JuNoWriMo 2013

Journals of the Fall, pt. 4

Record #115-22-00
Transcript from Audio
42nd Day after the Fall (estimated)

Journals of the Fall.png

[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.

Journals of the Fall, pt. 3

12th Day after the Fall

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I think I’m going to be sick.

I’ve felt this way all day, since I saw the other trucks. Or one of them anyway.

I wasn’t supposed to see, and if any of the guards ever reads this, I’m dead, but I don’t think I care anymore.

They tried to be careful, parked the one truck out of sight of all the others. They had screens up to keep us from seeing, but one of the corners was torn and I saw enough.

They had those things in there! I saw my neighbor. The one who’d disappeared. What was left of her anyway. They dragged her—it—out of the truck. Then made it walk off in chains and a muzzle.

I thought they were supposed to be saving us? Why are they bringing them in? What could

- The journal ends here. J.T.

Record #127-08-03

Blog of Joe Nesmith

35th Day after the Fall

To any who is able to read this, you are not alone.

I write this not just because I’m still out here and posting, but because I can tell from my web stats that despite all the odds, there are still people out there with Internet access. A surprising number, in fact.

I’m preaching to the choir, I know, but get to social media as soon as you possibly can. The main networks aren’t what they were just over a month ago, obviously, but they’ve never been more important.

Before you go there though, let me give you some life-saving advice that has kept me going the past few weeks.

  1. Get with a group of people you trust. Do not hook up with strangers.
  2. Stay away from cities. Even small towns are death traps now. I know they’re tempting with their abandoned stores and supplies, but that’s where the people were before. It’s where the dead are now.
  3. Stay away from hospitals. Even before, they were the best place to go to get sick. Now, they’re worse than cities.
  4. Try to find some remnant of civilization. This is where social media comes in. Right now, everyone’s panicked and terrified, but some of us are trying to build something. Try to get in touch with people near you. There is strength in numbers.
  5. Conserve your battery life! Unfortunately, network centers are gradually shutting off as power systems fail. There’s nothing we can do about that. We can do something about conserving our own power.

That’s all for now. Spread the word. Organize.

- This is the last posted entry. Advice given was questionable. Avoid strangers, avoid cities, find civilization? Even after the fall, the so-called “survival” gurus were iffy at best. J.T.

Journals of the Fall, pt. 2

​Today brings several more days of journals, and in addition, the beginning of JuNoWriMo 2013. This means way more updates and longer stories each day as I once again try to reach the goal of 50,000 words in one month. Wish me luck!

Journals of the Fall.png

8th Day after the Fall

People are getting kind of cranky today. We spent the whole day crammed in the truck, only a couple of breaks to stretch and relieve ourselves, and that was maybe 5 minutes at best.

Toward the end of the day, someone really freaked out, started screaming and wouldn’t stop. Must’ve gone on for fifteen minutes before they pulled the truck over and let us out. I’m not sure what happened to the guy. I am sure I don’t really want to think about it too hard.

Phil said he saw them lead him out into the woods, but didn’t see him return. I just know the rest of the trip was kind of quiet. It was a relief after the sounds from yesterday.

We haven’t heard any of them today. Small mercy, I guess.

9th Day after the Fall

Another day just spent traveling. It’s taking a toll. We’re packed in pretty tight to the truck, can’t move much, and we’re going over bad roads for at least twelve hours.

Tempers are starting to get pretty bad. A few fights have broken out. They stopped the trucks again off schedule. This time I saw a couple of people led away. I recognized a neighbor this time. He’d been in my truck. He definitely didn’t get back in when we left.

10th Day after the Fall

If we don’t get where we’re going soon, I’m going to kill someone, I swear. I hurt from head to toe, just from standing in this moving, bumping, damned truck all day, being pushed shoved all the time.

During the first break today, someone complained to the soldiers. She couldn’t take it anymore, I guess. Can’t really say I blame her. She didn’t take it too well when they refused to extend the breaks. Went into hysterics. I don’t know what happened to her. I haven’t seen her. Maybe she’s on one of the other trucks now.

11th Day after the Fall

We arrived today. None too soon. And now I know why we hadn’t been hearing them. They’re all here. Must be hundreds, thousands maybe.

The military have a huge compound all blocked off with walls and fences. They had to shoot a way clear for us to get through the gates, and then they just drove the trucks right over the bodies. Maybe that’s why we haven’t gotten much to eat. I’d have lost it over that sound, over how it felt. I’m going in for processing soon. I’ll write more when that’s over with, if I have a chance.