Zomblog 04: Snoe (13 page)

I was trying my best to stay calm. Then the water started flowing in down below. I kept hearing things bounce off the metal doors. I wasn’t concerned about the doors giving way…but the rising water level had me a touch nervous.

I found a way up onto the roof and brought Natalie up with me. I was not prepared for what I would see. The section of the dam that gave way had caused the river to rise over the banks.

It is unlike anything I have ever witnessed. Who knew that water could pack so much power? It has cleared the banks and my guess is that it is at least eight feet deep right where I am.

It was after about an hour that I started to wonder…what would this do to that nice group on the island? Or any other island downstream from this point. Could this have an effect as far away as Portland?

I’ve seen countless undead drift past. Also, I have seen movement on some of the other roofs. The fighting continues between whoever these people are. Don’t they realize that there are more important things to be worried about right now?

Sunday, August 31
^st

Natalie is still with me. For better or worse, I’ve decided to try and find her family, or anybody who knows her. I certainly can’t take her with me. I also can not just abandon her.

It has taken this long for the water levels to recede. The streets are littered with some pretty rank debris. I imagine most of the ground floors of every building on this side of the dam had its contents flushed out onto the street.

Water is an amazingly powerful source of energy. I was not surprised to find a few bloated bodies in the aftermath. The levels rose so fast. One moment it was a trickle in the streets, and five minutes later, the bottom floor of every building was under water. Several of the smaller buildings were washed away entirely.

I saw a few people in the distance from time to time, but whenever I tried to hail them or get their attention, they scurried off. It was like they were afraid of me.

I know I’m not that scary looking. I take after Meredith in that I am maybe a couple inches over five feet tall. On a good day, I weigh maybe a hundred and ten. That is after a big dinner.

Natalie doesn’t talk much except when I speak to her directly. I know that her mom and dad are named Jerry and Marty. I didn’t have the heart to ask which is which. I also know that her mom is “the prettiest mom in the whole world” and that her dad is “braver and stronger than any daddy”. I also know that she had a big brother who left with the soldiers and a baby sister who never woke up after she was born.

The comment about her brother has me thinking about how long this campaign of the NAA has been going on. I can’t help but wonder if, just maybe, the zombies are of so little concern to us now that we are starting some sort of cycle where folks start grabbing for power.

Monday, September 1st

Jerry is actually Jeri. I found Natalie’s parents. Actually, they found me. We had just finished breaking camp and climbed down to the muck-filled streets. The sun was already promising a scorcher. That was making the place smell just a bit worse.

I asked Natalie if she could see anything that looked familiar. She shook her head and fell in beside me as I searched for any signs of people.

I will say this much…they are really good. I didn’t hear a thing or sense anything was wrong. Then I had a knife at my throat.

After a brief explanation, they took the knife away and we had an interesting talk. There has been a bit of a grab for power here. It seems that the old leader had a deal with the NAA similar to what was going on back at the corridor. When he died, two people both wanted to assume that position.

It got violent and the factions were fighting each other when the NAA came through a short time ago. (I didn’t tell them anything about where they were coming from…didn’t figure it was their business.) It seems that the commander demanded that
both
factions surrender the required number of recruits. When they tried to refuse, a handful of people were dragged out and executed; then they took double the number of recruits.

The blame game shifted to a new gear after the NAA left. It was during this latest skirmish that the section of the dam gave way. These folks are having a really bad run of luck.

I was glad to accept their invitation for a hot meal and a warm bed for the night. Of course they asked if I would consider staying. I explained that I was on my way to see a friend. I am a terrible liar, and that is actually very close to the truth, so I was able to look them in the eyes when I declined.

I have a lot to bring back to the Corridor when this is over. Already I have run into a surprising number of smaller communities. It does seem as if humanity is trying to claw its way back to the top of the food chain. Who knows…we may even succeed if we stop trying to kill each other off.

Tuesday, September 2
^nd

It would seem that the NAA is stepping up their response against those who do not bow to their wishes. The small community here was still burning when I arrived. Of course I had an idea what to expect when I set out this morning. Almost immediately after setting out, I saw the black cloud rolling skyward.

I see this as a couple of things. First, the NAA aren’t that far ahead of me. Second, they are obviously leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. I’m not sure they expected folks to say the word “no” in response to their new demands.

The thing is, the way I see the situation, they are going about this all wrong. I’m no expert in conquering the world, but I would think that they might try a more relaxed approach. Killing and burning everything in your path seems silly. What exactly will they be ruling over if they kill everybody they planned on taking control of?

I stayed in the heavy growth as I drew closer. The first thing that I noticed was the twisted ruins of a pretty large bridge. From the looks of it, that bridge has been out of commission for several years.

As for the community here…they are gone. I didn’t find signs of one single survivor. I did find plenty of charred husks. The first bunch I discovered made me cry. I probably stood there and wept like a baby for several minutes. From the looks, the two larger husks tried to cover the three smaller ones. Now they are fused together forever.

This just makes no sense!

The further I moved into this area, I found more and more buildings that were down to the embers. I stopped trying to get a better look at all the lumps scattered about the streets. It seems like they simply rolled in on their train and set everything on fire. If they came in the night, a majority of the people were probably asleep.

I did find a pair of soldiers at one point. That showed me a bit more about these people. The NAA doesn’t care about its members. I know that if this were some sort of sick world where the people of Corridor 26 tried to conquer the area, we wouldn’t leave our dead behind. I read a few history books and always found it difficult to accept that people could do the things to each other that I read: The World Wars, ethnic cleansing, slavery, concentration camps, Crusades and Inquisitions. Yet, here it is…repeating itself again.

What the hell is wrong with us?

Wednesday, September 3
^rd

I had to make my way up into the hills. It seems that all of this NAA activity has brought walkers from every direction. I heard them just before sunrise this morning. I had found an intact water tower and climbed up for the night. There is never anything good about being woke up by a crybaby. It sets your nerves on edge for the whole day.

Taking my time as I climbed down, I could see dark shapes moving amidst the burned out ruins of this little community. Not just a few…I was pretty sure I was seeing the leading edge of a herd.

By the time I’d made it across the highway and started up into the hills, my suspicion was confirmed. They stretched on back the way I’d come for as far as I could see. Now, that is a bit misleading since that little community was just around a large bend. Still, they have to number in the thousands.

I am stuck here for who knows how long. All I can do is watch the zombie parade. The good news, I snagged a rabbit in a snare a little while ago. I am deep enough into the woods to make a small fire inside of a partially hollowed out tree. Every so often, I move out to this bluff and get a visual update.

Saturday, September 6
^th

Gliders passed by overhead this afternoon. I have no idea how long they were circling the area. I might not have ever known about them if I hadn’t gone out to the bluff and decided to set out my canteens for the rain. I was really just watching the trailing end of that herd stumble past when the shadow passed overhead.

I had my binoculars on a small cluster that had caught something. They were in “feast” mode, ripping whatever it was apart and shoving bits into their mouths. I had a good look at one that was facing my direction. Since I was this far up, and not really in a direct line-of-sight, I was able to check it out. I was really just concerned that it was a person at first. Once I saw fur, I was watching more out of fascination.

At first, I thought a bird was swooping in low. The shadow was kinda large. When I looked up, I really had no idea what I was seeing. It looked like a huge child’s toy circling the area. Then a second one came into view.

I have no idea if they saw me. They were more focused over the area above the burned ruins of that small community. Still, they did pass overhead once or twice. I feel like a bit of an idiot. I just sat there staring at them for the longest time. Of course, I kept my eyes on them from the relative safety of the brush until they left. The interesting thing is that they headed back the way I’d come…sort of. They flew off in a bit of a West-Southwest heading.

I’ve never seen anything like it. Nor have I heard tales from anybody else. Ever since shortly after the dead started doing their thing, places like factories and refineries shut down. It is hard to fly aircraft without fuel.

I really wish I could get the heck out of here, but the trailing edge of a herd that size can take a couple of days. I hope things will be clear enough by tomorrow. Whether they saw me or not, I just feel the urge to move out of this area.

Monday, September 8
^th

There is barely enough here to identify my location as what used to be the city of Hood River. From what I can see, no attempt was ever made to settle this location. Judging by the extensive and very old fire damage, I would not guess that there was much to claim or settle here.

The thing is, I’ve never seen so much devastation. Old Portland burned, but there are still plenty of buildings left standing. Not here. From the looks of things—and I’m certainly no expert—it seems like something big caught fire on the southern end of town and roared down the hill. The flames didn’t stop until they hit the river. There is just a wasteland reminiscent of a bone yard. There are bits and pieces jutting up here and there. However, even those are few and far between. I imagine that the years have knocked over the weakest bits.

I can see a few lone walkers scattered about, nothing to be very concerned with. I will move through tomorrow when I have the full day. The weather is turning a bit rainy and the wind is terrible here. I bet that had a lot to do with the extent of the damage.

I am hunkered down in the woods to minimize the effects of the high winds. I haven’t been this cold in my life. I am fortunate in regards to the fact that I am in dense enough woods to build a good fire.

I found a pair of really sturdy pine trees and was able to string my hammock between them. I am about ten or so feet off the ground above my fire. Kinda like roasted Snoe in a sweat sauce. It is really toasty.

As long as I don’t forget where I am when I wake up…I should be fine. I have a line tossed over one of the branches above me so that I can pull myself up and then swing out of bed. It would not do at all to drop into the middle of my fire pit.

Tuesday, September 9
^th

Note to self:

Don’t leave ALL of my weapons next to my pack! I guess I just got too comfortable. I wasn’t worried about living people stumbling across me and my little camp. However, I was so focused on getting my hammock in the trees, then so proud of figuring out how to keep a fire going below me to keep me warm, that I didn’t even give thought to what I would do once I woke up and found a zombie or five down below me.

I know that I should have thought about keeping something on me, but I must’ve just been too full of myself and my ability to ward of the chill from the harsh winds while shielding my fire enough to prevent it from starting some sort of forest fire.

I seem to recall Meredith making several comments about keeping a weapon at all times. I guess growing up inside the relative safety of Corridor 26 has made me a bit soft. I know that EEF training says something about always being armed, I just never took a lot of the stuff so literal.

When I woke up, I could hear something moaning and hissing. When I looked down, I was more than a little disturbed to see five sets of hands (well, five and a half since one of them was missing the arm just below the elbow) reaching up at me.

Funny thing, it wasn’t the noise that woke me. The damn zombies had stomped out my fire jostling each other and trying to get at me. I woke up because I got chilly.

I surveyed everything and figured how I could swing down and land near my stuff. One more time, it might do well to remind myself not to be so dang careless. I hit the ground with the little pack of walkers falling all over each other to get at me. That is probably what saved me.