No Zombie for a Neighbor - End of day 8

No Zombie for a Neighbor
Day Eight
End of Day 8: Late Night News

This is Bruce Williams. Again the picture is of Mr. Eddlemon working his ditch digger. What is different today is seeing the men walking with him. Zombies just are not smart enough to go around barriers. As we of the church worked to remove zombies immediately around us, the undead moved upon the loud piece of machinery. Scared that the ditch dug yesterday would fill with undead, men came out to kill those that fell into the ditch. With the ditch digger killing many around it on one side, and the ditch on the other, the men felt rather safe moving between.

I hope that these images give the rest of you hope that this crisis has not doomed mankind. We were not eradicated. While our numbers seem to have been heavily reduced, those of us remaining are fighting to regain our world and keep the fight going. Soon, it seems that our children will again be able to play outdoors, and little by little we will remove zombies from our lives.

I was told that those at the station downtown huddled around the monitor that showed this feed during the day. I have mentioned how a number rushed to the station when the zombie outbreak began. The people there have been doing their best, but they are surrounded by a number of zombies. While they have heard me mention having no zombie for a neighbor, they have worked to ration their food understanding that they had a multitude of undead in their community. While I am out in the country, what they saw from my camera gave them hope that they might one day be free as well.

Let me speak in favor of those at the station. They have maintained their sanity. These reports have been sent out, and that is all due to them continuing their duties. Even though the station is filled with people, the group has suppressed any aggressive tendencies. They have worked together to survive. My team has at least had the luxury of some movement. Those at the station have been confined in that relatively small building. The information and entertainment that they continued to provide I feel certain have helped many, many others survive this last horrible week.

The liaison for Barksdale called me today. He spoke of a squad working to engage the undead outside their compound. He mentioned that packages had been dropped to those working in the electrical plant. He told me to get the word out that the military was beginning to work on behalf of the people. The primary objective was however not to remove the zombie threat, but to secure the integrity of the main utilities. Undead would be slaughtered, but only in order to secure the infrastructure to our society. He wanted to assure that the message got out, so that people would know that seeing the military would not mean their salvation. They are traveling with containers of MREs, but the soldiers are being given orders that anything more is not to be done for the common citizen at this time.

Let me say that I must speak in favor of the military. Not only do the electrical plants continue to provide a method of delivering these reports, but there is also entertainment programs that are sent out during the day. Hopefully, they provide some moments of enjoyment. More, I am certain that the preservation of refrigerators have kept food fresh so that people could continue to eat. Electric stoves for cooking, or even microwaves. All of that are reasons for our military to secure our electric plants.

Water, fresh water, has also ensured that many stayed alive. Let me also say that the benefit of baths has helped keep the close relationships with others manageable. I am told that a crisis is developing with our water system in that the situation with the filters is becoming drastic. The military is going to work to resolve that problem. I have to agree that our water system is something the military needs to have as a priority.

Trash pickup sounds minor, but it is important. The bodies of zombies certainly continue to carry their plague. I have made such a comment myself. The liaison for the military spoke of the soldiers not minding driving a trash truck, as those machines are built tough. The amount of zombies however can overwhelm even one of those vehicles however, so care must be taken.

The military will thus have its hands full simply working to enable us to consider our personal space as still being livable. Should our homes suddenly go without electricity, many would no longer consider it comfortable staying inside with many considering it as unsafe indoors as outdoors. We thus need to support the military as they work to achieve their objectives. While we all surely have our own localized needs and desires, the soldiers are trying to assure benefits to all huddled groups.

The stress again is for those of us to begin the work taking back our communities. The zombie menace might go away, but we cannot depend upon it simply disappearing. Some of you might consider what Mr. Eddlemon is doing to be rather stupid. Maybe, and maybe it is only due to our prayers that he is managing to do the work safely. Even if he had died in the attempt, the honor for making a stand against the threat would still be his.

We cannot stay huddled in our secluded areas. Food is a daily concern, and supplies are limited. You thus need to look beyond your immediate shelter and consider how you can expand the range of freedom. Other sources of available goods might be there to be found. Other people who can aid you and give you support might be there. While prayer might be an answer, if you do not give God a way to support you then what good can your prayers do? Mr. Eddlemon was huddled in his bedroom. We freed him, and now he is freeing us. Stand up, and begin doing what you can to remove the threats around you. With some determination, you might indeed find yourself without a zombie as a neighbor.

Now, we all are facing our own immediate problems. What needs to be discovered is your own solutions. This discarded pipe wrench has been a fantastic weapon for me. I have mentioned that it will gain a place of distinction on my wall. It was surely once a wonderful tool, but its size actually made its use rather limited, so it was put away after its need was finished. I found it, and although a heavy burden, it has saved my life and the lives of others. I thus challenge each of viewing this broadcast to search again through all the nooks and crannies of your place of confinement, and see if there is not something resting there that could again be put to use to solve problems.

You have been watching the video of Mr. Eddlemon digging the second part of our moat. I want you to turn your focus from the machine to the men moving with it. Look at their faces. They are cheerfully moving about taking on the zombies. There is a pride and a joy in what they are doing. There is a sense of ownership in gaining control over your life. Mr. Eddlemon did not ask to be paid, but came from his imprisonment eager to regain his life. Those here in this church did not turn my news crew back and stay huddled on their knees in prayer. They accepted us into their congregation and have been eagerly working with us to develop our plans to expand their place of refuge and allow their children to play again. Zombies are a very deadly threat, but they can be overcome. They have weaknesses. You can do things to start the process of restoring your life to something approaching normalcy.

I am now switching to live feed from our camera. What you are seeing is the parking lot in front of the church. We moved the cars to work with the moat to give us a secured area. As you can see, there are zombies around, but none in the area.

“Everybody! Wave!”

See the people turning and waving? They are outside. Come with me. See the children, they are waiting here by the door.

“Wave for the camera, children. This is Susan Birmingham. Susan, what are you waiting for?”

“We get to go outside!”

“And what are you going to do outside?”

“Run and stick my tongue out at the zombies.”

Ah, the door is opening with Doug Premmings telling us that the area is clear. We are now leaving through the front of the church. The children are able to run and scream for the first time in a week. It is not the playground. Hopefully, the children can play in the playground tomorrow.

This is what it takes. People finding their way to people, then uniting to return a sense of community. The zombies can be overcome.

For most of us, the infrastructure is still holding. Our institutions have not fallen. Our lives thus can be returned to normal.

This news team has been active from the start. We began by making our broadcasts out where we felt the zombie menace was minor. We found that it was not, and our broadcast a week ago had us make a break to kill some undead. We thought that we had a safe refuge in a barn, but again found the undead to threaten our security. We then came to this church where the members were also trying to work against the zombie threat.

Members of my news team and of this church have died in this fight, but they did not die in vain. The children would not be playing outside if those risks had not been taken. I know none of you in my audience want to die, and I know that all of you know the risks in battling the undead. The fear in many of you of coming out of your place of refuge could indeed be great. I challenge you again however to look around and see not only what weapons you might have, but how you might be able to use them with a high degree of security. Those of the church have spent their mornings battling undead from the roof. Maybe you can find a way to get above them as well. Accidents can happen, I have seen them happen, but I have also seen what can be accomplished by taking the hand of death to the zombies.

This security that we presently have is not lasting. As you can see, there are adults fighting those zombies that are trying to work their way between the cars. The children are not going to be able to play for long.

Tomorrow we hope to accomplish more. Tomorrow we hope to let the children play on the playground equipment. Tomorrow we hope to have a pray meeting outside. Tomorrow, I hope that you plan on improving your life as well. If we keep doing what we can, we can have a tomorrow where we do not have zombies for a neighbor.

This has been Bruce Williams. Good night and God bless.