I mentioned in Monday’s entry that
this week we were visited by a shambling horde of zombies. I cannot tell you
why they were shuffling past. They came in from the north and that alpha male
was leading them south along the highway. I don’t know how they knew where they
were going. But regardless, there was the shuffling horde just all following
the highway.
A lot of the guys enjoyed themselves taking
their sniper shots from the roof. It was easy pickings because of the numbers.
We made sure to use only silenced weapons and we thinned the herd considerably.
Now, this was strange. When one of the horde got dropped, those surrounding the
dropped zom did seem to get agitated and they would look around a bit. It was
not because of any sort of compassion. It was probably the supersonic slug
whipping into them. But eventually, the horde shambled past and shambled on. But
we discovered something strange.
We have seen “stragglers” – a lone zom
out wandering by itself. Their bodies are emaciated and rotting away. Now, I
know that there are a number of factors that go into every zom. Like, the
condition of the body before it reanimates. The amount of damage the body took
before and after animation. A sickly, frail person that dies of the Kharon
virus is going to degenerate much more quickly than the professional body
builder that was killed by it.
But it seems as if most of the members
of this shambling horde that passed us by seemed – for lack of a better term –
well fed. It was as if all the flesh they had been coming across along the way
has kept them going.
I cannot really understand it but
maybe that is why we have seen other zoms vomiting. Maybe the consumption of
nutrients actually keeps them going and vibrant (so to speak.)
These things do not have a heartbeat, flowing
blood, or need oxygen to survive. But it seems that feasting on human flesh
manages to sustain them or somehow slow the degeneration process. This must be
why they are so intent on feeding on anything they can get their hands on.
If that is the case, then I think we
have made the smart choice to stick it out here in Langley. It is a small town.
I think at this point, now 60 days into this waking nightmare, the town is
pretty much all but cleared out of living people. We have yet to do house to
house sweeps and searches but the signs of life are nonexistent. I am sure
there are probably pockets somewhere. Isolated lake properties. Farms way out
in the boonies. Families could still be hunkered down living on preserves and
sniping any zom that wanders too close. But at this point, “ghost town” is an
all too accurate description for Langley.
My fear is that this is not the last
of the roving hordes that we might see. What about more densely populated area?
Are zoms clearing out smaller towns like Vinita or Pryor? Then when the food is
all gone, do they just start migrating, looking for more food in a more densely
populated area? Would they flock to areas like Tulsa or Joplin? And so, how
well fed are the zoms in those areas? I don’t even want to imagine places like
Manhattan, Los Angeles, or Chicago…
So we have to stay hunkered down here
and wait it out. I truly believe that the One Year Plan is working. We just
need to wait it out. I realize that our barricade position leaves us a little
safer than most and I hope that if you are reading this, you can stay hunkered
down too.
Stay safe…
