Zomblog 04: Snoe Read Free Page A

zones. From what our squad leader said, most of the tribes are run by criminals who don’t want to live by rules, have to work to earn their way, or help anybody except themselves.
    Did I mention that my class’s trainer is the ranking officer on this run? I thought it was going to be like training, but he is a totally different person now for some weird reason. He even pulled me aside when we had camp set up for the evening. As soon as I saw the cover of the book, I knew what he wanted.
    I guess it was a popular thing in the Old World to ask for people to write their name on stuff…autographs. He had me sign on the page where it announced my birth. He seemed kind of embarrassed when he was asking.
    So, I wandered around this house with a few of the wagoneers and a handful of other EEFers. The hardest part for me was the smell. It stank so bad in a few of the rooms that it made me gag.
    How did people live with so much stuff? Every room had shelves and cabinets and closets full of clothes and all sorts of things.
    I finally saw a computer. (I thought they were called ‘pee-sees’ because of how everybody used that term when they spoke about them.) How did people sit in front of those things all day? I also saw the biggest bed I’ve ever seen in my life. It took up over half the bedroom. The wagoneer said that king-sized beds were common. When I asked him if the whole family slept in it together…he laughed.
    I saw one thing and asked if I could take it as a souvenir. So I have this really pretty picture frame. When I get home, I will put the picture that Eric Grayfeather drew of my birth mother in it. I don’t have any bad feelings for her. I can’t understand a lot of what she did, but I am grateful that she chose Mama Janie and Mama Lindsay to take me.
    In the morning, we will be changing over to the 205 Corridor. It is just now being settled and has long stretches that are open to zombies. Also, it passes through some heavy woods, which make it doubly dangerous. Thick woods let zombies get right up on you according to the lecture portion of our training.
    So…as I snuff my candle and snuggle into my bedroll, I can hear the occasional sound of the draft horses snorting. I can hear the whispering sound of footsteps crunching around as whoever is on watch walks past. And that is all. It is just too dang quiet out here.
     
    Sunday, June 10 th
     
    I’ve heard a lot of people say “Be careful what you ask for, you may just get it” lots of times. Now I know what they meant. One of the reasons that I joined the EEF was because I wanted to get outside the walls of Corridor 26, The Sunset Fortress, and see what was out there. I wanted to see this world that makes the older folks get that look in their eyes when they talk about the past.
    I know that some folks are already placing bets on how long it will be before I do like my birth mother and take off, but that won’t happen. I like my home, I love Mama Lindsay, and I like being alive. Out here…I miss the first two, and the third one is in constant jeopardy.
    Today, the caravan ventured into the untamed 205 Corridor. While there is no official national government, there are elements that do still exist. Basically, every territory is left to fend for itself. The state lines are all gone, but there is still a national militia. I guess they operate under the same idea as the old United States Army.
    A few years ago, they gave up trying to actually wipe out the zombies. What they focus on now is trying to help established settlements build a safer society.
    The one thing they have managed to do is utilize the rail systems around the country. I can only speak for what happens with the settlements I am familiar with on Corridor 26, but they seem to show up every nine months or so with heavy equipment. They meet with our president and offer to help shore up barricades, expand our borders, or whatever we happen to be working on. During that time, they meet with people and