More and more reports are popping up online as proof that the infection has not been contained to the Western Hemisphere. There is shocking video of London’s Heathrow Airport where a standoff between a plane full of the Undead and Emergency Personnel occurred in the early morning hours of today. No one really knows for sure what happened but it appears that after losing contact with the cabin, the pilots landed the plane without incident and then proceeded to park it right up against the folded accordion of the passenger walkway. The pilots then called the control tower to let them know there was an issue. It may have been self-preservation on the part of the pilots, thinking that maybe they would have been asked to remain on the tarmac, or worse, shot out of the sky. The situation worldwide is getting to the point of panic and who really knows what the pilots had been briefed on prior to leaving for their destination.
Once the hatch was opened, it was utter pandemonium. The Emergency Personnel had no idea what to expect and as a result they were ill-prepared for what burst forth and attacked them. It was a bloody massacre that spread further and further outward throughout the entire airport and beyond.
Something similar was reported in Australia where a cruise ship had been noticed just drifting off the coast. With the way of the affairs at the moment, no one was of the mind to rescue a listless ship; especially not one with no visible signs of life on deck. It didn’t matter anyway since the ocean current had a different plan altogether. The ship ran aground in the Sydney Harbour, destroying docks and other vessels. It also unleashed thousands of the Undead dressed in their best but bloodied cruise attire onto the city. Stories like this are appearing by the hour. Pretty soon there will no place left on earth safe from the Undead.
Our escape took us through Arizona today. The benefit of having the truck and 4 capable drivers is that we can pretty much drive for 24 hours straight. Periodically we stop out of necessity particularly in the hotter states because we don’t want the car to overheat and for the sheer fact that we need to keep the truck fuelled. So far we haven’t had to drop much below a half a tank. And we have reserves of gasoline stored in jerry cans in the back. There is no telling when we will no longer have access to the pumps or when the tanks at the stations will run dry. At this point we are fairly certain that no one is out there delivering to your local Texaco station…
The roads are beginning to look like something out of The Stand. Burned out carcasses of vehicles are littered everywhere making passage tricky at times; especially when a few unexpected Undead appear as you are trying to deftly manoeuvre around wreckage in the dark without ending up in the ditch. Hopefully we can reach the coast sometime in the daylight either tomorrow or the day after. At this point in time, we are thinking of high-jacking a boat or yacht that someone out there is less likely to need. The only issue is this: we have no idea where to go from there. If the epidemic is becoming more and more global as the days go on, soon there will be no safe havens.
I think that is part of the reason that I scour the internet. I’m looking for that one place that is going to be free from the Undead. It may be stupid but in the end, if you don’t have hope you don’t have anything. Ideally, I’ve been thinking about the fact that we need to find an isolated island with a very small population that is essentially shut off from the rest of the world. Seems like a fool’s errand in this interconnected and reliant world of ours BUT there has to be a place. And I will find it. That I have to believe.
I’m also not sure how long I will be able to keep posting these communications to you. My mobile internet service provider could stop providing me with service at any point and while I could scan the area for unsecured Wi-Fi connections it would mean staying in place for longer periods of time, especially while I researched the web for news. That could be the difference between life and death for us. The Undead army is growing exponentially and nothing seems to be able to keep it in check. Is there nothing that can kill them? There’s the obvious “shoot them in the head” kill shot or decapitation but there has to be something else that can stop them or at least slow them down.
Fire had appeared like it might be a viable option to someone in Philadelphia. Unfortunately the plan backfired (forgive the pun) and now the entire city is burning. I don’t know exactly what their plan was but it didn’t work. Unlike a living victim, the Undead don’t feel pain and they just kept right on coming, only at that point they were also on fire. And the fact that they are dead and going through at least some of the stages of normal decomposition they would act like torches in a sense. Fuelling the fire on them until the last possible moment of second death. And even after that, their bodies would likely still burn until of the fuel comprising it had been consumed. Terrifying thought and one I wouldn’t want to be faced with. The Undead are frightening enough but can you imagine the flaming Undead?
We started a silly conversation today that just reminded us of how much of the world we’re going to miss. Ben posed the question, asking each of us what we were going to miss the most. Immediately Max answered with Melissa, then followed it up with fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and cold milk. Bob was quiet for a moment and countered with seeing a long awaited movie on opening night at the theatre with the never ending bag of hot buttered popcorn and ice cold Coca-Cola. Ben piped in with long walks along the boardwalk of the Beaches on Lake Ontario’s shore while eating ice cream. After that the three of them took turns trying to one up each other. Max: cold beer. Bob: vacations. Ben: still warm pecan butter tarts from his favourite bakery. Bob: lazy Sunday mornings with the paper and a cup of coffee. Ben: the joyful, innocent play of puppies at the pet store. Max: listening to the new album from his favourite group. Ben: sleeping in, just because you can. Bob: sex. Bob’s last answer stopped them for a moment, and Max turned to me from the passenger seat and gave me a long, hard look. After staring at me for a moment, he said that I hadn’t offered any suggestion of what I will miss most. I looked at him, hating to end the moment of boyish excitement. My answer: freedom.
So I leave you tonight with the hopes that I will be able to touch base with you all tomorrow. Godspeed to you all and I pray for the living.
Days with the Undead 
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