No Zombie for a Neighbor - End of Day 4

No Zombie for a Neighbor
Day Four
End of Day Four: Late Night News

This is Bruce Williams. I have a number of things to report tonight with not all of them being good. In fact, there is little good news. I am going to say something that Herb, the man behind the camera, said to me. “If it bleeds, it leads, and zombies don’t bleed.” While that might not sound very funny to some of you, his point was that I did not need to report on the zombies. I could mention good things. I believe that all of you need to hear some good things, but I just do not have much in that vein to say.

I am going to start with the report that I gained from the military. I was told that while President Stephans declared last night that he would not launch the nukes, he told those at Barksdale to assure that they could be used. The military liaison told me that to assure me that no secrets were being kept and to have me promise the people of Louisiana and the nearby states that nukes would not be targeted upon them. I gained the impression that we might however get fallout from Mexico, but that is conjecture from me.

The military is also planning to widen their controlled area. He told me to warn those living in areas around the base to expect to hear gunfire and see military movement. Those who are in the military, but who were in off-base housing when the zombies erupted, expect to be called back to duty when a fellow soldier knocks upon your door. Those who feel able to serve, but not actually in the military, you will be assigned duties to help protect the perimeter of your neighborhood.

More explosions and fires erupted today. The military considers them acts of stupidity, but right now there are no resources to contain the behavior that caused them or the results of such behavior. It is even understood that some probably thought the actions wise in their hopes of dealing with the zombies. The military however wants to stress that when they enter a neighborhood they will not be coming to arrest people or assign blame. They are not the police. The military will only be seeking to remove a threat, but will work with locals to empower them to restore order and the rule of law.

Luckily, none of the explosions today were the results of breaks in the pipelines. I have spoken to those in our utility companies, and they have assured me that they are still at their job. They however also mentioned that they do not have the personnel or the feeling of safety to call up certain personnel should a break occur in a line. They do have a method of shutting off certain valves or switches from a distance, but stress that those actions will cease the flow of gas, water, or electricity to an area. Note that they consider any attempt by a local to restore a broken line to have a one-hundred percent chance of death – from zombies if not the actual situation with the line itself.

Probably the big question everyone is asking is just how many zombies are there. I am presently out in a rural section, and there are enough zombies that we do not feel safe enough to allow the children to play in the playground. Those of us here can thus accept that some in the city feel a need to use explosions. We however wonder just how many you actually killed. The military has a constant vigil around their base, and they have yet to consider their situation secure. Washington D.C. has a lot of secure chambers and safety stipulations, and they are not feeling safe. The general impression is that there is thus a large number of zombies.

What I want those of you out there – what I find myself stressing to those here, is that we are not alone. The zombie movies always deal with only a limited number of survivors. Mankind is once again proving itself more resilient than that. However many zombies there are, groups of humans are present to combat them.

Those of you using explosions or thinking about using explosions, you have to consider your fellow humans. Do not think about the zombies, but the people. At present we do not have infrastructure to repair what breaks. Using explosions breaks things, so I would highly recommend that you do not use them.

This again causes one to wonder just how many zombies are out there. Logic would say that there are not that many. A worldwide pandemic that affects even rural areas just is not possible. Major cities would have the outbreaks first giving those further out time to prepare. That is not how this outbreak happened, forcing many to simply conclude that it was an act of God. The Bible does say that there are more bad than good, thus supporting the large number of zombies, none that I have spoken to has been able to even approximate the truth.

The evidence highly suggests that those of us unaffected are not all good. The good people of this church congregation of which I am now a part have reminded me that God sees into hearts. They thus keep their sanity by saying that people need to look within for the reason they are not zombies.

In preparing to say what I just did, I had to consider that some of you listening are not Christians. The evidence from the internet speaks of those of all religions surviving. Honestly, I have seen reports from those claiming to not even believe in any deity. That means that anyone claiming that this is an act of God to have a rather odd belief what he considers good and bad. Simply a belief in Jesus as his son definitely seems not to be a deciding factor.

I however still must implore everyone listening to consider the basic truth that those of us that are not zombies are still human. That should have meant something before the zombie invasion, but definitely must mean something now. If someone is not a zombie, they must be considered human. Skin color, style of dress, style of speaking, all of that must be ignored. Someone either is a zombie or is human.

Do not do anything that would harm your fellow humans. We are all trying to survive this crisis. Blowing up things works against others possibly getting what they need. I am not saying to share, but I am saying that just because you do not need it does not give you the right to destroy it. We have to do what we can to keep from rebuilding, as right now those activities are very dangerous. To help keep fellow humans alive, we must do what we can to keep things as they are.

I believe that many would like to begin to restore things to what they were. I know a number of children that would simply enjoy spending time in a playground. The zombie threat however has us all cowering in places of safety. Those of us here spend part of the day killing zombies. We get as many as we can from the roof of the church, but there always seem to be more. While we speak of one day being able to kill a few and consider our work done, that day is not here.

Note that the zombies are not showing signs of going away. They are not slowing down. They are not moving in a fatigued or famished manner. While we watch the walking undead and speculate on their actual physiology, the fact that they continue to be a threat is very evident.

The largest problem in killing zombies is what to do with the corpses. It does help that they do not appear to decay. Flies are not attracted to the fallen carcasses. Slicing a zombie open is like cutting into a block of lunchmeat. There is not the blood and fluids of a living body with the organs acting as just varying textures of some odd meat. There is a slime that does not smell like decay, and actually gives us the impression of an alien metabolism still alive. Damaging the brain tissue does effectively kill a zombie, but something about the corpse just does not appear dead.

I have not been able to contact anyone that is performing research on these creatures. It has been speculated that those working with corpses were attacked first. The military even speaks of their medical facility being where they faced their greatest internal crisis. The rest of us are seeing the results of our attacks upon the walking undead, but unable to make sense of what is revealed. I believe that some knowledge of our opposition would help us deal with the threat, but at present I have no clear facts to provide.

I have learned that the Mayor of Shreveport is dead. It had been thought that he was holed up in his home with his family, but some made it to his home to check on him only to find the place containing zombies. Right now there are no plans for an election to replace him.

The Governor of Louisiana is alive. All reports of Baton Rouge say that it is a zombie town, so it was assumed that the Governor had died just as most other of the leaders of our world. He did however manage to fight and get a number of security people to join him, and a place of security was obtained. He is presently working to clear a path to where he can broadcast a message, but at least did manage to find a working computer and get out some text messages.

New Orleans is also considered a zombie town. The levees and barriers erected to secure the town from a hurricane trapped people. The surrounding major population centers are also said to be mostly filled with zombies. There are reports from out in the swamps that people are surviving, but most of the Crescent City area is considered to now be walking undead.

Lafayette seems to be like Shreveport and holding its own. They are speaking of attempting to clear areas of zombies, although find them continuing to come just as we are. They speak of soon being zombie free, but I suspect they will find soon to be in the distant future.

The other towns of our state are also in crisis with reports of many being in the same situation as are we. Almost everyone speaks of being out of bullets, so resorting to what weapons they can find. I was told that the pipe wrench that I carry was purchased by the station to work on a gas line that once went to a furnace. Everything now is electric, but the wrench got put in the closet where I found it. It has been a fabulous weapon and will not ever run out of bullets. Whatever weapon those of you watching have, be proud of it. I swear this pipe wrench will go over a mantel one day as a treasured family relic. I will buy the station a new one if they complain of me taking office equipment.

Well, that is my report. I hope to have more positive news tomorrow, but we all know that I cannot promise. The crisis is real and we are all doing our best. To all those watching or listening, I wish you the best.