  He also took a couple of air conditioners for the big Hinsdale Hardware Depot.  While we were in there we met a half dozen Zoms in orange aprons.  Lance surprised us all when he drew his sword and handled them all, by himself.  I had never really noticed that he had the thing, and then, the smoothness and efficiency of his movements and attack was just amazing.  Code and I exchanged looks, like, wow, where did that come from.

We loaded up the fans and started back to camp.

“Lance, when, how….” Code started.

“Master Nick, he taught me, after some of my fuck-ups on some of the scavenging runs, I asked him to help me,” answered Lance.

“Wow, you were friggin’ awesome!” exclaimed Code.

“He has learned well, even at Stanwix, he was ready and although he never used the sword, he has learned to move, to be a warrior.” Added Del

“But Nick? I mean, I knew he was good with a kitchen knife, but …” I questioned.

“There are things about some of us that have been kept quiet and only show up in a time of need,” said Lance. “Nick came to me after the fight that Del and I had and offered to help me.  I was a little unsure at first, but he showed me a couple of moves and I was sold.”

“Wow, Nick, Sword Master……” Code muttered, sounding a little confused by that statement.

“Just don’t all go running to him looking for lessons, he knows stuff, ninja stuff, but he shares it at need.  I would like it if you could keep this between us, Okay?”  Asked Lance.

We agreed.  But WOW, Nick, like a ninja?  Wow.

The rest of the day was spent distributing the fans and getting the AC units we had found up and running.  Del and I really watched more than anything else.

Vespers tonight were outdoors, and it was the usual suspects.  It is funny, Code and I kept looking at Nick, it is still hard for me to imagine, Nick, Sword Master.

June 16th

(Margo) Thanks to the departure of Ron and Karen we are all going to be picking up a little more time with the sheep herding.  Not a big deal and with the weather being so hot and sticky, finding a shaded spot out in the pasture was a pretty good way to spend the day.  I brought my sketch pad and worked on just doodling, the mountain lion, or Lemon Drop, the horses were prime targets.

It started to cloud up in the afternoon, around 4:00, so I decided that it would be a good idea to head back a little bit early to miss the afternoon thunderstorms.  The sheep do not do so well with the lightening when out of the pen, and I was not crazy about sitting under the big maple tree during a storm.

By the time I got back Ron and Karen were gone.  But there was something going on, the mood in camp felt a little weird.  Code filled me in over dinner.  What was happening in the camp was splitting up a little.  The Burlington Crew was going to head to Stanwix.  They feel they may fit better there.

(Lance) Another wicked hot day and I hid in my office.  I justified it saying I was trying to get the air conditioners regulated, even thought it was already working.

Ron and Karen left today, I am going to kind of miss them, I think that Ron has always had a little issue with us, but he is not a bad guy, he just didn’t quite fit.

The surprise came when we found out that LJ and Langley and the rest of the Burlington Crowd announced that they also planned to move to Fort Stanwix.  That did kind of throw the camp into an uproar.  It was not really traitorous of them, they were only with us a little while, and like Ron, they never really seemed to fit.  Besides, it is not like the two camps weren’t linked.  If there was a problem, we can share or work together on things.

Fire Pit tonight was interesting; Matt was supportive of the move by the Burlingtoners, actually, I think, I kind of am too.  The warrior who is not committed to his home is unlikely to fight well for it.  Oh, crap, that sounds like ninja stuff.

(Matt) I made my good-byes with Ron and Karen today.  We will see them again and I think that Ron will be good at spreading the Word of Goodness to the folks at Stanwix.  He may not be all that much into the idea of the Sky Father / Earth Mother, but I think that he has tasked himself to seeing that those of us who have survived do not fall into evil. I suggested to them that they may want to visit Helen at the library and Linda Harris at Fort Plain.  But I did warn them about Linda.

Langley and Crew are going to head out to Stanwix.  We are going back to pretty much the core group, the survivors of what were the Peru Crew, the Hinsdale Survivors and the remnants of the Biker Group.  We have lost people, lots of people, but we have become stronger, and we can survive, even with the fewer numbers.  It will make it easier to get through the winter.

Weather was hot again today, and we had the afternoon Thunderstorm.  It got very windy, but we suffered no damage, which is good.

I spoke up for the Burlington Crew at Vespers.  I think that there may be some that are resentful of their leaving, but it is okay, we can get through this, and it is not like five less people is going to be the end of our camp, or peace.

June 17th

(Lance) Del and I did a run this morning, while it was on the cool side.  Things are going well between us.

I spent some of the day helping out the Burlingtoners pack up their stuff and also gave them some ideas as to what they can do for different improvements to the fort, ideas like how to add to a solar power grid.  I remembered that they had not gotten into the whole solar thing going like we had.  I thought it kind of odd, but then I am not sure of what all the specialties are of the folks up there.  But anyway, I have given LJ a couple of solar panels that are all set-up to just be plugged into so that they, he can get the project rolling up there.  I am sure that there must be at least one or two people handy enough to figure out how to set-up more of them.

(Margo) A day off from herding the sheep so Code and I took a bike ride out to the horse farm today.  He is still a little skittish around horses, but he is trying.

I had a chance to actually get up on Lemon Drop and do some riding.  She is a good horse, gentle and easy to ride.  Tay, Teckla and I headed out on the trails for about an hour. It was so peaceful with the clop, clop, clop of the hooves.  We stopped at a stream for a little while and let the horses drink, the water was cool, and tasted good.

On the ride back we talked about the horses, and what we might be able to do with them.  We talked about the chance to explore the area around the camp a little and get more familiar with it.

The conversation shifted a little to the people from the PD, Tom’s friends and the idea that they were going to leave us.  I never really felt they were that comfortable with us, but that might have been different if Tom was still here with us.

After we got back from riding, and to camp I tried to track down LJ.  I wanted to talk with him a little more about Tom and what he was like when they worked together, but they had left, on their way to Stanwix.  I am kind of bummed out about that.

(Matt) The Burlington Crew is on the road to Stanwix, I have mixed feelings about it.  It was good to have the extra people, and in particular ones that had shown they were good in defending themselves and others.  But, I think the best way to explain it was they were a tribe unto themselves.  I hope that they will fit in better up at Stanwix.  With Ron there I think that will be the case; he kind of connected with them from day one.

Vespers tonight were quiet, not much going on, and really, there were no great topics for discussion or concern.  We did a little story time in which I told them about how the early Native Americans felt that the earth was really on the back of a turtle and that the turtle swam through the heavens, and around the sun.

June 17th

(Matt) Tanya and I checked on the fields and crops today.  We have another little bunny for dinner.  It was a cloudy day and there was the promise of rain in the air, which would be a good and welcome thing.  We have been fortunate in that the earth and sky have given us adequate moisture with the almost daily thunderstorms.  It was not a lot of rain, but a good downpour for about15 minutes seems to help a lot.  We have been blessed.

One of the things that we never really talk about is lawn care.  Yes, I know, in the age of the end of humanity, the question of taking care of the grass becomes silly but interesting.

The camp has a lawn mower, it is one of those commercial riding type that runs on propane.  I have been mowing the area around the flagpole and the cabins, actually for a couple of reasons.  First it looks better and makes it easier to get around.  But more important it is for tick control, keeping the grass short and manicured makes it less likely that we will have ticks in the yard and tick borne illnesses as a result.  I realize the idea of sharing food, like with the bunnies is needed, but somehow the ticks take, but they don’t exchange with us.  It is the issue of symbiotic versus parasitic.

The group at Vespers tonight was a little smaller, with the departure of the Burlington folks and Ron and Karen.  But it was a nice peaceful gathering.  Michelle was asked to play a little for us on her guitar, but then it began to mist a little so she had to quit playing to keep the guitar dry.  But it was not so bad that we left the Fire Pit.  We just enjoyed the gentle feeling of the water in the air.

(Lance) Del and I are doing the sheep thing today, take them out to the field and then spend the day watching over them.  We went together because neither of us had any other plans or projects for the day.

While we were there we did a little sword work, I showed her a couple of the things that Nick had taught me.  The basic stance, with weight over the center of balance, feet below the shoulders, katana held loosely.  She had a little trouble with some of it at first, but as time went on she picked it up.

It was a cloudy day and that was kind of good because it was not as hot as it had been the last week or so.  I think we may see some rain later today.

One of the things that I was initially concerned about was the impact of clouds on the solar panels.  I didn’t think that it would be a problem, but was not sure.  I had no complaints of power shortages when we got back from playing “Little Bo-Peep”, so I guess it was not an issue.  Although with the temperature being down there was not as much draw as usual.

Since we were out all day and had lots of fresh air we decided that we would skip Fire Pit tonight.  Not much else to report.

(Margo) After the morning run Code and I headed out to the horse farm. We took the bicycles out there.  We carried some food supplies for Tay and Teckla.  All is going well out there.

I was able to get Code to come near one of the horses.  It is a big pinto which we call Chuckles.  I think we gave him that name because of a kind of funny exhale he does sometimes where it sounds like he is giving a horsey laugh.

Code was actually sort of petting the horse’s neck and Chuckles seemed to like it.  As Code tried to turn away, it was like Chuckles kept leaning in to get more.

I did about 45 minutes riding Lemon Drop while Teckla and Tay rode on Strawberry and Prancer.  Don’t ask me, I didn’t name them.

We were back to camp for dinner, and enjoyed the meal that Nick and Grace put together.  The lettuces and greens have really come in and we have tomatoes to go with it.  There is still some old salad dressing available that had not expired, or expired too long ago.

Nick also made a cold strawberry soup with whipped sheep milk or cream.  I am not missing the deer stew for sure.

We hung out at Vespers tonight, Michelle did a couple of songs.

It was kind of nice sleeping and snuggle time weather.  We are being careful though.

June 18th

(Lance) I was talking with Stephen today; he is really getting excited about the baby. I guess that’s what fathers do.  I remember mine, a little, and he didn’t seem all that happy to have me around and it always seemed like he was working.  His job was one that made him travel a lot.  He made out very well and we had a big house.  But it was kind of empty, no, not empty there were lots of things in it.  It was cold, kind of barren and sterile.  But then most of my memories were from my teen years and I was more than just a little bit of a jerk, playing Goth kid and all.  I wonder, was it the Goth Kid that drove him away, or was that what created the Goth Kid.  It really doesn’t matter I guess.

I am curious to see how the baby thing goes.  I hope that it is all okay; I mean we’re all concerned about what might happen, what might come out.  I talked to Doc Barkley, he seems to think that everything was fine with the baby, but it isn’t like the old days….ha, the old days? I guess actually, the days before the meteor with ultra sound and all the hi-tech medical stuff.

(Margo) It was another nice day, Lucy and I did a run this morning.  It was odd, I felt that I was being watched again, haven’t had that feeling in a while. I wasn’t in the area of where the sheep were pastured so I doubt it was the mountain lion.  Lucy seemed okay so I’m guessing it is just something I imagined or talked myself into.

Code and I biked out to the horse farm again today and I spent some time on Lemon Drop.  She is getting pretty good with me and we are riding well as a team.

Poor Code, Chuckles is okay with him, but Code is intimidated by the animal and is just not comfortable around him yet.  I had to badger the stuffing out of him to get him to finally saddle him up (I helped with that) and then to actually get up into the saddle.  They walked around the area by the barn a little, but it was clear, Code had never wanted to be a cowboy.

I kind of messed up a little when we got back.  I was walking by the kitchen as Nick was standing at the door.  I kind of gave him a sort of Japanese bow.  He gave me a funny look.  I hope I didn’t mess up Lance and his lessons.

Vespers tonight, Grace was at it again with the singing rounds.  Teckla and Tay had ridden over on the horses, which was kind of cool.  They actually tied them off and stayed at camp for the night.  That was different.

(Matt) Fred and Jan stopped by to visit with Tanya today, I am not sure why and Tanya was a little evasive about what they talked about. I wonder if there may not be another baby on the way. But that would make no sense; they would go see Charlene or the Major. Odd, they seem to be getting along fine, so I doubt it was a marriage counseling session.

It was a really quiet day, mostly doing the usual stuff.  The weather was decent, not overly hot.  We didn’t even get the afternoon thunderstorm today.

Grace ran the Fire Pit activities tonight, a songfest of rounds.

June 19th

(Matt) Mark came with me to the fields today to check on things.  We really don’t get away together all that much, even though we’re in camp together.  It was nice to catch up on things.  As we walked along we talked about things, just life in general.

“Matt,” he asked, “How do you think things are going with Mom?”

“She took losing Frank pretty hard, but she seems to be okay, I think the horses have helped her.  Why do you ask?”

“It is that whole horse thing.  I mean, she seems to spend more time with Tay and the horses than she does here at camp.”  He replied.

“And?”

“Well, I am just wondering if it is healthy for her.  I mean, is she losing touch with us? I guess I’m playing amateur psychologist here and wondering if she’s kind of leaving us behind.” He went on.

“But for what purpose?  Why would she do that?” I asked him.

“Maybe so she doesn’t get burned again?” He offered.

I thought about it for a moment, “No, no, I don’t think so.  I think the horse business is time consuming, and really, that is it.  I mean she did come in for Vespers last night.”

“Yeah, you’re right there, maybe I’m just, you know, she’s our mom.”

“Yep,” I smiled. “That she is.”  But I would think about this, and watch; maybe he’s right, maybe not.

After a few minutes we were at the veggie field.  It looks like the bunny population may be getting a little too large and they are cutting down more plants than we can allow.

“We could have Biter or Lucy kind of hang out in this area to alter the population.”  Mark offered.

“That might be the way to go.  I don’t see a fence working.” I told him.  “But it would be better if we can somehow get the rabbits trapped so we can have the meat. Maybe a couple more traps are all we need.”

The larger crops are doing well, the weather has been good, and we have gotten enough rain to make it work.

We got back to camp about lunch time.  It was getting warm so it was going to be a find a shady spot and just settle in.  I spoke with Tanya about the bunny issue and she will bring it before The Three later day.  They really haven’t had much to talk about, so meetings have been kind of sporadic.

Vespers tonight, it has in many ways become our family TV in that it’s a group activity and just a nice way to end the day.  Sometimes it is with stories, sometimes singing, sometimes, just all sitting to sky or fire watching.  But at the end of the session, it is always a little prayer of thanks for the day, and all that we have.

(Lance) It was Del’s turn to play Little Bo-Peep, so I hung out with her for the day.  While we were out there I wandered out into the woods for a couple minutes to pee.  While I was there I thought I heard something, or someone moving.  I stood quiet for a few minutes, but I didn’t see anything or anyone.

As I was standing there, Chelsea came down the pathway out of the woods with a cloth bag she used to collect herbs or mushrooms.

“Hey Chels, were you out in the woods?  Or just on the trail?”  I asked.

“I was a little of both, why do you ask.”  She looked a little confused by the question.

“Oh, it was probably you then that I heard then,” I said.  But I was not convinced that was the case.

“Well, Nick had me out looking for tree fungus, seems he has a new idea for a recipe and wanted to try to use it as a sort of portabella substitute. “

Oh great, more experiments in fine dining I thought.  I mean some of his stuff is really good, some, not so much.

“Anyway,” she added, “I need to get back. See you at dinner, is Del with the sheep?”

“Yep, I was with her and just had to …. never mind, TMI. Anyway, I am heading back to the pasture.”

She left and I could not help but feel that she was not who I heard or saw in the woods.  I asked Del if she heard anything, she hadn’t.

We brought the sheep back around dinnertime.  I was at first thinking that we were having some kind of grilled steaks for dinner, NOT, tree fungus is not very tasty, nor tender.

We did fire-pit tonight.

(Margo) The standard morning stuff, run, sword work, then, there was nothing, we are going to skip the horse farm today, Teckla and Tay are going to ride back out and suggested a day off for Code and me, but I think it is more for Code.

Of course, last night he was complaining about saddle sores.  I just laughed.

“Stop your whining it isn’t that bad,” I said.

“Yeah it is!”

“Okay, enough, drop your pants, let me see.” I said.

He did and turned around to show me his backside, I broke out laughing.

“Holy Crap, those look awful!”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Code said, sounding nervous.

“I guess you can complain.”  I tried not to laugh.

“Huh?”

“You have two saddle sores, red marks where the skin has been rubbed off, one on each butt cheek, about the size of a quarter.”  I added.

Code was silent for a moment while it sank in and then said, “See, I wasn’t lying.”

“True, we need to get something to put on then, some ointment or something, let’s go see the Major, or Charlene.”

“Aw, do we have to, I, they’ll laugh at me.”  Code protested

“Yeah, they will, and I will too, and so will Del and Lance when they hear about it.”

“No, you wouldn’t, you can’t.” Code was in panic mode.

“Hahaha, and why shouldn’t I?”

“Please, Please don’t.”

“I’m only kidding, your secret is safe, but you owe me one.” I told him.  I really wouldn’t have told, but it was funny.

We went to the med hut and the Major did his best to keep a straight face.  He did give him some petroleum jelly to keep the area soft, but that was about all he could do.

“You want a note for Teckla to get you off of horse patrol” the Major asked.

“Ha Ha, very funny.” grumbled Code, “That won’t be necessary.”

The rest of the day was pretty boring; I did some sketches, one of Code’s butt with the sores.  He did not find it amusing.

We skipped Vespers tonight, Code was not real comfortable sitting.

June 20th

(Matt) I think it is going to be a scorcher today.  We had no thunderstorm yesterday and this morning it was very warm and humid.  I am guessing it will be a ‘get the tasks done early and then minimum movement’ kind of day.

When we got to the veggie garden to do some picking and empty the traps of bunnies today, there were two, Mark was there. He was sitting with Biter.

“I think that Biter can help with the rabbit issue, but it will mean that I have to tie him out here.  I am not sure he will go along with that.”  Mark began. “And it’s very sunny in this spot, no shade.”

“That is true,” responded Tanya. “Maybe it would be better if we didn’t leave him out here.”

I wasn’t sure if it was that or the idea that the dog would make the kill and it would not be a quick one.  But I had to agree.

“I think the extra traps might be better?” I said out loud.

“Well, we could just have someone camp out here at night,” offered Mark.

“Yeah, I am thinking that will not work so well.”  I said.  “Let’s just let it sit for now.”

I was thinking after that we really are not having it that bad if our biggest issue is about some lettuce stealing bunnies.  I thought back to the early days, and the onslaught of the undead, or that battles with the uninfected humans like Brother Gabriel or the Biker gang. We are in a better place even though there are not as many of us as there once was.  There are 19 of us now, at one point there were over 40.  Half of us are gone, some to other places, but there are a lot that have died.  Maybe we are not having it so easy after all.

Tanya took the lead at Vespers tonight, when we got back after the fire-pit, she asked me if I was okay.  I am, but the thoughts of those we lost were kind of a cloud that was covering the sun for me tonight.  I told her about it and we were both kind of thoughtful after that.  But we were also thankful for those we still have, and what we have.

(Margo) Code’s butt is doing better, the ointment has kept it from getting a hard scab on it and that makes it easier for him.  He didn’t want to take the bikes out to the horse farm today so I rode out by myself.  It probably was not the smartest thing to do.  But we had not seen any Zoms in a while and things had been pretty quiet.

I did run into one of them, the Zoms, she was in rough shape, I mean being a dead thing is rough, but this one was missing an arm and really did not move all that well.  It was an easy kill, but it was a reminder, we aren’t in the land of cupcakes and sprinkles.

I spent about 5 hours out at the farm, Lemon Drop and I did a good ride with Tay, we checked out the area to the east of the farm.  There is a pasture out that way and we did see some fresh signs of at least one additional horse.

While we rode, she and I talked.

“How are you doing after losing Joseph?

“I’m hanging in, but it has been hard, it’s hard for Chels too.” She answered kind of giving me a smile.

“I bet the horses help.”

“Yeah, and so has Momma Teckla, and for a while Chels helped.” She added.

“Good, that is good”

“Yeah, at one point Chels and I were really pretty close and then it got really, really close.”

She didn’t go into it much further than that other than to say they were kind of different from each other and it was weird and wouldn’t have worked.

We got back to the farm about 3:30, when we got there, we both realized how hot it really was.  We had been in the woods most of the time and the shade kept it comfortable.

I was getting ready to start back when Teckla and Tay said they wanted to head back with me.  I had forgotten that I had told Teckla about the Zom I ran into and they wanted to make sure I got back home safely.  Ah, Momma Teckla.

Besides, Tay wanted to grab a few things at her cabin and have a Nick cooked dinner for a change.

(Lance) Hot, sweating, miserably hot.  I am glad that Fred and Jan are playing Bo-Peep today.  I spent much of the morning in the computer room, I almost feel guilty about the AC….yeah, no I don’t.

After lunch Del talked me into going to the little stream and trying to catch some fish.  The fish won today, but we did flop around in the water and that was a great thing.

Matt was quiet at Fire Pit tonight, he seemed a little deep in thought.  Tanya told us a couple of stories.  It was one of the first times we actually heard some of the details about their pilgrimage.  It was not the spiritual side of it that she told us, it was about one of the people that they met along the way, Linda Harris, real estate whack-o, wow.  If it was not so sad, it would be kind of funny, kind of a bad horror film funny.

June 21st

(Matt) Now this becomes an interesting question, by our reckoning it is the summer solstice, the longest day, how do you look at that?  I’m no longer sure.  In many cultures it would be the cause for celebration.  But really is there anything to celebrate besides getting through another day, or year, I broached the subject with Tanya.

“Of course, we should do something.” She said looking at me in disbelief.

“Why?”  I asked.

“Because, ah, well, I don’t know why, other than it seems the right thing to do.”  She was kind of taken back.

We spent some time thinking about what to say and share tonight at Vespers.  We arrived at the usual time but dressed a little differently.

“We have reached the longest day, and we are doing well.  It has been a good year, though not one that has not seen its sufferings and loss,” I began, and was silent for a minute to let it sink in.

Then I continued, “We have survived, thanks to the help of the Earth and the Sky.  We share with the animals, they share with us. We should be thankful, we are thankful.”

Tanya picked up the point and told the clan about the Earth Mother and how she gives us what we need and that by treating her right and being thankful we can enjoy her abundance.

“Before the stone fell from the sky,” she said, “I think that mankind had lost sight of so much of the respect and caring for the planet and each other.  We had become so out of touch with the Earth, we became a cancer and were devouring her with little thought or concern for where it would lead.”

I could see that this point did not fall on deaf ears, we all are now so much more aware and attuned to the ways of nature.  We have reached a place where we waste almost nothing and try to use and reuse everything.  A part that is equally important is we look to avoid over doing it, avoid excess and greed.  We take what we need, but no more, and we give back as we can.  The bunnies are a good example.  We share with them, and they share with us.

After we did our little talk, we all formed up into a circle, standing around the fire and just held hands for a few minutes.  It is just one of the things we do well; we are a family, a clan.

I finally found that Fred and Jan had gotten with Tanya to make certain that we did do something for this day.  It was none of the mysterious things that I had thought of.  It was good, and in the end, it was a peace filled day, and we are good.

(Lance) It was a standard hot as heck day with humidity to boot.  I have to say I was never a big fan of summer, but then part of that may have been due to the heavy black clothing that I used to wear, heavy boots, long coat, even in the middle of July.  At least I don’t have that issue anymore, but it was still miserably hot today.

Del talked me into taking a walk out to the horse farm today.  We’re still trying to save on the diesel fuel so we don’t use the cars or trucks very often.  I had looked into the idea of the bio-diesel fuel and how we might make it but it does not seem as if there is an effective way to do it. I have to wonder if there is some kind of fuel depot in the area.  I would think that there has to be.  That may be the better way to approach this.

I finally had the chance to see the horses up close and personal.  I am clearly not a horse person, they are a little scary to me.  Del had no problem saddling one up, I think it was called Lemonade, or something like that and before long she was moving the horse, is moving the right term, around the stable yard.

We hung out there for a while and I finally ran up enough nerve to try to get on the back of the horse that Del had been on.  It wasn’t so bad.

“Woohoo, look at me, I’m a cowboy!” I said nervously.

“Ah yeah, a regular member of the Apple Dumpling Gang,” laughed Del.

By the end of the afternoon I was actually starting to get the hang of the riding, it was riding, not moving I was told.  It seemed that it was not as bad as I thought.  I am still intimidated by the beasts, but am certainly more comfortable.

Vespers were really strange tonight.  Matt and Tanya showed up wearing kind of robes.  I did not understand at first, but then as they talked I kind of began to get it.  There is a sort of tradition, a sort of ceremony to this day; it is the summer solstice, the day the tilt of the earth reaches its highest point, now we start back toward winter.  But that was not their topic; it was about balance, about just taking enough, and about sharing.  It was a good message.

(Margo) It was a good day to stay out of the sun and enjoy the shade.  I had the duty to do the sheep to pasture thing today.  I took my sketch book and pencils, but found no real inspiration at first.  Code had decided that he didn’t want to head out with me which was okay.  When I get drawing, I am not much fun to be around, kind of a lump, so it was fine.

The entire day was pretty uneventful, except for few minutes in the early afternoon, the sheep started to get a little noisy and nervous.  They formed up into a little knot in the middle of the field and were in a sort of defensive ring.  Lucy went on alert also.  Using my rifle scope I scanned the area where Lucy and the ram seemed to be looking, but couldn’t see anything obvious, maybe it is the mountain lion, or some other predator.  Then, after about 10 minutes or so everything just went back to normal, like nothing was going on.  Weird.

I went back to sketching, but was more attentive to my surroundings.  I chuckled to myself, situational awareness.  I doodled a big cat.  I need to talk to Matt about the qualities of the mountain lion as a spirit animal.  It, she, has kind of shown up in my mind and dreams.  I guess I am more open to the idea than I first considered.

I got the sheep safely back to the pen in the afternoon and had dinner.  Code had spent the afternoon at the lake and had managed to catch a dozen or so catfish.  There were enough of them to have a little fish fry and Nick made them tasty. I could have gone for some fries or chips to go with it.

I was in awe of Matt and Tanya tonight; they showed up at Vespers in kind of white ceremonial robes.  They burned cedar on the fire, and the smoke just smelled wonderful.  They talked about the year, and the circle of life, and how things move on; it is the way of nature and the cycle of the year.

In a way, it kind of reminded me of the old days, the days before the meteor, when my mom would drag Tom and me to this thing they called the Summer Revels. It was a type of festival; I think it had its roots in the Pagan or Druid cultures.  Tom always complained about going to them because in the course of it there was dancing, and he hated to get stuck in that.  It was gender neutral and you bounced from partner to partner.  Eventually he would end up with some fat bearded guy who was wearing a kilt.

June 22nd

(Margo) The weather was kind of moody today, it was weird moody, it started out okay, kind of warm but not real bad, but by noon there were thunderclouds building and the humidity went way up. It felt like we were going to get storms and I am thinking that we will see some nasty ones.

I had Bo-Peep duty today and Code came with me.  His saddle sores are pretty much healed so he can sit.  Maybe tomorrow we will head out to the horse farm again.  Anyway, about 1:30 it was getting darker and darker so we brought the sheep back home to the pen early.

We had a storm or maybe a series of them, it was big, and bad, and we had some wind and hail damage.  At one point, I almost thought we had a tornado come through, the winds were so strong. A number of the trucks and cars had their windows broken from the falling ice.  The Coyote was fine, it was under a tree so that broke a lot of the hail’s momentum.

After the storm we all did damage control work.  Code and I drove out to the horse farm to see how things were there.  We had a tough time getting there because there were some trees blocking the road.

When we got there, everything was okay, there were some branches down and a couple of trees were blown over near the fields.  But the buildings, and horses were fine and Tay and Teckla were none the worse for wear.

“We dodged a bullet on that one,” began Teckla.

“Whaddaya mean?” I asked.

“You guys didn’t see the tornado?  It was just a little to the south of us, I figured it touched down at the camp, we were just getting saddled up to ride over.”  She continued.

“Wow, no, I mean it was bad, and I thought we might get one, but all we had was tree damage.”  Code said.

“Come on, I am curious, let’s take a trip down there, see what happened.” suggested Tay.

We followed them down the road about a half mile, there was a gap, it looked like someone had taken a giant lawn mower and cut a path about 75 feet wide through the woods.  Trees were snapped and pushed over.  We saw a driveway that lead to a pile of rubble, just a heap of wood and shingles and broken glass.  The path started to the west, looked like about 1000 or 1500 feet from the road and then ran straight east and just kept going.  I have no idea how far.  We were lucky, very lucky.

Shaken, we rode back to the horse farm, put the horses in their stalls and we all piled into the Coyote and drove back to camp.  Tay and Teckla stayed in camp tonight.

Vespers were quiet, and yet the little that was said was heartfelt thanks that we had not suffered a worse fate than a few broken windows and a few trees down.

(Lance) Wow, just wow, nature in all it’s might, we had a storm like I have never seen before, lightening, the flagpole took a hit.  The wind was wicked, we had a bunch of trees and leaves get blown down.  Then there was the hail.  I think we lost a half dozen of the solar panels.  Some are obviously dead, but some may be still functional.

What I don’t understand is how the wind turbine survived.  I am thinking that it had to be spinning at like 70 miles an hour.  But it is still standing, and spinning at its usual pace.  That would have been a big loss.

When Margo and Code got back they told us about the tornado that set down probably a mile or so from the camp.  We were lucky, we never would have had a chance in these cabins, and there is just nowhere to hide.

Dinner was a little late tonight and a little light.  Everyone was out trying to clean the place up and make certain that we did not have any safety issues like dangling wires, and such.  Even Nick and Grace were out checking things, hence, salads and canned soup tonight.  The good news is that the kitchen / dining room and food storage areas were unhurt.

Teckla and Tay came back with Margo, and Tay did a run through of her food inspection and inventory.  As I said, we were not hurt by the storm.

(Matt) I could feel the storm; I knew it was going to be a strong one.  I did not expect it to be as strong as it was. I didn’t expect a tornado in such close proximity.  I know we have had them close by in the past, but you forget, or you put it to the back of your mind.

Tanya was pretty frightened by the storm, even after being out here for the last year and a half, she was a city girl and they never had any storms like this one, so up close and personal.  I think I might have even heard a curse or two aimed at Mother Earth escape her lips.

I spent the reminder of the afternoon cutting up trees that had fallen.  It’ll help us come winter and has made our efforts to supply ourselves with firewood a little easier.  It’s right here, ready to stack, we don’t have to transport it.

At Vespers tonight we all were thankful that no one was hurt and that our damages and losses were minimal.  Really based upon the information from Mom and Tay, we could have been in a very bad situation.  Tomorrow, when I go out to check the corn fields and crops I will swing by the devastation.  But tonight, it is all about family, being together, being safe.

June 23rd

(Lance) We’re still cleaning up after the storm, I have checked the wind turbine and we are still getting power from it.  A total of 8 solar panels were damaged to the point of being no longer working.  We have some spares so Code, Mark and I will get up on the roofs and do the replacements tomorrow. I spent the afternoon getting the replacements ready to go.   It should be pretty easy, basically just take off the old ones, refit the new ones and plug them into the grid.

The good news is that while I am in repairman mode I am off the hook for Little Bo-Peep duty, and that is kind of good.  It is so boring.

Beyond that, things are pretty much back to normal. I mean no one is freaking out about the closeness of the tornado, nervous, yeah, but not freaking out.  God, I just thought about Ethan, he would have been having kittens.

Wow, I had not thought of him in a while.  He was a nut, but back then, so was I, and that doesn’t imply that I’m not still a little whacked.  But Ethan was kind of a special little snowflake. So many, so many have died, yet we hang on, we fight back, we keep on.

(Matt) Tanya and I headed out to the veggie garden first thing this morning, the damage there was not too bad, and in fact, it was pretty much intact.  A couple of tomato plants were broken, but that was all.

The cornfield, that also was not too badly damaged, some of the stalks were bent over and broken.  I would guess that we lost about 10% of the corn.  The pole beans were fine, they held up okay and the squash was not hurt at all, they are close enough to the ground that the wind did not mess with them.

We took the broken corn and gave it to the sheep and horses for feed, can’t let it go to waste.

It was another warm day and we all have our tasks to take care of.  Tanya spent much of the afternoon in meeting with Charlene and Teckla, The Three needed to get a grasp of the overall damage and any problems that might have arisen from the storm.  They have pretty much concluded that we are good with our situation.  Some minor issues like the lesser corn crop, but overall we’re good.

Tanya told me that there was a discussion about a storm shelter or things we could do to protect ourselves if this happened again.  Really, there is not much we can do, maybe build a little underground shelter, but really how likely would it be that this will happen again.  The consensus is that it would be a waste of time.

The heat is back, and so it the humidity, but we worked through it, we should be cleaned up from the storm by tomorrow.

Teckla and Tay headed back out to the horse farm around noon.  They had not suffered much damage although they were much closer to harm’s way than we were. But they needed to tend to the horses, water, and feeding them.

Vespers tonight was light and short, between the heat and the heavier than usual work most of us turned in early.

(Margo) Code was working with the guys cleaning the place up.  I ended up getting the call to play Sheep Herder.  I guess I am okay with that, I really would rather do that than to pick up sticks, saw trees and move wood.

It was quiet out at the pasture, no moments of concern, no circling of the flock.  Lucy was good with everything.  It was actually kind of funny, one of the sheep wandered off to the far side of the pasture and she took off after it and chased it back into the area of the rest of the sheep. I think she picked that up because a couple of times I had done the same thing over the last month.

Code and I did a little lake time at sunset, just to cool off before sleep, we missed Vespers tonight.  He was very tired from his tasks of the day, and I, well, an early night sounded good.

June 24th

(Lance) It was a cool, foggy morning, it was kind of weird, and it reminded me of something from a sci-fi movie.  You could hardly see the lake from the cottages even though it was only about 50 feet or so.  But it burned off by 9:00 and we were up on the roofs replacing the solar panels.  The Major stopped by to see how we were doing, and before long we had a small audience looking up and pointing.  But that did not last too long.  The heat started to kick in and the humidity was brutal.  Unfortunately, we needed to get it finished, and we did.

Lake time in the evening, before dinner; I had considered a shower, after all the sweating on the roof, but the lake did what I needed it to do.  I am feeling cool and refreshed….damn, sounds like a soap commercial.

We used to all gather in the dining room during the winter to watch movies and play games.  Now we go to the Fire Pitand tell stories, or listen to Matt talk about how we should live now, or in some cases sing, (Grace and those stupid rounds of hers). But it is peaceful, and just nice.

(Matt) We finished cleaning up the corn stalks that had been knocked over and brought them to the sheep pen.  It will be soon that we will have a couple more sheep in the flock.  There are two ewes that are looking close to birthing.

Tanya and I talked about the storm the other day and began to do a “what if” thing.  What if there was another tornado, or what if there was a hurricane, or even for that matter, another meteor.  And we realized that the “what ifs” were pretty meaningless to us. How would we know about the hurricanes, unless maybe we got word from the Pittsburgh, and even then, what is the likelihood that we would even see it here in the Albany area.

The tornado, or a meteor, well, there wasn’t much we could do on that one, it would be here with little warning

The topic was one that we spoke of at Vespers tonight, and although it was unsettling to a number, if not most of us, it is a harsh reality.  Lance said that he would try to reach the Pittsburgh and see if they, or what they had for weather tracking, at least in one case we might be able to get some hint.

Mom and Tay rode over tonight on the horses.  Tay has named hers Magellan, and Mom has gone with Ranger.  So now we have five of them named and can be ridden that I know of.  There is also Lemon Drop, Strawberry and Chuckles.  We are up to nine in the herd, and there may still be a couple more out there.

(Margo) I am little Bo-Peep and have lost no sheep….yeah, that was my day.  I did some sketching, the mountain lion, that was what I was working on.  It, she, has kind of become a fascination.  I think about her, I will call it her.  She makes me interested in learning more about them, from the spirit animal approach.  I think that Lucy, I love Lucy, is a great animal friend, and she is loyal, and smart, but there is something, a connection with the lion.

It was foggy, then hot, and miserable.  I look forward to and enjoyed some lake time.  Code was in with me, and actually most of the crew was splashing and floating just before dinner.

Even the Major and Charlene hit the lake it tonight, we don’t often see them in the water.  They are so cute, for old people.  They’re often holding hands, or acting like a couple of teenagers.  They are more into that than us actual teens, ha, ha, raging hormones!

It makes me think a little about, what do we call them, “bonded pairs”, and how they interact.  Code and I snuggle and stuff, in private, but not much goes on in terms of public displays of affection.  Mom and Tom were kind of that way, maybe it is just a sort of what we learned thing.  Maybe I should change that a little.  It is like, who cares.

Vespers tonight were kind of a downer.  Matt and Tan started talking about the tornado and that it could happen again.  They talked about hurricanes, or more stuff falling from the sky and how we have not real protection if it does.  Yeah, I am gonna sleep well tonight.  But then, when you think about it, how is it any different than it was before all the stuff started.  It is all something we have little control over, we might get a little warning, but for the most part we are in the mess and have to hope for the best.

Code and I snuggled.

June 25th

(Margo) I had a dream last night, about a mountain lion.  It was kind of weird, it was just sort of there, sitting, looking at me.  It didn’t attack, or it didn’t run away, it was just staring at me.  I was not afraid, I just stared back.  It was like it was reading me, studying me, maybe even judging me.  I want to talk to Matt about it; I know that he had dreams when he and Tanya were on the road.

Had the day off from Bo-Peep’in it so Code and I headed out to the horse farm.  I spent the day working with Lemon Drop and Code had some chuckles with Chuckles.  Teckla and Tay worked with him a little; they gave him some lessons about using his legs and not sitting flat in the saddle.  By the end of the day he was getting pretty good at riding, his legs were sore, from the posting, but at least there were no butt sores.

I keep coming back to the dream, the mountain lion.  I need to talk to Matt, maybe at Vespers tonight.

(Lance) I did a run early this morning, I have, we have been lax of late.  Del went with me, and we took it easy.  We just chatted along the way.

“So the solar thingies are all fixed?” she asked.

“Yes, the solar panels are all repaired, so we are good there.”  I answered.

“Any other projects that you need to work on?”  She was clearly just making conversation because she knew what I had on the fire.

“Well, I still have the fuel, diesel fuel issue. I don’t think I can make it, the bio diesel idea is not a practical one.”

“Oh, the horses could be a help, but what if we need to bug out, how far and how much can we carry.”  She said, kind of thinking out loud.

“Yup, unless we can find a big source of fuel we are pretty much stuck.”

“Yeah I know, with the horses we could send out some scout parties, there has to be something somewhere within like 50 miles that may have a big supply.”  She offered.

“True, but I am not thinking I want to spend a week on horseback, I can only imagine saddle sores the size of Frisbees, poor Code.”

“Hey, if Code can learn to ride, so can you! Besides, it isn’t all that necessary that you go riding yourself.  There are a number of others who could do the scouting, Matt, Margo, Tay, Teckla and probably a couple of others.” She added.

“True, I guess, maybe when I get back I can do some looking at the maps and try to figure out where there may be a fuel depot of some kind.  I am thinking that it would, or should be near the rail lines, but we never saw anything near them at Hinsdale or Pittsfield.”

The chatting worked because we were back at camp with an hour run behind us, and it seemed like nothing.  It was still early enough so the heat had not kicked in yet.

I spent the rest of the morning looking at maps, I had a few ideas.  Matt stopped by and asked what I was doing.  I told him.

“Would an airport have some type of fuel?”  He asked.

“It could, I hadn’t thought of that, I was thinking diesel, but I think jet fuel would also work.” I said slowly, the wheels were turning.  I would have to check with Stephen, he would know better than I would.

(Matt) Standard day in Farmland, doing Farmland stuff. We are good there.    The rest of the day was a laid back kind of day, I was able to get Tanya into the water this afternoon, and it did not take much persuading because of the heat.  She is actually getting very comfortable with it, although the head still says above the water.

Vespers were interesting tonight, Margo once again started asking about spirit guides, and what they mean or do.  It was as I told her, they, the guides, watch over you, give you a sense of direction to your life and that they share their traits with you.

“How do you know what the traits are?” she asked.

“Ah, well that is more complicated, because in many cases it is about what the individual sees as the traits.” I answered.  The circle around the fire seemed interested so I continued.

“Do you recall when I found the old Native American axe?”

Some heads bobbed up and down.

“Well, I think it was more a case of it was shown or given to me by the Raven.  I have always associated with the Raven, ever since I visited Alaska.  It is just a creature that I resonate with.”

I continued.

“I think that Tom used to resonate with the Coyote, I can’t explain it from his standpoint, but from mine, the bird just was there, it had magic, a link to things beyond what I had seen in the world.  It was a connection to the great existence.”

“Did you dream about the Raven?” asked Margo.

“Yes, and with time, we talked in those dreams.”

She looked at me for a long time, there was a question on her mind, but she was not ready to ask it, yet.

We broke up about the usual time and I expected that Margo to come visit and ask more questions, but she didn’t.  Yet, I know she will soon enough.

June 26th

(Margo) Code and I headed out to the horse farm this morning, the weather was decent and we figured a little time in the saddle would be good.  I was not so worried about me, I am doing well in the riding department, but I think that Code felt he had to get better at it, especially if we are going to start doing scouting missions.  He does not want to be left behind.

When we arrived there were a number of people, some I did not expect, already there.  Besides Teckla and Tay, we also had Matt, Michelle, the Major and Chels.  Chels was on Strawberry. Michelle picked a name of Rascal, a nice little paint horse, and the Major opted to name his mount Grey, because, well, it was. We all were interested in the idea of riding, although I am not sure that the Major and Chels were planning to go on the scouting trips.

It was challenging for the new riders, the horses that they were working with had not yet been ridden by anyone other than Tay or Teckla, and so those horses were a little skittish.  Chels seemed to be the least adept at the horse thing and kept trying to rely on Tay for help.  It struck me odd at first, but as the day progressed I noticed that for the much of the time Chels was just staring at Tay.  Tay was cordial, is that the term?  But she was a little uncomfortable around Chels.  I think I get it; Chels is trying to hang on.

Overall the riding turned out well, and we were comfortable with riding as a group by the end of the day, even Chels. I wonder how much of her “I need help” approach was really a need and not a desire to be near Tay.

As we were getting ready to go back to camp Chels tried to stall, and stay longer, she offered to stay out there at the horse farm for a while but Teckla, Momma Teckla, stepped in and told her that they really did not need to have her stay but maybe down the road that could happen, but for now she and Tay had things that needed to be done and had a routine worked out.   Clearly, Teckla had a handle on what was happening, and was trying to prevent a problem.

Back at camp it was business as usual, Vespers, stories, songs.

(Lance) Del and I did the Bo-Peep thing today; we brought out the sheep, and settled in for the day.  She was bored and spent some of the time wandering around the field, or just practiced aiming her rifle.  Lucy was with us and she has become quite the little herd dog, it is amazing to see how she keeps the pack, together.

I brought along an atlas and just looked at the maps for the surrounding area.  I found that there were a number of airports, most of which were little local things.  There are a couple that were close that were larger, the Albany International, and then there was the Schenectady County Airport.  Both of them looked like they were good sized and might have a good supply of fuel.

It was not oppressively hot today, no afternoon storm, which was good.  Other than that, there is not much to report.  Vespers were pretty normal tonight, no big stories or lessons on anything.

(Matt) It has been a long time since I was on horseback, but it came back quickly.  I was on a big black mare named Black Olive, she was a little nervous at first, but with a gentle touch and soft voice I made her comfortable.  The riding was easy.  The rest of the crew seemed to find the riding easy also, with the exception of Chelsea.  She is acting a little weird, can’t put my finger on it, it is like she is suddenly this helpless little girl.  That was very different from what I had seen of her recently.

We were back to camp at about 7, had a quick bite and then the usual gathering around the fire at about 9.  It was a nice night, clear and almost cool.

I caught up with Lance after Vespers and I told him that when Tanya and I were on our pilgrimage we had passed by Schenectady Airport. I suggested that it might be a good place to look for fuel because we had seen a number of military transport planes, turbo props, maybe C-130s and the fuel they used would certainly work in the chopper and maybe in the trucks.  If it were a military base, there should be a good sized supply.

I talked to Tanya about Chelsea tonight, I told her what I had seen and how she seemed so uncharacteristically helpless.  She listened, and did not say much about it, other than maybe she was intimidated by the horses.  Maybe, I thought, but there is something else.

June 27th

(Lance) I caught up with Stephen over breakfast, as we sat enjoying whatever it is we drink under the name of coffee I asked. “Stephen, what is the difference between jet fuel and kerosene?”

“Well, the best I can remember is that Jet fuel, particularly Jet-A has some additives, that makes it Kerosene on steroids.” He replied, “Why do you ask?”

“See, I have been thinking about our fuel situation, and mostly about the trucks and SUV’s we have, that are mostly diesel powered. We are running low on fuel for them, and I was thinking about places where we might be able to find some more.”

“Okay”, he said, sounding a little confused. “It is not like we could take gas from the chopper and using it to run the trucks, I don’t have that much to spare.”

“No, right, and that is not where I am going for here.  I am thinking about finding another source, a source for both you, and the trucks.” I said. “See, gasoline, even if we found a good supply, has a sort of shelf life of use, unless we came upon a supply of like, high test.”

“Ah, and Kerosene, and most likely JP-8 doesn’t.” he said thoughtfully.

“JP-8?”

“Yeah, sorry, JP-8 is the military designation for Jet-A, same thing.” He replied. “You think you found some?”

“Well, I have a couple ideas, and we might be able to get some, but I’m not sure.”

“You gonna share?” he asked.

“Of course I am, I wouldn’t horde it for the trucks only,” I said

“No, I meant the where, where would you find some, I have checked all the little airports around and there was some, but we have sponged most of that up over time.”

“Well, I was thinking about the bigger airports in the area.  There is the one in Albany, and also there is a regional in Schenectady.” I told him.

“Hmmmm, well, I might have enough left in the chopper to get us to Albany, but unless we were able to get some there, we would have a long walk home.” He said, kind of slow, like he was thinking about something.

“I’m thinking that Schenectady might be a better shot, Matt said when he was on his pilgrimage he saw a bunch of small turboprop cargo planes there, Air Force stuff.  Maybe, and you would know better, but I am thinking that there might be some kind of tanker trucks there. If we could get a couple of those….”

He lit up like a beacon, “Yeah, they would, and we could get them back here pretty easy, one tanker would give me a lot of flight time, and one for the trucks would give you a lot of road time.”

We talked a little more and decided that we would talk with The Three and set up a little expedition out to Schenectady and hit Albany on the way back.  An inventory of what was there would be a good thing to have; it would give us some more range and mobility should we need it.

I pitched the plan to The Three and they bought it, but not without reservations.  I told them that it would require taking about 6 people out of camp for a day; they saw it as 6 good defenders away, and told me that I could take 4, one truck and that was it.  It would work, because if we could get one truck, we could fly back in with a small crew and grab another, maybe two.  This could work. Stephen, Fred, Del and I will be off in the morning.

Margo) Jan and Charlene played Bo-Peeps this morning, while Matt, Code, me and Chels headed out to the horse farm.  We took the bikes, it will be hot coming back, but we really don’t have much of an option.

Teckla and Tay were glad to see us, although there seemed to be a little tension between Tay and Chels.  I am remembering something from a conversation with Tay and think I know what is going on there.

We took the usual horses, I was on Lemon Drop, and we had the other horses that we didn’t usually ride and had them follow along like a little train.  We wanted to get them used to that kind of riding.  Then even if the person at the back was a terrible rider, the horses would follow the leader.

I was right; it was hot riding back to camp on the bikes, at least with the horses we were in the shade and woods.  The bugs were a pain, but it was cool. (Note to self, next scavenger opportunity, insect repellent.)

I think that Teckla and Tay must have talked because Teckla kept getting in between Chels and Tay, I could see some frustration on Chels’ face.

Vespers tonight were pretty much standard.  Matt told us about a spirit animal.  I never considered a mouse to be a spirit animal, and yet, as he explained it, I could see it.  Mouse was the watcher, it had to be constantly looking around, seeing what was happening, and what was close by.  Mouse was often the meal of so many predators that it had to be looking all the time.  Scrutiny is its trait.  I thought of Tom and his “situational awareness.”  Although I don’t think mouse was his animal guide.

After Vespers, as Code and I were walking back to the cabin, Jan caught me.

“Margo, do you feel something is watching you when you are out there with the sheep.” She asked.

“Yeah, I think it is the mountain lion, but I’ve never see her.” I answered.

“Yeah, okay, I felt it and well, just wasn’t sure if I was paranoid.  Charlene said she didn’t feel it. Thanks.” And she and Fred started to their cabin.

I know that Charlene was aware of the something that was out there, we have talked about it.  She was probably just trying to calm Jan down.

(Matt) What a boring day, the tedium is sometimes brutal, and yet a blessing.  Visit the crops, catch the bunnies, pick some greens, that was it.  It is peaceful, and I like that.  I actually took a nap this afternoon.

I had a dream about a little mouse, I was that mouse, and suddenly there was a bunch of snakes coming at me.  I sensed and saw them in time, and was able to get away.  Funny, I don’t often remember my dreams.  I will use this at Fire Pit tonight.

After Fire Pit it was still warm.  I talked Tanya into a late night visit to the lake.  It was a full moon, and we sat on the beach for a bit watching the stars.  We saw a couple of shooting stars (I hate the term meteors) despite the brightness of the moon.  We were alone, just the two of us.  Suddenly, Tanya got up and took off her clothes and started toward the water.

“You coming, Father Sky?”

“Oh Yeah, Earth Mother!” I answered leaving a trail of clothing behind me.

The water was refreshing, not cold, we just kind of half floated in the lake, like a couple of sea otters, holding hands, and later….

June 28th

(Margo) It was a Bo-Peep day for me today; I would rather do that than play “Mushroom Hunter”.  I was off early with sketch book in hand.  Code was taking care of some things that The Three had asked him to handle. Del and Lance were going out on a scout mission of some kind.  So it was just me.

I settled under the tree and just enjoyed the day; it was not super-hot which was nice considering the time of year.    But once again, I nodded off, the quiet, the birds, the peacefulness of it all, I couldn’t help it.

I dreamed, or is it dreamt, never finished HS English, I have an excuse.  Anyway, the Mountain Lion, she was there, and we stared at each other.  Finally I said to her.  “Are you my spirit guide?”

In that enigmatic cat face she stared for a moment, and then said, “I am not sure, I could be, I have yet to determine if you are for me.”

“I, ah,” I didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t worry little one, you will be tested, and when you are, I will know.” The big cat said.

I awoke with a start.  Lucy was looking at me, did she sense something?

The rest of the day was quiet; I drew what I saw in my dream.  I hadn’t noticed it at the time but there were two cubs behind the lion, I did not recall them from the dream, yet when I drew it, they were there.

(Lance) We loaded up into the Hummer this morning, Fred and Stephen in the back, Del called shotgun, and we were off to see what we could find at the airports.  We decided to try Schenectady first, just because.

It was a pretty easy drive once we crossed the Menard Bridge; the entire trip took about three hours.  It was weird, interesting weird. I really never knew that much about Stephen, I mean other than he was a military guy who flew helicopters.  I didn’t know much about what he saw or experienced.  So when he started telling us about what it was like over there it was an ear full.

“I always loved to fly, it was my passion, I wanted to do the fighter planes, but was not smart enough for the Air Force Academy.  When I joined the army, I went for choppers, and they took me.”  He started,

He really got into telling us about his training and joked about how the first day at flight school his instructor told him “when flying, remember, control stick goes forward, trees get big, control stick goes back, trees get small.”

We laughed at that.

“What they don’t tell you in flight school is that you can’t save everybody.” And at that he became quiet, and kind of sullen.

As we drove, Del asked me, “Do you know where you are going?”

“Yeah, sort of” I answered.  Jokingly I suggested she program it into the GPS.

“Okay,” and she turned it on. “What is the address?”

We had not used, or even considered using it since the meteor, we just figured all that stuff was gone.   I stopped the truck, looked at her, at the GPS and then cursed myself.  I should have known, why not, the satellites weren’t dead, why wouldn’t they work.

We continued on listening to the periodic comments by the GPS to turn right or left at the next intersection.  As we drove I was distracted, thinking about what else obviously would work that I had considered to no longer function.  GPS, maybe land line phones, although we might need to create a power source.   I wonder about natural gas lines, or even, perish the thought, satellite TV….well maybe that one was a little unlikely unless there was still power to the up-link they were sending programs up.

Anyway, we got there, to Schenectady County Airport and with very little trouble we found 4 tanker trucks.  One was completely loaded and ready to go.  Okay, it needed a jump start. There were two that were partially full and one that needed to be filled.  They were all diesel so we were good to go.  We also found the main refuel depot so we could fill the empties and come back for more when we needed to.

We took a look around the facility to see what else was available to us.  There was not a lot, the food was spoiled, and the books and magazines were nothing special.  Of course, we could have taken souvenirs from the place but who wants a T-shirt from Schenectady?

We started back about 1 pm, and were back at the camp for 4:30.  When we drove in with the tanker, the place became like a disturbed ant hill with everyone scurrying around.  Most had not known of our mission.  We tend to keep those kinds of things under wraps to not bring people down if it fails.  This was not a failure, but rather a big hit.

(Matt) My day was just more Farmworld.  The usual, headed out and did a little riding on Black Olive.  I had Tanya come along; I wanted to try to get her used to the horses and maybe up on to one.  I was sure she would resist a little, but was surprised that she was good with it.  By noon time she was up on Lemon Drop, the horse that Margo usually rode, and was actually reasonably comfortable on it.  My city girl is going country, sounds like a country western song.

After dinner tonight Margo stopped by, she told me about a dream she had today.  Actually she claimed it was last night, but in the course of our chat it came out that it happened while she was tending the flock.

“Matt, I, would the animal spirit test you?  Make sure you are worthy?” she asked.

“Yes, it might, but I think that it is more a case of you testing yourself, you deciding if you’re worthy of the guide.  He or she is already in you, it is just you trying to figure if you can release it.”  I answered.

“Wow, I, okay, I see, it makes sense, I, I need to think about this.” She replied, and after a few moments of silence, “Thank you Matt, Thank you.” And she walked away.

Lance and the Hummer are back, they have a truck of diesel fuel, which will be a game changer for sure.  We can cover so much more area now, find things, and do things.  What was also surprising was the GPS, they still work, it kind of makes sense, but I would never have thought of that, or even tried to use it.

Vespers tonight, it was very upbeat and the Grace singing rounds was well received and even overdone.

June 29th

(Lance) I did not trust the new jet fuel / diesel completely so I filled up one of the diesel trucks and let it run all day, just to see what it would do.  It ran fine.  Stephen is going to do a similar test on the helicopter tomorrow.  Better to burn a little fuel and be safe rather than be up a thousand feet and have the engine quit.

It was a quiet day other than that, we had the humidity but the heat was not so bad.  A storm rolled in this afternoon and it looked like it was going to be a bad one, but overall it was no worse than usual.  But you could sense that everyone was a little nervous about it after our tornado adventure.

Del and I did the Vespers tonight, pretty standard, and then did a nice walk, the woods at night is kind of neat, with the almost full moon it is kind of fun.

(Matt) A normal day, I guess that is what I would call it.  We just did the same old stuff, in the same old way, with not much in the way of drama or mayhem.  I think back to the early days after the world as we knew it ended and there was so much going on, so many distractions.  Now, it was easy, well, sort of easy, we still need to be on our toes because there were things that could happen.  We saw that with the tornado.  But we have not really had much contact with Changed in months.  We have one wander in every once and again but it is usually just one, and that is quickly resolve.  With the deflector device we got from Waterviet there is no worry of the Hunter robots coming for us.  And we really have had no other groups like the bikers arriving to give us grief.  Overall life is good.

It is funny how many things were once a big deal, and are now nothing, and so many things that were once nothing are now a big deal.  Anyway, I ramble, time to think about Fire Pit and what to talk about.

(Margo) Code and I did a run this morning, I figured it would be a good morning for it, it was not too hot.  After that we headed off to the horse farm and spent the day out there.  Code is really getting comfortable on Chuckles.  The Major and Michelle came out with us.  He did a little time on Grey and Michelle rode Rascal.  Chels did not come out, and I guess I understand.

We have been pretty much living on salads over the last month, the crops and gardens are all doing well I guess, and I have to admit I am a fan of rabbit “Caesar” salad.  But then anything that isn’t deer stew is wonderful.

At Vespers tonight Matt talked about another animal spirit or as he calls them, totems.  Tonight he talked about squirrels.  I always kind of thought of them as fluffy tailed rats, and I guess that is sort of what they are.  But as he spoke I thought more about them, with their twitchy little tails.  They are always going, moving, running from tree to tree, flying through the air, actually they are kind of cool.

“But the thing about the squirrel was that it is always looking at putting things away, for the future, gathering acorns and stashing them away,” explained Matt.

“Kind of nature’s hoarders” Code whispered to me.  I almost broke out laughing.

But the entire idea of this little animal, collecting, gathering being ready for the future, the bad times, the cold time, it was something to think about.  That was how we were in the early days, hoarding what we could, scavenging.  We have gotten away from it a little only looking to get things we need at the time, and leaving the rest for later.  We don’t take so much anymore, it is more just find it, and remember where it is.

June 30th

(Matt) HH&H, hazy, hot and humid today, and it was not much fun.  Tanya and I were up early and off to the veggie garden, we took some lettuce, there were some radishes that seemed ready and also two bunnies in the trap.

We also checked on the big fields, the corn is coming along well and the beans are just starting to be ready for picking.  The squash, I am guessing another three or four weeks.

I am not sure about anyone else but I am thinking that there will be no riding for me today, and Tanya has made it clear that it is too hot for that. I am almost thinking it is 100 degrees.

Tay and Mom rode over and took advantage of the lake, although they had the horse in an area away from the swimming hole part, just in case.

Storm in the afternoon, as usual, and it did help a little.

Vespers tonight were well attended; I think it was a case of being still too warm in the cabins from the sun beating down on them earlier in the day, even with the fans. No topics from me tonight, just a social thing.  S’mores would have been nice, I miss S’mores.

(Margo) Not a happy camper today, part of it is that Auntie Flo showed up today, but that has not been as bad as it used to.  I think in this case it is just because it is so hot and miserable out.  But the other thing is that it was a Bo-Peep day for me.  It would be nice to sit in the lake, or be able to hide in front of the fan.  But no, I will be out with the sheep.

Did not want to move out there, found a shady spot and that was where I stayed.  The sheep, even they kept their movements to a minimum and stayed as cool as they could.  We should probably think about haircuts for them, it has to be warm under all that fur.

I got back at the usual time and walked into the cabin, then walked back out, it was too friggin’ hot in there, and the fan was not helping.  I headed over to the dining hall and found that I was not the only one who felt that way.  Pretty much everyone else was there, God bless Lance for those few air conditioners.

Code and I hit Fire Pit tonight; it was just cool enough to make it livable.  It was more a social night, no lessons, no singing, just casual chatter.

After Fire Pit a lot of us headed down to the lake.  I did not go in all the way, you know, but I got in up to a little over my knees.  It helped.

(Lance) It is good to be the computer geek, with the office that is air conditioned, especially today.  I stayed inside and really just kind of chilled….that was bad, I know.

Del spent the day with me, we talked about things, the biggest topic was Heather, and the baby.

“It has to be getting close to her time.  I think we are looking at just a couple of weeks to go.” I said.

“Yeah, I am worried about it, what if…..” started Del then dropped off.

“I know, I hope the baby is good, Doc Barkley thinks it is okay, but yeah, what if.”

We had all had that concern in the back of our minds, with the disease and the events, would the child be normal?

“I think if it is normal Fred and Jan will go for it, having a baby.” I added.

“Yeah, and same with Mark and Michelle, and maybe Matt and Tanya.” She added.

It was quiet for a few minutes, then she said, “Lance, what do you think, not now, but do you think, that we, maybe, someday…..”

“Yep, I hope so, I think it is….important.”  I replied.

She smiled, “Me too, …….should we practice?  It is nice and cool in here?”

But before we could start there was a knock on the door, it was Stephen.

“I am thinking that we should head out tomorrow if the weather is clear and get one more of those tanker trucks.” He said.  “Hey, it is nice and cool in here, you dog.”

“Yeah, it’s important to keep the computers cool, they run better,” I answered.

“Makes sense, it is good to be the king geek.” He snapped back.  “Anyway, what do you think?  I want to get this done before, well, Heather is getting close and once our baby is born I am gonna be busy.”

“Sounds good, tomorrow morning?  Clear it with The Three and we are good to go.  Get Matt or Mark lined up to drive and Del and I will head out with you.”

“Okay, I will go see them now.” He said and headed out.

“Talk about a moment killer” I mumbled.

“Well, let’s step back into the moment, Oh King of the Geeks, your Queen demands homage.”

We felt guilty about having the AC so we made sure that we hung out with the clan at the Fire Pit tonight, we would have been cooler in my computer lab, but well, in fairness.  The pit was really just social tonight.  Stephen told me we were approved for tomorrow and Fred would be coming with us.

Good sleeping night, it was cool, and nice.  I almost feel guilty about the AC.

July 1st

(Lance) This morning was a little busy, one of the things that The Three had set up with the people at Stanwix was that on the first day of each month we would have a conference call via radio.  It was just to keep in touch and make certain that all was going well.  We are holding it in the dining room so anyone who wants to attend can.  It will be sort of a, what did they call them, a town hall meeting.

I had the radio set up and had a couple of microphones in place at the main table.  At that table I had chairs for The Three, Matt, Nick, Tay and me.  Anyone else would be in a sort of audience gallery.

At 10:00 I began the transmission. “Romanica to Stanwix, Romanica to Stanwix, do you read.”

“Loud and clear Romanica,” it was Ron on the other end. “Good morning Lance.”

There were the typical greetings that followed and statements of how things were going.  For the most part there were no issues or problems going on.

The entire meeting took about an hour, and although there was some information exchanged about how crops were doing, fuel status reports and engineering issues, Ron had a question on the solar panels. I explained what he needed to do.

After the communication everyone was in a pretty good mood, life for both communities was good.

I broke the radio system down and returned it to my office.  After I set it back up in my office I tried to reach the Pittsburgh.  There was no luck.  I also tried to send a message out to the QUalz, the little lizard guys, just for the heck of it.  But I know it could be hours, maybe days before they got it.  I am thinking that they are at about the apex of their orbit, based upon the idea of Tom and Asuna being gone for a year.  Nothing important message wise, just a “hey, we are still okay.”

(Margo) Because of the radio communication with Stanwix today I volunteered to play Bo-Peep.  I figured that I really had nothing to add to the meeting, so why not.

I spent the day in the meadow, did a little sketching, and in general enjoyed the day.  I was warm, but not brutal hot.  I did not fall asleep although Lucy snoozed next to me, and there was nothing happening, no nervous sheep, no feeling like I was being watched, it was all cool.

When I got back everyone was in a kind of good mood, the contact with the other people seemed to have a good effect on everyone.  Code and I did Vespers tonight and there was lots of talk about how good it was going for both us, and Stanwix.  There was even some who were planning to make a trip out there.  I think that mainly had to do with a couple of people need to have some dental stuff done and Keith was a dentist.  Maybe we should go to see the little rapper kid, Dead Bane.

Full moon tonight and Code and I found a little piece of lake to hang out in.  We were not the only ones to do that, and I am thinking that we were not the only skinny dippers tonight.

(Matt) I pretty much sat back and listened to the conference call with the Stanwixians, I just made that name up.  Tanya covered the crops issues and farming things from our end. They are doing well in that area but are not as far along in big crops like corn.

Mom filled them in about the horses and how we had a small herd of them for riding.  Nick suggested a couple of recipes that they might consider; they appear to have a good fish stock in the creek that runs near the fort.

We did not mention or talk about the fuel source at Schenectady, which apparently was determined to be a resource better kept to ourselves.

Ron said that he was doing well with getting the people there, the Stanwixians, to be more attuned to the land and the Earth.

Mark and Charlene actually made dentist appointments to see Keith: now that was very interesting, I am not sure what he can really do, but still, a dentist.  Apparently Pam is doing very well in her recovery from the horrors of Womack and is back to nursing.  And Karen has been doing well with her recovery with the medical people that are available at Stanwix.

As we began our good-byes, I did speak up.

“Ron, just curious, what ever happened to all of Womack’s men?” I asked.

A brief silence, then “Of the five that remained three of them have rejoined the community as useful members.  They were kind of stuck in a bad spot and begged forgiveness.”

“And the other two?” I continued.

It was Keith that answered, “Yeah, they decided that they did not want to stay, well actually, we decided that they should not stay and we exiled them.  It was kind of ugly, but in the end they left. A lot of folks wanted them dead for what they had done, and well, exile might be eventual death, it was better than execution, at least they have a chance.”

That stuck in the back of my mind.  Which was better, the quick death, or the struggle to survive.  I was quiet at Fire Pit tonight, that thought troubled me.

July 2nd

(Margo) We had a wicked storm last night about 3 AM or so but it has cooled things down a little so it was really nice.  I should get a thermometer for outside the window.  I think it was in the 60s this morning.

Code and I are going to head on out to the horse farm after breakfast.  Over breakfast there was some talk about the storm, and a couple of people even said that they had gotten dressed and ready to run in case there was a tornado.  I didn’t think it was that bad.

Code and I cycled out to the horse farm, I guess we could have driven now that we have more fuel, but the biking will replace the morning run.

Code has gotten much better at riding and really is pretty comfortable on Chuckles.  Lemon Drop is just a peach, so easy to ride.  Teckla, Tay and the two of us took a ride to the east this morning, kind of doing a scavenging type of run, or as it turned out more a mock scavenging run because we really found nothing of value.

We were back to camp about 4 pm, and it was still a decent day, temperature wise, Dinner was salad and teriyaki bunny with a sort of rabbit miso soup.

Vespers tonight was a sort of story night, not that we have many stories that we have not heard before.  Tonight Nick told the about the Green Lady Cemetery.

“Where I grew up” he began, “I was told that there was a haunted cemetery right down the road, about a mile from here, near Peru; it was supposed to have a ghost, the ghost of a woman.  She wore a tattered dirty old white wedding gown.”

Someone asked, “Why white, I thought you said it was the green lady.”

With a faked sour look Nick said, “I’ll get to that.  See, she wore white because she died on the day of her wedding.  She saw that her future husband was fooling around with the maid of honor, and she became very angry, and ended up running off.  They found her broken body at the bottom of a little cliff near where the ceremony was supposed to have been held, she had jumped to her death.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t explain the green part” said Mark.

“I’m getting to that,” Nick glared at him.  “See, when she died it was anger, but also jealousy, and see jealousy is all about envy, green with envy.”

“Ah”

“May I continue?”

“Yeah, sorry” said Mark.

“So after she was buried it was said that she would appear in ghostly form at the cemetery.” Nick continued.

Mark made a ghostly moaning sound, “Ooooooooooooo” that resulted in some laughing.

“Ahem,…… so as word got out about the Green Lady, it became common for young parkers or adventurers to go to the cemetery and hang out after dark to see the Green Lady.”

Fred jumped in, “I can understand the adventurers, but a parkour? Why would you run around a graveyard jumping over graves?”

“NO!” Nick said, a little frustrated, “Parkers, people going parking, making out in cars!”

That brought a lot of laughing from many of the older members of the group who actually had gone parking, I guess.  To us youngers, well we never did that, parking….hmmm….(note to self, Code and I have to try parking.)

“So anyway, there were some sightings and as a rule when someone saw the Green Lady they would get out of the cemetery very quickly.” Nick continued.  “But on one night there was a couple who were very, ah, very involved in their ‘making out’ and not paying attention.  Suddenly, there were noises at the car door, fortunately they were locked but it scared them so, he started the car up and raced out of there.”

A couple of chuckles, a couple of wows and one “Then what happened”

“So when the kids got home he jumped out of the car to open the door for his date, he was a gentleman, a horny one, but a gentleman just the same.  As he came to her side of the car he saw it, a hand stuck on the door handle.  He and then she freaked, and called the cops.  And no, he did not use his cell phone, we didn’t have them back then.”

“Come on, how would a ghost hand hold the door handle, or get torn off?”  Asked Jan.

“Ah, see it wasn’t a ghost hand, it was a real hand, and it was from a real person. See what had happened was that there was a mental hospital about a mile from the cemetery and one of the inmates had gotten loose.  He was trying to get into the car to escape. He was a kind of serial killer mental case, so he probably would have killed the kids.  When he grabbed the door handle the wrist restraints he wore got caught and his hand was torn off.”

More wows and chuckles, although some sounded a little nervous.

“They never found the inmate, he is still out there somewhere, maybe” Nick added.

A brief silence, and then some clapping. “Good story!” Said Mark.

“Yeah, better than “a meteor fell and the world blew up!” added Matt.

(Lance) Everyone was talking about the storm from last night, with the AC, I just never heard it, or if I did it was so soft that I fell back to sleep and don’t remember.

Del and I did the sheep herding thing today.  It was a nice weather day and really boring.  I played with the little drone quadcopter, just for something to do.  I tried the camera function and took some pictures of some of the trees; I looked at the results tonight when I hooked it into the computer. There was something in the tree, a raccoon, or animal of some kind, but it is too fuzzy to say for sure what.

Del gave me a haircut today, I was getting a little shaggy and it was a pain in the neck to keep out of my eyes.  Not into that emo kid hair in front of the face thing anymore.

Nick told a story at Fire Pit tonight, a kind of ghosty type story.  Mark kept interrupting, it was funny.  Not much else happening.  Good night.

(Matt) Odd, when we went to the veggie garden this morning one of the traps was tripped, but it was empty.  Something either got it open, so either the bunny got free or something got in and got the bunny, something to keep an eye on.

Tanya and I took a trip out to the horse farm late this morning and Mom and Tay were already out for a ride.  I saw a couple of bicycles so I am guessing that maybe Margo and Cody had also been there.

Tanya and I saddled up Strawberry and Black Olive and did a little trail ride, going north from the barn.  We had nowhere in particular we wanted to go, but more just to get better at riding.

We were back after about an hour or so, watered the horses and headed back to camp.

Fire Pit was fun tonight, enjoyed the story Nick told.  I had heard a variation of it at Boy Scout Camp.  He actually put two stories together, I am not sure if by design or by accident.

I wonder if we might not have a coyote or badger that was able to get into the rabbit trap.

July 3nd

(Margo) Code and I tried to do some scavenging today.  I wanted to try to find some fireworks if I could, for the Fourth of July.  I knew it will be difficult, but maybe.  We tried Pittsfield but based on the idea that there would probably not be a fireworks store we tried checking some warehouses, maybe they had some stored away.  No luck there, although we did find a stash of canned goods that were by the expiration date still good, or close to good.  Real store bought baked beans and Beef-a-Roni, along with veggies and canned meats, like Spam.  I put a few cans of each into my backpack for a private supply, a finder’s fee, and we loaded up the rest of the clan.

We tried to check the PD; odd idea maybe, but perhaps there was some illegal stuff they seized and put into evidence.

When we searched the PD, we found that there were still some Zoms in lock-up, poor people, what a terrible way to end up, trapped in a cell, and then turned, with no escape.  We freed them, killed them, again, not let them go.

In the evidence room, which we had to break in to,  it appeared that there were two cops left down there at the end, one had killed himself, and the female officer was still moving, but she was not herself any more.  We gave her rest.

It appears these two had quite the party before the end.  The drug cabinet was opened, and emptied.  They must have tried a little of everything, marijuana, heroin, coke, all of it.  Sad, but at the time they were the only ones left, I could understand the reason they might do that.

We found some good stuff in the room, more than a few guns, some ammunition, and some fireworks.  It looked like they had raided a small fireworks dealer.  We took the fireworks, and what ammo would work with our guns.  As far as the guns themselves, it was mostly junk, Saturday night specials, or cheap ass stuff like Tec 9s or Mac 10s. We did find an AK, or a knock off of one, and we took that.  Oh and there was this nice little revolver, it had a stubby barrel, light, kind of nice for hiding.  It would be great when I was running.

As we started out the door of the evidence room, one thing caught my eye.  It was a pair of Samurai swords.  We took them for Nick and Lance.

We were back at camp around dinner time.  At Fire Pit I gave the swords to Nick and Lance. Nick looked at his closely, and smiled.

“This is a good quality blade, thank you, I will use it well.” He said.

We hadn’t seen much action so about the only ‘using well’ I thought he might do was to chop vegetables.

(Lance) Mark and I had Stephen fly us back up to Schenectady this morning to get another fuel truck.  We could have driven up, but this was quicker.  The drive back started out pretty quiet, and boring.

I never had that much chance to talk with Mark, I knew him, but I really did not know him, if you follow.  When you are on a four hour drive, with no radio, well, you talk.  I told him about some of my past, my dad, and his being away on business all the time, and how I became an Emo Kid.

He told me about how his dad had died when he was 14, and that he had a struggle with that.  But with time he did get over it, or as he said, as much as you can get over it.  It leaves a hole in your life.  His Mom (Teckla) was great, and Frank had been there for him, but still, it was hard.

He also talked about his car project.  He had been rebuilding a 1969 Dodge muscle car.  I am not a car person, but listening to him and the excitement he seemed to have toward this car was kind of neat.

Vespers tonight and Margo gave me a new Katana, I guess she and Cody had found it when they were scavenging. It is a nice blade.  I hope it never is needed, but it will be well used if it is drawn in anger.

(Matt) It was a nice day, weather was good, and after the usual morning stuff, farming and such, it was off for a little riding.  Tanya came with me and the two of us along with Mom and Tay headed toward the east this time.  We travelled about 4 hours out, and then returned.  We found nothing exciting, although had to dispatch a couple of Changed.

Tan and I took some time tonight to do some sky watching, we were particularly interested in the western sky, looking for little blips of light to see if the Hunters or aircraft might be up.  We saw nothing but it was kind of nice just sitting in the dark, watching.

July 4th

(Margo) It was a nice day, kind of warm, but not too bad.  After a light run, and breakfast, Code and I tracked down Mark.  We knew he liked to blow stuff up, or so he said, so he was probably the perfect person to help us set up the fireworks display with the stuff that we had taken from the PD.

We were setting things up on the other side of the lake by the little landing strip that we no longer use.  It gave a good view to everyone in camp and could easily be seen from the area of the Fire Pit and flagpole. And although we kept what we were doing quiet, or tried to, pretty much everyone had an idea what was going on.

Major Barkley stopped by while we were working and just made certain that we weren’t going to be starting fires.  Matt showed up a little later with a little portable water pump to make sure that if we messed up and had a fire we could put it out quickly.

While we were working on that, Nick and Grace had put together a little cook-out type of a spread for the afternoon and when we got back they had some early corn on the cob, salads, baked beans, thanks to our recent discovery, and BBQ birds, and burgers of some kind of meat.  We all learned long ago not to ask, and really, not knowing was okay.

In the afternoon it was fun, we had a little pick up whiffle ball game, kind of baseball with this light little plastic ball.  The thing had holes in it and it made it tough to hit, and it was not real good at going in a straight line.  Code and I played in the outfield.  By the end of the game, I don’t think anyone knew the score, and really, no one cared.

We did a Fire Pit tonight, and talked about some of our 4th of July memories.  Really there were none that stood out other than the standard picnic and then the fireworks.

No, actually, Stephen told us one about when he was in Afghanistan.

“We were doing the usual July 4th thing, hotdogs and hamburgers, and then a fireworks display. After a few minutes the fireworks seemed to be a little too close, the Taliban tried to launch a rocket attack on us during our fireworks display.  No one was hurt, and suddenly the outgoing fire was lighting up the area more than the aerial bombs.”

What did he call it, a ‘Spectre Gunship’ was apparently in the area and lit up (fired at) the Taliban position, and that was a highpoint for the troops watching.  Next thing, they were all singing the Star Spangled Banner.  Wow.

(Lance) Quiet day for me, I forgot it was the 4th of July, I guess over time we all just lose track of the date or maybe some holidays.  In the old days we were bombarded with sales circulars and reminders to get hot dogs, or picnic goods for the day.

I spent most of the morning playing with the Sat Comm.  I have not heard much of late from anyone, most importantly, the Pittsburgh.  I am guessing that they may still be in dive mode, but why, at this point they can do the surface thing.  It is not like they need to be secret or anything.

I did find a recorded loop message from Fort Knox, it was on a low band frequency, and it told everyone receiving that they were back in service, and that they could be reached at SAT NET 37 Alpha.  Unfortunately, I have no idea what that frequency is.  I will try to find out if I ever talk with the Pittsburgh again.

The Cook Crew did a great job making a picnic, it was like I remembered as a kid, not so much when I was in high school, by then I was pretty much gone.  But the food, I forget how much I loved corn on the cob.  Nick had some great BBQ, ah, bird…can’t say I know what kind it was, but it was kind of greasy, so I am guessing goose.  That is a kind of main stay in the meat department.  I skipped the deer burgers.

FIREWORKS…wow, just wow…..awesome, thanks Code and Margo.  You guys are the best.

(Matt) Tanya and I helped out with the cooking today, I think Nick was a little annoyed at the interference at first, but then he came to appreciate our help.  I kind of wish that I had thought of it earlier, we could have run out to Fulton / Montgomery and brought Helen down for the day.  But I doubt she would have come with us.

It is just a mellow day,

Played a little whiffle ball this afternoon, I still have that wicked curveball going, I had some of the people having fits trying to get a hit off me.  Yogi Berra had nothing on me.  Of course, some batters (Tanya & Mom) were given some plums to put out of the park.

At Vespers tonight we told old tales of the 4th that has gone by.  Most were upbeat and it was great to hear.  Uncle Elgin used to have us all up to his place in Otis for the 4th.  They, his lake association, would put on a display. It was pretty good.  They had this one thing that seemed to sort of sway back and forth as the fireworks went up creating a fan of light and explosions.  It was pretty good.

He was a dick, and should have come with us.  He might still be alive.

We had our own fireworks show tonight, and it was small, but we all still did the “ooo and aaaah” thing. Tanya and I sat on the blanket, leaning against each other, city girl, country boy, there are some things that are universal to all.

July 5th

(Lance) Early morning, Del and I did a little run and then were working on some sword practice.  I am trying to teach her a few of the techniques that Nick has taught me.  We bounce back and forth between the wooden sword when we play fight, and the real katana when working on just learning the move.  She has taken over my old katana.

This new sword, I have named it ‘Wind of the East’, is great, it is a little heavier than the old one, the one that I have given to Del.  But it is so well balanced.

Later in the morning Del talked me into a trip out to the horse farm.  She wants to meet the horses and to get the riding lessons started for us.  I am good with that, not crazy about horses, but then over time there are a lot of things I could say that I was not crazy about, and have learned to accept and even embrace.

When we arrived Teckla and Taylor were saddling up Magellan and Ranger.  They stopped and talked with us for a bit and then we had the chance to meet a couple of the horses.  Actually, Teckla had us stand in a corral and just wait while she let the rest of the horses out of the barn.  It was sort of an experiment to see what they would do with new people but also to see if there was an attraction.  Strawberry connected with Del right away, Strawberry I guess was, is the friendliest of the animals and seems drawn to women.  I think that was the horse that Chels rode a lot.

I stood there, and stood there, ignored.  No horse wanted me.  I guess I am okay with that.

I stayed behind in the barnyard as Del, Tay and Teckla mounted up and rode off to the east.  I would hang out and wait for them.  It is one of the things that is interesting about the world as we know it now.  Waiting, it seems like we are always waiting.

After about a half an hour I heard something, a clop, clop, clop coming up the road.  I figured it was the girls coming back from their ride.  I came around the corner of the barn and there was a kind of whitish greyish horse, it was kind of small I think, compared to the other.   We stared at each other.  I don’t know what to do with horses.

He, I found out it was a he when the girls got back, looked at me for a few minutes and then just walked over to me and bumped me with its head,  Almost knocked me over.  After a few awkward minutes, I thought; let me get some food for it, him, so I did.  He followed me into the barn yard and I gave him some grain.

“Well, that worked, I am thinking that you are a new kid in the barnyard, so I think I get to name you.”

Surprisingly the horse shook its head up and down.

“Samurai, I think I should call you Samurai.”

About now I heard the girls coming back from their ride and they were laughing about something.  As they came out of the trail they stopped.  Samurai actually moved closer to me, kind of hiding behind me, well as much as something that big can hide.

“Well, what do we have here?” asked Teckla.

“It appears that I have found a horse.”  I answered, “Mom, can I keep it, huh? Can I, can I?”

Of course, I knew that it would be kept, I was trying to be funny.

“Yeah, but you gotta clean up after it and take it for walks,” laughed Taylor.

I would, I felt a strange bond to this animal.  I remembered Matt talking about spirit guides; I think I need to talk to him about this.

We found him a stall in the barn and settled him in.  Then Del and I started back to camp.

At Fire Pit tonight I told them the story about Samurai and how it just showed up.  I would catch up with Matt tomorrow and find out about horses.

(Matt) Farmland, farmland, that is what today was all about, checking on the crops, picking some veggies, emptying the trap of bunnies, we had 2 today.  We have not had any more problems with the traps being raided.

At Vespers tonight Lance was very excited about his meeting the horse. Based upon what he has said it would seem that the horse found him out more than the other way around.  He wants to talk with me so I am guessing he is thinking that this creature may be special to him.  I think he is right.

(Margo) Code and I did the Bo-Peep thing today, boring.  Lucy came along and played sheep dog keeping the flock pretty much together.

The weather was kind of nice, and really, that is about all I have to write.  Oh, no wait, Lance, Lance found a horse.  That is cool, and Samurai seems like a good name for it.

I have another couple of days of sheep work and then I am going out to do some riding, Code is actually looking forward to spending some time with Chuckles so maybe we can all go.

July 6th

(Margo) Another day of Bo-Peepin’ for Code and me.  I had my sketch book in hand and Lucy at my side.  It was cloudy for most of the day but although there were a couple times I caught the smell of rain, it never did.

I worked on horse pictures today; I tried to catch images of Del and Lance riding.  I even did one with Lance all done up in a Ninja suit looking ready for battle.

Normally I would not make an entry about going pee, but this one; anyway, I headed out into the woods for that purpose, just off the trail near where there is a series of rock ledges.  While I was….you don’t need detail here, but I suddenly found that I was staring at a mountain lion with a woodchuck in its mouth. The real deal, about 10 yards away.  It was just there, we stared at each other, I was pretty much done for if she decided to take me out.  I would not be able to get to the little handgun I carried, and even if I did, it was not big enough to stop the lion.

We stared, for what seemed a long time, then she blinked, exhaled loudly and turned walking toward the ledge and gracefully bound up the rocks.

I ah, put myself back together and rushed back to the meadow and Code.

“I saw it, it was awesome, I saw it!” I exclaimed.

He looked at me, “Saw what?”

“The Mountain Lion, it was beautiful, it was 20 feet away, it was big, and the eyes.”  I was rambling on excitedly.

“You’re okay, I mean it don’t try…..”

“No, no, it just looked at me; it was fine with me being there.  It had a woodchuck.”

We talked a little more about it and then I was into the sketch book, I had to save this moment.

At Fire Pit I told everyone one what had happened, there were “wows”, and “weren’t you scared” and other comments.  Matt and Tanya sat quietly and just smiled.  I think they knew, just like I knew.  She is me.

(Matt) I had a dream last night that I actually remembered.  It was reliving the day that I found the old Indian throwing axe. I saw the Raven, and heard the noise that made me look toward it, and then the axe.

It was pretty much the standard day, nothing exciting until Vespers.  It would seem that Margo has met her guide, or maybe the other way around, a guide has found Margo.  I think its a good fit.  She was so excited at the fire.

Tanya and I talked a little about Margo and the lion, and Lance with the horse.  I know it sounds corny but I can’t help but feel that there is something going on with the rejoining of humans and animals, my Raven, Tanya with the turtle, something.

(Lance) Del and I were off to see the horses this morning, we went early, and we jogged out to the stable.  Master Nick packed us some lunch for the day.

We spent most of the day riding, getting more comfortable in the saddle, and actually spent some time with sword work while riding.  Samurai was perfect; he did not get rattled with the swinging blade.  Strawberry was a little skittish at first, but still not bad.

In the middle of the afternoon on our ride we found a small creek, and a nice little swimming hole, a nice place to cool down.  We slipped out of our riding gear and into the water, the horses munched on the nearby grass uninterested in our splashing and activities.

At Fire Pit tonight Margo told the tale of her encounter with the mountain lion.  Wow, that was so cool.

July 7th

(Margo) I did the sheep herder thing today, but I didn’t bring Lucy or Code.  It was probably stupid, dangerous stupid, but I was thinking that they might scare the mountain lion away, and I was hoping that I would see her.  I am sure it was a ‘her’ based on my dream.  I want to see the cubs, but I know that could be dangerous, look but don’t get close.  She didn’t show up, I kept listening, and looking but nothing, and the sheep seemed calm all day.

I made it up to Code tonight, I think he understood my thoughts on the lion and why I wanted to be alone out there.  But I wanted to make sure that we were good, but he smelled of stinky horses.  We found a little pool in the stream that runs into the lake and had a little “swim” after Vespers.

Not much at Vespers tonight, it was a Grace and Michelle singing night, they are both quite good, although I am not a big fan of the folksy song selection.

(Matt) I had Lance make contact with Stanwix today, it was not a scheduled call, but I just feel that there is something in the air, something happening or going to happen.  I don’t know what, but it feels like there is a storm on the horizon for either them or us.

I spoke with Ron and he said that everything up there was fine, they were getting along well and the Burlingtoners had been out doing a lot of scavenging.  They think that they have laid in almost enough food for the winter between scavenging and what they are growing.

Maybe it is just me and I am working myself into a dither over nothing.  I told Tanya about it but she said that she did not feel or sense anything.  For her everything was pretty much as it always was.

I think tomorrow I will head out to see what is happening at the stables, visit with Mom.

I’m sorry, I am distracted, trying to be in the moment, but this feeling…..

(Lance) I visited with Master Nick this morning; I told him that I had worked to apply some of the sword techniques he had taught me to horse back.  I know that it is not something that is really very useful at this point.  In an attack by a human group, firearms are going to be the order of the day.  But he did not discourage my efforts, really from day one he might comment or punish for lack of effort, but he also praised when the effort was there, even if it was not exactly perfect.  In this case, he just smiled and said, “One never knows what the winds of war carry, better to have a raincoat than a soggy shirt.”

Matt had me make contact with Stanwix this morning early.  I hooked him up and then Del and I headed out to the stables again today.  We planned to take a ride with Teckla and Taylor. Chelsea and Cody were also there.  So was Lucy, it seems that Lucy and the horses have found a level of comfort with each other.  I think at this point the horse see the coyote as just a dog, and not a threat.

We set off about 10 am and headed east to the railroad tracks and then headed to the south on the tracks. It was a pretty boring ride from a scenery stand point, but it was cool, with most of the tracks shaded on both sides.  It is amazing what nature has done in the year and a half since the trains ran and modern civilization ended.

We reached a little town called South Washington about 1:30.  We checked the town out and it was like a little larger version of Peru, three traffic lights, a couple of gas stations and drug store (mom and pop type, no CVS).  We scavenged what we could, got some drugs and medications, a few odds and ends, like a couple of guns, and not much else, the town had been ransacked before so the food was pretty much taken, or what was left would not be good to eat.

We did find a half a dozen chickens running around, and with a fair amount of difficulty were able to herd them into some cages that we found.  They might be good for eggs, or if not, I could go for some real fried chicken.  We were able to strap the cages to the backs of the saddles and then we started back north.

We talked along the way about not much of anything.  But I noted that Chelsea was lagging behind a little.  She had tried to get near Taylor, but it seemed there was a friction between them and Taylor kept their conversation short, and then try to catch Cody, or Teckla or Del and talk with them.

I drifted back to try to talk with Chelsea.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked her.

“Huh, Oh, yeah, just thinking, and I am a little down right now.” She said.

“You gonna be okay? Anything I can do to help?”

“No, I think about Ethan, and what we had, and really I would like to be in that kind of relationship again, but well, the choices are pretty limited. I mean, you got Delany, and Margo has Cody, and well, it is just not a good situation, Tay is in the same boat, we are peas in a pod.”  And as she spoke, she was kind of looking off into the distance.

“Have you ever thought about heading up to Stanwix, I am sure that there are some eligible candidates there,” I offered.

“Maybe, but I still am hoping….oh, never mind.  I am okay,” and with that, the conversation ended.

We were back at horse farm at around 4.  We released the chickens into the barnyard, unsaddled and brushed the horses.  They were watered and fed and then it was time to head back to the main camp.

While Del and I walked back I told her about the talk that I had with Chelsea.

“Ya know, for someone who could have been in Mensa sometimes you seem more a candidate for Densa”, she laughed.

“What do you mean?”  I was a little taken back.

“Well, see, Chelsea is in love, or at least infatuation.” Del said.

“Yeah but she said there were no eligible guys in the camp and she….oh, OH…I…”

“Ah and the light goes on….yes, Lance, she is interested in Taylor.  She had told Margo about it, about how they had gotten really close for a while, I mean really close, but Taylor either wasn’t ready or is just not ….well, you know”, explained Del.

The topics of discussion shifted, but in the back of my mind I could not help but visualize, I think it is a guy thing.

July 8th

(Matt) Hazy, hot and humid this morning, and afternoon, then a couple of thunderstorms rolled in and it did cool it down a little.  They were not wicked storms, no high winds or hail.

Farmland is all doing well, no bunnies this morning in the traps.

After lunch Tanya and I took a walk out to the stables and did a little time feeding and watering the horses as well as mucking out stalls.  I think that was a good thing.  It puts me back in touch with something old, something earthy.

Vespers tonight were held a little later than we usually hold them, that was because of the last storm rolling through.  It was kind of a sparse in the turn out department, just Tan and I along with Mark and Michelle, Stephen and Heather, and Grace.  It was a quiet gathering, mostly just looking into the Fire Pit, not much said.

(Margo) Bo-Peeped it today, it sucked in the morning, by the time I got to the field I was soaked with sweat.  Did not move around much; found some shade and that was that.

The sheep seemed a little pensive, not something gonna eat me pensive, but more there is something out there, on the edge pensive.  It made me think that it was not the mountain lion, but maybe a fox, or something like that.

About 3 or so the clouds began to roll in and I could hear the distant thunder.  I brought the sheep back a little early.  The storms began around 4 pm and continued until well after dinner.  Code and I were just not into the Fire Pit thing tonight so we stayed in the cabin.

(Lance) What a crappy day, I mean the sun was out, but it was too hot and uncomfortable to do anything.  I had no desire to be on a hot horse so we stuck close to home.

I spent the day trying to get a hold of the Pittsburgh or anyone else that might have been on the Sat-Comm.  It is good to be the tech king with an air-conditioner.  Del spent the day in the computer room with me.

Fire Pit tonight was late, and well, we were just not into it.  We stayed in my cabin/office and enjoyed the cool.

July 9th

(Matt) Fitful night sleep, There were dreams, dreams of chaos, of evil.  I would awaken in the middle of them, sweating, but I had little recollection of the specifics, a raven staring at me, and telling me to fly.  A flash of a horse and a mountain lion in fights for their lives, but no more, not why this was happening, or what it was about.

In the morning I asked Tan if she had any weird dreams.  She said she hadn’t.  Perhaps it was just a dream, perhaps I should let it go, but….

We did the typical runs to the veggie field and then checked on the cornfields, they are doing well, we have been getting enough rain and it looks like the year will be a good one crop wise.

On the way back from the cornfields Tanya and I stopped at the horse farm.  I spoke with Mom, and everything seems good out there.  The horses are doing well and are all pretty used to being ridden.  Tanya and I did a little riding on Black Olive and Lemon Drop.

While we were there we had the chance to watch Del and Lance on their horses.  They are going full tilt knight, or should I say samurai.  They were riding and swinging their swords while working in unison to deal with an unseen foe.   Samurai, Lance’s horse, was just so nimble, it was a warrior, a fighter, and it just seemed to unite with Lance and they worked as one.  I think that he has found his spirit guide.

Dinner tonight was a kind of salad night, Nick is trying to use up some of the old pasta that we have in storage because it is getting to the point where it is really well beyond its expiration date.  We try to waste nothing.

Vespers tonight was just the usual, a few songs, a little reflection on where we have been, and that was about it.

(Margo) I saw the cubs! I was doing the sheep thing today and had to pee.  While I was in the woods I saw Momma, and she had the two cubs.  They were on the top of the ledge, looking down at me.  They are so cute!  Momma did not seem to mind my being there, I think she is used to me; we have a link, a peace.

It is funny, in seeing her I have the hunter coming back to me.  I have been sheep herding too long, I need to get back into the woods and need to hone my skills, and I have become soft.  Well, not exactly soft, but complacent.

It is not like the old days in the winter, when we needed food.  With the rabbits and the gardens we are good in that way, but like I said, I am out of practice.  Del has been spending so much time at the horse farm we have kind of lost touch with that aspect.  We were once known as “The Huntresses”.  Now, I am Bo-Peep and she is playing My Little Pony.

At Vespers tonight I told everyone about seeing the mountain lion and her cubs.  I did leave out the part about why I was in the woods, TMI!

I was still buzzing about it when we got back to the cabin.  Code, he was good about it, and listened as I went on and on.  I made it worth his while.

(Lance) Tried to get ahold of the Pittsburgh again today, I think I may have heard a little static that may have been them, but it could also be that they are under water or in the summer we sometimes get some radio interference as a result of solar activity.  As I recall, back when I was still in school when there was school, they talked about the Sun entering an active cycle, and that the next two or three years would have a greater number of solar flares and storms.

Del and I went out to the horse farm today, we worked on horse and sword play.  Samurai is just a natural, and we just make a great team.  Del is good on Strawberry.  Strawberry seems to follow the lead of Samurai.  Not that we will ever need to do it, but the four of us, horses and humans work so well together as a fight team.

Fire Pit tonight was pretty mellow, some songs, some thoughts about the past, like how we have grown as a community, tighter, not bigger, but that may change when Heather has her baby and if it is normal, we may see a “baby boom”.

Then there was Margo, she was bouncing about seeing the baby mountain lions.   She seems to be linked to them, kind of weird, but she is a hunter.  In fact, after Fire Pit she was talking to Del about getting back out and doing some hunting, getting back into practice.

July 10th

(Lance) I have decided that it is better for me if I sit down and try to do my journals in the morning, I can do my tries at getting hold of the Pittsburgh, or for that matter anyone else on the Sat-Comm earlier in the morning.

Del and I are scheduled for sheep duty today, so it is going to be a long, boring day.

Catch you in the morning,

(Matt) It was very hot and humid today, and we had no storm activities in the afternoon to cool it down.  It was a water day for many, even Tanya suggested a little cooling off in the lake this afternoon.

I was not troubled by dreams last night, or at least nothing specific.  Actually, maybe that’s a good idea; I should log my dreams when I can recall them.  Maybe even put a little pad and paper by the bed to make notes.

We skipped the cornfields and the horses today, it is too hot to ride and there is really little happening out at the field.  We did our veggie run, and brought back a couple of bunnies.

Vespers tonight was well attended, I am not sure why, there was nothing much going on.  Mom and Taylor rode over and joined us.  They told us that they had had a 10th horse show up at the farm.  It was a big old draft horse, more for pulling wagons than riding.

Margo wants to talk with me tomorrow about spirit guides.  I am guessing she believes there is a connection with that mountain lion.

(Margo) I had originally planned on going to the horse barn today, but I had to get out to the area where the sheep graze, I wanted to see if I could or would see the mama lion.  I did not have to twist Lance’s arm very hard to get him to let me take his day out there.

Code came along and we just sat.  I was as squirmy as anything, every noise, rustling leaf, anything and I was looking.  She did not show up.

After Vespers tonight I caught up to Matt.  I want to talk to him tomorrow about this spirit guide thing.  I know that the mountain lion is mine, my guide.  OMG, am I getting a little OCD on this?  Yeah, maybe, but it seems important.

July 11th

(Lance) Up early again, did some time trying to reach anyone on the Sat-Comm.  I did get a very weak skip signal from a post or base out in Alaska.  I could make out very little, only that they heard us, they were in Fairbanks, and at this point they were okay, but supplies were getting low, and they were going to relocate.  But they didn’t say where, or when.

Let me back track to yesterday.  I was supposed to do the sheep thing but fortunately Margo took the slot from me.  She and Code covered it for the day.  That was good, and although it was very warm, Del and I headed out to do some riding.  We decided against sword work and just did a little scavenging to the east.  I say scavenging, but really it is more a scout trip.

On the road we found a couple of houses, and barns, but there was not much in them, or should I say not much of use in them.  We did see some small caliber handguns that were next to mummified remains and a few old cans of pet food, but not much that would aid in our efforts.

On the way back we were heading west on Skyline Trail I thought I heard something, a steady clop, clop, clop that seemed to be following us. We stopped and listened.  Yes, it was a horse, and it was coming toward us, actually catching up to us.  After a couple of minutes a large brown and white horse came around the corner.  It was massive; it was like a Clydesdale from the beer commercials long ago with the white face and feet.  It just walked along.  When it got to about 40 yards from us it stopped, and stared.

Finally, Del slipped off of Geisha and started to walk toward the horse.  It seemed fine with that, and walked toward Del, they met. Something happened, like it was with Samurai, they connected.  After a couple of minutes, they walked back to where I was with the other horses, but when Del started to move to get on Strawberry, the big horse stepped between them.  It was weird, it was like, “No, you are my rider; you no longer need that little one.”

“I get it,” said Del, and with much difficulty managed to climb, struggling, onto the big girl.

We headed back west, Del, riding bareback, and Strawberry following along.  Samurai and I were in the lead.  The big horse, no saddle, no reins, nothing, yet she just followed along and it was like the horse was keeping Del on her back, and balanced.

At one point, Del drew her katana, and waved it around a little; the horse looked about, but seemed fine with it.   Samurai seemed to sense that with the sword out there was something going on so he also become very alert.

We arrived back at the barn and as we arrived Teckla and Tay were just finishing up the feeding and watering of the other horses.

“Room for one more?” asked Del.

“Of course, wow, that’s a big old girl” noted Tay.

“How did you find her?” asked Teckla.

“More she found us.” And Del told the story.

“Well, let’s get her settled in, Delany, you best do that, you two have a bond already.  What are you gonna call her?” Tay asked.

“Wow, had not thought of that.”

So the un-named horse was placed in a stall, fed and watered.  Strawberry and Samurai were also bedded down for the evening.

Del and I headed back to the camp, Teckla and Tay rode over around dinner time and told Del that the new addition was doing fine.

“Shinigami, I think I will name her Shinigami, it goes with Samurai, and I like the sound.” Del said.

“Shinigami?” asked Tay.

“It is a spirit that invites humans to their death, from Japanese culture.”  I said, “Del, I think it kind of works, but let’s hope she’s not inviting you.”

She smiled, “No, you don’t get rid of me that easy sword boy”

(Matt) Let me start with the dream log, I rapidly wrote down a few things this morning, I did have a dream last night.  It was a weird one, and I don’t see how it could have anything to do with anything.

A changed war, with two types, good Changed and bad Changed in the war.  I am leading the forces and feel that the ones standing at attention along the road that we are marching on to get the bad Changed’s fort are good guys.  My second in command thinks they are evil and he bonks one on the head with a wooden spoon.  The Changed could talk and tells him that he is a good guy and to knock it off.  We fight our way into the main evil compound. The good Changed tell us that we can kill the evil Changed by farting.  So our guys are going into room after room killing evil Changed..  I have to face down the head Changed and I fart up a storm.

Yeah, it is pretty messed up.  I have no idea what it all means.

Margo stopped by this morning.

“Matt, you know I believe that the mountain lion is my spirit animal” she began.  “But I am not sure what that means.”

“Well, it is pretty easy, it just means that the particular animal and you share certain qualities and that the spirit keeps you on the path to being what you are.”  I told her.

“Okay, I see that, but what is the mountain lion, what are its characteristics that make her unique as opposed to other animals.”

“That is a little more difficult, and you need to think that one through yourself.  The easy and obvious is that she is a hunter, and a good and powerful one.  She also works alone; she is not a herd animal.  She has her mate, and her cubs and she defends them fiercely but that she is also part of the greater circle of nature.”  I added.

“I see” she said thoughtfully.

“Does that fit who you are, or want to be?” I asked.

“Yes, yes it does!” she answered.

“It would appear that another animal spirit has arrived.” I said, and in the back of my mind I thought ‘Poor Lucy’.

(Margo) I split the day with Jan and Fred to do the Bo-Peep thing.  I wanted to catch Matt this morning on the Mountain Lion and why she is so important to me.

Matt and I talked and he kind of explained the basics to me. I am like the mountain lion, that is a hunter, with strong family ties to my little ones, but that is really basic human stuff.  There is more, and I think that she has something to teach me, something else beyond just the basics.  I feel she watches over me.  We met, we looked at each other, we checked each other out, and she did not kill me, or eat me.  There is something else.

Maybe it is all imaginary psycho stuff, but then, I guess perception is reality.

Not much happened after I relieved Jan and Fred today.  And that was fine.

Vespers tonight were cool, it was sing along night, Biter and Lucy howled along.

July 12th

(Lance) I do not like doing the journal entries in the morning, although it does give me a chance to think things through from yesterday, I am thinking that little extra bed time is a good thing.

I tried to reach out on the Sat-Comm again this morning and I did get in touch with the Pittsburgh, They are currently in the south part of the Atlantic.  According to Captain Katzung they are having some problems with the communications systems and they believe that it is the result of the solar flares and storms that are going on.  Of course, there is no proof of that because we have no NASA to tell us what is going on out there.

He said that they are going to be going on a dive for a few days; I guess they want to try to approach a couple of locations on the west coast of Africa to check a few things out.  They have been getting some transmissions from the region and are unsure if it is an abandoned location with a continual message loop, or if it is an actual group of survivors.  But either way, they feel the need to confirm the situation and then they plan to be back in their regular North Atlantic patrol area in about a week to 10 days.

Yesterday was kind of a nothing day, it was hot, it was humid, and really nothing was going on.  Del and I headed out to the horse barn but it was too hot to ride, we just did horse maintenance, clean the stables, feed, water, the usual.  Actually, the feeding part was more just let them out and wander around a field close by.  In talking to Teckla, she decided that it would be best just to let them roam the field and eat grass.  It is not like there are predators that would bother them, and we should save the hay and oats that we have left for the winter.

A little visit to the lake after fire pit, and then Del and I sat and watched the western sky.  No moving lights were seen.  I guess that is a good thing.

(Margo) After breakfast I got my hunting gear together and Code and I headed out.  We are going to start getting back into the mode, for the fall.  We are not thinking that we want to kill anything, for food that is.  Right now we are well stocked, but it would be good to just get the feel.

It was not as hot in the woods as I would have imagined, but the friggin’ mosquitos  and black flies were in full bloom, especially near the stream to the west side of the camp.  It got better once we got a little further into the woods.

We did see some deer, and could have easily gotten one. As I stalked it I thought, “I am a lion, I am patient, I am powerful”.  I aimed my rifle.  Code was with me the entire time, and we did well in staying quiet, the deer never knew we were there until the click of the rifle hammer hitting down on the empty chamber.  The deer looked up for a minute but then returned to eating. Killing it would have been a waste.

As we walked back toward camp I asked Code, “What is your spirit guide?”

“I, ah, I don’t know, I don’t think I have one.  I never thought about it.” He answered.

“Isn’t there some animal that you identify with, that seems to talk to you?”

“Nope, not really,” he said.

“Even as a kid?”

“No, I, no animal that I remember, or for that matter, I don’t even think I had an imaginary friend.”

“Oh” I mumbled as we continued to walk.  I can’t help but believe that we all have a guide, maybe not.  I don’t know.

Salads for dinner, Vespers, a dip in the lake and then we sat out with Lance and Del and watched the sky.  Lucy curled up and lay at our feet.

(Matt) No scary dreams or at least not that I remember.  And other than the usual trip to the farmlands nothing happened.  It was hot, but then it is July, and that is about it from here.

July 13th

(Lance) Matt stopped by this morning after breakfast; he was getting ready to head out to the fields but was curious if I had been in contact with Stanwix.  I hadn’t, and he was not telling me why he was curious.  Maybe I will try to give them a call later.

Del and I took the morning shift to do the sheep thing. Cody and Margo wanted to get out to the stables to visit with the horses; they had not been there in a while.  We all had been talking about the contact with the horses and thought it might be a good idea to try to not miss a lot of days out there right now.  We wanted them used to us.

After lunch Margo and Lucy came out and relieved us, and then we took our turn to see the horses.  I saddled up Samurai but we had no saddle big enough to work on Shinigami, so Del did the bareback thing, for some reason that seems to work for her.  We did about an hour ride.

We were back at camp for about 4:30.  I tried to reach Stanwix and was able to make contact with Ron, our old campmate.  I asked him if everything was okay and he said other than a kind of stomach bug going around but all was good.  We chatted for a bit, exchanged the usual niceties and that was about it.

At fire pit I mentioned to Matt that I had spoken to Ron and that all was well at Stanwix.

(Margo) Code and I headed out to the horse farm this morning, just to spend some time with Lemon Drop and Chuckles, to kind of keep them used to us, although missing a day or two would not seem to be that much of an issue in my mind.

In the afternoon, Lucy and I headed out to relieve Del and Lance who were doing the Bo-Peep thing.  Code came out about an hour later, he had some things he had to do with the Major, and I think it may have been a medical thing but he was not talking about it.

The afternoon was quiet, and although my OCD toward the lion was there, I was able to control it.  But I was hoping to see her, and the cubs. I wonder where daddy lion is.

Weather was good, quiet night, fire pit, bed.

(Matt) Another dream, this one was not fun.  It had to do with Stanwix; something was going on up there.  Well, actually let me back up.  In the dream Tanya and I headed out to Stanwix, it was to have a filling replaced, or a tooth pulled or some dental problem that we could not take care of here. When we got there the place was empty, no one was left there.  There were some signs of some fighting and a few dead Changed.  It was weird because they were ‘fresh’, recently changed.  Then, I woke up.

I told Tanya about the dream and she seemed concerned and suggested that I see if Lance had talked with them lately.  I did, and he hadn’t.

We did the crops run, no bunnies today.

At Vespers tonight Lance told me that he had called over to Stanwix and that when he talked to Ron everything was fine.  Karen was coming along well in her recovery and they were almost to the point in food scavenging where they feel that they would be good to get through the winter.

I asked him if he would keep in touch with them, give them a call every day or so.

July 14th

(Matt) Another dream last night, I remembered parts of this one.  I came back to camp, our camp, but it was a mess.  There were strewn bodies and severed limbs all over the ground.  It was horrible.  I saw no one living, and yet I saw no bodies of us, of the people who lived here.

I believe that dreams visit us for a reason.  There is something out there, a storm that is coming to us.  But I have nothing to prove it other than a night vision.  What to do.

I was troubled by it all day long, while we were at the farm fields, and we were back at camp doing not much of anything.

“Tanya, I think we have something coming our way, something bad.”  I told her as I related my dream to her.

“I haven’t had anything to show that to me, no dreams, or feelings, are you sure?” she answered.

“No and that is the part I am struggling with.  Should I go to The Three? If for no other reason to make us all keep our guard up?”

“Well dummy, you sort of have told The Three because I am part of it remember? But I think it would be good to talk to your Mom about it” suggested Tanya.

“Yeah, tomorrow, when we go to the fields, let’s visit the stables, we can ride and talk with her about it.”

Vespers were quiet, but I did talk a little about how we have had it good for a while and that we needed to be careful not to become complacent.

(Lance) It was kind of a lazy day, not much was going on, I did some routine checks on the electrical systems, and all seems well.

Taylor and Teckla rode over from horse farm.  Taylor did a check of the food inventory, and shared the information with The Three.  They hung out with us for dinner but with the clouds forming off in the west the decided that they would skip fire pit.

Matt was kind of somber tonight, he talked about how we have been lucky of late, with nothing happening, I guess I should say nothing bad happening.  It is like there is something troubling him.

(Margo) I saw them again, Momma and the cubs, it was not a long look, but it was a look. I was out doing some stalking and as I rounded a corner in the dirt path near the ledges she was there, just sitting, facing the path in my direction, the cubs were behind her.  It was just like the sketch I had done.  I stopped, we stared, and then she lowered her eyes and walked off into the woods.  The cubs followed.

I can’t top that story, I thought of nothing else for the rest of the day.  Momma Lion, why was she there, she had to know I was coming, smelled me, heard me, but she was just waiting.

I probably made Code crazy talking to him about it.  We skipped Vespers tonight, I was so excited.

July 15th

(Lance) I will not say that Matt put me on edge, exactly, but I am watching more, listening more, but have heard or seen nothing unusual.

I made a call out to Stanwix this morning to see how they were doing.

Their illness seems to be getting worse; I mean more people are getting it.  Among the symptoms are diarrhea and throwing up.

“Yeah, you get to talk to me, Ron, and Langley and most of the rest are puking their brains out, and if they have anything left, that comes out the other end,” said LJ.

“I can have Doc Barkley talk to you, maybe he can head your way.” I offered.

“No, no sense in subjecting your camp to it, and besides, we have a couple doctors here, and they think it is just a bug, the key is to keep hydrated and to ride out the “shit” storm.”

I passed the word to Doc Barkley.  The Major said that they seemed to be doing the right things, and that his heading out there would not likely do much good.

Del and I headed out to the stables and did some riding; Matt and Tanya were also there, but they were on some other mission. Del and I played at horseback sword work.  By the end of the afternoon we were pretty hot and tired.  The lake would feel good tonight.

Margo was off the wall at Fire Pit tonight.

(Margo) Code and I drew Bo-Peep duty today, and I am glad we did.  About noon time I left Code and Lucy with the sheep and I headed out to the area where I saw the mountain lion yesterday.  When I got there I didn’t see her, although tracks were there, her tracks and the cubs.  I followed the tracks for a little bit and then heard a noise, kind of a growly-meow.  It was up ahead a little bit.

As I cleared a corner in the trail I saw Momma Lion, and she was looking into what seemed a hole.  She was agitated; here tail was twitching like crazy.  From the hole, that seemed where the noise was coming from.  One of the cubs was in there. What to do….I knew, I had to save the cub.  But would Momma let me.

“Momma” I said softly at first, then a little louder.

The lion looked at me, then back at the hole.

“I know Momma, I think I can help.”

She looked at me again.

I took a step toward her, and the hole, she growled, the ears went back.

“No, no it is okay, I’m gonna help you, I’m gonna save your baby.” I said in a calm voice; but I was not calm in the inside.

Another step toward the lion, she growled, but not so much now.

A few more steps and I was on the other side of the hole, if Momma wanted to she could have jumped over the hole and killed me.  But she didn’t, she was still agitated, her tail was twitching a hundred miles an hour.

“Let me climb down, let me get the baby,” I told her in a calm gentle voice.  Inside, I was screaming, my heart was racing.  I moved to the edge of the hole and looked in. it was a crevice in the rock and narrow, about 2 ½ feet wide, and 6 feet deep.  I could fit in there, it would be a struggle, but I think I can get in, raise the cub up, and then climb out.

By now, I think Momma seemed to trust me; she was pacing, but seemed calmer.

I lowered myself into the hole; I had to be careful not to step on the little guy.  I got to the bottom.  Now I had to work the cub from the floor up over my head.  Fortunately, it was a little wider on the bottom then at the opening.  I twisted and turned and was able to grab the cub by the scruff of the neck, he hollered a lot about that, and as I brought him up, over my knee I felt his claws sink into my thigh.  It hurt, a lot, but it didn’t matter, I was going to do this.

Finally, I got the squirming cub over my head, but I knew that I could not get out of the hole with cub in hand.  I looked to figure if I could toss him enough to get him clear. It wasn’t a long throw, but at 20 or so pounds, it was not going to be easy.

“Momma,” I yelled, “a little help here.”

I held the cub up as high as I could. It squirmed, and then I felt something wet on my hand, wet, and then hard, I was able to push my left hand up under the cub and get my right hand off the top.  As I did so, the cub began to rise up, Momma had it.  She lifted him out of the hole. He was free.

By the time I got out of the hole they were gone, back into the woods.  I would have liked them to stay, and thank me, but now I am thinking of them as human, or have listened to too many Matt stories.

As I walked back toward the sheep pasture the adrenaline was wearing off, as was the euphoria of what had just happened.  I suddenly began to feel my leg; it was bleeding, and pretty scratched up.

When I showed back up to where Code and the sheep were, he asked what happened.  I told him, I had to be talking very fast because he kept telling me to slow down.

We brought the sheep back early today and he made me see Doc Barkley, I told him the story as he cleaned the wounds left by the cub’s claws.

“Well there Missy, looks like you may have some trouble shaving that leg for a little bit.  Those are some nasty scratches, and they will leave scars, but I think you will be fine, we just have to watch for infection,” he told me.

“I don’t care, it will be a reminder for the rest of my life, it was such a great rush.”

Come to think of it, when was the last time I did shave my legs, or pits….modern woman problems we don’t face anymore.

At Vespers tonight I told the story again.  At the end, Matt said that it appeared that my spirit animal had marked me.

(Matt) I don’t recall the dream, it was dark, it was apocalyptic, but that is all I can remember.

I talked with Lance this morning, and asked if he has had any contact with the sub or Stanwix.  He told me that he had spoken to both and other than a bug of some kind at Stanwix everything seemed normal and okay.

Tanya and I headed out to the stables today.  I talked with Mom about the dreams, and that I had a concern about them.  Actually, I’m very worried about Stanwix, but tried to minimize it.

Tan and I did a little riding, but we stayed away from Lance and Del, they were just way too much into this knight on horseback trip for us.

Vespers tonight was dominated by Margo and her lion story.  Wow is all I can say.  Raven was much gentler when he became my spirit guide.  But then Mountain Lion is power, and it would make sense.

July 16th

(Matt) What is it with the weird dreams, and why am I seeming to have them more and more?  Well, at least I remember some details to this one.

In this one, I was living in an old house with a group of people, it was in a post-apocalyptic time and we were each divided into groups with special tasks.  My group is assigned to hunt squirrels; they were about the last meat source left for us.   While scavenging for food we find this weird house in the woods.

Inside we found a pile of some kind of nuts; I think we used to call them “pig nuts”.  They weren’t acorns, but I remember them, and they were good eating.

We turned away from the stack of nuts and when we turned back around they were gone.  Strange, I thought and we started to look around to see what had happened to them.  I walked into a room, like a bedroom and there was a stack of nuts on the floor.  I started to head toward them when I saw a little panel on the bottom of the wall move, actually it was more a bit of the wall paper bulging and moving.  I quietly walked over and stuck my hands through the wall and grabbed what was there.

It was a thin, emaciated teenaged girl. I dragged her to the middle of the room and let her go.  She kind of squatted there in the middle of the room.  She was naked, and in her matted hair there were twigs and sticks.  Her face was, well it simply reminded me of a squirrel.

I asked her some questions like if she was alone, or who was she, but all she did was make a little chirpy kind of noise, like a squirrel, she would look around the room, clearly feeling trapped.  But she was going to defend her nuts.

I woke up.

What did it mean, what was that dream all about, protecting food, finding food? Was the squirrel actually “Squirrel” giving us a message about food, or nuts or something?  I don’t know.

Tanya and I talked about it, and she could see the idea of the squirrel, the collector, the hoarder, but she couldn’t see what the dream was about.  We have been good at saving and storing food.  We should be good for the winter, or at least the winter we have known.

Dreams, I have learned, do not just show up, there is a message, there is something leading us somewhere, but where.

Tanya and I spent the day doing the usual crop stuff, but that thought, that issue of food, and maybe hoarding keep nagging at me.

Vespers tonight I decided that it would be good to share the dream and a little about Squirrel with the others in the camp.  It did not seem to cause anyone to stand up and say “Oh yeah, I was thinking we should …….”  I just don’t know.

(Margo) Slept terrible last night, my leg felt like it was on fire, from the claw marks.  I did not feel like doing anything today and moving, walking was painful.

I hobbled out to Fire Pit tonight, Code helped me. Matt talked about another spirit animal, sorry, just not into writing today. Going to try to sleep.

(Lance) I tried to ring up our friends at Stanwix this morning,  I got no answer, Maybe just a few minutes when no one heard the radio, but maybe the bug is getting worse.  I will try again later in the day.

Del and I bicycled out to the stable today.  We did a little riding, headed to the northeast, though the woods.  We found a couple of abandoned houses.  When we checked them out we saw that one family did not wait for the end but took their own lives, it is a reminder of how it was.  I think with the way things are now, we sometimes forget that.

When we got back tonight I tried to contact Stanwix again, still nothing.  While I was at it I tried to reach the Pittsburgh, but they may still be on deep dive or heading to that place in West Africa.

Del and I did Fire Pit tonight, it was a Matt story night, hiding food supplies, now that is an interesting thought, kind of a ‘what if’.  We never considered that before.  We always seemed to just assume that it would be okay.

July 17th

(Lance) I tried to reach Stanwix again this morning, and still there is no answer.  I am concerned about this.  I don’t know what to do about it.  But I passed the information on to the Major and Matt.  I tried again in the evening and still nothing.

Del and I went out and visited with Samurai and Shinigami.  We didn’t need to feed or water them because they were in the fields.   Del easily hopped onto Shinigami, and I was going to saddle up Samurai, but then thought, maybe I would try to ride him bareback.  It kind of worked, I think that I could learn to do this, heck, the Indians did it most of the time.

We did a little ride, and once I got into the flow, it was good, but it would be a tough thing if we were in battle I think.  We may have to experiment a little with that next time.

Fire pit was pretty much the standard thing, although Matt did say that he and the Major had talked and that we would be sending a few folks out toward Stanwix to try to make contact.

(Matt) It was a day of doing the usual stuff, run to the veggie garden, and cornfields.  When we got back from that I talked to Lance about Stanwix, he still has not been able to contact them.  I am concerned, but he said that in the past he has had trouble making contact.  I talked with Doc Barkley about it.  He was also concerned and when Lance told us that he was unable to make contact in the afternoon or early evening we decided that someone should make the trip out there to see what is going on.

Lance did not make contact and as a result we are going, by we, I mean Tanya, and me.  The Major wanted to come also, but Heather is close to having her baby, it is any day now and he feels that under that condition he should remain behind.  Mom and Tay have decided that they will go with us.  We are going to take the horses; it will be a couple of days or so out and back, but it the best way to get out there.

At Vespers tonight we told everyone about the plan, and that although we thought it was just a radio glitch (kind of an untruth) we would be careful.  We will pack up tonight and leave in the morning.

While Tanya and I were putting our gear together we talked about the trip, we had a path mapped out that we had traveled before, and also knew where we could stop, so we did not need to bring a lot of extra things like tents and such.  Nick put together a week of food for us, canned and dried stuff mostly.  But we should be fine, there was plenty for the horses to eat on the way and water should not be an issue.

“Should we try to stop and see Helen on the way, and maybe see how Linda is doing?”  Tanya asked.

“I would like to see Helen, and that scruffy cat of hers.  Linda, well maybe, but I think we should maybe save that for the way back, I feel that we need to get there, to the fort directly, not too much waste of time.” I answered.

“Yeah, that makes sense.  Do you think they are alright?” She asked.

“I hope so, just a bug, but, really, no, I think it is not good, I can’t say why, but I am very afraid for them.”

We crawled into bed for the night and held each other close, there was desperation to it.

No dreams that I remember.

(Margo) Breakfast as usual, Lance was talking about not being able to reach Stanwix, and that they might be something going on with some flu thing or something.  We have been lucky in that regard when you think about it.

Had Bo-Peep duty today, Code came with me, but I made Lucy stay behind.  She hung out with Jan and Fred for the day.  I kept walking out to the woods to see if Mama was there.  My leg is much better, still tender, but better.

Nothing, no lions, I was kind of bummed out.

At Vespers tonight Matt told us all of the plans to ride out to Stanwix and check on Keith, and Ron and the others.  He seems to think it is a radio thing.  But there was that flu bug Lance had talked about.  But I can’t believe that would be that bad, you feel like crap for a couple of days, and then back to normal.

July 18th

We saw Matt and those going to Stanwix off this morning.  I can understand the idea of the horse trip, truck would have been easier but it is a good opportunity to test long distance travel by horseback.

Lance and Del are going to spend the time out at the stables taking care of the rest of the horses.  I think that is a good idea.  Someone has to do it and although Code and I volunteered we did not get picked, so it worked out well.  I can do some sheep duty as well as walk in the area that the Mountain Lions hang out.

It was a wicked hot day and the storms rolled in about 3 in the afternoon.  We brought the sheep back to pen early because of it.  I hope the riders missed the storm.  I guess it would depend on how far they got.

Vespers tonight were kind of strange, it was Grace who ran them, and she did a good job.  But it was just different without Matt and Tanya.  I think it was like going to church and having no priest there.

Code and I did a little lake time after dark.  Lucy did not come with us.  She has been spending more time with Fred and Jan; it is like she senses that link to Mama.

(Matt) We left early this morning to try to get to Stanwix within three or four days.  I sense that there is something wrong there, but also that rushing in is not a great idea.  We had planned to be on the other side of Albany by this evening.  We actually made it to the outskirts of Schenectady. We made few stops along the way, we can scavenge and explore on the way back.

There was not much conversation along the way; I think we were all considering what might be going on at Stanwix.  Did the flu wipe them out, were they just too sick to answer, or was there something else going on.  There is no way of telling.

It had looked like we were going to get a storm for a little while in the afternoon, but that moved south of us, probably hit the folks back at camp.

We found a little B&B just east of the city to stay for the night.  It wasn’t somewhere that Tanya and I had visited on the pilgrimage.  This place had a little supply of canned goods so we ate well for the evening, if corned beef hash and canned corn are eating well.

On the back deck there was a little fireplace and we got a nice fire going as dusk rolled in. And after staring at the fire for a while and just sitting we called it quits.  We took bedrooms on the second floor and rigged some noise makers to the stairs so that if something came in we could react.  The horses were tethered in the backyard.  We were not too concerned.  We had seen no one alive since we left Albany, and then it was only a couple of very decayed Changed.

(Lance) Del and I are going to stay at the horse house for the time that Tay and Teckla are away.  Someone needs to do it, and we can spend time with Samurai and Shinigami, practicing, but then practicing for what, really.  It is not like we have seen hordes of Zoms, or wolves or anything.

Before we left I tried to reach the Pittsburgh.  I actually got through and spoke with Captain Katzung.  He said that they had made contact with the parties that had sent the signal and that the ship was about 3 days out of New London on its way back to refit and drop some people off.

We skipped Fire Pit tonight, during the thunderstorm this afternoon we kind of hunkered down and just stayed close to the stables.

July 19th

(Matt)We got an early start this morning and were able to get through Schenectady with only minor delays, a few Changed, and then a heavy downpour.  We tucked into a parking garage for an hour or so waiting for the rain and thunder to subside.  We were back on the road again by 10:30.

This trip we were in a little bit more of a hurry and we were taking the Mass Pike, well actually I-90.  We were trying for the direct route rather than the route that Tanya and I had taken the last time we were heading this way.

We kept our eyes open for Hunters, and had our helmets handy if we should see any, or make contact.  We also watched for reload canisters from those devices.

We rode through lunch and had a kind of trail mix and some jerky that Nick had supplied us.  We want to make it to Fonda by night fall.  We did make it and were again able to finds a little B&B, Mabel’s for the night.  We picketed the horses in the backyard and sat out having some canned stew that we found in the basement pantry.  Over dinner we talked about Stanwix and the unanswered question of what would we find there.  I am hopeful, but fear the worse.

Once again we set up the upstairs for sleeping with noise makers on the stairs.

(Margo) Code and I got a pass on the sheep duty today so we ended up taking the bikes out to the horse farm and did some riding.  Actually the four of us took the horses and headed toward the Hinsdale using the railroad tracks as the path.  It was not for much more than to get some riding time in.

It is interesting to see Del and Lance riding bareback.  They seem to have it down.  At one point as we neared the rail terminal a horde of a half dozen Zoms started staggering toward us.  They were in pretty rough shape; they had changed a while ago and were badly decomposed.  Lance and Del drew swords and went on the offensive.  Both Samurai and Shinigami seemed to have no problem with wading in and keeping their riders on them while the flashing swords lopped off heads.

We looked around the city for a little bit but found nothing of interest. But then we were not really on a true scavenger run, just a little riding practice.  We were back to the stable by about an hour before dinner times.  We were going to cycle back but Del suggested we all ride back and then they would bring Lemon Drop and Chuckles back with them after dinner.

They stayed for Fire Pit, a little singing, a few stories but mostly talk about the folks as Stanwix.  What was going on, speculation.  But no one knows.

(Lance) Horse duty is a lot of work, but it is good work.  Code and Margo came out and we all took a ride up toward Hinsdale just to get a little riding in.  Del has convinced me stick with the no saddle type of riding.  It is not bad, although if we get going at a certain pace it is a pain in the balls, literally.

When we got to Hinsdale, there was a group of about six undead.  They were not fresh ones.  Del and I went after them using our swords.  It was kind of a test for the horses to see how they would handle it.  They did great.

We headed over to the Camp tonight, rode over, and it was a good night.  I wasn’t able to get ahold of Stanwix, still, nor was I able to make contact with Matt and the scout party.  I was able to reach the Pittsburgh and they said that they were almost back to the sub base.  Capt. Katzung said that he had given them information on our location and they might be coming our way.  But he did not give me numbers or detail, or even a confirmation of that.

We headed back toward the stables a little before sunset, and were there as it was getting dark.  Quiet night.

July 20th

(Margo) It is our day for Bo-Peep duty, and as much as I spent time kind of wandering off into the woods by the rock ledge to see if Momma and the cubs were there I came up empty, I still felt that she was watching me, that there was her spirit or presence looking over me.

It was kind of a lazy, hazy day with not much else happening.  In the midafternoon Code led me by the hand to a place behind the stone wall, it was kind of grassy, and he was kind of frisky.  He isn’t usually like that.

Dinner tonight was the standard salady type stuff with some BBQ rabbit.  Vespers were pretty sedate with just a little storytelling, nothing new or good, and more wondering about the folks out at Stanwix.

(Lance) It was a quiet day out at the stables, we really just kind of let the horses do horse stuff, and did not do any riding at all other than a trip to the camp to grab some food and supplies.  While we were there I tried to make contact with Stanwix again, no luck.  This is not good.  I can hope the radio is broken, but that is not my feeling.

We headed back early tonight, just after dinner.  After it got dark we sat and watched the stars, there were a few meteors.  From the farm we can’t see much of the horizon so we could not tell if there is still something going on to the west with the “flying lights”.

(Matt) We were up early and on our way.  We want to make Herkimer by night fall.  It should be doable and that will leave us one day out of Rome and seeing our friends at Stanwix……I hope.

It gets kind of boring in the saddle.  Black Olive is a good ride.  Actually we have a good group of animals, Ranger, Magellan, and Strawberry.  Tanya had been riding Lemon Drop at the farm but Strawberry seemed a little stronger and might hold up better on the long haul.

“Should we stop at Fort Plain, see how Linda is doing?” asked Tanya.

Mom chimed in, “Yeah, after the way you two talked about her I think I want to meet that one.”

Taylor giggled.

“I think we should wait until the trip back.  We are tight to reach Herkimer and I am getting a little more concerned about our friends.”  I explained.

“Good point, besides, maybe the extra few days will drive the housing prices down a little more,” laughed Mom.

We plodded on.  It was interesting; I noticed that some of the cars and trucks had been pushed out of the way as if to make a path.  It looked like it had been recent.  But we had not traveled this way before so it could be old.

We reached Herkimer about 7 PM; it had been a long day in the saddle.  I think we were all kind of tired and sore.  We found a nice home on the outskirts to “invade” and spent the night there.  Standard security procedure was put into place.

About midnight the horses started acting up.  We all sleep lightly now, so we headed down to see what was going on.  It was a Changed, a little girl, still in good condition.  Good condition?  Really?....anyway, we gave her rest and then decided that it might be a good idea to have a night watch, just in case.  I took the first shift.  Nothing happened.

July 21st

(Matt) We were on the road early this morning, with the need for the night watch, and the idea that we were within a day’s ride we just got rolling at the crack of ass.

We reached Utica at 11:30, at the rate we are going it looks like about 4ish for when we get to Stanwix.  It is quiet riding; we are not talking much, just plodding along.  I know that I am thinking about what we might find, or who we might find.  But it worried me.  I do not feel that there is anything good at the end of the journey.

“What do you think?” asked Tanya.

“I don’t know, but I think it is bad.”

“Yeah, me too, if it is a bug, we need to be careful.” She added.

“Yes, we won’t go rushing in there for sure. We need to scope the place out first.  See if anyone is moving.  And if there is anyone, then we can attempt to make contact from a distance.” I said.

Teckla piped in, “Good idea, what do you think, are they just sick or is it worse.”

On the inside I figured worse, but I said, “I think it will be okay, maybe.”

We trudged on.  We reached Stanwix, or at least could see it about 4:30.  The crop fields were all burned; the gates to the fort were open.  But we could see no one, no movement, no bodies.  It didn’t make sense.  Did they burn the fields, or were they attacked.

After about a half hour we decided that we would approach the gate for a closer look.  Slowly we moved up, nothing, no one, no guards.

I noticed that there were tire tracks leading to the gate, it looked like some big buses or trucks had been there, backed in.  Did they leave?  Why won’t they let us know?  No, this is not right, I thought.

“I think it is okay to go in, the place looks abandon.” Mom said.

“Slowly, let’s go slowly” Tanya replied.

We all sense the wrongness of the situation.  We dismounted and started toward the gate.  As we reached it and started in, even the horses sensed it, or should I say smelled it.  There was death here.

We moved into the main court yard and over in the corner by the gate was a number of bodies, as we checked on them it was clear they had been shot in the head, but there were few, too few for this community, there were seven bodies, but this was a community of 80 maybe more.

We looked further.  I coughed at the smell and when I did, I heard a call.

“Finish me, please finish me.”  It was in a room off the court yard. I looked in and there was Keith, or what was left of him.  His legs and arms had been chopped off and were lying near him.  He was bandaged, but in a bad way.  His breath was raspy, and he was close to death.  Tay turned and ran out of the room puking as she ran.

“What happened?” Mom asked.

“Sick, we were all sick, dying, and turning, and then they showed up” he wheezed.

“Who, Who showed up?” Tanya asked.

“Them, the army guys, Ken and Tyrone, the ones we banished.  They came back.  Most of us were in no shape to fight, the few of us that were left.” Keith said, staring into space now.

We were silent and then he continued, “The ones who had turned, they loaded them into a couple of cattle trucks. I don’t know why, they made a couple of the sick people, Pam, they used them as bait to get the dead into the truck.”

“They found me, and did this to me, wanted me to turn, to suffer.  Please, kill me.  I am so close, I don’t want to be that way!”

“We will, we’ll help you cross.” I told him.  “But why, why did they take the dead?”

“Revenge, they are gonna use them for revenge, to get the other group” he rasped.

“The other …… oh fuck, …… Keith, who am I?” I asked, but it was too late.  He was dead.

“Fuck, it is us; those trucks are headed to our camp.  We have to warn them, we have to warn them!”

We searched for the radio and Sat-Comm, and we found them, or at least some of the pieces.

It’s late now, an hour of sun was left, and we can’t ride back. The horses are worn out.  But we have to get back.  We scrambled to find a car, a motorcycle, or a truck anything.  We found one that was drivable with some fuel.  Tanya and I started back, I hope, I hope we get there in time.

Teckla and Tay rode with us.  We hated to leave the horses, but there was no choice, if what I thought was happening….we need to all get back to Romanica and we need to be ready for a fight, the fight.

(Lance) Del and I are still on horse patrol, and I have to admit, after sleeping in a real bed rather than the cots we are used to in the camp, I am kind of getting spoiled.  The queen-sized mattress is awesome, better than the two cots pushed together, although, I do miss my air-conditioner and the convenience of the computers and such.

We did a little riding today, but it was more to kill the boredom.

We rode over for dinner tonight and hung out for Fire Pit.  It was story night, but I had nothing to contribute.

We stayed later tonight because it was a full moon and we would be able to see for the ride back.

Del and I settled in for the night, and as we lay there I could not help but think life was pretty good.

(Margo) Bo Peeping it, I kept an eye out for the Momma Lion.  But our paths didn’t cross today.  We had a little storm in the afternoon, but not enough to bring the sheep home early.

Code and I did a little lake time after dinner and then headed over to the Fire Pit for Vespers.  It was story night; Grace began with the classic tale of the Bloody Skull.  The end result was that we were led to believe that the blood skull was in the gym bag that the girl found, but it was only gym clothes, what else would it be, lame story, but it kept us busy.

Fred also shared a story with us.  It is funny after what we have been through, and seen, scary campfire stories just don’t hold the impact that they once did.

But Fred’s story was about a rabbit, a cute little bunny that had a little issue that made it want to eat things other than carrots and lettuce.  This little bunny liked to eat people.  What it would do is find a person who would take care of it.  And then, when the full moon arose, it quadrupled in size, and would rip their owner to pieces.  Not bad, at least it was original.

Off to bed, we are going riding early tomorrow, I want to head out to the ledge area and check on Momma Lion and get some riding in.

July 22nd

(Matt) As we raced, the best we could through the night, our hope was to get back to camp before the trucks arrived.  I knew, we all knew what was going on, and what was about to happen.  We had to stop it.

Herkimer, Fort Plain, Fonda, we made good time, then, a stutter in the engine, a mile more and the engine quit.  We were out of gas.  We scrambled in the dark to find another truck or car, it seemed hopeless, and each one we tried or looked at had no fuel, gas or diesel.

It was about 3:45 and it was starting to get light, finally we found one, and got it running. We had to change the battery but it started.  On our way again, we had a couple of hours drive left, I just hope.

(Lance) Del and I were feeding the horses when the bell sounded; it was early, like 5:30.  That was strange, but it was three rings, a frantic three rings, then three more, then nothing.  We jumped on Samurai and Shinigami and raced to the camp.

As we rode up, the scene before us was chaos, Zoms, a lot of them.  Everyone in the camp was doing the best they could to fend them off.  There were a couple of cattle trucks in the yard, one had crashed into the dining hall, and the other truck was on its side by the fire pit.

I looked at Del; we drew our swords and charged.

(Margo) Code and I had gone for an early morning walk and hunting practice. I also hoped to see the Momma Lion and the cubs.  As we were near the ledge, I was suddenly slammed from behind and hit the ground.  The wind was knocked out of me and at first I thought it was Momma, but I couldn’t believe it.  Then I was rolled over, and a man, a black man in army clothes was sitting on me.

“Well, Well, the little sniper bitch, and her little bitch boyfriend,” he growled.

I could see that Code was on the ground too, he seemed unconscious with a small man in fatigues standing next to him with a grin on his face.

“You killed a couple of my friends, and helped ruin our little gig, so now it is payback time.  I think this is gonna be slow and fun, for me, for you, slow and painful.” He said menacingly. As he ripped open my shirt.

It was about here that I heard the bell, the warning bell from camp, three rings, trouble, not that there wasn’t trouble here.  I struggled, a tried to get out from under this man, but he hit me.

“No, little bitch, not today, you and yours are gonna die, just like they did at Stanwix.”

“What do you mean?” I grunted out.

A laugh and then, “Oh yeah, we paid them back first, and now they are coming to be with you.” He said.

“Yeah Tyrone, tell her, tell her!” shouted the other guy, the one by Code.

“See, we took care of them first, we put a poison in their water, and it made them sick, pukin’ sick, and the more they puked, the more they drank until they were all gone, all dead, well mostly all, there were a couple that managed to get through it. Then we went and fixed them.  That leader, Ken or Keith, we left him, he was alive, but he isn’t now, we left him to turn.”

“You sick fucks!” I tried to shout at him but with his weight on me it came out as little more than a whisper.

I took another punch to the face.

“Stop bitch, you ain’t heard the best part, see we loaded up some trucks and we brought them, the dead ones, to your camp, they be running around there now, a hundred of them, eating and killing your friends.  Payback bitch!”

“You shit!” I gasped, and I saw the arm go back for another punch, I winced knowing what was coming but then he was not there anymore, through half closed eyes I saw a flash of tawny fur and the weight was gone.  Momma?

I did not waste a second, that little snub-nose pistol I had found was out of my waistband and a single shot put the other man on his back, a red flower growing on his chest, he did not have long.

I was up, I looked over at Momma, she was about 20 feet away, she still had the black soldier by the throat, he was in his death throws, twitching, and then nothing, it stopped.  She looked at me, kind of nodded and then just turned, dragging the lifeless body up the ledge to feed the cubs.

I raced to Code’s side, he was coming around, but there was a goose egg on his head where the other soldier had whacked him.

“Wha..what happened.”

“A lot, can you get up, can you fight, the camp is in danger, it is being attacked, can you move?”

“What? yes, woozy, but I can, come on” as he struggled to his feet.

We started toward the camp, as his head cleared and with the adrenaline kicking in we moved faster and faster.  As we entered the camp, we saw the chaos.

We jumped in, fought our way to the cabin to get more gear, and then just fought, I am a Mountain Lion, and I will not die here.

July 24th

A day has passed, we are still cleaning up, exhausted.  Matt is here now, helping.  Some of us have survived.

So ends the second book in The Event Trilogy. Times were hard after the attack; we lost some, some that were very dear to us.  Some have been changed forever, but then we and the world have already been changed forever.