Aug. 19, 2021

I have seen zombies kill many of my friends. Other survivors that I was with, and befriended. People I didn’t know. But what happened the other day is something I may never be able to erase from my mind. It all happened so fast. Really that was the only way it could happen. We had been a pretty careful group until that moment. We had moved further into this city. It turned out to be one of the bigger cities I have been in for quite some time. Big cities equal big danger. And that is what we got. Jake noticed a sign for an airport so we decided to check it out. Could any of us fly a plane? I don’t think so. I guess we were hoping there was someone who could, and they would still be around. Dumb now that I think about it. At the time, it was just a move by desperate people. We all got out and looked around. It was a smaller airport. There were some planes still there. I went out on the strip to check out the planes. Rob and Jake went to look in the hangers. The women took the kids inside. Then   then it   it was like a prison for zombies. I don’t know how long they survived there, but they were there. I am not sure if it was Jess and Emily that screamed first, or Jake and Rob. It seemed to happen at the same time. Jake and Rob had opened a hanger that was full of zombies. They didn’t know it until the door opened too far to close it in time. They came running and yelling for everyone to run. Zombies started streaming after them. As that was happening, a chair came flying out of the building window. Emily soon followed falling from the 2^nd floor. I had just started to run in that direction so I ran up to her. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I don’t think I would have believed it. Peter was tightly in her arms. She had fallen on her back to brace the fall for Peter. It could have been luck, but I rather think of her as a hero. Blood was already flowing from the back of her head. She wasn’t   I tried  Zombies then started jumping out of the window. I yanked Peter out of his mom’s arms, and began to run with him. When Peter and I were trapped in that car, I didn’t think he could scream any louder, but I was wrong. He must have screamed twice as loud when I pulled him away from his mom. I feel bad for him. There was no time to stop and say good-bye. As I came around the front, Nicole pulled the van up to the front. After I shoved Peter inside, I turned and looked inside to see Jess fighting off zombies with Rob Jr. behind her. Again, I just wanted to get in the van. This was one of the reasons I would rather be on my own. If there were zombies, I would just run and not have to look back. But I looked back this time. I ran inside but before I could help them, zombies were coming at me. I was picking up anything I could to fend them off. Jess was doing the same. I finally made my way to her. She told me we had to get the kids out of there. We were on the same page for a second until I realized she said kids. Then I looked down and saw Christina. She had several bites on her, and lots of blood. I couldn’t tell if she was alive. I hate that I even had the thought, but it didn’t matter at that point. At least not to me. At that moment. She had been bitten. If she was still alive, she wouldn’t be one of us for much longer. I was in no position to argue, so we just fought our way closer and closer to the door with Jr. in between us, and Jess dragging Christina. As one zombie would go down, there would just be another one to replace it. It was starting to take a super human effort to keep up the strength to fight. A super human effort that wasn’t good enough. At some point, I guess Jess realized we wouldn’t make it dragging Christina, or that she was no longer with us. She let her go, and that allowed us to get a little closer to the door. Then Jr. ran for it. I know I didn’t tell him to. I don’t know if Jess did, or he just panicked. As soon as he went out the door, a blur came by and he was gone. Like when a bird comes swooping down, and snatches its prey. I didn’t know if it was one of the fathers or a zombie. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a father. I spun Jess around and told her to go for it. She ran and I tried to distract as many zombies as I could. How I am not a zombie right now, I don’t know. I couldn’t make it through the door after Jess because several zombies followed her, but stopped at the door when it closed. They couldn’t get out, and neither could I. The only way out was a window. Unlike Emily, we were on the first floor so I didn’t have to jump. The problem was breaking the window because everything I could get my hands on was used to hit a zombie. I don’t know what I got, but I finally broke a window and went through it. Cut myself good on all the glass. Just as I turned to run, I saw zombies leaning over something. Not something. I knew it. There was nothing I could do at that point. I ran around the corner, and the fathers were having a hard time fighting off zombies, and trying to get Jess in the van. She kept screaming for Jr. I helped Jake as Rob finally got her in the van. Then he wanted to stay and look for Jr. too. Jake told him to get inside and they would drive around to find him. It would be safer. It just wasn’t the moment for me to tell him. I just agreed. We were all able to get in the van. Nicole started driving, running into, and over all the zombies that came running at the van. Jake turned to anger, as he started screaming at Nicole to run over each and every one of them. She was just trying to circle around to look for Jr., but Jake was going nuts. Rob and Jess were frantically looking out the windows for any sign of their son. Me I had nothing left. Emotionally. Physically. I just was there. Screaming crying arguing was going on around me, but I turned blank. It was too much for me, and it wasn’t even me that lost family. They were the closest thing I had to family at the moment. Those kids. The children I had been playing with for months now. Like a babysitter. I felt like the bad babysitter that lost a child. Took the child to the park and let someone run off with them. Then had to face the parents. Actually haven’t done much of facing them since. Kind of why I have returned to the journal. Not much talking has gone on since. It took them a little longer, but they are now as emotionally, and physically drained as I was when we got in the van. I am not sure what is going to happen now. Nicole used up most of the gas driving as far away from the airport as she could. We are back in the middle of nowhere. The most anyone has done is cry. It is going to take some time to heal. If we can heal.