Day 7: The discussion about moving continued through the night. I fell asleep to the muffled voices. I woke feeling a little better. Sandy groaned from the cot next to me and stirred, then complained about being hungry. Since we were forbidden by Antonio to leave the base, we spent the day packing and preparing to move. She volunteered to pack up the kitchen and do some laundry for us. I tried to help salvage some circuitry from some old cell phones I found. Moonbeam asked Sandy to sort some ammo.
Antonio checked in on us all day. He’s very kind and has a good bedside manner. He was probably a fantastic doctor in the Before Times. While I sat near the radio I heard several calls for help from strangers. Some were being overwhelmed, some looking for missing friends, some dying of blood plague. All of them sounded scared. Beto said we just can’t help everyone and right now our priority has to be finding better shelter. As if on cue, a feral’s howl outside punctuated his statement. Sandy told jokes most of the day to try to keep spirits high but we knew the infestations were growing, which means the zombies were expanding territory.
Everyone who has gone out has come back with sightings of juggernauts. Giants. At least eight feet tall, 400lbs of rotting, angry, brutal force. I haven’t seen one yet and would like it to stay that way. My worst nightmare.
Joe said the command center needs more circuitry than I could salvage and left for about two hours. When he came back he had a very worried look on his face and Moonbeam’s jeep had several bullet holes in it. He said while he was out looking for parts he came across a group of hostiles living in a shack adjacent to Mohr & Mohr Distributing. Said he didn’t even see them until he heard bullets hitting the jeep. At that point he just came back. He asked how Moonbeam was going to take the news about her jeep. I told him there’s a 50/50 chance she’ll kill him. I wasn’t serious but with Moonbeam, you just never know.
She actually took the news well. Said she could hammer the dents out and put filler in the holes. She recruited Joe to help her and he nervously agreed, giving me a side look. Beto and Antonio went out to find the parts Joe needed and returned shortly after with a load of circuitry scraps from an old water station. Joe was able to fix the command center in no time and said as long as we move the system as one unit, it won’t have to be disassembled and reassembled at our new home. With his tinkering, our radio strength has increased allowing us to have an outpost further away from base yet still within signal range. He was even able to cue in on a satellite broadcast and we heard faint voices from far away. Maybe Trumbull Valley. Maybe even as far away as Providence Ridge.
Moonbeam finished the repairs to the jeep and set off for about an hour. When she came back she was covered in…I can’t even guess. It was gross! She smiled and said she just went out for a drive. I know that crazy girl took out another plague heart. She did come back with a white noise machine for the bunkroom. I’m not going to complain as she’s starting to grow on me.
Towards the end of the day, we gathered together to discuss logistics of moving the heavy items. We all agreed Mohr’s Distributing would be the best option for our new home, just need to do something about the hostiles Joe encountered. With two vehicles, six people (four able-bodied), and a house full of stuff to move, there’s a lot of work to do.
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