Back before the zombie apocalypse took
over everything, we all just plugged along, living life. And during those
times, we experienced a few power outages up here at the store. There was one
year where a particularly bad ice storm covered everything in a solid coating
of ice. Power lines were snapping all over. It was horrible. That was part of
my fear is that we would experience something like that this past winter and we
would be absolutely screwed. Thankfully, we dealt mostly with cold temperatures
instead of massive precipitation.
But during those times, we knew what
it was like to be here in the store with no electricity. Let me tell you, it
gets DARK. One of our saving graces during this thing was our lack of windows
that kept us from being vulnerable. No army of undead – no matter how many the
shambling horrors – are battering down concrete walls.
But it also prevents us from being
able to see outside and it limits our natural light. As we speak, Lance is
using his electrician skills to get the security camera back up and running so
we can have eyes outside.
The generators are strong enough to
give us light but it is just not enough. Well, it is just not as much as we are
used to. The case lights are all down and the number of overhead lights have been
cut to a third. Given the height of the ceiling, we are not walking around in
darkness but it is like nothing is illuminated. It is like trying to read by a
25-watt light bulb when you are used to reading via a 100-watt bulb.
I think we are going to have to be
really careful now to look for warning signs of depression in people. Thank
goodness we have the cordoned parking lot, the roof access, and such. The
temperatures have been steadily rising.
Before, when you were performing daily
tasks like cleaning the bathrooms, cooking meals, or getting together for movie
night, things almost seemed normal. Or at least normal-esque. Sometimes, during
really bad snowstorms, quite a few employees would often say, “Screw it.” And
sleep up here at the store. Granted, that was rare but mentally you might just
tell yourself, “We are just sleeping in the store tonight.”
You fool yourself into thinking that
we just cannot leave the store because of the weather. And with all the bright
lights and distractions, you forget that the world outside is a zombified
wasteland.
With those lights going dark and the
airflow brought on by the central air system now feeling stagnant, we aren’t
going to want to spend a lot of time in the store. We still have boatloads of
aluminum foil. Maybe we need to arrange a system where we cover the windows
only at night to at least let some sunlight in here. My kingdom for a few
skylights right now.
The more we cannot fool ourselves into
thinking everything is fine within our high, high walls, the more people will
have to embrace the madness outside… and that could be a dangerous thing.
