I couldn’t either - I could say they were sick, but I’ll never know if they actually died. Just too scary for me.
[time out]Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I know that it’s all just imaginary, but it’s still really depressing.[/time out]
[time out]
Oh, please don’t think badly of me for killing off my kids and husband. I was just doing it with my family “as is” IRL. And anyway, in the book, how many whole families survived intact?
[/time out]
Notes from the road:
I made it past Nashville today. Not as far as I thought I’d get though, but I had to make it around several bad crashes (and these were real crashes, not blockades). I-40 across the Cumberland plateau was bad. A tractor trailer had jacknifed. I didn’t look too closely at the cars that it hit…after so much death, what should it matter? I just couldn’t.
I left home around 8AM, packing the kitties and the food and stuff into the back of the car. When I got to the Jeep dealership up Kingston Pike, I thought that switching the car then would be smart. I didn’t expect leaving the Swift behind to be so hard though. After all, it’s just a car. But it’s been through so much with me. If there was any way to bring it along, I would. I reloaded the kitties into the new car, transferred the food and stopped at a sporting goods store for a bike and a repair kit. I also picked up a gun, even though I’ve never shot one in my life. A tent and some general camping gear also went into the truck. I’d plan on breaking into motel rooms along the way, but that seems like a bad idea. I also stopped and picked up as many laptop batteries as I could, along with this nifty adapter that will let it charge off the cigarette lighter in the car*.
After I made it to Nashville, I worked my way around the city (thank goodness I lived there for a year so know some of the roads that helped a lot). I headed out of town on I-24. I stopped just over the state line in Kentucky. I’d like to head up towards St. Louis, then take I70 all the way across to Colorado if I can. I’m sure I’ll have to detour some, and I’m watching my speed - it wouldn’t do to overturn the car with no medical help to be found.
I freaked earlier. I thought I saw a plane up in the sky, and for a brief, crazy, happy moment I thought that maybe it was just here in North America. The I realized that it was way too high for a plane. Instead, it was a satellite. It seems like the electricity is off around here. I don’t know what’s different about this area than Knoxville was, but I know the power was on there because it was really tough to fight years of learning and not stop for traffic lights.
I think there are people around, watching me pass by on the roads, but not saying anything. I put my hair up under a baseball hat, and I’m thinking about cutting it really short - it won’t be such a giveaway that I’m a woman alone, and it will always grow back.
*I have no idea if such a thing really exists, but I’m going to say it does for the sake of the trip across country.
Toby and I are still in PA. There have been so many crashes, and to resolve them, we’ve had to… remove people from their vehicles. You know how hot it’s been. We had to get gloves, face masks, etc., and in some cases, plastic bags. I used to be squeamish, but after a while, it gets to be like a job. Toby has been great; if I didn’t have him, I wouldn’t have gotten 10 miles. I now realize how small, weak, and ill-equipt I am for surviving in a post-American world.
Post-American. America is over. Holy shit. New York is over. My family is over. Over. I mean, I have to assume none of them made it in that mess that is NYC. Toby, horrible as it is, got closure; I will never quite know what happened to my family, and I can’t decide if it’s better that way or worse. All I have are my cats and this guy that I just met two days ago. I guess he and I are family now.
I have to admit that I am looking forward to meeting the remaining Dopers. It’ll be the Post-Apocalyptic DopeFest. Where are you all? Is everyone going to Boulder now or what?
I hate to even mention this, but has anyone been dreaming of crows? And wolves? It’s hard to describe, but the crow and the wolf are also a guy, and he really doesn’t want us to go to Boulder. All the more reason to go, right? Right?
Jeff Byers, are you still there, honey? Have you found a way out of the underground hospital? If you haven’t, I had a few suggestions. I know this is icky, but I need you to get the name badges from some of the dead people. They might have a black strip on the back of them just like a credit card. See if the steel door has one of those things that looks like a credit card reader. If they do, try all the name badges on the door and see if it works. Do you have some food? Don’t be afraid to take the coins from the dead people’s pockets and use them on the snack machine. No one will be upset. Let us know if you find a way out, sweetie.
No one seems to want to state the obvious: this is the Day of Judgement, and our families and friends have all been called to stand before the Lord.
I’ve never been very religious, to the great annoyance of my wife (may the Lord keep her soul), but I’ve had my personal revelation today. The Lord has called me to His service, and in His mercy has granted me both a new understanding of this plague, and also a chance to redeem myself and earn a place in His kingdom. I’d like to share this with you all before I leave.
Walking through the city today, I came upon a man sleeping off a hangover in front of a grocery store. I thought to try to wake him, but the Lord touched my eyes and allowed me to see the man’s soul. It was black and foul, more foul by far than his unwashed body, and I saw that he belonged to Satan.
It was at that moment that I realized why I am still alive, when so many better men and women are dead: the Lord has chosen me (and perhaps others) to destroy the hordes of Lucifer’s children who will overrun the world. Not monstrous demons, but men and women like ourselves, whose souls are corrupted beyond redemption by their sinful ways.
With that revelation, I knew my course: I shot the sleeping man in the forehead, and I felt the Lord smile upon me, and His voice spoke to me and said that I had done His work.
Later, I came upon another man, sitting on a car and playing the saxophone. He saw me, and tried to decieve me by acting friendly. But the Lord touched my eyes once again, and I saw him to be another servant of Hell. I pretended friendliness also, and when he got close I shot him in the right eye. Again, the Lord spoke His approval.
So, now I begin the Lord’s mission for me: to go forth into this blighted land and kill every follower of the Dark One that I can find. I will die doing this, I know, but I will die doing the Lord’s work, and He will lift my soul up to stand before Him and dwell in His house forever.
I spent the day stockpiling weapons (there are advantages to living near an army base). I was a Ranger in my younger days, and I know exactly how to use all of them. Satan will lose a lot of servants before I die.
To any others like me… I wish you good hunting.
To the few righteous souls who are spared to restore humanity to the Lord’s world… I wish you good fortune.
To the legions of Satan… I will know you when I see you.
[time out] Well, there have to be a FEW crazies, right? 
[time in]
Man… I had a close run for a minute there. I was delirious for almost two days, and I’m not really sure what happened… I’m going to college in Atlanta, so I figured I’d call the CDC but it was just some automated “Don’t worry, a cure is imminent, and this only harms the very young, the very old, and the very sick.” Is anybody really falling for this anymore?
I tried to find a friend who would drive me over to the CDC, but most of my friends are too sick to move or… they aren’t answering the phone. All I know for sure is that I was really sick for a while and my parents won’t answer the phone. I’m so scared… but I’m feeling better now! Maybe some people can fight it off…?
Jeff, I want to apologize for not believing you. I am seriously freaked about all this. Please, do what Deadly suggests, and if anyone is in Texas, maybe they can figure out where you are.
The smell…oh my God. It’s so hot here in Florida, and the stench of rotting bodies is indescribable. I can hardly eat.
You guys are my lifeline. I think I would have shot myself if I didn’t know I’m not the only one alive.
I made it to Ocala, but driving on the side of the road blew out my tires. I wandered around a Wal-Mart (I guess my boycott is rather mute now) and stocked up on stuff I could carry on a bicycle. At least I’ll get my exercise. I got a gun too. I feel safer with it.
Random thoughts:
What do we do if we get a broken arm? Are there any doctors left?
Should we boil water, or assume it’s okay to drink?
Has the Flu made us all sterile??
I’m still having dreams of the old black lady with the guitar. She’s telling me to hurry. She’s in Boulder, and she’s not alone. Ruby, I’m not dreaming of crows, but I’m seeing crows. They eat carrion, right? Yuck.
Last night I met up with a guy, David. He seemed nice, but he wanted to push on to Vegas, not go to Boulder. He said it would be better in Vegas. For some reason I got a scary vibe from him, so I waited until the middle of the night and snuck off. I hope I’ve lost him.
not with a bang but a whimper…
Whew it feels good to sit down. I am posting this from my car on a borrowed laptop I “found” at work. I haven’t been able to get an answer at my house, I just can’t get a good signal on my cell phone so I thought maybe I’d send an e-mail although it’s probably useless since no one checks the e-mail at home except me.
You would not believe the last couple of days I’ve had. I’ve been at the hospital for days now. I put in 12 hours and was getting ready to go when all these soldiers showed up from Wright-Pat and said we were now quarantined due to a flu outbreak. Quarantined! Can you believe it? And not only that, all phone, TV and internet access has been off too.
The first night wasn’t too bad even though only about half of the 7p-7a shift. And out of them probably 3/4 of them were sick too. After the quarantine we didn’t get many more admissions though.
I am absolutely exhausted. I don’t think I can make it home right now. I think I may find a place to park and take a short nap. I’ll check back later.
Ivylass, I think you’d be better off in a car. You can carry more, and could throw a case of bottled water in there, too. I don’t know if I’d trust tap water - smell it, I guess, but there could still be micro-organisms in it - I just don’t know.
Or go back to Wal-Mart and get one of those things that hooks to the back of your bike to carry kids. You could put stuff in that.
At any rate, I’d stick with bottled for now. No sense getting sick on the road.
You could take a car from someone’s house, or a car dealer. I don’t think it’s considering “stealing” anymore.
You have to figure there’s at least some docs left. God, I hope so.
My story from yesterday: I headed west on the Baltimore Beltway, heading to I-70. When I got to the interchange, there was a huge military roadblock, and lots of crashed cars. It looked like a bunch of cars had tried to run the roadblock. There were those big Army trucks that they transport personnel in, and some were overturned. Lots of dead bodies, both civilian and military.
I was able to get around it, on the grass, and using 4WD. Once I got past that, it was surprisingingly clear.
I stopped in Hagerstown at the big outlet mall, just to see if anyone was around, and to see if there was anything there I might need. The place had been looted beyond belief. It seemed like people mostly took electronics and high-end clothing, though, and all the safes and cash registers had been broken into.
I took a pair of hiking boots from the Timberland Store, two backpacks from the Coleman sporting goods store (a full-out hiking one, with straps for a sleeping bag, and a regular daypack), and a lightweight rain jacket.
I had that creepy feeling like someone was watching me, or following me around, but I never saw anyone.
I also helped myself to a bunch of CDs at one store. My husband’s truck has a 10-disc CD changer, and I can’t get any radio stations to come in at all. It’s just static up and down the dial. I can’t drive in complete silence - I’ll go nuts.
When I passed the area where Fort Detrick is, I saw a lot more of the roadblocks, and military vehicles.
Fort Detrick is the place that the book The Hot Zone is based on, and a researcher got a needle stick there back in February*. She was quarantined, and parts of Fort Detrick were shut down. They claimed it was Ebola, but I have different suspicions now. A lot of that was all hushed up, and I don’t think we ever heard what happened to her.
I’ll write more later. I’m still exhausted. I made it to Deep Creek, Maryland, a resort town in the far western panhandle. I broke into a motel and slept for about 10 hours. Well, “broke in” isn’t quite right. The front office was wide open, and I took a room key and found a room. I hid the truck in the maintenance shed.
Lsura, why do you think using motel rooms is a bad idea?
I still haven’t seen a single soul. I’m really creeped out by that.
[Time Out]
*True Story - I’d link to it to my local paper, but it’s a subscription site, and the articles are archived. A civilian researcher accidentally got a needle stick while working, with a needle that contained the Ebola virus. She was quarantined for a couple of weeks, but is okay now.
[Time In]
Ok I’m awake now. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around what has happened. We heard talk of a plague and even of biological warfare. Being located just a few miles from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base would put Dayton in the fallout zone.
After the soldiers showed up all the fire doors were locked from the other side with guards posted at all the exits. Now the guards are gone but we haven’t been able to get the doors open. Something is very very wrong here.
All I know is that people went from just not feeling right to dead in just a day or so. All my cow-orkers are dead. In fact the only person I’ve found alive in the whole hospital was George. George is 26 and was brought in from Dayton Correctional Institute for a pacreatitis attack. He was shackled to the bed. But since the guard was dead and no replacement seemed to be coming, I got his keys and told George I didn’t think he would be going back to DCI.
So after clearing the pyxis of some narcotics, antibiotics and steroids we began to try to figure a way out. Then I remembered the laundry chute. We tied some sheets together for a rope and one by one went down the chute, ending up near the loading dock. I shuddered as I passed a pile of body bags. I relieved the dead guards of their weapons, just in case.
Now I’m off for home…
Bottled water is an excellent idea. Jeez, I guess I’m not thinking clearly.
I just can’t bring myself to drive yet. All those dead people cooking in their cars, or rotting in their bedrooms while their car is in the garage…I can only do a bit at a time. The car dealer idea is good, though. Maybe once I get out to a place in the road with some room, I might try it.
Hey, what do you think about getting CB’s? We can agree to talk on one channel, 15 or something, and maybe we can find each other.
I haven’t seen David in a few hours, so I guess I’m okay.
I just had a horrible thought…what if there’s a baby, perfectly healthy, in one of these houses, screaming in a house with dead parents?
Oh God…whoever did this should die. Slowly. Over weeks.
I just don’t know what to do.
The power is still on, and there’s only one channel on the TV. Public access. Some nutter. All I want to do is curl up on the couch and watch DVDs. But the city is dead, and I can’t stay here. Everybody is talking about Boulder, but I’m dreaming of Vegas. On the other hand, I’d rather hang out in Colorado witha nice black lady than swelter in the Las Vegas heat, especially if all the Dopers are going to Boulder.
And it’ll take me through Utah, so I can check and see if any of my family made it.
But I don’t know what to do. I don’t how to get there. I don’t know when I should go. I’m at a complete loss. Everything just seems like it’s too much. Should I just loot the Wal-Mart next door, load up my car, and start my trek across the desert? (If I do, I think I’ll swing north than east, I don’t want to cut through Vegas).
But the place is deserted. No dead bodies here so at least that’s something. I take that back no dead human bodies, but I see that Buck is no longer with us. Poor fella, he was my big ol hunk of puppy love. He was only six weeks old when we got him.
:cries:
Wait, what’s that noise? IS ANYONE HERE? I hear you moving around back there. Oh my god, I don’t believe it…
Jake comes in barking and nearly knocks me over licking the tears from my face. He’s dirty but no worse for the wear and tear.
I collapse in bed with Jake at my feet and I quickly fall asleep but it is not a restful sleep. In my dream I am surrounded by cornfields, but there are rats…And crows are chasing me thru the cornfields. Suddenly I run into the scarecrow and I scream at it. “You’re not doing your job at all. Look at all these crows” Then the scarecrow’s head turns, his eyes open and he reaches for me. Oh god those eyes are black and evil and just as the scarecrow grabs me by the throat and begins choking me, I wake.
It’s now dark, but I’m not sure what time it is. The electricity is off and the heat is sweltering. I know I can’t stay here. I decide that I’ll leave for Nebraska first thing in the morning to see the nice black lady.
Folk’s round these parts just call me Mother Abigail
It’s been a bad couple of days.
I went to work and the guy next to me wasn’t there anymore. And my boss wasn’t there, and the other head GMs were gone. The only guy left is the one who smells kinda funny, and M – M’s cool, usually, but he’s scared as hell and he was just there to pick up his stuff before driving west. I dunno where he’s going.
So I decided to do a scan of the building, just to see who’s left. E’s gone. Both the S’s are gone. Dunno whether they were just at home with family or really gone. T is in total denial, which isn’t like him. He’s just plugging away at the bugs from last build, never mind the fact that the guys in California haven’t actually sent us a new one in days. I headed down the hall, and R1 says that R2 is at home and not leaving, though his girl’s trying to get him to go west too. He’s putting together some way to get us all out…knowing him, it’ll cost a fortune but we’ll all be comfy. Then again, nothing costs a fortune now. It’s all free, and none of it’s worth anything.
Driving’s actually not that bad – there’s enough back roads and stuff that I can still get around, and I know this city so well…I tried calling up my friends, but the only one who picked up was L. L, of all people, the first person I would have thought would knuckle under this pressure, is one of two alive. JM fell early – his immune system was never good. A and P and JMo tried to get some food at the Albertson’s…they got shot by some son of a bitch who decided all the food was his. JMa and JW…Jesus, nobody ever needs to see that. JMa thought he was all good, but he was coughing and sneezing because allergy season’s pretty constant up here. JW’s mom and his sister came down with the 'flu early, and I think he kind of snapped.
I don’t know where he got the gun. I think it’s just a blessing, sort of, that he didn’t have very good aim, and CM and L are still alive. But JMa’s gone, and then JW turned the gun on himself…CM was lucky enough to get away with just a scar on his head. L was out at the store; I guess JW decided not to wait for her.
So they picked up the phone, and I picked -them- up, and you know, they’ve never gotten along before, but this seems to have shaken them up enough to that point.
And I’ve put off talking about my parents because…well, I picked up CM and L and I started driving north. The phone had been busy for days, which didn’t surprise me, but it did surprise me that Dad hadn’t called. It was so quiet driving up that country road, but it seems to me that there were more deer running around than there used to be. I knew something was wrong when I pulled up to the house. It was so incredibly quiet.
The dogs were gone – maybe he set them free or something. The cats were penned up in the bathroom with all the catfood and tuna and stuff. The window was open but screened, so the two who still have their claws would be able to get out.
The graves were out back, marked. My mother and my grandmother. I don’t know…my dad must’ve been the one who buried them, but he was nowhere to be found. I searched the woods all around and couldn’t find him; I called and called and called and finally I called his cell phone. Left a voicemail. I hope he gets it. His car is gone, but he left the Explorer, so I piled CM and L and the kitties into there. Willow hates me just as much as she ever did, but she let L carry her. She won’t leave L. She’s just sitting in her lap and purring…never seen that cat take a shine to anyone who has fewer than four legs. Hepzibah and the new one, the one whose name I can never remember, they’re curled up on CM, who has no complaints for once in his life. Terry’s on my lap as I drive, which makes it a little harder, but I’m not complaining either.
I couldn’t bear to take one of my coworkers’ laptops. Felt…wrong. But I got to Fry’s and picked out a nice nifty one, along with a few other choice things. It was the first time I’d heard CM and L laughing for ages; we just went from aisle to aisle, picking stuff up…but in the end, we left most of it behind. A laptop each, so we could record what happens to us. Digital cameras, same reason. I wonder if anything digital will survive, if we’re just being weird and arrogant in all this. But trying, trying’s good enough. We got a few of those packs where you can plug near-anything into a car lighter, too. Electricity for as long as we keep from running out of gas.
Got as much gas as we could from the Exxon station. The Speedpass still works…go figure. We filled up every gas can we could find – it should get us far enough. Stopped by HEB and just got everything we could carry that was non-perishable, everything we could cook pretty easily. Had a little barbecue on one of the grills out back; we had a steak and potato dinner, except for L. I made her grilled squash and zucchini and eggplant, and lo, it was good.
I’m writing this as we rest for the night. We’re not leaving the car. We’re kind of afraid to. I’ve gotten us out of the city – THAT took ages – but now we’re in the open countryside, on these roads that nobody ever uses. When we have to go offroad, I give thanks one more time that my grandmother bought this Explorer instead of a Taurus. I’ll upload this when we get to someplace with an Internet jack.
I think we’re going to Boulder. I hope I’ll see y’all there.
Jeff Byers: If you can go through all the stuff around you and try to figure out where you are, post your location and I’ll come help you get out. I’m in Houston now but I imagine I can be to wherever you are in 2 or 3 days, depending on how hard it is to get out of town. I-10 would be the usual way, but it’s totally blocked. I’m off to the REI down the street to get all the camping stuff I’ll need.
Jeff, try to do what Deadly Accurate said, or just see if you can find anything that will tell you where you might be. I’ll check in later. Hang in there, honey.
To quote Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns (and every time I think about something like that, I think to myself, “is this the last time in the history of the universe that anyone will ever quote Batman Returns?”): Four, five, still alive.
I’m in the weirdest mood. I mean, really. The. Weirdest. Mood. Everyone is dead. The world has ended. And yet I’m feeling more silly and loopy than anything else. I have on several occasions almost copied Homer Simpson (another last reference?) and danced in a church naked.
Here’s the weirdest thing: Why is the SDMB still working? It obviously shouldn’t be. Obviously. Everything else is down. Most other websites are down. But the hamsters, amazingly, are superflu-proof.
I’m starting to think that it’s not a coincidence… that there’s some purpose behind the SDMB. But whose purpose? It seems pretty clear that, whether it’s real or some sort of Jungian mass mind hallucination, everyone’s choosing either Boulder or Vegas. But who’s keeping the internet up? Boulder or Vegas?
And why am I chattering away like this when everyone I knew and loved is dead?
Anyhow, I’m in a tough spot here, since it’s hard to get to Colorado from California without going through Vegas. And, cynical agnostic computer geek that I am, I just know, somehow, that Vegas is a Bad Place. So I’ll have to come up with a Plan-with-a-capital-P.
One other thing: DAMN it’s good to read doper’s virtual voices. Even in my loopy wacky state, I’m lonely as hell.
Am I the only person left alive in the world who knows how to play Magic: The Gathering?
pepper, don’t give up! We’re here, you’re not alone!
Get to a store and get a map and start heading out. Stay on the main roads, and stock up in the stores if you need to. As you can see by the looting thread in GD, most people are getting over their moral problem with it, since it’s a matter of survival now.
If we’re here, there are others, and you will most likely meet up with them.
Let’s get together, then we can figure out the rest.
Anyone know what’s going on in the rest of the world? Is it just in the US?
We heard from manx in New Zealand, but no other non-US Dopers have posted here, have they?
Anyone have any news from Europe or Asia? Maybe their electricity situation is worse than ours. It seems spotty here. On my drive out here, I could see lights on in some houses, but not others. Seemed to be in big blocks (outages).
Aren’t there some Colorado Dopers? Shouldn’t they have checked in by now?
I made it out to Western Maryland in about six hours. It usually takes about three, but I ran into some roadblocks. I got off I-70, and headed this way (Deep Creek, a resort town) because we've been here for vacations, and I know the area, and just felt the need for something familiar. I saw lots of cows, but it looks like all the horses are dead. Why is that, do you suppose?
Cats don't seem to be affected, either, but the dogs I've seen are all dead. Very sad.
Not a freaking soul around here at all. I guess going on vacation isn't a big priority when everyone is getting sick.
I found a cheapy motel, and pulled the truck into a big maintenance-type shed. The front office door was open, but no one was around. All the room keys were there, and there was no sign of any guests. I got a room key for a room on the end, and locked myself in tight. I took a long hot shower, and it suddenly hit me, like a ton of bricks. My husband is most likely dead, my kids are dead, I never heard from my sisters and their families...
God, I buried my kids in the back yard! I can't believe I did that!
I cried for hours. I sat around most of today, just staring at the walls.
I guess I was numb and in shock most of that time and just needed some time for it all to sink in. How many people do you think are still alive? I still haven't seen anyone.
I'm heading back out tomorrow morning. I'll get back on I-70 west, and head for Boulder. I need to swing by the Super Wal-Mart on my way out of town and get some laptop batteries and maybe stock up on some food. I don't know what lays ahead, so I need to be prepared.