Record #115-22-00
Transcript from Audio
42nd Day after the Fall (estimated)
[muffled thumping and fumbling]
“Uh, hey. Whoever hears this—if anyone hears—”
“Seriously, Neal? Nobody’s ever going to find this, and if they do, they’ll never play it.”
[additional fumbling and bumping as though someone is trying to turn the recording device off]
“Hey, knock it off! This is important, for like posterity.”
“They won’t have the power to play it! Oh for—fine, whatever. Knock yourself out.”
[footsteps recede, the original speaker (Neal, presumably) clears his throat several times]
“Sorry. If anyone hears this, this is a record of what life is like now. We’ve been lucky—”
[sounds of derisive snorting in the background, sounds like several individuals, and at least one short laugh]
“Luckier than some, at least. We started out in Acresville. That’s probably why we’re still alive. We tried to get to some of the bigger cities around the area, but by the time we did, they had already fallen. The dead—”
[background has gone quiet, Neal clears his throat again]
“The dead … there are just so many of them. Everyone went to the cities, everyone who wasn’t there already. I … I don’t know how long they lasted, but man. I, um. I don’t think they even lasted a day. There’s too many of them. So many.”
[bumping sounds and a click as the recording time changes]
“Hey, this is April. Neal said the rest of us should try this, and—well, I guess it can’t hurt.”
[silence broken by unintelligible conversation in the background, the sound of footsteps]
“The others think it’s stupid, and it kind of is I guess. I don’t really think anyone will ever get to hear this. We’re on the road again. The water stopped working in the last place we stayed. Power’s gone too. We have a few spare batteries, but this recorder’s the only thing we’ve got that uses this kind, I think. If it were up to me, I’d still save it for something more useful.”
[a harsh whisper in the distance can’t be made out; the recording stops again, then restarts; April’s voice is clearly shaken, maybe in shock]
“Oh god, did I draw them with this damned thing? Jason’s gone, he’s just gone. He was there, then he was gone. Nobody else bitten. Adam had to—he had to—Jason’s gone.”
[recording stops, then starts again, Neal speaking]
“We haven’t done this in a while. April vanished last night. Nobody’s seen her; we have to keep moving. When we left Acresville, there were ten of us. There are only four left now. We’re doing okay for food I guess. It’s the water that’s going to kill us. We found a pond yesterday, but one of those things was in it. Adam killed it, but nobody could stomach drinking the water. We don’t think it was safe to drink. Is any stream or lake safe to drink? Or will it make you into one of them?”
[Neal’s voice sounds more dry by the minute]
“We’ve only got a few days of water left. If we don’t find more soon … beware of ponds.”
- Recording date estimated from artifacts associated with the recording medium as discovered. Fate of those recorded remains unknown. J.T.