Month 2, Day 6, Dawn
I've regained full use of my arm. The entry and exit wounds from the bullet are still quite tender, but they've nearly closed back up. Amber purchased some patches for me to place over my shoulder to keep bacteria out before we left the campus. She told me to change the patches every six to eight hours, but in the interest of conserving my diminished supplies, I've been using the same patches for nearly full 24 hour periods. Hope I don't succumb to infection.
Note to self: that would be really, really lame.
Ford is still recovering back at the college. Didn't have much time to talk to her because she's been sleeping almost nonstop since our rescue. Said she wasn't feeling very good last I spoke to her. This has me worried. I'll check in with her again in a few days.
Speaking of companions, Amber has come out here to hunt with me, despite my protests. She is completely unarmed (Ford wouldn't allow Amber to use her baseball bat or machete) so it's up to me to keep us both alive out here. We've stopped on top of a hill near the eastern ports where Amber was captured. Nearby is a tire-swing, which Amber is currently hogging. Also, there is a ton of graffiti outlining "safe" routes of passage throughout the city and certain stores and safe-houses. I know half of this information to be bullsh*t from my own adventures out here.
Note to self: do something about all of this false information.
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I just spent the last fifteen minutes marking out the outdated routes and compromised safe zones with my spray-paint. Need to warn people about the pharmacy with my paint before too long. If I don't do something about those savages, they could end up marketing slavery as a legitimate business in these troubled times.
Good thing I went back to the office building and found all of my equipment untouched in a corner near the place Amber had hidden my body. I can't believe a single looter or slaver didn't find my stuff. Seems my luck has taken a turn fo
Jesus Christ, we were just ambushed by a horde of those undead f*ckers! There were too many to count, they just swarmed over the other side of the hill without so much as a moan or gurgle. What the hell is going on?! I knew I was taking a chance being downwind from them. Couldn't smell them, but perhaps they could smell me? This reminds me of my encounter from roughly a month ago, when I was trapped in that apartment full of human waste. They didn't attack me then. We're definitely missing something here...
Note to self: investigate zed respiratory system.
Whether they can breath or not doesn't explain why none of them uttered a sound before crossing the hill and attacking us. Are they organizing somehow? Surely not. Their brains are rotting, there's no way in hell they can be learning. F*ck...I can't believe we got away from them all. Amber won't stop crying. I don't know how to comfort her. We're hiding in an alleyway. Had to run nonstop for almost ten minutes straight. Should have put enough distance between us and them. Never know though. I won't be sleeping tonight.
Ok, her head is on my shoulder. Wow, she smells nice...did she bathe recently? Where? And with what? I didn't have enough money to shower at the campus. I must reek. God I hope not. This is nice. I haven't experienced this in a while. Put my arm around her? No. Don't get greedy. Focus on cannibals.
Didn't even fire at the group. Still only have three rounds. Plus, that would have only attracted more. Could they have actually "wanted" me to do that? No...again, they can't learn. There's no way.
Right, never listed my reason for coming out here in the first place. I need cash. Zombies carry cash. I kill zombie, I get cash. Enough said. I desperately need to acquire more ammunition and possibly a first-aid kit. After surviving this many disasters, it'd be a real shame to die just because I didn't have access to gauze or a syringe.
Note to self: purchase 7.62 rounds, gauze, rubber hose (makes a great tourniquet, apparently), syringe, tweezers, thermometer, flashlight, needle and thread. That = good first aid kit, right? Whatever.
Current supplies:
$77 bucks
1 rope, same (what the hell am I ever going to need this for? Christ...)
1/8 gallon of water
M24 Rifle, 3 Rounds Remaining
1 can of spray-paint
7 1/2 bottles of ibuprofen
2 bottles of penicillin
1 empty stomach
Note to self: I'm really, really hungry.
On the bright side, I scavenged nearly $70 from carcasses today and found a bag of peanuts on the ground outside a convenience store earlier. Shared it with Amber, of course (hid a few for myself to nibble on later. She'll never know.)
New graffiti entries:
On front of convenience store,
"CLEANED OUT MOVE ALONG" (Must have been recent if they're the ones who dropped those peanuts...jerks.)
On parking lot beside office building,
"2 blocks N by NE to safehouse bring food" (I assume this used to be a trap. The dumpster behind the building reeked of death. Inside the station were three half-eaten bodies. I wonder why they haven't stood back up? Maybe something other than the undead ate them...dear God, are humans now eating other humans?)
On glass windows in front of toy store,
"Put the children out of their misery."
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(Holy crap you guys, I can't tell you enough about how excited I am to see how many people are actually reading this story. Every single new comment I get is like...like...another line of coke! Ok, maybe not that extreme, but it definitely brings me joy to see new comments. Without you guys, I wouldn't have any inspiration to keep writing. Thanks go out to Zed for his comment on my big 500, and to Seth for giving my little project a 5 out of 5

Also to Shiriru for enjoying a theoretical beer with me! Cheers everybody.)
(A quick Edit -- Sorry I forgot to include you, Carl D: I know you've been there since the earlier entries. You get your own little thanks right here, k?

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