We had a breach at the settlement; a significant breach. It started yesterday morning and it was horrific. Since I’ve had a while to process what happened, hopefully I can tell you as succinctly as possible.

I’ve been holed up in the library since it happened. There was no way that I would have been able to get anywhere else; I barely made it inside the library as it was. There are 6 of us here, all terrified of what is outside.

They came over the walls and through the small little holes that didn’t get patched. A veritable carpet of them like a wave of water just overtaking the landscape. One minute you could clearly see the ground around you and then in the next, the ground was covered.

They moved so quickly. So very, very quickly. One minute it was a lovely fall day, the next it was a massacre. The screams were the first indication that something wasn’t quite right.

I was just about the grab the door to the library, intending to go inside and write an update for everyone when I heard the first of the screams. they were blood-curdling. The kind of screams that raise all of the hairs on the back of your neck. The kind of screams that raise all of the ancillary hairs over your entire body. The kind of scream that settles deep into your psyche and changes you forever. It’s the kind of scream that you never forget but search for words to explain. I’ve heard it far too many times; more times that I care to even remember.

When I looked to see what was causing the panic and terror, I saw them. It was the largest group that I had ever seen. The Undead rodents were everywhere; cutting down every living thing that was in their path.

Knowing that I didn’t have a second to spare, I ducked inside the library and closed the door quickly behind me. I turned the lock, knowing that if I didn’t I ran the risk of allowing someone else trying to escape the horde the means to let them in. It may seem heartless but what good was it to sacrifice myself and anyone else that might have been in the library with me.

I heard the panicked and pained screams continue down the street, knowing that the tide of undeath was flowing in that direction. I had no way to warn anyone of their advance.

I could only sit and stare in horror as the seconds ticked by. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours. The worst was the waiting. Fairly soon the screams died down completely. None of us dared to look out the windows. The fear of attracting them was palpable.

What I didn’t know about the Herber Settlement was that it had suffered a breach just like this about 2 months before we got here. From what I understand there used to be quite a few more people here. The attack by the Undead critters dropped the population down to less than one-third of what it once was. And when Marcus had decided to patch the gaps and disband the Perimeter Guard completely, he did so not realizing what else the PGs had been assigned to look for.

Was it his fault that we’re in this position? No, how was he to know that we were in the path of their carnage. But the sad thing is that if we had known they were coming, we could have gotten in doors. We could have saved more people.

I have no idea who is dead or alive. I can’t even get out of this library. They could still be out there, waiting for us…

The wait is beginning to get to me. I need to find out if my friends made it. I know that Ben was at the hospital, Julie was at the house and the twins and Jane were all in school. The stress of not knowing is wearing me down. I can’t help but realize that while I want to know, I don’t want to know.

And all I can do is sit here and wait. Either they get in and devour us as well, or they’re long gone.

Oh sh*t! More screams… Someone must have ventured outside thinking it was safe only to find out it’s not. At least now we know for sure.

So we wait. And pray.

The Next Day